Bleach is a 2018 Japanese live-action adaptation of the popular anime series of the same name.
For anime lovers, Bleach has been a long time in the making. There are an incredible number of episodes in the original series and of course the animated movies as well. However, even if you have no knowledge of Bleach, this live-action adaptation makes it easy to sink in, starting at the beginning in telling the story of a teenage boy called Ichigo (Sota Fukushi) who loses his mother at a young age and can see ghosts. Nearing the anniversary of his mother’s death, his sister is attacked by a being called a Hollow and a soul reaper girl Rukia (Hana Sugisaki) from the Soul Society comes to his rescue. In battle with the Hollow, she ends up being injured and out of desperation, despite the strict rules, notices his high spiritual powers and transfers her soul reaping skills to him. While he defeats the Hollow, she transfers more than she intends and turns into human form, forcing her to become his classmate while she trains him to be strong enough to return those powers.
Starting from scratch is Bleach’s saving grace. In this way, it manages to introduce audiences to its fantastical world through the eyes of Ichigo as he first encounters it himself. Of course, there is still a lot to learn about Ichigo, from how he lost his mother to how he can see ghosts, although the latter along with the high spiritual power elements are more of a between-the-lines connection. Even with two hours, Bleach merely skims the surface in digging deep into this creative backstory. Soul Society barely gets touched upon, except for that one rule and the two men, Byakuya (Miyavi) and Renji (Taichi Saotome), who show up to track Rukia, while on the other hand, a member of Quincy, Ishida (Ryo Yoshizawa) pops up, who gets a brief history in his pursuit of Ichigo. It’s a lot to take in.
In most ways, this all works because the main story revolves well around Ichigo, bringing in his family and tying into his history, which really helps us stay invested. Fukushi takes the part and runs with it, his portrayal so charismatic that it’s hard to look away. The film itself feels like you’re watching a live-action manga, with characters having those goofy manga reactions that create a lot of comedic moments to help cut through the tension of fighting the mystical unbeatable Hollow.
I like how it uses manga drawings to fill in some exposition and the Hollow itself is made up of some truly good CGI. The action and familiar weaponry are replicated very well albeit some obvious computer assists here and there. However, the best part of Bleach is the music. Energetic hard rock music blends so well with the tone of the film as a while Yutaka Yamada terrific score fills in the rest. There are minor issues with pacing as the middle lags a bit with a weird transition that takes a while to get to. And some characters feel disposable, their purpose superficial. Yet that’s the price we pay for placing the focus on the main story and only skimming the surface of many other arcs in the series. Either way, this is an admirable effort, especially in seeing how much Bleach has grown since it was first created. Highly-entertaining, this is a fantasy that does a lot more right than wrong.