When Tite Kubo’s Bleach: Thousand-Year Blood War was aired back in 2022, it saw the rise in popularity of the franchise. The franchise not only witnessed the fans of the original series returning but also saw new-generation viewers getting hooked on the show.
Though the anime series followed the storyline from the manga, it introduced a ton of new characters and new abilities that were not shown during its Big Three era. Even old faces from the original title received some changes.
Aside from better animation, the series deviated a little from the manga’s storyline, which showcased two characters in the limelight who were rarely showcased in the source material. During an interview, the mangaka opened up about how deviating from his work was one of the best decisions taken by the anime adaptation.
Tite Kubo is Grateful For Providing Major Screentime to 2 Characters
Tite Kubo’s Bleach: Thousand-Year Blood War is everything that the fans have ever wanted. The title takes a fresh take on the franchise, especially considering how the original series ended, leaving it in a difficult spot.
The anime adaptation of the 2022 show has been actively following the original storyline for the most part. But fans who had read the manga would have noticed that in the anime, two characters have more screen time compared to the manga.
If you have not guessed it yet, it is none other than Ryūnosuke Yuki and Shino Madarame. During an exclusive interview with VIZ, Kubo-Sensei praised the cast of the anime adaptation for being “spot on” and having an “incredible grasp of the characters.” However, that’s not all, as he praised the voice actors of the characters.
He said,
From the beginning, every cast member has been spot on and has an incredible grasp of the characters. Take for example, Daiki Yamashita, who plays Ryunosuke, and Asami Seto, who plays Shino. Their characters don’t appear very much in the original manga, but I think they’ve been fleshed out thanks to these VAs.
Masakazu Morita, the voice actor of Ichigo Kurosaki, asked the author to give instances from the show that made him feel like their stories have been fleshed out. Tite Kubo replied,
It’s difficult to put into words. It’s the impression I get from hearing their voices. I personally had no idea what voices would fit them since I didn’t really come up with many backstories for these characters. But the VAs had a good grasp of their characters. It was also refreshing to have new faces join the show. So I thought all of that was really great.
While Kubo-Sensei felt immensely proud of his creation, Ichigo’s voice actor also dropped his opinion about the show, forcing him to pinch himself because it looked too good to be true.
Ichigo Kurosaki’s Voice Actor Had to Pinch Himself Following The Story of Thousand-Year Blood War
During an exclusive interview with GameRant in 2023, the interviewer asked Johnny Yong Bosch about his emotions once again after he returned for his iconic role after so long. He shared that he had to constantly “pinch” himself to determine if he was dreaming or if it was reality.
Bosch said,
I have to pinch myself constantly to make sure I’m not dreaming. I mean this is the stuff I was hoping to get to before it ended previously, so I’m really enjoying this part of the story. We’re really getting to the heart of Ichigo.
The voice actor added that returning after so long was a big task in itself because he had to bring the protagonist to life, especially when the character has a global fan following.
He added,
The biggest impact is definitely connecting with fans worldwide through BLEACH. I do feel a level of responsibility in bringing him to life. It’s like the coach put me in the game, so I better not blow it. I give it everything I’ve got.
Nevertheless, the effort bore fruit because the fans loved Johnny Yong Bosch’s portrayal, and they couldn’t get enough of him as the story would feature more epic battles that would keep the fans biting their nails with anticipation and finally put an end to the war between the two factions.
Bleach: Thousand-Year Blood War can be streamed on Hulu.
