‘Bleach’ Drops Surprising Secret About Shinji’s Bankai

There are plenty things Bleach never got around to answering before it ended, but Tite Kubo isn’t about to leave fans hanging. If you keep up on all things Soul Reaper, you will know a Bleach spin-off is going on these days, and it just dropped a big tease about a favorite hero’s Bankai.

After all, Shinji Hirako couldn’t hide away the technique when it’s this big.

Recently, Bleach: Can’t Fear Your Own World struck out with a new chapter, and it follows various Soul Reapers as another threat comes upon the Soul Society. As the spin-off takes place after Bleach ended, fans find Shinji captaining the 5th Division, and translated summaries of the manga’s new chapter reveal big details about his Bankai.

According to reports, the never-before-seen power is called Reversed Evil Eight Treasure Barrier, but no official English name has been assigned to the attack just yet. The Bankai, which goes by Sakasama Yokoshima Happo Fusagari in Japanese, is said to be an even more hellish take on Shinji’s Shikai.

Rather than a simple senses reversal, Shinji’s Bankai is said to be a total reversal of — well — everything. The technique hasn’t been given a form, but the new chapter of Can’t Fear Your Own World seems like it will show the Bankai soon. However, if it does come out, fans know the Soul Society is in some top-level danger.

As it turns out, Shinji’s Bankai has been banned from being used. Much like the Seventh Kenpachi, the 5th Division captain has been barred from using his Bankai because it isn’t safe to use around comrades. Unlike his Shikai, Shinji’s Bankai is said to be uncontrollable in terms of who is affected by the technique. So, any ally is as likely to be attacked as a villain.

Are you ready to see Shinji use this technique in battle…? Let me know in the comments or hit me up on Twitter @MeganPetersCB to talk all things comics and anime!

Bleach was first created by Tite Kubo for Shueisha’s Weekly Shonen Jump, running from 2001 to 2016. The series follows the young delinquent Ichigo Kurosaki, who has the ability to see spirits. He soon obtains the power of a Soul Reaper – one meant to usher lost souls to the afterlife – and now has the duty to defend the living world from monstrous dark spirits known as Hollows.

It has been adapted into English thanks to VIZ Media, and has sold over 900 million copies in Japan. You can currently find the series now streaming on Hulu. A live-action film adaptation of the series is now streaming on Netflix. You can find ComicBook.com’s review of the film here.