First, let's take a look at the characters in both Dragonball and in Bleach.
It's best to start off with the main protagonist of course and that brings us to Ichigo Kurosaki vs Goku, what makes them similar and what makes them different and who truly is the embodiment of their respective anime.
BLEACH
Ichigo is an average 15 year old high school student who first receives Soul Reaper powers from Rukia Kuchiki, before learning that he had his own Soul Reapers powers (unbeknownst to him his father Isshin was a Soul Reaper). Throughout the series Ichigo is constantly working harder and harder to overcome the obstacles placed in front of him: he was too weak to fight other shinigami so he trained, he couldn't fight Byakuya Kuchiki on equal terms so he learned to master his skills and his Bankai to fight on equal terms to save Rukia, he was too weak to save his friends from Arrancar attacks or surpress the Hollow within him so he trained to fix it. One thing about Ichigo that is similar to Goku is that they both always train to become better, however, the reason Ichigo trains is never anything more than to help his friends he doesn't train to find self-satisfaction in fighting others as well. A big thing about Ichigo is that there are many different groups brought up in the series and with the exception of one, he is part of all those groups. He is first and foremost a human, due to his father he received Soul Reaper (Shinigami) powers, he received Quincy powers from his mother, he is taught to use Fullbring from Ginjo Kugo later in the series before becoming a shinigami again, and his shinigami powers are also linked with those of a Hollow. With that giant combination of powers many see Ichigo as an "overpowered" character, yet it's a typical trait shared across most Shonen anime/manga that the main character is "all powerful" for lack of a better word as Goku is much the same. While he has all of these powers it is Ichigo's general humanity that grounds him and makes him a more unique character. You can be afraid that Ichigo will die several times in the series as he has come close to it many times, whereas that is not something that exists in DB. He is a kind, compassionate, yet occasionally ruthless main protagonist of the Bleach series and of the "Big 4" main protagonist's by far the best (yes I'm saying better than Goku, Naruto, and Luffy....disagree, fight me).
Goku is a Saiyan born on the Planet Vegeta who, like many Saiyan children, was sent to other planets to grow up and conquer them for the Saiyan race. Goku was sent to Earth and an unfortunate bump on his head caused him to forget that and he grew up an innocent yet incredibly strong child. Trained in the Turtle style of martial arts by Master Roshi, Goku spent most of the Dragonball series competing in martial arts tournaments. It wasn't until Dragonball Z that it was shown just how unbeatable he really was, as soon as he became a Super Saiyan it became clear that as the series progressed Goku only got stronger and stronger and no matter how strong the villains of the series got, Goku trained so much that he was always stronger.
Winner = BLEACH
DRAGONBALL
While Dragonball does have interesting powers, it doesn't have enough, and while it has transformations they are extremely limited.
Transformations
When you say transformations in Dragonball immediately the one that comes to mind is becoming a Super Saiyan. The transformation itself has 4 main transitions with a few side ones that are exclusive to certain characters, those being: Super Vegeta, Super Trunks, Super Saiyan God Goku, Legendary Super Saiyan (Broly), and the entire Super Saiyan 4 transformation. The main transitions are: Super Saiyan, Super Saiyan 2, Super Saiyan 3, and Super Saiyan God Super Saiyan (now referred to as Super Saiyan Blue). Without a shadow of a doubt the Super Saiyan transformation is a simplistic one with different varieties and that is why we remember it well.
Powers
In the DB universe every main character in the series channels their Ki energy into different techniques, some are physical in nature while some are more explosive or a blast of sorts. Each character able to use these Ki attacks has their own unique one though some are shared through training with teachers. An example being the Kamehameha wave is most commonly associated with being Goku's main attack however it is a technique created by Master Roshi and all students of his Turtle School do have the ability to use it to varying degrees. Therefore: Goku, Krillin, and Yamcha all are able to use that and being his sons both Gohan and Goten are able to use their father's technique as well. Though the powers are awesome, they often receive a downgraded treatment, by that I mean early on in the series you used to see moves constantly but now that characters like Goku and Vegeta have become so powerful that their fists are often more powerful than their blasts or that their blasts have the ability to destroy planets and galaxies means they never get used often anymore. Also all of the non-Saiyan characters took a backseat from the end of the Cell saga onwards so they don't even count anymore.
BLEACH
Powers/Transformations
I figured I'd start with powers first this time because to explain transformations in Bleach it's a little more complex than it is for Dragonball where you just power up and your hair colour changes. The powers in Bleach vary depending on what you are: Shinigami (Soul Reaper), Human, Quincy, Hollow/Arrancar, Bount, or Fullbringer. And many of the powers stem from "transformations" of sorts. One thing about Ichigo Kurosaki is that except for Bount he is a mixture of all those things making him the unique character for powers.
Shinigami: The Soul Reapers all posses a sword known as a Zanpakuto, this sword has its own soul and that is shared with it's wielders own soul, the two work synchronized as one and the wielder is able to use techniques shown to them by their Zanpakuto spirit in the sword's first release, or Shikai, state. And if the Soul Reaper possess a high enough spiritual energy and through training and diligence they can borrow more energy from their Zanpakuto releasing it into its Bankai state. The Zanpakuto also has a lot to do with transformations but more on that. Each Zanpakuto does have it's own initial power in the Shikai state and that's the power most commonly used, for instance, Ichigo uses the Getsugatensho his equivalent to a Kamehameha. All Shinigami also possess the ability to use Kido, a type of "magic" is the best description for it. Kido is classified into Hado, attacking spells, and Bakudo, binding/defenseive spells & there are "other types" which up briefly once or twice.
Quincy: As the manga has ended in Japan, yet not here, I haven`t seen ALL of the Quincy powers from the 1000 Year Blood War arc yet the ones I have seen are interesting. The first techniques you are introduced to are from Ichigo`s friend Ishida. He was able to concentrate spiritual pressure into a bow and arrow that shot and killed Hollows., then slowly but surely different techniques like Spinger where you draw a Quincy cross on the ground to create a bomb or using a sword to drain spirit energy to provide more charge to the arrows Quincies use. Morre interesting Quincy techniques like creating zombies or gatling guns that some of the Sternritter do much later on during the 1000 Year Blood War Arc, like I said having it not all out in English yet I do not know ALL of the Quincy techniques.
Arrancar: The Arrancar are Hollows who have had their masks partially removed and been given Soul Reaper powers, having been given those powers they also have the ability to transform with a Bankai like state and the more powerful ones, the Espada, have what's called a Rescurrecion. All Arrancar also have a technique called a Cero, which is essentially a giant laser, there are slight variations on that depending on the person using it.
Fullbringers: There are a total of 7 Fullbringers in Bleach, including Ichigo's friend Chad, each of whom has a "fullbring" because their mothers were attacked by Hollows before they were born. Their fullbring are also all different almost depending on their personality and all attached to a specific important thing to them. Chad for instance has always had an important reliance on his arms, thus when he discovered his fullbring it was done with both of his arms one meant for attack and one defense.
There's a simple way to explain the transformations in Bleach. BANKAI. As I mentioned, any captain or anyone with a high enough spiritual pressure is able to through a connection to their sword's spirit perform the sword's Bankai state, this is the transformation in Bleach. Unlike in DB where all transformations are just hair changes and palette swaps, each Bankai is extremely unique to the individual. Ichigo's Bankai, Tensa Zangetsu, changes his uniform and his sword from a big broad sword into a katana that confines all of the attack power of a Bankai into his sword so all of his speed and other physical attributes increase. And Toshiro Hitsugaya's, Daguyrn Hoyurinmaru, lets him grown wings and a tail of ice on his back and his hands, there are also three flowers on it to determine it's length (I believe). Here are 10 Bankai and all Resurreccion that someone has created their own lists for, I do believe personally there are others that I find cooler yet these are not bad lists with good videos.
Though in Bleach, all Soul Reapers have a Zanpakuto that is able to transform twice first into it's Shikai then Bankai states, however you are only able to obtain Bankai through rigorous training, dedication, and truly connecting as one with the soul of your Zanpakuto. It is not a given that Soul Reapers are able to ever obtain Bankai and those that do have tremendous Spiritual Pressure worthy of becoming a Captain in the 13 Court Guard Squad (Gotei 13), that every soul reaper has the ability to use Kido powers helps put them on a fairer playing field even though there are those that surpass others. Also, none of the characters powers become useless. Chad is still using his Fullbring in the final arc, Ishida stills uses his Quincy powers, Inoue her healing, all the shinigami use their various Zanpakuto's from Rukia & Renji to Toshiro and even Head Captain Yamamoto. No power becomes useless and transformations change, Ichigo even finding a way to control his full demonic Hollow power by the end of Bleach.
Winner = BLEACH
DRAGONBALL
- Red Ribbon Army
- Emperor Pilaf
- Martial Arts Tournament
- Garlic Jr
- Martial Arts Tournament 2
- Saiyan Saga
- Frieza Saga
- Return of Garlic Jr Saga
- Android Saga
- Cell Saga
- Buu Saga
- God of Destruction Saga
- Future Trunks Saga
- Multiverse Saga
BLEACH
- New Shinigami Arc
- Soul Society Arc
- Bount Arc
- Hueco Mundo/Arrancar Arc
- New Captain Amagai Arc
- Zanpakuto Spirit Arc
- Fullbring Arc
- 1000 Year Blood War Arc (Manga Only)
Winner = BLEACH