Bleach: Thousand-Year Blood War Part 4 is certainly marketing itself heavily with the promise of new, anime-original content. It's a tad ironic, however, as one of the biggest criticisms of the original Bleach anime is that it had far too much original content.

The new content in Thousand-Year Blood War has been going on for a while, with part 2 adding a few new scenes, while part 3 had substantially more. Part 4 is looking to have the most new content of the bunch, expanding upon and potentially even changing the ending of the series from what was seen in the manga. Fans have been incredibly excited about this new content, and it's by and large been regarded as a positive addition to the story of the Thousand-Year Blood War arc. So, what makes Thousand-Year Blood War's anime-original content so different from the new content added to the original anime?

Thousand-Year Blood War's New Content Isn't Filler

The New Anime's Original Content Builds On the Story, Rather Than Distract From It

When talking about anime-original content, i.e. story elements that weren't taken from the manga, it's important to discuss the concept of "filler." In the anime fandom, filler is any content which is not drawn from the source material, and which exists only to take up time. Filler doesn't generally enhance character relationships, nor does it advance the plot in any meaningful way. Filler exists because most anime are based on ongoing manga series, and if the anime produces content faster than the manga does, it can easily adapt all available material, leaving the anime writers stuck on where to go from there.

By creating filler episodes or even whole story arcs, the anime can slow down the pace with which it's adapting the manga and avoid overtaking it. The original Bleach was particularly notorious for this; not only did it include individual, one-off filler episodes, but sometimes there would be entire seasons of filler. The filler was not placed with care, either. A few Bleach filler arcs were set in the middle of a fight from the manga, leaving the fight unresolved for months in favor of this anime-original content. This naturally angered fans, who want to continue with the story from the source material, and led to filler content being heavily derided by most.

Thousand-Year Blood War, on the other hand, has taken a very different approach to its anime-original content. By working together closely with manga creator Tite Kubo, the Thousand-Year Blood War writers and animators were able to bring to life scenes that Kubo wanted to do originally, but were forced to be cut for time and scheduling reasons. The new anime's original content does continue to advance the plot or enhance the audience's understanding of certain characters. Uryu Ishida's character, for example, has greatly benefited from new scenes being added to his story in the series.

Thousand-Year Blood War Proves Not All Anime-Original Content is Bad

The Anime's Careful Use of New Content Ensures It Doesn't Hurt Quality

In some fandom spaces, the idea of any new anime-original content is universally reviled, but Thousand-Year Blood War is proving why that perspective isn't always right. The new material being brought into the anime adaptation has allowed things like the reveal of character abilities which weren't shown in the manga, such as Shinji Hirako or Shutara Senjumaru's Bankai, pleasing fans who like to see what characters are capable of. It's had scenes which help with characterization, like original flashbacks. It's even provided more information on the villain's origins.

Because of this, the new content has been wildly celebrated by fans, and these original scenes are some of the most anticipated content of Part 4. It also adds an element of surprise, even for those who are familiar with the story from the manga. No longer do they know exactly what's going to happen before it happens, and that's a good thing. Everyone is experiencing the new content together at the same time, and it provides a lot for fans to talk about and discuss between episodes (and in the long gap between parts).

While filler content is a lot less common in anime than it once was in the days of Naruto and Bleach, the idea of anime-original content seems to still be going strong, and Thousand-Year Blood War is the perfect example of how to do it right. Expanding upon the manga isn't always a bad thing, and can in fact offer additional insight into characters or the world of the series. Hopefully, future adaptations in need of "filler" will consider the Bleach: Thousand-Year Blood War model, instead of adding pointless content that doesn't go anywhere.