In a new interview featuring the BLEACH creator Tite Kubo and Ichigo’s Japanese voice actor Masakazu Morita, the creator said that the Thousand-Year Blood War (TYBW) Part 2 will feature a new battle he didn’t draw in the original manga. The official title for the second part is BLEACH: Thousand-Year Blood War, Part 2: The Separation, and you can watch the trailer:
The interview featured some very interesting answers from both of the participants. Tite Kubo mentioned how his family commented on Ichigo’s voice change in the new series, and that he didn’t notice the change because it fit perfectly for Ichigo’s growth as a character. Morita-san explained his new approach in the pronunciation of some words, such as “Getsugatensho” and we get an insight into his thought process while voicing the character.
Another VA-related comment was how Yhwach’s Japanese voice actor Takayuki Sugo has a hard time memorizing his lines in katakana. A quote from that part:
Sugo-san never changes, does he? That happened during the previous series as well. While in the booth, he asked me, “Ichigo, Ichigo, how do you read this line?” and I said, “It says Bankai.” Then he said, “All right, got it. It’s Bankai.” But once we started recording, he said something else. [lol]
Masakazu Morita, Ichigo’s Japanese Voice Actor
The manga creator also explained how he imagines panels while drawing, and they talked more about the process behind the anime and their experiences. However, the most intriguing part was Tite Kubo’s comment about how BLEACH: Thousand-Year Blood War (TYBW) Part 2 will feature a new battle which he didn’t draw in the manga. In will feature a battle between two ‘certain characters’ and the anime production team asked to have the character fight around this time. That’s why he revisited the idea, and he also provided five or six pages of illustrations to show how they would move, transition and fight.
The entire interview is an enjoyable read, and I highly recommend you check it out VIZ’s website.
VIZ Media licensed the BLEACH anime in English, and they describe the BLEACH 2022 (Thousand-Year Blood War) story:
The peace is suddenly broken when warning sirens blare through the Soul Society. Residents there are disappearing without a trace and nobody knows who’s behind it, meanwhile, a dark shadow is also extending itself toward Ichigo and his friends in Karakura Town…
The Thousand-Year Blood War anime will continue with Part 2: The Separation in July. Part 1 ran for 13 episodes and dominated in our weekly polls, ranking 1st in 9/11 weeks and winning the title of the Fall 2022 anime of the season.
Source: VIZ Media
© TITE KUBO / SHUEISHA, TV TOKYO, dentsu, Pierrot
