Every Bleach Filler Arc (In Chronological Order) (2024)

When Bleach came out, it was an instant hit. It quickly became a permanent fixture and one of the Shōnen Big Three, the crown jewels of Weekly Shōnen Jump, along with Naruto and One Piece. Right after the first three arcs received their magnificent conclusions, the showrunners capitalized on the series' popularity by incorporating Bleach filler episodes.

Unfortunately, these filler storylines had no bearing on Bleach's original narrative. They drew vague allusions to the source material, creating a warped version of Soul Society that often directly conflicted with established plot elements. However, Bleach filler arcs also gave fans something to enjoy while Tite Kubo was busy concocting a new set of manga volumes to restart the anime canon. That said, the filler arcs took up quite a bit of the Bleach watch time.

Updated on September 2, 2024, by Ajay Aravind: Although the Thousand-Year Blood War arc concluded in 2016, it took over six years for the anime adaptation to be released. The Bleach fandom was unquestionably delighted when the first episode aired on October 11th, 2022, explaining the show's meteoric rise in the MyAnimeList rankings. That said, there are several Bleach filler arcs as well as individual filler episodes scattered throughout the story.

1 The Bount Arc Is The First Of Two Storylines Following The Same Concept

Number of Episodes: 28

In the Bount arc, Urahara's secret mod souls encounter Ichigo, Chad, Renji, and Orihime. At this point, they are destined to be enemies and treated as such. Later, however, it becomes clear that Kisuke invented Noba, Kurodo, and Ririn to identify certain entities known as Bounts. These entities are ordinary people who can imbibe innocent spirits and obtain immortality. In Episode 69, "Bount! The Ones Who Hunt Souls," the hero faces off against the first villain, Yoshino. However, Ichigo fails miserably and would have died if Rukia Kuchiki hadn't saved him.

This Bleach filler arc continues with Utagawa Ryo kidnapping Ishida Uryu, but the villain's plan is foiled by Yoshino when the latter shifts his allegiance. The Seireitei hierarchy is rather anxious about the Bounts, while Team Ichigo meets the chief antagonist, Jin Kariya, who effortlessly overcomes the protagonist. He kills Yoshino, mounting a large-scale attack against his Shinigami opponents and then returning to his hide-out, where a portal exists to access the Seireitei directly. Thankfully, Ichigo Kurosaki's Tensa Zangetsu helps maintain the power balance between him and Kariya. Uryu subsequently ends the battle by allowing the Bounts through the portal in the Bount arc's final episode, "Shinigami and Quincy, the Reviving Power."

2 The Bount Assault On Soul Society Arc Ends This Unpopular Narrative

Number of Episodes: 18

The Bount Assault On Soul Society arc is one of the least interesting Bleach filler arcs. Uryu's plan to defeat the Bounts in Soul Society almost seems like a failure since the villains extract Reishi from various aspects of the environment, making them vastly more dangerous. The Bounts cannot bypass the security separating the Rukongai and the Seireitei districts. The Bounts finally break in after conscripting a group of powerful combatants and receiving help from a Squad Eleven spy named Ichinose Maki. In Episode 98, "Clash! Kenpachi Zaraki vs. Ichinose Maki," the Squad Eleven Captain battles and defeats his turncoat subordinate.

Of course, Kariya informs his new "allies" that their services are useless now that their job is done, adding injury to insult by taking them down. Captain-Commander Yamamoto Genryusai finally takes action, ordering his subordinates to spread across the Seireitei and deactivate the Jokaisho "bombs" concealed deep below the surface. The concluding fight between Ichigo Kurosaki and Jin Kariya takes place in "The Wailing Bount! The Last Clash" and ends with the villain slowly disappearing into the air.

3 The New Captain Shusuke Amagai Arc Highlights An Insidious Villain

Number of Episodes: 22

After Aizen's betrayal in the Soul Society arc, he takes Kaname Tosen and Ichimaru Gin along when he flees to Hueco Mundo with the help of the Negación. This leaves a vacancy in Divisions 3, 5, and 9. The first of those is filled by Shusuke Amagai, a character created exclusively for this Bleach filler arc. At the same time, Princess Kasumiouji Rurichiyo travels from Soul Society to Karakura Town, where she and her "bodyguards" disguise themselves as students at Ichigo's school. Random villains unexpectedly appear and attempt to kill Rurichiyo in Episode 171, "The Profusion of Blooming Crimson Flowers," forcing Rukia and Ichigo to take them on.

The heroes then ally with Shusuke Amagai while Vice-Captain Izuru overpowers Makoto Kibune, but the Gotei 13 realizes that something suspicious is going on with the Kasumiouji family. The Shinigami leadership isn't left clueless for too long. Amagai simply kills Gyokaku and sneaks the Princess away to the Division 1 headquarters. Here, he reveals his plan had always been to kill the Captain-Commander as revenge for something that happened to his dad. In Episode 187, "Ichigo Rages! The Assassin's Secret," Amagai effectively neutralizes the incandescent fire of Ryujin Jakka with his bakkoto device. Logically speaking, this should have made no difference, since the old man is strong enough to vaporize nearly every Bankai-wielding warrior in Bleach. Then again, the climactic fight has to be between the protagonist and the antagonist, so it is Ichigo who battles the eponymous villain at the end of The New Captain Shusuke Amagai arc.

4 The Zanpakuto Unknown Tales Arc Reveals Several Zanpakuto Spirits

Number of Episodes: 36

Another string of Bleach filler episodes that partly focus on Yamamoto Genryusai's Ryujin Jakka, the Zanpakuto Unknown Tales arc revolves around a rogue Zanpakuto spirit named Muramasa. This villain seeks independence from the Shinigami, claiming they do nothing but oppress their sentient weapons. As such, Muramasa breaks the bonds between nearly all the Shinigami and their Zanpakuto, making them turn on their original "masters." At first, it seems like Muramasa has captured the Captain-Commander within an unbreakable force field. In Episode 247, "Deceived Shinigami! The World Collapse Crisis," the villain blends Ichigo's Getsuga with some of his own Reiatsu and deflects it at the old man, destroying the green pyramidal barrier.

The immensely powerful Yamamoto has actually been maintaining the shield to prevent Ryujin Jakka from being stolen, which obviously happens. Muramasa traps all the Captains and their Zanpakutos within the blazing inferno before initiating the final stage of his plan. He frees his original real owner, Kuchiki Kouga, after decades of imprisonment. Kouga retaliates against Muramasa, spouting some random nonsense about being betrayed by his Zanpakuto, which drives Muramasa to the point of no return. Ichigo Kurosaki arrives in time, but the Zanpakuto spirit somehow transports both of them into his former Shinigami's "inner world." After an explosive match in "Final Chapter·Zanpakuto Unknown Tales," Muramasa dissipates into nothingness.

5 The Gotei 13 Invading Army Arc Is The Last Bleach Filler Arc

Number of Episodes: 26

This Bleach filler arc commences with Episode 318, "Renji vs. Rukia?! Battle With Comrades," where Ikkaku Madarame and Renji Abarai inexplicably decide to attack Ichigo and Rukia. Yoruichi rescues him before the situation gets worse, disclosing that the two Shinigami are inventions of a researcher named Inaba Kageroza. This villain has somehow developed replicants of several central characters in the Seireitei, each with the same memories, knowledge, and powers. Known as the Reigai, their motivations are unclear except that they want to destroy the Gotei 13. In Karakura Town, Team Ichigo meets the mild-mannered Kujo Nozomi, who is being chased by Kageroza and his minions.

In Soul Society, the fake versions of Shunsui and Jushiro decide to attack their mentor, Captain-Commander Yamamoto Genryusai, since they foolishly believe they can defeat the old man. Urahara Kisuke, the man who knows all the secrets, admits that Kujo and Kageroza were originally part of a single soul belonging to a Yushima Oko. Inaba ultimately forces Nozomi to recombine back into Oko. All things considered, the real hero of this arc is Kon, who pretends to be the Regai of Kurotsuchi Nemu. In Episode 341, "Invading Army Arc, Final Conclusion," Oko's attempt to obliterate the spirit world is turned against him when his Reigai destroy themselves and, subsequently, the "fusion" breaks apart. Also, Ichigo loses his Shinigami powers once again in The Gotei 13 Invading Army arc.

The Era Of Anime Filler Is Coming To An End

Anime series just aren't as long as they used to be. During the era of the Shōnen Big Three — Bleach, Naruto, and One Piece — there were numerous anime with 200+ episodes. To prevent the manga storyline from falling behind the anime adaptation, production houses often created filler episodes to pass the time while the mangaka worked on the next arc. Filler arcs have been met with both criticism and applause, as they offered new insights into the respective anime world while simultaneously extending pointless storylines.

On the other hand, today's popular shows like Jujutsu Kaisen, Demon Slayer, My Hero Academia, and Spy x Family have dozens of episodes with very little filler, if any. With anime studios working extra hard and waiting long enough for the manga to catch up, there doesn't seem to be any need for filler anymore. This might be appreciated by Bleach fans because the 52 expected episodes from the Thousand-Year Blood War arc contain zero filler. That said, there is a lot of canon information in the anime that wasn't present in the manga, but this only helps expand on the world created by Tite Kubo.

Bleach

TV-14

Bleachrevolves around Kurosaki Ichigo, a regular always-grouchy high-schooler who for some strange reason is able to see the souls of the dead around him.

Release Date

October 5, 2004

Cast

Masakazu Morita , Fumiko Orikasa , Hiroki Yasumoto , Yuki Matsuoka , Noriaki Sugiyama , Kentarô Itô , Shinichirô Miki , Hisayoshi Suganuma

Main Genre

Anime

Seasons

17 Seasons

Creator

Tite Kubo

Number of Episodes

366 Episodes

Streaming Service(s)

Hulu , Prime Video