The first part of Bleach: Thousand Year Blood War arc ended in a hopeful fashion. Yes, it's true that Ichigo, the captains, and the rest of the Soul Society experienced a total defeat. But that doesn't mean they will stay down for long. Because they know that Quincy will return, so they have to prepare themselves to face that nightmare once again.
Back when it was announced that the final story arc of Bleach will finally receive an anime adaptation, years after the end of the original manga, the show runners promised to present the story in four parts, also known as four cours. The second part of this last season is finally around the corner, so here are some of the things that you can expect from the second part of Bleach: Thousand Year Blood War, according to the manga. Needless to say, we try our best to avoid any potential spoilers.
Thousand Year Blood War: Anime vs Manga
Unlike the previous seasons of Bleach, this last arc was adapted with little to no filler episodes. We get a fairly accurate anime adaptation that stays true to the original manga. But how much of the manga has actually been adapted?
The Thousand-Year Blood War ran from volumes 55 to 74, or to be more specific, from chapter 480 to chapter 686. The first part of the anime adaptation covers the story of the manga from volume 55 to the early parts of volume 61, specifically from chapter 480 to chapter 542. That is 62 chapters in total.
So if we assume that the second part would cover around 50 to 60 chapters as well, then we can expect to see the anime adaptation of everything from chapter 542 to somewhere around chapter 592 or chapter 602. That is Bleach volume 61 to somewhere around volume 66 or volume 67. So if you feel impatient and want to know what happens after the end of the first part of this arc, now you know which chapters to read.
New Powers, New Forms
At the end of the first part of the Thousand-Year Blood War, we can see the captains who have lost their bankai, such as Hitsugaya and Komamura, trying to find other sources of power. We also see other characters, such as Shuhei Hisagi, the co-lieutenant of the 9th division, frantically practicing their bankai. And then there’s the penultimate scene where Ichigo finally receives the new and improved version of his zanpakuto, the Zangetsu. Last but not least, we see the leader of the Quincy, Yhwach, introducing Ishida Uryuu to his army.
As you can expect, those aforementioned captains manage to find new powers that are greater than their old ones in the second part of Thousand Year Blood War. Furthermore, each person has their own unique way of acquiring it. Some need to dig deep inside themselves in order to awaken their slumbering power. Some can summon a tremendous amount of power at the cost of their own life. Some acquire a new look that represents their newly found powers, while others barely change their appearance at all.
Speaking of appearance, the second part of the Thousand-Year Blood War will also feature more surprise appearances from the Sternritters. The strong ones finally enter the fray, flaunting their strange and dangerous abilities. Not only that, we will also get to see the more Vollstandig, sort of like the bankai for Quincies. Each with bizarre powers and even more bizarre appearances.
Epic Fights, Epic Deaths
With great powers, comes great fights. Since almost everybody gets an upgrade in the second part of the Thousand-Year Blood War, and those who never showed their face before finally decided to join the war, you can expect to witness some of the finest and most thrilling fights in Bleach. This time around the scale and the variety will be off-the chart.
There will be rampage and destruction unlike everything that you’ve seen before. There will be a war of strategies and deception that will drag the battle into places that you’ve never thought about before. Some of the most notable fights are the ones that involved a group of deranged female sternritters, and then there’s captain Mayuri Kurotsuchi’s strange battle, captain Hitsugaya’s surprising attacks, and also the battle between the Royal Guard against Yhwach and his upper echelon. From zombies to giants, you’ll see lots of stellar and astonishing action sequences in th arc.
One thing worth mentioning, however, is the fact that with epic fights comes epic deaths. As you can expect with battles of this scale, there will be deaths all over the place. Most of them would be the Quincies, but there will also be a significant loss on the side of the shinigami as well. For a bit of a spoiler, there will be long-time characters that meet their demise in th arc.
Release Date
The second part of Bleach’s final season, the Thousand-Year Blood War - The Separation, is scheduled to be released on July 8th. The international audience can watch this series on the same day both on Hulu and Disney+ as part of their Summer 2023 anime line up. So be sure to catch it on premiere.