HOME TRAILERS RELEASE DATES PODCASTS REVIEWS POSTERS INTERVIEWS BOB $TENCIL NEWS FEEDS ABOUT APPS

LATEST NEWS

Warner Bros is Bringing the Manga 'Bleach' to the Big Screen

by Ethan Anderton
March 22, 2010

With a live-action Akira on the studio's future slate, it's no surprise that Heat Vision reports Warner Bros has snagged the rights to another popular manga - Bleach, for a feature length film. Director Peter Segal (Get Smart, Tommy Boy) is negotiating to serve as a producer (apparently he wants to take on more darker, action-fueled material) in a story focusing on a 15-year-old boy who can see ghosts. He meets a female Soul Reaper (who escorts the "souls of the dead"), but a fight with an evil spirit causes the Reaper to transfer her powers to the boy, leaving her stranded in the human world and the boy with her old job as a fighter of evil.

The manga has been published in weekly installments in Japan since 2001 with collected stories spanning 29 volumes in a graphic novel format. The comic has already seen adaptations in the form of a TV series in Japan (the US version airs on Cartoon Network) in addition to feature films and, yes, even a musical, so this is quite the popular manga. While the story sounds intriguing, I've always suffered from an absolute dislike of Japanese animation style which includes any manga or anime properties. I've never been into them and this seems like another one that doesn't need to be on the big screen, but the fans may (or may not) agree. Given this is at Warner Brothers, though, great things could come of it in the end. What do you think?

Explore tags: Movie News, Opinions

Mony

Wow, I love Japanese animes and mangas, but I never saw nor read Bleach. The premise just wasn't interesting to me. Wow, I hope they know what they are getting themselves into, because I think Bleach is the number 1 manga in Japan and I am not sure they should touch it. It is pretty damn popular around the world, and fans might not be happy. They better do a hell of a cast. It should be interesting to hear what the hardcore bleach fans think. Thank God they aren't touch the anime I love, at least I hope they never do.
Duck

Never saw this one coming, i'll keep a open mind but this should be interesting to see how it plays out
Shalnark

im an avid fan of bleach , reading and watching the anime for years now i think this doesnt fit right now... esecially they ruined the story of dragon ball the last time it went to live action and bleach has so many characters that they must cast, i hope they dont ruin it this time looking forward in the cowboy bebop though,
Dark Fist

I'm a huge Bleach fan. Seeing as just hearing the American voices for the Bleach anime was one of the most shocking and unpleasant experiences of my life, I'm highly skeptical of such an adaptation. I really doubt that the atmosphere of the series will translate well into Hollywood-style live-action ( Also: Peter Segal? :-\ ). Bottom line is that manga which has been adapted well into anime will always risk suffering heavily with an additional live-action adaptation because it's competing with two beloved creations to begin with. Especially an American adaptation.. and ESPECIALLY especially, the more supernatural types... I just can't imagine this turning out well in the hands of Warner Bros. Hopefully they learned a lesson from Dragon Ball on how ABSOLUTELY NOT to make a live-action manga/anime adaptation. That is, if anyone involved really cares about the source material. Either I will be pleasantly surprised or too horrified to look. We'll see...
Phai Giron

as long as it's not made by Fox, i have fair hopes it will be as good as it can be. it will not be perfect, but i have a feeling it will try it's best to keep to atmosphere and at least be enjoyable as a movie. like Speed Racer, that was a relatively well done adaption, it was enjoyable and felt just as campy as an anime. Warner Bros. knows whats up. it shouldn't be that hard to make a good adaption, take a look at the live action Death Note, it kept pretty close to the anime as best as it could given they had to change some things to make it shorter but they did a fairly acceptable job. i guess my only string of doubt that this could end badly is the director. Peter Segal pretty much directs nothing but comedies, however, since bleach can be somewhat comedic he might be able to keep that anime campiness vibe, we'll see
tra la la la la di da

Ugh...Bleach........at least they're not going to ruin anything good like Akira. Oh, wait...
Fearl3ss

1st reaction WOW!! but looking how anime/game adaption work in hollywood, they all turn out pretty bad due to the lack of knowledge from the director etc. What they do is get the synopsis and make it they own adding stuff which makes it even SH*T. We fans can make it way better than directors out there. Hire a bunch of HARDCORE fans and let them make it. What u will c nxt is most popular anime 'Naruto' (my fav), which they will FU*K up eswel. I think leave the pure style for jap directors and dub it like Kung-Fu Hustle, NOW thats class

C,T

yeah i agree tbh, bleach is very popular in japan the u s and england and being a fan of bleach my self i really don't see how they could pull it off at all they already made a big mess of dbz and the last air bender weren't all that good ether and even thou the director is pretty good i don't think he knows the first thing about anime which make it worse and yeah i just hope they keep there hands off naruto/naruto shippuden bleach and naruto r my favorite anime's ever too

cassi

I love Bleach and my only wish is NOT A SECOND DRAGONBALL EVOLUTION CRAP MOVIE!! You're confusing things, the question is not if Bleach needs to be on the big screen, it's already a money-making franchise and if WB wants to buy it, they should show respect and turn it at least into something good and not treat it like they would do Bleach a favor by making a movie. Bleach fans would be fine without it, there's already a fourth anime feature in production!
http://img222.imageshack.us/img222/2408/blackbabyjesus.gif Crapola

I have a few Bleach books but could never get into the stories, it's really well drawn though. I imagine it will not transfer well as much as I'd like it too. Still waiting for the Tekkonkinkreet live action, I think that would be the best film in the universe and even people who can't stand manga/anime would like it.
no

this is actually terrible news. we'll get some nonsense western actors playing all the roles with a minor role being filled by so called asians jackie chan etc.
http://www.superliminal.wordpress.com Nathalie

Not liking anime is like not liking Batman or any comic at all. Not liking animation is another story...
nynex

They already have two bigscreen movies out. Why not make another? The first two were decent, but who knows what will happen when WB takes the reigns.
http://bleach.animemangatoons.com Bleach fan

I think this would be a nice film, if they can pull it off right. I'm a huge fan. It's a very long running manga and all I can say is about time.
NeoSlyfer

Just..............why ???
Daiteechu

Bleach is a very good anime, from a GREAT manga!!! but a movie... HELL NO!!! why won't these big studios learn not to screw around with such great material. ok they might make a little cash, but it will serve no other purpose than to further destroy the interest in enjoying Manga/Anime from the audiences that are unfamiliar with it. Making it even harder for the ones that SHOULD be on the big screen to make it
Walker

oh god no please they're going to take a good show like bleach and make a crappy movie out of it. i mean they did the same thing to dragonball turned a good ass cartoon into a piece of crap
SlashBeast

Live action anime adaptions are fail.
LW

I like Peter Segal. Get Smart was an enjoyable movie... But this movie, will _not_ be good. Mark my words!
JL

i'm not sure. As long they have the original writer, Tite Kubo, is involved. Much like Cowboy Bebop still involving Sunrise entertainment from japan, it can be good. But if not, it'll get screwed up. But thank god it's not Fox...
The RON®™

This is going to be an epic FAIL!! Hollywood is just going to destroy this on the big screen. I read the manga and the anime(only the jap version with english subtitles, the English dub just sucks!) Just don't touch mangas!! look what happened to Dragonball!
Logan

i totally agree.. this has fail written all over it.. why are they making stuff on japanese mangas. there are still sagas like Heman left unexploited.. mangas and anime are supposed to be left as they are.. untainted by hollywood.. the result can never be good.. atleast not to people who read mangas. I wish Alex had written this article.
cancertje

white guys playing asians? give me a break in what fucked up world do we live these days
http://sillysil.net SillySil

That would be a funny movie.
Beta Ray Bill

@Number Mony: Bleach is nowhere near the number 1 manga in Japan. One Piece is number in Japan and in the world. @22. Only a few characters in Bleach even look japanese (Soi Fon), most of them are white (Kira) and a black guy should play Kenpachi and Tousen. I dont see this movie coming out great unless they follow the storyline completely. But the real story aint that great anyway. The movie will be judged on the crazy action, sword fighting and powers from from the manga/anime. I personally would have this project for another director and wait a couple of years for the Bleach manga to end which it will in a few years. T This could be terrible if it dosent have a huge budget and a bad script writer.
jason

YES YES YES YES NOW A MANGA GETS RECANISED
speeder

warner is out of ideas and now this???? this is like a mobile phone and a remake of the same mobile phone.... u can't plant bananas and get watermellons
Mony

@number 24 Beta Ray, sorry my bad, One piece is my favourite anime and manga. I haven't really looked at the numbers for mangas in a while. I just don't want to jinx OP.
http://www.onivoro.com.br Kojima

My point is not if it is a manga adaptation or not. What worry me is another movie with white washing. I really refuse to watch any movie where Japanese characters are replaced by caucasian actors. Ps. The best manga adaptation ever is Oldboy...
Andante

aiya. another amazing anime/manga ruined by the ingnorant hands of American directors. This is probably going to be a disaster like dragon ball z... I like bleach but i just really hope that they don't completely humiliate themselves. I'm like the number one One Piece fan. I really hope that One piece is never going to be on the list of movies to corrupt... btw, One Piece is awesome.
DaftPUNKFAN

why not DBZ? but this seems interesting, guess well see how it plays out :/
Mony

@Andante I agree OP is awesome, terrific, you name it!!! I really enjoy it.
Gangrenous Khan

I really dont understand why people here keep saying Bleach is the number 1 anime, since that slot belongs to Naruto. I guess they are all bleach fans... the fact is, Naruto is ranked the highest on all of the manga/anime sites. Furthermore, the story in bleach is really bland... like other people said here, i really cant see myself getting into it. making a movie out of it might even be an improvement... But yeah, again, dont say bleach is the most popular, or the best, because it isn't.
Sean

NO! WHY?!?!? Well at least Warner Bros. are doing it, and not that horrendous production company Fox...they completely ruined Dragonball Z. I could see the same thing happening to Bleach.
http://www.firstshowing.net Alex Billington

#21 - I wouldn't have said anything different if I had written this up... I'm a fan of anime, but I've never seen Bleach. I'm actually more familiar with Cowboy Bebop and stuff like that than I am with Bleach. Plus, I still wouldn't support this being turned into live-action. I'm down for Akira, but this one just seems too odd to work as a live-action movie. No?
HanDsomepiG

SIGH. Is gonna be like dragonball the movie. If this ever made into production, we are gonna have another argument on race issue. Probably they pick some pretty white looking boy for the main character for Bleach. Is just shock and bad news when i see this topic, they gonna ruin it for sure. Imo, only way for this movie to actually workout is Warner bros and japan production actually work together.
Mony

#34 What are some of your favourite animes Alex?
Palmer

@24, the point is that they are supposed to be asians. Because it's a manga it doens't matter that one has pink hair and another is a talking fox. If this will turn into a live action movie it isn't going to be taken seriously. Knowing Hollywood they will probably want to make this for a more wider (and shallow audience), which in a way is logic beause of the costs, but that isn't what bleach is about. Just drop it. It will only work if it stays true to the manga and has an (almost) entire Japanese cast. I don't have to recall the failure of Dragon Ball because plenty of you have done that. Anyway my point is that manga isn't suited for the big screen.
Some1

This is gay, they are going to screw this up big time just like DBZ... Bleach is a good anime and only japanese people would suite it like in Ninja Assassin. Hasn't Hollywood got any thing else in there mind except copying anime. Next it might be Naruto. Well i am not saying that they shouldn't do a anime movie, they should but not hollywood and Peter Segal as a Director or Producer....what a joke.
Logan

Hi Alex, All i wanted was someone who doesnt HATE japanese animation to write about smthing like a bleach movie (i think thats a pretty reasonable demand). To all who say that anime characters look caucasian.. well that is just the way japanese art has evolved. Unless specified, it is understood that all of them are asians, some look it more than others. There are animes like Dragon Ball Z whose english dubbed versions were a huge improvement over the originals (amazing soundtrack and epic voice acting by sean schemmel and chris sabat). But then there are animes like naruto and bleach which just arent bearable in english at all. Made well, Hollywood can do great justice to series like Akira, Cowboy bebop, Ghost in the shell, and even Fullmetal Alchemist for that matter. But Bleach and Naruto have too many, and too complex characters. And the 3 bleach animated movies out already are epic enough to satisfy our movie needs. As i said earlier. You still have stuff like Heman just lying around in the dust. I dont know if some of u guys read it, but there was an amazing script attached to it that was floating around sometime back. Somehow it just ended up dying. (JASON LEWIS FOR HEMAN PLEASE!!) Make Heman, make Thundercats, movies on such american content would be HUGELY welcomed by fans. If good animes get turned to bad hollywood movies (DBE), all that its doing is making some people a bit richer (i guess) and a lot of fanboys unhappy.
edwina

omg i so hope that does happen and they bring it to the theaters i would diffently watch bleach
some1

#40 edwina I guess you haven't read who is directing/producing it. it would totally not suit an american direct/produce a japanese anime. everything has to be japanese style because they know more about these anime manga stuff. Plus who is going to play Ichigo Kurosaki, it is proved that american actors can't do it like in DBZ. I think some1 who is japanese and watches bleach and knows more about the character should play it.
person

.....frack you Warner Bros
iamsome12

"american directors".........bloody ##@@'#~ oh yeh Micheal Bay F@CKED up Transformers 2, they just wanted to film by the "PYRAMIDS"........
rider1

OP, Open Piece is gay, stupid, one of the worst manga ever. stupid fans ;P
urahara kisuke

i think the better person to direct this movie is TAKASHI MIIKE.
Andante

ehhhh...tell me #44, what is open piece? i'm sure you're not mistaking it with the amazing One Piece. dude, at least spell something right if you're going to blindly insult it.
Amy

Maybe they'll Westernize it and make it Soul Society Heaven with Angels wearing White and the Big Bad becomes an Angel who tries to takeover God. So the hero will try to prevent it. But definitely not the original Bleach in a live action movie.
rider1

#46 Andante ehhh.... i was joking, i guess that you was blind and couldn't see ;P at the end. Duh... i know that OP is "good", you....... mistaken bugger!!
Andante

#48 rider1 oh. i'm sorry. i didn't understand that. cuz who could hate one piece?
rider1

#49 Andante it's ok, every1 gets misunderstood. By the way OP is shit ;P lol
Hey Wowza

They are going to ruin this. It's going to end up ridiculously westernized and take place in LA or something and all the Japanese mythology will be changed to some Judeo-Christian references or something. Though it would be wonderful if they actually did adapt it properly and made a movie about a 15 year old Japanese kid escorting souls to and fro, it won't happen. Plus Bleach has a ton of characters and other necessary elements that may not translate over as well into film, especially film made for an American audience. Unless this lands in the correct hands, it'll probably end up like Dragon Ball: Evolution or Street Fighter: The Legend of Chun-Li or even Avatar: The Last Airbender.
Fervour

I... I think I'm the most horrified ever since the Haiti earthquake. Bloody murder, they've brought Dragon Ball and brought it to the chopping block already, but Bleach? Please Tite Kubo, don't let this happen. ;_; Next thing you know, manga like Katekyo Hitman Reborn!, Fullmetal Alchemist, One Piece, Naruto, Bakuman and all those shounen goodies would be picked up by America and corrupted in a disgusting manner. All I can hope for is that Hollywood won't make this as horrid as possible. Please don't disappoint us fan girls (and boys) Warner Bros! ;_;
mark

god i hope the don't kill bleach as they did with dragon ball z because dargon ball z was literally killed because of the horrible acting and not even sticking to the plot line at all!!!! and the characters never looked the same as they did in the anime and manga so what i'm trying to say is that i hope they don't kill bleach as they did with previous live action anime movies
AwesomeO-3000

Don't take this so seriously. If it actually becomes some thing watchable, great! If not... well, that's the studios loss. It wont really hurt us, will it? You could copy the Mona Lisa. It wouldn't be the Mona Lisa. Do it skillfully, someone might say.. "Hey, that looks kinda nice, GJ". It would be nice to look at. Still wouldn't be the Mona Lisa.. just an accurate replica. Same goes for the movie. Might be nice to look at, might follow the story well. Wouldn't be Tite Kubo's Bleach. Just an replica thats nice to look at. Or on the other hand a piece of trash lost in the history of movie making. Just saying.
T. Taylor

i LOVE Bleach!!! i watch the show in japanese w/ english sub cuz i cant stand the english dubbed one it sounds horrible!! anywho idk about a live action adaptation, i might be up for it if they atleast get a japanese cast. it would be awesome if they just make the movie in japanese w/ english subtiltes just to keep the authenticity of the anime
Masa

What's the world coming to now. The only thing i see in the theaters these days are movies that were all originally manga and anime. It's BS they r going to ruin anime and manga completely. I love Japanese animation so y r they destroying it. So far they have ruined many anime movies that didn't need to be. Bleach... really y? That's a cool ass anime/manga now after this so called bleach movie they r making how many anime fans do you think will see it? Even if we do see the movie we will all be disappointing. what a let down. In my eyes Warner bros. has lost its way and is heading in the wrong direction completely. How many anime have they f***ed up that were exceptionally good to watch and enjoy? I can make a list but it wouldn't help any. There will be a major problem with them making anime into Hollywood movies. It's an insult. Sure it might have action in the movie, but it won't go along with the original story much at all. They should just leave anime alone. Then we won't have this chat about all their movies on anime they screwed up.
S. Nita

Ok, first of all... Bleach may not be #1 in Japan, you freaks that are obsessed with stating this... grow up. WE KNOW. "Omg, Naruto is betterzz!!! ", "One piece owns!" Enough. I enjoy all three series and the point is not which manga series if better but that they're going to make a live action film. Personally i'm going to be open minded about this and pray they don't create another "Dragon Ball Z crap-fest" again.... I mean, the kid playing Goku didn't even look anywhere NEAR him! I'll honestly lose all hope in those that are getting paid over millions of dollars over there at WB... You're getting paid for creating shit! B.S. Anyways, and another thing... Wtf is with you people and saying "We better have azn's playing the roles! We don't want no white people!" ...Seriously? Think about it, do the characters ACTUALLY look asian? Now, for the love of GOD... THINK before replying. Do they look asian? NO. They don't. They're white, some have blonde hair, orange, brown, WHITE... I could go on. Blue eyes, green, purple, yellow, yada yada ya.... What? Since when do you EVER see an asian with "natural" blond hair, orange, PINK, ect! Dont' get me wrong, i'm hoping this film has effort put into it and really captures Bleach, but you people expect too much. Although... I have to agree that they decided this too early... Again, i'm gonna be open minded about this... You all should do the same, or wait till the damn trailer comes out then bitch about it. "No aznsss!!! White people ruined my life!!!" Right... Sorry, just thought i'd throw some common sense out there while I left my comment.
jay

4 all the peaple who dnt watch anime bleach is one of the best anime point blank period.
jay

p.s. warner please dnt F*ck !p D@ movie...
Anne Camp

The actual storyline behind Bleach is incredible. It's well thought out, with good and interesting characters, an excellent plot and a fun idea. If people can open their minds and not be narrow sighted enough to look past the different style that is such a phenomonon in Japan, they won't be disappointed. However, as a huge fan of the series, I have to day I do not see how this can be adapted to the big screen. That and Hollywood's record for epically ruining adaptations have me almost sick over this. I really hope I am wrong, but I have no faith that this will turn out well.
You make me lawl.

Exciting but it will probably end up shit. I think the the reason why you don't like anime is because you probably haven't given it a chance. Oh and BTW I like Naruto and DBZ but compared to Bleach they fail. KAITHXBII.
sammy

Uh, the story has already been made into a tv show and everything, and its the story itself isn't even done yet... why would any one make a movie on a unfinished story thats already airing? Don't get me wrong, Bleach is really cool but just don't make it with people- ANIMATE it like its supposed to, but honestly, don't bother making it a movie. I appriciate your intrest in Bleach, but its uneeded. You can watch the episodes on TV or on Youtube. Thanks, Samantha V.
jacob

i don't think that this movie will totally suck... ok maybe it will but they will have to try pretty hard to make it worse than Dragonball, just saying. Ive read every page of the bleach manga from cover to cover over a dozen times and the newest ones i read online along with watching every episode (even those god awful fillers) a couple times, im a huge fan of the series and i have some hope for this movie if they go through with it... there are 3 things im worried about though, who they cast, how they follow the story line, and how they recreate the zanpakutos powers (ex. byakuya's senbozaku/ the many forms of kido they use) i have high hopes for "The Last Airbender" so im hoping things will turn out the same or similar but only time can tell, hopefully they spend some time on it instead of it just releasing without much word otherwise... honestly i think it could go any way it seems, it has the potential to be an amazing movie that gains more fans of the series, it could be extremely awful and loses fans of the series or it could be alright and its just another movie, its a toss up for me but guaranty i will see it at the midnight showing if everything goes nice and smooth like
..

They better got lots money to make the special effects : )
Zangetsu

This is gonna be an EPIC FAIL, and a disgrace to all the bleach fans and the people who likes anime/manga.. bleach isn't undestood by many, it has a great plot and great characters very well worked with more meaning than meets the eye..., and please......., if you are gonna write something about an anime/manga movie, game, etc...., it's NOT A VERY WISE CHOICE that the writer is someone who dislike animes/mangas... is just plain stupid and not very objective (bad english sry).
CC

Actually, this movie could be great and go on to spawn a batch of follow-ups, but thats only if they get a director who is a familar with bleach (not just anime) and he/she has to be very creative. Because it's obvious to appeal to the general public you will have to make some changes (as far as action, effects). A darker tone would work very well. But, with hollywood it's very "Buddy, Buddy" instead of looking for fresh directors they choose the same ones who put out crap after crap. Casting they will prob make u choose from the twilight cast instead of letting u find great actors who can bring the characters to life.
tobi agbola

the movie will be nice with American actors even if the anime with American voice is a little odd the movie will be different from the anime and will attract more hype with American actors but with japan actors only the fans will watch the movie so the producers will not make money and we should be true to each other that is their aim also it is also funny when japan actors are tryin to speak English watch [blood the last vampire] to be sure of wat i am sayin and the story does not hav to be the same thing they can change it a little they hav the right also if a story is from a place it must not be acted by people from that place eg clash of the titans the actors should hav been from Greece pls people give it a chance
Rebecca

Bleach has a international audience, and the Bleach project should be made with the same objective. Tite Kubo/Viz Media has brought a greater love for all things japanese, in our already large american fan base. I believe that I speak for all the hardcore manga fans that we have been greatly disappointed with previous project attempts by american producers, for instance, Dragon Ball Z. Miserable attempt! With the white washing of the storyline, it's like whoever directed it had never seen the DBZ series.Warner Brothers, to do justice to Tite Kubo's Bleach, they need to aquire such directors as Jon Woo or the director from the live action movie Shinobi to work with american producers. And most importantly Tite Kubo.The Japanese music used throughout the Bleach series is vital! Best choice for Ichigo-Bi Rain(Ninja Assassin), Zaraki-Dolph Lundgren, Uruyu-Kenichi Matsuyama(Death Note). Casting should be done according to character, and these actors listed can fill the parts.They should keep the original story.
Rebecca

Also C'mon Warner Brothers, Don't Ruin it! Don't fuck it up!
chiyoko

American live action films are all a total fail. They don't get even near to the actual look of the characters, like I quess they aren't even going to make orange hair to Ichigo. Please don't make a film about manga series, you are just going to ruin them. D: We don't need any fail live actions!
scott

if the ruine bleach i will be majorly pissed and who cares about akira bleach is the sh*t
Michael

Given this is at Warner Brother's?... Great thing could come out in the end? Ethan Anderton I hope that was just sarcasm or just pull your head out of your ass and stop felching buttermilk from corporate hollywood.
Michael

Also, I would be delighted and overjoyed if someone with a background in black magic to put a grisly curse promising agonizing death on anyone from corporate Hollywood who tries to adapt Bleach into a live action movie. I sincerely believe if a Bleach movie had to be done, it is best done in native Japan by maybe someone like Takashi Miike, Ryuhei Kitamura, or Kiyoshi Kurosawa. Stop the white-washing hollywood. I weep for Tite Kubo.
Not suprised

Not really. But hey, if WB can do it, go for it. If they can't well, sorry Bleach, you've just been destroyed. Actor wise, I see no prob using westerners or japanese americans in the role. I mean, most of the characters in both the manga and anime look american anyways. After being stationed in Japan, I couldn't see any of those lead characters being played by a japanese individual.
Plague Doctor

I'm very, very scared. As for the cast, I'll keep an open mind for now. If they were to do it seriously, I honestly think the best way to do it is base it on the whole arc with Grand Fisher rather than the later stuff because it'll just get too complicated in my opinion.
Ronin

The actors have to be asian, are you serious, shit the characters are not asian looking. Cant we all get over the whole culture ethnicity thing, unless it is absolutely necessary to tell the story. In the case of bleach, it does not matter one bit. Come on now. As far as the author, not liking manga or anime, wtf. I bet he likes the matrix and a bunch of other hollywood stories who have all been influenced by Japanese culture. Get with it for gods sake, a good story is a good story, and good visuals and good visuals. All right im done with my rant
Anonymous Bleach Fan

Seriously.... Why? Why the hell can't Hollywood come up with some freaking original ideas anymore? Stop bastardizing anime and cartoons into live action, some of them are just not meant for it! Last Airbender and Dragon Ball Evolution mean anything to anyone?! Anyways.... The only American I can see playing any Bleach character would probably be Micky Rourke as Kenpachi. The man appears to be huge, and his voice is the closest I know of that would fit... Beyond that, this movie is doomed. But I have found the answer to my question. Hollywood will keep making anime into live action, because they know the American audience will pay that opening weekend to go see it, because it's something we love. It doesn't have to be good, just as long as it's based off something we like we'll pay big bucks to give them a profit when it first comes out before it flops. Anyone remember George Clooney in Batman and Robin? Freaking awful, but again, big buckaroos because it's got the Batman name. As long as we continue to give Hollywood chances to make their money back, and grant them a profit, they're going to continue to wreak havoc with the series that we all love so well... So please... For the Anime... Don't go see ANY live action anime adaptations... Maybe they'll get the hint and stop before we all lynch them and burn their studios down....
Anonymous Bleach Fan

Actually... The conspiracy theorist in me just figured it out.... Warner Bros and other major studios are buying up all the rights to anime and manga and cartoons to make them into live action..... And then ruining them completely? Think about it now... Anime is one of the largest entertainments in the world, and it's only growing larger in America. Less and less people are going to movies... More and more are being absorbed into anime due to it's versatility and having something for everyone.... THEY'RE TRYING TO KILL ANIME SO THEY CAN STAY ON TOP! Well.... I better get running, it's Tuesday, and you know what that means..... UFOS! *run*
Andante

@ Anonymous Bleach Fan, OMG that is totally it! it all makes sense now. x( darn Americans! we always have to ruin everything japanese. do i have to mention dubs? 4kids anyone?! they killed poor one piece...and now bleach is at the noose.
bleach:)

Bleach is a very interesting show and i am a big fan of animes and mangas and jpop and well... i think it would be a great idea if they did make the movie
bleach:)

i agree with some of the thoughts though so i would have to agree with what everyone else is saying
Mythos

I don't know, people... I know we have seen some real turds in the waters of anime-movie translations(I don't think I have to mention it but I will anyways: Dragonball Evolution), but hey, there's a first time for everything. I have faith that eventually a GOOD anime-movie translation will be released, and when it is, the results will be groundbreaking. If they can do for Bleach what Peter Jackson did for the Lord of the Rings series, then it will certainly become one of my favorite movies of all time. The anime/manga is terrific: great action, storyline, characters, etc. Incidentally I'd love to see a good movie translation of it. And for everyone whining about picking actors that are American instead of Asian, I think it's a good thing! The majority of the characters look AMERICAN; that's how they are drawn. Anime itself is derived from American cartoons, after all! Not trying to say "look at us Americans, we invented everything" or anything(look at a lot of the crappy excuses for cartoons that are American-made now!), but it would make sense to have actors that actually LOOK LIKE the characters. The Deathnote movies disappointed me for that reason; the characters looked almost nothing like they were made to look in the anime! I still think Christian Bale is the spitting image of Aizen... I guess we shall see what they have to offer. I do agree that it would be great if they have a directing staff that actually knows the manga, as well as actors/actresses(if they can be found and fit the part well). The upcoming Cowboy Bebop movie should be pretty good if Keanu Reeves ends up playing Spike. Why? Because he's a fan of the series, of course!
Jack B

I am avid fan of all manner of anime and manga and love Bleach, following it on Hulu a week after it appears in Tokyo. And yes, the devil is in the details. With the huge fan base for this, and the length of time it has been playing there are a wealth of story lines to plumb, including the rescue of Rukia as well as the Arancar story line that could entail some impressive graphic challenges. But the major make or break will be how well it is compressed and written for a two or two and half hour movie and the cast they get to play the various well loved characters. They could dig themselves into a very deep hole if they do not do it right.
Saucedoa

Bleach has an array of characters. They have characters of different races in it from german, asian, mexican and black. That being said the characters cannot be all asian. Still i would not waste my money to go see this movie if it hit hollywood. Animes and mangas have too great of storylines to be put in shitty 2 hour films.
TESSA

to be honest im not sure how this will play out .. some say it might b good and others are dead against it but i doubt they can find actors to properly portray the characters with me i have seen both the japanese and US versions of bleach and from what i can see they play the voices well and maybe it should just stay as that ... voice acting .. however even if it makes the theaters i might watch just to know for myself but if they have some black guy playing ichigo i doubt it will be anything good just with avatar the last airbender they dont know anything about bleach nobody asks us fans how we think it should work i mean we will be the ones seeing it afterall and how far in the series can they get in 2 and a bit hrs anyway? they will just do the transfer of rukia's powers to ichigo and then his trouble with his mothers death and then rukia will go back to the soul society as a criminal .. right? i will be disappointed if they dont get the actors right and if the storyline sux ass however if they are gonna make it we cant stop them can we? . .. .
Suzakugoddess07

Here's what I don't get. Kubo Tite himself said he would never allow bleach to become a live action movie even in Japan. Why is he changing his mind now?
Anali Gomez99

Tite kubo hear me out!!!!!! Don't do it man!!! We all love bleach and don't let Warner bros. Screw it up!!!!!! Who's gonna be playing the characters to?!?!?! JUST DON'T DO IT!!!!!
Ryan_pokorny

Ok, for the director, we need hardcore Bleach fans. For the actors? Look up 'cosplay actors-Bleach' on Youtube, and look for ones that DON'T have Amercian actors. Haden Christiansan (or however you spell it) as Ichigo???? BULL! No, I've seen better-fitting characters among the normal society. some hardcore fans REALLY look like them; if you give them professional makeovers, then they are PERFECT. The storyline should be saving Rukia, since that was the only good one, and then, if successful, make a second one with defeating Aizen. Amercians should NOT have the rights to these things...
Big Bleach Fan!

You can't make manga in live action. It will never be the same. If you really want to make a live action movie that much, make a serie. You'll fuck it up when you will make a 2 hour movie of the storyline. Please think carefully about the characters! Name them the same as in the series! Cause it wouldn't be Bleach if it weren't so. ....I was a big fan of Dragonball, but i really wanted to kill someone when i saw the live action movie trailer. I also never seen the movie... So PLEASE don't fuck this one up! And don't put your hands on Naruto's manga!!!
@nime fAn

I agree with most comments that this project has the making of a bad movie. WB should put the movie in the hand of a Japanese studio and bring in a few western actors for parts that require it. I believe the movie will have some chance of possible succes then. Also, ought to consider making it a multi-part movie because it is so huge. I truly enjoy the Bleach anime and hate to see it butchered by so greedy, ignorant Amrican studio.
Bradah bu

Bleach is one of my top shows of anime and manga, so heck yah they better do a good job, and i don't mean like avatar the last air bender, i mean good
DarkShiro

NO NO NO NO NO!!!! They messed up Avatar now don't even touch Bleach!!! They are going to ruin it!!! Leave the Live Actions to Japan!!!
http://pulse.yahoo.com/_G3VPOUL47T66BAZAQOVGAY357M Huy

you guys are stupid how the hell can all of them be white, white people have pink hair? Did you forget Chad is mexican. I'm pretty sure a a japanese actor could pull off ichigo because he is japanese. Have you guys even seen a japanese actor? Have you guys even been to Japan to see that many japanese people? All I hear is they are not asian looking blah blah blah what is asian looking to you guys? I know Americans are pretty ignorant about asian people thinking all of them cluster in one group. Please show me so call american people that look like the characters. You dumb americans need to get that picture off your head that every japanese or asian look like jackie chan or william hung because I'm guessing that's asian loooking to you
http://www.facebook.com/people/Bri-Hecato/100001568232607 Bri Hecato

They killed dragon ball, last airbender was very average, we can only have hope that 3rd attempt will be better
Phil Richard

huge bleach fan, hopefully this will go well, however i have the feeling this wont be nearly as good as the series
Pot Yang

fuck noooo!!!!!! they better not do this fucken project!!!! who the hell do they think they are to go ahead and trash japanese manga like this? fuck!!! did u remember DBZ?? i threw up in my mouth just by watching the trailer!!! PLEASE!!! give up on that!!!
POp

I'm a huge fan of the show, but the DBZ movie was trash and so was the last air bender. Its not going to turn out well.
Foxsilvermoon

let the fan choose, who's right for the film. 1. they ruin Dragon Ball Z 2. They also ruin Avatar the last air bender.