Bleach: Fade to Black

, is the third film, released in Japan on December 13, 2008, and was released on DVD on September 30, 2009. This film's screenplay was written by Natsuko Takahashi, who is a screenwriter for the anime series. The official film website gives the tagline of "Sayonara, Rukia". Kon has become one of the main characters in the movie.

To promote the film, the opening and closing credits of the Bleach anime from episode 197-201 use footage from the film.

Plot summary
Mayuri Kurotsuchi works in his lab diligently, operating a large amount of machinery from his computer. With one last press of a button, the machine produces a flower-like pod which opens, revealing a glowing, yellow vial. As he delights over its completion however, he senses the presence of an intruder. An assailant suddenly emerges from the shadows, striking him with its scythe. The blow has no physical effect, but Mayuri is left distraught, failing to recognize his own lab. Nemu Kurotsuchi arrives and attempts to comfort him, but he flees from her, believing that she is trying to capture him. In the ensuing chaos, the mysterious assailant uses the vial to activate a mechanism in the laboratory. A frightened Mayuri proceeds to release Ashisogi Jizō and assault his computer

An emergency call is made over the intercom, prompting several Shinigami to surround the smoking lab from the outside. However, amorphous white entities emerge from the smoke and attack them. Mayuri continues to wreak havoc inside the lab, but is interrupted by Kenpachi Zaraki, who briefly fends off the crazed captain’s Bankai before being engulfed by the same white entity. The entity continues to spread rapidly, engulfing large portions of the Seireitei. Rukia Kuchiki approaches from afar, wondering what is going on, but encounters a floating girl in ragged clothing. She declares that she is going to erase Rukia’s existence, prompting Mayuri’s assailant to appear behind her. As Rukia turns to face him, he swings his scythe at her, but inflicts no damage. The remaining captains of the Gotei 13 look on as the white entity continues to spread. The two unknown assailants retreat with a dazed Rukia in tow, reveling in the destruction of the Shinigami.

Meanwhile in Karakura Town, Ichigo Kurosaki feels a disturbance. He finds Kon sitting on a bed, attempting to decipher a coded letter left by Rukia. Ichigo fails to decode it, not recognizing its writer. Dismissing it, he decides to go to sleep, but has a vision composed of several of his memories with Rukia. He wakes up remembering her and decodes her letter, learning that she went to Soul Society and that she would return in a few days. Confused, Ichigo pays a visit to Kisuke Urahara’s shop.

Ichigo asks Urahara about Rukia, but despite her name being in his customer records, he does not remember her. Pondering a connection to their memory loss, Urahara mentions that on that night, a third of the Seireitei was destroyed in a strange incident. Determined to save Rukia, Ichigo asks to use Urahara’s Senkaimon. Soon after, Ichigo and Kon emerge in Soul Society, where they quickly find Shūhei Hisagi. Before Ichigo can interrogate him, the scythe-wielding assailant activates Mayuri’s machinery once more, producing an amorphous white serpent that attacks them.

Hisagi and Ichigo attempt to fend it off, but their attacks prove to be ineffective. Growing larger, the serpent crashes against one of the Seireitei’s gates and breaks through it. The sibling assailants carry Rukia through, intending to take her to Rukongai. Ichigo is suddenly confronted by Hisagi and several Shinigami, who claim that he is an intruder. Not wanting to fight his comrades, Ichigo flees, but is stopped by Renji Abarai, who has no memory of Rukia. As he continues to run away, Sajin Komamura joins the chase, attacking him with his Bankai. Ichigo subdues it with a barrage of Getsuga Tenshō blasts, but is struck by the blade of the falling giant and falls into the underground sewage system.

Elsewhere, Rukia comes to and realizes that she is in the 78th district of Rukongai, Inuzuri, the very place where she had grown up in her younger years. Her abductors greet her warmly, referring to her as their sibling, but she does not remember them. Meanwhile, the captains deliberate on the situation. Retsu Unohana notes that victims of the incident have been solidified into statues, and Komamura reports his encounter with Ichigo, finding it strange that he is so well acquainted with them. Yamamoto orders the captains to capture anybody that does not belong in Seireitei.

In the sewers, Ichigo is healed by Hanataro Yamada, who does not remember him either. He tells him that it feels as though he had healed him before, but dismisses this as his imagination. In Rukongai, the siblings serve Rukia soup as she reads a letter they wrote to her, though she admits that she cannot remember when she received it. Realizing that they did not sign their names, they reveal that they have none, and that she had promised to name them. Rukia recalls the promise, as well as memories of having taken care of the duo when they were younger. However, she does not remember the names she had chosen for them. When she asks what she had been doing all those years, the siblings insist that she has been sleeping for a long time.

At night, Ichigo confronts Byakuya Kuchiki in his manor as he looks at a picture of Hisana Kuchiki. He attempts to remind him of Rukia, telling him that she was Hisana’s sister, as well as his own. Before he can get any information out of him, he is suddenly surrounded by Shinigami guards. Renji arrives and attacks him once more, prompting Ichigo to note that he only responds to force. Using his Bankai, Ichigo quickly defeats him, causing him to briefly recall a moment from a previous battle they had. Byakuya prepares to release his Shikai, but decides against it, instead revealing that Hisana is from the 78th district of Rukongai, earning Ichigo’s thanks.

Back in Inuzuri, Rukia talks to the female sibling, reveling in her nostalgia and promising that she will remember the names she chose for her and her brother. However, as the sun rises, she notices a cliff in the distance, remembering that it is where she and Renji buried their childhood friends. Meanwhile, as Renji recovers from his fight with Ichigo, Zabimaru’s spirit emerges and speaks to him. He asks why Renji did not use Bankai, confusing him. In his manor, Byakuya remembers that his wife once told him that she was looking for something in Rukongai. Unable to remember what it was, he consults a book in his records, and is shocked by what he finds.

Suì-Fēng delivers her report to Yamamoto, stating that their defenses have been breached, and that the intruder is targeting the 10th Division. Yamamoto ponders this, unable to discern the intruder’s motive. Following the lead Byakuya gave them, Ichigo and Kon search for Rukia in Rukongai. As they comment on the terrible living conditions there, Kon suddenly picks up Rukia’s scent, prompting them to hurry onward. Rushing towards the cliff ahead of them, they meet Rukia at her friends’ gravesite. Ichigo and Kon express their relief that she is okay, but she does not recognize them. Put off by a Shinigami’s sudden appearance, the siblings appear before Rukia. Stepping forward, Rukia demanded to know why Ichigo knows her name. However, when he tells her his name, she is struck by memories from when Ichigo rescued her from her execution, causing her to collapse. Blaming Ichigo for this, the male sibling attacks him, catching him off-guard by attempting to phase his scythe’s blade through Zangetsu. Ichigo avoids the attack, but the siblings disappear with Rukia.

In an underground prison, Urahara visits the cell Mayuri is being incarcerated in. He proposes that they investigate the cause of their memory loss together, confusing Mayuri. Undaunted, Kisuke opens his cell and shows him a cylindrical container holding a brain inside, telling him that they will recover everything.

Hiding out after his brief battle with the siblings, Ichigo expresses his depression over Rukia and Renji not remembering him. Disappointed with Ichigo’s state of mind, Kon declares that he will save Rukia, even if he has to do it by himself. The siblings return to their house in Inuzuri with Rukia, wondering who the Shinigami they encountered was. Rukia comes to, aware that she knew who he was. Realizing that she had not been asleep as the siblings had said, she demands to know why she remembers Ichigo. They reveal that they had lied to her, and that they had actually been searching for her for a hundred years. She then tries to blame everything on Shinigami, but triggers more of Rukia’s memories, causing her to collapse in pain and fall unconscious. Ichigo looks over the note Rukia had left him, remembering the moment she had written it. Kon arrives to reclaim it, but Ichigo moves on, thanking Kon for motivating him once more.

However, he suddenly finds himself surrounded by Shinigami forces, led by Tōshirō Hitsugaya. Ikkaku Madarame attacks Ichigo, but is fended off with ease. Hitsugaya goes in for the attack himself, but is thwarted when Renji suddenly arrives and fends off his attack. Renji tells Ichigo that while his mind knows that he is his enemy, his gut tells him otherwise, so he resolves to help him. Other captains soon arrive, among them Yamamoto himself. Suì-Fēng orders her forces to capture Ichigo and Renji, but they are subdued when Urahara suddenly arrives, donning his old captain uniform.

Above the demolished gate of Seireitei, the siblings arrive with an unconscious Rukia. The male sibling hesitates, worried that Rukia won’t remember their names, but his sister refuses to listen, saying that there is a day that she must not remember at all costs. She decides that they must kill all Shinigami, so that Rukia can stay with them forever. Back where Ichigo is, Urahara tells the captains that he has important information to share with them. When Suì-Fēng attempts to attack him, Yoruichi Shihōin shows up and tells her off. Urahara tells Ichigo that Rukia is in danger, prompting him to leave with Renji. Yoruichi explains to the captains that they have all forgotten something important, hence why even Yamamoto himself bothered to go after an intruder in Seireitei.

As they dash through Rukongai in search of Rukia, Renji asks Ichigo just who Rukia is. Ichigo replies angrily, telling him that he should know since he was the closest one to her. Surprised by this, Renji is suddenly distracted by a nearby water merchant, reminding him that he first met Rukia when she helped him steal water as children. More memories follow, pleasing Ichigo, but he is taken aback when Renji asks why he wants to save Rukia. Ichigo tells him that Rukia was the one who changed his world, and that he has to thank for being alive.

Yamamoto demands to know what is wrong with them all. Urahara explains that back when he was in charge of the Shinigami Research and Development Institute, he had studied a Hollow that could only survive by using host bodies. In addition, it was in possession of a scythe-like tail that had the ability to erase memories. Nonetheless, it would have been too weak to erase a Shinigami like Rukia’s memory, let alone one’s very existence. However, because all memories are linked, every Shinigami connected to Rukia forgot about her, albeit temporarily. Hitsugaya asks why they did not forget about Mayuri as well, prompting Urahara to explain that Mayuri had backed up his own memories in an extra brain.

Meanwhile, Ichigo, Renji and Kon search for Rukia with no success. Renji suggests that because Rukia gave Ichigo her Shinigami powers, they must be similar. Working in concert, they manage to locate Rukia’s spiritual power in Mayuri’s lab. There the siblings attempt activate the machinery once again, but are stopped by a conscious Rukia. As she demands to know why the siblings are trying to hurt so many innocent people, the sister’s spiritual power suddenly lashes out, causing structures all over Seireitei to vanish and fall out of the sky.

As Ichigo and Renji make their way to the lab, a massive structure falls, threatening to crush them. Renji activates his Bankai, clearing the way. He then uses it to pick up Ichigo, allowing him to close the distance to Mayuri’s lab. When more debris gets in the way, Ichigo activates his Bankai and destroys it. Ichigo and Renji arrive at the lab, causing Rukia to remember the latter. Ichigo calls out to Rukia, telling her that the Rukia he knows would never stop being a Shinigami. The sister begs her not to go, accidentally revealing that Rukia was once a Shinigami. Pulling away from her, Rukia asks Ichigo to tell her his name once more – upon hearing it, she recovers more of her memory.

Enraged by this turn of events, the sister declares that they will never turn over Rukia, and that they will become one with her. Her brother protests that doing so will make her disappear, but relents. The two siblings fuse with Rukia, transforming her into a darker-looking version of herself. Immediately, she plunges the golden vial that the siblings stole into a machine, causing it to produce even more white serpents. As Renji fends the creatures off, Ichigo rushes towards Rukia. After a brief clash however, the machine explodes, sending a pillar of white energy into the sky that produces a storm over Seireitei. A massive creature with several eyes and tentacles emerges from the released energy, and promptly attacks the surrounding Shinigami. During the ensuing chaos, Kon is knocked towards the machine, where he is trapped within a crystalline substance.

Ichigo and Rukia continue their battle atop the heavily-damaged SRDI building. Throughout the fight Ichigo begs her to remember him, but she does not respond to his pleas. In Seireitei, as the giant creature continues to wreak havoc, the captains arrive. Urahara surmises that the only way to stop it for good is to destroy the machinery that created it. Leaping into battle, Yamamoto orders the captains to halt the creature’s advance, prompting them to follow suit. The captains fend the creature off for a time, but conclude that they need to get to the SRDI building. Byakuya takes the initiative and heads towards it, bypassing the creature.

As Ichigo fights Rukia, she becomes increasingly vicious, nearly decapitating him. However, Byakuya suddenly arrives and restrains her with a Bakudō. Recognizing the circumstances of her transformation, he declares that he has no choice but to kill her. As Rukia struggles against the binding spell, Renji notes that her reiatsu is becoming more and more like that of a Hollow’s. Ichigo struggles to think of an alternative solution, remembering the day that Rukia gave him her Shinigami powers. Byakuya agrees to move aside as Ichigo steps forward, unwilling to give up on Rukia. Ichigo charges towards her and impales her with Zangetsu, transferring some of his Shinigami power to her. The tapeworm Hollow is forced out of her body and destroyed in the process, returning her to normal. Meanwhile, Byakuya and Renji destroy the machine responsible for spawning the white creatures.

Realizing that the injured siblings are nearby, Rukia rushes to them. She recalls an incident in which a Shinigami possessed by the tapeworm Hollow had attacked the young siblings. Despite her attempts to protect them, they were cut down. Kisuke arrives, explaining that she could not remember them before because the tapeworm Hollow had been responsible. He goes on to say that they possessed the ability to manipulate space, allowing them to transfer the Hollow into their own bodies as a last resort to save Rukia. They wound up in Hueco Mundo, but returned because of their desire to see Rukia again; all the while, the Hollow was still alive within them. Rukia finally remembers the names she had chosen for the siblings: Homura and Shizuku. Overjoyed that Rukia fulfilled her promise, the siblings succumb to their wounds as she cries.

Later on, Rukia stands alone at the cliff, reminiscing about the siblings. Ichigo arrives to greet her, informing her that he will be returning to the Human World soon. As Rukia expresses her gratitude for him saving her again, Ichigo reminds her that she saved him first. He surmises that if it is true that death is never the end, then the bond between them might have formed long before they first met. He goes on to say that since bonds never fade away, then she might one day meet Homura and Shizuku, even if she has forgotten about them again. Prepared to leave, he bids her farewell, calling her “Shinigami.” She responds with “It’s not Shinigami. It’s Rukia Kuchiki,” the same words she said to him the night they first met.

Back at the ruined SRDI building, still encased in crystal, Kon laments over being forgotten by both Rukia and Ichigo, before managing to free himself.

Quotes

 * (Kon) "Don't you dare insult Rukia's artistic abilities!" 
 * (Ichigo, to Renji about Rukia) "Repeat her name a hundred or two hundred times, if that's what takes you to remember her!" 
 * (Rukia, to Kon) "Shut up, you suspicious living thing!" 
 * (Renji, to Ichigo) "My brain is telling me you are the enemy. But my heart tells me you are not. I'll follow what my heart says!" 
 * (Renji, to Ichigo) "I, can use Bankai??" 
 * (Rukia, to Homura and Shizuku, referring to Ichigo) "I know that Shinigami. I wasn't sleeping this whole time, was I?" 
 * (Rukia, to Ichigo) "Say it once more...your name..." 
 * (Ichigo) "Now it's my turn, Rukia, to give you my power." 
 * (Ichigo, to Dark Rukia) "Dumbass! Memories aren't everything!" 
 * (Rukia to Ichigo) "It's not Shinigami. It's Rukia Kuchiki"
 * (Ichigo about Rukia) "Rukia is the one who changed my world!" 
 * (Urahara to Everyone) "I'll say this once more: All of our memories are linked together."

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