The Thousand-Year Blood War continues to rage on in Bleach’s anime adaptation, but the manga made a surprising return by giving us a story taking place years in the future. Thanks to a special one-shot created by mangaka Tite Kubo, the creator of the Soul Society, manga readers were able to see what Ichigo Kurosaki and his friends looked like in the future. With some of the Shinigami now having children, the chapter is set to receive a color edition this fall.
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For those who didn’t have the opportunity to check out this special chapter, which was printed in the pages of Weekly Shonen Jump in 2021, the world of Bleach was a very different place in the shonen’s return. Seeing Ichigo and Orihime as adults with a child of their own, while seeing many of the Shinigami quite different from their time in the Blood War, the one-shot introduced a wild new threat to the Soul Society that hit a bit too close to home. The captains of Soul Society were sentenced to the underworld when they had perished, as their power became too unwieldy for anywhere else, meaning that some familiar friends had now become bitter enemies.
Bleach’s One-Shot Special, Now in Color
The special chapter will release a new color edition in Japan on September 4th next month. Considering the events and massacres that take place in the story, giving it a splash of color might make for quite a different reading experience from its original black-and-white look. While this unique chapter has yet to be confirmed to receive an anime adaptation, Kubo might be hinting at what is to come for Ichigo Kurosaki and his fellow Soul Reapers.
While Bleach’s manga comeback is far from set in stone, the anime adaptation is continuing to see the war rage on between the Shinigami and the Wandenreich in the Thousand-Year Blood War. Set to end its second cours on September 30th with a special hour-long presentation, Ichigo has finally returned to the battlefield and has some serious power backing him up. Though he might be gunning for Yhwach, Kurosaki is now facing one of his former allies turned enemy as Ishida has seemingly switched to the dark side.
Do you think we’ll see Bleach’s manga continue following this special chapter? Feel free to let us know in the comments or hit me up directly @EVComedy to talk all things comics, anime, and the world of the Soul Society.
