If you grew
up watching the Shinigami take on the Hollows on TV or reading each episode
week after week, get your tissues ready because a golden age has come to an
end. The animated adaptation of Bleach officially concluded its
broadcast after 22 years of history with the broadcast of the 50th episode of Bleach:
Thousand-Year Blood War - The Calamity, marking the definitive closure of
Ichigo Kurosaki's adventures on the small screen.
The final
episode, significantly titled "DEATH & STRAWBERRY", takes us ten
years after the events of the great war for the protection of the Spirit King.
The plot shows how the survivors of that fierce battle move towards their
respective futures, closing the cycle with the appearance of Kazui Kurosaki and
Ichika Abarai, the young members who represent the new generation of this
unforgettable franchise.
At the end
of the broadcast, the production team gave the audience a special closing video
accompanied by the iconic theme song "Number One." This credits
footage showcases key sketches from the animation and concludes with a
footprint stepping on the word "despair" etched into a wasteland,
revealing the word "BRAVE" next to the message "THE STORIES OF
BRAVE." In addition to this, the compilation THE STORIES VISUAL MOVIE
was published, a review that brings together the fifteen visual facets of
Ichigo Kurosaki from his beginnings as a substitute Shinigami to his adult
version a decade after the conflict.
For those
who wish to keep this historic milestone in their collection, the Blu-ray and
DVD package BOX IV, which covers episodes 41 to 50, will go on sale on March
24, 2027 along with the third official soundtrack. Both releases will include
previously unreleased artwork by character designer Masashi Kudo.
Bleach is one of the most iconic
franchises of contemporary shonen, born from the pen and drawing of author Tite
Kubo. The original manga began publication in Weekly Shonen Jump magazine
in 2001 and concluded in 2016, surpassing the impressive 130 million copies in
circulation globally. Its first anime adaptation started in 2004, quickly
becoming an undisputed benchmark of Japanese pop culture along with other
giants of its time.
After years
of waiting, the final arc of the manga began its animated adaptation in 2022
under the title Thousand-Year Blood War, divided into four parts to
adapt the outcome of the work with maximum fidelity and visual quality. With
the broadcast of its fourth part concluding on October 26, the saga of Tite
Kubo says goodbye in style leaving an indelible legacy in several generations
of viewers.
