In celebration of Bleach’s Thousand-Year Blood arc Anime announcement, there is one character that deserves appreciation.
Now I might be a little biased in saying that Yasutora Sado, better known as Chad, is one of my favorite characters in Bleach, due to him being of Mexican descent and I am Mexican, but it’s more than that. The cultural representation that Tite Kubo brings out in Chad’s character and role in Ichigo’s life and throughout the storyline in Bleach connects to me as a reader.
For instance, with the introduction of Chad’s character in Bleach brought the importance of Family. Even though Chad lost his parents at a young age, he got taken in by his grandfather which isn’t a very easy thing to do. In Spanish culture, the goal is for you to one day provide support for your elders, but in Chad’s circumstance, the grandfather is starting over again in filling in that parental role for his grandson.
In filling that role, there is a deep connection with his grandfather that is heavily displayed in the animation and Manga through the Mexican coin that Chad carries around his neck. This reminds me of the rosaries that a lot of us from Spanish families carry. Which we place either inside our house or wear as a necklace – an important item, like the coin, that has sentimental value and can be viewed as a “good luck charm” which Chad refers to it as.
Overall, in animation, we don’t see a lot of people of color and that’s not to say that it’s a bad thing but as Manga and animation increase in Western entertainment and globally as a whole, being inclusive wouldn’t hurt.
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