Bleach is a series that has become renowned for its flashbacks, with them often being long, dark, and incredibly emotional. While they can sometimes seem a little jarring, especially when popping up right in the middle of an intense battle, these types of scenes are extremely important for revealing how a character came to reach their current position, with many of them being real tear-jerkers.
While Bleach as a series is packed full of flashbacks, with nearly every major character having at least one, there’s a select few which are especially sad that end up making the respective character much more of a sympathetic figure to the audience. Get the tissues ready, as it’s time to take a closer look at the saddest flashbacks in all of Bleach, and which really ranks as the most heartbreaking of them all.
7 Chad’s Grandfather
Chad Was Taught By His Grandfather Never To Fight Unprovoked
The silent giant known as Chad is one of Ichigo’s closest companions, but while his large stature can definitely make him pretty intimidating, Chad had made a vow to never use his own fists for violence. Chad would come to learn this from his own grandfather who unfortunately passed away not long before the start of the series, but fans do still get a flashback at who the man was, and his sense of honor and pride that would go on to inspire a young and naive Chad.
Chad’s grandfather steps in the way of several bullies who were hunting him down during his childhood, taking multiple punches in the process and getting himself severely injured, simply to show to his young relative that fighting back isn’t always the answer. Chad would eventually use his power against the likes of Shunsui in the Soul Society, but even then he was showing hesitation, and only did so to protect those he cared about.
6 The Vizards’ Transformation
The Hollowfication Of The Vizards Is A Horrifyingly Sad Scene
During Aizen’s attack on Fake Karakura Town, there is a very lengthy flashback that spans the course of a few episodes, and while there are a lot of reveals that are shown throughout this portion of the story, by far the saddest is the revelation of how the Vizard became Hollowfied. One by one, Shinji and a few other members of the Soul Society were lured out into the forest, before being turned into horrifying mindless Hollows as part of Aizen’s twisted experiments.
The hopelessness displayed by Shinji as he watches each one of his comrades, including his dear friend Hiyori, become the very monsters they had been fighting for so many years is a very distressing and upsetting sight, and it’s admittedly quite a hard watch. It could be argued that this worked in their favor, since the Hollow Masks did grant the Vizards a lot more power later down the line, but the events that led to this are still extremely sad and disturbing.
5 Byakuya’s Wife
A Lot Of Byakuya’s Serious And Stoic Personality Comes From His Tragic Backstory
Throughout the entire Soul Society Arc, Byakuya is presented as a terrifyingly powerful antagonist who possesses an unflinching belief in upholding the law, even if it means that his own sister must be executed as a result. Cold, calculated, and extremely dangerous, Byakuya can be an easy character to hate at first, but it’s when Kubo reveals his traumatic past with his wife that his stern and stoic personality begins to make much more sense.
It turns out that well before the events of the series, Byakuya had fallen madly in love with Hisana, a commoner whom would usually be kept separate from the prestigious Kuchiki clan due to her inferior social status. However, deciding that his feelings should take priority over the law, Byakuya decided to marry her anyway, but their time together didn’t last long as she eventually became sick and begged Byakuya to adopt her sister, Rukia. Ever since, Byakuya had become obsessed with upholding the law, believing that breaking the rules could only ever lead to sadness and despair.
4 Rukia’s Nightmare
Rukia Will Never Forget Her Own Best Friend Being Possessed By A Hollow
Considering that Rukia is literally imprisoned for the majority of the Soul Society Arc, it means that fans don’t get to see her in action much at all, but Kubo does still dedicate some time to exploring her backstory through a flashback which features her late best friend, Kaien. At a time when Rukia was still new in the Thirteenth Division, Kaien was the one who would help het forget about any worries or anxieties she had about becoming a fully-fledged Soul Reaper, with the two forming a very initmate bond.
However, all hell breaks loose when a Hollow that can possess other people’s bodies starts rampaging on the outskirts of the Soul Society. Kaien is the one who decides to take on the fearsome Hollow, but as he begins to get overwhelmed, he is eventually possessed and begins turning on Rukia and the others. Despite regaining consciousness, Kaien only has a few precious moments left of his life after the encounter and, with his final words, assures Rukia that his heart will always remain in his resting place.
3 Yamamoto’s Memories With Sasakibe
Sasakibe’s Untimely Death Makes This Flashback All The More Emotional
The Thousand Year Blood War starts off with a bang as the Sternritter mercilessly wipe out legions of Soul Reapers during their initial invasion, but one unlucky individual who was actually the very first casualty is Yamamoto’s trusted companion, Chojiro Sasakibe. Fans don’t actually get to see much of Sasakibe throughout the series, since the story is already packed full of so many important characters, but Kubo managed to reveal everything fans needed to know through a very heartfelt flashback.
Sasakibe, eager to become Yamamoto’s right-hand man in leading the Soul Society, would eventually push himself to master his Bankai, finally overcoming his master for a split second during one of their many duels. The passionate and youthful nature of Sasakibe clearly rubbed off on his general, who screams out his admiration for his student during the duel with Yhwach. Considering the events that led to his unfortunate death, this flashback really highlights just how devastating his loss is to Yamamoto, with it being the only time we see him truly furious in the series after recounting his memories.
2 Stark’s Origin
Stark’s Immense Power Forced Them Into Permanent Isolation
While all the Arrancar have fascinating backstories, by far the saddest is the tale of Coyote Stark, the number 1 Espada in Aizen’s army. During his intense battle with Shunsui, Stark realizes that he may have finally found someone who could match his immense strength, something he had been seeking all his life.
Stark was once an incredibly powerful Hollow whose power would absorb the souls of anything that was near it, closing Stark off from the rest of their kind. To cure the despair and loneliness, the Hollow seperates into two forms in the hope of becoming “Weak”. By the time Aizen comes across Stark and Lilynette, they’re sitting alone in a circle of dead Hollows. These Hollows hadn’t been killed by Stark though, they simply couldn’t handle the power and died out, proving that even in their weakest form, Stark was still forced to be permanently isolated from the world.
1 Ichigo’s Regret
The Tragic Death Of Ichigo’s Mother Will Always Haunt His Conscience
Ichigo doesn’t have a tangible goal like a lot of his shonen counterparts. Instead, there’s one simple aim he has always focused on ever since the loss of his mother, and that’s to protect those he cares about, no matter what the cost. Early on in the series, Ichigo calls back to a time when he was much younger, and when he still couldn’t tell the difference between the living and the dead.
Seeing a young girl down at the side of the riverbank, Ichigo runs down to catch her, despite his mother yelling at him to stop. It turns out though that this was bait set up by the terrifying Hollow known as Grand Fisher who proceeds to kill Masaki, leaving Ichigo to tremble to the floor in tears, believing that he is fully to blame. Ichigo struggles with this regret for the entire series, and only begins to make peace with the incident by the very end after he has proved that he can reliably defend those close to him.