幽霊が見える以外は普通の高校生、黒崎一護が死神・朽木ルキアと出会い、死神の力を譲渡されたことで死神代行として空座町にいる虚（ホロウ）退治を請け負うことに……死神の力を手にした一護は死神の世界・尸魂界（ソウル・ソサエティ）の動乱に巻き込まれ、熾烈な戦いの中劇的な成長を遂げていくのであった。
Ichigo Kurosaki and Rukia Kuchiki are Soul Reapers, soldiers trusted with ushering the souls of the dead from the World of the Living to the afterlife realm known as Soul Society and with fighting Hollows, monstrous lost souls, white scary face with big hole in the chest, invisible to ordinary human eyes who can harm both ghosts and humans. After defeating a Hollow in a local park, unidentified ghost-like spirits begin to appear, before a mysterious Soul Reaper named Senna appears and destroys the spirits. Ichigo and Rukia confront her, but she refuses to answer any questions and leaves. Ichigo follows Senna, while Rukia returns to the Soul Society in search of answers.
Soul Reapers of the 10th Division—led by its captain Tōshirō Hitsugaya and vice-captain List of Soul Reapers in Bleach#Rangiku Matsumoto—are sent to escort the "King's Seal". The rare artifact is stolen during transport by the deviated Soul Reaper Sōjirō Kusaka and two girls known as Ying and Yang. Hitsugaya seems to recognize the Soul Reaper, who wounds him and leaves, and abandons his post to pursue the man and leaves his squad behind to fend for themselves. Later, the Soul Society suspects Hitsugaya of treason, orders his immediate capture, and puts his whole squad under house arrest.
In the Soul Society, Soul Reaper scientist Mayuri Kurotsuchi is attacked in his laboratory by a pair of mysterious siblings wielding a scythe that erases his memories. In a frightened panic, Kurotsuchi damages one of his machines, causing a massive spirit energy explosion that covers much of Soul Society, killing or freezing many Soul Reapers. Rukia Kuchiki is the next to be attacked by the siblings, erasing her memories and those of everybody that has memories of her, and is carried away to Soul Society's Rukon District by the siblings.
The film starts with a recap of Bleach (season 14) in which Soul Reaper Ichigo Kurosaki's battle against one of his nemesis, List of Hollows in Bleach#Espada, and transforms into an incredibly powerful and uncontrollable Hollow. Some time later, Soul Reapers Rukia Kuchiki and Renji Abarai arrive in the human world to inspect a strange occurrence, though they remain vague about what. Shortly after, powerful masked spirits attack Ichigo and his friends at school. When the mask of one of the spirits breaks, the gates of Hell appear and a Kushanāda—one of the guardians of Hell—impales the unmasked spirit, dragging him into Hell. It is revealed that the masked spirits are Sinners and they hide their faces to avoid being dragged back to Hell. During the battle, Ichigo's two sisters, List of Bleach characters#Karin Kurosaki and Yuzu Kurosaki are attacked by Shuren, the leader of the Sinners. Ichigo manages to return in time to attack Shuren, but is unable to defeat him. Kokutō, a Sinner not allied with Shuren, rescues Karin, but Shuren manages to depart with Yuzu. Kokutō offers to assist Ichigo by showing him the route into Hell, and Rukia, Renji, and Uryū Ishida decide to join the quest.
亡き母・真咲の思い出を胸に、高校生・黒崎一護は父親・一心と幼い妹ふたりと暮らしていた。幽霊が見えること以外は普通の生活だったが、自らを“死神”と名乗る少女・朽木ルキアが目の前に現れたことで、平和だった世界は突然壊れてしまう。 「虚〈ホロウ〉」と呼ばれる悪霊が一護の家族を襲い、助けに入ったルキアは瀕死の状態に。絶望的な状況下、彼女は最後の手段として、本来は人間に譲ってはいけない死神の力を一護に分け与える。起死回生、死神となって悪霊・虚〈ホロウ〉を退治した一護だが、ルキアは死神の力をほとんど失ってしまう。彼女は自身の力が回復するまで、一護のクラスメイトになりすまし、死神代行としての務めを迫るが、一護は頑なに拒み続けていた…。 ある日、同級生であり、死神に怨みを持つ滅却師〈クインシー〉一族の生き残りの石田雨竜が一護に勝負を仕掛け、大量の虚が空座町に現れる非常事態が発生！嫌々ながらも、虚退治を行う中、“力の譲渡”という掟を破ったルキアを罰するため、死神・阿散井恋次と朽木白哉も目の前に現れる…。ルキアを助ける条件は、最悪の虚グランドフィッシャーの討伐。 謎の商店主・浦原の予感が的中したのか、クラスメイトの織姫やチャドにも危険が迫る中、一護はルキアとともに虚退治の覚悟を決めるのだった。母を虚に殺された過去を背負って。ついにグランドフィッシャーと対峙することになった一護だったが、ルキアを追ってきた恋次と白哉も目の前に立ちはだかり、絶体絶命の窮地に立たされてしまうーー
