After ending its anime run in 2012, one of Weekly Shonen Jump’s former Big Three member is making a long-anticipated return to the screen. The upcoming ‘Thousand-Year Blood War’ story arc for Bleach is slated for debut sometime in October 2022, with an official first trailer teasing the big showdown that’s to come.
The reel, which was unveiled at Anime Expo 2022 during Viz Media’s panel, highlights the combatants participating in the concluding arc of the series, including the familiar faces of Soul Society and the new Stern Ritter characters (to those who’ve never read the manga), who are elite members of the Quincy clan. The art’s looking pretty crisp, and everyone’s looking real sleek, so at least the visuals have been nailed down.
Series creator and mangaka Tite Kubo also showed up in a video message to fans, saying that they can expect “expect modern contemporary coloring and a new and refreshing viewing experience with the new anime.” He confirmed his involvement in all aspects of the anime production as well, and said that the Studio Pierrot team is working on covering other material, such as battles and scenes he couldn’t get into in the manga, with the project.
Accompanying the new Bleach trailer release is a new piece of key art featuring fighters on both sides that can be checked out below:
Bleach: Thousand-Year Blood War is set for release for October 2022, and will adapt the last story arc of the Bleach manga, which runs from volumes 55 to 74. The original synopsis of the series reads, “Ichigo Kurosaki never asked for the ability to see ghosts-he was born with the gift. When his family is attacked by a Hollow-a malevolent lost soul-Ichigo becomes a Soul Reaper, dedicating his life to protecting the innocent and helping the tortured spirits themselves find peace.”
Si Jia is a casual geek at heart – or as casual as someone with Sephiroth’s theme on her Spotify playlist can get. A fan of movies, games, and Japanese culture, Si Jia’s greatest weakness is the Steam Summer Sale. Or any Steam sale, really.
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Edwin Teo
