Bleach: The Hell Verse

The fourth and final feature opened in Japanese theaters on December 4, 2010, directed by Noriyuki Abe from a screenplay by Natsuko Takahashi, with Masashi Kudo designing the characters. T.M. Revolution provided the ending theme, Save The One, Save The All. Tite Kubo served as production director and contributed a tie-in manga chapter, while a special anime episode acted as a prologue.

The story ventures into Hell, a realm reserved for souls barred from Soul Society, and pits Ichigo against escaped sinners called Togabito. In a later note included with the home release, Kubo expressed his wish not to be credited as executive director, feeling his involvement in the finished picture had been limited. It is available for streaming on Apple TV and Vudu.

In Karakura Town, hooded Togabito attack Ichigo's friends and kidnap his sister Yuzu, dragging her through the Gates of Hell. A masked swordsman named Kokuto intervenes, saving Karin, and reveals himself as a sinner who despises the abductors' leader, Shuren. Learning that Yuzu cannot survive Hell's toxic air for long, Ichigo insists on a rescue, and Kokuto agrees to guide him, joined by Rukia, Renji, and Uryu, with a contingency plan to pull them out if things turn dire.

Descending through Hell's brutal levels, the group battles Shuren's underhanged sinners while guardian Kushanada hunt them, and Ichigo's inner Hollow begins surfacing on its own, drawn out by the atmosphere. Kokuto shares a story of a murdered younger sister to explain his stake in the mission. After the party defeats Shuren and his crew, however, Kokuto stabs Ichigo and reveals his true aim: he engineered everything to make Ichigo fully Hollowfy, since that transformation once tore through Hell's barriers. His real goal is to sever the chains binding him so he can escape.

Kokuto drives Ichigo to transform and uses his Cero blasts to shatter chain after chain, wounding Yuzu until her soul begins turning into a Togabito's. Renji returns Ichigo home before the last chain breaks. Yuzu unexpectedly recovers, and a resolved Ichigo goes back to save his trapped friends. Confronting Kokuto in Hell's lowest depth, Ichigo refuses to lose himself, snapping off his own horn to reject the transformation. Hell itself then grants him golden, skull-patterned armor to stop Kokuto, whom Ichigo defeats and condemns as fresh chains drag the sinner into eternal punishment.

To promote the film, Kubo published a special manga chapter and the anime aired a dedicated prologue episode, alongside an official invitation book for fans.

Two continuity errors surface in the finished movie: the English dub incorrectly calls Rukia a lieutenant, and Yamamoto is drawn with both arms intact despite the events taking place after he had already lost one during the war with Aizen.