‘Bleach’ Creator Reveal’s Kon’s Tragic Inspiration

When people think of Bleach they think of the countless warriors, both good and evil, who appeared in the series and had a number of epic battles. However, there is another character that doesn’t do a lot of fighting, who also an important friend of Ichigo’s but is sometimes forgotten. That character is Kon, an artificial soul who escaped being destroyed, befriended Ichigo and lived within a stuffed bear.

Yes, the perverted Kon is usually forgotten, especially as many fans found him rather useless and annoying, however; there were many fans who also found him hilarious at times as well. So what were his origins? What inspired Bleach creator Tite Kubo to create such an unusual character?

“I wanted to create something that looks fake, that looks like something that was just random things put together. Normally you don’t have a sewing line in the middle of a stuffed doll’s face unless it’s done to make the face look more three-dimensional. But look at Kon! His face is flat so that line is unnecessary — so I kind of like that fact.”

“Ichigo and Rukia first find Kon on the street, so I made up a backstory about how he got there. At a festival, a child wanted a stuffed animal, but since the one that he wanted was too expensive, so the parent bought a cheap one instead. The child didn’t like it and threw it away, so that’s why the Kon doll was found on the street,” said Kubo in an interview at Comic-Con.

As you can see, Kon is just a random character, who was actually the trash of a spoilt child. A sad beginning for such a funny character, however, Kubo in that very interview did express his liking for Kon, especially when asked what character we would like to be for a day.

“I’d switch places with Kon. He seems so carefree, and everybody loves him in one way or another,” said Kubo.

Bleach’s anime prematurely ended in 2012, with the manga stretching between 2001 and 2016. Since then the series has also inspired four animated films, several games and most recently an upcoming live-action adaptation.

You can read Viz Media’s synopsis of Bleach below:

“Ichigo Kurosaki never asked for the ability to see ghosts—he was born with the gift. When his family is attacked by a Hollow—a malevolent lost soul—Ichigo becomes a Soul Reaper, dedicating his life to protecting the innocent and helping the tortured spirits themselves find peace.”