Bleach (manga)
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(Redirected from
Bleach anime)
This article is about the media franchise. For the chemical whitener, see
bleach.
is a
Japanese manga series written and illustrated by
Noriaki "Tite" Kubo.
Bleach follows the adventures of
Ichigo Kurosaki after he obtains the powers of a
Soul Reaper (死神, Shinigami?, literally, "Death God") —a death personification similar to the
Grim Reaper—from another Soul Reaper,
Rukia Kuchiki. His newfound powers force him to take on the duties of defending humans from evil spirits and guiding departed souls to the afterlife.
Bleach has been serialized in the Japanese manga anthology
Weekly Shōnen Jump since August 2001, and has been collected into 48
tankōbon volumes as of December 2010
[update]. Since its publication,
Bleach has spawned a
media franchise that includes an ongoing
animated television series that is produced by
Studio Pierrot in Japan, two
original video animations, four animated feature films, seven
rock musicals, and
numerous video games, as well as many types of
Bleach-related
merchandise.
Viz Media obtained foreign television and home video distribution rights to the
Bleach anime on March 15, 2006.
Cartoon Network began airing
Bleach in the United States as part of its
Adult Swim block on September 9, 2006. Viz Media has licensed the manga for English-language publication in the United States and Canada, and has released 32 bound volumes as of September 2010
[update] as well as published chapters of
Bleach in its
Shonen Jump magazine since November 2007. Viz Media released the first
Bleach film,
Bleach: Memories of Nobody, on
DVD in North America on October 14, 2008. The second film,
Bleach: The DiamondDust Rebellion, was released on September 15, 2009.
Volumes of the manga have sold more than 60 million copies in Japan, and have reached the top of manga sales in the United States. The anime adaptation has been similarly received; it was rated as the fourth most popular anime television series in Japan in 2006 and held a position amongst the top ten anime in the United States from 2006 to 2008. The series received the
Shogakukan Manga Award for the
shōnen demographic in 2005, and is among the best-selling manga properties in both Japan and the United States.
Plo
lot
Ichigo Kurosaki is a teenager gifted with the ability to see spirits. His life is drastically changed by the sudden appearance of a
Soul Reaper —one who governs the flow of souls between the human world and the afterlife—named
Rukia Kuchiki, who arrives in search of a
Hollow, a dangerous lost soul. When Rukia is severely wounded defending Ichigo from the Hollow, she attempts to transfer half of her reiatsu
(霊圧?, literally, "spiritual pressure") energy to Ichigo so that he can defeat the Hollow. However, Ichigo takes almost all of her energy, transforming into a Soul Reaper and allowing him to defeat the Hollow with ease. With her powers diminished, Rukia is left stranded in the human world until she can recover her strength. In the meantime, Ichigo must take over Rukia's role as a Soul Reaper, battling Hollows and guiding souls to the afterlife realm known as the Soul Society
(尸魂界 (ソウル·ソサエティ), Sōru Sosaeti?).
As time passes and Rukia has yet to return to the Soul Society, her Soul Reaper superiors learn about her whereabouts and actions and sentence her to death for performing the illegal act of transferring her powers. Although he is unable to stop Rukia's departure to the Soul Society, Ichigo resolves to rescue her with the aid of several of his spiritually aware classmates,
Yoruichi Shihōin, and ex-captain
Kisuke Urahara. Once at the Soul Society, Ichigo and company battle against the elites of the Soul Reaper military and strive to reach Rukia before her execution.
It is revealed that both Rukia's execution and Ichigo's rescue attempt had both been manipulated by
Sōsuke Aizen, a high-ranking Soul Reaper previously believed to have been murdered, as part of a far-reaching plot to take control of the Soul Society. Aizen betrays his fellow Soul Reapers and allies himself with the strongest of the Hollows, the
Espada. Each member of the
Espada has his or her own motives, ranging from malicious to benevolent from his or her own perspective. Aizen thus becomes the main antagonist of the series and the Soul Reapers form an alliance with Ichigo. At this point,
Bleach chronicles the war between the Soul Reapers, the
Espada, and Aizen, who intends to garner souls from Ichigo's hometown in order to create the
Ôken, a device able to open a portal to the location of the king of the Soul Society. Many third, fourth, and fifth parties also become involved in the conflict. After each of their eventual defeats, Ichigo undergoes intense training and becomes strong enough to battle Aizen alone. When Aizen is weakened, a spell that Urahara had previously hidden within him activates and seals him, thus ending the conflict and leaving the Soul Society to imprison him. As a result of using all of his Soul Reaper powers to defeat Aizen, Ichigo seems to lose his spiritual power and returns to being a normal human again.