Like many shonen anime and manga, Bleach is a series filled to the brim with great female characters. The conventions of the demographic mean that the female characters, unfortunately, usually don’t get to be as active as the male characters, but anytime they do get to do something, whether they’re heroes or villains, it ends up being one of the highlights of the current arc and the series, overall.

The female characters of the Bleach anime almost always have great showings, especially when it comes to their power. Despite being vastly outnumbered by the male characters, the female characters of Bleach always have great opportunities to show off how powerful they are, and in many cases, they end up being some of the strongest characters in the franchise.

That’s especially true of 10 female characters, in particular, and the strengths of all of them are especially worth highlighting.

10

Suì-Fēng Is Nearly Unmatched In Hand-To-Hand Combat

The captain of Squad 2

Suì-Fēng is the Soul Reaper captain of Squad 2 and the head of the Onmitsukido, Soul Society’s secret police force. Befitting her dual positions, Suì-Fēng is a largely serious person with a steadfast resolve, although that attitude tends to falter whenever she’s around Yoruichi and has a chance to fawn over her.

As a captain, Suì-Fēng is among the strongest of the Soul Reapers, with her Shikai, Suzumebachi, seldom failing to kill her opponents, and her Bankai, Jakuho Raikoben, having incredible explosive power to make up for its lack of stealth and precision. Beyond that, Suì-Fēng is the only Soul Reaper with physical abilities comparable to Yoruichi, even being the only other person to master Shunko. There are few characters on Suì-Fēng’s level, and every fight she’s in does a great job of showing why.

9

Liltotto Is A Standout Fighter Among The Sternritter

Sternritter “G”: The Glutton

Liltotto Lamperd is a Sternritter and a member of the “Bambies”, the group of female Sternritters who hang out with Babmietta Basterbine. While most of the group is some combination of rowdy and eccentric, Liltotto is a largely stoic girl aside from her tendency to swear a lot, but underneath it all, she truly cares for those she views as friends and allies.

Liltotto’s Schrift, “The Glutton”, lets her extend her mouth outward to consume things, and while it initially appears to be a basic ability, the Can’t Fear Your Own World novels reveal that The Glutton lets Liltotto use the powers of anyone she eats until they’re fully digested, thus making it an incredibly versatile ability. Add in her continually impressive feats of strength and durability, many of which outclass the other Bambies, and Liltotto is easily one of the Sternritter’s strongest members.

8

Bambietta Is Easily The Strongest Female Fighter In The Wandenreich

Sternritter “E”: The Explode

Bambietta Basterbine is a Sternritter and, as her name would imply, the leader of the all-female group of Quincies known collectively as the Bambies. In addition to being haughty and arrogant, Bambietta is defined by her anger and explosive temper, even going as far as to kill the people she has sex with as a form of stress relief.

Befitting her explosive personality, Bambietta’s Schrift is “The Explode”, which lets her turn anything her Reishi touches into a bomb, and with the power of her Vollstandig, Bambietta defeated someone as powerful as Shinji without so much as breaking a sweat. Bambietta was then swiftly defeated by Komamura and the power of his new human form, but even still, it’s hard to see her anything other than the strongest of the female Quincies in the Wandenreich.

7

Rukia’s Growth As A Fighter Has Been Incredible To See

Bleach’s female protagonist

Rukia Kuchiki is one of the major supporting protagonists of Bleach and the one who gave Ichigo his Soul Reaper powers at the beginning of the series. Rukia spends much of the first half of the story on the sidelines, but as she regains her powers and slowly moves past her emotional problems, Rukia becomes far more confident and a consistent fighter among Ichigo’s allies.

Rukia’s Shikai, Sode no Shirayuki, lets her lower the temperature of her surroundings to such an extreme degree that she can freeze anything she touches, and her Bankai, Hakka no Togame, takes that to such a degree that she could kill Äs Nödt in a single hit. Rukia has some of the strongest growth as a fighter of anyone in Bleach, and the fact that Rukia becomes the captain of Squad 13 at the end of Bleach is the biggest testament to that.

6

Yoruichi Has Been One Of Bleach’s Strongest Fighters From Day One

The master of hand-to-hand combat in Bleach

Yoruichi Shihoin is the former captain of Squad 2 and Urahara’s closest friend and confidant. Originally introducing herself as a talking cat, after Yoruichi revealed her true form, she became one of Ichigo’s strongest allies in the fight against Aizen and, later on, the final fight against the Wandenreich.

Despite being a Soul Reaper, Yoruichi never fights with a Zanpakuto, but she’s still a powerful fighter. Yoruichi is a master of Shunko, a special technique that combines the physical abilities of Hakuda with the magical abilities of Kido, and she uses it to add a powerful lightning-based effect to her attacks. In Shunko’s strongest form, Yoruichi becomes an uncontrollable beast nearly strong enough to defeat Askin Nakk Le Vaar, one of the strongest of the Schutzstaffel. Yoruichi might not have the best record among Bleach’s fighters, but she’s still powerful, nonetheless.

5

Bleach’s Novels Introduced One Of The Story’s Strongest Characters In Aura

Bleach’s strongest Fullbringer

Aura Michibane is a Fullbringer introduced in the Can’t Fear Your Own World novels. Aura was raised completely isolated from the world because her father was afraid of her attracting Hollows, causing her to be nearly devoid of emotions even as an adult, and after her father’s death, she fell in with Tokinada Tsunayashiro out of a need to find purpose in her life.

Because of her lack of emotional attachments, Aura’s Fullbring abilities don’t go beyond the basic ability to transmute matter, but because Aura’s powers come from the Saketsu of the Soul King, she can use them to create powerful constructs and even make her body completely intangible. During her fight with Uraraha, Urahara said that Aura’s powers were comparable to Aizen’s, although they were less refined, and that stands as the ultimate testament to her abilities.

4

Orihime Is Bleach’s Most Underrated Fighter

Bleach’s most powerful healer

Orihime Inoue is the main heroine of Bleach and Ichigo’s primary love interest. Orihime often comes off as a ditzy and eccentric girl, but underneath it all is a kind girl who always tries to find ways to support her friends and push them to be their best, even if she doesn’t always have the strength to stand by them.

Orihime is a Fullbringer whose Fullbring, Shun Shun Rikka, manifests as six fairy-like beings primarily suited for creating powerful shields and healing, the latter of which stems from her ability to negate reality. Orihime’s shields eventually become strong enough to block attacks from Yhwach in his final form, and while she’s never much of a fighter, it’s made abundantly clear that Orihime’s kind nature is the only thing that stops her from being one of Bleach’s strongest characters.

3

Unohana Was Secretly One Of Bleach’s Strongest Soul Reapers

The original Kenpachi

Retsu Unohana is the captain of Squad 4 who’s introduced as a matronly figure and powerful healer with a hidden dark side. That dark side turned out to be her true self, however, as Unohana’s true name is Yachiru Unohana, the first Kenpachi, founder of Squad 11, and Soul Society’s most infamous serial killer with a bloodlust to match.

As the original Kenpachi, Unohana’s physical abilities are among the best of any Soul Reaper, even surpassing Kenpachi Zaraki’s for a good while, and her healing abilities were so powerful that she could instantly bring someone back to life. Add in the acidic and restorative abilities of her Bankai, and it’s easy to see why Unohana was part of the strongest generation of Soul Reapers, even if she never had many opportunities to show off her true power.

2

Kirio Hikifune Earns Her Place In The Royal Guard

The Grain King of Squad Zero

Kirio Hikifune is the former captain of Squad 12 and the Holy Guardian of the South of the Royal Guard, the elite group of Soul Reapers tasked with protecting the Soul King. Like all members of the Royal Guard, Hikifune was recruited for making great contributions to Soul Society, specifically for creating the artificial souls that formed the basis of Mod Souls like Kon.

Hikifune has had very few opportunities to fight, but she has powerful supportive abilities such as creating food to restore someone’s power and summoning nigh-invulnerable tree branches that absorb energy on contact. Not only that, but like all members of the Royal Guard, Hikifune’s Bankai is so powerful that simply activating it upsets the balance of the three realms, so she’s easily one of Bleach’s most powerful female characters and characters, in general.

1

Senjumaru Shutara Is Easily One Of Bleach’s Strongest Soul Reapers

The Weave Guard of Squad Zero

Senjumaru Shutara is another member of the Royal Guard who holds the position of the Holy Guardian of the North. Also known as the “Great Weave Guard”, Senjumaru is the one responsible for the creation of the shihakusho, the uniforms worn by all Soul Reapers, and she can even use her abilities to infuse Oken, the bones of the Royal Guard, into someone’s clothing to give them enhanced durability and resistance to energy-based attacks.

Senjumaru’s Zanpakuto revolves around weaponizing sewing and tapestry, with her Bankai, Shatatsu Karagara Shigarami no Tsuji, trapping people in a giant sewing room to assault them with various attacks that not even the Schutzstaffel, Yhwach’s elite guard, could overcome. The fact that Senjumaru was the one to use Bankai suggests that Senjumaru is the strongest member of the Royal Guard after Ichibei, and that makes her easily stand out as the strongest female character in Bleach.