Bleach has made a grand return to manga as a new arc celebrating it’s 20th anniversary has begun. Mangaka Tite Kubo once again takes over the story which takes place following the events of the series original run from 2001 to 2016. In the new arc Ichigo Kurosaki (now married to Orihime with a son named Kazui) has been invited to a ceremony taking place in Soul Society by Renji Abarai (now married to Rukia with a daughter named Ichika). As the ceremony gets underway Soul Society is attacked by new and old enemies alike.

Bleach: Howl From the Jaws of Hell is a 2021 one-shot continuation of the 2001 manga series Bleach. It is written and illustrated by Tite Kubo, and published by Viz Media & Shonen Jump in English. The one-shot is available for free on the Shonen Jump app.

Editor’s Note: Near complete spoilers for Bleach: Howl From the Jaws of Hell and the overall Bleach series may be present within this review.

After four years of dormancy Bleach is making a comeback to the now mainstream anime and manga world. With the anime coming back to cover the Thousand-Year Blood War finale now’s the perfect time to test the waters with the return of the source material. Manga has had a major surge in popularity and it often felt like Bleach got a bum deal on the cusp of it’s endgame as the rise of the manga (and anime) industry began. Tite Kubo is now taking this opportunity with what very much appears to be a test pilot of sorts for a direct Bleach sequel.

THE GOOD: Ten or so years have passed since the original ending of Bleach. Ichigo has essentially retired as a pseudo-Soul Reaper and has settled down & married Orihime Inoue with whom he has a young son named Kazui. Despite his retirement he still frequently communicates with his friends and allies in Soul Society which has became much more technologically advanced with T.V.s and smart devices now present within the world. Renji & Rukia’s daughter Ichika has been training in Soul Society to be a Soul Reaper under Ikkaku Madarame and has seemingly grown attached to Ichigo & Orihime’s son Kazui. Ichigo meets up with Renji in Soul Society where he helps out with the ceremony. 

Upon the ceremony going underway they’re attacked by revived enemies who have seemingly escaped from hell. This includes the revived and hollowed Szayelaporro Granz. Granz meeting Ichigo for the first time wants to find Uryu. Ichigo, slightly surprised Granz is aware of who he is begins to interrogate him. Granz claims that the jaws of hell have opened up and the dead souls will once again rise before disappearing. Back at Karakura Town Kazui has snuck out again and witnesses hell butterflies roaming the area. 

While the one-shot is a gift for fans in celebration of it’s anniversary and the upcoming revival of the anime the true intentions of “Howls From the Jaws of Hell are pretty clear. It’s a test run to see if a revival of the source material is viable. Considering the moderate success of spinoff series Burn the Witch and the interest gained with the one-shot’s announcement I’d say now is probably the best time to go all in on the series as much as you can. Anime and manga revivals have been very big with classic series such as Inuyasha and Digimon recently finding success in said areas. The source material returning on the heels of the anime would likely find greater success with Bleach possibly even making a return to the top of Shounen Jump/Shueisha’s biggest series.

In regards to the one-shot itself, I think it was smart to have it focus almost completely on the newer world building aspects that have occurred since the finale. It paces itself very well with the introduction to new world elements and characters. There’s a noticeable balance between the original story & world and pitch for a would be sequel. This is something that’s often missed with sequel series either on purpose or through poor writing. Though to be fair some creators prefer their sequels to focus more on new world elements and other times it’s a demand of the publisher/studio/etc. The art is some real neat macabre stuff which is kind of signature for Bleach. But from my memory it’s not usually this heavy which leads me to believe that this is going to be a much darker direction for the sequel.

THE BAD: The arc is admittedly rather fast paced at 73 pages. However, considering this is meant to sell the potential of a direct sequel that can be forgiven.

OVERALL THOUGHTS: Bleach is back and healthier as a franchise now more than ever. The revival of the anime to cap off the canon to a proper finale was merely the beginning. Tite Kubo & Shueisha have big plans in store for the long-running franchise with many, many years added to it’s lifespan. Otaku Dome gives Bleach: Howl From the Jaws of Hell an 80 out of 100.