As is expected in a series with such a large cast, some characters in Bleach, who begin life as a true foil for Ichigo or seem like they will be a major player in the final battle, end up being left by the wayside by the conclusion. While it's expected that not all characters are on a level high enough to take on Aizen and the Espada, let alone Yhwach, some are left behind before they even had a chance to prove themselves.

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For the most part, it seems like any character who doesn't have a sliver of Soul Reaper powers are far weaker than any other, even those with god-like powers, and ends up being wasted in the story despite having so much potential.

10 Kon

Ichigo confronting Kon about his reckless behavior

Compared to Ichigo's initial power level, Kon seemed like he would be a decent ally in the fight against Hollows and has the advantage of not being limited to a single body to be effective. However, Kon became irrelevant very quickly and, despite the fact he is a Mod Soul, seems significantly weaker than the likes of the anime exclusive Noba, Ririn, and Kurodo.

Even with Urahara on his side, Kon is almost always limited to his plush lion body despite the fact he could have been a valuable asset at every point in the series if he was given a better body.

9 Karin & Yuzu Kurosaki

Yuzu and Karin Kurosaki from Bleach.

It's sad to see that Ichigo's sisters, while clearly having the potential to be powerful in their own right, fail to do much of anything except being damsels in distress for Ichigo to rescue.

Particularly in the case of Karin, whose powers seem to be much closer to Isshin and Ichigo's than Yusu's, there was a huge opportunity to give them either Soul Reaper or Fullbring powers, but they manage to coast through the entire series without doing much of anything.

8 Tessai Tsukabishi

Originally, Tessai was shown to be simply Urahara's comically oversized shop assistant with some knowledge of Kido under his belt. However, in the Turn Back The Pendulum arc, it is revealed that he not only escaped the Soul Society alongside the Visored and Urahara but was the head of the Kido Corp before being exiled.

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Even compared to the likes of Hachi, who was his second in command at the time, Tessai's competency with Kido seems to outstrip almost every other character in the series, with the exception of Aizen, and would have been a valuable asset in multiple points in the story.

7 Jinta Hanakari & Ururu Tsumugiya

Jinta and Ururu from Bleach

Both Jinta and Ururu are a mystery despite the fact that they have been around since the first season of Bleach. Both children are incredibly powerful, with Ururu, in particular, being able to handle an Arrancar that Renji struggled with while limited by the Gentei Rein, while Jinto is shown to be more than capable of taking on low-level Hollows with nothing but his oversized club.

Despite their clear strength, both their origins as well as their true power is never explored and they suffer the same fate as Orihime and Chad, being left behind while the Soul Reapers do all the fighting.

6 Toshiro Hitsugaya

Hitsugaya was touted as a child prodigy, being the youngest Captain in the series and sporting one of the most overpowered Zanpakuto around. However, despite the immense power of Hyorinmaru, he never seems to be able to win his fights, and when he does, it's always by the skin of his teeth.

Even in the Thousand Year Blood War arc, where it is revealed that the ice flowers on his Bankai are a countdown to his full power being released and not to his Bankai dissipating, it was too little too late for him to have actually accomplished anything.

5 Rangiku Matsumoto

rangiku matsumoto is protecting momo in the bleach anime

Like Hitsugaya, Rangiku had a lot of potential that was wasted on a character who was, more often than not, used for fan service. Her Zanpaukto, Haineko, functions very similarly to Byakuya's Senbonsakura with the blade turning to dust rather than splitting into a thousand tiny blades, but both swords share the same seemingly limitless potential.

Despite this, Rangiku never seems to know what to do with her sword and is more often than not beaten when she should have come out on top.

4 Orihime Inoue

While Orihime does get some new tricks between Aizen's defeat and the emergence of Xcution, her insane powers are wasted on a character that never wants to fight. In particular, her healing power is said by Ulquiorra to be powerful enough to erase people and objects from existence and Loly calls her a monster when she brings Menoly back from the dead with no issue.

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The potential with her healing power is seemingly limitless, as she could have potentially ended fights before they even began without throwing a single punch. While her healing power is somewhat limited due to how much time it takes, the fact that it is capable of undoing even death means she should have been used much more in the Thousand Year Blood War arc.

3 Tatsuki Arisawa

If any one character deserved to be given powers, it was Tatsuki. While she was always a skilled fighter, she always fell short when compared to most other characters, including Orihime, and might have made more use of Chad's Fullbring powers than he did given her talent for Karate.

She is also one of the few other characters with the ability to see Ichigo while he is a Soul Reaper, which should have gone a long way in foreshadowing her getting powers at some point.

2 Chad Yasutora

While Orihime never reached her true battle potential, Chad seemed to be always chasing after his and was constantly being pushed down immediately after gaining new power. Even after going to Hueco Mundo and discovering how his powers really work, he still fell short at every point despite the fact he should be fighting on the same level as a Captain by that point, as he was able to take down a relatively high-level Arrancar with ease after his powers awoke.

Even after training with Xcution, he was never able to match up even against Ichigo, who had only had his powers for a short time.

1 The Soul King

The Soul King's shadow in a type of gem in Bleach.

The Soul King had been teased for a long time, with Aizen's plan to invade the Soul King's Palace being the entire reason why he stole the Hogyoku. Despite the fact that he is Yhwach's father, a literal god, and is supposed to be the most powerful being in existence, he is easily cut down by a single swing of Ichigo's sword.

That aside, he is also apparently not so powerful that he can't be sealed away by the Soul Reapers, as he was sealed so that he couldn't move and was only allowed to dictate which souls could enter the Soul Society.

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