The Biggest Changes Between The Bleach Manga And Anime

Bleach is one of the most popular anime series right now courtesy of a stellar adaptation of its final arc, with Studio Pierrot showcasing what they're capable of when they aren't saddled with weekly deadlines. The animation in Bleach: Thousand-Year Blood War is in a class of its own, doing justice to the best arc in the manga after Soul Society.

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By  Ritwik Mitra

While Bleach's anime adaptation seems pretty accurate at first glance, there are several changes that long-time fans will notice if they pay closer attention to the events that unfold over the course of Bleach's numerous arcs. For the most part, these changes were well-received by audiences and did a great job of making the anime more palatable for viewers.

8 Yuzu Can Also See Spirits

This Is Not Shown In The Anime

In the anime, Karin's twin, Yuzu, isn't shown to be all that aware of the existence of spirits. She can be an easy character to forget. She's easily the least notable member of the Kurosaki family, but the manga did a better job of showcasing her connection to the spiritual side of her bloodline.

While she can't see spirits, Yuzu can see the outlines of these otherworldly beings. It was a nifty detail from the manga that was ignored in the anime, which is an understandable omission but one that harms her relevancy in the adaptation.

7 Kukaku Has A Prosthetic In The Anime

Her Right Arm Is Missing And More Prominent In The Manga

Kukaku Shiba makes a strong impression from her very first appearance in Bleach, and it's a shame that she fails to maintain this relevancy as the story progresses. However, that still takes nothing away from her amazing character design, featuring a detail that is changed in the anime.

In both versions of the character, her right arm is missing, but the anime makes up for it by giving her a prosthetic in its place. No such attachment exists in the manga, where her lack of a right hand is clear as day.

6 Yhwach's Appearance Is Different When He Debuts

He Looks Way Younger In The Manga Before Eventually Aging As His Power Increases

The Thousand-Year Blood War wastes no time in introducing Yhwach, one of the most captivating characters in the series. The Quincy King spearheads the invasion of Soul Society and quickly becomes one of the strongest characters in the series as his powers continue to grow.

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In the manga, he had a younger appearance and boasted a similar look to Old Man Zangetsu, only for his appearance to age and his mustache to grow thicker as the arc progressed. None of these subtleties appear in the anime, where Yhwach appears quite old and his look remains consistent throughout the four cours in Thousand-Year Blood War.

5 Isshin's Role Is Somewhat Muted Early On In The Anime

The Adaptation Underestimated His Importance In Later Arcs

Isshin Kurosaki is one of the most important characters in the series, with this shinigami engaging in a forbidden romance with a Quincy to give birth to Ichigo. As the story of Bleach progresses, Isshin's character becomes quite serious, but this is harder for anime fans to digest, who assume that he is a forgetful and goofy father at best.

However, in the manga, Isshin has several moments where he provides quality advice to his family in the middle of his comedic acts. This was cut out in the anime since he didn't seem all that relevant, only for his background as a shinigami to become more important than ever before.

4 Lilynette's Death Witnesses A Major Change

She Dies Saving Starrk In The Anime But Passes On Along With Her Partner In The Manga

Lilynette is Starrk's partner-in-crime and one of the only friends this powerful Espada has. It's easy to see why he's so broken up in the anime when his steadfast companion transforms into a wolf and sacrifices herself to save him from Kyoraku's attack.

However, the details of her demise are quite different in the manga. There, she survives the battle until the very end, when Kyoraku strikes both her and Starrk down for good. It's a poetic demise for the duo as they stick with each other in their final moments before passing away.

3 Kanae Dies Instantly After Auswahlen In The Anime

Uryu's Mother Falls Into A 3-Month Coma In The Manga

Kanae Katagiri is Uryu's mother and a character who doesn't get a lot of screen time until the Thousand-Year Blood War. Her backstory serves to highlight the power of the Auswahlen and how it treats the Quincy like fodder, sapping their energy and leaving them to die.

When Yhwach unleashed this power in the past, the anime shows that Kanae dies almost instantly after this move is triggered. However, in the manga, she falls into a coma that lasts for three months before passing away. It's possible this scene was omitted to keep the pacing of the anime as fast and engaging as possible.

2 Byakuya Notices That Ichigo And Kaien Are Similar During Their Fight In The Manga

Further Demonstrates Why Rukia Chose To Give Such Immense Power To A Stranger

Rukia's soft spot for Ichigo is something that is well-documented during the first few storylines of Bleach. The fact that he looked like Kaien helped make this decision easier for her, even if it led to her being imprisoned and sentenced to a brutal execution.

When Ichigo arrives to save the day and rescue Rukia, Byakuya notices how his looks and mannerisms are similar to Kaien during their battle. It's a small yet important detail in the manga that helps everything come full circle, justifying Rukia's rogue actions to an extent.

1 The Anime Adds A Ton Of Backgrounds That Kubo Didn't Detail Out

Bleach's Mangaka Avoids Drawing Backgrounds To Prevent Pages From Looking Too Cluttered

Kubo may have his flaws as a mangaka, but one thing that fans universally agree on is that he's a talented artist whose character designs and battle sequences are a joy to watch. It helps that his artwork doesn't feature a ton of noise and focuses on the action, which is why a lot of people are okay with the idea of backgrounds being omitted in the manga's action panels.

Most readers can fill in the gaps with their imagination and the glimpses of these backdrops in other panels. However, the anime doesn't have this luxury and draws a bunch of backgrounds from scratch for most of the battles battles, which is pretty impressive.

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  Bleach

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  Release Date

  2004 - 2012-00-00

  Network

  TV Tokyo, TV Osaka, TV Aichi, TVh, TVQ, TSC, BS TV Tokyo

  Showrunner

  Tite Kubo

  Directors

  Mitsutaka Noshitani, Junya Koshida, Hodaka Kuramoto, Yasuto Nishikata, Hiroaki Nishimura, Kazunori Mizuno, Akira Shimizu, Rokou Ogiwara, Kazunobu Shimizu, Akane Inoue, Hikaru Murata, Tomoko Hiramuki, Kazuo Nogami, Taiji Kawanishi, Shigeki Hatakeyama, Eiko Nishi, Takushi Kimura, Koji Aritomi, Ogura Shirakawa, Kiyomu Fukuda, Yukio Okazaki, Mitsue Yamazaki, Yasuhiro Matsumura, Eitarou Ano

  Writers

  Masahiro Okubo, Masashi Sogo, Kenta Shimoyama, Genki Yoshimura, Kazuyuki Fudeyasu, Rika Nakase, Michiko Yokote, Natsuko Takahashi, Kento Shimoyama

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    Masakazu Morita

    Ichigo Kurosaki (voice)
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    Fumiko Orikasa

    Rukia Kuchiki

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