Bleach

Warner Bros. produced this cinematic version of Bleach, directed by Shinsuke Sato, who had previously handled effects-driven adaptations such as the Gantz films. Tite Kubo, the manga's creator, took part in the production. Sota Fukushi starred as Ichigo Kurosaki, with Hana Sugisaki as Rukia Kuchiki, Ryo Yoshizawa as Uryu Ishida, Taichi Saotome as Renji Abarai, and Miyavi as Byakuya Kuchiki. The band Alexandros supplied the theme songs.

The movie opened in Japanese theaters on July 20, 2018, screened in North America at the Fantasia International Film Festival days later, and arrived globally on Netflix that September. Rather than covering the full saga, it compresses the earliest arc, streamlining or omitting subplots like Orihime's brother, Chad's parakeet, and the appearances of Kon and Don Kanonji.

A rainy childhood memory shows a young Ichigo running toward a lone girl by a flooded riverbank, only to wake and find his mother Masaki dead atop him. Years later, the teenager, who can perceive spirits, discovers Rukia Kuchiki in his bedroom. She purifies a lost soul before a Hollow named Fishbone D smashes into the Kurosaki home and seizes his sister Yuzu. Mortally wounded protecting him, Rukia transfers her powers so Ichigo can slay the creature, but he absorbs far more than she intended, stranding her without her abilities.

Forced to serve as her Substitute while she recovers, Ichigo trains under her harsh drills and clashes with Uryu Ishida, a Quincy who reveals his own bow and challenges him. Renji Abarai then arrives hunting Rukia, and their captain Byakuya soon follows, condemning Rukia to death for handing her powers to a human. Byakuya gives her until the full moon to reclaim them and let Ichigo die, or face execution herself.

Learning that Grand Fisher, the Hollow responsible for Masaki's death, still lurks nearby, Ichigo trains in earnest and strikes a bargain: if he destroys the beast, Soul Society must pardon Rukia. At his mother's grave the lure snares his sisters, and Ichigo, aided by Uryu, finally purifies Grand Fisher. Byakuya reneges immediately, ordering Rukia killed, but Ichigo repeatedly rises to shield her despite crushing wounds. To spare his life, Rukia feigns loyalty, reclaims her power, and returns to Soul Society, an act that erases Ichigo's memories of her. The next day he finds her old warning scrawled in his textbook and smiles, sensing something he cannot name.

The adaptation opened to a fourth-place finish in Japan during its debut weekend, moving roughly 99,000 tickets for about 135 million yen, equivalent to around 1.21 million US dollars. Its September Netflix release widened access for international viewers.

The screenplay diverges from the manga and anime in several structural ways: it invents a method for reversing the power transfer, has Uryu rather than a Menos interrupt the Quincy rivalry, lets Ichigo actually finish off both Fishbone D and Grand Fisher, and folds Renji's early encounter with Ichigo into a solo confrontation. Isshin's graveside ritual is changed from a cigarette to a beer, and Rukia's memory-wiping departure caps the film.