Bleach Watch Order – COMPLETE Guide For Beginners

If you’ve only recently heard of Bleach or you’re a returning fan that wants to make a comeback and sort out the horrid chaos of 366 episodes plus a brand-new sequel series, you need the right guide to watch it properly. 

Our complete watch order breaks down the entire Bleach series so you never miss an important episode while having the option to skip fillers. Catch up ASAP before the final cour of the Thousand-Year Blood War arrives. In this article, we’re talking about the complete Bleach Watch Order you should try.

Why the Watch Order Matters

While Bleach isn’t as long as anime like One Piece, it is still a multi-arc series with series arcs, standalone movies, OVAs, and the TYBW sequel series that aired after a decade-long hiatus. Watching it out of order won’t exactly ruin everything but it will leave out some important context, especially when movies reference events from the main series.

So the general rule is to watch the main series first and slot the movies in at the right moments. You should also treat the filler arcs as optional unless you have enough time to tackle them.

The Complete Bleach Watch Order

Bleach Original Series (2004 – 2012)

The original Bleach anime had 366 episodes and adapted most of Tite Kubo’s manga except the final arc. Below, we’ve broken them down by arc and marked fillers:

Agent of the Shinigami Arc (Episodes 1-20)

This is where everything started as Ichigo acquired his Soul Reaper powers from Rukia Kuchiki and began fighting Hollows. All of this came about because of his need to protect Karakura Town.

Soul Society: The Sneak Entry & Rescue Arc (Episodes 21-63)

If I were to pinpoint the plot development that transformed Bleach from a good shounen into a phenomenon, I suppose I could say that it’s this arc. Ichigo and his friends invade Soul Society to rescue Rukia, and then the story doesn’t slow down at all.

Bount Arc (Episodes 64-109) FILLER

This is the first major filler arc, and its focus is on a group of soul-sucking individuals known as Bounts. If you’re looking for the main story, you can pass on this one without worrying about missing anything important. However, this isn’t necessarily bad to watch. Some fans choose to consider this a side story and enjoy it for its own merits.

Arrancar Arc (Episodes 110-131)

The story takes an interesting turn as Aizen comes out of the shadows with his army of Arrancar, which are Hollows that have gained powers like Shinigami. The arc takes the series back on track after the filler storyline, reminding you of the reason you started watching the series in the first place.

Hueco Mundo Arc (Episodes 132-167)

Ichigo and the others head into Hueco Mundo to rescue Orihime. The Espada get proper introductions here, and the fights start carrying real weight.

Filler / Interlude (Episodes 168-189)

All of these episodes are purely filler and contribute nothing to the plot. You might want to skip it if you’re speedrunning watching the series.

The Past Arc – Turn Back the Pendulum (Episode 190-203)

This arc, set 100 years ago, explains what really happened with Aizen’s betrayal and what happened to the Visored to become what they are today. It’s a short arc, but the information you get from reading it makes everything that’s currently going on in the present time make sense.

Filler / Interlude (Episodes 204-212)

This is another batch of filler episodes that you can skip easily without any consequences.

Karakura Riser Arc (Episodes 213-214) FILLER

It’s a short filler arc that parodies super sentai shows and it’s completely optional, but if you want to laugh before getting emotional damage in the later arcs, it works.

Fake Karakura Town Arc & Deicide (Episodes 215-342)

This is what everything has been leading up to since the Soul Society arc. The Espada are handled, Aizen’s true powers are revealed, and the battle is moved to the real world. This arc should not be skipped.

Fullbring Arc (Episodes 343–366)

The story takes place 17 months after the Fake Karakura battle, and there is a new group called Xcution plus a new power system. It’s slower than the other ones, but it does its job to set up the final arc of the manga.

How to Watch the Movies

The four Bleach movies are not part of the official series, so there’s nothing in them that affects the actual series in any way. However, they are worth checking out if you want to spend some more time with the characters and enjoy some great animation. If you decide not to bother with them, you’re not missing out on any of the actual series.

Memories of Nobody (2006)

This one is worth watching after Episode 109. A mysterious Soul Reaper named Senna appears in Karakura Town, and Ichigo gets involved in a conflict with people called Blanks. This is a good entry point for the movies.

The DiamondDust Rebellion (2007)

You can watch this movie after Episode 125 where Toshiro Hitsugaya goes rogue after a stolen artifact puts him under suspicion. If you’re a Hitsugaya fan, this is probably the best of the four.

Fade to Black (2008)

This is preferably great to follow after Episode 203 as Rukia’s memories are wiped and even the people closest to her forget she exists. The mood is noticeably darker than the other films, which makes it stand out.

Hell Verse (2010)

Watch this one after Episode 299. Ichigo’s sister gets dragged into Hell, and Ichigo unlocks a new form to fight his way through it.

Bleach: Thousand-Year Blood War (2022 – Present)

This is the arc that fans have been waiting for for years. TYBW follows the final arc of the original manga, which features the main characters fighting against the King of Quincies, Yhwach, and his army, the Sternritter. It is still produced by Studio Pierrot, but they’ve upgraded their animation and made the adaptation much more faithful.

The series is split into four cours.

• Cour 1 – Consists of episodes 1-13 which aired on October 2022
• Cour 2 – Also known as The Separation, it contains episodes 14-26 from July 2023
• Cour 3 – Labeled as The Conflict, involving Episodes 27-42 which aired on October 2023 – March 2024
• Cour 4 – It’s announced to be the final arc of the series and it’s scheduled to air in 2026

Conclusion

Bleach is definitely one of those shows that gets better the more time you put into it. You get hooked from the early arcs, then become a die-hard fan from the Soul Society arc, and before you know it, Tite Kubo’s world-building finally comes together in TYBW.

Now that TYBW has finally completed what the manga started, it’s never been better to sit down and watch the whole thing from the very beginning. You have the whole roadmap in front of you, know what to skip and what to focus on, and for the first time since Bleach started, the finish line is finally in sight.