Tite Kubo’s Bleach reignited the excitement among anime fans with the release of Bleach: Thousand-Year Blood War in 2022. The series, which is considered to be one of the “Big Three,” has entered the anime world once again and has proved that it is still one of the best anime and manga series of all time.
However, the series, compared to his predecessor, had a few changes that fans might not have noticed. While these changes did not affect the series in any way, they surely brought a new upgrade to the series. One such change was so discreet that even the creator of the series, Kubo, could not notice.
In an interview, Kubo mentioned that the voice of the protagonist, Kurosaki Ichigo, had changed a little, and he was not able to point it out. But his family was quick to grasp it and even mentioned it to him. Kubo later approved this change in the voice of Ichigo.
Tite Kubo’s Family Pointed Out a Change in Ichigo’s Voice
Last year, Tite Kubo and Ichigo’s voice actor, Masakazu Morita, were interviewed by Viz Media about Bleach: Thousand-Year Blood War. Kubo mentioned that during the advance screening of the anime series, his family stated that Ichigo’s voice had changed a little, but he was not able to recognize it.
Kubo mentioned:
“My family commented that Ichigo’s voice had changed after watching episodes one and two of Thousand-Year Blood War at the advance screening event back in September, 2022. I thought that was interesting because to me, the change in Morita-san’s voice perfectly captured Ichigo’s growth as a character, so it sounded fine to me.”
During the interview, Kubo mentioned that he was joining the recording session of the anime series, but even then, he was not able to point out the change in Morita’s voice for Ichigo. However, Kubo was happy with the change because it captured Ichigo’s growth as a character that he went through between Bleach and Bleach: Thousand-Year Blood War.
Tite Kubo Was Happy With Kurosaki Ichigo’s Voice Change
Kubo, while talking about the change, also revealed that he could not point it out because he believed that Ichigo was supposed to sound exactly the way he did in Bleach: Thousand-Year Blood War. Ichigo went through a lot of growth and even unlocked his hidden potential in the series; therefore, this voice change perfectly suited the character.
Kubo stated:
“In fact, I didn’t even notice that Morita-san changed his voice. So when I questioned if it really was that different, they said, “It’s completely different. How could you not notice it?” [lol] But if you ask me, Ichigo in Thousand-Year Blood War is supposed to sound this way.”
Morita, on the other hand, revealed that he intentionally changed Ichigo’s voice as he was using a different approach with the character. In the end, it all worked out for the best, and now Bleach fans are eagerly waiting for the third and final season of Bleach: Thousand-Year Blood War, which is set to release in spring 2024.
You can watch Bleach: Thousand-Year Blood War on Hulu.
