Rating summary

Movie		3.5
Video		4.0
Audio		4.0
Extras		3.5
Overall		3.5

Bleach: Thousand Year Blood War: Part 1 Blu-ray Movie Review

Bleach Thousand Year Blood War Part 1 brings back the action-packed adventures of the beloved hit series that spawned an entire franchise. Based on the original manga created by Tite Kubo, Bleach Thousand Year Blood War Part 1 features theme music performed by Tatsuya Kitani (opening) and SennaRin (ending). Bleach Thousand Year Blood War Part 1 features animation produced by studio Pierrot (Bleach, Bleach: Memories in the Rain).

Produced by Genki Negishi (Kaguya-sama: Love is War -Ultra Romantic-, Kaguya-sama: Love is War -The First Kiss That Never Ends-), Makoto Hijikata (Boruto: Naruto Next Generations, Twin Star Exorcists), Tasuku Honda (Haikyu!! To The Top, Bleach: Thousand-Year Blood War - The Separation), Yoshihiro Tominaga (Akudama Drive, Mr. Osomatsu). Bleach Thousand Year Blood War Part 1 continues the journey that began in the hit saga of Bleach. The series brings back Ichigo Kurosaki for more epic adventures.  

Ichigo Kurosaki (Masakazu Morita) gains the special abilities of a Soul Reaper. Bestowed with the gift of Soul Reaping now, Ichigo takes on the mantle unexpectedly as a substitute Soul Reaper. Soon things begin to escalate as Ichigo becomes intertwined with the saga unfolding with the Soul Society. The society brings together departed souls. Ichigo begins a big journey with his close friends by his side. Brand new enemies have started to appear in Ichigo’s hometown. Events are stirring in Karakura.

A determined Ichigo grabs hold of his Zanpakuto fights against the new villainous hordes for the city. Despite the growing strength of Ichigo, the Soul Reapers face new challenges with more missing individuals and the dangers of the Wandenreich. Ichigo is now facing his biggest obstacles to date: everything hangs in the balance. Can Ichigo lead the way and defeat the Wandenreich before these enemies destroy all Soul Reapers? Soul Reaper friend Rukia Kuchiki (Fumiko Orikasa) also returns for the new adventures – and the journey is heading towards the conclusion.

Ichigo Kurosaki is a fan-favorite character of the Bleach saga for a reason – the character has a hip and suave sense of charm and style that carries throughout the popular franchise. Ichigo is determined to wield his enormous strength and his Zanpakuto to fight the villains laying before him. The character continues to be popular with the core fanbase – exuding strength and determination. The character design for Bleach Thousand Year Blood War Part 1 stays true to the original franchise design for the main character. Not only is Ichigo a well-designed character but the supporting cast of characters feature worthwhile designs, too. The character designs by Masashi Kudo (Bleach: The DiamondDust Rebellion, Bleach: The Sealed Sword Frenzy) are highly effective and work wonders for the series. A compelling design effort by Kudo and one that fits the ensemble of characters.

The animation is one of the greatest elements of the entire franchise. The art work continues to be a core component of Bleach Thousand Year Blood War Part 1. The animation for Bleach Thousand Year Blood War Part 1 is overseen by art director Yoshio Tanioka (Star Blazers 2202, Valkyria Chronicles) and the chief animation team. The series features chief animation direction by Masashi Kudo (Survival Game Club!, The Wings of Rean), Kiyoshi Komatsubara (Chivalry of a Failed Knight, Sengoku Night Blood), Kumiko Takayanagi (Natsuyuki Rendezvous, Samurai Flamenco), and Michio Hasegawa (The "Hentai" Prince and the Stony Cat., PERSONA 5 the Animation). The art style is one of the focal points of the production. The animation is ambitious and colorful. The animators on the production help with expanding the original saga and providing a more modern aesthetic for the continuation of the production. The series animation feels both faithful to the original while paving the way with a somewhat more modern style.

The cinematography by Kazuhiro Yamada (Attack on Titan, JoJo's Bizarre Adventure) is a nice highlight of the series and it has a wide range, too. The cinematography showcases a range of colorful animation in spades – showcasing the different light textures of the cinematography in a compelling manner. These elements highlight both the dark and light elements of the series. The series manages to create a more mature tone and gravitas with some of the deeper color hues of the cinematography. These elements expand the aesthetic sensibilities of the franchise.

The score composed by Shirō Sagisu (Bleach, Evangelion: 3.0+1.0: Thrice Upon A Time) is enjoyable and easily one of the most entertaining components of the series production. Sagisu is a good composer – someone with a knack for action music and the essential ingredients to bringing the drama forward. Composer Sagisu handles the breakneck action and the bleak adrenaline-infused moments alongside character pieces. As the original composer for both the original Bleach saga as well as Neon Genesis Evangelion, Sagisu is a talented composer who understands the assignment.

Written by Masaki Hiramatsu (The Garden of Sinners, Toriko) and Tomohisa Taguchi (The Tunnel to Summer, the Exit of Goodbyes, Akudama Drive), Bleach Thousand Year Blood War Part 1 brings a forward momentum to the anime franchise. The saga is building towards a new finale and the continuation has movement for action-anime fans who want more adventures with the cast of characters returning one more time. Hiramatsu and Taguchi explore the epic storytelling of the original manga by Tite Kubo. Die-hard fans will be along for the ride.

Directed by Tomohisa Taguchi (Digimon Adventure: Last Evolution Kizuna, PERSONA 5 the Animation), Bleach Thousand Year Blood War Part 1 brings more of the fun that fans of the original have come to expect. For established longtime fans, Bleach Thousand Year Blood War Part 1 is the continuation of something that one may hold dear. Die-hard fans won’t be able to resist returning to the world of Bleach. Director Taguchi brings the action in spades and there is plenty of adrenaline for action junkies.

Bleach: Thousand Year Blood War: Part 1 Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Released on Blu-ray by VIZ Media, Bleach Thousand Year Blood War Part 1 is presented in 1080p MPEG-4 AVC encoded high-definition in the original television broadcast aspect ratio of 1.78:1 widescreen. The release provides a native high-definition presentation of the series animation. The native high-definition animation is in contrast to the original series (mostly comprised of upscaled animation from standard definition on the Blu-ray disc format). The new sequel saga has a more robust looking appearance as a result. The animation is colorful and vibrant and the aesthetic is well highlighted with the encoding by distributor VIZ.

Even with a significantly more robust looking high-definition presentation compared to upscaled seasons of the original Bleach anime saga, the new saga still retains a somewhat soft visual appearance. The animation is somewhat softer looking compared to the most visually robust anime productions. The encoding also has some issues with occasional banding and the video can look a bit noisy at times, too. Though not a perfect presentation, it is still a decent high-definition encode and one that will satisfy most fans.

Fans of physical media will continue to appreciate the fact that the Blu-ray disc format offers the best possible presentation quality achievable. The Blu-ray disc format allows for higher video-bitrates in comparison to streaming video services – which typically offer more compressed video bit- rates. Though the presentation difference is sometimes only a modest improvement at best, there is still comfort in knowing one has access to the best video presentation on the market.

Bleach: Thousand Year Blood War: Part 1 Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

The release is presented with a selection of lossless audio options: English DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 and Japanese DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 (with English subtitles). The audio capably reproduces the nice sound direction by Yukio Nagasaki (Digimon: Data Squad, One Piece Film Z). The audio capably reproduces the sound effects and the original score. The music is a nice highlight of the audio presentation. Dialogue is clear and is well reproduced on the release as well. The dynamics are impressive. The audio mixing isn't as immersive as it could be with a somewhat limited 2.0 mix. Nonetheless, a decent audio encode.

Fans of the physical media format will be pleased knowing that the release features two lossless audio options. Physical media continues to be superior with lossless audio quality options. Streaming video services only provide lossy (non-lossless) audio quality by comparison. For audiophiles seeking the absolute best sound presentation quality achievable, the Blu-ray format offers a nice advantage.

Bleach: Thousand Year Blood War: Part 1 Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

The limited-edition collector's edition includes a collectors art box. The chipboard art box features a premium box-set design quality and features embossing on the art-work (with the nice title embossing adding to the quality of the package design). The box-set features a simple but effective design that looks great in hand.

The set also includes a deluxe booklet featuring 72 pages of content. The booklet includes an episode guide for the collection, a behind-the-scenes section, and an art section for highlighting character design art. There are plenty of pictures and illustrations highlighted throughout the booklet.

Upon opening the deluxe box-set, one will find the main Blu-ray case includes distinct art different from the key art of the chipboard art-box. The art sleeve also includes reversible artwork (one side features a dark background with Ichigo and the other features alternative artwork for the box-set and uses a light background). These design touches add to the quality of the package and add value to the box-set for collectors who want to own a nice edition to have and display on their shelf.

On disc supplements include:

Bleach: Thousand Year Blood War 2023 Anime Expo Panel Featuring Masakazu Morita (HD, 16:48)

Ichigo Explains:

Bleach in 150 Seconds: The Substitute / Looking Back 1 (HD, 2:40)

Bleach in 150 Seconds: The Soul Society / Looking Back 2 (HD, 2:40)

Bleach in 150 Seconds: The Arrancar / Looking Back 3 (HD, 2:40)

Bleach in 150 Seconds: The Lost Agent / Looking Back 4 (HD, 2:41)

#05 Berenice Gabrielli "Q" Full Version (HD, 00:45)

Special Ending Episode 1 (HD, 3:42)

Special Ending Episode 7 (HD, 1:31)

Special Ending Episodes 12-13 (HD, 2:59)

Art Gallery includes 30 click-through illustrations.

Clean Opening and Ending (HD, 3:01)

Promotional Videos (HD, 12:55)

More from VIZ (HD, 1:14)

Bleach: Thousand Year Blood War: Part 1 Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Bleach Thousand Year Blood War Part 1 offers more action-packed adventure with the original cast of characters. The journey isn't over for Ichigo Kurosaki. The new saga picks things up and brings more excitement for fans of the franchise.

The Blu-ray release provides a noteworthy high-definition presentation and lossless audio encoding. The box-set also includes a nice supplemental package that includes the Bleach: Thousand Year Blood War 2023 Anime Expo Panel Featuring Masakazu Morita. The limited-edition box set also includes deluxe packaging with a nice collector's box and a 72-page booklet. Fans of the anime might not be able to resist.