#Bleach Thousand-Year Blood War Arc Gets Teaser Trailer, Premieres October 2022

A teaser trailer for the Bleach Thousand-Year Blood War Arc anime has been released. It was also revealed that the show will premiere in October 2022.

The staff includes Tomohisa Taguchi (Akudama Drive) as director and series composer, Masashi Kudou (Sakura Wars the Animation) as character designer, and Shirou Sagisu (Evangelion: 3.0+1.0 Thrice Upon a Time) as music composer. Studio Pierrot is the animation production company.

The cast includes Masakazu Morita as Ichigo Kurosaki, Fumiko Orikasa as Rukia Kukichi, Noriaki Sugiyama as Uryuu Ishida, Takayuki Sugou as Yhwach, Naomi Kusumi as Ichibe Hyousube, Youji Ueda as Ouetsu Nimaiya, Tomoyuki Shimura as Tenjiirou Kirinji, Rina Satou as Shutara Senjumaru, and Ayumi Tsunematsu as Kirio Hikifune.

Bleach Thousand-Year Blood War Arc is the first Bleach anime since 2012. The anime is based on the final arc of the Shuueisha-published manga by Tite Kubo, which ran from 2001 to 2016 with 74 tankoubon volumes.

Viz Media describes the manga’s 55th volume, which is the start of the “Thousand-Year Blood War Arc,” as:

The peace is suddenly broken when warning sirens blare through the Soul Society. Residents there are disappearing without a trace, and nobody knows who’s behind it. Meanwhile, a dark shadow is also extending itself toward Ichigo and his friends in Karakura Town…

Meanwhile, the first volume is described as:

Ichigo Kurosaki has always been able to see ghosts, but this ability doesn’t change his life nearly as much as his close encounter with Rukia Kuchiki, a Soul Reaper and member of the mysterious Soul Society. While fighting a Hollow, an evil spirit that preys on humans who display psychic energy, Rukia attempts to lend Ichigo some of her powers so that he can save his family; but much to her surprise, Ichigo absorbs every last drop of her energy. Now a full-fledged Soul Reaper himself, Ichigo quickly learns that the world he inhabits is one full of dangerous spirits and, along with Rukia–who is slowly regaining her powers–it’s Ichigo’s job to protect the innocent from Hollows and help the spirits themselves find peace.

The Bleach manga was previously adapted into an anime series that ran from 2004 to 2012. It also inspired several anime movies. Outside of anime adaptations, the manga has inspired games, a live-action movie, and more. 

In 2020, an anime movie adaptation of Kubo’s BURN THE WITCH manga, which takes place in the same universe as Bleach, was released.

Source: Aniplex YouTube channel