Bleach Fans Roll Out The Red Carpet For Dub Voice Actors

Bleach's Thousand Year Blood War Arc has brought the Soul Society face-to-face with the Wandenreich, a villainous collective that are an offshoot of the Quincy Clan. After four episodes seeing Ichigo and his friends fighting against this new force, the English Dub of the series has premiered its initial episode and brought back several members of the original cast to their roles. With the Shonen series amassing quite a few fans over the years, Soul Society followers took to the web to welcome the English voice actors home.     

The returning cast members include Johnny Yong Bosch as Ichigo Kurosaki, Stephanie Sheh as Orihime Inoue, Wally Wingert as Renji Aburai, Michelle Ruff as Rukia Kuchiki, and Derek Stephen Prince as Uryu Ishida. The Thousand Year Blood War Arc did recently announce that the original voice actor for Chad, Jamieson Price, would not be returning to the role, with newcomer Alain Mesa taking on the role. In a heartfelt Twitter post, Price explained his decision to not return as Chad:

To all the many fans of Bleach,
I have loved being a part of the Bleach universe and voicing Chad. It was a difficult decision to say no to coming back for TYBW. But I no longer audition for roles of people of color.

Representation matters.
Access matters.

— Jamieson Price (@JamiesonPrice) November 3, 2022

The Thousand-Year Dub War

If you haven't had the chance to dive into this new season focusing on the Soul Society, the official description for the Thousand Year Blood War Arc reads as such from Viz Media: 

"Ichigo Kurosaki gained the powers of a Soul Reaper through a chance encounter. As a Substitute Soul Reaper, Ichigo became caught in the turmoil of the Soul Society, a place where deceased souls gather. But with help from his friends, Ichigo overcame every challenge to become even stronger.

When new Soul Reapers and a new enemy appear in his hometown of Karakura, Ichigo jumps back into the battlefield with his Zanpakuto to help those in need. Meanwhile, the Soul Society is observing a sudden surge in the number of Hollows being destroyed in the World of the Living. They also receive separate reports of residents in the Rukon District having gone missing. Finally, the Seireitei, home of the Soul Reapers, comes under attack by a group calling themselves the Wandenreich."