The return of the Bleach anime has been highly anticipated, as its Thousand-Year Blood War arc will act as a proper finale for the beloved mid-2000s series, but exactly where fans would be able to watch the new episodes has remained a mystery, even as the October 10th premiere drew closer. Now, it's finally been revealed that Hulu will be the new home for the Thousand-Year Blood War in the US, while Disney+ will host the series internationally.
Even as Viz Media released trailers to promote Bleach's return as recently as last week, the company was mum when it came to where fans would actually be able to watch the Thousand-Year Blood War, stating only that it would be available to stream simultaneously with its Japanese release.
On October 3rd, Viz put out a press release and Tweet confirming that the rights to stream the series were secured by Disney, and that both Thousand-Year Blood War and the original run of Bleach would debut on their streaming services beginning on the 10th. In the US, Thousand-Year Blood War will be on Hulu, presumably to help Disney+ keep its family-friendly reputation. Hulu is not available outside the US, however, and thus the series will be on Disney+.
When to Watch Bleach's Return on Hulu
The first episode will air at 8:30 AM Pacific Daylight Time on October 10, 2022, presumably with subtitles, although the press release does not specify. Viz has already announced that the original cast of the Bleach dub will be reprising their roles, so a dubbed version of the series is certainly on the way, but even so-called simultaneous dubs usually have a brief delay. Disney is relatively new to the anime licensing game, so how exactly they'll handle a major release like this will be interesting to see. Disney's classic animated films have definitely had a major influence on the development of anime as a distinct medium and genre, so in a certain sense the arrival of a big series like Bleach brings the whole cycle of Japanese animation full circle to its original inspiration.
Bleach: Thousand-Year Blood War will air in four parts, but release dates for the later parts have not yet been announced. With only a week to go, Bleach fans don't have long to wait until they'll finally be able to witness the bloody battle between the Soul Society and the Wandenreich, setting the stage for the final arc of a story that first launched 18 years ago in 2004 when Bleach first premiered.
Be sure to check out the debut of Bleach: Thousand-Year Blood War when it premieres on October 10th on Hulu.