User blog comment:Xilinoc/Ch. 686 - Death & Strawberry (End of Bleach reMIX)/@comment-24769684-20160820020548/@comment-29190231-20160820033949

It really is misplaced. Kubo isn't as innocent as some of the hardcore Bleach fans would like to portray. There was a whole lot of drama going on with Shōnen Jump, in regards to Bleach, that too many fans don't know about. I got curious about it and checked into some of the Anime News Network discussions about the matter - really put Kubo in perspective for me.

The most major of the misconceptions is that Bleach was "suddenly" put on the chopping block. Jump gave Kubo four years to wrap it up at the start of this arc - he meandered, four and a half years passed (more than the prescribed time limit) and he was no closer to finishing and making good on all of his promises than he was when he began four years ago, so they told him "time's up."

Such is the nature of business.

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Edit: For anyone who's curious, this is how Japan felt about Kubo's writing of late. And it isn't pretty. Not one bit.