After over decade long wait one of anime’s Big Three is back! We’re finally starting the final arc of the manga, and I am so excited for this.
No more fillers needed, and a higher production value because anime production has evolved insanely since the Fullbringer Arc of Bleach was concluded. Before we dive into the main story of the Thousand Year Blood War, the arc everything has been leading up to, we start with some history on Bleach and its significance in becoming one of the three mangas/animes that pulled the industry from niche to mainstream in the ‘West’.
The Big Three are defined by their impact and sales number outside of Japan, and in the first boom of manga and anime becoming part of the mainstream the trifecta of Bleach, Naruto, and One Piece. At the end of the 90s and throughout the 2000s these three titles were instrumental in pushing internatonal manga and anime sales close to a billion dollars. And even though there are other important titles in anime before and since (Akira, Dragon Ball Z, Demon Slayer, etc) these three crowned titles mark an important moment in international pop culture that go beyond just great storytelling and influence.
Ok, back to Bleach. Bleach’s impact on pop culture has been immense, but the anime always suffered from the same issues as early One Piece, namely Fillers. Because the anime caught up to the manga too fast and was releasing episodes faster than new chapters were being released we got some painfully dissapointing filler arcs that fans now treasure as nostalgia. The main worldbuilding is amazing, the trope of the himbo protagonist who is not per se the main characters but the main vehicle through whom we learn about the world and its magical system started with Kurosaki Ichigo. His DNA can be found decades later all the way in Jujutsu Kaisen with Itadori Yuji.
The excitement arrives when thinking Ichigo is finally back on our (small) screens, to finish his story, that of the Captains of Soul Society and other Shinigami, the Visored, the Quincy, and all others. And how his unique parentage clashes not 2, but 4 major worlds and groups. Since I already finished the manga the main thing I am expecting bigger fights, better animation, and some of the series most profilic characters’ backstory coming to a close. I want to see the epic and heartbreaking fight between Retsu Unohana and Kenpachi (yes, that’s a thing!) and Byakuya finally showing some more emotion.
The trailers promise a lot, and I am only a little bummed that it has been acquired by D+, but will binge it regardless.
Let’s go Ichigo!
No Comments