Tite Kubo is no stranger to fame. His work with Bleach has been extravagantly awarded and praised through and through. There are many mangakas, with perhaps little to no exceptions who were inspired by others. There would always be one manga or another that inspired them either right before their magnum opus’s creation, during it, or in their early childhood.
Many of the greatest mangakas were inspired by Dragon Ball and Akira Toriyama’s work, while the legend himself found his inspiration in a Chinese novel. Inspiration has bizarre ways to strike and for the greatest artists, they find unique and different perspectives to create their masterpieces. Tite Kubo was no different yet he knew exactly how to stand out.
Tite Kubo’s Unique Perspective to Inspiration
In an interview with Shonen Jump, Tite Kubo talked about how there was no manga, anime, movie, or book that inspired him to create his characters. He had said before as well that his process of creating these characters was much different than what many might be used to. Being so heavily influenced by mythology, he found ways to incorporate those into the story and the characters.
When I create characters, I’m inspired by music rather than stories, other manga or movies. The characters then create the story. So for me, my creativity comes from music.
One thing he found inspiration in, however, was music. Unlike the other mediums, the music spoke to him in many volumes. He could make characters through music. They would be brought to life through tunes and lyrics with heavy passion.
These characters that would be overflowing with depth and personality would then lead to the possibility of the story. They would navigate the story, becoming the conductors of the orchestra Kubo brought to life.
One Exception to it All
Seeing how influenced Tite Kubo was of mythological aspects, there weren’t many mangas nor movies that managed to inspire him except for one. Saint Seiya became the only manga that influenced the author like no other.
I can’t point to a particular book, but one manga that influenced me when I was small was Saint Seiya, which is based on Greek mythology. Because of it, I started looking into things like myths, monsters and the afterlife. I was reading about them until around junior high school, so they might have been the basis.
The reason for this also had to do with the fact that it had mythological aspects to it. Not only was he inspired by death, soul reapers, and all the aspects that go in the dark, but he also took notice of myths and the monsters that hide in them.
Through and through, Saint Seiya or Knights of the Zodiac became the one exception to his inspiration, one that even music couldn’t surpass.
