I don't know how much of a hot take this is, but if we're talking about the villains of Bleach specifically in context to Ichigo, I would genuinely describe Ginjo as Ichigo's most evil and vile villain he's faced. Ichigo's, not Bleach's.
I would possibly describe Aizen as the most evil villain in Bleach. It's genuinely really hard to pick between him and Yhwach, but I would say it's Aizen if I had to pick. However, neither Aizen nor Yhwach actively fucked with Ichigo in the way Ginjo did.
Yhwach is closer compared to a force of nature. Ichigo was not specifically targeted solely or alone (as in he wasn't the final person with casualties before him). And, similarly, Aizen's plans were fucking EVIL but none of them were really aimed specifically at solely hurting Ichigo. Don't get me wrong, both of them DID target him. He was a factor in their plans. Part of their actions were aimed at him. But he was one person in a loooong line of people, one in a crowd that they hurt.
Ginjo, on the other hand, went straight for, solely and specifically, Ichigo. His intent was to hurt Ichigo. He went after Ichigo. He was Ginjo's final destination, his main goal. Ginjo did not hurt Ichigo despite how many others were hurt, Ichigo was not just another casualty in a long line of people, he had many people get hurt BECAUSE he wanted to hurt Ichigo.
Aizen and Yhwach's motivations and goals had NOTHING to do with Ichigo. They never did. Ichigo's existence is a pure accident on the part of Aizen, who was already decades deep into his evil. But Ginjo's goal? Ichigo. The entire time.
On top of all of this. Every single antagonist and villain Ichigo has ever faced was conscious of the fact Ichigo is a child. We are quite literally not allowed to forget that these characters are KIDS. It is repeated and emphasised so fucking much. And Ginjo is no exception to this. He knows Ichigo is young, he knows Ichigo is just a kid, he knows Ichigo isn't even 18 yet. He knows Ichigo is only in high school. He knows Ichigo is a high school teenage boy still living with his dad and sisters. And Ginjo is not a spiritual being who has lived for hundreds of years. He is not someone who doesn't understand emotions. He is not someone who quite literally lost his humanity and became a beast.
Ginjo is fucking human. He's not an ordinary human by ANY means. But he is human. Exactly like Ichigo. He has lived a human life. He is a 28 year old human man. And all of that, in my opinion, makes Ginjo's actions even more disgusting and vile than anything anyone else in Bleach has done. (Aside from Orihime and Sora's parents, and Jugram's uncle)
I loath Aizen with all my heart. His actions were despicable, down right horrific. There is nothing you can say that would make me like him. He is a beautifully written character, and I'm quite glad I hate him. Yhwach is my favourite villain in Bleach, and one of my favourite characters in Bleach, but I will not pretend like his actions were not also despicable. And with no due respect, absolutely fuck Mayuri. Fantastic character, disgusting person (who unfortunately made me sob at the end. Wtf was that about??)
And yet, I don't personally believe that any of what they have done could compare to how downright vile and disgusting of a person I fully believe Ginjo is.
To be very clear. I think Ginjo is a fantastically written character. I really hope that this post does not come off like I don't understand his character because this kind of hatred I have for a character comes from understanding them (I hope anyway). However, if I have genuinely missed the mark somewhere, I would love for someone to just kindly poke me and correct me. I don't think I'm missing anything because I'm viewing this all in context of how they happen, and why the villains acted that way, and what their motivations were. As an actual villain of Bleach, Ginjo is probably third place for most evil. But for Ichigo specifically, I do genuinely believe he's the worst.
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