Having aired from October to December 2022, we don’t have to wait too long for Bleach: Thousand-Year Blood War Season 2. The famous masterpiece by Tite Kubo will be renewed for the second cour. When is the release date of Bleach: Thousand-Year Blood War Season 2?
About Bleach: Thousand-Year Blood War
Bleach: Thousand-Year Blood War or Sennen Kessen-hen is the final arc of the Bleach manga by Tite Kubo. The original manga ran for 15 years, from 2001 to 2016. The story tells about Ichigo Kurosaki, a teenager in Karakura Town, who is given a power by the Soul Reaper Rukia Kuchiki to face Hollows. From then on, Ichigo has to face adversity, from preventing Rukia’s execution in Soul Society to facing Fullbringers.
The Thousand-Year Blood War arc is the final arc in the Bleach story. The story tells about how Ichigo, having his power restored by the Soul Society as Substitute Soul Reaper, has to face army of Quincies known as Wandenreich who seeks to kill the Soul King. Led by the Quincy King Yhwach, Ichigo and his friends have to defend the world from the menace of Wandenreich.
Production of Bleach: Thousand-Year Blood War
In March 2020, during a live stream, “Bleach 20th Anniversary Project & Tite Kubo New Project Presentation” by Weekly Shonen Jump, The Thousand-Year Blood War arc will receive an anime adaptation. Announced as a TV series in November 2021, the trailer and key visual for Bleach: Thousand-Year Blood War was released at Jump Festa’22 on 18 December 2021.
Studio Pierrot (Urusei Yatsura, Bleach, Naruto: Shippuden, Tokyo Ghoul, Black Clover) still handles the series with Tomohisa Taguchi helms the production, replacing Noriyuki Abe. Taguchi also supervises the scripts with Masaki Hiramatsu. Involved in the Bleach series, Masashi Kudo and Shiro Sagisu returned to design the character and compose the music respectively. The returning casts include:
- Ichigo Kurosaki: Masakazu Morita
- Rukia Kuchiki: Fumiko Orikasa
- Orihime Inoue: Yuki Matsuoka
- Uryu Ishida: Noriaki Sugiyama
- Yasutora Sado: Hiroki Yatsumoto
Viz Media licensed the anime to stream on Hulu in the U.S. Internationally, Bleach: Thousand-Year Blood War is available on Disney+ and Ani-One Asia.
Bleach: Thousand-Year Blood War Release Date
Bleach anime originally ended in 2012 with fans calling it the “end of an era”. Therefore, when Kubo announced that the Thousand-Year Blood War was getting anime adaptation, Bleach fans was joyous. The first season received positive reaction from the fans waiting for the series’ return.
Hence, it is certain that the anime will receive second season or the second cour. With the first cour ended in December 2022, Bleach: Thousand-Year Blood War Season 2 is set to air in July 2023. Here is the trailer:
Bleach: Thousand-Year Blood War Season 2 Story
(Spoiler Alert) The second cour of the Thousand-Year Blood War is also called “The Separation”. As the first cour concluded the same as Chapter 542, Bleach: Thousand-Year Blood War Season 2 will cover what comes after.
After the declaration of war by the Wandenreich, Soul Reapers are defeated. While Ichigo had to lose his Zanpakuto during the fight, he managed to retain it back after accessing his true Zanpakuto. However, it is revealed in the final moment of the first season that Uryu Ishida is joining Yhwach as a Stern Ritter.
The second cour of the Bleach: Thousand-Year Blood War will unveil the mysterious origin of Ichigo Kurosaki. It is known that Isshin Kurosaki married a Quincy, hence Ichigo also has Quincy in his blood. How will Ichigo react to the truth?
Bleach: Thousand-Year Blood War Season 3 and Season 4 release date: Speculation!
The term “cour” marks the order of the Bleach: Thousand-Year Blood War. For those unfamiliar with the term, “cour” means three-month block of TV broadcasting composed of 10 to 13 episodes. However, a “split-cour” means that a single anime season usually takes a multi-month break before resuming. It is confirmed that Bleach: Thousand-Year Blood War will be divided into 4 cours yet in split-cour broadcasting schedule.
The main staff of Bleach: Thousand-Year Blood War Season 2 has not been announced just yet. However, it is known that the action animation director Yoshihiro Kanno will not return due to another project. Besides Kanno, episode animation director Cindy Yamauchi also will not return in the second cour.
The second season is certainly coming July 2023. How about the third and fourth cour? Assuming that there is 6-month break between the cours, Bleach: Thousand-Year Blood War Season 3 might come in April 2024 and Season 4 to come in January 2025. Moreover, like its first season, there is a possibility that the last 12th and 13th episode will be broadcast closer. However, it is a speculation that is yet to come.
In addition, Kubo released another one-shot of Bleach, No Breaths from Hell. The story takes 12 years after the Thousand-Year Blood War, or after Yhwach and his Wandenreich is defeated, where Ichigo already married Orihime and Rukia to Renji. While attending a Soul Funeral Ceremony for those who fell in the Thousand-Year Blood War, Ichigo and his friends learn the truth that the ceremony is a process of sending the late captains to Hell. However, what if they manage to return?
The one-shot was released in August 2021 as a 20th anniversary celebration of the renowned manga. While some might see it as a teaser by Kubo for a new arc, the mangaka did not comment on the possibility whether the No Breath from Hell will be adapted into anime.
