Bleach’s Creator Almost Killed Off Orihime in the Manga’s Original Ending

October 30, 2026, 10:32pm

Bleach would’ve had a tragic ending for Orihime Inoue if Tite Kubo had taken the initial route he had in mind for her, but things turned out for the better in the anime. More than 22 years after its anime debut, Bleach has finally reached its conclusion with the Thousand-Year Blood War Arc this month. The anime released its final part as part of the Summer 2026 lineup and reached its conclusion after an unexpected delay. As part of the Shonen Big Three alongside One Piece and Naruto, Bleach has always been celebrated as one of the most iconic Shonen Jump anime and manga franchises of all time. However, despite the franchise’s popularity and the manga ending, it took Pierrot a decade to return with a sequel to adapt the final arc.

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The final arc of the main story was split into four parts, and it returned with far better quality animation, pacing, and original scenes, without unnecessary filler episodes, unlike the 2004 anime. While it’s shorter than the previous cours, the finale solved the major issues with the original ending, which is all the more reason why fans love the anime ending more than the manga. However, now that the story has finally wrapped up, creator Tite Kubo opens up his initial plans regarding Orihime Inoue, the female lead of the series. Had Kubo went along with the initial idea, Bleach would have a much darker ending than what fans got.

Bleach Creator Reveals He Planned to Kill Orihime in the Manga

As per Oricon, regarding the anime-original scenes, including the shocking development involving Orihime Inoue, Kubo revealed, “They were very good. Actually, when it comes to anime-original scenes, the production team comes to me asking for confirmation, saying things like, ‘We want to do it this way,’ ‘What do you think of this?’, and ‘Is it okay to do this?’ My criterion for deciding whether it’s okay is whether I had ever considered incorporating it into a route in the original work. The fact that they were able to finish it with such high quality is thanks to the hard work of the anime staff, but there was also a route in the original work where Orihime dies. Following that concept, I specified that they should use a technique that was originally in the setting.”

Orihime has one of the most powerful abilities in Shonen, but the manga was never able to make full use of her godly powers. However, the anime changed things around for the better, and fans loved the original scene that put her in the spotlight. While her scene against Yhwach was thrilling, it was also extremely dangerous for her. She barely managed to come out of the ordeal alive, but Kubo had other plans for her. When he saw the animation staff had planned to add original scenes for her, he considered killing her off in the anime, something he couldn’t do in the manga. However, even if Orihime survived in the anime, the setting and the technique she used were exactly the same as he originally planned.

Bleach‘s Anime Finale May Not Be the End of the Franchise Yet

Even though the manga already ended a decade ago and the anime has finally concluded, it’s not the end of the franchise yet. Bleach also needs to adapt the one-shot Kubo released in 2021 as part of the manga’s 20th anniversary, but the anime hasn’t shared an official confirmation yet. Titled No Breathes From Hell, the one-shot manga opened room for the story’s expansion, as it focused on Ichigo’s future and those around him. However, even if the manga didn’t expand the story completely with a longer run, there’s still a high possibility that the one-shot will be adapted into an anime. Fans have been awaiting the Hell Arc for several years now. While several unofficial reports claim that the manga will return to Weekly Shonen Jump with a new serialization, there hasn’t been an official confirmation yet, so there’s no way to verify those rumors.

Do you think the ending would have been with Orihime dying to save Ichigo? Or is the anime ending satisfying with her getting the spotlight she deserved? Share your thoughts in the comments below.