With Season 2 of the Thousand-Year Blood War Arc anime adaptation in full swing, fans of the Bleach franchise may be ecstatic to see Ichigo Kurosaki and the rest of the Shinigami bounce back against the threat of Yhwach and his Steinritter Quincy. While much of TYBW involves the Shinigami Captains regaining or showing off their Bankai and Ichigo finally coming to terms with his origins, some Bleach fans may be wondering how their favorite characters are faring with Soul Society and the rest of the world hanging in the balance.
Sadly, despite Tite Kubo’s monumental Bleach finish, fans think some characters were left underutilized throughout their stint in the series. Whether through underexposure or not doing enough with their screen time, certain characters seem more relevant or robust than what the series implied.
10 Soul King
The Most Powerful Being Who Can’t Affect The Plot
| First Appearance | Episode 374 |
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While the Soul King is anticipated as a background character due to his nature as a deity, his initial appearance as a compassionate nigh-omnipotent being threatened the balance of the universe’s worlds. When the Five Great Houses sealed the Soul King, his parts and powers were restrained to prevent further actions that could upset the balance of souls.
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Despite this lengthy backstory, the Soul King’s importance is downplayed when his immovable (but still powerful) body couldn’t stop Yhwach from stealing his essence. The lack of activity or meaningful dialogue from the Soul King makes him a MacGuffin that doesn’t further Yhwach’s stake in the plot.
9 Uryu Ishida
The Quincy Friend Without Development In The Quincy Arc
| First Appearance | Episode 7 |
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| Roles & Status | Quincy Ichigo’s Ally Former Sternritter Alive |
Despite Uryu Ishida being a mainstay in Ichigo’s main roster of allies, much of his meaningful character development was lost after sacrificing his powers in the Soul Society Arc. Granted, Uryu had his fair share of awesome moments and power progression. However, these rarely tie to his nature as a character.
Uryu didn’t get much screen time in the final arc, even as it tackled his supposed origins as a Quincy. His Antithesis Schrift as a Sternritter that “reverses” damage had the impression of being an on-the-fly power boost. His fight against Jugram didn’t give him any chance to shine as a character, and his assistance to Ichigo’s defeating attack against Yhwach seemed rushed.
8 Nelliel Tu Odelschwanck
Big Role In Her Arc, But Nothing Afterward
| First Appearance | Episode 145 |
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When fans first see Nel in the Hueco Mundo Arc, the crybaby child becomes Ichigo’s charge in his quest to find Aizen. While Ichigo has defended Nel against threats, his fight with Nnoitra Gilga proved too much. When all hope is lost, Nel reappears in a grown woman’s body, to Ichigo’s surprise. Nel was in fact the amnesiac Nelliel Tu Odelschwanck, the former 3rd Espada.
With her memories and skills restored, Nel makes quick work of Gilga. Unfortunately, this is the one time Nel makes any meaningful contribution to Bleach’s plot. In TYBW, Nel reappears to rescue her friends from Askin’s poisonous Gift Bereich, but she does nothing of note afterward.
7 Tessai Tsukabishi
Best Kido User Who Didn’t Go To The Frontlines
| First Appearance | Episode 6 |
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A shop isn’t complete without its shopkeeper. While Kisuke Urahara owns the eccentric Urahara Shop, its primary shopkeeper is Tessai Tsukabishi. Despite his appearance as a typical clerk, Tessai actually served as the Captain of the Kido Corps. In fact, Tessai is considered one of (if not) the best Kido users in Soul Society.
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Unfortunately, the Arrancar Arc barely did justice to Tessai’s character, since he’s the only Visored to not show up to assist Ichigo in the battle against the aforementioned beings. Not only that, Tessai didn’t have any meaningful involvement in the final arcs.
6 Rangiku Matsumoto
Strong Enough For The MacGuffin, But Not The Plot
| First Appearance | Episode 24 |
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Fans may know Rangiku Matsumoto as one of the pinnacles of fanservice in Bleach, courtesy of her figure and assignment as the lieutenant of the child-like Toshiro. She’s a skilled swordfighter and tactician among the Gotei 13. Aizen chooses Rangiku among souls with potential to be fed to the Hogyoku, which implies she must have power of some relevance.
Rangiku was also established to have spent time as Isshin Kurosaki’s lieutenant during his tenure as Captain of the 10th Division, and she was Gin Ichimaru’s childhood friend. Unfortunately, none of these hooks ever led to Rangiku receiving proper closure.
5 Jushiro Ukitake
Keeper Of A MacGuffin Who Didn’t Get To Use It
| First Appearance | Episode 9 |
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As with other Captains of the Gotei 13, the life of Jushiro Ukitake of the 13th Division has ties to the deeper history of Soul Society. Unfortunately, he is one of the more underexposed Captains in the story. Ukitake mostly kept to the sidelines throughout the series, and his fights were largely uneventful.
It didn’t help that Ukitake revealed a loaded backstory in TWBW: a sickness in childhood that he only survived courtesy of being host to the Mimihagi, the Right Arm of the Soul King. While he sacrifices his life to summon the entity to help Soul Society, the deed barely makes a dent in Yhwach’s, plans as the antagonist absorbs Mimihagi later on.
4 Unohana
Strongest Swordfighter Who Didn’t Fight The Enemy
| First Appearance | Episode 24 |
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Unbeknownst to others, healer Retsu Unohana of the 4th Division was also known as Yachiru Unohana, the first to bear the title of “Kenpachi.” She was Soul Society’s most notorious criminal for her immense bloodlust. It’s revealed that a young Zaraki could have claimed Unohana’s title with his skill, but his hesitation to go all out held him back.
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In the story, Kenpachi had to kill Unohana to “overcome” his fear. However, it’s barely explained how Unohana transitioned from bloodthirsty Yachiru to caring Retsu. Not only that, her skillset equaling Kenpachi’s should have let her defeat some of Yhwach’s lieutenants in the final arc. Her absence from the front lines may have resulted in unnecessary deaths.
3 Karin Kurosaki
Sister Brimming With Untapped Potential
| First Appearance | Episode 1 |
| Powerset | Supernatural Awareness |
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If Ichigo’s heritage revealed during TYBW explains his spiritual potential, then would the same be shared by his sisters such as Karin Kurosaki? Among his younger siblings, hard-headed Karin has been the most involved in Soul Society affairs. With innate spiritual awareness and above-average spiritual power, Karin can not only distinguish between spiritual creatures, but also has enough physical strength to overpower weak Hollows.
Despite knowing Ichigo is a Shinigami, showing Karin running some errands for Kisuke Urahara teased unfulfilled development. It didn’t help that, in the Lost Substitute Shinigami Arc, Karin told Kisuke she didn’t mind if Ichigo lost his powers, as it’s now her turn to protect him.
2 Sado Yasutora
Becomes A Punching Bag
| First Appearance | Episode 2 |
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Sado Yasutora unlocks his powers through his devotion to help not just Ichigo, but also his friends. Unlike Uryu, who is a Quincy, Sado shares a similarity with Orihime as humans who unlocked their latent psychic potential. Unfortunately, Sado suffers not just from lack of development, but also failure to fulfill his story arcs.
Sado’s presence as proof of human perseverance fails to follow through. Fights that he wins are usually setups for stronger foes for Ichigo and others to defeat. He receives barely any development in the Fullbring Arc that’s supposed to expand his power set, and the finalarc didn’t give him any time in the spotlight.
1 Tatsuki Arisawa
The Childhood Friend Left Behind
| First Appearance | Episode 2 |
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Among Ichigo’s human friends, Tatsuki Arisawa is perhaps the most left out when it comes to his spiritual adventures. Tomboyish and protective of her friends, Tatsuki is Ichigo’s childhood friend and karate partner. Among Bleach’s characters on Earth, Tastuki’s status as a renowned martial artist and karate champion should give her some potential as a fighter.
It doesn’t help that Tatsuki possesses not just spiritual awareness, but enough spiritual power to resist being spiritually eaten by Yammy’s Gonzui and being extinguished in the presence of Aizen. Unfortunately, Tatsuki is constantly left out of Ichigo’s adventures and even got an off-screen recap of events after Aizen’s defeat.
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