The creator of Bleach, Tite Kubo, sheds light on his approach to the narrative structure, which has been a key success in his continuing series. Kubo is known for his complex storytelling and character development. He revealed that the series’ charm has its roots emerging out of his spontaneous process of narration.
He also admitted that the humor placed on Bleach‘s intense narrative wasn’t precisely planned. However, it was a result of boredom while drawing intensive battle scenes. The desire to entertain himself in an unexpected way may be his unique trait that might have saved Bleach during its long serialization.
Tite Kubo’s Unplanned Humor to Tackle His Boredom
In an interview in San Diego, via Reddit, Kubo stated that he didn’t intentionally place humor, which came as a shocking strike to fans. He seemingly puts a balance between serious action and comedy so that the viewers are engaged through it. His approach has become a hallmark of his long-running series.
I don’t really plan on it, but when I get bored drawing battle scenes, then I throw in a joke or two to make it more fun for me.
The creator’s boredom has applied induced humor to the plot which has resulted in the smooth processing of his series. His breakdown of the intense action sequences has prevented them from drying out or becoming too repetitive. Maintaining a balance between scenes may have contributed to captivating audiences over the long run.
Kubo also highlights that Bleach‘s characters come first before their backstory gets revealed, which is quite opposite to his contemporary tropes who plan their character story beforehand. In particular, Kubo admitted that he didn’t plan for Ichigo’s dad to be a Soul Reaper, as he didn’t plan on having leaders in the Soul Society.
Tite Kubo’s Creative Inspiration Comes from Rock Music
Kubo candidly shares his creative approach to making action scenes, rather than using model poses for reference he prefers to listen to rock music to improvise the action dynamics in his mind. His reliance on that upgrades his imagination of the battle sequences which turns them into visually attractive.
I just have rock music going in my head and just imagine the action scenes. I pause the action and rotate the characters and find the best angle, and then I draw it.
Rock music’s tone might have had some kind of influence on Kubo. It allowed for more fluid and highly energetic combats in the series. He likes to have fun while drawing his scenes, particularly the connecting scenes, as he makes them as lively as possible.
He emphasized, “my job is to try to make it interesting,” rather than providing endless boring action scenes. The ability to create such illustrations balancing between planned and unplanned remains important for audiences to enjoy.
Kubo’s blending process while drawing stands as an instinctive power of creativity and the importance of artistic enjoyment in creating an impact through a long-lasting series.
Bleach is available to watch on Crunchyroll and read on Viz Media.
