The story of Bleach has been a long and strange one indeed. Once counted among the “Big Four” Shonen Jump series beside Dragon Ball, Naruto, and One Piece, Bleach fell from grace near the end of its manga and anime runs. Thanks to declining interest, the Bleach anime was canceled in 2012 before it could adapt the final arc of the manga, and the manga itself was forced to rush to an ending in 2016 due to similar reasons and mangaka Tite Kubo’s failing health. What was once Kubo's magnum opus had been disgraced and seemingly forgotten.
However, Bleach turned out to be as tenacious as its protagonist Ichigo. After a few requisite video game appearances in big crossovers like Jump Force, the Bleach anime suddenly returned in 2022. This may be due to Tite Kubo's successful sequel Burn the Witch, but whatever the case, studio Pierrot is going to finish what it started. The Thousand-Year Blood War arc that concluded the manga is now getting an anime adaptation, and could bring the series a more satisfying conclusion. With Bleach bursting back onto the scene, it would be nice to see it get one more crack at a video game before it finishes what will probably be its final sprint.
Now Is The Ideal Time To Make A New Bleach Game
The landscape of anime games hasn’t changed much in the years Bleach was gone. There's still licensed fighting games and RPGs coming out, alongside the occasional adventure title or some other action-based experiment. Dragon Ball, Naruto, and One Piece are all still pumping out games, and new properties like My Hero Academia and Demon Slayer have also gotten their time in the sunlight. The space isn't quite as crowded as it used to be, so there's more room than ever before for Bleach to make a big comeback.
Additionally, if there's any time to make a Bleach video game, it's right now. Naruto and Dragon Ball have made sequel series to prolong their lifespan, and One Piece, even in its final major arc, still has a lot of ground left to cover. While Burn the Witch is Bleach’s sequel, it's unclear how it will fare after more of it is published. Bleach isn't going to have a lot of time back in the spotlight with some competition still being present, and it needs to make the best of it. A marketing push will be necessary to restore awareness of the franchise, and a video game late in Blood War’s run will help with that.
Bleach Could Work In Many Game Genres
Now that Bleach has motives to make a game, it just needs to choose its method. The tried and true practice of making fighting games out of anime is as prevalent as ever, and the Thousand-Year Blood War offers a good setting for it. The only problem with this is that adapting Bleach’s enormous cast could make a game’s mechanical depth suffer. Bleach has had a surprisingly good track record with its fighting games, with a couple DS games made by Treasure and the seven-game-long Heat the Soul series on the PSP. A traditional fighting game in the vein of those titles would be ideal, but an arena fighter would get the job done.
Of course, a Shonen Jump property need not resign itself to making a fighting game. Bleach doesn’t need to go wild as wild with its genre as Dragon Ball: The Breakers, but moving away from the historically middling licensed fighting game approach would be wise. An action-adventure where Ichigo fights through some of Bleach’s best battles or the Thousand-Year Blood War itself would please fans and open the door for lots of interesting gameplay. Regardless of the approach chosen, Bleach's reappearance on television deserves a video game to commemorate its return to glory.