I am not kidding. The Seiritei council decides two people should fight to the death for a ridiculous reason. Even so, when they are to fight, they change their decision in favor of one of the combatants, killing him on the spot. He doesn't die and comes back for revenge. Everybody who is a good guy in the Soul Society fights him and kills him again. But they remain friends.I can understand why a Japanese person would try to obey orders, no matter how idiotic, and how top "management" can issue them with impunity just because everybody is supposed and trained to heel, but it is especially hard to reconcile the plot of the movie with the general idea of Bleach, which is personal and independent behavior (and mayhem).Other than that, a little weird that a single guy can tackle the entire Gotei 13, but then again, Ichigo didn't storm alone and kill everything all by himself, either. Not even the story's "magical power" entered Ichigo and allowed him to save the day. It was, for once, a team effort.

First, everyone should watch this movie with the mindset that this is a filler episode but one of the best filler episodes you'll ever watch.The storyline is very good. I like how they referred to the past (you have to watch bleach seasons 1-3), especially how the soul society acted toward another potential traitor after Captain Aizen and Captain Gin Ichimaru. Second, the first five minutes already intrigue you as you are trying to figure out the value of the Ouin. I love stories that have a mystery aspect to it. Third the character depth is great. It's good to get more of a background story on certain characters, especially on Soul Society captains like Tōshirō Hitsugaya and even more about Ichigo. The animation is crisp clean and very good. In fact it's even better than the first bleach movie.The music is good and on par with the series. It's good to see the musical score is creating new music yet keeping the same feel. The action was amazing, especially the final fight. It felt epic and was executed perfectly. Overall it's a great movie and the best filler episode in that sense. All of the reasons why anyone wouldn't like the first movie are corrected in the second one. Would i skip Bleach's first movie? Maybe. I would definitely just watch this one after seasons 1-3. Then again it is after season 6 (so why they released the second movie before the actual release of season 6 box set is beyond me)so for a fan keeping up with the time line, you might be wondering how did X get this or when did X happen. But it's not as bad as you think. You can still watch it and enjoy it, as long as you are up to speed with seasons 1-3. If you are done with seasons 1-3, as well as the second movie, and really have no other Bleach to watch, i suggest watching the first movie afterwards and the bount arc. Otherwise watch this one first and continue on to season 6 or vice versa.

This was a good example of how it was in the history during the noble houses power. A single seal being delivered to a secret location once every so often to keep away prying eyes. In the midst of this, stands the Shinigami, or loosely named death gods (Modern Day grim Reapers). They assist the captain Hitsugaya, who is in charge of the transportation. Yet somewhere in the background comes an ambush. Losing the seal Hitsugaya takes it upon himself to track down the enemy and get back the Kings Seal even while injured. In the middle, are his Vice Captain and various other friends who are trying to look for him because of an order of his execution by the high commander of soul society. Within the struggles, a substitute Shinigami (Kurosaki Ichigo) looks for him as well. Finds him injured, and tries to understand why Hitsugaya is taking the burden on himself. The twist in the film is moving, because of the thief of the seal was also a ex classmate of Hitsugaya in his academy days. But because both harnessed the same power, his superiors demanded they fight to the death to see who attains this power only. Hitsugaya won by proxy, yet felt his fight was not over. This being included was a good finish to having both fight once more without the orders of his superiors to see who was the ultimate warrior. And after the thief harnessed the full power of the seal became more crazy and nearly obliterated soul society, but Ichigo and his friends prevail, saving soul society once more. An excellent film of the old folklore.

When the Japanese Royal family orders that a scared object,known as the Oween,an amplifier of unlimited spiritual power,is to be moved to another area, Squad 10 of the Soul Society is commanded to keep the area secure. Unfortunately,the Oween is stolen by a rogue member of the Soul Society,who was rumoured to be assassinated by Squad 10 Captain,Toshiro Hitsugaya,but backed out at the last minute. When Capt. Hitsugaya abandons his post to find out what's going on,he is suspected to be in cahoots with Sojiro Kusaka,who had stolen the Oween. It is up to Ichigo,Rukia,and the rest of the Soul Reapers to intervene (much to the chagrin of the elders of the Soul Society). Subplots involving Hitsugaya's past,as well as Ichigo's past are interpolated into this fast paced tale of good versus evil. Noriyuke Abe is once again on tap to direct this beautifully illustrated & animated feature,from a script by Michiko Yokote & Masahiro Okubo,from the original Manga (graphic novel)by Tite Kubo,adapted from the Japanese television series 'Bleach'. As usual,the characters are voiced by the same cast as the series (with Wendee Lee,best known for her voice over work on Anime series such as 'Cowboy Bebop', as voice director for the American version,who also adds her voice talents). Spoken in either Japanese (no English subtitles on the Japanese DVD),or English dubbed. Not rated by the MPAA,but contains some fairly bloody violence & fierce battle scenes & a rude word or two.