Bleach is considered one of the Big 3, alongside Naruto and One Piece. These are the most successful mangas from the 2000s. However, while Naruto received its well-deserved ending, Bleach fans were left disappointed. Many readers felt that the ending of the manga was rushed. The mangaka Tite Kubo revealed the reasons for the quick conclusion.
Why did the manga have to end so quickly? In a 2017 interview, Tite Kubo explained that the publisher set a deadline of one year for him to finish Bleach (via millenium.org). This was a major problem for the mangaka:
- The mangaka always only thinks of important key scenes, but never how to get there. Accordingly, he only knew what important scenes would happen in the Thousand-Year Blood War arc. He probably had to rush to finish the transitions.
- In 2008, he didn’t even have an idea of how Bleach should end. The idea must have come to him in the following years. It’s possible that this lack of an idea at the beginning of the manga also contributed to the quick finale.
- The ideas did not come to Kubo in the correct order. So it could be that he already had the very last scenes in mind but still had to write several arcs beforehand. This confusion could also have led to the controversial ending.
- In the end, the manga was completed in 2016.
Presumably, Tite Kubo would have liked to take more time to finish the manga. However, the deadline from Shueisha probably made it difficult for him to express his creativity and find the right ending for Bleach.
Here you can watch a trailer for the end of Bleach in the anime:
Kubo struggled with health issues
What was the ending like for the mangaka? The rushed ending could also be related to the health condition of the mangaka. In an interview, Kubo revealed that his condition worsened more than expected towards the end of the manga (via missstormcaller.tumblr.com).
Especially during that time, I always thought that my shoulder hurt. And it didn’t get any better at all after several months.
During an MRI appointment, it was revealed that his shoulder tendons were torn.
Kubo had the habit of leaning his body weight on his left shoulder while drawing. This likely led to a partial fracture. He suffered excruciating pain while finishing the manuscript for the last chapter.
Accordingly, he must have tried to finish the last chapter quickly. With his shoulder problems and the deadline looming over him, it must not have been easy for Kubo to complete Bleach.
Was there a correction of the manga? After the rushed finale, Kubo published a one-shot in 2021 that addresses the events after the ending of Bleach. This was meant to expand the story.
Additionally, in the anime, there is the opportunity to portray the final arc as Kubo desired. Since 2022, the last story arc has been released as a series titled Bleach: Thousand-Year Blood War. The anime arc is not yet completed and offers hope that the finale will not feel quite as rushed as in the manga.
Tite Kubo faced difficulties not only at the end of Bleach but also at the beginning of his career, as he had to fight against the editors of his publisher who did not believe in him: “Your manga is not good” – The publisher of Bleach told the creator to change his style, laying Dragon Ball in front of him
