Did ‘Bleach’s Creator Just Tease Fans With A Sequel?

It has been awhile since Bleach got fans riled up, but that is just what the franchise is doing these days. Next month, the fan-favorite series will make a comeback with its first live-action project, but that’s not all. Thanks to Tite Kubo, netizens think a little sequel to Bleach may be in the works.

The whole theory began after Kubo shared an interesting piece of news. The artist took to Twitter to confirm a special Bleach book will be released this year. The art collection, which is titled Bleach JET, will contain several hundred color pages and even more never-before-seen drawings. So, Kubo told fans about the project with a message, but the page’s sketch is drawing all kinds of attention.

As you can see below, Kubo’s message is short, but it houses a drawing of Ichigo Kurosaki. The black-and-white sketch sees the hero sitting down with a book in hand, and he’s wearing one of his many graphic t-shirts. However, this top seems to have the words “and little sequel” printed on them.

So, you can cue the conspiracy theories.

Of course, Kubo has not said a word about a Bleach sequel in any way. Shueisha, the manga’s publisher, has not said anything either. For now, the only manga project in store for Bleach is a special one-shot coming this month to promote its live-action movie. While fans have asked for a sequel for some time, there aren’t any official plans indicating that will happen, so you can understand the furor over this rumored tease.

Still, there is a chance this sketch is being looked too deeply into. After all, Ichigo wore a lot of slogan shirts in Bleach, so this could just be a coincidence. However, there are examples of shonen series getting sequels, and there’s no reason Bleach cannot be one of them. For instance, Naruto lived on after its manga ended through novels called Naruto Gaiden before a full-on sequel was ordered with Boruto. Now, the franchise is as lively as ever, so fans can keep their fingers crossed something like this is coming for the Soul Society down the line.

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.

Are you excited for this special Bleach comeback? Let me know in the comments or hit me up on Twitter @MeganPetersCB to talk all things comics, k-pop, and anime!