The Ultimate Bleach Anime Watch Guide: Canon And Filler Episodes

Bleach is one of the most influential shonen anime of all time. It is among the big three shonen anime, along with Naruto and One Piece.

After ten years after the airing of the last episodes, the most anticipated arc of the series, the Thousand Year Blood War arc, recently got aired last year in October, titled Bleach: Thousand Year Blood War.

The second season of Bleach: Thousand Year Blood War is just around the corner. And if you are not caught up on the anime, then there is no better time!

In this article, we will provide you with all the episode numbers in the anime that you can skip.

By the way, did you know that Bleach has the fifth-highest number of filler episodes? To know which anime has the highest number of filler episodes, click here.

Before skipping, we must understand what sort of episodes can be skipped. In Bleach anime, there are two types of arcs or episodes. These are:

• Canon Episodes: These are episodes that exist in the manga, and you don’t want to skip them.
• Filler Episodes: These are anime-only episodes and don’t matter much in the grand scheme of things. You can skip them if you don’t have much time.

Now that we understand what these terms mean, let’s dive into the canon episodes.

Bleach Anime Canon Episodes:

These are all the canon episodes, and skipping them is not advisable.

1. Agent of the Shinigami Arc – Episodes 1 to 20
2. Soul Society: The Sneak Entry Arc – Episodes 21 to 41
3. Soul Society: The Rescue Arc – Episodes 42 to 63
4. Arrancar: The Arrival Arc – Episodes 110 to 131
5. Arrancar: The Hueco Mundo Sneak Entry Arc – Episodes 132 to 151
6. Arrancar: The Fierce Fight Arc – Episodes 152 to 167
7. Arrancar vs. Shinigami Arc – Episodes 190 to 205
8. The Past Arc – Episodes 206 to 212
9. Arrancar: Decisive Battle of Karakura Arc – Episodes 321 to 299
10. Arrancar: Downfall Arc – Episodes 266 to 316
11. The Lost Substitute Shinigami Arc – Episodes 343 to 366

After this, you can directly jump to Bleach: Thousand Year Blood War.

Bleach Anime Filler Episodes:

These are all the arcs that are not canon, and you can skip them.

1. The Bount Arc – Episodes 64 to 91
2. Bount Assault on Soul Society Arc – Episodes 91 to 109
3. The New Captain Shunsuke Amagai Arc – Episodes 168 to 189
4. Zanpakuto Unknown Tales Arc – Episodes 230 to 265
5. Gotei 13 Invading Army Arc – Episodes 317 to 342

Other than the above episodes, there are also some other filler episodes, which mainly span from one to four episodes. These episodes are:

33, 50, 128-137, 147-149, 204-205, 213-214, 228-229, 266, 287, 298-299, 303-305, 311-316, 355

With this, you are now equipped with all the knowledge you need to finish the series as quickly as possible.