Bleach News

In this week's issue of Weekly Shounen Jump, there were a few pages explaining just what the 13th BLADEs projet is going to be.

Firstly, the project is going to result in a fan book. A fan book is not a data book. It will very likely be recap-style information written by editors, but there is a chance we will have new information, new name romanization (like when we found out how Wandenreich is spelled in The Dagger), new sketches from Kubo, and maybe even new art. For comparison, the recap book included with volume 55 (THE REBOOTED SOULS) was called a fan book - this was a recap of the entire series up to the final arc, and apparently included sketches by Kubo (I haven't actually read it myself).
There was a two-page spread titled "Final Arc PLAYBACK" that was a brief recap of the final arc to now - I think this rules out the fan book being nothing but a recap of the final arc, but who knows.
Finally, there are three new popularity polls! These are the first we've had in SIX YEARS, and this time it will be three at once, unlike ever before. These polls are all for Gotei 13 members:
The first poll is a favourite Shinigami characters poll. This includes all members of the Gotei 13, all ex-members (Urahara, Aizen, etc.), and the Zero Squad. Ichigo is not included.
The second poll is a favourite Zanpakutou poll. This, again, includes all Shinigami. It doesn't say whether or not Ichigo is included, but I imagine he is again excluded as he isn't a member of the Gotei 13.
The third poll is a best bout poll. This includes every single battle up until this point. However, it follows the same rules as the character poll - only fights that included members of the Gotei 13, past and current, Zero Squad included. Ichigo is again excluded.
Currently the polls are Japan-only, but they may be added to the website at some point. I will let you guys know if this happens.
The focus of the 13th BLADEs project is obviously the Gotei 13, and I think we can expect to see some more Gotei 13-centered stuff leading up to the release of the fan book. Stay tuned.