#another great unhinged crossover/fusion opportunity

[bleachbleachbleach]

The Bleach Live Action is a Reason to Live

I didn’t do any writing last night, because we rewatched the Bleach live action movie instead. We saw this movie for the first time during Lockdown Summer #1, after watching the FMA live action. Basically, it went “wow, that was the worst movie I’ve ever seen, I wanna watch another one.” At the time, my co-blogger had already pandemic read/reread the Bleach manga, but I didn’t yet know that (or this blog) was something I was going to choose to be doing with my life. Suffice to say, the context of watching this film last night was very different than the first time! 

We’ve now seen many live action anime adaptations, and many anime stage plays (musicals, 2.5Ds, whatever a “Naruto Live Spectacle” is). With this broader appreciation of the genre, and a deeper and refreshed understanding of Bleach, this movie is still in my Top 5 Live Action Adaptations!* It slaps, this Ichigo is my favorite live action Ichigo, and Renji literally made me drop my salad bowl because he and Byakuya are so funny in this movie. Love it, no notes. * I think this Top 5 goes: 1. the Rurouni Kenshin movies, 2. Death Note III, 3. Kids on the Slope, 4. Bleach, 5. ???????

The Bleach live action has big “It’s a Summer Movie!” energy/style, so if you liked the Bleach live action, you should watch that one. If you didn’t like this movie but thought it might have potential, you should watch that one. If you would have preferred this movie be about Rukia and Renji making a student project film, you should watch that movie. (No, but you actually should. It’s genuinely wonderful.)

Anyway, the Bleach live action also features Ichigo and Ishida conversing a very normal distance apart from each other:

As well as Renji, fresh from his stint on Soul Society’s Next Top Model and having taken Tyra’s advice about “ugly pretty” and angles to heart:

(Tits out Renji came to execute Rukia, which is how you know it’s a formal occasion.)

According to my co-blogger, this guy is best-known for playing female roles in kabuki theatre, which precipitates here in An Interpretation of Renji. But also I would definitely read the AU where Renji joins the Hanbantai Players and becomes best-known for playing female roles in kabuki theatre.

Miyavi’s Byakuya pairs perfectly with Abarai “Strike a Pose” Renji, also offering An Interpretation of Byakuya’s hair, among other things:

Granted, the best thing about these two isn’t in this movie, but in the underground sequel, titled Kate, where Byakuya discovers that he enjoys roleplaying as Yakuza/Finance Renji’s live-in boyfriend:

You see, in the Bleach live action, Byakuya and Renji have the patience to spend an entire training montage in the Living World after having encountered Ichigo and Rukia for the first (or second, in Renji’s case) time, just like... hanging out? I guess?

My best explanation for this is that the Kuchiki have a summer penthouse in the Greater Tokyo Area, and Byakuya figures that while they’re there to execute Rukia and Ichigo, they might as well turn down the sheets, let some air in, etc.

So while Ichigo and Rukia are involved in their second or third training montage of the film, Byakuya and Renji go off to do penthouse things. There, nurtured by the unexpected inspiration of the relative freedom of the Living World and a vast expanse of spare time while they wait for the clock to run out on the training montage, their roleplay relationship begins.

The Bleach live action also took its credits animation cues from the cinematic experience that is 2Fast 2Furious, which of course is a timeless and always welcome aesthetic nod. You can’t watch this film and be left wanting. It is perfect.