The shōnen anime Bleach is well known for its intriguing power systems, especially when applied to Soul Reapers. The captains of the Thirteen Court Guard Squads are, with few exceptions, at the pinnacle of the sword release system.
Among these, Captain Toshiro Hitsugaya stands out as a child prodigy who mastered his zanpakuto, Hyorinmaru, at a young age. Tite Kubo introduces Toshiro as a capable and clever character; however, Toshiro’s abilities come with restrictions that prevent him from reaching his full potential.
Among the other characters, Toshiro is viewed as one of the weaker captains because of this limitation. Though he is talented, he isn’t considered a significant threat to the enemies of Soul Society. Characters such as Sosuke Aizen and Shawlong Koufang are both confident in their ability to defeat Toshiro when confronting him.
Despite Hyorinmaru being regarded as the strongest ice zanpakuto in the series, his bankai is on a timer. Consequently, Toshiro must finish his fights within a limited time. In the Thousand-Year Blood War arc, after several fights and losses, Kubo finally reveals the truth about Captain Toshiro Hitsugaya’s bankai. Chapter 670 of the Bleach manga proves Toshiro is far more powerful than previously believed.
Toshiro’s Hyorinmaru: Powerful but Not the Strongest Ice Zanpakuto in Bleach
One of the first things the audience learns about Hyorinmaru is that it is supposed to be the strongest ice zanpakuto. It is certainly more powerful than Rukia Kuchiki’s Sode no Shirayuki.
While this might invite comparisons to Captain-Commander Genryusai Yamamoto’s Ryujin Jakka, the strongest fire zanpakuto, Hyorinmaru is not nearly as strong. Toshiro is easily able to defeat Shawlong Koufang, but he struggles against Tier Harribel. Despite winning both fights, Toshiro is outshone by fellow captains Jushiro Ukitake and Shunsui Kyoraku.
Toshiro ends up involved in only a handful of fights in the first few arcs of Bleach. Each fight reveals a bit more about his character and how he is perceived by his peers. He was one of the few people who acted on his suspicions when the order to execute Rukia Kuchiki came from Central 46.
This led to his early confrontation with Gin Ichimaru, where both of their shikai were shown. Despite Toshiro’s cleverness and strength, he couldn’t match up to Gin and didn’t win the fight. Most of his fellow Soul Reapers believed Toshiro to be one of the weakest captains, so his loss without escalating to bankai didn’t surprise anyone.
Toshiro’s Daiguren Hyorinmaru Is Powerful Bankai But Comes With Time Constraint
His next fight revealed the bankai Daiguren Hyorinmaru, which enhanced all his ice abilities. In addition to giving him dragon wings and a tail, Toshiro’s bankai has three ice flowers with four petals each that float behind him as he fights. These petals act as a timer, destroying themselves one by one throughout the duration of the bankai.
In typical shōnen fashion, during a fight, Arrancar Shawlong Koufang realizes the significance of the petals and decides to fight Toshiro directly instead of waiting for him to lose power once all the petals are gone. Toshiro continues the fight without commenting on Shawlong’s conclusion. In the end, the petals don’t matter; Toshiro easily defeats Shawlong once Soul Society allows him to use his full power.
The timer hadn’t run out at that point. Toshiro uses his bankai again during the Fake Karakura Town arc, managing to inflict severe damage on Tier Harribel until their fight was interrupted. However, he didn’t manage to injure Aizen and was subsequently taken out of the fight.
He dismissed his bankai before the timer ran out once again. Toshiro’s role in this arc leads to the conclusion that while he is a strong character, he is not exceptional beyond his age.
Toshiro Hitsugaya Reveals Full Power and Adult Form in Bleach Chapter 670
Toshiro Hitsugaya rarely explains his own bankai. He has shared the basic principle of how it works and a few of its moves, but he usually lets Hyorinmaru speak for itself. It’s implied that he hasn’t even explained it to the other captains of the Thirteen Court Guard Squads.
The fight against Yhwach’s Quincy forces has been one of the most devastating yet. Toshiro is among several Soul Reapers who have their bankai stolen. Despite his previous success against the Arrancar, Toshiro’s current power level simply isn’t enough to beat the Wandenreich.
This is not a problem. As it turns out, Toshiro’s countdown isn’t how long he can maintain his bankai. In Chapter 670 of the Bleach manga, over 400 chapters after the Shawlong Koufang battle, Toshiro reveals the real meaning of the timer. When all the petals have disappeared, Toshiro can activate his full power at the expense of aging into an adult.
This comes as a shock to even his allies, but it helps Toshiro defeat Quincy he otherwise didn’t stand a chance against. Toshiro doesn’t enjoy being an adult. Retroactively, this makes it seem like the reason he ended fights before his petals ran out was to avoid aging.
