Greetings fellow geeks and anime fans!!
This is Tracy Preston/CuriousCat-13 with a special, end-of-the-year article. On Saturday of December 18th, anime and manga fans were treated to special news during the annual Jump Festa (an annual expo showcasing upcoming Shonen Jump titles and news). Bleach (written and drawn by Tite Kubo), one of the most beloved Shonen Jump manga series (part of what is called “The Big Three”) had finally been announced to return with the long-awaited animation of the final arc “The Thousand-Year Blood War arc.” We didn’t just receive this confirmation, a beautifully animated preview was presented to fans from all around the world. As a long-time fan of the series, it feels so rewarding to continue to wait patiently for this. It has been about five years since the manga ended and almost a decade since the anime ended (at the second to last arc). The animation (done by Studio Pierrot) is absolutely stunning (I almost started crying while watching), the characters have never appeared more stunning, and was delivered with a headbanging remix of the beloved theme “Number One.” And as the neat little bow to the gift box is the release date of October of next year, how exciting is that?!
I will say this though, while I’m ecstatic for this epic of an arc to finally arrive, I can’t help but feel a twinge of fear. There’s a part of me that worries about how much of the entire arc will be animated with such love and care as what we’ve been shown in the preview. From personal experiences with the original anime series, there have been handfuls of episodes that are given movie-quality animations, while some leave much to be desired. While this might just be my paranoia mixed with how much I adore this series and how much the artwork has evolved over the years, I’m going to hold onto the hope that the whole series will maintain its gorgeous appearance throughout the arc.
To all of the Bleach fans out there: what do you look forward to the most with “The Thousand-Year Blood War arc?” Who is your favorite character in the series and why? Do you think that you’ll be able to handle the ten-month wait for the first episode to air? Whatever your answer may be, please leave your answers in the comments below (please be mindful of spoilers for those who haven’t read the arc). Until then, this is Tracy Preston/CuriousCat-13: Signing off.
