It is no surprise that writing a manga can be tedious. Be it brutal serialization or reworking drafts, the journey can be frustrating. Likewise, Tite Kubo experienced several obstacles while working on his manga Bleach. As difficult as it may be, the process behind creating characters and ideas is fascinating.
While the author was pushed to the edge, his creative process and efforts paid off. Kubo sensei’s approach to concepts and ideas differs from Eiichiro Oda’s process for One Piece. Both mangakas are opposites in their approach to character designs and concepts.
Tite Kubo uses word association for channeling ideas for Bleach
Bleach is a popular dark supernatural Shonen manga written by Tite Kubo. It is among the Big 3 of Shonen along with Naruto and One Piece. It is unique in its well-written character arcs along with its visuals. Besides that, the author’s approach to themes of death and loss sets the manga apart from its contemporaries.
Bleach excels as a Shonen anime in several aspects. Some of these include character growth, superior animation quality, and darker elements. Sometimes, it is considered a cross between seinen and shonen because of its depiction of blood and gore.
The author’s use of foreign words in the manga sets a different tone for the characters. What’s even more interesting is his process behind creating concepts. In an interview with Viz Media, Tite Kubo revealed his process of creating concepts for the manga. He quoted:
I don’t go to a specific place to think. If I think of something, I make a note of it. It happens while I’m talking to people or even doing completely unrelated activities. For example, while watching a movie, I might suddenly hear a word, or a word will pop into my head. I’ll look it up and expand upon it. I think of it as kind of like an association game. I even get ideas from things that are completely unrelated.
The author’s relationship with words, concepts, and ideas is clear in the manga. The process of intermingling foreign terms with concepts is something that may not work with Eiichiro Oda for his manga One Piece.
Eiichiro Oda and Tite Kubo’s creative methods are poles apart
While the manga industry is brutal and competitive, it highlights the respect that creators have for each other. While One Piece and Bleach are contemporaries, both are iconic and popular in their unique way. Both Shonen anime aren’t different in their storyline but in the methods that the mangaka use for their creation.
As opposed to Kubo sensei, who uses word association to bring out the creative flow and concepts, Eiichiro Oda has a rather brutal approach to his storytelling process. This would often involve him to push him to the edge.
In an interview with Viz, Oda san revealed how the only way to channel and harness ideas would be to go to extreme limits. He quoted:
I think of the plots and scenes when I’m tired. The only way that I can think of a new idea is to think about it a lot without sleeping or eating. That’s the only way that I know, because humans can only come up with truly new ideas when they reach their limit.
While Oda san’s process is brutal and extreme, it makes sense considering the toll it takes on his health as a mangaka. Masakazu Morita pointed to the element of rhythm in the author’s work, which makes sense considering the author’s use of music and words in his creative process. Both mangaka excel in their unique ways.
Bleach and One Piece are available on streaming on Crunchyroll
