Bleach is considered an action shonen classic, one of “The Big Three'' of the shonen anime community along with One Piece and Naruto. It is no wonder that the series has a huge fanbase, dedicated to both the manga and the anime. Unsurprisingly, fans of the series everywhere were ecstatic when Shonen Jump announced the return of the beloved anime in 2020.
With just five days to go before Jump Festa 2022, it is time to look back at one of the most highly anticipated series renewals that the event is expected to tease.
The anime is returning after almost seven years, with the original series having aired from 2004 till 2012, covering 366 episodes. The anime ended abruptly, even as manga chapters continued to appear in Shonen Jump magazine, finally ending in 2016.
What we know about the return of the Bleach anime till now
It was announced in March 2020, for the series’ 20th anniversary, the anime will be getting a final season, picking up where the series left off in 2012. This new season would be adapting the Thousand-Year Blood War arc, also known as the Quincy War arc in the manga.
Fans have been dissatisfied with the ending of the anime for years, so the news of this new arc came as a refreshing surprise, taking Twitter by storm. The Shonen Jump official page also released a trailer for the 17th and final season of the anime in August 2020. The new season will feature a large host of characters, both old and new, with the primary antagonist being the Quincy leader, Yhwach.
BLEACH EX exhibition and special program at Jump Festa 2022
It was announced in 2021 that Tite Kubo’s iconic manga series would be getting an art exhibition at the Jump Festa 2022 event. More information about the return of the anime is likely to be announced during the special program Super Stage EX Bleach. A trailer for the same was also released in September 2021.
Adapting one of the biggest arcs of the manga, the anime can be estimated to have 30+ episodes. With the canon content being this voluminous, it is possible that the season will have few filler episodes, unlike the previous sixteen seasons.
Jump Festa 2022 will take place over two days on December 18 and 19, 2021. It is almost certain by this point that the event will be announcing new key visuals and/or teasers, as well as the release date for the final season.
What is the Thousand-Year Blood War arc about
Season seventeen of the anime adapts the Quincy War arc which was just in its expositional stages when the anime was suddenly canceled. The simplified version of the premise for this arc would be of an all-out war between the Soul Society and the Quincy, who were thought to be wiped out by shinigami over a thousand years ago to prevent the world from collapsing.
The primary difference between shinigami and the Quincy is that while shinigami purify Hollows and allow the pure souls to transmigrate, the Quincy destroy the Hollows completely.