The Bleach movies come as a continuous and still running series of manga designed by Tite Kubo. The adventure began in the summer of 2001, in Weekly Shonen. Every since then, it became a real success and even got to benefit from a few movies. The series present the adventurous life of Ichigo Kurosaki. Ichigo is a student in high-school who has an unusual power to see the ghosts wasting their time in the real world. At the same time, the story also concentrates on a Shinigami – Rukia. During the first stories, the author presented the life of the two characters, but as time passed by, he slowly dug in the underworld of ghosts.
Aside from the Bleach movies, the series has also benefited from some TV series for kids, a few OVAs, a card game and plenty of video games. The manga has become a front runner not just in Japan, but also in America and Europe. It earned a few awards as well, hence its popularity in the cinema world. The first movie – Memories of Nobody – was released in the winter of 2006. The movie debuted in Japan, but it was quickly taken over by cinemas all over the world. It presents Ichigo's life and beginning in the ghost underworld.
The second of the Bleach movies – The DiamondDust Rebellion – showed up exactly one year later, in December, 2007. The producers were inspired by the success of the previous part. This second part concentrates on Toshiro, a captain who is supposed to be executed for losing his responsibilities. The third part brings in an unusual story. Released in December, 2008, Fade to Black presents Ichigo and Rukia facing a hostile behavior due to a deep amnesia the Soul Society suffers from. According to most fans, this third part was the best one due to the suspense and intensity.
Two more winters later, the Bleach movies enriched with a new production – Hell Chapter. The action takes place in Hell and presents the ghost version of Ichigo, who ends up with a lot of problems due to the unexpected problems. Although each part is unique, they are somehow connected. It is not hard to watch and understand the last one without seeing the previous three. However, just like with any popular series, the whole set provides a better experience. The series was extremely attractive and not just in Japan. Although the movies were initially released in Japan, they spread all over the world.
In 2010, Warner Bros announced the negotiations to take over the Bleach movies and take them to a new level. It seems the popular producer aims for a new movie to benefit from a more powerful advertising and popularity. No one knows too much about this project, as the officials are quite reserved in their statements. There are nothing but rumors. However, it seems Michael Ewing and Peter Segal are supposed to deal with the production, but nothing is official so far. Only time can tell how far Ichigo will get.