Bleach: Memories in the Rain

Premiering at the Jump Festa 2004 Anime Tour before the television broadcast began in Japan, *Bleach: Memories in the Rain* serves as the franchise’s first OVA and an early pilot-style take on material later adapted in episodes 8–9, eventually receiving a DVD release.

Kurosaki Ichigo, acting as a substitute Shinigami on behalf of Kuchiki Rukia, comes face-to-face with the Hollow responsible for his mother’s death. What follows is a fiercely personal confrontation as Ichigo’s hunt turns into a battle driven by grief and revenge.