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What is Bleach...?

Written and illustrated by Tite Kubo, Bleach is a Japanese manga series that has appeared in the Weekly Shonen Jump magazine since August 2001 and has since then been adapted into an animated television series that has thus far seen two OVAs and two animated feature films. The story follows the events of a highschool student by the name of Ichigo Kurosaki and a Shinigami (Soul Reaper or death god) known as Rukia Kuchiki. The early parts of the series focus mainly on character development and as events unfold, the story begins to delve deeper into the lives of the Shinigami.

Media

Download Bleach Episodes, OVA's, and Movies
Watch Bleach Online
Bleach Artwork / Images
Bleach Wallpapers
Bleach Official Soundtracks

Eye Candy

Storyline Introduction

Bleach opens with the sudden appearance of the shinigami, Rukia Kuchiki, in Ichigo Kurosaki's bedroom. She is surprised at his ability to see her, but their resulting conversation is interrupted by the appearance of a hollow, an evil spirit. After Rukia is severely wounded while trying to protect Ichigo, she intends to transfer half her powers to Ichigo, hoping to give him the opportunity to face the hollow on equal footing. Ichigo unintentionally absorbs almost all her 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 appears to be a normal human. She theorizes that it was the unusual strength of Ichigo's spirit that caused him to absorb almost all 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 Soul Society.

Characters

Ichigo Kurosaki
The primary protagonist of Bleach, orange haired high school junior Ichigo Kurosaki is forced to become a substitute shinigami after unwittingly absorbing most 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.

Rukia Kuchiki
Rukia Kuchiki is a cool-tempered 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 around 150 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
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 obtains 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
Yasutora Sado, better known as Chad, is one of Ichigo's few friends at school. He is a half Japanese and have 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 this changes when he witnesses a group of children being attacked by a hollow. He discovers a unique ability that strengthens and armors one of his arms, enabling him to fight hollows. He later develops the ability to shoot energy from his armored arm.

Kisuke Urahara
A mysterious and cheery man characterized by his hat that shadows his eyes and the sandals he wears, 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.

Uryu Ishida
Though on the surface nothing more than the solitary class genius, Uryu 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, but comes to view Ichigo differently over time, eventually becoming an ally and friendly rival.

Renji Abarai
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 duties and Rukia, whom he grew up with. A rash and driven man, he holds both a deep respect and animosity towards his immediate superior, 6th Division captain Byakuya Kuchiki.

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 present-day Japan; 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. 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 (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 (Town of Wandering Spirits) and are the place where non-shinigami and commoners live. The district number of the Rukongai (ranging from 1 to 80) also describes its conditions. 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. A king resides in another realm within Soul Society.
• Hueco Mundo: Hueco Mundo is the area between the human world and Soul Society. Literally meaning "hollow world" (the word hueco can also mean "hole"), it is where hollows reside, and are undetectable as long as they remain inside. Entrances to Hueco Mundo are created by ripping the dimensional fabric between the two worlds. Hueco Mundo is divided into three sections. On the surface is a desert-like realm, held in perpetual nighttime and home to the strongest hollows and the Las Noches palace. Directly underneath is the Forest of Menos, home to general menos and almost all the Gillian. A third layer, below the Forest of Menos, is explored in the anime, but is only mentioned in the manga.
• 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 zanpakuto, 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 into hell.

Bleach characters move from world to world by several means. Shinigami open passages between worlds by means of their zanpakuto. 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.