‘Bleach’ Highlights ‘Thousand-Year Blood War’ Anime Designs

If you are a fan of Bleach, then you know the franchise’s anime dipped out before one major arc could be adapted. Studio Pierrot shuttered production on the series before the ‘Thousand-Year Blood War’ story got underway, but the franchise hasn’t been forgotten just yet.

Thanks to Bleach: Brave Souls, fans are still getting artwork from the franchise, and its latest drop will have you begging for an anime revival.

This weekend, Jump Festa was held in Japan, and the massive convention gathered anime fans from around the world. Fans took to Twitter to share the event’s decorations, and Bleach got its own shoutout as Jump Festa with some life-sized anime cutouts.

As you can see below, the photos snapped at Jump Festa show some of Bleach’s aged-up captains. The promo, which is meant to hype Bleach: Brave Soul‘s latest content, shows Soul Reapers like Byakuya Kuchiki and Toshiro Hitsugaya.

Rukia’s older brother is seen wearing an outfit he adopts in the final arc of Bleach. The Soul Reaper dons a traditional outfit seen at the Soul King’s Palace, and his captain’s cloack is seen billowing as he reaches out. As for Toshiro, the once-tiny captain appears to have undergone a growth spurt.

The icy fighter is seen kneeling in his cutout, and Toshiro has his all-white uniform split to reveal his abs. The Soul Reaper captain is seen holding his sealed Zanpakuto, and his older looks will have anime-only fans doing a double-take. In the manga, Toshiro learned he would age up whenever he released a new tier of his Bankai, but fans never got to see the form in the anime itself.

Aside from Byakuya and Toshiro, several other Bleach characters were featured in the stand. Renji, Komamura, and Mayuri were all shown in the event display as well.

Do you hope Shueisha will ever sign off on a Bleach anime revival? Hit me up on Twitter @MeganPetersCB to let me know and talk all things comics, k-pop, and anime!