Bleach creator Tite Kubo is one of the main pillars of the manga industry. His work has inspired many other mangakas, and even though it ended a long time ago, there are not many stories that can reach the level of success that Bleach attained. However, while Kubo’s journey as one of the top manga creators might look easy, it certainly wasn’t.
Kubo started Bleach in 2001, and he created the compelling narrative for 15 years. He wanted to be a manga creator ever since he was a kid, and he decided to give everything he had to his career as a manga creator. But initially, even that was not good enough. When he started Bleach, he faced a lot of struggles with Weekly Shonen Jump.
The mangaka recently revealed his journey and how he faced issues while starting Bleach. He even talked about how he was not ready yet and was criticized by the editors for his work.
Tite Kubo Wasn’t Ready When Bleach Got Selected
The Bleach creator was recently interviewed by voice actor and J-pop idol Daisuke Sakuma on his radio talk show, which was later translated and shared by @3z_0q0q on X. During the interview, Kubo was asked the most challenging part of Bleach and the mangaka revealed that it was the schedule during the first serialization meeting.
Kubo stated:
Well, when they decided to serialize, there’s this meeting called the serialization meeting. I had to send my work from my family home in Hiroshima. So, I sent it, and once they reviewed it, I got the confirmation that it was accepted. But I wasn’t fully ready yet. The work wasn’t complete, and I didn’t have Bleach set up properly at that time.
According to Kubo, he was not sure whether Bleach would get selected by Weekly Shonen Jump or not. Thus, when he sent it for review he was not fully prepared as the story was incomplete.
Thus, he was nervous when he was called for serialization meeting as he had nothing else to show except the work he initially sent. This was one of the biggest challenge for him as there was a big possibility that Weekly Shonen Jump would have rejected him and Bleach.
Bleach Was Not Good Enough When Tite Kubo Started
Further explaining his first serialization meeting, Tite Kubo pointed out that he was so nervous for the meeting, that he wrote something special for the meeting. However, it was not at all liked by the Editor-in-Chief of Weekly Shonen Jump at the time.
Kubo stated:
I remember writing something for the serialization meeting, and the then-editor-in-chief didn’t like it. He said, “This won’t do. Bring him in!” Looking back now, it’s amazing that the editor took the time to call in a rookie like me. But when I got called in, he told me, “This isn’t good enough. I want you to create a work that represents Jump!”
As Kubo already had a few works published with Weekly Shonen Jump before Bleach, the Editor-in-Chief knew about his talents. But the initial plot of Bleach was not something he was expecting. Thus, he asked him to change it and make something better.
Kubo got so disheartened by the comments that he stopped writing Bleach for a year. He almost gave up on it when his Editor asked him to submit the story once more and take a chance with it. Ultimately, it got accepted and from there on Bleach went on to become one of the greatest series, and Kubo went on to become one of the biggest manga creators.
Bleach is available to watch on Hulu.
