Bleach returned to the airwaves back in October 2022, bringing the Big Three anime franchise to the spotlight for the first time since the original anime ended a decade prior. Adapting the final arc of the manga, Bleach: Thousand-Year Blood War has been delivering exactly what fans have hoped for ever since the manga's ending in 2016.
Animation techniques have advanced a lot in the ten years since Bleach went off the air, and Thousand-Year Blood War has taken full advantage of these advancements to create an amazing looking series while maintaining the style the series is known for. The series was also able to bring back nearly every voice actor, in both the original Japanese and the English dub, helping to maintain continuity between the original series and its revival. Most importantly, though, Thousand-Year Blood War has been working to expand the content from the manga, helping to finally solve long-standing fan complaints about Bleach's manga ending.
Bleach's Controversial Manga Ending Makes The Anime More Important Than Ever
One thing that's important to consider when talking about Thousand-Year Blood War is the fact that the manga ended rather abruptly, rushing the final stages of its last arc in an unsatisfying manner. There are many reasons why Bleach's manga ended the way it did, but the end result was a finale that was clearly intended to be epic turning out to be anything but. Since that time, fans have dreamed of seeing the final arc of Bleach animated, if only so that the story could have a second chance at being told that might live up to the exciting promise of its opening chapters.
That hope for improvement was certainly on every fan's mind as the anime was announced, and the production studio (Studio Pierrot) seemed to be well aware of fan expectations. When the Thousand-Year Blood War series finally debuted, it was met with a lot of praise for its animation and style, however fans quickly noticed that the anime was adapting chapters at a blistering rate, with as many as 5–8 chapters being packed into a single episode. Was this a sign that the anime would be shorter than expected, or were they adapting chapters so rapidly to make room for new content to be added later?
Bleach's New Content Has Provided Fans With What They Wanted
Sure enough, the series has, in its second cour, expanded on a great deal of content, featuring fights which were previously cut from the manga, the reveal of new Bankai, and given some character moments the room to breathe that they desperately needed. There are even new storylines being put in place, such as Ichigo's mysterious "Irazusando" scene, which weren't present in the manga at all. The pacing has slowed down a bit as a result of this new content being added, and it's looking like the third and fourth parts will have even more new content than this second part did.
The addition of these new scenes and the fast pace have come at a cost, though: the series' distinctive humor has largely been missing from Thousand-Year Blood War, which has had a few fans grumbling. Tonally, it seems to have been the right choice, especially for some of the more controversial jokes, such as a scene from the manga where Yoruichi shoves her hand into Orihime's chest. Still, a balance of humor and action has always been key to Bleach's success, and it's understandable that some fans would miss the humor, especially when the content of the story is so very high-stakes and serious.
Even that, however, was addressed by the studio in the second cour finale, with a special post-credits segment dedicated to voice acting some of these humorous scenes that were cut for time. It's clear that Studio Pierrot is really listening to what the fans want out of Thousand-Year Blood War, and the result has thus far been fantastic. Every episode has been wall-to-wall with heart pounding action, leaving viewers breathless as the credits roll, wondering how the episode ended so quickly. They've even worked closely with Bleach creator Tite Kubo on these new scenes, ensuring that they're in line with continuity, and reveal things which he simply wasn't able to fit into the manga.
Thousand-Year Blood War is An Incredible Watch
With incredible animation, non-stop action, and brand-new scenes not from the manga, Thousand-Year Blood War has proven itself to be the anime adaptation that Bleach has always deserved. While knowledge of the original Bleach anime or manga is definitely a benefit when watching, it's arguably just as enjoyable for a new fan who is being exposed to Bleach for the first time because of how relatively self-contained the final arc is. Concepts like the Soul King and the Quincy Wandenreich really didn't play a role in the series prior to this arc, so new viewers aren't missing too much context.
Thousand-Year Blood War is about 77 chapters from the manga's end, with about 26 episodes left, meaning an average of 3 chapters per episode, a much slower pace than when it was at its fastest. That also means that the series has plenty of room left to expand on the manga, adding scenes which Kubo wanted to produce for the manga but couldn't. The seeds for some of these new story elements have already been planted, such as the aforementioned Irazusando scene, which was framed as a test for Ichigo. These final chapters are the ones that need expansion the most, so it's clear that Studio Pierrot has been planning ahead.
When it comes to revivals of popular series, it's hard to do better than how Bleach: Thousand-Year Blood War has done. The series shows a dedication to listening to what the fans want, and has given every indication that the ultimate ending of the series will be stronger than it ever was in the manga. By working with Kubo, who has had years to reflect on Bleach's ending at this point, it's clear that the shortcomings of the series' original end will be dealt with, and the story will be all the stronger for it. Looking and sounding better than ever, fans should feel lucky that they're finally getting the Bleach: Thousand-Year Blood War adaptation that they've desired for so long.
