VS.
Welcome to our final Bleach Kombat Round featuring our main protagonists ~ Liu Kang from MK & Ichigo Kurosaki from Bleach. If you recall, the MET Trilogy was handpicked + judged by MechG and, since it's my Birthday ~ I'll be judging today's final BK Round. BK Month has been an exciting month, but do not fret ~ MechG and I will continue to collaborate when possible. We have ideas on what franchises can go toe-to-toe against Bleach, but if you recall the 2nd half of Bleach Hakusho Month, it was very VERY uneven. If I made BH Month just 1 month, then it'd be fair. What MechG and I want to explicate (explain) is having a balance of Bleach vs. Another Franchise and NOT making it one-sided. For the 2nd half of BH Month, it clearly was one-sided since Bleach won every Round. It almost was one-sided for Bleach Kombat, but wouldn't you know it ~ MK bounced back up and is giving Bleach the fight for it's life. That is why the criteria for judging is based on 3 things:
1) Potential of Character
2) Full Plate/No Plate of Character (Story, Powers, & Impression)
3) Hypothetical Route (Technically speaking)
Without further ado, I'd like to conclude BK Month on a strong note and give my honest impression on who'd win in a fight between these 2 heroes. Following after BK, BCC will officially start. As always, the following will be incorporated in our Rounds: Story, Powers/Abilities, & Final Verdict. I'd like to thank you all for following us on our Bleach Kombat journey. Let's jam!
Story (Ichigo Kurosaki)
Ichigo's character constantly is revolved around his history. He had a loving Quincy mother who died trying to protect her son from a hollow attack, a father who is a member of the Shiba Clan & former 10th division Captain, and two twin sisters who are spiritually aware of Spirits & Hollows. Ichigo was once a happy little boy up until her mother's demise and since then, he constantly is reminded of that day. His father still mourns over her loss, but knows that there's more work to be done in the Kurosaki household. Ichigo is childhood friends with Tatsuki and later makes a promise with Chad to protect him if he does the same for him. Ichigo is a renowned fighter growing up and to this day, is still challenged by various delinquents because of both his strength and his trademark orange hair. Since enrolling in school, Ichigo has made many friends - Keigo, Mizuiro, and the love interest herself, Orihime Inoue.
In order to protect his family from danger, Ichigo made a pact with Rukia and became the 2nd Substitute Soul Reaper. Rukia's involvement in Karakura had a big influence on Ichigo's life - going from a regular teenager to a Shinigami fighting off Hollows and eventually ~ other Shinigami (Byakuya & Kenpachi), Bounts (filler), Arrancar (Grimmjow & Ulquiorra), Manifested Zanpaktou (filler), Reigai (filler), Fullbringers (Ginjo & Tsukishima), and, currently, Quincy (led by Yhwach). Ichigo, at first, was tasked in fighting off Hollows in Karakura Town, but soon Rukia is taken away and Ichigo has to save her before her execution. Later, it would be explained that Rukia's Gigai body holds the Hogyoku, capable of breaking the boundaries of Shinigami & Hollow. It wouldn't be long before Ichigo meets the Visored, who inform him of the Hollow within him. After conquering his Hollow powers & getting stronger, Ichigo's primary enemy became Aizen up until he defeated him after the Hogyoku rejected him. After Aizen's defeat, Ichigo lost all his Shinigami and Hollow powers and was now back to being a regular human. However, the battle wasn't over as Ichigo met a newfound enemy - The Fullbringers. Ichigo was thought to have lost after receiving his fullbringer powers, but Rukia comes back and saves Ichigo by giving him Shinigami powers. Ichigo would soon come to learn of the history behind his mother's death, who is father is, and who the Gotei 13 are currently facing - The Wandenreich. Ichigo's hidden Shinigami powers have resurfaced and it's up to him to once again save the day before the Human World & the Soul Society collapse. He has twin Zangetsu(s) and is now back in the Soul Society (after training and getting stronger in the Royal Palace) fighting the TGPZ Sisters while also protecting Kenpachi from harm. Ichigo currently is heading towards the Royal Palace to confront Yhwach and prevent any more casualties.
Story (Liu Kang)
Orphaned as a kid,
Liu Kang was taken in by the Order of Light hidden in the mountains of a
province in China to train under the martial arts teaching patented by the
Great Kung Lao. Liu impressed the monks with his talented utilization of the
martial arts and eventually caught the attention of the thunder god, Raiden.
Raiden saw great potential in Liu Kang and saw the young Shaolin Monk as
possibly Earthrealm’s last hope. He took Liu Kang to Outworld to see the
martial arts drunken master, Bo’ Rai Cho. Cho further enhanced Liu Kang’s
martial arts skills and taught him to do the Flying Kick. After spending his
early years training under the martial arts, Liu Kang earned a top spot in the
White Lotus Society and as the 10th generation of Mortal Kombat
approached, Liu Kang was chosen to represent Earthrealm by the Shaolin
grandmasters to compete in Mortal Kombat on Shang Tsung’s island. He promised
not only to defeat Shang Tsung, but restore order in the tournament.
Aside from himself,
Liu was accompanied by two other warriors to represent Earthrealm: movie star
and martial artist, Johnny Cage and Special Forces lieutenant Sonya Blade and
the three shared a bond and an oath to protect Earthrealm at all costs. Though
it is unknown how many opponents Liu Kang faced in the tournament, he earned
his right to battle the defending champion, Goro. Liu Kang put the four-armed
Shokan to the test, pushing his boundaries until overconfidence got the best of
Goro and Liu Kang defeated him, putting Outworld’s 9 tournament winning streak
to a halt. After being crowned the new champion, Liu Kang challenged Shang
Tsung. The two engaged in a fight of epic proportions until Liu Kang bested the
sorcerer and finished him off with the Flying Kick technique Bo’ Rai Cho taught
him. After the tournament, Liu Kang returned to the temples only to find many
of his Shaolin brothers killed by the Tarkatan horde under orders from the
Emperor, Shao Kahn. This heinous act angered Liu Kang as he decided to go to
Outworld along with his fellow White Lotus friend, Kung Lao, Raiden, Johnny
Cage, Jax, and Sub-Zero (Kuai Liang). While venturing into Outworld, he
encountered Shao Kahn’s adopted daughter, Kitana and fell in love with her. Liu
Kang saw through Kitana’s motives to overthrow Kahn and agreed to do so to be
involved to make that a reality. Again, not much is known how many opponents
Liu Kang faced in the tournament in Outworld, but he manages to beat Shang
Tsung in a rematch in front of Shao Kahn, beat another Shokan, Kintaro, and
beat Shao Kahn despite Kahn’s overwhelming power. After defeating Shao Kahn,
Liu Kang hastily retreated back to Earthrealm via portal as the Emperor ordered
an all-out attack on the Earthrealm warriors. Before the invasion, Liu Kang and
Kung Lao began training a new generation of Earthrealm warriors. During the
invasion, Liu defeated Shang Tsung once again and challenged Shao Kahn in
Mortal Kombat with intense rage after Kung Lao’s supposed “death” at the hands
of the Emperor. Kang bested Kahn once again and left the Emperor and his
Outworld forces weakened as they retreated back to Outworld, effectively ending
the merger. When the Fallen Elder God, Shinnok ascended from the Netherrealm,
Liu Kang was called upon again to defend Earthrealm as its champion and assist
Raiden against his old god nemesis. Liu Kang bested the Elder God and though he
won, he had regrets of failing to save Kitana and Edenia from the Netherrealm’s
forces. However, Kitana appeared in front of Liu Kang’s eyes and he was offered
a seat to sit by Kitana to rule as potentially King and Queen, but Liu Kang
respectfully declined in order to continue to serve as Earthrealm’s grand
champion. After pretty much MK1-MK4, Liu Kang took a backseat as the
main protagonist as he was eventually killed off by Shang Tsung and Quan Chi,
the Deadly Alliance while he was meditating. He would return again as a
supporting character in Deception
where his soul was free from Shang Tsung’s grasp after his “demise” during the
battle against the Dragon King. However, Raiden was reincarnated into a
corrupt, vengeful god after his sacrifice and reanimated Liu Kang’s body
without his spirit and sent it on a rampage. Liu’s spirit felt remorse for his
own actions and he found out his once deceased comrades were resurrected and
under Onaga’s control. Liu’s spirit enlisted the help of the soul-structured
ninja, Ermac to free his friends from Onaga’s control and bring his own corpse
under control. After teaching Shujinko some of his moves, Liu Kang set out on
his two tasks and successfully freed his friends from Onaga’s control although
he still had to reunite both his spirit and body. Liu’s spirit stayed close to
Kitana due to their strong, affectionate bonds with each other and Kitana kept
his spirit in tact until his body and soul could be reunited. His corpse was
still on a rampage, bent on exacting revenge against Shang Tsung. During the
race to Argus’ Pyramid, Liu’s corpse battled Shang Tsung close to the top
although both of them didn’t make it out alive, well only Liu Kang’s corpse
didn’t make it out, but his soul survived. In MK9, Liu Kang would still win against Shang Tsung and Shao Kahn in
the tournaments, but he was accidentally killed by Raiden as Raiden was
pleading with Liu to ensure Shao Kahn’s merger with the realms was successful
so the Elder Gods could intervene, but Liu Kang’s distrust in the thunder god
and his vengeance for Kitana and his fellow Earthrealm warriors’ death caused
his own demise. It’ll be unknown if he’ll return for MKX.
Powers/Abilities (Ichigo Kurosaki)
Ichigo, being a Shinigami/Quincy hybrid, is easily one of the strongest characters in Bleach and is considered a special war potential to the Quincy. As a Shinigami, he was capable of both Shikai & Bankai, Shunpo, and being an expert swordsman. However, he also is capable of Hollowification ~ amplifying his power to that of a great or equal extent to a Captain-level Shinigami. Probably the most famous of Ichigo's techniques is Getsuga Tensho, a black wave of condensed spirit energy. After defeating Aizen, he temporarily lost his Shinigami powers and completely lost his Hollow powers, later to learn about Fullbring ~ only later to have it taken from him by Ginjo Kugo. Rukia and various other Shinigami gave Ichigo another opportunity, but Ichigo soon would come to realize that his actual Shinigami power was actually his true Quincy power. He had to find his Asauchi and soon, he has a newfound form of his Zangetsu & his newfound Quincy powers (capable of using Blut Vene). At the heart of it all, Ichigo is a Shinigami/Quincy hybird, the son of Shinigami Isshin & Quincy Masaki.
Powers/Abilities (Liu Kang)
Of all the main
characters, Liu Kang is able to deal twice amount of damage to an opponent than
any regular playable character, certifying him as one of the most powerful
characters in the side of good in the MK franchise.
Kang possesses great agility, acrobatic skill, and abundant knowledge in the
martial arts excelling in notable martial arts fighting styles such as Karate,
Jun Fan, Pao Chui, Jeet Kune Do, Choy Lay Fut, Monkey, and Dragon. He did wield
a sword in MK4 called the Dragon
Sword, but in the later games as a zombified corpse, he uses chains and
Nunchucks. It is said during the games Liu Kang often meditates to retain or
improve his strength and notably, he is driven by anger, will, and
determination as evident in his battles against Goro, Shang Tsung, and Shao
Kahn also since he possesses the title of Mortal Kombat Grand Champion, Liu
Kang cannot age until he is dethroned. Liu Kang can manipulate fire, shooting
fire ball projectiles shape like that of a small dragon’s head and can
shapeshift into an actual Chinese Dragon to bite half of his opponent’s body
off, which is one of his notable fatalities. His other notable ones include the
Deadly Uppercut, where he cartwheel kicks his opponent and uppercuts them, though
it is not a gruesome fatality, it reflects Liu Kang’s character and his
dedication to the Shaolin teachings of valuing the preservation of life and
respecting his opponent. However, he would develop more violent natured, but
not gruesome fatalities such as his Dragon fatality mentioned, Incinerate where
he disappears and morphs himself as living fire to burn his opponent and
reappear and the Soul Invasion, a reflection of his zombified state where his
body transforms into a spirit and possesses his opponent’s body and letting
him/her rip his/her own head off.
Verdict (By Stillmattic)
And the winner is...
Boiling down to who'd win this fight came down to one of three things ~ Potential, Full Plate/No Plate, or the Hypothetical Route. Liu Kang from MK may/may not return to MKX due to his demise in MK9 whereas Ichigo is still alive and we have yet to see how his battle will be against Yhwach + just how much powerful he's gotten. To me, this is the Full Plate/No Plate scenario where I see Ichigo's plate is full, but there's still stuff piling on that makes that plate even heavier than it should be ~ building a character arc while still giving him depth on the gravitas of his role. Detailing Ichigo's life, Ichigo's strength stems from his duty to protect his family & friends. The same can be said with Liu Kang from MK, but when I see Ichigo's growth as a character throughout the series ~ I think there's more to his development than Liu Kang because, of course, Bleach is still continuing weekly whereas with MK, you'll have to wait for the next game and it'll become a 50/50 gamble. Ichigo gained, lost, and gained again Shinigami/Quincy Powers, but those powers of his always resided him. The blood of the Shinigami/Quincy Hybrid lies within our Strawberry hero. That is why Ichigo's character has so much depth ~ his mother's death, his father's origin, the reason why he resembles Kaien Shiba, and the fact that his sisters are now involved ~ it all stems from Ichigo's backstory defining who he is and what'll he eventually be ~ Gotei 13's hero. As much as I like Liu Kang, I just didn't see much development in his character and, whereas Ichigo was created by Tite Kubo himself, Liu Kang pays homage to the legendary martial artist Bruce Lee (which isn't bad, but when you have creation vs. inspiration, I'd think a creation has more of an impact that a character whose based off someone). The extent of Ichigo's powers is still unknown and I think he'll mop the floor with Liu Kang because....ICHIGO WINS....FLAWLESS VICTORY!
1) Jax Briggs vs. Yasutora "Chad" Sado ~ MK (July 4th)
2) Jade vs. Yoruichi Shihoin ~ Bleach (July 7th)
3) Johnny Cage vs. Mask De Masculine ~ MK (July 9th)
4) Sonya Blade vs. Sui-Feng ~ Bleach (July 11th)
5) Kenshi vs. Byakuya Kuchiki ~ Bleach (July 14th)
6) Mileena vs. Bambietta Basterbine ~ Bleach (July 16)
7) Kung Lao vs. Uryu Ishida ~ Bleach (July 18th)
8) Reptile vs. Sajin Komamura ~ Bleach (July 21st)
9) Sektor vs. Renji Abarai ~ Bleach (July 23rd)
10) Sindel vs. Tier Harribel ~ MK (July 25th)
11) Sub-Zero vs. Rukia Kuchiki ~ MK (July 28th)
12) Baraka vs. Grimmjow Jaegerjaquez ~ Bleach (July 30th)
13) Fujin vs. Candice Catnipp ~ MK (August 1st)
14) Quan Chi vs. Toshiro Hitsugaya ~ MK (August 4th)
15) Scorpion vs. Ad Nodt ~ MK (August 6th)
16) Goro vs Kenpachi Zaraki ~ Bleach (August 8th)
17) Kitana vs Orihime Inoue ~ MK (August 11th)
18) Shang Tsung vs. Kisuke Urahara ~ Bleach (August 13th)
19) Raiden vs. Genryusai Shigekuni Yamamoto ~ Bleach (August 15th)
20) Shao Kahn vs. Baraggan Louisenbairn ~ MK (August 18th)
21) Onaga vs. Yhwach ~ MK (August 20th)
22) Shinnok vs. Aizen Sousile ~ Bleach (August 22nd)
23) Liu Kang vs. Ichigo Kurosaki ~ Bleach (August 25th)
Final Score: Bleach wins 13-10 against Mortal Kombat.
Also be sure to check out MechG's Sports Blog ~ http://trueraiderlaker.blogspot.com/
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