Bleach season is finally here, and after what has seemed like 900-years of waiting, Viz Media has at last confirmed where English-speaking fans will be able to catch their respective simulcast of the highly-anticipated Bleach: Thousand-Year Blood War.
Otherwise known as the Quincy Blood War, Bleach’s upcoming continuation will see Ichicgo and the Soul Society – as well as some unexpected allies from Hueco Mundo – face off against the Wandenreich, a secret empire of Quincy who have reappeared in order to take their revenge against the Shinigami who defeated them hundreds of years prior.
Like the original anime run, Bleach: Thousand-Year Blood War will be animated by Studio Perrot and feature character designs by Masashi Kudo and music by Shiro Sagisu.
However, rather than original series director Noriyuki Abe, Bleach’s 2021 revival will be helmed by Twin Star Exorcists director Tomohisa Taguchi.
On October 3rd, Viz Media announced via their official Twitter account that Bleach: Thousand-Year Blood War will be exclusively simulcast in the U.S. on Disney’s partially-owned Hulu service.
While the company also noted that the series will be available for international viewers on Disney+, it is not clear whether it will be simulcast or premiere according to an altered release schedule.
The North American premiere of Bleach: Thousand-Year Blood War will be held by Viz Media at New York Comic Con on October 8th, while Ichigo and the gang will make their public return to take on the ultimate enemy on October 10th at 8:30 AM PST/12:30 PM EST.
A synopsis for the first episode released through Bleach‘s official website explains of the story, “It is observed that emptiness is disappearing one after another in this world, and the Soul Society and Technology Development Bureau are in an uproar.”
“Meanwhile, in Karakura Town, the newly appointed Shinigami, Ryunosuke Yumiki and Shino Madarame, encounter the imaginary as soon as they arrive,” it continues. “It was Ichigo Kurosaki and his companions who helped the two who were helpless in a sudden attack.”
“Two days later, a man wearing a mask appears in front of Ichigo and the others who are interacting with Ryunosuke, who has regained consciousness,” the synopsis concludes. “On the other hand, strange things are happening in Soul Society…”
Thanks to their losing of the bidding wars for the series’ streaming license, September 30th saw all sixteen seasons of the Bleach anime removed from nearly every streaming service, including Crunchyroll, Netflix and Tubi.
Every streaming service that is except Hulu. As personally confirmed to me via a response to Hulu Support’s official Twitter, the iconic shonen series will be “sticking around in our streaming library”.
RELATED: ‘Bleach: Thousand-Year Blood War’ Gets New Trailer, Confirms Official Premiere Date
On the international front, Steve Vegvari of Canadian entertainment news site MobileSyrup has given non-US fans an idea of when they can expect the Bleach back-log to hit Disney+.
According to a schedule for the month provided by Vegyari, Ichigo and crew will join the international versions of the House of Mouse’s premiere streaming service on October 26th
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