The originalBleachmanga published its last chapter back in 2018.The anime adaptation ended even way before that, which is 2014. So it’s truly been a long time since we got another helping ofBleach. Which is a bit strange when you think about it, becauseBleachwas one of the Big Three Shonen Jump series, just likeNarutoandOne Piece. But whileNarutoanime followed the manga closely till the end, andOne Piecestill going strong today,Bleachwas sort of abandoned midway through the story.
However, after about 8 years since the last episode, we finally received a newBleachanime.It is scheduled to be released on August 03, 2025, and it will adapt the last, and arguably the most ambitious story arcs, which is the Thousand-Year Blood War. So before you jump blindly into the new season, here are some of the things that you should know about it.
RELATED:Bleach: All You Need To Know About The Sternritter
The Story
As mentioned before, the new season will adapt the last story arcs from the originalBleachmanga,which is the Thousand-Year Blood War arc. But before we go any further, let’s do a brief recap for a bit.
All things considered, there are 3 main story arcs inBleach,each with its own short arcs within them. The first one,“Soul Society Arc”, focuses on the introduction of the soul society and Ichigo becoming a full-fledged shinigami. In the second one, “Arrancar Arc”, the story focuses on the creatures known as Hollow and Arrancar who live in a place called Hueco Mundo. The second arc saw Ichigo accepting and using the Hollow power that resided within him.
And now, for the final arc, the story will focus on the third entity that can also wield supernatural power, which is Quincy. For two long arcs, the only quincy that we see in the series was just Ishida Uryuu, but now,an entire elite squad of Quincies, along with their soldiers, will invade the soul society and massacre every shinigami that stands in their way.
Accompanying them would be the king of the Quincy himself, who is said to be on par, or even stronger, than the most powerful shinigami in the Soul Society, the captain of the first division of the Gotei 13,Genryuusai Yamamoto. To make matters worse, the sinister goal behind their invasion could spell trouble to the realm of humanity as well.
The Characters
The Thousand-Year Blood War will feature the familiar band of characters. The usual group of friends consists of Ichigo, Orihime, Sado, Rukia, and other shinigami that we all know and love,such as captain Hitsugaya, Kuchicki, Zaraki, and many others. As a matter of fact, since the story takes place in Soul Society, we pretty much get to see every shinigami in the series, even those that we have never seen before. As for characters from the second arc, well, the Arrancar doesn’t really have that many roles here, but there are still some of them that we get to see, especially early on in the arc.
RELATED:Where Is Bleach’s Final Arc Being Streamed?
Other than that, the Thousand-Year Blood War will introduce tons of new characters, especially from the side of Quincy. Fromthe king of Quincy himself, a menacing man named Yhwach, and his group of elite Quincy called the Sternritter. Each of the Sternritter will have an alphabet assigned to them, which correspond to the kind of unique power that they wield, on top of their regular Quincy powers.
The Animation
Similar to the previous seasons, The Thousand-Year Blood War will be produced by Studio Pierrot as well. They are a legendary anime studio that has been around since the 1980s and were responsible for some of the biggest and most influential anime series ever made, such asYu Yu Hakusho, Hikaru no Go, Naruto,and evenTokyo Ghoul, just to name a few. So you can be sure thatBleachis in the right hands, and you surely geta top-notch animation from Studio Pierrot.
Speaking of animation,based on the trailers for this season that we’ve seen thus far, it’s clear that the quality of the animation has increased tremendously, especially compared to the last season. The movements are a lot more fluid and dynamic, and the special effects are much more sharp and vibrant than ever before. It’s safe to say that this will be a new and improved version ofBleach.
The Staff
WhileThousand-Year Blood War is still produced by Studio Pierrot, the one who directed it has changed. For the last anime adaptation, the director was Noriyuki Abe, the man behindGreat Teacher Onizuka, Boruto, Black Butler, and many others. For this new season, however, the series will be helmed by a man named Tomohisa Taguchi, the director behind some of the fans favorite series such as the anime adaptation ofPersona 3,4, and 5, Kino’s Journey, andTwin Star Exorcist, just to name a few.
Needless to say, there are also tons of new names who work alongside the old crew, especially among the animators. However, one name that allBleachfans are glad to be included as part of the new season is none other than the Music Director, Shiro Sagisu. He was the man responsible forthe eerie, moody, and beautiful musicthat has been the trademark ofBleach. With this combination of new and returning groups of people, we can be sure that the Thousand-Year Blood War will be both refreshing yet familiar at the same time.
More:The Best Anime To Watch If You Love Bleach
