Here Is When & Where ‘Bleach’ Takes Place

The timeline of the popular Shinigami anime Bleach is extensive. The world of Bleach is vast, and our protagonists travel across different dimensions to defeat the next big threat that endangers the human race. But when and where exactly does Bleach take place?

What year is Bleach set in?

The series canon started in the year 2001, though the first volume of the manga itself was released in 2002. At this time, Ichigo Kurosaki was 15 and attending Karakura High School. If you’ve seen Bleach, it shouldn’t take much convincing that it’s set in the early 2000s. Bleach had some of the most iconic early 2000s fashion for young people. Tite Kubo, Bleach’s manga artist, has said that he would’ve gone into fashion if being a manga artist wasn’t an option. 

Many people cite Bleach’s first openings as iconic, and this is one of the reasons why. Not only that, but the technology is also reminiscent of 2001. The characters are seen answering flip phones and watching shows on bulky TVs. Ichigo, Orihime, and Chad go to the Soul Society in the summer of the same year. The Arrancars enter the main story around fall. After this, there’s a bit of a time jump, and the Fullbring arc starts in March when Ichigo is 17. Finally, the Blood War arc begins with an 18-year-old Ichigo. 

The only times that it isn’t clear what year Bleach is set in is when they’re visiting the Soul Society or Hueco Mundo. This is because the Soul Society is Bleach’s afterlife and it mimics historical feudal Japan, and Hueco Mundo is a dimension only inhabited by Hollows who have no set culture. 

Is Bleach set on Earth?

Most of Bleach is set on Earth, or a fictional version of Earth that mirrors our own. Most of the series is set in Karakura Town, a settlement that is said to be located in western Tokyo. 

However, Bleach is a story that spans dimensions. It does take place in the so-called “human world” or Earth, but it also takes place in Soul Society, Hueco Mundo, and other smaller dimensions like Hell, Dangai, and Garganta. 

The Soul Society is a manifestation of the afterlife. In this spirit world, aging is slowed, and souls don’t go hungry. But other than that, the beings in the Soul Society experience many of the same hardships that they did while they were alive. 

Life in the Soul Society is much like feudal Japan’s, with souls that accumulated more karma being more well-off in the afterlife. In medieval Japan, feudalism lasted from 1185 to 1603. This is clear when you look at the governing system, nobility, and traditional Japanese clothes the Shinigami of Soul Society wear. Hueco Mundo lies between the world of the living and the Soul Society, only being inhabited by Hollows. Naturally, it’s not a real location, but Buddhism inspires it and has Spanish influences with its naming and mythology. 

Hueco Mundo itself is Spanish for “hollow world.” Arrancar is the infinitive form of “to tear off,” referencing Hollows that remove their mask and gain powers similar to those of the Shinigami. Many aspects of the characters are borrowed from Aztec mythology, like Grimmjow’s jaguar form or the sanctity of water with Harribel. In this sense, Hueco Mundo mimics these cultures that exist in our world, but it’s not an actual place. 

When did Bleach start and end? 

Bleach as we know it started in the Spring of 2001 and ended in 2003. It feels like the series spans a lot longer than it does, but that’s because the timeline of Bleach is a lot longer than the series itself. 

The world of Bleach has its own history. The earliest point in Bleach’s history starts about a million years ago, when the human world, the spirit world, and Hueco Mundo were merged into a single realm, and life and death weren’t yet separate from each other. The latest point is the year 2021 when Kazui Kurosaki is 13 and Ichika Abarai is 15 years old. Remember that we’re talking about time as it passes in the series. In the real world, Bleach actually ran from August 7, 2001, until August 22, 2016. 

Where is Karakura Town in Japan?

Unfortunately, Karakura Town is not a real town in Japan. Ichigo’s hometown, Karakura Town, is a fictional town that is the place with the highest concentration of spiritual beings in the world. Despite this, most of the inhabitants are completely unaware of the spiritual world. 

Karakura Town is the palace where spirits go if they don’t want to be found, as it’s very spiritually rich. Despite not being a real-life location, in episode 125 of the anime, Karakura Town is established as being close to the real-life Yokohama. It’s also said to be located in Western Tokyo. 

Yokohama is the most densely populated municipality in Japan, and it’s slightly north of Tokyo. This seems to be accurate, and it doesn’t break any of the pre-established canon locations of Bleach. 

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