Tite Kubo's hit shonen series Bleach has an exciting combat system based on several key factors, from monstrous spirits called Hollows to the kido spells that black-robed Soul Reapers use. Most of all, though, Bleach's combat system is centered around soul-cutting swords, or zanpakuto. Every major story arc and fight involves zanpakuto.
These swords can be categorized in a number of ways, such as between Soul Reaper and Arrancar zanpakuto, but the main classification system is between melee and kido-type zanpakuto, each of which have their own merits. There are also some zanpakuto that blur the line between these two broad categories.
Melee-Type Zanpakuto -- Blades, Staves & Chains For Mortal Combat
Melee-type zanpakuto are those whose shikai and bankai released forms alter the zanpakuto's shape but do not otherwise grant it additional properties. Put another way, a melee-type zanpakuto is not "enchanted," and cannot do anything that its physical form wouldn't suggest. A bladed shikai is simply a bigger and better cutting tool, and even a melee-type bankai is simply a slicing or smashing tool on a larger scale. These zanpakuto are not "magical" in any sense, aside from their ability to change shape and boost their lethality when their command words are spoken.
For the most part, melee-type zanpakuto may seem redundant with kido-types, or at least slightly inferior, but melee types are not to be underestimated. Even if these zanpakuto have straightforward shikai and bankai modes, their destructive potential may be vast, with Ichigo's own zanpakuto, Tensa Zangetsu, being the prime example.
Zangetsu's bankai is a thin, compressed blade with extraordinary cutting power and speed, and even most kido-type zanpakuto cannot keep up. Meanwhile, Renji Abarai's zanpakuto, Zabimaru, has a long and bladed whip mode for shikai and a massive bankai that can emit destructive spirit energy from its mouth, despite being a melee-type. Meanwhile, Kenpachi Zaraki's shikai, Nozarashi, is a massive cleaver that can slice a massive meteor with impunity.
Kido-Type Zanpakuto -- The Most Diverse Class Of Zanpakuto
Unlike melee zanpakuto, kido-type zanpakuto have unique abilities and properties when their shikai and/or bankai are activated, and the shikai and bankai always have a thematic connection. A kido-type zanpakuto will have special abilities far beyond what their physical forms might suggest, and their bankai, even more so. As per the name, many kido-type zanpakuto have an ability or trait that would be more typical of a kido spell, either offensive or defensive. Kido-type zanpakuto must be considered case by case since they vary so widely.
Captain Kaname Tosen of Squad 9 has Suzumushi, a kido-type that's based on the five senses. Its shikai can emit a tone to overwhelm the opponent's hearing and knock them out, and the bankai can nullify all of the opponent's senses except pain and touch, giving Tosen a formidable advantage. Tosen's bankai includes Suzumushi's sealed form, so Tosen can cut and stab his opponent with it.
Wabisuke is Izuru Kira's zanpakuto, which reflects Squad 3's grim philosophy regarding combat and killing. This zanpakuto's shikai doubles the weight of anything it strikes, with no upper limit, and thus the opponent is soon rendered too heavy to fight. In that sense, Wabisuke "curses" the opponent into submission. Meanwhile, Captain Sosuke Aizen's shikai, Kyoga Suigetsu, creates convincing illusions to fool his enemies, while Captain Kurotsuchi's bankai is a massive living thing that can emit poison gas and even self-destruct.
Blurring The Line Between Kido & Melee Zanpakuto
Some zanpakuto don't fit exactly into either the melee or kido categories, and some of them seem evenly split between these two styles, proving just how flexible and diverse zanpakuto design can be. Captain Byakuya Kuchiki's own zanpakuto, Senbonzakura, is like that, possibly so it can serve as a broad introductory weapon to show Ichigo and the viewers how zanpakuto work. Senbonzakura's shikai form scatters a thousand tiny blades across the battlefield, and they resemble cherry blossoms based on how they catch the light. The bankai is a scaled-up shikai, and notably, Byakuya can conjure hundreds of swords to form an enclosure, trapping his opponent. He can also use his bankai's final form to receive a pair of white kido-like wings.
Other zanpakuto also blur the line, such as Captain Soi Fon's Suzumebachi, a stinger that delivers instant death if it strikes the same body part twice, and Haineko, the ash-based shikai of Rangiku Matsumoto. However, regardless of formal classification, any zanpakuto's shikai and bankai can be effective and deadly if the wielder understands and trusts their zanpakuto as a partner, and not just an unthinking tool. That is the key to mastering one's zanpakuto.
