Dragon Ball and Bleach have, each in their respective decades, marked a historical phase in the evolution of anime. The protagonists of these two series are Son Goku, the benevolent protagonist of Akira Toriyama’s Dragon Ball, and Ichigo Kurosaki, the protagonist of Tite Kubo’s Bleach. If the two ever fought, who would win?
Son Goku would be able to defeat Ichigo. Son Goku has divine heritage and he has managed to survive fighting against Beerus, one of the most powerful characters in the whole series and is a brilliant fighter. Ichigo’s powers aren’t really on that level and he couldn’t defeat Goku even in his Mugetsu form.
Now that you have the short version of the answer, the rest of the article is going to be divided into three sections, with the first two introducing the characters, their powers and their abilities. In the end, we’re going to give our final verdict and explanation on why Son Goku would be able to defeat Ichigo Kurosaki.
Son Goku and His Powers
Son Goku is the main protagonist of the manga Dragon Ball and Dragon Ball Super, and their animated adaptations, Dragon Ball and Dragon Ball Z / Dragon Ball Kai, then Dragon Ball Super, as well as the alternate animated sequel to the first two series, Dragon Ball GT.
Orphaned in exile from the late planet Vegeta, he lands on Earth where he grows up with his adopted grandfather. His adventure begins the day he meets Bulma, a young adventurer, who invites him to search for the Dragon Balls.
Abilities
Son Goku is a born martial arts expert and fan, managing to read the movements of his opponents and get used to their attacks and speed. Usually in combat, Goku reserves large amounts of strength and restrains himself to the point of seemingly decreasing his ki level to absurdly low points in order to save energy.
However, he also demonstrated the ability to unleash all his power at just the right time as he launches a physical attack. As a Saiyan, Goku is able to use the Saiyan Power, which allows him to surpass his strength whenever he takes large amounts of damage or fatal injuries. Goku being an alien also has enhanced senses of smell, taste and sight, which further increases his combat senses.
Powers
Son Goku is one of the strongest characters in the series; he rivals Vegeta for the position of Warrior Z and the most powerful warrior of Universe 7. At birth, his power was two units.
Upon arriving on Planet Earth at the age of three, Grandpa Gohan realizes that he is incredibly strong and that it would have been dangerous for him if he were not an expert in martial arts. Thus, he was in charge of molding and training him in martial arts.
Ichigo Kurosaki and His Powers
Ichigo Kurosaki is a Human who has the exceptional ability to distinguish ghosts and his life will be turned upside down when he meets Rukia Kuchiki who gave him his Shinigami powers in order to save his family from a Hollow. He is the main protagonist of the Bleach manga.
Fighting skills
Physically, Ichigo’s human body is in tip-top shape. Ichigo has been trained in martial arts since he was a young child, both professionally and by his father. He has repeatedly shown great agility and coordination in his attacks. In addition to having powerful kicks and punches, Ichigo is proficient in counterattacks, takedowns, and body locks.
He has repeatedly caught an opponent’s weapon attacks with one hand. He easily defeats various thugs and gangsters on a regular basis, and is a better martial artist than Tatsuki Arisawa, who ranks as the second strongest girl in all of Japan despite her fighting with a broken arm.
He effortlessly knocked out three lieutenants in quick succession, bare-handed, with a single blow each. While he has stopped training, the constant attacks from the bullies and his father keep his skills fresh.
Even before learning Shunpo, Ichigo is a very fast and agile fighter. Ichigo possesses great reflexes, dodging a blow without wasted effort and immediately counterattacking. He can strike quickly, without warning, and in quick succession.
Spiritual Pressure
Ichigo has been singled out on various occasions for having vast levels of spiritual energy, far beyond that of most other Shinigami. His spirit power feels heavy, which surprised Renji Abarai. Ichigo constantly unleashes reiatsu at the level of a captain. Even when he is in battle, he can continue to fight effectively while still using the Getsuga Tensho or unleashing and maintaining the Bankai from him.
Even at less than half strength, his spirit energy is comparable to a captain-level fighter. His energy is strong enough to contain the Sōkyoku, a halberd with the destructive force equivalent to one million Zanpakutō combined, using only his Zanpakutō. His reiatsu is light blue.
After training him in the King’s Palace, Ichigo was able to overwhelm four Sternritters simultaneously and then calmly fight on par with one Sternritter using Quincy: Vollständig using only his Shikai and eventually overpower his enemy.
Son Goku Vs. Ichigo Kurosaki: Who Wins?
The differences between Bleach and Dragon Ball are immense. Although there is fighting in both shows, Bleach is focused on sword fighting and supernatural powers, while Dragon Ball is mostly focused on martial arts, although this has been a subject of change in recent seasons.
Be that as it may, it was absolutely impossible to compare Ichigo and Son Goku in our usual way, which is why we had to introduce them as we did.
Now, the difference between the two aside, the level of power Son Goku is on is much higher than Ichigo’s. Son Goku’s divine alien heritage makes him an exceptional fighter and his track record in the series shows that he is able to stand his ground against actual deities that are much more powerful than himself (e.g. Beerus). He has defeated enemies like Piccolo, Frieza, Vegeta, and others, all of which have been monstrously difficult opponents.
On the other hand, Ichigo’s potential is enormous, but he is far from being the strongest character in his franchise. Sure, we do have his Mugetsu form, but that is a one-off technique that cannot be used twice, as it completely drains Ichigo’s Spiritual Pressure.
Another important thing here is that even in that form, Ichigo was unable to actually kill Aizen; he did weaken him enough for Urahara’s Kido to work on him and trap him, but Aizen survived an encounter with Ichigo’s Mugetsu form, and that tells us that Goku would probably survive it too.
That is why we have to confirm that Son Goku would win in this duel. Son Goku is one of the most powerful anime characters ever and Ichigo is simply not on his level of power.
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