Was Unohana stronger than Yamamoto in ‘Bleach’?

Warning: The article contains spoilers for Bleach: Thousand-Year Blood War.

Part two of Bleach: Thousand-Year Blood War is off to a flying start and will continue to run throughout the Summer and Fall. Bleach fans new and old are flocking to the anime series ahead of its 20 year anniversary in 2024. There have been some shocking twists in Blood War so far, including the death of beloved character Genryūsai Shigekuni Yamamoto, the two-thousand year old Captain-Commander of the Gotei 13.

Before his untimely and extremely brutal demise, Yamamoto considered himself the greatest Soul Reaper (Shingami) alive, once asking a foolish enemy “Why do you think I have served as Captain-Commander of the Gotei 13 for a thousand years? Because in all those thousand years, no Shinigami was born to rival me in strength.”

Yet some fans have been wondering about a potential rival to the great Captain-Commander. Retsu Unohana is the outwardly gentle yet supremely deadly Captain of the 4th Division. Known for her kindness, she is willing to heal both friend and foe in battle.

But in her youth she was far different – a violent warlord of a criminal underworld, willing to commit murder to preserve her grip on power. It was Yamamoto who convinced her to do good. The Captain-Commander even helped her to control her fiery bloodlust. Eventually she grew skilled in martial arts and the use of blades, dispatching her former criminal associates with unparalleled ease.

But many Bleach fans believe the student has outgrown the master. While Yamamoto relies heavily on his spirit energy, Unohana has more inherent skill in combat, especially if she is wielding a sword.

This is why Unohana, not Yamamoto, was named Kenpachi – a rank given only to the single strongest Soul Reaper every era.