Oh baby it's Thursday, my second least favorite day of the week (with Sunday being my most hated day of the week due to nothing good being on TV).  Thank goodness this Thursday doesn't suck as it's time for the next part of Bleach Week 2013 with a review of the third film titled "Fade To Black" and no it's not based on that Metallica song of the same name (a great metal song by the way).  Bleach: Fade To Black starts off with Dr. Mayuri Kurotsuchi working in his lab located in the Soul Society, then from out of nowhere he gets attacked and loses his memory and because of this he goes crazy but not for long as he gets taken away to a place where he can calm down.  Meanwhile on the edge of town Rukia is on guard and then suddenly the attackers not only ambush her but also wipe out her memory and kidnap her.  Back on Earth we have Ichigo and Kon playing around with a letter that Rukia gave to them but then something odd happens to them as they seem to lose all memory of Rukia but regains it back fairly quickly because he read the letter that Ruikia gave him.  Ichigo goes to his friend Kisuke Urahara and explains what happened but is shocked when he sees that Kisuke has lost memory of her as well which has Ichigo mighty suspicious about the whole situation.  Ichigo travels to the Soul Society and sees that half of it is covered in a mysterious white substance (Spoiler: It's rock you sick bastards) so he goes to ask other soul reapers to find out on what went on but is instead attacked by them because they have no memory of him and think he is an intruder (sounds like a plot to a Liam Neeson, Bruce Willis, or Harrison Ford film if you ask me).  How will Ichigo fix this mess?  (Click "Read More" to see the rest of the article).

I had high expectations for this one and it paid off greatly but if you were to judge this one by it's description you will see that the story is a little corny but it's much better than what the description makes it out to be.  This movie progresses at a slower pace than the other films but it works as it helps add a ton of charm, builds up the story and a great atmosphere as well.  Characters are really enjoyable and feel really different from before adding a layer of freshness to them.  A great thing about this film is that you don't have to be a reader of the manga or a viewer of the television series to enjoy this film.  When they do make a reference to the television series they explain it so well that you will be like "ahh, I get it".

Animation is really detailed leaving you feeling very impressed and really powerful from the wind cause by their power to the way the weapons move plus the artwork looks excellent too with interesting characters and detailed backgrounds and weapons.  English dub was a bit better here than what it was in the first two films with a more fine-tuned sound.  The films soundtrack was good and very nostalgic sounding that takes me back to 1997 from when I first caught glimpses of anime on VHS tapes only to be freaked out by the ultra-violent content (I was only seven at the time, stuff like Spriggan was a bit too impactful for me) but charmed by its mystic electronic sound.

Remember how my biggest complaint about these releases was that the main menu was very sluggish to control?  Well that problem is nowhere to be seen here and that makes me a very happy retrochappy (that's a pun).  There are also some decent special features that include quite a bit of trailers that aired in cinemas and on television.  I got to give the trailers some praise as not only did they build up the movie but they also get your imaginations wondering to what on Earth could lead up to an event like this?  Adding an aura of mystery to it.  Although you only get this if you watch them before you watch the movie and I doubt that most of you will (most of you will most likely ignore them entirely).  There is also a art gallery section where you can see some production sketches that are OK but may be considered uninteresting to some.

Overall "Fade to Black" was an excellent installment but just slightly misses the mark on being called a masterpiece.  I highly recommend watching this one.  That wraps up day four with tomorrow being the fifth and final day for Bleach Week 2013 (I can't tell if you're cheering because there's still more to come or because it's ending soon).  The final movie that will be up for review has Ichigo travelling to Hell and back in Bleach the Movie Four: Hells Verse.  Until then, say your prayers and eat your vitamins brother.

Title: Bleach the Movie #3 - Fade To Black
Animation Studio: Studio Pierrot
Genre: Animation/Anime, Horror/Supernatural, Action
Running Time: 90 minutes
Distributor: Madman Entertainment (www.madman.com.au)
Rating: M15+ (Supernatural violence)
Price: $29.95
Recommended: Yes