In a recent interview, Chief Director Tomohisa Taguchi and Director Hikaru Murata discussed the behind-the-scenes process for BLEACH: Thousand-Year Blood War - Part 3: Conflict, which features anime-exclusive scenes and a focus on achieving unprecedented quality. The production team shared stories of the challenges and innovations involved in this large-scale adaptation.

Interview Highlights

-- Could you share a memorable story from the production of Thousand-Year Blood War?
Taguchi: For this arc, we took on photo shoots ourselves to gather references, especially for challenging camera angles. For instance, in the BLEACH 20th Anniversary PV, there’s a shot where Rukia hides in a closet while Yuzu and the others stand outside. We collaborated with the production team, animators, and directors to find the right angles and took photos to work from.

-- Did you start using photo references from the first cour?
Taguchi: We didn’t do it initially. It was our chief animation director, Hasegawa-san, who suggested, “If we can’t visualize it, let’s just take a picture!” (laughs).
Murata: We even used video for certain scenes, like Yhwach and Uryu exchanging the blood chalice in the second cour.

-- Was there anything new you tried specifically for Conflict?
Murata: One major challenge was designing “Shin’ō Senjō” (True World Castle) as if it were an open-world game. Anime typically focuses only on specific rooms or limited spaces, but we aimed to build a more expansive world.
Taguchi: It feels like we’re overcoming many of the constraints associated with “a hand-drawn, two-dimensional world,” particularly when it comes to camera work and direction. Of course, these enhancements mean higher costs and longer schedules (laughs). We could only attempt this because Thousand-Year Blood War is such a long-term project, spanning three to four years. We’re excited to see how these investments play out.
Murata: We also introduced Live2D technology to animate certain drawings this time around.

-- Could you each share your favorite character?
Taguchi: My favorite has always been Hiyosu. I even mentioned him during the premiere screening. His large, round figure and unique visual style appeal to me (laughs). Plus, he has this unexpectedly assertive way of speaking that adds a nice contrast to his appearance.
Murata: He’s got a fun mix of creepiness and cuteness, right?
Taguchi: Exactly! It’s a shame he doesn’t have many scenes since he’s part of the Technology Development Bureau. I’d love to sneak him into the background whenever I can (laughs).
Murata: I’m a big fan of Kenpachi Zaraki. I handled the storyboard for Episode 10 in the first cour, where he fights Unohana. His single-minded pursuit of strength is incredibly cool, and ultimately, he becomes even stronger by confronting and defeating someone who is both his mentor and a kindred spirit in Unohana.

Source : ORICON NEWS