The Bleach Episodes Bleach Fans Need to Watch Before Thousand-Year Blood War (2024)

For years, the original Bleach anime was a hit on the airwaves and was a proud part of the original shonen big three. Unlike Naruto and One Piece, however, the Bleach anime ended up getting canceled and went off the air for ten years, while the original manga finished in the pages of Shonen Jump. Finally, in October 2022, the Bleach anime returned to finish the story, but some anime-only fans were likely pretty rusty on the lore by then.

If anime fans never read the original Bleach manga to see how the story ended, then they were in for quite a treat with the Bleach: Thousand-Year Blood War story arc, which launched an entire new phase of Ichigo Kurosaki's adventures against a new set of villains. If anime-only fans have not yet gotten caught up on the story, then before they watch the well-paced new anime, they are encouraged to go back and rewatch the original Bleach anime to refresh themselves on the characters and lore. Patient fans may rewatch all the canon episodes to get fully caught up, while more selective fans may simply rewatch particular episodes that pertain to key TYBW events and characters like the Quincy tribe, Uryu Ishida, and Ichigo's unusual family tree and powers.

Rewatching the Original Bleach Anime's Canon Episodes Before the TYBW Anime

As With Any Continuation, It's Important To Revisit The Story

If it's been a long time since a shonen fan watched the original Bleach anime, and they've lost track of the plot/characters, then that fan may devote themselves to rewatching the entire original anime to get fully caught up before the TYBW anime arc begins. After all, even if the TYBW anime has far fewer episodes than the original, that shiny new anime doesn't often slow down to refresh anime fans on who's who and what's what. The new anime picks up right where the original left off, with lots of characters and plot threads already in motion, and rusty fans may end up feeling lost. So, if a viewer has the time and patience for it, they may marathon the original anime. That said, not all the original episodes need watching.

Fortunately, fans don't have to be intimidated by the 366-episode size of the original Bleach anime, because roughly one-third of Bleach's original episodes are filler. That certainly lightens the burden, and that's not the only benefit, either. Filler episodes can be highly disruptive for an anime like Bleach, and not just because of the time it takes to watch them. Filler episodes may distract viewers from the real plot, and the canon vs filler material may get mixed up in a fan's mind. It's even worse when there are mixed canon/filler episodes or when filler episodes are inserted into canon episodes, despite not appearing in the original manga chapters that inspired those canon episodes. Just one example of many is the anime showing a few Bount characters interfering in the canon battle against Grimmjow's fracciones.

As fans might have already expected, at no point does the Thousand-Year Blood War story arc reference the filler episodes and characters, making the filler episodes and their contents more irrelevant than ever for a Bleach fan who wants to refresh themselves on the lore. Of course, such fans are not forbidden from rewatching the filler episodes if they so choose — it's their call, and if they enjoy more filler, then more power to them. Still, it's important to keep the filler separate from the canon storyline, so if filler isn't cut out, then fans must at least know which characters and plot threads will carry over into the TYBW arc and which will not. Fans who rewatch the Bount arc, for example, shouldn't devote too much mental space to remembering those Bounts' names, since they won't appear in the new anime's arc.

If Bleach fans wish to rewatch the original anime without any filler episodes, then they may refer to a table to see which episodes and arcs are to be avoided. Some filler episodes are clumped together into entire arcs that can be skipped, and in a few cases, an entire anime season is pure filler or near-total filler and can be conveniently omitted from a Bleach marathon. In other cases, individual filler episodes or pairs or trios of them may be peppered into the anime, and can be skipped one at a time. There are various sites, lists, pages, and communities dedicated to delineating the canon and filler episodes — and this chart condenses that information in one place.

Individual Bleach Episodes to Watch That Relate to the TYBW Arc's Characters and Plot

These Episodes Are Integral To The Storylines That Are Depicted in Thousand-Year Blood War

If a Bleach fan decides to revisit the original anime and rewatch specific episodes that refresh them on relevant lore, then a small handful of episodes stand out. These particular Bleach episodes deal with topics like Ichigo's unusual powers and his parents, along with Uryu Ishida and his father Ryuken, and his grandfather, Soken. While most elements in the Thousand-Year Blood War arc are brand-new and weren't even hinted at in the original anime, the original Bleach anime does have a few nuggets of relevant storytelling that fans ought to see.

Rather than focusing on overt moments for some of the side characters, the Thousand-Year Blood War arc calls back to various Easter eggs and hints as well. These may take a bit more parsing and detailwork to understand on a rewatch, so sticking to the standout important storylines would serve a viewer best. That said, if a dedicated fan is willing to pay incredibly close attention, some facets of these episodes will reveal themselves in the aforementioned arc as well as callbacks and revelations — ones primed to excite any meticulous viewers that have been waiting for certain plots to pay off in the long run.

"The Legendary Quincy," "A Gentle Right Arm," "Flower and Hollow," and "Back to Back, a Fight to the Death!" All Show Ichigo's and Uryu's Rivalry Take Root

Since the Thousand-Year Blood War story arc focuses so heavily on the Quincy tribe, and since Uryu Ishida is so torn about his place in all this, it's a good idea for Bleach fans to rewatch a variety of episodes that focus on Uryu in particular. This includes a sequence of four episodes in the anime's first season/arc, which helped develop Ichigo and Uryu into shonen-style rivals. Those episodes introduced Uryu Ishida as a character, and in so doing, introduced the Quincy combat system, mostly with Uryu's spirit bow. Over the course of those episodes, Ichigo and Uryu went from unfriendly rivals to friendly ones, which established their friendship and also set up Uryu's conflict between his loyalty to his friends and his devotion to the Quincy cause. That mental tug-of-war will certainly appear again early in the TYBW arc, when Uryu is tempted to join the Wandenreich to finally be with his people like he always wanted.

"The Despicable Shinigami" and "Ishida Ultimate Power!" Revealed Uryu's Grudge Against the Soul Reapers

Another of Uryu's most essential experiences took place during Bleach's first pseudo-isekai story arcs, that being the fondly-remembered Soul Society arc. In two particular episodes, Uryu fought a personal battle against Captain Mayuri Kurotsuchi of squad 12, a cruel scientist swordsman who had extensive experience fighting Quincy. At first, it felt like just another battle for Uryu, but then he learned the gut-wrenching truth: that Mayuri had captured, experimented on, and killed many Quincy, with the final victim being Uryu's beloved grandfather, Soken Ishida. All that helped make Uryu's hatred of Soul Reapers palpable for Bleach fans, but it also showed how willing he was to build bridges with some of them, such as Nemu Kurotsuchi. Those episodes also showed how powerful and talented Uryu was as a fighter.

"Ichigo, Complete Hollowfication!?" and "Collision! The Black Bankai and the White Bankai" Show Ichigo's Inner Hollow at Work

The Thousand-Year Blood War anime arc will examine Ichigo's terrifying inner Hollow once again, providing some closure about where it came from, its relationship to Ichigo, and what Ichigo will do about it. To get ready for that, Bleach fans can rewatch the episodes where Ichigo faced his inner Hollow more directly, such as when he trained with the eight Visoreds to finally get a handle on his strange half-other powers. By that point, Ichigo was taking his first steps toward actually understanding and using that power, not just running from it, and that laid the foundation for Ichigo's final work with his inner Hollow partway through the TYBW arc.

"June 17th, Memories in the Rain" and "Unbeatable Enemy" Explain the Tragedy of Masaki Kurosaki's Death

Ichigo's powers and adventures are sometimes rather personal for him, especially where his late mother Masaki Kurosaki is concerned. Episode 8 of the Bleach anime set that up, while Episode 9 was the payoff with Ichigo's battle against the deadly Hollow called Grand Fisher. This heartbreaking sequence highlighted Ichigo Kurosaki's unresolved grief, which actually plays an even bigger role than fans might expect. Ichigo's grief held him back for much of the story, but he will finally let go of the painful past in the TYBW arc, which will help him focus on his true powers and achieve his maximum potential just in time to win the final battle of the entire Bleach saga. Watching these two episodes will also get Bleach fans ready for a shocking reveal about Masaki Kurosaki and why she died at the hands of Grand Fisher.

Bleach

TV-14

Action

Adventure

Fantasy

Bleachrevolves around Kurosaki Ichigo, a regular always-grouchy high-schooler who for some strange reason is able to see the souls of the dead around him.

Release Date

October 5, 2004

Cast

Masakazu Morita , Fumiko Orikasa , Hiroki Yasumoto , Yuki Matsuoka , Noriaki Sugiyama , Kentarô Itô , Shinichirô Miki , Hisayoshi Suganuma

Main Genre

Anime

Seasons

17 Seasons

Creator

Tite Kubo

Production Company

TV Tokyo, Dentsu, Pierrot

Number of Episodes

366 Episodes

Streaming Service(s)

Hulu , Prime Video