‘Bleach’ Fan Anime Releases First ‘TYBW’ Episode

The first episode of the highly anticipated Bleach fan anime from Retro Ryno and his staff is here, and the group’s TYBW is sure to satisfy fans’ desire for even more Bleach.

You can check out the first episode above!

Because the Bleach anime basically fizzled out, the anime series never adapted the final arc of the manga — alternatively called the “Quincy Blood War” or the “Thousand-Year Blood War.” Retro Ryno has been teasing a fan animation that picks up where the anime left off for months now, and it looks like this one episode is just a taste of what’s to come.

“I’m looking forward to working on Episode 2, and doing more for you all,” Retro Ryno wrote in the YouTube comments of the first episode. “I feel like I am starting to know what I’m doing. There will be a lot of changes and improvements from here on out, so please, continue to be patient with me.”

As Retro Ryno’s comments sort of imply, the animation itself is a little rough around the edges, but considering it’s a fan’s interpretation of stuff the anime never covered? It’s pretty well done. Oh, and if you’re at all familiar with the English dubbed version of Bleach, no, your ears do not deceive you; that apparently really is Johnny Yong Bosch reprising his role as Ichigo Kurosaki.

What do you think of the fan animation? Are you a (pardon the pun) fan? Let us know in the comments!

For those unfamiliar with Tite Kubo‘s Bleach, the series follows the young delinquent Ichigo Kurosaki, who has 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.

[H/T Reddit]