Beware of fillers, there are a lot of them in this anime.
Bleach does not have a non-linear narrative, so the series should be watched in order.
Along with Naruto and One Piece, Bleach is part of the Big Three, the most popular anime series of the mid-2000s. All of them are extremely long shonen. For example, One Piece currently has more than a thousand episodes, and the original Naruto series, not counting spin-offs, sequels and full-length films, has over 700 episodes. Bleach has slightly more modest statistics: the series has about 400 episodes, and Tite Kubo's manga (already completed) has 74 volumes. For a newbie who wants to tap into the Big Three, Bleach might be a good choice. And last year's release of Bleach: Thousand-Year Blood War (Bleach: Sennen Kessen-hen) once again spurred interest in the title.
What is this show about
The story of Bleach centers on schoolboy Ichigo Kurosaki, who unexpectedly receives the supernatural powers of the gods of death (Shinigami) and can now see ghosts. From this moment on, the young man must protect people from evil spirits and accompany souls to the world of the dead. The further characters progress through the story, the less time they spend among people. The narrative focuses more on the war with the Arrancars (also called Hollows), and then on the confrontation with Quincy (the Shinigami's longtime principled enemies). While Shinigami are benevolent spirits, Arrancars are evil.
The original series, which aired on television from 2004 to 2012 and ran for 16 seasons, is mainly devoted to these events. However, the matter is not limited to TV shows. In the canonical Bleach universe, there are several OVAs and specials, four full-length movies, some video games (mainly fighting games and RPGs), novelizations, a live action movie, two collectible card games and even a rock opera! Of course, much of this is not necessary to understand the main events.
Recommendations for viewing
As a start, you can read the manga, but if you want to watch the anime, you need to be careful, since the series has a lot of fillers that kept the audience busy at the time when Tite Kubo wrote the canonical chapters of the manga. Fillers are included in each arc and sometimes last several dozen episodes in a row.
Here are the main ones:
The Bount Arc (64-108): A series about immortal beings who, in order to preserve life, absorb human souls.
Stolen Hogyoku Arc (128-137): Episodes that introduce the Arrancars closer.
The New Captain, Shusuke Amagai (168-189): A fairly significant side story for one of the minor characters.
Zanpakuto Unknown Tales Arc (230-265): A predictable story of a fight against one not-so-important antagonist.
The Gotei 13 Invasion (317-342): The story of impostors posing as Shinigami.
Here's how to watch Bleach chronologically:
Bleach 1-7
Bleach: Memories in the Rain
Bleach: 13 Court Guard Squads Omake
Bleach 8-63
Bleach: The Sealed Sword Frenzy
Bleach 64-109
Bleach: Memories of Nobody
Bleach 110-137
Bleach: The DiamondDust Rebellion
Bleach: Fade to Black
Bleach 138-299
Bleach: Hell Verse
Bleach 300-366
In 2022, a direct sequel of the original series started to air — Bleach: Thousand-Year Blood War. But it is highly recommended to watch it only after watching the original.
Beware of fillers, there are a lot of them in this anime.
Bleach does not have a non-linear narrative, so the series should be watched in order.
Along with Naruto and One Piece, Bleach is part of the Big Three, the most popular anime series of the mid-2000s. All of them are extremely long shonen. For example, One Piece currently has more than a thousand episodes, and the original Naruto series, not counting spin-offs, sequels and full-length films, has over 700 episodes. Bleach has slightly more modest statistics: the series has about 400 episodes, and Tite Kubo's manga (already completed) has 74 volumes. For a newbie who wants to tap into the Big Three, Bleach might be a good choice. And last year's release of Bleach: Thousand-Year Blood War (Bleach: Sennen Kessen-hen) once again spurred interest in the title.
What is this show about
The story of Bleach centers on schoolboy Ichigo Kurosaki, who unexpectedly receives the supernatural powers of the gods of death (Shinigami) and can now see ghosts. From this moment on, the young man must protect people from evil spirits and accompany souls to the world of the dead. The further characters progress through the story, the less time they spend among people. The narrative focuses more on the war with the Arrancars (also called Hollows), and then on the confrontation with Quincy (the Shinigami's longtime principled enemies). While Shinigami are benevolent spirits, Arrancars are evil.
The original series, which aired on television from 2004 to 2012 and ran for 16 seasons, is mainly devoted to these events. However, the matter is not limited to TV shows. In the canonical Bleach universe, there are several OVAs and specials, four full-length movies, some video games (mainly fighting games and RPGs), novelizations, a live action movie, two collectible card games and even a rock opera! Of course, much of this is not necessary to understand the main events.
Recommendations for viewing
As a start, you can read the manga, but if you want to watch the anime, you need to be careful, since the series has a lot of fillers that kept the audience busy at the time when Tite Kubo wrote the canonical chapters of the manga. Fillers are included in each arc and sometimes last several dozen episodes in a row.
Here are the main ones:
The Bount Arc (64-108): A series about immortal beings who, in order to preserve life, absorb human souls.
Stolen Hogyoku Arc (128-137): Episodes that introduce the Arrancars closer.
The New Captain, Shusuke Amagai (168-189): A fairly significant side story for one of the minor characters.
Zanpakuto Unknown Tales Arc (230-265): A predictable story of a fight against one not-so-important antagonist.
The Gotei 13 Invasion (317-342): The story of impostors posing as Shinigami.
Here's how to watch Bleach chronologically:
Bleach 1-7
Bleach: Memories in the Rain
Bleach: 13 Court Guard Squads Omake
Bleach 8-63
Bleach: The Sealed Sword Frenzy
Bleach 64-109
Bleach: Memories of Nobody
Bleach 110-137
Bleach: The DiamondDust Rebellion
Bleach: Fade to Black
Bleach 138-299
Bleach: Hell Verse
Bleach 300-366
In 2022, a direct sequel of the original series started to air — Bleach: Thousand-Year Blood War. But it is highly recommended to watch it only after watching the original.
