'Bleach' Live-Action Film Reveals Major Renji, Rukia Change

Live-action anime adaptations usually come with their fair share of changes from the original material as it's often necessary for a film to change things in translation to provide a more entertaining final project.

It's the same for Bleach's live-action film too as it features a major change to Renji and Rukia's relationship from Tite Kubo's original series.

Warning! Major spoilers for the Bleach live-action movie are below!

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In the film when Renji is attacking Ichigo in an attempt to bring Rukia back to the Soul Society, he mentions they have a familial connection unique to the film. Decrying the pathetically human look on Rukia's face when Ichigo is attacked, Renji mentions that the both of them share a long past, "We were both born in Rukon District, and adopted by the noble Kuchiki Clan. You were groomed to be an elite Soul Reaper!"

This revelation that both Renji and Rukia were "adopted" into the Kuchiki clan definitely shakes up the original series. It also makes Renji's attachment to Rukia more layered in the film, and throws his future pairing with Rukia in the manga into question in the film canon.

In the original series, Renji is Rukia's childhood friend. When she's adopted into the Kuchiki family and is groomed with the Kuchiki Clan's ways, and his work as a Shinigami is only to impress her adoptive brother Byakuya and to better match her new social standing. So the fact they are both adopted into the Kuchiki Clan in the film greatly changes Renji's motivation for why he's working so hard for Byakuya.

Now it's not a way to get closer to Rukia (though that can still be the case if the film gets a sequel), but to get closer with his brother Byakuya. It's definitely one of the stranger decisions the live-action film makes in its adaptation.

Directed by Shinsuke Sato, Bleach's live-action film is now available for streaming on Netflix. The film stars Sota Fukushi as Ichigo Kurosaki, Hana Sugisaki as Rukia Kuchiki, MIYAVI as Byakuya Kuchiki, Ryou Yoshizawa, as Uryuu Ishida, Taichi Saotome as Renji Abarai, Erina Mano as Orihime Inoue, Tomo Koyanagi as Chad Yasutora, Yosuke Egochi as Isshin Kurosaki, Masami Nagasawa as Masaki Kurosaki, and Seiichi Tanabe as Keisuke Urahara. You can find ComicBook.com's review of the film here.

Bleach was first created by Tite Kubo for Shueisha's Weekly Shonen Jump, running from 2001 to 2016. The series follows the young delinquent Ichigo Kurosaki, who has 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.

It has been adapted into English thanks to VIZ Media, and has sold over 900 million copies in Japan. The series was later 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. You can currently find the series now streaming on Hulu.