Bleach: Thousand-Year Blood War’s final season has been rumored to be delayed, and there’s finally confirmation of such. As great as the most recent seasons ofBleachwere, fans could tell that the staff were stretching themselves thin trying to get them out annually, and with there being no official word on the anime’s return halfway through 2025, people started assuming that it was delayed to 2026, if not further.
It’s easy to see why people would assume thatBleach: Thousand-Year Blood Warhas been delayed, and those fears have finally come to fruition. In an interview with Tite Kubo and many of the anime’s principal staff members,Bleach: Thousand-Year Blood Warwas officially stated to have been delayed to 2026, marking an even longer wait for the anime’s return than people would have liked. It’s tough to seeBleach: Thousand-Year Blood Warget delayed, but ultimately, it’s probably in the best interest of the staff and fans alike.
Bleach: Thousand-Year Blood War’s Delay Isn’t Surprising In The Slightest
As disappointing asBleach: Thousand-Year Blood War’s delayis, it’s something fans should have seen coming. While the last two seasons were great for most of their runs, they both featured rushed finales that ended on random clip shows and comedy skits with limited animation, and the season 3 premiere feels as if it was meant to be part of the season 2 finale before they ran out of time to finish it. There have been clear production issues for years, and this delay is the ultimate end result of that.
It’s not hard to see how this happened, of course. Even with the anime only releasing 13 episodes a year, the quality of the production, combined with Studio Pierrot’s other projects, would make it increasingly hard to put out episodes of a consistent quality, and a delay had to have been the only thing saving the series from becoming outright unwatchable.Bleachbeing delayed is nonetheless upsetting, but in the end, there was no other way for things to go.
Why Bleach’s Final Season Will Be Worth The Wait
Bleach: Thousand-Year Blood War Season 4 Is More Exciting Than Ever
Above all else,Bleach’s delay should be seen as a good thing. Season 4 will feature amazing moments fromBleach’s finalesuch as Urahara’s Bankai and the final battle with Yhwach, all of which will have far more content given to them compared to the manga, so overall,Bleach: Thousand-Year Blood War’s delay means that the final act will get the attention it needs to be as great as possible. Even with the delay,Bleach: Thousand-Year Blood Waris still more than exciting, and hopefully, the finished product will live up to that in 2026.
