Big Sword, Big Action
Live action adaptations are all the rage these days and anime is no stranger to that jump to the realm of IRL. Rurouni Kenshin (also known as Samurai X) received a trilogy of good live action films beginning in 2012, which met great success and helped fast track some live action adaptations of anime properties that required bigger budgets such as Fullmetal Alchemist and JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure.
Bleach is one of those properties and the sudden news of production and filming surprised a lot of people last year and now a teaser for a live action film is here for you all to check out. This live action film adaptation is based on the first eight volumes of the Bleach manga (everything before they go to Soul Society) and is slated to come out in Summer 2018 in Japan.
The film will be directed by Shinsuke Sato, who directed the live action film adaptations of GANTZ and the live action Death Note film sequel, Death Note: Light Up The New World. It stars Sota Fukushi as Ichigo Kurosaki, who played lead Gentarou Kisaragi/Kamen Rider Fourze in the 2011 TV show Kamen Rider Fourze.
Bleach is one of those anime shows that had a big following alongside Naruto and One Piece for a long time since the manga’s beginning in 2001. That following is still around despite the end of anime in 2012 and abrupt manga ending in 2016.
This adaptation will be distributed by Warner Bros. Japan, the same folks distributing the upcoming live action Gintama film and the aforementioned live action Rurouni Kenshin films as well, so there is a chance that this might not turn out as bad.
