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As Bleach's Thousand Year Blood War first cour comes to a dramatic finish, fans eagerly await the second cour with nervous energy. Bleach's series focuses on stopping Hollows and rogue Shinigami throughout Soul Society. The Thousand Year Blood War is the adaptation of the final manga arc where business truly begins to pick up for everyone.
Naturally, some fans are wondering what the anime can recapture or whether it can replicate the fun, nostalgia, and action. Some have suggested Dragon Ball Super for the nostalgic factor, while others suggest getting into more recent fair like Chainsaw Man. Look no further than this list of 10 anime to tide fans over as they await Bleach's Thousand Year Blood War's (hereafter abbreviated as TYBW) monumental second act.
Disclaimer: This will feature spoilers for Bleach and other anime profiled. The opinions contained therein are only reflective of the author's opinion.
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Chainsaw Man, Attack on Titan, and eight other anime to keep fans fed while waiting for Bleach's TYBW's second cour
1) Chainsaw Man
Since Bleach's final arc is relatively graphic and well-animated, with blood and gore and some coarse language included for older audiences, Chainsaw Man is an easy recommendation. It's got a very manipulative villain, a teen protagonist, and enough blood and gore. Jokes aside, it's one of the most popular currently airing anime and very well animated. Everything from character movements to crazy action is recommended.
If you love Bleach's propensity for escalating threats, Chainsaw Man is for you. It also features more than a few manipulative villains pulling strings that make Aizen look tame.
2) Attack on Titan
As Fallout 3's iconic intro once stated, "War never changes." This statement is true for Bleach and the action horror anime Attack on Titan. Both series deal with political manipulation, antagonists who play people like puppets, and people having to deal with giants and human-sized monsters.
While the only supernatural element in Attack on Titan is the Titans and Subjects of Ymir, Attack on Titan still deals with raw human emotion and the conditions of being under attack constantly. This isn't unlike Shinigami having to deal with Hollows constantly, and there are plenty of betrayals in store for the soldiers in the Scout Regiment.
It goes without mentioning that the final season of Attack on Titan features an all-out war between Paradis and the rest of the world.
3) Dragon Ball Super
A related subject of Bleach's Thousand Year Blood War is updating a decade-old anime with new animation. Dragon Ball Super is a good comparison piece, as the last time audiences saw Goku was during Dragon Ball GT. This was over a decade earlier since Kai was the filterless reboot of the original Dragon Ball Z. Super is a good sequel series to the original Dragon Ball Z.
Dragon Ball Super involves Goku and the other Z fighters battling actual gods and other stronger people able to shake the universe. Bleach's final arc deals with precisely that, featuring the godly Ywach vs. all of Soul Society, like how Goku has to fight Beerus and others like Golden Frieza, Jiren, and Broly.
In other words, Super has the same God vs. Man action that Bleach does and is highly recommended for fans who may not have tried it yet.
4) My Hero Academia
While My Hero Academia features actual superheroes and supervillains, the stories centered around friendship, personal and societal growth, hope, and destiny mirror Bleach's core themes of personal growth. This anime stars Izuku Midoriya, aka Deku, as he's thrust into the world of superheroes after gaining the One For All Quirk from the Number One Hero and Symbol of Peace All Might.
There are plenty of similarities between the two series. Ichigo and Deku initially burrowed their signature powers (from Rukia and All Might, respectively) while coming to terms with more responsibilities than either intended. Both of them have teammates that drive them crazy sometimes and/or are battle-crazed (Bakugo and Renji/Kenpachi).
As for the Thousand Year Blood War comparison, the two series are now in their respective war arcs that intend to change the face of their worlds, with the Hero Society and Soul Society both at the tipping point of collapse.
5) Naruto/Shippuden
The nostalgic hits keep coming, as Naruto is recommended alongside Shippuden. Bleach and Naruto were neck-in-neck as two of anime's "Big Three" when they initially aired. There are plenty of reasons to recommend Naruto and Shippuden to Bleach fans. One of them is that both Naruto and Ichigo share the motive of fighting for friends and family.
Further core highlights of Naruto that resemble Bleach would be Naruto and Ichigo running into danger most of the time. Shippuden's last arc even involved fighting a divine being, and Boruto followed suit with even more gods.
It may take a while to get to the godly fight, with plenty of fillers, but Naruto is an easy recommendation for fans of action and preservation despite impossible odds.
6) Hellsing/Ultimate
While not necessarily dealing with highly supernatural concepts like gods and soul reapers, Hellsing and its sequel series Hellsing Ultimate deals with vampires and Nazi werewolves. The basic plot revolves around conspiracies and fearful carnage involving vampire soldiers, werewolves, and other supernatural phenomena, and thus Integra Hellsing of the Hellsing Organization activates the organization's ultimate weapon - Alucard, the first vampire.
While diametrically opposing protagonists, Alucard and Ichigo share a few things in common: they aren't out for the world's destruction and go up against extreme threats. They also need help in many ways, as Alucard does have aid in the form of police lieutenant Seras Victoria as Ichigo has his friends.
The over-the-top plot of Hellsing and Ultimate isn't the only thing it shares with Bleach, the two likewise enjoy crazy battles involving swords and spiritual blasts. The only real difference is that Hellsing features more bullets and more gore.
7) Yu Yu Hakusho
Another literal blast from the past is Yu Yu Hakusho. This anime stars the delinquent Yusuke Urameshi. After dying to save a kid from a car accident, Yusuke becomes a Spirit Detective to atone for crimes. His case-solving supernatural mysteries led Yusuke and his new allies to save their world against numerous threats, including seemingly godly people of their own.
Comparing Yusuke to Ichigo, their character development mirrors each other. They both generally start as arrogant delinquents but get better over time. The shows themselves show off multiple supernatural powers against demons and humans alike.
Yu Yu Hakusho is practically Bleach's precursor and well worth a watch despite its age. It's also worth pointing out that the supporting cast, from Botan to Koenma to even Keiko, all get a chance, much like Bleach's supporting cast.
8) Jojo's Bizarre Adventure
Jojo's Bizarre Adventure makes this list for plenty of reasons. Every character, from protagonists to antagonists and even support characters, has a unique sense of style, visual appeal, and powerset. Everyone in JoJo feels like they could swap in with a Bleach character and ultimately fit in for one reason or another, usually the powers and attitudes.
Jojo also gets recommended for much the same reason as Bleach, fights that don't just rely on the protagonist being more powerful than the antagonist. Many of Jojo's fights rely on the hero being more intelligent than the villain, especially if the hero is outclassed like Joesph was against Kars.
It also helps that each of Jojo's cast usually has some identifying trademark line and pose and that Jojo jumps forward in time throughout the Joestar Line. It doesn't feel as cramped with characters, unlike most shonen anime.
9) Soul Eater
Soul Eater and Bleach might as well be cousins because of their similarities. Both deal with supernatural warriors eliminating supernatural threats, both have protagonists that are considered punks, and both deal with being creative with their weapons. Soul Eater stars the trio of Death the Kid, Maka Albarn, and Black Star alongside their living Demon Weapons as they each enter Death Weapon Meister Academy to become death scythes for different reasons.
Bleach and Soul Eater both focus on their protagonists going against threats that are large and small. They also share manipulative villains, as Aizen's counterpart in Soul Eater is Medusa Gorgon. Even Soul Eater's ending, controversy in how it ended aside, involves fighting a godlike being.
One must watch Soul Eater, at the very least, for the humor. Even if it gets dark, it's a bit more upbeat than other anime on this list.
10) Demon Slayer
A more down-to-earth demon-slaying anime, Demon Slayer, adds a Feudal-era Japanese twist to its action premise. In this story, kindhearted Tanjiro Kamado undergoes training as a member of the Demon Slayer Corps to avenge his family, who were killed by Demon King Muzan. Tanjiro is also trying to free his sister, Nezuko, from a demonic curse placed upon her.
Unlike other typical supernatural anime, Demon Slayer's version of sword-fighting doesn't rely on flashy techniques like Bankai. Demon Slayer has "Breathing Styles," similar to Hamon in Jojo, which allow casters to summon forth elemental attacks. Some have fire, wind, water, and can concentrate to up their speed.
The animation is crisper than most, with everything looking stellar and picturesque. Demon Slayer is a must for Bleach fans who want more humanizing stories in their lives.
