The greatest heroes of Bleach's thousand-year bloody war

Key points

• Ichigo's final efforts to stop Yhwach make up for his previous mistakes, showing true heroism.
• Orihime's role as a healer proves invaluable, showcasing her skills and heroism in the story arc.
• Mayuri Korutsuchi emerges as the true MVP, saving lives, eliminating key fighters, and showing teamwork.

The Thousand Year Blood War is an internal conflict Bleach series that pitted the Soul Reaper Captains and Lieutenants against their most formidable adversary, the Sternritter. This Quincy army nearly wiped out the entire Soul Society during their very first invasion, even stealing numerous Bankai abilities in the process.

Needless to say, their mission to exterminate the Soul Reapers almost became a reality; however, fortunately, Ichigo and his allies had managed to repel the Quincy assault, with several key individuals playing an important role in the resistance.

These are the Bleach characters who deserve all the credit they receive for showing true heroism during the final arc of the story, because without them, who knows how the age-old climax between Soul Reaper and Quincy would have played out.

Before you jump in, there will be
major spoilers for the final arc of the series
including the ending as shown in the manga.

8 Ichigo Kurosaki

Ichigo's final efforts in stopping Yhwach make up for some of his other mistakes in this arc

• First appearance: episode 1

To be sure, Ichigo doesn't exactly give his best performance during the final story arc and makes several huge mistakes along the way. However, the protagonist still manages to fend off Yhwach more times than anyone else, and even eliminates some of the Bambis who were reigning in chaos over the other Soul Reapers moments earlier.

More importantly, though, Ichigo's training with Team 0 and the realization of his true Zanpakutō allowed him to defeat Yhwach when it really mattered. Sure, he may have received much-needed help from Uryu in those final moments, but Ichigo was the only one in that moment who was confident and strong enough to defeat Yhwach and end the war once and for all, and for that, he can be considered a hero.

7 Orihime Inoue

Orihime's role as a healer makes her an invaluable member of the Soul Reaper forces

• First appearance: episode 2

It's hard to believe that the Orihime who stands side by side with Ichigo in the Thousand Year Blood War is the same character from the previous arcs. She no longer doubts her abilities and usefulness to the team, but instead acts as a crucial player on the team who takes on the role of healer and, throughout the arc, saves the lives of numerous people.

One particular moment where Orihime shines is after half of Ichigo's chest is torn to pieces by one of Uryu's arrows in the anime. Although Orihime is able to fix him, it is unlikely that anyone else would have managed to reach the Soul Palace fast enough to save him. He also manages to effortlessly heal Ichigo's wounds before he attacks Yhwach in the Soul Palace, and also protects Ganju from being crushed by Gerard. Orihime has honed her skills to the point that she's not just a useful member of the team, but an underrated hero throughout the entire arc.

6 Ryuken Ishida

Ryuken may be absent for much of the story arc, but he joins the fight at the most crucial moment

• First appearance: episode 44

Ryuken is more of a hero who shows up in the final hour to do something big, rather than playing a major role throughout the entire story arc. In fact, aside from a few conversations with Uryu early on regarding Quincy history, Ryuken is largely absent for the entire war, not cooperating with the Quincy, but apparently not opposing the Soul Reapers either.

During the final moments, Ryuken manages to send his son Uryu a silver arrowhead that contains the blood clot that killed his wife. Using the unique power within the arrow, Uryu was able to stop Yhwach's Almighty long enough for Ichigo to deliver the final blow. Whether this will be changed or altered in the anime is yet to be seen, but there were some scenes foreshadowing the creation of the arrow, suggesting that Ryuken will likely still play a major role in those final episodes.

5 Shunsui Kyoraku

Leader of the Soul Reaper army who defeated a truly dangerous opponent

• First appearance: episode 24

Kyoraku does an admirable job of fending off the Quincy during their first invasions into Soul Society, but it's when the Soul Reapers enter the portal and fight the enemy that he gains the upper hand. Kyoraku shakes off his laziness to take on the role of leader of the surviving forces, filling them with inspiration and courage for the fights ahead.

It was also Kyoarku who managed to defeat Lille Barro, an opponent who, at that point, had a lot of Soul Reaper blood on his hands. If Kyoraku hadn't unleashed his Bankai to take down Lille, the latter would likely have taken down numerous other Soul Reapers from afar, tearing the army apart one by one with his sniper rifle.

4 Zaraki Kenpachi

Kenpachi prevented the war from ending prematurely due to a meteor

• First appearance: episode 20

Kenpachi appears only a few times in the war against the Quincy, but when he does he always shows off his immense power by tearing apart formidable foes. The greatest example of this is his duel with Gremmy, a Sternritter capable of making anything he imagines a reality. Many other characters would have been lost after being hit by two hands of concrete or trapped in a pocket of space, but Kenpachi's thirst for battle drives him to overcome all of Gremmy's grueling trials.

Of course, Kenpachi was also able to cut a meteor in two, which even Gremmy's companions seem to be terrified of in the manga. There is no doubt that this single attack could have ended the war at the time, and it is unlikely that many characters, if any, possessed the same amount of strength as Kenpachi needed to stop it before it reached the surface.

3 Kisuke Urahara

Urahara's work behind the scenes has saved the Soul Reapers on more than a few occasions

• First appearance: episode 6

While the Soul Reapers do what they can to combat the Quincy on the field, Kisuke is always working behind the scenes to support them, and it's fair to say he comes into play at numerous crucial points in the arc. At the start of the second invasion, Kisuke manages to revive several captains by restoring their Bankai that Hollowfied had created, giving them one last chance to fight back.

It is also implied that Kisuke was the one who brought Riruka and Yukio together to create the box that Ichigo and the gang used to return to Yhwach in the Soul Palace. Kisuke is also to thank for creating the door to the Soul Palace that he and hundreds of others used to launch the final invasion, and even faced a member of the Schutzstaffel. It's a good thing that the Soul Reapers decided to put aside their grudges towards Kisuke just this once, as without him they would have been doomed from the start.

2 Jushiro Ukitake

Ukitake gives up his life to ensure that the three worlds do not collide

• First appearance: episode 9

It had always been established from the beginning of the series that Ukitake, the captain of Squad 13, possessed some sort of illness. It wouldn't be until the final arc of a Bleach flashback though that fans learned this was partly due to his connection to Mimihagi, the right hand of the Soul King himself.

Once Yhwach forces Ichigo to cut the Soul King in two, the three worlds are thrown into disarray and the fear of them all collapsing into one almost becomes a reality. Ukitake manages to use his bond with Mimihagi to temporarily allow the Soul King's hand to push Yhwach away, buying precious time that his companions would use to end the battle. At the cost of his own life, he maintained the balance and prevented the Bleach universe from being plunged into guaranteed destruction.

1 Mayuri Kurotsuchi

From saving numerous lives of his allies to destroying an entire army of zombies, Mayuri was the true MVP of the final arc

• First appearance: episode 24

Mayuri experiences a rather unique story arc throughout the series Bleachsince technically it's not him who changes, but rather how the audience sees him. When he first appeared to face Uryu in the Soul Society arc, his abuse of his underlings and horrible treatment of Nemu made many fans hate him.

However, fast-forwarding to the Thousand Year Blood War, Mayuri's sick and twisted mind allows him to eliminate numerous key combatants and save more than a few comrades as well. Not only is he able to counter and take control of Giselle's zombie army, but he is also the one to resurrect Hitsugaya, Rangiku, Kenpachi, and numerous other Soul Reapers who would have died or Zombiefied if not for him. Being able to take down one of the four Schutzstaffel, thanks in part to Nemu, also solidified him as a great team player during the final war, along with his efforts in containing Aizen's power and helping build the Palace portal of the Soul.