Bleach is Tite Kubo's most iconic work, coming out of the manga and receiving an anime adaptation that has become a hit around the world. But have you ever heard of - or known about - the filler episodes of Bleach? They have sparked debate in the otaku community for years for being side stories, and today we're going to help you figure out which of these stories you should watch and which you can skip!
Whether you are a fan who wants to revisit Bleach fillers, a curious person who has never watched the anime and wants to find out more about Bleach fillers, or even a lazy person who wants to skip these episodes, you have come to our list of Bleach fillers and now we will help you figure out which ones are must-sees and which ones you can skip.
The fillers of Bleach came to give this spacing of time necessary for Tite Kubo to continue his main story that, in the future, would be animated. But these anime fillers stand out for another reason: the work has a filler arc, and within that arc, we have a filler! Basically they are fillers within fillers. But come on, see now the list of Bleach fillers that you can not miss!
Understand why Bleach's fillers exist
It is worth remembering that, for the most part, fillers in anime are made when the anime has already reached the original work - the weekly chapters of the manga - and therefore cannot follow up on the main story. To keep delivering frequent episodes to the fans, the animation studios choose to create almost always non-canonical (or semi-canonical) stories, and with Bleach it was no different.
Are all the filler episodes of Bleach worth watching?
Well, when we talk about filler episodes in anime, we are talking about an animation that is not part of the original work, that is: their story was not written by the official author of the work. This can make this part of the story that is not connected to the main plot random, lacking the author's identity, and even very drawn out.
Not watching the Bleach fillers, or even just some of the fillers, makes no difference to the ultimate goal of following the story told by Tite Kubo and that brings Ichigo as the protagonist.
But this is not only true for Bleach. Another anime often remembered by fans is Naruto Shippuden, which has an endless list of fillers that, for the most part, add nothing to the main story. Whether or not to watch all the Bleach fillers is a choice solely of the fan who is following the work, but it does not interfere with the experience of those who decide to skip them.
However, if you are one of those fans who likes to follow every detail, comment on every episode, and get the most out of the experience of watching a complete work, Bleach's fillers - even if they are not influential in the main story - can be a fun experience for you!
What are the most relevant filler episodes in Bleach?
Before we move on to the list of episodes that we recommend you watch, it is worth remembering that not all fillers are random and unnecessary. The real fillers don't add anything to the main plot that is directly adapted from the manga, but we still have canonical and semi-canonical fillers.
The list of all Bleach fillers are divided between "random" fillers, canonical fillers and semi-canonical fillers. The canonical ones are those that follow the official plot chosen by the author, without adding extra elements to just "filler" from one episode to the next. The semi-fillers, on the other hand, are episodes in which we find scenes that follow the main story of the manga, but add different elements to fit in with the narrative of the anime.
Canonical filler episodes in Bleach that you need to watch!
1-26, 28-31, 34-45, 47-49, 51-63, 110, 112-115, 117-118, 120-127, 138-140, 142, 144-145, 150-155, 157-159, 162-167, 191-192, 194-203, 208, 210-212, 215-221, 224-226, 266, 269-273, 275, 277-283, 284*, 286, 289, 292-294, 296-297, 300-302, 306-309, 344, 346-350, 352-354, 356-366.
Must-see semi-canonical episodes in Bleach!
27, 32, 46, 109, 111, 116, 119, 141, 143, 146, 156, 160-161, 190, 193, 206-207, 209, 222-223, 267-268, 274, 276, 285, 288, 290-291, 295, 310, 342-343, 345, 351.
Bleach filler episodes we don't recommend
33, 50, 64-108, 128-137, 147-149, 168-189, 204-205, 213-214, 227-265, 287, 298-299, 303-305, 311-341, 355.
How long would it take to complete them?
Bleach is an anime that has a total of 366 episodes (which adds up to about 7320 minutes), but of the filler episodes, Bleach has 163, which is 3260 minutes! Converting this to hours, to give you a better idea, would be about 54.3 hours in total that you would need to put in to watch the entire list of Bleach fillers.
In other words: 44.5% of the anime is just filler! It is understandable that Bleach is an anime remembered when the subject is fillers, not least because it is one thing for anime to bring one or another filler to slow down the story or even fulfill its purpose of giving the manga more time to distance itself, but when we have more than 50 hours of fillers, it is really hard to defend (especially if they are weak stories that bring no impact to the main story).
Digging a little deeper into the calculations, it is even possible that instead of watching 163 filler episodes of Bleach, you could use that same time to watch numerous small works or works that only have the first season, such as Jujutsu Kaisen, One Punch-Man, Hells Paradise, Hellsing, Cyberpunk: Mercenaries and many other titles that are much smaller, but deliver incredible stories!
List of all Bleach's filler episodes and arcs
- The Replacement arc (or Agent Shinigami arc) - goes from episode 1 to 20;
- Soul Society Arc: The Entrance - runs from episode 21 to 41 (32 being semi filler; and 33 filler);
- Soul Society Arc: The Rescue - runs from episode 42 to 63 (only 50 is filler);
- The Bounts - from episode 64 to 91 (all are filler);
- The Bounts' Attack on the Soul Society - episode 92 to 108 (92 to 107 are filler; only 108 is semi-filler);
- Arrankar: The Arrival - episode 110 to 131 (119 is semi-filler; and from128 to 131 are filler);
- Arrankar: The Sneaky Entrance to the Hueco Mundo - ranging from episode 132 to 151 (of these, 132 through 137 and 147 through 149 are filler);
- Arrankar: The Fierce Fight - runs from episode 152 to 167;
- The New Captain Amagai Shūsuke - runs from episode 168 to 189 (all are filler);
- Arrankar vs Shinigami - goes from episode 190 to 205 (only 204 and 205 are filler);
- The Past Arc - episode 206 to 212 (of these, 206 and 207 are semi filler);
- Arco Arrankar: The False City of Karakura - episode 213 to 229 (213, 214, 228, 229 being filler);
- The Tale of the Unknown Zanpakutō arc - runs from episode 230 to 265 (all are filler);
- Arco Arrankar: The Fall - runs from episode 266 to 316 (287, 298, 299, 303 to 305, 311 to 316 are filler; and 284 semi-filler);
- The 13 Divisions Invasion Army Arc! - goes from episode 317 to 342 (being 317 to 341 filler; and 342 semi filler);
- The Missing Substitute Shinigami arc - running from episode 343 to 366 (347, 351, 357 are semi-filler; and 355 is filler);
- Arc The Bloody Thousand Years' War (In progress);
Ultimately, whether or not to watch the filler episodes of an anime is a personal choice. Speaking specifically of Bleach, skipping the anime's filler list does not interfere at all with the experience of those who seek only the original work adapted for anime. Tite Kubo's plot does not depend on these episodes created exclusively for the anime to be understood as a whole, so the choice is yours and you already have a complete guide!
And, if you're a fan of action pieces in the animated universe, how about checking out our list of The 6 best action anime of all time! Now, see more about the Bleach fillers in this video below:
