Bleach: Thousand-Year Blood War - The Calamity Anime Casts Yūki Kaji
The latest installment in the Bleach anime series, Bleach: Thousand-Year Blood War - The Calamity, has announced the casting of Yūki Kaji as Toshihiro Hitsugaya's Complete Bankai version. This news comes as a surprise to fans, as Kaji is already known for his role as Ichigo Kurosaki in the original Bleach anime. The anime is set to premiere on July 25 on the TV Tokyo channel at 11:00 p.m. JST (10:00 a.m. EDT) and will be streamed on Japanese streaming services on July 26 at noon.
The Thousand Year Blood War arc is the final arc of the manga, and covers volumes 55-74. The anime is running for four cours with breaks in between, and will cover the rest of the original manga up through its ending. The first cours premiered in October 2022, and ended in December 2022 with a one-hour special that combined the anime's 12th and 13th episodes. The second cours premiered in the United States on Hulu, in Latin America on Star+, and in select other countries internationally on Disney+ in July 2023. The third cours, Bleach: Thousand-Year Blood War Part 3 - The Conflict, premiered in October 2024 and concluded in December 2024.
The anime's English dub and sub will be available for streaming on Hulu in the U.S., and on Disney+ internationally. Ani-One Asia is streaming the series in many Asian countries. The anime's opening theme song, "I-BULL", is performed by jo0ji, and the ending theme song, "Rasen" (Spiral), is performed by singer-songwriter 9Lana.
The anime's first three episodes were screened in U.S. theaters on June 25-29, with an exclusive behind-the-scenes conversation with creator Tite Kubo, chief series director Tomohisa Taguchi, and series director Hikaru Murata. The screenings included Japanese with English subtitles and with the English dub, and were held in 943 theaters. This marks a significant step forward for the Bleach anime, as it continues to build upon its rich and complex narrative, and introduces new characters and storylines that will keep fans engaged and excited for the future.
