Biggest Losers Of Bleach’s Thousand Year Blood War

Summary

• Shuhei Hisagi’s reputation suffers.
• Sajin Komamura’s sacrifice doesn’t pay off.
• Rose fails to shine like his fellow captains.

Stakes in Bleach have never been higher than they are in the Thousand Year Blood War. This epic battle between the Soul Reapers and Quincy pushes every member of the respective groups to their limit. While this launched a few of the characters to greater heights, for others, their efforts made them look a little foolish.

Many characters would struggle to recover their reputation after the events of the arc for their unique reasons, so let’s take a look at what exactly went wrong for them, despite all the hype they had going into this conflict. These are the biggest losers to come out alive, or not, from Bleach‘s Thousand Year Blood War.

Warning! Spoilers Ahead!

1 Shuhei Hisagi

Hisagi Continues To Be The Punching Bag Of The Soul Reapers Unfortunately

• First Appearance: Episode 21

Hisagi has become somewhat infamous among the fandom for being used as little more than a punching bag in recent arcs. It can be easy to forget that Hisagi was once presented as being a pretty strong warrior in the Fake Karakura Town arc, even unleashing his Bankai, but in the final arc, he’s borderline useless.

After being pummeled by Masc De Masculine, Hisagi then barely manages to fend off the Bambis and ends up being mind-controlled by none other than Pepe, resulting in him being bested by Byakuya. Needless to say, this wasn’t Hisagi’s greatest showing in the series.

2 Sajin Komamura

Komamura Paid The Ultimate Sacrifice To Achieve So Little

• First Appearance: Episode 24

Komamura’s humanization technique may have been a power-up that was incredible to see in action, but the sacrifice this captain ultimately makes doesn’t amount to all that much in the story. While Bambietta was easily taking out regular Soul Reaper troops with her attacks, she was still only one of many Sternritter who had invaded and was even considered weaker than many of his comrades, like Gremmy and As Nodt, for example.

Despite this, Komamura unleashes his Bankai, while also paying the ultimate sacrifice of becoming a wolf to unleash enough power to destroy Bambietta. Though it is implied that Komamura wanted to go straight for Yhwach in this form, the fact he gases out while still so far away from him ultimately gets in the way of his entire plan.

3 Rose

Rose’s Dazzling Bankai Ultimately Amounts To Nothing

• First Appearance: Episode 122

Though Rose does get a decent showing in fighting off a few Quincy grunts during the first invasion, he meets his end not long after, leaving him absent for much of the arc. After a jaw-dropping Bankai reveal, Rose makes the crucial mistake of explaining how the technique works in full detail to his opponent.

After Masc buries him with a barrage of punches, Rose is out for the count. Not just that, he also becomes a zombie who Mayuri manages to save later on. Rose failed miserably to reach the heights of his fellow captains in this arc, though he certainly went out with style.

4 Bambietta Basterbine

The Leader Of The Bambis Is Taken Out Pretty Quickly And Then Zombified

• First Appearance: TYBW Episode 6

The Bambis are a zany and creepy group of Sternritters who actually play a big part in the final arc. Most of them, at least. While Lillittoto, Candice, Meninas, and Giselle all go on to have several battles across the series, Bambietta meets her end at the hands of Komomura, her first real fight.

After falling in battle, she then becomes zombified by her friend Giselle and is treated horribly by her new master. Despite being the leader of one of this unique group, Bambietta doesn’t amount to much whenever she’s on screen, though she’s still become a fan favorite in the series.

5 BG-9

A Mysterious Sternritter Who Was Utterly Humiliated

• First Appearance: TYBW Episode 5

When BG-9 first appeared on screen fairly early on in the arc, this mysterious metallic monster seemed like one of the most intriguing Sternritter that had appeared yet. Unfortunately, mere minutes after his reveal, BG-9 gets blasted into oblivion by Soi Fon after she uses Bankai, and in the anime, he is later humiliated for his failure.

It feels as though fans were treated to only a glimpse of BG-9’s true power, begging the question of what this unique Quincy can really do in a battle. It’s a testament to author Tite Kubo’s character designs that a throwaway villain such as this can look so incredible, but it’s a shame BG-9 ended up being such a waste in the end.

6 Genryusai Yamamoto

The Leader Of The Gotei 13 Suffered A Devastating Defeat That Cost Him His Life

• First Appearance: Episode 24

It’s sad to admit it, but Yamamoto, the head of the Gotei 13, amounted to very little during the epic final confrontation with the Quincy. In fact, his feats amounted to killing one Quincy, which used up his entire Bankai, before then being sliced in two, leaving the Soul Society in despair.

In Yamamoto’s defense, it could be justified that the display of his immense strength was the moment that forced Yhwach to back off. However, it doesn’t do much to justify how little Yamamoto achieved, despite his Bankai activation being one of the best moments in the series.

7 Chad

Chad Still Can’t Seem To Keep Up With Ichigo And The Others

• First Appearance: Episode 2

Chad just can’t catch a break. While Orihime does manage to contribute quite a lot to helping Ichigo take on Yhwach numerous times in the final arc, the same can’t be said for Chad. Outside of blocking a rain of Quincy arrow from hitting Ichigo, and a few wild punches thrown here and there, Chad really doesn’t do much in this arc at all.

Still, it is nice to see his conversations with Ichigo which do amount to a few heartfelt moments, especially when they discuss the situation with Uryu. Chad himself though, once again, gets dealt a bad hand that makes him look a little weak compared to his friends.

8 Ganju Shiba

Ganju’s Moment To Prove himself Ended Up Somehow Making Him Even More Forgettable

• First Appearance: Episode 22

When Ganju suddenly joined the gang to head up to the Soul Palace, it seemed like he had a point to prove. Ganju was cut down at every turn during the Soul Society arc, but this could be a chance to show what this spunky guy can do with his sand-based abilities and a random assortment of weapons.

While Ganju does come with a map of the Soul Palace, that’s ultimately everything he offers, along with a smoke screen that is waved off by Yhwach. In the anime, Ganju did succeed in sinking the Schutzstafell with quicksand, but it still feels as though Ganju saw no boost to his reputation among fans from this arc due to an embarrassingly weak showing of the character.