Anticipation is building towards the release of Bleach: Thousand-Year Blood War Part 3 - The Conflict. Now less than a month away, fans are growing excited for the upcoming adaptation of the manga's final story arc, which is set to premiere on October 5th in Japan.
While Studio Pierrot is responsible for adapting the beloved manga, Bleach: Thousand-Year Blood War Part 3 - The Conflict will be more than just a straight retelling of the existing material. Like the previously released chapters, original Bleach creator Tite Kubo has had a hand in developing the new adaptation. As such, Bleach: Thousand-Year Blood War Part 3 - The Conflict will do more than just translate the manga beat for beat.
In a new interview, Tite Kubo teased new material featured in the upcoming anime — specifically noting that this arc will explore the relationships between the characters more deeply than in the manga.
"I think the relationships between the characters will be something worth following in this arc," Tite Kubo said in a translated interview. "There is a lot of depth to them, especially as they face the challenges of the Thousand-Year Blood War. This is something I really wanted to explore. I wanted to give the characters more complexity."
In a separate interview for Klub Outside (via @IchigoTaicho9 on X), Kubo noted that some of the side characters will have their own special moments in the final arc as a "thank you" to fans.
"Bleach has a huge cast of characters, and I wanted to make sure that many of them get their moments in this final arc," Kubo said. "It's my way of saying thank you to the fans who have been with us for so long."
Kubo's comments echo previous statements from Studio Pierrot made back in July. During a special panel at Anime Expo 2024, a special video from the production team featured chief series director Tomohisa Taguchi who teased working with Kubo to create some new original scenes for Part 3. Producer Yoshihiro Tominaga teased "lots more" scenes added to the upcoming episode.
"Part 3 will show some brand-new, never before seen Bleach content," chief animation director Tomohisa Taguchi teased back in July. "For example...we worked with Kubo-Sensei again to create new scenes that would supplement the stories covered in the original manga."
"We're continuing the trend by adding scenes the fans would be excited about. Lots more, actually. So I'm sure everyone can look forward to that," added producer Yoshihiro Tominaga.
Bleach: Thousand-Year Blood War Part 3 - The Conflict is set to premiere in Japan on October 5th. No global release date has been announced, but we can expect it to stream on Disney+ and/or Hulu when it does arrive. The previous two seasons — The Blood Warfare and The Separation — are available to stream in the United States on Hulu.