Artist Spotlight: Tite Kubo

The manga industry behind all the captivating stories and nuanced thematic implications is a showcase of some of the best art the Eastern world has to offer. And the stories of the artists who tirelessly curate these masterpieces too often gets understated. The personal upbringings, entrance into the industry and personal struggles that these artists deal with all have a way in evolving their work into some of the most beautiful illustrations in media. It is well documented how strenuous the work conditions are in a field like manga production, so anyone able to not only achieve but excel in the field deserves both praise and study. And someone much deserving of this spotlight, who has penned some of the most iconic character designs and stories in modern art, is the one and only Tite Kubo.

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Noriaki Kubo, better known by his pen name Tite Kubo, grew up in the Hiroshima Prefecture of Japan throughout the 80s and early 90s. As a teenager, he was heavily inspired by the series of GeGeGenoKitaroand SaintSeiyato become a manga artist.

And even though his experience was limited to drafting a couple character designs let alone creating an entire story, Kubo would enter the Hot Step Newcomers Manga Competition during his high school years that would catch the attention of editor Takanori Asada. So after graduating in 1996, Kubo began working on his official debut, a oneshot titled UltraUnholyHeartedMachineto submit to Weekly Shonen Jump. After its release, UltraUnholyHeartedMachinewould eventually poll sixth amongst one shot submissions, coincidently one spot behind another newcomer to the manga industry Eiichiro Oda’s work titled RomanceDawn.

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Kubo would release two other one-shot works, the first being RuneMasterUrarain 1996. With each new submission it was clear that Kubo’s designs were steadily improving but lacked a solid definitive style. His second one shot BadShieldUnited,released in 1997, would have long lasting ramifications on the career trajectory of the young author. In this stint with Weekly Shonen Jump, Kubo’s experiences could best be categorized as rushed and chaotic. The pressure from editors, lack of creative control and inability to make impossible deadlines carried over to the project.

It was more than clear that the final product was a rushed effort lacking passion and Kubo began listening to the notes of those around him above his own original ideas. Former Chief Editor of WeeklyShonenJump, Kazuhiko Torishima is infamously known for his unreasonable and demanding nature towards his artists and his interactions with Kubo throughout the series left the author discouraged and ready to abandon writing all together. Thus leading to a two year departure from the industry.

With the unrelenting insistence of Asada to draft a work that proved his professional capabilities, Kubo eventually yielded and began working on a new story to hit WeeklyShonen Jump. Zombiepowderbecame Kubo’s official serialized debut published in 1999, running for 27 chapters until its cancellation. The series was a commercial failure and was unable to connect with Japanese audiences in part because of its perceived lack of originality and unfocused story. Kubo would later go on to state that he was so traumatized by his past works and their reception that it affected the quality of Zombiepowderand the otherworldly pace of artistry demanded for the series took a great toll on him. After its conclusion, Kubo immediately went to draft another series that was rejected instantly. Causing another period of prolonged depression and reconsideration for Kubo’s future in the business.

But as time passed, many began taking a liking to the rejected work of Kubo and even other mangaka would send letters encouraging the young artist to persevere and resubmit. Among these patrons was none other than Dragonballcreator, Akira Toriyama, who became fond of Kubo’s rejected work urging him to make some changes and give it another shot. With his confidence revitalized, Tite Kubo would submit another story he hoped would dismiss all doubts that both WeeklyShonenJumpand the world had in his ability. This new work would be titled Bleach.

As many now know, Bleach would become one of the most successful franchises ever produced under Shonen publications. Spanning for 15 years of serialization and with over 74 volumes, the story comprised one third of the iconic anime “Big 3” that dominated anime viewership worldwide throughout the 2000s.

Here Kubo’s artistic talent flourished as one of the most competent designers in the industry. His expertise with blank backgrounds, angular designs of his characters, and mastery of his shading all came together over the course of the series. His volumes began to lean more towards fashion lookbooks rather than a story on soul reapers and swordsmen. The character imbued into each design was always present and the style stood in a class of its own even among the other members within the “Big 3.” It was evident that even through his earlier missteps, Kubo benefitted from the previous stories he produced taking influence from each work prior and evolving. The magnificence of his art was beyond influential and no doubt contributed to the easy flowing narrative he was able to convey to readers. As of now, Bleach is the 11th best selling manga of all time and has sold over 130 million copies worldwide.

But after almost two decades working as a mangaka, Kubo was fatigued with the pace, public reception and physical degradation that come along with such a position. The success was apparent but exhausting, forcing Kubo to once again retreat from the manga world on bitter terms. But in 2019 Kubo found himself with the opportunity to become a character designer for gaming franchises that allowed him complete creative control and to make his own deadlines for work. This flexibility allowed him to prioritize his health and once again rekindle the passion for art that could get lost when our talents are used in an assembly line manner rather than true desire. Kubo would say the experience was refreshing and the freedom afforded him the chance to finally relax thus bringing back his love for what he did best.

In 2018, for Shonen Jump’s 50th Anniversary he would release his most recent one-shot titled BurntheWitchwhich would go on to be serialized and currently has its own anime adaptation.

The story of Tite Kubo is one of unappreciated trial and error. It is often too easy to undermine the strides these artists have to take to get access to their positions. Seeing them as naturally gifted geniuses misrepresents the repetitive pushback many of them experience while trying to achieve their dreams. Beyond your thoughts on Bleach or any other series Kubo has authored, there is an undeniably inspiring narrative of a young kid who had his mind set on reaching his ambitions that through no lack of effort, he achieved on the highest level. It is clear for Kubo and anyone else aspiring to conquer a goal seemingly impossible that there is value in our failures. It is perfectly fine to become discouraged or even step away when the demands of your efforts are overbearing. But the key through Kubo’s journey and career is to learn from what doesn’t work to persevere forward because the path to fulfillment is very seldom black and white but somewhere in between.

Mob Psycho 100 has cultivated an identity predicated on being one of those series that truly stood at the top of its genre, but rarely received the mainstream adoration it deserved. Though it had a vocal and widespread fanbase, it never hit the same core as Naruto or Attack on Titan were able to do so years prior. Even with the premiere of its final season in Fall of 2022, it was often outshined by other titles like Chainsaw Man or My Hero Academia which broadcasted simultaneously. My own discovery of the series came through watching anime fight compilations on Youtube, and observing a Season 1 fight with otherworldly animation. So I rushed through the first season just in time for the new second season to witness one of the better anime produced in the decade. And now with the third and final season complete, and the finale given a chance to digest, I think it’s time to share my thoughts on the emotionally rich, outrageously funny and earnestly sincere world of Mob Psycho 100.

The story was originally created by author One, also known for his creation of One Punch Man, who produced the series for a serialized web comic. It is well-known that the artistic ability of One can be considered somewhat crude and slightly remedial compared to many of the other mangaka behemoths in the industry. But what he lacks in illustrations, he more than makes up with creative story development and relatable themes. All that to say, when you take the outstanding storytelling abilities from someone like One, and combine that with phenomenal animation chops of Studio Bones, famous for their work on Space Dandy and FullMetal Alchemist: Brotherhood, you are bound to get a product deserving of high praise.

The series stars a middle schooler named Shigeo Kageyama, also known as Mob, who works under his conman/mentor Reigen Arataka as a medium for handling spirits. In this world there are espers, people with absurd psychic abilities that give them a variety of god-given talents, and among them Mob is the most gifted of them all. But throughout the course of the series Mob continuously grapples with his self worth and the value of being a good person. His perception of his godlike powers is that of any person who has a special talent, but wants to become a well rounded human that doesn't allow one specialty to define him. So the series constantly places Mob in situations wherein he mustn’t give into the emotional destruction that his powers can create and find other means of handling daily obstacles and conflicts in his life.

The series truly creates its own sense of self identity through the incredible character building that each character in the main cast receives. Secondary characters like a former evil spirit turned ally named Dimple, Mob’s younger brother Ritsu, and the former esper foe turned friend Hanazawa all go through different arcs with the same converging theme, that unlimited psychic power and control is just a superficial covering over their true deficiencies as people. Whether it be internal emptiness pushing them to overcompensate for control or sibling jealousy and the search for acknowledgement, each conflict gets a larger than life battle with a very relatable core issue. And you can see the real time matriculation of character as Mob develops from a shy middle school youth into a thoughtful young adult.

But within the series no dynamic is as appealing as that between Reigen and Mob. The student and teacher motif is given so much nuance and focus that both end up becoming protagonists of the series by its conclusion. Of course Mob is offered majority of the conflicts and cinematic fight scenes within each season, but Reigen has ample time to be highlighted as his original layers of smooth talking con man are peeled away to reveal a man who once experienced the same adolescent troubles as Mob, and is steadily trying to navigate his way through feelings of inadequacy that adulthood presents. So as an audience you are able to relate with the series from two angles, one as a nostalgic look back on the emotional challenges within our formative years and second as a present look to how those unresolved lessons from our youth impact who we become as adults. Both of these perspectives culminate to express that above all the uncertainties offered within the span of our lives, a pursuit towards self improvement and kindness allows us to become the people we truly aspire to be.

Mob Psycho 100 crafts a beautiful story that reaches far above the standard tropes of other shows within its class. Without oering spoilers, the nal season provided a nal throughline that oered closure to the present narrative while providing hope for the future that I feel anyone can nd relief in. The imaginative stakes might not reach as high as other major titled anime series, but that was never the point. It does a fantastic job in not providing a singular closing event to Mob’s journey but rather oers an answer to what lesson can be ascertained to keep him going in his transition from child to adulthood and beyond. If you’re searching for a new series complete with unbelievable battles and a source of genuine reection, then there are few shows deserving of more recognition.