Bleach: Thousand-Year Blood War Anime Stuns Fans with Bold Censorship Decision

Warning: Contains spoilers for Bleach: Thousand-Year Blood War episode #22.

This article contains discussions of transphobia

Bleach: Thousand-Year Blood War episode #22, titled "Marching Out the Zombies," aired recently and caused controversy due to censorship. The episode introduced the Sternritter Giselle Gewelle's role in the central conflict, and it was revealed that despite presenting as female, Giselle was assigned male at birth, leaving fans and viewers intrigued. However, the English release of the episode censored this moment in an unusual way. In the original anime and corresponding manga chapter, Yumichika referred to Giselle as a man because she "reeked of semen." Although the anime initially included this line, the Hulu release replaced it with a different scene where Yumichika simply states that he figured her out. This change may have been made to avoid perpetuating a harmful stereotype, but it's still peculiar that the anime presents two different versions of certain scenes.

Bleach's Anime Cut Yumichika's Transphobic Insult

The controversial moment in Bleach: Thousand-Year Blood War that was censored involved Giselle's gender and sexual identity. Therefore, it is important to clarify this matter clearly. Based on the information provided in episode #22, it can be inferred that Giselle was assigned male at birth, and this is further supported by Tite Kubo's affirmation on his blog that Giselle is physically male. However, Giselle presents herself as female and is referred to as such by characters and other sources, including the Can't Fear Your Own World novels. This indicates that Giselle is likely a transgender woman or, at the very least, does not identify as male.

Nonetheless, Giselle's gender is not of great significance in the overall narrative. Whichever gender identity Giselle is intended to associate with does not alter the essence of her character, and this aspect is not further explored after her initial storyline. The main point for discussion arises from how the English version of Bleach: Thousand-Year Blood War censored important moments concerning Giselle and sexual content. This is surprising regardless of Giselle's chosen identity.

Bleach’s Western Censorship Avoids A Terrible Transgender Stereotype

The censorship of Bleach: Thousand-Year Blood War on Hulu is likely a result of wanting to avoid perpetuating harmful stereotypes about transgender individuals. Many fictional stories often depict male villains dressing as women to carry out violent and sexual crimes, contributing to the misconception that transgender people are inherently violent predators. By censoring scenes that could be interpreted as transphobic, Hulu aims to prevent the anime from being associated with this stereotype.

While this censorship has unintended consequences, it does serve to improve the portrayal of Giselle's character. Due to the sexual themes surrounding Giselle, discussions often revolve around the idea that she is transphobic. However, by removing explicit sexual content, her sadism can be analyzed separately from her gender and sexual identity. While this doesn't justify the censorship entirely, it allows the focus to be on the important aspects of Giselle's character and enhances the overall quality of Bleach: Thousand-Year Blood War.

Bleach: Thousand-Year Blood War releases new episodes Saturdays on Hulu.

Sources: Twitter, Reddit.