Bleach recap: the story so far

No. 01 · 2004 · Series

Bleach recap

This entry covers the original series, 366 episodes from 2004 to 2012. In the Substitute Soul Reaper arc, Ichigo Kurosaki, a teenager who can see ghosts, takes the powers of the Soul Reaper Rukia Kuchiki to save his family from a Hollow and starts doing her job. In the Soul Society arc, Rukia is taken back and sentenced to death for giving away her powers, and Ichigo, Orihime, Chad and the Quincy Uryu Ishida invade Soul Society to save her. Ichigo learns his Bankai and beats Byakuya, Rukia's brother, and captain Sosuke Aizen reveals he faked his death, stole the Hogyoku and defects to Hueco Mundo, the world of Hollows, with Gin Ichimaru and Kaname Tosen. In the Arrancar arcs, Aizen builds an army of Arrancar led by the Espada, Ichigo learns to control his inner Hollow, and the group goes to Hueco Mundo to rescue Orihime, where Ichigo kills the Espada Ulquiorra. The Soul Reapers then fight Aizen in a fake Karakura Town. The series also has long filler arcs, including the Bounts, the Zanpakuto rebellion and a new captain, Amagai, which can be skipped.

How Bleach ends

Ichigo uses the Final Getsuga Tensho to defeat Aizen, who is sealed by Kisuke Urahara and imprisoned, and Ichigo loses his Soul Reaper powers. Seventeen months later, in the Lost Substitute Soul Reaper arc, Kugo Ginjo and his Fullbringers offer to help him regain power, but Ginjo is using him. The Soul Reapers give Ichigo their power through Rukia, and he defeats Ginjo. The anime stopped here in 2012 and returned with the Thousand-Year Blood War in 2022.

No. 02 · 2006 · Film · optional

Bleach: Memories of Nobody recap

Ichigo and Rukia find ghostly spirits appearing in Karakura Town and meet Senna, a cheerful, mysterious Soul Reaper who destroys them and won't explain herself. Ichigo follows her around town while Rukia goes to Soul Society for answers. The spirits are Blanks, souls who have lost their memories while lost between worlds, and Senna's memories are a jumble of theirs. She turns out to be the Shinenju, a being formed from the Blanks' memories. The Dark Ones, exiles from Soul Society led by Ganryu, capture Senna and use her to collapse the Valley of Screams, which will make the human world and Soul Society collide. Soul Society orders her handed over, and Ichigo refuses.

How Bleach: Memories of Nobody ends

Ichigo defeats Ganryu, but the worlds keep colliding, and Senna gives her life to push them apart. Dying, she asks Ichigo to take her to a graveyard to find her name, and he tells her it is there. Rukia explains that everyone's memories of Senna will fade, since she never truly existed.

Post-credits scenes

Yes. After the credits, Ichigo sees the red ribbon he gave Senna drifting by on a bridge, and a girl who looks like her. He keeps it to himself.

No. 03 · 2007 · Film · optional

Bleach: The DiamondDust Rebellion recap

During its transport, the King's Seal, a sacred Soul Society artifact, is stolen, and captain Toshiro Hitsugaya goes after the thief alone. Soul Society declares him a traitor. Ichigo tracks him down in the human world and helps him. The thief is Sojiro Kusaka, Hitsugaya's friend from the academy: both inherited the same ice Zanpakuto, Hyorinmaru, and the ruling Central 46 ordered them to fight to the death for it. When Hitsugaya refused, Kusaka was executed, though he survived in Hueco Mundo. Kusaka wants revenge on Soul Society, and Ichigo has to prove Hitsugaya's innocence while the Gotei 13 hunts them both.

How Bleach: The DiamondDust Rebellion ends

Kusaka uses the seal and becomes a giant ice dragon, but the power runs wild and Hollows pour out of an ice castle. Ichigo and Hitsugaya destroy the dragon, and Hitsugaya kills Kusaka. Hitsugaya is cleared, the seal is restored, and he and Rangiku visit Kusaka's grave.

Post-credits scenes

No. There is no post-credits scene.

No. 04 · 2008 · Film · optional

Bleach: Fade to Black recap

Two mysterious siblings attack Mayuri Kurotsuchi's lab, causing an explosion of spirit energy. They erase Rukia's memories, and everyone else's memories of her, and take her to the Rukon District. Ichigo and Kon go to Soul Society to find her, but the captains no longer remember Ichigo and treat him as an intruder. Kisuke Urahara learns that a parasitic Hollow is controlling the siblings. When Ichigo and Renji find Rukia, her memories come back.

How Bleach: Fade to Black ends

The girl's rage fuses the siblings and Rukia into a monster, "Dark Rukia". Ichigo frees Rukia with his own spirit energy, and Byakuya and Renji destroy the monster. The dying siblings regret what they did, and Rukia names them Homura and Shizuku before they die. Ichigo tells Rukia her memories of them won't fade.

Post-credits scenes

The home video release adds a short extra scene of Ichigo, Rukia and Kon heading back to the World of the Living.

No. 05 · 2010 · Film · optional

Bleach: Hell Verse recap

Sinners, souls condemned to Hell, attack Ichigo's family, and their leader Shuren kidnaps Ichigo's sister Yuzu. Kokuto, a Sinner who saves Ichigo's other sister Karin, offers to guide Ichigo into Hell, and Rukia, Renji and Uryu go with him. Shuren wants Ichigo to break the gates of Hell to free the Sinners. After Shuren is defeated, Kokuto reveals he set everything up to use Ichigo's Hollow power to break his own chains, cuts down Ichigo's friends and tells him Yuzu has become a Sinner. Ichigo's Hollow takes over, and Renji gets Ichigo and Yuzu out, leaving himself, Rukia and Uryu trapped.

How Bleach: Hell Verse ends

Yuzu recovers, and Ichigo goes back alone to the deepest level of Hell, where his friends are being consumed. Hell's guardians become armour for Ichigo, who breaks everyone's chains and binds Kokuto, dragging him back into the depths. The group escapes before the gate closes.

Post-credits scenes

Yes. After the credits, Yuzu wakes up with no memory of what happened, and Karin hugs her.

No. 06 · 2022 · Series

Bleach: Thousand-Year Blood War recap

This entry covers the Thousand-Year Blood War, the anime's final arc, in four parts from 2022 to 2026. The Wandenreich, an army of Quincies hidden inside Soul Society's shadows and led by Yhwach, the father of all Quincies, declares war. In the first invasion, Head Captain Yamamoto is killed and Ichigo's Bankai is broken. Ichigo learns his mother Masaki was a Quincy and his father Isshin a Soul Reaper captain, and he reforges his Zanpakuto with help from Squad Zero, the Royal Guard. Uryu joins the Wandenreich and is named Yhwach's successor. In the second invasion, the Quincies' elite Sternritter fight the captains across Soul Society, Kenpachi, Byakuya, Mayuri, Hitsugaya and others win and lose battles, and Yhwach reaches the Soul King's palace. He kills the Soul King and absorbs his power, reshaping the palace into his fortress. Aizen is released from prison to fight, and Ichigo, Orihime, Chad, Uryu and Renji climb to face Yhwach.

How Bleach: Thousand-Year Blood War ends

The anime's last two episodes air October 20 and 27, 2026. In the manga they adapt, Uryu's silver arrowhead briefly strips Yhwach of his power, and Ichigo kills him with help from Aizen's illusion. Ten years later, Ichigo is married to Orihime and Rukia to Renji, and their children meet.