BLEACH’s Best Official Kenpachi Bankai Figure Set for September Release

Ichiban Kuji BLEACH Stirring Souls vol.5 kenpachi 0Image by Charlotte Davis

Bandai has revealed what is easily the most detailed official figure of Kenpachi Zaraki’s Bankai form to date, recreating the 11th Division captain’s monstrous transformation as the Last One Prize for Ichiban Kuji BLEACH Stirring Souls vol.5.

The new MASTERLISE figure arrives at a perfect time for BLEACH fans, with Kenpachi’s long-awaited Bankai recently making its animated debut during BLEACH: Thousand-Year Blood War – The Calamity as his battle against Gerard Valkyrie reaches its most brutal stage.

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Kenpachi has always been defined by his overwhelming physical strength and obsession with fighting powerful opponents, eventually becoming captain of Soul Society’s 11th Division and inheriting the title traditionally given to the strongest Soul Reaper.

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The Thousand-Year Blood War pushes that strength further than ever after his deadly training with Retsu Unohana finally allows him to stop unconsciously restricting his own power and reconnect with his Zanpakuto, Nozarashi.

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His fight against Gerard eventually forces Kenpachi beyond even his Shikai, with Yachiru placing a hand on him and releasing a new level of power that transforms his skin red, gives him a far more demonic appearance and turns his already enormous physical strength into something almost uncontrollable.

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Bandai’s new Last One Prize captures that transformation at approximately 22 cm tall, making it the largest of the three Stirring Souls vol.5 figures revealed so far and giving the heavily muscled Bankai form the scale needed to properly recreate its imposing appearance.

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The sculpt puts heavy emphasis on Kenpachi’s enlarged physique, torn Shihakusho, and ferocious expression, while the deep red coloring across his skin recreates the almost oni-like appearance he takes on after releasing Bankai.

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It is not the first official figure based on Kenpachi’s Bankai, as Bandai is also releasing a BLEACH MAXIMATIC Kenpachi Zaraki figure in Japan during August 2026.

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The approximately 24 cm MAXIMATIC release gives the transformation its first dedicated figure, but the newer MASTERLISE version takes the idea considerably further through sharper facial work, more heavily defined musculature and a sculpt that better captures the violent appearance of Kenpachi during the Gerard battle.

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For collectors who have waited years to see this version of Kenpachi receive serious merchandise, the two releases arriving so close together suddenly offer very different interpretations of a form that previously had no official figures at all.

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Kenpachi is joined in Stirring Souls vol.5 by the B Prize Toshiro Hitsugaya MASTERLISE, an approximately 12 cm figure that becomes the first official release based on Hitsugaya’s adult appearance after Daiguren Hyorinmaru reaches its completed state.

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The C Prize goes to Yoruichi Shihouin, with the approximately 9.5 cm MASTERLISE figure becoming the first official recreation of her Shunko: Raiju Senkei: Shunryu Kokubyo Senki transformation, better known as her Thunder Beast form.

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Both figures continue the same late-Thousand-Year Blood War focus as Kenpachi, turning three of the anime’s biggest recent transformations into physical releases at almost exactly the same time those moments are reaching television audiences.

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Bandai still has several parts of the lottery to reveal, with the A Prize, D through H Prizes, and Double Chance Campaign reward currently remaining under wraps.

Each entry in Ichiban Kuji BLEACH Stirring Souls vol.5 will cost ¥850 (approx. $5 USD / £4 GBP), with the lottery launching through participating 7-Eleven, Ito-Yokado and Youme Town locations in Japan on September 19, 2026.

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The Kenpachi figure will only be awarded in Japan as the Last One Prize, meaning it goes to the customer who purchases the final remaining ticket at a participating location rather than being available through a standard winning ticket.

US collectors will have a much easier route through Bandai’s separate Ichibansho release, which is currently listed under the temporary name “Character LO” at both GameStop and BigBadToyStore for $79.99 and measures approximately 22 cm tall.

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GameStop currently lists the US release for December 6, 2026, while BigBadToyStore estimates an arrival during November, giving international collectors a direct way to pick up what is shaping up to be the definitive official figure of Kenpachi’s Bankai form without having to chase the Japanese Last One Prize.

PREMIUM BANDAI USA

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