Orihime from Bleach vs Sakura from Naruto: Who will win in a 1v1?

Bleach TYBW has established itself as one of the "Big Three" again, as it is currently the highest-rated anime on MyAnimeList. Although the third of the Big Three anime, Naruto, ended with Naruto Shippuden, its sequel series Boruto: Naruto Next Generations is currently on air.

Given the similarities between Bleach and Naruto, drawing parallels between the two series is natural. Both series center on a charismatic main character who is accompanied by a sidekick who occasionally makes questionable choices. The "damsel in distress" characters in the two series - Orihime Inoue and Sakura Haruno - have been similar, but often disliked by fans, prompting them to wonder who would win if they fought.

Disclaimer: This article may contain spoilers from the Bleach manga and reflects the author's opinion.

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Who would win in a fight between Bleach's Orihime vs Naruto's Sakura?

Orihime of Bleach and Sakura of Naruto are two fictional characters whose primary talents are healing. Orihime can use her Soten Kisshun to restore something to its original condition, while Sakura can use her medical ninjutsu to heal her friends.

Orihime's abilities allow her to reject the damage an injured person has sustained, effectively healing them despite appearances to the contrary. Orihime's healing power is thus greater than that of Sakura's medical ninjutsu.

Sakura using her Taijutsu (Image via Studio Pierrot)

However, as far as raw strength and combat ability go, Sakura comes out on top against Orihime without a doubt, given that her abilities do not enhance her physical strength. In comparison, Sakura possesses the capable strength of going toe-to-toe with Shin Uchiha, all while playing a vital role in defeating Kaguya Otsutsuki near the end of Naruto Shippuden.

While this may seem like a loss for Orihime from the get-go if she were to fight Sakura, one must remember that Orihime possesses the Shun Shun Rikka's abilities that allow her to create shields and attack her opponent.

Orihime using her Santen Kesshun (Image via Studio Pierrot)

While these shields were quite fragile at the beginning of the series, Orihime's training allowed her to form shields that were strong enough to block attacks from the Father of Quincy Yhwach himself.

Other than this, she also has access to other abilities that allow her to attack her opponents. Shiten Koshun allows Orihime to form a shield that attacks any enemy that it detects through their attack. Meanwhile, Koten Zanshun allows her to cut through anything. While Orihime dislikes fighting and does not use her ability effectively, she could if necessary.

Orhime as seen in the Bleach TYBW anime (Image via Studio Pierrot)

Thus, if Sakura were to fight Orihime, Orihime could simply either make use of Santen Kesshun or Shiten Koshun to block her attacks. Due to this, she could completely avoid Sakura's Taijutsu.

If Sakura were to still be able to get past the shields, Orihime could simply make use of Koten Zanshun to cut down her enemy or heal herself if she happens to get injured. So while Sakura would seem like the obvious winner in this fight due to her hand-to-hand combat abilities, Orihime could overpower the Leaf kunoichi using her abilities.