Movie 3 is subtitled "Fade to Black" (which, while obtuse, is more pertinent than Movie 2's "The Diamond Dust Rebellion"), but in my head, Movie 3's real title is "The Good One." Not out and out great, but it'll be the first anime-only material I review that breaks a rating of [5/10] (average).
Movie 3 succeeds where every other movie fails:
- The villains and the central conflict are unique and fairly compelling.
- The focus is on a character everybody likes, Rukia (well, everyone besides rabid Ichigo/Orihime shippers).
- The resolution is actually clever. It's still heart hax, but it's got proper build up and has an actual mechanism to it.
Movie 3 is far from perfect, but it is definitely the best BLEACH movie so far, and I encourage you to watch it first without getting spoiled by my review. Spoilers after the jump.