Bleach: How to watch the ghost-hunting anime from its first episode to the Thousand-Year Blood War
Become an expert soul reaper with this Bleach watch guide
It took a decade, but anime franchise Bleach made a triumphant return in 2022 with a new series, titled The Thousand Year Blood War. Officially a sequel to the original anime that aired from 2004 through 2012, both the original and Thousand Year Blood War are adapted from Tite Kibo's beloved manga series, which ran from 2001 through 2016.
With parts one and two of The Thousand Year Blood War concluded and the next episodes set to premiere in spring 2024, now is the perfect time to get into the Bleach anime series.
What is Bleach?
Bleach tells the story of a teenager named Ichigo Kurasaki, who can see ghosts. After meeting a Soul Reaper named Rukia Kuchiki, Ichigo becomes a Soul Reaper himself. As a Soul Reaper, Ichigo is responsible for fighting evil spirits known as Hollows and guiding spirits to the afterlife. As he comes into his powers, he meets others with similar spiritual abilities and becomes embroiled in incidents involving the realm known as The Soul Society.
The new Thousand Year Blood War anime continues and will conclude the franchise, being an adaptation of the final arc of the original Bleach manga, which was originally published after the conclusion of the earlier Bleach anime.
As an anime franchise, Bleach is known as one of "the big three" alongside One Piece and Naruto, the most popular anime franchises targeted towards young boys and men. It's also known for its intense action scenes, dynamic soundtrack, and supernatural elements.
Where to watch the Bleach anime franchise
Currently, you are only able to stream or physically purchase Bleach from the following websites:
While Bleach and its sequel The Thousand Year Blood War are available to stream on Hulu, Disney+ only has The Thousand Year Blood War. In addition, streaming is the most cost effective way to watch Bleach, as there are over 300 episodes collected across twelve DVD and Blu-ray sets that are available from Right Stuf. Finally, the Bleach anime movies are available to purchase physically and digitally from Amazon and digitally from Vudu, Google Play, Itunes.
How to watch Bleach in release order
Currently, the anime franchise Bleach has sixteen seasons, one ongoing sequel series, and four anime movies. The watch order by release date for the anime series and movies is as follows:
- Season 1- The Substitute Soul Reaper (Episodes 1-20)
- Season 2- The Entry (Episodes 1-21)
- Season 3- The Rescue (Episodes 1-22)
- Season 4- The Bounty (Episodes 1-22)
- Season 5- The Assault (Episodes 1-15)
- Bleach The Movie: Memories of Nobody
- Season 5- The Assault (Episodes 16-18)
- Season 6- Arrancar The Appearance (Episodes 1-22)
- Season 7- The Arrancar Part 2 (Episodes 1-20)
- Season 8- The Arrancar Part 3 (Episodes 1-2)
- Bleach: Diamond Dust Rebellion
- Season 8- The Arrancar Part 3 (Episodes 3-16)
- Season 9- The New Captain (Episodes 1-22)
- Season 10- The Arrancar Part 4 (Episodes 1-9)
- Bleach: Fade To Black
- Season 10- The Arrancar Part 4 (Episodes 10-16)
- Season 11- Turn Back The Pendulum (Episodes 1-7)
- Season 12- The Arrancar Part 5 (Episodes 1-17)
- Season 13- Zanpakuto The Alternate Tale (Episodes 1-36)
- Season 14- The Arrancar Part 6 (Episodes 1-34)
- Bleach: Hell Verse
- Season 14- The Arrancar Part 6 (Episodes 36-51)
- Season 15- Gotei 13 Invading Army (Episodes 1-26)
- Season 16- The Lost Agent (Episodes 1-24)
- The Thousand Year Blood War Part 1 (Episodes 1-13)
- The Thousand Year Blood War Part 2: The Separation (Episodes 14-26)
How to watch Bleach in chronological order
The chronological order and the release order for the Bleach anime series are the same. However, because the plot of the Bleach movies are unrelated to the series plot, you can also watch them separately (or not at all), as listed below, and the show will still make sense.
The watch order for the anime series is:
- Season 1- The Substitute Soul Reaper
- Season 2- The Entry
- Season 3- The Rescue
- Season 4- The Bounty
- Season 5- The Assault
- Season 6- Arrancar The Appearance
- Season 7- The Arrancar Part 2
- Season 8- The Arrancar Part 3
- Season 9- The New Captain
- Season 10- The Arrancar Part 4
- Season 11- Turn Back The Pendulum
- Season 12- The Arrancar Part 5
- Season 13- Zanpakuto The Alternate Tale
- Season 14- The Arrancar Part 6
- Season 15- Gotei 13 Invading Army
- Season 16- The Lost Agent
- The Thousand Year Blood War Part 1
- The Thousand Year Blood War Part 2: The Separation (Episodes 14-26)
The watch order for the anime movies is:
- Bleach The Movie: Memories of Nobody
- Bleach: Diamond Dust Rebellion
- Bleach: Fade To Black
- Bleach: Hell Verse
Do I need to watch the Bleach anime movies?
The Bleach anime movies feature original stories that are not important to the overall plot of the series. They are side-stories rather than part of the main plot, so it's not necessary to watch the movies unless you are a big fan of Bleach.
Do I need to read the Bleach manga before watching the Bleach anime?
The Bleach anime is an adaptation of the manga, though whether it is a faithful one is up to the viewer. There are some changes between the manga and the anime, especially in certain episodes of the sequel series The Thousand Year Blood War. However, it is not necessary to read the manga in order to enjoy and understand the story.
Why isn’t Bleach on Crunchyroll?
The world of anime streaming rights is complicated, but fans overseas have grown accustomed to turning to Crunchyroll for their anime fix. This made it something of a shock when Bleach left the streaming service back in 2022. That was when The Thousand-Year Blood War anime was first released and aired on Huly and Disney+. Either Crunchyroll opted not to pick up the new anime or they were simply outbid by Disney for the rights.
Do I need to watch Bleach before The Thousand Year Blood War?
Since The Thousand Year Blood War adapts the final chapter of the manga and picks up where the previous series left off, it is recommended that you watch the other seasons of Bleach first. If you don't, you'll be confused about the plot and the characters.
What genre is Bleach?
Bleach and its follow up The Thousand Year Blood War are supernatural action-adventure series. The supernatural elements come from the ghosts and spirits featured, as well as the Soul Reapers, which is a unique take on the Grim Reaper. Meanwhile, the action adventure can be seen in the intense fights between Soul Reapers and spirits, Soul Reapers fighting each other, and humans with high spiritual powers.
Which episodes of Bleach are filler?
Like many Shonen anime of its day, Bleach’s year-round production schedule means that the anime occasionally had to make filler episodes to keep from overtaking the source material. It is a problem that only One Piece has managed to overcome, resulting in entire arcs of the Bleach anime that don’t adapt the original manga and can be considered filler.
If you’re wanting to skip any of the filler episodes of Bleach, here are the ones to look out for:
- Bleach Episode 33
- Bleach Episode 50
- Bleach Episodes 64-108
- Bleach Episodes 128-137
- Bleach Episodes 147-149
- Bleach Episodes 168-189
- Bleach Episodes 204-205
- Bleach Episodes 213-214
- Bleach Episodes 228-266
- Bleach Episode 287
- Bleach Episodes 298-299
- Bleach Episodes 303-305
- Bleach Episodes 311-341
- Bleach Episode 355
Other upcoming Bleach projects
Part three of The Thousand Year Blood War anime season is set to premiere Spring 2024. According to Viz Media, part three is titled The Thousand Year Blood War-The Conflict and will continue to adapt the final arc of the manga. As with parts one and two, part three will premiere on Hulu before appearing on Disney+.
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