History Anime / BleachMovies

[[redirect:Manga/Bleach]]

'''Under Construction'''

Since ''Manga/{{Bleach}}'' is [[TropeOverdosed Trope Overloaded]], mostly due to its LoadsAndLoadsOfCharacters, the main [[Characters/{{Bleach}} characters page]] became so large that it refused to be edited further. As they say, desperate times call for desperate measures. The only realistic way of solving the problem was to split up the characters in some fashion. And thus this page was born.

!!'''Filler Arcs'''

As with any manga-based anime series, Bleach needs to pad out its anime run to give Kubo a chance to create more material for the manga. A particularly bad habit, though, is that two of these arcs popped up ''right in the middle of the main plot'' rather then be integrated seamlessly as most animes would usually tend to do (this can be traced back to Turn Back The Pendulum, which did the same in the manga - and [[{{Irony}} was confused for a filler arc by anime-only viewers]]). The characters, and by extension, the anime staff, do apologize for this, but it can still make viewing rather awkward. We've gotten a total of four filler arcs as a result, excluding the various standalone episodes. Kubo had a hand in designing the look for some of new filler characters to varying degrees, but he was never thoroughly involved in the writing or production.

The Bount arc took place in between the Soul Society arc and the Arrancar arc, featuring the titular Bounts as the antagonists. The beginning of the arc was one of the strongest Manga/YuYuHakusho allusions ever seen in Bleach; three unknown beings start a TrainingFromHell mini-arc before it's revealed that they're associates of the hero's mentor. Three Modsouls (Noba, Lirin and Kurodo) were created specifically by Urahara so they could be able to detect the vampiric Bounts, who have targeted Uryu Ishida. This was originally TheScrappy of the filler arcs, primarily due to the length of the arc being dragged out to ''fifty'' episodes. The Bounts themselves had a fairly interesting backstory, but they were surprisingly underdeveloped; the only ones who were fully fleshed out were Koga and Yoshino, while most of the other Bounts were straight-up villains and Kariya's exact motives and goals went all over the place (first it was ForTheEvulz, then it was to destroy the Seireitei for revenge, ''then'' it was to destroy everything, ''then'' it was escape the SortingAlgorithmOfEvil). Certain fight scenes were cool, but most fans tended to avoid the Bounts and skip straight to the Arrancars once the anime finally caught up.

The Menos Forest Mini-Arc was an arc that Kubo wasn't allowed to insert into the manga due to time constraints. En route to Las Noches, Ichigo and co. fall into a sandpit that drags them into the forest below, which is, you guessed it, filled with Hollows. There, they run across Ashido Kano, who, after saving Rukia from Hollows, spills his past. At the end, Ashido decides to stay behind so he could buy time for Rukia's crew to leave; Rukia swears that she would return, but the anime leaves his status unknown. The general fan consensus is split: some say that it should've been inserted into the main series because they liked Ashido, while others felt that it would've dragged things out more for the Hueco Mundo arc.

The New Captain arc actually started ''during another arc'', but it was notably shorter in length than the Bount arc. It had an interesting concept (parasitic pseudo-Zanpakuto and a look into the royal families that are sometimes mentioned in the canon material), but fans were more eager to see Nelliel and the other Espada fights. A newer character introduced, heiress Rurichiyo Kasumioji, was disliked by the fandom due to her SpoiledBrat tendencies, while its ultimate BigBad was basically a rehash of Aizen. Additionally, though the fights were interesting, {{Narm}} was found in the sub-par (and often out-of-character) English dubbing, the eye-rolling dialogue and [[SoundtrackDissonance awkward placing of certain music themes]]. Although it was arguably better-executed than the previous arc, some fans skim over the New Captain arc and head on straight to the Arrancar again.

The Zanpakuto arc took place in between another arc once again, but it was better-received than the previous two for its more likable characters, a well-executed plot reveal and a genuinely sympathetic BigBad. Although there are fans (read: manga purists) that prefer the manga's style of storytelling, you're more likely to see fans preferring to talk about the Zanpakuto arc over the other two. The Beast Swords mini-arc that followed gave more development to certain Zanpakuto spirits, along with several ridiculously hilarious moments. Fans disliked certain episodes, fans were more eager to return to the Arrancar, fans disliked certain Zanpakuto characters, fans disliked the titular Toju themselves; you name it. Nevertheless, it was about twelve episodes long, so once it was finished, it went back to the main story with the Arrancar.

Bleach's final filler arc, the Invading Army arc, is likely the ''most'' disliked of the filler arcs, even more so than the Bounts or the Toju. It likewise started off with an interesting concept - spiritual bodies for artificial souls, time-derailing problems with the Dangai, and the identity of the direct Modsoul creator, so what was the problem ''this'' time around? At first, it was mostly over it being a rehash of previous filler arcs (and even movies) - the Shinigami get into trouble, involve Ichigo into the plot, briefly turn on Ichigo, show off abilities that were already shown before (manga or otherwise), and destroy parts of the Seireitei during their battles against their enemies; it's become formulaic now. Legit excuse, but that still isn't enough to outright revile it, so let's delve further: the main cast had been shafted ever since the New Captain arc, and they were DemotedToExtra in the manga's storyline, so fans would've preferred seeing some Badassery or importance to Ichigo's gang (sans Ichigo himself), instead of being there to show off their abilities and get defeated shortly thereafter. It focuses on Nozomi Kujo. It was cancelled in favor of a chibi [[Manga/{{Naruto}} Rock Lee]] [[Manga/RockLeesSpringtimeOfYouth anime]].

For individual character tropes, see [[Characters/BleachAnime Bleach Anime's character page]].

[[folder:Filler Arc Tropes]]
%% * ArcVillain: The main villains for each of the filler arcs are as follows.
%% ** Jin Kariya for the Bount arc.
%% ** Shusuke Amagai in the New Captain arc.
%% ** Muramasa for the Zanpakuto arc, with Kouga as a ManBehindTheMan.
%% ** Kageroza Inaba for the Invading Army arc, [[spoiler: with Okou Yushima as another ManBehindTheMan]].
%% * BeachEpisode: Actually not a product of the animation staff, and is based on an omake Kubo wrote.
%% * BigBadassBattleSequence: Several occur during the Zanpakuto arc, but none are at the same level as the second movie.
* ContinuityLockout: The New Captain and Zanpakuto Unknown Tales arcs happened ''in the middle of another StoryArc'', completely throwing fans out of the loop first time around. The plots for both have no real placement into the plot - Ichigo uses his first Hollow mask in both, despite how he only stopped his Visored training once word got out that Orihime left to Las Noches. The Invading Army arc delayed Ichigo's powers from dissolving as quickly as it did in the manga, but he still faced problems with it dwindling faster every time he used Bankai, furthering to the lockout.
%% * {{Filler}} and FillerVillain goes without saying.
%% * FinalBoss: Kariya for the Bount arc.
%% ** [[spoiler: Amagai]] for the New Captain arc.
%% ** Muramasa for the Zanpakuto arc.
%% ** Kirikaze for the Beast Swords' mini-arc.
%% ** [[spoiler: Ouko Yushima]] for the Invading Army Arc.
* MistakenForGay: Ichigo and Renji during the aforementioned "take it off" scene, apparently wrestling another man to the ground while commanding him to "take ''it'' [a disguise] off" can give your classmates the wrong idea... What makes it even [[{{Squick}} Squickier]] is that everyone thinks they're ''[[TwinCest Brothers]]'', so god only knows what Chizuru meant by calling it "Forbidden Love".
%% * ShipTease: Ashido and Rukia, back at the Forest of Menos mini-arc.
%% ** Yoshino and Ishida during the Bount arc.
%% ** Kon and Nozomi in the Invading Army arc.
%% ** There's also Senbonzakura with Sode no Shirayuki.
%% ** Shunsui with the pirate half of Katen Kyokotsu.
%% ** There's even a bit between Haineko and Kazeshini, just before he fell to the ground in exhaustion.
%% ** Haineko flirts with Ichigo twice, first when she plays around during a fight, and again when she showed pictures of herself to him.
%% ** Haineko gets a lot with Narunosuke, her first ''crush''.
%% * SortingAlgorithmOfEvil: Inaba makes ''Aizen'' look like an EliteMook by comparison.
%% ** In his ''shikai'', Yushima has the same abilities as [[EnergyAbsorption Nozomi]] and [[AttackReflector Inaba]] ''combined'', making him the absolute strongest character '''in the series' history'''.
%% * SuicideMission: Ashido [[spoiler: put he and his group on one.]]
%% * WhatTheHellHero: Episode 263 is pretty much "How many times can you say this to Senbonzakura?"
[[/folder]]

!!'''Bleach Movies'''

The ''Bleach'' series is well-known and popular enough to market ''four'' movies, all managed by Noriyuki Abe, director of the anime adaptation. Each movie features an original plotline, rather than being an adaptation of the manga's story, as well as original characters designed by the author himself. By contrast, the original author of most manga-to-anime series tends to have very little creative involvement for anime-based films.

The first film was ''Bleach: Memories of Nobody'', centering on the ShipTease-worthy moments between [[SavvyGuyEnergeticGirl Ichigo and the new girl, Senna]]. Its plot revolves around the activities of a group called the "Dark Ones," who were banished from the Soul Society and wish destroy both Soul Society and the World of the Living. By itself, it averages on plot and fights, though most fans tend to watch it exclusively for Senna, and there are even fans that find it as their favorite film for its simplicity, but they're in the relative minority.

The second film was ''Bleach: The [=DiamondDust Rebellion=]'', focusing on the theft of an artifact belonging to the Spirit King, the suspicions regarding Hitsugaya's unusual obsession with finding the thief and the efforts of Ichigo's gang trying to clear Hitsugaya's name, after the artifact is stolen while under his care. The main antagonist is Hitsugaya's RivalTurnedEvil, Sojiro Kusaka, accompanied by his two Arrancar BodyguardBabes - Yin and Yang. Similarly, Ichigo takes a relative backseat as the protagonist, but retains a fairly prominent role in the plot. Nearly every character with a notable Shikai or Bankai ability gets to use it by the climax of the film, taking down an army of Hollows spawned by the OneWingedAngel, while the protagonists deal with the BigBad - a plot point that gets recycled in subsequent anime filler arcs. This was a much [[BrokenBase more controversial]] film amongst the fandom, particularly between those that view it as the best movie (or just better than the first), and those that hold it as both a PlotHole-ridden mess and a [[CreatorsPet money investment on Hitsugaya fans]].

The third film was ''Bleach: Fade to Black, I Call Your Name'', usually just called "Fade to Black". In the film, members of the Soul Society are struck with amnesia, causing them to forget Ichigo and Rukia. When he goes to Soul Society to investigate, Ichigo discovers that Rukia has forgotten not only him, but her own identity as well, and that her adopted siblings from her pre-Shinigami years have returned to reunite with her. ''Beloved'' by the Ichigo/Rukia section of the fandom, even those that aren't fond of the pairing enjoy the film, considering it as the best one, although others ''do'' hold it as up-to-par with the first or second films. Notably, this is the second movie to use the "Heroes Battle Mooks, Protagonists Confront BigBad" aspect, and it's similarly gotten a few attacks from other fans for it.

The fourth film, ''Bleach: The Hell Verse'', opens up with a raid by Togabito, denizens from Hell that kidnap Ichigo's younger sister, Yuzu Kurosaki. Aided by another Togabito named Kokuto, Ichigo's gang travel to Hell to rescue Yuzu from Shuren, the ringleader of the Togabito, who aims to use Ichigo's Hollow Powers to break open the Gates of Hell and release the Togabito from captivity. Despite having the most hype of the four movies, it has gotten a mixed response from both Japanese and English-Speaking fans. Unlike the last three, which focused more on CharacterDevelopment, this one was more action-oriented at the cost of a few jarring instances of CharacterDerailment. Despite the mixed reaction to the movie, Kokuto, similar to Senna, has already been established as a fan favorite character, enough that he debuted in a game that was released before the movie came out in America. An English dub was released under the name "Bleach The Movie: Hell Verse".

In March 2010, WarnerBros. confirmed that it is in talks to create a LiveActionAdaptation of the series. [[BrokenBase Fans aren't pleased]].

[[folder:Movie Tropes ]]
%% * ActionGirl: Senna's ''first'' appearance has her mopping the floor with those Blanks.
%% * AntiVillain: Shizuku wants to reunite with Rukia, but he's far less obsessive about it than Homura.
%% * BigBadassBattleSequence: The end battles in [=DiamondDust=] and Fade to Black.
%% * BigBad: Ganryu Ryodoji for ''Memories of Nobody''.
%% ** Sojiro Kusaka for ''The [=DiamondDust=] Rebellion''.
%% ** BigBadDuumvirate: Homura and Shizuku for ''Fade to Black''.
%% ** BigBadWannabe: Shuren for ''The Hell Verse'' and [[spoiler: [[TheManBehindTheMan Kokuto]]]]
%% * BodyguardBabes: Ying and Yang for Kusaka.
* ContinuityLockout: A major issue with the films are their supposed placement within the timeline.
** The first seems to fit fairly well between the Bount and Arrancar arcs, but Rukia's involvement in the first five minutes puts a wrench on that theory.
** The second film seems to take place during the Arrancar arc, since it has two Arrancars in it, but Ichigo uses his Visored mask in it, whereas he was still training with Shinji over it in the real series, and only left once Orihime went to Las Noches.
** The third movie suffers the same deal: Ichigo uses his Hollow mask within the first five minutes, but there's no references to Arrancars or Visoreds within it, but there's a shot it could be after the whole deal with Aizen. Problem with ''that'' is how Ichigo ends up changing his Hollow mask in the final part of the Hueco Mundo arc.
** The fourth film features the second mask and his second Hollow form, but Ichigo losing his Visored powers in-series ''destroys'' all other thoughts about it and the other films.
* DarkerAndEdgier: The fourth movie, The Hell Verse is noticeably darker than the other three, canon characters are killed and '''STAY DEAD'''... for a small period of time. The film contains close ups of [[spoiler: Uryu and Renji's]] decaying corpses which are hung from a tree, a close up of a dead [[spoiler: Yuzu's]] face, [[spoiler: Kokuto's grotesque scar]], and of course, it takes place in '''HELL'''.
%% * FinalBoss: Ganryu for the first movie.
%% ** Kusaka for the second.
%% ** [[spoiler:Dark Rukia]] for the third.
%% ** [[spoiler:Kokuto]] for the fourth.
%% * FourIsDeath: The fourth movie takes place in hell.
* LateArrivalSpoiler: Crosses over with ItWasHisSled. Played ''Bleach: Soul Resurrección''? Okay, when you watch ''The Hell Verse'' for the first time, [[spoiler: try to act surprised when you find out Kokuto is evil]].
* LostInTranslation: The fourth movie, Jigoku-Hen, is the first movie to have a Japanese title as opposed to an [[GratuitousEnglish English]] one. Jigoku-Hen has two translations, "Hell Chapter" and "The Hell Verse". Although The Hell Verse is more grammatically correct, Hell Chapter seems to be the preferred translation. But don't ask a group of fans which title was the correct one until official merchandise has confirmed that "The Hell Verse" is the correct translation.
%% * NonSerialMovie: ''All of them''.
%% * ShipTease: Quite a bit.
%% ** Movie 1 did this with Ichigo and Senna, which is one of the reasons that fans like Senna to begin with.
%% ** Movie 3 did this with Ichigo x Rukia to the point that it earned the title "The [=IchiRuki=] Movie"
%% ** Movie 4 gave a bit with Ichigo x Orihime.
* SortingAlgorithmOfEvil: We'll go in order.
** Ganryu Ryodoji and the Dark Ones are fairly typical {{Filler Villain}}s, who put up a good fight against the seated officers and caused quite a bit of damage, but were ultimately defeated with little difficulty by the Shinigami.
** On his own, Sojiro Kusaka managed to catch Kyoraku off-guard and incapacitate him for a good portion of the second movie, while fighting toe-to-toe against Hitsugaya and Kurosaki in his OneWingedAngel form. [[BodyguardBabes Ying and Yan]] were fairly good fighters, who held off Shunko-Yoruichi, Shunko-Soifon, Shikai-Ichigo, Rukia and Shikai-Hitsugaya without too many problems, though a Getsuga Tensho from Shikai-Ichigo repelled a their combo-attack. Their defeat against Bankai-Ichigo was off-screen, however, and they were only able to fight against Yoruichi because of regeneration from their {{One Winged Angel}}s.
** Homura and Shizuku released a GiantMook (and Mook-Spawn) that took on the Shinigami captains, while they themselves fused with Rukia to fight Bankai-Ichigo to a standstill. Both Dark Rukia and the GiantMook were defeated without inflicting too much damage to their opponents.
%% ** Out of the seven known Togabito (including Shrieker), only one was able to [[spoiler:'''wipe out the entire gang single-handed''']].

[[/folder]]
----

The Zanpakuto arc took place in between another arc once again, but it was better-received than the previous two for its more likable characters, a well-executed plot reveal and a genuinely sympathetic BigBad. Although there are fans (read: manga purists) that prefer the manga's style of storytelling, you're more likely to see fans preferring to talk about the Zanpakuto arc over the other two. The Beast Swords mini-arc that followed gave more development to certain Zanpakuto spirits, along with several ridiculously hilarious moments, but it's something of a BaseBreaker. Fans disliked certain episodes, fans were more eager to return to the Arrancar, fans disliked certain Zanpakuto characters, fans disliked the titular Toju themselves; you name it. Nevertheless, it was about twelve episodes long, so once it was finished, it went back to the main story with the Arrancar.

The Zanpakuto arc took place in between another arc once again, but it was better-received than the previous two for its more likable characters, a well-executed WhamEpisode and a genuinely sympathetic BigBad. Although there are fans (read: manga purists) that prefer the manga's style of storytelling, you're more likely to see fans preferring to talk about the Zanpakuto arc over the other two. The Beast Swords mini-arc that followed gave more development to certain Zanpakuto spirits, along with several ridiculously hilarious moments, but it's something of a BaseBreaker. Fans disliked certain episodes, fans were more eager to return to the Arrancar, fans disliked certain Zanpakuto characters, fans disliked the titular Toju themselves; you name it. Nevertheless, it was about twelve episodes long, so once it was finished, it went back to the main story with the Arrancar.

* DarkerAndEdgier: The fourth movie, The Hell Verse is noticeably darker than the other three, canon characters are killed and '''STAY DEAD'''... for [[ItGotBetter a small period of time]]. The film contains close ups of [[spoiler: Uryu and Renji's]] decaying corpses which are hung from a tree, a close up of a dead [[spoiler: Yuzu's]] face, [[spoiler: Kokuto's grotesque scar]], and of course, it takes place in '''HELL'''.

The Bount arc took place in between the Soul Society arc and the Arrancar arc, featuring the titular Bounts as the antagonists. The beginning of the arc was one of the strongest YuYuHakusho allusions ever seen in Bleach; three unknown beings start a TrainingFromHell mini-arc before it's revealed that they're associates of the hero's mentor. Three Modsouls (Noba, Lirin and Kurodo) were created specifically by Urahara so they could be able to detect the vampiric Bounts, who have targeted Uryu Ishida. This was originally TheScrappy of the filler arcs, primarily due to the length of the arc being dragged out to ''fifty'' episodes. The Bounts themselves had a fairly interesting backstory, but they were surprisingly underdeveloped; the only ones who were fully fleshed out were Koga and Yoshino, while most of the other Bounts were straight-up villains and Kariya's exact motives and goals went all over the place (first it was ForTheEvulz, then it was to destroy the Seireitei for revenge, ''then'' it was to destroy everything, ''then'' it was escape the SortingAlgorithmOfEvil). Certain fight scenes were cool, but most fans tended to avoid the Bounts and skip straight to the Arrancars once the anime finally caught up.

* ActionSurvivor: Ashido, who seems out-of-place since he wasn't really ''dragged'' into fighting Hollows.
* ArcVillain: The main villains for each of the filler arcs are as follows.
** Jin Kariya for the Bount arc.
** Shusuke Amagai in the New Captain arc.
** Muramasa for the Zanpakuto arc, with Kouga as a ManBehindTheMan.
** Kageroza Inaba for the Invading Army arc, [[spoiler: with Okou Yushima as another ManBehindTheMan]].
* BeachEpisode: Actually not a product of the animation staff, and is based on an omake Kubo wrote.
* BigBadassBattleSequence: Several occur during the Zanpakuto arc, but none are at the same level as the second movie.

** It get subverted with the Zanpakuto spirit forms, though - you might as well consider their designs and personalities canon. It's implied they can change their appearances at will, mostly into forms that corresponds to their Shikai or Bankai levels (i.e. "Zangetsu" equals Old Man, while "Tensa Zangetsu" equals pretty boy), like changing from animal to human forms (Zabimaru and Hyorinmaru). Even if the spirit forms appear and look different in the manga later on (which is doubtful), the anime made a good job at explaining why most of their wielders didn't recognize them at first.
* DoubleTake: Actions done in these arcs are, as seen above, [[ContinuityLockout confusing.]] However, most fans of the anime will very likely do this when [[spoiler: Orihime heals Muramasa, who ''just tried to attack her'', and yet fails to heal Ulquiorra, who ''just saved her and her friend's lives'']], among other events.
* {{Filler}} and FillerVillain goes without saying.
* FinalBoss: Kariya for the Bount arc.
** [[spoiler: Amagai]] for the New Captain arc.
** Muramasa for the Zanpakuto arc.
** Kirikaze for the Beast Swords' mini-arc.
** [[spoiler: Ouko Yushima]] for the Invading Army Arc.
* MistakenForGay: Ichigo and Renji during the aforementioned "take it off" scene, apparently wrestling another man to the ground while commanding him to "take ''it'' [a disguise] off" can give your classmates the wrong idea...
** What makes it even [[{{Squick}} Squickier]] is that everyone thinks they're ''[[TwinCest Brothers]]'', so god only knows what Chizuru meant by calling it "Forbidden Love".
* ShipTease: Ashido and Rukia, back at the Forest of Menos mini-arc.
** Yoshino and Ishida during the Bount arc.
** Kon and Nozomi in the Invading Army arc.
** There's also Senbonzakura with Sode no Shirayuki.
** Shunsui with the pirate half of Katen Kyokotsu.
** There's even a bit between Haineko and Kazeshini, just before he fell to the ground in exhaustion.
** Haineko flirts with Ichigo twice, first when she plays around during a fight, and again when she showed pictures of herself to him.
** Haineko gets a lot with Narunosuke, her first ''crush''.
* SortingAlgorithmOfEvil: Inaba makes ''Aizen'' look like an EliteMook by comparison.
** In his ''shikai'', Yushima has the same abilities as [[EnergyAbsorption Nozomi]] and [[AttackReflector Inaba]] ''combined'', making him the absolute strongest character '''in the series' history'''.
* SuicideMission: Ashido [[spoiler: put he and his group on one.]]
* WhatTheHellHero: Episode 263 is pretty much "How many times can you say this to Senbonzakura?"

* ActionGirl: Senna's ''first'' appearance has her mopping the floor with those Blanks.
* AntiVillain: Shizuku wants to reunite with Rukia, but he's far less obsessive about it than Homura.
* BigBadassBattleSequence: The end battles in [=DiamondDust=] and Fade to Black.
* BigBad: Ganryu Ryodoji for ''Memories of Nobody''.
** Sojiro Kusaka for ''The [=DiamondDust=] Rebellion''.
** BigBadDuumvirate: Homura and Shizuku for ''Fade to Black''.
** [[spoiler:BigBadWannabe]]: Shuren for ''The Hell Verse''.
*** [[spoiler: TheManBehindTheMan]]: [[spoiler: Kokuto in ''The Hell Verse'']]
* BodyguardBabes: Ying and Yang for Kusaka.
* ContinuityLockout: A major issue with the films are their supposed placement within the timeline; the first seems to fit fairly well between the Bount and Arrancar arcs, but Rukia's involvement in the first five minutes puts a wrench on that theory.

* DarkerAndEdgier: The fourth movie, The Hell Verse is noticeably darker than the other three, canon characters are killed and '''STAY DEAD'''...[[ILied for]] [[ItGotBetter a small period of time]], The film contains close ups of [[spoiler: Uryu and Renji's]] decaying corpses which are hung from a tree, a close up of a dead [[spoiler: Yuzu's]] face, [[spoiler: Kokuto's grotesque scar]], and of course, it takes place in '''HELL'''.
* FinalBoss: Ganryu for the first movie.
** Kusaka for the second.
** [[spoiler:Dark Rukia]] for the third.
** [[spoiler:Kokuto]] for the fourth.
* FourIsDeath: The fourth movie takes place in hell.

* LostInTranslation: The fourth movie, Jigoku-Hen, is the first movie to have a Japanese title as opposed to an [[GratuitousEnglish English]] one. Jigoku-Hen has two translations, "Hell Chapter" and "The Hell Verse". Although The Hell Verse is more grammatically correct, Hell Chapter seems to be the preferred translation. [[BaseBreaker But don't ask a group of fans which title is the correct one...]]
** Recent official merchandise has confirmed that "The Hell Verse" is the correct translation.
* NonSerialMovie: ''All of them''.
* RetCon: Ichigo described [[BodyguardBabes Ying and Yang]]'s reiatsu as "Unlike a Visored or an Arrancar's", but WordOfGod later confirmed that they were indeed Arrancars.
** [[FridgeBrilliance Then again, Ichigo's never been good at sensing Reiatsu]].
* ShipTease: Quite a bit.
** Movie 1 did this with Ichigo and Senna, which is one of the reasons that fans like Senna to begin with.
** Movie 3 did this with Ichigo x Rukia to the point that it earned the title "The [=IchiRuki=] Movie"
** Movie 4 gave a bit with Ichigo x Orihime.

** Out of the seven known Togabito (including Shrieker), only one was able to [[spoiler:'''wipe out the entire gang single-handed''']].
* SpecialGuest: Each Movie features a special guest voice actor to voice a new character, and it's usually the movie's [[BigBad villain]]. A popular aversion is the appearance of one Creator/AyaHirano as one of Rukia's forgotten adopted siblings in 'Fade To Black'!

The fourth film, ''Bleach: The Hell Verse'', opens up with a raid by Togabito, denizens from Hell that kidnap Ichigo's younger sister, Yuzu Kurosaki. Aided by another Togabito named Kokuto, Ichigo's gang travel to Hell to rescue Yuzu from Shuren, the ringleader of the Togabito, who aims to use Ichigo's Hollow Powers to break open the Gates of Hell and release the Togabito from captivity. Despite having the most hype of the four movies, it has gotten a mixed response from both Japanese and English-Speaking fans. Unlike the last three, which focused more on CharacterDevelopment, this one was more action-oriented at the cost of a few jarring instances of CharacterDerailment. Despite the mixed reaction to the movie, [[BadAss Kokuto]], similar to Senna, has already been established as a fan favorite character, enough that he debuted in a game that was released before the movie came out in America. An English dub was released under the name "Bleach The Movie: Hell Verse".

** Movie 3 did this with Ichigo x Rukia to the point that it [[FanNickname earned the title]] "The [=IchiRuki=] Movie"

Bleach's final filler arc, the Invading Army arc, is likely the ''most'' disliked of the filler arcs, even more so than the Bounts or the Toju. It likewise started off with an interesting concept - spiritual bodies for artificial souls, time-derailing problems with the Dangai, and the identity of the direct Modsoul creator, so what was the problem ''this'' time around? At first, it was mostly over it being a rehash of previous filler arcs (and even movies) - the Shinigami get into trouble, involve Ichigo into the plot, briefly turn on Ichigo, show off abilities that were already shown before (manga or otherwise), and destroy parts of the Seireitei during their battles against their enemies; it's become formulaic now. Legit excuse, but that still isn't enough to outright revile it, so let's delve further: the main cast had been shafted ever since the New Captain arc, and they were DemotedToExtra in the manga's storyline, so fans would've preferred seeing some Badassery or importance to Ichigo's gang (sans Ichigo himself), instead of being there to show off their abilities and get defeated shortly thereafter. It focuses on a MacGuffinGirl, Nozomi Kujo. It was cancelled in favor of a chibi [[Manga/{{Naruto}} Rock Lee]] [[Manga/RockLeesSpringtimeOfYouth anime]].

* MacGuffinGirl: Senna is the Shinenju.

Bleach's final filler arc, the Invading Army arc, is likely the ''most'' disliked of the filler arcs, even more so than the Bounts or the Toju. It likewise started off with an interesting concept - spiritual bodies for artificial souls, time-derailing problems with the Dangai, and the identity of the direct Modsoul creator, so what was the problem ''this'' time around? At first, it was mostly over it being a rehash of previous filler arcs (and even movies) - the Shinigami get into trouble, involve Ichigo into the plot, briefly turn on Ichigo, show off abilities that were already shown before (manga or otherwise), and destroy parts of the Seireitei during their battles against their enemies; it's become formulaic now. Legit excuse, but that still isn't enough to outright revile it, so let's delve further: the main cast had been shafted ever since the New Captain arc, and they were DemotedToExtra in the manga's storyline, so fans would've preferred seeing some Badassery or importance to Ichigo's gang (sans Ichigo himself), instead of being there to show off their abilities and get defeated shortly thereafter. It focuses on a MacGuffinGirl, Nozomi Kujo. It was cancelled in favor of a chibi [[Manga/{{Naruto}} Rock Lee]] [[RockLeesSpringtimeOfYouth anime]].

The New Captain arc actually started ''during another arc'', but it was notably shorter in length than the Bount arc. It had an interesting concept (parasitic pseudo-Zanpakuto and a look into the royal families that are sometimes mentioned in the canon material), but fans were more eager to see Nelliel and the other Espada fights. A newer character introduced, heiress Rurichiyo Kasumioji, was disliked by the fandom due to her SpoiledBrat tendencies, while its ultimate BigBad was basically an {{Expy}} of Aizen. Additionally, though the fights were interesting, {{Narm}} was found in the sub-par (and often out-of-character) English dubbing, the eye-rolling dialogue and [[SoundtrackDissonance awkward placing of certain music themes]]. Although it was arguably better-executed than the previous arc, some fans skim over the New Captain arc and head on straight to the Arrancar again.

* CashCowFranchise

* FountainOfExpies: Most of the villains are modeled after [[BigBad Sosuke Aizen]] in some way. Kariya has the same [[AffablyEvil personality]], Amagai has the defection nailed (sans FakingTheDead), Kokuto has the same method of [[ImpaledWithExtremePrejudice betrayal]] and [[SealedEvilInACan defeat]], and Inaba is cut from a [[HenchmenRace similar]] [[EvilCounterpart strain]] of the MadScientist mold.

* CashCowFranchise: Many accuse the second movie of being a cheap cash-in on Toushiro Hitsugaya's popularity.

* CreatorBacklash: For the fourth movie, Kubo requested the removal of his name from contributors' list in the credits, expressed frustration over the dismissal of his creative input before the finalization of the script, and praised only the opening fight scene, the voice acting and the animation. He even placed some authors' notes on the DVD case, expressing all of his own feelings about the movie, and the reactions from the fans about it have led to AlternateCharacterInterpretation over why he wanted his name removed, InternetBackdraft over whether or not you agree with Kubo's decision to do that, ''and'' RescuedFromTheScrappyHeap from those that gained a newly-found respect for him as a manga artist.

* {{Expy}}: Ganryu Ryodoji is one for Jin Kariya, who himself is an Aizen Expy.
** [[spoiler:Kokuto was outed as a villain and defeated in the same exact way as Aizen.]].

* PoorCommunicationKills: ''Bleach: Fade to Black'' could have just as easily been called ''Bleach: Poor Communication Kills'' and no one could argue the accuracy of the title. There is ''quite a bit'' in this movie that could have been solved with just proper explanation — [[OnlySaneMan Byakuya]] is even the only one aware of this, actually bothering to sit down and listen to what Ichigo has to say. Had the siblings bothered to talk to Rukia without erasing her memories, had the Captains bothered to listen to what Ichigo had to say before jumping in with their swords drawn, all the needless conflict in the movie could have been averted.

The Menos Forest Mini-Arc was an arc that Kubo wasn't allowed to insert into the manga due to time constraints. En route to Las Noches, Ichigo and co. fall into a sandpit that drags them into the forest below, which is, you guessed it, filled with Hollows. There, they run across [[ActionSurvivor Ashido Kano]] who, after saving Rukia from Hollows, spills his past. At the end, Ashido decides to stay behind so he could buy time for Rukia's crew to leave; Rukia swears that she would return, but the anime leaves his status unknown. The general fan consensus is split: some say that it should've been inserted into the main series because they liked Ashido, while others felt that it would've dragged things out more for the Hueco Mundo arc.

The New Captain arc actually started ''during another arc'', but it was notably shorter in length than the Bount arc. It had an interesting concept (parasitic pseudo-Zanpakuto and a look into the royal families that are sometimes mentioned in the canon material), but fans were more eager to see Nelliel and the other Espada fights. A newer character introduced, heiress Rurichiyo Kasumioji, was disliked by the fandom due to her SpoiledBrat tendencies, while its ultimate BigBad was basically an {{Expy}} of Aizen. Additionally, though the fights were interesting, {{Narm}} was found in the sub-par (and often out-of-character) English dubbing, the eye-rolling dialogue and [[SoundtrackDissonance awkward ] placing of certain music themes]]. Although it was certainly better-executed than the previous arc, fans ''will'' skim over the New Captain arc and head on straight to the Arrancar again.

Bleach's final filler arc, the Invading Army arc, is likely the ''most'' disliked of the filler arcs, even more so than the Bounts or the Toju. It likewise started off with an interesting concept - spiritual bodies for artificial souls, time-derailing problems with the Dangai, and the identity of the direct Modsoul creator, so what was the problem ''this'' time around? At first, it was mostly over it being a rehash of previous filler arcs (and even movies) - the Shinigami get into trouble, involve Ichigo into the plot, briefly turn on Ichigo, show off abilities that were already shown before (manga or otherwise), and destroy parts of the Seireitei during their battles against their enemies; it's become formulaic now. Legit excuse, but that still isn't enough to outright revile it, so let's delve further: the main cast had been shafted ever since the New Captain arc, and they were DemotedToExtra in the manga's storyline, so fans would've preferred seeing some Badassery or importance to Ichigo's gang (sans Ichigo himself), instead of being there to show off their abilities and get defeated shortly thereafter. It focuses on a MacGuffinGirl, Nozomi Kujo. It was cancelled in favor of a ''chibi'' [[Manga/{{Naruto}} Rock Lee]] [[RockLeesSpringtimeOfYouth anime]].

The second film was ''Bleach: The [=DiamondDust Rebellion=]'', focusing on the theft of an artifact belonging to the Spirit King, the suspicions regarding Hitsugaya's unusual obsession with finding the thief and the efforts of Ichigo's gang trying to clear Hitsugaya's name, after the artifact is stolen while under his care. The main antagonist is Hitsugaya's RivalTurnedEvil, Sojiro Kusaka, accompanied by his two Arrancar BodyguardBabes - Yin and Yang. Similarly, Ichigo takes a relative backseat as the protagonist, but retains a fairly prominent role in the plot. Nearly every character with a notable Shikai or Bankai ability gets to use it by the climax of the film, taking down an army of Hollows spawned by the OneWingedAngel, while the protagonists deal with the BigBad - a plot point that gets recycled in subsequent anime filler arcs. This was a ''much'' [[BrokenBase more controversial]] film amongst the fandom, particularly between those that view it as the best movie (or just better than the first), and those that hold it as both a PlotHole-ridden mess and a [[CreatorsPet money investment on Hitsugaya fans]].

The fourth film, ''Bleach: The Hell Verse'', opens up with a raid by Togabito, denizens from Hell that kidnap Ichigo's younger sister, Yuzu Kurosaki. Aided by another Togabito named Kokuto, Ichigo's gang travel to Hell to rescue Yuzu from Shuren, the ringleader of the Togabito, who aims to use Ichigo's Hollow Powers to break open the Gates of Hell and release the Togabito from captivity. Despite having the most hype of the four movies, it has gotten a ''mixed'' response from both Japanese and English-Speaking fans. Unlike the last three, which focused more on CharacterDevelopment, this one was more action-oriented at the cost of a few jarring instances of CharacterDerailment. Despite the mixed reaction to the movie, [[BadAss Kokuto]], similar to Senna, has already been established as a fan favorite character, enough that he debuted in a game that was released ''before the movie came out in America''. An English dub is set for release on December 4 2012, under the name "Bleach The Movie: Hell Verse".

* BigBadassBattleSequence: The end battles in [=DiamondDust=]. and Fade to Black

The fourth film, ''Bleach: The Hell Verse'', opens up with a raid by Togabito, denizens from Hell that kidnap Ichigo's younger sister, Yuzu Kurosaki. Aided by another Togabito named Kokuto, Ichigo's gang [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin travel to Hell]] to rescue Yuzu from Shuren, the ringleader of the Togabito, who aims to use Ichigo's Hollow Powers to break open the Gates of Hell and release the Togabito from captivity. Despite having the most hype of the four movies, it has gotten a ''mixed'' response from both Japanese and English-Speaking fans. Unlike the last three, which focused more on CharacterDevelopment, this one was more action-oriented at the cost of a few jarring instances of CharacterDerailment. Despite the mixed reaction to the movie, [[BadAss Kokuto]], similar to Senna, has already been established as a fan favorite character, enough that he debuted in a game that was released ''before the movie came out in America''. An English dub is set for release on December 4 2012, under the name "Bleach The Movie: Hell Verse".

* PoorCommunicationKills: ''Bleach: Fade to Black'' could have just as easily been called ''Bleach: Poor Communication Kills'' and no one could argue the accuracy of the title. There is ''quite a bit'' in this movie that could have been solved with just proper explanation — [[OnlySaneMane Byakuya]] is even the only one aware of this, actually bothering to sit down and listen to what Ichigo has to say. Had the siblings bothered to talk to Rukia without erasing her memories, had the Captains bothered to listen to what Ichigo had to say before jumping in with their swords drawn, all the needless conflict in the movie could have been averted.

* BigBadassBattleSequence: The end battles in [=DiamondDust=]. and Fade to Black

Bleach's final filler arc, the Invading Army arc, is likely the ''most'' disliked of the filler arcs, even more so than the Bounts or the Toju. It likewise started off with an interesting concept - spiritual bodies for artificial souls, time-derailing problems with the Dangai, and the identity of the direct Modsoul creator, so what was the problem ''this'' time around? At first, it was mostly over it being a rehash of previous filler arcs (and even movies) - the Shinigami get into trouble, involve Ichigo into the plot, briefly turn on Ichigo, show off abilities that were already shown before (manga or otherwise), and destroy parts of the Seireitei during their battles against their enemies; it's become formulaic now. Legit excuse, but that still isn't enough to outright revile it, so let's delve further: the main cast had been shafted ever since the New Captain arc, and they were DemotedToExtra in the manga's storyline, so fans would've preferred seeing some Badassery or importance to Ichigo's gang (sans Ichigo himself), instead of being there to show off their abilities and get defeated shortly thereafter. Unfortunately, [[GodModeSue most of the Badassery]] and [[BlackHoleSue plot relevance]] was [[SpotlightStealingSquad shifted towards]] a [[DesignatedProtagonistSyndrome comparatively uninteresting]] and [[JerkSue unlikable]] MacGuffinGirl, Nozomi Kujo, an even bigger CreatorsPet than ''Aizen''. Likely for this reason, along with how it OvertookTheManga, that the anime was cancelled in favor of a ''chibi'' [[Manga/{{Naruto}} Rock Lee]] [[RockLeesSpringtimeOfYouth anime]].

* FountainOfExpies: Most of the villains are modeled after [[BigBad Sosuke Aizen]] in some way. Kariya has the same [[AffablyEvil personality]], Amagai has the defection nailed (sans FakingTheDead), Kokuto has the same method of [[ImpaledWithExtremePrejudice betrayal]] and [[SealedEvilInACan defeat]], and Inaba is cut from a [[HenchmenRace similar]] [[EvilCounterpart strain]] of the MadScientist mold.

* SortingAlgorithmOfEvil: Inaba makes ''Aizen'' look like an EliteMook by comparison.
** In his ''shikai'', Yushima has the same abilities as [[EnergyAbsorption Nozomi]] and [[AttackReflector Inaba]] ''combined'', making him the absolute strongest character '''in the series' history'''.

* BigBad: Ganryu Ryodoji for ''Memories of Nobody''.

* CashCowFranchise: Many accuse the second movie of being a cheap cash-in on Toshiro Hitsugaya's popularity.

* LostInTranslation: The fourth movie, Jigoku-Hen, is the first movie to have a japanese title as opposed to an [[GratuitousEnglish English]] one. Jigoku-Hen has two translations, "Hell Chapter" and "The Hell Verse". Although The Hell Verse is more grammatically correct, Hell Chapter seems to be the preferred translation. [[BaseBreaker But don't ask a group of fans which title is the correct one...]]

* MacGuffinGirl: Senna is the Shinenju.
* RetCon: Ichigo described [[BodyguardBabes Ying and Yang]]'s reiatsu as "Unlike a Vizard or an Arrancar's", but WordOfGod later confirmed that they were indeed Arrancars.

* ShipTease: Quite a bit.
** Movie 1 did this with Ichigo and Senna, which is one of the reasons that fans like Senna to begin with.
** Movie 3 did this with Ichigo x Rukia to the point that it [[FanNickname earned the title]] "The [=IchiRuki=] Movie"
** Movie 4 gave a bit with Ichigo X Orihime.

The first film was ''Bleach: Memories of Nobody'', centering on the ShipTease-worthy moments between [[SavvyGuyEnergeticGirl Ichigo and the new girl, Senna]]. Its plot revolves around the activities of a group called the "Dark Ones," who were banished from the Soul Society and wish destroy both Soul Society and the World of the Living. By itself, it averages on plot and fights, though most fans tend to watch it exclusively for [[EnsembleDarkhorse Senna]], and there are even fans that find it as their favorite film for its simplicity, but they're in the relative minority.

The fourth film, ''Bleach: The Hell Verse'', opens up with a raid by Togabito, denizens from Hell that kidnap Ichigo's younger sister, Yuzu Kurosaki. Aided by another Togabito named Kokuto, Ichigo's gang [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin travel to Hell]] to rescue Yuzu from Shuren, the ringleader of the Togabito, who aims to use Ichigo's Hollow Powers to break open the Gates of Hell and release the Togabito from captivity. Despite having the most hype of the four movies, it has gotten a ''mixed'' response from both Japanese and English-Speaking fans. Unlike the last three, which focused more on CharacterDevelopment, this one was more action-oriented at the cost of a few jarring instances of CharacterDerailment. Despite the mixed reaction to the movie, [[BadAss Kokuto]], similar to Senna, has already been established as a [[EnsembleDarkhorse fan favorite character]], enough that he debuted in a game that was released ''before the movie came out in America''. An English dub is set for release on December 4 2012, under the name "Bleach The Movie: Hell Verse".

* CashCowFranchise: Many accuse the second movie of being a cheap cash-in on [[WhiteHairedPrettyBoy Toshiro Hitsugaya's]] popularity.

As with any manga-based anime series, Bleach needs to pad out its anime run to give Kubo a chance to create more material for the manga though these arcs tend to pop up ''right in the middle of the main plot'' rather then be intergrated seamlessly as most animes would usually tend to do (well the Bount and Invasion arcs did, read on for more info). Interrupting it without warning (though to be fair the animation staff, through the characters, do apologize for this) so it can make viewing rather awkward. We've gotten a total of four filler arcs as a result, excluding the various standalone episodes. Kubo had a hand in designing the look for some of new filler characters to varying degrees, but he was never thoroughly involved in the writing or production.

The Bount arc took place in between the Soul Society arc and the Arrancar arc, featuring the titular Bounts as the antagonists. This was originally TheScrappy of the filler arcs; it started with a TrainingFromHell mini-arc hosted by the Modsouls, whose leader (Lirin) had a laugh ''so'' obnoxious that it's a relief she became more tolerable by the end of that miniarc. The Bounts themselves had a fairly interesting backstory, but they were surprisingly underdeveloped; the only two interesting ones were Yoshino and Koga, while Kariya's exact motives and goals went all over the place (first it was ForTheEvulz, then it was to destroy the Seireitei for revenge, ''then'' it was to destroy everything, ''then'' it was escape the SortingAlgorithmOfEvil. Certain fight scenes were cool, but the overall length was dragged out to ''fifty'' episodes, so most fans tended to avoid the Bounts and skip straight to the Arrancars once the anime finally caught up.

The Menos Forest Mini-Arc was an arc that Tite wasn't allowed to insert into the manga. En route to Las Noches, Ichigo and co. fall into a sandpit that drags them into the forest below, which is, you guessed it, filled with Hollows. There, they run across [[ActionSurvivor Ashido Kano]] who, after saving Rukia from monsters, spills his past. The arc was cut from the manga due to time constraints, but is barely remembered because, technically, it ''was'' Filler for the Hueco Mundo arc.

The New Captain arc actually started ''during another arc'', but it was notably shorter in length than the Bount arc. It had an interesting concept (parasitic pseudo-Zanpakuto, a look into the royal families that are sometimes mentioned in the canon material), but fans were more eager to see Nelliel and the other Espada fights. A newer character introduced, Rurichiyo Kasumioji, was disliked by the fandom due to her SpoiledBrat tendencies, while its ultimate BigBad was basically an {{Expy}} of Aizen. Additionally, though the fights were interesting, {{Narm}} was consistently found throughout the arc, from the sub-par (and often out-of-character) English dubbing, to the eye-rolling dialogue and [[SoundtrackDissonance narmy placing of certain music themes]]. Although it was certainly better-executed than the previous arc, fans ''will'' skim over the New Captain arc and head on straight to the Arrancar again.

The Zanpakuto arc took place in between another arc once again, but it was better-received than the previous two for its more likable characters, a well-executed WhamEpisode and a genuinely sympathetic BigBad. Although there are fans (read: manga purists) that prefer the manga's style of storytelling, you're more likely to see fans preferring to talk about the Zanpakuto arc over the other two. The Beast Swords mini-arc that followed gave more development to certain Zanpakuto spirits, along with several ridiculously hilarious moments, but it's something of a BaseBreaker. Fans disliked certain episodes, fans were more eager to return to the Arrancar, fans disliked certain Zanpakuto characters, fans disliked the titular Toju themselves; you name it, but it was about twelve episodes long, so once it was finished, it went back to the main story with the Arrancar.

Bleach's final filler arc, The Invading Army arc, is likely the most disliked of the filler arcs, even more so than the Bounts or the Toju. It likewise started off with an interesting concept - spiritual bodies for artificial souls, time-derailing problems with the Dangai, and the identity of the original Modsoul creator, so what was the problem ''this'' time around? At first, it was mostly over it being a rehash of previous filler arcs (and even movies) - the Shinigami get into trouble, involve Ichigo into the plot, briefly turn on Ichigo, show off abilities that were already shown before (manga or otherwise), and destroy parts of the Seireitei during their battles against their enemies; the usual stuff you'd see most anywhere else. Legit excuse, but that still isn't enough to outright revile it, so let's delve further: the main group had been shafted ever since the New Captain arc, and they were DemotedToExtra in the manga's storyline, so fans would've preferred seeing some Badassery or importance to Ichigo's gang (sans Ichigo himself), instead of being there to show off their abilities and get defeated shortly thereafter. However, [[GodModeSue most of the Badassery]] and [[BlackHoleSue plot relevance]] was [[SpotlightStealingSquad shifted towards]] a [[DesignatedProtagonistSyndrome comparatively uninteresting]] and [[JerkSue unlikable]] MacGuffinGirl, Nozomi Kujo, an even bigger CreatorsPet than ''Aizen''. Likely for this reason, along the lack of ideas and OvertookTheManga, that the anime was cancelled in favor of a [[Manga/{{Naruto}} Rock Lee]] [[RockLeesSpringtimeOfYouth anime]]. ...a ''chibi''... Rock Lee anime!

* ActionSurvivor: Ashido, who seems out-of-place since he wasn't really ''dragged'' into fighting Hollows.

* BigBad: Jin Kariya for the Bount arc.
** Gyokaku Kumoi and Shusuke Amagai in the New Captain arc.
** Muramasa for the Zanpakuto arc, with Kouga as a TheManBehindTheMan.
** Kageroza Inaba for the Invading Army arc, [[spoiler: with Okou Yushima as another TheManBehindTheMan]].

* FountainOfExpies: Execpt these are more or less arcs focusing on expies from said fountains.
* {{Filler}} without saying.

The Bount arc took place in between the Soul Society arc and the Arrancar arc, featuring the titular Bounts as the antagonists. This was originally TheScrappy of the filler arcs; it started with a TrainingFromHell mini-arc hosted by the Modsouls, whose leader (Lirin) had a laugh ''so'' obnoxious that it's a relief she became more tolerable by the end of that miniarc. The Bounts themselves had a fairly interesting backstory, but they were surprisingly underdeveloped; the only two interesting ones were Yoshino and Koga, while Kariya's exact motives and goals went all over the place (first it was ForTheEvulz, then it was to destroy the Seireitei for revenge, ''then'' it was to destroy everything, ''then'' it was escape the SortingAlgorithmOfEvil}. Certain fight scenes were cool, but the overall length was dragged out to ''fifty'' episodes, so most fans tended to avoid the Bounts and skip straight to the Arrancars once the anime finally caught up.

* SpecialGuest: Each Movie features a special guest voice actor to voice a new character, and it's usually the movie's [[BigBad villain]]. A popular aversion is the appearance of one AyaHirano as one of Rukia's forgotten adopted siblings in 'Fade To Black'!

Bleach's final filler arc, The Invading Army arc, is likely the most disliked of the filler arcs, even more so than the Bounts or the Toju. It likewise started off with an interesting concept - spiritual bodies for artificial souls, time-derailing problems with the Dangai, and the identity of the original Modsoul creator, so what was the problem ''this'' time around? At first, it was mostly over it being a rehash of previous filler arcs (and even movies) - the Shinigami get into trouble, involve Ichigo into the plot, briefly turn on Ichigo, show off abilities that were already shown before (manga or otherwise), and destroy parts of the Seireitei during their battles against their enemies; the usual stuff you'd see most anywhere else. Legit excuse, but that still isn't enough to outright revile it, so let's delve further: the FiveManBand had been shafted ever since the New Captain arc, and they were DemotedToExtra in the manga's storyline, so fans would've preferred seeing some Badassery or importance to Ichigo's gang (sans Ichigo himself), instead of being there to show off their abilities and get defeated shortly thereafter. However, [[GodModeSue most of the Badassery]] and [[BlackHoleSue plot relevance]] was [[SpotlightStealingSquad shifted towards]] a [[DesignatedProtagonistSyndrome comparatively uninteresting]] and [[JerkSue unlikable]] MacGuffinGirl, Nozomi Kujo, an even bigger CreatorsPet than ''Aizen''. Likely for this reason, along the lack of ideas and OvertookTheManga, that the anime was cancelled in favor of a [[Manga/{{Naruto}} Rock Lee]] [[RockLeesSpringtimeOfYouth anime]]. ...a ''chibi''... Rock Lee anime!

** Out of the seven known Togabito (including Shrieker), only one was able to [[spoiler:'''wipe out the entire FiveManBand single-handed''']].

** Movie 2 gave us some Hitsugaya x Matsumoto

* DarkerAndEdgier: The fourth movie, The Hell Verse is noticeably darker than the other three, [[KilledOffForReal canon characters are killed and]] '''[[KilledOffForReal STAY DEAD]]'''...[[ILied for]] [[ItGotBetter a small period of time]], The film contains close ups of [[spoiler: Uryu and Renji's]] decaying corpses which are hung from a tree, a close up of a dead [[spoiler: Yuzu's]] face, [[spoiler: Kokuto's grotesque scar]], and of course, it takes place in '''HELL'''.

The second film was ''Bleach: The [=DiamondDust Rebellion=]'', focusing on the theft of an artifact belonging to the Spirit King, the suspicions regarding Hitsugaya's unusual obsession with finding the theif and the efforts of Ichigo's gang trying to clear Hitsugaya's name, after the artifact is stolen while under his care. The main antagonist is Hitsugaya's RivalTurnedEvil, Sojiro Kusaka, accompanied by his two Arrancar BodyguardBabes - Yan and Ying. Similarly, Ichigo takes a relative backseat as the protagonist, but retains a fairly prominent role in the plot. Nearly every character with a notable Shikai or Bankai ability gets to use it by the climax of the film, taking down an army of Hollows spawned by the OneWingedAngel, while the protagonists deal with the BigBad - a plot point that gets recycled in subsequent anime filler arcs. This was a ''much'' [[BrokenBase more controversial]] film amongst the fandom, particularly between those that view it as the best movie (or just better than the first), and those that hold it as both a PlotHole-ridden mess and a [[CreatorsPet money investment on Hitsugaya fans]].

The Zanpakuto arc took place in between another arc once again, but it was better-received than the previous two for its more likable characters, a well-executed WhamEpisode and a genuinely sympathetic BigBad. Although there are fans (read: manga purists) that prefer the manga's style of storytelling, you're more likely to see fans preferring to talk about the Zanpakuto arc over the other two. The Beast Swords mini-arc that followed gave more development to certain Zanpakuto spirits, along with several ridiculously hilarious moments, but its something of a BaseBreaker. Fans disliked certain episodes, fans were more eager to return to the Arrancar, fans disliked certain Zanpakuto characters, fans disliked the titular Toju themselves; you name it, but it was about twelve episodes long, so once it was finished, it went back to the main story with the Arrancar.