Summary
Despite being defeated and turned into zombies by their rival Quincy, the fallen Death Captains proved stronger and fiercer in battle than when they were alive. Hitsugaya, Kensei, Rose and Rangiku demonstrate their exceptional fighting skills even in their zombie state, with Hitsugaya even using his Zanpakuto and creative ice spike attacks. Although these Shinigami can be restored to normal life, the way to do so is unknown, leaving them with no choice but to continue fighting as zombies for the time being.
Warning: Spoilers for Bleach: The Thousand-Year Blood War, Episode #23Bleach: The thousand-year blood war has seen several Death Captains defeated by their rival Quincy Sternritter, but some of these fallen captains seem to be better off than before.
Kensei and Rose are two of the former Visored who returned as captains in Soul Society after the Arrancar arc ended. They previously fought Mask de Masculine in the Millennium Blood War, but both captains were ultimately defeated by the wrestler-themed Quincy. The same happened to Toshiro Hitsugaya, who was defeated by Bazz-B in a particularly brutal manner and left for dead. However, none of the Soul Reaper Captains actually had a chance to die, because Sternritter Giselle appeared and turned them into her zombies.
Bleach’s Soul Reaper captain fights better as a zombie
The zombie-turned Hitsugaya immediately proved himself to be a huge threat and would have actually succeeded in killing Mayuri Kurotsuchi had the latter not used a special drug that sent him into a time loop. Despite being a zombie, Hitsugaya can still use his Zanpakuto with ease and even perform some creative attacks, such as using his powers to create ice spikes on the knees before going in to attack with them. Kensei and Rose (and Rangiku) were also revealed to have been turned into zombies, but Mayuri was able to wrest control of them from Giselle and give it to herself.
When Mayuri deployed zombies Kensei and Rose against Sternritter PePe, the two proved very vicious, with Kensei pulling out his Bankai to mourn the Quincy. This is actually a change made in the anime, as in the manga Kensei does not use his Bankai to defeat PePe but instead uses his bare fists. Although Byakuya was quite disgusted with their current state, there was no arguing: their performance in battle was clearly better in zombie form than when they were alive. If they are capable of using Zanpakuto, and even Bankai, in this state, it might be better to do as Mayuri suggested and leave them as zombies until the defense of Soul Society is over.
Kensei, Rose, Rangiku, and Hitsugaya were all apparently turned into zombies before they died, as were Giselle’s powers, which made them better zombies. That means these Soul Reapers can be restored to normal lives, though the question of exactly how to do that remains unclear. It may take time and Mayuri’s research to figure out how to do that, so these four may have no choice but to continue being zombies for the time being. It’s a bit ironic that being turned into a zombie actually turns these things on Bleach warriors into better fighters, but given the circumstances Soul Society finds itself in, any increase in power is welcome.