Bleach returned with its Thousand Year Blood War arc after a whole decade, so no wonder fans were jumping in excitement when episode 1 of the mega-series aired. From the animation quality to the action scenes, fans observed each detail with hawk eyes.
So, when Ichigo’s voice sounded different from the past seasons, people were quick to pick it up. While there was a minor gap in the franchise itself, the real-life hiatus lasted ten years, during which the voices of the cast were sure to change.
In an interview with Viz Media, Tite Kubo explains why Ichigo sounds different and why it’s nothing to panic about.
Tite Kubo and Ichigo’s Voice Actor Discuss Voice Acting in Bleach: Thousand Year Blood War
Tite Kubo and Masakazu Morita, the voice actor of Ichigo, joined Viz Media for an interview to discuss Bleach, and the first thing on the plate was voice acting. Kubo claimed he was joining recording sessions through remote calls to oversee the procedure and ensure everything went smoothly.
He explained that he would listen to a couple of lines from the returning voice actors and give the green signal. However, the voice actors would remember their roles much better than Kubo.
Morita joined in by saying that even the veteran VAs were worried about their roles. The VA of Urahara asked for a second opinion regarding his performance.
Kubo sensei then revealed that his family had commented on Ichigo’s voice change after watching the first two episodes of Bleach: Thousand Year Blood War. His family had watched the advanced screening in September 2022.
Morita then explained how he took a different approach to delivering his lines. He added variety to how different phrases sounded, which he could not make before.
“Especially at the end of consonants, where I’m adding a few embellishments. Also, I slightly increased the volume of my mid-baritone. I tried to slightly increase my range and make it reverberate a little more.”
The voice actor admitted that these are noticeable changes for those who aren’t looking to nitpick. He then explained that he has a voice in his head when he thinks of Ichigo, and he is closer to the voice now than he was ten years ago.
Tite Kubo Defends Ichigo’s Changed Voice in Bleach: Thousand Year Blood War
According to Tite Kubo, Ichigo’s voice change was perfectly suitable for his character and reflected his maturation. For him, the change was natural because Ichigo was a year older than last season.
“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.”
In fact, the mangaka hadn’t even noticed that there was a change in Morita’s voice. He realized it only after multiple people commented on the change. However, he still sticks to the fact that the voice sounds exactly how Ichigo should.
“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.”
To conclude, Morita jokingly said that he would be able to sleep soundly after knowing that Tite Kubo found his voice closely matched what he had thought of Ichigo.
You can read Bleach: Thousand Year Blood War on Viz Media and watch the anime on Disney+.
