Who is the bounty? Bleach Anime-Exclusive Enemies Explained

The Bount arc may not be the most popular in Bleach, but these anime-only villains do pull off some impressive feats that fans should know about.

Of the many groups in Bleach, the Bounts are probably one of the most hated by fans, since they originated from the anime's exclusive "filler" arc. However, that doesn't mean they should be completely ignored, as Bounts actually had some impressive accomplishments in the first place.

Like the Visored, the Bounts are not a naturally occurring group, but the result of a soul social experiment gone wrong. While trying to find a way to grant souls immortality, a device in the experiment overflowed with energy and accidentally irradiated some souls who were reincarnating into the world of the living. These souls become gifts of the god of the dead and can become immortal by feeding on the souls of the living or dead. It is said that Bont is the origin of the vampire myth, and Bont was eliminated from society because of this. Bounts cannot reproduce, so all Bounts in existence are the direct result of that experiment hundreds of years ago. Finally, Bounts are still human-based and thus able to die by means other than old age, so most Bounts are wiped out around the same time As Quincy, and mostly by Soul Society.

Some Bounts are copies of the artificial spirits used in the research, which in turn were based on the researchers' own. As a result, all bounties boost the psychic powers of Bleach-like Soul Reapers, and can summon their own psychic weapons, simply called dolls. Most Bounts can summon these dolls on their own with minimal training, but others need the help of some kind of talisman called a Crest to focus their powers. Summoning puppets can be dangerous, as puppets have spirits of their own and could kill Bundt if they aren't strong enough. Bounties that consume souls often grant power boosts in addition to life extensions, and they're also able to manipulate psychic particles in a Quincy-like fashion, which allows them to use their nearby environment to heal local wounds like their soul society. They also use Germanic terms to describe many of their abilities, as the Quincy family did.

The Bounts Bost a Few Incredibly Powerful Members

Bount's most famous character is their leader, Jin Kariya, who was animated by Tite Kubo. Kim is tough Live with a "survival of the fittest" mentality, believing that strength is essential. Any Bond he deems too weak will be killed, and King sees no moral issue in gaining power by consuming human souls. Jin is also very smart and was the mastermind behind Bount's attack on the Bleach's Soul Society, which he did as revenge for what they had done to him and his people. The attack was actually moderately successful, marking the first large-scale invasion of Soulworld, but nearly all of the Bundts were wiped out. The only survivor known to exist is Jin's former confidante Go Koga, a stoic man who prides himself on his identity as Bount. Despite surviving, Koga was never seen again.

While Bleach's Bount arc may not be fan-favorite, it does fit well with the other arcs, as it's between the original Soul Society arc and Bleach's Hueco Mundo/Arrancar arc, and is closely related to Soul Society's arc fits into a less-than-perfect image. Fans looking for more Bleach that skips the arc should give it a try.