Bleach: Thousand Year Blood War Returns with a Smashing Episode 1

I know you’ve waited to hear that sweet little word for years, and believe me, when Ichigo goes “Ban…kai” in episode 1 of Bleach: Thousand Years Blood War Arc, everything falls right into place.

Bleach: Thousand Years Blood War premiered on October 11, 2022, with the whole world waiting for its arrival. The anime will receive 52 episodes and will be divided into four cours with breaks in between.

If you want to watch the episodes as soon as they are released, Hulu will be your best friend. Hulu will stream Bleach: Thousand Years Blood War in the United States. Outside the US, you can find the anime on Disney+ (outside Asia). 

Check out the links here to catch up on the latest episode:

Now, coming back to the anime, episode 1, titled “The Blood Warfare” has just been released, and everyone is going gaga over the OG quartet returning. Ichigo, Sado, Orihime, and Uryu made a smashing entry. The adrenaline kick is prompted even more by the superb background music.

Ichigo and his team make an appearance to save some young soul reapers from a gathering of hollows. The hollows are cleared up in an instant, giving us a chance to stare at the characters we’ve missed for so long.

The injured soul reapers are then carried back to rest, and a few light moments between the team prove that Ichigo never really grew up. These fun moments don’t last too long due to an intervention by an unknown Quincy, Asguiaro Ebern.

While Ichigo quickly gets involved in a battle with Ebern, we are taken to the Soul Society, where major disasters are happening one after another.

Innumerable hollows are reportedly dying, and even a whole village’s worth of souls has disappeared.  Even Genryusai’s private quarter is invaded by a bunch of Quincies. Apparently, the new villains can take away the “Bankai” powers from a Soul Reaper.

Soon afterward, we get a too-close-for-comfort look at Yhwach, the father of the Quincies, residing at Wandenreich.

Studio Pierrot has done a wonderful job, and long-time fans get to dive right into the original plot without unnecessary recaps. Soul Society words are used relying solely on the memory of fans, and it almost seems like the anime was never on a break.

The background music fits right in with every move and emotion, and the episode’s pace won’t give your mind a single chance to wander around.

Now that the Quincies have declared war on the Soul Society, Ishida Uryu will have to choose a side. At the beginning of the episode, a Quincy seems to have summoned the hollows, and we aren’t sure who it was yet.

Rukia, one of the major characters, is yet to make her reappearance, and episode2 might show her next. Ichigo’s work seems to be cut out already, and it’s only a matter of time before he is called upon by the Gotei 13.

About Bleach: Thousand Years Blood War

Bleach: Thousand Years Blood War is the final arc of the Bleach franchise. It premiered on October 11, 2022, and its 52 episodes are streamed by Hulu.

The arc deals with Yhwach, the leader of the Quincies, who has declared war on the Soul Society. Ichigo and the Soul Reapers will face this despicable enemy.

Hollows and Soul Society residents are disappearing, and Ichigo needs to defeat Yhwach before he lays waste to the entire universe.

Source: Hulu

Sometimes we include links to online retail stores and/or online campaigns. If you click on one and make a purchase we may receive a small commission. For more information, go here.