Tite Kubo has always prided himself with the fact about how he takes his time in establishing a character so as to incorporate a response from the fans in a more positive direction. Bleach has an array of different characters that vary in personality, design, and overall individuality. When creating such distinctive characters, they almost become people of their own.
That is not to say that some authors cannot have fun with what they have created. It is this creative freedom that many of the best mangakas and artists thrive on. Kubo also takes full advantage of such a situation, that too through the character of Toushirou Hitsugaya.
He, contrasting to his physical appearance, stands as a much more mature and serious character. In the starting he appears as a child, however, his responsibilities far surpass one.
Tite Kubo Messes With Bleach Characters for Fun
In an interview via Comic Book Movie, Tite Kubo opened up about how there is no harm in wanting to mess with characters here and there. Toushirou Hitsugaya happens to be one of those characters. The author did state that were Ulquiorra to be alive, he would have been a target too. However, the most compatible target then became the Captain of the 10th Division of the Soul Society.
“I love giving a hard time to Toushirou Hitsugaya. Or if he were still alive, I would do the same thing to Ulquiorra. To me, it’s so funny to see the contrast between the characters’ usual personalities and their interaction in a comedic situation.”
Kubo stated that because of his serious persona, Hitsugaya is more prone to reactions when something silly is going on around him. That is to say, his lieutenant also happens to be Rangiku Matsumoto, an otherwise light-hearted yet powerful character.
Putting Hitsugaya in such situations would make the character uncomfortable and all in all set up a comedic scene out of that discomfort.
Tite Kubo Likes Exploring Lighter Sides
No character is black and white. Needless to say, that means no character holds just one sort of archetype. Tite Kubo tends to dive into the possibility of how characters would react in unlikely situations. This brings about the idea of seeing another side of them that fans may not be familiar with.
“Hitsugaya is an almighty character in that sense. Even in the regular series, he’s the one who responds to other characters’ silliness. It’s just so much fun to expose the sides of a character’s personality you normally don’t see.”
Toushirou Hitsugaya became the perfect candidate for the same. His otherwise tough and serious personality clashes with all those silly situations making him more humanistic than simply a captain doing his job.
This enables Hitsugaya to showcase a side of him that is more humorous, light-hearted, and in general inflicting comedy for the audience as well.
Bleach is available to watch on Crunchyroll and Hulu.