The Most Pitiful Villain in Bleach

There are a lot of good things that can be said about Bleach as a whole, such as the action sequences, the vast variety of superpowers, and the worldbuilding, just to name a few. But the most interesting one has to be the villains. From Sousuke Aizen to Yhwach, Bleach has quite a few compelling villains.

That being said, not all of them have the same quality as Aizen or Yhawch. There is one particular villain from a minor story arc that is not as compelling as those two. In fact, it’s not an exaggeration to say that this particular character is the most pitiful villain in the series. His name is Kugo Ginjo. He is the leader of the Fullbringers and here are the reasons why he's such a miserable villain.

He is Nothing More Than a Disgruntled Ex-Employee

Before he became the leader of the Fullbringers, Kugo Ginjo was a Shinigami Substitute, just like Kurosaki Ichigo. In fact, he was the first person who was given the title of “Shinigami Substitute” by the Soul Society. And just like Ichigo, Ginjo also received the Shinigami Substitute Badge as a way to identify himself from the other Shinigami. It was the best and most exciting time of his life. That is until he found out the true nature behind the badge that was given to him by the Captain of the 13th Division of the Gotei 13, Jushiro Ukitake.

As it turns out, the Badge is not just a proof of identity for a Shinigami Substitute, it is way more than that. Ginjo found out that the Soul Society used the badge to monitor and control those who became a Shinigami Substitute. Everything is transmitted to the Soul Society through the Badge, from the holder's location to everything they said. As if that’s not shady enough, they can also use the badge to manipulate the spiritual pressure of its holder.

Ginjo was so pleased and honored to be part of the Soul Society and serve as a Shinigami Substitute. But once he found out about his badge’s hidden functions, he felt betrayed. So he abandoned his position, hid from the Soul Society’s prying eyes, and vowed to take them down along with everybody who looked down on him. So in a sense, Kugo Ginjo was just a disgruntled ex-employee who felt dissatisfied with his former employer.

He Doesn’t Have the Strength to Achieve His Evil Intention

When Ginjo found out about the true nature of the Shinigami Substitute’s Badge, he was determined to exact his vengeance against the Soul Society. Unfortunately for him, his strength as a mere Shinigami Substitute was not enough to take on a single Gotei 13 Captain, let alone the entire Soul Society. So he began to seek ways to increase his strength.

After years of looking, Ginjo found out about the concept called Fullbring. With this ability, he can transform his beloved pendant into a broad sword that can turn into a massive energy blade. Along with this weapon, he also gained the ability to freely manipulate the spiritual energy of everything around him, including inanimate objects. Not only that, Ginjo also gathered fellow Fullbringers and created a secret organization called the Xcution. Their main goal was to change the world and make it a better place for the Fullbringers.

Although being a Fullbringer gave a tremendous boost to his power, it was still far from enough to take on a Gotei 13 Captain. So he began to hunt low-level shinigamis that were tasked to patrol the human world. He killed every shinigami that was unfortunate enough to meet him and stole their spiritual power through his Fullbring sword.

But then Ginjo found out about Ichigo, another Substitute Shinigami just like him. He knows about the fact that Ichigo lost his Shinigami’s powers and is now uncertain about what he will do next. So Ginjo approaches Ichigo, tells him about the Fullbringers, and teaches him all about the power of Fullbring. Ginjo's real purpose, however, is not to help Ichigo, but rather to steal his power once he has mastered Fullbrings. With Ichigo’s power, Ginjo will finally be able to challenge the Soul Society, or so he thought.

The Easiest Opponent in Ichigo’s Career, By Far

Ginjo and his fellow Fullbringers from the Xcution come up with an elaborate plan to gain Ichigo’s trust and trick him into becoming their ally. However, once Ichigo has mastered the art of Fullbring and unleashed his hidden power, Ginjo immediately steals that newly acquired power and uses it on himself.

It would've been over for Ichigo at that point. Thankfully, Rukia and several captains of the Gotei 13 come in the nick of time and forcefully jump-start Ichigo’s Shinigami’s powers by stabbing him with a katana that is infused with the combined spiritual energies of several Gotei 13 Captains.

Thanks to this, not only Ichigo’s shinigami powers are back, but his fullbrings boost that power even further. Ichigo swings a couple of Getsuga Tensho to Ginjo, activates his Bankai, and then the fight is basically over in a couple of minutes. It is the shortest and easiest final boss battle in Ichigo’s career as a Shinigami.

So in conclusion, even after Ginjo combines Ichigo’s massive Fullbring powers with the stolen spiritual energies that he has been accumulating all these decades, it only takes Ichigo mere minutes to squash his petty evil plot. That’s why Kugo Ginjo is undoubtedly the most pitiful villain in Bleach.

Bleach is available to stream on Crunchyroll.