Thousand-Year Blood War Will Become Way Easier to Watch on May 17

Bleach: Thousand-Year Blood War is finally coming to TV, and it’s becoming another stellar part of Toonami’s lineup. Even at anime’s lowest point of popularity, Bleach remained a constant for fans, and there was a definite sense of loss when Toonami returned and only aired Bleach’s last stretch of episodes before briefly switching to reruns until 2015, even though Naruto and One Piece have been mainstays for years.

It’s been nothing but disappointing to see Bleach treated so poorly on television, but that’s set to change in a big way. Toonami is going through another big lineup change following a Lazarus marathon on May 10, and to the surprise of many, Bleach: Thousand-Year Blood War will be joining Toonami’s lineup starting Saturday, May 17 at 12:30 AM. This is the first time Bleach will have aired on TV in a decade, and with it coming to Toonami, no less, the Bleach: Thousand-Year Blood War anime will be even better to watch.

Why Bleach Was Ignored By Toonami For So Many Years, And Why That Might Have Been Good

Bleach’s Long-Standing Absence From Toonami Explained

With Bleach: Thousand-Year Blood War coming to Toonami, that begs the question of why the franchise has been ignored by Toonami for so many years. When Bleach first premiered in the United States, rather than go to Toonami, it went to Adult Swim Action, Adult Swim’s now-defunct Saturday anime block, and when that ended, it remained a mainstay on Adult Swim alongside whatever random anime Adult Swim would acquire. Bleach was then folded into Toonami upon its revival, and it was likely dropped due to low ratings, which is probably why Thousand-Year Blood War was never added before now.

As great as it would have been for Bleach to be more heavily tied to Toonami, it was probably for the best. Not only did being an Adult Swim-exclusive allow Bleach to air its entire run, but being on Adult Swim meant that Bleach could air without any sort of censorship that often plagued anime on network television during that time. Bleach not getting to be part of Toonami’s history for so long helped make it one of the premier darker shonen anime of the 2000s, and that played a major part in it becoming as big as it is.

Why Bleach: Thousand-Year Blood War Will Be Great For Toonami’s Lineup

Old And New Fans Alike Need To Be Excited About Bleach On Toonami

Regardless of whatever happened in Bleach’s past, what matters is that Bleach: Thousand-Year Blood War is going to Toonami, and that’s great to see. Thousand-Year Blood War has breathed new life into Bleach not only by finishing the story, but for how often Bleach: Thousand-Year Blood War improves the original manga with reworked and original content, all of which is expressed in consistently gorgeous animation. It’s one of the best action anime of the 2020s, by far, and as such, Bleach: Thousand-Year Blood War joining Toonami’s lineup will do wonders to help it reach an even wider audience.

Something also worth considering is what Thousand-Year Blood War can do for Toonami. With how vital Toonami was in helping anime take off in the West, it’s nothing but frustrating to see it gradually fall into irrelevancy over the years, and while it would only be a temporary boon, the boost in popularity Bleach: Thousand-Year Blood War can bring Toonami can do a lot to help revitalize its brand, even if it’s only temporary. Overall, Bleach: Thousand-Year Blood War joining Toonami is nothing but exciting, and hopefully, May 17 will be a historic day for Bleach fans old and new.

Source: Anime News Network.

Bleach: Thousand Year Blood War

Release Date

October 10, 2022

Network

TV Tokyo

Showrunner

Tite Kubo

Directors

Tomohisa Taguchi, Mitsutoshi Satô, Hikaru Murata, Hodaka Kuramoto

Writers

Tite Kubo

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