Burn The Witch has just been made available on Crunchyroll after more than 2 years of anticipation, and it seems that Bleach‘s spin-off series has left its mark by momentarily flooding the streaming service’s servers. Titled Burn the Witch #0.8 “Don’t Judge a Book By Its Cover”, the series is set in the same universe as Tite Kubo’s popular manga Bleach.
Released on December 29, 2023, fans of Burn The Witch reported congestion in Crunchyroll’s servers when trying to watch the series.
This isn’t the first time this has happened, as many series have frequently crashed Crunchyroll’s servers in the past. From Goku’s Ultra Instinct debut in Dragon Ball Super to Naruto’s Baryon Mode in Boruto: Naruto Next Generations, Crunchyroll has been overwhelmed numerous times. Most recently, Luffy’s Gear 5 debut caused Crunchyroll and other websites’ servers to go down.
Burn The Witch‘s Awaited Return Leaves Its Mark
Burn the Witch is a short series created by Tite Kubo and set in the same universe as Bleach. In London, mystical creatures called dragons prey on humans, similar to what Hollows do in Japan. An organization called Wing Bind is the equivalent of Bleach‘s Soul Society, fighting against these dragons and protecting ordinary humans. Burn the Witch 0.8 is a prequel to the manga, which was already adapted into an anime series in 2020.
Usually, when an anime manages to overload the servers, Crunchyroll issues an apology and confirmation that they are working on restoring functionality. This happened for Demon Slayer‘s episode #19, Attack On Titan, Chainsaw Man, and many more, and now Burn The Witch might have joined the ranks of legendary internet-breaking anime. Many users posted images of their Crunchyroll pages that showed an error when trying to watch Burn The Witch, and there was a general consensus that this interruption lasted for about an hour.
What is interesting is that, unlike the other anime that have crashed the servers, Burn The Witch isn’t nearly as popular. Crunchyroll also had zero marketing for the anime’s release, which makes Burn The Witch‘s feat all the more impressive. This might be due to its connection with Bleach, with the recent Bleach: Thousand Year Blood War series concluding its second part and announcing its return for 2024. This demonstrates how loyal and dedicated the Tite Kubo fan base is, even when they have to wait years to enjoy the animated version of one of his works.
Another crucial aspect of the series’ popularity is just how good it is. The 30-minute episode had incredible animation and visuals, and the character designs were out of this world. Set in London, also referred to as West Soul Society, Burn the Witch #0.8 focuses on how the two main characters, Ninny and Noel, meet and join together to fight Dragons as members of the organization Wind Bind. There were many reasons for the anime’s surprising popularity, all working together to add Burn The Witch to the list of anime that overwhelmed the servers of the popular streaming service.
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