Anime vs DC · City to planet
Ichigo Kurosaki vs Raven
Two teenagers with a demon inside them, both trying very hard to stay in control.
Tale of the tape
| Bleach | Universe | DC |
|---|---|---|
| City to planet | Tier | City to planet |
| Soul Reaper, Hollow and Quincy powers in one | Strength | Soul-self projection, dark magic and empathic powers inherited from a demon |
| Hates hurting people, even enemies | Weakness | Her father’s darkness grows when she loses control |
| 5–0 | Record on Versus | 0–1 |
The Arena
Ichigo was hunting a Hollow through a strange gate when he crashed through a window into Titans Tower, landing in the common room in his black Soul Reaper robes. A pale girl in a dark hooded cloak looked up from her book and narrowed her violet eyes. “You can see me?” Ichigo asked, surprised. Raven closed her book. “I can see your soul. It has something dark inside it.”
Ichigo scowled. “So do you.” Raven’s eyes flashed red for a moment, then returned to violet. “Mine is my father,” she said quietly. Ichigo was silent. “Mine is a Hollow,” he said finally. “It’s kind of a long story.” Raven looked at him for a long moment. “Show me how you control it.”
Ichigo raised his sword. “Only one way I know how.”
Round One
Raven raised her hands. “Azarath Metrion Zinthos.” Dark energy surged out of her, black tendrils wrapping around Ichigo and throwing him into the wall. He broke free with a slash of Zangetsu and fired a Getsuga Tensho, and Raven caught it in a shield of dark magic.
They fought through the tower, Raven’s magic against Ichigo’s sword. She was calm, controlled, every movement precise. He was raw power, swinging his giant blade with enough force to cut through walls. Raven’s soul-self, a giant raven made of shadow, rose behind her and swept toward him.
Ichigo cut through it, and Raven gasped, staggering. Her soul-self was part of her. Ichigo realised he had hurt her more than he meant to.
The Turn
The pain broke Raven’s control, and her father’s power surged up through her. Four red eyes opened on her face. Her shadow grew huge, filling the tower, darkness pouring out of her, and her voice became deep and terrible. The other Titans would have recognised it immediately: Trigon was trying to come through.
Ichigo felt the demon’s power, ancient and vast, and his own Hollow stirred inside him in response. He felt it pushing to take over, to fight darkness with darkness. He gritted his teeth. “Not now,” he muttered. “She needs help, not another monster.”
He released his Bankai instead, his blade turning slim and black, and moved faster than the darkness could follow.
The Finish
He did not attack Raven. He cut through the darkness around her, again and again, faster than it could grow, until he reached her at its centre. Then he put the flat of his black sword gently against her shoulder and said, “Hey. You’re still in there. Come back.”
Raven’s four red eyes flickered. The voice of her father screamed inside her. Ichigo did not move. “I’ve got one too,” he said. “It wants to take over all the time. But you don’t have to let it.” Slowly, the red eyes closed, one by one. The darkness collapsed. Raven fell to her knees, exhausted, her violet eyes returning.
She looked up at him, shaking. “You didn’t attack me,” she whispered. Ichigo sat down beside her. “You didn’t need beating. You needed someone to remind you.” They sat in the wrecked common room, two teenagers with monsters inside them, and for the first time in a long time, neither of them felt like a monster.
The verdict
Ichigo Kurosaki wins
Raven is a powerful sorceress and Trigon’s power nearly takes her over, but Ichigo’s Bankai speed lets him cut through the darkness faster than it grows, and he helps her regain control instead of fighting her.
- Bankai speedIchigo outpaces Raven’s dark magic.
- ControlHe resists his own Hollow and helps her resist her father.
- Raw powerGetsuga Tensho and Bankai overwhelm her defences.
How the rematch could go differently: A Raven who fully embraced Trigon’s power, at the cost of her own soul, would overwhelm Ichigo completely.
Who do you think wins?
Who would win in a fight between Ichigo Kurosaki and Raven?
Ichigo Kurosaki wins. Raven is a powerful sorceress and Trigon’s power nearly takes her over, but Ichigo’s Bankai speed lets him cut through the darkness faster than it grows, and he helps her regain control instead of fighting her.