Bleach: Did Yuzu and Karin fail to inherit powers from their parents? Explained

Like most of the powerful protagonists in anime, Ichigo Kurosaki of Bleach obtained powers from both his parents. At the start of the first half of Bleach, fans presumed that it was Rukia Kuchiki who passed on her Reishi to Ichigo and made him a Shinigami.

Disclaimer: This article contains heavy anime and manga spoilers for Bleach.

However, after Isshin Kurosaki was revealed to be Shinigami himself during the Arrancar arc, it summed up the entire picture behind Ichigo’s overwhelming powers. The franchise’s final installment, Bleach: Thousand-year Blood War, has also made some significant revelations regarding Ichigo’s powers, revealing him to possess Quincy blood, which he got from his mother.

In most shonen anime, the protagonist’s siblings have proven to be a force to be reckoned with. However, in Bleach, both Ichigo’s younger sisters aren’t as strong as their elder brother, and there is a pretty explainable reason behind it.

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Why Ichigo’s sisters aren’t as powerful as him in Bleach?

All three kids of Isshin and Masaki Kurosaki possess Shinigami and Quincy powers. However, Ichigo became the prophesied child because Rukia awakened the Shinigami within him, offering half of her powers by stabbing her Zanpakuto in his chest. However, the former absorbed all the Reishi instead of half of the latter’s powers.

Later, Rukia realized that Ichigo’s powers confused her senses, and sharing her powers merely acted as a trigger. Moreover, during his training session with Urahara, Ichigo’s Chain of Fate was cut by Tessai to awaken his Reiryoku (Spiritual Power), which transformed him from a Plus (benign soul) to a Shinigami.

In Bleach: Thousand-year Blood War, Ichigo awakened his Quincy abilities after his Reishi combined with Quilge Opie’s Spiritual Pressure while destroying The Jail technique. During his birth, Ichigo also assimilated all his mother’s powers along with the Hollow residing in her body, which was why he survived the disintegration of the Chain of Fate and acquired Hollow abilities.

Unlike Ichigo, Karin and Yuzu didn’t have to go through all that. However, they did inherit both Shinigami and Quincy’s powers from their parents, which might still be dwelling within their mortal bodies, entwined with their Spiritual Presence.

At the beginning of Bleach, the only Kurosakis who could see the Hollow named Fishbone D were Karin and Ichigo. The former can also see Shinigami with ease. Even the 10th Division Captain of Gotei 13, Hitsugaya Toshiro, has stated that Karin possesses an overwhelming reserve of spiritual powers despite being a human.

Over time, Karin’s powers increased to a whole other level, where she could hurt low-level hollows by kicking them. Her increased Spiritual Pressure enhanced her strength, granting her the ability to defeat a low-level Hollow by kicking a soccer ball hard at an imperceptible speed and force.

Karin calls this technique “Karin-Style Annihilation Shoot,” after all, Shinigami, Arrancar, Fullbringers, and Quincy aren’t the only individuals who name their abilities. Besides Karin, Yuzu can only see blurry images of Pluses and Jibakureis (Demi-hollows).

In Bleach: The Hell Verse, Yuzu plays a pivotal role when her soul gets abducted by the Togabitos (spiritual beings of the Underworld/Hell), and Ichigo follows them to the bowel of Hell to retrieve his little sister’s soul.

The Hell’s atmosphere tried to chain Yuzu’s soul to the surroundings. Her soul returned to her human body despite her Chain of Fate’s encroachment because it was unstable and intangible.

The Kurosaki sisters have the potential to become Shinigami or retain their Quincy abilities. Yuzu and Karin are two adorable characters in the series, and fans wish to see them awaken to their true potential.

However, by the looks of it, Tite Kubo might not have intended to feature Yuzu and Karin in the list of powerful characters, or he didn’t want to follow the usual potent sibling trope.