Highlights
- BLEACH “THE STORIES” release begins Feb 21, 2026, on YouTube.
- The compilation will cover Soul Society Arc episodes and cast talks.
- Release anchors Thousand-Year Blood War: The Calamity, scheduled for July 2026.
A new commemorative anime project, BLEACH “THE STORIES,” tied to Tite Kubo’s long-running Bleach franchise, will begin releasing from Feb 21, 2026. The project is a retrospective compilation of the original Bleach Television anime series, and the upcoming release will focus on the ‘Soul Society Arc.’
According to the official announcement, BLEACH “THE STORIES” will be released on the TV anime’s official YouTube channel, reportedly at 8:00 pm JST. It will cover anime episodes, opening and ending themes, and a roundtable discussion with the main cast of each episode. The initiative comes before the upcoming instalment of the Bleach: Thousand-Year Blood War Final Part, The Calamity.
The free streaming on YouTube will be time-restricted; episodes will be available for two weeks only after the premiere. Along with the free streaming update, the official website of “THE STORIES" released a new key visual featuring Ichigo Kurosaki, the protagonist of the Bleach manga and anime.
BLEACH “THE STORIES” Release Preludes The Calamity Arc Rollout
The Bleach production committee confirmed a staggered distribution model for BLEACH “THE STORIES” on Sundays rather than a single-day or continuous drop. The first rollout on Feb 21 will cover episodes 21-32, while Feb 28 will cover episodes 33-44. Episodes 45-53 and 54-63 will be segmented on March 7 and 14, respectively.
In addition, the Soul Society opening and ending videos will start releasing on Feb 23 with D-tecnoLife by UVERworld. The release will cover a total of nine opening and closing themes, ending with MOVIN!! by Takacha, on March 13. The cast interviews are expected in March, but the exact release date is yet to be announced.
The limited viewing window of “THE STORIES” project will precede the release of Bleach: Thousand-Year Blood War – The Calamity in July 2026, providing fans a recap of the previous storylines. The adaptation of the concluding part of the Bleach manga, Bleach: Thousand-Year Blood War, was released back in 2022. The second part, subtitled The Separation and third part, The Conflict, were released sequentially in 2023 and 2024.
Whereas the three previous parts of Thousand-Year Blood War were released yearly, the fourth part took two more years to come. Keeping this in mind, BLEACH “THE STORIES” appears to be designed less as nostalgia and more as an audience reacquisition strategy. The Bleach production committee has also announced a new mobile game, BLEACH Mirrors High, set for a Summer 2026 release.
