Highlights
- Some soul reapers in the Bleach franchise, like Rikichi Yuki and Yasochika Iemura, do not possess strong combat abilities and rely on others for support.
- Characters like Jirōbō Ikkanzakaa and Zennosuke Kurumadani are often relegated to comic relief roles and have minimal impact on the main storyline.
- Hanatarō Yamada, despite being powerless, displays bravery and makes significant contributions to the rescue efforts in the Soul Society arc.
The Bleach franchise is home to some of the strongest characters in anime, many of which are soul reapers who work to maintain the balance between different worlds. They are also responsible for defending the Soul Society, a place where souls find solace after departing from the human world. Due to the difficulty of these tasks, the Soul Reaper Academy was set up, and powerful warriors were trained for the cause.
Unfortunately, though, not all warriors become strong enough to make significant contributions, even if their efforts are always recognized. There are soul reapers in training, and even graduates who fall behind in many aspects of combat, and their slack usually has to be picked up by their superiors.
10 Rikichi Yuki
Rikichi Yuki is an unseated officer and is mostly known for his connection to Renji Abarai. He is a member of the 6th division and joined only because the man he admired, Renji, was also a member. His main contribution in the series came in the Soul Society arc as well, helping the healer Hanataro Yamada escape and directing him to heal Renji’s wounds.
Rikichi has never shown any combat prowess of his own, with his Shikai being unknown. Many of his remaining appearances come in fillers, and he doesn’t have much impact on the main storyline.
9 Yasochika Iemura
Yasochika Iemura is the 3rd seat of the 4th Division in the Gotei 13. Though he is a seated officer with a relatively high rank, he is not very useful in direct combat and specializes more in healing. He is also the leader of the relief team, which offers medical support during crises or wartime periods.
During his first appearance, he was seen directing the relief team, and in subsequent appearances, he was also seen taking on more supportive roles. His fighting capabilities have barely been explored, but they are most likely nothing of note.
8 Jirōbō Ikkanzakaa
Jirobo is a massive soul reaper who was formerly the 4th seat of the 7th Division in the Gotei 13. He was also introduced very early in the story and was one of the opponents Ichigo and his group had to face on entering the soul society. On seeing his large size, many assumed he would be a difficult opponent; however, he turned out to be nothing but a weak bully.
He initially targeted Orihime as he believed her to be the weakest in the group. Unfortunately for him, he was unable to harm her, and her partner at the time, Uryū Ishida, made light work of him.
7 Zennosuke Kurumadani
Zennosuke Kurumadani is an eccentric character who was tasked with overseeing Karakura town after Rukia’s departure. He is used mostly as comic relief and hasn’t made many significant contributions to the story. On one occasion, however, he confronted Sōsuke Aizen in an attempt to slow him down, but as you would expect, he was not very successful.
He is involved in different running gags and usually arrives late to the scene whenever anyone in Ichigo’s group confronts a hollow. He is also referred to as Afro Shinigami, and even though he is not particularly useful, he has become a memorable character for some.
6 Ryūnosuke Yuki
The protection of Karakura Town eventually fell on two other soul reapers, one of whom was Ryūnosuke Yuki. He is a timid individual and was introduced in the Thousand-Year Blood War arc. He was assigned to the town at a point where more powerful hollows were appearing in larger numbers, which only served to unsettle him even more.
On his first real night on the job, he split up with his partner, and they both had to fight individually. This turned out to be a poor decision as he was scared off by a hollow, and his partner was faring much worse. They both had to be saved by Ichigo Kurosaki in the end.
5 Shino Madarame
Shino Madarame, as stated in the Bleach: Can't Fear Your Own World series, is the younger sister of the more powerful Ikkaku Madarame. Just like her brother, she possesses large amounts of confidence in herself and is not afraid to be brash and reckless.
She was assigned to protect Karakura Town along with Ryūnosuke Yuki but was quickly incapacitated by a hollow she encountered.
None of her battle abilities have really been seen, and her Shikai remains unknown. She is a very supportive person, though, and genuinely tries to instill more confidence in Ryūnosuke whenever she can.
4 Sentarō Kotsubaki
For most of the series, Sentarō Kotsubaki served under Jūshirō Ukitake and was the co-3rd seat of the 13th division. He is also mostly used for comic relief along with his partner Kiyone Kotetsu. The two spent most of their time constantly trying to impress their captain and weren’t ever of much use in combat.
He was seen mostly during the Soul Society arc and was one of the characters unsettled by Rukia’s scheduled execution. His only notable confrontation was with Captain Suì-Fēng, but he was easily brushed aside.
3 Marechiyo Ōmaeda
Marechiyo Ōmaeda is one of the stronger characters on this list and is the lieutenant of the 2nd Division. He is an arrogant individual with a host of unsavory characteristics and personality traits, however, he is extremely loyal to his captain. Without much consideration for his own life, he can follow orders and take critical hits as long as it’s for the sake of his captain.
Unfortunately, he is very weak and has no relevant achievements of his own. On one of his first showings, his shikai was decimated by Ichigo Kurosaki in one hit, and he was knocked out by the same blow.
2 Isane Kotetsu
Isane Kotetsu is a high-level soul reaper who specializes mainly in support roles. For most of the series, she is seen beside her captain, Retsu Unohana, and serves as the lieutenant for the 13th division. She has a quiet demeanor and values her friends greatly. She easily gets emotional and is used to being cared for by her captain.
Though she is a skilled spell user who is also proficient at healing, she is not very strong and struggles in direct confrontations. She later achieves the rank of captain, but her enhanced abilities are yet to be seen.
1 Hanatarō Yamada
In the Soul Society arc, Ichigo’s group received help from some specific soul reapers despite being antagonized by most, and Hanataro Yamada was one of the first helpers they came across. Though he is essentially powerless, he is very brave and made significant contributions to Rukia’s rescue. He revealed the location where she was being held and helped Ichigo navigate some parts of the soul society.
Despite his bravery, he is constantly bullied and is a very nervous person. Regardless, he developed a meaningful relationship with Ichigo and played a crucial role in the Soul Society arc.