During this year’s Anime Expo, we had the amazing opportunity to interview two members of the BLEACH English cast: Derek Stephen Prince, the voice of Uryu Ishida, and Xander Mobus, the voice of Bazz B and Quilge Opie. The conversation went in a lot of different directions, but both voice actors were determined to give detailed answers about their thoughts on the series and the characters that they voice.
Returns and Origins
Like fans, actors and staff for BLEACH were part of the collective surprise at the series’ return, especially after 10 years of virtually no BLEACH content as far as the anime series is concerned. To open the conversation, I wanted to know how both of our voice actors reacted to the news that BLEACH was returning with additional seasons.
Prince: It was actually really, really cool. We were not expecting to come back. The last time many of us had any touch with the franchise was when some of us got asked to do a live action version.
But after that, we thought, “Okay, well, that’s it. It’s over.” When the story started surfacing up that Tite Kubo was coming back to finish what he started, I think we were all excited, obviously, because, yay, it’s another job. But I think, by and far, the fans were probably ecstatic beyond belief to finally get what they had always been talking about ever since the last part of the story had finished. And they were waiting for the last arc to come out, and it never did. So I’m happy. If nothing else I’m thankful that we’re all able to do it again. But I’m more thankful that the fans are finally getting what they want.
Mobus: I’m one of the new employees, so I wasn’t there when BLEACH went off the air. But it was absolutely surreal coming in for it. When we did Burn the Witch, which was another Tite Kubo story that’s set in the same universe, we got a couple of specials for that. And supposedly, we’re doing more, which would be great, because the finale of that is a major cliffhanger for the character I play. And I was like, “You’re gonna just leave me here? Come on, bro.” But then they did the one shot of way after Bleach in the future, when they’re all grown up and the kids are grown up. So there was a buzz going on like, “Hey, we think maybe they’re gearing up for something.” And so many of my friends grew up on the show. So there was a palpable excitement to it. [ . . .] When I got the email being like, “Hey, do you want to come in and record on this?” I was over the moon.
For Mobus, that opportunity came as an ask amidst other work he’d done for the studio. For Prince, there was a more traditional audition process with some hiccups along the way. Both explained their experience becoming part of the show’s cast.
Mobus: They heard me as Quilge and they’re like, “Oh, you got Xander for him.” And they were told, “If there’s a weirdo, we get Xander. And if there’s a villain, we get Xander. And we had a weirdo villain.
So we got Xander.” And that could be kind of insulting. But on the other hand, job security, baby, let’s go (laughs). So I didn’t audition. No, I was cast off of previous stuff I’d done for this studio.
Prince: So when we auditioned 20 years ago, everybody initially auditioned for each part. I don’t think anybody was asked to be in it at the time because this was a brand new show. [ . . . ] They asked me to come back and do a second audition; a callback is what it’s typically called. And then after that callback happened, a couple of months went by and dead silence, didn’t hear anything. And I thought, “Okay, well, shoot, man.” And then a couple of months go by and I start hearing these rumors that some people started recording for Bleach. [ . . . ] Johnny Yong Bosch, I called him up. And I’m going, “Hey dude, so you know about this show BLEACH, right? You auditioned for that?” He goes, “Oh yeah, I’m this guy Ichigo Kurosaki.” I’m going, “Oh yeah, yeah, yeah. That’s cool. So you guys have started recording it?” and he goes, “Yeah, totally. Why, you haven’t started recording it?” I’m going, “I’m in the show?” He goes, “Yeah, dude, totally. So I didn’t hear it from casting […] but no, Ichigo told me I was Uryu.
Quality and Depth in BLEACH: Thousand-Year Blood War
BLEACH: Thousand-Year Blood War brought a lot of changes to the series, both due to the progression of the story and progression of the technology around the anime industry. The art and animation of the series saw a major upgrade, it moved to a modern seasonal format, and the story progressed into an arc which strongly leans on themes of morality, justice, and revenge. Both voice actors commented on the change to a seasonal format, expressing understanding at the shift.
Prince: I understand why they’re doing what they’re doing. Cause there’s a lot more work that’s now involved in making the show than what used to be. […] I don’t know if I would necessarily call it fate per se, but I’m glad for the reasons that Tite Kubo chose to not continue doing the show, even though it’s what the fans wanted, because if we had continued it at that time, we would not have the amazing art that we now have for this show. Because CGI was non-existent at that point. So the fact that they did wait the amount of time that they did and now it’s like watching a moving piece of art with what they’ve done with it.
Mobus: I think I’m a big fan of animators getting more time to do their work. Having a weekly production schedule is difficult when we do it on the voiceover side. We don’t have to meticulously draw every single image you see and have a team comp that together and have a music team come in and do the soundtrack. We just do the dialogue and when we’re recording on a weekly schedule, that is very demanding. I personally am happy to wait as long as the product has the time it needs to be the best it can be.
As far as the most recent storylines, both voice actors gave some insight into how a storyline tackling human nature and the reasons people fight affects the project overall.
Mobus: I think it’s ultimately good. I think any flavor of depth you can add to things is helpful. […] As far as grounding things, I think everybody feeling like they have some skin in the game is nice. The thing about Aizen is he’s not big and arch, but he definitely wants power for power’s sake. But if you go back to early Soul Society, every fight in that is so motivated. The first time Ichigo really encounters the Grant Fisher hollow. And Grant Fisher is about as evil for evil’s sake as it can get, but because those stakes are there, that is such an impactful — that was the series throwing down the gauntlet. And then the Soul Society arc built on that. And I think we’re just carrying on that tradition. [ . . . ] You want to feel like you can see every perspective and you want to feel like the stakes are so big and bombastic because everyone’s putting everything on the line. That’s what you love about Shonen anime, right?
Prince: Without giving too much away, what I can say is that I know a lot of fans are probably confused right now because it’s like, what is this character [Uryu Ishida] doing? Why is he doing what he’s doing?
It’s totally against the grain for everything that he initially stood for — or so everybody thought, right? Because he’s always been very defined in terms of what he will do and what he won’t do. And especially as it relates to him being a Quincy, whereas opposed to everybody else being Soul Reapers or Soul Reaper-esque, it’s —especially with everything that happened in the first season— it’s like, why is Uryu now choosing to side with people that he hates? Without giving too much away, there is a reason for everything. There is a reason why he’s doing what he’s doing. And all I can tell you guys is just keep watching because everything that you thought you knew is going to be totally flipped on its side, like 180 degrees. And it’s going to be a jaw-dropping experience.
Uryu is one of the characters getting the most special treatment from BLEACH: Thousand-Year Blood War — the anime is adding additional scenes and context to his character that were not present in the manga. I asked Prince how he integrates these new revelations about Uryu into his increasingly mysterious character.
Prince: I’m excited for what’s to come, for sure. [ . . . ] A lot of the choices that I’ve made as an actor, knowing the stuff that I know about Uryu now, are not going to make sense. You won’t even catch it. You’re just watching a scene. It’s like, okay, I get it. But once you finish with season three, if you ever go back and you watch seasons one and two, it’s like, “Oh sh*t. Wait a minute. When he was saying that, was he really meaning that or was he meaning this other thing?” So I tried to get grayness, so to speak. It’s in that character. And I think that’s one of the things that makes him unique in this arc, is that because people are so flip-flopped about the choices that he’s making or choosing to make, it just makes him more of a complex character that, as an actor, I’m grateful I’m able to continue voicing.
Favorites and Personal Powers
To close, I asked the actors a few more lighthearted questions about the powers in BLEACH: Thousand-Year Blood War. First and foremost, I wanted to know if they had a favorite Quincy power out of all of the new, interesting ones revealed in the first two seasons and if they had any thoughts about the Quincy shifting more and more to non-bow combat.
Prince: Your dude shoots with his fingers, right?
Mobus: Yeah, that’s kind of what a bow does. We just skip a few steps. I do like Baz’s abilities. They’re fun.
I don’t know — There’s still some we’re waiting on seeing, so I don’t want to pick a side here and regret it later on and be like, “No, that one’s way cooler.” But yeah, I do like Baz’s abilities. They feel very him. It’s very loud and boisterous and very extra. And I think that works for him.
Prince: I’ve always liked Uryu’s abilities. I’m really, really super excited for the fans to see what new abilities he is going to acquire once he fully accepts his role. And for those of you guys who have done a little bit of research and know some of the manga or maybe have just read stuff that has been slowly creeping out and coming out, you know that Uryu does acquire the letter A. And his letter A stands for antithesis. So it’s like, what exactly does that mean? It’s a cool new thing that I think you guys are going to be excited about.
Finally, I asked them both what kind of powers they would want to have in the world of BLEACH if they had their pick. Their answers were surprising, to say the least.
Mobus: I would have a Bankai — And when like I attacked with it, it would give the other person IBS.
Prince: I don’t know that I myself would do well in this world of Karakura town and Soul Society and all that stuff. And it’s nothing that anybody has ever had a trait for, but I would totally want to just be invisible. So everybody would ignore me.
Mobus: That’s great. We could do like a superhero thing, right? You can be invisible and I can be making people sh*t themselves.
We’d like to thank Derek Stephen Prince and Xander Mobus for taking the time to speak to us and share their thoughts on the series. BLEACH: Thousand-Year Blood War (TYBW) Part 3: The Conflict is set to premiere in October of 2024. In addition to the upcoming season of anime, BLEACH has revealed a new video game titled BLEACH: Rebirth of Souls.
© TITE KUBO / SHUEISHA, TV TOKYO, dentsu, Pierrot
The comments are temporarily unavailable for maintenance.