Summary

  • The new Bleach anime, Thousand-Year Blood War, is not afraid to deviate from the manga's story, adding original content to fix issues from Bleach's final arc.
  • Episode #7 introduces original characters and shows the past battle between Yamamoto and Yhwach, offering new insight and expanding the story.
  • The anime's adaptation should focus on adding new supplemental content rather than cutting important moments, like Yoruichi's power reveal and Kenpachi's Bankai. There are many unanswered questions that the anime could address.

Warning: SPOILERS for Bleach: Thousand-Year Blood WarThe new Bleach anime, Thousand-Year Blood War, has proven that it's not afraid to stray from the story of the manga, and this is something that fans of the series should appreciate. Episode #7 of the anime's first part adds original content that was not present in the manga, confirming the theory that Thousand-Year Blood War will try to fix some of the issues that plagued Bleach's final arc.

Bleach: Thousand-Year Blood War is the adaptation of the final arc of the manga that was left out of the original anime run. Fans waited for nine years to see Bleach's epic battle of the Shinigami against the Quincy animated, and the result hasn't disappointed. Studio Pierrot delivered a product of the highest technical quality that faithfully adapts much of Tite Kubo's source material. However, fans were surprised to see new, original content added, proving that Thousand-Year Blood War could be more than a mere adaptation.

The Bleach Anime Shouldn't Be Afraid Of Changing The Manga's Story

Bleach's original gotei 13 from Thousand-Year Blood War.

In episode #7 of Bleach: Thousand-Year Blood War, fans got to see a glimpse of the past of the Head Captain of Gotei 13, Genryusai Yamamoto. One thousand years before the present day of the series, Yamamoto fought against the Quincy Emperor, Yhwach. In the manga, this battle was never shown, and the only information about it was that it supposedly brought the Quincy to the brink of extinction. The anime, instead, not only shows young Bleach's strongest Shinigami, Yamamoto, battling Yhwach, but also introduces the original captains of the Gotei 13, ten brand-new characters who were only briefly mentioned in the manga. The same episode also adds a small but important detail to the battle, showing Yamamoto's lieutenant, Chojiro Sasakibe, stabbing Yhwach from the back with a surprise attack.

This is the first original content that the anime adds to the source material, and it's a welcome addition. The Thousand-Year Blood War arc from the manga is infamous for being incoherent, rushed, and leaving a lot of questions unanswered. Bleach's author Tite Kubo was suffering from bad health and wanted to get to the end of his story as soon as possible, so there was a lot of expectation for the new anime to fix some of the outstanding issues of this arc. The debut of Bleach's original Gotei 13 captains, while not having a significant impact on the current story, is at least proof that Thousand-Year Blood War's anime adaptation is not afraid of adding new content, and also of the direct involvement of Tite Kubo, who conceived and designed the characters.

What Parts of Bleach's Manga Thousand-Year Blood War Shouldn't Change

Bleach: Thousand-Year Blood War: Yhwach arrives at the Soul King's Palace.

Despite the problems with the arc, there are still some amazing moments that shouldn't be altered. One of the most anticipated moments, which should come in the third batch of episodes, involves Yoruichi Shihoin, a former Captain and mentor to Ichigo, unleashing an amazing new power, Shunko: Raijin Senkei, which allows her to transform and channel lightning power into physical strikes while battling against the Quincy Askin. Similarly, the reveal of Kenpachi Zaraki's Bankai after so long is an incredible scene, and the series would be far worse if it cut either of these moments. Thousand-Year Blood War will do best by adding new supplemental content, not cutting what's already there.

Thousand-Year Blood War's anime adaptation is being made with Kubo's involvement, so all changes have been approved by him.

There are a lot of questions that fans would like to see answered in Thousand-Year Blood War. The whole backstory of Yhwach and the Quincy is full of holes, for example. The Soul King, the most important entity in the entire Soul Society, is still a mystery. There are many Bankai (the strongest power of a Shinigami in Bleach) that still haven't been revealed or properly explained. Lastly, the final battle between Ichigo and Yhwach needs some major changes to live up to the hype surrounding it. The Thousand-Year Blood War anime could fix some or all these issues easily, as long as it's not afraid to add new, original content to Bleach's story.

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