Masakazu Morita has spent more than two decades shouting, bleeding and growing alongside Ichigo Kurosaki in Bleach. Now, J:COM’s web magazine J:magazine! is running an exclusive interview where Morita talks about his lifelong love of heroes, his personal “Hero Pebble Theory（ヒーロー小石論）,” and how he approaches Ichigo as the story heads toward its 2026 final cour, Bleach: Thousand-Year Blood War – Kaku-shin-hen-. With J:COM STREAM also offering Bleach and Thousand-Year Blood War to binge in Japan, it’s a perfect moment for fans worldwide to revisit what “hero” means for both Morita and Ichigo.
From Ichigo to Tidus: Masakazu Morita’s Hero-Focused Career
For many fans, Morita will always be the voice of Ichigo Kurosaki, but his hero roles stretch far beyond Bleach. He’s also played Xin (Li Xin) in Kingdom, Tidus in Final Fantasy X, and Barnaby Brooks Jr. in Tiger & Bunny—a line-up of leads who throw themselves into battles they didn’t ask for but can’t walk away from. In the J:magazine! feature, Morita explains that this isn’t a coincidence: ever since he was a kid, he’s been chasing his own image of a hero and slowly getting closer to it as an adult performer.
J:magazine! Exclusive: Tracing the Voice Behind Ichigo Kurosaki
The interview looks back at how Morita became a voice actor at all—starting from stage work, then getting cast as Ichigo when Bleach first aired in 2004. Over twenty years later, he says he still finds Ichigo “difficult to play” because the character’s thoughts run several steps ahead of everyone else. Morita talks about having to “trace Ichigo’s logic” first, so his performance doesn’t contradict what Ichigo is really thinking. That long struggle is exactly why he feels attached to the character, and why an in-depth talk like this lands so powerfully now.
Inside “Hero Pebble Theory” and Morita’s Idea of a Hero
One of the most striking parts of the interview is Morita’s “Hero Pebble Theory（ヒーロー小石論）.” As a teenager, he kept asking himself: what is a hero, really? His answer became a metaphor—“A hero is a pebble（ヒーローは小石である）.” If you throw a small stone into a river, ripples spread out, then flow into the sea, and eventually circle the whole world. In the same way, one person’s good action can trigger more kindness, reaching people they’ll never meet.
Morita says he wants to be that first pebble: someone whose work and attitude cause ripples in others. He also cites the classic tokusatsu theme “Gekkō Kamen,” where the hero is “a person nobody knows, but everyone knows his name.” For Morita, a hero isn’t defined by flashy poses, but by the quiet chain reactions they set off in the hearts of the people watching.
Ichigo’s “I Want to Be Stronger” Moment and the Weight of Rain
The press release highlights one scene Morita still finds crucial even now: early in the story, Ichigo stands in the rain at his mother Masaki’s grave and says, “I want to become stronger”（「もっと強くなりたい」motto tsuyoku naritai）. Morita calls this the moment where Ichigo clearly states his driving principle. In Bleach, rain（雨, ame）itself becomes a symbol—whenever it falls, Ichigo remembers his mother, and how he failed to protect her.
From there, his wish “to protect the people around me” keeps expanding. That circle of “people around him” grows from family to friends, to Soul Society, and eventually to entire worlds. Morita connects this to Ichigo’s own name—“to protect / mamoru（守る・護る）” is built right into it—and to his Hero Pebble Theory. Ichigo is the kind of hero whose choice to protect a few people first creates ripples that end up protecting many more.
Looking Ahead to Bleach Thousand-Year Blood War 2026
With Bleach: Thousand-Year Blood War – Kaku-shin-hen- announced as the final cour airing in 2026, Morita’s reflections hit differently. This arc pushes Ichigo to confront where his power comes from and who he can still save when the stakes reach their absolute limit. Watching with Morita’s words in mind—his belief that a hero is a small stone that keeps sending waves outward—adds another layer to scenes fans may already know from the manga.
Watching and Reading More in Japan and Overseas
In Japan, J:COM STREAM currently offers Bleach and Bleach: Thousand-Year Blood War as part of its on-demand lineup, making it easy to rewatch Ichigo’s journey before the 2026 cour hits. The full interview is available on J:magazine! here: Read the full interview (Japanese).
Outside Japan, J:COM STREAM is generally region-locked, so most international viewers will keep watching Bleach on platforms like Disney+ or Hulu depending on their territory. Even if you don’t read Japanese fluently, browser translation tools can give you a solid sense of Morita’s answers—especially the parts on “Hero Pebble Theory” and Ichigo’s graveyard scene. Think of it as Morita tossing a small stone into the water, and fans around the world catching the ripples in their own language.
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