More than 22 years after its anime debut, Bleach has finally reached its conclusion with the Thousand-Year Blood War Arc. The anime released its final part as part of the Summer 2026 lineup and reached its conclusion after a major delay. As part of the Shonen Big Three alongside One Piece and Naruto, Bleach has always been celebrated as one of the most iconic Shonen Jump anime and manga franchises of all time. However, despite the franchise’s popularity and the manga ending, it took Pierrot around a decade to return with a sequel to adapt the Thousand-Year Blood War Arc of the manga.
The final arc of the main story was split into four parts, and it returned with far better quality animation, pacing, and original scenes, without unnecessary filler episodes. While it’s shorter than the previous cours, the finale solved the major issues with the original ending, which is all the more reason why fans love the anime ending more than the manga. However, now that the story has finally wrapped up, creator Tite Kubo opens up about influencing popular series such as Demon Slayer and Jujutsu Kaisen, the two hottest Shonen Jump series among the new-generation hits.
Following the anime finale, HYPEBEAST shared a magazine interview with the creator for their Issue 38. When asked about Bleach influencing the new generation of manga, Kubo replies, “People often say that the captains of the Gotei 13 influenced the Hashira in Demon Slayer, or that concepts like Bankai inspired aspects of Jujutsu Kaisen.”
He continues, “The creators of those series have told me that they were influenced by BLEACH, so I think it’s fair to say that influence exists. But I don’t think influence is something that flows in only one direction. It’s something that’s passed from one generation of creators to the next.”
As an iconic Shonen Jump series that follows many popular tropes, it’s no surprise that Bleach has been used as an inspiration for the new generation of manga. Demon Slayer and Jujutsu Kaisen are the two most popular Shonen series in recent years, and it’s not a coincidence that they are both inspired by the same series. However, while talking about the two series, Kubo addresses that influences evolve over time. Just like how he was inspired by Saint Seiya as a child and used the Gotei 13 as his interpretation of the Gold Saints, Demon Slayer and Jujutsu Kaisen creators also made their versions of Gotei 13. Kubo also mentions how this helps creativity evolve over time, through generations, resulting in newer versions of stories.
Even though the manga already ended a decade ago and the anime wrapped up as well, fans still have something new to look forward to. Bleach also needs to adapt the one-shot Kubo released in 2021 as part of the manga’s 20th anniversary. Titled No Breathes From Hell, the one-shot manga opened room for the story’s expansion, as it shed more light on Ichigo’s future and those around him. However, even if the manga didn’t expand the story completely with a longer run, there’s still a high possibility that the one-shot will be adapted into an anime, which will be just as exciting. Fans have been awaiting the Hell Arc for several years now. While several unofficial reports claim that the manga will return to Weekly Shonen Jump with a brand new story, there hasn’t been an official confirmation yet, so there’s no way to verify those rumors.
