‘Kubo really went light on these aspects of world building’: Bleach Missed the Train With Ulquiorra’s Death That Could Have Rivaled Eiichiro Oda’s One Piece

SUMMARY

• Tite Kubo's Bleach and Eiichiro Oda's One Piece are often compared and One Piece always wins solely because of world building.
• Tite Kubo could have also made Bleach more successful if he had explored the Bleach universe.
• The series has many complexities that could have added more to the Bleach narrative.

The rivalry between Eiichiro Oda’s One Piece and Tite Kubo’s Bleach is quite known within the anime and manga industry. And while the two series are quite popular, the one aspect that takes One Piece above Bleach is the incredible world-building it offers. Oda has made sure that every arc explores a new surrounding that provides uniqueness to the story.

Ichigo Kurosaki in Bleach | Credit: Studio Pierrot

However, if Kubo had explored the different lores in Bleach in a more detailed manner, he could have easily rivaled One Piece. The complexity of Bleach comes from the fact that there are too many elements. But the only problem is those elements are solely based on the central narrative and do not have much description of their own.

The biggest example of this is Ulquiorra’s death during the Fake Karakura Town arc. Ulquiorra’s death was a mystery in the fact that it was different than other Arrancars. If Kubo had focused more on the worlds of Hollows in Bleach and Arrancars, he would have not only solved the mystery but also had a decent plot to work on further.

Ulquiorra’s uncanny way of dying

Since the beginning of the Arrancar arc in Bleach, Tite Kubo made it clear that Ulquiorra Cifer was different than other Espadas. While he was fourth in rank, his power levels were more than any other Arrancar in the history of Bleach. Not only that, but he was the closest ally to Sosuke Aizen from his entire army.

He even had a second Resurrección called Segunda Etapa. This took his strength and abilities to a whole different level, and he proved himself to be an admirable opponent against Ichigo, the protagonist of Bleach. But even after being so strong, Ulquiorra couldn’t stand up to Ichigo’s powers and was ultimately defeated, which led to his death.

Ulquiorra’s Death | Credit: Studio Pierrot

However, his death was a little different from all the Arrancars. While most of the Arrancars burned in black flame after dying, Ulquiorra just turned into sand and faded away into nothingness. This was certainly peculiar, and Bleach fans have often wondered about the reason behind this uncanny death in the series but Kubo has never explored it.

Tite Kubo could have easily rivaled One Piece

Just like Ulquiorra’s death, there are many other complexities in Bleach that Kubo has left to the viewer’s interpretation. If Kubo had explored the different worlds like the Hueco Mundo and Wandenreich, he could not only have solved these complexities but also gotten additional plots to work on, bringing him on par with Eiichiro Oda.

Hueco Mundo in Bleach | Credit: Studio Pierrot

There are many aspects of the Bleach universe that deserve a more detailed description because of the interest they created among the fans.

And while there are other novels and projects that explore these aspects, they also connect them to the central story, which generally revolves around the Soul Society or the human world in Bleach.

If Kubo plans on adding more substance to the Bleach universe after the Thousand-Year Blood War, he has a lot of unexplored worlds that he could focus on. These worlds will surely resonate with Bleach fans and provide a better explanation for many mysteries of the series.

Bleach is available to watch on Hulu.

Written by Tarun Kohli

Articles Published: 2096

Konichiwa! With a Master's Degree in Journalism and Mass Communication and a 2-year experience in Digital media writing, I am on my way to becoming one of the biggest anime content writers in my country. My passion for writing and Anime has helped me connect with Fandomwire, and share my love and experience with the world.