Bleach is back in animation for 2022, after a hiatus of more than ten years. On this occasion and to celebrate his return, three genius mangakas behind some of the works most cults from bandaged–drawn japanese wished to make it the most vibrant of tributes in their own way.
Bleach : the king’s return
We were talking to you yesterday about the most insane announcement of the annual Shueisha event, the company that publishes the Weekly Shonen Jump, that is the holy grail of manga. This event named Jump Festa 2022 showcased all the novelties of the coming year in the manga world, and viewers had the opportunity to see a brand new trailer for the anime Bleach, on hiatus for 10 years, waiting to finally see the end of the manga adapted on small screen.
It will be the Studio pierrot (Boruto) who will be in charge of this adaptation and fans will be happy to find names that they had appreciated in the past, like Sagisu Shiro at the musics. Tite Kubo had also announced to oversee the series, adding or modifying some somewhat muddy points of the manga’s final arc, named “Thousand-Year Blood War“ or in French “The Bloody Thousand Years War“. To pay tribute to this triumphant return, the mangakas Eiichiro Oda (One Piece), Masashi Kishimoto (Naruto) and Yuki Tabata (Black Clover) had fun making beautiful boards inspired by Bleach.
Eiichiro Oda’s tribute
Bleach : a tribute in drawing
Thus, three genius mangakas from Shonen Jump each have redesigned characters from Bleach in their own way, in their style. These designs are really impressive to look at and full of details reminiscent of their author’s graphic paste. Thus, Eiichiro Oda’s drawing is the most sober of the three, with an Ichigo holding his sword in both hands, but whose face resembles that of Sanji. The drawing of Tabata as for him is interested to the characters of Kenpachi Zaraki and Yachiru, where they would almost look mean.
Bleach version Yuki Tabata
Most the drawing which seems the most worked of the three is undoubtedly that of Kishimoto. This is a very clean design, in which you can see through your blade a bloody Ichigo, bathing in a body of water, with clouds and an orange sky in the background. Other authors also wanted to contribute to the building of 20 years of Bleach and its return to anime. Among them we can cite Yusei Matsui (Assassination Classroom), Riichiro Inagaki (Eyeshield 21, Dr. Stone), Koyoharu Gotouge (Demon Slayer), Gege Akutami (Jujutsu Kaisen) as well as unpublished in Europe Kyosuke Usata (Pyu tu Fuku! Jaguar) and Koji Ohishi. Eiichiro Oda moreover had already signed an exceptional drawing for the President of the Republic Emmanuel Macron, on the occasion of the diplomatic visit. You can find it here.
The magnificent drawing of Masashi Kishimoto