Tite Kubo is a manga artist and a fantastic writer in the world of fiction. Best known for “Bleach,” Kubo has had a far more extensive career than many may realize. That being said, who is this mystery man? Today, CHS Anchor News is adding Tite Kubo to its collection of ‘CREATORS YOU SHOULD KNOW!’

Tite Kubo was born on June 26, 1997 in Fuchu, Japan. Once Kubo entered elementary school, he had already decided to become a manga artist at a young age. Kubo was inspired by the “Saint Seiya: Knights Of The Zodiac” manga.  From that point onward, only a career in manga would do.

Kubo eventually went on to work for the “Weekly Shonen Jump” magazine where he wrote his first manga, “Zombiepowder.” “Zombiepowder” mixed western elements and necromancy. Sadly, “Zombiepowder” ran on to only 27 chapters before its cancellation. The cancellation and criticism for his work caused Kubo to experience considerable emotional trauma. 

Kubo began to lose faith in his abilities. Luckily, this didn't stop him, and he soon got to work on another series based on a similarly ghoulish premise. That series would eventually be his best-known work, “Bleach”. 

Kubo was interested in the idea of turning Shinigami, or death gods, into heroes that protect the innocent from soul-eating beasts known as “Hollows.” The story progresses when, all of a sudden, the home to these death gods gets out of control when a human named Ichigo, a rebellious teenager with hidden powers, gets forced into the ranks of the soul reapers to protect his family. 

This story concept was submitted to the “Weekly Shonen Jump,” but was sadly rejected for either an unknown reason or because of its dark premise. After his first canceled series and a rejection letter for “Bleach”, Kubo was in despair. However, soon the Z Fighters came to the rescue. Akira Toriyama (“Dragon Ball” creator and another Anchor News creator you should know) was impressed by Kubo's work. Somehow, Toriyama got his hands on Kubo’s ideas and told the aspiring Mangaka to not give up yet. 

This boosted Kubo’s confidence to a new level.  Eventually, Bleach became a weekly serialization on “The Shonen Jump.” There was no clear answer on how “Bleach” got accepted, but rumors say someone got word that this story was praised by the legendary Mangaka Akira Toriyama. 

According to Tite Kubo himself, he has always preferred the villain's side of “Dragonball” more than the hero's side.  “A villain must be strong, fearsome, and cool, no exceptions…What drilled that into me, without a doubt, was Dragonball.” A quick glance at Bleach’s villains shows that to be very true.

Originally, the story of “Bleach” was supposed to be less than 5 years. However, its massive success allowed it to run for a whopping 15. Overall, “Bleach” made more than $7.24 billion worldwide. In the mid-2000s “Bleach,” “Naruto” and “One Piece” became known as “The Big Three” by the fans because of their impact and accomplishments.

On March 27, 2012 The “Bleach” anime was surprisingly canceled, much to the disappointment of the fans. Kubo was still working on the final arc of “Bleach,” but became terribly sick and had to rush the ending. Kubo put his health as a priority and this decision affected the status of “Bleach.” For many years, nothing new came from the “Bleach” series aside from a one-shot special from Kubo in 2021. 

When everything seemed dim and dark, the 20th anniversary of the “Bleach” presentation announced its anime return. The huge return to the world of anime made fans go wild. After ten years of waiting, Kubo gave the fans what they wanted and promised to make this season of “Bleach” the best they have seen. “Bleach: The Thousand-Year Blood War” arc will air fall in 2022. 

Tite Kubo is the real-life personification of a Shonen Protagonist, which is to keep working hard and NEVER give up on your goals. 

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