One of the things many fandoms have now that they didn’t have in, say, the 1990s, was a community to interact with regularly. With the rise of the internet came forums where like-minded fans could come together to discuss their favorite things about their favorite shows. But, then, the ability to talk in real-time and post thoughts, feelings, reactions, and more about what those fans just experienced came with the arrival of social media. So when a significant event happens–like an anime returning after a decade of forced exile–fans will talk about it. Of course, the topic of discussion today is the long-awaited return of Bleach.

Yesterday was the debut of Bleach: Thousand Year Blood War, the anime that would continue the story of the original anime series and finish the plot of the manga. The OG anime was canceled ten years ago, and fans had been hoping and praying ever since that it would get a glorious return. Thankfully, it got just that, and fans couldn’t be happier. We say this because Twitter revealed its Trending Topics well into the day, and Bleach was on top with over 400,000 posts about it and its return. It even beat World Mental Health Day, a critical topic in its own right.

It also should be mentioned that those stats are likely much higher, given how they came out around 3 PM, and many people probably didn’t watch the anime’s return until much later. So it might have been around 500K, if not higher, by the time the day was done.

As we talked about yesterday, many fans posted things on Twitter to celebrate the return of the anime, including thanking other fans for not giving up hope on its return. The fanbase is still dedicated to Ichigo Kurosaki, and fan support led to this moment.

With the premiere now out, fans can look forward to what happens next with the anime. It was revealed just before the premiere that the new series will have 52 episodes spread across four blocks. That means fans have three more months’ worth of episodes before a break. Those breaks are well-deserved due to the high-quality animation that Studio Pierrot is doing. Plus, that means the anime will get a long run to flesh out the final stories of its creator.

The creator noted that when the anime was canceled a decade ago, he could go “full force” on his story because he didn’t have to fear it being “too grand” for the anime to interpret. Fast forward to now, and multiple anime series have done high-end animations of complex scenes, so fans won’t have to worry about things being censored or “bogged down” due to animation elements.

Thus, you can expect a lot more social media devotion going forward.

Source: ComicBook.com