It’s been a decade since the original Bleach anime ended its run, but the story of Ichigo Kurosaki was left unfinished. The manga went on for one more arc and 19 volumes, more than enough for a follow-up. At a panel at Anime Expo, Viz Media revealed more details about just that, a sequel called Bleach: Thousand-Year Blood War that will cover the rest of the anime and attempt to remain more faithful than ever to the source material.
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Following an explosive new trailer, series creator Tite Kubo appeared in a video message to let fans know how their favorite anime would return to the small screen. Kubo promises modern coloring and a “new and refreshing viewing experience” with this updated iteration of Bleach. He also acknowledged that the anime strayed from the manga in some areas. When possible, he wants to restore scenes never adapted before to give viewers the complete story.
The show will premiere in Japan this October on TV Tokyo and promises to pick up where the original left off and cover the rest of the story from the manga. An advanced screening of the first two episodes will be available in Tokyo on September 11.
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As for the inevitable American release, it’s unclear from the panel if a dubbed version will exist in a timely fashion or if the show will air on television before it hits streaming services. The original show was a staple of Adult Swim’s anime lineup starting in 2006, and Bleach transferred to the revived Toonami block in 2012 to finish its run. Ichigo’s adventures stopped airings altogether on US TV in 2014, although they’re still readily available on Crunchyroll and Hulu.
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