After almost a year of waiting, Bleach: Thousand-Year Blood War part 3 is finally on our screens And not a moment too soon.
The third season, titled The Conflict, is the penultimate chapter in the final arc of the long-running anime. Often considered one of the best anime of all time (and certainly one of the most prolific in terms of episodes), Bleach is set to stick the landing in a satisfying fashion as many of its key players converge on the Soul King Palace during the latest instalment of Thousand-Year Blood War, now streaming on Disney Plus and Hulu.
To help get you up to speed on Bleach's new season, we've put together a cheat sheet for Thousand-Year Blood War part 3, as well a guide on how to watch Bleach in order. That includes the confirmed weekly release dates, a look ahead to which manga chapters it's likely to adapt, trailers, story recaps, and more. It's all here in our guide to one of 2024's most exciting new anime releases.
For more from the wide world of anime, check out our guides to Jujutsu Kaisen season 3, Demon Slayer Infinity Castle, and One-Punch Man season 3.
Bleach: Thousand-Year Blood War part 3 release date
Bleach: Thousand-Year Blood War part 3 premiered on October 5, 2024. New episodes will be available to watch on Saturdays on Disney Plus and Hulu from 7:30 AM Pacific/10:30 AM Eastern in the US. That's 3:30 PM BST in the UK. For more, check out the Bleach: Thousand-Year Blood War part 3 release schedule.
If it airs without breaks, TYBW will run until the end of December – a similar situation to Part 1's release.
Bleach: Thousand-Year Blood War part 3 story recap and what manga chapters it's adapting next
Bleach: Thousand-Year Blood part 3 picked up from where the previous season left off. Namely, the war between Squad Zero/Royal Guard and the Quincies and their emperor continues. Previously, that conflict saw Ichibei get the upper hand over Yhwach by using his Shirafude Ichimonji to rename the Quincy King and turn him into a black ant. He is then defeated and thrown from the Soul Palace. But is that the end of the story and the end of Yhwach? Watch this space.
Before then, several sacrifices had to be made, with the bulk of Squad Zero dying so that fellow Royal Guard member Senjumaru could use her Shatatsu Karagara Shigaraminotsuji Bankai to trap and kill several Quincies.
In terms of the manga, Bleach Thousand-Year Blood War as a whole covers the period from chapter 480 (the beginning of Volume 55) of Tite Kubo's acclaimed series right through to its conclusion of the entire story in chapter 686 (the end of Volume 74).
Part 3's The Conflict continues from around chapter 610 at the end of Volume 67. At the current rate, we would expect the 13-episode cour this year to finish up at chapter 652/Volume 71.The fourth cour – expected in 2025 – will then cover Volumes 72-74.
No spoilers here, but that should cover a large chunk of Bleach's final act, including the fallout from Ichibe and Yhwach's battle and the ongoing conflict between the Squad Zero and the Quincies.
From here, it seems Squad Zero are victorious – but there's still plenty of hardship to come involving the Soul King and its ultimate fate. Expect the war against the Quincies to continue in earnest.
Of course, from what we've seen so far in the marketing, Yhwach – despite seemingly being defeated – is back. On the horizon, there's also an incredible battle awaiting fans between members of the Gotei 13 and some seriously powerful foes.
It's also worth noting, too, that there is likely going to be a generous helping of anime-original content weaved throughout the adaptation, especially as we're getting to a point that proved divisive among manga fans and left its creator frustrated. What that will be remains to be seen, but we have faith in animation studio Pierrot to stick the landing while simultaneously adding their own flourishes.
In terms of the third season itself, so far we've had Yhwach surviving his plunge and killing Ichibei after unlocking his latent 'Almighty' ability. Don't worry, Ichibei is later revived, but Yhwach reaches the Soul King, who impales the Soul King. Worse still, Ichigo is soundly defeated by the god-like villain, who later tricks Ichigo into killing the Soul King. In response, earthquakes are felt across all three worlds.
Bleach: Thousand-Year Blood War part 3 trailer
The main trailer for Bleach: Thousand-Year Blood War part 3 – The Conflict was relased earlier this year and you can see it for yourself above.
Focusing on the Soul Reapers' continued throwdown with the Sternritter of the Wandenreich empire, the trailer – released at Jump Festa – teases the likes of Grimmjow and Aizen's return, while a second trailer whets fans' appetites with several action sequences and a look at Ichigo and Yhwach locking swords.
A poster/key visual was also revealed in July 2024, which you can see below.
New Key Visual! ⚔️ Forces unite, engraved onto the blade.STREAMING OCTOBER 2024, #BLEACH: Thousand-Year Blood War Part 3 -- The Conflict. pic.twitter.com/MRHKgbCAOqJuly 7, 2024
Where to watch Bleach: Thousand-Year Blood War part 3
Bleach: Thousand-Year Blood War part 3 is streaming exclusively on Hulu and Disney Plus. Those in Europe will find the hit anime under its 'Star' range.
The series won't be available on Netflix or other streamers – all previous seasons are available to watch on Disney Plus.
How many episodes of Bleach: Thousand-Year Blood War part 3 are there?
Bleach: Thousand-Year Blood War part 3 – The Conflict contains 13 episodes, bringing the total number of Thousand-Year Blood episodes to date to 39 by the end of 2023. Amazingly, that means Bleach will pass the 400-episode mark during the third cour. A fourth part is also planned.
The current Bleach: Thousand-Year Blood War release schedule looks like this:
- Bleach: Thousand-Year Blood War part 1: The Blood Warfare (episodes 1-13) [2022]
- Bleach: Thousand-Year Blood War part 2: The Separation (episodes 14-26) [2023]
- Bleach: Thousand-Year Blood War part 3: The Conflict (episodes 27-39) [2024]
- Bleach: Thousand-Year Blood War part 4 (episodes 40-52) [TBA]
Bleach: Thousand-Year Blood War part 3 cast list
While the full Bleach: Thousand-Year Blood War part 3 cast won't be confirmed until release, we expect some of the following major players – and their Japanese and English voice actors – to appear in the next cour.
- Ichigo – Masakazu Morita/Johnny Yong Bosch
- Orihime – Yuki Matsuoka/Stephanie Sheh
- Rukia – Fumiko Orikasa/Michelle Ruff
- Yhwach – Takayuki Sugo/Richard Epcar
- Shunsui – Akio Ootsuka/Steve Kramer
- Ichibei – Naomi Kusumi/Aaron LePlante
- Senjumaru – Rina Sato/Jeannie Tirado
- Lille – Satoshi Hino/Evan Michael Lee
- Kon – Mitsuaki Madono/Quinton Flynn
Discover the full picture of some of the biggest anime around with our guides on how to watch Demon Slayer in order and how to watch Pokemon in order. Bleach is also a great starting place for newcomers, so be sure to dive into our overview of best anime for beginners if you want to discover more.
