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Bleach: Thousand-Year Blood War Anime's Trailer Highlights Stern Ritter

Viz Media unveiled a new trailer for Bleach: Thousand-Year Blood War, the television anime based on the "Thousand Year Blood War" arc of Tite Kubo's Bleach manga, during its panel at Anime Expo on Saturday. The video highlights the Stern Ritter characters. Viz Media also revealed key art for the anime.

Kubo recorded a video message for fans at the panel, in which he said fans can expect modern contemporary coloring and a new and refreshing viewing experience with the new anime. He added he is closely involved with all aspects of the anime. Kubo also acknowledged that the anime thus far has omitted some scenes from the manga, but he wants to add them back in if possible.

The anime will premiere on TV Tokyo in October. The anime will cover the rest of the original manga up through its ending.

An advanced screening of the first two episodes will be held in Tokyo on September 11.

Tomohisa Taguchi (Twin Star Exorcists, Kino's Journey - the Beautiful World-, Akudama Drive) is replacing Noriyuki Abe to direct the anime at studio Pierrot. Taguchi is also overseeing the series scripts alongside Masaki Hiramatsu. Masashi Kudo is returning as the character designer, and Shiro Sagisu is returning to composing the music.

Additional staff includes:

• Chief Animation Directors: Michio Hasegawa Sei Komatsubara, Kumiko Takayanagi
• Action Effects Animation Directors: Satoshi Sakai, Yoshihiro Kanno, Yong Hoon Chong
• Art Director: Yoshio Tanioka
• Art Design: Toshiki Amada
• Color Design: Saori Goda
• Editing: Akinori Mishima
• Director of Photography: Kazuhiro Yamada
• CG Directors: Toshihiro Sasaki, Kazushi Goto
• Sound Director: Yukio Nagasaki
• Sound Production: Zack Promotion

The cast includes:

• Masakazu Morita as Ichigo Kurosaki
• Fumiko Orikasa as Rukia Kuchiki
• Noriaki Sugiyama as Uryū Ishida
• Yuki Matsuoka as Orihime Inoue
• Hiroki Yasumoto as Yasutora Sado
• Kentaro Ito as Renji Abarai
• Shinichiro Miki as Kisuke Urahara
• Satsuki Yukino as Yoruichi Shihōin
• Binbin Takaoka (replacing Masaaki Tsukada) as Genryūsai Shigekuni Yamamoto
• Houko Kuwashima as Suì-Fēng
• Shouto Kashii as Rōjūrō Ōtoribashi
• Aya Hisakawa as Retsu Unohana
• Masaya Onosaka as Shinji Hirako
• Ryotaro Okiayu as Byakuya Kuchiki
• Tetsu Inada as Sajin Komamura
• Akio Ohtsuka as Shunsui Kyōraku
• Tomokazu Sugita as Kensei Muguruma
• Romi Park as Tōshirō Hitsugaya
• Fumihiko Tachiki as Kenpachi Zaraki
• Ryusei Nakao as Mayuri Kurotsuchi
• Hideo Ishikawa as Jūshirō Ukitake
• Naomi Kusumi as Ichibē Hyōsube
• Yōji Ueda as Ōetsu Mimaiya
• Tomoyuki Shimura as Tenjirō Kirinji
• Rina Satou as Senjumaru Shutara
• Ayumi Tsunematsu as Kirio Hikifune
• Takayuki Sugo as Yhwach
• Yuichiro Umehara as Jugram Haschwalth
• Shunsuke Takeuchi as Askin Nakk Le Vaar
• Ayana Taketatsu as Bambietta Basterbine
• Yūki Ono as Bazz-B
• Yumi Uchiyama as Candice Catnipp
• Natsuki Hanae as Gremmy Thoumeaux
• Satoshi Hino as Lille Barro

The show's returning cast also includes cast members who have not appeared in the anime, but are reprising their roles from the Bleach: Brave Souls game.

The Thousand Year Blood War arc is the final arc of the manga, and covers volumes 55-74.

Kubo launched Bleach in Weekly Shonen Jump in 2001, and ended it in August 2016. Viz Media published the manga in North America digitally in English as Shueisha published new chapters in Japan. Viz Media also published the manga in print.

The manga inspired a television anime adaptation that ran for 366 episodes from 2004 to 2012. Viz Media obtained the television and home video rights to the anime in 2006. The series premiered with an English dub in Cartoon Network's Adult Swim that same year, and eventually aired all the episodes by 2014. The anime franchise also includes four films and two OVAs.

The franchise has also inspired video games, novels, stage plays, and a live-action film that opened in July 2018.

Kubo most recently provided character designs for the Shin Sakura Taisen (Sakura Wars in English) video game.

Sources: Email correspondence, Bleach panel at Anime Expo (Egan Loo), Comic Natalie