
While a few Bankai techniques—like Ichigo’s Tensa Zangetsu, Byakuya’s Senbonzakura Kageyoshi, and Renji’s Hihio/So’o Zabimaru—get the attention they deserve, many others are used only once to add excitement to a fight or save a character from defeat. Even more disappointingly, some Bankai are reduced to being tools used (and lost) in battles against powerful enemies like the Espadas and Sternritter. For these Bankai, any screen time is a welcome change, as some haven’t been shown at all. Certain weapons and abilities are simply too impressive to be used just once in the long-running story of Bleach.