Bleach's first chapter was released in the summer of 2001, and over the course of the next decade, it managed to become one of the most popular anime and manga series in the world, and it accomplished this by having a world that was filled with lore and action-packed battles. Ichigo Kurosaki is the main protagonist, and he uses his Soul Reaper and Hollow powers to fight some incredibly powerful spiritual beings.
As the main character, it should come as no surprise that Ichigo has participated in the majority of the series' biggest and most important fights, and he managed to come away from those fights as the victor. He may have been victorious most of the time, but he's lost a couple of fights as well, and when focusing on his first ten losses specifically, one cannot help but notice that some of those losses were better than others.
10 Byakuya's Speed Was Too Much For Ichigo
Byakuya Kuchiki is a powerful Captain, but he also happens to be one of the fastest, and he used his incredible speed to get the better of Ichigo in their first encounter. Byakuya and Renji had been sent to the human world to either arrest or kill Rukia, and Ichigo intervened to stop them.
Ichigo managed to fend off Renji, but when he went in for a finishing blow, Byakuya stepped in. Before Ichigo could even blink, Byakuya had snapped his sword in two, but he also managed to deliver a slash that would have killed Ichigo if Urahara didn't attend to him. This fight showed how strong Byakuya was, but it had a very abrupt and anticlimactic finish.
9 Yammy Pummels Ichigo In Their First Encounter
Yammy was one of the evilest members of the Espada, and fans first saw him when he accompanied Ulquiorra on a scouting mission to Karakura Town. Upon their arrival, Yammy gets annoyed and begins to suck the soul out of every nearby human, and Ichigo eventually makes his way to the scene.
At first, Ichigo is able to overpower Yammy with his Bankai, and he ends up cutting off one of his arms, but the tide turns when Ichigo's inner Hollow makes an appearance. Yammy took advantage of Ichigo's internal conflict and pummeled him until he could no longer stand. What makes this fight so lackluster is the fact that Ichigo only lost because his inner Hollow wanted to mess with his mind and body.
8 Ichigo Had Way Too Much Difficulty With Gin Ichimaru's Zanpakuto
Gin Ichimaru may have betrayed Soul Society along with Aizen and Tosen, but he had a very good reason. During their fight, Ichimaru releases his Bankai, which allows his Zanpakuto to extend up to 8.1 miles, but the true power of this Bankai lies in its speed, as the blade is capable of moving at 500 times the speed of sound.
Ichigo wasn't able to keep up with the speed of Gin's attacks, and the former Captain was even able to break Ichigo's Hollow mask with it. In the end, Gin betrays Aizen, and the audience soon realizes that he only fought Ichigo to keep up appearances while Aizen dealt with other challengers, meaning that Ichigo was never in any real danger.
7 Nnoitra's Hierro Proved To Be Too Much For Ichigo To Handle
Ichigo's final battle with Grimmjow was intense, and he didn't even get a moment to rest because as soon as the battle was done, Nnoitra came into the picture. Nnoitra was the 5th Espada, which meant that he was stronger than Grimmjow, but he also possessed the hardest skin of all the Esapada, so none of Ichigo's attacks were able to even scratch him.
Nnoitra swatted Ichigo away like a fly, and after a brief fight with Nel, he toyed with Ichigo some more until he got bored, which is when he ordered his Fracción, Tesra, to finish him off. This was a completely lackluster fight, and it mainly stems from the fact that Ichigo was already injured and exhausted from his fight with Grimmjow.
6 He Was Overpowered By The Combined Might Of Xcution
In order to defeat Aizen, Ichigo needed to sacrifice his Soul Reaper powers, but he wanted to regain them in some way, which is why he agreed to train with Ginjo and the secret Fullbringer organization known as Xcution.
Ichigo gains new powers, and he is forced to put them to the test when Tsukishima uses his friends and the other members of Xcution to attack him. This entire ordeal turned out to be a setup by Ginjo, who hit Ichigo with a surprise attack then stabbed him through the chest in order to absorb his powers.
5 Aizen Stopped Him With One Finger
Aizen did a lot of horrible things in order to achieve his goal, and when he first encountered Ichigo, he was not impressed by his strength. After Aizen revealed himself as a villain, he approached Rukia in order to obtain the Hogyoku inside her body, and Ichigo attempted to stop him.
Ichigo attacked him while using his Bankai, but Aizen was able to stop the attack with just one finger. This minor altercation showed just how powerful Aizen was, and before Ichigo could do anything, Aizen defeated him by slashing through his midriff.
4 In Their First Fight, Ichigo Was No Match For Ulquiorra's Power
Ulquiorra Cifer was the 4th Espada, and when Ichigo attempted to rescue Orihime from Las Noches, he blocked his path. In their initial battle, Ulquiorra blocked Ichigo's sword strike with his forearm and was able to fend off Ichigo's strongest Getsuga Tensho (at the time) with his bare hands.
This fight was significant because it was the only time Ichigo actually ran away from an opponent, but the Espada chased him down and shoved his hand through Ichigo's chest. This should have killed Ichigo, but luckily Grimmjow brought Orihime to heal him.
3 Ichigo & Kenpachi Took Each Other To The Limit
Kenpachi Zaraki possesses so much power that it doesn't even make sense, and when Ichigo and his friends invaded the Soul Society to rescue Rukia, Kenpachi was the only Captain who was thrilled about it. He actually spent quite a bit of time looking for Ichigo because he wanted to take on the strongest member of the group.
The two engaged in a physical and brutal battle, and the only reason why Ichigo wasn't completely annihilated was that he knew his Zanpakuto's name, unlike Kenpachi. The fight ended with both fighters losing consciousness, and Kenpachi actually conceded, but Ichigo was the one who went down first.
2 Grimmjow Completely Destroys Ichigo In Their First Encounter
Grimmjow may not have the most impressive Resurrección, but he was still a powerful Arrancar who turned out to be a persistent thorn in Ichigo's side. He believed that Ichigo was going to become a threat, so he decided to go to the human world to kill him, and he would have succeeded if Kaname Tosen hadn't stopped him.
What made this fight really stand out is the fact that Grimmjow was able to stop Ichigo's Bankai with one hand, and he then dominated the rest of the fight by giving Ichigo a savage beating. The 6th Espada even laughed when Ichigo hit him with a "weak" Getsuga Tensho.
1 Ulquiorra Basically Killed Him At The End Of Their Second Battle
Ulquiorra was a surprisingly interesting character, and he showed off his true power when he released his Zanpakuto on the roof of Las Noches. Ichigo was much stronger at this point, but he was still unable to match Ulquiorra's speed and strength. Still, he was determined to keep fighting, which caused the 4th Espada to show him true despair.
Ulquiorra did this by unleashing a second Resurrección, and while in this form, he tossed Ichigo around like a ragdoll, and there was absolutely nothing the hero could do to defend himself. By the time Orihime and Uryu got there, the battle was already over, as Ulquiorra had his tail wrapped around Ichigo's throat before blasting a hole through his chest.
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