Bleach: Thousand-Year Blood War Part 1 (Collector’s Edition Blu-ray) Unboxing

Bleach: Thousand-Year Blood War (BLEACH 千年血戦篇, Bleach Sennen Kessen-hen) is a 2022 television anime series based on Tite Kubo’s manga series Bleach and a continuation to the 2004 anime series Bleach. The season was adapted by studio Pierrot, and the staff credits include director & series composition writer Tomohisa Taguchi, series composition writer Masaki Hiramatsu, character designer Masashi Kudo, and music composed by Shirō Sagisu. The anime first aired in Japan on October 2022.

Background:

“WAS IT ALL JUST A COINCIDENCE, OR WAS IT INEVITABLE? Ichigo Kurosaki gained the powers of a Soul Reaper through a chance encounter. As Substitute Soul Reaper, Ichigo became caught in the turmoil of the Soul Society, a place where deceased souls gather. But with help from his friends, Ichigo overcame every challenge to become even stronger.

When new Soul Reapers and a new enemy appear in his hometown of Karakura, Ichigo jumps back into the battlefield with his Zanpakuto to help those in need. Meanwhile, the Soul Society is observing a sudden surge in the number of Hollows being destroyed in the World of the Living.

They also receive separate reports of residents in the Rukon District having gone missing. Finally, the Seireitei, home of the Soul Reapers, come under attack by a group calling themselves the Wandenreich. Led by Yhwach, the father of all Quincies, the Wandenreich declare war against the Soul Reapers with the following message: “Five days from now, the Soul Society will be annihilated by the Wandenreich.”

The history and truth kept hidden by the Soul Reapers for a thousand long years are finally brought to light. All things must come to an end – as Ichigo Kurosaki’s final battle begins!”

Plot Synopsis via Anime Limited, October 2024.

Despite the 2004 anime series ending in March 2012 and the manga coming to a rushed conclusion, Bleach continued to be rather popular amongst anime fans throughout the world. During the 20th anniversary event, Tite Kubo, the author, revealed that Bleach will return in anime format to adapt the final story arc as well as its spin-off title Burn the Witch would also be receiving an anime.

What was also interesting was how the new series Bleach: Thousand-Year Blood War was going to be handled. For starters it’s not going to air in one consecutive run like the previous anime did, but instead it will be split into four parts. One cour’s worth of episodes with breaks in-between. The anime continues from manga chapter 480 onwards which is Volume 55, and will go all the way towards chapter 686 of Volume 74 which is the end of the story. Now this does sound rather alarming but worth noting that considering there were a lot of fights involved, the pacing is probably going to be pretty fast compared to One Piece that drags them out due to being close to the latest chapters.

Then we have the staff and animation studio involved. Studio Pierrot’s reputation has had many ups and downs throughout the past decade due to really bad decisions when it comes to adapting their projects. Naruto is the most common example, which was also airing consecutively like Bleach and leading to issues like filler and pacing being dragged out. Then you have others like Tokyo Ghoul, Twin Star Exorcist and World Trigger each either being rushed or going straight into filler and anime original territory for no reason. I think Black Clover was probably the only anime that did start rough with the same issues but then slowly got better as it went along (it’s also taken a break to avoid catching up with the manga).

But anyway, the point is that it seems Studio Pierrot is learning from their mistakes and making sure that Bleach: Thousand-Year Blood War doesn’t end up with the same problems that others were having. Tomohisa Taguchi, known for directing & writing Akudama Drive, directing two of the four Persona 3 films and also directing the recent Digimon Adventure films, takes over from Noriyuki Abe for directing the new series as well as series composition. I am aware he directed Twin Star Exorcists as well but had no involvements with the writing for that one.

Viz Media once again secured the streaming and home video rights for the new series, but in an very interesting move it is not Crunchyroll that will simulcast the series but rather Disney+ instead. Disney+ also managed to add the original Bleach series to their platform so all of it is together. The English dub was also added during its simulcast run for those who prefer to watch the show in English, which brings back the original cast. The UK, Ireland and French home video rights went to Anime Limited, who announced their acquisition in 2024 alongside the original Bleach series.

Collector’s Edition Contents:

While the previous Bleach anime series was long, this time Bleach: Thousand-Year Blood War is around 52 episodes in total split into four parts. The anime has been highly anticipated by its fanbase so it makes sense to have collector’s editions available for them. Viz Media produced limited edition sets for their North American release, and Anime Limited are carrying over most of its content for the UK market.

This release is presented with a rigid box containing an Scanavo case to house the Blu-ray discs, and alongside the case is a 78-page booklet. The booklet contains an episode guide, behind the scenes with the staff, and character designs from the anime series.

The rigid box artwork is free of any information or BBFC content and the info sheet covers the information and specification like previous Anime Limited releases. The collector’s edition Blu-ray has 1000 units printed for an SRP of £69.99, with a standard edition Blu-ray available for retailers at an SRP of £39.99.

The series was included as part of their August 2024 early bird line-up which I have ordered from. The set was on offer for £39.99 with the Anime Unlimited membership lowering the cost down to £35.99.

Physical Contents:

• Rigid Box with Scanavo packaging and clean artwork
• Info sheet for specification and BBFC description
• 78-page Booklet

On-Disc Contents:

Distributor: Anime Limited
Released: 28th October 2024 (AllTheAnime), 18th November 2024 (Other Retailers)

The collector’s edition Part 1 release for Bleach: Thousand-Year Blood War contains the first cour of the series, episodes 1-13, across two Blu-ray discs. Both discs have been authored and encoded by Com’om Screen, the French authoring company who mainly works with Anime Limited’s French branch.

You have the option to choose between English & French menu text at the start and can switch back and forth without having to reset the player. Audio options available include Japanese with English & French subtitles, the STUDIOPOLIS, Inc. English dub commissioned by Viz Media, and the Iyuno-SDI France French dub. French’s dub/subtitle options are tied to the French menu, while English’s dub/subtitle options are locked to the English menu.

The white subtitles are locked during playback, and the discs are region locked to players set to B.

Blu-ray Specs:

Languages	English, French, Japanese
Audio	English DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 French DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 Japanese DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0
Video	1080p High Definition Native format 1.78:1 aspect ratio
Region	B
Subtitles	English, French
Locked Subtitles	Yes
Discs	2 BD-50s

Blu-ray On-Disc Extra Features:

Disc 2:

• PVS:
  • The World of the Living (00:31 runtime)
  • The Stern Ritters (00:31 runtime)
  • The Thirteen Court Guard Squad (00:31 runtime)
• Trailer 1 (02:33 runtime)
• Trailer 2 (02:21 runtime)
• Lookback (04:07 runtime)
• Bleach in 150 Seconds:
  • The Substitute (02:41 runtime)
  • The Soul Society (02:41 runtime)
  • The Arrancar (02:41 runtime)
  • The Lost Agent (02:41 runtime)

Unboxing Photos:

Final Notes:

Bleach: Thousand-Year Blood War Part 1 is available to purchase on Blu-ray by Anime Limited in the UK & Ireland. The collector’s edition Blu-ray release can be bought through different retailers including AllTheAnime Store, Amazon UK, and Anime-on-Line, while the standard edition Blu-ray can also be bought through different retailers including AllTheAnime Store, Amazon UK, and Anime-on-Line.

(Disclaimer: Amazon links are also included when available. They are affiliated so if you decide to order them, I’ll earn a small percentage if they ship which will help me with any hauls or small bills.)