Bleach returns to the airwaves in October 2022, bringing the Big Three anime franchises into the spotlight for the first time since the original anime ended a decade ago. Adapting the manga’s final arc, Bleach: Thousand-Year Blood War has delivered exactly what fans have been waiting for since the manga ended in 2016.
Animation techniques have advanced a lot in the ten years since Bleach aired, and Thousand Years Blood War takes full advantage of these advances to create a series that is visually stunning while still maintaining its style. how the series is famous. The series was also able to bring back nearly every voice actor, in both the original Japanese and English dubs, helping to maintain continuity between the original series and its revival. Most importantly, however, Thousand-Year Blood War is attempting to expand the manga’s content, helping to address long-standing fan complaints about Bleach’s manga ending.
The controversial ending of the Bleach manga makes anime more important than ever
One important thing to consider when talking about the Thousand Year Blood War is that the manga ends rather abruptly, rushing towards the end of the final arc in an unsatisfying way. There are many reasons why Bleach’s manga ended the way it did, but the end result was a finale that was clearly meant to be epic that turned out to be nothing at all. Since that time, fans have been dreaming of seeing the final installment of the animated Bleach, if only to give the story a second chance to be told, that might live up to the exciting promise of those chapters. preamble.
Hope for that improvement was certainly on every fan’s mind when the anime was announced, and the production studio (Studio Pierrot) seemed well aware of fans’ expectations. When the Thousand Year Blood War series finally debuted, it received a lot of praise for its animation and style, however fans quickly noticed that the anime was adapting chapters at a breakneck pace , there are up to 5–8 chapters packaged. into a single volume. Is this a sign that the anime will be shorter than expected, or are they adapting chapters too quickly to make room for new content added later?
Bleach’s new content has given fans what they wanted
Sure enough, in the second season, the series expanded on a lot of content, including battles that were previously cut from the manga, the introduction of new Bankai, and giving some character moments The breathing space they so desperately need. There are even new storylines introduced, such as Ichigo’s mysterious “Irazusando” scene, which was completely absent from the manga. The pace has slowed down a bit due to this new content being added, and it looks like the upcoming third and fourth seasons will have even more new content than this second season.
However, the addition of these new scenes and fast pacing came at a cost: the series’ distinctive humor was largely missing from The Thousand-Year Blood War, leading some fans to complain. Tonally, it seemed like the right choice, especially for some of the more controversial jokes, such as the scene in the manga where Yoruichi sticks her hand into Orihime’s chest. However, the balance between humor and action has always been key to Bleach’s success, and it’s understandable that some fans will miss the humor, especially when the story content is so high-minded and serious. complete.
However, that was addressed by the studio in the second trial’s finale, with a special post-credits scene dedicated to dubbing some humorous scenes that were cut for time. It’s clear that Studio Pierrot is really listening to what fans want from the Millennium Blood War and the results so far have been fantastic. Each episode features heart-stopping action, leaving viewers breathless as the credits roll, wondering how the episode ended so quickly. They even worked closely with Bleach creator Tite Kubo on these new scenes, making sure they fit into continuity and reveal things he simply couldn’t include in the manga.
The Thousand Years Blood War is an incredible watch
With incredible animation, non-stop action, and all-new scenes not found in the manga, Thousand-Year Blood War proves to be the anime adaptation that Bleach always deserved. While knowledge of the original Bleach anime or manga is certainly a benefit when watching, it is arguably just as enjoyable for a new fan encountering Bleach for the first time because of its similar finale. closed. Concepts like the Soul King and the Quincy Wandenreich didn’t really play a role in the series before this one, so new viewers won’t miss out on too much context.
The Thousand Year Blood War has about 77 chapters left since the manga ended, with about 26 episodes left, meaning each episode has an average of 3 chapters, a much slower pace than when watched at its fastest. That also means that the series has a lot of room to expand on the manga, adding scenes that Kubo wanted to produce for the manga but couldn’t. The seeds for some of these new story elements were planted, such as the aforementioned Irazusando scene, which served as a test for Ichigo. These final chapters are the ones that need the most expansion, so it’s clear that Studio Pierrot has been planning ahead.
When it comes to reviving popular franchises, it’s hard to get any better than Bleach: Thousand-Year Blood War did. The series shows a dedication to listening to what fans want and gives every indication that the series’ ultimate ending will be stronger than ever in the manga. By working with Kubo, who had had years of reflection on Bleach’s ending at this point, it was clear that the shortcomings of the series’ original ending would be addressed and the story would be strong. better thanks to that. Looking and sounding better than ever, fans will feel lucky they finally got it Bleach: The thousand-year blood war the adaptation they had wanted for so long.