2 sources 10h ago
Kubo Reveals Orihime Death Was a Considered Bleach Route
Kubo's account of how he judges anime-original material, by whether it was a route he once considered for the manga, explains why the Orihime episode carries weight despite sitting outside the printed story.
Reporting from 2 sources: Denfaminicogamer, Animehunch.
At an Oct. 25 screening ahead of the Bleach: Thousand-Year Blood War finale, Tite Kubo said he once considered a manga storyline in which Orihime Inoue dies. He tied that idea to episode 45, "Defend You," an anime-original episode where Orihime pushes her Shun Shun Rikka to its limit protecting Ichigo from Yhwach and appears to sacrifice herself. Kubo also said the finale, episode 50, "DEATH & STRAWBERRY," includes two new older male characters he designed.
Kubo spoke at the Oct. 25 event alongside Ichigo voice actor Masakazu Morita, Uryu Ishida voice actor Noriaki Sugiyama, director Hikaru Murata and animation producer Yoshihiko Tominaga. He said the production team brings him anime-original proposals and asks for approval, and that he decides by asking whether he ever considered that possibility while writing the manga. The Orihime sequence in episode 45 was one such case: he said he specified which existing techniques the staff should use, drawing on an idea he had weighed for the manga in which Orihime dies.
On the finale, scheduled for Oct. 26, Kubo said he designed two new characters, both older men, and is unsure whether one or both will appear. He said he has not watched the final episode yet and will watch it with the audience.
Written with AI by Yomimono from the 2 cited sources below, including Japanese-language reporting where cited. See our editorial policy.
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