Bleach: Thousand-Year Blood War Derek Stephen Prince & Xander Mobus Interview

Summary

Ever since the last episode ofBleach: Thousand-Year Blood Waraired, fans have been hyped for the series' return with Part 3. With Ichigo’s friend Uryu defecting to the villainous Quincy, interest in the villain group has been building. Given this, we sat down with Uryu’s English voice actor, Derek Stephen Prince, and Bazz B voice actor Xander Mobus to talk aboutBleach’slegacy and what sets the Quincy apart from past villain groups inBleach.

Picking up where the originalBleachanime ended,Thousand-Year Blood Warfollows the soul society’s battle against an ancient threat, the Quincy. Part 1 famously ended with Uryu defecting to the Quincy, withThousand-Year Blood WarPart 2 (aptly namedThe Seperation)detailing the fallout of that.

Feature header showcasing Orihime, Rukia, and Yoruichi

WithPart 3 ofThousand-Year Blood Warreleasing on October 5th, we caught up with Derek Stephen Prince and Xander Mobu to talk about the epic series.

Bleach’s Derek Stephen Prince Talks About How His Understanding Of Bleach Has Evolved

Screen Rant: Derek, Uryu has really evolved throughoutBleach’s story, given that so much time has passed sinceBleachoriginally finished airing, how has your understanding of him evolved throughout the years?

Derek Stephen Prince: When we initially were recording 20 years ago, I never had the time nor the inclination to really do any research for him. I basically was just like every other voice actor because, it’s like we’re all doing, a bunch of stuff, so it’s just like you go in and you’re not even sure who you’re recording for that day. It’s “Oh, I’m recording for this one. Okay.” And then you just go in, you do your lines, you leave, then you’re done and then you’re onto the next thing.

Ichigo looking a little concerned in Bleach.

So 13 years had passed, and now we all had the opportunity to come back into it, I wanted to basically start with a clean slate knowing as much as I possibly could about my character. From the last episode of the oldBleachgoing intoThousand-Year Blood War. When you’re looking at it, not much time has passed between that last season and this new season. Even though in reality, 13 years had passed. So it’s like, what makes him tick now as opposed to what made him tick back then?

For me, as an actor, it was important for me to see his build-up throughout the years or throughout all the stories that he appeared in in the originalBleach. So I actually watched it as a fan, almost every single episode, except for some of the filler stuff. Then I researched even more and found some of the backstory behind how he goes off on his own from the rest of the other kids while they’re all befuddled and confused and they’re like “Dude what are you doing?”

Bleach Thousand-Year Blood War Part 3 preview news

I think it paid off. Hopefully, it continues to as we get amped up for season three. A lot of the choices that I’ve made as an actor, I’ve done on purpose, but very subtly. So that some of the choices that I made in terms of the lines that I said, if you ever went back and you watched the first two seasons after you watched the third season, you’ll notice some of the choices that I made and the way that I said certain lines. It’s “Wait a minute. Were you being serious when you said that? Were you joking? Were you messing with people? What were you doing?” So I think that’ll definitely become a lot clearer. So I’m just really looking forward to this next season as far as his involvement.

With that big time gap, was there a point after the original anime’s end where you were tempted to go back and read the manga?

Bleach Thousand Year Blood War Poster

Derek Stephen Prince: No no. It wasn’t until I started hearing some rumors that it was actually coming back to finish the series, that I actually started doing all that research. So it was back in 2020, like the latter part of 2020 or the beginning of 21 that I actually started going through everything.

Screen Rant:Long-running anime series often have a sort of camaraderie form between the actors in prominent roles. Was coming into that forThousand Year Blood Warintimidating at all, Xander?

Xander Mobus: I don’t know if I thought about it.

I guess that’s a good sign, right?

Xander Mobus: Yeah, I don’t know. It was definitely surreal. This show came on when I was in high school. And now I’m going to be 32 in two days. So obviously it’s existed for a minute. And there’s not an insignificant chunk of my life where this has just existed and been the force of nature that it is in anime. And, I’m a giant sweaty weeb, so I, of course, had an awareness of it. So I think there was a surreality there. But I think it was more of a, “Oh, hell yeah, I can do what today? This is gonna be great. Ah, cool.”

I don’t think I was thinking like, “Oh gosh, I sure do hope Mr. Bosch likes me.” I’d like, “That would be great, but I don’t know.” We don’t all record together. We kind of record all individually. So I don’t think that entered my mind until you just said it now. I don’t know, do you hate me?

Xander Mobus: Oh, thank God. Oh, thank God.

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You both play members of the Quincy inThousand-Year Blood War.Bleachhas seen Ichigo and his friends go up against more than their fair share of villainous organizations.

In your view, what do you think sets the Quincy apart from pastBleachvillain groups?

Derek Stephen Prince: I think probably the biggest thing that separates these new Quincy’s that fans are being introduced to, which we as fans are being introduced to them, but that’s not necessarily when they were introduced in the storyline, they’ve been around for thousands of years, and they’ve just been hiding for thousands of years, but they’ve also been planning for thousands of years before to come up with the best plan of attack based on each of the Quincy’s individual attributes. It’s “So you’re throwing us out of our own home. We’re going to come back and take it, try and stop us.”

I think that’s really what sets them apart. Not to say that the other villains that the kids have fought have ever lacked some sort of ulterior motive. But there is a huge difference when you’re fighting because of a particular thing, because of a reason, like when and there’s always two sides to a story, right? But when you are forced out of someplace that you thought was going to be your home forever, because the majority of the people who live in that place say, “No, you may’t be a part of us anymore. There’s something about you that we don’t like.” So you get ostracized without any rational reason for it other than the fact that you are now just hated, right? Maybe because you have a different belief, right? So yeah, like the second Yhwach had to go into hiding with all of his people, he’s like “Okay are we going to just let them do this to us? Or are we going to fight back? And are we going to come up with some sort of stronghold and system so that no matter what they try and come at us with, they won’t be able to.”

So that was, I think, his job from the second he got ostracized was getting this unity with his family that he helped create and mold and gave powers to. So, unlike any other enemy that the soul reapers have ever faced, it’s like when your enemy knows as much about you because they actually used to be a part of you, that’s the worst, most terrifying kind of enemy to have. Because it doesn’t matter what you do, it’s like, “How are we gonna win?”

What was the hardest part of recording Thousand-Year Blood War and what was the easiest or most fun part?

Xander Mobus: I’ve been having a blast the whole time. Really and truly. The material is fun and the cast is phenomenal, so every time you go in and people have recorded before you, it’s just an absolute treat to get to play off of them. The story has been just really engrossing and the animation’s gorgeous. I’ve been having a blast.

Derek Stephen Prince:It’s been good and bad at the same time. I think probably one of the best times that I had was when I was one of the last actors to go in for the first episode in season one. Hearing everybody else who had already been recorded like Johnny, Michelle, Stephanie was like “Oh my gosh, it’s like old times. We’re back together!” It was really cool having all the kids fight alongside each other.

For me as an actor, and as a person, I think one of the hardest things is just the waiting. Because I know what’s going to happen. Me, as an actor doing the research that I’ve done, it’s that I know what’s going to happen, so I’m just like “Come on! Just bring it in so I can record!” Because I’m really excited for everything that’s gonna happen.

Is there anyone on the cast or crew that you’ve worked with in recording that you think maybe deserves a little bit more credit? Is there anyone you’d like to shout out? There are so many unsung heroes in anime dubbing that deserve a lot more recognition for what they do.

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Bleach has a number of unusual characters, particularly in the anime, but the manga almost turned one major character into a far creepier version.

Xander Mobus: I was gonna say, if we’re going into giving everyone their flowers I think that list is never-ending. We work with a lot of talented people who do not get shouted out nearly as much as they should, for sure.

When you start seeing some of the backstories of some of these characters, it just makes them that much richer.

Derek Stephen Prince: I can’t think of one person off the top of my head, but I am going to do a throwback. Not that Ichigo needs more attention than he already has, the bastard, but there was one thing that never really got developed that could have become so much more than what it was. When you’re first introduced to Ichigo, he is a teenager I believe he’s a junior, possibly a sophomore. This is a kid that is unusual, not because of the abilities that he acquires, but because he can talk to ghosts and nothing ever happened with it. It’s like, wait, what? Why? Some of his best friends are ghosts now. It’s come on. And I wish that became more a part of who he was as a character.

Like how much more awesome would it have been? When you start learning your powers and it’s maybe some of the ghosts that you came across were people that could have helped you when they were alive, but now that they’re not alive, and you’re able to help them move on, they can help you in return in gaining your powers, like, How much more cool would that be?

I will say that one thing that Kubo has done this time around, which I’m really glad, is that he actually has taken the time to give more backstory for some of the soul reapers. It’s like they existed, and they fought, and they were captains, or, sub captains, or whatever the case may be, but you never really knew how they got there. And when you start seeing some of the backstories of some of these characters, it just makes them that much richer.

I will say that there is one character among the kids who I wish had more of a story, like we only ever know a little bit because him and Ichigo have been friends ever since they were like kids. But you don’t really know a lot about Chad. Yeah. He’s just one of those characters that’s just there. And he’s a great supporting character.

Both of you have spoken of becoming fans of the series. What was the first moment withBleachthat made you realize it was something special?

Xander Mobus: I enjoy the first bit of the manga a lot because I think there’s a lot of humor there. There’s a lot of heart. I think Grand Fisher is really where it throws down the gauntlet. It suddenly becomes this is what the show is going to be. These are the heights that we’re going to, that we are going to aspire to. Then they follow that up with Soul Society, and it’s just nothing but bangers. You know what I mean? I think Grand Fisher was the defining moment for the story. That was like the linchpin. Before that there was a lot of “Hi, I’m a wacky character who talks to ghosts.”

Derek Stephen Prince: It’s hard to pick one. I would definitely say, and I think it was a part of that same storyline, when Uryu challenges Ichigo and, it’s “I want to see what you’re able to do. So I’m flipping the coin and it’s let’s see how many hollows pop out.” It was an obscene amount.

But, unlike a lot of other anime that people may have seen, this just started bringing in so many new elements that fans could now latch on to. It’s “Oh, wow. Okay, this is cool in a like slightly horrifying way.” And then just when the Soul Society got introduced, and with the conflict that Ichigo initially has with Renji and the fact that you have somebody who shouldn’t even be there giving some of her powers so that Ichigo can become who he’s supposed to become, even though she didn’t realize that he was supposed to become that. It was just the way that it was developed from the very beginning. It’s like nothing that people had ever seen before.

Xander Mobus: And traveling back in time to that moment, right? Like I was a teenager when this started coming out and, at the time, there was the big three, there wasNaruto, there wasOne Piece, and there was Bleach. And of the three of those, while I love all three very dearly for different reasons, of the three, word on the street at the time was thatBleachwas the most in touch. It was what was resonating with people in that “Oh, this feels relatable in a way.” AndNarutowasn’t really relatable in that sense. He lived in a fantasy world. AndOne Pieceis unabashedly a cartoon. It loves being a cartoon. And those are both great things. But,Bleachfelt like it, it was more tangible to a lot of that audience at the time.

Bleachdefinitely had this rebellious energy to it.

Xander Mobus: That first opening with them just dripped up and striking cool poses, because “We don’t even care.” Yeah. That was great.

Derek Stephen Prince & Xander Mobus Discuss What They Think Bleach’s Main Theme Is

Themes of Friendship & Overcoming Hardship Tie The Series Together, According To The Two Actors

It felt fashionable in a way, too. It felt very of the moment. But, it’s a testament to Kubo’s strength as an artist and as a writer that it still feels of the moment two decades later. So going into that,Bleachreally means so many things to so many different people. Can you speak about what bleach means to you personally? What do you think is the main theme ofBleach?

Xander Mobus: I think 16-year-old me took out of it that big swords are really cool. I don’t know though, it’s so tough, man. I think the enduring theme from arc to arc has been the bond between the kids, right? Like, why do they go to Soul Society? Because Rukia disappears and they just feel like something’s missing. And that’s just a wrong in the universe, that this person that enriched their lives and they felt like they had a deep connection with is gone. Why do they, during the Arancar arc? Because Orihime’s gone, and that’s just unacceptable for them. They are a tight-knit community of absolutely bizarre little weirdos who all, in some way, come together to make their lives more complete and to make them all more complete people.

So I feel like, that and big swords being awesome are the two most enduring themes from arc to arc.

Big swords, big friendship.

Xander Mobus: Big Swords and Big Friendship! Oh my god, that’s my album!

Derek Stephen Prince: Yeah. I think there are a couple of things going on. One is that you’re never alone. You could just say that one line about each and every character in the story. There are all these times when they feel like they have to do something alone. “No, I have to go. Fight this thing alone.” So it’s like, with the kids, and especially with Ichigo, it’s that you may think you may do it alone, but once you’ve gotten what you wished for, something’s missing.

You can’t do it alone, you have to have that support system somehow, some way, even when you feel like you’re at the lowest depth you can possibly be at. That leads into the other thing, which is “Don’t give up, however bleak it may seem, don’t give up.” And that goes for every single character in the entire story, no matter whose side you’re on, whether you’re a Soul Reaper or whether you’re a Quincy. Don’t give up. Because the second you give up is the second you stop existing."

Thank you to Derek Stephen Prince and Xander Mobus for talking to us aboutBleach:Thousand-Year Blood War. Look for Part 3 when it releases on Hulu on October 5th!