'Bleach' Creator Pens New Ichigo Sketch For Interview

Tite Kubo's Bleach came to an end years ago, but fans have been wondering if Kubo was going to [...]

By Nick Valdez

Tite Kubo's Bleach came to an end years ago, but fans have been wondering if Kubo was going to pursue a new project, or had one in the works. While that is still up in the air, at least Kubo is gracious enough to give Bleach fans some new material to appreciate.

Kubo recently interviewed with a Japanese TV station and to celebrate, shared a new sketch of Bleach's main character Ichigo Kurosaki.

The new sketch features a chill, unworried Ichigo looking through his smart phone. This is a great view of the character for fans of the series since it paints it like Ichigo has had a swell life since Bleach ended. The character struggled for so long, it's great to see him live a life without that struggle. This is much different than the live-action version of Ichigo, who's just starting his journey.

There is also a live-action Bleach adaptation releasing July 20 in Japan, which has just released its first trailer. The film stars Sota Fukushi as Ichigo Kurosaki and Hana Sugisaki as Rukia Kuchiki. The film will adapt the first arc of the series, the "Substitute Shinigami" arc. There's little else known about the upcoming film, but series creator Tite Kubo shared his thoughts in an interview with TBS Japan.

He spoke about his excitement and confidence in the adaptation stating that, ""For the Japanese live-action version, I feel that we have come close to the original work...I am really looking forward to it."

Fans have a lot of faith in the film given the subject material and how well anime adaptations have fared in recent years, but this film will surely be looked at with very critical eyes. But at least early fan reaction to the film is positive.

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.

The English language broadcast premiered on Cartoon Network's Adult Swim block in 2006, and you currently find the Japanese and English language versions now streaming on Hulu.

0comments
Start the Conversation

of