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Bleach (manga)
ブリーチ
(Burichi)
Demographic Shōnen
Genre Action, Supernatural
Manga
Authored by Tite Kubo
Publisher Japan Shueisha
Other publishers:
Canada United States VIZ Media
France Glénat
Germany Tokyopop
Hong Kong CultureCom
Italy Panini Comics
Spain Glénat
Brazil Panini Comics
Singapore Chuang Yi (Simplified Chinese)
Republic of China Tongli (Traditional Chinese)
Malaysia Komik Remaja
Thailand Nation comics (Thai)
Mexico Grupo Editorial Vid
Serialized in Japan Weekly Shonen Jump
Original run August 2001 – (ongoing)
No. of volumes 28, containing 251 of 284 released chapters
TV anime
Directed by Noriyuki Abe
Studio Studio Pierrot
Network Japan TV Tokyo
Other networks:
Canada YTV
MalaysiaTV3
Philippines GMA-7
United States Cartoon Network (Adult Swim)
Thailand True Visions Ch 51
South Korea Tooniverse
Mexico Animax
Spain Buzz
Original run October 5, 2004 – (ongoing)
No. of episodes 134 (current)
Movie: Bleach: Memories of Nobody
Directed by Noriyuki Abe
Studio Toho
Released December 16, 2006
Runtime 1 h 30 min approx
Movie: Bleach: The DiamondDust Rebellion
Directed by Noriyuki Abe
Studio Toho
Released December 22, 2007
Runtime 1 h 30 min approx
Related works
Bleach (ブリーチ, Burichi?, romanized as BLEACH in Japan) is an ongoing manga
series authored by mangaka Tite Kubo. Since its debut in 2001, Bleach has
been adapted into an anime series, two OVAs, two anime films, a rock
musical, and numerous video games. Compilation volumes of the manga have
sold over 39 million copies in Japan.
Bleach follows the lives of Ichigo Kurosaki, who is a high school student
with the ability to see ghosts, and a shinigami (Soul Reaper or, literally,
"death god") named Rukia Kuchiki, who crosses paths with Ichigo while
hunting an evil spirit known as a hollow. Rukia is wounded during the
ensuing confrontation with the spirit and is left with no choice but to
transfer her powers into Ichigo. Thus the adventures of Ichigo and Rukia
begin. Together they search for hollows and perform soul burials on wayward
souls, cleansing the spirits and sending them to Soul Society. The early
parts of the story focus mainly on the characters and their pasts, rather
than the actual occupation of the shinigami. As events unfold, the story
begins to delve deeper into the world of these gods of death on the "other
side" called Soul Society.
Media information
Main article: Bleach media and materials
See also: List of Bleach chapters, List of Bleach episodes, List of Bleach
video games, and Bleach (musical)
The Bleach manga was first released in August of 2001 in Shueisha's Weekly
Shonen Jump magazine. New Japanese-language chapters are featured weekly in
the same magazine. The chapters are regularly compiled in seven-to-nine
chapter tankōbon by Shueisha every few months. The first volume of the manga
sold over 1.25 million copies in Japan,[1] and the manga series alone has
sold over 40 million volumes.[2] In 2005, Bleach was awarded the prestigious
Shogakukan Manga Award in the shōnen category.[3]
The Bleach animated TV series is broadcast on Wednesdays by TV Tokyo and
affiliated stations throughout Japan. It is co-produced by TV Tokyo, Dentsu
and Studio Pierrot and directed by Noriyuki Abe, with character designs by
Masashi Kudō and music by Shiro Sagisu.[4] The first episode was aired on
October 5, 2004. The first 63 episodes were based on the manga, and the
following 46 were original to the anime. Beginning with episode 110, the
anime has returned to the manga storyline, yet incorporates elements from
the previous 46 filler episodes. There are no plans to end production of the
series. In addition, two OVAs have been produced and an animated film,
Bleach: Memories of Nobody, was released in Japan on December 16, 2006. A
second Bleach film, entitled Bleach: The DiamondDust Rebellion, was
announced on June 4, 2007. The movie will be released in December 2007.[5]
In a 2006 internet poll by TV Asahi, Bleach was ranked as Japan's seventh-favorite
anime program.[6]
VIZ Media has released 19 English-language volumes of the manga in North
America, and numerous scanlation groups continue to release unofficial
English translations of new chapters. North American sales of the manga have
been high, with Volume 16 placing in the top 10 graphic novel sales in
December 2006[7] and Volume 17 being the best-selling manga volume for the
month of February 2007.[8][9] On March 15, 2006, VIZ Media obtained foreign
television, home video, and merchandising rights to the Bleach anime from
the TV Tokyo Corporation and Shueisha.[10] Subsequently, VIZ Media
contracted Studiopolis to create the English dub of the anime,[11] and has
given its individual Bleach merchandising rights to several different
companies.[12]
The English version of the Bleach anime premiered on Canada's YTV channel in
the Bionix program block on September 8, 2006. Cartoon Network's Adult Swim
began airing Bleach the following evening. The English version of Bleach was
nominated for the "best manga" and "best theme" awards at the 2006 American
Anime Awards, but did not win either category. It was nominated again in
2007 in the fields of "best manga", "best actor", "best DVD package design",
and "best theme", but failed to win any awards.[13]
Introduction
Ichigo Kurosaki is a rough-and-tumble teenager who has always had the
special ability to see spirits. The story begins with the sudden appearance
of an oddly-dressed stranger in Ichigo's bedroom. This stranger is the
shinigami Rukia Kuchiki, who is surprised at his ability to see her. Their
resulting conversation is interrupted by the appearance of a hollow, an evil
spirit. After Rukia is severely wounded during battle while trying to
protect Ichigo, she decides to transfer half of her powers to Ichigo, hoping
to give him the opportunity to face the hollow on an equal footing. Ichigo
unintentionally absorbs all of Rukia's powers instead, allowing him to
defeat the hollow with ease.
The next day, Rukia appears in Ichigo's classroom as a transfer student.
Much to his surprise, she now appears to be a normal human. She theorizes
that it was the unusual strength of Ichigo's spirit that caused him to fully
absorb her powers, thus leaving her stranded in the human world. Rukia has
transferred herself into a gigai — an artificial human body — while waiting
to recover her abilities. In the meantime, Ichigo must take over her job as
a shinigami, battling hollows and guiding lost souls to the afterlife.
Main characters
Ichigo Kurosaki (黒崎 一護, Kurosaki Ichigo?) Voiced by: Masakazu Morita
(Japanese), Johnny Yong Bosch (English)
The primary protagonist of Bleach, orange-haired high school freshman Ichigo
Kurosaki is forced to become a substitute shinigami after unwittingly
absorbing all of Rukia's powers. His cynical nature at first makes him
ill-disposed towards the duty, but with the passage of time he comes to
accept and welcome it, recognizing that even if he is not able to save
everyone, he can at least use his skills to protect those close to him.
Later, when Ichigo loses his powers as a substitute, he chooses to risk
death in an attempt to become a full-fledged shinigami.
Rukia Kuchiki (朽木 ルキア, Kuchiki Rukia?) Voiced by: Fumiko Orikasa (Japanese),
Michelle Ruff (English)
Rukia Kuchiki is a shinigami who was sent on a hollow extermination patrol
in Ichigo Kurosaki's hometown. Though her physical appearance is that of a
teenage girl, in reality she is over a hundred years old. Rukia is forced to
transfer her power to Ichigo and assume a temporary lifestyle as a regular
human. She registers at the local high school and takes up residence in
Ichigo's closet, while teaching him how to be a substitute shinigami in her
place.
Orihime Inoue (井上 織姫, Inoue Orihime?) Voiced by: Yuki Matsuoka (Japanese),
Stephanie Sheh (English)
Orihime Inoue is a long-time classmate of Ichigo, closely linked to him by
mutual friend Tatsuki Arisawa. She is effectively an orphan, as she and her
elder brother Sora ran away from their abusive home at a young age, and her
brother later died. Though initially devoid of spiritual powers, she begins
to develop spiritual awareness and later possesses one of the most powerful
healing abilities in the Bleach universe, able to completely restore a body
to its previous state regardless of how severely it is wounded.
Yasutora "Chad" Sado (茶渡 泰虎, Sado Yasutora?) Voiced by: Hiroki Yasumoto
(Japanese)
Yasutora Sado, better known as Chad, is one of Ichigo's few friends at
school. He is a half-Japanese, half-Mexican student who towers over his
classmates. Despite his imposing appearance he is quite meek, and refuses to
fight unless it is for the sake of another. He does not have awareness of
ghosts at first, but when he witnesses a group of children being attacked by
a hollow he discovers a unique ability that strengthens and armors his right
arm, enabling him to fight hollows.
Kisuke Urahara (浦原 喜助, Urahara Kisuke?) Voiced by: Shinichiro Miki
(Japanese), Michael Lindsay (English)
A mysterious and cheery man, Kisuke Urahara runs the Urahara Shop, a candy
store that also sells supernatural items to shinigami. Despite his sanguine
nature he is one of the most significant figures in the Bleach universe,
bearing immense knowledge of the spiritual realms which he uses to
mastermind the operations of the protagonists.
Uryū Ishida (石田 雨竜, Ishida Uryū?) Voiced by: Noriaki Sugiyama (Japanese),
Derek Stephen Prince (English)
Though on the surface nothing more than the solitary class genius, Uryū
Ishida is actually a Quincy, descendant of a line of priest-like
hollow-hunting archers. He bears a deep grudge against all shinigami,
including Ichigo Kurosaki, but comes to view Ichigo differently over time,
eventually becoming an ally and friendly rival.
Renji Abarai (阿散井 恋次, Abarai Renji?) Voiced by: Kentaro Ito (Japanese),
Wally Wingert (English)
Renji Abarai is an elite shinigami bearing the rank of 6th Division
lieutenant, making him second in command of a sub-branch of the shinigami
armed forces. Although first introduced as a deadly enemy, he has
conflicting loyalties between his job and Rukia, with whom he grew up. A
brash and driven man, he holds both a deep respect and animosity towards his
immediate superior, 6th Division captain Byakuya Kuchiki.
Character types
All Bleach characters are "souls". Living humans contain souls within their
bodies, while disembodied souls, or spirits, have a form composed of
particles of spiritual energy called ectoplasm (霊子, reishi?), which
otherwise mimics human anatomy, aside from slowed aging. This form
encompasses all of the spirit's being; there is no distinction between mind
and body. There are a variety of different types of spirits in Bleach, each
with a differing visual theme and approach to combat. The specific types are
described below.
* Human: The humans of Bleach are much like the residents of modern Japan,
and most cannot see or sense disembodied spirits in any way. Spirits can,
however, inhabit artificial human bodies called gigai which are visible to
ordinary humans. One in 50,000 humans is a medium with some awareness of
nearby ghosts, but only a third of these are able to see them clearly, and
only the strongest of mediums are able to speak with or touch ghosts.[14]
Certain unique humans naturally have both the power to sense and the
strength to fight with spirits. Ordinary humans can gain the ability to
interact with spirits by spending time around a large source of spirit
energy.[15]
* Plus: Benign ghosts in Bleach are known as pluses (wholes in the official
English editions). A plus is the spirit of a person who has died.[16] A
chain, known as the Chain of Fate (因果の鎖, inga no kusari?), protrudes from
the chest and binds the plus to a location, object or person that they felt
close to in life.[17] The soul can move about freely if the chain is broken,
but this also causes the chain to corrode.[17] Normally, pluses are sent to
Soul Society by shinigami in a ritual called soul burial (魂葬, konsō?) before
this corrosion becomes significant. If the Chain of Fate is corroded
entirely before a soul burial can be performed, a hole will form in the
chest of the soul where the chain was once anchored. Such souls are driven
mad and become evil ghosts known as hollows.[17] If the Chain of Fate is
torn out deliberately, this also leads to spiritual degradation.[18]
* Shinigami: Shinigami (Soul Reapers in the official English editions, Death
Gods in most subtitled versions) are the psychopomps of Bleach. They are
souls with inner spiritual power, recruited from the ranks of the residents
and nobility of Soul Society. Like all spirits, they cannot be detected by
normal humans. Shinigami use their zanpakutō, supernatural swords that are
the manifestation of their owners' power, to perform soul burials on
pluses.[16] Shinigami also use zanpakutō and magic known as kidō to fight
their archrivals, the hollows.[16] A group of shinigami known as the vizard
have also obtained hollow powers through illegal means, gaining removable
masks and access to certain hollow abilities.
* Hollow: The hollows are the major antagonists of Bleach. They are evil
ghosts who reside in Hueco Mundo but travel to the living world to feed on
the souls of the living and dead alike. Like shinigami, hollows are made of
spiritual matter and cannot be detected by ordinary humans. While the
majority of hollows can be overcome by the average shinigami, there are some
which surpass even the most elite shinigami in strength. All normal hollows
wear white masks,[17] but a small group of hollows have broken them,
becoming arrancar. By shattering their masks, these hollows regain the
ability to reason, obtain a humanoid form, and gain access to shinigami
powers.[19]
* Artificial soul: Artificial souls are a type of soul mass-produced by the
shinigami.[20] Issued in pill form, they are used to force shinigami out of
their gigai during protracted stays in the living world, and also to evict
pluses that refuse to leave their bodies after death.[20] They come with a
pre-programmed personality that animates the host body until the owner
returns.[20] In addition to the mundane versions, a series of experimental
souls authorized and created by shinigami researchers exists.[21] Known as
modified souls, these were meant to hunt hollows by possessing soulless
human bodies and supercharging a particular aspect of them (for example,
strength or speed).[21] The shinigami decided to scrap the project due to
the inhumanity of forcing dead bodies to fight, and ordered the destruction
of all modified souls.[21] Only one modified soul exists in the manga, but
there are three more such characters in the anime.
* Quincy: The Quincy are a clan of spiritually aware humans who once fought
against the hollows, using weapons composed of spiritual energy to slay
them.[22] As opposed to shinigami, Quincy absorb and channel energy from
their surroundings to fight.[23] Unlike the shinigami method of killing
hollows which allows the hollow to enter Soul Society, the Quincy technique
simply destroys the hollow's soul entirely.[22] This method has the
propensity to shatter the balance of the universe, because when souls are
destroyed, the number of souls entering and leaving Soul Society cannot
remain equal.[24] This issue prompted the shinigami to conduct a campaign to
exterminate the Quincy about 200 years before the main storyline.[25] At
least two Quincy still remain.
* Bount: Exclusive to the anime, the Bounts are a clan of human beings with
high spiritual energy and special powers. They were accidentally created by
shinigami scientists looking for a way to create eternal life. Bounts
consume the souls of human beings to survive; theoretically, a Bount could
live forever by doing so. Although the Bounts have a strict rule to consume
only the souls of the dead, the final group of Bounts chose to drain souls
from living humans in order to become more powerful. Each Bount uses a
"doll" in combat, a type of familiar possessing its own special abilities.
Every doll is unique and is a manifestation of the user's power. If the doll
is destroyed, its owner is destroyed as well.
Setting
The planes of existence in the Bleach universe broadly correspond to the
life and afterlife of human belief systems. The living humans of Bleach
reside in a world resembling the present day; buried souls live in a kind of
Heaven called Soul Society; evil souls are sent to Hell. Once in Soul
Society, a spirit is able to live longer than humans in the living world,
with many aging into the thousands of years. Once a spirit dies in Soul
Society, its soul is sent back to the living world and reborn as a new
human. This provides the two worlds with balance.
* Human world: The human world of Bleach is modern Japan, specifically, a
fictional area of Western Tokyo called Karakura Town.[26] In this world,
Ichigo attends school and fights hollows. Places of note are the high
school, the Urahara Shop, the river where Ichigo's mother was killed, the
cemetery, Karakura Hospital, and Ichigo and Orihime's homes.
* Soul Society: Soul Society consists of an expansive walled city Seireitei
(瀞霊廷, Court of Pure Souls?), in the center and four regions, each with 80
districts, outside of it. The districts outside of the Seireitei are known
as the Rukongai (流魂街, Town of Wandering Spirits?) and are the place where
non-shinigami and commoners live.[27] The district number of the Rukongai
(ranging from 1 to 80) also describes its conditions.[28] District 1, the
closest to Seireitei, is peaceful and orderly, while the most distant
District 80 is filled with criminals and has the poorest living
conditions.[28] A king resides in another realm within Soul Society. [29]
* Hueco Mundo: Hueco Mundo is the desert-like area between the human world
and Soul Society. Literally meaning "hollow world" (the word hueco can also
mean "empty"), it is where hollows reside when not hunting in the human
world or Soul Society, and where they are undetectable. Entrances to Hueco
Mundo are created by ripping the dimensional fabric between the two worlds.
* Hell: Hell is the destination of those who committed unforgivably evil
acts during their lives in the human world. When a hollow whose mortal soul
is too wicked to enter Soul Society is slain by a zanpakutō, the gates of
hell (giant doors held by skeletons) appear and begin to open. A giant,
laughing spiritual being with a blade spears the wicked spirit and drags it
down into hell.[30]
Bleach characters move from world to world by several means. Shinigami open
passages between worlds by means of their zanpakutō. Butterflies created
during soul burial, called hell butterflies, make these routes safe. Human
souls usually cross between planes only through birth into the human world
or soul burial by shinigami. Living humans can also use special portals to
move between worlds, but this is dangerous. While hollows are portrayed as
able to move between planes at will by opening rifts in space, they usually
remain in Hueco Mundo due to the risk of discovery in Soul Society or the
human world. Encounters between characters crossing realms are a driving
plot force in Bleach.
Notes and references
1. ^ 2ch Jump Log (Japanese). Accessed 2007-03-27.
2. ^ 2ch Jump Log (Japanese). Accessed 2007-07-12.
3. ^ Shogakukan Manga Award (Japanese). Accessed 2006-12-14.
4. ^ TV Tokyo's Bleach staff listing (Japanese) Accessed 2007-03-27
5. ^ Bleach: Memories of Nobody website Accessed 2007-06-07
6. ^ "Japan's Favorite TV Anime" on Anime News Network. Accessed 2006-12-14.
7. ^ Top 100 Graphic Novels Actual--December 2006 on ICv2. Accessed
2007-03-28.
8. ^ Top 100 Graphic Novels Actual--February 2007 on ICv2. Accessed
2007-03-28.
9. ^ 'Civil War' Finale Tops the Charts on ICv2. Accessed 2007-03-28.
10. ^ "VIZ Media named master licensor for hit Japanese action manga Shonen
Jump's Bleach" (press release) on VIZ Media.com. Accessed 2007-04-01.
11. ^ Studiopolis on Anime News Network. Accessed 2006-12-14.
12. ^ "Viz Announces Bleach Merchandise Licenses" on Anime News Network.
Accessed 2007-03-24.
13. ^ NYCC 07: The top five finalists for the first American Anime Awards on
American Anime Awards. Accessed 2007-07-04.
14. ^ Kubo, Tite (2002). Bleach, Volume 1. Tokyo, Japan: Shueisha, chapter
1, 9. ISBN 4-08-873213-8
15. ^ Kubo, Tite (2002). Bleach, Volume 6. Tokyo, Japan: Shueisha, chapter
44, 19. ISBN 4-08-873366-5
16. ^ a b c Kubo, Tite (2002). Bleach, Volume 1. Tokyo, Japan: Shueisha,
chapter 1, 19-21. ISBN 4-08-873213-8
17. ^ a b c d Kubo, Tite (2002). Bleach, Volume 4. Tokyo, Japan: Shueisha,
chapter 28, 10-12. ISBN 4-08-873310-X
18. ^ Kubo, Tite (2002). Bleach, Volume 4. Tokyo, Japan: Shueisha, chapter
28, 18. ISBN 4-08-873310-X
19. ^ Kubo, Tite (2006). Bleach, Volume 21. Tokyo, Japan: Shueisha, chapter
187, 14. ISBN 4-08-874027-0
20. ^ a b c Kubo, Tite (2002). Bleach, Volume 2. Tokyo, Japan: Shueisha,
chapter 13, 14-16. ISBN 4-08-873237-5
21. ^ a b c Kubo, Tite (2002). Bleach, Volume 2. Tokyo, Japan: Shueisha,
chapter 15, 9-10. ISBN 4-08-873237-5
22. ^ a b Kubo, Tite (2002). Bleach, Volume 5. Tokyo, Japan: Shueisha,
chapter 36, 12-14. ISBN 4-08-873335-5
23. ^ Kubo, Tite (2002). Bleach, Volume 6. Tokyo, Japan: Shueisha, chapter
49, 2. ISBN 4-08-873366-5
24. ^ Kubo, Tite (2002). Bleach, Volume 6. Tokyo, Japan: Shueisha, chapter
46, 1-6. ISBN 4-08-873366-5
25. ^ Kubo, Tite (2002). Bleach, Volume 6. Tokyo, Japan: Shueisha, chapter
46, 9. ISBN 4-08-873366-5
26. ^ Kubo, Tite (2006). Bleach Official Character Book SOULs. Tokyo, Japan:
Shueisha, 31. ISBN 4-08-874079-3
27. ^ Kubo, Tite (2003). Bleach, Volume 9. Tokyo, Japan: Shueisha, chapter
71, 18. ISBN 4-08-873495-5
28. ^ a b Kubo, Tite (2003). Bleach, Volume 11. Tokyo, Japan: Shueisha,
chapter 98, 5. ISBN 4-08-873555-2
29. ^ Kubo, Tite (2006). Bleach, Volume 25. Tokyo, Japan: Shueisha, chapter
223, 07. ISBN 4-08-874289-3
30. ^ Kubo, Tite (2002). Bleach, Volume 2. Tokyo, Japan: Shueisha, chapter
12, 8-13. ISBN 4-08-873366-5
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