Bleach is set to return in 2026 with the long-awaited final chapter of the Thousand-Year Blood War. Set to bring to a close the recent resurrection of the Soul Society, Studio Pierrot might be truly finished with Ichigo Kurosaki and company this year. Luckily, the Shinigami will make appearances in quite a few different avenues, not just in the anime, but thanks to various digital entries worldwide. Unfortunately, a major Bleach video game has announced that it is closing up shop later this year, joining a roster of quite a few anime mobile entries that failed to garner major success.
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Bleach: Soul Puzzle first hit mobile devices in 2024, creating far cuter and tinier versions of the heroes and villains created by manga artist Tite Kubo. While the game did capitalize on the characters introduced as a part of the Thousand-Year Blood War, it seems that the anime’s return wasn’t enough to save it from cancellation. Soul Puzzle will close up shop on April 14th of this year, but this is far from the only change implemented. Earlier this week, the Bleach mobile game announced that you can no longer buy currency within the digital experience. Even with Bleach’s anime facing its end, it would come as no surprise if another mobile game eventually took Soul Puzzle’s place.
What Lies Ahead For Bleach?
Bleach: Thousand Year Blood War’s final arc, The Calamity, is set to land later this year, though a specific release date has yet to be confirmed by Studio Pierrot. Adapting the final fight between the Soul Society and the Wandenreich, this long-awaited batch of episodes will see some major surprises and transformations for many members of the Soul Reaper collective. While it’s an easy prediction that Ichigo will hit a new level of power to take down Yhwach, there is another, more ruthless Shinigami who fans have waited to see unleashed on the battlefield.
One of the biggest supporting characters of the Blood War has been Kenpachi, the eye-patch-wearing swordsman who cares about nothing else other than the fight. Earlier in the series, Kenpachi killed his former mentor, the woman responsible for giving him his title, and is set to reveal his Bankai to the world as a result. Throughout Bleach, Kenpachi has fought without using the standard tool that so many Shinigami have relied on, so this is a moment that is sure to send shockwaves through the supernatural landscape.
As for whether we’ll see Ichigo Kurosaki return in the pages of Weekly Shonen Jump, that answer isn’t entirely clear. Tite Kubo did return to the franchise for one special installment, Bleach: No Breaths From Hell, though this one-shot presented a story that might never be finished. Introducing a familiar new threat to the Soul Society, there isn’t enough material to warrant a brand new season, but perhaps Kubo might feel the itch to continue the story of Kurosaki using this new arc.
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Via Office Bleach: Soul Puzzle Website
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