Ban-kai!: Sega to bring Bleach DS sequel stateside

Likely surprising no one considering the popularity of the Bleach manga/anime series, Sega announced its plans to publish Bleach: Dark Souls (or Bleach DS: 2nd Kokui Hirameku Requiem, as it's known in Japan), the follow-up to Bleach: The Blade of Fate, this summer in North America.

The Treasure-developed 2D fighter features a number of improvements on the original:

• an exclusive storyline that takes place in between the series's first and second season

• 44 playable characters (The Blade of Fate has 26)

• 30 new Power-up Cards and Power Crystals

• Bleach encyclopedia containing "fun and interesting facts about the entire Bleach universe"

All that comes on top of the game's four-player online battles and multi-plane stages. Hit the gallery below for English-translated screenshots from Dark Souls, or check past the break for a two-minute trailer from the Japanese release.

%Gallery-17918%

[Via press release]