What is MATSUMOTO'S BANKAI? The Ash Blade Zanpakuto Discussion + Bankai Theories | Bleach

[@MrTommo2304]

Discover Bleach: Soul Resonance: Official Site: www.bleach-soulresonance.com/ - Discord: discord.com/invite/bleachsr - Twitter: twitter.com/BleachSRgame Which Bankai idea for Matsumoto's Haineko was your favourite? Do you have any ideas for her Bankai? Let me know in the comments!

[@NevG27]

It's a mobile game? Too bad - Bleach has potential for a make your own character type of game on console/PC

[@miles309]

I like the idea where it slowly poisons them over time and think it would be very ironic considering her lazy and laid back personality which would be written well. But also as we've seen with elemental zanpakuto sometimes bankai can just be expansion of shikai and they can just have a lot of different techniques so I also think that is an option.

[@Saetanigera]

Matsumoto actually seems ideal to master Shunkō. Unlike the other practitioners of Shunkō, Matsumoto wouldn't have to give up the abilities of her blade to use it. She wouldn't be as fast as the other practitioners, but the ability to hide and extended reach would more than make up for it. It is still similar to Byakuya, but his pride and mastery is reflected in not being able to use his ability close to himself while Matsumoto is literally a cat covered in ash. Much like Tōshirō, her abilities are easily blown away, but the real threat is the buildup of ash in the air.

[@francissanchez3759]

maybe Rangiku bankai or specifically her Zanpakuto's powers is related to magnetism just like Sasori from Naruto when he manipulate Iron Sand meaning Haineko ash is actually iron sand which Rangiku controls through magnetism and when Rangiku uses Bankai Haineko's ash can expand itself indefinitely by creating more ash through magnetizing any small particles of iron just like Mikoto Misaka from Toaru Majutsu no Index who create large quantities of Iron Sand from the ground alone since iron is the most common substance on earth and when the iron sand attach itself to any kind metallic substance including Zanpakuto she can move it at will

[@danwarner7816]

I like how squad 10 has each of elements as their zanpakuto toshiro water ice, isshin fire based and rangiku air

[@davidettles1992]

One theory I liked was originally her Zanpakuto was actually a Fire based one. And when she had her spiritual energy stolen by Aizen's men, what was left with was Ash.

[@thekwjiboo]

Oh wow, I like that a lot.

[@MrTommo2304]

That is an awesome idea.

[@ragnabolt683]

This is a very creative and lore-accurate way to view it, and works well with Bleach’s puzzling magic system.

[@gabrieldossantos1116]

It would also fit really well with her being the lieutenant to both Ishin and Toshiro. Damn I love that theory.

[@animanco6833]

Never thought of that, but it actually makes sense. Her ash ability is just the substance but she doesn’t have the catalyst to give her ability enough fire power

[@jrgenvellesen7800]

I think it is quite neat how Rangiku has served under two Captains, with one using fire and the other using ice. While she uses ash, something that fits as a in-between of the heat of a fire and the coldness of ice.

[@nuhnaffyarbuziness7598]

how is ash close to coldness of ice?

[@jarrolightfeather9554]

ash is much more closer on small particles that breaks from the ice not the coldness of it

[@Dylan-ni9my]

Me when i'm uneducated on what ash is.

[@algumnomeaihehe]

average bleach fan intelligence level

[@astroverse1]

SIX BANKAI IDEAS!? MrTommo must've had fun making this video!

[@clearspira]

I'm picturing Rangiku's Bankai as basically being Senbonzakura. But instead of killing you with a million blades at once, it smothers you in a cloud of white hot ash. It chokes you. It blinds you. It gets in every pore and every orifice. It melts the flesh from your bones until there is literally nothing left of you but yet more ash. And soon not even that remains, for when the Bankai returns to its master, it sweeps you up with it. Locking you forever within the cold steel prison that is her Zanpakuto.

[@myrixica4222]

Oooh, this I like.

[@gabrieldossantos1116]

That's some body horror level of power. If Rangiku ever became a hollow/vizored that's definitely how Kubo would portrait it lol

[@nagatsuseiken7731]

I absolutely LOVE this idea, but I don't think it really fits with her character, sadly

[@MFD00MTR33]

That's a really cool idea. Kinda like a mix of Yamamoto's zanpakto (it's be cool if she could use the souls/enemies she absorbed to make ash bodies or skeletons and fight for her next time she uses her bankai) and Itachi's Totsuka blade trapping you inside a sword for all eternity.

[@UNKNOWNxMorganLordia]

Ahh the devastation maybe Rangiku could obtain their powers onve they are trapped in her Zanpakuto. I would a little like Enrakyoten

[@animanco6833]

Imagine if part of Rangiku’s soul wasn’t taken away. Her powers might’ve been even more powerful than it is.

[@LightSkinJedi1920]

I believe she could have been somewhat like Byakuya. But hers is ash instead of petals. With her full soul it would be more powerful and more quantity. Captain level for sure imo.

[@SkeetWeet4368]

​@@LightSkinJedi1920 she'd probably be like ikkaku tbh . she'd have a bankai sure but she wouldn't be strong enough to be captain level [like ikkaku]

[@august6281]

@@LightSkinJedi1920 or Gaara. Sabaku SOSO!!

[@because-rm4yf]

​@@SkeetWeet4368 Lol nane one character with the soul king nail who is weak ?!

[@bohba13]

My personal idea that I have in my back pocket is based on a logical expansion. as Hineko is ash at it's most devious, her bankai would be ash at its most dangerous, something reminisiant of a pyroclastic flow. fast, oppressive, and crushing.

[@KaiserAfini]

I don't think that suits her. Yammamoto's zanpakutou uses fire because of his relentless agression, his nature is to destroy anything and everything in his path until his foes are ash. Hitsugaya uses ice because he believes in being logical, ice can also be used to paralyze or safely isolate. Rangiku is a deeply passionate and empathetic person, I think she would have something like the Deep Purple ability from Hunter X Hunter. Flexible, precise, plus it can alter between lethal and nonlethal.

[@bohba13]

@@KaiserAfini the thing is that a pyroclastic flow doesn't kill by crushing. It does so through ash inhalation (or heat but that's not in the cards here) The reason for this is that Rangiku hides from certain aspects of herself, specifically her pain and trauma as well as being far more dark and ruthless than she lets on when the chips are down. Hineko represents her more playful and lazy mask. The personality she has constructed. The bankai is her without that.

[@sbatou87]

Yeah, I had that idea as well.

[@danwarner7816]

I always thought it basically airborne and replaces respiratory system with its own Ash, when rangiku dine the opponement will become nothingness like cat coughing it's hairball Same can be done any cut done by rangiku blade.

[@Eryomis]

I always had my headcannon about Rengiku's bankai. To me, because she said her blade is a lazy slob, I imagined that the ashes where just her true blade that hasn't warmed up yet. Maybe her bankai is a forceful awakening of Haineko. I don't want to see another fire-based zanpakuto though, but I want hers to be a volcanic one. Not lava, but a pyroclastic-based one. She can create a huge expanding (maybe in the form of a cat?) pyroclastic cloud, basically super-heated volcanic matter and deadly gases to use in battle. I like it because it harkens back to her seriousness under her lazy facade and her blade needing to be nudged before doing anything impressive. Also for the pun, she's hot. So a hot bankai is necessary.

[@user-bt7ix6sw2g]

I feel like her character arc of becoming strong without Gin and learning Bankai simply went nowhere, I hope we get badass rangiku in the hell arc

[@KaiserAfini]

Rangiku is not lacking in intelligence, emotional intelligence or skill. But she is neither determined or composed, characterisics Gin had in spades. She has a lot of potential, but was never challenged to go beyond her comfort zone.

[@martakavaliauskaite4566]

​@@KaiserAfiniagree

[@maciekwucow3989]

@@KaiserAfini We like her mostly for her personality not her combat abilities.

[@whiteflame24]

@@maciekwucow3989 yeah her "personality"

[@sarthakarora3212]

@@KaiserAfini uh no, you all are assuming a lot. The reason why kubo wrote that aizen stunted her growth permanently is to explain why she is lazy and weaker then most despite being way older then most of here peers. She has given up due to a disability that is supernatural in nature.

[@thegoodiemen5963]

Love that you draw art for all the ideas. Really takes these videos to another level.

[@torigaribay2494]

Agreed! I thought that was an amazing touch and addition

[@AJ-kt5zo]

​@@torigaribay2494💛

[@Elnato23]

Love your original sketches for the ideas man, that sort of artistry you add to your chanel sets you apart from other bleach youtubers, really awesome, and great video as always

[@lorentz9682]

I wish that when Aizen fatally wounded Gin, that Matsumoto arrived and protected him using her bankai, finally having a motivation (and her missing soul back from the hogyoku). Her bankai having some counter to aizens illusions, i.e she can turn any non-living material in to ash, and since Aizen can't read her mind he can't conjure illusions to confuse her, she can determine what is real and what isn't by turning it to ash. Or if that doesn't make sense, she could just destroy everything around her and Gin, Aizen's illusions don't matter if you attack everywhere at once. Aizen would win out in the end but at least she'd stall for time for others to arrive. This way Gin could feel he accomplished something before passing away. He succeeded in returning her missing power back to her, and she got to protect him as he would always do for her.

[@coebaltraizure6137]

See the more I think of it the more I think "Ash Cat" seems to reference heat, which also reflects the hot and cold dynamic between her and her captain. Similar to how Gin's bankai wasnt the "longest" or the "fastest" but in fact the "most poisonous", Rangiku's Bankai could be deceptive. One might expect it to be sharper, but it's not the "sharpest". One might expect it to be to be more well controlled bit it'd not "the most versatile". Upon activating her bankai not only does the power and volume of her ash increase ten fold but it's true strength is revealed in being "the most Explosive". At any point in time Rangiku can choose to ignite the ash of her Bankai in powerful blasts. Igniting the whole cloud being on part with something like Soi-Fon's but doing so leaves her defenseless until she builds a usable amount of ash again. With full mastery she'd be able to use the cloud to manifest a big cat entity of ash and heat that grinds whatever it captures to dust under the heat and pressure of a feline furnace of churning explosive power. Something like "Roar; Hell Cat's Ash Field"?

[@BlackHedgehog]

I liked two ideas here particularly. The first being the Ash Cats, just because that is the most accurate to it's name and makes it different from Senbonzakura. But I also like the idea of the ash exploding from inside an enemy's body once they've engulfed enough ash. Both have fun ups and downs and work amazingly well.

[@torigaribay2494]

I too like how the ash cats would give her abilities a distinction away from Byakuya's. I also like the slight nod to starkk's wolves with the cats, because of her actual deep wallowing loneliness.

[@joshk1418]

They were my two favourites as well, loved the cats idea because it just seems so good, enemies being unable to get close to her. But the one I thought of before Tommo even mentioned it was being able to destroy enemies from the inside and I feel that being the most effective for her

[@Dothomir777]

The 5th idea is the best IMO, most fitting of being called a Bankai, and the fact that it makes her even more ‘breathtaking’ is icing on the cake

[@big_gucci_scorpio328]

I think a combo of 3 and 5 would be really dope for her bankai, if you think about it they go hand and hand, they both cover each other's weaknesses, for example idea 3 could be used to conceal her until idea 5 builds up enough ash in her opponent to take them out, i also think it would be cool if she could also attack her enemies with explosions by snapping her fingers, so think bambietta's power but it can only be used on ppl caught in the ash

[@lifeofvasilias]

My thoughts exactly

[@Huojunta]

An idea I think would be cool if her bankai was like an ash version of the powers of Gaara and the Third Kazekage from Naruto, where she summons a large cloud of ash that she can freely manipulate and shape into basically anything, from defensive shields to offensive weaponry. Perhaps the ash could even act semi-independently to offer automatic protection, similar to Gaara's sand.

[@Arcitan]

Given we've see multiple examples of Bankai having several abilities, she could actually have most of your examples. Each is just a different ability that she unlocks as she grows in mastery. Personally though I'd like a more vicious version of the Ash Cloud/Cats variant, playing to the feline nature of hunting prey. Thematically, like how Gin's blade mimics the attacks of a snake, Matsumoto's could mimic how the great cats hunt their prey. The Ash Cloud/Cat version would be like how some stalk their prey from the shadows, isolating a target and then pouncing....dragging their victim back into the night. Imagine how terrifying it could be for Matsumoto's opponents. They're suddenly enveloped in this dense ash cloud, barely able to sense anything around them. They begin to see these shadowy feline forms darting in and out of their periphery. Quickly the shadows pounce, converging, dragging one of her opponents into the ash and out of view of their allies. There is a gargled scream, that is quickly silenced, and again the feline forms begin to circle. Honestly you could even have it where there are no cats.....that bit is just illusion.....and instead its just Matsumoto herself.

[@AJ-kt5zo]

Good like a chimera : cat 🐱 slash 🐅 tiger = 🐍 snake ( gin reference btw ) as she's grows and masters her Bankai .

[@jordonhodges8493]

It's so so fun seeing your art in the video! Adds so much to your ideas! Hope we get to see more and more going forward. Thanks for all the fantastic content!

[@christopherg2347]

My idea is: Lava A volcano can be slow to errupt. _Growling_ for months or decades while it spews ash. But even that ash can be very dangerous (most volcano deaths are to pyroclastic flow and dangerous gasses). But when it _Roars_ it spits lava. Not just heat like Volcanica - literal lava. - All of your ideas can work as part of her Bankai. Senbonzakura Kageyoshi starts as "more blades", but it has so many named abilities derived from simply having more mass and Reiatsu to manipulate. And having better manipulation skill in Bankai - one notable thing. In her Colab with Hitsugaya vs Baz B, she somehow "left vacuum pockets" in his ice. Doesn't that sound like the ash can go _intangible_ ? That would also match Gins Bankai. In that the obvious power is not the most important. It is something something secondary like the retraction.

[@Nexus-ub9jm]

You already have a sponsorship with Soul Resonance? Damn, that's pretty cool

[@isaacmahoney5947]

Something I thought was always a cool idea for rangiku was using her ash to get into an opponent’s body, and relating this to gins shikai(as gins is related to her shikai) is to turn her as into long manoeuvrable ash whips. This can be short straight forward ( ai gin) to pierce, whip, and enter enemies. This could be related to the weapon cat o’ nine tails, a traditional torture weapon.

[@insanemakaioshin]

I feel like you could combine 1 - 3, 5 & 6 into 1. An Ash storm with dense ash surrounding her protectively & can create spheres around people, skewer them if ingested & create balls of thick ash. 4 is interesting.

[@bondsmatthew]

Sponsored by the new Bleach game? Holy moly that's HUGE. Congratulations!

[@khristvnx]

Love that you did this ❤ never clicked so fast

[@Okkotsu86275]

I always imagined Ranigku's Bankai being a huge ash tiger with fire elements. Like mixture between Byakuya and Renji in functionality.

[@xerynyes1366]

i like that idea, in the zanpakuto arc her zanpakuto is very feline like, it would make sense that her ash take a fire tiger form

[@AJ-kt5zo]

​@@xerynyes1366I like all of Mr. Tommo and your 💡 ideas 2

[@cui8789]

A tiger would be a nice matchup with Toshiro's dragon.

[@Okkotsu86275]

@@cui8789 I think so too

[@zerplergon]

That sounds soo cool

[@Deadpoolscat426]

Or maybe it's similar to her captain, and as the battlefield gets more damaged, she can collect all the ash from every explosion and create a sort of pyroclastic flow such as from a volcanoes pre eruption but controlled

[@mitchellf.1170]

Was so happy to see this! Rangiku is well liked, but from a writing perspective, she had so much more battle potential than what was shown.

[@DragonmanX90]

I think Matsumoto needs to undergo a training arc like Renji and Rukua did. Something where a facet about Haineko she never had revealed to her by said Zanpakuto. Personally: I think Matsumoto's Zanpakuto could gain one of a few new aspects from such an arc/gaining her bankai: 1) Similar to Rukia's sword; there's more to Haineko than turning into burning ashes. I think it could be a temperature manipulating weapon that allows Matsumoto to quickly shift from the ambient temperature around her to the hottest flames Matsumoto had ever encountered at the speed of light, or just beneath it. Imagine if Haineko's ash could do such a thing to whatever they landed on. She could theoretically end up like a lower grade version of Zanka No Tachi; where the very existence of her blade dries out the moisture in an area, and the ash could damage whatever it touches instantly. 2) The true power of Haineko is molecular destabilization. Rangiku could activate her weapon and be able to tear apart the bonds between matter/spirit particles at the atomic/subatomic level, making any matter in her area of effect turn to dust at the moment of activation. Dust, that she potentially could manipulate the same way she does Haineko's ashes, allowing her to control the spread of the effect. Now that I think about it; the molecular destabilization angle could go a long way to explaining why Aizen targeted Rangiku to create his take on the Hogyoku; if an innate power of her soul is to break down bonds, he could've believed that he needed a piece of her soul to make the item designed to breakdown the barrier between possible and impossible, or whatever the hell the Hoygyoku was meant to do!

[@wingtart]

I always liked to explore the more serious and darker side of Rangiku, and it would've been quite interesting to see how her grief over the loss of Gin affects the way she explores a Bankai. I mean she's one of the few characters that possibly had a fragment of the Soul King in her, so I think if explored she could have wild potential I thought a Bankai where Rangiku would have mastery over the ashes not just from her sword but also from the graves of the dead would be a wild exploration, and possibly tie in quite nicely with the Hell Arc. Think of her destructive powers like a Pompeii level kind of dessimation, where she can mummify masses of people in an instant with her ash, and then use them as foot soldiers while she sits atop a throne like a Cleopatra type of Cat Queen. I think that's pretty badass

[@mylesjude233]

That's what I call a golden idea 💡

[@Kubinda12345]

I really like your 4th (ash cats) and 6th (ash ball) ideas. As for myself, I had 2 ideas: 1) In shikai her blade turns into one ash tendril. The bankai would enhance it by giving her 9 tendrils in reference to Cat o' nine tails. Basically bigger version of her shikai like with Senbonzakura. 2) Rangiku generates a huge amount of ash which forms into a giant cat and attacks on its own not only via physical attacks but also via ash.

[@AkiraMugen]

I never realized the connection rangikus ash concept in Gins bankai. A cool idea to have a Gin influence would to have her replicate his shoot ability. Her bankai could summon a ton of ash behind her. She commands shoot and blasts from her cloud with what like ash bullets, but instead are long ash blades like Gins shikai. The weakness could be she has a finite amount she can fire off and when the blades are shot it takes them a while to return to the cloud. So it can give visual clues to the enemy on her "ammo" and she can strengthen it by increasing the ash or being more efficient with the blades. She could also throw in an ash dragon creation as a big attack in reference to her Icy captains shikai and Bankai.

[@AJ-kt5zo]

💛🔥💥🔥👁🔥💥🔥💛🐉🐲🐲🐉

[@TheShuWarrior]

I like the 5th idea the most of all of these. It has connections to several other characters, including Toshiro and his Hyoten ability he used against Harribel. It also feels like itd have the most cliffhanger potential in terms of the anime or manga visuals, save for maybe the forth idea.

[@oneclout6643]

I had an interesting idea that went along with her personality, and with cats. It's based off of the sandman. First of course, more ash. It can cover a wider area making her offense and defense stronger and more versatile. To incorporate her laziness and cats always falling asleep anything that comes into contact with it will start to feel tired, like how the sandman pours sand on your eyes until they're too heavy to keep open. Touching a little is hardly noticeable, but as the fight continues the enemy becomes more and more tired after touching more and more ash. Their thinking and reaction slows down until they fall asleep, or get killed, whichever happens first.

[@jacobhill5387]

This is a wonderful video, and I hope you continue on with this idea! Your theories on possible bankais is a lot of fun to listen to, and I hope you can cover all characters that haven’t had one revealed! You’re fourth idea is definitely my favorite of the six, but all clearly had thought and consideration put into them.

[@eleidol]

I think an interesting bankai would be something like Gaara’s sand from Naruto. She could have it take different shapes, clones of herself, but adding the cutting part of being a sword 🤔

[@emyemi8289]

I always thought of her bankai as something that would allow her to manipulate anything fire related: fire (to burn or circle people), lava to stop people in their step and making statues of them), ash as usual, gas to suffocate (immediately or later on).

[@eliotwildermann]

Dang 6 ideas thats mad effort props man 😊😊😊😊

[@damiansanchez359]

I like a more simple idea. Taking notes from your fifth option granted. An uo scaled version of her shikai with true blades forming as she swings her hilt. Only instead of one slice at a time it being five large blades of iron dust that are nigh on impossible to black without a true shield of some kind. And with every nick and slice more and more of the dust enters your blood and starts ripping you apar hit from the inside out. Could also add steal "tiger stripes" on her face arms and chest for both dramatic effect and defensive capability

[@Dimitar.Milchev]

Thank you for this video! It's always nice to be looking at content for Rangiku. I don't get why she got nerfed in the TYBW arc as she's clearly been a main character throughout all rest of the anime, so it's lovely to be seeing her being put in the spotlight again. I really hope Tite Kubo will fix her character and give her the spotlight she deserves.

[@MelvinDRosaria]

I do love the last idea of the "Ash ball of strings", it's basicly Omaeda's ball and chain, just more deadly. The only thing I would chance is if Rangiku is forced to fully unroll the ball-of-string it would shoot in a rapid speed like a ball of yarn would do when pulling on one end, having it mimic Gin's bankai in that aspect, giving Rangiku a very long ash weapon.

[@Dragonpuncher123]

I definitely like the ash cats ideas the best. Maybe a little on the nose for Kubo, since her shikai is litterally just called ash cat, but you create a lot of fun scenarios with that and it gives a lot of versatility and a unique fighting style where she would be able to use her cats in different ways, like sneaking up on enemies from behind while she attacks from the front. I also quite like that there is a natural connection with Toshiro. He summons a dragon from his element (ice) and she summons cats from her element (ash).

[@rhuanv]

I thought about something that was like a virus. The ash just stays on you no matter what you do to take it off, and it keeps burning. So every hit 'leaves a mark' that keeps burning and burning until that part also becomes ash and consumes the entire body. If you do not defeat Rangiku or counters the power somehow, you'll turn to ash and become a part of the bankai. Kind of sinister, but cool.

[@gravethebeyond]

Number 4 and number 5 are best for bankai ideas. I must say. I loved this video.

[@MrSupedoSpade]

God I love Haineko. It's a gorgeous shikai for a gorgeous character 🔥

[@nickwall1609]

Love all your videos and what you’re putting out! It’s also awesome to see you’re finally getting appreciated with both subs and sponsors. Cause I’ve been a long time subscriber, and my bank account hates you cause you’re the one who finally convinced me to buy manga in bleach, and I have a lot more series now! Please keep up the great work though man!

[@lukemasterblaster7904]

Love all of them, especially the tornado themed ones. Nice video!

[@joshk1418]

Number 5 is great that’s what I thought her bankai could be before you even mentioned you. Great idea and one I can definitely see her using

[@raylauderdale9223]

We can tell he took his time with this one 🔥!!!!

[@ailourosn]

I genuinely enjoy these videos! I love the 6 ideas. I can see it honestly. Also, I know a lot of people say that maybe if Aizen didn't steal a part of her soul, she'll be more powerful - which I agree to - but I think it's Haineko's overall attitude as a CAT. Rangiku can choose to be hardworking etc, and take bankai training seriously, but it's Haineko who has a meh attitude because Haineko is a cat. Kinda like Shunsui and his relationship with his bankai and kinda like Yoruichi's specific cat form that involves mood.

[@zerokura]

While watching the video I was thinking about traps and or land mines. So like that one banki idea um I think it was #4 there be ash everywhere and if the emeny step on the ash or is near an wall with ash it with like form a spike or something to attack. Am picturing matsu being a tactical fighter using um kaido I think the attack spell are called to push her opponents into spots where the ash traps can activate. If she was more of a brawler she could cover herself in a armor of the ash like yachirus kitty cat lighting form but with ash armor that moves to protect her like Garra sand from naruto and sharp ash claws.

[@Fuchsfeuer]

I like the 5 best. I would like to change it up a bit though. That she can't completely pull the ash out of her body in one attack. I would say that the opponent gradually gets more and more of this ash into the body through the body openings and generally via the skin, which is also an organ because the blades are so small that they can be absorbed through it. Gradually, the enemy would slow down and take damage. The muscles would cut and be damaged. The bones. The metal alone in the body would also make the body heavier. The eyesight would become weaker and weaker until it was completely lost. Hearing would also weaken until one is deaf. breathing becomes harder and hurts more and more. the opponent would cough up more and more blood. Sense of smell would diminish. It would definitely be a timed fight. I think this would represent the laziness and indolence of Rangiku well. She doesn't have to do anything on her own, except wait until the opponent can no longer fight and ultimately dies from his internal injuries. In turn, the Bankai would force her to fight her own laziness and endure for a long time, thus coming up with many ways not to defeat her beforehand. Flee and hide, distract the enemy, fight with Kidos. Survive in any case, don't lose consciousness and also don't move too far away from the opponent would be criteria that you would have to meet. In addition, the cat theme also fits very well. She plays with her opponent/victim. Cats love to do this to their prey. Something like blinding someone and restricting their muscles and movements would compare very well. However, the cat would still have to remain vigilant. especially if its victim is still relatively strong and not too weakened, the cat has to be alert and quick so that it doesn't get caught early playing with its food. The relationship with gin also reflects their Bankai somewhat. She needs to be close to her opponent, which Gin has denied her and has moved away from her more. Also that she has to take care of herself, which was important to Gin but not so much to herself over time. A bankai that represents and unites a great desire of herself and one of gin. Maybe even that playful theme too but in a terrible way, which Gin was also very good at.

[@Squad5Koukai]

I love these kinds of videos! I’ve always thought bbs really missed out on doing what if characters, like what if Hanataro became a captain, or what if rukia was a Quincy or stuff like that. Really ties into taking unique and prospective looks into characters

[@sewnmind1786]

I actually had a captain in a table top homebrew that theorized to this. The canon of the game was loose to say the least cause the DM loved to do anime stuff. My captain was a maxed zanjutsu user who wielded Senninbari. It used chains (this was before I read CFYOW) as a shikai that could suppress spirit energy and was a barrier kinda deal. The bankai basically forges one chain to another user, in this case Rangiku and allowed my character to wield Haineko. He only accessed its shikai but at Bankao strength (like Senbonzakura) the blade would turn to ash for an instant and sandblast wherever my captain swung and could also slip around objects that he wanted to avoid.

[@BadPenny3]

Personally, I like number 4 best. A bunch of literal ash cats wrecking things is a great visual. And also, cats are assholes, they would definitely mess with friends as much as enemies!

[@johnnyp9126]

my personal favorite idea would be this: she is engulfed in a cloud of sand almost acting as her new body upon release. with this she is given a speed boost and extra mobility in the air as if she was literally a part of the air as a storm. she then is given 9 lives and everytime she is hit through the sand storm around her she looses a life. but with this she gains even more strength as each life is lost and by her last life she is immensely powerful. the sand also acts as a 6th sense giving her a feeling notifying her when something comes into contact with the sand that has engulfed her. all in all the this makes her very slippery and hard to hit to resemble her cat zanpakto spirit. but she can be countered by an opponent who can quickly get just 9 simple hits on her. with bankai training she could make this very powerful and one of the more powerful bankais in the series but with her laziness i find it hard to believe she would give her bankai the time it deserves. idk who is gonna read all of that lmao but if you do lmk what you think and tommo if you somehow see this i love your videos and lmk what you think of this bankai idea

[@torigaribay2494]

I read it! Haha 😅 I actually like that idea...the "sand" kinda throws me off. I'd like it to also be ash...but the ideas in there are really cool. I love the idea of the 9 lives and becoming stronger after each loss. I feel that vibes super well with her personal character losses.

[@Unknown-cr2rm]

gonna miss the vids tommo hope u have a safe and fun wedding and honeymoon love from the Philippines ❤❤❤

[@nicholas4113]

I like the idea of her bankai being a small house cat made of Ash and anything that comes into contact with it turns into Ash as well. So it just playfully chases and ambushes enemies turning each one into a pile of harmless ash

[@sassyfrenchpotato]

My two favorite character!!! Yumichika and Rangiku are iconic and deserve bankai 💕💅

[@prizum217]

I'd like to think that her Bankai is a combination of Yoruichi's Reishi Cat form and your idea 3 & 5: Matsumoto gains a protective armor of matted and patchy fur that looks like a stray cat, it would be heavy and weigh her down initially. She would get on all fours and this fur would stand up, making it difficult to strike blundly as the fur would pierce opponents. Her front and rear paws would be dense ash that would cleave/shave a target like a blade. As she moves, leaps and, attacks more Ash is created. The ash is her marked territory, basically a cat's scratch marks and shedded fur. The ash starts to break down all material it comes into contact with slowly and creates even more ash that obscures the opponents vision as this hunting game begins. Matsumoto whips the ash into different cat toys: a ball of hardened ash to strike at high speed, a string that ensnares an opponent, a small toy mouse that Matsumoto follows at an unpredictable path. The opponent is distracted by this silly attacks until they realize two things: Their reiatsu is less responsive due to the ash, making it hard to defend or move. Any slashes done by this Ash Cat reduce the material to a destroyed husk, similar to Kami Shini no Yari. Her final attack would be to gather all of the ash into a cube or box shape with her inside and rip the opponent to shreds, much like a cornered animal or a cat that doesn't want to go to the vet. Matsumoto is very winded by this Bankai so once it deactivates she's exhausted and goes back to her normal behaviors. The Bankai would also be weak to water types and she would need to work around the ash being clumped together.

[@Wolfboss7]

All the ideas are pretty good, though surprisingly, #6 is probably my favorite. I feel like it truly captures how creative Rangiku could get with her powers while keeping the cat motif Hineko has. It could also be symbolic of Rangiku gaining full control over her moody Zanpakuto as evident by her being able to use the ball of ash how she wishes.

[@mhz3317]

Thematically the ash cats makes the most sense, but I love the poison bomb idea so much.

[@MarcDestiny]

Your ideas are really cool. I could imagine quite a few of them coming together as different abilities of one Bankai like Byakuya’s or Yamamoto’s. Of course she would have to train her Bankai for years to get it to have two or three abilities.

[@torigaribay2494]

Great idea explorations! I liked the ideas of 2, 4 and 5. I kinda like a combo, if it begins as the shield and the clawing out counterattack is a clawed ash cat perhaps. This could scale nicely, and would make it a little more frighteing that every time someone tried to hurt her, a new cat defender/attacker appeared. She's a fascinating character due to her missing part of her soul. I imagine that if she were ever to achieve bankai without the return of that chunk of her soul, its like she'd have to face that void in herself. I think she drinks/sleeps to avoid it. There is a strong trauma narrative in her character. Since she has become so strong even without part of her soul, I imagine her bankai is kept under her personal healing. This further seals the deal for me why I like a combo of 2 and 4. Her zanpakuto (part of her own soul) could finally defend and advocate for her wellbeing by her facing herself. At captain level, if ever available, the cats could kinda mimic which path she took to face herself...like flame claws for transmuting/regrowing her own soul or caustic lye claws for accepting the seething parts of her temperament.

[@leahcruz9912]

This is da best channel for BLEACH content. Keep up da good work. Thank u MrTommo

[@gallavanting2041]

#5 feels like the best idea because I can see it being presented as just the shikai to bankai transition of Byakuya in presentation, "same thing just more ash" with her fighting doing the same ash manipulation as shikai with more ash volume, all the while concealing the real gin-like poison effect until its built up in their system and it's time to trigger the true bankai effect and end the fight. It feels the most kubo-esque and like the most true homage to Gin.

[@alexanderbering7845]

I don't see why here Bankai can't be all of these things. Like she trains with it and develops all these as techniques like her captain Hitsugaya or Byakuya.

[@DFTNSHEXGRM]

“Rangiku’s growth was artificially stunted forever more..” I dunno, she looks pretty fully grown to me 😗

[@varsoonhks3211]

Really enjoy the accompanying illustrations. This is a fun series. Do Iba Tetsuzaemon or Isane next? They're captains now, you know! I like the idea that they really spent the timeskip training seriously to get those positions.

[@mephistoles2006]

I just love it when he says "mature". it's amazing.

[@theorimeone6548]

I absolutely love these bank theory vids ❤❤😭😭😭😭

[@DoctorWortspieler]

Your #5 is the closest to my own envisioning of Rangiku’s Bankai would be like. The main difference is that in my mind, since ash makes me think of the aftermath of volcanic eruptions, I see Rangiku opening up her Bankai with a huge explosion that leaves her greatly weakened afterwards (like with Soifon), but like in your idea, an ash cloud settles on the vicinity, providing her with cover and slowly killing any survivors with ash sickness. The catch with this Bankai is that the ash is indiscriminate, meaning there is high risk of collateral damage (also making an interesting contrast with Gin’s Bankai, which is a very precise weapon he can use for long periods of time). You know there really isn’t a reason why an aspect of #5 couldn’t be used by Rangiku’s Shikai. For example, when Tres Bestias were caught within Rangiku’s ash tornado, they had to have been inhaling motes of her zanpakutō as well. A flick of the wrist, and Rangiku could have shredded their lungs from the inside.

[@skyrogue1977]

It’s not exactly ideal that her Shikai is basically the poor man’s Zenbonsakura.

[@ktk81]

great ideas! i would say her bankai would encompass all ideas since the ash is so versatile. the form and it power would be dependant of the battle situation.

[@bw5020]

The second idea was something I was feeling and the Gin mark to it? Fittinng

[@神-m1v]

Rangiku bankai is a big bottle of vodka

[@gabrieldossantos1116]

Ah yes alcoholic coma, the most powerful ability of all

[@lucasfranke5161]

Sakegari no Tachi

[@Tensaroxx]

WOW Tomo those illustrations were crazy good are they from manga or you drew them or you got them commissioned?

[@austinnschanke9232]

My idea for her that i always thought would be cool is, the ash covers her body in ash and hardens. becoming a dense layer of armor. and she could use the ash on her body like Rimuru in That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime. transforming her hands/arms to blades made from ash.

[@q-tip9962]

I liked how there was a bit of a parallel between Rangiku's and Gin's Zanpakto, specifically when Gin explicitly states that for a brief moment Shinzo turns into dust and can leave a piece of itself in its victims. As a bit of a reveal that he has always been aligned with Rangiku.

[@RealFirmament]

All of these ideas are good! I can imagine Rangiku's bankai starting off as the 3rd idea, and then becoming more of a combination between that and the 5th idea as she masters it. The 1st, 2nd, 4th and 6th ideas sound more like techniques of the Bankai than the full power to me.

[@gabrieldossantos1116]

In the original fight with the Biestas I always wondered why didn't she just made the ash go inside their noses and rip them from inside lol that would be badass as hell even if Rangiku still lost. Instead cutting a non-vital spot seems kinda lame

[@OddEyes1]

I think it’ll just be like Senbon Zakura where the bankai is just more of the Shikai, in this case ash. How it works is probably like how Gaara from Naruto uses his sand where there’s so much ash that rangiku can use them to attack and defend

[@hunorpapp8758]

I like these. Only think I could come up with is the ash becomeing gunpowder

[@akcland5349]

This may sound like a cop out, but I’d say most of the above combined. To explain- I think the Bankai itself will look like your cloud of ash covering the battlefield idea, it acts as a smokescreen and allows her to attack freely with the ash. I think the rest of what you mentioned would be techniques she would use after releasing Bankai, rather than acting as the Bankai itself. The ash sphere of protection makes sense as a technique (though I doubt it’d have an auto attack response), the tornado of ash makes sense as a technique, and the ash taking different forms such as a cat or ball make sense as well. Breathing in the ash and utilizing it similar to Deidera’s C4 is interesting and I think would make for a good “ultimate technique,” once she gained full mastery over it. The idea that it requires a build up of ash on the field to activate is a great idea as well. If Kubo were to take these ideas and combine them like I mentioned I’d be extremely happy with that reveal. To understand Bleach at this level and formulate very practical and probable Bankai based on that understanding is pretty awesome imo. Not many on KZbin have that level of knowledge and understanding imo. Probably why I watch this channel instead of others. When someone knows as much as I do about the series and has the ability to illustrate their ideas I’m automatically impressed. When they also make sense and have good points, where I can disagree, but totally understand why they came to that conclusion, then I’m even more impressed.

[@aytgh]

Ash Cat Warrior Princess: a Bankai that gives Rangiku an armor made out of Haineko's ash similar to Yoruichi's Shunko Raiju Senkei: Shunryuu Kokubyoo Senki as well as Rukia's Bankai.

[@micah459]

I literally had the same idea for Rangiku as your 5th one 😂

[@xerynyes1366]

watch you for a long time, just subscribe cuz i appreciate the grind you been doing lately, lots of really interresting videos, thx for posting quality bleach content mrTommo

[@UNKNOWNxMorganLordia]

I love the 2nd and 5th ideas. Crazy stuff

[@galaxymythic5564]

I went to the anime expo 2023 and Masakazu Morita the Japanese voice actor of Ichigo confirmed that there will be original content that was not added from the manga to the upcoming tybw... I won't spoil anything ... I saw the trailer super awesome and the original content that tite Kubo had in mind is going to be anime yeaaah!!!!!

[@in-craig-ible6160]

The sponsor for this video just made me want a Bleach console game even more...

[@prjndigo]

ash: eletrostatics strong enough to weld things in place, immense heat resistance as well as ability to generate heat, abrasiveness especially in fluids could be tuned to cling to something as well but: Nekomata can cause people to become enraged and attack their friends/each other. Shapeshift into people so maybe mimic an opponent or Matsu herself. Two tails. Bakeneko develop static charges when pet and have one tail. Has Haineko shown 2 tails in use? It appears to be single tailed on the hilt.

[@Lupinemancer87]

Let's remember that Bankai are generally just an updated version of the Shikai, so her Bankai will at least still be Ash based.

[@gabrielrasilva]

The thing is her power is ash or ash is a medium? Like yamamoto his power is not fire but heat, he produce so much heat that his reatsu apears as flames,

[@aragaminightmare9527]

I always assumed it would be similar to Byakuya's bankai, but with a twist, perhaps whatever the ash touches turns into more ash.

[@a.t.6610]

I mean, yes, but it still allows for quite a difference in concepts, usually. For example, Soi Fon's Shikai is essentially a poisonous bee-sting that becomes a two-hits death if hit at the same precise spot twice. It's small, subtle, precise, sneaky, etc. Her Bankai is basically "Eat this gigantic and over-the-top nuke and die in one-hit this time by being blown by a freaking missile dude". There are things tying the two concepts together, but there's obviously lots of leeway. And that's just one example. Lots of other characters are in the same boat.

[@m.ravich1109]

I was thinking about ability to change the ash into solid metal at will. Something as 3rd Kazekage's magnet style. From the ash create solid shield, spear, wall, sphere or anything. Also it would fit lazyness (ash is lazy and becomes solid) and Gin's bankai (solid ←→ ash)

[@kennethmiller1080]

I'd LOVE to see an arc with the non captains (non 3rd seats or lower) saving the day

[@yolkednick9286]

Personally i like your idea of the bankai activating when theres enough ash in the environment. However, i believe theres a hidden aspect to her shikai. As she uses it it convergs all things to ash that it touches. The ground, plants, rocks, enemies, etc. Think of it like gaara using his Chakra sand to create more sand from the environment. Once enough ash has been created her spirit awakens as she calls bankai. Then the ash becomes dense and falls to the ground coating everything. Enemies reactions would be like what was the point.. but Rangiku can now do a plethera of things. Cut them to ribbons, explode the ash, use the ash as a shield, use the ash to hold enemies in place, make condensed spikes that shoot from the ground. Thats how i would invision her final release. Biggest drawback it does not distinguish friend from foe

[@yolkednick9286]

Meaning if she uses any of the bankai techniques around allies, they would simultaneously be afflicted with whichever technique she uses

[@DextrHavenV]

My idea for her bankai is it has 2 modes defense and offense. In defense mode the ash cloud not only blocks line of sight it is also much denser to the point it masks spiritual presence and greatly muffles sound. The ash's greater density allows Ragiku to create stronger walls give her the chance to use an enemies own attacks against them. While Rangiku and any allies will be unhindered, the down side is Rangiku cannot use her bankai in an offensive manner so she must rely on her kido or allies to do damage. In offensive mode the ash becomes invisible and takes the form of spinning discs and drill like spears, acting like a cat's claws and fangs. While in this mode Rangiku has only has her basic defenses and kido for protection. Another weakness of her bankai is switching modes requires her to call back all the ash leaving her with neither modes benefits.

[@gadlicht4627]

Two more ideas: a weak fire that spreads and seems harmless but generates more ash, this ash in fact is what she can use to attack. As fire grows so does ash. It weak fire and takes little power, it’s slow and lazy but can become devastatingly powerful. Another one is she becomes ash herself

[@timlozoya1573]

I think her becoming the ash is an interesting evolution. She could behave more like the summon cats you mentioned, but attacks on her pass through her. She is vulnerable when she strikes as she has to coalesce to hit. Dispersing the ash with an explosion also forces her to coalesce into a tangible form. The opponent does still breath in the ash and those techniques apply as well. In wind she can counteract dispersal by limiting the range of the cloud, attacking similar to shikai but with denser attacks. If water gets involved a kind of clay forms and the hits become more of a bludgeon dealing more damage albeit easier to block. Fire and other elements have no meaningful changes to the Bankai.

[@3000deaths1]

My bankai idea is similar to the 5th one you purposed, except instead of it exploding when inhaled, it explodes on sudden movement like a match on a brick igniting into an intensely hot explosion mirroring the flame that made the ash in the first place. Of course, Rangiku would be able to control the ash, however as a result of its increased lethality, it no longer has the ability to float. Pros, slows down combat considerably, removing speed advantages Screws most low defense opponents. Makes densely pact areas death traps. Con, drops the sharp nature of the blade, decreasing versatility. Virtually useless in sky battles.

[@MrGksarathy]

One idea I'd have is that Rangiku herself becomes an ash cat akin to Yoruichi's final Shunko transformation, and it would probably be as unstable since Rangiku would also act more like a cat.

[@zerokura]

I had the same idea plus I was thinking the ash would be like Garra sand armor from naruto where I'll move to spots automatically to block damage and she could form ash claws. But I don't really seeing her being much of a brawler type.

[@MrGksarathy]

@@zerokura I was kind of doubling down on Rangiku's pre-existing bakeneko references, and maybe she isn't a brawler, but rather has an ash tongue and tails of ash in the vein of a bakeneko.