Bleach (2018 film)

Bleach
Theatrical release poster
Directed by	Shinsuke Sato
Written by	Shinsuke Sato Daisuke Habara
Based on	Bleach by Tite Kubo (story and art)
Starring	Sota Fukushi Hana Sugisaki Ryo Yoshizawa Erina Mano Yu Koyanagi Taichi Saotome Miyavi Seiichi Tanabe Masami Nagasawa Yōsuke Eguchi
Music by	Yutaka Yamada
Production company	Warner Bros. Japan New Line Cinema TX Network Shueisha Pierrot UMG Japan Dentsu Ken-On KDDI Pony Canyon GYAO!
Distributed by	Warner Bros. Pictures
Release dates	20 July, 2018 (Japan) 23 July, 2018 (Canada, Fantasia Film Festival) 28 July, 2018 (America, Japan Cuts) 14 September, 2018 (Worldwide, Netflix)
Country	Japan
Language	Japanese
Box office	¥448,895,200 ($)

Bleach (Japanese: ブリーチ, Hepburn: Burīchi) (also known as Bleach: The Soul Reaper Agent Arc) is a Japanese film produced by Warner Bros., based on the manga series of the same name by Tite Kubo, and directed by Shinsuke Sato. The film stars Sota Fukushi as the main protagonist, Ichigo Kurosaki. It was released in Japan on July 20, 2018. The film had its North American premiere on July 23, 2018 at the Fantasia International Film Festival in Montreal. The film was released on Netflix on September 14, 2018.

Premise

Ichigo Kurosaki is a teenager from Karakura Town who can see ghosts, a talent which lets him meet Rukia Kuchiki, a Soul Reaper whose mission is to ushering the souls of the dead from the World of the Living to the Soul Society while fighting Hollows, monstrous lost souls who can harm both ghosts and humans. When Rukia is severely wounded defending Ichigo and his family from a Hollow she is pursuing, she transfers her powers to Ichigo so that he may fight instead of her, while she recovers her strength. But Ichigo finds himself in a fight beyond imagination as he contends with both a pair of Soul Reapers sent to retrieve Rukia against her will and the monstrous Hollow known as Grand Fisher.

Cast

• Sota Fukushi as Ichigo Kurosaki, a high school student who becomes a Soul Reaper after receiving powers from an injured Soul Reaper.
• Hana Sugisaki as Rukia Kuchiki, a Soul Reaper who is forced to forfeit her powers after being injured while hunting the Hollow, Fishbone D.
• Erina Mano as Orihime Inoue, Ichigo's classmate.
• Ryo Yoshizawa as Uryū Ishida, a Quincy who is Ichigo's classmate.
• Yu Koyanagi as Yasutora "Chad" Sado, Ichigo's classmate.
• Taichi Saotome as Renji Abarai, a Soul Reaper and the Squad Six's lieutenant who is sent to retrieve Rukia.
• Miyavi as Byakuya Kuchiki, a Soul Reaper who is Rukia's brother-in-law and the Squad Six's Captain of the Gotei 13.
• Seiichi Tanabe as Kisuke Urahara, the mysterious owner of Urahara Shop.
• Yōsuke Eguchi as Isshin Kurosaki, Ichigo's father.
• Masami Nagasawa as Masaki Kurosaki, Ichigo's mother who was killed years prior by the Hollow, Grand Fisher.

Production

Development

In 2008, Tite Kubo stated that he wished to make Bleach an experience that can only be found by reading manga, dismissing ideas of creating any live-action film adaptations of the series. When the film adaptation was announced, however, Kubo decided to be involved with its production to ensure its faithfulness to the manga and anime, so that both old and new fans may enjoy it. He also stated that his only concern was the color of Ichigo's hair, which in the manga and anime is a bright shade of orange. He said, "If that color is in the live-action movie, it'd be strange, so I wonder what they're going to do!" Regarding what fans could expect in the live-action adaptation, Sota Fukushi, who will portray Ichigo, stated that the film would feature "the monstrous Hollows, otherworldly Soul Society, and destructive Zanpakuto sword-fighting techniques".

The 10th issue of the 2018 Weekly Shōnen Jump magazine released the visual for Rukia Kuchiki, revealing that Hana Sugisaki will portray the character. In March 2018, the film's official Twitter account revealed that Uryū Ishida, Renji Abarai and Byakuya Kuchiki will be portrayed by Ryo Yoshizawa, Taichi Saotome and Miyavi respectively. In May 2018, the film's official twitter account revealed an additional cast that includes Erina Mano, Yu Koyanagi, Seiichi Tanabe, Yōsuke Eguchi and Masami Nagasawa, which portrays Orihime Inoue, Yasutora "Chad" Sado, Kisuke Urahara, Isshin Kurosaki and Masaki Kurosaki respectively.

Release

Marketing

After months of speculation from fans and critics, paired with months of silence from Warner Bros. Japan, a teaser trailer was released online on July 6, 2017, also revealing a poster for the movie in the process. On January 1, 2018, to hype the movie's release in Summer of 2018, to commemorate the beginning of the new year and to thank the support of the fans of the anime and movie project, a short message was shared via the movie's official Twitter account.

On February 5, 2018, it was revealed that the movie would premiere on July 20, 2018 in Japan. A teaser trailer was released on February 21, 2018 which was praised for its faithful adaptation of the series' first chapter. In April 2018, the first official trailer was released, which also revealed the film's theme song by Alexandros, titled "Mosquito Bite". In June 2018, Warner Bros. Japan released the final trailer for the film, which confirmed that the film's main antagonist is the Hollow Grand Fisher.

Home media

Bleach will be released on Netflix on September 14, 2018.

Reception

Box office

As of August 7, 2018, Bleach has grossed ¥448,895,200 ($) in Japan. The filmed opened at #4 on its opening weekend and grossed ¥135 million from Friday to Sunday. On the second weekend, it fell into #5 and grossed an additional ¥64,199,600. In the third weekend, Bleach dropped off the top 10 and earned ¥23,459,400.

Critical reception

The review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes has collected 3 reviews for the film. Justine Smith for SciFiNow gave it a positive review with a consensus that "While clearly made for a dedicated fanbase, unlike some more recent anime live-action adaptations, one of the greatest assets of Bleach is how cohesively it outlines its mythology for the uninitiated." Additionally, Mark Schilling reviewed the film for The Japan Times and gave it a 3 star rating. He concluded that the film faithfully follows the mythology of the source material for the dedicated fans, but also simplifies it for casual viewers to understand.

External links

• Official website (Japanese)
• Bleach at IMDb