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Widely praised for its fight sequences, charming characters, and breathtaking plot twists, Tite Kubo’s Bleach has always been considered one of Shonen Jump’s “Big Three,” alongside Masashi Kishimoto’s Naruto and Eiichiro Oda’s One Piece. After being neglected for some years, the franchise has recently made a huge comeback with Bleach TYBW, the long-awaited anime adaptation of the final arc.
Thanks to their stunning visual quality, the new anime episodes have reignited interest in Tite Kubo’s story. After the first two seasons, Bleach TYBW Cour 3 is scheduled for release in the summer of 2024, and fans are understandably euphoric to see it. While waiting for Cour 3, those who have not already done so, could take the opportunity to enjoy the Bleach movies.
Aside from the 2018 live-action, which adapts the story of Bleach’s first arc with flesh-and-blood actors, the franchise features four animated movies. All of them first aired in the early 2000s, with the last being released in 2010. Although they are standalone stories that have little to do with the main plot, the Bleach movies feature moments that are worth watching.
Disclaimer: This article contains major spoilers concerning the plot of Bleach movies.
Everything to know about the Bleach movies
1) Bleach: Memories of Nobody (2006)
As unidentified ghostly spirits begin to appear in the Human World, Ichigo and Rukia encounter Senna, a mysterious Shinigami. It’s disclosed that the spirits are Blanks, i.e., souls lost in the Valley of Screams, the space between the Soul Society and the Human World. It’s also revealed that Senna is an entity born from the combined memories of the Blanks.
Suddenly, Senna is kidnapped by the Dark Ones, who plan to use her body to trigger the collapse of the Valley of Screams. This, in turn, would cause the Soul Society and the Human World to collide, leading to the destruction of both, and ultimately allowing the Dark Ones to take revenge on the Soul Society for banishing them in the past.
Even though the Gotei 13 and Ichigo defeat the Dark Ones and the Blanks, theoretically averting the threat, the Valley of the Screams continues to collapse. As such, Senna sacrifices herself to permanently stop the process. Before fading away forever, Senna smiles one last time at Ichigo, an ending scene that perfectly fits the movie’s melancholic tone.
2) Bleach: The Diamond Dust Rebellion (2007)
This movie explores the past of Toshiro Hitsugaya, the captain of the Gotei’s 10th Division, and shows him teaming up with Ichigo. As several members of the Soul Society report having been attacked with the powers of Hitsugaya’s Zanpakuto, Hyorinmaru, the latter is forced to go rogue to avoid punishment.
Even though the common denominator of all the aggressions is the usage of Hyorinmaru’s ice-manipulating powers, the culprit is not Hitsugaya, but his old friend and rival Sojiro Kusaka, who possesses the same Zanpakuto as him. Many years before, Toshiro and Sojiro were happy to share the same power.
However, the Central 46 declared that two Shinigami couldn’t possess the same Zanpakuto, and thus forced Toshiro and Sojiro to fight each other to decide who would be Hyorinmaru’s owner. As Toshiro had the upper hand, the Central 46 ordered the Onmitsukido to murder Sojiro, who eventually resurfaced, determined to exact revenge upon the Soul Society.
In the present, Hitsugaya tried to stop his former friend, but Sojiro had gained new abilities thanks to a special item, the Oin. After Ichigo stops the Oin’s effect, Sojiro and Toshiro charge at each other once again, as if to finish the battle they had left pending. The winner of the dramatic clash is Hitsugaya.
3) Bleach: Fade to Black (2008)
Homura and Shizuku, two siblings with the ability to erase other people’s memories, attack the Soul Society. They initially target Mayuri Kurotsuchi, the captain of the Gotei’s 12th Division, but their real objective is Rukia, whom they first met a long time ago.
Aiming to stay with Rukia forever, they erase her memories, which also causes everyone to forget about her, with the sole exception of Ichigo. As Ichigo slowly helps Rukia to regain her memories, Shizuku and Homura use a technique to forcibly merge with her.
The three souls are fused into one, giving rise to Dark Rukia, who attempts to attack Ichigo. The latter defends himself, without ever attacking her. Eventually, Ichigo shares his own Shinigami powers with Rukia, which causes her to break the fusion with the siblings.
Exhausted and deprived of all their energy, Shizuku and Homura pass away happily, as they realize that they are the most precious people to each other. More than anything else, this movie emphasizes the bond between Ichigo and Rukia, a true leitmotiv of the Bleach series.
4) Bleach: The Hell Verse (2010)
The fourth and, so far, final movie of the series is probably the most intriguing, as it explores Hell, the place where the souls of the wicked are sent. This movie also stands out for its cinematic sequences, starting with the remake of the iconic battle between Ichigo and Ulquiorra.
Tite Kubo was involved in the project from the planning and scenario stage and is credited as the production director. The plot of the movie revolves around Ichigo, Rukia, Renji, and Uryu. Assisted by an individual named Kokuto, they enter Hell to rescue Ichigo’s younger sister, Yuzu, who has been kidnapped and brought there by Shuren and his henchmen.
It’s eventually revealed that Kokuto lured Ichigo into entering Hell. Kokuto planned to use Ichigo’s overwhelming Hollow powers to break the invisible chains that kept him imprisoned in Hell. However, Hell itself lends some power to Ichigo, enabling him to gain a temporary new transformation.
With his newfound might, Ichigo beats Kokuto, who ends up dragged down even further into the depths of Hell. Shortly after, Ichigo and his friends leave Hell and come back home with the rescued Yuzu.
Are the Bleach movies canon?
According to Tite Kubo himself, the Bleach movies are more like “what if” stories. The events narrated within the movies exist outside of the main continuity, and, for the most part, aren’t meant to fit into it.
Kubo was very involved with the fourth movie, but he ended up asking the anime staff to remove his name from the credits. Allegedly, they ignored his input and the details they discussed together, and it was too late to make changes as the movie had already entered its editing phase.
The mangaka made sure that the movie’s DVD release would contain a special message in which he explained his involvement in the project. In this note, he explained that he didn’t participate enough in the production of the movie to warrant his name being included in the credits.
Broadly speaking, Kubo discussed plot points with the writers of the novels, but, when it came to the movies, he only supervised them generically, and designed some characters. In all fairness, the only movie that should be considered canon is the first one.
The Valley of the Screams, a key element of the 2006 movie, was referenced in the manga more than ten years later. In chapter 627, Ichigo straight up stated that he went to the Valley of the Screams, a location that he never visited in the manga, but only in the movie Memories of Nobody.
Granted, it’s still debatable whether Kubo canonized the entire movie or just an element of it. However, the events that take place in Memories of Nobody neither contradict nor affect the main plot, meaning that the movie could be accepted within Bleach’s canon.
