Bleach: Characters with the most changed appearances

While there are many characters in the Bleach series that can be considered 'recognizable', that doesn't necessarily mean they've had the same look from start to finish. Considering how creator Tite Kubo's art style has changed and adapted over the years, it's understandable that some Soul Reapers look a little different than when they first appeared. Here are the Bleach characters who have had significant changes in appearance .

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Rangiku Matsumoto

Considering how obsessed Rangiku is with her appearance, it makes sense that she would change her style by the end of the story, although it can take a few seconds to realize that it's actually Rangiku. The biggest difference is that her hair, while long down to her feet, is now cut into a messy shoulder-length bob that looks much more practical for battle.

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Additionally, Rangiku's face also becomes much more expressive by the time she appears in the final battle, with her eyes in particular being significantly larger in some frames than they were before. While Rangiku may have chosen this look to better suit her combat, her ever-changing fashion sense is another factor that makes her look so different.

Ichigo Kurosaki

Ichigo may still have his fierce orange hair, but other than that, his appearance has changed quite a bit as the story progresses. Not only is Ichigo much thinner at the beginning of the series, but he also looks more punk and more like a typical shonen protagonist.

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However, after going through so many harsh battles and having to save the world many times, Ichigo's appearance becomes much more realistic & refined. In the anime, Ichigo is also shown to have gained a lot of muscle towards the end, this is another small detail that emphasizes that this guy has fought a lot.

Keigo Asano

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Keigo has always been seen as a comic relief character in the Bleach series, and his classic looks certainly contributed to this, along with his quirky facial expressions. However, things have started to change over time as Keigo has become more serious and mature. At the same time, the character himself, while still goofy, seems to have calmed down a bit and learned to control his boundless energy.

In fact, by the time the final arc rolls around, Keigo looks almost exactly like Ichigo in his usual serious demeanor, save for brown hair instead of orange. While it would be easy for Kubo to completely forget about him, the fact that he made the effort to update his design to match his change in personality is a nice touch.

Orihime Inoue

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The slow and gradual evolution of Orihime's design is a testament to how far Kubo has come in his drawing skills. In the first few chapters and episodes, Orihime is often seen with a minimalist and rather silly facial design, especially with her high eyebrows and square facial structure.

However, throughout each arc, her face becomes much sharper and her expressions begin to become darker and more serious to match the tone of the series. Orihime's attire has also changed, perhaps more times than any other character in the series, with the two most notable outfits being her Arrancar dress and the outfit that Urahara made for her during the final battle.

Zaraki Kenpachi

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It's hard to mistake Kenpachi for another character given his massive build and bloodthirsty grin, but there's no denying that he's undergone quite a transformation over the timeskip. Previously sporting spiky black hair that showed off how odd and eccentric he was, Kenpachi's hair is now much longer, reaching down to his back, which makes sense considering he's probably too busy fighting to even think about cutting it.

Additionally, Kenpachi's eye patch is now attached to his eye socket instead of wrapping around it like before, and his facial expression tends to be much more serious and sad, most likely due to losing both Yachiru and Unohana in quick succession. There are only a few minor changes here, but it's still enough to show how much Kenpachi has changed over the years he's been captain.

Kareem Winters

Update 17 December 2024