‘Bleach’ Brings ‘Thousand-Year Blood War’ Ichigo, Rukia To ‘Jump Force’

Bleach fans, you’ll want to sit down for this reveal. You may have thought the supernatural series was done for, but BANDAI NAMCO just proved that wrong. After all, Bleach is coming to Jump Force, and it’s going live with a major anime surprise.

Yes, that’s right. We’re getting a full look at Ichigo Kurosaki a la the ‘Thousand-Year Blood War’ arc — and he won’t be alone.

As you can see below, Weekly Shonen Jump made the big reveal in its latest issue. The magazine just went live in Japan, and it housed a page confirming Bleach‘s piece in Jump Force. Ichigo will be playable alongside Rukia Kuchiki, and they’ll be joined with Aizen Sosuke on the villains’ team.

Fans are excited about the reveal, but anime lovers are more interested in how Jump Force has designed Ichigo. The version fans sees in this promo isn’t one the anime ever got around to; It was introduced in the final arc of Tite Kubo’s manga, and it looks pretty spot-on to the series.

As you can see, Ichigo is seen wearing his full Soul Reaper gear, but his chest has a different design than usual. There is a large ‘X’ crossing his torso, and he’s seen holding a different sword. In one of the inset photos, fans can see Ichigo wielding his dual-bladed Zanpakuto that debuted in the ‘Thousand-Year Blood War’ arc, so anime fans are really hoping the game gives them a first-look at Ichigo’s upgraded Bankai.

For those unfamiliar with Tite Kubo‘s Bleach, the series follows the young delinquent Ichigo Kurosaki, who had the ability to see spirits. He soon obtains the power of a Soul Reaper – one meant to usher lost souls to the afterlife – and now has the duty to defend the living world from monstrous dark spirits known as Hollows.

The manga was serialized in Shueisha’s Weekly Shonen Jump from 2001 to 2016, and was collected into 74 volumes. It has been adapted into English thanks to VIZ Media, and has sold over 900 million copies in Japan. The series was adapted into an anime by Studio Pierrot from 2004 to 2012, and has four feature-length animations, rock musicals, video games, and a ton of other merchandise. The English language broadcast premiered on Cartoon Network’s Adult Swim block in 2006, and you currently find the Japanese and English language versions now streaming on Hulu.

Are you ready for this Bleach return? Let me know in the comments or hit me up on Twitter @MeganPetersCB to talk all things comics and anime!