Everyone that knows me knows that my favourite manga & anime is Bleach, while it's not the most acclaimed or popular to me everything about it was so interesting. The initial idea of Soul Reapers defeating these creatures called Hollows to me was cool but I knew that wasn't all there was. I obviously knew it went beyond that because by the time I got into Bleach the anime was 366 episodes long and was over, there was 4 anime movies out, and the last arc of the manga had already started. All time favourite is strong though so I'll say all time favourite Shonen anime but amongst all Bleach stands with my favourites. The best way I could explain how it had surpassed Dragonball Z as my all-time favourite was the characters. The characters in Bleach is what made the series so great for me. To many the initial arcs characters may have seemed bland but they all were unique to me and I liked them, the more arcs, the more characters, so it only got better.
Most anime movies suck, there's no two ways around that, I can't think of any that have been good. So a Bleach live action terrified me, then when I turned on Netflix one day the display at the top. BLEACH. I was like.....the time has come. So I sat down and watched it. It was good. I can honestly say, as a fan of Bleach, it was good. It is the only good anime live action to ever come out and I think it's the arc they picked and the way they went about doing it that made it so good.
There are only a couple things we need to look at the plot/arc and the characters.
First thing we need to look at is the, like I said, the arc they chose to use for this movie. It makes sense that they use the first arc of Bleach in more ways than one: 1) It is the first live action Bleach so it's best to start where Bleach starts, 2) With it taking place in the real world instead of Soul Society or Hueco Mundo the entire thing can be presented in a slightly more understanding, relatable, and as "realistic" as you can get. Now, not saying that doing one of the other arcs would be impossible but both from the start of the Bleach story and without having to go overboard in CGI, working with the arc that takes place in current day Japan is logical. The first arc in Bleach involves Ichigo Kurosaki saving his family from Hollows after he meets and receives Soul Reaper powers from the Soul Reaper he meets Rukia Kuchiki, once he does that several hilarious things insue and we are introduced to several characters, all ending in a "boss fight" of sorts against Grand Fisher before Byakuya and Renji show up to take Rukia back. Now that is the summation of the plot, there are minor differences between the anime/manga version and the movie version.
One of them is Byakuya Kuchiki and Renji Abarai do NOT appear in the anime/manga for as much as they are in the movie; they spend quite a bit of time in the human world in the live action movie whereas they have one solid fight scene in one episode of the show and that's it. I didn't mind that because Byakuya and Renji being the movies "antagonists" was fantastic because it could've just been Grand Fisher like the first arc presented but having them around more felt fulfilling. Another BIG change is the end, so SPOILER, Rukia gets her powers back from Ichigo and returns to Soul Society with Byakuya and Renji; it is VASTLY different from its source material where they come to the human world to capture Rukia to bring her to Soul Society for her execution and to kill Ichigo. Also, I understand that Ichigo gave you your powers so he forgot you and so did everyone else, but how did Ishida manage to come back to life and be a part of the classroom, Renji stabs him through the chest. That was my biggest complaint about the film, the Ishida thing just confused me. Everything else was a well done representation of the first arc, without all the filler that you normally would see, even though some of it was important to future Bleach plot points and others not.
Second thing we need to look at is how they went about the characters. Ichigo Kurosaki needed to be nailed because he's different from other shonen protagonists as he's just an "ordinary kid" who's placed in an extraordinary situation where he receives shinigami power in order to save his family and the actor chosen to play him did a great job. He managed to hit nuances of Ichigo like his temper but kindness and compassion, his willingness to help others, his stubborness, his love for his family (the fist fighting with his father and care for his sisters) and for some reason other niche ticks that you'd understand if you watch the show or read it. I can't say I didn't expect shit when I first saw the pictures of Ichigo but his mannerisms really brought forth the character. The next main character is Rukia Kuchiki and while she looked different than the Rukia I'd expect (wasn't a fan of her hair), the actress managed to put forward a well done showing of Rukia's devotion to the reaper code and her ability to be ultra serious when Ichigo was not. Renji Abarai was also well done, the hair was a little off but he had Renji's mannerisms nailed as well and the scene with Zabimaru played out just like the anime and it was so cool. "You're 2000 years too early to be my rival", followed by an ass kicking he receives by Ichigo. The actor who plays Byakuya Kuchiki has the same smug arrogance that the anime character does, also demonstrates the same level of skill and ruthlessness when dealing with Ichigo & Rukia. The supporting cast was awesome too: the actor who played Ishida and the same cockyness and arrogance that Ishida has to prove Qunicies are better than reapers, Chad was big and strong and looked very caring yet scary, Inoue had her same levels and speech "Kurosaki-kun" and gushing all over him she was amazing, as did Ichigo's other friends. The girls who played Yuzu and Karin, Ichigo's sisters, while not looking how I expected they acted in a way very similar to the two girls with Karin being the more serious older one and Yuzu the caring younger one. Finally, Ichigo's father Isshin, was great from his attacking his son at the dinner table, talking to his wife's picture and grave, and clearly knowing what's going on with Ichigo's reaper thing (because Isshin himself used to be a Captain in the Soul Society but that's not conveyed until way later into the series). The characters were well done and I think they salvaged this film.
It was a decent film to watch once, though by now I've seen it twice once more with my other friend, so I can honestly say that it is the only good anime live action. I am incredibly critical of live action anime so that's high praise, ESPECIALLY considering it's my favourite franchise, so I'm glad they didn't butcher it.
IS IT WORTH WATCHING
YES, EVEN IF YOU HAVEN'T SEEN BLEACH, YOU MIGHT WANT TO START AFTERWARDS
8.5/10
(AND I HATE NUMBER RATINGS)