Bleach: Thousand Year Blood War
Movies
Alternate Titles
BLEACH 千年血戦篇
Bleach: Sennen Kessen-hen
Synopsis
Soul Society and the Soul Reaper Research and Development Institute are in an uproar as Hollows are observed to be disappearing in rapid succession. Meanwhile, in Karakura Town, Ryunosuke and Shino, two newly appointed Soul Reapers sent to protect the town, encounter Hollow as soon as they arrive. The two are helpless against a sudden onslaught but are rescued by Substitute Soul Reaper Ichigo Kurosaki and his friends. Two days later, a lone male wearing a mask appears before Ichigo and Ryunosuke, who has regained consciousness. Meanwhile, something strange is happening in Soul Society…
Background
Bleach started as a manga series written and illustrated by Tite Kubo that was serialized in Shueisha's Weekly Shonen Jump magazine from August 2001 to August 2016. It was published in 74 collected tankobon volumes under the Jump Comics imprint. The manga has also been published in English by Viz Media. The series won the 50th Shogakukan Manga Award in the shonen category in 2005 and has surpassed 130 million copies in print as of July 2022, making it the 12th best-selling manga of all time.
The manga has also spawned a mixed media franchise that includes a TV anime adaptation by studio Pierrot that ran from 2004 to 2012, two original video animation (OVA) episodes, four feature-length animated films, 10 stage plays, a number of video games, a wide variety of merchandise including collectible trading cards and figures, and even a live-action film that was released in 2018.
Bleach: Thousand Year Blood War is the title of the newest TV anime adaptation which will adapt the final arc of the original manga. It was announced in November 2021 and is being produced once again by Pierrot. Staff include Tomohisa Taguchi as director, with Masaki Hiramatsu and Tomohisa Taguchi handling series composition, Masashi Kudo handling character designs, Kumiko Takayanagi, Michio Hasegawa, and Sei Komatsubara as the chief animation directors, and Shiro Sagisu who is handling the music. The anime’s opening theme song is "Scar" by Tatsuya Kitani, and the ending theme song is "Saihate" by SennaRin. The anime will premiere in North America on Oct. 8, 2022 at New York Comic Con and will premiere in Japan on Oct. 10 on TV Tokyo, BS TV Tokyo, and Sendai TV. It will run for four cours (quarters of a year) with breaks in between.
Characters
Ichigo Kurosaki (Voiced by: Masakazu Morita)
Ichigo is a high school student who can see ghosts. When he was young, his mother was attacked and killed by a Hollow. He gains the power of a Soul Reaper after meeting Rukia Kuchiki, becoming a Substitute Soul Reaper. Through upheavals involving the modern world, Soul Society, and Hueco Mundo, he has gained trust from the other Soul Reapers.
Uryu Ishida (Voiced by: Noriaki Sugiyama)
Uryu is one of Ichigo’s classmates. He is one of the few descendants of Yhwach and looks up to his late grandfather Soken, who was his mentor. On the other hand, he is at odds with his father Ryuken, who has a negative view of Yhwach. He detests Soul Reapers and has been at odds with Ichigo, but they become friends through their joint struggles.
Orihime Inoue (Voiced by: Yuki Matsuoka)
Orihime is one of Ichigo’s classmates. She has a bright personality and a carefree smile. She is an airhead and often says strange things, but she always thinks of Ichigo and her friends. When her older brother becomes a Hollow, she is saved by Ichigo and after that awakened to her spiritual power.
Yasutora Sado (Voiced by: Hiroki Yasumoto)
Yasutora is a close friend of Ichigo’s from their junior high days. He is one-quarter Mexican and is nicknamed Chad. He often resorted to violence when he was younger, but after being scolded by his grandfather, he stopped using his power for his own sake. He walks alongside Ichigo with a promise held in his heart.
Kisuke Urahara (Voiced by: Shinichiro Miki)
Kisuke is the former captain of the 12th Division and is the founder and first president of the Soul Reaper Research and Development Institute. He currently runs a small candy shop called Urahara Shoten, where he provides a variety of products to Soul Reapers. He supports Ichigo in a variety of ways as he grows as a Soul Reaper.
Rukia Kuchiki (Voiced by: Fumiko Orikasa)
Rukia bestows the power of a Soul Reaper to Ichigo when they meet. She was nearly executed by Sosuke Aizen but was saved by Ichigo. After that, she is reinstated and fights alongside Ichigo as not just a fellow Soul Reaper but also as a friend. She also plays a role in restoring Ichigo’s Soul Reaper abilities after he loses them. She is the current captain of the 13th Division.
Hidetomo Kajomaru (Voiced by: Wataru Hatano)
Berenice Gabrielli (Voiced by: KENN)
Jerome Guizbatt (Voiced by: Takahiro Fujiwara)
Asguiaro Ebern (Voiced by: Wataru Komada)
Luders Friegen (Voiced by: Daiki Hamano)
Music
Opening Theme Song: "Scar" by Tatsuya Kitani
Ending Theme Song: "Saihate" by SennaRin
Official Links
Staff
- Original Creator/Chief Supervisor: Tite Kubo
- Director: Tomohisa Taguchi
- Series Composition: Masaki Hiramatsu, Tomohisa Taguchi
- Character Design: Masashi Kudo
- Chief Animation Director: Kumiko Takayanagi, Michio Hasegawa, Sei Komatsubara
- Action/Effects Animation Director: Satoshi Sakai, Yoshihiro Kanno, Young Hoon Jung
- Art Director: Yoshio Tanioka
- Art Setting: Toshiki Amada
- Color Design: Saori Goda
- Director of Photography: Kazuhiro Yamada
- Editing: Akinori Mishima
- CG Director: Kazushi Goto, Toshihiro Sasaki
- Sound Director: Yukio Nagasaki
- Sound Production: Zack Promotion
- Music: Shiro Sagisu
- Animation Production: Pierrot