This year's 35th issue of Shueisha's Weekly Shonen Jump magazine is revealing on Monday that Tite Kubo's Bleach manga will reach the story's "climax" in the next issue, which will be the combined 36th and 37th issue that will ship on August 8. The chapter will have a color opening page. The word "climax" written in the phonetic katakana alphabet often refers to the final chapter of a manga. In the magazine's 35th issue, the word is written in both katakana and in the Japanese word kōchō ("climax" or "high point"). The issue doesn't specifically state that the next chapter will be the last chapter.

Hisashi Sasaki, the former editor-in-chief of Weekly Shonen Jump and the current Vice President for Global Shonen Jump at Viz, revealed two weeks ago that the manga will end in less than 10 weeks.

The manga's 73rd volume previously announced that the 74th volume will be the final volume. The manga entered its final story arc in February 2012.