The glory days of Bleach may be over, but its future is far from such. The anime classic is gearing up for a highly-anticipated return with Bleach: Thousand-Year Blood War Part 3 this October, dropping an explosive trailer at Anime Expo 2024 that offered fans their best look yet at the upcoming series.
Opening with a cacophony of Bankai incantations, it showcases a montage of the captains unleashing their, well, Bankai in the bold, stylish aesthetic as the previous outings. The inevitable epic clash between Ichigo and Yhwach gets a tease, alongside additional scenes from the manga, including a certain hat-wearing captain’s Bankai, and an Uryū Ishida-versus-Mayuri Kurotsuchi rematch.
The video also previews the theme songs, performed by SIX LOUNGE for the opening, “Kotoba ni Sezu Tomo” (Even if You Don’t Say It),” and suioh for the ending, “Monochrome”. A new key visual was revealed, with chief series director Tomohisa Taguchi giving an idea of what to expect in the continuation of Tite Kubo’s manga.
“Part 3 will show some brand-new, never-before-seen Bleach content, ” he shared. “We worked with [Tite] Kubo-sensei again to create new scenes that would supplement the stories covered in the original manga.”
“As the new series director, I wish to maintain the animation quality established by everyone from Part 2,” series director Hikaru Murata said. “But if I’m to address any changes, we’re applying more CGI than Part 2, so I’m hoping the fans can look forward to seeing the improved quality of the animation.”
Part 2 was released last July as a follow-up to Bleach: Thousand-Year Blood War, putting an end to the anime’s 11-year hiatus. The entire season will run for four non-consecutive cours (quarter of a year), covering the final arc of the manga (volumes 55 to 74). A release window for Part 4 has yet to be set.
The trailer release for Bleach: Thousand-Year Blood War Part 3 coincides with the announcement of an upcoming game, Bleach: Rebirth of Souls. The 3D action brawler will follow the original story, as shown in a trailer reveal during Bandai Namco’s panel at Anime Expo, which includes glimpses of the core cast and other Soul Society members like Byakuya Kuchiki and Renji Abarai, as well as in-game combat featuring Byakuya’s Bankai and Ichigo with his Hollow mask.
Listed as “coming soon” for PlayStation 4, PS5, Xbox Series X|S, and PC via Steam, it marks the first standalone Bleach title to be published by Bandai Namco. The synopsis for Bleach: Rebirth of Souls is as follows:
“Awaken the blade and reverse your fate in Engage in thrilling action-packed battles with iconic characters from the legendary anime franchise including Ichigo Kurosaki, Rukia Kuchiki, Uryu Ishida, and Yasutora Sado (Chad). In the game, players will be able to unleash unique sword abilities like Bankai and unlock new forms in battle to claim victory against their opponents. Bandai Namco will unveil many more exciting details about the game in the months to come.”
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.
Kevin Low
