Alison
Ichigo (Sota Fukushi) is a high school student who happens to see ghosts and other beings invisible to most humans. When he encounters a Soul Reaper named Rukia (Hana Sugisaki), against his will he helps her to dispatch a Hollow, an evil soul, and by doing so becomes a Soul Reaper himself. He doesn't want the job, but only he can help a now-wounded Rukia recover her own powers and return to her plane of reality. Too bad there are other entities out there that don't appreciate a human taking on a Soul Reaper's job.... This film is based on a very popular manga which I haven't actually read, so I can't say how faithful it is or isn't to the original. I *can* say that the action scenes are accompanied by perfect heavy metal on the soundtrack, the monsters are *really* cool looking and the two leads are adorable. See it for yourself and see if you agree!
renardscifi
Go see it. There is a reason people are raving about it as the first decently done adaptation of an anime. It's not perfect, but it is legitimately great and keeps the spirit and feel of the series. Most of the negative reviews of this I've seen so far seem to be coming from people who either don't know the series very well (a hazard with professional reviewers, since they cover so many things), don't understand Japanese cinema (some acting techniques/nuances are different between East and West), or who are just determined to hate it because everything doesn't look 100% identical to the manga (I've seen far worse anime to live-action with far bigger budgets, believe me). This movie condenses the entire half of the first season of the anime (books 1-6), and leaves room for a sequel without leaving hanging threads in the event one never happens.Like many other fans, I was very, VERY skeptical of this movie when it first was announced. I was honestly that person going, "Oh god, another live action movie of an anime. Can't wait to see how cheesy and bad this ends up."I'm a convert. You win, Mr. Sato. Take my left kidney and sell it, and whatever else you need to fund the next movie in your trilogy. I've seen it three times now (I live in Japan) and am going again tomorrow. I'm still not bored watching it. It's the sort of movie that fans of the series will keep finding new gems tucked away with each rewatch. If you're not intimately familiar with the manga or anime however, don't sweat it - this is very accessible to newcomers.Characters - 9/10 There are some physical differences (Urahara is older, Masaki's hair isn't red, etc.), but the acting is solid and the character dynamics/relationships are exactly the way they are in the manga. Even if the character looked a bit different, I believed the actors as the characters. Ichigo and Rukia may not have the exact same hair or face as you'd expect, but they absolutely nailed the characters - Ichigo's determination and grit, Rukia's spunky sarcasm, it's all really great.Costumes - 8/10 There was some saving of the budget here for fight scenes - you won't see exact replicas of captain's haoris or the tabi with straw sandals. Rather, the film tries to make things more realistic (i.e. a more natural orange for Ichigo's hair, smaller size hairpins for Orihime, etc.) It looks less like the wacky cosplay of the Rock Musical for Bleach and more like a legit world people actually live in.Music - 10/10 Invokes the anime without copying it, and Alexandros has two kickass songs that make Bleach feel fresh and edgy and hip with a touch of Japan's ancient history and the otherwordliness of the Soul Society.Plot - 9/10 Whenever possible, the film follows the manga almost exactly. For the purposes of sticking 6 manga volumes into one movie, some minor characters (Jinta, Mizuiro, Ururu, etc.) are not introduced, and some events get condensed (i.e. Uryu's hollow bait kicks off the Hexapodus fight that makes Ichigo take being a shinigami seriously, not a Menos Grande). Overall, the story is still very close to the way the manga told it, just condensed.Props - 8/10 Soul Pagers get replaced with something more like a glowing, teardrop shaped stone that looks more otherwordly (let's be honest, when Bleach debuted flip phones were cool, now they're a bit ancient), the zanpakuto are very accurate (yes, even Ichigo's, ignore the reviewers claiming he gets a different sword - the iconic one he's constantly shown with was not the first one he ended up with, and that first sword is what's used here). Rukia's glove and many other things are exactly like the manga.Set - 9/10 Rather than waste the tiny budget this film had in exactly reproducing floorplans and sets (a mere 3.5 million, which is nothing in terms of filmmaking on this level), things are made to feel similar. Ichigo's room is not laid out exactly the same as the manga/anime, but it still has a bed, desk, closet for Rukia to hide in, etc. and feels like Ichigo's room. Same with the Kurosaki household - it feels convincing, if not exactly the same as the manga showed it.Fights: 9.5/10 There are so many good moments here I can't list them all. Is there some visible wire-fu jumping at points? Yes. Does it ruin the action? No, it's no worse than some of the jumps Captain America made in a few films (you know, where they land far too lightly and stiffly to be actually "falling/landing"?) The Hollows look less cartoonishly simple and more menacing, yet they still have the same mechanics (Cero, claws, medusa-like fur). At one point Ichigo's sword gets stuck in the ground and Renji RUNS UP THE BLADE EDGE and attacks. The swordplay is fantastic.Seriously, give it a chance. There is enough here to please all but the hardcore sticklers (who were never really going to like anything made on less than a Marvel Avengers budget). I was pleasantly surprised, and the movie feels enough like falling in love with the series all over again that I keep going back. I've never dropped $60 and counting on tickets for one movie, especially not an anime adaptation. GO SEE IT!
