The Most Stubborn Bleach Characters

Summary

• Character stubbornness in Bleach leads to severe consequences and steadfast dedication to personal beliefs.
• Ulquiorra, Riruka, Jugram, Grimmjow, Uryu, Yhwach, Aizen, and Ichigo all exhibit extreme stubbornness.
• Stubbornness in characters like Ichigo can be both a blessing and a curse, leading to ultimate triumphs and devastating losses.

When a character is stubborn, they will hold onto their beliefs, feelings, and ideology no matter how much other people may try to prove them wrong. This characteristic can be applied to more than a few individuals throughout the series of Bleach, and though it usually results in these characters getting into trouble, it has also been a boon to others who simply won’t let outside influences shake their convictions and determination.

Some of these characters have even taken severe beatings due to their stubbornness, yet still refuse to give up, no matter how close to death they may be after an intense battle. Simply put, trying to get through to these characters can feel like speaking to a brick wall, but among the entire cast, it’s these individuals below who have proven to be among the most stubborn in all of Bleach.

8

Ulquiorra Cifer

Ulquiorra’s Hopelessness Makes It Difficult For Him To Understand The Concepts Of Hope And Friendship

• First Appearance: Episode 113

Ulquiorra is an Espada who represents the concept of ‘nothingness’, and as a result, he has a pretty nihilistic view of the world and everyone in it. While watching over Orihime, Ulquiorra becomes confused as to why the young girl is holding out hope for her friends to save her, since his bleak mindset causes him to steer away from such positive ideas and concepts.

Ulquiorra tries desperately to hold onto his own ideology, but over time, his stubbornness begins to crumble away after he finally realizes what having a ‘heart’ truly means. Still, it took a very long time for him to get there, as for much of the story, he flat-out refused to believe that intangible ideas of hope and friendship were important at all, that is, until the last few moments of his life.

7

Riruka Dokugamine

The Bubbly Fullbringer Will Do All She Can To Hide Her True Feelings And Childish Personality

• First Appearance: Episode 343

From the moment Riruka first lays eyes on Ichigo during the Fullbring arc, it’s clear as day that she has a massive crush on him. However, rather than confessing her feelings, or even trying to get close to Ichigo, she instead puts up a front to appear as stoic and serious as the rest of her group, despite her being obsessed with anything she finds cute.

There have been moments where Riruka has almost let the mask slip, such as when she and Ichigo are heading to the Royal Palace where she adamantly tries to keep a straight face without blushing. With that being said though, she continues to be adamant about not exposing her true feelings, no matter how much she may secretly want to.

6

Jugram Haschwalt

Haschwalt’s Stubborn Dedication To Yhwach Causes Him To Kill His Own Best Friend

• First Appearance: TYBW Episode 2

Living with an abusive uncle and possessing limited Quincy powers, Haschwalt had a pretty rough childhood, to say the least. Despite agreeing with his childhood friend Bazz-B that the two would team up to take down Yhwach, Haschwalt instead decided to join the Quincy King, who had given him a way out of his miserable situation.

It’s therefore understandable why Haschwalt would look up to Yhwach as his newfound father figure, but his unwavering loyalty and stubbornness lead him down a very dark path. Not only does Haschwalt end up killing Bazz-B, who tried to bring him back to his senses, Haschwalt’s mind also becomes corrupted after absorbing the Almighty near the end of the series. While most of the Sternritter would begin questioning Yhwach’s ideals and motives, Hashcwalt refused to let others influence his way of thinking.

5

Grimmjow Jaegerjaquez

No Matter How Many Times He’s Beat By Ichigo, Grimmjow Still Sees Himself As The King

• First Appearance: Episode 116

Most characters who are bested by Ichigo in a fight will accept their defeat and move on, but not Grimmjow. This member of Aizen’s Espada army continues to believe that he is a superior fighter to his rival, despite being humiliated at the end of their second fight in Hueco Mundo.

When Grimmjow shows back up in the Thousand-Year Blood War, he even acts all smug and cocky to Ichigo, assuring the Substitute Soul reaper that he is still waiting for one more match where he can prove his dominance over him. Grimmjow’s stubbornness feeds into his backstory of once being the ‘king’ who, in his eyes, should always be at the top of the food chain, no matter what.

4

Uryu Ishida

Uryu’s Unwillingness To Tell The Others About His Plan Almost Got Many Of His Friends Killed

• First Appearance: Episode 7

During the Thousand-Year Blood War arc at the end of the series, Uryu acts as a double agent who turns on his friends so that he can get closer to Yhwach to eventually help take him down once and for all. Despite the Quincy having numerous opportunities to at least give a hint about his plan, especially in the anime where extra scenes are added, he not only refuses, but even goes as far as to viciously attack his old comrades just to hide his true motives.

While he would eventually spill the beans, this would be much later after he kills Senjumaru, and almost ends the lives of both Ichigo and Renji. Sure, he definitely did an excellent job at keeping his motives under wraps, but his stubborn dedication to the plan resulted in a lot of suffering that could have potentially been prevented.

3

Yhwach

Yhwach Will Do Literally Whatever It Takes To Merge The Three Worlds, Even If It Means Sacrificing His Entire Army

• First Appearance: TYBW Episode 1

Yhwach, the king of the Quincies and leader of the Sternritter, aims to take down the Soul King so that he can merge the three worlds, freeing the entire universe from pain and suffering entirely. To achieve this, Yhwach goes to some extreme lengths, including invading the Soul Society twice, manipulating Ichigo, and even sacrificing almost his entire army just to restore his life energy through the Auswahlen.

In episode 24 of the TYBW anime, it’s revealed that Ichibe actually tried to persuade Yhwach against the invasion, and it wasn’t just him who tried to bring the Quincy to his senses. No matter how many people were doubting him though, even if they were his closest comrades, Yhwach has always remained fully focused on the mission at hand and is willing to obliterate anyone who tries to question his ideals.

2

Sosuke Aizen

Nobody Could Shake Aizen Of His Belief That Killing The Soul King Is The Way Forward

• First Appearance: Episode 23

When Aizen first showed his true colors and turned his back on the Soul Society early on in the story, nobody, not even the Captains that had surrounded him for so long, could shake him of his master plan. Aizen wanted to essentially create a new world by tearing down the Soul King, but despite how disastrous that would be, especially if Aizen himself were in charge of the three worlds, not once did he second guess his way of thinking.

Even in the last few moments of his fight with Ichigo, Aizen continues to scream out about how pathetic everyone else is for not buying into his ideology, all while being locked away by Urahara. Aizen sees himself as a god among men, and even after his defeat, he would continue holding onto this idea for the rest of his days.

1

Ichigo Kurosaki

Ichigo’s Proud And Stubborn Nature Is Both A Blessing And A Curse For The Protagonist

• First Appearance: Episode 1

When Ichigo has his mind set on a plan, he will always see it through, no matter how dangerous or life-threatening it might be. This can be seen right near the beginning of the series when Ichigo decides to barge into the Soul Society and completely disobey all of its laws just to rescue Rukia, despite him being warned numerous times that doing so could have resulted in him losing his life.

His stubborn nature also applies to his battles, where he will continue getting up as many times as it takes to earn a victory over an enemy. Usually, this is a positive attitude that ensures Ichigo never gives up when the going gets tough, but it’s also ended pretty badly on other occasions, such as when he was seemingly killed and transformed into a violent Vasto Lorde when going against Ulquiorra. Despite that, though, Ichigo’s pride and stubbornness have seen him take down some of the most powerful individuals in all of Bleach, making it more of a blessing, but also a curse on other occasions.