Bleach: Thousand-Year Blood War is easily one of the most awaited anime released around, which is quite a surprise given how the series ended both its anime and manga run on a bit of a downer. It's clear for everyone to see why Bleach was regarded as one of the Big Three, with its allure still quite palpable to this very day. Fans who want to stay up-to-date with all the story beats of Bleach would certainly check out the anime for the same.
However, it's highly recommended for new viewers to skip the entirety of Bleach's filler. While there might be a few diamonds in the rough here, there's no denying that the majority of Bleach's anime-exclusive content can be pretty messy at times, especially since their very inclusion led to many inconsistencies in the main plot of Bleach itself. The most egregious ones of the lot are mentioned below.
8 The Bount Race Doesn't Fit Into The World At All
The Bount arc is the first filler arc in Bleach, which makes an absolutely horrible impression in terms of the show's first anime-original arc. The arc is an absolute mess where things happen for no reason and minor details keep on clashing with Kubo's established rules in this world.
The Bount could've been an intriguing race, but it always feels odd to see these fleshed-out races simply dissolve into obscurity later on. Of course, the same could be said about the Fullbring as well.
7 Kenpachi Uses Shunpo When He Shouldn't Be Able To
Kenpachi is a monstrously powerful individual who serves as one of the Captains of the Gotei 13. His raw strength is so immense that he doesn't even bother to brush up on the basics, such as Shunpo.
Flash step is important to dodge attacks, but Kenpachi doesn't bother to learn this technique because of his innate physical superiority. However, he still pulls this move off during the Zanpakuto Unknown Tales arc.
6 Shusuke Amagai's Existence Is Quite Suspect
For what it's worth, viewers liked the filler arc where Gin Ichimaru was replaced with a new captain called Shusuke Amagai. It let existing characters develop their relationships while this antagonist was also pretty engaging in his own right.
However, since this arc isn't canon, it's obvious that this leaves a pretty glaring inconsistency in terms of who actually took over. The reality was that this position was left vacant until Rose, one of the Visored, was allowed to return to Soul Society and become the new captain of the Third Division.
5 Sui-Feng's Shikai Becomes Pretty Inconsistent
Sui-Feng is a pretty great character with some unique powers of her own. She's one of the few characters whose Shikai is probably more interesting than her Bankai.
Her Shikai uses one hit to mark an enemy with a butterfly emblem, and hitting this symbol again leads to the enemy's demise. For some reason, though, the second hit splits an enemy in half in the movie Bleach: Memories of Nobody.
4 Ikkaku's Bankai Is Magically Fine Despite Being Broken In Previous Events
Ikkaku Madarame is one of the more unique characters in the show, with his style prioritizing brute strength over everything else. Of course, he's no Kenpachi, with his Bankai being extremely powerful at the cost of losing its durability.
This weakness rears its ugly head when Ikkaku's Bankai is broken by one of the Arrancar. However, it appears perfectly fine during the Gotei 13 Invading Army arc, which makes no sense
3 A Person Other Than Kyoraku Is Shown Dual-Wielding Blades In Their Shikai State
The Zanpakuto Unknown Tales arc is another filler arc that Bleach fans like quite a bit. That being said, even this filler doesn't shy away from adding its fair share of inconsistencies and plot holes to the show.
The worst of the lot is when one of the episodes shows an unseated Shinigami with two blades in its Shikai state. This is simply not possible, since Yamamoto himself has stated that Kyoraku is the only Shinigami who boasts this feat.
2 Zangetsu Is Controlled By Muramasa Before The True Purpose Of Its Existence Is Revealed
This is another inconsistency brought about by the Zanpakuto Unknown Tales arc. During his fight with Muramasa, the villain brings Zangetsu, the true form of Ichigo's Zangetsu, out to fight against his master.
However, the Thousand-Year Blood War arc revealed that Zangetsu was never Ichigo's true Zanpakuto at all. Instead, this spirit was actually a manifestation of Ichigo's Quincy powers, and the Shinigami had to go through another bout of rigorous training to bring out the true nature of his Zanpakuto.
1 Bleach Is A Continuous Story With No Room For Side Stories
Perhaps the biggest inconsistency that arises from Bleach's many fillers is that they have absolutely no room to exist in the main timeline. Bleach's story is one long train with little to no downtime, and the anime is pretty much forced to make stories that feel rather disjointed from the main timeline.
Some fans can still make a case for the first and last filler arcs in the series having a place in the main timeline. However, the major ones that come in between feel completely out of place, which in itself is perhaps the biggest inconsistency of them all.