Warner Bros. announced their acquisition to the rights for the popular manga series “Bleach” and will be adapting it into a full-length movie. With Peter Segal (Get Smart) is in negotiations to produce.
“Bleach” centers around Ichigo Kurosaki, a 15-year-old boy with the ability to see ghosts and accidentally obtains the power of a Soul Reaper (Think Grim Reaper) from Rukia Kuchiki, a female Soul Reaper. Ichigo now overtakes her job and must defend humans from evil spirits and guide their departed souls into the afterlife.
“Bleach” was originally published in weekly installments in Japan since 2001, and have since been collected and adapted into English. Compilation volumes of the manga have sold over 50 million copies in Japan and reached the top of manga sales charts in the United States. The anime adaptation has faired similarly, rating as the 7th most popular anime television series in Japan in 2006, and in the top ten anime for the US from 2006 to 2008.
While this all sounds good and dandy, it makes me wonder how badly Hollywood is going to bastardize this. Let’s take this time to have a moment of silence for “Dragon Ball.”