Why, in his previous life, did the more popular an anime IP became, the farther away its ending always seemed to drift?
The answer was almost too simple: once a work ended, its heat would inevitably begin to fade.
For an IP to truly explode, there were far too many factors involved. It was never enough for the creator to simply be skilled, talented, or disciplined. A story could be excellent and still fail to meet the right moment, the right audience, or that one stroke of luck capable of turning a work into a phenomenon. There were plenty of examples. Even great creators, after finishing their most famous works, had tried to launch new projects, only to watch them sink without leaving much of a ripple.
On the other hand, dragging a story out just to keep the machine running almost always came with a price. More often than not, the result was a tired continuation, a warped shadow of something that had once been magnificent. Even when a story began to lose control of its power scaling, it could still end with dignity, like a grand funeral for an entire era. The real problem came when, at the very last second, someone insisted on stretching it further, patching it up, resurrecting what should have been left alone, diluting legacies, and turning a glorious memory into something difficult to defend.
Alex had already prepared himself for that.
He knew that after "Bleach" ended, the influence of the IP would inevitably decline. That was natural. No flame burned forever at its highest point.
But he was not worried.
After all, he would continue producing new heavyweights. New worlds. New stories capable of setting the audience's imagination on fire.
If he clung desperately to a single IP as though it were his last lifeline, then his dream of building a true pop-culture empire would never be realized, no matter how long he worked.
What Alex had not expected, however, was the reaction after that post on social media.
According to Nadia's report, in just one day, revenue from official merchandise stores across the country had surged by more than one hundred and twenty percent. And it was still rising.
A survey among fans revealed a reason that was almost touching: next week would bring the finale of "Bleach," and they wanted to send off that "old friend" in the best possible way.
Seeing those comments multiply across the internet, even Alex, that shameless old scoundrel who often joked that "overemotional geeks are terrifying creatures," could not help but smile.
Because sometimes, those people were the most lovable ones.
Otherwise, why did everyone say that the money of passionate fans was the easiest to earn?
The day of the grand finale of "Bleach" arrived at the end of August.
Many university students had already returned to campus. But after finally escaping the hideous school uniforms that had haunted their middle and high school years, countless students discovered, the moment they stepped back into college, an unexpectedly familiar sensation.
The fear of being dominated by uniforms had returned.
Because as soon as they walked through the university gates, they saw that at least two-thirds of the students were wearing nearly identical outfits. Or rather, two very specific types of clothing: the black robes of the Soul Reapers and the long white coats of the Espada.
"This is way too exaggerated, isn't it?"
Parker, who had just finished filming the first season of "The Retreat" and returned to the drama academy campus, muttered inwardly.
The year before, when he had first arrived to register, he had also shown off shamelessly by wearing Toshiro's Soul Reaper uniform, complete with the captain's haori. But back then, that kind of look was still a rare sight. At most, one out of every ten boys dressed like that.
After all, most people still possessed something called a sense of shame.
Now, however, even Parker, one of the production's main actors, was stunned.
The number was absurd. Anyone who knew the place would say it was a university; anyone who did not might very well think they had stepped into a spiritual academy or the white palace of the Espada.
Despite thinking that, the first thing Parker did after returning to the dorm was open his suitcase, pull out his Tenth Division captain's haori, and put it on without hesitation.
Come on, then.
If everyone was going to be dramatic, they might as well all be dramatic together.
Only then did he realize something.
All three of his roommates were wearing Sosuke Aizen's white coat. And hanging at each of their waists was a replica of Kyoka Suigetsu.
"Damn it… you guys did this on purpose, didn't you?" Parker could not hold back.
One of his friends grinned mockingly.
"Give up, little Toshiro. Everyone outside is Aizen now."
Another roommate sighed, half emotional and half reluctant.
"At first, I only planned to buy two posters and put them on the wall. I thought that would be enough. But then I remembered that 'Bleach' was about to end, and in the end… I took almost all of this month's living expenses and bought this outfit."
"This is our youth about to disappear," the other roommate added with theatrical solemnity. "Of course it deserves a perfect full stop."
Parker rolled his eyes.
Whether that full stop would be perfect or not was not up to them.
That decision belonged to Alex.
But the truth was that Parker himself was also filled with anticipation for the ending of "Bleach." Although he was one of the main actors, he had not yet seen the final cut.
How would Alex present the final battle between Sosuke Aizen and Ichigo?
And what exactly was that power called the "Realm of Fearlessness"?
He wanted to know.
He wanted to know too badly.
No matter how reluctant fans around the world were to say goodbye, when the weekend clock reached exactly 20:00:00, everyone refreshed the page almost at the same time.
Beside the title of the third season, "Bleach: Thousand-Year Blood War," the small words that had previously read "Ongoing" had been replaced by a single expression.
"Completed."
At that instant, at least two hundred million people across the world felt their chests tighten.
Many fans stared at the two newly released final episodes on the screen and, for several minutes, did not even have the courage to click. It was as though, as long as they did not watch the ending, "Bleach" would not truly be over.
But when the time moved to 20:30, then 21:00, more and more viewers finally accepted reality and clicked on the first episode updated that week, the penultimate episode of the entire series.
No one needed to think too hard to know that the live comments would explode. Even the strongest machine might not be able to withstand that volume without stuttering. Many fans had already prepared themselves to turn off the comment function and watch the finale in silence, alone with their own emotions.
Even so, the moment the episode opened, countless people still placed their hands on the keyboard, unable to resist the urge to leave one last mark on the road they had traveled.
"Congratulations on the ending, Bleach!"
"I came to see you one last time, my friend."
"Goodbye, Aizen. Goodbye, Ichigo."
"Who's going to rewatch everything after the finale? Raise your hand."
"+1."
"+2."
"+10086."
After leaving their messages as a final keepsake, more than ninety percent of the viewers turned off the comments so their viewing experience would not be affected.
This time, no one wanted to skip the opening.
Everyone watched the opening music video in silence, as though every image was already part of the farewell.
Then, at last, the episode began.
And the battle came with it.
The raging spiritual pressure seemed ready to tear the entire Soul King Palace from its foundations. From within that storm, Ichigo burst out like a bullet, a bull-like horn protruding from the left side of his temple, black markings burned across half of his face.
His semi-complete Hollow form.
At the tip of the horn, a sphere of crimson energy condensed. In his hands, the blades of Zangetsu cut through the air, releasing a brutal arc of power that fused with the red blast fired from above.
In front of their screens, countless viewers recognized the combination instantly.
It was the power that had defeated Nnoitra after his third release.
A new Getsuga Tensho fused with the Cero of kings.
"So this is the power that pushed Nnoitra to the limit?"
Faced with a technique capable of overwhelming a monster, Sosuke Aizen remained calm, as though the storm before him were nothing more than a breeze brushing the surface of a dark lake.
"You chose to use it from the very beginning because you thought: 'I need to finish him before he stops underestimating me.' Am I wrong?"
The eyes of Ichigo, consumed by his incomplete Hollowfication, contracted sharply.
He realized it.
Aizen had read his intention.
"That line of thinking is unnecessary," Aizen continued.
Before he even finished speaking, a blade formed in his hand, deep and dark, as though it contained the silent colors of the universe itself. Then, with a clean movement, he struck back.
"Because I never underestimated you."
The instant the pressure of their two blades collided, everything rising from the surface of the Soul King Palace was reduced to dust and hurled into the void by a crushing explosion.
And even separated by seventy-two barriers, Toshiro, Shin, and the others down below in the Soul Society could clearly feel the shockwave shake the world, as though the entire sky had been struck by an invisible blade.
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