After an eight-year hiatus, the anime Bleach is finally coming back. Yes, you read that right. The beloved shōnen manga turned anime is finally returning. Now, for those who originally only watched the English Dubbing of Bleach, it has only been six years, but still is a rather long time for an anime to return. For many, Bleach became a cult classic, as audience members around the world tuned in to see how Ichigo Kurosaki would save the soul society. Despite the anime originally ending with episode 366, Tite Kubo had one arch remaining. This final arch is known as the Thousand-Year Blood War.

At the moment, not much is known about the production of the Thousand-Year Blood War arch; it is currently scheduled to be released in 2021. The formal announcement was made in a shōnen manga stating that Bleach would be celebrating its 20 year anniversary and that an animated adaptation of Burn the Witch would be releasing in the fall of 2020.

Burn the Witch is a manga created by Tite Kubo that takes place in the Bleach universe years after the events of the Thousand-Year Blood War. Burn the Witch takes place in London, so these two witches may have to deal with the Church of London or worse the Catholic church.

Catch Up & Thoughts

It is unusual that a story that takes place after the events of the final arch of Bleach will see an animated adaption before the final arch is released. Yes, it is a way to reintroduce fans and welcome newcomers to the Bleach universe, but it just seems unusual. The only way this adaptation could make sense prior is that none or a few of the characters from the main story make an appearance for the first few chapters.

Bleach‘s anime ended in 2012 with the Full Bring arch. For those who read the Full Bring arch and watched it, it will be interested to see how the production team handles the inconsistencies.  For those looking to catch up and read the Thousand-Year Blood War Arch, Start on Chapter 480. The final arch of Bleach goes from chapter 480 to 686.

This is not the first manga to return out of the blue. Recently a new chapter of Death Note was announced.