Progressive. Kubo was young when he started BLEACH and his other works plus his style was that of the 2000s so it wasnt all that groundbreaking but it was ok for its time as manga wasnt taken as seriously or overly popular as it is now. Now tho, its truly amazing Kubo saw his flaws and decided to do something about them but without changing his style completely. It feels like we grew along with Kubo and is evident in his art, it aged like fine wine...
The only Mangaka that holds a candle to Kubo is Araki. Especially when it comes to drip. It's amazing to see the ongoing growth and mastery of both, how each of them start off with an artstyle that "was the norm" when they launched, to evolving into something so beautiful and unique. Other Mangaka's grow and improve in their style, but few evolve in the ways that Kubo and Araki haw and continue to
I like when kubo and horikoshi had that interview. And kubo praised him on his detailed background..then horikoshi said ",thanks, I had to make them extremely detailed because my characters can't stand on there own,unlike yours.
I can't test this with myself because i have commited every scene of her to memory since her screentime shortens so much for a deuteronogist as soon as soul society starts
Rukia could have been iconic in bleach for really good reasons but she was clowned on up until tybw. I believe bleach could have been a massive hit if it had actual good writing
Early Bleach looked like a late 80's to mid 90's manga, which makes a lot of sense when you remember Kubo's main inspiration when drawing Bleach was Akira Toriyama's works. Late Bleach became its own absolute style 😎
Kubo wasn't inspired by Akira Toriyama though. Kubo said himself that he was inspired by Masami Kurumada's works (Saint Seiya) and it shows as if you've read/watched Saint Seiya, you can really see the the influence of it in Bleach. For example, how most fights in bleach are turn based, with characters taking turns using special abilities instead of choreographed action sequences like Dragon Ball. Bleach also shares alot of the same story structure as Saint Seiya. Like Bleach's Soul Society arc follows a lot of the same story beats as Saint Seiya's Sanctuary arc..
@@D4rkn3ss2000 His main inspiration for drawing Manga was Saint Seiya and GeGe no Kitaro. Not Dragon Ball. Look up the interview between Kubo and Sakuma which is very recent and you can read for yourself. I'm not saying he wasn't influenced at all by Toriyama and Dragon Ball as it's evident he was by the tribute drawings he's done, but the how much it inspired him is greatly exaggerated to the point of misinformation.
Bleach’s evolution in art is fascinating because it mirrors the series’ thematic growth. Early Bleach, with its boxy designs and exaggerated expressions, feels like a reflection of the awkward yet energetic beginnings of the story itself. It was raw, a bit chaotic, but laid the foundation for something much grander. As Kubo's style matured, Bleach gained a sharp, sleek aesthetic that matched its darker, more intense narrative arcs. What’s genius about Kubo is how he uses simplicity-those blank spaces are not laziness, they are powerful, giving moments and characters a dramatic presence that few other manga can pull off.
An... It kinda made the Charakters look Younger.. with the later style making them look older. Especially on Ichigo and Orihime.. Its as if you see them mature..
I loved the goofy, cartoonish artstyle. I know the changes are probably for the better to most, but i will forever be in love with the original mood of the Bleach. It was more light-hearted, more expressive and diverse.
Call it glazing if you want, I don't really care, but I firmly believe that Kubo is the greatest shonen artist of his generation. When Kubo wants you to feel a specific emotion, you're going to feel it without fail. The "Save the Soul Society" panel still gives me chills just thinking about it.
That’s what i was thinking about recently. Dragon ball makes you feel adventure and it was good at that until db super Naruto actually feels like a childish version of bleach. like i am 14 and this is deep type thing Bleach is the only story that can move your feelings wherever it wants
The onomatopeias are even better in the original language. Kubo plays a lot with it, the best exemple is Gin zanpakutous attacks. The problem is that this quality does not carry over with the translations
It just kept getting better, which you love to see. I honestly really like the way the backgrounds "aren't" used, having the focus on the characters works well and actually allows them to stand out more, I think its a big reason as to why the characters stand out more to people.
It probably wasn’t resigning everything when I see improvent in my art it will incorporate itself as in if I got better at drawing eyes and that became muscle memory I would just do it naturally and it would apply to all of my original characters
@@mariefmsr heck the biggest example of this is Araki, his style has changed to the point that he can't draw his part 4 and backwards characters in their original styles anymore
I feel a little disappointed in which you didn't commented more on cover volume of Fullbring arc cause those are gorgeous . Not only Kubo seems to experiment a lot of brush usage and total black shading more, this is phase where his style in peak maturity, going venture in mysterious vibe. The one totally capture my attention is the one where he did realistic drawing style for Riruka . Basically , his style is matures throughout the series . And i love to see his character design progress and mature into new design eventhough it just little tidbits like Rukia's side ponytail , Rangiku's shorter hair and all other character in the hell special chapter together with calendar
Love how he articulated the artstyle shift but I feel like he needs to polish up in the research side. Since people might take things he says in the video as facts. Like the video mentions Kubo doing Hell arc and Burn the Witch "in digital". Which is not true. He drew them on paper. the digital drawing he did was mostly his Klub outside drawings.
@@Snzn_7 Yup , i totally agreed. I don't think Kubo included digital drawing too much in the hell's one shot and burn the witch. Cause compared to Hiro mashima's fairy tail and eden zero where he love to do in digital and the drawing much "cleaner" because of it,while kubo's chapter contained lots of details
@@sofarsogood8680 The thing is, it is not a speculation. In an interview for comic natalie on the Burn the witch manga. Kubo himself said Burn the witch manga is done mostly on paper and the only "digital" part is the "coloring" of the colored page. The same thing was done with hell chapter and he has a video in Klub Outside showing him draw the page where Syazel Aporro appears.
i think his early style is better because their facial proportions were a lot more varied and distinct compared to the more recent sameface syndrome that characters are occasionally drawn with
I could be wrong but I think I remember an interview that kubo did where he said he would watch the bleach anime while drawing the manga and he saw masashi kudos artstyle and liked the way he drew the characters in the anime and that's when his artstyle started to change.
My Opinion: 1. Honestly Love the Early Bleach Art Style even if it's Genetic, it's just a Perfect Balance Cartoonist and Realistic Style, 2. Mid Bleach is more of it's Own Uniq Style, the Designs is more well Rounded, still Realist yet Over the Top, 3. More Detailed, Design are Smoother, and Cleaner Look, 4. Digital yet so well Detailed and Clean!
I always said that Bleach's style is Less is More. It's soooo unique and clean! I saw a similar one like this from Houseki no Kuni. Its so fun to read these kind of style
@@henriquedossantos7600 that's hilarious, that's my stance as well. Whenever I watch a bleach channel and they have the Japanese scan it's more visceral. My personal favorite is from deicide 20 till the end. Still they do make the words jagged and distorted.
Sorry friend, I sat thru the entire video and heard your case, I respectfully disagree. I think early Bleach has some of the most iconic artwork as far Manga panels are concerned, they do not feel generic at all. Definitely topping one piece and Naruto. Just look at any Urahara, Orihime or Ichigo/Kurosaki family panel and you’ll see the personality, flair and amazing design each character has. Down to the fit, I agree with you it looks very early 2000’s Bleach is definitely from that era and it is an awesome time capsule to that effect. I think it has amazing personality and the early artwork is some of my favorite. Even above the later ones in the series. There is just something truly special about the way Ichigo, Rukia and the cast is drawn that makes them stand out.
heavy agree. happy the art didn't go the way of naruto, but i actually lovvvveeee the early bleach art. later art is great, but more corporate and marketable.
is it wrong that I liked early bleach art more. I see a lot of hate for chibi drawings and moments too am i the only one who loves that art and those moments?
Yeah Kubo art style like man the dude improved so much he has most of his characters look like fashion models which makes sense because I think he loves fashion Honestly he probably one of the greatest character designers or drawers in manga history due to how good his characters look
Bleach art style it's so anime looking this why i love this manga so much. Because over series like for example "One piece" looks really good but has this very cartoony look (i still love it) or something "Soul Eater" what looks very 2000's but in the end looks a lot more better than before. (I know the third stage looks very good but i love the last stage better) Bleach it's very anime looking (not in the beginning) but for my opinion in the last arc of "Bleach" kubo made one of the most iconic art style in the industry. P.s. Bleach it's one of my personal favourites in all of manga.
I like new style, but I also liked old one, it has grit to íit, the current one is too smooth, to "shiny" but that is also my mind connecting old style to very different atmosphere the series gave then
"very 00's look" is desirable style, it was back then, was overlooked in 10's and now in the 20's it has its renesanse, i wish Bleach stayed true to 00's aesthetic.
When you pulled up the Byakuya Fear panel and I sat and looked at it for a second, it gave me chills. The focus on the one word, the hollow empty background, emphasizing what the meaning of the word is and gives you that same feeling. A sense of dread, and true fear.
I think the best way to describe the empty panels is that they're a mastery of both negative and liminal space. The series for all its badass fights and larger than life personalities is a very emotional and cerebral one, where some of the strongest powers is predicated on the exclusion of entire concepts. So while the words have a feeling of impact taking up and filling panels when they need to, there's also an attention to the space between. Aa you said, things like "Bankai" have all space to almost give them a moment of serenity to sink in with, even clash panels, there's as much in the empty space between characters as there is in the clashing blades too. Hell, Kubo plays combat pretty much literally to the concept "that a fight is a conversation", but at the same time, he has a very fromsoft style of show don't tell, where often what people say about a thing might be false or misinformed but what you see, or don't see is vastly more important (funnily enough, he actually kind of primes you for this with Tosēn and his reveal aa well as Aizen "take nothing at face value, pay close attention to everything that is and isn't there"). Funnily enough I think thats the biggest change for phase 4, without needing yo rush and with the help of the digital art capability, he can now nake it even more clear through the use of having lots of backgrounds. When the "hell hollows" show up, the instant they appear in a panel all backgrounds vanish, that sudden negative space gives them both size and also a grandiose presence.
I feel like you're analyzing this the wrong way, or at least to say from your own personal view. I would argue that Bleach had more personality early on, with a huge focus on metal, rock, and most especially punk aesthetics as reflected by Ichigo's fashion style, the chapter cover art of characters depicted in stylishly 2000s punk fashion, and how each character had a punk theme song in their character profiles. You even showed a side-by-side at 8:07 where you say early art style is generic, where I would argue that it was more expressive and stylized where the modern bleach has a more "clean" generic anime look. This was the reason I got into Bleach: it's a mix of punk-centric aesthetic with traditional Japanese samurai/budo elements. Modern Bleach's art style just evolved as Kubo's art style evolved which is natural, but I would say that he dropped the punk elements midway and focused more on a generic more anime-proportionate art style. I will say that I do miss the old art style, because he had a previous manga where it's the exact same art style and with how he draws faces. I do accept the new modern look, since Bleach has been going on for so long, it feels like Kubo's art matured along with Ichigo and his crew, where they all have grown up as well.
Unpopular opinion, but I really like the boxed shape in their face and the farther apart eyes in the earlier style over his later styles. I just feel like their later faces look too narrow and long and their eyes look all the same.
The art being what it was and slowly changing IS what makes it so iconic. and hell that beginning art is good. it's the style of the time. it has it's own vibe. All of his art throughout the ages is super stylized and great. i loved watching him evolve.
I won't say early Bleach looks generic since again you can't site any other manga/anime that looks relatively close to it aside from other early Kubo works like zombie powder. You can prove me wrong if you can cite just one series that have the same "generic artsyle". I will more say it reflects a lot of the art style principle at that time while creating its own unique look. It's like you can claim the any LN series with Kirito MC looking product as a generic LN artstyle since people can already compare the look to an existing artstyle. We can claim something has the genrric moe artsyle sinceagain ee can site all the moe anime back in 04 to early 2010s and they have the same artstyle. Like you can't just say something is heneric then end up not telling one thing that looks like it. Especially with shonen jump where any starting manga must make itself look unique and different enough just to not get axed in the magazine. Like even if I disagree with your take of Naruto looking similar to Dragonball, at least you have a reference point to explain your train of thought eith that. (Naruto motsly just adapted the orange coloring from Dragonball and that is where it really ends when it comes to artstyle since Shonen Jump did make creators have those orange colorings since. They treated it as a hidden spice for success in a lot of series post dragonball. Also Yes Kubo dabbled in Digital, "BUT" he still did draw he Hell Arc and Burn the witch "ON PAPER". We have even a video of him draeing the manuscript of Hell Arc. The "Digital drawings he is doing is mostly the drawings he is doing for "KLUB OUTSIDE". Let us not misinform people with those. Good video though I really like it, I just voiced out some things I feel that needed to be discussed.
Am i insane? Am i the only one seeing the same face syndrome? Every character that had a unique face now has the same exact eye and face shape. All the girls have the same body shape. Orihime used to be petite with huge boobs, now she has the same body as Rangiku and every other big boobie lady. his style WAS iconic because every character had a unique silhouette and face, but y'all think it looks BETTER NOW??? I am on a different planet
yeah I agree, every character looks nearly identical in face shape and face expression. For example that one Rangiku comparison at 3:50, sure, you can tell the left one is Kubo's art style, but only because every single character looks exactly like that one. It's like playing dress up
Kubo in later stages of Bleach started drawing character with really long proportions. For example look at arms length and face sizes. As an artist, when I started studying Kubo I was surprised how long he makes the proportions of face and still manages to make it look amazing
It's probably unintentional, but the changes in characters design made them look more mature with each changes, so it kind of feel appropriate. Except for older married with a kid Ichigo. That is just TYBW Ichigo with shorter hair.
Kubo-sensei's art style moulded me, my tastes and appreciation in minimalism and focus in character and their personality. He has great focus on each character, their backstories and personalities. His evolution of art reflects himself and his characters.
i love his style however he did develop a same face syndrome. it's very apparent when you look at group pics, nearly everyone had that RBF going on :( the new style looks great on some characters like Rukia but it's a downgrade for Rangiku and Inoue imho
Interesting, I feel the exact opposite way. Early Bleach is so soulful and expressive if you ask me, while later on it feels much more sterile and uniform, like a western comic where everything always has to be extremely on-model and no variation or goofiness is allowed. I disagree very heavily with the point at 2:30. I adore early Bleach's very modern street punk aesthetic that's distinctly its own thing while also being grounded. Early Bleach also had a lot more effort with backgrounds. I honestly expected from this video's title that you would share my outlook, since it came off as disappointed by the change rather than celebratory. I welcome the difference in opinions, I just find it a little amusing how oppositely we view the same subject. I don't dislike endgame Bleach's art style, mind you, I just feel it got a lot less animated, more overly rigid, and overall more monotonous in its aesthetic. It feels like there's way less personality if you ask me.
Kubo and Sui Ishida have some of the most amazing manga art ive ever seen. We really need a TG reboot...but unfortunately idk of a studio that could capture ishida's raw and crazy art
The art started more rough and angular, then gotten cleaner and started it's transition to more rounder shaped very slowly. When kubo did start to use more rounded shapes he developed more of a sameface. The after bleach style is thicker with more substantial shapes, probably in an attempt to make his stuff more boxy again while retaining what he added.
one thing that can describe kubo's art is clean. the drawing, the use of panels, text, backgrounds and incredibly well designed characters all come together to give a very clean and aesthetically pleasing look. this combined with the pacing bleach had and its dialogue made it for me the easiest manga to go through. i could pick bleach up and keep reading until it was over in one sitting. kubo's philosophy with the background is also true for the story, an empty background on its own doesn't say much but it leaves room for other things to shine, like the characters and the tons of personality the give off just by looking at them. same goes for the story, at first glance it seems simple but the deeper you look, the more you can find and a lot of it is left up to your own interpretation too. there is a reason bleach youtube channels kept going strong for 10 years after the manga was over and why it came back and it's still as amazing and well received as ever. in my opinion kubo is the goat of shonen and the fact that he has inspired so many others, like dbz did before it, is a good indication of that.
I wish orihime just never existed. Would’ve been nice if her brother just ate her soul and took off to hueco mundo. 😂 Then we could have had ichiRuki but i’d feel sorry for Renji then
I love this analysis for an artstyle I've thoroughly enjoyed my entire life. I think a lot of people kind of joke about it a bit too much cause of the blank backgrounds but I'm glad people can appreciate what Kubo does.
I love this analysis of the art style change. One thing you left out though i think is the change in eye positioning and width. As Kubo's style progressed, he kinda shifted focus to having characters eyes drawn way higher on their faces, with less emphasis on width, so they look thinner. This is mostly seen in Ichigo though
I miss the OG Bleach days. Last thing that was ever something like it was Naruto. After that ended ... nothing came ever again especially that is long running
During the Fullbring and TYBW arcs Kubo was experiencing shoulder pain and other Health issues. That's why there is a great reduction in detail and background and more open white space.
Just a small nit really, but when people say "Tee Tay" because they are trying to read Kubo's pen name from the Romaji like it would be pronounced in Japanese is incorrect. "Tite" is a stylish way of writing his pen name, which is Kubo Taito 久保帯人. A more closer way of saying it would be like you were reading it as an English word, or "Tight" Kubo.
You probably weren’t alive when Bleach first debuted lol I was reading the big 3 every week when they were released. Bleach, or “early Bleach” was popular because of the unique art style, the fashion and aesthetic appealed to teenagers more than any other manga at the time. It was anything BUT generic. Early Naruto was unique because of the nature and animal motifs, Naruto was drawn to resemble a little fox and that was unique at the time. One Piece also looked… pirate-y when it first came out too, it had a clean and fresh design with a taste of ruggedness.
"Looks pretty goofy" I mean, yeah. Modern Bleach's art style looks superb. But I don't think I understand the critique with the original art style? The old art style looks completely fine.
I absolutely love how Bleach looked, it was just so memorable like for anyone reading that's a fan, remember that spanish guy Ichigo had to fight that could kick tornadoes? I bet you can picture him lol
My favorite art styles in all manga are berserk , air gear and any oh-great manga really , dorohedoro , prison school and all his other works and soul eater gachiakuta and more but that’s all of top of my head
I really love how Bleach is starting to gain the momentum it deserves again. When the anime ended in 2012 and the manga ended in 2016, I still remember the feeling of how it gradually faded into obscurity and everyone just started going hard for MHA, Black Clover, Demonslayer, Attack on Titan, etc. I always hoped Bleach would come back to the modern mainstream. Even though the ending felt rushed and shitty, everything else before that felt 🔥. Hopefully the anime carries on with a satisfying conclusion.
“most anime looking characters you can find” anime is such a vast number of styles and eras stylization often makes a work more unique even if it’s a side effect of an era (early 2000s) early Bleach sticks in my mind even if the detail and skill increased later
Bleach has definitely one of the best artstyle in manga ever. Tite Kubo art always been inspiring to me as an artist, and I have even more respect for him after I found out how he did a lot of Bleach`s art with his health issues. I am sure that that also caused some changes in his artstyle as well, but gladly the quality only went up. But my actual top fav mangaka when it comes to artstyle is Oh! Great. Kubo art is very stylish but Oh! Great`s is on its own level and I love it.
How would you describe Bleach's art style? How does it compare to other manga?
@ShonenOuji The series that's on par or comes close to drip is JoJo's
Progressive.
Kubo was young when he started BLEACH and his other works plus his style was that of the 2000s so it wasnt all that groundbreaking but it was ok for its time as manga wasnt taken as seriously or overly popular as it is now.
Now tho, its truly amazing Kubo saw his flaws and decided to do something about them but without changing his style completely. It feels like we grew along with Kubo and is evident in his art, it aged like fine wine...
I think Tite Kubo’a art is spectacular
The only Mangaka that holds a candle to Kubo is Araki. Especially when it comes to drip. It's amazing to see the ongoing growth and mastery of both, how each of them start off with an artstyle that "was the norm" when they launched, to evolving into something so beautiful and unique. Other Mangaka's grow and improve in their style, but few evolve in the ways that Kubo and Araki haw and continue to
Kubo has got to have the best character designs and the art style is goddamn pretty but oh great has got to have the sexiest.
I like when kubo and horikoshi had that interview. And kubo praised him on his detailed background..then horikoshi said ",thanks, I had to make them extremely detailed because my characters can't stand on there own,unlike yours.
Ugh got to love the healthy competition and acknowledging flaws and strengths
@@SemekiIzuiothe only way to grow in experience and techniques
Two insanely respectable mangaka 🙏🏾🙏🏾🙏🏾
👏🏻
I think I shed a tear, mangaka interaction are nothing short of great
Rukia is the clearest example for how Kubos art style changes. You could look at any image of Rukia and know exactly which era she is from.
I can't test this with myself because i have commited every scene of her to memory since her screentime shortens so much for a deuteronogist as soon as soul society starts
I think you can even almost just drill it down to just Ichigo's jaw line alone, lol.
@@easytos ifkr 😂
You can say this about a majority of Bleach's main cast to be honest. Ichigo, Rukia, Orihime, Chad, Uryu, Renji and more.
Rukia could have been iconic in bleach for really good reasons but she was clowned on up until tybw.
I believe bleach could have been a massive hit if it had actual good writing
It reached peak Kubo, and the backgrounds become more wide open and clean
Nobody draws nothing like Kubo.
So Kubos art style goes from a sealed state, to an initial release ,to false full release to true full release.
False full release had me dead 😭
@@TheAlphaEntity hahaha
Full bring release 😤
So art style is Zangetsu?
Renji 😭😭😭
Early Bleach looked like a late 80's to mid 90's manga, which makes a lot of sense when you remember Kubo's main inspiration when drawing Bleach was Akira Toriyama's works.
Late Bleach became its own absolute style 😎
Kubo wasn't inspired by Akira Toriyama though. Kubo said himself that he was inspired by Masami Kurumada's works (Saint Seiya) and it shows as if you've read/watched Saint Seiya, you can really see the the influence of it in Bleach. For example, how most fights in bleach are turn based, with characters taking turns using special abilities instead of choreographed action sequences like Dragon Ball. Bleach also shares alot of the same story structure as Saint Seiya. Like Bleach's Soul Society arc follows a lot of the same story beats as Saint Seiya's Sanctuary arc..
Me when I spread misinformation
Perhaps I was mistaken, but I do remember reading that Kubo once said he was inspired by the works of Toriyama
@@D4rkn3ss2000 "-someone I'm deeply influenced by..." Tite Kubo on the passing of Akira Toriyama.
@@D4rkn3ss2000 His main inspiration for drawing Manga was Saint Seiya and GeGe no Kitaro. Not Dragon Ball. Look up the interview between Kubo and Sakuma which is very recent and you can read for yourself. I'm not saying he wasn't influenced at all by Toriyama and Dragon Ball as it's evident he was by the tribute drawings he's done, but the how much it inspired him is greatly exaggerated to the point of misinformation.
Bleach’s evolution in art is fascinating because it mirrors the series’ thematic growth. Early Bleach, with its boxy designs and exaggerated expressions, feels like a reflection of the awkward yet energetic beginnings of the story itself. It was raw, a bit chaotic, but laid the foundation for something much grander. As Kubo's style matured, Bleach gained a sharp, sleek aesthetic that matched its darker, more intense narrative arcs. What’s genius about Kubo is how he uses simplicity-those blank spaces are not laziness, they are powerful, giving moments and characters a dramatic presence that few other manga can pull off.
An... It kinda made the Charakters look Younger.. with the later style making them look older. Especially on Ichigo and Orihime.. Its as if you see them mature..
I loved the goofy, cartoonish artstyle. I know the changes are probably for the better to most, but i will forever be in love with the original mood of the Bleach. It was more light-hearted, more expressive and diverse.
Call it glazing if you want, I don't really care, but I firmly believe that Kubo is the greatest shonen artist of his generation. When Kubo wants you to feel a specific emotion, you're going to feel it without fail. The "Save the Soul Society" panel still gives me chills just thinking about it.
That’s what i was thinking about recently.
Dragon ball makes you feel adventure and it was good at that until db super
Naruto actually feels like a childish version of bleach. like i am 14 and this is deep type thing
Bleach is the only story that can move your feelings wherever it wants
Kubo is definitely the best artist technically.
🤣🤣🤣
@@maalikserebryakov nah for me that’s evangelion
@@JodaroKujoWTF????
The onomatopeias are even better in the original language. Kubo plays a lot with it, the best exemple is Gin zanpakutous attacks. The problem is that this quality does not carry over with the translations
It just kept getting better, which you love to see. I honestly really like the way the backgrounds "aren't" used, having the focus on the characters works well and actually allows them to stand out more, I think its a big reason as to why the characters stand out more to people.
Kubo basically redesigned his whole manga...imagine the work and effort you have to put in to redraw everyone in Bleach in a new style
It probably wasn’t resigning everything when I see improvent in my art it will incorporate itself as in if I got better at drawing eyes and that became muscle memory I would just do it naturally and it would apply to all of my original characters
Its not like he had to change everything in one day, it was slowly evolving with each new chapter
It happened to Naruto and One Piece too. Or just any long manga series, really. They evolved.
@@mariefmsr yea but bleach had the biggest style change of them all
@@mariefmsr heck the biggest example of this is Araki, his style has changed to the point that he can't draw his part 4 and backwards characters in their original styles anymore
I would argue the following:
What makes Bleach different from other manga is how insanely hot the characters are.
Thank you for coming to my Ted Talk.
I feel a little disappointed in which you didn't commented more on cover volume of Fullbring arc cause those are gorgeous . Not only Kubo seems to experiment a lot of brush usage and total black shading more, this is phase where his style in peak maturity, going venture in mysterious vibe. The one totally capture my attention is the one where he did realistic drawing style for Riruka .
Basically , his style is matures throughout the series . And i love to see his character design progress and mature into new design eventhough it just little tidbits like Rukia's side ponytail , Rangiku's shorter hair and all other character in the hell special chapter together with calendar
Love how he articulated the artstyle shift but I feel like he needs to polish up in the research side. Since people might take things he says in the video as facts.
Like the video mentions Kubo doing Hell arc and Burn the Witch "in digital". Which is not true. He drew them on paper. the digital drawing he did was mostly his Klub outside drawings.
@@Snzn_7 Yup , i totally agreed. I don't think Kubo included digital drawing too much in the hell's one shot and burn the witch. Cause compared to Hiro mashima's fairy tail and eden zero where he love to do in digital and the drawing much "cleaner" because of it,while kubo's chapter contained lots of details
@@sofarsogood8680 The thing is, it is not a speculation.
In an interview for comic natalie on the Burn the witch manga.
Kubo himself said Burn the witch manga is done mostly on paper and the only "digital" part is the "coloring" of the colored page.
The same thing was done with hell chapter and he has a video in Klub Outside showing him draw the page where Syazel Aporro appears.
In Fullbring Kubo went heavy on shading its god tier.
i think his early style is better because their facial proportions were a lot more varied and distinct compared to the more recent sameface syndrome that characters are occasionally drawn with
this is like the early Naruto vs late Naruto style preference
I absolutely love Kubos artstyle so, so much.
Yeah, it's so beautiful and elegant, which is a breeze of air in the shonen genre.
the way Kubo focuses on the eyes to tell entire stories is incredible.
I could be wrong but I think I remember an interview that kubo did where he said he would watch the bleach anime while drawing the manga and he saw masashi kudos artstyle and liked the way he drew the characters in the anime and that's when his artstyle started to change.
A decade happened.
You can see the shifting influences in his style. But to sum things up;
Kubo's current art is really, REALLY, _good._
My Opinion:
1. Honestly Love the Early Bleach Art Style even if it's Genetic, it's just a Perfect Balance Cartoonist and Realistic Style,
2. Mid Bleach is more of it's Own Uniq Style, the Designs is more well Rounded, still Realist yet Over the Top,
3. More Detailed, Design are Smoother, and Cleaner Look,
4. Digital yet so well Detailed and Clean!
I always said that Bleach's style is Less is More. It's soooo unique and clean! I saw a similar one like this from Houseki no Kuni. Its so fun to read these kind of style
His art style gets more and more mature and serious over time marking the characters look a lot More edger and cooler
“Cooler”
Kubo has great onomatopoeia throughout
I agree, the problem is that a Lot of that quality os lost in translation
@@henriquedossantos7600 that's hilarious, that's my stance as well. Whenever I watch a bleach channel and they have the Japanese scan it's more visceral. My personal favorite is from deicide 20 till the end. Still they do make the words jagged and distorted.
what kubo did? the thing most modern mangakas can't do apparently... improve his style...
yeah, Gege and Gotouge haven't really improved much in almost 300 chapters on their first long running series.
@@MaxIronsThird sure buddy......
@@MaxIronsThird You have no idea what your talking about
@@MaxIronsThird Kubo had double of their time lol
@@PhilipId I said 300 chapters
Honestly all stages of Bleach art are peak design in my eyes. Kubo is truly a gifted artist.
Sorry friend, I sat thru the entire video and heard your case, I respectfully disagree. I think early Bleach has some of the most iconic artwork as far Manga panels are concerned, they do not feel generic at all. Definitely topping one piece and Naruto.
Just look at any Urahara, Orihime or Ichigo/Kurosaki family panel and you’ll see the personality, flair and amazing design each character has. Down to the fit, I agree with you it looks very early 2000’s Bleach is definitely from that era and it is an awesome time capsule to that effect. I think it has amazing personality and the early artwork is some of my favorite. Even above the later ones in the series.
There is just something truly special about the way Ichigo, Rukia and the cast is drawn that makes them stand out.
@@MoontouchedOwlBeast I feel like the later arcs they are all very same faced compared to the bit more character they had in his earlier artwork.
heavy agree. happy the art didn't go the way of naruto, but i actually lovvvveeee the early bleach art. later art is great, but more corporate and marketable.
@@yemitruechild1200 that’s a good description of how I see his newer art. It’s great, but very corporate and marketable.
@@amcleartayba I don't see it as corporate because 'corporate' gives off the impression that it is devoid of soul. But it definitely is marketable.
@@peace1290 hmm, that is a very fair point, maybe “streamlined and marketable” was more of an accurate description of what I’m trying to get across.
is it wrong that I liked early bleach art more. I see a lot of hate for chibi drawings and moments too am i the only one who loves that art and those moments?
Yeah Kubo art style like man the dude improved so much he has most of his characters look like fashion models which makes sense because I think he loves fashion
Honestly he probably one of the greatest character designers or drawers in manga history due to how good his characters look
Bleach art style it's so anime looking this why i love this manga so much.
Because over series like for example "One piece" looks really good but has this very cartoony look (i still love it) or something "Soul Eater" what looks very 2000's but in the end looks a lot more better than before. (I know the third stage looks very good but i love the last stage better)
Bleach it's very anime looking (not in the beginning) but for my opinion in the last arc of "Bleach" kubo made one of the most iconic art style in the industry.
P.s. Bleach it's one of my personal favourites in all of manga.
Bleach tybw will be anime of the year in 2024, I don't make the rules 😎
Rs
Preach!
@@justsomeguywithamustache2901 Amen 🙏
Faxx
Lmfao
6:41 that transition 10/10
I like new style, but I also liked old one, it has grit to íit, the current one is too smooth, to "shiny"
but that is also my mind connecting old style to very different atmosphere the series gave then
Bleach = Drip 🔥
"very 00's look" is desirable style, it was back then, was overlooked in 10's and now in the 20's it has its renesanse, i wish Bleach stayed true to 00's aesthetic.
Reading through the chapters seeing Kubo’s art grow and evolve as the characters he created do aswell is just amazing.
When you pulled up the Byakuya Fear panel and I sat and looked at it for a second, it gave me chills. The focus on the one word, the hollow empty background, emphasizing what the meaning of the word is and gives you that same feeling. A sense of dread, and true fear.
I think the best way to describe the empty panels is that they're a mastery of both negative and liminal space. The series for all its badass fights and larger than life personalities is a very emotional and cerebral one, where some of the strongest powers is predicated on the exclusion of entire concepts. So while the words have a feeling of impact taking up and filling panels when they need to, there's also an attention to the space between. Aa you said, things like "Bankai" have all space to almost give them a moment of serenity to sink in with, even clash panels, there's as much in the empty space between characters as there is in the clashing blades too. Hell, Kubo plays combat pretty much literally to the concept "that a fight is a conversation", but at the same time, he has a very fromsoft style of show don't tell, where often what people say about a thing might be false or misinformed but what you see, or don't see is vastly more important (funnily enough, he actually kind of primes you for this with Tosēn and his reveal aa well as Aizen "take nothing at face value, pay close attention to everything that is and isn't there").
Funnily enough I think thats the biggest change for phase 4, without needing yo rush and with the help of the digital art capability, he can now nake it even more clear through the use of having lots of backgrounds. When the "hell hollows" show up, the instant they appear in a panel all backgrounds vanish, that sudden negative space gives them both size and also a grandiose presence.
kubo definitely started using shikai and bankai of his drawing pen...
I feel like you're analyzing this the wrong way, or at least to say from your own personal view. I would argue that Bleach had more personality early on, with a huge focus on metal, rock, and most especially punk aesthetics as reflected by Ichigo's fashion style, the chapter cover art of characters depicted in stylishly 2000s punk fashion, and how each character had a punk theme song in their character profiles. You even showed a side-by-side at 8:07 where you say early art style is generic, where I would argue that it was more expressive and stylized where the modern bleach has a more "clean" generic anime look.
This was the reason I got into Bleach: it's a mix of punk-centric aesthetic with traditional Japanese samurai/budo elements. Modern Bleach's art style just evolved as Kubo's art style evolved which is natural, but I would say that he dropped the punk elements midway and focused more on a generic more anime-proportionate art style. I will say that I do miss the old art style, because he had a previous manga where it's the exact same art style and with how he draws faces. I do accept the new modern look, since Bleach has been going on for so long, it feels like Kubo's art matured along with Ichigo and his crew, where they all have grown up as well.
Unpopular opinion, but I really like the boxed shape in their face and the farther apart eyes in the earlier style over his later styles. I just feel like their later faces look too narrow and long and their eyes look all the same.
Agreed
Definitely unpopular for a reason, but understandable.
He’s right
Rukia just looks so much better in the newer style imo
Wrong
The art being what it was and slowly changing IS what makes it so iconic. and hell that beginning art is good. it's the style of the time. it has it's own vibe. All of his art throughout the ages is super stylized and great. i loved watching him evolve.
Bleach = PEAK
I see a few have noted the Sonic Heroes Hang Castle track, nice use of it in this video
Edit: Even more tracks from SA2B :D
I won't say early Bleach looks generic since again you can't site any other manga/anime that looks relatively close to it aside from other early Kubo works like zombie powder. You can prove me wrong if you can cite just one series that have the same "generic artsyle".
I will more say it reflects a lot of the art style principle at that time while creating its own unique look.
It's like you can claim the any LN series with Kirito MC looking product as a generic LN artstyle since people can already compare the look to an existing artstyle.
We can claim something has the genrric moe artsyle sinceagain ee can site all the moe anime back in 04 to early 2010s and they have the same artstyle.
Like you can't just say something is heneric then end up not telling one thing that looks like it. Especially with shonen jump where any starting manga must make itself look unique and different enough just to not get axed in the magazine.
Like even if I disagree with your take of Naruto looking similar to Dragonball, at least you have a reference point to explain your train of thought eith that. (Naruto motsly just adapted the orange coloring from Dragonball and that is where it really ends when it comes to artstyle since Shonen Jump did make creators have those orange colorings since. They treated it as a hidden spice for success in a lot of series post dragonball.
Also Yes Kubo dabbled in Digital, "BUT" he still did draw he Hell Arc and Burn the witch "ON PAPER". We have even a video of him draeing the manuscript of Hell Arc.
The "Digital drawings he is doing is mostly the drawings he is doing for "KLUB OUTSIDE".
Let us not misinform people with those.
Good video though I really like it, I just voiced out some things I feel that needed to be discussed.
0:59 wait… Hirako at early bleach?
My personal favourite art progress is in Rosario Vampire... the art is simply breathtakingly beautiful
Am i insane? Am i the only one seeing the same face syndrome? Every character that had a unique face now has the same exact eye and face shape. All the girls have the same body shape. Orihime used to be petite with huge boobs, now she has the same body as Rangiku and every other big boobie lady. his style WAS iconic because every character had a unique silhouette and face, but y'all think it looks BETTER NOW??? I am on a different planet
yeah I agree, every character looks nearly identical in face shape and face expression. For example that one Rangiku comparison at 3:50, sure, you can tell the left one is Kubo's art style, but only because every single character looks exactly like that one. It's like playing dress up
Kubo in later stages of Bleach started drawing character with really long proportions. For example look at arms length and face sizes. As an artist, when I started studying Kubo I was surprised how long he makes the proportions of face and still manages to make it look amazing
As an Artist it's always interesting seeing non-artists talking about Artstyles 😄
Most OBNOXIOUS comment to date, well done
Early Fairytail looked like early Bleach as well.
It's probably unintentional, but the changes in characters design made them look more mature with each changes, so it kind of feel appropriate. Except for older married with a kid Ichigo. That is just TYBW Ichigo with shorter hair.
Kubo-sensei's art style moulded me, my tastes and appreciation in minimalism and focus in character and their personality. He has great focus on each character, their backstories and personalities. His evolution of art reflects himself and his characters.
It became goated.
i love his style however he did develop a same face syndrome. it's very apparent when you look at group pics, nearly everyone had that RBF going on :( the new style looks great on some characters like Rukia but it's a downgrade for Rangiku and Inoue imho
Interesting, I feel the exact opposite way. Early Bleach is so soulful and expressive if you ask me, while later on it feels much more sterile and uniform, like a western comic where everything always has to be extremely on-model and no variation or goofiness is allowed. I disagree very heavily with the point at 2:30. I adore early Bleach's very modern street punk aesthetic that's distinctly its own thing while also being grounded. Early Bleach also had a lot more effort with backgrounds.
I honestly expected from this video's title that you would share my outlook, since it came off as disappointed by the change rather than celebratory. I welcome the difference in opinions, I just find it a little amusing how oppositely we view the same subject. I don't dislike endgame Bleach's art style, mind you, I just feel it got a lot less animated, more overly rigid, and overall more monotonous in its aesthetic. It feels like there's way less personality if you ask me.
I like both art styles, but inital style of Bleach was on it's own. And it's my favorite.
Kubo and Sui Ishida have some of the most amazing manga art ive ever seen. We really need a TG reboot...but unfortunately idk of a studio that could capture ishida's raw and crazy art
Is bro playing Sonic Heroes ost ? Lmaoo
I love it !!! 😭💜
sonic hero’s sound track, goated
i actually think it looked better earlier on
Cant really confirm it but once a fan asked kubo,what about the characters he finded hardest to draw and the answer was infact boobas
@@starwberryboy Kubo also once asked his fans to send him good Doujins with Bleach characters because he is just that guy.
@@Dragonpuncher123 didnt he asked his fans to send him doujins with male charaters?
Kubo is really a man of culture.
@@starwberryboy No he said he wanted porn for men, lol. Probably to not get too much Ichigo and Byakuya Yaoi.
Short answer: It evolved into a damn near perfect level of art.
The art started more rough and angular, then gotten cleaner and started it's transition to more rounder shaped very slowly. When kubo did start to use more rounded shapes he developed more of a sameface. The after bleach style is thicker with more substantial shapes, probably in an attempt to make his stuff more boxy again while retaining what he added.
13:50 Kubo always used empty or low detail backgrounds to make people focus on the characters
Kubo only add more Detail in his work to make his Latest work even Better when we even can point out the Clear Changes. Genius!
one thing that can describe kubo's art is clean. the drawing, the use of panels, text, backgrounds and incredibly well designed characters all come together to give a very clean and aesthetically pleasing look. this combined with the pacing bleach had and its dialogue made it for me the easiest manga to go through. i could pick bleach up and keep reading until it was over in one sitting. kubo's philosophy with the background is also true for the story, an empty background on its own doesn't say much but it leaves room for other things to shine, like the characters and the tons of personality the give off just by looking at them. same goes for the story, at first glance it seems simple but the deeper you look, the more you can find and a lot of it is left up to your own interpretation too. there is a reason bleach youtube channels kept going strong for 10 years after the manga was over and why it came back and it's still as amazing and well received as ever. in my opinion kubo is the goat of shonen and the fact that he has inspired so many others, like dbz did before it, is a good indication of that.
Rukia'll always be best girl imo
I wish orihime just never existed.
Would’ve been nice if her brother just ate her soul and took off to hueco mundo. 😂
Then we could have had ichiRuki
but i’d feel sorry for Renji then
I love this analysis for an artstyle I've thoroughly enjoyed my entire life. I think a lot of people kind of joke about it a bit too much cause of the blank backgrounds but I'm glad people can appreciate what Kubo does.
2:56 As a 2000s Kid, I very much appreciate this art style from early Bleach.
If I only compare weekly manga, Bleach is my favorite art style.
14:48 Yup I agree 1000%.
I love this analysis of the art style change. One thing you left out though i think is the change in eye positioning and width. As Kubo's style progressed, he kinda shifted focus to having characters eyes drawn way higher on their faces, with less emphasis on width, so they look thinner. This is mostly seen in Ichigo though
I miss the OG Bleach days. Last thing that was ever something like it was Naruto. After that ended ... nothing came ever again especially that is long running
During the Fullbring and TYBW arcs Kubo was experiencing shoulder pain and other Health issues. That's why there is a great reduction in detail and background and more open white space.
The thumbnail is me before and after cramming for my tests
Just a small nit really, but when people say "Tee Tay" because they are trying to read Kubo's pen name from the Romaji like it would be pronounced in Japanese is incorrect. "Tite" is a stylish way of writing his pen name, which is Kubo Taito 久保帯人. A more closer way of saying it would be like you were reading it as an English word, or "Tight" Kubo.
You probably weren’t alive when Bleach first debuted lol I was reading the big 3 every week when they were released. Bleach, or “early Bleach” was popular because of the unique art style, the fashion and aesthetic appealed to teenagers more than any other manga at the time. It was anything BUT generic.
Early Naruto was unique because of the nature and animal motifs, Naruto was drawn to resemble a little fox and that was unique at the time.
One Piece also looked… pirate-y when it first came out too, it had a clean and fresh design with a taste of ruggedness.
I prefer how the art style looked during the arrancar arc, Peak bleach imo🤷♂️
Great points. Keep up the good work
Thank you so much!
Nice Video i love the Sonic Adventure music 💪
ichigo lowkey looks like grimmjow without his mask thingie and the blue eye line thing in the one-shot ngl
Improve yourself until you got your style
Kubo: hold my Sake, I will make the most beautiful faces
"Looks pretty goofy"
I mean, yeah. Modern Bleach's art style looks superb. But I don't think I understand the critique with the original art style? The old art style looks completely fine.
to me Bleach , Evangelion, and Mugen no jūnin are the best manga ever in terms of art
Vagabond too
Berserk ,air gear and dorohedoro , prison school
blade of the immortal has stellar shading, the climber is also very good
I miss the old art style tbh
I absolutely love how Bleach looked, it was just so memorable like for anyone reading that's a fan, remember that spanish guy Ichigo had to fight that could kick tornadoes? I bet you can picture him lol
Early Bleach art style is so 🔥.
Ah yes another brother addicted to the sonic soundtrack
My favorite art styles in all manga are berserk , air gear and any oh-great manga really , dorohedoro , prison school and all his other works and soul eater gachiakuta and more but that’s all of top of my head
Great analysis of Kubo's art! Bleach will always have the coolest style to me, no matter the stage.
2:54 Nah One Piece is a lot worst in terms of characters body shape and art style in the early stages.
What happened to bleach art sta-It got better,it good so much better.
I love kubo's art, it's really beautiful. I also love ogure ito and clamp's art style
I really love how Bleach is starting to gain the momentum it deserves again.
When the anime ended in 2012 and the manga ended in 2016, I still remember the feeling of how it gradually faded into obscurity and everyone just started going hard for MHA, Black Clover, Demonslayer, Attack on Titan, etc.
I always hoped Bleach would come back to the modern mainstream. Even though the ending felt rushed and shitty, everything else before that felt 🔥.
Hopefully the anime carries on with a satisfying conclusion.
“most anime looking characters you can find” anime is such a vast number of styles and eras
stylization often makes a work more unique even if it’s a side effect of an era (early 2000s)
early Bleach sticks in my mind even if the detail and skill increased later
The eyes wide apart looking at it now is giving dr stone vibes
Best art and themes out of the big 3
Bleach has definitely one of the best artstyle in manga ever. Tite Kubo art always been inspiring to me as an artist, and I have even more respect for him after I found out how he did a lot of Bleach`s art with his health issues. I am sure that that also caused some changes in his artstyle as well, but gladly the quality only went up.
But my actual top fav mangaka when it comes to artstyle is Oh! Great. Kubo art is very stylish but Oh! Great`s is on its own level and I love it.
TYBW Rukia and Ichigo look so gorgeous and the Covers for the fullbring arc are insane aswell