Bleach: Shinji Hirako’s Bankai, Explained

Highlights

• In the latest episode of Bleach: Thousand Year Blood War, fans finally saw Captain Shinji Hirako’s Bankai ability.
• Shinji’s Zanpakuto, Sakanade, has the unique ability to invert the opponent’s sense of direction and sound, causing disorientation and chaos on the battlefield.
• When Shinji activates his Bankai, the inversion ability expands, causing allies to be perceived as enemies and enemies as allies, posing a grave threat to everyone in its range.

In the latest episode of Bleach: Thousand Year Blood War, fans were finally treated to the long-awaited revelation of Gotei 13 Squad 5 Captain Shinji Hirako’s Bankai ability.

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While it was previously known that his Bankai is banned for use in the Soul Society, not much information was available about it until the release of the Bleach Can’t Fear Your Own World light novel. Authored by series creator Tite Kubo and award-winning light novelist Ryohgo Narita, the light novel provided an in-depth exploration of Shinji Hirako’s powerful Bankai.

Shinji’s Zanpakuto Abilities

Shinji’s Zanpakuto, Sakanade, appears as a standard katana; however, its true power lies in its Shikai and Bankai releases.

Shikai

When Shinji releases his Zanpakuto’s Shikai command, Sakanade’s unique ability comes into play. This ability is centered around the concept of “inversion.” It affects the senses of anyone caught within its range, leading to a profound distortion of their perception.

The primary effect of Sakanade’s Shikai is to invert the opponent’s sense of direction. When an opponent is affected, their movements become disoriented and unpredictable. Simple movements like stepping forward might cause them to move backward instead. This inversion can be highly disorienting and can create openings for Shinji or his allies to exploit.

Additionally, Sakanade’s ability can also affect the direction of sound, making it challenging for opponents to determine the source or location of noises, further adding to the chaos on the battlefield.

Bankai

As seen in Bleach TYBW episode 16, Shinji’s Bankai, “Sakashima Yokoshima Happōfusagari” (Reversed Evil Eight Treasure Blockade), further enhances and expands the inversion ability present in his Shikai.

When Shinji activates his Bankai, Sakanade takes the form of a staff with a large ring on the front end. The Bankai also envelops Shinji within a massive flower-like construct, providing him protection from the consequences of his Bankai’s power.

Activating this Bankai significantly enhances the powers of Sakanade and takes the inversion ability to an entirely new level. Anyone within the Bankai’s range, including allies and enemies, will have their perceptions of friend and foe inverted, leading to confusion and uncertainty.

This means that allies will be perceived as enemies and enemies as allies. The chaos caused by such a powerful ability is immense, and it becomes challenging for anyone in the vicinity of the Bankai to distinguish between allies and adversaries. The unpredictability of the battlefield under Shinji’s Bankai poses a grave threat to both his enemies and his comrades.

Now we finally know the reason why Shinji’s Bankai was considered so dangerous that it was outright banned in Soul Society.

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