Tite Kubo’s New Project Drops A Major Soul Society Easter Egg

Bleach series creator Tite Kubo recently released a one-shot titled Burn the Witch, and introduced fans to a short story about a witch organization set in a “Reverse London” where magical and mythical things exist.

But fans didn’t expect to see a direct tie to Bleach as it turns out the new main characters Noel and Spangle are working straight out of the Western Branch of the Soul Society.

In Burn the Witch fans are introduced to the Wing Bind Agency, which is full of witches and wizards that are the only ones who can interact with the dragons living in this “Reverse London.” They protect and converse the balance between this and the human world by extermination Dark Dragons that absorb human’s negative feelings.

With that brief explanation alone, fans can see parallels between Kubo’s two works as the Shinigami of Bleach‘s Soul Society work for pretty much the same reason at the beginning of Bleach. But this connection goes even deeper at the end of the one-shot when it’s revealed that the destroyed entrance teased at the beginning of the story is revealed to be for the Soul Society: West Branch…which Noel destroys again.

The most compelling bit is the tease that “This Universe Will Not End” along with a very clear reference to Bleach at the end. Although Burn the Witch sits at a nice 62 pages, there’s no guarantee that Kubo will make this his next series or even continue Bleach. Although many artists begin new series after a successful one-shot release, there are just as many that don’t follow through with the original one-shot and come up with something entirely new. So it’s best to enjoy Burn The Witch while it lasts.

As for Kubo’s previous series, the upcoming Bleach live-action film has released its first full trailer, along with two other new ones released at the same time. The movie will adapt the first arc of the series, the “Substitute Shinigami” arc. Early reactions to the film have been positive overall, with there talk of even being a new trilogy of films adapting more of Bleach‘s material. If this is successful, then a sequel film with the Soul Society is definitely on the horizon.

The confirmed cast includes Sota Fukushi as Ichigo Kurosaki and Hana Sugisaki as Rukia Kuchiki, MIYAVI as Byakuya Kuchiki, Ryou Yoshizawa, as Uryuu Ishida, Taichi Saotome as Renji Abarai, Erina Mano as Orihime Inoue, Tomo Koyanagi as Chad Yasutora, Yosuke Egochi as Isshin Kurosaki, Masami Nagasawa as Masaki Kurosaki, and Seiichi Tanabe as Keisuke Urahara.

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.