# Rock Musical Bleach

Rock Musical Bleach (ロックミュージカル ブリーチ, Rokkumyūjikaru Burīchi), often referred as BuriMyu, are a series of rock musicals produced by Studio Pierrot and Nelke Planning. The musicals are based on Tite Kubo's manga Bleach. The Rock Musical Bleach consists of live performances that follow the manga plotline from the Soul Society arc and The Live Bankai shows with the original script. The first musical was directed by Takuya Hiramitsu, with a script adaptation by Naoshi Okumura. The music is completely original and was written by Shoichi Tama. The premiere was held in Space Zero Hall in Shinjuku, Tokyo from August 17–28, 2005.

## Synopsis

The story follows the life of high school student Ichigo Kurosaki after he obtains Soul Reaper powers from another Soul Reaper, Rukia Kuchiki. For transferring her Soul Reaper powers to a human, Rukia Kuchiki was sent back to the Soul Society and sentenced to death. In order to save Rukia from execution, Ichigo along with his friends goes to the enemy territory where he engages the members of Gotei 13, the main military force in the Soul Society.

## Productions
### Rock Musical Bleach

The musical was first produced under the direction of Takuya Hiramitsu at Space Zero Hall in Shinjuku, Tokyo and opened officially on August 17, 2005. The script was adapted by Naoshi Okumura and music was originally produced by Shoichi Tama. The main role of Ichigo Kurosaki went to Tatsuya Isaka. The role of Rukia Kuchiki was played by Miki Satō. Rei Yoshii portrayed Orihime Inoue and Naofumi Yoshida played the role of Yasutora Sado. The show was performed until August 28, 2005.

### Saien

The second musical was performed under name "Saien" and it was officially premiered at Meil Park Hall in Osaka on January 5, 2006. The Tokyo premiere of "Saien" was held at Nippon Seinenkan Great Hall on January 14, 2006. The production added the new cast member for the show, Eiki Kitamura to play a role of Izuru Kira.

### The Dark of the Bleeding Moon

The third Rock Musical Bleach was opened at Miel Park Hall in Osaka under name "The Dark of the Bleeding Moon" on August 10, 2006. In Tokyo, the musical was held at Nippon Seinenkan Great Hall on August 16, 2006. The show added Kumiko Saito to portray Yoruichi Shihōin. The production also added Kohei Murakami to portray Hanatarō Yamada, Harumi Inoue to play Rangiku Matsumoto, Shogo Suzuki to play Kenpachi Zaraki, and Takuya Usui to play Ikkaku Madarame. Yousuke Ito, Rei Yoshii and Naofumi Yoshida were removed from the original cast member list.

### No Clouds in the Blue Heavens

"No Clouds in the Blue Heavens" is a sequel of previous musical and it focuses on Rukia's execution. The performance was held at Nippon Seinenkan Great Hall in Tokyo on March 21, 2007, following the next premiere at Hyōgo Theater on April 3, 2007. The show features new cast members and new songs. Asuka Sekine, Hiroko Kasahara and Masahiro Kuranuki were added to the cast.

### The All

The closing musical "The All" was held at Shinjuku Koma Theater on March 24, 2008. The show is the part of "Rock Musical Bleach DX" performance and it features the complete Soul Society arc storyline from Bleach manga along with the main actors.

### The Live Bankai Show

"The Live Bankai Shows" are musicals with original script and they don't follow the manga plotline. The first "Live Bankai Show Code 001" was held at Aoyama Theater in Tokyo on January 10, 2007. The next one, "Code 002" was opened at Shinjuku Koma Theater on March 24, 2008 as a part of "Rock Musical Bleach DX" show. In 2010, the third show "Code 003", was performed across the country starting at Momochi Palace in Fukuoka, following the performance at Theater Brava in Osaka and closing show at Nippon Seinenkan Great Hall in Tokyo. The shows features new songs and new cast members. Naoya Gomoto was added to portray Shūhei Hisagi while Kengo Ohkuchi didn't perform his role of Sōsuke Aizen in the third show.

### Shinsei 2011 and 2012

Celebrating the Bleach manga 10th anniversary a new production under name "Shinsei" was opened in July 2011. The tour ran nationwide in six different cities. The show featured a new set of cast members along with the new script and music. The leading role of Ichigo Kurosaki was portrayed by Norizuki Kouhei. Miki Satō reprised her role of Rukia Kuchiki.
The musical was reprised at Shinagawa Stellar Ball in Tokyo on August 9, 2012. The "Shinsei 2012" performance featured the original set of cast members with addition of Oyama Masashi who portrayed Urahara Kisuke.

### Another Above Ground

Celebrating the 15th anniversary of Bleach, a new production of Rock Musical Bleach was revealed in May 2016. The play was based on "The All" which was held in 2008 and the story covered the "Soul Society" Arc from the series. The musical debuted in AiiA 2.5 Theater Tokyo and ran from July 28 until August 7, 2016 before continuing their run from August 24–28, 2016 at the Kyoto Gekijō. The play was directed and written by Tsutsumi Yasuyuki who previously worked on several One Piece projects.

### Arrancar the Beginning

After about 8 years since the latest Bleach Rock Musical in 2016, a new adaptation was revealed in February of 2024. The play follows the beginning of the "Arrancar" Arc from the series, starting at the "Arrancar: The Arrival" Arc, and ending right before the "Arrancar: Decisive Battle of Karakura" Arc. It also includes a segment of "The Past" Arc (Turn Back the Pendulum). The musical debuted in Tennozu The Galaxy Theater in Tokyo and ran from May 12th until May 26th, with a continued run in Cool Japan Park Osaka WW Hall between May 31st and June 2nd. The play was written and directed by Akiko Kodama, featuring music by Shu Kanematsu.

## Characters and cast members

The principal cast members from the original musical Rock Musical Bleach.
| Character | Rock Musical Bleach | Saien | The Dark of the Bleeding Moon | The Live Bankai Show Code 001 | No Clouds in the Blue Heavens | The All | The Live Bankai Show Code 002 | The Live Bankai Show Code 003 | Shinsei 2011 | Shinsei 2012 | Another Above Ground | Arrancar the Beginning |
| Ichigo Kurosaki | Tatsuya Isaka | Tatsuya Isaka | Tatsuya Isaka | Tatsuya Isaka | Tatsuya Isaka | Tatsuya Isaka | Tatsuya Isaka | Tatsuya Isaka | Norizuki Kouhei | Norizuki Kouhei | Akira Takano | Rui Kihara |
| The main protagonist of the story. Ichigo's life is changed when he obtains a Soul Reaper powers. ||||||||||||
| Rukia Kuchiki | Miki Satō | Miki Satō | Miki Satō | Miki Satō | Miki Satō | Miki Satō | Miki Satō | Miki Satō | Miki Satō | Miki Satō | Chihiro Kai | Yuka Tano |
| Friend of Ichigo Kurosaki. Rukia was sentenced to death because she gave her Soul Reaper powers to Ichigo. ||||||||||||
| Orihime Inoue | Rei Yoshii | Rei Yoshii | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | Yuria Sato |
| Friend of Ichigo and Sado. She is secretly in love with Ichigo and she goes to the Soul Society to help him to rescue Rukia. ||||||||||||
| Yasutora Sado | Naofumi Yoshida | Naofumi Yoshida | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | Changhae |
| Friend of Ichigo and Orihime. He goes to the Soul Society to help Ichigo in rescuing Rukia. ||||||||||||
| Kisuke Urahara | Yousuke Ito | Yousuke Ito | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | Oyama Masashi | N/A | Masakatsu Nemoto |
| The candy store owner in Karakura Town. He helps Ichigo and his friends to get to the Soul Society. ||||||||||||
| Gin Ichimaru | Yuichi Tsuchiya | Yuichi Tsuchiya | Yuichi Tsuchiya | Yuichi Tsuchiya | Yuichi Tsuchiya | Yuichi Tsuchiya | Yuichi Tsuchiya | Yuichi Tsuchiya | N/A | N/A | Kōsuke Asuma | Kentaro Akizawa |
| The captain of the 3rd division in Gotei 13 and the left hand of Sōsuke Aizen. ||||||||||||
| Sōsuke Aizen | Kengo Ohkuchi | Kengo Ohkuchi | Kengo Ohkuchi | Kengo Ohkuchi | Kengo Ohkuchi | Kengo Ohkuchi | Kengo Ohkuchi | N/A | N/A | N/A | Ryōma Baba | Yuki Izawa |
| The main antagonist in the story and the captain of the 5th division. Aizen is the culprit behind Rukia's sentencing. ||||||||||||
| Momo Hinamori | Kumiko Saitō | Kumiko Saitō | Kumiko Saitō | Kumiko Saitō | Kumiko Saitō | Kumiko Saitō | Kumiko Saitō | Kumiko Saitō | N/A | N/A | Karen Miyama | N/A |
| The lieutenant of the 5th division under captain Sōsuke Aizen and friend of Tōshirō Hitsugaya. ||||||||||||
| Byakuya Kuchiki | Shūji Hayashi | Shūji Hayashi | Shūji Hayashi | Shūji Hayashi | Shūji Hayashi | Shūji Hayashi | Shūji Hayashi | Shūji Hayashi | Motohiro Oota | Motohiro Oota | Hiroki Ino | Kazuyoshi Yamamoto |
| The captain of the 6th division and Rukia's adoptive brother. ||||||||||||
| Renji Abarai | Eiji Moriyama | Eiji Moriyama | Eiji Moriyama | Eiji Moriyama | Eiji Moriyama | Eiji Moriyama | Eiji Moriyama | Eiji Moriyama | Kujirai Kousuke | Kujirai Kousuke | Tsubasa Sakiyama | Yuya Uno |
| The lieutenant of the 6th division under captain Byakuya Kuchiki and friend of Rukia. ||||||||||||
| Tōshirō Hitsugaya | Takashi Nagayama | Takashi Nagayama | Takashi Nagayama | Takashi Nagayama | Takashi Nagayama | Takashi Nagayama | Takashi Nagayama | Takashi Nagayama | Kido Yuuya | Kido Yuuya | Takato Nagata | Kenisuke Matsuoka |
| The captain of the 10th division and friend of Momo Hinamori. ||||||||||||
| Rangiku Matsumoto | N/A | N/A | Harumi Inoue | N/A | N/A | Harumi Inoue | Harumi Inoue | Harumi Inoue | N/A | N/A | N/A | Mirei |
| The lieutenant of the 10th division under Tōshirō Hitsugaya. ||||||||||||
| Kenpachi Zaraki | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | Yuki Okamoto |
| The captain of the 11th division of the Gotei 13. ||||||||||||
| Ikkaku Madarame | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | Yusaku Kawasaki |
| The lieutenant of the 11th division under Kenpachi Zaraki. ||||||||||||
| Kaname Tosen | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | Kotaro Fujita |
| Former captain of the 9th division before he joined Sōsuke Aizen. ||||||||||||
| Shinji Hirako | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | Shogo Yamazaki |
| Former captain of the 5th division before being experimented on by Sōsuke Aizen and turned into a Visored. ||||||||||||
| Ulquiorra Cifer | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | Hyakuna Hiroki |
| The 4th ranked Espada serving Sōsuke Aizen. ||||||||||||
| Grimmjow Jeagerjaques | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | Takuya Uehara |
| The 6th ranked Espada serving Sōsuke Aizen. ||||||||||||

## Recordings

Aniplex has released three albums featuring songs from the musical Rock Musical Bleach.
* Rock Musical Bleach Live (2006)
* Rock Musical Bleach - The Dark Of the Bleeding Moon Live (2007)
* Rock Musical Bleach (2008)

## Reception

Rock Musical Bleach was seen by more than 130,000 people since its creation in 2005.