Tite Kubo’s flatlining of Byakuya Kuchiki’s character is tied to the death threats from Bleach fanatics which is a growing concern within fandoms.

SUMMARY

Byakuya Kuchiki’s development is often overlooked for the most part.
Byakuya’s character was flatlined for this specific reason.
Bleach wasn’t exempt from the growing fanaticism within the fandom community.

More often than not, Tite Kubo doesn’t get enough praise for his well-written characters. His series is the epitome of finesse and brilliance when it comes to dark and supernatural themes.

Be it death or gore, Kubo laid out the complexities perfectly. But there’s a key aspect that even he failed at especially when it comes to one of his pivotal characters.

Ichigo Kurosaki in a still from the anime | Credit: Studio Pierrot

When it comes to Byakuya Kuchiki’s character development, the mangaka failed the character in one key aspect. This ties well with the toxic culture within the fandom which even Kubo wasn’t exempt from.

Additionally, he missed his shot with his rewriting of the character in the series. In his move of doing so, Kubo garnered traction and for worse. His treatment of the character had fans foaming at the mouth. But that was not all considering the growing fanaticism within the fandom.

Tite Kubo flatlined Byakuya’s character with this move

From gore to violence, Tite Kubo’s series is nothing short of a masterpiece considering its chartering of complexities. Its exploration of death and the supernatural world makes it stand out in the shonen genre. Compared to most shonen manga, Kubo’s series outlined some disturbing aspects as well.

More often than not, he doesn’t get enough credit for representing the moral conflict in his story. The balance of life and death ties well with the duty and morality of the characters in the series and this is especially true with the case of Byakuya Kuchiki.

Byakuya Kuchiki in a still from the anime | Credit: Studio Pierrot

As a member of one of the Four Noble Families, he represents authority and code of conduct. His status quo in the Seireitei is attributed to his status as a nobleman from the Kuchiki family. Although warped, his morality has often been questioned by fans on several occasions.

This is especially true with his stance on Rukia’s execution. This, however, changed as the series progressed. From one of the most hated characters to a beloved character, his development is often overlooked. What made it worse was his character’s flatlining by the mangaka.

Redditors pointed to his characters’ progression while others noted how Kubo couldn’t kill the character off.

Interestingly, his development has fans drawing parallels between the character and Vegeta from Dragon Ball. And while he should’ve technically been killed off, Kubo was held back by death threats by most fans as rumors suggest.

This ties well with the rising fanaticism among most fans, including this series. From review-bombing to death threats, fans take it too far with their obsession.

Bleach and the rising fanaticism within the fandom communities

Like most Shonen fandoms Bleach community has its fair share of fanatics. While Dragon Ball, Naruto, and One Piece are prime examples of toxic fandoms, Kubo’s series isn’t too far behind. With the mangaka receiving death threats, it highlights a disturbing and growing concern within the fandom.

Of late, Jujutsu Kaisen wasn’t exempt from this either with the mangaka receiving threats from toxic fans. And while the matter dies down with time, it doesn’t negate its gravity.

Gin Ichimaru in a still from the anime | Credit: Studio Pierrot

Conversely, thereare moments of solidarity within the fandom as well. The community experienced a growing fanaticism within the fandom. However, the sequel has been subjected to multiple review bombings and downvoting by most fans.

With the positive reception and acclaim of the sequel Thousand Year Blood War, One Piece fandom wasn’t too happy about this. Likewise, there have been multiple occasions where fans took their obsession too far.

Not only is this a growing concern but this seems to be a grave issue. Currently, most fandoms have witnessed mangaka’s receiving hate and threats from trolls which needs to be supervised for cybercrime.

Bleach is available for streaming on Crunchyroll. The manga is available for reading on Viz Media.