The Most Underrated Action Series Of The Past 22 Years Officially Ends In 4 Days
Tite Kubo’s Bleach premiered in 2004, and it has long been part of Shonen’s Big Three: Naruto, One Piece, and Bleach. Unfortunately, Ichigo’s ever-moving story has never quite commanded the attention its counterparts have enjoyed over the last two decades, and for good reason.
Between Kubo’s meticulous, convoluted worldbuilding and an animation style that never quite settles pre-TYBW, the anime’s appeal has always drawn mixed reactions, unlike Naruto and One Piece, and for many years, it was regarded as the commercially weakest of the three. This position hides the reputation the anime has gradually earned over the past twenty-two years.
Despite not being as commercially successful as an anime of its calibre might suggest, the series took reinvention much more seriously after its ten-year hiatus, turning its weakest points into sources of overwhelming quality and earning the success the TYBW arc has achieved so far. Now, after twenty-two years, Bleach’s curtains are closing.
Bleach Has Always Demanded Shonen Respect And Rarely Got It, For Good Reason
<<img src="https://static0.srcdn.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/bleach-thousand-year-blood-war-ichigo-vs-yhwach.jpg?q=70&fit=crop&w=825&dpr=1" />
</figure>
For an anime widely considered part of shonen’s Big Three and one of the bestselling manga of all time, calling Bleach ‘underrated’ is rather inappropriate. Underappreciated is a better term; however, it is not difficult to see why the former fits Kubo’s masterpiece.
The original anime, which first aired on TV Tokyo, follows the life of grumpy teenage Ichigo Kurosaki after becoming a Soul Reaper courtesy of Rukia Kuchiki, another Soul Reaper. From that chance encounter (seemingly), the story devolves into political intrigue and ancient conflict that spans dimensions while carefully showcasing its gallery of heavy themes.
In this respect, Bleach differed from Naruto and One Piece mainly in the precision of the intention with which it addresses its heavier themes, a key trait of author Tite Kubo. Rather than being on the nose, the full scale of Kubo’s message is woven tightly into nearly every factual detail Bleach has to offer.
Ultimately, the result was a body of work philosophically ahead of its time, at least for the shonen demographic. This, however true, is only one reason for the story’s polarising reception, because sadly, several other narrative and structural problems ensured Kubo’s epic remains underappreciated throughout its run.
One of those problems is the story’s inconsistent narrative focus, which noticeably shifts after the anime’s first major arc: the Soul Society arc. In the anime, right after we watch Ichigo and his friends travel to Soul Society, the Bount arc follows, an anime-only filler season with no real purpose other than deflating the tension already carefully built up.
As if filler seasons were not enough, there’s also the issue of the story’s cast size. While most long-running anime naturally come with huge cast sizes, what ensures that they work is how well integrated they are into the story across the story’s entire duration. Unfortunately, Bleach uses this technique poorly.
By the time Aizen’s reveal and the Arrancar arc roll around, viewers have been introduced to several extended casts that are supposedly integral to Kubo’s world, and several factions that become too important to the narrative far too quickly. For most, it’s simply too much clutter to work around despite the story’s obvious brilliance.
Marry that with a growing lack of consequences for the story’s otherworldly stakes, a ten-year real-time gap, and the manga’s hurried conclusion, and it is hard to tell whether the series is actually great or just flatters to deceive. Finally, after more than two decades, the story has firmly established itself as the former.
Bleach: Thousand-Year Blood War Part 4: Calamity – A Season Finale of Expectations Two Decades In The Making
<<img src="https://static0.srcdn.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/when-will-bleach-thousand-year-blood-war-part-4-release.jpg?q=49&fit=crop&w=825&dpr=2" />
Custom Image by Diana Acuña</figure>
When Bleach was formally resurrected in 2022 from the abyss of cancellation, longtime fans and enthusiastic viewers were filled with hopes for a great story once more and a chance to right earlier production wrongs that sent the series into oblivion. From then until now, the anime has more than delivered on its promise.
From breathtaking visuals to a cohesive narrative that unspools toward the long-awaited series finale, Bleach: Thousand-Year Blood War has been nothing short of spectacular, and deservedly so. Split into four cours, the first three laid the foundation for the anime’s revival by fleshing out the manga’s volatile narrative with Kubo’s close involvement.
The first sign is how the anime integrates the Sternritter, the story’s strongest antagonist group. In the manga, the Sternritter are hurriedly introduced and dispatched almost like forgettable extras. The anime, however, does the opposite, grounding the group’s presence and ideologies through extended interactions and flashbacks.
Another area where the anime excels is in exploring the primary cast, particularly Ichigo and Uryu. The anime provides the context and clues the manga rushes through, clarifying Ichigo’s role as a ‘chosen one’ and the heritage surrounding it. The anime also clarifies Uryu Ishida’s abrupt defection to the Wandenreich with better context.
Ultimately, the anime filled the story’s information and narrative gaps by weaving the story’s isolated clumps into one fine fabric, held together by consistent pacing for the first time since Aizen’s reveal arc. Additionally, the key fights that bring the story’s conflict to the fore were all significantly enhanced, showcasing relationships barely conceivable from manga panels.
The final cour, which began on July 25 earlier in the year, takes every improvement Cour 1-3 made and blows it out of the water on every metric, most notably in its visual quality. The animation’s dexterity shines most in the final cour’s key confrontations against Yhwach, The Almighty, and the Sternritter.
Now, with only the finale left, the story has reached its crescendo and, for many, must surpass the expectations set by the anime’s own standards of success since 2022. Not only must it surpass itself, but with the finale, the story will also fulfil its unpromised potential in the best way possible.
Yes, Ichigo’s Story Is Drawing to a Close, But the End Is Not the End…
<<img src="https://static0.srcdn.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/bleach-mirrors-high.jpg?q=49&fit=crop&w=825&dpr=2" />
</figure>
Set to premiere on October 26, 2026, Bleach: Thousand-Year Blood War episode 50 will bring Ichigo’s long journey to a well-deserved close. Titled “DEATH & STRAWBERRY”, the finale is expected to be a full circle-back to Kubo’s very first chapter of the manga, which is only fitting for what is to be the final episode of the anime.
Beyond the final battle, the episode is expected to adapt the manga’s final chapters while incorporating anime-original material to present the story’s best possible farewell and a glimpse of what the future holds for the next generation. Fortunately, however, thanks to the franchise’s successful revival through the Thousand-Year Blood War arc, it isn’t going anywhere just yet.
An official sequel is expected to follow the events of Bleach: Thousand-Year Blood War in the form of the mobile game BLEACH Mirrors High, set to launch later this year with pre-registrations now open. The story is expected to continue from the manga’s final arc, with a fresh cast of characters alongside the original and will feature a new story within the Bleach universe.
Bleach follows Ichigo Kurosaki, a teenager with the ability to see ghosts, whose life changes after meeting Rukia, a Soul Reaper. As he gains spiritual energy, Ichigo embarks on a journey to protect humans and spirits from malevolent entities known as Hollows.
Discover more from NAIRAVOICE.COM.NG
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.