"Too Stylish, Too Cool": BLEACH Finale Special Ending and Special Movie Released, Fans Respond with Waves of Thanks

The TV anime BLEACH, which has been on the air for about 22 years, reached its grand conclusion with the final episode aired on October 26, and social media is filled with emotional messages of gratitude, including "Congratulations on the finale, and thank you so much."

BLEACH, the sword-fighting battle action manga serialized in Weekly Shonen Jump, has enjoyed enduring popularity around the world, with more than 130 million copies in circulation across the series. The TV anime of its final arc, Thousand-Year Blood War, began airing in October 2022, the third cour, The Conflict, aired in October 2024, and the final cour, The Calamity, which brings the TV anime to its conclusion, began airing in July, setting fans around the world on fire.

Episode 50, "DEATH & STRAWBERRY," the final episode of the TV anime's last cour, The Calamity, aired on October 26. About 22 years after the series first went on the air in 2004, it has finally come to an end. Following the main episode, a special ending movie for the finale has been unveiled.

Ten years have passed since the end of the Great War to Protect the Soul King. Those who overcame the battle that put the survival of the three realms at stake have each stepped into their own futures. The story closed with Kazui Kurosaki and Ichika Abarai, the two who will carry the next generation. The special ending movie that follows is set to "Number One," composed by Shiro Sagisu, one of the series' signature songs. Alongside the title logo, credits for the cast and staff who made the series, together with animation key frames, appear one after another. In the final moments of the video, the word "BRAVE" emerges in the footprints that trample the word "despair" carved into the wasteland. The message "THE STORIES OF BRAVE" makes this a special video that powerfully conveys the journey the characters have traveled.

In addition, "THE STORIES VISUAL MOVIE," the culmination of "THE STORIES VISUAL" series depicting each era's Ichigo Kurosaki, has also been released. Beginning with the Substitute Shinigami arc and depicting 15 forms in all, the final piece of "THE STORIES VISUAL" is an image of Ichigo as an adult, ten years after the end of the Great War to Protect the Soul King. The movie looks back on the days of battle that Ichigo has run through, as seen in the visuals so far.

In response to this video and its presentation, which could be called a culmination of the series, a flood of rave comments has appeared on social media, such as "Showing the cover of manga volume 1 is just too stylish, too cool," "It really gets me that a Shiro Sagisu song is used in the ending! This song is the BLEACH theme song!" and "They really put so much into this! Thank you for making it." Fans are overflowing with warm support and gratitude for the conclusion of this long-running story.

(C)久保帯人／集英社・テレビ東京・ｄｅｎｔｓｕ・ぴえろ