Bleach Delivers a Bankai So Exquisite It Became Tite Kubo’s Favorite
Senjumaru’s Bankai is the scene to beat, according to Bleach creator Tite Kubo, who dropped the reveal at Anime Expo 2025 while teasing the fourth cour of Thousand-Year Blood War; the panel interview was later shared by Reddit user u/Mysterious_Novel_626.
Bleach mastermind Tite Kubo just picked his favorite moment from Thousand-Year Blood War, and if you watched the last cour, you can probably guess it. Still, hearing him say it out loud — and why — is a fun peek into what made that sequence hit so hard.
Kubo's favorite scene? Senjumaru's Bankai
During the Bleach panel at Anime Expo 2025, Kubo was asked to name the scene that stuck with him most. The interview was later posted to Reddit by u/Mysterious_Novel_626. His answer was simple and very on-brand:
"Hmm... that's a tough one. Something memorable. Well, everyone's already mentioned Senjumaru's Bankai, so... Senjumaru's Bankai."
Not exactly a curveball, but fair. Studio Pierrot staged that entire set-piece with absurd clarity — clean, ornate, and readable despite how dense it is — and it honestly felt like a flex. Bleach has leveled up a lot since its early days, and moments like this remind you why it still holds its spot next to the other Big Three giants.
Why Senjumaru's Bankai lands so hard
Senjumaru Shutara shows up in Thousand-Year Blood War as the Fourth Officer of Squad Zero, the Divine General of the North — graceful, terrifying, and completely in control. Her Bankai, Shatatsu Karagara Shigarami-no-Tsuji (translated as "Gate of Saha, Kala's Corpse at the Crossroads of Thorny Entanglement"), is basically a woven execution chamber disguised as high art.
- She unfurls a massive loom of fabrics that ensnare the Quincy.
- Each fabric carries a different technique, so every target gets neutralized in a unique way.
- Once wrapped, they are effectively sealed and disoriented — they can barely attack, let alone grasp what is happening.
Kubo drew it beautifully in the manga, but the anime adaptation arguably pushed it further. That is not an accident.
The nerdy production bit
Kubo said he came into the adaptation with a bunch of ideas for how Senjumaru's Bankai should look and feel. He handed those off to the team, and Studio Pierrot translated them into the final visuals — cleanly, beautifully, and with a ton of care. He was thrilled with the result, which is why the transformation sits at the top of his Thousand-Year Blood War moments.
About that death in cour 3
Senjumaru's storyline was strong... until it suddenly wasn't. In the anime's third cour, she is killed, and the person who takes her out is Uryu Ishida. A lot of fans were not happy with that turn.
Since then, a fan theory has been floating around: the 'Squad Zero immortality' idea. The gist is that Zero Division members might not be truly dead and could be revived by another member. Important caveat: this is not part of the official canon. Still, it keeps hope alive for people who want Senjumaru (and maybe other Zero Division heavy-hitters) to make a comeback and give the arc a stronger payoff.
Adding to the speculation: some manga readers were confused because Senjumaru's death is not depicted in the original manga, which leaves just enough wiggle room for the anime to walk it back later if it wants.
What is next for Thousand-Year Blood War
Cour 4 is targeting 2026, though there is no specific date locked yet. Bleach: Thousand-Year Blood War currently sits at a 9.0 on IMDb, and you can watch the series on Crunchyroll right now.