Even Tite Kubo is powerless to erase One Ichigo’s regret from Bleach VA

When Bleach made its exciting return in 2022, everyone has been talking about fan reactions to the series. However, what went unnoticed for most was how the cast and crew felt about returning to Bleach after a decade. Unlike how fans experience anime characters from a distant perspective, voice actors can actually experience them.

This gives them a closer view, and the Bleach The voice actors once pointed out some interesting points about Ichigo’s character during an interview. Uryu Ishida’s English voice actor Derek Stephen Prince has shared what he thinks would make Ichigo’s character even more interesting. As great as his suggestion is, it can’t be changed even if Tite Kubo tried it himself.

Uryu’s voice actor shared his wish for Ichigo’s character

The English dub cast of Bazz-B and Uryu shared their experience returning to Bleach during an interview with Screen Rant. They were excited about the new changes to the series and tried to elevate the characters through their input. Derek Stephen Prince, Uryu Ishida’s voice actor, was asked if there was a specific voice actor/artist they would like to give a special shout out to.

Although he didn’t name anyone in particular, he explained that one aspect of Ichigo’s character was never developed to its full potential. What made Ichigo special was his ability to see ghosts, but this storyline didn’t receive much attention. Discussing the early stages of Ichigo’s journey, the voice actor shared what he thinks should have stayed with Ichigo:

It’s like, wait, what? For what? Some of his best friends are now ghosts. Here we go. And I wish that was more a part of who he was as a character.

This shows how voice actors can have different perceptions of characters compared to fans. Uryu was one of Ichigo’s closest friends, so playing him probably gave the voice actor a more magnified look at his life. It drew our attention to an important aspect of Ichigo’s character. The ghosts mentioned in the statement probably meant the Soul Reapers.

Looking back, meeting Rukia changed Ichigo’s life forever. He gained special powers and it would have been interesting to see him spend more time perplexed by his new powers. While this would have been a great addition to Ichigo’s character, it’s too late for even Tite Kubo to fix this problem like it happened early in the story.

So this regret the voice actor feels about how a potentially great storyline was simply brushed aside cannot be avoided. But, Bloody Thousand Year War Anime definitely helps in other ways.

The changes in Anime TYBW Fixes the same issue, but with other characters

Just as Ichigo’s character could have been fleshed out in some way, many of the characters in the series had a lot more to offer. THE Bloody Thousand Year War Anime gives all of these characters more time to shine and leave a lasting impact.

Unfortunately, it’s too late for Ichigo as he’s in the final stage of his character arc, but other characters receive Kubo’s full attention. And this process of correcting the dull parts of the manga enriches the latter parts of Bleach animated.

Bleach: Bloody Thousand Year War is available to stream on DisneyPlus.