Title: Bleach
Director: Shinsuke Sato
Writers: Tite Kubo (Manga), Daisuke Habara (Screenplay)
Starring: Miyavi, Hana Sugisaki, Sôta Fukushi, Ryô Yoshizawa, Erina Mano, Taichi Saotome
Music: Yutaka Yamada
Studio: Warner Bros.
Release Date: July 20, 2018 (Japan) July 23, 2018 (North America)
I haven’t seen many live action anime adaptations. Truth be told, I’ve been avoiding them like the plague. Anime has always been a refuge for me; a medium home to some of the most fantastic, nuanced, and mature creations to ever touch my mind. I prefer my Anime animated, always will. That said, my unreserved trepidation walking into the theater to view Shinsuke Sato’s live action Bleach adaptation was wholly unwarranted and lasted all of 2.5 minutes. It’s good. Good enough that now, it’s the only Bleach I want to watch.
Now, before you get your guns up to come for my blasphemous hide, consider that I am not a Bleach fan. Anime fan yes, Bleach fan no. From what I’ve seen, Sato’s undertaking was to condense the entirety of the first season into roughly two hours of runtime. He was aided greatly by a few excellent technical and casting choices, chiefly Sota Fukushi’s Ichigo and Hana Sugisaki’s Rukia. The two leads elevate the production in complementary ways, specifically in Fukushi’s comedic execution and Sugisaki’s dramatic poise. With the character of Ichigo, the comedy is particularly well employed considering the dark poignancy of his actual motivation. Conversely, Sugisaki plays it close to the vest as the strait-laced Rukia, seemingly wise beyond her years.
The chemistry between these characters is palpable and endearing, and Sugisaki’s ability to ground a scene really cannot be overstated. She shares the screen well, though I often felt like she was leading Fukushi emotionally in some of the more dramatic exchanges. Not to discount his performance, as Fukushi shines in the third act. He is affable, though quite brazen at times, and yet always vulnerable enough to draw empathy. Sato could have relied more on the action to drive through to the climax, but he trusted his performers and the strength of the narrative over the flash one might anticipate in the genre.
In regard to the action and injecting stylistic anime swordplay into a live action experience, Sato actually proves that less is more. After the iconic initial encounter with the Hollow hunting Rukia, there is a very gradual building of tension that feeds the desire to see these characters let loose. The climactic final battle delivers substantially on this promise and the visual effects are surprisingly well polished. Additionally, the computer generated effects throughout the film don’t detract very much from the immersion, though there are one or two instances where the interactions with the actors aren’t as smooth as they could have been. On an estimated $3.6 million budget (IMDB), the technical execution here is extraordinary.
Rounding out the cast in the feature are Taichi Saotome as Renji, Takamasa Ishihara (Miyavi) as Byakuya, and Ryo Yoshizawa as Ichigo’s Quincy rival Uryu. With Yoshizawa’s understated portrayal contrasting Saotome’s near over the top bravado, Ishihara’s cold and calculated turn as Byakuya also stands out. In terms of performances, I couldn’t have asked as for a better film-going experience in a live action adaptation. Bleach Otaku will take issue with edits and omissions for the sake of simplicity and narrative efficiency, but in the end it’s a good movie. Mileage as a Bleach movie may vary, but it was wonderfully entertaining nonetheless.
Christian Davenport
cable201@comicattack.net
