Tite Kubo, the brilliant mind behind Bleach, has created a series that deserves to stay in the Big Three of Shonen anime. Not only does it have brilliant comic and action elements, the series shows sparks of foreshadowing, the likes of which could put One Piece to shame.
There are several elements in Bleach that were foreshadowed from the very beginning, including Yhwach’s existence, Ichigo’s Quincy powers, Kenpachi’s Bankai, and more. In a three-way interview with Taguchi Tomohisa (Bleach director) and Morita Masakazu (Ichigo’s voice actor), the author explains the various aspects of Bleach‘s serialization.
Tite Kubo Discusses Foreshadowing in Bleach
Any great franchise has foreshadowing at play that gets discovered by fans only once a wild revelation is made. Bleach is no exception to the rule as it has elements that are completely normal at first glance, but later develop to be hints at a greater situation.
In an interview, Tite Kubo discussed foreshadowing in Bleach with Morita Masakazu, the voice actor of Ichigo. The conversation began with Tite Kubo accepting that he had a vague idea about how Bleach would end. Later, he had to figure out how to create the ending, if the series did not become popular, then the serialization would inevitably become shorter.
Then, the conversation jumped to foreshadowing:
Foreshadowing is basically, “Oh, I see! This is connected to that.” So, I can actually disregard them in the process of drawing the manga.
Tite Kubo further explains his point of view by talking about the connection between Zangetsu and Yhwach. The author claims that even though he had drawn Zangetsu in Yhwach’s appearance, nobody would have known it was foreshadowing until Yhwach himself was introduced.
If the manga serialization were to end halfway, it’d have ended without Yhwach making his appearance. Which means Zangetsu would no longer be a setup that foreshadows anything.
This brilliant strategy used by Kubo future-proofed Bleach‘s ending. Even if the serialization ended before it was supposed to, the foreshadowing in Bleach would remain dormant, without causing fans to feel puzzled.
The Foreshadowing of Zangetsu’s True Identity in Bleach
For the majority of Bleach, Ichigo thought Zangetsu’s physical manifestation represented his Soul Reaper powers. It wasn’t until the Thousand Year Blood War arc that Ichigo realized Zangetsu looked like Yhwach.
When Ichigo demanded an explanation, the figure revealed that his name wasn’t Zangetsu. He is the manifestation of the Quincy powers in Ichigo. Despite being a part of Yhwach, the figure claims that he isn’t the Quincy King.
Back when Ichigo had first asked Zangetsu to clarify his identity, the man spoke his name but it was blocked out by a black ink-box. Another often-skipped-upon detail is White claiming that he is Zangetsu but Ichigo never believing him. It is possible that White is the actual manifestation of Ichigo’s Soul Reaper and Hollow powers while the man claiming to be Yhwach is the Quincy representative of Ichigo’s psyche.
You can read Bleach on Viz Media and watch the anime on Crunchyroll.
