Bleach TYBW Confirms Movie 1 as Canon

Key things

• The 32nd episode of the Bleach anime confirms the first film as canon with nods to key elements, including the Valley of Screams.
• The Valley of Screams appears in episode 32, connecting the anime to the first Bleach movie “Memories of Nobody”.
• A key card in episode 32 directly references Senna, combining the iconic character and elements from the film with the anime series.

32nd part Bleach's Millennium Blood War not only does it see the return of several fan-favorite characters like Grimmjow, Nelliel, Riruka, and Yukio, but it also gives a subtle nod to a certain Bleach media that surprised fans. Through certain dialogues and especially the key card of the Bleach Thousand-Year Blood War anime episode, it effectively confirmed the first film. Memories of no one to actually be canon to the story.

Memories of Nobody is a favorite movie of most fans of the series, it fits perfectly into the story of Bleach and at the same time introduces an important character that captures everyone's heart. Here are all the links to the first movie in episode 32.

Valley of Screams

An important piece of world building

When Yoruichi explains how they were able to travel from Hueco Mundo to the Royal Palace, she mentions how Riruka was able to insert space in Garganta into her Dollhouse. This place was called the Valley of the Scream. Riruka put one of the spaces into her Dollhouse and her Fullbringer friend, Yukio, used it to create a massive box that allowed Ichigo's group to travel safely to the Royal Palace.

Die-hard fans will immediately recognize the name Valley of Screams as it is an important plot point in 1 Memories of Nobody. The Valley of Screams is a pocket dimension that harbors spiritual creatures known as Blanks. It is a place of unstable spiritual pressure that originates from Dangai and connects the World of the Living and the Soul Society in the film. The existence of Valley of Screams was only relegated to the film until the release of chapter 625 of the manga, when author Tite Kubo confirmed its existence as manga canon.

“I've been to Scream Valley before, there's nothing cute about it.

While the title and concept are the same, their details differ from the film. There is only one Valley of Screams in the film, and it has a different look and landscape. While in the manga, Garganta is dotted with several Valleys of Screams. However, the mere mention of the title piqued the interest of many die-hard fans who watched the Bleach movies. Most notably, Ichigo mentions that he has already been to the Valley of Screams, an event specific to the film.

Senna's key card

A striking image

As usual, each episode of the Bleach Thousand-Year Blood War anime has two key cards that appear halfway through the episode. They always contain relevant information about the story told in the episode, but also provide fans with additional information that is not told in the story. These key cards are always written exclusively in Japanese, we leave the translation to the dedicated fans. The translation of these key cards proved to be incredibly valuable in expanding the world and characters of Bleach.

However, the key card of episode 32 has raised many eyebrows among fans as it features the iconic ribbon and flowers that are directly connected to the key character of Memories of Nobody: Senna. She was a soul reaper born from the accumulated lost memories of Blanks living in Scream Valley. She appears in the human world aware of her name and identity, but with conflicting and confusing memories. The members of the Gotei 13 try to find her within their ranks, but there is simply no record of a soul reaper named Senna.

Upon investigation, Captain Ukitake deduces that Senna's identity is that of the Shinenju, an object created from the lost memories of the Blanks that eventually returned to the World of the Living. A group of villains called the Dark Ones try to use Senna to destroy the World of the Living and Soul Society, but Ichigo manages to stop them.

An ongoing rumor has permeated the Bleach fandom that author Tite Kubo had some involvement in the production of Memories of Nobody and is actually a fan of the film. This gives some validity to the inclusion of the Valley of Screams in the manga, but now with the release of episode 32 of Bleach Thousand-Year Blood War, a key card talking about the Valley of Screams confirms that not only is this pocket dimension canon, but so is Senna.