Kubo's latest comments on Bleach: Thousand-year Blood War part 4 prove why the anime will surpass the manga
On Monday, December 16, 2024, during a TikTok Live broadcast for the series' 20th Anniversary, Tite Kubo revealed some interesting facts about Bleach: Thousand-year Blood War part 4's production. According to Kubo, the next & final installment of the Thousand-year Blood War arc's anime adaptation will feature more original content than ever before.
Although Kubo refused to elaborate further, he mentioned how Bleach: Thousand-year Blood War part 4 would contain episodes, where fans would be pleasantly surprised to see a vast number of "never-seen-before" content. From Tite Kubo's comments, it's clear the series will extend the narrative from the manga, enriching it with more battles and lore.
Disclaimer: This article contains spoilers from Bleach TYBW arc.
Exploring Kubo's vision for Bleach: Thousand-year Blood War part 4 and why it will surpass the manga
During the Bleach manga's serialization, Tite Kubo couldn't elaborate on certain aspects due to time constraints, poor health, and other reasons. The Thousand-year Blood War arc's ending, in particular, met severe criticism from multiple fans over its seemingly rushed ending.
It was later revealed that Kubo had been suffering from health issues, for which, he had to rush through the ending. Even though he ended the manga the way he had originally envisioned, Kubo couldn't add certain fights and narratives.
However, the anime adaptation of the Thousand-year Blood War arc was Kubo's chance to redeem himself. He was heavily involved in Studio Pierrot's production for the first two cour and ensured his actual vision was translated to the anime form. The end result was a plethora of anime original content that enhanced the manga or to some extent surpassed it.
From Shinji's Bankai to Senjumaru Shutara's Bankai to fleshing out the Squad Zero vs. Schutzstaffel battle, Tite Kubo incorporated several additions to delight the fans. However, the first two cours predominantly captured too much of the manga, thereby leaving the remaining two parts too little content for adaptation.
Ironically, this was a boon in disguise. The ongoing season and the upcoming Bleach: Thousand-year Blood War part 4 were settled for more anime original content. The latest installment has covered chapters 609 to 654 (45) thus far, and it's unlikely to go past this number given how the cour has rearranged the events.
That leaves only 33 chapters worth of content for Bleach: Thousand-year Blood War part 4. According to the statistics of how the series has so far panned out in terms of an episode covering manga chapters, the first two installments on average covered 5 chapters, while the ongoing/third installment is covering 3.2 chapters per episode.
Bleach: Thousand-year Blood War part 4 will further reduce this number to 2.75 chapters per episode (if the cour releases 12 episodes). In other words, the final installment was bound to have numerous additions or never-seen-before content. Even if there were shreds of doubts left, Tite Kubo's latest comments should eradicate them altogether.
As mentioned, the official staff organized a live broadcast on TikTok to celebrate the series' 20th anniversary on Monday, December 16, 2024. During the live discussion, Kubo was asked to share his thoughts regarding the final cour. Kubo began by saying how he couldn't say much about the cour yet.
However, he felt that his not saying much should give fans some idea about what to expect from the cour. Tite Kubo explained how Bleach: Thousand-year Blood War part 4 will have certain moments not previously depicted in the manga. Some episodes will feature excessive anime original content fans have never seen before.
Notably, some of the initial episodes of the ongoing installment featured original content spanning over 8-9 minutes. From Kubo's comments, Bleach: Thousand-year Blood War part 4 may exceed that number. Yet, that's not all. The production planning for the final cour had began a long time ago.
Aside from the latest broadcast, Kubo in his Klub Outside blog recently mentioned how he attended a meeting for part 4, where he discussed each episode with the staff. Interestingly, Kubo even prepared new storyboards, which made the production team extremely enthusiastic.
Kubo's posts in the Klub Outside further suggest the final cour's planning commenced back in November 2023. After the first meeting for cour 4 on November 22, 2023, Kubo went to the second meeting on January 10, 2024, where he discussed new scenes to incorporate with the production team.
Thus, it's evident Kubo has been involved with the series production and wants to ensure Bleach: Thousand-year Blood War part 4 incorporates his original ideas.
Now, the question is, what sort of changes or additions can fans expect? Undoubtedly, there were many issues fans had with Thousand-year Blood War arc's ending segment.
For example, Bleach: Thousand-year Blood War part 4 could elaborate on the conclusion of Kisuke Urahara's battle against Askin Nakk le Var. In the manga, Kubo never explained Kisuke, Grimmjow, and Nelliel's status. Later, in Can't Fear Your Own World spin-off light novel by Ryogo Narita, fans learned how they survived.
Thus, the final cour could extend that scene. Besides that, another major issue the arc had was Toshiro, Byakuya, and Zaraki's battle against Gerald Valkyrie. Since the fight ended in a lackluster and rushed manner, Kubo may fix it. Additionally, the final cour could extend Uryu Ishida's fight against Jugram Haschwalth.
Since the latest installment has shown Uryu's Vollstandig form, Bleach: Thousand-year Blood War part 4 could show the full extent of Uryu's abilities. Additionally, the final cour could incorporate elements to ensure Chad, Ganju, Ryuuken, Isshin, and other important characters get their time to shine.
Most importantly, Bleach: Thousand-year Blood War part 4 may extend the final battle of the series. Besides these aspects, the cour could incorporate new battle scenes featuring other characters not discussed above. At any rate, Kubo's comments give hope that the final part will surpass the manga's narrative.
Conclusion
Bleach: Thousand-year Blood War part 4 is set for a fabulous narrative, as suggested by Kubo's comments during the TikTok livestream held on Monday, December 16, 2024. While the author didn't elaborate on his comments, it's evident the upcoming installment will feature an excessive amount of anime original content.
It remains to be seen whether Kubo adds content from the spin-off light novels, like Bleach: WE DO knot ALWAYS LOVE YOU and Can't Fear Your Own World, considering they take place after the events of the Thousand-year Blood War arc. At any rate, the latest installment's incredible production quality and anime original content have already created hype and anticipation surrounding the final cour.
Also read:
- Bleach: Thousand-year Blood War part 3 complete release schedule
- Bleach TYBW part 3 all but confirms Hell Arc
- Bleach Arc List: Chronological guide of all arcs so far