Masakazu Morita and Fumiko Orikasa, the Japanese voices of Ichigo Kurosaki and Rukia Kuchiki, say they still have no sense that the Bleach TV anime is over. They spoke in an ORICON NEWS interview published on the Sanyo Shimbun website on October 25, 2026, a day before the final cour of Bleach: Thousand-Year Blood War airs its last episode on October 26.
Thousand-Year Blood War, the anime's final arc, began in October 2022. The TV anime first started in 2004.
Both actors have finished recording through the final episode. "I've performed it all the way through, but strangely, I have no sense at all that it's over," Morita said (translated). Orikasa said she felt exactly the same. Morita compared the experience to finishing one cour in the middle of a run of many. Because he still records for games and other projects, he said, he doesn't think of Thousand-Year Blood War as his last time playing Ichigo.
Morita said that when he returned to a Bleach anime recording session for Thousand-Year Blood War, the atmosphere hadn't changed at all. He described the cast as closer to family than to classmates or comrades. When Orikasa suggested "relatives," Morita joked: "It's like relatives getting together for a memorial service. We are Soul Reapers, after all" (translated). Looking back at the original run, he said the veteran actors in the studio were each like captain-class officers of the Gotei 13, and that watching them perform was ideal for learning.
Morita called Ichigo an indispensable role in his career. He also said he has never identified with the character and always views him objectively, which makes the role special to him. Orikasa said Rukia is a strong-willed character she admires and has been following all along. Rather than identifying with Rukia, she feels pulled forward by her.
Morita also shared an anecdote from creator Tite Kubo. According to Morita, Kubo told him that Rukia was the first Bleach character he created. After drawing her, Kubo decided she looked like a Soul Reaper, which led him to write a story about Soul Reapers. Orikasa added that she feels Ichigo and Rukia's relationship will stay the same from here on.