There was a time when the Big Three used to reign supreme on Shonen Jump for the longest time. One Piece is still going strong as the only active member of the trio now and Naruto ended its run on a relatively high note. However, out of the Big Three, there's one manga that ended up being mistreated by both its creator and the publisher to become a shadow of what it used to be, before ending in the most anti-climatic manner possible — Bleach.
Once hailed as Tite Kubo's masterpiece and one of the greatest shonen series around, Bleach was a brilliant manga with an anime adaptation that had attained worldwide recognition for all the right reasons. While the show's quality and popularity might've petered off as time went on, there's no denying the fact that Bleach was still an excellent product in its heyday, and one of the major reasons why is its main cast of colorful and charismatic characters.
Each of these characters went through character arcs of their own as the series progressed, and this list will rank all their arcs in terms of quality.
Yasutora "Chad" Sado
There was a point when Sado was actually a fairly relevant character who had decent stakes in the plot... but this changed over time and he became nothing more than a fly on the wall in regards to the events that were happening all around him.
The fact that he became so insignificant in such an alarming amount of time serves as the perfect allegory for Bleach, which also used to be one of the greatest anime around... before fading into obscurity in mere moments.
Orihime Inoue
Another character who had a ton of promise but eventually ended up being nothing more than an observer in Ichigo's battles was Orihime.
The one thing that remained consistent about her character was the fact that she was Ichigo's love interest throughout the series, making their inevitable marriage something to look forward to... which is not something most people say about Bleach during the latter half of its run.
Renji Abarai
At the start of the Soul Society arc, Renji was definitely an extremely powerful beast whose Zabimaru could absolutely annihilate his enemies without so much as a second thought.
However, as things progressed, it was clear that Renji was bound to be an afterthought... just like most of the other characters introduced early on in the series. While his eventual marriage to Rukia is definitely quite a great turn of events, most of the things preceding it aren't even remotely as interesting.
Yhwach
For a moment, it felt like Bleach was going back to its roots with the Thousand-Year Blood War arc, with an interesting antagonist in the form of Yhwach taking center stage. The fact that this man managed to kill off a powerful captain in the form of Yamamoto meant serious business, and it was clear that a formidable battle was on the cards.
However, the manner in which the final arc was completely rushed in the end and Yhwach was killed with a simple sword slash — and some Quincy shenanigans with rather unsatisfactory explanations — completely extinguished any potential he had of being a halfway-decent character.
Rukia Kuchiki
Rukia's introduction in the first episode was a rather memorable one, and the fact that she lost her Soul Reaper powers made for a rather interesting setup as Ichigo became the Substitute Soul Reaper instead.
The Soul Society arc was a time when her character truly shone and viewers finally managed to get a glimpse into a side of Rukia they'd never seen before. However, post this arc, Rukia again became surplus to requirements and — aside from a few odd highlights here are there — never really had any major impact later on in the series.
Byakuya Kuchiki
If anything, Rukia's brother ended up being more of a notable figure simply because of the position he occupied in the Soul Society arc as the final antagonist.
His own journey is quite fascinating to explore, and props should definitely be given for the manner in which his character was humanized post the events of the Soul Society arc.
Uryu Ishida
The Quincy are supposed to be the Shinigami's mortal enemy, yet Uryu Ishida managed to stay by Ichigo's side for the majority of the series... barring a few inconsistencies here and there.
His role truly becomes all the more prominent during the Thousand-Year Blood War arc, and there were times when Uryu seemed like he would break through as a memorable character... but, at the end of the day, his purpose was for nothing more than to help Ichigo land a final decisive blow on Yhwach, and nothing else.
Ichigo Kurosaki
Ichigo Kurosaki is the protagonist of Bleach... and also one of the blandest lead characters in any shonen anime. His motivations as a character aren't really explored, making his growth as a character all the more stunted.
While he definitely received a ton of power-ups throughout the series, the fact of the matter is that there's absolutely no personality trait of Ichigo that helps him become a unique shonen protagonist. This was ultimately one of the catalysts that led to the downfall of Bleach.
Sosuke Aizen
While Bleach might've had its faults even early on, there's no denying the fact that a consistent highlight throughout the entire series who never failed to entertain fans with his presence every single time was none other than Sosuke Aizen.
His betrayal of Soul Society made for an excellent highlight in an arc that was already brilliant from the get-go. In fact, his presence was so important to Bleach that his humiliating loss at the hands of an overpowered Ichigo arguably was the spark that led to the downfall of the series.
Kenpachi Zaraki
Regardless of how intelligent Aizen may be, there's a point when people just want to see some great fights on the show — something that Kenpachi Zaraki specialized in.
From the very moment he was introduced, it was clear that Zaraki was nothing more than a bloodthirsty fighter who craved a good fight and nothing more. Just when people thought that his character had plateaued in Bleach, he came back with a Bankai that would send chills down anyone who flipped the page to see the oni-like monstrosity he had transformed into.