There are times when I feel like I am a total noob when it comes to anime. Yes, I know that I need to give myself some credit and say that I still seem to watch it enough, and am maybe not a complete and utterly ignorant person when it comes to this medium. But, nonetheless there are still a lot of fan favorite shows that I have only heard of by name, but have never seen. I do like a challenge and still try to catch up with some shows. I have to say though, that nothing is more daunting than having some animes now have over 300 episodes (and some even reaching more staggering amounts). As much as I would love to watch some of those, I know that realistically I simply don’t have the time to see those kind of numbers. Bleach is one of those animes. Having done some research this series has now 366 episodes. I could finish this one maybe if I would watch one episode a day. But I know that I am deluding myself, and will simply admit defeat. Recently Netflix has released a live action movie for it that came recommended to me by Karandi.
Well, I assume a lot of you are probably already thinking that you will move on, and pass on this one. I would not even blame you. When it comes to live action adaptations I often find myself wondering what the point of these are. The people that love anime, love exactly that: anime! So why turn an animation into a live action version? Probably to hopefully reach a bigger audience, and maybe get people interested in it more. But often they are just cash grabs, and are dowright mediocre, or even worse: total crap. However there are always exceptions to the rule, and Bleach seems to be one of them at least. Now, as I knew literally next to nothing about the anime (only the name and that a lot of people seem to think very highly of it), I also had the unique position that I had nothing to compare it too. Which also meant that I had no expectations for it. So if you are looking for a review that describes how well (or how badly) it holds up to the original anime, you are better off reading Karandi’s excellent post for it. I really enjoyed reading that one, and it also gave me a little insight in the anime. So what will I be doing here than in this post? Well, I’m just going to give you a review as if this were any other movie. I know, boring right? Hey, I never said that I wasn’t predictable.
Remember the phrase “ I see dead people” from the amazing film The Sixth Sense? No? Ugh, shame on you. Well anyways, Ichigo Kurosaki can see them too. Who is this guy you ask? Erm, okay I guess I am kind of jumping into this a little bit too fast. Ichigo Kurosaki is a teenager and the hero of this movie. Now with that explanation given, lets move on. One day his ability to see ghosts, lets him meet up with Rukia Kuchiki. And she is not just a simple ghost, but has the badass job description of being a Soul Reaper. Now this means she has a mission to guide the souls of dead people to a place called the Soul Society. While this might not sound too bad, there is also a darker side to her mission. And that comes in the form of Hollows, absolutely horrific looking lost souls, that can both harm ghosts and the living. While in the middle of a fight with one of them, trying to defend Ichigo and his young sister, Rukia gets hurt pretty badly. She makes a decision to transfer her powers to Ichigo. But these new powers might just be more than the young man can handle. Not only does he have a fight on his hands with a monstrous Hollow called the Grand Fisher, but there also two Soul Reapers that have it in for him. And they don’t seem all that pleased that he now has Rukia’s powers…..
Bleach is an action packed, sometimes funny, sometimes scary movie, that certainly was worth the watch. Not everything in this movie worked, but overall this movie definitely entertained. Let’s start with the cast first. The main hero is played by actor Sota Fukushi. He does a pretty adequate job in portraying a bit of a cynical teenager who while at times seems to be in way over his head, still manages to hold his own in the new situation he finds himself in. I do say adequate because quite honestly I didn’t think his acting abilities were too good. In the many action sequences the film contains however, he does come across as very convincing. I liked the character of Rukia more though. Played by actress Hana Sugisaki, she played a role that was quite endearing. The young Soul Reaper was one of those characters that tries to be tough, but really has a heart of gold. It was nice to see her try to avoid becoming a friend to Ichigo, but of course in the end failing to do so. The rest of the cast had far less screentime and as such was harder to form an attachment too. The two other Soul Reapers that had a score to settle with Ichigo I found to be overacting at times, but maybe that was the way their characters were supposed to be like.
So how about the special effects then? I have to say that they were very convincing and quite good. I really loved the designs of the Hollows, and as far as monster designs go they were pretty horrific. Action wise, the film has some seriously cool swordfights, and ofcourse Ichigo trying to defeat the monstrous lost souls. All of these scenes looked top notch, and were quite enjoyable. The end fight sequence though was a little bit disappointing. It went pretty overboard and it even became laughable which is something I don’t think was what they intended it to be. Overall though, Bleach is quite the entertaining film. It contains some quirky but fun characters, a nice storyline and great action. Not knowing anything about the anime, I do find myself beginning to realise why this one has become such a fan favorite. Maybe I should set aside some time to go ahead and watch it anyway. It is after all only 366 episodes long. Yeah…right….like that will ever happen. Oh well, wishful thinking I guess.
I give Bleach a 7 out of 10 score.
I’ve watched the first two seasons of Bleach and dug what I saw but never finished it. Maybe I’ll give the movie a go…
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Go for one piece and hunter x hunter 🙌🙌🙌🙏
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366 episodes! 😳 Walking Dead’s only had 115 and taken 9 yrs to watch! Don’t do it mate, we’ll never hear from you again! 🤣
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To be fair, anime episodes are 24-ish minutes long, so it amounts to 183 episodes of Walking Dead. XD
If anyone’s thinking of giving it a go though, I recommend skipping most filler arcs. That leaves you with a manageable amount of episodes!
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Haha😂😂 So true! But well I know myself, I just would not be able to skip things. When I start to watch something I am one of those completionists, and I want to see every single episode lol 😂😂. But well…who knows, maybe I will start with it at some point and just take about 4 years to complete it. 😂😂😂
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I watched about 80% of the fillers, and while some concepts were interesting, most of them were quite disappointing for me.
Haha, may be one day…
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Haha..yeah one day….but well as I said, despite the fact that some of those fillers will probably be disappointing, if I start on this, I know I will watch them anyway lol 😂😂(I even have trouble dropping shows that I don’t like lol 😂😂).
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Lol…no worries, I won’t be leaving here anytime soon: I like it way too much 😂😂 But yeah I probably won’t be starting on this one, it’s just too much…despite the fact that it are only 23 minute episodes. Glad I’m still up to date with the Walking Dead though lol 😂😂😂
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Yes, this next season will be interesting to see what they do with Rick.
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It definitely will be…though I think it will probably mean the end of the series. Rick is just to great of a character. It just won’t be the same without him 😢
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I’m disappointed they’re adapting the wrong films for Live Action
I think that the only film adaptations that could be viable would be Slice of Life like ahnohara
And then instead of making my two patients films make a TV series of Darker Than Black, Black Lagoon. Any of the Naoki urazawa mangas
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True…there are probably some better animes out there for adaptations, but I do have to admit that I quite enjoyed this one.
Oh well…who knows, maybe they will release some slice of lifes in the near future too (I don’t know if you have seen the Erased live action adaptation, but that one was really good. And they made it into a tv series, which was even better 😊).
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YES!! I loved erased !!
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Someday they’re going to release a horrible live action adaptation that will break the camel’s back I’ll PITCH the shows to Netflix if things continue like this!!!
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Lol…well..honestly…this wasn’t horrible 😂😂 I have definitely seen worse adaptations, and as mentioned there was enough in this film to enjoy 😊 But I’m sure Netflix would appreciate your pitch 😊😊
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I haven’t seen the anime either, but I think this movie sounds interesting. May just have to add it my list on Netflix 🙂
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It’s definitely a fun film. Don’t expect too much from it, but there are definitely worse films out there, that’s for sure 😊
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I’m looking forward to this one now that I know it’s on the UK Netlfix. I loved the anime, and have the manga right up to what I thought should have been the end, so i’m eager to see how they adapt things here.
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Well, as I said I can’t really judge, but having read Karandi’s post for it, it’s done a pretty good job with it 😊 Looking forward to hearing your thoughts on it 😊
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I still recommend just committing to the first three seasons. The first season you more or less know what is covered now minus a few minor details and some filler and seasons two and three deal with Ichigo and his friends invading Soul Society to rescue Rukia. While the end of season three has one fairly large loose end they finish that mission and it is a very nice stopping point for people who don’t want to wade through the rest of the plot that gets stretched out over so many episodes. Its at least a more doable watch than the entire series.
That said, I am glad you enjoyed the movie.
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Hmm…okay, that is interesting to know. Well, I am first going to try and see if I can finally start that rewatch of Stein’s Gate today or at least somewhere this week. The thing with vacations that you have no real plans for, is that there are so many things that you want to do, but sometimes hardly know where to begin lol😂😂
But this is nice to know though 😊Maybe I will start on the series with keeping that in mind 😊😊
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😁
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That’s a really good score for an anime adaptation.
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*live action adaptation of an anime, I mean. It had it right in my head!!
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Lol…I knew what you meant 😂😊
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It really was a fun movie, although it’s not the best one I’ve seen. For now that honor goes to the Rurouni Kenshin live action adaptation trilogy. Those three films were absolutely amazing, and I highly recommend them 😊
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Duuuuude, Bleach is one of my all-time favourite anime! I loved it so much back in high school and was so sad when it all came to an end. And when I heard about this live-action… I had zero hope for it. I was super surprised that you convinced yourself to watch it, but even more surprised that you didn’t watch the anime! But I totally understand though… It’s like One Piece… As much as I’d love to be up to date with it, I’ll never get around to it. That’s just insane. I missed that train. I’m glad to hear that the CGI wasn’t bad for you though. It does give me hope, but I’m still to skeptical about it. Live-action adaptation of any anime/manga is soooo risky. I could only see slice of life series being turned into live-action to be honest… Great review again, Michel!
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Well, I heard from Karandi that this one, when compared to the anime is a pretty good adaptation of the first arc and that it’s definitely one of the better live action adaptations 😊 But for me the best adaptation so far has been the Rurouni Kenshin trilogy. Those movies were totally awesome and well worth checking out.
As for the Bleach anime, well maybe one day..😅 One Piece though…never going to happen…I hear it’s now almost a 1000 episodes…that’s just crazy 😂😂 Thanks again Lashaan 😊😊
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… I never understand turning name into live action…. I totally agree that it seems a little strange. But, it’s nice that you could get the flavour of Bleach (… Sounds like you’re drinking it?? Please don’t do that) without needing to commit to do many episodes…
I could never get into Bleach. I’m glad I didn’t as I’ve heard from many people that they get a little crazy with their story arcs…
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Yeah, it is, isn’t it 🤔🤔 Well, there are a few examples of some neat live action adaptations, but not many I have to say😊
Lol…I was very tempted to end this post with a picture of a drink of Bleach like you do…but I’m guessing that really isn’t such a good idea…A. It might get a little messy. B. I would probaly find the FBI on my doorstep lol 😂😂
Well…I’m hearing that I should have at least tried the first three seasons…so maybe I will do that…If….if I can find some time. (translation, that will probably never happen lol 😂😂).
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… Ya… Probably not the best idea to recommend drinking Bleach to your readers.. There are some VERY stupid people out there.
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Yeah…I guess. Hm, I’m probably one of them 🤔
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Anime bloggers on WordPress are the ones who have managed to reignite my interest in anime and start watching them again. And although you call yourself a noob when it comes to anime, you really aren’t. The best thing I like about your posts is that it’s not written to relay information but rather it is written in a manner where you are conversing with the reader. Now that’s not something that’s easy but you pull it off in an excellent manner. Now this adaptation and the original drama sounds really exciting and yes this is going into my list. My list is growing a lot because of you Michel!
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If this was a comment intended to make me blush again, you know that you have succeeded in that again right? 😊 Thanks so very much for always having the best comments!
Well, actually my interest in anime was reignited as well, ever since I started blogging. It’s really through many other bloggers that I have learned a lot about new series and things I still want to see 😊 Haha, sorry to keep adding things to your list lol 😊
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The blush competition will always be on! Hehe. I love it when I have more stuff added to my list. Makes me feel excited thinking there’s lots left to watch!
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Haha…well, I think my list will probably always be unending 😂😂
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Ikr. I don’t think a single human lifespan is enough for my list 😂😂😂
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I’ve heard of Bleach, but I’ve never watched it. Even though the live action adaptation wasn’t perfect, I’m glad you still enjoyed it overall Michel.
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Well, I never watched the Bleach anime myself, but the fun thing is you can still enjoy this movie a lot without ever having seen the anime. And in that regard it’s did a good job 😊😊
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I just added it to my Netflix queue.☺️
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Haha, nice, I hope you will enjoy it too 😊
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I saw the trailer for this the other day on Netflix. I must say that I was a bit skeptical seeing as I have seen the anime (well, the first 60 or so episodes) but maybe I should watch it after all. I have never seen a Japanese action movie adaptation before (only western mostly crappy or so so ones) so this could perhaps be a good start. I like Bleach.
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Well, as I said I haven’t seen the anime, so I can’t compare, but Karandi said it did a really great job (she even watched it twice already, so that’s probably saying something). The Japanese are good at certain adaptations. Another one I highly recommend is the Rurouni Kenshing trilogy. Those movies were truly amazing, and the rank amongs my favorites. Hope you will enjoy Bleach (the movie that is, I already know you love the anime lol). 😊😊
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If she says it’s good then i believe it. I’m gonna put it on my tbw list. I have decided to start to watch more asian movies and tv-shows. I really liked Train to Busan and then I watched a Japanese movie called I hear the sunspot and now I want something more. I debate with myself though what it is I want. I think comedy but yeah, can’t decide really. I have seen a bunch of horror movies too of course; all the usual like The Grudge and The Ring and what not. Totally my kind of horror.
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Well, as I said, it certainly won’t be the greatest thing you will ever see, but it’s a fun film, and has enough going for it to make an interesting watch.
Train to Busan is awesome. I think it is without a doubt the best Asian movie I have ever watched. I loved it from beginning to end. There are some really good Asian films out there, and as you know I’m a huge Asian cinema fan, so if you ever need some recommendations let me know 😊
And of course the Grudge and The Ring are totally amazing! True classics that never get old.
If you wan’t to see a good Korean drama that also has some supernatural elements in it I recommend both Black and Goblin. Both are absolutely awesome 😊 (Black especially).
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I think I have heard about Black, most likely from you, before. Gonna check them both out. Netflix has added a lot of Asian movies and TV series lately, which is nice, so I’m gonna browse and see if there is something interesting. I get recommended a series everytime I log in about a boy and a girl ending up as room mates and it looks hilarious. It’s supposed to be an adaptation of a manga. I might actually have to watch it at some point because now I have seen the trailer like five times and the girl is awesome. I wonder what manga it is? Shojo for sure. can’t remember the name of the series atm.
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I think Netflix is really doing a great job with their current offerings. There have really been some great additions to the line up, especially on korean dramas and asian films.
I know which one you mean, as I get the same recommendation lol. But not a huge fan of comedies, so in all likelyhood I don’t think I will watch it. But…who knows, I never say never 😊😊
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I’m not a huge fan of comedies either but what I have seen of those two they remind me of another couple that I like very much. (yeah, two boys though but who cares). And yes, I agree, Netflix have upped their game a bit when it comes to anime as well which is nice, but also international movies.
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Lol, the only thing that I hate about Netflix is that they have so many amazing things, that I hardly have time for my own stuff these days lol 😂😂
True enough though: Netflix is becoming more and more fun 😊
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366 episodes!!! :O Holy shirt I didn’t realise it had that many episodes 🙂 Also Soul Reaper sounds like an awesome job 🙂 Don’t think I’d want to do it myself though hehe 😀
Live action films can be very disappointing sometimes. Good to hear this one is an exception to that and that you enjoyed it 🙂 Even if the last fight scene is disappointing, it still sounds like it’d be worth watching 🙂
Great review 😀
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Haha..yeah…that is pretty much the reason that I had not started with that anime. That is just a bit too much of a good thing lol (still I hear One Piece has over a 1000 episodes now, so it could be worse lol 😂😂)
Yeah live action films can really be disappointing, but this one certainly wasn’t one of them.
I recently heard that the final fight scene is keeping in tone with the anime, so that made me look at it differently.
But yeah…this is definitely a fun film for sure, and worth checking out! 😊
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I haven’t watched Bleach or Naruto because, like you, when I see the episode count it scares me off. Unless you start watching a show like that from day one (like I am doing with My Hero Academia) the time investment it takes to catch up becomes too daunting.
This movie looks like it captures the spirit (soul reaver pun hehe) of the anime. Shame that the final battle doesn’t work in live action. I’m guessing when you have a limited budget it’s difficult to make the epic battles not look a bit silly in live action.
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7/10 isn’t a bad score at all! I scrolled past this one on Netflix not 30 mins ago and I think you’ve convinced me to give this one a go. I am not one who’s familiar with anime at all, though 🙂 300+ episodes sounds like one of those telenovelas my mother watches… they just go on and on 😀 Haha, no offense meant of course, I am sure anime is a lot better! 😉
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Lol, none taken at all😊 I have heard from people who have seen the anime that there are a lot of episodes that are mostly just filler, and one would do well to just watch the first three seasons. But…as I’m a bit of a completionist, I would have way too hard a time to do that lol 😂😂
It’s definitely a fun film, that people who haven’t seen the anime can enjoy too. Hope it will be to your liking if you decide to give it a go 😊😊
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