In an action/adventure shonen anime like Bleach, every character is expected to do their part. Warriors like the Soul Reapers, Arrancars, and Quincy have a duty to fight well and use their powers to serve their superior officers, and plenty of Bleach characters deliver on that front. Non-combatants like Orihime Inoue can contribute in other ways, like with her defensive abilities or even just providing shelter and emotional support for their allies. Unfortunately, some Bleach characters fail to do anything at all.
The most useless Bleach characters are those who either repeatedly failed to accomplish what was expected of them, those who never had any real powers at all, or characters who were ultimately made redundant by their more relevant (and powerful) friends and allies. Such characters had little to no impact on Bleach's word with either their words or actions, and things would have been largely the same even if they weren't around. Unsurprisingly, useless anime characters like these tend to be unpopular or even mocked by the fandom, and the Bleach franchise has its fair share.
10 Wonderweiss Margela Failed To Accomplish His One & Only Task
Most of the Arrancars under Sosuke Aizen's command were expected to fight with their own swordplay and unique Hollow release forms, but Wonderweiss Margela was different. Sosuke Aizen modified him to become an anti-Yamamoto ace in the hole, though Wonderweiss was also allowed to fight in battles where Yamamoto was absent, perhaps to get him used to fighting.
Wonderweiss had Espada-level power and was meant to contain Yamamoto's fire-based shikai, but it didn't make much of a difference. Yamamoto simply used barehanded martial arts to pummel and destroy Wonderweiss, restoring his flame powers. In the end, Wonderweiss made no real difference aside from giving Yamamoto an excuse to show off his own martial arts skills.
9 Luppi Antentor Accomplished Absolutely Nothing As Grimmjow's Replacement
Ichigo's rival, Grimmjow Jeagerjaques got himself kicked out of the Espadas when he lost his arm. Aizen chose an Arrancar named Luppi Antenor to replace him, but Luppi ended up being one of the most underwhelming Espadas in the series, past or present. His released form was fairly powerful, but it had no unique tricks, and Luppi was sloppy enough to let his guard down.
Perhaps Luppi was only meant to keep the heroes busy while Ulquiorra kidnapped Orihime, but even then, Luppi was jarringly useless. He failed to kill anyone or even deal any lasting damage to Bleach's heroes, and then got himself killed once Grimmjow's arm was restored. No one objected to Luppi's sudden murder, suggesting that no one, least of all Aizen, saw Luppi as a useful or important ally.
8 Tetsuzaemon Iba Acted Tough But Never Backed His Attitude Up
Even compared to the other Lieutenants, Tetsuzaemon Iba of squad 7 is an underwhelming fighter who doesn't feel worthy of serving directly under a Soul Reaper Captain. Tetsuzaemon may look and sound cool with his Hiroshima mobster vibe, but it's evidently all for show. Tetsuzaemon never won a meaningful victory in Bleach and has a basic melee-type shikai.
In no story arc did Tetsuzaemon accomplish anything worthwhile unless Bleach fans count his lecture to Ikkaku about not holding back in battle. Tetsuzaemon did even less in the Thousand-Year Blood War, where he did little more than watch the better Soul Reapers do all the fighting. He helped his de-powered Captain evacuate the battlefield, but that doesn't count for much.
7 Ikkaku Madarame Fumbled His Most Important Fights
It's true that Ikkaku Madarame of squad 11 won a few fights in Bleach's story, but even if he's not literally useless or worthless as a fighter, he still has quite the bad track record. As one of Kenpachi's subordinates, Ikkaku is expected to be one of the Gotei 13's best fighters, but he lost every important fight he found himself in. One notable example was his loss against Ichigo early in the fondly-remembered Soul Society arc.
Ikkaku barely won against Edrad Leones even with bankai, which isn't flattering, and he swiftly lost to Poww in a later arc, almost allowing the real Karakura Town to replace the fake one. Ikkaku also did very little in the TYBW story arc, and the same could be said about his friend, Yumichika. They were supposed to be ahead of the curve for their rank, but they did little to prove it.
6 The Only Thing Loly Aivirrne Cared About Was Earning Aizen's Love
Some of the Arrancars serving under Sosuke Aizen were underwhelming and did very little good for their Soul Reaper boss, unable to stop Ichigo's team from crossing Hueco Mundo's dunes to infiltrate Las Noches. One such Arrancar was Loly Aivirrne, who spent more time with selfish pursuits than actually serving Aizen.
Loly and her friend Menoly didn't do much to fight Aizen's enemies. Instead, they bullied Orihime a few times, jealous of the attention Aizen gave to his human captive. Like Grimmjow, Loly was little more than a disruption in Aizen's plans, making her even worse than useless. She and Menoly later fought back against Quilge Opie, but they didn't stand a chance and needed Ichigo's team to save them.
5 Kiyone Kotetsu Could Only Watch As Things Happen
Kiyone Kotetsu and her rival, Sentaro Kotsubaki, both served directly under Captain Jushiro Ukitake in the Soul Society arc. While Ukitake was grateful for their support and friendship, he didn't actually get much use out of them. Kiyone and Sentaro had minimal combat skills, and neither of them could cure Ukitake's illness.
Kiyone accomplished practically nothing in Bleach's story, and ended up a commentator and bystander for every major event in the Soul Society and beyond. Years later, Kiyone became squad 4's Lieutenant, serving under her older sister Isane, but Bleach fans may be skeptical that Kiyone is doing much good for her new Captain aside from decent healing kido.
4 Yachiru Kusajishi Is Merely Someone To Protect, Nothing More
On the plus side, Lieutenant Yachiru Kusajishi keeps Kenpachi Zaraki happy as his unofficial foster daughter, allowing the two of them to function as a tiny found family in Bleach's anime. Yachiru does have some combat skills with her shikai, but otherwise, she didn't do a whole lot for squad 11 or the Gotei 13 as a whole.
Yachiru is usually happy to let Kenpachi do all the fighting, serving as token emotional support and little else. Not much changed in Bleach because of Yachiru, but then again, that's not what fans want from her. Instead, Yachiru is an adorable mascot for squad 11, a cheerful kid who brings out the best in her scarred Captain. She also provides ample comic relief as one of Bleach's funniest characters.
3 Ryunosuke Yuki Was A Wimpy Soul Reaper In The Thousand-Year Blood War Arc
Ryunosuke Yuki was a minor Soul Reaper who made his debut early in the Thousand-Year Blood War story arc, serving in squad 13 alongside Shino Madarame. Ryunosuke was almost like a stand-in for new Bleach fans, a curious and fresh-faced Soul Reaper who was in awe when he met protagonist Ichigo Kurosaki one night.
Aside from providing that humble perspective, Ryunosuke was of very little use to Bleach's heroes, and he failed to slay any notable Hollows or defeat a single Quincy on-screen. His ultimate fate is not clear, but given his lack of screen time, he either got himself killed or was just background fluff in a fight that Bleach fans never even saw. In either case, Ryunosuke had nothing to contribute to the great war against the Wandenreich.
2 Shino Madarame Was Easily Defeated By Various Foes
Shino Madarame was more experienced and skilled than her companion Ryunosuke, but like him, she failed to accomplish much in Bleach's final arc and she wasn't of much use to anyone around her. Interestingly, the Bleach novels confirmed her last name and thus established her as Ikkaku's younger sister. They have a similar temper, but are otherwise fairly different and even serve in different squads.
Shino was just a fun fluff character early in the TYBW arc, serving as Ryunosuke's stern yet well-meaning mentor in the days leading up to the Sternritters' overwhelming invasion. Like Ryunosuke, Shino has an uncertain fate in the story, so fans can presume that Shino either got herself killed or was just another soldier in some off-screen battle that made no real difference.
1 Hiyori Sarugaki Was A Bad Lab Assistant And Lieutenant
Hiyori Sarugaki was one of the eight Visoreds, or ex-Soul Reapers who gained Hollow powers due to Sosuke Aizen's experiments with the Hogyoku. Hiyori was not completely useless in battle, since she had a decent melee-type shikai and had total control of her Hollow mask, but she didn't achieve any notable victories or make a serious difference in the story.
Shinji Hirako made some difference by convincing Ichigo to train with the Visoreds, and he took down some Quincy soldiers with his tricky bankai. Hiyori didn't do anything like that, and she only played a minor role in Ichigo's visored training. In her Soul Reaper days, Hiyori had a big mouth but didn't do anything to back up her words, either on the battlefield or in Kisuke Urahara's lab.
