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''Bleach'' (stylized in
all caps In typography, all caps (short for "all capitals") refers to text or a font in which all letters are capital letters, for example: "THIS TEXT IS IN ALL CAPS". All caps may be used for emphasis (for a word or phrase). They are commonly seen in ...
) is a Japanese
manga Manga (Japanese: 漫画 ) are comics or graphic novels originating from Japan. Most manga conform to a style developed in Japan in the late 19th century, and the form has a long prehistory in earlier Japanese art. The term ''manga'' is u ...
series written and illustrated by
Tite Kubo , known professionally as , is a Japanese manga artist and character designer. He is best known for his manga series '' Bleach'' (2001–2016), which had over 130 million copies in circulation as of 2022. Biography Kubo was born on June 26, 197 ...
. It follows the adventures of a teenager
Ichigo Kurosaki is a fictional character in the ''Bleach'' manga series and its adaptations created by Tite Kubo. He is the main protagonist of the series, who receives Soul Reaper powers after meeting Rukia Kuchiki, a Soul Reaper assigned to patrol around th ...
, who inherits his parents' destiny after he obtains the powers of a Soul Reaper—a ''death personification'' similar to the
Grim Reaper Death is frequently imagined as a personified force. In some mythologies, a character known as the Grim Reaper (usually depicted as a berobed skeleton wielding a scythe) causes the victim's death by coming to collect that person's soul. Other b ...
—from another Soul Reaper,
Rukia Kuchiki is a fictional character in the anime and manga series '' Bleach'' created by Tite Kubo. In the series, she is a Soul Reaper, (死神, Shinigami, literally 'Death God'), in charge of slaying evil spirits called Hollows. At the beginning, after a ...
. His new-found powers allow him to take on the duties of defending humans from
evil spirits A demon is a malevolent supernatural entity. Historically, belief in demons, or stories about demons, occurs in religion, occultism, literature, fiction, mythology, and folklore; as well as in media such as comics, video games, movies, anime, ...
and guiding departed souls to the afterlife, and set him on journeys to various ghostly realms of existence. ''Bleach'' was serialized in
Shueisha (lit. "Gathering of Intellect Publishing Co., Ltd.") is a Japanese company headquartered in Chiyoda, Tokyo, Japan. The company was established in 1925 as the entertainment-related publishing division of Japanese publisher Shogakukan. The foll ...
's '' shōnen'' manga magazine ''
Weekly Shōnen Jump is a weekly ''shōnen'' manga anthology published in Japan by Shueisha under the ''Jump'' line of magazines. The manga series within the magazine consist of many action scenes and a fair amount of comedy. The chapters of the series that run ...
'' from August 2001 to August 2016, with its chapters collected in 74 ''
tankōbon is the Japanese Japanese may refer to: * Something from or related to Japan, an island country in East Asia * Japanese language, spoken mainly in Japan * Japanese people, the ethnic group that identifies with Japan through ancestry or cultur ...
'' volumes. The series has spawned a
media franchise A media franchise, also known as a multimedia franchise, is a collection of related media in which several derivative works have been produced from an original creative work of fiction, such as a film, a work of literature, a television program or ...
that includes an
anime is Traditional animation, hand-drawn and computer animation, computer-generated animation originating from Japan. Outside of Japan and in English, ''anime'' refers specifically to animation produced in Japan. However, in Japan and in Japane ...
television series A television show – or simply TV show – is any content produced for viewing on a television set which can be broadcast via over-the-air, satellite television, satellite, or cable television, cable, excluding breaking news, television adverti ...
adaptation that was produced by Tokyo-based
studio Pierrot is a Japanese animation studio established in May 1979 by former employees of both Tatsunoko Production and Mushi Production. Its headquarters are located in Mitaka, Tokyo. Pierrot is renowned for several worldwide popular anime series, such as ...
from 2004 to 2012, two
original video animation , abbreviated as OVA and sometimes as OAV (original animation video), are Japanese animated films and series made specially for release in home video formats without prior showings on television or in theaters, though the first part of an OVA s ...
(OVA) episodes, four animated feature films, ten stage musicals, and numerous video games, as well as many types of ''Bleach''-related merchandise. A Japanese live-action film adaptation produced by
Warner Bros. Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. (commonly known as Warner Bros. or abbreviated as WB) is an American film and entertainment studio headquartered at the Warner Bros. Studios complex in Burbank, California, and a subsidiary of Warner Bros. D ...
premiered in 2018. In North America, the manga was licensed for English release by
Viz Media VIZ Media LLC is an American manga publisher, anime distributor and entertainment company headquartered in San Francisco, California. It was founded in 1986 as VIZ LLC. In 2005, VIZ LLC and ShoPro Entertainment merged to form the current VIZ M ...
in 2004. They have released the collected volumes and published its chapters in their '' Shonen Jump'' magazine from November 2007 until the magazine's final issue in April 2012. ''Bleach'' received the 50th
Shogakukan Manga Award The is one of Japan's major manga awards, and is sponsored by Shogakukan, Shogakukan Publishing. It has been awarded annually for serialized manga and features candidates from a number of publishers. It is the oldest manga award in Japan, being ...
for the ''shōnen'' category in 2005. The manga had over 130 million ''tankōbon'' volumes in circulation worldwide as of 2022, making it the twelfth best-selling manga in history.


Plot summary

Ichigo Kurosaki is a fictional character in the ''Bleach'' manga series and its adaptations created by Tite Kubo. He is the main protagonist of the series, who receives Soul Reaper powers after meeting Rukia Kuchiki, a Soul Reaper assigned to patrol around th ...
is a teenager from Karakura Town who can see ghosts, a talent allowing him to meet a supernatural human
Rukia Kuchiki is a fictional character in the anime and manga series '' Bleach'' created by Tite Kubo. In the series, she is a Soul Reaper, (死神, Shinigami, literally 'Death God'), in charge of slaying evil spirits called Hollows. At the beginning, after a ...
, who enters the town in search of a Hollow, a kind of monstrous lost soul who can harm both ghosts and humans. Rukia is one of the , soldiers trusted with ushering the souls of the dead from the World of the Living to the , the afterlife realm from which she originates and with fighting Hollows. When she is severely wounded defending Ichigo from a Hollow she pursues, Rukia transfers her powers to Ichigo, so he may fight in her stead while she recovers her strength. Rukia is thereby trapped in an ordinary human body, and must advise Ichigo as he balances the demands of his substitute Soul Reaper duties and attending high school. For aid in hunting the Hollows, the pair ally with a trio of other spiritually empowered allies: Ichigo's high school classmate
Orihime Inoue is a Character (arts), fictional character and in the ''Bleach (manga), Bleach'' manga series and its anime adaptations created by Tite Kubo. She is one of Ichigo Kurosaki's friends, and later his wife. Like the many other characters in the ser ...
, best friend Yasutora "Chad" Sado and
Uryū Ishida is a Character (arts), fictional character and major figure in the anime and manga series ''Bleach (manga), Bleach'' created by Tite Kubo. Uryū is introduced in the series as a classmate of the Soul Reaper Ichigo Kurosaki, who reveals himself to ...
, a Quincy classmate with the ability to control spiritual particles. Eventually, Rukia is arrested by her Soul Reaper superiors and sentenced to death for the illegal act of transferring her powers into a human. Ichigo and his friends enlist the help of ex-Soul Reaper scientist
Kisuke Urahara This is a list of characters for Tite Kubo's manga and anime series ''Bleach''. It takes place in a fictional universe in which the characters are split into various factionalized fictional races. They are subdivisions of humanity, but are dist ...
, who trains Ichigo to access his own Soul Reaper powers, to enter the Soul Society and rescue Rukia. Shortly after the party's arrival in the Soul Society, conflict arises among the captains of the Thirteen Court Squads when the captain of the fifth company,
Sōsuke Aizen is a fictional character from the manga series ''Bleach'' created by Tite Kubo and the main villain of the first half of the series (and the most significant one for the entirety of the anime adaptation). He is the captain of the Fifth Division o ...
, is apparently murdered; the captains believed that the intruders might have been responsible, which causes the Soul Reapers to begin fighting amongst themselves. Thereafter, the Captain Commander Genryusai Shigekuni Yamamoto, issues the Soul Reapers to arrest Ichigo and his friends as suspects. However, Ichigo saves Rukia and manages to stop the war against the Soul Society. Aizen reappears and reveals his intention to obtain the , an orb of immense power Kisuke planted inside Rukia, by faking his death and arranging the execution. Aizen accompanies his fellow conspirators,
Gin Ichimaru is a fictional character in the anime and manga series ''Bleach'' created by Tite Kubo. He was the captain of the 3rd Division in the Gotei 13 until he betrays Soul Society, and after that becomes a commander in Sōsuke Aizen's arrancar army. ...
and Kaname Tōsen, who are the third and ninth company's captains, as they use Hollows to cover their escape into the Hollows' realm, . Afterwards, Ichigo and Rukia reconcile with the Soul Reapers, who view the former as a powerful ally and designate him an official title as Substitute Soul Reaper. Ichigo soon finds himself and his friends in escalating skirmishes with Aizen's army of humanoid Hollows, the
Arrancar In the fictional ''Bleach'' manga/anime universe, a is a kind of monstrous lost soul who can harm both ghosts and humans. Many of the series' antagonists are ''hollows''. There are also hollows with Soul Reaper (a death-related entity)-like cha ...
, as they are joined by the Vizards. Soul Reapers who were victims of Aizen's experiments in creating Soul Reaper/Hollow hybrids. When Ulquiora, one of the Espada (Aizen's ten most powerful Arrancars) kidnaps Orihime, Ichigo and his allies enter Hueco Mundo to invade Las Noches. However, as Ichigo rescues Orihime, Aizen reveals her abduction was a distraction as he launches an attack on Karakura Town, in order to sacrifice everyone and create a key to the Soul King's Palace, so he can kill the Soul King who reigns over the Soul Society. Anticipating Aizen's attack, the Thirteen Court Squads had already been waiting for him by moving the entire Karakura Town to the Soul Society prior to his attack. When the Vizards join the remaining Soul Reapers, Gin reveals his agenda of killing Aizen. The latter uses the Hōgyoku to become a Hollow-like being. However, Ichigo sacrifices his power to defeat Aizen and reverts to a normal human. Months later, preparing for life after high school, Ichigo is called back into action when Xcution, a gang of Fullbringers—supernaturally aware humans like Chad—manipulate him and his loved ones in a scheme to siphon his Fullbring abilities. After his Soul Society allies restore his Soul Reaper powers, Ichigo learns that Xcution's leader, Kugo Ginjo, was his predecessor. It is revealed that the Soul Society did not trust the substitute Soul Reapers, so they used the badge given to the Substitute Soul Reaper to monitor and restrict his power output. Ginjo felt betrayed and swore vengeance to all Soul Reapers. Despite knowing the truth, Ichigo decides to trust his Soul Reaper friends and defeats Ginjo. With his power restored, Ichigo once again is reinstated as a Substitute Soul Reaper. After Ichigo regained his powers, an army of Quincies known as the appear and declare war against the Soul Society, having already enslaved many Arrancars in Hueco Mundo. The group is led by Yhwach, the ancient progenitor of the Quincies, who seeks to kill the Soul King and rid the world of death and fear. In their first invasion, the Wandenreich kill many Soul Reapers including the Head-Captain, Yamamoto. Uryū joins Yhwach and learns the truth behind the death of his mother. Later on, Ichigo and his friends aid the Soul Society in fighting the Wandenreich's second invasion, but Yhwach succeeds in invading the Royal Palace and killing the Soul King. In the final battle, the surviving Shinigami, along with Ichigo and his friends, assault Yhwach's new palace and defeat his most powerful Sternritter. Yhwach returns to the Soul Society to conquer it, but Ichigo defeats him with the help of Uryū and Aizen, after the latter was temporarily released from prison. Ten years later, Rukia becomes the new captain of the thirteenth company and has a daughter, an apprentice Soul Reaper named Ichika, with her childhood friend
Renji Abarai Renji (廉侍) is a masculine Japanese given name name. Possible writings Renji can be written in Hiragana as レンジ. In Kanji, it can be alternatively rendered as; *廉侍 "a pure heart, samurai." *蓮司 "lotus, preside over." *蓮治 "lotus ...
. Meanwhile, Ichigo and Orihime have a son named Kazui, who is also a Soul Reaper. Two years later, Ichigo attends the Soul Funeral Ceremony for Jūshirō Ukitake. While the Captains are waiting in the Soul Society to perform the ritual, Ichigo joins the Lieutenants at Karakura Town to capture Hollows that will be used as a sacrifice. They are ambushed by the Beasts of Hell, led by the late Octava Espada. Even though the lieutenants managed to easily suppress them, it is revealed that the ceremony is a process of sending the late captains to Hell.


Production

''Bleach'' was first conceived from
Tite Kubo , known professionally as , is a Japanese manga artist and character designer. He is best known for his manga series '' Bleach'' (2001–2016), which had over 130 million copies in circulation as of 2022. Biography Kubo was born on June 26, 197 ...
's desire to draw a
Shinigami () are kami (spirits) that invite humans toward death, according to Japanese religion and culture. have been described as monsters, helpers, and creatures of darkness. are used for tales and religions in Japanese culture. Japanese religion I ...
(Soul Reaper) in a
kimono The is a traditional Japanese garment and the national dress of Japan. The kimono is a wrapped-front garment with square sleeves and a rectangular body, and is worn left side wrapped over right, unless the wearer is deceased. The kimono ...
, which formed the basis for the design of the Soul Reapers in the series. At first, Kubo thought that the Soul Reapers should use guns, so the first title for the series was "Snipe" (as in "sniper"); however, this was changed with the inclusion of swords. After that, the series was meant to be named "Black" due to the color of the Soul Reapers' clothes, but Kubo thought the title was too generic. He later tried the name of "White", but came to like "Bleach" more for its association with the color white and that he did not find it too obvious. The original story concept was submitted to ''Weekly Shōnen Jump'' shortly after the cancellation of Kubo's previous manga, '' Zombiepowder'', but was at first rejected. Manga artist
Akira Toriyama is a Japanese manga artist and character designer. He first achieved mainstream recognition for his highly successful manga series ''Dr. Slump'', before going on to create ''Dragon Ball'' (his best-known work) and acting as a character design ...
saw the story and wrote a letter of encouragement to Kubo. ''Bleach'' was accepted for publication a short time later in 2001, and was initially intended to be a shorter series, with a maximum serialization length of five years. Early plans for the story did not include the hierarchical structure of the Soul Society, but did include some characters and elements that were not introduced into the plot until the Arrancar arc, such as Ichigo's Soul Reaper parentage. Kubo has cited influences for elements of ''Bleach'' ranging from other manga series to music, foreign language, architecture, and film. He attributed his interest in drawing the supernatural and monsters to
Shigeru Mizuki was a Japanese manga artist and historian, best known for his manga series ''GeGeGe no Kitarō''. Born in a hospital in Osaka and raised in the city of Sakaiminato, Tottori, he later moved to Chōfu, Tokyo where he remained until his death. ...
's '' GeGeGe no Kitaro'' and ''Bleach''s focus on interesting weaponry and battle scenes to
Masami Kurumada is a Japanese manga artist and writer, known for specializing in fighting manga featuring bishōnen and magical boy. He is the founder of the manga studio Kurumada Productions or Kurumadapro for short. He is famous as the creator/author of popu ...
's ''
Saint Seiya , also known as ''Saint Seiya: Knights of the Zodiac'' or simply ''Knights of the Zodiac'' (translated from the French title ''Les Chevaliers du Zodiaque''), is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Masami Kurumada. It ...
'', manga that Kubo enjoyed as a boy. The latter is based on
Greek mythology A major branch of classical mythology, Greek mythology is the body of myths originally told by the Ancient Greece, ancient Greeks, and a genre of Ancient Greek folklore. These stories concern the Cosmogony, origin and Cosmology#Metaphysical co ...
and Kubo also considered it as a source for his focus on myths, monsters and the afterlife. The action style and storytelling found in ''Bleach'' are inspired by cinema, though Kubo has not revealed any specific movie as being an influence for fight scenes. When pressed, he told interviewers that he liked '' Snatch'' but did not use it as a model. ''Bleach''s
fight choreography Stage combat, fight craft or fight choreography is a specialised technique in theatre designed to create the illusion of physical combat without causing harm to the performers. It is employed in live stage plays as well as operatic and ballet ...
is instead constructed with the aid of rock music, which the author listens to while imagining the fights in order to give him a sense of pacing for the panel cuts and change of angles through the scenes. Kubo prefers to draw realistic injuries in order to render the fight more impactful, by making the readers feel the pain the characters are feeling. ''Bleach'' fight scenes are often broken up with brief gags, which the author inserts when he grows bored during the illustration process. ''Bleach''s plotting process is focused around
character design Character design may refer to: *Characterisation, the process of conveying information about characters *Character creation, the process of defining a game character *Model sheet In visual arts, a model sheet, also known as a character board, cha ...
. When writing plotlines or having difficulties generating new material, Kubo begins by thinking of new characters, often ''en masse'', and rereading previous volumes of ''Bleach''. Kubo has said that he likes creating characters that have outward appearances that do not match their true nature—an element that can be found in many ''Bleach'' characters—as he is "attracted to people with that seeming contradiction" and finds an "urge to draw people like that" when he works. The terminology used in ''Bleach'' has a variety of inspirations, with each category of characters bearing a different linguistic theme. Many of the names for swords and spells used by Soul Reapers were inspired by ancient
Japanese literature Japanese literature throughout most of its history has been influenced by cultural contact with neighboring Asian literatures, most notably China and its literature. Early texts were often written in pure Classical Chinese or , a Chinese-Japanes ...
. Hollows and Arrancars use
Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries **Spanish cuisine Other places * Spanish, Ontario, Can ...
terms. Fullbringers use
English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...
vocabulary, with names referencing rock music, and finally, both Quincy and Bounts draw on the
German language German ( ) is a West Germanic languages, West Germanic language mainly spoken in Central Europe. It is the most widely spoken and Official language, official or co-official language in Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Liechtenstein, and the Ita ...
. This multilingual terminology, along with the variety in apparent character ethnicities, emphasizes the international nature of the ''Bleach'' settings.'' Shonen Jump''. Volume 6, Issue 6. June 2007.
Viz Media VIZ Media LLC is an American manga publisher, anime distributor and entertainment company headquartered in San Francisco, California. It was founded in 1986 as VIZ LLC. In 2005, VIZ LLC and ShoPro Entertainment merged to form the current VIZ M ...
. 12.


Themes and analysis

''Bleach''s plot incorporates the traditional Japanese belief of spirits coexisting with humans and their nature, good or evil, depends on the circumstances. An example is Orihime's backstory. She was raised from the age of three by her brother Sora, and prayed for his soul's peace after he died in a car accident. As time went on, she prayed less and Sora became jealous and turned into a Hollow and attacked Orihime. Academic Patrick Drazen says this is a reminder to the audience to not abandon the old ways or risk the spirits taking offense and causing problems in the world. ''Bleach'' also incorporates
Shinto Shinto () is a religion from Japan. Classified as an East Asian religion by scholars of religion, its practitioners often regard it as Japan's indigenous religion and as a nature religion. Scholars sometimes call its practitioners ''Shintois ...
themes of purification of "evil spirits through charms, scrolls, incantations, and other rituals". Christopher A. Born regards ''Bleach'' as transmitting
Confucian values Confucianism, also known as Ruism or Ru classicism, is a system of thought and behavior originating in ancient China. Variously described as tradition, a philosophy, a Religious Confucianism, religion, a humanistic or rationalistic religion, ...
. Von Feigenblatt describes ''Bleach'' as being culturally and religiously aware, as it draws upon
Christianity Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth. It is the world's largest and most widespread religion with roughly 2.38 billion followers representing one-third of the global pop ...
and Caribbean
Santería Santería (), also known as Regla de Ocha, Regla Lucumí, or Lucumí, is an African diaspora religions, African diasporic religion that developed in Cuba during the late 19th century. It arose through a process of syncretism between the tradit ...
. Spanish terms are prevalent throughout the realm of Hueco Mundo, while both Quincy and Bounts have been known to associate with the German language, making Kubo's world of characters diverse in race and language as well. Von Feigenblatt notes that the Quincy "are clearly inspired by the
Roman Catholic Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...
Christian Orders of Knighthood such as the
Sovereign Military Order of Malta The Sovereign Military Order of Malta (SMOM), officially the Sovereign Military Hospitaller Order of Saint John of Jerusalem, of Rhodes and of Malta ( it, Sovrano Militare Ordine Ospedaliero di San Giovanni di Gerusalemme, di Rodi e di Malta; ...
and the
Equestrian Order of the Holy Sepulchre The Equestrian Order of the Holy Sepulchre of Jerusalem ( la, Ordo Equestris Sancti Sepulcri Hierosolymitani, links=yes, OESSH), also called Order of the Holy Sepulchre or Knights of the Holy Sepulchre, is a Catholic order of knighthood under ...
whose influence is shown in terms of the uniform worn by the Quincy as well as by the symbolism of the cross".


Publication

''Bleach'', written and illustrated by
Tite Kubo , known professionally as , is a Japanese manga artist and character designer. He is best known for his manga series '' Bleach'' (2001–2016), which had over 130 million copies in circulation as of 2022. Biography Kubo was born on June 26, 197 ...
, was serialized for fifteen years in
Shueisha (lit. "Gathering of Intellect Publishing Co., Ltd.") is a Japanese company headquartered in Chiyoda, Tokyo, Japan. The company was established in 1925 as the entertainment-related publishing division of Japanese publisher Shogakukan. The foll ...
's ''
Weekly Shōnen Jump is a weekly ''shōnen'' manga anthology published in Japan by Shueisha under the ''Jump'' line of magazines. The manga series within the magazine consist of many action scenes and a fair amount of comedy. The chapters of the series that run ...
'' from August 7, 2001, to August 22, 2016. Its 698 individual chapters were collected in seventy-four ''
tankōbon is the Japanese Japanese may refer to: * Something from or related to Japan, an island country in East Asia * Japanese language, spoken mainly in Japan * Japanese people, the ethnic group that identifies with Japan through ancestry or cultur ...
'' volumes released between January 5, 2002, and November 4, 2016. Shueisha published the first twenty-one volumes compiled into six omnibus collections under the name ''Resurrected Souls'' to celebrate the tenth anniversary of the series. The first collection was released on August 22, 2011; the last collection was published on January 23, 2012. On September 21, 2012, Shueisha released 45 digital volumes in Japanese e-book stores, concluding with the 74th on November 4, 2016. These digital editions have been re-released as a set of 10 volumes on April 26, 2013; the sixth was released on March 14, 2014. North American licensor
Viz Media VIZ Media LLC is an American manga publisher, anime distributor and entertainment company headquartered in San Francisco, California. It was founded in 1986 as VIZ LLC. In 2005, VIZ LLC and ShoPro Entertainment merged to form the current VIZ M ...
serialized the first chapters in the print magazine '' Shonen Jump'' from its November 2007 to April 2012 issues. The series moved to the digital anthology ''
Weekly Shonen Jump Alpha ''Weekly Shonen Jump'' was a online magazine, digital ''shōnen manga, shōnen'' manga anthology published in North America by Viz Media, and the successor to their monthly print media, print anthology ''Shonen Jump (magazine), Shonen Jump''. ...
'' in January 2012 and Viz Media released it digitally as Shueisha published new chapters in Japan. The first volume on English was released on July 6, 2004, and the last volume–the 74th–was released on October 2, 2018. Viz also released a hardcover "collector's edition" of the first volume that came with a dust jacket, two box sets, and twenty-five "3-in-1 edition" volumes between June 7, 2011, and March 5, 2019. Viz Media released first 16 volumes in English digitally on June 17, 2011. As of October 2, 2018, all 74 digital volumes were released. A 73-page chapter was published in ''Weekly Shōnen Jump'', to commemorate the 20th anniversary of the manga's debut in the magazine, on August 10, 2021. It was published in English by Viz Media's ''Shonen Jump'' online magazine and on the Shueisha's ''
Manga Plus ''Manga Plus'' (stylized as ''MANGA Plus'') is an online manga platform and smartphone app owned by Shueisha that was launched on January 28, 2019. It is available worldwide except in Japan, China, and South Korea which already have their own se ...
'' online platform. The one-shot ends seemingly on a
cliffhanger A cliffhanger or cliffhanger ending is a plot device in fiction which features a main character in a precarious or difficult dilemma or confronted with a shocking revelation at the end of an episode or a film of serialized fiction. A cliffhang ...
and features the words "New Breathes From Hell" in English and in Japanese, where the character for "hen" () is usually used to denote the title of a
story arc A story arc (also narrative arc) is the chronological construction of plot in a novel or story. It can also mean an extended or continuing storyline in episodic storytelling media such as television, comic books, comic strips, board games, vide ...
. The chapter was digitally released as a collected volume on December 3, 2021.


Related media


Anime

''Bleach'' was adapted by
studio Pierrot is a Japanese animation studio established in May 1979 by former employees of both Tatsunoko Production and Mushi Production. Its headquarters are located in Mitaka, Tokyo. Pierrot is renowned for several worldwide popular anime series, such as ...
into an
anime is Traditional animation, hand-drawn and computer animation, computer-generated animation originating from Japan. Outside of Japan and in English, ''anime'' refers specifically to animation produced in Japan. However, in Japan and in Japane ...
television series directed by
Noriyuki Abe Noriyuki (written: 紀之, 紀行, 敬之, 記之, 徳行, 憲幸, 範之 or 範幸) is a masculine Japanese given name. Notable people with the name include: *, Japanese anime director *, Japanese musician *, Japanese motorcycle racer *, Japanese ...
and broadcast for 366 episodes on
TV Tokyo JOTX-DTV (channel 7), branded as and known colloquially as , is a television station headquartered in the Sumitomo Fudosan Roppongi Grand Tower in Roppongi, Minato, Tokyo, Japan, owned and operated by the subsidiary of listed certified b ...
, from October 2004 to March 2012. In March 2020, it was announced that the manga's final story arc, "Thousand-Year Blood War", would receive a new anime project. In November 2021, it was announced that the new project would be an anime television series. It is directed by
Tomohisa Taguchi is a Japanese animator, director, storyboard artist and screenwriter. Personal life Taguchi was born and raised in Sōja. He graduated from Osaka Seikei University Faculty of Arts in 2007 and worked as a production assistant at Anime Internat ...
and premiered in October 2022.


Films

The series has spawned four animated films: ''Bleach: Memories of Nobody'', premiered on December 16, 2006; ''Bleach: The DiamondDust Rebellion'', premiered on December 22, 2007; ''Bleach: Fade to Black'', premiered on December 13, 2008; and ''Bleach: Hell Verse'', premiered on December 4, 2010. A live-action film adaptation premiered in Japan on July 20, 2018.


Light novels

Tite Kubo , known professionally as , is a Japanese manga artist and character designer. He is best known for his manga series '' Bleach'' (2001–2016), which had over 130 million copies in circulation as of 2022. Biography Kubo was born on June 26, 197 ...
and Makoto Matsubara have co-authored three novelizations of the ''Bleach'' series, which were published by
Shueisha (lit. "Gathering of Intellect Publishing Co., Ltd.") is a Japanese company headquartered in Chiyoda, Tokyo, Japan. The company was established in 1925 as the entertainment-related publishing division of Japanese publisher Shogakukan. The foll ...
under its ''Shounen Jump Books'' label. The first volume, ''Bleach - Letters From The Other Side: The Death and The Strawberry'', was published on December 15, 2004, and re-released as ''Bleach - Letters From The Other Side: The Death and The Strawberry - New Edition'' on November 4, 2009. The second, ''Bleach: The Honey Dish Rhapsody'', was published on November 30, 2006. The third, ''Bleach: The Death Save The Strawberry'', was published on September 4, 2012. Two novelizations of the ''Bleach'' series have been co-authored by Narita Ryohgo. The first volume, ''Bleach: Spirits Are Forever With You'', and the second, ''Bleach: Spirits Are Forever With You 2'', were published on June 4, 2012. After the series ended in 2016, a series of novels were released by Shueisha. The first novel, ''Bleach: WE DO knot ALWAYS LOVE YOU'', was written by the writer of ''Bleach: The Death Save The Strawberry'' Makoto Matsubara and was published on December 27, 2016. The second, ''Bleach: Can't Fear Your Own World'', is a serialized novel written by the writer of ''Bleach: Spirits Are Forever With You'' series Narita Ryohgo and was released bi-weekly from April 28, 2017. The first volume was released on August 4, 2017 and the second volume was published on November 2, 2018. The novel series ended with the release of the third volume on December 4, 2018.
Viz Media VIZ Media LLC is an American manga publisher, anime distributor and entertainment company headquartered in San Francisco, California. It was founded in 1986 as VIZ LLC. In 2005, VIZ LLC and ShoPro Entertainment merged to form the current VIZ M ...
published the three volumes of ''Bleach: Can't Fear Your Own World'' between July 7, 2020, and April 20, 2021. Shueisha published four novelizations based on the ''Bleach'' movies. The first volume, ''Bleach: Memories of Nobody'', was published on December 18, 2006. The second, ''Bleach: The DiamondDust Rebellion, Another Hyōrinmaru'', was published on December 22, 2007. The third, ''Bleach: Fade to Black, I Call Your Name'', was published on December 15, 2008. The fourth volume, ''Bleach: Hell Chapter'', was published on December 6, 2010.


Video games

A number of video games have been created featuring characters from the ''Bleach'' series, primarily though not exclusively
fighting game A fighting game, also known as a versus fighting game, is a video game genre, genre of video game that involves combat between two or more players. Fighting game combat often features mechanics such as Blocking (martial arts), blocking, grappli ...
s. The first video game to be released from the ''Bleach'' series was '' Bleach: Heat the Soul'', which debuted on March 24, 2005, for the
Sony , commonly stylized as SONY, is a Japanese multinational conglomerate corporation headquartered in Minato, Tokyo, Japan. As a major technology company, it operates as one of the world's largest manufacturers of consumer and professional ...
PlayStation Portable The PlayStation Portable (PSP) is a handheld game console developed and marketed by Sony Computer Entertainment. It was first released in Japan on December 12, 2004, in North America on March 24, 2005, and in PAL regions on September 1, 2005, ...
. Currently, the majority of the games have only been released in Japan, though
Sega is a Japanese multinational corporation, multinational video game and entertainment company headquartered in Shinagawa, Tokyo. Its international branches, Sega of America and Sega Europe, are headquartered in Irvine, California and London, r ...
has localized the first three
Nintendo DS The is a handheld game console produced by Nintendo, released globally across 2004 and 2005. The DS, an initialism for "Developers' System" or "Dual Screen", introduced distinctive new features to handheld games: two LCD screens working in tan ...
games and the first Wii game for North America. So far, all dedicated ''Bleach'' games released for
Sony , commonly stylized as SONY, is a Japanese multinational conglomerate corporation headquartered in Minato, Tokyo, Japan. As a major technology company, it operates as one of the world's largest manufacturers of consumer and professional ...
's consoles have been developed and published by
SCEI Sony Interactive Entertainment (SIE), formerly known as Sony Computer Entertainment (SCE), is a multinational video game industry, video game and digital entertainment company wholly owned by multinational conglomerate Sony. The SIE Group is ma ...
, whereas the games for
Nintendo is a Japanese Multinational corporation, multinational video game company headquartered in Kyoto, Japan. It develops video games and video game consoles. Nintendo was founded in 1889 as by craftsman Fusajiro Yamauchi and originally produce ...
consoles are developed and published by Sega, and the Nintendo DS games are developed by Treasure Co. Ltd. Two
mobile game A mobile game, or smartphone game, is a video game that is typically played on a mobile phone. The term also refers to all games that are played on any portable device, including from mobile phone (feature phone or smartphone), tablet, PDA to ...
s had also been released in 2014 (''Bleach: Bankai Batoru'') and 2015 ('' Bleach: Brave Souls'') for the series, which are available for
iOS iOS (formerly iPhone OS) is a mobile operating system created and developed by Apple Inc. exclusively for its hardware. It is the operating system that powers many of the company's mobile devices, including the iPhone; the term also includes ...
and Android. In 2017, Line announced the release of a game exclusive for their communication app called ''Bleach: Paradise Lost''.


Trading card game

Two
collectible card games A collectible card game (CCG), also called a trading card game (TCG) among other names, is a type of card game that mixes strategic deck building elements with features of trading cards, introduced with ''Magic: The Gathering'' in 1993. Genera ...
(CCG) based on the ''Bleach'' series have been produced, one in the Japanese market and a different one in North America. ''Bleach Soul Card Battle'', produced by
Bandai is a Japanese multinational toy manufacturer and distributor headquartered in Taitō, Tokyo. Its international branches, Bandai Namco Toys & Collectables America and Bandai UK, are respectively headquartered in Irvine, California and Richmond ...
, was introduced in Japan in 2004. Twenty named sets were released for the series. After ''Bleach Soul Card Battle'', Bandai introduced three more series. ''Bleach The Card Gum'', which contains 14 sets, was released in early September 2007. The next series, ''Bleach Clear Collection'', which contains six sets, was released in July 2008. The last series, ''Bleach Clear Soul Plate'', which consists of three sets, was published in December 2009. ''Bleach TCG'' was introduced in the United States by
Score Entertainment Score Entertainment was a trading card design and manufacturing company based in Arlington, Texas. Their first card game was the Dragon Ball Z: Collectible Card Game in 2000. Score Entertainment was a member of the Donruss Playoff LP family of ...
in May 2007, but ceased publication April 2009, just before the planned launch of its seventh expansion, ''Bleach Infiltration''. This cancellation was attributed to the ongoing recession, which has heavily affected TCG sales. Designed by Aik Tongtharadol, the TCG is a two-player game in which each player starts with at least 61 cards: a "Guardian" card, a 60-card "main deck", and an optional 20-card "side deck". A player loses if his or her power, as dictated by the Guardian card, is reduced to zero, or if he or she is unable to draw or discard a card from his or her deck. The cards for the game have been released in named sets with each set released in three formats: a 72-card pre-constructed box set containing a starter deck and two booster packs, a 10-card booster pack, and a 12-pack booster box. Six named sets were released.


Musicals

Bleach has been adapted into a series of rock musicals, jointly produced by
Studio Pierrot is a Japanese animation studio established in May 1979 by former employees of both Tatsunoko Production and Mushi Production. Its headquarters are located in Mitaka, Tokyo. Pierrot is renowned for several worldwide popular anime series, such as ...
and Nelke Planning. There have been five musicals produced which covered portions of the Substitute and Soul Society arcs, as well as five additional performances known as "Live Bankai Shows" and "Rock Musical Bleach Shinsei", which did not follow the ''Bleach'' plotline. The initial performance run of the ''Bleach'' musical was from August 17–28, 2005, at the Space Zero Tokyo center in
Shinjuku is a special ward in Tokyo, Japan. It is a major commercial and administrative centre, housing the northern half of the busiest railway station in the world (Shinjuku Station) and the Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building, the administration ...
. The musicals are directed by Takuya Hiramitsu, with script adaptation by Naoshi Okumura and music composed by playwright Shoichi Tama. The songs are completely original and not taken from the anime soundtrack. Key actors in the series include Tatsuya Isaka, who plays
Ichigo Kurosaki is a fictional character in the ''Bleach'' manga series and its adaptations created by Tite Kubo. He is the main protagonist of the series, who receives Soul Reaper powers after meeting Rukia Kuchiki, a Soul Reaper assigned to patrol around th ...
, Miki Satō, who plays
Rukia Kuchiki is a fictional character in the anime and manga series '' Bleach'' created by Tite Kubo. In the series, she is a Soul Reaper, (死神, Shinigami, literally 'Death God'), in charge of slaying evil spirits called Hollows. At the beginning, after a ...
, and Eiji Moriyama, who plays
Renji Abarai Renji (廉侍) is a masculine Japanese given name name. Possible writings Renji can be written in Hiragana as レンジ. In Kanji, it can be alternatively rendered as; *廉侍 "a pure heart, samurai." *蓮司 "lotus, preside over." *蓮治 "lotus ...
. In 2016, another musical was produced to celebrate ''Bleach'' 15th anniversary. The musical was directed and written by Tsutsumi Yasuyuki with Dream5's Akira Takano and Chihiro Kai as Ichigo Kurosaki and Rukia Kuchiki respectively. The musical debuted on July 28, 2016, in AiiA 2.5 Theater Tokyo.


Other media

The first ''Bleach'' artbook, ''All Colour But The Black'', was released in Japan, the United States, and Europe. The artbook compiles a selection of color spreads from the first 19 volumes of the series, as well as some original art and author commentary. The second artbook, , was released on August 3, 2007. In addition to character guides and articles on other fictional aspects of the series, it compiles the various short comics, , that were published in ''
V Jump is a Japanese shōnen manga magazine, focusing on new manga as well as video games based on popular manga. The magazine's debut was in 1993 by Shueisha under the ''Jump'' line of magazines. History A prototype magazine called '' Hobby's Jump ...
''. The ''
omake ''Omake'' (, usually written ) means ''extra'' in Japanese language, Japanese. Its primary meaning is general and widespread. It is used as an anime and manga term to mean "extra or bonus." In the United States, the term is most often used in ...
''-style panels are similar to those included in the main series, but reveal more of the daily lives of characters. ''Color Bleach+: Bleach Official Bootleg'' was released in English by Viz Media on August 10, 2010. In December 2018, another artbook, titled ''Bleach JET'' was released, which contains a massive 700 artworks from the series' 15 years tenure. Seven databooks have also been released about the series. The first two, ''Bleach: Official Character Book SOULs.'' and ''Bleach: Official Animation Book VIBEs.'', were released on February 3, 2006. ''Bleach: Official Character Book SOULs.'' was later released in English by Viz Media on November 18, 2008. The third book, ''Bleach: Official Character Book 2: MASKED'', was released on August 4, 2010. This book covers details about characters that appear 100 years prior to the story, such as former captains and lieutenants, along with the Arrancars and Visoreds. Although it was released on the same day as volume 46, ''Back From Blind'', the book only covers material up to volume 37, ''Beauty Is So Solitary''. The English version was released by Viz Media on March 6, 2012. A fourth book ''Bleach: Official Invitation Book The Hell Verse'', was published on December 4, 2010. This book was released to promote ''Bleach: Hell Verse'' and it contains character sketches, promotional posters and the one-off Hell manga special. A fifth book ''Bleach: Official Character Book 3: UNMASKED'', was released on June 3, 2011, the same day as the volume 50 of the series. However it only covers material up to volume 48, ''God is Dead''. On June 4, 2012, a sixth book was released under the name ''Bleach: The Rebooted Souls''. This free booklet was distributed with ''Bleach'' manga volume 55, with the aim to provide information to readers about the manga's final arc, ''The Thousand-Year Blood War''. The seventh book, ''BLEACH 13 BLADEs.'', was released on August 4, 2015, and focused solely on the Soul Reapers and the 13 Court Squads. Shueisha published a special book ''Bleach: JCCover Postcard Book MAILs.'', which was released on December 4, 2013. It features cover pages as postcards up to volume 60 with poems on the back.


Reception


Sales

''Bleach'' had over 90million ''
tankōbon is the Japanese Japanese may refer to: * Something from or related to Japan, an island country in East Asia * Japanese language, spoken mainly in Japan * Japanese people, the ethnic group that identifies with Japan through ancestry or cultur ...
'' copies in circulation worldwide as of 2017; over 120 million ''tankōbon'' copies in circulation worldwide as of 2018; and over 130 million copies in circulation worldwide as of 2022, making it the 7th best-selling series of all time from ''Weekly Shōnen Jump''. During 2008, volume 34 of the manga sold 874,153 copies in Japan, becoming the 12th best-seller comics from the year. Volumes 33 and 35 have also ranked 17 and 18, respectively. In total the manga has sold 3,161,825 copies in Japan during 2008, becoming the year's 5th best selling series. In the first half from 2009, ''Bleach'' ranked as the 2nd best-selling manga in Japan, having sold 3.5 million copies. Having sold 927,610 copies, volume 36 ranked 7th, volume 37 was 8th with 907,714 sold copies, and volume 38 at 10th with 822,238 copies. North American sales of the manga have also been high, with ''tankōbon'' volumes having sold over 1.2million copies by 2007. Volume 16 placed in the top 10 graphic novel sales in December 2006 and volume 17 was the best-selling manga volume for the month of February 2007. In a 2010 interview, Gonzalo Ferreyra, Vice President of Sales and Marketing for Viz, listed ''Bleach'' as one of six Viz titles that continue to exceed expectations in spite of the harshening manga market. As of 2022, the manga had over 2.7million ''tankōbon'' volumes in circulation in the United States.


Critical reception

Deb Aoki from
About.com Dotdash Meredith (formerly About.com) is an American digital media company based in New York City. The company publishes online articles and videos about various subjects across categories including health, home, food, finance, tech, beauty, ...
considered the series as the Best Continuing Shōnen Manga of 2007, along with ''
Eyeshield 21 is a Japanese manga series written by Riichiro Inagaki and illustrated by Yusuke Murata. The series tells the story of Sena Kobayakawa, an introverted boy who joins an American football club as a secretary, but after being coerced by quart ...
'', praising the "compelling stories, dazzling action sequences and great character development". She also placed the title on her list of "Top 10 Shōnen Manga Must-Reads". The artwork and the character designs received positive response by
IGN ''IGN'' (formerly ''Imagine Games Network'') is an American video game and entertainment media website operated by IGN Entertainment Inc., a subsidiary of Ziff Davis, Inc. The company's headquarters is located in San Francisco's SoMa distri ...
's A.E. Sparrow. He also commented on the series' ability to handle multiple minor character plotlines at the same time, which he considered a point of appeal, in response to fans' claims about a "lack of a story" in ''Bleach''. Leroy Douresseaux from ComicBookBin agreed with Sparrow in the number of storylines, but also praised the fighting scenes finding them comparable to the ones of popular films. On the other hand, Mania reviewer Jarred Pine criticized the series as being plagued with stereotypes from the genre. He felt it was a rough start for the series with unimpressive battles, overused gags, and a bad introduction for central character Ichigo that causes him to come across "as a frowning punk" whose one good trait is his desire to protect. Despite this, Pine notes that he loves the series, particularly its quirky, lovable characters. Jason Thompson said he was no longer able to take ''Bleach'' seriously after it introduced villains
Ulquiorra In the fictional ''Bleach'' manga/anime universe, a is a kind of monstrous lost soul who can harm both ghosts and humans. Many of the series' antagonists are ''hollows''. There are also hollows with Soul Reaper (a death-related entity)-like ch ...
and
Yammy In the fictional ''Bleach (manga), Bleach'' manga/anime universe, a is a kind of monstrous lost soul who can harm both ghosts and humans. Many of the series' antagonists are ''hollows''. There are also hollows with Soul Reaper (a death-related ...
in a scene precisely mirroring
Vegeta ( ), also referred as is a fictional character in the ''Dragon Ball'' franchise created by Akira Toriyama. Vegeta first appears in chapter #204 "Sayonara, Son Goku", published in ''Weekly Shōnen Jump'' magazine on November 7, 1988, seeking ...
and
Nappa Nappa may refer to: Places * Nappa, Finland, a village in northern Kymenlaakso *Nappa, North Yorkshire, a village in England * Nappa Hall, North Yorkshire, England People * Mike Nappa (born 1963), American author Other uses * Nappa (chara ...
's arrival in ''
Dragon Ball Z ''Dragon Ball Z'' is a Japanese anime television series produced by Toei Animation. Part of the ''Dragon Ball'' media franchise, it is the sequel to the 1986 '' Dragon Ball'' anime series and adapts the latter 325 chapters of the original ...
'', but acknowledged it was likely intended as a deliberate homage. He also said Kubo was able to avoid the worst artistic failings typical in series which indulge in superpowered combat, but that the battle scenes were still sometimes difficult to follow.


Accolades

In 2005, ''Bleach'' was awarded the 50th
Shogakukan Manga Award The is one of Japan's major manga awards, and is sponsored by Shogakukan, Shogakukan Publishing. It has been awarded annually for serialized manga and features candidates from a number of publishers. It is the oldest manga award in Japan, being ...
in the ''shōnen'' category. The English version of the manga was nominated for the "best manga" and "best theme" awards at the 2006 and 2007 American Anime Awards, but did not win either category. In November 2014, readers of
Media Factory , formerly is a Japanese publisher and brand company of Kadokawa Future Publishing. History It was founded on December 1, 1986, and its headquarters are situated in Shibuya, Tokyo. It is a subsidiary of Recruit Co., Ltd. Media Factory was possi ...
's ''Da Vinci'' magazine voted ''Bleach'' #16 on a list of ''Weekly Shōnen Jump''s greatest manga series of all time. On
TV Asahi JOEX-DTV (channel 5), branded as (also known as EX and and stylized as TV asahi), is a television station that is owned and operated by the subsidiary of certified broadcasting holding company , itself controlled by The Asahi Shimbun Compan ...
's Manga Sōsenkyo 2021 poll, in which 150.000 people voted for their top 100 manga series, ''Bleach'' ranked #23.


See also

*'' Burn the Witch'', another manga series created by Kubo and set in the ''Bleach'' universe


Notes


References


External links

* * * {{Shogakukan Manga Award - Shōnen
Bleach Bleach is the generic name for any chemical product that is used industrially or domestically to remove color (whitening) from a fabric or fiber or to clean or to remove stains in a process called bleaching. It often refers specifically, to ...
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