Bleach fans from all over the world were excited for its return this season. But in a recent interview, it was revealed that instead of pure excitement, Ichigo's voice actor, Masakazu Morita, feared returning to his role in Bleach: Thousand-Year Blood War.
Recently, Animate Times released an interview with Morita, the Japanese voice actor of Ichigo Kurosaki.
There, he shared how he was excited and nervous in equal measure when returning to voice the iconic role.
Morita’s Reaction to Bleach’s Return
To begin the interview, Morita was asked about what he felt when he found out that the anime will return.
Morita said that he was really happy as the cast and staff of the original anime have always wanted to end the series’ story in the anime.
In case you need a refresher, the original Bleach anime ran from October 2004 to March 2012.
And while it did have an ending, the anime did not cover the whole manga as its run ended before the source material did.
In 2020, a new anime project was announced, and it was then confirmed in late 2021 that this project is a TV anime that will adapt the final arc of the manga.
Entitled Thousand-Year Blood War, this TV anime covers the arc of the same name, and serves as the conclusion to the series.
Because of this, both the fans and the people involved in its production were looking forward to the anime's return.
However, Morita revealed that after being overjoyed by the series’ return, he suddenly felt scared and fearful about returning to his iconic role.
Why Bleach: Thousand-Year Blood War Made Morita Nervous
So, why did Morita get nervous about returning to voice Ichigo in Thousand-Year Blood War?
He explained that, for one, this new TV anime adaptation would mean the end of playing Ichigo.
As the finale of the series, there is also a lot of pressure to perform well.
After all, many fans are excited about the show, thus the voice actors need to deliver their best to do both the character and the finale justice.
Morita was afraid about whether he can perform as Ichigo in this final arc. He thought this because he believed he “still hasn’t reached his ideal Ichigo Kurosaki” while voicing the character during its initial run.
Despite how nervous and fearful he felt, he believed that this tension isn’t a negative thing as it allows him to give his all in the performance.
Morita also mentioned that as of the end of September (when the interview was being conducted), he was able to finish recording lines for the first cour, so he was now able to calm down emotionally.
New episodes of Bleach: Thousand-Year Blood War are released every week on Hulu in the US and on Disney+ in select regions.
Related: Who Are Bleach's Voice Actors?
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