Yūki Tabata has proved that he is one of the greatest mangakas of this generation and his stellar work, Black Clover, has become one of the greatest shows. The manga has hooked its readers by featuring a great storyline with all the formulae necessary for the success of a Shonen series.
The work has been so successful in the manga industry that even Akira Toriyama, the godfather of the industry, could not help but sing its praise. Surprisingly, the author’s personal life had caused him a lot of distress. However, Tabata-Sensei had made one important decision that not only saved his work, but also enhanced his life.
In an interview, the author got candid about his friendship with Kohei Horikoshi, the author of My Hero Academia, as well as how switching to a different format of publication gave him a more relaxed schedule, allowing him to spend more time with his family.
Yūki Tabata’s One Decision Marked a Positive Shift in His Life
Before Yūki Tabata’s Black Clover was part of Shueisha’s publications in 2023, it was part of the Weekly Shonen Jump that had put immense pressure on the mangaka, resulting in poor work-life balance. Working on a weekly basis was a bad choice because coming up with the same standard under strict time limitations would put a heavy toll on his body.
Additionally, there have been alleged rumors of how the Shonen series has been struggling. However, the decision to jump ships ultimately paid off. A fan (@Promithean11) shared the last message of Tabata-Sensei for his reader, where he updated his fans on how his life has been post-transfer. He wrote,
The author had been enjoying the subtle pleasures of life, where he got to spend time with his family, especially his daughter. Furthermore, working at a slower pace would help him remain happy.
Tabata-Sensei was wise enough to change the format that saved his work as well as made his Black Clover popular around the world, making it a major title that every fan of the Shonen genre should watch.
However, Kubo-Sensei was not wise enough because working under such poor conditions not only affected his health, but also left Bleach with a subpar ending.
Tite Kubo’s Deteriorating Health Affected Bleach’s Ending
A part of the Big Three, Tite Kubo’s Bleach was one of the most popular Shonen series that had taken the popularity and fame of the anime and manga industry to a whole new level. However, towards the end, the manga became a hot topic of conversation because of how it had ended.
However, the controversial ending had a pretty solid reason behind it. During an exclusive interview with TBS Radio in Japan, a summary was provided via ComicBook Anime, where Kubo-Sensei mentioned that he had been extremely punctual and followed a strict timetable that allowed him to keep things moving smoothly until “his health declined.”
He said,
It was running for 15 years but Kubo never felt pressured or anything as he had more or decided on how things would go. He’d be planning for the next week while writing the current week’s chapter, so that’s how he kept things moving. Kubo is one who is very precise with how he spends his time, so he would have a strict schedule, one he kept until his health declined.
The mangaka added that he would continue to work on the show to reach his desired conclusion, but he kept going to a point where he felt was right to end the series.
He decided (not the editorial staff) that he’d draw Bleach to his desired conclusion, so even though there were times where he’d want to end the series prematurely due to his declining health, he kept going in order to reach the end he was satisfied with.
Fans would know how, in a later part of his career, the creator witnessed a drastic decline in his health as he continued with his magnum opus. The work was so overwhelming, that he was hospitalized for the excruciating pain which was a result of overworking himself.
Nevertheless, had the mangaka followed a similar path to Yūki Tabata, Bleach would have had a greater ending than it had presented.
Bleach: Thousand-Year Blood War can be streamed on Hulu.
Black Clover can be streamed on Crunchyroll.
