It has been more than a year since Bleach ended its manga, but fans continue to talk about the shonen series’ exit. After fifteen years, Tite Kubo let his acclaimed series end with Weekly Shonen Jump, but many wondered if the magazine and its publisher pushed the story to a premature end. However, thanks to a new interview with Kubo, fans have learned that was not the case.

Instead, it seems Bleach came to an end when Kubo wanted.

Recently, Kubo sat down for an interview in Japan with TBS Radio. It was there the manga creator opened up about his long career, and he addressed the on-going debacle about Bleach’s end. Over on Twitter, fans summarized the Japanese interview for curious English fans, and you can check out Sakaki’s summary below:

“It was running for 15 years but Kubo never felt pressured or anything as he had more or decided on how things would go. He'd be planning for the next week while writing the current week's chapter, so that's how he kept things moving. Kubo is one who is very precise with how he spends his time, so he would have a strict schedule, one he kept until his health declined.”

“He decided (not the editorial staff) that he'd draw Bleach to his desired conclusion, so even though there were times where he'd want to end the series prematurely due to his declining health, he kept going in order to reach the end he was satisfied with,” the creator revealed.

If you are familiar with Kubo, then you will know the creator did see a decline in his health as Bleach went on. The creator was even hospitalized at some points for pain and overworking himself. Other manga creators have experienced similar work-related injuries, and it seems Kubo was ready to wrap up Bleach sooner rather than later because of such. The manga’s end went like Kubo intended all along, but there are still those fans who cannot get over how abrupt its ending felt.