Bleach: Thousand-Year Blood War confirmed to reveal Soul King’s past in cour 3 and 4

The Bleach community has always engaged in fascinating discussions about the past of Soul King in the Thousand-Year Blood War. While the previous installment hinted at the omnipotent being’s backstory through a series of images during the Irazusando trial, it did not provide further details.

Despite previous speculation, the truth of Irazusando and the mysterious past of the Soul King will finally be revealed in the upcoming installments (cour 3 and 4), as confirmed by the series’ director Tomohisa Taguchi in his comments featured in the booklet of Bleach: Thousand-Year Blood War Blu-ray volume 2.

Please note: This article may reveal plot details from the Bleach: Can’t Fear Your Own World light novel.

Tomohisa Taguchi Confirms Soul King’s Past Will Be Shown in Bleach: Thousand-Year Blood War Cour 3 and 4

Prior to starting, it is crucial to mention that Tite Kubo supervised Ryogo Narita’s Can’t Fear Your Own World, a Bleach spin-off light novel series that delves into the enigmatic history of the Soul King and its ties to the creation of the different realms.

Surprisingly, Tite Kubo withheld this crucial information from both the anime and manga until Bleach: Thousand-Year Blood War part 2. Instead, he hinted at the events through a sequence of visual images during Ichigo Kurosaki’s Irazusando trial. As Ichigo walked along the cobblestone pavement, he was met with a series of visions that alluded to the Soul King’s past.

Irazusando, as seen in the anime (Image via Studio Pierrot)

The images appeared to depict the harrowing story of the Soul King’s fragmentation, which led to the creation of different realms (Hueco Mundo, Hell, The World of the Living, and Soul Society).

Those familiar with the Can’t Fear Your Own World light novels are aware of the five individuals, who would eventually become known as the founding fathers of the Five Noble Clans (Tsunayashiro, Shihoin, Kuchiki, Shiba, and an unknown fifth), and their role in dismembering the Soul King to separate the concepts of life and death, thus bringing stability to the world.

Soul King's past, as seen in Bleach: Thousand-year Blood War (Image via Studio Pierrot) — Soul King’s past, as seen in Bleach: Thousand-year Blood War (Image via Studio Pierrot)

During his Irazusando trial, Ichigo Kurosaki glimpsed visions that hinted at the Soul King’s past, but they did not provide a complete explanation for each image. However, a flashback of an exchange between Ichibei Hyosube and Yhwach shed some light on the mysteries surrounding the Soul King’s history.

However, the painting was not complete. Fortunately, the director of the series, Tomohisa Taguchi, reassured fans in his comments in the booklet for Bleach: Thousand-Year Blood War Blu-ray volume 2 that the future installments will provide more details about the events.

TYBW Anime Cour 2 Booklet: Behind the Scenes [Translation – Part 1] byu/Reikorun inbleach

A user on Reddit, known as @Reikorun, recently posted the translated comments of Tomohisa Taguchi, which are as follows:

“We’ve also incorporated an abundance of elements that will be connected to the third cour and onwards such as what happened to Ichigo during his training and the scenes he witnessed, so I would be happy if you could take another look”- Tomohisa Taguchi (Bleach: Thousand-year Blood War Blu-Ray vol. 2, Booklet)

The director of Bleach: Thousand-Year Blood War has stated that the production team plans to include scenes that will provide explanations for the Irazusando trial and also delve into the mystery behind Ichigo’s visions, specifically the past of the Soul King.

Ichigo Kurosaki, as seen in the anime (Image via Pierrot)

Despite this, it was essentially established in court 2 that the Irazusando trial’s primary goal was to designate Ichigo Kurosaki as a vessel for the Soul King. Ichibei Hyosube plans to appoint Ichigo as the next Soul King should the present one pass away.

It will be intriguing to observe the extent of mystery surrounding the Irazusando trial. It is possible that Senjumaru Shutara played a role in its creation, as the final door leads to her palace.

Despite this, Tomohisa Taguchi’s remarks have piqued the interest of fans, who eagerly anticipate the upcoming releases of Bleach: Thousand-Year Blood War in order to gain further insight into the history of Irazusando and the Soul King.