On October 5th, 2004, the anime Bleach broadcast on television for the first time. Now, exactly 20 years later, a new season of the anime begins — the third season of Bleach: Thousand-Year Blood War.
Marking this milestone, a special promotional video showing protagonist Ichigo Kurosaki through Rukia Kuchiki’s eyes was shared on YouTube.
In Bleach, Ichigo finds himself as a substitute Soul Reaper after chancing upon an injured Rukia. Bestowed with special powers by Rukia, Ichigo hunts down rogue spirits called Hollows while Rukia recuperates. Leaning on his fellow classmates, who each have their own unique abilities, Ichigo and his friends infiltrate the world of the Soul Reapers, starting a journey they won’t soon forget.
The third season of Bleach: Thousand-Year Blood War adapts The Conflict arc. The first episode broadcast on Saturday, October 5th, with new episodes following each Saturday evening at 11:00 pm JST (7:00 am PDT / 10:00 am EDT Saturday morning).
A synopsis of The Conflict arc describes the story:
Upon regaining their bankai, the Gotei 13 commence a counterattack while Renji Abarai, Rukia Kuchiki and Ichigo Kurosaki return to challenge Yhwach, only to face Uryu Ishida. What will happen between the friends as the next fight begins?
Adapted from the manga Bleach by Tite Kubo, the anime originally broadcast October 5th, 2004 through March 27th, 2012 for 366 episodes. A second series, Bleach: Thousand-Year Blood War, began October 11th, 2022, and currently streams on Disney+ internationally outside of Asia and the United States, the latter of which the show appears on Hulu.
Sources: @BLEACHanimation, YouTube
©Tite Kubo/Shueisha, TV Tokyo, dentsu, Pierrot
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