Otaku Crave

First Bleach Film to Run in U.S. Theaters June 11-12

National CineMedia’s NCM Fathom, a digital theater distributor, has revealed that the animated Bleach the movie: Memories of Nobody will run in American theaters on June 11 and 12 at 7:30 p.m. The movie is the first theatrical spinoff from the Bleach television series, which itself is an adaptation of Kubotite’s Bleach manga. Subscribers of the email newsletter for Viz Media’s Shonen Jump magazine can purchase advance tickets from May 2 to May 8, and the general public can purchase tickets starting on May 9. The screenings will include a behind-the-scenes feature and a interview with the director Nonyuki Abe, who is also directing the television series. Viz Media has used NCM Fathom’s high-definition digital presentation system for last year’s Naruto movie screenings and the upcoming live-action Death Note screenings.

Viz Media announced its license of this movie in March. Like the ongoing Bleach manga and anime series, the movie centers on the Soul Reapers (Shinigami or Gods of Death) who protect humans from the “Hollow” spirits that prey on them. However, like the first Naruto movie, Memories of Nobody is an original story not seen in the earlier Bleach television series or manga. It ran in Japan in December of 2006, and a second movie, Bleach: The Diamonddust Rebellion has since opened in Japan last December. Memories of Nobody introduces the previously unseen “Blank” entities that also threaten mankind.