Bleach Creator Reveals Which Anime Original Arc Surprised Him

There is no one in the world who knows Bleach inside and out like Tite Kubo. The creator crafted our heroes from the bottom up, and he has yet to abandon the franchise even in its absence. The series closed up shop years ago, but Bleach will return before long with its new anime. And now, Kubo is reflecting on the series’ past by outing his favorite anime-original arc.

The update comes from Viz Media as the company was able to speak with Kubo recently. The video interview was published after it aired at Anime Expo this summer, and as you can see here, the artist was asked about his favorite part of the original anime. It was there Kubo said Bleach took him by surprise after releasing one of its original arcs.

“I think it’s called the Invasion Army arc. I honestly didn’t have high hopes for the anime original arcs, but this one really surprised me. There are some amazingly directed sequences in that arc, and I appreciate that,” he shared.

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Now, for those of you who do not remember, this arc was a short one as it followed the show’s Deicide arc. The series followed Ichigo and the Gotei 13 as they dealt with a squad of imposters who wished to defeat their mirrors in the guard. During this arc, the Gotei 13 falls into all sorts of traps as they begin to doubt the identities of their allies. And to make things worse, Ichigo begins to lose his Soul Reaper abilities slowly as the arc continues.

This original arc may not have been a favorite with fans, but it seems Kubo appreciated its ideas and battles. His recommendation makes it worth checking out this filler run once more for good measure. So if you are feeling up to the rewatch, you can check out Bleach on streaming services like Crunchyroll and Hulu right now.

What do you think about this latest tidbit from Kubo? Do you agree with his take on this original arc? Share your thoughts with us in the comments section below or hit me up on Twitter @MeganPetersCB.