After years of waiting, a new season of Bleach is finally upon us. For those of you who prefer to only watch the anime and not read the manga, you might not realize how important this new season truly is. If the adaptation faithfully follows the original source, then the Thousand-Year Blood War will be the last story arc from Bleach. There may be one or two movies in the future, but for all intent and purpose, this will be the last one.
That being said, rather than feeling bad, you should feel excited. Because there are so many great things happening in this arc. This will be the most ambitious story arc in Bleach, by far. After all, Thousand-Year Blood War is the longest story arc in Bleach, so it’s suffice to say that you’ll see a lot of thrilling and exciting events here. So here are some of the things that you can expect to find in the upcoming new season of Bleach.
An All Out War
In regard to battle, the previous arcs usually depict it as two groups of people fighting against each other. In Soul Society Arc, we get Ichigo and his friends going against several captains of the Gotei 13. In the Arrancar Arc, we get to see Ichigo, his friends, and several shinigami from the Gotei 13 go against Aizen and his followers. In the Thousand-Year Blood War, however, we see the entirety of the Soul Society fight against the full-might of Quincy.
Sure, we can say that only the fighters of both races are directly involved in the battle. The Sternritter vs the Gotei 13 captains. But make no mistake, this is unquestionably an all-out war between the two races. Because this is not just a random attack, Quincy brings with them a thousand-year-old grudge and intends to pay it back in full and wipe out every shinigami in the soul society.
Not only that, the implication behind Quincy invading the Soul Society, and the king of Quincy’s ultimate plan, will impact not only Soul Society, but also the human’s world and Hueco Mundo as well. Yes, Aizen’s plan in the Arrancar arc also possesses a threat to the human realm, but this arc takes it to a whole nother level. We’re talking about the collapse of every known realm here. That is why the fight against Quincy is not only a matter of defending against an invader, but it is also a struggle to prevent an apocalyptic event.
New Faces, New Powers
As with every other story arc that comes before it, the Thousand-Year Blood War will introduce tons of new faces. Most of them come from Quincy's side, but we’ll get to see some new characters from the shinigami’s side as well. For Quincy, there are about 30 new characters that will make their appearance in this arc. Most of which are members of the Sternritter. As for the shinigami, there are about 10 new faces in this arc.
It goes without saying that new faces come with new powers. After all, every Sternritter has their own unique powers bestowed upon them by the King of Quincy. Some are admittedly a tad similar to the powers from other characters in the previous arcs, but most of them are brand-new powers that we’ve never seen before. Not only that, there’s also new powers emerging from the old characters. Ichigo will discover some new powers, we get to see some new Bankai from other characters, and there are also captains that unlock powers beyond a regular Bankai.
Outstanding Fight Scenes
New people and new powers means we will also get an even more outstanding fight than ever seen in this series before. From masterful sword fights, to over-the-top fire blasts and thunderous attacks, and even to a thrilling fight that engulf the whole city, there are so many exciting battles happening in this arc.
Some battles involved multiple people at the same time, while others were the good old-fashioned one vs one. Some fights are just a straightforward battle of strength and power, while other fights are quite intricate and require ingenuity and deceptions. The fight between captain Mayuri Kurotsuchi and one of the Sternritter is certainly one of the highlights in this arc. So be sure to look forward to that.
No More Secrets
There are a lot of secrets and questions regarding the overall story of Bleach. Little things like the truth about Ichigo’s mother to something grand like what is the true connection between the different realms of the worlds. Every secret will be disclosed, and every question will be answered in the Thousand-Year Blood War. Even the truth behind Ichigo’s power will be thoroughly explained here.
Thousand-Year Blood War is certainly better than most story arcs from other shounen manga. That being said, most avid fans of Bleach wouldn’t pick Thousand-Year Blood War as their most favorite arc. Because while it is certainly the most grandiose story arc in the series, it still has its weaknesses. That is why even though you may feel excited for the new season, you should keep your anticipation in check so that you wouldn’t expect too much out of this arc and simply enjoy it for what it is, which is a thrilling and highly entertaining shounen anime.