Bleach: Thousand-Year Blood War part 3 release date, story recap, trailer, and everything we know about The Conflict
Aug. 16, 2024The Bleach: Thousand-Year Blood War part 3 release date has been confirmed
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After almost a year of waiting, Bleach: Thousand-Year Blood War part 3 is finally on our screens And not a moment too soon.
The third season, titled The Conflict, is the penultimate chapter in the final arc of the long-running anime. Often considered one of thebest animeof all time (and certainly one of the most prolific in terms of episodes), Bleach is set to stick the landing in a satisfying fashion as many of its key players converge on the Soul King Palace during the latest instalment of Thousand-Year Blood War, now streaming onDisneyPlus and Hulu.
For more from the wide world of anime, check out our guides toJujutsu Kaisen season 3,Demon Slayer Infinity Castle, andOne-Punch Man season 3.
Bleach: Thousand-Year Blood War part 3 release date
If it airs without breaks, TYBW will run until the end of December – a similar situation to Part 1’s release.
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Before then, several sacrifices had to be made, with the bulk of Squad Zero dying so that fellow Royal Guard member Senjumaru could use her Shatatsu Karagara Shigaraminotsuji Bankai to trap and kill several Quincies.
In terms of the manga, Bleach Thousand-Year Blood War as a whole covers the period from chapter 480 (the beginning of Volume 55) of Tite Kubo’s acclaimed series right through to its conclusion of the entire story in chapter 686 (the end of Volume 74).
No spoilers here, but that should cover a large chunk of Bleach’s final act, including the fallout from Ichibe and Yhwach’s battle and the ongoing conflict between the Squad Zero and the Quincies.
From here, it seems Squad Zero are victorious – but there’s still plenty of hardship to come involving the Soul King and its ultimate fate. Expect the war against the Quincies to continue in earnest.
Of course, from what we’ve seen so far in the marketing, Yhwach – despite seemingly being defeated – is back. On the horizon, there’s also an incredible battle awaiting fans between members of the Gotei 13 and some seriously powerful foes.
It’s also worth noting, too, that there is likely going to be a generous helping of anime-original content weaved throughout the adaptation, especially as we’re getting to a point that proved divisive among manga fans and left its creator frustrated. What that will be remains to be seen, but we have faith in animation studio Pierrot to stick the landing while simultaneously adding their own flourishes.
In terms of the third season itself, so far we’ve had Yhwach surviving his plunge and killing Ichibei after unlocking his latent ‘Almighty’ ability. Don’t worry, Ichibei is later revived, but Yhwach reaches the Soul King, who impales the Soul King. Worse still, Ichigo is soundly defeated by the god-like villain, who later tricks Ichigo into killing the Soul King. In response, earthquakes are felt across all three worlds.
The main trailer for Bleach: Thousand-Year Blood War part 3 – The Conflict was relased earlier this year and you can see it for yourself above.
Focusing on the Soul Reapers' continued throwdown with the Sternritter of the Wandenreich empire, the trailer – released at Jump Festa – teases the likes of Grimmjow and Aizen’s return, whilea second trailerwhets fans' appetites with several action sequences and a look at Ichigo and Yhwach locking swords.
Bleach: Thousand-Year Blood War part 3 isstreaming exclusively on Hulu and Disney Plus. Those in Europe will find the hit anime under its ‘Star’ range.
The series won’t be available on Netflix or other streamers – all previous seasons are available to watch on Disney Plus.
The current Bleach: Thousand-Year Blood War release schedule looks like this:
While the full Bleach: Thousand-Year Blood War part 3 cast won’t be confirmed until release, we expect some of the following major players – and their Japanese and English voice actors – to appear in the next cour.
Discover the full picture of some of the biggest anime around with our guides on how to watchDemon Slayer in orderand how to watchPokemon in order. Bleach is also a great starting place for newcomers, so be sure to dive into our overview ofbest anime for beginnersif you want to discover more.
I’m the Senior Entertainment Writer here at GamesRadar+, focusing on news, features, and interviews with some of the biggest names in film and TV. On-site, you’ll find me marveling at Marvel and providing analysis and room temperature takes on the newest films, Star Wars and, of course, anime. Outside of GR, I love getting lost in a good 100-hour JRPG, Warzone, and kicking back on the (virtual) field with Football Manager. My work has also been featured in OPM, FourFourTwo, and Game Revolution.
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