Bleach (manga)

Bleach (manga)
File:Bleach cover 01.jpg Cover of Bleach Manga Vol. 1
Genre	Shonen
Created by	Tite Kubo
Manga
Written by	Tite Kubo
Published by	Shueisha
Anime
Directed by	Noriyuki Abe
Studio	Studio Pierrot
Related works
Bleach, musical based on manga

Bleach (ブリーチ) is a manga and anime series by Tite Kubo (久保 帯人 Kubo Taito), mangaka of Zombie Powder. It is currently at 18 volumes in length (as of July 2005), and new chapters are featured weekly in the Weekly Shonen Jump magazine.

It follows the life of Ichigo Kurosaki, a 15 year old high school student with the ability to see ghosts. A female Shinigami (Literally God of Death) named Rukia Kuchiki runs into him one day while searching for a Hollow (an evil spirit). During an ensuing confrontation with the spirit, she is forced to transfer her powers into Ichigo when she is wounded. Thus the adventures of Ichigo and Rukia Kuchiki begin, and together they search out Hollows and perform soul burials, cleansing the spirits and sending them to the Soul Society.

The early parts of the story focus mainly on the relationships between the characters, rather than the actual occupation of the Shinigami. However, as events unfold, the story begins to delve more deeply into the world of these Gods of Death on the "other side," Soul Society.

This manga is being translated into English by VIZ Media. As with many other popular manga series, an animated version is currently in production. The "Bleach" animated TV series is broadcast at 6:30pm on Tuesdays on TV Tokyo and affiliated stations in Japan; the first episode aired on October 5, 2004. Studio Pierrot is doing the animation work. Several fansub groups are subbing this series as well and distributing over the Internet. The series is currently in its first season with a total of 44 episodes and one omake episode so far.

Opening

File:Ichigo.gif

Ichigo Kurosaki

Ichigo, a rough-and-tumble teenager, has always been able to see ghosts. The story begins with the sudden appearance of an oddly-dressed stranger in Ichigo's bedroom, who seems surprised that he can see her. This stranger is Rukia Kuchiki, a Shinigami. Their conversation is interrupted by the appearance of a hollow (evil spirit). Rukia is wounded while protecting Ichigo. She decides to temporarily transfer half her power to him, transforming him into a Shinigami, so that he can defeat the hollow. As it turns out, Ichigo is very powerful spiritually. Amongst other things, this is reflected in the enormous zanpakutō he manifests. (The zanpakutō, or soul cutter is the primary weapon of all shinigami, and its size correlates with spiritual strength.) With his new power as a Shinigami, Ichigo makes quick work of the hollow, and Rukia leaves.

The next day, Rukia turns up in Ichigo's classroom as a transfer student. Much to his surprise, she is now apparently a normal human. The strength of Ichigo's spirit caused him to fully absorb her powers rather than taking half, leaving her trapped in a gigai – an artificial human body. While she recovers her abilities, Ichigo must take over her job, watching over the region and battling hollows in her stead.

Ichigo's family

Ichigo Kurosaki lives with his father, Isshin Kurosaki, and two sisters, Yuzu and Karin. His mother, Masaki Kurosaki, died six years before the beginning of the series. His father runs a small clinic in their house and the entire family pitches in to help. His father is always excited, and constantly "fights" with Ichigo, although it is always in a joking way. Karin is extremely athletic, active, and can suppress her feelings while Yuzu is very passive and emotional.

On the outside, this seems to be a fairly normal family, except for one fact. Ichigo has had an exceptional ability for much of his life: he is able to see and communicate with ghosts. As a matter of fact, the entire Kurosaki family has some degree of spiritual power. Of the children, Ichigo has the most amount of spiritual power (consequently making him the strongest), with Karin coming in next and Yuzu ranking in last. It is also known that their mother has spiritual power. This leads to the belief that the Ichigo family children get their power from their mother's side. Initially, Yuzu can only hear ghosts sometimes and cannot see them at all and Karin's powers were still not as strong as Ichigo's. As the series progresses, everybody's powers increase (including some of his spiritually aware friends) because of their contact through Ichigo. Ichigo has an incredible amount of spiritual force but he cannot control it well; due to this fact, he leaks out his spiritual power (unconsciously and unaware that he is doing this) which affects spiritually aware people close to him.

Characters

main article: Characters in Bleach series

Human world

• Ichigo Kurosaki (黒崎一護 Kurosaki Ichigo)
• Orihime Inoue (井上織姫 Inoue Orihime)
• Uryū Ishida (石田雨竜 Ishida Uryū)
• Yasutora "Chad" Sado (茶渡泰虎 Sado Yasutora)

Shinigami

Shinigami in the Bleach animanga are a group of enforcers and psychopomps. They are spirits and are made up of spirit energy. They use zanpakutō and kidō (demon arts, a type of magic) to fight.

Regular humans cannot see, hear, or detect them in any way; (though if they move a physical object, it would be noticed) only people who are spiritually aware can detect them. They are based in Soul Society, but they can travel back and forth from the Human World and their own world. However, travel to the human world is extremely limited and monitored. It is a crime to stay in the human world longer than is necessary. A shinigami's duties include leading Pluses to Soul Society, a paradise of sorts for spirits, and cleansing of Hollows. Later in the series, more clarification is given and it is revealed that Shinigami also govern the flow of spirits between the two worlds (human and Soul Society).

Shinigami are arranged into three groups: Gotei 13 (Thirteen Court Divisions), Demon Art Brigade, and the Covert Ops. Little is known about the Demon Art or Covert Op Brigades. The Gotei 13 is further arranged into 13 divisions. Each of the Gotei 13 squads also have a specialization, but not all of them have been revealed yet. Notably, squad 4 is the medic/supply team, squad 11 the battle squad (specialization in melee), and squad 12 is the research/scientific institute. Squad two is also a covert op-type squad, but it could be due to the fact that Soi Fong, Captain of the Second Division, simultaneously holds several titles.

Each division is headed by a Captain and a Vice-Captain, who are ranked first and second (captains are distinguished by the long, haori-like white jacket (with the kanji for their division number on the back) they wear, while vice-captains wear armbands bearing the kanji of their division number, although these armbands are usually left unworn). The captain of the first squad also holds the special title of "Captain-Commander" and while he is the captain of the first squad, he is also the supreme commander for the rest of the squads as well. There are also seated officers in each division (who are ranked third and down) who lead up squads in the divisions (there are apparently at least 20 squads per division, each consisting of an unknown number of shinigami). It is interesting to note that the difference between a third and fifth seat might not be that pronounced, whereas the difference between a captain and a vice-captain is huge. This power gap can be attributed to a captain's mastery of the ban kai. In order to become a captain, one must master his ban kai (there has been one exception, Captain Zaraki Kenpachi, and he cannot even use his initial release); there are almost no shinigami who can perform ban kai and are not yet captains.

Shinigami officers, particularly captains and vice-captains, often customize their personal appearance or that of their uniform. Some of these modifications include:

• A number of captains have chosen to have the sleeves of their jackets removed. The reason for this is unknown, although it may be for greater freedom of movement in combat.
• Vice-captain Matsumoto Rangiku of the 10th Division wears a top that is either deliberately loose, or is a size too small for her; in either event, it hangs open, revealing her ample bosom.
• Captain Komamura Sajin of the 7th Division wears a helmet of bamboo over his head. This is to conceal the fact that his head is that of a fox.
• Captain Tousen Kaname of the 9th Division is blind. Like many blind people in the living world, he wears sunglasses over his sightless eyes; he also wears a scarf around his neck. Vice-captain Iba Tetsuzaemon of the 7th Division also sports shades, although he is probably not blind.
• Captain Kyouraku Shunsui of the 8th Division is probably the most flamboyantly dressed of the captains, always seen wearing a straw hat and a gaudily-colored kimono over his uniform.
• Vice-captain Hisagi Shuuhei of the 9th Division's uniform is sans sleeves, and he sports distinctive tattoos on his face.
• Captain Kuchiki Byakuya wears a complicated-looking headpiece. This is apparently a sign of his stature as a scion of a noble family.
• Captain Zaraki Kenpachi of the 11th Division, like many captains, wears his captain's jacket sans sleeves, but the cut of the uniform as a whole is very ragged. Personal modifications include his hair being styled into spikes with little bells at the tips, and a special eyepatch that holds in his excessive spiritual power.
• Captain Aizen Sousuke of the 5th Division and Vice-captain Ise Nanao of the 8th Division are the only shinigami so far shown to wear glasses.
• Captain Kurotsuchi Mayuri of the 12th Division has perhaps the most disturbing appearance among the captains. His face is painted black and white with a mechanically-enhanced chin and ears, and a strange hat; the effect is skeletal and somewhat demonic-looking and serves to underscore his inhumane personality.
• Vice-captain Kurotsuchi Nemu of the 12th Division has a very abbreviated outfit: the hakama is absent, leaving her in something of a mini-skirt version of the kimono that is belted at the waist.
• Vice-captain Abarai Renji of the 6th Division has distinctive, jagged-looking black tattoos on his face and chest.

The ultimate authority of Shinigami are the 46 Chambers. This is made up of 40 wise men and 6 judges. They are sealed into a room and no one may go into the room, even if they are a captain. The decisions of the 46 chambers are final. No one may go against their decision, not even a captain. In addition, all decisions by the 46 Chambers are carried out, even if they require the mobilization of the Gotei 13.

Divisions

The main listings for each division can be found on the Characters in Bleach series page.

1st Division

• Captain: Shigekuni Yamamotogenryūsai (山本元柳斎重国 Yamamotogenryūsai Shigekuni)(Captain-Commander)
• Vice Captain: Name unknown

2nd Division

• Captain: Soi Fong (砕蜂 Soi Fong) (Covert Ops leader)
• Vice Captain: Marechiyo Ōmaeda (大前田希千代 Ōmaeda Marechiyo)

3rd Division

• Captain: Gin Ichimaru (市丸ギン Ichimaru Gin)
• Vice Captain: Izuru Kira (吉良イヅル Kira Izuru)

4th Division (Medical/Supply Division)

• Captain: Retsu Unohana (卯ノ花烈 Unohana Retsu)
• Vice Captain: Isane Kotetsu (虎徹勇音 Kotetsu Isane) - Kiyone's elder sister.

5th Division

• Captain: Sōsuke Aizen (藍染惣右介 Aizen Sōsuke)
• Vice Captain: Momo Hinamori (雛森桃 Hinamori Momo)

6th Division

• Captain: Byakuya Kuchiki (朽木白哉 Kuchiki Byakuya)
• Vice Captain: Renji Abarai (阿散井恋次 Abarai Renji)

7th Division

• Captain: Sajin Komamura (狛村左陣 Komamura Sajin)
• Vice Captain: Tetsuzaemon Iba (射場鉄左衛門 Iba Tetsuzaemon)

8th Division

• Captain: Shunsui Kyōraku (京楽春水 Kyōraku Shunsui)
• Vice Captain: Nanao Ise (伊勢七緒 Ise Nanao)

9th Division

• Captain: Kaname Tōsen (東仙要 Tōsen Kaname)
• Vice Captain: Shūhei Hisagi (檜佐木修兵 Hisagi Shūhei)

10th Division

• Captain: Tōshirō Hitsugaya (日番谷冬獅郎 Hitsugaya Tōshirō)
• Vice Captain: Rangiku Matsumoto (松本乱菊 Matsumoto Rangiku)

11th Division

• Captain: Kenpachi Zaraki (更木剣八 Zaraki Kenpachi)
• Vice Captain: Yachiru Kusajishi (草鹿やちる Kusajishi Yachiru)

12th Division

• Captain: Mayuri Kurotsuchi (涅マユリ Kurotsuchi Mayuri) (2nd Research President)
• Vice Captain: Nemu Kurotsuchi (涅ネム Kurotsuchi Nemu)

13th Division

• Captain: Jūshirō Ukitate (浮竹十四郎 Ukitate Jūshirō)
• Vice Captain: Kaien Shiba (志波海燕 Shiba Kaien)

Zanpakutō

Main article: zanpakutō

A shinigami's zanpakutō (lit. Soul Cutter) is his/her weapon, and a measure of his/her power and ability. Initially similar to a katana, it is a living spirit, tied in to the shinigami that carries it. In addition to its basic form, each zanpakutō has two enhanced forms (which are the initial release, or shikai, and the complete release, or bankai), in which the shape of the sword varies radically to suit additional needs. Senior shinigami must master the initial release, and only the strongest of the shinigami – usually captains and above – completely release the blade.

Kidō

Kidō, or Demon Arts, are magic used by the Shinigami in battle and presumably for healing. To perform a Kidō, one must call out the names of the symbols that make it up.

Of special note is the Demon Art Shunpo (literally, "Flash Steps"). Shunpo corresponds to a "haste" or "boost" skill, allowing a Shinigami to move his body within a certain distance at hyperspeed. Yoruichi, the ex-special forces commander, earned the title of Shunshin ("God of Flash") due to her mastry of the skill to the point of appearing to be in multiple places at once.

Gigai

A gigai is an artificial body created for shinigami who have to remain in the human world for an extended period (either due to temporary loss of powers or extended missions). While the body is synthetic, it appears and operates in every way to a natural one and is designed to perfectly mimic a living human body.

During the first portion of the series, Rukia's loss of power forced her to live in her gigai for an extended period while she regained her strength; eventually, she began to use the body as though it was her normal form. Unfortunately, since remaining on Earth indefinitely was a sign of desertion, shinigami troops eventually hunted down and arrested her, returning her to Soul Society against her will. However, it should be noted that since then, it has been revealed that at least two more shinigami are living on the Earth plane, probably in gigai form, and that in at least one case, the consequences of that indicate a very sophisticated design and (unexpected) use for gigai bodies.

Modsouls

Modified souls were a short-lived experiment by the shinigami to create souls specialized in combat that could possess dead human bodies to be used as soldiers to combat Hollows. These artificial combat souls could enhance parts of the body to achieve feats of superhuman strength. However, these modsouls were by and large terminated after the experiment proved to be a failure (due to ethical reasons). However, one out of a batch of these modsouls was forgotten, and made its way to the human world, where Rukia and Ichigo obtained it and unknowingly let it loose. Despite a standing order to dispose of all modsouls, they let the single one remain, naming it Kon and placing it into the body of a stuffed lion/teddy bear. Rukia and Ichigo use Kon to possess Ichigo's body (which, in a technical sense, becomes a corpse) when his soul is expelled from his body to fight as a shinigami.

Quincy

The Quincy were a tribe of spiritually aware humans who fought against the Hollows in the past, using bows composed of spiritual energy to slay them. The Quincy are now extinct due to extermination by the shinigami about 200 years ago.

As opposed to shinigami, who operate using their inner spiritual energy, Quincy absorb energy from their surroundings. Also as opposed to the shinigami, Quincy actually kill Hollows, rather than cleanse their spirits. This difference was what led to the Quincy-Shinigami war. The Quincys' actions were slowly disrupting the balance of souls between the two worlds, and would eventually have destroyed both worlds. The end of the war showed the Shinigami victorious, and the Quincy line was closely monitored over the decades. This caused great enmity towards Shinigami by Uryū Ishida, Ichigo's classmate and a Quincy. The last documented Quincy appears to be Uryū Ishida's grandfather, which would make Ishida the last remaining Quincy. The final point of contrast (though minor, at best) between the two groups is their respective choice of uniform. While the Shinigami wear traditional, black, flowing hakama, the Quincys wore futuristic, white, and form-fitting western-style clothing.

Quincy artifacts

Quincy Artifacts are objects used by the Quincy to focus their energy into weapons. Ishida uses a cross on a bracelet to create his bow early in the manga, but before he enters soul society he exchanges it for a glove that allows him to summon a much more powerful bow.

In chapter 186, a new artifact, The Cross of the Quincy, is revealed, but its powers are as yet unknown.

Locales

Human world

The human world of Bleach is modern Japan, specifically a neighborhood known as Karakura (possibly the Karakura district of Tochigi). In this world, Ichigo attends school, fights hollows, and tries to avoid the rumours that he is Rukia's boyfriend. Places of note are the high school, the Urahara Shop, the cemetery, and Ichigo's and Orihime's homes.

Spirit World

The Spirit World, or Soul Society, corresponds to heaven in human belief systems. It consists of a giant walled city in the center, known as the Sereitei (lit. Court of Pure Souls), and 80 districts outside of it. The districts outside of the Sereitei are known as the Rukongai and are the place where non-shinigamis and non-nobles live. The district number of the Rukongai also gives a measure of how bad it is. District 1 is peaceful and lawful, while District 80 is filled with criminals and poor conditions. The Sereitei is completely surrounded by a wall made of special material that completely repels all spirit energy. This barrier extends in all directions, including down in the ground and up in the sky. The only entrances are four huge gates, each guarded by a Gate Guardian, an elite of soul society. Shinigami generally don't interact with the citizens of the Rukongai.

Media information

For episode, volume, seiyū, and theme music listings, see Bleach media information.

See also

• Characters in Bleach series
• Bleach media information
• Zanpakutō

External links

Official sites

• Official Bleach website (Japanese)
• Shonen Jump Bleach website
• TV Tokyo Bleach website (Japanese)
• Studio Pierrot Bleach website (Japanese)

Encyclopedia entries

• Template:AniDB-A
• AnimeNetwork's Encyclopedia

Fan sites

• AnimeStocks: Large Archive of Bleach Images, Gallery
• Anime Galleries dot Net : Bleach Images
• About Bleach @ Czarism
• Bleach Portal (Anime/Manga)
• Bleach Entertainment (Anime/Manga)
• Bleach 7 (Anime/Manga)
• Bleach Exile
• Bleach Fansite (German)
• Bleach Flame (Polish)
• Moshi no Bleach - A Bleach fanart links collection
• EasyGoing - Bleach Fansite (German)
• Bleach RPG