While the majority of the main cast remains relatively the same, the series is not without a few notable changes, such as the recast of Yasutora “Chad” Sado. The original Japanese version of BLEACH: Thousand-Year Blood War is currently being simulcast on Hulu in the US, and Disney+ in various regions around the world; however, Latin America and some parts of Europe are still without access to the series, a trend that may very well be the case for the English dub as well.
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The main cast of the English dub of BLEACH: Thousand-Year Blood War features several members who are reprising their roles from the 2004 anime, with Johnny Yong Bosch (Vash The Stampede, Trigun [1998]) returning to play series protagonist Ichigo Kurosaki; Michelle Ruff (Yoko Littner, Gurren Lagann) returning to play Rukia once more; Orihime Inoue will, once again, be played by Stephanie Sheh (Eureka, Eureka Seven), while Derek Stephen Prince (Shino Aburame, Naruto) plays the Quincy Uryu Ishida.
The mysterious master Kisuke Urahara will once again be played by Doug Erholz (Gin Ichimaru, BLEACH); however, Yasutora “Chad” Sado will no longer be played by Jamieson Price (Dreyfus, The Seven Deadly Sins), who stepped down from the role due to his decision to no longer voice characters of colour. He is replaced by Alain Mesa, a relatively new voice actor who has previously played the role of Netflix’s The Great Pretender character Salazar in the series’ English dub.
Other returning cast members include Renji Abarai voice actor Wally Wingert (Wild Tiger, Tiger & Bunny), as well as Dan Woren who voices 6th Squad Captain Kuchiki Byakuya as well as 1st Squad Vice-Captain Chojiro Sasakibe.
BLEACH: Thousand-Year Blood War is the anime adaptation of the final arc; volumes 55-74 of Tite Kubo’s hit manga, BLEACH, and it depicts the climactic final battle between the Shinigami and the Quincies, who were thought to be long gone. It premiered on October 10 on TV Tokyo and its various affiliates, with Hulu and Disney+ making the series available to viewers outside of Japan.
The series is produced by the same studio that produced the original anime, Studio Pierrot, with some changes to staff from the original series. Tomohisa Taguchi (Akudama Drive) is the director of the series, replacing Noriyuki Abe; while Masashi Kudo and Shiro Sagisu return to their roles as Character Designer and Composer respectively. The English dub of BLEACH: Thousand-Year Blood War premieres on Hulu on Friday, November 4.
Source: Anime News Network
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