I get why this movie is called Fade to Black, as everyone’s memories of Rukia (and Ichigo due to his powers coming from her) fade to the darkness, but Ichigo keeps on pushing and he’s able to jog some memories.
But let’s not forget that Kon is the only one who kept his memories of Rukia from the beginning. It wasn’t until Ichigo tried to sleep that he remembered who she is. One thing I like about this movie is that it establishes the conflict immediately and we slowly learn the context behind it all. This brother and sister are so fixated on keeping Rukia to themselves and the girl has a vendetta against the Soul Reapers, not knowing the full story. Part of the reason for them going out of their way for Rukia is so they can get their names. Up until now they’ve walked around with no identity.
Getting back to Ichigo’s plight, he’s forced to confront the Soul Reapers because they think he’s an intruder and are confused as to how he’s familiar with all of them. It seems though that Byakuya and Renji in particular are coming around, as Renji starts to remember his fight with Ichigo and Byakuya tells Ichigo where Hisana, Rukia’s older sister grew up (District 78, Hanging Dog). Through his fight with Ichigo, Renji is reminded of Hihou Zabimaru, which before I forget, I gotta mention something. THROUGH THESE FIRST THREE MOVIES, THEY HAVE USED HIHOU ZABIMARU AS TRANSPORTATION OF SOME SORT EVERY TIME WITHOUT FAIL.
I loved hearing Fade to Black 13a, again it being my favorite OST from Bleach. I’m honestly not shocked that Mayuri has backups of his memories, which explains why everybody remembers who he is. Kisuke came in clutch lowkey when all the captains pulled up on Ichigo and Renji, and I’m surprised that Yamamoto cooperated so easily, but then again everyone has been having an uneasy feeling.
What surprises me about this movie in comparison to the last two is how it focuses on the Soul Society for the vast majority of the movie while the first one is mostly in the World of the Living and then there’s a big fight in the Valley of Screams, and the second one has a balance between the Soul Society and the World of the Living. Because this was primarily in the Soul Society, there was no logical way to fit Orihime, Chad, and Uryu into the story, and I understand why, especially if their memories of Ichigo were erased (which they likely were).
That final conflict in terms of pure fighting wasn’t interesting, but emotionally speaking we understand Ichigo and Rukia’s relationship. In fact the movie as a whole focuses on how close they are how they are connected. That connection is why Ichigo was able to return the favor and share his powers with her, allowing her to come to her senses and she remembers the brother and sister, Homura and Shizuku. The reason she forgot is the hollow that takes memories slashed her as a child when she saved the siblings, and through their desire to save her, they took that hollow into their bodies and became one when the hollow went back to Hueco Mundo. Their goodbye was quite the scene, but I didn’t feel as connected in comparison to Senna because we learn about Senna more throughout the first movie, while we have a more vague idea of Homura and Shizuku in comparison. Regardless, Rukia’s tears are something I felt and that letter floating up in the sky looked like a bird from afar, possibly symbolizing the freedom those two now have.
It was definitely a weird dynamic having all these characters helping Ichigo despite not remembering anything about him, but it made things interesting and gave something… different in regards to the characters involved.
Well, onto the last movie!
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