The hit shonen series Bleach has established itself as a pillar of the 2000s-era anime scene, alongside Naruto and One Piece. It is the story of Ichigo Kurosaki, his new Soul Reaper powers, and the many battles he fights against other Soul Reapers, deadly Hollows, and Arrancars.

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By the time the Espadas and Sternritter are on the scene, the characters of Bleach have reached the zenith of their strength and personal development. But it all had to start somewhere, and the very first season had many fascinating scenes and ideas that longtime fans might have forgotten about.

10 Chad Throwing Rukia

Early on in the series, Ichigo and his friends had to use their wits as much as their abilities to take on powerful Hollows. No shikai or bankai here; Ichigo, Chad, Rukia and Uryu had to get creative. At some point, Chad decided to help Rukia fight one of those hazy monsters (Hollows).

Rukia had little power left, but Chad was a musclebound monster with a growing affinity for spirits, and he helped Rukia out by flinging her at an enemy Hollow so she could get up close & personal and destroy it with her meager spiritual powers. What a sight.

9 Orihime's Weird Food

Orihime happy

Orihime was introduced as Ichigo's quirky but lovable classmate, and she endured great tragedy when her deceased brother Sora returned as a Hollow named Acidwire. But she had a lot of comic relief too, such as her peculiar lunches and snacks.

This girl loves food, and she breaks all boundaries and rules when it comes to home cooking. She will combine ice cream, pepper flakes, bananas, ketchup, cookies, carrots, and much more in bewildering arrangements & eat it right up.

8 A Spirit Becoming A Hollow

ichigo vs hollow fishbone d

Ichigo already knew what Hollows were; after all, he borrowed Rukia's powers so he could protect Yuzu and Karin from one. But even though he had fought them and knew the theory of their creation, he'd never witnessed a Hollow's birth before.

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In Season 1, Ichigo and Rukia watched as Don Kanonji used his staff to pry off the spirit chain from a tormented spirit, and thus turn that hapless soul into a Hollow right before their very eyes. What once looked like a man was now a demon, and it was a disturbing transformation to watch.

7 Rukia's Crush?

Longtime fans of Bleach know that Rukia married her childhood friend Renji, while Ichigo settled down with Orihime. But before that, Rukia's and Ichigo's strong on-screen chemistry gave their classmates some intriguing ideas.

At one point, Rukia was having lunch with her gal-pals on the school's front grounds when one of them asked the big question: did Rukia actually have a crush on the tough but cool Ichigo Kurosaki? The topic soon changed after that, but it was fun to see Rukia get asked something so mundane and charming.

6 Kon's Predicament

Rukia visited Kisuke Urahara's shop to buy a particular item: soul candy. But something went wrong with the shipment, and Rukia ended up with a mod-soul named Kon. Mod-souls were a failed experiment, and they were all slated for destruction.

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Mod-souls, in theory, can inhabit a person's body and fight for them while the original occupant fights as a soul. Kon was desperate to escape destruction, and ran around in Ichigo's body until he was finally subdued. He soon became a part of the gang.

5 Dramatic Battle Vs Grand Fisher

grand fisher in front of rukia Bleach

Grand Fisher faced a humiliating end when he confronted Isshin Kurosaki as a prototype Arrancar and lost. In season 1, however, this powerful Hollow was a serious menace, and it was he who killed Masaki Kurosaki before a young Ichigo's eyes.

At last, Ichigo got the chance for revenge, and he clashed with Grand Fisher with all his might (this was before he got Zangetsu). Ichigo did well, but his mother's killer escaped, and Ichigo was deeply distraught. It's a solid piece of drama for the early arc.

4 The First Flash Step

byakuya bleach petals

Near the end of Season 1, Rukia was under arrest, and Renji had to take her back to the Soul Society. Ichigo kept interfering, so Captain Byakuya Kuchiki stepped onto the scene to handle matters personally. He was far beyond Ichigo's capabilities at the time.

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Ichigo knew that Byakuya would be a tougher foe than Renji, but then he amazed Ichigo and first-time viewers when he performed the first flash step ever seen in the series. Ichigo had suffered a deep and critical blow before he even saw what was happening, and it was a move the likes of which Ichigo had never seen before.

3 Ururu's Power

ururu tsumigiya is attacking in bleach

Ichigo's nameless zanpakuto was damaged, and his fighting strength was too modest to handle an incursion to the Soul Society. Ichigo trained with Kisuke in a special training zone and needed to be beaten into shape. Enter Ururu.

This little girl is not to be taken lightly. She put on some boxing gloves and moved with astonishing speed and power, and a terrified Ichigo fled before her might. This was the point in the series where even a child could corner Ichigo.

2 A Menos Grande Appeared

Menos Grande are super-Hollows that are composed of many regular Hollows all mashed into one, and the weakest class is the Gillian class. Regular Gillians are very tall and all look the same, and one such Hollow confronted Ichigo and Uryu in Season 1.

Ichigo and Uryu had no chance to kill that monster, but Uryu did realize that if he borrowed Ichigo's power, he could fire a powerful arrow to wound it. That, combined with a sword strike from Ichigo, was enough to force it to retreat. It was a taste of the many powerful Menos Grande to come.

1 Black Cat Yoruichi

Yoruichi's cat form in Bleach.

Yoruichi was introduced fairly early in the story of Bleach, but her full potential (and real role) were kept hidden for a time. If a stuffed toy like Kon could talk, then why not a black cat? Yoruichi the black cat helped escort Ichigo's gang to the Soul Society late in Season 1.

At the time, this was Yoruichi's only known form. She fooled everyone with her male voice and her natural behavior in cat form led Ichigo and the others to think that Yoruichi was only a talking black cat. If only they knew.

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