Can Studio Pierrot fix Bleach's disappointing ending or has it been impossible from the start?

Bleach is one of the most influential series ever made, crowned as part of the “Big Three” for its rich legacy. The manga, created by Tite Kubo, ran on Shueisha’s Weekly Shonen Jump from 2001 to 2016, concluding with 74 volumes containing 686 chapters. While most of the series was beloved, the ending was highly divisive among readers.

Several fans felt the latter half of the Thousand-Year Blood War Arc was rushed to force the series to an end. Due to this, the anime, which will be adapting the final part soon, has viewers both excited and fearful. Studio Pierrot can definitely fix Bleach’s disappointing ending, but they will have to take a lot of creative liberties to achieve it.

Bleach captivated the entire anime world since the beginning through its creative setting of Hollows and Soul Reapers. The series featured Ichigo, a regular boy, pulled into the complex world of spirits. While initially only forced to face external threats, Ichigo soon discovered that the real danger lay within the Soul Society.

Since then, every Bleach arc covered a distinctly different storyline, whether the quest to save Rukia or to stop Aizen’s terrifying schemes. However, all of these led to the final arc, the Thousand-Year Blood War. With the return of the all-powerful Quincy King, Yhwach, who aimed to destroy every realm, Ichigo, the Soul Reapers, and even former antagonists had to unite to face the enemy and his army of Quincies.

While the arc started strong, fans soon noticed how unstable its pacing was. Battles were rushed, character development was overlooked, and crucial plot points were left vague and unexplained.

For instance, Squad Zero never got their moment to shine, Uryu’s motivations were not explained properly, and the Soul King remained a mystery from beginning to end. This culminated in the controversial final battle between Yhwach and Ichigo, where the Quincy King displayed the full force of his powers.

While it was undoubtedly formidable, fans were also left unimpressed. Yhwach’s unnecessary use of the Auswahlen led to the deaths of Gerard Valkyrie and Jugram Haschwalth, though there was little reason for him to do so. Readers speculated this was done because these Sternritter had grown too strong for the Soul Reapers to beat them.

The fandom grew more frustrated as the concluding battle between Yhwach and the main characters hardly lasted 10 chapters. Despite revealing that the real power of The Almighty was to change the future, Yhwach was easily fooled by Aizen and beaten by an arrow called the Still Silver, which briefly disrupted his powers.

It was shocking to see the supposedly invincible Quincy King beaten in such an anti-climactic way, leading many to believe that the plot armor given to the main characters had gone overboard by that point. Therefore, what was once a series that fascinated the entire world ended up leaving a sour taste in the mouths of readers.

How Studio Pierrot can fix the Bleach ending

While the reason for Bleach’s rushed ending was never officially revealed, it is believed by fans to be a combination of the author’s failing health and pressure from the publisher. Kubo himself realised the flaws of his final arc and has been working with Studio Pierrot to polish the Thousand-Year Blood War anime adaptation, which is split up into four cours and began airing in 2022.

Till now, three cours have been released, and the final part will be coming out shortly. Fans of Bleach have been rallying behind the anime because it has already worked on fixing many issues of the source material.

The series has expanded crucial battles such as the one between Haschwalth and Bazz-B, increased Squad Zero’s involvement, deepened the lore between the Quincies and Soul Reapers, and introduced many more necessary changes. Due to this, the viewing experience has been much more enjoyable and consistent when compared to the manga.

Hence, if they continue in the same trend, the ending can also be fixed. However, to perfectly address every one of its mistakes, several liberties will have to be taken. Yhwach’s justification of using the Auswahlen will have to be expanded upon, while Haschwalth and Gerard’s deaths have to seem natural rather than the result of plot armor.

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Most importantly, the concluding battle needs more anime-original scenes, where key concepts such as The Almighty and the Horn of Salvation are emphasized. While it is unlikely that entire moments like Uryu’s use of Still Silver or Aizen deceiving Yhwach through Kyoka Suigetsu can be cut out, spreading them out throughout a longer battle, rather than presenting them as abruptly as in the manga, will help make it more digestible.

This may seem like a tall order to achieve for an animation studio, and rightfully so. However, since Kubo is directly working with Pierrot to give justice to his story, it is also definitely possible for positive changes to be enforced.

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