Bleach (TV series)
| Company type | Television series |
|---|---|
| Industry | Animation, Entertainment |
| Founded | October 2004 |
| Founder | Tite Kubo (manga author) |
| Fate | Ongoing (as of 2024) |
| Headquarters | Japan |
Area served | Worldwide |
Key people | Noriyuki Abe (director), Tomohisa Taguchi (director of continuation) |
| Products | Anime television series, soundtracks, home video releases |
| Parent | Studio Pierrot |
BLEACH (presented in all capital letters) is a Japanese anime television adaptation derived from the manga Bleach authored by Tite Kubo. The series was produced by Pierrot and directed by Noriyuki Abe, broadcasting on TV Tokyo from October 2004 until March 2012, with a total of 366 episodes. The narrative centers on the teenage protagonist Ichigo Kurosaki, who acquires the abilities of a Soul Reaper—a supernatural entity representing death—through Rukia Kuchiki. These newfound powers empower him to shield humanity from malevolent spirits known as Hollows and to escort souls to the afterlife. Alongside adapting the original manga storyline, the anime introduces unique arcs not present in the source material.
In March 2006, Viz Media obtained distribution rights for international television broadcasts and home video releases. Within the United States, Bleach was featured on Adult Swim from September 2006 through November 2014.
The continuation titled Bleach: Thousand-Year Blood War, which adapts the concluding arc of the manga, is also produced by Pierrot, with Pierrot Films managing the third segment. Directed by Tomohisa Taguchi, its initial 13-episode cours aired on TV Tokyo between October and December 2022, followed by a second cours from July to September 2023. The third cours, consisting of 14 episodes, was broadcast from October to December 2024, with the fourth and final cours planned for release in 2026.
Plot
This anime series faithfully adapts Kubo's manga by covering principal story arcs alongside several original anime-only narratives. Set in Karakura Town, high school student Ichigo Kurosaki becomes a substitute Soul Reaper after Rukia Kuchiki endangers herself to protect his younger sisters from an attacking Hollow. Although initially hesitant, Ichigo assumes her role and uncovers that some classmates possess spiritual abilities: Quincy survivor Uryū Ishida, spirit-user Orihime Inoue who commands protective spirits called Shun Shun Rikka, and Yasutora Sado ("Chad") endowed with Hollow-like power.
When Rukia faces execution in the Soul Society, Ichigo encounters exiled Soul Reapers Kisuke Urahara and Yoruichi Shihōin, who assist him and his friends in orchestrating her rescue. It is revealed that former captain Sousuke Aizen orchestrated Rukia’s framing and has been conducting unauthorized experiments on both Soul Reapers and Hollows. Aizen’s objective is to dominate the Soul Society using the Hōgyoku, a potent artifact capable of transforming Hollows into hybrid Soul Reapers. After faking his demise, Aizen flees to Hueco Mundo—the realm of Hollows—and abducts Orihime to exploit her power in his plan to eliminate the Soul King.
Undergoing training from the Vizards, ex-Soul Reapers altered by Aizen’s experiments, Ichigo and his allies venture into Hueco Mundo to confront the Arrancar, Hollows possessing Soul Reaper abilities led by the elite group known as the Espada. These Espada serve as Aizen’s commanders alongside Gin Ichimaru and Kaname Tōsen, rivaling Soul Reaper captains in combat prowess. Following Orihime’s rescue, Ichigo discovers her kidnapping was a diversion allowing Aizen to harvest Karakura Town’s spiritual energy for the Oken. With guidance from his father Isshin Kurosaki, a former exiled Soul Reaper, Ichigo relinquishes his powers to seal Aizen when the Hōgyoku turns against its master; subsequently, the Soul Reapers defeat the Espada.
Several months later, Chad and others reveal themselves as Fullbringers affiliated with Xcution—individuals capable of exchanging their powers to restore others’ abilities—targeting Ichigo’s Fullbring power. Their leader Kugo Ginjo, once a Substitute Soul Reaper himself, deceives them to extract Ichigo’s powers. After regaining trust with the Soul Society and recovering his Soul Reaper abilities, Ichigo aids in defeating Ginjo’s faction and resumes his Substitute Soul Reaper duties.
The anime also features multiple exclusive story arcs: including the Bount—immortal spiritual beings led by Jin Kariya seeking vengeance on the Soul Society but ultimately defeated by Ichigo; Shūsuke Amagai, a captain driven by revenge who employs forbidden experiments but sacrifices himself; Muramasa, a malevolent Zanpakutō spirit who transforms others into vengeful entities but is overcome after expressing a wish for mutual understanding between Zanpakutō and their wielders; and Kagerōza Inaba creating altered replicas of Soul Reapers called Reigai intending to merge with Nozomi Kujō into Ōko Yushima. Nozomi selflessly sacrifices herself to thwart Inaba’s scheme, resulting in Ichigo losing his powers.
Voice cast and characters
Japanese
Masakazu Morita, the actor behind Ichigo's voice, aimed to reflect the tone he perceived while reading the original manga, emphasizing pivotal lines to express the character’s true nature.
English
The English-language adaptation was produced at the Los Angeles-based studio Studiopolis, which selected a seasoned ensemble of voice actors with extensive experience across anime, movies, and video games. Johnny Yong Bosch, who voices Ichigo in English, initially faced difficulties pronouncing character names and adopted a deep, rough vocal style. As the series progressed, he gained greater creative freedom from the directors, enabling a more organic development of Ichigo’s persona. Bosch highlighted some particularly strenuous scenes—such as the intense shouting in episode 18—that nearly caused physical exhaustion. Stephanie Sheh crafted Orihime’s voice to sound youthful and innocent; producers aimed for a balance of strength and humor without portraying her as foolish. Derek Stephen Prince enjoyed portraying Uryu as the group's outsider, adopting a Clint Eastwood-inspired tone to differentiate this role from his previous work on Naruto.
A significant hurdle involved preserving authentic Japanese pronunciation and intonation while delivering English dialogue. The cast navigated the story’s contrasting themes and diverse character backgrounds, frequently proposing script modifications that resulted in rewrites and multiple recording sessions.
Production
The series was helmed by director Noriyuki Abe, with Masashi Sogo serving as head writer for episodes 1 through 212. Tsuyoshi Kida took over the writing duties from episodes 230 to 265, followed by Kento Shimoyama who led from episode 17 to 366. Character designs were crafted by Masashi Kudō, who also occasionally contributed to key animation and oversaw animation supervision.
Music composition was handled by Shirō Sagisu, whose score was distributed across four CD collections for the television series, supplemented by four additional albums for the feature-length animated films.
The initial 167 episodes were produced in a 4:3 aspect ratio format, after which the series transitioned to a widescreen 16:9 presentation starting from episode 168 through to episode 366.
In a 2009 discussion, both Kubo and Kudō reflected on the original anime narrative Zanpakutō: The Alternate Tale, with Kubo expressing interest in incorporating some aspects into the manga storyline. Kubo also remarked that his artistic style evolved throughout the production process and became more defined following the anime’s broadcast.
To commemorate the anime’s 20th anniversary on October 5, 2024, Aniplex released an animated video showcasing pivotal scenes reimagined in the stylistic approach of Bleach: Thousand-Year Blood War.
Music
Composed by Shirō Sagisu, the Bleach soundtrack was issued in five main volumes alongside an anniversary box set. Sony Music Entertainment Japan produced a variety of character song albums, including the "Bleach Beat Collection" series and compilations featuring popular theme tracks.
The five soundtrack releases are as follows: Bleach Original Soundtrack 1 (25 tracks, released May 18, 2005), Original Soundtrack 2 (23 tracks, August 8, 2006), covering music up to episode 64 of the Bount Arc; Original Soundtrack 3 (27 tracks, November 5, 2008); and Original Soundtrack 4 (30 tracks, December 16, 2009). The fifth-anniversary box set (July 29, 2009) included a CD containing 21 previously unreleased compositions.
Sony Music’s Bleach Beat Collections showcase performances by the original Japanese voice actors that emphasize character traits and vocal abilities. The first volume launched on June 22, 2005, followed by twenty-one additional CDs grouped into four sets named Sessions.
Other compilations include two albums titled "The Best," each offering twenty-four tracks spread over two discs (released March 21, 2007, and March 18, 2009). The "Bleach Breathless Collection" comprises six volumes spotlighting individual Soul Reaper characters: Ichigo, Rukia, Renji, Toshiro, Shuhei, and Byakuya. Additionally, Japan saw three seasons of Radio DJCD Bleach 'B' Station released as sets containing six volumes each.
Release
Bleach debuted on Japan’s TV Tokyo network on October 5, 2004. Directed by Noriyuki Abe and produced through a collaboration between TV Tokyo, Dentsu, and Studio Pierrot, the series spanned a total of 366 episodes before concluding on March 27, 2012. In Japan, Aniplex issued a total of 88 DVD compilations from February 2005 until January 2013. These collections were segmented according to various story arcs such as The Substitute, The Entry, and The Arrancar sagas.
In March 2006, Viz Media secured rights for international television broadcast, home video distribution, and merchandising from TV Tokyo Corporation and Shueisha. Viz subsequently licensed merchandising rights to multiple entities. The anime premiered in North America on Canada's YTV Bionix block in September 2006 and shortly thereafter aired on Adult Swim in the United States. Adult Swim initially broadcast the first 52 episodes before pausing to allow time for dubbing completion; it resumed airing in March 2008 but entered hiatus again in November 2009 after episode 167. The series returned in August 2010 replacing Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood, later joining the relaunched Toonami block in May 2012. The English-language adaptation concluded in November 2014 with reruns continuing until February of the following year.
Viz Media released the first 135 English-dubbed episodes across thirty-two DVDs between November 2006 and September 2010. The entire series was later made available through twenty-six box sets issued from October 2008 through September 2015. In July 2016, Viz announced a Blu-ray collection encompassing all 366 episodes divided into thirteen volumes; this release was completed by December 2021.
In the United Kingdom market, Bleach premiered on AnimeCentral in September 2007 with weekly episode broadcasts. The English dub was introduced on Animax Asia in December 2009 featuring the first fifty-two episodes; season two debuted in March 2011 with original Japanese audio accompanied by English subtitles.
Thousand-Year Blood War
In March 2020, the final manga arc, Thousand-Year Blood War, was revealed to be receiving an anime adaptation during a livestream event hosted by Weekly Shōnen Jump and the "Bleach 20th Anniversary Project & Tite Kubo New Project Presentation". By November 2021, it was officially announced as a television series. The first promotional trailer and key visual were unveiled at Jump Festa '22 in December of that year. Tomohisa Taguchi took over directing duties from Noriyuki Abe at studio Pierrot and collaborated with Masaki Hiramatsu on script supervision. Returning to the project were Masashi Kudo as character designer and Shirō Sagisu as the composer. A special preview screening of the initial two episodes was held in Tokyo in September 2022. The series is structured into four cours with intervals between them, debuting on TV Tokyo on October 11, 2022. The opening 13-episode segment, titled The Blood Warfare, wrapped up on December 27, 2022. The subsequent cour, named The Separation, aired from July through September 2023. The third segment, The Conflict, produced by Pierrot Films (the studio's secondary branch), is scheduled for broadcast from October to December 2024. The concluding fourth cour, called The Calamity, is planned for release in 2026.
In North America, Viz Media premiered the series at New York Comic Con on October 8, 2022, prior to its simulcast availability on Hulu within the U.S. and Disney+ internationally (excluding Asian territories). For Asian audiences, Medialink holds distribution rights and streams the show on Ani-One Asia’s YouTube channel through its Ultra membership service. Additionally, the series made its U.S. television debut on Adult Swim’s Toonami block starting May 18, 2025.
Other media
All four feature films derived from the manga were directed by Noriyuki Abe and contain original storylines along with character designs crafted by Tite Kubo, setting them apart from conventional anime film adaptations. The inaugural film, Bleach: Memories of Nobody, premiered in Japan on December 16, 2006, followed by a limited release in North America in June 2008. The second installment, Bleach: The DiamondDust Rebellion, debuted on December 22, 2007; the third film, Bleach: Fade to Black, was released December 13, 2008; and the fourth movie, Bleach: Hell Verse, arrived on December 4, 2010.
Warner Bros. announced in March 2010 that they were exploring a live-action adaptation of the series with producers Peter Segal and Michael Ewing attached. By 2012, Dan Mazeau had joined as screenwriter and Masi Oka as producer. The live-action film adaptation titled Bleach, directed by Shinsuke Sato and starring Sota Fukushi, premiered in Japan on July 20, 2018.
Aniplex issued thirteen drama CDs featuring original voice actors, which were included as bonuses with DVD releases.
The anime’s success inspired a sequence of rock musicals co-produced by studio Pierrot and Nelke Planning. These productions encompass five musicals that adapt major story arcs plus three "Live Bankai Shows" that are not connected to the main narrative. The initial performances took place from August 17 to August 28, 2005, at Space Zero Tokyo in Shinjuku. Directed by Takuya Hiramitsu with scripts adapted by Naoshi Okumura and music composed by Shoichi Tama, these musicals feature original songs distinct from those used in the anime soundtrack. Principal cast members included Tatsuya Isaka as Ichigo Kurosaki, Miki Satō as Rukia Kuchiki, and Eiji Moriyama portraying Renji Abarai.
Sales and ratings
The Bleach anime consistently secured positions within the top ten of Japanese television rankings. Its DVDs also enjoyed strong sales, frequently appearing on Japan’s DVD sales charts. In a 2005 online survey conducted by TV Asahi, Bleach was ranked as the 27th most favored anime in Japan, climbing to seventh place the following year. By February 2009, it had become the ninth most-watched animated series on Hulu.
Critical response
Carlo Santos from Anime News Network lauded the anime adaptation as "an incredibly engaging series that captivates viewers and holds their attention." Maria Lin of Animefringe praised its diverse cast, well-structured storyline, and skillful blend of humor and seriousness, stating it "earns its popularity" by merging supernatural elements, comedy, action, and romance alongside high-quality animation and voice performances. Adam Arseneau from DVD Verdict regarded Bleach as a "series that improves over time," emphasizing its strong character development and narrative pacing.
Holly Ellingwood of Active Anime commended the show for effectively translating the original manga’s excitement, humor, and supernatural themes. She highlighted how the series builds upon its continuity to create increasingly intense episodes featuring both main and supporting characters, complemented by striking visuals, an engaging plot, and a fusion of action and comedy. Don Houston from DVD Talk appreciated the depth given to characters beyond typical anime stereotypes as well as the combination of darker tones with comedic moments. John Sinnott noted that although the series begins as a "monster-of-the-week" format, it gradually transforms into an expansive story with well-rounded characters.
Joseph Luster of Otaku USA pointed out the consistent dramatic tension without excess, effective comic relief, and progressively complex action scenes. Chris Beveridge from Mania.com recommended Bleach as a strong addition to the Shōnen Jump lineup, while Bryce Coulter praised its unexpected plot developments and unique characters.
Von Feigenblatt observed that Bleach attracts a more niche international audience compared to Naruto, owing to its intricate storyline and religious motifs. Louis Kemner of CBR highlighted its "intriguing and adaptable combat system," which contributes to "spectacular action sequences," along with an extensive and vibrant cast.
Accolades
The Bleach anime was nominated for several categories at the 2007 America Anime Awards, including "best manga," "best actor," "best DVD package design," and "best theme," although it did not secure any wins. Its installment Thousand-Year Blood War – The Separation received a nomination for Best Action, while Johnny Yong Bosch was nominated for Best Voice Artist Performance (English) portraying Ichigo Kurosaki at the 8th Crunchyroll Anime Awards in 2024. Furthermore, The Conflict earned three nominations at the ninth Crunchyroll Anime Awards in 2025: Best Continuing Series, Best Action, and Best Score for composer Shirō Sagisu.
External links
- Bleach (manga)
- Adventure anime and manga
- Anime composed by Shirō Sagisu
- Anime series based on manga
- Aniplex
- Exorcism in anime and manga
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- Medialink
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