Black Clover Creator Loves Bleach’s Most One-Sided Fight

Black Clover is gearing up to return later this month for the next entry in its final arc, and the creator behind it all is getting ready for it by sharing their love for Bleach‘s most one-sided fight between Renji Abarai and Byakuya Kuchiki. It’s been a wild time for Shueisha as the publisher is going through a massive period of transition for Weekly Shonen Jump magazine. Some of the biggest series in the magazine have come to an end this year, and now Shueisha’s looking ahead to who could potentially lead the next generation of hits to come in the next few years.

In an effort to try and find that new series, Shueisha has gathered some of Jump’s biggest creators together to judge the special Jump Next Generation Battle Manga Award. Black Clover series creator Yuki Tabata and Bleach creator Tite Kubo are a part of this panel, and to celebrate were asked about their favorite fights from another series. For Tabata’s part, Black Clover’s creator was asked about his favorite fight in Bleach and pointed to the fight between Renji and Byakuya because it’s full of “overwhelming tension, speed, and presence” and more.

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Why Black Clover’s Creator Loves Renji vs. Byakuya Fight

When asked about his favorite fight in Bleach, Tabata revealed that it was the fight between Renji and Byakuya during the Soul Society arc. Taking place between Chapters 140 and 144 of Tite Kubo’s original Bleach manga, this fight is fairly one sided. Renji has unlocked his Bankai, but it’s still clearly not enough to bridge the gap in power between he and Byakuya. It was at a pivotal moment in the series where fans were starting to see Renji in a whole new way, and this shut down was particularly brutal during an arc filled with tons of upsets. And it’s what appealed to Tabata as well.

“The Bankai battle is full of overwhelming tension, speed, and presence! But it doesn’t end there, as Renji rises up in sync with Ichigo amid overwhelming despair!” Tabata began. “Every move and line from both Renji and Byakuya is so cool that you’ll fall in love with them both! It’s a battle that pierced my soul during my time as a part-time worker before moving to Tokyo and has never left me.” So like many fans at the time, this fight was hitting perfectly for Tabata at just the right time.

Why This Fight Is So Important In Bleach

Bleach’s anime might have gone on to experience bigger and more monumental fights in the future (some of which we’re just starting to see now with Thousand-Year Blood War), but the fight between Renji and Byakuya felt like a proper turning point. The Soul Society arc in general really hit its stride for the series as Ichigo Kurosaki and his friends were clearly heading into a battle that was far outside of the scope of their relative abilities. Fans were aware that they were always on the verge of potentially losing their own lives.

It was also a case where for a while there was no clear antagonist. It’s especially true for this fight as while fans were rooting for Renji to somehow make up for his lack of power, it’s not like Byakuya was entirely in the wrong at that point. Sure it’s made clear later he was being manipulated by the rules of Soul Society, but to him then he was fighting for the laws that he felt were just. It was Ichigo and the others who invaded, and it was Renji who was turning on his Captain. This was the first real time fans got to see a different layer to Byakuya, and it laid the groundwork for that later fight against Ichigo that fans still hold in high regard to this day. It’s not too surprising to find that Black Clover‘s creator loves it too.