Most anime fans already know Michael B. Jordan is not a casual watcher. Long before streaming made anime feel like everyday TV, Jordan spoke openly about how much the medium shaped his taste, from giant robot stories to long-running shonen classics. In 2019, that fandom came up during his promotion for gen:LOCK, Rooster Teeth’s animated sci-fi series. Jordan voiced the lead and helped steer the project as a producer.
In a short interview tied to the show, Jordan was asked about his favorite anime villain. Instead of picking the most obvious names, Jordan went straight to Bleach and named Ulquiorra Cifer as the standout. His choice says a lot. Ulquiorra is not the loudest villain in the franchise. He is cold, quiet, and almost clinical, which makes him scarier. With Bleach: Thousand-Year Blood War heading toward its final stretch, Jordan’s pick feels timely.
The gen:LOCK Interview Put Bleach Back in the Spotlight
Jordan’s favorite-villain reveal came from a Rooster Teeth promotional interview connected to gen:LOCK, a series built around mech combat, military trauma, and young pilots forced into impossible situations. That setting made the anime conversation feel natural. Mecha stories are one of anime’s most famous lanes, and Jordan has always spoken like someone who actually grew up with the genre.
When the villain question landed, Jordan’s answer cut through the usual list of safe or obvious picks. Ulquiorra is not the franchise’s main mastermind or the final boss. Yet, he is the character many fans remember most clearly, because he represents a special kind of threat. He is a villain who does not need to raise his voice to control a room. That energy matches Jordan’s own screen history, since many of his most memorable roles have been built on intensity and conviction.
Michael B. Jordan’s clip has had a second life online. While the interview happened years ago, every time the clip resurfaces, it plays like a stamp of approval for Bleach’s deeper villains. Some shonen antagonists are entertaining because they are fun to hate, but Ulquiorra is different. The character leaves an impact because he feels like a wall that cannot be moved.
Michael B. Jordan Is Right: Ulquiorra Still Feels Like Bleach’s Most Complete Villain
Ulquiorra Cifer fires a cero in Bleach.Image via Studio Pierrot
Ulquiorra’s strength lies not only in his blade or his ability to transform. It also lies in what he symbolizes. Emotion, for him, is a weakness that an Arrancar should not possess. He regards the heart merely as an invention that humans employ to give their existence meaning. That belief makes him perfect for Bleach, a series that constantly asks what it means to protect someone. Ulquiorra’s dynamic with Orihime Inoue is one of the most unsettling parts of the Arrancar Arc in Bleach.
He does not simply threaten her. He studies and tests her. He tries to understand why she holds onto hope when everything around her says hope is pointless. Those scenes work because Ulquiorra is not written like a cartoon monster. He is written like a person who truly cannot understand warmth, and that absence becomes his identity. Then there is the way Ulquiorra pushes Ichigo Kurosaki. Many Bleach villains challenge Ichigo’s strength, but Ulquiorra challenges his self-image.
The fights are not only about winning. They are about proving that Ichigo’s feelings matter in this relentless world of people being reduced to nothing more than tools. Ulquiorra’s presence shoves Ichigo into one of the scariest truths in the series: unchecked power will eventually transform a protector into something unrecognizable. That balance is why Ulquiorra has lasted. He is a villain built around emptiness, and Bleach uses him to show how dangerous emptiness can be.
Bleach’s Final Season Makes Jordan’s Pick Feel Even More Important
Ichigo Kurosaki in the Bleach: Thousand-Year Blood War anime seriesImage via Studio Pierrot
Bleach is entering a moment that long-time fans waited years to see: the story’s end being fully animated, with modern production and a clear finish line. Thousand-Year Blood War has already raised the stakes with brutal battles, major deaths, and reveals that reshape the entire world. The upcoming final chapter has to end the war, reveal the truth of the Soul King’s role, and provide the final answers around Ichigo’s identity and purpose.
Ulquiorra is from an earlier era of Bleach, but he represents the franchise at its sharpest. He is proof that Bleach’s best villains are not just strong; they also have focus, and they cause the hero’s transformation. Those are exactly what this final season needs, because this series has to have an actual conclusion instead of just a long chain of fights. Ulquiorra reminds viewers of what makes Bleach different from other shonen series.
Bleach often moves like a stylish action series, but its strongest moments come when it slows down and asks heavy questions about fear, grief and meaning. Ulquiorra is basically the face of those questions. As the story heads toward its finale, that kind of villain becomes the perfect symbol. Bleach’s end is not only about who wins. It is about what the characters become after they survive, and whether the world they protect is worth the scars it leaves behind.
Michael B. Jordan’s Celebrity Pick That Actually Makes Sense for Bleach Fans
Michael B Jordan sits in his corner in a boxing ring during Creed 3Image via Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
Celebrity anime talk can feel performative, but Jordan’s Ulquiorra pick sounds like a real fan answer. It is specific and points directly at one of Bleach’s best character arcs. Ulquiorra is not the easiest villain to explain in one sentence, which is exactly why the choice lands. It suggests someone who remembers how Bleach made him feel, not just which names are popular. This also highlights something Bleach fans have argued about for years. The series has a villain roster that deserves more respect than it gets.
The franchise is full of big personalities, but Ulquiorra stands apart because he is built like a tragedy. He is the kind of antagonist who can carry a story’s emotional spine while still delivering peak action. With Bleach’s final season approaching, Jordan’s favorite-villain reveal is like a reminder of what made the franchise iconic in the first place. Bleach is at its best when it mixes style, sadness, and sharp ideas inside one unforgettable character. Few villains represent that combination better than Ulquiorra Cifer.
Release Date
2004 – 2012-00-00
Network
TV Tokyo, TV Osaka, TV Aichi, TVh, TVQ, TSC, BS TV Tokyo
Showrunner
Tite Kubo
Directors
Mitsutaka Noshitani, Junya Koshida, Hodaka Kuramoto, Yasuto Nishikata, Hiroaki Nishimura, Kazunori Mizuno, Akira Shimizu, Rokou Ogiwara, Kazunobu Shimizu, Akane Inoue, Hikaru Murata, Tomoko Hiramuki, Kazuo Nogami, Taiji Kawanishi, Shigeki Hatakeyama, Eiko Nishi, Takushi Kimura, Koji Aritomi, Ogura Shirakawa, Kiyomu Fukuda, Yukio Okazaki, Mitsue Yamazaki, Yasuhiro Matsumura, Eitarou Ano
Writers
Masahiro Okubo, Masashi Sogo, Kenta Shimoyama, Genki Yoshimura, Kazuyuki Fudeyasu, Rika Nakase, Michiko Yokote, Natsuko Takahashi, Kento Shimoyama
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Masakazu Morita
Ichigo Kurosaki (voice)
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Fumiko Orikasa
Rukia Kuchiki
