Naughty Dog Artist Shares His Gaming Vision For 'Bleach'

Bleach may have wrapped a few years back, but anime fans have not forgotten it. Tite Kubo brought the supernatural series to an end in 2016, leaving fans desperate for more. This year, Ichigo Kurosaki will make a live-action comeback, and many are crossing their fingers a game may be one the way.

So, if that should be the case, it is time Shueisha gave the folks at Naughty Dog a call. After all, one of its artists has the perfect idea for a Bleach console title.

Over on Art Station, Frank Tzeng shared his vision for a Bleach game with fans awhile back. The work, which can be seen below, envisions what one of the anime's most terrifying captains could look like.

Naturally, Kenpachi Zaraki is a force to be reckoned with, and this character design proves it. Tzeng gave the violent Soul Reaper a realistic makeover with his render, and he's got the scars to prove it. The fan-art is insanely detailed, and its lighting make the powerful captain look properly deranged. So, you can only imagine what Tzeng and the rest of Naughty Dog could do with Ichigo or even Aizen.

Of course, this mock-up was little more than that; Tzeng confirmed this render was done as fan-art for Bleach. However, fans are wish a current gen title for Bleach would drop for either XBOX or PlayStation. If Naughty Dog were behind it, the developer has hits like The Last of Us and Uncharted to back up its resume. However, Bandai Namco is the developer who has traditionally overseen Shonen Jump titles like Bleach.

If you are looking to play Bleach, then you do have some options. The franchise has put out a slew of titles, but its most recent console outing came courtesy of J-Stars Victory VS. The game debuted in 2014 for the PlayStation 3, and Ichigo was part of its roster. So, fans could pit the Soul Reaper against any number of Shonen Jump legends. Aside from that, Bleach's most recent games have been mobile apps like Bleach: Brave Souls.

For those unfamiliar with Tite Kubo's Bleach, the series follows the young delinquent Ichigo Kurosaki, who had the ability to see spirits. He soon obtains the power of a Soul Reaper - one meant to usher lost souls to the afterlife - and now has the duty to defend the living world from monstrous dark spirits known as Hollows.

The manga was serialized in Shueisha's Weekly Shonen Jump from 2001 to 2016, and was collected into 74 volumes. It has been adapted into English thanks to VIZ Media, and has sold over 900 million copies in Japan. The series was adapted into an anime by Studio Pierrot from 2004 to 2012, and has four feature-length animations, rock musicals, video games, and a ton of other merchandise.

Do you think it's time Bleach got its own console outing? Let me know in the comments or hit me up on Twitter @MeganPetersCB to talk all things comics, k-pop, and anime!