According to a recent report, Bleach Thousand Year Blood War, the much-anticipated final arc of the hit anime series, has its streaming license acquired by Disney Plus.

The news has caused quite a stir among fans for a number of reasons. Summer Time Rendering, the last anime that Disney+ licensed, has been region locked to Japan since the time of release. The anime series has been airing for the past 18 weeks, but many overseas fans still don't have access to the show, and it won't release internationally until all 25 episodes have come out in Japan.

Sternritter Bleach Thousand Year Blood War

The second issue anime fans are afraid of is censorship. Bleach is known to boast a high level of blood and gore. Furthermore, the author has stated that the anime show will include a revised scenario. It will also expand on many original events and feature some brand new fight scenes. So, fans are worried that Disney Plus will censor some crucial scenes from the final season.

Of course, we can't be sure if Bleach's final season will follow the same release pattern as Summer Time Rendering, as there is still no official confirmation of the news. Also, censorship is nothing new to Bleach, regardless of the streaming service. The old anime run had a lot of details censored from the manga version. Missing arms were replaced, injuries were toned down, and many other details were converted to less bloody versions. So, fans fear that the final season will face a similar issue. However, Tite Kubo, the manga's author, confirmed that the Thousand Year Blood War arc wouldn't censor anything.

When the anime was first announced, the author confirmed that he was drawing the original manga with TV restrictions in mind, but he didn't do that with the new production crew and went all out. He also has great confidence in the director Taguchi and scenario writer Hiramatsu and says that both have a deep understanding of the series. So, fans shouldn't be worried about Disney Plus cutting off any scenes from the Final arc.

The only issue lies in whether Bleach will have simultaneous Japanese and worldwide releases or if it will be released in bulk after airing in Japan like Summer Time Rendering. Well, we'll hopefully learn more about it when Disney officially confirms the acquisition.