In the world of Bleach, there are three main powers that often oppose one another. The Shinigami who reside in Soul Society, the Quincy who often live either on earth or in their Wandenreich, and lastly, the Hollow who either appeared on Earth or roamed their own dimension, the Hueco Mundo. What most people may not realize, however, is the fact that there are other special beings who hide themselves in plain sight while carefully building enough power to achieve their ambition. They are called the Fullbringers, and this is everything that you need to know about them.
Who Are The Fullbringer
Every object, no matter the size or what type of object it is, has a soul. The Fullbringer are humans who have a high-affinity with the souls of inanimate objects. A Fullbringer can not only see and feel those souls, but they can also manipulate it to some extent. This unique ability allowed them to control the objects so that it can display all kinds of useful effects, such as moving the water in a glass without touching it or manipulate the land where they stand in such a way so that it can help them jump higher or run faster.
Fullbringer is not a teachable skill, because there is a specific condition that differentiate a potential Fullbringers from a regular human. When a woman is attacked by a Hollow and survives, there will be a trace of Hollow’s power reside within her, which later on will be passed on to her child. The child that is born with that Hollow’s power are those who can be a Fullbringer. That is why Fullbringers powers are closer to a Hollow than to a shinigami.
While a Fullbringer can manipulate the souls of every inanimate object, the effect is even greater if that object has a special place in their heart. Be it affection, pride, or any other kind of emotions, as long as there’s a strong feeling attached to that object, then a Fullbringer can display all kinds of powerful effects, such as a pendant that can turn into a large claymore or a gaming console that can affect reality.
The Role of Fullbringer In The Story
After his fight against Aizen at the end of the Arrancar Arc, Ichigo Kurosaki lost his shinigami power. Not only that, he basically loses all spiritual abilities. He can’t even see Hollows anymore. And that is when a man named Kugo Ginjo approaches Ichigo with the promise of helping him get his shinigami powers back by introducing Ichigo to the world of Fullbringer.
As it turns out, Ginjo is the leader of Xcution, a secret organization for Fullbringers. There, Ginjo, along with the other members of Xcution, teach Ichigo to awaken his Fullbring powers. Much to his surprise, two of his friends, namely Orihime and Sado, are actually Fullbringer as well. Later on, these two also helped Ichigo a lot during his training.
It takes quite some time, but Ichigo finally awakens his Fullbring ability by turning his shinigami’s badge into a full-body armor. Unfortunately, the members of Xcution turns out to be an enemy who intends to steal Ichigo’s power and exact vengeance on Soul Society. But then some of the Gotei 13 captains show up and help Ichigo defeat the Fullbringers. Not only that, they also help Ichigo merge his Fullbring powers with what’s left of his spiritual powers, which lead to Ichigo getting his shinigami powers back, and becoming stronger than ever.
Some Notable Fullbringer in Bleach
There are a lot of powerful Fullbringers featured in the Lost Shinigami Substitute Arc. But here are some of the most notable ones.
- Kugo Ginjo. Ginjo is a human with a latent Fullbring ability that used to be a shinigami substitute, just like Ichigo. However, once he found out that the Soul Society had been secretly tracking him, limiting his ability, and planning to betray him, Ginjo decided to turn his back on them instead and became a full-fledged Fullbringer. As mentioned above, Ginjo has the ability to turn his pendant into a large sword. This sword is not only super sharp and highly durable, but it can also produce an energy blade that can be used like Ichigo’s Getsugo Tensho.
- Orihime Inoue. Inoue is a Fullbringer who awakens her power without realizing it. Her power, Shun Shun Rikka, comes from a pair of hairpins that she wears every day. These hairpins are actually a gift from his late brother, which is why Inoue has a strong attachment and affection to the hairpins. These feelings and her innate Fullbring power allowed Inoue to awaken her Shun Shun Rikka powers. The hairpins can turn into six little spirits that can be used for defense, offense, and even as a healing ability that is way superior to even the healing technique of the captain of 4th Division of Gotei 13 who is supposed to be a healing expert.
- Yasutora Sado. Sado is in the same situation as Inoue, because he too doesn’t realize that his powers are actually a Fullbring at first. What makes Sado’s power interesting, however, is the object that he has attachment to is actually his own skin. Sado’s grandfather is Mexican, which is why Sado has darker skin, taller, and stronger than a man his age. Despite always being ostracized because of his different physique, Sado is actually extremely proud of his skin. And that’s why his power manifested in the form of a unique armor on both arms that can display different kinds of destructive powers.