Tite Kubo has a new look and the transformation is astounding.
Kubo, most well known for creating Bleach, is a few weeks from turning 41 and he now looks the part with a cleaner haircut, as well as a more rested and healthier focus.
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The image appeared in the latest issue of Shonen Jump and the change in appearance gave many fans of the manga — which recently moved over 120 million copies sold — a reason to argue because of how different he looks versus previous appearances.
One fan summed up his change the best: Animamask, on the Bleach sub-reddit, described it as going from Shippuden Gaara, then Shukkaku, then Boruto Gaara. Noting that he also had a time looking like Mayuri.
For those unfamiliar with the Bleach, it is a series that follows the young, delinquent Ichigo Kurosaki, who has the ability to see spirits. He soon obtains the power of a Soul Reaper – one meant to usher lost souls to the afterlife – and is now tasked with the duty to defend the living world from monstrous dark spirits known as Hollows.
The manga was originally serialized in Shueisha’s Weekly Shonen Jump from 2001 to 2016, and was collected into 74 volumes. It has since been adapted into English with the translations on VIZ Media. 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.
Despite having the series canceled in 2016 there has been a lot of news for the fandom lately. Next month, the first live-action take on Bleach will hit theaters in Japan, and Kubo will release a new manga chapter to celebrate.
Kudo took to social media to give a tease, though he could not say too much about the project, but the artist did tell fans a few things about the forthcoming one-shot.
“It records a nostalgic story,” he tweeted. “It is meant to help fans prepare for the movie.”
“It feels like a selective masterpiece I can review before watching the [live-action] movie.”
The live action Bleach adaptation is currently scheduled for a July 20 and has recently released its first full trailer, along with two brand new teasers released at the same time.
Those involved with the movie have acknowledge that it 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.
