#TITE KUBO INTERVIEW

[reikorun]

BLEACH TYBW Anime Cour 2 Booklet: Behind the Scenes [Translation - Part 1]

Translated by @reikorun

Director's Note × Author's Eye

We pick out several points from all 13 episodes (#14 ~ #26) of the second cour. For each point, pay attention to the explanations by Director Tomohisa Taguchi and the perspective of the original creator and general supervisor, Tite Kubo!

Section 1

Start with Yhwach again

1. A baby being held. As that being, raised up by countless hands, grows and opens its eyes, cour 2 "The Separation" begins. (ep. #14)

D: Tomohisa Taguchi

"Let's place the focus on the Sternritter for the second cour", from the early stages, this is what was decided among the staff. On top of that, in order to make a link with the first cour which began with Yhwach reciting the Kaiser Gesang, we thought "let's begin the sequence of events in cour 2 with him as well." In that case, that scene depicting his origin would be appropriate. In the original work, it was drawn in a manner which took a comprehensive view reminiscent of folklore, but I struggled with how to go about creating a similar impression in the anime. As a result, the visual expression became closer to an art film represented through images alone, without the use of any narration or dialogue at all.

A: Tite Kubo

From the moment I laid my eyes on the storyboard for the first time, I had a feeling that it was going to turn out really good. Regarding this scene, there were actually various changes made until we arrived at the final cut, and even the versions we didn't use were very interesting. During the dubbing session, the process of overlapping the collective "Yū, Ha, Vē, Ha" was also enjoyable to listen to.

2. In addition, there was a memorable scene where Yhwach's 'power' was portrayed through a visual representation. This is the scene where a 'shadow' extends from the throne as Yhwach falls asleep, leading to the appearance of Haschwalth. (ep. #18)

D: Tomohisa Taguchi

The portrayal of that shadow was an idea I received from Kubo-sensei. In the original work, we were able to gain an insight into the power of Yhwach as well as the connection between Yhwach and Haschwalth through Haschwalth's words to Uryū, but since there was no concrete depiction in itself for the transfer of power, it lead to discussions where we considered that It would also become an element linking to the subsequent cour, so we thought “let's do that in the anime!”

A: Tite Kubo

At first, the manner in which the shadow emerged looked as if it were surging up from below, but viewing it from a choreography standpoint, I suggested that the shadow itself should appear in a sort of sliding manner, giving the impression that it had some mass to it. The transfer of power occurred while Yhwach was sleeping, so in order to preserve the nuance that the transfer to Haschwalth happened while he was in that state, I also had Haschwalth depicted standing with his eyes slightly lowered.

Section 2

Storytelling 

3. In the second cour of 'BLEACH: Thousand-Year Blood War Arc', the war situation changes moment by moment due to the Sternritter invasion, and the outward appearance of the Soul Society also undergoes transformation. As a free-for-all breaks out in various places where enemies and allies intermingle in a state of chaos, the anime adds a scene where the newly appointed Captain-Commander, Kyōraku Shunsui, issues orders to each soldier. (ep. #14, #18)

D: Tomohisa Taguchi

One component of that is our desire to include explanatory scenes and scenes where the narrative is refreshed so that the audience are not confused by the ever-changing situation of the war. Another component was our desire to depict the organization that is the 'Gotei 13', which includes Kyōraku who became the Captain-Commander, in a renewed light, and these components overlapped seamlessly.

As a result, I think we were able to depict his status as Captain-Commander inherited from Yamaji, as well as his work ethic. In combination with the scene depicted in the original work that evokes the essence of Kyoraku, i.e. the handing over of Soul Tickets to Tatsuki and the others in the Human World, I'm happy if we were able to successfully delve deeper into the characters. 

A: Tite Kubo

It was a really nice scene with both the essence of Shunsui and the essence of a Captain-Commander coming through.

4. In addition to Kyōraku, the appearance of the other troops were added, including Vice-Captains. (ep. #16)

D: Tomohisa Taguchi

While the scenario building sessions were moving forward, I realized that I also wanted to depict the Shinigami's point of view as they strive to fight back against the invasion and try to fulfill their duty to the Gotei. Rather than simply portraying the scene, we added a series of shots with the intention of showing the state of the Shinigami who remain unyielding even as the war situation worsens and they are gradually forced into a disadvantageous position.

A: Tite Kubo

Even in a fan service sense, I think the audience enjoyed being able to see a variety of characters in the anime. 

5. With regard to the main character, Ichigo, extra scenes have been added, such as the manner in which he received training under Hyôsube Ichibei. (ep. #14 and others)

D: Tomohisa Taguchi

As mentioned earlier, the foundational principle for the second cour is to place the main focus on the Sternritter, while that's true, 'BLEACH' is still the story of Kurosaki Ichigo, isn't it? There were some concerns that the number of episodes in which Ichigo does not appear in the anime may end up feeling longer than it was in the original work, so we came up with the idea of showing what Ichigo is doing at the present time. The knowledge that Ichigo was training at the Soul King Palace is also depicted in the manga, so I speculate that even though Kubo-sensei undoubtedly had a concept and an image in his head, perhaps he deliberately chose not to draw the specifics. We had the privilege of making suggestions and consulting with Kubo-sensei about how we would go about incorporating the event into the story; those scenes were the result. In a sense, it's to be expected, but we were able to receive a tremendous amount of material from Kubo-sensei, far more than what we expected…. It made us think, "Ichigo, that's what you were doing in such a place!?'' As a fan of the original work, I was delighted, and I also maintained the feeling that I needed to put all my effort into portraying it.

A: Tite Kubo

About the Irazu Sandō part, I didn't include it because if I tried to draw it in the manga, the scene depicting the agonizing ordeal would span across multiple pages and end up too long. I'm glad that it could be expressed in the anime~!

6. The stage upon which Ichigo undergoes his training, Irazu Sandō. A mysterious and beautiful sight, yet it is also a peculiar place where a solemn air, a stillness and a sense of awe all coexist. (ep. #14 and others)

D: Tomohisa Taguchi

There's torii gates, a cobblestone pavement, shide (*zigzag-shaped paper streamers) adorning both sides…. If we hadn't received materials from Kubo-sensei, I don't think we would have been able to find our way to this point. Whilst enduring something which tries to push him away from the approach path, the more he walked, and the more he advanced, the heavier the wooden sword in Ichigo's right hand became. When he walks, he walks by moving his legs forward without letting his feet leave the ground. A lot of detailed images and ideas were provided, such as scenes of rain falling outside the path. This was then projected into anime visuals, and the Irazu Sandō came to a state of completion. I think this is a training ground packed with every element that is typical of BLEACH, down to the smallest detail, and that cannot be found in any other work. We've also incorporated an abundance of elements that will be connected to the third cour and onwards such as what happened to Ichigo during his training and the scenes he witnessed, so I would be happy if you could take another look.

A: Tite Kubo

Originally, the mental image I had was 'a sacred place, but at the same time, there is a sense that one is being cursed.' However, I thought that if I communicated this to the production team, the eeriness might end up being too pronounced, so I deliberately didn't mention it. The impression I had was that it was like an abandoned path. As a result, I think the team were able to capture that balance in the sense that it is a sacred yet potentially frightening place, and thus they were able to express it well. 

Section 3

Design & Color Concepts 

7. After the invasion by the Sternritter, the sky of the Seireitei was dyed red, and the squad barracks were transformed into unfamiliar, inorganic blue-white buildings. Director Taguchi's production plan is markedly reflected in those colors as well. (ep. #14)

D: Tomohisa Taguchi

The main goal was to dramatically shift the setting away from Seireitei in a time of peace. Additionally, the upper part of the frame is red and the bottom is blue, which serve as completely opposite elements in terms of hue, so the aim of the production was to consider how the image could be made into something vivid. After the invasion, the Seireitei became perpetually uniform to that coloring, so there were some concerns about whether it would be acceptable as there are very few anime that employ a color scheme which breaks away from the norm to such a degree. However, we wanted to convey the might of Yhwach's power and also the sense that his power had indeed transformed the world. Furthermore, since blue is also the color of 'Quincy Reishi', I considered that perhaps this extreme staging effect in which the space itself ends up dyed in the colors of the Quincy side would make it easier for viewers to perceive the phenomenon where visually, it no longer feels like the Seireitei = the world of the Shinigami.

A: Tite Kubo

When I first received this proposal for the color scheme, I thought the expression might be too extreme, but the way Taguchi-san uses backgrounds is masterful, so I decided that I would try to leave it with him. I harbored some concern that colors of the characters may become difficult to distinguish, but that aspect was also rendered in a well balanced manner. At various points during meetings and dubbing sessions, I often get the feeling that Taguchi-san is someone who can clearly see the final visual outcome. 

8. From the standpoint of color, the attire and laboratory, which Kurotsuchi Mayuri contrived as a countermeasure against the Sternritter lurking in the shadows, are also very interesting. (ep. #15 and others)

D: Tomohisa Taguchi

Initially, the glowing Mayuri was only supposed to shine yellow. However, this time, Mayuri's lab itself also shines brightly, so it meant that when we tried to station him there, he ended up blending into the scenery quite a bit. While searching for a way to make Mayuri shine, an idea came from the color scheme designer Gōda-san: "How about a lighting method which shifts into a variety of colors like a gaming PC?" We adopted the idea thinking "it'll probably look great on screen!" We proposed the idea to Kubo-sensei, who readily approved, and it started to take form in the visuals. The colors continuously shifting midway through the plot is an interpretation that can only be represented in the anime, so I believe we were able to exhibit Mayuri's natural presence by using a different approach from the original work.

A: Tite Kubo

This was indeed an interesting portrayal that could only be done in the anime. It's also interesting that it was intentionally made to look like a moiré pattern. After all, this cannot be pulled off by any character other than Mayuri.

9. Mayuri's laboratory is designed to completely eliminate any shadow as a countermeasure against the Sternritter invasion. Evidently, it took a great deal of trouble to express this. 

D: Tomohisa Taguchi

It took a lot of trial and error to figure out how to express 'no shadows' in the anime. The most significant factor in creating a three-dimensional effect in an illustration is the contrast of the shadows, isn't it? Given that it was necessary to reject that, we said "there is likely no other way to do this but to test an array of other patterns!" The art staff and I went through the process of trial and error a many number of times. As a result of taking into consideration various opinions that came up along the way, we translated them into the concept of 'creating gradation within the light', ultimately representing three-dimensionality.

A: Tite Kubo

When drawing it in the manga, the way I used to express the idea of 'glowing without shadows' is by erasing around the circumference of what I had drawn. I'm glad that I was able to have it portrayed in such a satisfying manner in the anime too.

10. Hirako Shinji's Bankai, "Sakashima Yokoshima Happōfusagari". A Bankai, which did not appear in the original work (※first appeared in the novelization), is made to enter the stage in the anime, therefore a great deal of enthusiasm has also been poured into its rendition. (ep. #16)

D: Tomohisa Taguchi

The bud of Hirako's Bankai pedestal is formed by the petals narrowing inward when open, retaining their form to become the bud, however I thought that if we produced it with cel animation, the petals would inevitably lose their shape, rather, there's a high possibility that it wouldn't look like a rigid object. So, in order to show the precise movement of a rigid object, we deliberately used CG. At first, what I imagined for the texture was a brass-like luster, similar to the lotus flowers used in Buddhist altar fittings. We struggled while attempting to express the feeling of that material and searched for ways to depict it using CG surface reference / textures and such.

11. Many characters have made their Bankai debut in the original series. Ōtoribashi Rōjūrō's "Kinshara Butōdan", and Humanized Komamura Sajin's "Kokujō Tengen Myō'ō: Dangai Jōe" were also portrayed by utilizing 3DCG technology. (ep. #18, #17)

D: Tomohisa Taguchi

I think 'Kinshara Butōdan' managed to incorporate a finely tuned quality that doesn't look like it was made with cels, having said that, nor does it overly emphasize CG elements, rather it strikes a delicate balance between the two. Similarly, "Kokujō Tengen Myō'ō: Dangai Jōe" was also developed in 3D, I think we were able to well execute the way the gigantic body moves freely and abundantly as opposed to the challenges of producing it with cel animation, which is susceptible to making the movement appear choppy. In the story, there are various Bankai, but in terms of compatibility with 3DCG, rather than the type where it's just the sword changing, it's my opinion that Bankai transformations where the appearance changes completely or another entity emerges, is the kind that fits better from a direction perspective. As mentioned earlier, expressing it in 3D has the effect of altering the feel, so you can stress the distinctness and change in atmosphere brought about by performing Bankai. In a certain way, I suppose it's possible to convey a stronger sense of harnessing something that is not of this world. Therefore, from now on, I intend to continue requesting (to those in the field), that one doesn't adopt a cel animation look completely. 

A: Tite Kubo

Both were really good. As Taguchi-san also mentioned, I wanted to avoid having the CG elements coming to the forefront in an odd manner. I think CG shines particularly during Bankai transformations that feature inorganic matter. The CG was skillfully utilized, especially in critical moments where traditional animation eventually tends to falter, like when Myō'ō comes in with a slashing attack, for instance, making it quite impressive to watch.

12. 3DCG is not the only technique utilized for showcasing Bankai. The skills of various staff members have also been brought together.

D: Tomohisa Taguchi

Even though I understood the principle behind it, figuring out how to visually represent Muguruma Kensei's Bankai "Tekken Tachikaze" in the anime, among other things, was challenging because how we'd go about expressing that is a different story. While the blades remain in contact with the target, it continues to explode infinitely. It creates the illusion that the punches being thrown are repeatedly landing tens of thousands of times without the arm ever being pulled back from the point of impact, doesn't it? We worked strenuously to express how immense the power of Kensei's Bankai is by doing things like deliberately adding cel style motion blur to make it look as though the opponent was being hit, aiming for a visual effect that makes it seem like he's trembling after being struck multiple times, and using an approach where we incorporated sound effects reminiscent of a drill used in road construction. In terms of his character and Bankai visualization, Rōjūrō is likened to an Opera, implementing theatrical staging such as the rapidly changing movement of his conductor's baton and the lighting. The music attached to the scene also became particularly important, director of audiography Nagasaki-san and re-recording mixer Hoshino-san fine-tuned it masterfully. 

[recurring-polynya]

Sorry if you have been asked this before but I was wondering is there some reason why Kubo never really showed too much regarding Rukia’s feelings towards Renji ? It’s not only her but even Gin & Ichigo with Rangiku & Orihime !! Like he gives enough so people can sense something but he doesn’t give a lot away. Is it about interpretation or he just simply doesn’t want to write romance too deeply ??

Kubo has said quite plainly that he doesn't want to put romance at the forefront. I think he's said this various times in various ways, but here's a pretty definitive quote from an interview he gave at the 2018 San Diego Comicon:

Q: Speaking of Ichigo's relationships with his friends, there seems to be a love triangle between Ichigo, Rukia, and Orihime. Do you delve more into this in later volumes? A. Tite Kubo: (laughs) I get asked about that a lot! I don't want to make Bleach into a love story because there are much more exciting things about their personalities and things that they can do instead of getting into the romance aspect of their relationships.

Kubo's answers are sometimes a little cheeky, but I don't see any reason to read this as anything other than face value. He may have had additional reasons to leave romance out of the story--it's a shounen and he didn't think that stuff would be of interest to the core of his readers, he didn't want to deal with angry ship opinions, etc, etc, but the long and short of it is the guy said "this is not a kissing story" and it's not.

Not to get too nitpicky--this was an interview, there's some degree of translation involved--but I actually find this kind of funny because while I agree that it's not a romance, I would *absolutely* classify Bleach as a love story. Bleach is about 600 love stories. It's about the love between a boy and his precious friends, the love between big brothers and little sisters, about the love between captains and lieutenants, about love that can only be expressed in battle, about love that turns poisonous and corrupts, about love that saves and purifies, about a love for the world you live in and want, with all your heart to make better. And while it's not a romance, I think it is about romantic love as well.

So, even though that's the real reason, I think it is also perfectly in-character for Rukia to act the way she does and I want to yap about it. I can tell right now this is gonna get long, so I am going to put it under a cut.

Just to get it out of the way up-front, I will briefly cover the other characters you mentioned. Both of this could easily merit their own essay, but I want to talk about Rukia, so I'm gonna keep it brief.

My interpretation on Gin and Rangiku is that they were not on romantic terms at any point of the canon timeline. My guess is that when she made it to the Academy and caught up with him again, it very quickly became obvious that he was no longer being genuine with her, and I think she cut him off. He is on a mission for revenge; she doesn't understand why he acts the way he does and distances herself from it. That being said, I (and I think many people?) find their parting scenes to be deeply, tragically romantic. I think this depends on your definition of "romantic." It never would have worked. He ruined it. If he had lived, it would change nothing. But Othello loved Desdemona, too. A story being a tragedy doesn't preclude it being a love story.

Ichigo is a teenage boy with a heart the size of three worlds. I think the amount of emotion he would like to leak out of his body is zero. I think the amount of emotion that does leak out of his body is so high that the signal-to-noise ratio makes it very difficult to discern anything meaningful. My reading of Bleach is that he does have special feelings for Orihime and that they are a slightly different flavor than he has for other people, but it's super hard to tell because he makes the same loving puppy eyes at Chad and Uryuu and Renji and Grimmjow. This guy is constantly torn between loving everyone he knows with the luminosity of a small star and trying to act too cool for school. Also, he's very young. He's still figuring this out, too.

Okay! Let's talk about Rukia!!!

The thing about Rukia is that she is really, really uncomfortable expressing affection. In the flashback scenes where she talks about how much she admired Kaien and Miyako, she's shown standing far away and looking at them from a great distance. When Byakuya compliments her bankai, she squeezes her eyes shut and has to look away.

Ukitake comments at how remarkably "open" he finds her to be with Orihime, even though what they are actually doing is training. You want to see a love confession? Here's Rukia's love confession to Orihime from We Do (Knot) Always Love You (Renji is here, too):

Feeling a little shy and fidgety, Rukia hesitated a few times as she replied to Orihime. "Th-that's because, Inoue I consider you……my……b-best girl-friend! So therefore……I thought…I should tell you first……" She spoke as her last few words became a little mumbled. "……your face is redder than the time I asked you to marry me ya know." "Sh-shut up!!"

A thing I really like about this though, is that while it is portrayed as something that sometimes holds Rukia back in her relationships, it's not portrayed as some sort of fatal flaw. She's a private person, and that's ok. This isn't a quality we often get to see female characters have. If this were a romance story, maybe we'd have to see her overcome this, but it's not! It's an action story and Rukia is a cool and stoic character, which is exactly how she wants to be!

I'm always pounding my shoe on the table over this, but I really, genuinely think that a significant chunk of Renji's character/personality design was specifically to be Rukia's love interest, which I think is based as Hell of him. He's good-looking, he's cool, he's devoted to her, he's powerful along the rules of the worldbuilding, but not in a way that overshadows her. And he meets her where she is.

The scene where Renji carries Rukia down the 8,000 flights of Soukyoku Hill stairs is, in my opinion, the most romantic scene in all of literature. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ Rukia is so upset about being rescued, she is cannot stand the fact that anyone cares about her, or worse, that they would risk themselves for her. It's so clear that Renji understands this, and in the gentlest possible terms, asks her to accept his (and Ichigo's) help, as if she has any say in it at this point. He doesn't even make eye contact as he very obliquely says Let us care about you.

This causes Rukia, the most repressed woman in the universe, to hunch in on herself so that he can't see her cry and then he tells her to shut up. I am making little graspy hands at my computer as I write this. This is so good. Imagine. Imagine someone understanding you so well that they would spare you from your own emotions in this way. I am going insane.

This is not a Hallmark Christmas movie. This is a love story for those of us who struggle to connect with others.

I want to kind of hop out and say that I think there's a certain kind of person (me), who gets interested in romances almost exclusively from stories that have little-to-no romantic content. This is not an accident. For me, this is how I like it. I want to read about characters who save the world and I want them to be very business-up-front about it. I mean, yeah, I wouldn't mind if they kissed on screen once, but I don't need it. I have an imagination for that. I have fanfiction for that. I literally want them to do it on their own time. You know what's romantic to me? Meaningful looks. Backing each other up. Fighting in synch. Matching outfits. This is romance to me, and I think Rukia might actually agree with me.

This isn't to say that this is all of Rukia and Renji's relationship. I think they have talked about feelings, I think they've probably held hands and kissed or whatever, but where and when and how it happened is their own business. I think Renji probably wouldn't have minded getting one on-panel smooch, but this feels exactly how I think Rukia would want her relationship portrayed: We looked very cool and then, several years later, we were married.

Oh, and they also very much did get the horniest panels in all of Bleach, which, weirdly enough, I think Rukia would also approve of.

[dearcelestialsoul]

It really makes me laugh how when we say something like "the ichihime was a little (very) forced" they come and throw at you that they have been married for 10 years and that Rukia was just their friend, that we have the concept of love and friendship altered. The irony is that Rukia never went into what they were told and they bring it up as justification, it's funny how she comes back with each hate of theirs because that way we can pretend that the ichiruki will never die, because they bring up the subject more than us. As for love and friendship, Orihime and Ichigo did not have enough development together to assume that the love was very great between them because only Orihime sent signs of this, Ichigo only showed the typical concern he always had with friends and family.

They will also say that the studio made the ichiruki scenes as filler, which were never in the manga, although unfortunately, if this were true, it is exactly what they showed us and lived with us since we started Bleach, personally, I think that if Tite Kubo had not agreed with it, he would have talked to the studio letting them know his disagreement in filling the anime with Ichiruki knowing that he would make canon to the Ichihime at the same time. final. I mean, I don't think I've seen any interview complain that the studio "manipulated" HIS work.

[fostersffff]

Listening to a Bleach podcast where one of the guys brought up an interview with Kubo where he not only explained he was intending to give Orihime dragon features as part of a power up at some point, but also drew what it would look like:

I think we gotta go back in time and beat Tite Kubo’s editor(s) with hammers.

[ramenrescue]

musings about the original writing process, kubo tite, and being a fan of things

I'm just rambling here to get my thoughts out but I've been spending some time developing my own OCs in my head, which has me thinking about Kubo's scrapped ideas about Orihime being able to transform into a dragon, and how she was literally a dead girl in the BLEACH pilot. I'm like huh, so that's interesting that she didn't turn into a dragon and that he didn't make her dead, but instead gave her a brother who was dead, and then married her to the MC. I have seen posts saying there is proof in the writing that Kubo thought of his endgame ships from the beginning, and I don't know if that's true or not because I'm not Kubo. I have a feeling (note: just my own feeling) that the endgame ships weren't concrete from the beginning, and maybe he has entertained the idea as he was writing, but seeing his interview responses and seeing him pretty neutral wrt the romance aspect of the series (ex. he's been quoted as saying "can confirm nor deny" wrt Ichiruki) it seems like he didn't have a very strong opinion about the romance. Or maybe he kept these things close to the chest because he was still mulling it over. I think what he did have in mind concretely when he started the series were the three main "chunks" of the series: Ichigo being a soul reaper, hollow, and quincy blend, and therefore there had to be at least three arcs to explore the three aspects that makes the MC so special. And MC is busy. Okay. Ichigo is fully employed throughout the whole series because as the sole "tri-racial being" in the whole series, he's uniquely poised to quell the "race war" that is the undertone of the series, which, I can understand is a massive undertaking and requires a lot of planning about the powerscaling and the main enemies and I can understand the romance aspects coming from the MC's POV being put on the backburner. There's a shit load of characters and powers for every character and their own alliances and enemies... There's just a lot going on.

Continued below...

I am not an experienced, published author like Kubo so this is just me speaking as just "a guy who has OCs" about "another guy who has OCs". The OC creation process and the story development has been pretty chaotic for me. Things are coming and going, some ideas stick, some don't -- some ideas that seem good at first then lead to a dead end as I'm mulling about it. Some ideas that get put onto the back burner suddenly are part of the main storyline. Characters from the OC primordial soup get chopped up and combined and kneaded into their final form. And this is just like, occurring within the span of a few months for me. I can presume that a guy who has been writing a series for FIFTEEN years is going to have had a shit load more changes in his head about his OCs. And I can also presume that a 24-year old guy (Kubo when BLEACH debuted) and a 39-year old guy is going to have some differences in what they value, so maybe it's safe to say 24-year old Kubo wouldn't have ended BLEACH the way it did. But also, maybe 39-year old Kubo wouldn't have started the way BLEACH started?

I think the weekly manga publishing industry is brutal on a lot of mangaka, and I think putting people on a pedestal too much can ironically be dehumanizing. Right? Like, these people aren't gods. They're human beings with incredible talent. But they are still human and they need rest, and they are not perfect. The vocal minority (hope it's a minority) on social media tends to incite this idea that the original creators are gods that are not to be criticized by any means, which, ehh, disagree.

I see a lot of extreme language being used on SNS these days: either something is perfect, or it's trash. It's either good, or bad. You love something, or you hate it. Admittedly, the BLEACH ending VISCERALLY disappointed me in 2016. But now that I'd taken, what, nine years to process the event, I dunno, I feel more calm about it. I feel like Kubo was "working with what he has" at the time, and the BLEACH manga -- all the peaks and the valleys -- was just, him doing the best he could at the time given that he has already presented his ideas to the rest of the world and he couldn't take anything back. He could only add to the series, not subtract. So yeah, him frontloading the manga with ichigo and rukia, and him backloading the manga with ichigo and orihime and finally settling on the latter, makes sense to me now, because there's been a lot of years between SS and TYBW arc. He decided at some point in the 15 years that he has been working on the series, that he liked this one OC with another OC, and like, sure! I can respect it: those are HIS OCs, not mine. I can understand it. I can just view it as "a choice the author has made about his OCs".

I don't have to like these choices, though. I don't have to ship it. I can like the frontloaded ships more. I can enjoy parts of something: just like how I liked Arcane Season 1 and the way the story progressed for Jayvik, but not so much Arcane Season 2 and the way the story progressed for CaitVi, for example. Doesn't mean I disrespect the series or disrespect the writers. It just means "eh, wasn't for me". And that's okay. That's not wrong. Certain fans (on Twitter, reddit, certain pockets of tumblr) make it sound like you're committing a crime, or blasphemy, or being disrespectful just by having things you don't like about a series. I'm not coming into Kubo's DMs flinging my sword around: I'm just over here in my little corner, liking what I like. I've seen people throwing words like "misogynist" or "homophobe" or "racist" if you happen to not vibe with a fictional character/ship that fits a certain demographic. These things are simply not true. If people can't interact with others without shoehorning them into a rigid, labeled box to aid their own understanding, that's their skill issue. If this sounds preachy, sorry, this is mostly just me reminding MYSELF of this. Because with the state of the internet, I tend to forget and make myself really upset!

I think I've been brainrotted by the social media language being used nowadays. I see a lot of sentiment that's like, "either you love all of something or you are a HATER and you are not a true fan". I have been a partial liker and disliker of things from day one of fandom, so this absolutist type of thinking REALLY bothered me... Wrt the ending of BLEACH, I let these people get to my head and I told myself "If I can't love all of BLEACH, including the ending, and the canon ships, then I should just stay away from the series as a whole and never touch it again". And now, 9 years after the series ended, I'm like, huh, I feel more "detached" from the characters and the series. Maybe I can read it again. Maybe I can watch TYBW after all. The animation looks cool, the opening/ending songs are cool... idk maybe I can just allow myself to ENJOY something without feeling guilty about it.

With that being said, I am contemplating rewatching gintama instead and continuing to fish new OCs out of my primordial OC soup

[scratching92]

I think Tite Kubo deserves an award for having the strangest secretly-related characters in fiction. A lot of them aren't even narratively important! You just notice one day that character A and character B have the same surname and suddenly it turns out Kubo mentioned in an interview once that these two are actually siblings.

[missstormcaller]

BLEACH JET Artbook Talk Vol 5 - Translation (Q50-51)

ABOUT BURN THE WITCH

Published in Weekly Shōnen Jump's 2018 issue 33, the "BURN THE WITCH" One-shot drew a grand response. The sequence of events which lead to its composition and the inside story are revealed for the first time.

—— J: Now we move to the final subject matter, these are questions regarding "BURN THE WITCH" contained in the booklet.

Q.50: Around when does the setting of "BURN THE WITCH" occur in relation to "BLEACH"?

Kubo: "BURN THE WITCH" is a tale that takes place 12 years after the final battle of "BLEACH", and 2 years after the concluding chapter.

Q.51: The West Branch [of Soul Society] was revealed in "BURN THE WITCH", but what kind of world is the North and South Branch?

Kubo: From the start it was a manga I had drawn solely for the purpose of declaring that "hey there's also a branch in the West." I drew it in order to get the readers to expand their imagination by asking "if there's one in the West, could there not be more in other places too?"

—— J: Is "BURN THE WITCH" an idea that had been kneaded out during the serialisation of "BLEACH"?

Kubo: That's right. The "East Branch" appears in only a single mention within bleach, although the concept had been established at the time, I felt that the main plot would be unable to progress if I proceeded to draw as far as both East and West. I tried not to dwell on it because otherwise I'd grow worried thinking "when will 'BLEACH' come to a conclusion!?" So I thought perhaps there is no longer any need to depict the subject of East and West. 

Then, the current editor-in-chief Nakano-san came with a request saying that he wants me to draw a one-shot composition on this occasion; when he asked me, "do you want a continuation of 'BLEACH', or would you prefer a new work that's entirely separate", I said "naturally, I want to try my hand at a new work as well, but there's a live-action movie adaptation too so I also want it to be 'BLEACH'. In that case may I draw two pieces?" (Laughs)

So I composed it after saying "well then I'll draw something that can be read like a new work, but it will develop into 'BLEACH'." Though, I think I had no idea what I was even talking about until I was finished.

—— J: The space in the title at the end of the manga has been shaded in so that it can be read as "BLEACH", I didn't notice it at first.

Kubo: Seems like there's quite a number of people who aren't aware of it. However, I think it would be nice if those who haven't noticed go "no way!?" after hearing this information from somebody else. It started with devising the title of "BURN THE WITCH" first, I reached a result after wondering whether or not I could somehow connect this to "BLEACH", I thought it would be cool to scratch the letter "W" here. It was a good idea to create this using the typeface design, but after thinking that the way it's revealed during the action is what leaves an impression, I incorporated it into the story. 

—— J: There are many cute designs for the accessories too. Their guns for example are especially cute.

Kubo: They were originally horns rather than guns. I decided that "the rearing of dragons would make a good story'', I thought "speaking of 'rearing', isn't that kind of like a shepherd?" and that's when I had them carry horns. Then, I was struck with an idea thinking "if I turn the horn upside down, it ends up looking like a gun", which is how it evolved to this current form. Incidentally, I was thinking about their outfits at the same time too, so the pattern on their capes became a shepherd's plaid. 

—— J: Is the title "BURN THE WITCH" from a Radiohead song?

Kubo: That's right. After hearing the original title, I thought it had a nice ring to it. The contents of the story is completely unrelated to the contents of the song though.

—— J: Some points of similarity between Hollows and dragons have also been vaguely depicted, right?

Kubo: Upon reading it back, I was pretty much like "oh, come to think of it, these things remind me of Hollows." I thought, if anything, the dragons should have a design that didn't overlap with Hollows, the mere fact that they 'have horns' was made into a distinct characteristic of dragons. The scene where all those dragons appear was composed after I hoped to achieve a game-like feel, or the atmosphere of a game similar to "Monster Hunter" or "Dragon Quest Builders". That was a lot of fun for me because it was a concept introduction page, something I didn't get to do much of in the original story of "BLEACH".

—— J: I did get the impression that the more enjoyable aspects are portrayed in the worldbuilding rather than the battles.

Kubo: Yes, that's true. I tried to keep battles to a minimum. Although I sensed that I started with some reluctance after receiving this task, it was more enjoyable than I expected once I began drawing. I suppose this is because I was able to put forward concepts that could not be made to appear with regard to the flow of the story in "BLEACH".

—— J: So did it feel like you had wrapped things up in one go? 

Kubo: As a matter of fact, only the opening monologue had been drawn instantaneously. Before deciding on the characters that I would have enter the stage, the words "I like uniforms" sprang to mind, when you hear the line "I like uniforms", it sounds like a lewd remark, however I wondered whether or not there could be some different justification behind it. Like asserting that "one likes uniforms" with a distinct set of values. Noel was born as the character who possesses that set of values. After sketching this scene on one or two pages, I left it to the side, as is, for a long time…. Then, I pretty much began drawing when the deadline eventually got too close for comfort (laughs).

—— J: This applies to the logic you mentioned earlier, 'after observing the incident, after giving it careful consideration, if this individual was not the culprit, then in what way will the situation come to develop?' [1]

Kubo: 'Even though everyone is saying it's like this, what if it's the case that it's nothing like that?', there's a fair few things that come to mind from considering this side of the equation.

—— J: After reading a few pages, I immediately got the impression that "Kubo sensei has returned!"

Kubo: I think people who like my manga, will likely be touched by the monologue here. Even if one tries to interpret the word "uniforms" alone, the feeling that "there's various ways of considering this huh", I want the audience to experience that when they read my manga. The same goes for the lyrics of a musical composition. And it's also true of Shakespeare's poem which I talked about at the start. "They have o'erlooked me and divided me" is what everyone regards as the main point, but from "one half is yours" to "the other half also yours", these lines present one with new findings. [2]

—— J: And so we conclude by showing our appreciation to Kubo sensei for answering everyone's questions which were received in various languages from around the world. Allow me to express my gratitude one more time.

Kubo: I am very grateful to have received so many questions!

Translator’s notes:

1. See Q.41

2. Quotes from “The Merchant of Venice” by  William Shakespeare see Q.1

[karlartreid]

In this video "Bleach Thousand Year Blood War Tite Kubo Interview REACTION By An Animator/Artist" Tite Kubo the GOAT and the creator of the BLEACH anime gives us a to the point in understanding into the current development process and involvement in the production of the upcoming TYBW arc and even more juicy details for fans of the series alike!

So sit back, Relax and Let's Go!

Enjoy!

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[turnbackthependulum]

(Order: from left to right)

We must protecc our new representative, everyone!

[reikorun]

BLEACH TYBW Anime Cour 2 Booklet: Behind the Scenes [Translation - Part 2]

Translated by @reikorun

Section 4

Scene Direction & "BLEACH" In-depth

13. A colorful, spinning pinwheel. When it suddenly stops and disappears into a black mist, that was the signal for the invasion to begin. (ep. #14)

D: Tomohisa Taguchi

I truly think that was a job very well done by Murata-san, who was in charge of directing this storyboard. I reckon the idea that peace ends the moment the pinwheel stops may have resonated deeply with viewers as an abstract motif.

14. The organization known as the "Sternritter" and its members are explored in depth in the anime. In order to strengthen the impression of their unity as a group, one additional element introduced in the anime is the concept and designation of "Wörtlich", which is the collective term for those who have been bestowed a Schrift by Yhwach. (ep. #15)

D: Tomohisa Taguchi

Keeping in mind the idea of placing focus on the group that is the "Sternritter", when I revisited the original work, I noticed that each character's personality was so unique that there weren't many scenes where they assembled as a group and did something together. Therefore, we added a scene where the Grandmaster, Haschwalth, is positioned as the leader and the Wörtlich who possess a Schrift are gathered together in the same room. We structured it with a view to explicitly define what their purpose is and what kind of group they are. By doing so, I believe we were able to more clearly present the policy held unanimously by the Quincy side, that is, "to completely annihilate the Shinigami." During that meeting, we also had Haschwalth demonstrate his leadership by explaining the significance of "killing the Captains with their own stolen Bankai" in a way that is easy to understand even for new viewers.

A: Tite Kubo

It's a scene where they all come together in the same place, typical of BLEACH, isn't it? I suppose It's a homage to the past compositions where the Shinigami and Espada hold meetings, and it turned out to be something more than just fan service.

15. As for Giselle, Liltotto and Meninas, "Vollständig - Sklaverei" is depicted following on from Quilge, incorporating a "transformation scene" unique to the anime. (ep. #21)

D: Tomohisa Taguchi

When explaining "Sklaverei" to Satō-san, who was in charge of directing the episode in question, it all started when I said, "It's about gathering Reishi from the surroundings to power up and take on something like a second form." When I looked at the storyboard that was sent up to me, it had turned into a scene reminiscent of the magical girl genre, so to speak. I was in two minds after I was asked "Isn't this what you meant…?" But I adopted the idea after considering that, in its own way, it could accentuate the individuality and presence of their characters. 

A: Tite Kubo

I also couldn't help but laugh in a positive sense after seeing the staging of that transformation scene. I thought "magical girl, huh!?" (Laughs) I originally created the five members of the Bambies with the image of an idol group and sentai-like shows in mind, so it seemed like a perfect fit. 

16. The volume of combat scenes involving the Bambies itself has also increased. (ep. #21)

D: Tomohisa Taguchi

As for their entrance in episode #21, I wanted to expand on Ichigo's battle scenes upon his return to the Seireitei, this was a moment where I felt it may be possible to make that happen. This is the scene in which Ichigo draws his sword for the first time after having undergone training in Irazu Sandō, and it's precisely because extra scenes were being added that I felt it's the place where I wanted to try doing that. When I asked Kubo-sensei to design the Sklaverei forms for Candice and the others, we received materials on their techniques along with it, further accelerating the process. Although Kubo-sensei had mentioned that we didn't have to use everything, the more we looked at it, the more we wanted to incorporate it all, and the result is what you see.

A: Tite Kubo

I handed over the materials thinking that there was absolutely no way it would all fit given the time constraints, but surprisingly, everything was included. During the dubbing session, I was astonished to see that the number of shots had increased significantly compared to other episodes (laughs).

17. The spotlight was also cast on battles such as Kuchiki Byakuya vs NaNaNa Najahkoop, Robert Accutrone and Candice Catnipp. (ep. #23)

D: Tomohisa Taguchi

In the original work, they simply appear in one panel after being defeated by Byakuya, don't they? We decided to take the liberty of supplementing the parts where we thought such a battle would have taken place. Since the TV anime follows a fixed length format, there are often times where it becomes necessary to extend the duration while deciding which part of the story to depict and where it should start and end. On such occasions, you can find the answer by rereading the original work. Given that there are as many battles as there are characters, we pick out what's likely to be the scenes that fans would like to see from among the parts that were omitted in the original work, and so we took the opportunity to add those part in thinking "let's track the movements of this character until they appear again in this panel."

18. The power of Gremmy's "The Visionary" may have troubled the production team the most. (ep. #20)

D: Tomohisa Taguchi

I think it was challenging for the animators. After all, Gremmy can do just about anything. An all-out battle demonstrated by an individual who possesses an extraordinary power, capable of instantly creating huge debris, a large volume of water, a countless number of firearms, and to top it all off, even a colossal meteorite and the vacuum of space. If we ended up condensing it to be more brief, Gremmy's power itself becomes proportionally smaller, so I think it was a part that required energy and perseverance.  

A: Tite Kubo

This aspect turned out to be a difficult scene to depict even in the original work (laughs). The CG of the firearms and the choreography of Kenpachi when he slashes the meteorite were also great.

19. Kuchiki Rukia's Bankai, "Hakka no Togame". Its checks were carried out carefully. (ep. #19)

D: Tomohisa Taguchi

If you look at the panels in the original work, there is something like an updraft in a place that appears to be above Rukia, along with a circular area reminiscent of the Tsukishiro unleashed by her Sode no Shirayuki. I didn't quite understand how Rukia performs Bankai, what kind of phenomena occurs, or what mechanism it was that brought down Äs Nödt, so I asked Kubo-sensei: “Sequentially, when activating her Bankai, a freezing mist resembling the surface of a lake appears beneath her feet and in the sky, with a column of freezing mist emanating from Rukia herself piercing through the center.” We have faithfully reflected that. Furthermore, the slight translucency of Rukia's hair and skin is an original expression of the anime.

A: Tite Kubo

During the storyboarding stage, Taguchi-san had noted down "it's so beautiful that it takes your breath away (that's the kind of visual we need to incorporate)." So I've been looking forward to the finished product ever since. Regarding the framework of this Bankai too, I created the materials for it while looking back at my original work and retracing my memories from that time. That task was also fun. Additionally, the length of this episode had slipped into overtime, but since Äs Nödt is a character who tends to talk ominously for long periods of time, which is a 'characteristic trait' that defines him, we discussed if we could somehow manage without cutting anything. Ultimately, I had it made into a special ending format, I thought to myself how exceedingly well it turned out in the end.

20. Zero Division vs the Schutzstaffel. While adhering to the source material, the development spun in the anime original culminates in Shutara Senjumaru, thus raising expectations for the third cour. (ep. #26)

D: Tomohisa Taguchi

As for the battle scene at the Soul King Palace, which can also be described as a clash between the strongest forces of both factions, I wanted to cast more of a spotlight on Uryū, who has been positioned as the face of the second cour. Although Kubo-sensei couldn't draw him due to page limitations, the Uryū that he wanted to draw must be somewhere. I want to see and portray the Bankai of Zero Division. That's the sort of thing I had in mind. So, I contemplated the matter in my head, hoping to express it in the anime, including the motive behind it. After formulating various plans, I presented my ideas to Kubo-sensei, and thus with a significant amount of cooperation from sensei, an anime episode like no other was completed.

21. The chosen, Shutara Senjumaru, and her Bankai. (ep. #26)

D: Tomohisa Taguchi

Once the idea of "Zero Division Bankai" is settled upon, the next challenge arises: "whose Bankai will it be?" In the case of Senjumaru, who bears the meaning of 'having a thousand arms' in her name, we assumed she probably specializes in doing battle with several opponents at the same time. Believing that It is precisely because she is suited for one-to-many battles, we considered her to be the person that the other members of Squad Zero could entrust their fight to without hesitation, so we proposed this to Kubo-sensei from the anime side around the same time. 

The visual for Senjumaru's Bankai itself was a completely original idea which we received from Kubo-sensei. The visual based on a giant loom and the depiction of its activation, abilities and techniques were also provided by Sensei through illustrated materials which he had drawn up for us. We then proceeded to develop a scenario based on that as a matter of course. We went through quite a number of drafts for the scene, but I believe it was an episode that was truly worth the effort. The scenario was finalized, and when it came time to consider how it could then be incorporated into a storyboard, we were fortunate to receive further guidance from Sensei on how to depict the scene. I'm not sure of the correct way to word this, but I believe we were able to deliver something with an impact which screams "This is BLEACH!" beyond what was imagined in the scenario. The enthusiasm of everyone involved is particularly evident.

A: Tite Kubo

If I were to choose one person with the given course of events, I'd also have thought it would be Senjumaru who would take responsibility for turning the tide of this battle, so when I heard from the anime side that they wanted to make Senjumaru the Zero Division character to perform Bankai, I sensed the depth of understanding the anime production team had for the work the moment they made that proposal without me even saying anything. I am very grateful. It was also interesting how, in the process leading up to her Bankai, they cleverly utilized the idea that being part of the Zero Division means they're ready to die. The way the seals of the four individuals were depicted is also great. 

Section 5

THE BLEACH

22. The author's involvement as "general supervisor" continues into the second cour of this work. What are their thoughts on this production style?

D: Tomohisa Taguchi

Through our interactions and output of materials in the first cour, I suppose the feeling is "this is how we're going to do things" and there's a sense that Kubo-sensei's position as a staff member has solidified as we've progressed. In other words, it's like we've gotten even closer to Kubo-sensei…! What do you think, Kubo-sensei!? 

As far as the anime side is concerned, there's a certain level of "familiarity" in a positive sense, and in addition to that, It seems like a style is emerging that encompasses a sense of pressure and a sense of purpose, and I feel like we've been able to establish a relationship where we can easily express our opinions and also share our concerns with each other. For example, when trying to animate "Getsuga Jūjishō" in a cool looking way, I asked sensei about the way Jūjishō should appear after we struggled with posing the two swords. In an anime-oriented mindset, when a character wields two swords, it tends to result in poses where the body opens up or where one sword is raised. Thinking, "that's different from the stance Ichigo from 'BLEACH' takes", we were able to create the current sequence precisely because we could consult with the author about what should be done. I received the following response: "Regarding Jūjishō, the vertical Getsuga generated from Zangetsu in the right hand is violently hit against the first Getsuga generated horizontally by Zangetsu in the left hand. At that moment, energy is infused from the vertical Getsuga into the horizontal one, forming a gigantic cross. It advances forward through the propulsive force of the vertical Getsuga. Therefore, his posture after its activation ends up in a pose where one foot is left heavily leaning inward." Taking that as a hint, we applied it to the visuals. 

We've reached a point where we are able to comprehend Kubo-sensei's deep insights better, making it even easier to reflect them in the anime, and I'm sure if we dig deeper in this regard, Kubo-sensei will guide our ideas to even greater heights! There are some instances where we gain motivation like "let's thoroughly pour our hearts and souls into creating ideas that form the groundwork for that!" On the other hand, there are also times where we make a judgment call and say "let's try to ask Kubo-sensei about this from the get-go!" I think it was the second cour where that type of communication became a great deal easier. The third cour and beyond will also be very lively, so please look forward to it! 

A: Tite Kubo

In a sense, drawing the rough draft for Senjumaru's battle scene was also a moment where I felt relief, I was able to convey everything I ever wanted to express, and I realized that it wouldn't be a hindrance to the team on the production side. The anime production team were able to make suggestions based on a thorough understanding of the original work, which motivated me as well. Director Taguchi said, "it's like we've gotten closer," but it's not even a question of closeness. After working through the first and second cours, I feel like I've become fully integrated as a member of the staff, so thank you for your continuous support!

[junikshanasar]

^^ from a double interview with Horikoshi (bnha) and Kubo (bleach), this statement is oddly familiar (. ❛ ᴗ ❛.)

[rayshippouuchiha]

Anon having a mental break over being forcefully dragged back to the Bleach fandom

Bleach: Can't Fear Your Own World by Ryoga Narita is a series of novels about the events post-TYBW arc, centred around Shuhei Hisagi. It was written with approval and inputs from Tite Kubo so it is considered canon by many especially as in the JET interview Kubo talked about Hisagi's rather protagonist like arc directly referring to CFYOW. Even if that's not enough for people to think its true canon, it is definitely considered canonish or canon-adjacent.

As for what the anon was talking about, CFYW reveals how Fullbringers aren't just babies of mother's who got attacked by hollows and to whom the residual hollow energy conferred powers. They are actually souls containing a piece of the Soul King and it is the presence of this piece in the fetus that attracted the Hollows to the mothers in the first place. The Hollow energy kickstarts their power so Fullbring still has a hollow tinge to its energy but it's not the true source of their power.

In the fic Warmth of a Torn Soul, this is why Muramasa senses similarities between Mikazuki and Zangetsu Ossan. Ichigo's Quincy powers come from Masaki, an echt Quincy, making Ichigo a gemischt Quincy. All Quincy have a piece of their progenitor's soul and their powers are sourced from there. Hence why Ossan, a pure manifestation of Ichigo's Quincy power, resembles Yhwach. Yhwach or Juha Bach is the son of the Soul King so it's stands to reason that Ossan would have something of the Soul King in him. Mikazuki as a fullbring arises from the piece of the Soul King. Ergo Muramasa sensed something similar about the both of them.

As for CFYOW, it's a worthy read and has potential as a movie or an OVA

PS: Ray, Ichigo having a piece of the Soul King and having the genetic makeup of all species, just like the Soul King himself... is interesting no?

Conclusion the Berry is God.

All hail the Berry

Not gonna lie I was pretty convinced for a good long while that Ichigo was gonna be crowned Soul King by the end of the manga.

[forthesakeofpride]

Kubo’s New Interview

>Out the gate I'm surprised to hear that Kubo is actually married, and he lives in Roppongi hills which is basically Beverly Hills Japan.

>(His voice is also not what I thought it'd be.)

>(The radio announcers are surprised that at 40 he's able to afford living there.)

>He actually walked to the studio to do this interview since he lives so close. And he's been living there for 10 years, (lol they're applauding for him.)

>His wife is a big fan of the show and wanted to come but couldn't make it, poor lady. (She's 37 by the way.)

>They're talking about Rukia's bangs and how cute looking they are. (Ngl, those are her best features.)>Kubo grew up in Hiroshima -- specifically Fuchu-cho.

>Kubo got his start in mangaka-ing when during his third year in high school he entered a contest after telling his teacher he wanted to be a mangaka. He didn't end up winning despite getting to the final round, but someone in Shueisha contacted him to be his editor.

>He comments this was before summer vacation of his third year in high school and the radio hosts are surprised he was contacted like that.

>He wanted to be a mangaka since elementary school but didn't actually draw much of anything till high school. lol, while you'd *think* he'd be apprehensive to take it since he was a student at the time, that wasn't the reason. It was more like Kubo has a very concrete vision of what he wants to do and therefore doesn't want people to boss him around.

>He has actually been considering going to school for design before going down the path of drawing manga.

>His folks neither encouraged him to do it or said not to, apparently. I've heard stories about how some parents of mangaka were vehemently against it, but his seemed pretty laid back. They apparently didn't even know he *wanted* to draw manga, lol.

>But yeah his favorites as a kid were Gegege Kitarou, and he discovered jump in elementary school where he enjoyed Saint Seiya.

>His first editor was pretty chill, and didn't ask him to change too much, and even when he did, if Kubo didn't want to change it he didn't.

>The interviewers comment that they heard a lot of stories about mangaka clashing with the editors but Kubo refutes this with his 1st. At the same time he doesn't remember much since there wasn't anything of note that happened at the time.

>He implies he became a mangaka because a lot of that work is done on one's own. He's the type of person who would rather work on his own, though he did enjoy working with his assistants. But he'd keep the time that they work together short.

>He also was one to eat on his own --up until he got married anyway. They ask if he was the type to eat out at chain food places or at home, and he answers at home, lol. Dude really likes his "me" time.

>Kubo debuted in a special issue of shounen jump, where the ranking preferred veteran artists over newbies. This was back in 1996. Veterans would take the top spots while they'd rank newbies after that. 

>Wow, so apparently this issue was the one where Oda debuted with Romance Dawn, in 3rd while Kubo was 4th with his oneshot.

>Not sure if he's joking or actually throwing shade, but after debuting below Oda, he says he started to dislike him, lol.

>After this, he was "lucky" (his words) to not have to work very hard for three years -- he just did oneshots during that time. Kubo was more or less forced to do oneshots although he really didn't want to -- and they brought folks in to help him with them.

>I guess as a sign of rebellion, he'd turn them in just baaaaaarelly before the deadlines, lol. So they'd call him down to Tokyo, put him in a room with assistants and essentially make sure in the week before release he'd finish. But because these assistants were typically older than him, he found it difficult to work with them. Combine that with his preference to work alone and it was a pretty unpleasant work environment. Often they'd not draw things to his preference and he'd go behind them to fix it later.

>And Torishima returns, crushin' them youngster's dreams. Essentially he told Kubo during his one-shot period that his manga is bad and gave him a copy of Dragon Ball and Fist of the North star, and told him to read it and draw a manga like this. (The way Kubo tells the story, it sounds like Torishima slammed the books on his desk and was like "Go home and don't come back till you read these").

>Anyway Kubo's thinking to himself "screw you!" and doesn't read the manga. Though to be fair they're both pretty big deals so there's no way Kubo wouldn't know of them even if he doesn't read them.

>So now we're getting to Bleach. His first series --Zombie powder ended in 2000 and Bleach began in 2001 so only a year off for Kubo. He regrets not having more time off between the two, but his editor at the time was like "You'll be forgotten if you're gone too long". The hosts comment that it's more normal to have a 3-5 years off between series, but for him it was a year. And that's because the editorial staff really wanted him to do something else and thus reserved a spot in the next special issue of jump. (The more I listen, the more it sounds like poor Kubo is the poster child of what people think of in regard to Jump business practices.)

>He didn't have anything in mind but since they had asked him to draw something, he remembered a notebook of characters he had that he was going to use for something else, and quickly put together a story for a oneshot which became the Bleach prototype. (So essentially Bleach was a happy accident of sorts.)

>Rukia was the first character he came up with, and it was because of her that he went in the direction of Shinigami. Although Kitarou was an inspiration, it was more Kubo's fear of death, hell and the afterlife that pushed him to pursue the path the story took.

>The zanpakuto are a package deal with the characters, so he didn't have a tough time designing individual ones. t wasn't like "design a character and THEN the zanpakuto" more like "design everything together.?

>And now the thing people probably wonder the most about Bleach -- yes the ending was something he thought of from the start. He had always wanted to end Bleach with a scenario where the new generation takes over for the old guard. And that the entire story was building links from the start to the eventual end. So he just sort of expanded things as necessary just in case the series ever got cancelled. He also confirms that sometimes he'd sort of let the series glide along on autopilot, but he does say you can serialize a manga like that without thinking at all.

>The interviewers bring up Otokojuku as a manga that's enjoyable in spite of all the inconsistencies. (I've never read it though.)

>Nakano and Kubo worked together -- Nakano was his second editor. While Nakano was harsh on Matsui, he was more..."arrogant" toward him, lol. (Kubo's words.)

>Lol, while Kubo was of course happy when Bleach's anime was announced, his other initial reaction was "Why did it take so long?"

>Generally speaking Jump manga get adaptions usually a year and a half or two years after they start. Bleach took three. (Hey at least you're not in Sunday where anime seem to never happen, buddy.)

>As for the anime, Kubo wasn't too thrilled with the changes they made to his script, to the point that it'd give him stomach aches. So he essentially demanded to be sent the scripts so he could correct them as his name is on the product and he wants it to reflect his work. He got really mad with some things, lol. (No specifics tho.)

>They're talking about Gegege Kitarou now... It sounds like Mizuki allowed certain things to fly in the anime version of the manga, even if they contradicted he original. The interviewer notes that even as a kid in kindergarten he noticed --something about one demon walking normally when they shouldn't..

>Back to bleach. 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. He's the type of person who would do their summer homework at the start of vacation to get it out of the way.

>He had about 7-8 editors during Bleach's 15 year run, though he's not sure of the number since they'd come and go frequently. Generally speaking, he got along well with everyone, but he'd get on their case if there was a mistake or misprint in the volumes. Still he'd say he got along pretty well with them.

>When Bleach ended, his initial reaction was basically. "I'm so tired." >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.

>It's not as if Jump chained him to a desk, he just wasn't one who had an interest in vacations or things like that. If he had somewhere to go --like to be a guest somewhere he'd take the time off and go and that would be that.

>And now some listener letters. This question is essentially something like "do you cry at impactful scenes or get happy at ones that come out well when you draw?" His answer is no, though he would get goosebumps when a scene he draws comes out better than he expected. He feels like every mangaka gets this --though it's something one can only understand if they draw themselves. You have to go into a scene thinking "This is awesome" or else the readers won't understand what one is trying to convey.

>There's apparently a "deep darkness" they haven't been able to touch in Kubo, that they will next week. (Before the conspiracy theories start, I'm almost positive they're joking.)

>Also, no, he's not working on anything right now and doesn't seem to have anything in the works.

>And that's it. I'll see if I can hit up part two since people really liked this (as indicated from my exploding notifs.) Though I admittedly am not the biggest Bleach fan. Still I like making people happy so I'll do my best.

Source: Bleach Asylum...credit to Sandleaf

[ichinoue]

Can't find the Tumblr post, but someone mentioned a rumor that Tite Kubo had a childhood friend whom was an inspiration for Rukia, and that after they fell out in 2012 Kubo switched ships and tried to erase Rukia from the rest of the series. An initial Google search hasnt turned up anything. Have you heard about this, and if so what are your thoughts?

oh god, I saw that post on my dash the other day when an IH shipper reblogged it with a rebuttal and I just had to laugh.

First of all, the screenshot included in the post begins by saying "Originally, Kubo didn't EVEN want any romance endings."

False. He only said that he didn't want to focus on romance, as Bleach is not a romance manga, so the romance was only supplementary (source); not that he didn't want ANY romance endings. This was his reason for not putting Ichigo and Orihime together officially until after the series' end when they were grown adults: Because romance in Bleach was supplementary, because Bleach is not a shoujo.

Here's what I think happened: I think some IchiRuki fans spent so much time deluding themselves to the point that they were expecting some hugely romantic, super shoujo-esque~~ ending between Ichigo and Rukia, that then, when the endgame couples were revealed, and a hugely shoujo-esque ending didn't happen between Ichigo and Orihime (because IchiHime was given a perfectly standard shounen ending)...as a result, the IR fans convinced themselves that IchiHime was just thrown together last minute and never actually meant to be. When in reality...I don't know why anyone would realistically expect some hugely shoujo-esque ending for the main pairings of a shounen in the first place?? Like, the way Kubo put IchiHime together was so by-the-book shounen. It was hinted at throughout the series, and then after a timeskip, their marriage and child is revealed. What is so confusing about that? It's like these people have never read a shounen before lol.

Furthermore, when WDKALY was released, he said that "from the beginning, he wanted to make the ending that Ichigo’s child and Rukia’s child meet." (source). Which was confirmed even further in a post made on his official twitter account after bleach's ending, when he said he managed to write the final chapter the way he had decided to after writing chapter one (source). So, since chapter one, he had already decided on the endgame pairings, with the ultimate goal of Ichigo's son meeting Rukia's daughter in mind. I think it goes without saying that the first chapter was written long before 2012, the year he supposedly got his ass chapped by some childhood friend.

Additionally, Kubo confirmed that IchiRuki was not romantic in an official interview for Fade to Black back in 2008 (source). So, if IR was supposedly romantic up until 2012 when Kubo had a falling out with this alleged childhood friend (lol) and pulled a sudden switcheroo with the ships...then why was he already confirming IR as "not romance" four years before this "falling out with a friend" even happened?

The post in the screenshot also starts out by saying that Kubo "didn't even want romance endings" but then contradicts itself by saying "he ultimately switched ships." So...which one is it, then? He didn't want any ships, or he DID want IR but then switched to IH after this "falling out with a friend" (you guys, I can't keep typing this sentence with a straight face lmao).

Quote from the screenshot: "Kubo didn't EVEN want any romance endings. He was forced to do that by his editors to increase sales."

...So, let me get this straight: to increase sales, his editors forced him to go with the lesser popular ship, IchiHime, instead of the overwhelmingly popular ship, IchiRuki? ...In what world does that make sense? If increasing sales was the goal, and they were able to force his hand to that extent, they would have forced him to make it an IR ending.

And finally, they honestly want us to believe that Kubo wanted to "erase Rukia's character" even though she was still so prominent throughout the rest of the series? Or does this fan only consider her screentime to be relevant and important if it has something to do with Ichigo? Like, I guess all of her scenes with Byakuya, Renji, Orihime, her achieving Bankai, her reaching Captain status...none of that matters if Ichigo wasn't around for it? Hell, the novel after Bleach's end revolves around Rukia's wedding, for god's sake. So much for "erasing her character." If people have gripes with her having little screentime in the final arc, that I can understand, but the thing is, the final arc was so rushed due to Kubo's illness that practically every character was shortened on screentime. Not just Rukia.

And honestly...we're to believe Kubo was so unbelievably burned and left bitter by some childhood friend who "was a year older than him and that's why Rukia is older than Ichigo" (I CANNOT take this seriously 🤣) that he tried to do away with one of the major characters in his life's work because of it (even though, again, she clearly wasn't erased).

The thing is, if Kubo actually said something like this in an official interview, it would have made the rounds all over the internet. You wouldn't have to do some deep-dive on google to find it.

Instead, the only source is some anonymous person online, who only manages to reference "tabloid stories" about Kubo's love life (lmao!) without providing any actual sources, and whose words are contradicted by everything Kubo's ACTUALLY said and done (in addition to all the ways they've contradicted themselves in their own post lol).

This sounds like someone, yet again, trying to make sense of why IR wasn't endgame, and/or why Ichigo and Rukia's bond wasn't as prominently featured in the whole of the series as it was in the first two arcs (when the real reason is because, once the Rukia rescue arc was completed in SS, Kubo was able to move onto other things). Like, they're trying desperately to come up with some explanation for why IH/RR happened and IR didn't, even though Kubo's already made it clear, multiple times, that that was his plan since writing chapter one.

But they still struggle with accepting that. They can't seem to accept that Bleach was always a shounen about Ichigo first and foremost, and his nakama...not a shoujo about Ichigo and Rukia.

[violettelueur]

— JUJUTSU KAISEN EPISODE TWENTY TWO || THE ORIGIN OF BLIND OBEDIENCE

↳ featuring : itadori yuji + fushiguro megumi + kugisaki nobara + nitta akari from jujutsu kaisen

↳ warnings : mention of violence + mention of suicide + mention of dangerous acts + mention of killing + EXTREME grammar issues

↳ form : story

↳ published : 04 may

↳ pronouns : she/her

↳ word count : 7.2k

↳ synopsis : within the jujutsu world, there were three famous clans to be aware of, the Kamo clan, Zenin clan and the Gojo clan. However, unknown to many sorcerers there was one last family that was known to be apart of the three, only for them to disappear after the golden era leading some to speculate that they had died in battle after the sealing of ryomen sukuna, but....

↳ previous episode : jamais vu

↳ next episode : the origin of blind obedience 2 

↳ barista’s notes : let me admit...this ain’t my best piece of work, but i hope you all enjoy this episode of the series and good night everyone ʕ •ᴥ•ʔゝ☆

BEFORE READING, I NEED YOU TO BE AWARE OF THIS:

1. the whole story belongs to Gege Akutami and the credits go to them and them only.

2. the spell curses used belong to Tite Kubo due to them being the ‘Kidos’ being used on the manga and anime ‘Bleach’.

there was one going to be mention but...let’s keep that a secret for now...

2.5. for the ‘cursed spells’/kidos (bleach) i will link this video here and tell you the time stamp to check out what i am intending to show - remember i add a few twist here and there by adding the katana to link with Y/N’s cursed technique : hopefully this video is slightly better...

3. if you are confused on anything, please don’t hesitate to message me since i know this whole thing is so confusing.

“Kanada Taichi in Morioka, in June. Shimada Osamu in Yokohama, in August. Yamato Hiroshi in Nagoya, in September. These three died in similar circumstances. They were stabbed to death by a cursed spirit at the entrances to their apartments and all of them had filed the same complaint with the property managers several weeks before dying. They claimed their auto-locking doors were left wide open. None of the other residents have any idea what could have happened,” Nitta (your current driver) explained, causing you to open your eyes slowly, letting your drowsiness fade away slowly.

Currently, at this moment in time, you and your classmates were being driven to your desired destination to your current mission that all four of you were set causing you to wonder how much longer the drive was going to be, but also how you were going to cope with dealing with the whole ordeal since it had been a while since you had gone on a mission dealing with the unknown - last time was over two months ago at the detention centre where you had to face Sukuna (a special grade curse).

“None of the dates or locations match, though. Could the same cursed spirit have killed them all?” Fushiguro questioned as he stared down at the Ipad he had in his hands while trying to read all the information that was provided.

‘There is one location they all have in common though’ you thought, as you turned your head to stare out of the window, recalling the time where you had read the same information on your phone during breakfast with your adoptive father, Gojo Satoru.

“Hey, could the cursed spirit be responsible for the doors? Do sensors like those pick up cursed spirits? They don’t show up on camera and stuff, right?” Itadori began to ask an abundance of questions causing you to internally giggle as some of the questions he asked were basic knowledge for jujutsu sorcerers, but it was adorable for him to try to find a solution.

“Apparently, the cursed spirit made the door operators go crazy, not the sensors,” Nitta answered, leading you to give a side-eye to indicate that you were listening to her before going back to peer at the window to figure out a solution of your own about the current situation.

“Oh...Operators?” Itadori muttered in confusion as he tilted his head slightly to the side.

“And as for whether or not the same cursed spirit was behind this...Well, we couldn’t be certain from just the residuals. After all, a lot of time had already passed. So we tried to track down any connections between the three, we found that all three attended the same middle school for two years,” Nitta mentioned causing you to stiffen up slightly on the information given to you.

“Meaning all three received the same curse, and it activated after time had passed?” Kugisaki suggested with a thinking gesture causing Itadori to make a noise of impressiveness before leaning forward to view the female sorcerer.

“Precisely. That’s highly likely. So we’re going to that middle school now to question someone the three victims all knew, and I want you four to see what you can find as sorcerers,” Nitta answered leading you to sigh (to which she slyly notices) before you processed to close your eyes as if you were going to nap for a bit.

“Way to go, Kugisaki!” Itadori mentioned in astonishment leading the mentioned sorcerer to flick her hair back.

“Heh. What’d you expect?” Kugisaki questioned smugly.

However, without the attention of all three of you, Fushiguro seemed to be annoyed as he leaned his head back onto the chair seats before letting out a sigh of his own, wondering how he was going to handle this situation now.

                                              ꕥ

“A funeral?” Itadori questioned, as you processed to exit out of the car leading you to see a few people wearing all black, entering into a building before shutting the door quietly to not disturb the mourners that were attending the disheartening event.

“Is this the home of that acquaintance?” Kugisaki asked as she was also looking at the darkening event that was happening.

“Yes, it is…” NItta answered in a stutter leading everyone to get back in the car since there was no possible way, all of you could even interview someone properly during this time since it would be considered extremely rude.

                                               ꕥ

“Well, this sucks. He dies the same way the other three did. He lived with his family, so there was no auto-locking door, but he was killed in front of the entrance. Previously, upon returning home alone, he reported, “The door was unlocked, but it wouldn’t open,” to his family members,” Nitta explained, as you processed to scan through all the documents through your phone trying to obtain some sort of connection between all the victims rather than the middle school that they attended to.

‘Date of birth 1983-1984...that means they were in middle school at around 1995-1998...Yasohachi Bridge was popular back then, right?’

Suddenly, the car had come to a sudden halt causing you to look up from your phone, only to discover that you had arrived at the location that Nitta had discussed to everyone at the beginning leading you to look up that the building from the side of your window before slowly letting out a breath as you processed to open the car door to go and investigate with the others.

“I asked his parents, too, but they said they didn’t know what relationship he had with the other three. Man, there goes our only lead!” Nitta whined loudly, as everyone began to enter the school premises causing you to halt for a second before you continued to stroll behind them, trying to make sure your classmates didn’t notice your fidgeting behaviour.

“Don’t worry! There has to be something at this middle school!” Itadori reassured Nitta as she looked disappointed with her head hanging low.

“I sure hope so. For now, I’ve secured an appointment with a teacher, so I’m counting on you,” Nitta replied with a disheartened tone.

“Roger,” Itadori replied with a determined smile.

Suddenly, Kugisaki (who had her hands behind her head in the beginning) unexpectedly had a mischievous smile painted on her face before quickly running off to the side causing you to look at her with a raised eyebrow as you wondered what she was planning on doing.

“There’s some obvious punks, let’s beat’em up and set’em straight!” Kugisaki suggested causing you to walk up to her with your hand raised since she was going completely off-topic with what everyone was supposed to do currently.

“Why?” Itadori asked in a confused tone.

Slowly, the two punks that Kugisaki mentioned began to straightening up with menacing looks on their face, leading Itadori to lean forward to observe the two, only for them to suddenly straighten up more in sudden fear, causing you to be somewhat confused on why there was a sudden change in expression, only for your eyes to follow what they were looking at.

“I-It’s good to see you!” the pucks shouted while processing to bow 90 degrees with their heads lowered causing you to turn back to them with widened eyes at what was going on.

“Heh, look at that. You actually get it,” Kugisaki stated with a smug look on her face causing you to give her a fed-up look towards her direction while trying to figure out why Itadori was joining in her shenanigans.

“An aura just pours out, even if you try to hide it,” Itadori mentioned as he pushed his hair back leading you to ignore both of your classmates and you processed to look around the school trying to find some clues while noticing slight hints of cursed energy roaming around the premises.

“We haven’t seen you since graduation, Fushiguro-san!” one of the punks mentioned, causing the two smug sorcerers to drop their act before quickly turning around to see Fushiguro, who was now looking to the side in embarrassment.

“I...went here...for middle school,” Fushiguro announced before turning his back to face behind him to avoid his classmates, only for them to violently grab his face as they tried to make his turn to face them.

“That’s a surprise, too, but that’s not the point! Look at me!” Kugisaki angrily demanded, as she forcibly turned Fushiguro’s face to look at her with a struggle as Itadori had a hold of the shikigami sorcerer’s head to make it face him.

“What’d you do?! What did you do in middle school?! No, it would be quicker to ask them!” Itadori mentioned in a panic, as he was desperate to find an answer.

“Hey, Idiot A and Idiot B! What did this guy do to you?” Kugisaki yelled out her question, while still having a hold on Fushiguro’s face.

“We...Or rather, every delinquent, gang member, and so on in this area got beaten up by Fushiguro-san,” one of the punks answered, as both of them lifted their heads leading both Itadori and Kugisaki to let go of their friend’s face in shock before turning back to face him in confusion, looking for answers.

“I beat them up,” Fushiguro muttered as he turned his head back with his now messed up hair, leading Itadori and Kugisaki to grab his face again in complete surprise.

“Why do you keep talking so stiffly?! Look at me!” Kugisaki angrily asked as she painfully turned Fushiguro’s face to look at her.

“What are you doing?! Hey! What are you doing?!” Itadori asked in a panic, once again, as he now turned Fushiguro’s head to face him.

“Wow~ you beat up people Fushiguro, what a drag~” you commented with a hand over your mouth leading the erratic-haired sorcerer to look to you for help only for you to turn away to observe the school’s premises again, trying to gain something for the mission at hand.

“Hey!” someone shouted, causing both of the sorcerers to let go of Fushiguro’s face which led his hair to bounce a bit. Turning around to face the front, you noticed an old man with glasses running up towards you guys leading your eyes to widen once you had gotten a good look at who was coming towards everyone.

“Who are you? Students from other schools aren’t allowed in here!” the old man stated with a loud tone.

“And who the hell are you?!” Kugisaki yelled back in anger, causing you to smack the back of her head as if to tell her to ‘shut up’ which caused her to look up at you with a pout as she held her head to soothe the pain away.

“He’s clearly a staff member. Why are you so combative?” Itadori questioned in a low tone as he began to slouch.

“We have permission to be here,’ Nitta informed the staff member while processing to show the pass that she was carrying leading the old man to adjust his glasses as he peered at the pass she was currently holding.

“Oh, you’re the ones? You’re all young, you need to hang your pass around your neck,” the old man mentioned as began to observe the group of students behind her before his eyes widened once they handed on a certain someone. 

“Fushiguro-kun?” 

“Hello,” Fushiguro greeted, as he looked to the side with a small blush beginning to appear on his face.

“He remembers you!” Itadori and Kugisaki mentioned in a teasing tone as they looked at their classmate with an amused look.

“So this man’s been here a long time?” NItta asked with a cheerful tone, leading you to conclude that she probably had gained hope for a new lead on the mission that was happening right now.

“Probably, Takeda-san’s a permanent employee,” Fushiguro answered in a monotone voice.

“Then I leave the rest to you!” Nitta concluded, to which she held a thumbs up as if it was some sort of encouragement.

‘Abandoning her duty....’ Fushiguro thought, before shifting his eyes towards you as he realised that you had become quiet again, only to discover that you were looking at Takeda with some sort of fondness in your eyes as a small but noticeable smile appeared on your face.

‘It’s been a while, hasn’t it Takeda-san? How are you? You’ve been okay? I wish I could ask you this..but...it’s for the best that I didn’t at all huh?’ you thought before turning your head to look at the windows beside you, only to realise that the same hint of cursed energy was still lingering around.

‘I’m surprised it remains here…’ you mentioned internally before turning back to look at the staff member in front of you.

                                              ꕥ

“Kanada, Shimada, Yamato...and Morishita, huh? I was shocked by their passing, but I guess it’s been nearly twenty years since they graduated, I remember it like it was yesterday. They were problem children in their own right, though not as bad as you. What do you want to know?” Takeda mentioned with a soft smile causing you to scoff a bit at his comment as you covered your mouth to hold your laugh but to Fushiguro’s annoyance.

“Strange rumours, dark rumours, connections to bad adults…” Fushiguro listed as he raised his arm, leading you to look at him weirdly since it wasn’t the arm towards your side he had lifted.

“Hey, problem child!” Itadori and Kugisaki chanted in a teasing tone.

“...and anything of ill omen,” Fushiguro concluded before closing his hand into a fist as he proceeded to swing it down to punch the top of Itadori’s head.

“Dark rumours? They may have been problem children, but they never went beyond average middle school stuff. But wait...ill omen?” Takeda muttered as he began to think.

“Do you mean that tale? About the Yasohachi Bridge bungee jumping?” one of the punks questioned, causing you to look to the side in interest since you had an idea about the bridge before you had arrived at the middle school.

“You’re still here, A and B?” Kugisaki asked since she was surprised that they remained where they were.

“Yasohachi Bridge?” Itadori questioned.

“A notorious suicide spot, it’s well known in this area as a haunted location,” you answered in a casual tone before explaining why it was such an important detail to note for your pink-haired classmate.

“Oh, that’s right! Back then, it was all the rage among delinquents to bungee jump off Yasohachi Bridge late at night, it was one of those tests of courage,” Takeda explained, once he remembered what he was trying to think of.

“What a weird tribe,” Kugisaki muttered in annoyance.

“What a drag,” you mentioned in a fed-up tone.

“I’m surprised there are people dumber than me!” Itadori stated.

“What do you use for a cord?” Fushiguro questioned as he was trying to wonder how the people bungee jumped in the first place.

“We don’t do it, I just heard some students from our parents’ generation talking about it,” the punk mentioned causing you to nod your head slowly, conveying that you understood what he meant.

“One day, Kanada and the other three were absent without permission. That wasn’t all that usual by itself, but when we contacted their families, we learned that those four hadn’t come home the day before. It caused a pretty big stir, then they were found unconscious under the bridge. They got chewed out good, but all four swore up and down they didn’t remember a thing,” Takeda explained, causing all the first years to come to the same conclusion in their heads.

                                               ꕥ

“I think that’s it,” Nitta suggested as she looked at all four of you.

“I’ve been to Yasohachi Bridge, too,” Fushiguro mentioned in a serious tone.

“To bungee jump?” Itadori asked comedically, leading Fushiguro to swiftly smash a fist on the top of his head in annoyance causing Itadori to wince in pain as he held his head with a pout.

“It’s easy for curses to take root in haunted locations, just like in schools, so people from Jujutsu High regularly patrol it,” Fushiguro explained causing you to recall the times where you would walk around the area late at night while trying to hide from the sorcerers that came from time to time back a few years ago.

“There wasn’t anything unusual at the time, though. It might be a bit famous, but it’s still used as a normal bridge,” Fushiguro mentioned.

“We still have to go check it out, though,” Kugisaki suggested, causing you to agree with her since it was the best for all the four of you to survey the bridge yourselves.

“Fushiguro-kun?” someone called out, causing everyone to turn to find Takeda coming towards everyone’s way.

“Sorry, I was curious about something,” Takeda mentioned causing Fushiguro to fully turn around to face the old man.

“What is it?” Fushiguro asked.

“Tsukimi-kun took awfully good care of you when you were in school. Is she doing well?” the old man asked, causing you to stiffen up slightly before shifting your eyes to the side since you were getting nervous at the fact the staff member was remembering everyone little by little.

“Yes,” Fushiguro answered with a deadpan expression.

“Who’s Tsumiki?” Itadori asked the shikigami user in curiosity.

“My older sister,” Fushiguro answered in a low tone, leading Kugisaki to grab his shoulder in surprise once again.

“What?! You tell us too little about yourself!” Kugisaki mentioned in an annoyed tone leading Itadori to agree with her, leading the old man to tilt his head slightly to the side - to avoid the blockage of Itadori’s body - to discover you making your way to the side of the car, where you were sitting before.

“Excuse me, I also wanted to ask you something if you don’t mind,” Takeda asked in a kind tone, causing you to halt your movements before looking up to find the old man gifting you with a sweet smile that you remembered so much causing you to turn back and make your way towards the staff-member with lessening the tension that you had before walking away.

“Yeah, it’s fine, what is it you want to ask me?” you questioned with a light tone, trying to sound polite to the man, causing him to smile at you.

“Do I remember you from anywhere, you seem quite familiar to me?” Takeda asked, causing your eyes to widen in fear before quickly blinking away the sudden change in emotion you were surprisingly expressing so easily.

“I never been to Saitama Urami East Junior High before, I’m sorry but I don’t think I’m the person you are trying to recall,” you answered with a sad soft smile leading the man to sigh before fixing his glasses.

“Is that so? I’m sorry, the minute I saw you, I began to recall a student that would always help me around from time to time and she was always on top of her work, but she left around the second year before I got to thank her,” the old man began to reminisce, not noticing the stiffness of your body as well as the panic rising within your heart leading it to beat faster than it should.

‘He’s remembering too much, but didn’t I put enough cursed energy into that spell? It should have wiped everything from his memory’

“Sorry, but could you look at my left eye for a second? I think I got an eyelash stuck there,” you quickly asked, causing the old man to agree to help you as he adjusted his glasses once again before taking a good look at your eye.

‘It could cast it now, but the others are here...I could just not use the spell to its full potential and that couldn’t cause him to faint, maybe that will work,’ you quickly thought as you were slowly transferring a small amount of your cursed energy to your left eye.

“Haku-” you muttered under your breath before coming to a sudden halt, causing your cursed energy to waver slightly as it began to slowly move away from your eye leading you to conclude that you didn’t even have the guts to commit to the action that you were planning to go on with like you did two years ago, to which caused your heart to become extremely heavy with guilt as you knew once he entered back into the school, the lingering cursed energy that you had left in the school would cause his memory to fade away, processing you to let go of your sudden plan as the staff-member mentioned that there was nothing to worry about.

‘Nothing to worry about huh?’

“Thank you so much,” you softly said with gratitude before giving the old man a final wave goodbye before entering the car with the rest of your classmates, wondering if it was still for the best that you let him free with his memory gradually coming back to life.

                                              ꕥ

“We’re here. Koi no Kuchi Canyon, Yasohachi Bridge. Once you confirm a cursed spirit’s here, I’ll lower a veil,” Nitta explained as all of the first years processed to get out of the sleek black vehicle before stepping to the side of the bridge to be away from the road.

“Roger!” Itadori started with a confident smile presented on his face as he tugged at the vinyl cord he was holding.

Slowly, you began to walk away from the group while Nitta got back in her car before driving away and steadily grabbed onto the metal poles the were in front of you - probably built to prevent any more suicidal people from jumping over - and with much effort, began to pull yourself up to reach to the top before grabbing in the metal bar as you pulled yourself up even further.

“GOJO, WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!” Kugisaki screamed in horror, as she finally turned around to discover you pulled your body up to sit on top of the fence as you peered down to check how far you had to jump down in order to find what you were looking for in this mission.

“SHE’S NOT LISTENING!” Kugisaki yelled (once again) as she pointed at you in anger, causing the boys to turn around to see what the fuss was about before seeing the drastic measures you had taken to find the cursed spirit.

“Woah, Gojo, there’s no need for that! We have the vinyl cord for a reason!” Itadori mentioned, which seemed to be a way of getting you to come down from where you were right now as you turned to look at him before turning back at the ground below you.

“SHE’S NOT LISTENING AGAIN!” Itadori cried out in fear, as if he hadn’t done more stupid and extremes things than what you were doing right now.

“Gojo!” Fushiguro shouted before jumping up to reach the back of your school jacket, leading you to grab onto the sides of the metal bar that you were sitting on right now for support before turning back to peer at the shikigami user, ready to yell at him for disturbing your train of thought only for him to give you a pair of surprised eyes as if he remembered something.

“Get down, please,” Fushiguro quietly commanded, leading you to give him a deadpan expression before turning back to prepare to jump off since you couldn’t find another way to get down there, only for Fushiguro to pull you from your jacket once again leading your body to start to fall backwards - much to your surprise - to which caused the boys to immediately get behind you, ready to catch you so you didn’t hit the ground at all. 

“You drag!” you screamed at Fushiguro before letting your body fall towards the safe side of the metal barrier, processing to land on top of Itadori and Fushiguro as a result.

                                              ꕥ

Letting out a yawn, Itadori couldn’t help but emphasise how tired and bored he was as he remained seated on the metal railings that all four of you were sitting on right now.

“Hey, we didn’t find hide nor hair of any cursed spirit,” Kugisaki whined in annoyance as her posture slouch in disappointment, leaving Fushiguro to slouch in boredom while you had your eyes closed as if you were sleeping while sitting up straight when in reality, you were concentrating on sensing any lingering cursed energy around the area you were in right now.

Suddenly, you felt something pressed gently on the side of your head before it pushed you down to the side slowly, causing the movement to halt the second you felt someone’s shoulder being used as a pillow for your head leading a sense of confusion to rise within your stomach before you heard a few teasing sounds from Kugisaki.

“Oh~ what a gentleman Fushiguro~” Kugisaki teased, leading you to realise that your head was now resting on Fushiguro’s shoulder since it did seem like you had fallen asleep while sitting up.

“I’m surprised she can sleep while sitting up,” Itadori commented, as she leaned forward to see you in what seemed to be in a state of rest since you made the decision to keep your eyes closed.

“You should have seen her while we were training, she was asleep for so long every day,” Kugisaki mentioned as she began to recall all the times you had taken a nap during your daily training sessions with the second-years as preparation for the Kyoto Sister School Exchange Event.

                                              ꕥ

As time went by, after you had ‘woken up’ from your nap when in reality, you had given up on trying to trace a single amount of cursed energy from the distance you were away from the ground below - which was where you were trying to go from the beginning if Fushiguro didn’t pull you down - you were now in front of a small convenience store while sipping on a small carton of orange juice that you had managed to purchase as a breakfast substitute since you were surprisingly not feeling hungry at all currently.

“We didn’t sense any presences or residuals,” Fushiguro informed Nitta, who had come to pick you three up after not hearing a single thing from everything, except for all of you being hungry. 

“I see, which means this ain’t it, Guess it’s back to square one,” Nitta replied with a slight tone of disappointment as the most promising lead has been for nothing.

‘It wouldn’t be square one if you just let me jump down to the bottom to investigate…’

“Gojo, is there something wrong?” Kugisaki asked as she noticed you looking to the side with a somewhat annoyed expression planted on your face.

“It’s nothing,” you replied before taking another sip from the carton you were holding.

“But isn’t it bad if we take too long?” Itadori asked in a light serious tone.

“Why?” Kugisaki questioned, wondering why they needed to be in a hurry to finish the mission as soon as possible.

“Well, it’s a famous haunted location, right? There might still be plenty of others who got cursed and right now, the death rates at 100%. We don’t want to see others die, right?” Itadori explained as he answered Kugisaki’s previous question.

“True,” Kugisaki muttered, once she took Itadori’s theory into consideration.

“Ding-Ding! Bungee jumping was all the rage then, right? So maybe the act of jumping off is the key?” Nitta asked as she seemed excited to think of another clue on how to find the curses that were the curse for all these deaths that have been happening.

“Did she say “ding-ding”? Did she really say that?” Itadori asked as he stared at his senior in adoration.

“She did! She did!” Kugisaki replied in the same high tone with the same look at adoration at how cute Nitta was right now.

“Itadori already tried that,” Fushiguro mentioned causing the bungee jump idea to come to a halt.

“Huh?..... What?! You mean you jumped with that vinyl cord?!” Nitta screamed in shock as she began to imagine how you, Fushiguro, and Kugisaki would wrap Itadori in the cord, only for the shikigami user to fly kick him over the metal bar with you and Kugisaki holding onto the end of the cord.

“Hey, there you are!” someone shouted, causing you to look towards the direction in where the sound was coming from, only to discover one of the punks from yesterday to be on a bike with someone behind him with her arms wrapped around his waist.

“Fushiguro-san!” the punk shouted to gain the shikigami user’s attention.

“Who’s that again?” Kugisaki asked as she stared at the punk with a confused expression only for Itadori to answer her question by mentioning the people were Fushiguro’s upperclassman from his middle school and how she was ready to pick a fight with them causing her to suddenly remember who the person was.

“You were talking about Yasohachi Bridge, so...I’m really glad I found you here!” the puck mentioned with a smile on his face with slight sweat from the swift bike riding as well as a hint of fear of Fushiguro.

‘Fujinuma?...If I recall, she was a student as well…’ you thought, as you watched the girl get off of the bike she was on before walking towards the group as her eyes widened at you for a second before turning into complete confusion, leading your body to complete tense for a second.

“Fujinuma?” Fushiguro muttered causing Nitta to look at him with a perplexed expression before he clarified that she was an old classmate of his.

“My older sister,” the punk introduced the girl leading her to bow as a greeting.

“I’m glad you remember me,” Fujinuma stated in a soft-toned voice before straightening back up to face everyone within the group.

“I was talking to my sister about you yesterday, and..” the punk stated before his sister took the reins.

“Um, Morishita-san had a funeral in the neighbourhood...Then I heard from my brother that you were looking into that man and Tasohachi Bridge, so I started to wonder if they were related…” Fujinuma began to explain, leading Nitta from behind both of the people to shake her head as they needed to hide the real reason on why everyone was here right now to which Fushiguro noticed.

“If what’s related?” Fushiguro queried as if he didn’t understand what was going on.

“Morishita-san’s death and the bridge…” Fujinuma replied in a smaller tone.

“They’re not related, we just-” Fushiguro quickly countered back.

“I...I went there. In eighth grade...I went to Yasohachi Bridge at night,” Fujinuma stated as her face contorted in fear as she began to tilt her head down, causing Kugisaki to give a look as she began to wonder how many people had been to that bridge.

“Has anything odd happened at home recently? Any strange feelings that only affect you and no one else?” Nitta asked as she leaned down to face the fearful girl, only for Fujinuma to look up once again.

“My family runs a local branch shop...and the shop’s automatic door is wide open only when I come home. Mom and Dad both say it’s just a coincidence, but there’s definitely something there. It scared me. That’s when I heard about you and remembered the Yasohachi Bridge,” the girl replied as she began to shiver in fear while trying to recall all the same incidents happening to her.

“When did the issue with your automatic door start?” Nitta queried, trying to get enough information as sly as possible.

“It’s happened about every other day for exactly one week now,” Fujinuma replied in a shaky tone.

‘There’s at least two weeks between when the four victims noticed something and their deaths,’ Fushiguro thought.

‘We still have some time,’ Itadori thought, encouraged by the fact that there was some amount of time left to save someone from the cycle that was happening right now.

“You didn’t go to Yasohachi Bridge by yourself at the time, did you? Do you remember who you went with?” Kugisaki asked, trying to make sure there weren't any other victims that you all were missing at this current moment in time.

“Um, so this really does have something to do with…” Fujinuma mentioned in a stutter, scared that her life might now be at risk.

“Just with your automatic door. But it has nothing to do with Morishita-sans’s death. Fushiguro-kun and the others are helping me with my college report: Electromagnetic Waves from Haunted Locations and their Effects on Electronics, it’s a huge pain in my gut!” Nitta responded quickly, before suddenly linking arms with you causing you to put on a realistic fake smile to hold the lie in place.

“But I want to hear from all kinds of people, so I’d love to hear who you went with,” Nitta continued, trying to make the girl calm herself down while reminding her the fact that they now have to save her life before something could happen to her.

“I went on a test of courage with two others from my club. That’s right. Fushiguro-kun, Tsumiki-san was with us then, too,” Fujinuma announced, causing you to halt for a second while Itadori and Kugisaki were shocked at the fact that Fushiguro’s sister was involved in this too.

“I see. Then I’ll try asking Tsumiki, too,” Fushiguro replied calmly.

“There was also another person there at the bottom of the bridge, but I don’t remember really clearly of her at all...she was wearing our uniform thought, sort of reminds me of her,” Fujinuma stated as she pointed off to somewhere, leading your whole body to become suddenly numb at the fact that her finger was directing pointing at you causing your classmates to turn to you in fear at what might happening to you if her statement was true.

“Sorry, but I never been here at all, maybe you have the wrong person?” you unconcernedly suggested, trying to change you from being the topic of the conversation leading the girl to look confused again before gasping on how silly she was being before mentioning that she had never even met you and that she apologised for scaring you.

“Okay, then I’ll escort these two home. Please keep working on the report,” Nitta mentioned to the four of you with a smile on her face.

“Something’s up, isn’t it?” Fujinuma’s brother asked leading Nitta to form another excuse on how she could let them ride a bike back after making them petal all the way here, causing you to turn around and take a deep breath the second they began walking away.

“Fushiguro,” Itadori called out in worry before repeating his name again louder as he proceeded to grab onto his friend’s shoulder, only to see the look of unknown fear painted across Fushiguro’s face.

“Fushiguro, snap out of it, make sure she’s safe first,” Itadori muttered in reassurance, as he turned his body to face his friend to help him calm down.

“I’m fine,” Fushiguro muttered in a low tone, once he was able to snap out of his fear daze but apologising to his friend as he needed to take a step back for a second before reaching into his pocket to grab his phone to make a call leaving Kugisaki to come to your side and ask a few questions for you to answer.

“What was she talking about? Were you really a part of that school? Were you really at Yasohachi bridge back then? Answer me, Gojo!” Kugisaki asked in a panic, as you just stared at her with a blank look on your face before letting out a sigh.

“I’ve never been there before until yesterday, I have never been here at all, to begin with. There is no way I could be at that bridge,” you answered, trying to convert the conversation into something different, only for Itadori to turn his body to face you directly as he questioned you again about your ‘involvement’ in everything that's happening right now.

“Why are random people saying if they remember you then, does your cursed technique allow you to manipulate someone’s mind or anything?” Itadori asked as he needed to understand why a few people mentioned about you when you had said you have never been here at this location ever in your life.

“I don’t have a technique that does that, they have been talking about a girl that looks like me,” you answered while proceeding to cross your arms to stay as persuasive as you could while trying to hide a piece of your past that you had already somewhat erased out of everyone’s minds.

‘If they are somehow recalling some bits here and there...what about Fushiguro?’ you thought as you closed your eyes to lessen the headache that was gradually coming from the back of your head.

‘There isn’t enough time to think about it at all...these three need to get out of here before I go investigate the whole thing myself...that is...if my theory is correct like last time’

Suddenly, you reached into the pocket of your skirt before taking out your phone to swiftly call Nitta to pick everyone up from where she had left all of you causing Itadori and Kugisaki to look at you in complete confusion.

                                              ꕥ

“Just get in the car,” you commanded in a low and threatening tone, causing the three first-years to look at you in shock before all three were pushing down into the back seats of the car.

“Us three? What about you Gojo?” Itadori asked in a panic, as he wasn’t sure why you were pushing everyone into the car that Nitta was pulled in - to which she understood why you were doing this at this moment in time.

“The mission has gone into a higher rank than what it was previously predicted, I’ll come back once I’m done with the whole thing,” you stated in a serious manner as you processed to push Itadori further into the car causing Fushiguro and Kugisaki to be squashed behind him before slamming the car door shut before anyone could escape out of the vehicle leaving you alone once the car had driven off with all three of your classmates inside of it.

                                              ꕥ

‘If I remember, you go down here’ you thought, as you began to slide down to the bottom of the ground before walking forward out of the wood, to only find yourself in the same spot you were two years ago in a different sort of uniform.

Taking your katana out of the shoulder bag you were carrying, you hooked it on your lower back before taking the familiar blue metal pole out of the same back before hooking it on to the side of your belt causing it to dangle once it was secured onto your side.

‘If my theory was right along, there should be an incomplete domain lingering around here...meaning there is a possibility that Sukuna’s finger is within a finger bearer if I enter it…’

“What a drag,” you muttered under your breath before sliding your katana out of its wooden sheath as you swift swang it behind you, causing the tip of the blade to be an inch away from Itadori’s neck to which lead the sorcerer to lean his head back in shock as your sudden speed.

“Why are you all here? Didn’t I tell you all to go home and I would deal with this?” you rhetorically asked as you pulled your katana back from Itadori leading him to relax as he let out a breath of relief.

“Fushiguro told us everything and that's what led us to help you out,” Kugisaki mentioned causing your eyes to shift from her to the shikigami user.

“We don’t want you to do this alone, you don’t have to tell us everything you are hiding Gojo, just let us help you,” Itadori pleaded with you as his hands were pressed together in a way to convey a ‘please’ to you.

“I...I can’t tell you anything...I’m sorry,” you muttered, as you slide your katana back into its black wooden casing, causing the trio to look at you with worry in their eyes as they were anxious that the secret you were keeping was something that was going to eat you inside as they were already cautious about your wellbeing if the cursed spirit was now going to target you due to Fujinuma sudden assumption.

                                              ꕥ

After the sudden intrusion of your classmates (much to your dismay), everyone started to walk towards the area where everyone believed the domain was going to be.

Crossing a river or other border - acts that symbolise crossing into the afterlife - carry important meaning in sorcery.

Confidently, everyone took one step forward causing a reaction of electricity to conduct as your foot hit the ground causing it to erupt as the domain suddenly enclosed everyone that had taken a step within its territory.

“There it is,” Itadori stated as he stared up at the curse, leading everyone to prepare themselves with their weapons of choice.

“This one will be rewarding to exorcise,” Kugisaki commented, as she confidently smiled at the scene in front of her.

Suddenly, you had sensed something coming from behind causing you to turn your head to the side to find a disgusting looking creature coming towards you leading everyone to move away slightly as the creature spun in the air before landing in front of all of you.

“What’s this? Someone beat me here?” the creature asked in a weird voice.

“Huh?” Kugisaki yelled out in annoyance.

“Fushiguro, this one’s a different case, right?” Itadori asked as he faced the new cursed spirit that decided to make an appearance.

“Yeah,” Fushiguro confirmed, leading Itadori to close his hands into a fist as they suddenly became consumed with his cursed energy.

“Then you three focus on that other one, I’ll exorcise this one,” Itadori stated as he raised his hands.

“What? You’re going to play with me? I wanted the older sister to,” the curse asked, causing you to shiver as you came to the sudden realisation that this curse was most likely with the others that were at the Kyoto Exchange event.

However, before even one could even move you rapidly unsheath your katana from your wooden casing as you spun around to block the sudden sneak attack that was behind you before utilising your cursed energy to your legs to give you the strength to halt your movement as the sudden intruder in front of you widened their eyes in shock at your sudden speed.

“That isn’t going to work on me again, you drag,” you muttered in a menacing tone causing your new opponent to laugh as they snapped out of their shock.

“Please, call me your mother again,” the woman stated as she smirked at you, leading a wave of anger and excitement to consume your body.

“Please, I….can’t wait to kill you,” you replied back with a crazed smile.

© violettelueur 2021 : written and published by violettelueur - do not steal or repost

[hitsugaya-toushirou]

If one considers Aizen Sosuke his arrancer story arc appearance design as modeled after Tite Kubo himself. Then it may be more justified having as much favoritism if now more than Mayuri Kurotsuchi. Aizen is essentially the villain protagonist author for his part in the story and its writer. Who will win either way, no matter what.

I mean, it's possible to favor multiple characters. Kubo really seems to like know-it-all scientist types of which both Kurotsuchi and Aizen are (as well as Szayel and Urahara). He even cosplayed Kurotsuchi!

Aizen was always set up as indomitable and destined to be defeated by Ichigo. But more importantly he was portrayed as a villain and in the end he was punished! He was unable to achieve his goal and he will be rotting in prison for the foreseeable future.

Kurotsuchi on the other hand, even after having this as his introduction:

was halfway turned into comedy relief after the Soul Society arc. Oh that's our crazy Mayuri 🤪

He DOES do terrible things after that and they are sometimes called out (Byakuya) but often his actions are looked over. Kubo even set him up to be thanked by multiple characters in TYBW!

And like I said, it's weird that in the Quincy arc, none of his torture or experiments were even mentioned.

There was never any sort of comeuppance or karmic justice for him, and he got to go on his merry amoral way. So I do think he got more favor than Aizen.

(Also I couldn't find anything about about Aizen being designed after Kubo so if you have a link to an interview lmk)