Bleach: Thousand-Year Blood War was the saving grace for the manga’s ending. With Kubo himself on board, they fixed its terrible ending with a few tweaks that made the storyline more enticing and consistent. The gorgeous and fluid animation, too, carried the series on its back.
So far, Bleach: Thousand-Year Blood War has released 3 seasons with 13 episodes each, and the fourth and final one is titled The Calamity. While we don’t know when it will be released, it’s expected to debut in 2025. However, with the latest news, it might face further delays.
Leo Kawamoto, an animation director who contributed to all seasons of Bleach: Thousand-Year Blood War, was unexpectedly fired. He announced it on his X account, previously known as Twitter, attributing it to the company’s work methods or his lack of ability.
Kawamoto directed some of the best episodes of Bleach: Thousand-Year Blood War
Animation studios are notorious for their strict work environments and the mistreatment of their employees. However, nobody expected an animation director as amazing as Leo Kawamoto to get fired. He, on the other hand, knew this was a possibility.
The animation director was in charge of some of the best episodes of Bleach: Thousand-Year Blood War. Episode 36 showed us a new side of Mayuri and Nemu’s death was visually gorgeous and Pernida, on the other hand, was incredibly creepy yet mesmerizing to watch. This was all thanks to Kawamoto’s efforts.
So when he took to X to announce he was fired, fans couldn’t believe it. He simply says, “I was fired from Bleach, so it will be difficult to participate in season 4. I will provide more details later.”
BLEACHクビになりました。なので4期は参加することが難しいです。
詳細はまたいずれお話します。
— Zeroking (@yzvpp) February 20, 2025
He later responded to rumors and speculations of his sudden firing. He says, “It has nothing to do with my interactions with fans nor my recent poor health, it’s just my lack of ability or whatever, so don’t worry about it too much lol I’m okay (probably).”
まぁ、変な憶測や推察みたいなんが飛び交ってますけど、、ファンとの交流とか最近の私の体調不良とか関係なく普通に自分の実力不足というかなんというかが原因なのでまぁあんま気にせんといてｗ私、元気だし(多分)
— Zeroking (@yzvpp) February 20, 2025
When a fan doubts that Kawamoto’s lack of ability could’ve been the reason, he further explains that studios often fire employees who might not be compatible with their work methods.
作画監督をやっていても会社の体制や仕事のやり方が合わなければクビにもなります。
多くの人が会社を解雇になったかどうかは私は知りません。また詳しくは後日お話しますので。— Zeroking (@yzvpp) February 21, 2025
Kawamoto also doesn’t discount the possibility that others were fired from the team. Animation directors are, sadly, disposable in the industry. He comments on this too in another post.
こちらの方も仰ってるように、自分が抜けた事でアニメBLEACH制作には全く影響がないと思ってます。私は本当に平々凡々な作画監督でしかないので普通に替えがきくんですよ。なのでこれ以上あまり大事にならないよう祈ってます。 https://t.co/e0ibBNxzfT
— Zeroking (@yzvpp) February 21, 2025
The director comments he was just a “mediocre” animation director in their eyes. Despite his dismissal, he still hopes for Season 4 of Bleach: Thousand-Year Blood War won’t be disrupted by this.
Will this change Season 4 of Bleach: Thousand-Year Blood War?
Considering Leo Kawamoto was only one of the animation directors, it’s likely it won’t change the course of Season 4 drastically. However, we still don’t know how many more employees they’ve fired.
If they’ve fired more employees other than Kawamoto, that could mean trouble for the final season. Bleach: Thousand-Year Blood War – The Calamity has a reputation to live up to after surpassing the manga and it needs to end perfectly to appease the anime fans, gorgeous animation and all.
So, if the team has changed a lot, trouble might arise. However, judging by how calm Leo Kawamoto is, it should still be in safe hands. Tite Kubo is still overseeing the production so the storyline is guaranteed to be brilliant.
Bleach: Thousand-Year Blood War is available on JioHotstar and Crunchyroll.
This post belongs to FandomWire and first appeared on FandomWire
