bleach

once upon a time...

Bleach began life in 2001 as a manga serialized in Weekly Shonen Jump. Since then, it has been adapted into an anime, movie, some video games, and a few musicals. It fits snugly into the shonen category of manga, meaning it is aimed at teenage boys and features lots of fighting. Currently, both the manga and anime are being released outside of Japan by VIZ Media.

Bleach tells the story of Ichigo Kurosaki, a fifteen-year-old Japanese boy with vibrant orange hair and the unusual ability to see ghosts. One night, a young woman wearing strange black garb carrying a sword appears in Ichigo's room. Thinking the woman is a burglar, Ichigo gives her a sound kick to the rump, catching her completely off-guard. The truth is soon revealed; the woman is named Rukia Kuchiki and she is a Shinigami, a reaper of souls.

Their meeting is the catalyst for a series of events that ends with Ichigo absorbing Rukia's soul reaper abilities. No powerless and unable to perform her duties as a guardian of the dead, Rukia recruits the newly empowered Ichigo to become her substitute soul reaper. It is now his duty to help lingering spirits pass on and defeat soul-devouring monsters known as Hollows.

For anybody new to the series, or for a refresher course, I've compiled a list of Bleach related terminology over here. It isn't complete but it covers what commonly appears in the series.

tite kubo

IF that is your real name

Tite Kubo is the alias Noriaki Kubo uses when he writes manga. He was born on June 26th, 1977, predictably in Japan. Bleach is his second series and definitely his most popular. His first, Zombie Powder, ran for four volumes and is currently being published outside Japan by VIZ Media.

For anyone who can't do the math, he was about 24 when Bleach began serialization and 22 when Zombie Powder did. Thanks for making the rest of us feel inadequate, Mr. Kubo.

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