Stream It Or Skip It: ‘Bleach: Thousand Year Blood War’ on Hulu, The Action-Packed, Blood-Soaked Sequel Fans Have Been Waiting For

Bleach is back, and it looks better than ever. The original Bleach anime series ran for eight years, from 2004 to 2012, spanning 16 seasons. However, it didn’t adapt the entirety of the manga, and instead the anime series left off on something of an unsatisfying conclusion. With additional manga chapters remaining unanimated, fans were left frustrated, but appreciative that they had the manga to go by. Now, with Bleach: Thousand Year Blood War, the anime is continuing after a years-long break, running down the story beats that the anime couldn’t for so long.

BLEACH: THOUSAND-YEAR BLOOD WAR: STREAM IT OR SKIP IT?

Opening Shot: For a brief moment, we hear Yhwach, the King of Quincy himself, discussing his time spent locked away before his return. It’s a bad omen to be sure, but one that immediately switches to the Shinigami Research and Development Institute, where 12th Division Captain Mayuri Kurotsuchi discusses a serious problem with the rest of Soul Society: Hollows are disappearing at a rapid rate. If this keeps up, the boundary between the Human world and Soul Society could collapse.

The Gist: The King of Quincy, Yhwach, long thought to be sealed away, is looking to be restored — at least, that’s what this episode establishes without confirming outright. Soul Society, where all the Soul Reapers live and operate when they aren’t crossing over into the World of the Living to protect humans, is under siege. Hundreds of Hollows, or the remnants of souls with unfinished business and ill intent, have been suddenly disappearing from Soul Society, where they must remain, and entering the world of humans.

Soul Society has to determine why this is happening and prevent it, all while trying to keep the Quincy, Soul Society’s greatest enemy, from being revived — much less its king. Ichigo Kurosaki, longtime Bleach protagonist, is an all-powerful “Substitute Soul Reaper” tasked with protecting the living along with his human friends, all of whom have special abilities. After wrangling the Hollow issue, Ichigo meets a new thret: Asguiaro Ebern, who appears to be a Quincy.

With a strange squad of individuals in all-white launch an offensive in Soul Society at the Head Captain’s Office, Ichigo and friends must figure out what to do with this new threat — and their apparent power to take away the Soul Reapers’ “Bankai” moves, tied to their weapons.

What Shows Will It Remind You Of? Bleach is your typical shonen epic. If you haven’t watched from the beginning, over 300 episodes ago, it’s essentially akin to series like the other Big Shonen Shows: Naruto, One Piece, Hunter x Hunter, and Dragon Ball Z. There’s a central protagonist who’s more powerful than anyone else, fighters that support them on the sidelines, and story arcs that explore a variety of different enemies.

Our Take: Coming into Bleach: Thousand Year Blood War feels like never having stopped watching the series. It’s a lengthy show to get through, but as soon as familiar faces like Ichigo, Chad, Ishida, and Orihime hit the screen, there’s a comfortable feeling that fizzes up inside. It’s like reuniting with old fans who have gotten older, wiser, and a lot more powerful since the last time we saw them.

This time around, the series is content to go a bit further and get darker too. While there are some lighthearted moments, it’s all about the crisis happening between the human world and Soul Society. From a massive number of Hollows attacking Ichigo and crew to the very real possibility that the two worlds could collide for disastrous implications, this first episode is an action-packed show-stopper that feels like a massive upgrade from the show we saw all those years ago.

Hopefully the series will maintain this momentum and hurtle toward some additional story beats just like in the manga that continue to prove why it’s one of the best shonen shows going, all these years later. As it stands, it’s done a great job of proving why fans clamoring for Bleach’s return were right all of these years.

Sex and Skin: None to be seen in this episode, but there are a few scenes with plenty of blood – and someone losing their head, literally.

Parting Shot: After Ebern reunites with the same group of ne’er-do-wells responsible for launching an offensive on Soul Society, we see a close-up of the same Quincy who spoke at the beginning of the episode: Yhwach. He doesn’t introduce himself, but anyone who’s followed the manga will immediately recognize that mustache and stern look. It’s about to get ugly.

Sleeper Star: Wataru Komada brings cockiness and arrogance to Asguiaro Ebern, a central figure who’ll be causing havoc throughout the series. He’s your quintessential Anime Bad Guy, with enough theatrics and gusto to take out a small forest, and he certainly doesn’t believe in losing. It’s a bit of a different role most of what Komada is known for, but he does a fantastic job of bringing Ebern to life in a way that feels foreboding and terrifying.

Most Pilot-y Line: “What do you mean my Bankai ‘disappearing’?” Ichigo asks during a fight with Ebern. It’s clear there’s something terrifying about the Quincy abilities Ichigo is suddenly facing. Because without Bankai, or essentially unleashing a reaper’s weapon’s latent abilities, defeating the enemy seems uncertain. It’s a key factor that the season will revolve around, and it’s obvious from this scene.

Our Call: STREAM IT. Bleach: Thousand Year Blood War is the best return to form fans of the original series could have hoped for. Not only is the animation lovingly crafted with new, detailed shading and updated character designs, but its slick end sequence and what will undoubtedly be a great-looking opening when Episode 2 debuts proves just how much work went into bringing this anime classic back for a final curtain call. If you’ve been there from the very beginning, it’ll feel like a warm welcome home. For anyone just starting their Bleach journey, you’re in for a wild ride.

Brittany Vincent has been covering video games and tech for over a decade for publications like G4, Popular Science, Playboy, Variety, IGN, GamesRadar, Polygon, Kotaku, Maxim, GameSpot, and more. When she’s not writing or gaming, she’s collecting retro consoles and tech. Follow her on Twitter: @MolotovCupcake.