Over a month ago, I wrote about why the anime for Bleach should return. When I wrote it, admittedly, I did hear an announcement coming for the show. While some, including myself, had hopes that the announcement would be for Bleach‘s return, expectations were low. The last time that there was a major announcement, it was for a live-action film, so there was no reason to expect anything more. But lo and behold, the anime is coming back:

The ‘Bleach’ Thousand-Year Blood War arc will receive an anime adaption.

"Burn the Witch" will be serialized in Weekly Shonen Jump this Summer & will receive an anime by Studio Colorido this Fall (Director: Tatsuro Kawano). pic.twitter.com/NBdVsNk8TD — Weekly Shonen Jump (@WSJ_manga) March 18, 2020

Now while I am really excited that this is finally coming to fruition, I am keeping my expectations low. If the anime follows the manga perfectly, the anime will end just as disappointingly as the manga did back in 2016. More than likely, that is, in fact, how the show will play out. Even so, it will be nice to see the manga animated in its entirety.

Despite how things will probably play out, my personal hope is that the studio that will animate the final arc will make changes to the story as needed in order to give the series a truly satisfying conclusion. Sure, it will never reach masterpiece-level like Code Geass or Attack on Titan, but it still has a chance to be a lot more entertaining than what the manga presented. Let me go over what I think needs to happen for that dream to be realized.

Warning: spoilers follow for the rest of the article!!!

The Studio

While the Bleach spin-off will be animated by Studio Colorido, it hasn’t been officially confirmed if this studio will also animate the final arc. But if the spin-off is getting this studio, then it’s likely that Colorido will also anime Bleach. If that is the case, then I will be disappointed. If any animation studio should get to send the story off, it should be Studio Pierrot. While Pierrot doesn’t have the best reputation among anime fans, in part due to its horrific treatment of Naruto and Tokyo Ghoul, the studio has often proved itself when it came to Bleach. If nothing else, the fights animated by Studio Pierrot were almost always spectacular. If Pierrot doesn’t get to do it, then I wish the best to Colorido or whichever studio that will end up animating the series.

An example of what Studio Pierrot is truly capable of.

Changing and Improving the Story

Ultimately, the best way to give Bleach a proper send-off would be to make important changes to the story. In order to do that, Tite Kubo, the manga’s author, would need to closely work with the animators and tell them what needs to be changed and added. This doesn’t seem likely at all, honestly. But it’s not unheard of. Hajime Isayama of Attack on Titan fame has collaborated with Wit Studio to make the anime as great as possible in adaptation. But again, this is not likely. So this is more of a fever dream, but if this were to happen…just imagine. If Kubo does end up working with the studio, here is what I would want to be different.

Worldbuilding and the Quincy

The origin of the Quincy as they exist in the manga still remains confusing. When the Thousand-Year Blood War arc began, the Shinigami believed that the main villain, Yhwach was the originator of the Quincy. But later in the story, the Quincies indicate that there have been Quincy before Yhwach. Contradicting mythologies can exist, I understand, but other details make it difficult to fully comprehend the idea behind the Quincy.

Yhwach is the son of the Soul King, but the Quincies are human. Some of those in Yhwach’s army are apparently connected to the Soul King as well as the King’s body parts. Yeah, I don’t get how that works. If the Soul King has these ties to the Quincy, does that make him the originator of the Quincy? If the Quincy are human, then do they have a connection to the Fullbringers?

It’s all so confusing. The likelihood of this being clarified: not a chance.

Missing Bankais

Aizen. Bankai never revealed.

Something that has disappointed fans for years is the fact that Kubo teased a lot of Bankais, but never revealed them. Some character’s Bankais never revealed: Ukitake, Isshin, Hisagi, Shinji, Aizen, the Royal Guard. The fans also never got to see what Ichigo’s final Bankai could actually do. There are others as well, but the aforementioned character’s Bankais would be the most important. It’s not like every Bankai was necessary to see, but considering that the final arc let to a battle that was destroying our heroes, it would have seemed like a good time to reveal these characters’ powers at their strongest.

The likelihood of more Bankais being revealed: a high possibility for some characters, but not all of the major players.

Stealing Bankais: A Wasted Opportunity

Yamamoto, an important catalyst for the Thousand-Year Blood War Arc.

While the concept of a Quincy taking away a Shinigami’s Bankai and then being able to use it in and of itself is strange enough, it could work in execution. The problem is that the execution fell flat. The major problem occurs when Yhwach steals the Bankai of Yamamoto, one of the most powerful Shinigami to ever exist, and then…doesn’t use it. Yamamoto was built up as one of the most important characters of the arc, and after he died, it would have made sense for Yhwach to use Yamamoto’s Bankai. Yhwach never uses the Bankai. And you start questioning it? What really was the point of introducing an already flimsy concept and not following through with it. If Yhwach uses it in the anime, the arc could heavily improve.

The likelihood of this happening: maybe.

The Soul King and Yhwach: Wasted Opportunities

The Soul King is considered the ruler of Soul Society, and is said to be of utmost importance to Soul Society, which is the realm where the dead live, and the Living World. He is the father of Yhwach. Yhwach kills him to obtain his power. But what exactly is the Soul King? If he is this super-powerful being, why does he not have limbs and organs? Why are there Shinigami and Quincy that connect to him through these missing body parts? If he is someone that can have children, then was there someone else in his place before him? So many unanswered questions…

The likelihood of giving more information: not likely. The only thing that they might include are who the two legs of the King might represent.

The mysterious Soul King, one of the most wasted characters.

Then there is Yhwach. There is more understanding to him than the Soul King, but he lacks discernible motivation. For most of the final arc, Kubo does not even reveal what the villain really wants. He only reveals Yhwach’s true motivations in the last chapter of the manga, and even then, what he wanted to do is not clear whatsoever.

The likelihood of fixing this: an almost certainty. The manga came to its untimely end before Kubo could reveal everything, so there is a high chance that Kubo wants to expand on this particular point.

Manga Filler

If there’s any example of unnecessary characters, it’s Gerard Valkyrie.

One of the worst parts about the final arc in the manga is that many of the fights truly felt like what you would find in the anime’s filler arcs. Mask de Masculine and Gerard Valkyrie, two of the story’s enemies, have such excruciatingly long battles, and unfortunately, it doesn’t feel like the fights really had any major importance to the overall story. Instead of wasting time with irrelevant fights, Kubo could have focused on more important details such as the ones I’ve mentioned before, or he could have focused on actual relevant characters like Kenpachi Zaraki and the First Kenpachi. He could have focused on Ichigo’s character development some more. But no. He doesn’t.

Likelihood of removing these “filler”-like moments: unlikely. These moments will probably be shown in full detail in the episodes, much to my dismay, but at least the fights might look good when they are animated.

Changing the Ending

Yhwach, the final villain of Bleach.

Finally, the ending. It’s no secret that Kubo had to rush to finish the story when Weekly Shonen Jump prematurely cancelled the manga. I would argue it’s more Kubo’s fault for the manga getting cancelled rather than Jump’s, but that is because Kubo wasn’t able to properly pace his story while also losing reader interest due to things like “manga filler.” But, that is besides the point. If anything needs to change, it is the final battle and the ending.

In all likelihood, even if Kubo does not involve himself in the production of the anime, it will change, as long as the new studio is smart.

Again, I don’t have truly high hopes. I full expect that it might be a disaster. But this is Kubo’s chance to redeem himself. If he works with the studio, and takes criticism to heart, the anime’s rendition of the story might truly be something worth watching.