'Bleach' Interview Clarifies Series' Controversial Canon

Bleach's fanbase has plenty to say when a little thing called canon is brought up. Over the years, Tite Kubo's supernatural franchise has drawn in millions of fans, but its complicated history continues to trip up even the most dedicated lovers. So, really, it is about time someone behind Bleach spoke up for its rathe confusing canon.

Now, the question is whether fans can handle the truth.

For those unaware, fans of Bleach have long debated the canon status of its anime and manga. The show presented lots of issues as fans warred over whether its filler arcs could be thought of as canon. For the manga, readers still squabble over whether its spin-off series and novelizations can be considered canon, and it seems an answer has been given on that front.

Yes. The answer is yes, just so you know.

Recently, the admission came when Matsubara Makoto did an interview with Shueisha for Bleach. The author has done several novelizations of Bleach's manga such as The Death Save The Strawberry and Letters From The Other Side. Thanks to a translator on Reddit, fans were able to hear what the writer had to say about their tenure with Bleach, and it seems Matsubara worked closely with Kubo on the story to make sure it was accurate.

"Basically, the whole time I was approaching it in a way that simply entailed telling him about the general course of events before writing, and then he would review it for me after completion, however it was only when "WE DO knot ALWAYS LOVE YOU" came up that I got to discuss various details with Kubo sensei whilst I was in the process of composing the story. Given that this work embodied content that fills in the 10 year gap until the final chapter of "BLEACH", contrary to what you might expect, that degree of freedom was way too high... it was necessary to get confirmation on things like the occurrences and setup during that period of time," Matsubara said.

"After the series had ended, a dream meeting was held with Ryohgo Narita sensei in attendance who was working on another "BLEACH" novelisation, here we were allowed to ask Kubo sensei anything that we wanted to learn regarding the setup and so forth. So, whilst checking with Kubo sensei when "I want to present characters like this and I'd like to try something like that", the story expanded."

So, there you have it. While Kubo might not have storyboarded or penned Bleach's spin-offs himself, it seems the creator does keep a careful eye on the franchise as a whole. The story elements presented in the title's post-manga asides align with the canon the creator has intended, so you can rest easy knowing there is more left to learn about Bleach moving forward.

So, do you agree with how the series' canon has been viewed? Let me know in the comments or hit me up on Twitter @MeganPetersCB to talk all things comics and anime!

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.