Maybe, they knew fans would miss one or more of the main cast of Bleach which is why we’re glad Bleach: Thousand-Year Blood War throws every one of the Bleach crewmembers back in, literally, less than ten minutes. Ichigo Kurosaki, Orihime Inoue, Uryu Ishida, and Sado Yasutora are back—okay, Rukia barely shows up and it is near the end of episode 3—and we really missed the team. Watching them all use their powers so quickly to help two soul reapers caught up in a massive Hollow attack was a nice way to remind us what each could do and that they all, by now, are friends/good teammates.

Bleach: Thousand-Year Blood War is quick to throw you back into Ichigo’s world as a substitute soul reaper and we love how it doesn’t waste precious time with unneeded recaps or reminders of what he can do. The ending credits show past arcs with quick scenes and that felt like the best way to approach the return of our favorite gang of supernatural warriors.

From the music to how characters interact and speak, Bleach: Thousand-Year Blood War just screams that studio Pierrot knew what fans wanted. We had literal chills when Ichigo flew into episode one and unleashed his Bankai without hesitation, it was just as if we didn’t have ten years between series! Equally, the music clearly is trying to go for a modern tone but with hints of the OST we remember in 2004-2012, that we give a big thumbs up for as many series just don’t understand you have to keep the original tone for a beloved series like Bleach, especially when you are returning to it after years.

What is really cool about this new season/arc of Bleach: Thousand-Year Blood War is the main enemy is someone we’re all too familiar with, Quincy. One of the coolest, yet very unexplored characters of Bleach has always been the Quincies, as these arrow-wielding slayers of Hollows are only ever seen occasionally or when Ishida decides to kick some butt alongside his friends. Bleach: Thousand-Year Blood War utilizes these warriors as the main antagonists and from the few fights we’ve seen with them…they will definitely test Ichigo on how far he’s come as a Soul Reaper. We can’t wait to see if Ishida joins them or helps Ichigo…we know the answer but we won’t spoil it for anime-only fans.

One of the biggest worries of any anime series going on hiatus for so long is how it will hold up against other titan works. Ten years ago, anime was a very different beast than it is now in 2022, and Bleach, while it looked good, had moments where fans certainly weren’t too impressed. Folks, let us ease your spirits and tell you now… Bleach: Thousand-Year Blood War looks phenomenal. Visually, characters may look reminiscent of how they did in the past but now, with modern visual flairs that just scream modern anime. The first fight alone looked like it could have been ripped from a movie, that is how eye-exploding it was! If this is just the first several episodes, we have no doubt Bleach: Thousand-Year Blood War will be a contender for anime of the year if it ends before December—or maybe next year.