The manga versions of both characters will be used. Yoh is ten times or more stronger in the manga presentation as Ichigo is maybe twice as strong.
Bankai Ichigo
Shinigami (known as Soul Reapers in the English version) in Bleach are psychopomps. They are made up of spiritual matter and cannot be seen or detected in any way by normal humans. Their archrivals are the hollows.
The shinigami mainly use soul slayers (zanpakut?) and demon arts (kid?), to fight.
Some shinigami acquired hollow powers using illegal methods; they are known as the vizard.
If a Captain or Lieutenant-rank shinigami travels to the human world, their power level is set to a limit of 20% of their usual strength. They must ask Soul Society for permission to "lift the limit" to release their full power while in the human world.
Hollow
Main article: Hollow (Bleach)
The hollows are the main antagonists of Bleach. They are evil spirits who reside in Hueco Mundo. Like shinigami, hollows are made of spiritual matter, cannot be detected by ordinary humans, and use their internal spiritual power to fight.
All hollows wear masks, except for a recent few created under the influence of former Gotei 13, 5th Division Captain S?suke Aizen. These hollows are called arrancar and have been able to remove their masks and tap into the powers of the shinigami. Although they carry zanpakut?, the manner in which they release their swords is different from the shinigami, in the sense that rather than modifying the weapon, it modifies the body of the arrancar itself.
Shikai: Zangetsu - ?? (Moon Cutter)[2]
Ichigo's zanpakut? is permanently in shikai form because he cannot seal it.
Note: Zangetsu was translated as Kitsuki in the first scanlations of the manga (? - ki; ? - tsuki).
Ability: Getsuga tensh? (Moon Fangs Slice Heaven) - fires a mass of spiritual energy at the enemy in the shape of a blue crescent moon.[3]
Bankai: Tensa Zangetsu - ???? (Heavenly Chain Cutting the Moon) - changes the zanpakut?'s form to a long, thin, completely black sword with a manji crossguard. Concentrates spiritual energy and increases the user's speed drastically.[4] Getsuga tensh? can be used in this form, except it is black.
Spirit: An older man in a black cape or cloak with wrap-around glasses. Ichigo calls him Old Man or Uncle (ossan).[5] The hollow form of Ichigo also reveals itself to be the alter-ego of Zangetsu in a sense. It claims to be the dominant persona of Ichigo's zanpakut? and Ichigo has subdued him, though the hollow forms promises to seize any chance to become the one that controls Ichigo's physical body.[6]
Powers
Ichigo's power as a shinigami is unquestioned. As of chapter 229, he is stronger than most Captain-level shinigami, but still cannot match up against the Espada. According to Aizen and Urahara, Ichigo's most astounding ability is his growth rate. Techniques such as bankai which would take a shinigami with hundreds of years of combat experience at least ten additional years to learn he grasps the basic control of in a mere three days.
Physically, Ichigo is in top form even when not in his spiritual body. Ichigo has been trained in martial arts both professionally (He has been taken to the dojo since he was a small child) and by his father Isshin's constant assaults and surprise attacks when at home. He regularly fought and defeated bullies and gangsters when in high school, and was a better martial artist than even Tatsuki, the second strongest high school girl in Japan, before they were in middle school (although, during their first spar Tatsuki made him cry).
When he is in his shinigami body, Ichigo's already impressive strength is greatly enhanced. He can easily wield his sword Zangetsu one handed, leap several stories into the air, and in one case even punch through 3 lieutenants' Zanpakut? in rapid succession. His raw reiatsu rivals that of some of the strongest captains, characters like Kenpachi and Byakuya, which explains his inhuman endurance.
In terms of fighting style, Ichigo relies mostly on his Zanpakuto, Zangetsu, (See below) and would be considered a Zanjutsu (sword technique) specialist. Ichigo has never been formally taught any Kido, instead prefering straight melee combat. He does, however, appreciate the value of the Shunp? speed boost technique, which he appears to have great natural talent for.
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Zangetsu
Ichigo with the spirit of Zangetsu while wielding his zanpakut?.
Like any other shinigami, Ichigo has a zanpakut?. Ichigo's zanpakut? is named Zangetsu (?? lit. moon cutter or cutting moon), and nicknamed "old man" or "uncle" (???? ossan) by Ichigo, as its materialized form seems to resemble a 30-40 year old man (in Japanese, such men are referred to as "uncle"). Zangetsu has also been called the black-clothed man (???? kokui no otoko).[1]
During his initial sealed state, Ichigo's zanpakuto looked like a giant version of a normal zanpakut?. The large size was due to Ichigo's immense spiritual power, which he doesn't know how to control at the time. It had a rectangular handguard and Ichigo carried it in a giant sheath on his back. It is broken by Byakuya Kuchiki during their first encounter, but Ichigo continues using what's left of it until Kisuke Urahara slices it to bits during his training. This training, consequently, brought forth Ichigo's true zanpakut?, Zangetsu
The shikai form of Zangetsu is an "incomplete sword" with no guard or sheath. It bears the appearance of a giant elegant cleaver. It is as tall as he is, around six feet, and has a black blade and silver edge. Ichigo's zanpakut? is different in that it always stays in its shikai state, possibly because of his high level of power. Upon learning their zanpakut?'s name, most shinigami gain the ability to keep it in its sealed form until they encounter a situation where they need to release their zanpakut?. Ichigo has not yet been able to do this. (Though he may have simply never been taught.)
Ichigo carries his zanpakut? on his back with an unusual sheath that appears as a wrapped up bandage-like cloth, that is generated by Zangetsu himself. When its time to be used in battle comes, the sheath shrinks away from the blade and hangs as a tassel at the bottom of the hilt. Zangetsu's special ability, named getsuga tensh? (???? lit. moon sky-piercing fang), fires concentrated energy blasts from its tip in the shape of a blue crescent moon. Kisuke Urahara forced Ichigo to perfect this ability in order to fight on a shinigami lieutenant's level. Ichigo uses this ability without knowing its name several times, but masters the technique later on when he discovers its name, getsuga tensh?. As stated by Zangetsu, knowing and not knowing the name of an attack makes a difference in the amount of power that it releases.
Zangetsu's cloth has also been used as a weapon by Ichigo's inner hollow, whom Zangetsu summoned. He used it to swing the sword around and attack from a considerable distance; and did so continuously. Ichigo used this himself in order to destroy a massive execution ground (the stand of S?kyoku), implying that the technique can be used to temporarily focus and enhance his power.
The bankai form of Zangetsu, named tensa Zangetsu (????lit. chains of heaven - slicing moon), is considered completely out of the ordinary for any zanpakut?. It consists of an ordinary katana (or a nodachi, as its size is about 175 cm) with a black blade, a handguard in the shape of the manji, which is the kanji for "ban" (full), and a short broken chain dangling as the blade's tassel and replacing the cloth from its shikai form.
As explained by Byakuya Kuchiki, Ichigo's bankai appears to be a compression of his power, rather than a vast expansion as other final releases are. This hugely compressed power enables Ichigo to move at an incredible speed, far surpassing flash steps (shunpo), and gives him an agility and reflexes to match, while allowing him to use his strength to its limits. It appears as though Ichigo has yet to fully master his bankai.
When first fighting using his bankai, Ichigo's inner hollow comes out to fight Byakuya and he tells Ichigo that he can show him how to use bankai correctly. Byakuya comments that Ichigo has been getting progressively slower during the fight - a result of him not being used to the immense boost of power that tensa Zangetsu brings, which is shattering his bones as he fights. It also seems that Ichigo has not yet found any special abilities to his bankai except for getsuga tensh?, which he already knows from his shikai; during bankai, it is in a modified form as Byakuya Kuchiki noted when he called it kuroi getsuga (lit. black moon fang). Contrary to popular belief, kuroi getsuga is not its actual name, since Byakuya was just commenting on the color change it took from shikai to bankai. It maintains the name getsuga tensh?. This move is a mixture of black and red and rather than taking on the shape of a crescent moon it seems to take on whatever shape Ichigo desires as he seems to be able to control its trajectory in the way that Byakuya is able to do with his bankai. Ichigo says it is his hollow self's move, meaning it allows his hollow to start taking over. He also states that if he were to use it more than 3-4 times, his hollow self would completely take over.
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Yoh Asakura
The main character and fiance to Anna Kyouyama. He is easy-going, laid back, and carefree, which causes him to have an open mind and makes him relax in extreme situations. "No one knows what will happen in the future. There is no sense in worrying in something you do not and cannot control, so why bother?" This famous line of his is his philosophy in life, which always shines through in his personality. Yoh's only goal is to live an easy life, and he believes that when he becomes Shaman King, he will achieve that goal. According to Anna, his free-thinking and laid-back nature makes him think "Outside the Box" which makes him a perfect candidate for Shaman King. His guardian ghost is a powerful samurai by the name of Amidamaru. He is the twin brother, descendant, and reincarnation of Hao Asakura. Yoh is part of the Funbari Hotspring Team (Team Asakura in the English anime).
Amidamaru (????) - Samurai that died during the Muromachi period 600 years ago - now is Yoh's ghost companion. He is very powerful and wise but quite taciturn and extremely devoted to "Lord Yoh" ("Y?-dono" in Japanese). He was greatly known around the town of Funbari, where he had died 600 years prior after killing several hundred other samurai soldiers during a battle. He is the original handler of the legendary sword named "Harusame", meaning "Spring Rain", a sword forged by his best friend, Mosuke, who also appeared in the anime/manga as a spirit. This very same sword was reproduced as a "spirit sword" and used by Asakura Yoh during the Shaman Fight. The original was kept in a museum.
Hyoi Gattai (???? Hy?i Gattai) / Integration (English manga) / Spirit Unity or Spirit Fusion (English anime): The simplest technique, the Shaman merges with the spirit in his body. The power of Hyoi Gattai depend on the level of synchronisation and the user's physical state. It needs no furyoku to use, but can be taxing to utilize for novices.
Oversoul / Spirit Control (English anime) : When a shaman uses his or her oversoul, they place their spirit inside a shamanic medium, i.e. the weapon he is wielding. Depending on the shamanic focus used, this techniques' power and effects can vary a lot. Also, the amount of furyoku that the shaman puts serves as a factor.
Giant Oversoul (manga, Japanese anime) / Giant Spirit Control: The Giant Oversoul is a sign of power in a shaman. The spirit is given a gigantic body, constructed entirely from furyoku, with powers relating to whatever the spirit and shaman can create. This technique can be learnt from the Chou Senji Ryakketsu (Tome of the Shaman in the English anime), written by the original Hao Asakura.
Double Medium : A difficult but highly powerful technique. It can be summed up by the phrase :"Two Souls, One Body. Two Focuses, One Weapon". It involves invoking the spirit inside one weapon and concentrating one's strength inside another weapon. The weapons are then combined into one huge weapon capable of dealing very heavy damage This is a technique used by Yoh and Ren; there is no special name for to the resulting oversoul, but some fans label it with what Yoh yells out in the Japanese version: "Amidamaru in Harusame in Futsu no Mitama no Tsurugi!" It should be noted that this is still a form of giant oversoul, but just a new mode that relies on Yoh fighting directly.
Genma Choboku: A spell written by Hao to capture the two Shikigami spirits. Anna is quickly able to learn this technique after obtaining the 1080 beads. She indirectly injures Hao after sealing away his Shikigami.
Spirit Reduction (unofficial name) : This technique is taught to Yoh's party by Mikihisa Asakura. Only Yoh and Ren have mastered it and used it. By reducing the physical size of the Giant Oversoul or Double Medium in Yoh's case, but not the amount of externalized Furyoku, one can considerably power up one's attack. It basically concentrates the Furyoku instead of spreading it throughout the oversoul.
Armour Oversoul : This technique is only seen in the manga. The Shaman uses his medium, spirit & furyoku to create an Oversoul which wraps and protects the body like armour. (eg, Hao's Kurobina, Chocolove's Jaguarman, Yoh's WhiteSwan, etc) This form of Oversoul is introduced only in the last few volumes of manga (around vol 27 onwards)
The Great Spirit's powers / The King of Spirits' powers: The one who wields the power of the Great Spirit is capable of defeating any known Shaman. However, the will of the Great Spirit must not be forced or he will not grant one his full powers (which is how Yoh defeats Hao in the anime).
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Over Soul, or Spirit Control, is the most common Shamanic technique. The ability to master it is in itself the qualification to receive the Oracle Bell, and an entrance to the Shaman Fight.
It involves in summoning the Shaman's Guardian Spirit inside his Shamanic Focus (the weapon he's wielding). The Spirit will then wrap itself around it, giving it a distinct new shape and new powers. The effects of this technique will vary depending on the Shaman (to a lesser extent), the Spirit and more importantly the Focus used. Indeed, most of Yoh's group had a second focus, generally producing a more powerful Over Soul than their first (on the exception of Ryo and Chocolove)
Unlike Integration / Spirit Unity, which stops only when the Shaman can physically stand the fight no longer, the Over Soul drains a particular kind of energy : Furyoku. Depend on how much Furyoku the Shaman decides to unleash, the power of his blows will be stronger or weaker. Sometimes, his control over his Furyoku is out of his grasp : an angry Shaman will have more physical strength but will burn lot more of Furyoku than a completely calm one. Two examples of these effects are Yoh's fight against Faust VIII (where because of his anger he rapidly lost most of his Furyoku, but gave him the willpower to go on fighting) and the final duel between Ren and Yoh (where Yoh was completely calm, thus, more focused).
Over Soul, or Spirit Control, is the most common Shamanic technique. The ability to master it is in itself the qualification to receive the Oracle Bell, and an entrance to the Shaman Fight.
It involves in summoning the Shaman's Guardian Spirit inside his Shamanic Focus (the weapon he's wielding). The Spirit will then wrap itself around it, giving it a distinct new shape and new powers. The effects of this technique will vary depending on the Shaman (to a lesser extent), the Spirit and more importantly the Focus used. Indeed, most of Yoh's group had a second focus, generally producing a more powerful Over Soul than their first (on the exception of Ryo and Chocolove)
Unlike Integration / Spirit Unity, which stops only when the Shaman can physically stand the fight no longer, the Over Soul drains a particular kind of energy : Furyoku. Depend on how much Furyoku the Shaman decides to unleash, the power of his blows will be stronger or weaker. Sometimes, his control over his Furyoku is out of his grasp : an angry Shaman will have more physical strength but will burn lot more of Furyoku than a completely calm one. Two examples of these effects are Yoh's fight against Faust VIII (where because of his anger he rapidly lost most of his Furyoku, but gave him the willpower to go on fighting) and the final duel between Ren and Yoh (where Yoh was completely calm, thus, more focused).
Giant Over Soul, or Giant Spirit Control, is the next step in shamanic combat techniques, after the mastery of Over Soul. Indeed, most participants of the second part of the Shaman fight are able to perform Giant Over Soul for fighting purposes. There are several ways to learn it : by experience (the way most Shaman learn it, although it is quite long to master), or through the counselling of a greater Shaman. The latter is how we first discover Giant Over Soul : When Yoh Asakura and his friends literally immerge themselves inside the Chou Senji Ryakketsu, or Tome of the Shaman written by the original Hao/Zeke Asakura and afterwards, when we first see the Hanagumi, faithful followers of Hao, who achieved their mastery of Giant Over Soul through his direct teachings.
Giant Over Soul consists in giving a tremendous body to one's Spirit, entirely made out of Furyoku. The Shamanic focus is no longer employed to directly fight the opponent, but more to guide the now huge and extremely powerful spirit into attack (not a patch on the Spirit Unity, the very first Shamanic technique) Like the over Soul it drains a Shaman from his Furyoku, however it requires a lot more potential to sustain that shape than Over Soul.
This is not the ultimate perfection in shamanic combat, since the gigantic body can still be thwarted and disrupted by smaller, more concentrated attacks (as Mikihisa Asakura proved to Yoh's party, to which only Yoh and Ren will adapt, using Spirit Reduction). However, most fighters of the second part of the Shaman Fight do not know and use such techniques.
Introduction
Double Medium is a technique that is required of a shaman if, after merging with his guardian spirit, the flow of energy he is trying to externalize is too great. He will lose control over his Furyoku ("furyoku" is a shaman's energy, which he uses to form Oversoul and the giant form), which he will start to burn very fast. He must then uses another weapon, and, in the same way that the Shaman's soul and that of his Guardian Spirit are joint, combine the mediums in one large weapon. Thus, the Shaman can fully tap into his Furyoku potential, and deal much more damage over a bigger radius.
This technique, as can be imagined, can and did bring down great foes in the Shaman Fight. However, it is not by any means the greatest and most powerful technique know to Shamankind. Indeed it was improved through Mikihisa Asakura's Spirit Reduction (unofficial name) technique, and bested through The Great Spirit's powers.
Yoh's Double Medium (manga)
So far, in the anime of Shaman King, Yoh Asakura is the only one who has achieved a "double medium" where he places his guardian ghost, Amidamaru, into his katana (Harusame), and then into the Antiquity (the Futsunamitama). This causes him to have a large, glowing, blue katana with a shielded hilt in the colour of Amidamaru's armour, slightly similar to his Over Soul form. He managed to learn this technique himself, unlike the Over Soul and the Giant form which he learnt respectively from Silva and the Chou Senji Ryakketsu (the Great Book of Shaman written by the original Hao Asakura), brought to Yoh by Anna.
Ko-Oni Strike (???????) - he learned this technique from his grandfather Yohmei and used it when he was 10 years old. Yoh can create three tiny leaf Shikigamis and send them flying towards his target. This is a weak attack however.
Oky? (??)- in the manga, he learned this technique from Anna. By chanting a prayer (the Sankiraimon or Three Refuges Prayer), he can make a spirit to pass on to the afterlife. This technique only works on spirits that have some understanding of or belief in the Buddhist teachings.
Ch? SenjiRyakketsu FumonTonkou (?????-????) - this was taught to Yoh by Anna where a shaman can read the flow of furyoku and determine where the opponent may attack next.
Ch? SenjiRyakketsu MikazukaNoHarae (????? - ?????) - in the manga, this final technique was left to Yoh by Matamune and used this technique to exorcise the Oni Anna created. Matamune had to pass on because of this technique.
ShinkuuBuddaGiri (??????, Celestial Slash in the English anime) - a technique Yoh uses often, he slashes in the air and sends a powerful shockwave (which takes form of a red horizontaly curved wave) to damage an opponent. He can sometimes use it even if he is not combined with Amidamaru.
Gok?Jin (???) - an attack similar to the Shockwave Buddha-Giri. This is Amidamaru's original technique which Yoh performed for the first time in oversoul after coming out from the cave. The first time he performed it was when he used Hyoi Gattai at 100% for the first time against Tao Ren.
Amidamaru Shield (????????)- Amidamaru's oversoul can change its shape and take form of a shield which is similar to the armor Amidamaru wears on his shoulders.
DaiGok?Jin (????) - the attack is like an enhanced version of the GokouJin with a bigger range when Yoh uses the Spirit of Sword.
Oversoul missile- When Yoh uses the double medium, he can launch energy out of the weapon to propel himself towards his opponent. He uses this to attack the Spirit of Fire after it absorbed the King of Spirits.
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