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Ah, Creator/TiteKubo's {{Manga/Bleach}}. The delightfully popular shonen with many interesting characters, abilities and factions of soldiers. Considering the sheer bureaucracy of the groups, you'd expect there to be impressive strategies and tactics incorporating the great variation of abilities in series, would you not?

In a word, '''''[[DarthWiki/WhatAnIdiot no.]]'''''

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* In ''Manga/{{Bleach}}'' almost every sword fight will end with one character severely injuring or incapacitating their opponent.\\
'''You'd Expect:''' The winner would finish off the loser, or at the very least, check to make sure they're actually dead. Or tie them up, confiscate their weapon, and take them prisoner in situations where bringing them in alive for questioning would be fruitful.\\
'''Instead:''' The winner will always make some snide comment about how badly the loser was beaten, and [[LeftForDead leave them for dead]].
* Yamamoto orders Byakuya and Kenpachi Zaraki to bring Rukia and Renji back to the Soul Society with whatever force necessary when Rukia and Renji wanted to go to Hueco Mundo.\\
'''You'd Expect:''' Byakuya to do so.\\
'''Instead:''' Actually he does take them back but then makes some stupid line about there's no order about them leaving the Soul Society again which means Rukia and Renji are free to go to Hueco Mundo. While the sentiment is nice, the strategy is incredibly stupid. Renji, being a lieutenant, and Rukia, being a 3rd Seat, are completely outclassed by the Espadas. Rukia manages to kill one but ends up almost dying anyways while Renji gets completely curb stomped. In the end, Byakuya, Kenpachi Zaraki, as well as Mayuri and Unohana had to go save them. Byakuya letting them go to Hueco Mundo, a place where there are captain class Espadas, is literally the equivalent of sending them to death. This is lampshaded in-universe. Ichigo's group going to Hueco Mundo and Byakuya helping Renji and Rukia get there to support him did screw up Yamamoto's plans.
* Then there's two Arrancar, Loly and Menoly, who believe they're Aizen's chosen hand-maidens, and who therefore see Orihime as a threat to their positions. Driven by jealousy, most of their interactions involving her are examples of idiocy that get acknowledged in various ways in-universe. Two examples include:
** When Aizen captures Orihime, she's placed under Ulquiorra's guard with orders for no-one to harm her. Loly and Menoly disregard the order, sneak into her room and beat her up. They're interrupted by Grimmjow who wants Orihime for his own plans.\\
'''You'd Expect:''' For them to get the hell out of there since they are already in violation of Aizen's orders by attacking an important hostage and Grimmjow is an Espada who is way out of their league.\\
'''Instead''': Loly smartmouths Grimmjow and gets slapped across the room resulting in Menoly trying to attack him with a Cero. Grimmjow vaporizes her, causing Loly to scream that Aizen won't let him get away with this. When she won't stop insulting him, he rips off her leg (manga) or stamps on her face (anime).
** When Orihime heals them from the injuries Grimmjow causes...\\
'''You'd Expect:''' Them to call a truce with Orihime as a result of her unsolicited kindness, thereby ending the vendetta, or at least avoid her in future, given that her willingness to heal the people who beat her black-and-blue terrifies them.\\
'''Instead''': When Ulquiorra is distracted fighting Ichigo, the pair attack Orihime again even though she's mere feet from Ulquiorra and Ichigo. They get beaten to a pulp by Yammy just for being in his way.
* Let us not forget the infamous incident early in the "Rescue Orihime" arc, where Ichigo and friends come to a series of different passageways in Las Noches, and have to decide where to go.\\
'''You'd Expect:''' them to pick one pathway (since they don't know where any of them lead), and stick together. After all, they're in the middle of an enemy hide-out they know nothing about, the enemy has superior numbers (and superior firepower on a one-to-one basis), and since it's a rescue mission, they need to get Orihime and get the hell out of dodge--which would be delayed if they had to go tracking down scattered team members.\\
'''Instead:''' They split up due to comments from Rukia and Renji about "warriors not fearing death" (never mind that they're on a rescue mission, not to get into Epic Fights... in-universe, that is), something that is so idiotic that '''Ichigo''' (of all people) points out how stupid an idea it is. Yet everybody goes along with it, and the exactly predictable happens - they get split up, and attacked separately. The only thing that saves them is that Aizen, instead of simply overwhelming them with his superior numbers and firepower, sets them up in one-on-one battles, most likely because his motive is to draw other Soul Reapers into his trap using Ichigo and friends as bait.
* Urahara knew Aizen would take an interest in Orihime's powers as a means to activate the dormant Hogyoku.\\
'''You'd Expect:''' Mister Hat And Clogs would explain to her up front what Aizen no doubt has planned for her and insist that she stay at his shop where, if Aizen's mooks come to get her, they'll first have to contend with him, Yoruichi, Tessai, Ururu, Jinta, Renji, and Chad.\\
'''Instead:''' He makes her feel useless because her one and only means of attack broke, prompting her to go off to one of the Visoreds to get it repaired, go to the Soul Society to train with Rukia, and then get kidnapped on the way back to the World of the Living. All the while, he didn't so much as keep tabs on her whereabouts and/or status.
* During Byakuya's fight with Zommari:\\
'''You'd Expect:''' Zommari to simply attack Byakuya, kill Rukia and Hanataro and leave, right?\\
'''Instead:''' Zommari [[ExplainingYourPowerToTheEnemy explains each of his attacks]] to Byakuya, including the total number of items/body parts/whatever he can control. Byakuya points out Zommari's been a complete idiot, then demonstrates why by thrashing the guy. It's later revealed in-story that Zommari was a symbol of death by intoxication.
* Zanpakuto [[FillerVillain Filler]] ArcVillain Muramasa comes to the World of the Living. Orihime sees him there and goes to him, and not only does she reveal in the ensuing conversation that she knows he's Ichigo's enemy, but Uryu and Chad are backing her up in the shadows. CLEARLY they've been expecting him.\\
'''You'd Expect:''' Orihime to call them over, or them to tell her to get out of the way, leading to them coming out and finishing him then and there.\\
'''Instead:''' Orihime '''''heals the man she knows is the enemy''''', and they don't even come out until '''after he's gotten up and attacked her'''.\\
'''The Result:''' A complete asshole is freed from a stabbed and chained coffin.
* During the Fake Karakura Town Arc, Ikkaku Madarame is one of the Soul Reapers sent to protect the four pillars making the Fake Karakura Town take the real Karakura Town's place. Ikkaku is forced to face the Arrancar Choe Neng Poww, a giant of a man who would be difficult to defeat. Ikkaku has the ability to use his Hōzukimaru's Bankai, Ryuumon Hōzukimaru, but he prefers not to use it in a public setting as he doesn't want to stop serving Kenpachi Zaraki.\\
'''You'd Expect:''' That Ikkaku realizes that this is such an important battle that [[GodzillaThreshold he can afford to hold nothing back]], and he chooses to publicly unleash his Bankai.\\
'''Instead:''' Ikkaku stubbornly sticks to his Shikai, and it's such a CurbStompBattle that we don't even get to see him lose onscreen. Made extra painful when after Iba pulls him out of the line of fire, he makes it clear that Ikkaku wasn't as sneaky as he thought, and his comrades knew he was hiding his true power.
* Minor example: so, you are a foot soldier for the Vandenreich and your leader tasks you with a very important job - deliver the war declaration to the Soul Society. Well, it's a dangerous mission, but hey, you got mooks to back you up.\\
'''You'd Expect:''' Do your job and get the hell out. \\
'''Instead:''' You set the date for the invasion, even though you weren't told to do so. Yeah, lowliest grunt makes essential decisions for his boss. Although it doesn't change much at all, and couldn't even deceive Yamamoto, it still gets Luders killed by The Emperor.
* The Shinigami recognize that the Vandenreich has an unknown Anti-Bankai ability but that Bankai is needed to be strong enough to win.\\
'''You'd Expect:''' The captains would coordinate which Shinigami would sacrifice their Bankai to understand the sealing process, so that the other Bankai-wielders could coordinate defence of the realm and the sacrificial Shinigami.\\
'''Instead:''' Four captains independently sacrifice their Bankai to assess the sealing process without coordinating with the rest of the captains. This catches all of them off guard and doesn't allow them to formulate a response that can protect either Soul Society or the sacrificial captains. Byakuya is the biggest offender of the four as he could've just asked Renji beside him to use ''his'' Bankai instead and see the results. Seal or steal, losing a giant snake (that breaks on the first contact) is better than losing an ''omni-directional blender''. Shinji and Mayuri lampshade in-universe how stupid this is.
* Renji has seen that the Quincies can steal Bankai and use it against the Shinigami owner. \\
'''You'd Expect:''' Him to not use his bankai.\\
'''Instead:''' He attempts to use his Bankai, despite Byakuya's complete [[OOCIsSeriousBusiness lack of stoicism]] when trying to stop Renji from doing so. The only reason why it doesn't get stolen is because Mask De Masculine, who wasn't paying attention, [[NiceJobFixingItVillain knocks him out before he can use it]].
* Chapter 499: After [[TorsoWithAView blasting a hole through]] Quilge Opie, who was previously fighting Ichigo, Urahara creates a portal to the Soul Society, so Ichigo can aid them in their battle against the Vandenreich.\\
'''You'd Expect:''' Urahara to ''absolutely make sure'' Quilge is dead, as characters in this series have survived worse injuries than this.\\
'''Instead:''' He sends Ichigo off through the portal without confirming Quilge's death first.\\
'''The Result:''' Quilge revives himself with [[PeoplePuppets Ransōtengai]], incapacitates Chad, Orihime, and Urahara, and traps Ichigo in a nigh-indestructible Reiatsu prison that takes him no small amount of effort to break out of. By the time Ichigo arrives at the Soul Society, Byakuya, Renji, Rukia and Kenpachi are near death, Yamamoto has been killed by Yhwach, and if it weren't for [[VillainousRescue Grimmjow, of all people,]] Ichigo's group would have followed suit.
* The Sternritter Berinice Gabrielli, has the Schrift: Q - The Question, which causes the opponent to [[BreakThemByTalking question everything about themselves]]. However, his powers require the opponent to actually ''hear'' what he’s saying, and he just so happens to be teamed up with [[SuperScream Jerome Guizbatt,]] whose loud screams deafens his enemies, if they don’t [[YourHeadAsplode outright kill them]].\\
'''You'd Expect:''' Berinice to use his Schrift on Kenpachi before Jerome has a chance to use his, or at least some time afterwards, when Kenpachi is able to hear again. Of course, he shouldn’t have been on the same team as Jerome in the first place.\\
'''Instead:''' He uses his Schrift on Kenpachi ''right after'' his ears are still ringing from Jerome’s vocal assault. Kenpachi swiftly [[ImpromptuTracheotomy tears his throat out]].
* Chapter 505: Yamamoto goes to save Shuuhei from one of the Vandenreich, Driscoll, who was also the one who killed his lieutenant.\\
'''You'd Expect:''' Driscoll would keep his mouth shut and either run away or fight Yamamoto as cautiously as possible.\\
'''Instead:''' [[TooDumbToLive He boasts about killing Chojiro]], then tries using his bankai to kill Yamamoto. Cue CurbStompBattle.
* Chapter 506: Yamamoto is about to confront Yhwach.\\
'''You'd Expect:''' Everybody stay the hell out and let the big guys do their thing.\\
'''Instead:''' Bazz-B, Nanana and As Nodt try to ambush Old Man Genocide. No points for guessing how it works out for them. It's especially painful in As Nodt's case, who earlier proved to be a capable and cunning villain. In the end, he doesn't even bother using Byakuya's Bankai or his Scarecrow style powers against Soul Society's most dangerous man. Unfortunately for Soul Society, none of them got incinerated by their screw-up and lived to fight another day.
* Bazz-B is not happy with Yhwach's choice of successor. Especially because he is friends with Haschwalth, whom everyone thinks as the biggest candidate for becoming next Emperor\\
'''You'd Expect:''' Eager support of your Emperor's choice while imagining all sorts of nasty things.\\
'''Instead:''' He shouts at Yhwach and rushes to the podium, only to be stopped by Haschwalth. Thankfully for Bazz-B, he's still in one piece when Yhwach just shuts him up. Later, Bazz-B is still mad and tries to enter Emperor's chambers to bitch about how Uryuu is not good enough to lead Vandenreich. Again, Haschwalth stops him. Also of note, this is the guy who tried to ambush the late Old Man Genocide. So yeah.
* Shuhei recovers enough to try attacking Mask De Masculine when he is about to leave to go see what fell from the sky.\\
'''You'd Expect:''' Him to attack Mask's smaller companion James due to Mask being invincible if he has a supporter cheer for him.\\
'''Instead:''' He wraps a chain around Mask and is pulled in to get stomped before Kensei and Rose show up and prevent him from getting stomped, leading to him failing to warn Kensei and Rose about Mask being invincible just as Mask is being restored by his fan.\\
'''The Result:''' Kensei is launched into a tower while Rose is the only person around capable of fighting Mask, making Mask pretty much unbeatable instead of a ZeroEffortBoss as Rose and Kensei could've taken Mask and his fan out at the same time if Hisagi had spoken up earlier.
* Byakuya vs Pepe. Pepe attacks Byakuya with his love control power.\\
'''You'd think''': Byakuya would just physically dodge the power as he'd already proven he could do and restrain Pepe with Kido or outspeed him to strike him down.\\
'''Instead''': He slashes with his sword, despite having figured out Pepe controls hearts, and despite having two experiences with opponents taking control of zanpakutou spirits (whom Shinigami know have hearts).\\
'''End result''': He throws away his sword and doesn't know how to take down the nearly-dead, love-controlled Hisagi without killing him in the process.
* In the past, it's shown that Neliel used to be Nnoitra's superior (Neliel being the former third Espada, Nnoitra the eighth) - despite Nnoitra making it perfectly clear he despised Neliel and wanted her dead, she insisted on following him on dangerous missions and attempting to rein him in because "he was weaker than her" but still a comrade, angering Nnoitra, who found it the ultimate insult that Neliel would repeatedly defeat him but never killed him:\\
'''You'd Expect:''' For Neliel to either kill Nnoitra, who has proved over and over to be a dangerous, violent individual who resents her higher rank and wants her dead, or just avoid him in general until he gets himself killed and no longer poses a problem.\\
'''Instead:''' Neliel repeatedly rubs it in Nnoitra's face that she considers him no better than an animal and assumes that because of their respective rankings, he would never actually retaliate against her. So Nnoitra teams up with Szayel, critically injures Neliel's Fraccion to lure her into a trap, then brutally attacks her, shattering her mask and devolving her into a childlike form (Nel) and thereby kicking her out of the Espada and paying her back for her pity by leaving her to die in the desert rather than giving her a quick death.
* A couple decades before the story starts, Isshin was captain of Squad 10 and got caught up in battle against a unique Hollow called White. During said battle, he strays into the patrol area of another squad, which one of their members senses.\\
'''You'd Expect:''' The unseated Soul Reaper to stay out of the way. Any fight where a captain has to actually try is well beyond an unseated officer like him.\\
'''Instead:''' He rushes in, demanding to know what Isshin is doing in his territory and gets killed instantly by White for his troubles.
* [=BG9=] has stolen Sui-Feng's bankai, and has in his arsenal a damaged gatling gun, several tendrils, and a missile launcher. Sui-Feng's bankai takes the form of a large rocket launcher that can be used only sparingly; two consecutive shots in a short period of time, each packing a huge punch. He is assigned to fight and kill Sui-Feng after tormenting her for her lack of Bankai.\\
'''You'd Expect:''' [=BG9=] to just straight-up use the damn thing. It's mundane enough to be used with his Reishi arsenal, and there is a chance that she can't even use it even if she steals it back. Even if he can't repair his gatling gun in time, it's still enough damage to Sui-Feng thanks to his other weapons.\\
'''Instead:''' He just puts it away and does nothing because he believes it's not even worth the use.\\
'''Result:''' Sui-Feng reclaims her Bankai which temporarily poisons him, and even after he activates Vollstandig, he is blasted when Sui-Feng uses the Bankai against him. He is forced to be tried and executed before Yhwach for this failure.
* Yhwach has begun his invasion of Soul Society. He has deployed his Sternritter and his Soldat across the Silbern, which encompasses the whole area of the Seiretei as the two are swapped around. He also has particles of his soul not just in his Sternritter, but even their enemies as well, across the entire Silbern, allowing him to absorb strength from as everyone in the vicinity, Soul Reaper and Quincy alike. Yhwach has Cang Du and [=BG9=] brought back to be tried after their failure.\\
'''You'd Expect:''' That he just allows Cang Du and [=BG9=] to redeploy back to the battlefield. Sure, he has to be patient before absorbing their powers, but at least they can continue to hinder the Soul Reapers, let alone kill them so that Yhwach can absorb the souls of his enemies.\\
'''Instead:''' He orders Haschwalth to execute them both on his behalf.\\
'''Result:''' He absorbs their powers ''now'', but loses two important assets, and the Soul Reapers continue to hinder his plans.
* Rose is fighting the Quincy Mask de Masculine, and is overwhelming him with his bankai, Kinshara Butodan. However, Mask manages to work out that such a complex and thematically incoherent bankai probably isn't real, and reasons it to be [[YourMindMakesItReal some kind of illusion]].\\
'''You'd Expect:''' Rose to shut up and just keep using the bankai.\\
'''Instead:''' In a stunning display of ExplainingYourPowerToTheEnemy, Rose proceeds to verify Mask's claim and adds that Kinshara Butodan specifically works by using the music it creates to trick the minds of those to hear it. Mask responds by crushing his own eardrums, rendering himself deaf and completely shutting down Rose's bankai. He then blasts Rose through the chest, knocking Rose out of commission for the rest of the war.
* Mask De Masculine has pummeled through three lieutenants, along with Captain Kensei and Rose himself, after being constantly revived by James. Just before they can finish off Rose, Renji comes in to save the day.\\
'''You'd Expect:''' For James to leave the area, or Mask to order James to leave. Not only does it give Mask the moral high ground to continue his preaching, but James being alive at the same time means he can constantly revive and be stronger. Even if James is sliced apart, he just split into two, which makes him tougher to kill.\\
'''Instead:''' Mask gives in to his anger and tries to ''completely incinerate both Renji and James'' with his Star Flash Supernova in the short run, before charging in to finish Renji off quickly, in the hopes that James will eventually revive, albeit slowly.\\
'''As A Result:''' Mask gets impaled and incinerated by Renji's Bankai, Sou-ou Zabimaru, and James does not revive in time to keep both of them alive. Renji has just killed them, and James' soul is absorbed by Yhwach, instead of having him around to stall the heroes just like his similar Schutzstaffel member, Gerard Valkyrie, thanks to their similar powers.
* Squad Zero knows that the Vandenreich will attempt to reach the Royal Palace. They also know Ichigo will try to protect the Soul Society.\\
'''You'd Expect:''' That they would send their strongest members to assist heavily in the defense of the Seireitei while allowing Ichigo to train as a contingency plan. At least the Palace would be hidden and Ichigo would not feel so worried, given that their strength would help decimate the Quincy armies.\\
'''Instead:''' They place all their eggs on making a makeshift trap, openly allowing them to come to the Royal Palace and attack them.\\
'''As A Result:''' Ichigo is so worried about the Soul Society, his arrival creates a massive opening for Yhwach and his Schutzstaffel to travel to the Royal Palace ... where they eventually take down Squad Zero and allow him to kill the Soul King.
* Yhwach has arrived at the Soul King's Palace with his Schutzstaffel, leaving his remaining Sternritter behind. On the way there, he is greeted by Squad Zero, led by High Priest Ichibei Hyosube.\\
'''You'd Expect:''' That he just allows the Schutzstaffel to go all out (e.g. having Nianzol warp the surrounding environment, Pernida to destroy the wallpaper illusions, Lille to stop using regular Heilig Pfeil bullets and use the ''freakin'' X-Axis with Gerard's strength) and steamroll Squad Zero from the get-go. He especially has no excuse, given how he can reclaim his ability to see into the future and devise a plan to work against Squad Zero's abilities.\\
'''Or Even:''' Take his other strongest and most experienced Sternritter with him. Guys like Bazz-B are strong, and old soldiers like Robert Accutrone are experienced enough to devise an effective strategy.\\
'''Instead:''' He has the Schutzstaffel fail against Squad Zero and performs ''Auswahlen'' on his remaining men just to let them go all out.\\
'''As a Result:''' Not only does he waste valuable time that would've been better spent setting up his plan to build Wahrwelt, he also kills off important assets that would've assisted in fighting Squad Zero (or at least, stall Ichigo and company from following him), and also galvanizes the surviving Sternritter to rebel against him, causing him to fail in taking over Wahrwelt in the long run.
* Speaking of the attack on the Soul King's Palace, Nianzol Weizol is assigned the job of protecting Yhwach with his Schrift, the [[SpaceMaster Wind]], an ability he is even able to use whilst hiding via the Quincy's Shadow power.\\
'''You'd Expect:''' That Nianzol just stay in the shadows the entire time, wasting the enemy's resources as they try to figure out a counter, or just use the defense to enable Yhwach to steamroll the opposition with his own abilities. The manga even goes as far to showcase Kirinji being unable to figure out what the heck is going on.\\
'''Instead:''' Nianzol arrogantly emerges from the shadows to gloat and explain his powers to [[ClothingCombat Senjumaru Shutara]], who proceeds to [[NoNonsenseNemesis immediately discreetly use her abilities to retailor Nianzol's clothing to kill him]]. It's bad enough in the manga since Nianzol was doing well enough as a hidden asset, but worse in the anime, which [[AdaptedOut removes Kirinji's brief fight against Yhwach,]] meaning Nianzol reveals himself ''even earlier'' and quickly gets killed and [[UndignifiedDeath tossed off the side of the Soul King's Palace]] by Senjumaru.
* Gerard Valkyrie, Schutzstaffel M, of the Miracle, is curbstomping Renji, Zaraki, Rukia, and many other Soul Reapers and allies with his StoryBreakerPower. Jugram "Jugo" Haschwalth is wrecking the hell out of Uryu Ishida as his powers counter his. Meanwhile, Yhwach is fighting Ichigo and his other allies, and is at the back foot.\\
'''You'd Expect:''' That Yhwach just leaves him alive to stall them. Even if Zaraki tried to destroy his core, it is so tough, it fails to kill him in time. At this point, Gerard can just reviving and coming back stronger, turning into a nigh-unkillable EnergyBeing at one point, that can overpower ''Kenpachi's Bankai''. Meanwhile, Jugram is ''literally about'' to kill Uryu and remove another obstacle to him. Leave them alive to let them finish their jobs first.\\
'''Or Even:''' Bait himself into switching places, allowing Gerard to fight Ichigo, Uryu, and Aizen, while he finishes off the exhausted Renji, Zaraki, and Rukia with his Almighty.\\
'''Instead:''' He ''performs Auswahlen'' on his strongest duo, ''just because he was losing and needed more power.''\\
'''As A Result:''' Yhwach has no remaining allies left before he is ultimately cut down by Ichigo and company, thanks to Uryu being saved leaving him able to shoot him with [[PowerNullifier the still-silver arrow]], his dreams of establishing Wahrwelt and merging all planes of reality into a death-free paradise dashed.