Bleach: Rebirth Of Souls – 8 Characters Missing From The Roster

Summary

• Some fan-favorite characters like Ukitake and Yumichika are absent from Bleach: Rebirth of Souls due to their minimal roles in the story.
• Characters like Kensei and Baraggan were left out possibly due to balance concerns and to focus on more popular Espada members.
• Orihime isn’t a playable fighter due to her healing abilities, making her unfit for combat against the powerful characters in the game.

Bleach: Rebirth of Souls is the first Bleach game released in the last 14 years, and it brings with it a pretty substantial roster of iconic characters, including tons of Soul Reapers and Arrancar. In the leadup to the game’s hotly anticipated release, Bandai Namco dropped a new character trailer every week, but with the staggering number of individuals that Ichigo encounters across his journey, it started becoming evident that not everyone would make the cut.

Admittedly, with a base roster of 33 characters, all of whom possess unique movesets and gimmicks, Bandai Namco has included the majority of the fan favorites, though there have still been some omissions that are a little surprising. These are the characters from the Bleach series who, for one reason or another, aren’t playable in Bleach: Rebirth of Souls, though they could still potentially be added in at a later date as DLC fighters.

8

Jushiro Ukitake

The Developers Felt Ukitake Didn’t Have Quite Enough To Go Off To Warrant Adding Him In

• First Appearance: Episode 40

When the developers were asked why the captain of Squad 13, Jushiro Ukitake, was left absent from Rebirth of Souls, producer Katsuaki Tsuzuki claimed it was because much of Ukitake’s combat capabilities weren’t shown until the Thousand Year Blood War. Considering the game is primarily based on the events leading up until Aizen’s defeat, which comes way before the final war, this does make sense, especially since Ukitake participates in barely any fights during that particular portion of the story.

While he does manage to fend off a few hits from Lilynette during Shunsui’s battle with Starrk, his lung illness keeps him out of action for much of the series. Still, seeing as the Thousand Year Blood War characters are being introduced as DLC, maybe the captain will be arriving in the future, and it’ll be a real treat for fans if he can somehow summon the power of Mimihagi in battle.

7

Yumichika Ayasegawa

The Beauty-Obsessed Soul Reaper, Yumichika, Will Be Watching From The Sidelines

• First Appearance: Episode 26

It seems as though – when weighing up the popularity of the Soul Reapers – Yumichika was deemed to be just a little too unimportant to include. The truth is, Yumichika does play a rather minimal role in the story as a whole, and is even one of the first Soul Reapers to be defeated in the entire series during the Soul Society arc.

Since Yumichika never reached the lieutenant rank though, it’s understandable why his fellow Squad 11 member, Ikakku, beat him to it. Yumichika does have a slim chance of making it in as DLC, but it’s not that much of a shock that he has been left out in order to make space for some of the other fan favorites.

6

Zommari Rureaux

Zommari Is Once Again Overshadowed By His Much More Popular Espada Comrades

• First Appearance: Episode 197

Zommari has always felt like a rather underrated antagonist in Bleach. Despite going toe-to-toe with the absurdly powerful Byakuya, he doesn’t receive anywhere near as much screentime as characters like Grimmjow and Ulquiorra, and when choosing which members to include, the developers ultimately felt that he wasn’t popular enough to be worth adding in.

This is a little disappointing considering his Amor ability allows Zommari to control a person’s limbs or entire body after he spots them with one of his eyes. Then again, making this work fairly without being too broken would have been a real challenge in and of itself, so maybe leaving Zommari on the sidelines this time around was the right move after all.

5

Kensei Muguruma

The Powerhouse Of The Vizards Won’t Be Making An Appearance

• First Appearance: Episode 122

Despite the Vizards being a pretty important group of characters in the main series, the only member who is playable in Rebirth of Souls is Shinji. If anyone else from this batch of Hollowified characters deserved to make it in though, it has to be Kensei. Throughout the Fake Karakura Town arc and the final war, Kensei puts his explosive fighting style on full display for everyone to admire.

When activating his Bankai, Tekken Tachikaze, each of Kensei’s punches creates a mini-explosion which he can use to keep his foes at a distance. While blasting the opponent to the other side of the screen with a barrage of fearsome haymakers would have been a ton of fun to try out, Kensei won’t be playable in the game to make this a reality, at least for now, that is.

4

Yammy Llargo

Espada Number 0 Takes A Backseat While The Other Espada Take To The Battlefield

• First Appearance: Episode 113

Saying that Yammy is a controversial character among Bleach fans would be putting it mildly. During the Arrancar arc, it’s established that the stronger the Espada, and the more Reiatsu they possess, the lower their number. As a result, the sudden reveal that Yammy is actually number 0, only to then be wiped out by Byakuya and Kenpachi not long after, made him a pretty forgettable character who didn’t live up to his prestigious reputation.

When picking and choosing characters for the newest game, Bandai Namco probably thought it was best to leave this guy out, since it would give them more time to focus on the more popular members of the Espada. While seeing Yammy’s true Resurrection form in the game would have been pretty incredible considering its size, not many people expected Yammy to make it in because of his reputation, so it doesn’t come as much of a surprise that he has been left out.

3

Isshin Kurosaki

Ichigo’s Father Steps Back So That His Son Can Take The Spotlight Instead

• First Appearance: Episode 1

Though Isshin isn’t revealed to be a Soul reaper until the beginning of the Arrancar Invasion, this is still the same portion of the story that the game covers in its story mode. Therefore, it’s a bit puzzling why Isshin isn’t going to be featured as a playable character, but one theory for why this is the case is because Isshin simply doesn’t show enough forms or transformations.

For anyone unaware, in a typical match of Rebirth of Souls, the fighters will unleash all kinds of forms and techniques during the intense battle. At this point in the story, though, while Isshin did showcase excellent fighting skills, much of his true power is revealed a little later. Additionally, many suspect that author Tite Kubo may be cooking up something special for Isshin in the next cour of the anime, which may be why Bandai Namco has decided to hold him off.

2

Baraggan Louisenbairn

The King Of Hueco Mundo Is The Most Surprising Omission From The Game

• First Appearance: Episode 145

Though Baraggan, a member of the Espada and former king of Hueco Mundo, only shows up in the series for a single arc, he quickly becomes a beloved character among fans due to his menacing design and absurdly strong powers. With most of the Espada already being in the game, it’s a little odd that Baraggan didn’t end up making the cut, but it could simply be due to how utterly broken his abilities are.

Baraggan’s Resurrection form allows him to age anything he touches, so if he were to grab a person’s hand, it would turn into nothing but bone in little more than a few seconds. While there would probably be a way to work around this, such as giving him some kind of poison mechanic, Bandai instead opted to leave him out entirely, potentially in order to surprise fans with his release at some point later in the game’s life cycle.

1

Orihime Inoue

Orihime Plays More Of A Supporting Role In The Story, So She Won’t Be Appearing On The Battlefield

• First Appearance: Episode 1

It must have been difficult choosing whether to include Orihime as a playable fighter in the game. On the one hand, she’s a fan-favorite character who has been part of the main crew since the very beginning, but she’s also not a fighter, at least not technically. Orihime’s Shun Shun Rikka abilities are primarily used for healing purposes, and though she can still dish out some damage, as seen in the Soul Society arc, she’s nowhere near as skilled at fighting as the likes of Ichigo or the Soul Reapers.

As a result, having Orihime face off against powerful characters like Byakuya or Yamamoto, who could realistically kill Orihime with a single strike in the show itself, would have been just a little too outlandish. As a result, Orihime will be passing up this game as a playable character, though she will still appear in the main story, especially in the Arrancar portion, where she plays a very big role.