'Bleach' Director Comments On Rukia's Role

Bleach fans have a lot riding on the success of its upcoming live-action adaptation, as anime films both have a shaky track record and the fact it's the first brand new Bleach project in quite some time. With all of this on the line fans should be happy to know that the film is approaching one of the key characters, Rukia, in a great way.

Commenting on the live-action film's official Twitter, director Shinsuke Sato talked about his and actress Hana Sugisaki's approach to Rukia.

【佐藤信介監督コメント①】「ルキアは死神であり、人間ではないキャラクターです。こうした異世界感が感じられるキャラクターを演じるというのも非常に難しいと思うのですが、杉咲さんはとても慎重かつ丁寧に、一方で大胆に、この役を演じられました。（続く）」#BLEACH #映画ブリーチ

— 映画『BLEACH』公式 (@bleach_moviejp) February 4, 2018

Sato states that because Rukia is a shinigami, and not a human, it was difficult to capture (and thus for Sugisaki to portray) such an otherworldly character. But when shooting Rukia's scenes, Sugisaki remained in character and approached the characterization of her as very traditional.

Sato clarifies that the Rukia he captured on screen is captivating, and the character herself is brave and even a little cute (just like the Rukia in the series). Sato finishes his statement by saying he believes fans will enjoy Sugisaki's perfomance in the film.

The live-action Bleach adaptation will release July 20 in Japan, and it stars Sota Fukushi as Ichigo Kurosaki and Hana Sugisaki as Rukia Kuchiki. The film will adapt the first arc of the series, the "Substitute Shinigami" arc. There's little else known about the upcoming film, but series creator Tite Kubo shared his thoughts in an interview with TBS Japan.

He spoke about his excitement and confidence in the adaptation stating that, ""For the Japanese live-action version, I feel that we have come close to the original work...I am really looking forward to it."

Fans have a lot of faith in the film given the subject material and how well anime adaptations have fared in recent years, but this film will surely be looked at with very critical eyes.

For those unfamiliar with Tite Kubo's Bleach, the series follows the young delinquent Ichigo Kurosaki, who had the ability to see spirits. He soon obtains the power of a Soul Reaper - one meant to usher lost souls to the afterlife - and now has the duty to defend the living world from monstrous dark spirits known as Hollows.

The manga was serialized in Shueisha's Weekly Shonen Jump from 2001 to 2016, and was collected into 74 volumes. It has been adapted into English thanks to VIZ Media, and has sold over 900 million copies in Japan. The series was adapted into an anime by Studio Pierrot from 2004 to 2012, and has four feature-length animations, rock musicals, video games, and a ton of other merchandise.

The English language broadcast premiered on Cartoon Network's Adult Swim block in 2006, and you currently find the Japanese and English language versions now streaming on Hulu.