Bleach (ブリーチ Burīchi?) is a Japanese
manga series written and illustrated by
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 sixty one
tankōbon volumes as of December 2013. Since its publication,
Bleach has spawned a
media franchise that includes an
animated television series that was produced by
Studio Pierrot in Japan from 2004 to 2012, 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's Adult Swim began airing
Bleach
in the United States on September 9, 2006. Viz Media has licensed the
manga for English-language publication in the United States and Canada,
and has released 59 bound volumes as of February 2014 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. The third film,
Bleach: Fade to Black, was released on November 15, 2011. In addition,
Hulu released subtitled versions of the anime a week after each episode aired in Japan.
Bleach has sold more than 82 million copies in Japan, and is
one of the best-selling manga in North America. 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 in both Japan and the United States.
Plot
Ichigo Kurosaki
is a teenager in Karakura Town who is gifted with the ability to see
spirits and has his life changed by the sudden appearance of a girl
named
Rukia Kuchiki.
Rukia is a Soul Reaper—one of many entrusted with the preservation of
flow of souls between the World of the Living and the Soul Society
(尸魂界 (ソウル·ソサエティ) Sōru Sosaeti?) from where she originates from by fighting
Hollows,
dangerous lost souls who consume other souls. When she is severely
wounded defending Ichigo from a Hollow she is pursuing, Rukia transfers a
part of her Spirit Pressure
(霊圧 Reiatsu?)
energy to enable Ichigo to fight in her stead as a substitute Soul
Reaper while she is forced to remain in the World of Living until she
can recover her strength. As some time passes, she and Ichigo meet a
Quincy named
Uryū Ishida
who attends the latter's school, Rukia finds herself being taken by her
Soul Reaper superiors back to the Soul Society and sentenced to death
for the illegal act of transferring her powers into a human.
Although he is unable to stop Rukia's departure to the Soul Society,
Ichigo resolves to rescue her with the aid of Uryū and several of his
other spiritually aware classmates
Orihime Inoue and
Yasutora "Chad" Sado. Prior to reaching the Soul Society, Ichigo meets ex-Soul Reapers
Yoruichi Shihōin and
Kisuke Urahara,
with the latter enabling Ichigo to become a full Soul Reaper. As Ichigo
and his friends faced them, dissension occurs among the Soul Reaper
captains over both the incident as well as Rukia's sentence and the
death of a high-ranking Soul Reaper captain named
Sōsuke Aizen.
But in reality, having faked his death, the events were all staged by
Aizen to obtain an item called the Hōgyoku from Rukia. Once having the
Hōgyoku, Aizen and his conspirators leave for Hueco Mundo, the Hollow
World, to enact his scheme by recruiting humanized Hollows called
Arrancars to serve him.
From there, the Soul Society recognizes Ichigo and his friends as
allies when they find themselves attacked by Aizen's elite Arrancar
servants, the
Espadas.
By then, Aizen's scheme is revealed to create the Oken and use it to
reach the Soul King and kill him. At this point, Ichigo learns his
transformation into a Soul Reaper also created an inner Hollow that
attempts to take over his body. With that knowledge, Ichigo receives the
means to control his Hollow powers with the aid of the
Visards,
Soul Reapers who were nearly turned into Hollows by Aizen. When Aizen
kidnaps Orihime, Ichigo and his friends pursue. However,though he lost a
majority of his Espadas, Aizen reveals Orihime's abuction was a lure to
cripple resistance from stopping him from turning the souls of
Karakura's Town residents into an Oken.
Though the strongest of his forces are defeated, Aizen reveals he
absorbed the Hōgyoku and uses its power to transform and defeat the Soul
Reaper captains. As Aizen enters Karakura Town after revealing that his
tribulations were his doing, Ichigo undergoes intense training with his
father
Isshin,
revealed to be former Soul Reaper, and becomes an equal to Aizen.
Eventually, the battle ends with Aizen defeated and imprisoned after
being weakened by Ichigo's final attack. But the attack has a side
effect with Ichigo eventually becoming a normal human. However,
seventeen months later, Ichigo regains his Soul Reaper powers after
encountering
Xcution,
a group of humans possessing "Fullbring" powers like Sado who serve a
former Substitute Soul Reaper named Kūgo Ginjō. Helping the Soul Society
defeat Xcution, Ichigo then regains his title as the Substitute Soul
Reaper.
Following these events, a group of Quincies called the
Wandenreich
declares war on the Soul Society. Ichigo once again ventures to Hueco
Mundo, which has also been invaded by the Wandenreich; at the same time,
the captains in the Soul Society battle the Wandenreich's elite
"Sternritter" generals. During the invasion, several Soul Reapers are
killed; with Head Captain
Yamamoto
killed off by the Wandenreich's leader Yhwach, an ancient Quincy
revived in the present. During the aftermath of the invasion, the Royal
Guard arrive to take Ichigo and several of his comrades to the Spirit
Palace where they begin recuperation and training for the next fight
against the Wandenreich. During the Soul Society's recovery, Ichigo
learns about his heritage from his father and that his mother was a
Quincy whose death was caused by Yhwach's revival. Meanwhile, Yhwach
recruits Ishida to be his successor and prepares for the final war.
Soon, Yhwach causes Soul Society to disappear and replace it with the
Wandenreich's kingdom, and commences his last assault on the Shinigami.
It is revealed that the sole reason Yhwach is waging war is to keep
himself alive. The Shinigami Captains who had their Bankai stolen were
able to fight off their foes after Kisuke Urahara sends them a pill that
temporarily hollowfies their Bankai, theorizing that the powers of a
hollow are considered poison to Quincies, therefore causing the Bankais
to return to their former owners.