Tite Kubo’s hit manga series Bleach inspired a long-running anime of the same name, and this story is absolutely packed with a colorful variety of characters of all shapes and sizes, from black-robed Soul Reapers to villainous Arrancars and far more. Plenty of human characters get a lot of depth, too.
Bleach‘s characters vary not just in their powers and abilities, but also their personalities, and some characters have rather unsavory or villainous personalities. Some Bleach characters are downright selfish and arrogant, and everything they say and do is for their own sake, such as becoming the #1 fighter or self-preservation at the expense of others. Which characters are like this?
10 Captain Mayuri Kurotsuchi Always Protects Himself First
Captain Mayuri Kurotsuchi of squad 12 is known for a number of things, from his bizarre face paint and hats to his brilliance as a scientist to his organic bankai, Konjiki Ashisogi Jizo. He is also noted for being a fairly self-absorbed person who sees other people as assistants at best, and guinea pigs at worst.
Mayuri puts science first, and he’s humble enough to know that he will never be perfect. Despite that, he has a selfish streak because he never takes other people into consideration, instead seeking new science to satisfy his curiosity and show off. He knows his duty, of course, but it’s all in the name of his curiosity and science, not the sake of others.
9 Captain Kenpachi Zaraki Only Wants Worthwhile Challenges
Much like Captain Kurotsuchi, the thuggish Captain Kenpachi Zaraki is an antihero who knows his duty as a Soul Reaper, but fights for selfish reasons, not to protect the world. Kenpachi is the type who thrives on challenges and bloodshed, and he quickly grows frustrated and bored if he’s not fighting a strong opponent.
Kenpachi is motivated entirely by his thirst for battle, and getting a thrill in mortal combat is the real reason he fights. He wants the selfish gratification of proving himself against the strongest enemies, and the rest of his squad is expected to clean up the mess later. But there’s one exception — Kenpachi has a soft spot for his foster daughter, Yachiru Kusajishi.
8 Loly Avirrne Gets Jealous Easily
Loly Avirrne is a minor Arrancar in Sosuke Aizen’s army, and she is not attached to any Espada in particular. Instead, she and her friend Menoly wander Las Noches freely, and it’s clear that these Arrancars, especially Loly, are petty and selfish beings.
Loly is fanatical about Sosuke Aizen, and might even be in love with him. But to Loly’s immense frustration, Aizen pays far more attention to the unique human Orihime Inoue, and Loly is terribly jealous. She takes out her rage on Orihime more than once, wishing that Aizen would pay attention only to her.
7 Dordoni Wants To Regain His Rank
If an Espada is demoted, they may become a Privaron Espada, ranking somewhere between Espadas and foot soldier Arrancars. Dordoni is one such character, and he clashed with Ichigo early in the Hueco Mundo story arc. Dordoni acted polite and suave, but he was also notably self-centered.
Dordoni longs to regain his Espada rank, and he was willing to fight dirty to defeat Ichigo and prove his worth to Aizen. That’s a rather selfish way to think, but after his defeat, Dordoni did buy Ichigo time to escape the Exequias as a gesture of goodwill. He’s not completely selfish, just recklessly ambitious.
6 Candice Catnipp Wanted Yhwach To Grant Her A Wish
The Thousand-Year Blood War arc introduced the Sternritter, the elite Quincy who fight for their king, Yhwach. Most Quincy are fanatical about Yhwach and his cause, but there are a few exceptions, such as the electric Sternritter, Candice Catnipp.
At one point, Yhwach placed a bounty on Ichigo’s head, stating that anyone who defeated him would get a wish granted. Candice eagerly went after Ichigo for this very reason, eager to prove herself to her king and get a wish granted. It’s not clear exactly what Candice’s wish would be, but her actions made her selfish nature perfectly clear.
5 Szayelaporro Grantz Wanted To Become The Perfect Arrancar
Many of the ten Espadas are selfish creatures, and that includes Espada #8, Szayelaporro Grantz the scientist. He is similar to Mayuri Kurotsuchi, seeing everyone around him as a mere test subject in the name of ruthless science. But he manages to be even more self-centered than Mayuri is.
Unlike Mayuri, who has his duty as a Soul Reaper, Szayelaporro uses science entirely for his own sake. He aims to become the ultimate, perfect being with endless experimentation and advanced science, and that alienated him from almost everyone else. In the end, his quest failed, and Mayuri killed him as punishment for trying to become perfect.
4 Grimmjow Jeagerjaquez Wants To Rule The Jungle
Grimmjow is a reckless and hotheaded Espada who operates almost entirely by instinct and emotion, which puts him at odds with the cold and aloof Ulquiorra Schiffer in many ways. Grimmjow barely even listens to his boss, Aizen — he has his own selfish, and rather petty, goals to achieve.
As a Hollow, Grimmjow sought to dominate the Hueco Mundo food chain as an apex predator, and eat his way to the top. He still feels that way as an Arrancar, and his fracciones are all eagerly backing him up. He’ll become king no matter what, and crush anyone who looks down on him, such as Ichigo.
3 Nnoitora Gilga Has A Similar Goal As Grimmjow’s
The 5th Espada, Nnoitora Gilga, is remarkably similar to Grimmjow, but he manages to be even less sympathetic and charismatic than the panther-like 6th Espada. Nnoitora is obsessed with battle and bloodshed, and he made his simple goal clear — to become the strongest warrior of all.
This makes him similar to not just Grimmjow, but also Kenpachi, and Nnoitora seems to care about nothing and no one else. He will even conspire to betray an ally, such as the former Espada Nelliel, to achieve his selfish goal. In the end, he lost to Kenpachi Zaraki.
2 Barragan Luisenbarn Wants His Kingdom Back
Grimmjow says he wants to be king of the jungle, but for a time, Barragan Luisenbarn really was the king of Hueco Mundo. And even though Barragan eventually got bored being at the top, he wasn’t about to relinquish his throne, either. He was forcibly dethroned when Aizen, Gin and Kaname came along.
Barragan is now the 2nd Espada, and he simmers with resentment toward Aizen. He longs to reclaim his throne, and he acts like a bigshot boss around his fracciones and even the other Espadas. To him, one thing matters — being in charge. Everything must be done for the sake of his glory.
1 Sosuke Aizen Conspired To Rule The Heavens
Former Captain Sosuke Aizen is the most selfish and ambitious character in the entire series, and he vainly and arrogantly believed that he had the right to claim the empty throne of heaven and rule all of creation as the big boss of the universe. Absolutely everything he said and did was for the sake of this goal.
Aizen regularly made and betrayed all kinds of allies, and he couldn’t even keep Gin Ichimaru loyal to him forever. He also coldly abandoned the Espadas so he could fight the Soul Reapers and the eight Visoreds himself, and he went into a fit of rage and denial when Ichigo and Kisuke finally defeated him. His ego is simply massive, and he was still acting aloof and arrogant when he was being sentenced to millennia in prison after his defeat.
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