The anime adaptation of Tite Kubo's Bleach manga was produced by Studio Pierrot and directed by Noriyuki Abe, featuring music arranged by Shirō Sagisu. It began broadcasting in Japan on October 5, 2004, on TV Tokyo. It ceased broadcasting on March 27, 2012; a total of 366 episodes were aired before the anime concluded. However, it was announced on March 20th 2020 that the final arc of the manga would finally be animated and will begin airing at an unspecified date.
Content
The anime version of the story generally follows the manga quite closely, but diverges in some important aspects: in particular, seasons 4 and 5 (Bount arc), season 8 (The New Captain Shūsuke Amagai arc), season 12 and 13 (Zanpakutō Unknown Tales arc and Beast Swords arc) and season 15 (Gotei 13 Invading Army arc) are anime-only arcs, not written by Tite Kubo. Commonly called "filler" episodes, these anime-only arcs were necessitated by the anime's approximately weekly production schedule outpacing the manga, as the manga chapters need to be published before manga-based content can be animated. Roughly, each episode of the anime covers the equivalent of two to four chapters of the manga.
In addition to the regular series, the anime also comprises four movies and two OVAs.
Production
Episodes 1-167 were made and broadcast in 4:3, with episodes 168+ made and broadcast in 16:9 wide screen. The latter episodes of the anime were simulcast on Crunchyroll, and the English dubbed version aired on Adult Swim. The anime is still available on Crunchyroll as part of their archived library.
- Production Studio: Studio Pierrot
- TV Network: TV Tokyo
- Director: Noriyuki Abe[1][2]
- Music: Shirō Sagisu[1]
- Character Designer: Masashi Kudo[1]
- Art Supervisor: Takagi Satoko[1]
- Colour Supervisor: Ueki Hideo[1]
- Writers: Masashi Sogo,[2] Kento Shimoyama,[2] Tsuyoshi Kida, [2]Natsuko Takahashi,[2] Michiko Yokote,[2] Masahiro Ōkubo[2]
Main Cast
| Appearance | Character | Japanese Voice | English Voice |
| Ichigo Kurosaki | Masakazu Morita | Johnny Yong Bosch |
| Rukia Kuchiki | Fumiko Orikasa | Michelle Ruff |
| Orihime Inoue | Yuki Matsuoka | Stephanie Sheh |
| Uryū Ishida | Noriaki Sugiyama | Derek Stephen Prince |
| Yasutora Sado | Hiroki Yasumoto | Marc Worden (Episode 2-79) Jamieson Price (Episode 80+) |
| Kon | Mitsuaki Madono | Quinton Flynn |
| Isshin Kurosaki | Toshiyuki Morikawa | Patrick Seitz |
| Kisuke Urahara | Shinichirō Miki | Michael Lindsay (Episodes 4-214) Doug Erholtz (Episodes 231+) |
| Yoruichi Shihōin | Satsuki Yukino Shirō Saitō (cat form) | Wendee Lee Terrence Stone (cat form) |
| Renji Abarai | Kentarō Itō | Wally Wingert |
| Byakuya Kuchiki | Ryōtarō Okiayu | Dan Woren |
| Kenpachi Zaraki | Fumihiko Tachiki | David Lodge (Ep 20 to 243) Patrick Seitz (Ep 244+) |
| Tōshirō Hitsugaya | Romi Park | Steve Staley |
| Sōsuke Aizen | Shō Hayami | Kyle Hebert |
| Gin Ichimaru | Kōji Yusa | Doug Erholtz |
| Shunsui Kyōraku | Akio Ōtsuka | Steve Kramer |
| Mayuri Kurotsuchi | Ryūsei Nakao | Terrence Stone |
| Jūshirō Ukitake | Hideo Ishikawa | Liam O'Brien |
| Genryūsai Shigekuni Yamamoto | Masaaki Tsukada | Neil Kaplan |
| Suì-Fēng | Tomoko Kawakami (Ep 24-182), Hōko Kuwashima (Ep 206+) | Karen Strassman |
| Retsu Unohana | Aya Hisakawa | Kate Higgins |
| Sajin Komamura | Tetsu Inada | Kim Strauss (Episodes 51-63), J.B. Blanc (Episodes 99+) |
| Kensei Muguruma | Tomokazu Sugita | Dave Mallow |
| Shinji Hirako | Masaya Onosaka | Roger Craig Smith |
| Love Aikawa | Tetsu Inada | Travis Willingham |
| Rōjūrō Ōtoribashi | Shōto Kashii | Christopher Smith |
| Rangiku Matsumoto | Kaya Matsutani | Megan Hollingshead |
| Izuru Kira | Takahiro Sakurai | Grant George |
| Shūhei Hisagi | Katsuyuki Konishi | Steve Staley |
| Ikkaku Madarame | Nobuyuki Hiyama | Vic Mignogna |
| Nelliel Tu Odelschwanck | Tomoko Kaneda | Colleen O'Shaughnessey |
| Grimmjow Jaegerjaquez | Junichi Suwabe | David Vincent |
| Yammy Llargo | Kenji Nomura | Paul St. Peter |
| Ulquiorra Cifer | Daisuke Namikawa | Tony Oliver |
| Nnoitra Gilga | Nobutoshi Canna | Michael Sinterniklaas |
| Kūgo Ginjō | Hiroki Tōchi | Travis Willingham |
| Shūkurō Tsukishima | Daisuke Ono | Matthew Mercer |
| Jin Kariya | Tōru Ōkawa | Troy Baker |
| Shūsuke Amagai | Ken'yū Horiuchi | Joey Lotsko |
| Rurichiyo Kasumiōji | Reiko Takagi | Eden Riegel |
| Muramasa | Yūichi Nakamura | Jamieson Price |
| Nozomi Kujō | Hisako Kanemoto | Julie Ann Taylor |
| Kagerōza Inaba | Toshio Furukawa | Cam Clarke |
See Also
References
| Original Author | Tite Kubo |
| Supplemental Authors | Makoto Matsubara · Ryōgo Narita |
| Anime Staff | Noriyuki Abe · Masashi Kudo · Shirō Sagisu |
| Other Pages | Anime · Bleach · BURN THE WITCH · Episodes · Music |
