Bleach Movie 4 announced: Ichigo gets Hollow again

The fourth Bleach movie has been announced, courtesy of the 1/14 issue of Weekly Shonen Jump. The only information we have on it so far is that it will be in theaters sometime during winter 2010, and will deal with "full" or "perfect" Hollow-Ichigo, depending on which translation you favor.

The interesting thing about this is that the topic doesn't lend itself to becoming a side-story, which is what theBleach movies have been thus far. Typically, movies in major franchises like this seem to take place in an alternate universe from the television series- and while hard-core fans can generally tell you where in the series' continuity the movies supposedly fit, it never really matters. Since the nature of Ichigo's Hollow form is critically important to the overall Bleach storyline, I don't see how they could develop it in a movie and then fail to acknowledge the events of the movie in the series. I suppose they could have Ichigo do something as a Hollow and then forget all about it by the end of the movie, or use some other cop-out, but I'd like to give the writers the benefit of the doubt. Come to think of it, they have been rather ambitious with the filler storylines in Bleach lately (by which I mean, some of them have a point), so maybe this is just a continuation of that trend.

I haven't really been interested in the storyline since they were using Ichirin no Hana as the opening theme, but I do find Ichigo's Hollow form interesting; not just because the character can kick ass more effectively as a Hollow (because you know, clearly what everyone on Bleach needs is to be powered up some more), but because the character seems to hold the answers to how the whole Human/Shinigami/Hollow/etc. system works in Bleach- provided that Kubo actually has an answer. Again, I like to give people the benefit of the doubt.

V6 New Album and Tour

Johnny's group V6 have announced the release of a new original album and the launching of a new nationwide tour, days after the Japanese media was filled with rumors reporting that the group would disband at the end of this year.

READY?, V6's new album, will be available in stores March 31st. It is the band's first album release since Voyager, which came out in September 2007. All their six singles, released from December 2007 to their newest one, GUILTY, plus seven other brand-new songs will be included on the release, making it a 13-track disc.

The album will go on sale in three different versions: limited type A (CD+DVD), limited type B (2CDs) and regular edition. The DVD featured in the type A contains the music video of the new song Hoshi ga furu yoru demo and the PVs of all the six singles of the album, plus making-of footage from all the singles' video shootings with commentary from both 20th Century and Coming Century

The second disc included in the type B features solo songs from all group members and also unpublished songs from their sub-units, 20th Century and Coming Century. The regular edition only comes with a bonus track, called SILENT GALAXY.

In addition to the album, V6 is also embarking on a new tour, their first since the Asian tour held last fall. It will span twelve dates in six big venues in Japan, including four consecutive days at Yoyogi Daiichi Taiikukan from April 29th to May 2nd.

V6 made their official debut in November 1995, which makes 2010 the year they celebrate their 15th anniversary. Due to this fact, fans have been eager for an increase in the group's activities and even more after the disbandment rumors were brought up in public.

International Watch: Eboue on the scoresheet

Twelve Arsenal players have been selected to represent their nations in international matches over the following week. A further three members of the Arsenal first team have been selected for youth internationals.Armand Traore, on loan at Juventus, has also been selected to represent his country at Under-21 level.
Arsenal.com will keep you updated all 16 players' progress throughout the international break.

Emmanuel Eboue
Ivory Coast 3-0 Rwanda, September 4
Emmanuel Eboue was on the scoresheet as Ivory Coast beat Rwanda 3-0 on Saturday. Yaya Toure and Salomon Kalou had given the Elephants a two-goal lead and six minutes before half-time Eboue struck from 25 yards to extend his nation's advantage in the Africa Cup of Nations Group H qualifier.

Carlos Vela
Mexico 1-2 Ecuador, September 4
Carlos Vela was in the starting XI as Mexico suffered a 2-1 defeat at home to Ecuador on Saturday. Christian Benitez put the visitors ahead in the first minute but Mexico equalised when Luis Checa turned into his own net five mintues before half time. Jaime Ayovi got Ecuador's winner just before the hour mark.


Marouane Chamakh
Morocco 0-0 Central African Republic, September 4
Marouane Chamakh's Morocco opened their Africa Cup of Nations qualifying campaign with a 0-0 draw at home to Group D rivals Central African Republic.

Gael Clichy, Bacary Sagna
France 0-1 Belarus, September 3
Bosnia & Herzegovina v France, September 7
Abou Diaby, Gael Clichy and Bacary Sagna all played 90 minutes as France started Group D with a highly-disappointing 1-0 defeat against Belarus in Paris. Sergei Kislak grabbed the only goal four minutes from time. Les Bleus travel to Sarajevo to face Bosnia and Herzegovina on Tuesday.


Andrey Arshavin
Andorra 0-2 Russia, September 3
Russia v Slovakia, September 7
Andrey Arshavin laid on the first goal for Pavel Pogrebnyak as Russia beat Andorra 2-0. Dick Advocaat’s men have a home match against Slovakia in Moscow on Tuesday.

Cesc Fabregas
Liechtenstein 0-4 Spain, September 3
Argentina v Spain, September 7
Cesc Fabregas played 45 minutes as Spain won 4-0 in Liechtenstein. The Arsenal captain replaced Xavi at the break with the holders 2-0 up. They doubled that advantage in the second half. Spain go to Buenos Aires for a friendly on Tuesday night against Argentina..

Thomas Vermaelen
Belgium 0-1 Germany, September 3
Turkey v Belgium, September 7
Thomas Vermaelen captained Belgium in their 1-0 defeat at home to Germany. Miroslav Klose grabbed the all-important goal just after the break. George Leekens’ side have another tough-looking trip to Turkey on Tuesday.

Theo Walcott and Kieran Gibbs
England 4-0 Bulgaria, September 3
Switzerland v England, September 7
Theo Walcott was involved for 74 minutes as England responded to their World Cup disappointment by beating Bulgaria 4-0 at Wembley thanks to three goals from Jermain Defoe.Kieran Gibbs was an unused substitute. Both players will travel to Switzerland next week for Tuesday’s friendly in Basle.

Jack Wilshere
Portugal Under-21s 0-1 England Under-21s, September 3
England Under-21s v Lituania Under-21s, September 7
Jack Wilshere was an unused substitute as England Under-21s won 1-0 in Portugal on Friday night. Stuart Pearce’s side welcome Lithuania to the Weston Homes Community Stadium in Colchester on Tuesday


Vito Mannone
Bosnia and Herzegovina Under-21s 0-1 Italy Under-21s, September 3
Italy Under-21s v Wales Under-21s, September 7
Vito Mannone kept a clean-sheet as Italy Under-21s won 1-0 in Bosnia-Herzegovina. Pierluigi Casiraghi's side now face a potential group-decider in their final game against leaders Wales in Pescara on Tuesday.


Armand Traore
Ukraine Under-21s 2-2 France Under-21s, September 3
France Under-21s v Malta Under-21s, September 7
Armand Traore did not make the starting squad as the French Under-21s drew 2-2 in the Ukraine. They play Malta in Amiens on Tuesday.

Wojciech Szczesny
Finland Under-21s 2-0 Poland Under-21s, September 3
Poland Under-21s v Spain Under-21s, September 7
Wojciech Szczesny did not make the starting squad as Poland Under-21s lost 2-0 to Finland in Pori. They have a second European Championship qualfier in Spain on Tuesday.

Tomas Rosicky
Czech Republic v Lithuania, September 7
Tomas Rosicky has been called up for Czech Republic’s opening Euro 2012 Group I game against Lithuania. Michal Bílek’s men open with a home game in Olomouc on Tuesday night.

Warner Bros. Bringing 'Bleach' to the Big Screen

Anime is hotter than ever, and it was only a matter of time before American studios caught on to the millions of dollars they could make by putting them on the big screen. A remake of Akira is still kicking around, and Ghost in the Shell and Ninja Scroll are also being set up for live-action remakes. Now, according to THR's Heat Vision, Warner Bros is looking at bringing Bleach to the masses, with Peter Segal producing.

For those who don't follow anime and manga (and I confess to being one of them -- I know the names of these things but I couldn't pass a quiz on them), Bleach is the saga of Ichigo Kurosaki, who accidentally receives the power of a Soul Reaper (similar to the Grim Reaper) due to a run-in with Rukia Kuchiki, the Reaper who patrols his town. Ichigo's powers come at the cost of Rukia's own, and Ichigo has to take up the mantle of helping good souls to the Soul Society and protect humans from evil spirits. He also seeks to rescue Rukia, who is stranded in the human world.

It's not clear whether Warner Bros' Bleach will follow the other anime-adaptations-to-be, and pursue a live-action route. I'm guessing they will, as I imagine a studio sees more franchise potential in that approach. I know there must be Bleach fans reading, so please weigh in. Will that work? Will this series face being watered down for the American mainstream?