Review of Bleach (2018) by Julian F — 15 Sep 2018

Live action anime adaptations usually do no hit the mark. It's extremely difficult to get the feel of anime out of live actors. The Bleach film has found an almost perfect feel. At some points I felt the nostalgic rush of watching the original anime as a 10 year old budding otaku.

The acting is exceptional especially Sato Fukushi who does a spot on portrayal of Ichigo. Byakuya and Renji are also noteworthy in their stoic vs loudmouth dynamic perfectly mimiced from the show. Some characters do feel thrown in with little consequence.

Most notably Chad who is a heavy fan favorite and besides one awesome nod to his physical strength just seems wasted. Orihime has always been a relatively unliked character among fans, the actress playing her does fine in what little role she has but lacks the look and playfulness of her anime counterpart.

The cgi in this film is quite good for a Japanese production. The fights run smooth and give you enough exaggerated anime style to remind you this isn't a run of the mill samurai movie. Overall this movie is an easy watch for anime fans and non anime fans alike and I feel does a great job representing what Bleach originally was meant to be, a shonen with rule of cool stamped all over it.