Bleach (manga)

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
"BLEACH" redirects here. For the anime, see Bleach (anime). For other uses, see Bleach (disambiguation).
Bleach

The first volume of Bleach, published in Japan by Shueisha on January 5, 2002
ブリーチ
(Burīchi)
Genre Action, Bangsian fantasy, Comedy, Supernatural
Manga
Written by Tite Kubo
Published by Shueisha
English publisher
Demographic Shōnen
Magazine Weekly Shōnen Jump
English magazine
Original run August 2001 – ongoing
Volumes 61
Anime television series
Bleach
Directed by Noriyuki Abe
Produced by Jun Takibuchi
Written by Masashi Sogo
Music by Shirō Sagisu
Studio Studio Pierrot
Licensed by
Network TV Tokyo
English network
Animax South Africa
Original run October 5, 2004 – March 27, 2012[2]
Episodes 366
Related works

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

See also: List of Bleach characters

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.

Production

Bleach was first conceived from a desire on Tite Kubo's part to draw Shinigami in a kimono, which formed the basis for the design of the Soul Reapers in the series and the conception of Rukia Kuchiki.[3][4] 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 due to being unoriginal (bearing many similarities to YuYu Hakusho).[5] Manga artist Akira Toriyama saw the story and wrote a letter of encouragement to Kubo.[4] 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.[4] 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 heritage.[3] The series was originally 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.[6]

Kubo has cited influences for elements of Bleach ranging from other manga series to music, foreign language, architecture, and film. He attributes his interest in drawing the supernatural and monsters to Shigeru Mizuki's GeGeGe no Kitaro and Bleach's focus on interesting weaponry and battle scenes to Masami Kurumada's Saint Seiya, manga that Kubo enjoyed as a boy.[3] 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.[7] Kubo has also stated that he wishes to make Bleach an experience that can only be found by reading manga, and dismissed ideas of creating any live-action film adaptations of the series.[4]

Bleach's creative process is focused around character design. 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.[3][8] 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.[9] 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. Hollows and Arrancars are often associated with Spanish terms because the language sounded "bewitching and mellow" to him. As for Fullbringers, their Fullbring is associated with the English vocabulary when either releasing or already have released their Fullbring. Finally, 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.[9]

Themes

Religious and cultural

Von Feigenblatt describes Bleach as being culturally and religiously aware.[10] Bleach's plot incorporates the traditional Japanese belief of spirits coexisting with humans and their nature, good or evil, depends on the circumstances.[10] An example is Orihime's backstory, who 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.[11] As time went on, she prayed less and Sora became jealous and turned into a Hollow and attacked Orihime. 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.[12] Bleach also incorporates Shinto themes of purification of "evil spirits through charms, scrolls, incantations, and other rituals."[10] The show also draws upon Christianity and Caribbean Santeria.[10] Spanish terms are prevalent throughout the realm of Hueco Mundo, meaning abyss world, and its warriors are the Espada, literally "sword" in Spanish.[10] Kubo says he chose the terms because they sounded "bewitching and mellow" to him.[9]

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.[9] Von Feigenblatt notes that the Quincy "are clearly inspired by the Christian Orders of Knighthood such as the Sovereign Order of Malta and the Equestrian Order of the Holy Sepulcher whose influence is shown in terms of the uniform worn by the Quincy as well as by the symbolism of the cross."[10] Many of the names for swords and spells used by Soul Reapers were inspired by ancient Japanese literature.[9]

Characters

Kubo likes creating characters that have outward appearances that do not match their true nature.[9]

The character Orihime is a complex character who has been both praised and criticized for her appearances. Her role has developed from a "big-breasted bimbo" throughout the story, but the way in which she uses her power has been deemed as stereotypical.[13][14]

Rukia was initially set to be the protagonist of the series, but the early development of her character resulted in it being changed. Kubo drew Rukia based on his concepts of a Shinigami and wanted her to have an appropriate Shinigami sounding name.[15] Kubo's choice of the name is deliberate, eventually decided upon the last name "Kuchiki" (朽木, lit. "rotten wood") and chose her first name based on the Latin name for cosmos, which in Latin means "light".[15] Kubo sees her as "a ray of light for Ichigo."[15] Rukia's English voice actress, found Rukia to be a "survivor", due to how lonely she initially was and how she has been developed through the anime series as she had to start trusting people.[16] Harper notes that Rukia is not a stereotypical shōnen heroine, noting Rukia's loss of her powers and subsequent dependence on Ichigo were "a great source of both drama and comedy in the show."[17] Alexander noted that she is "less of a foil to Ichigo and more like the other side of the same coin".[18]

Media

Manga

See also: List of Bleach volumes

The chapters of the Bleach manga are written and illustrated by Tite Kubo. In Japan, they have been published in Shueisha's Weekly Shōnen Jump since 2001,[19] with individual chapters collected in a series of tankōbon volumes, each of which includes a poem based on the cover character. The first volume was released on January 5, 2004, and as of December 2013, 61 volumes have been released.[20][21]

North American licensor Viz Media has been serializing the individual chapters in Shonen Jump in North America since November 2007.[22] As of February 2014, 59 volumes have been released, the first of which was released on June 1, 2004.[23][24] On August 5, 2008, the company released a hardcover "collector's edition" of the first volume that came with a dust jacket, followed by a box set that was released on September 2, 2008, containing the first 21 volumes, a poster, and a booklet about the series.[25][26]

Since Bleach's premiere, over 500 chapters have been released in Japan. Most chapter names are written in English and have katakana above them to indicate how they are read in Japanese, similar to the usage of furigana ruby characters with advanced kanji characters. In addition to the main series chapters, some chapters are published with a negative chapter number. These "negative" chapters are side stories that involve events that precede the main plot of the series.

On October 19, 2012, Shueisha released the first 21 volumes (Soul Society arc) in full color digital-only in Japanese ebook stores.[27]

Anime

See also: Bleach (anime) and List of Bleach episodes

The Bleach anime series aired in Japan on TV Tokyo's Tuesday 6pm timeslot from October 5, 2004,[28] to March 27, 2012,[2] excluding holidays. The series was directed by Noriyuki Abe and produced by TV Tokyo, Dentsu, and Studio Pierrot.[29]

Viz Media obtained the foreign television, home video, and merchandising rights to the Bleach anime from TV Tokyo Corporation and Shueisha on March 15, 2006.[30] Viz Media has later licensed its individual Bleach merchandising rights to several different companies.[31]

The adaptation of the Bleach anime premiered on Canada's YTV channel in the Bionix programming block on September 8, 2006.[citation needed] Cartoon Network's Adult Swim began airing Bleach in the United States the following evening.[32] Adult Swim stopped broadcasting new episodes of the English adaptation on October 13, 2007 after airing the first 52 episodes of the series.[citation needed] It was replaced with another Viz Media series, Death Note, to provide Studiopolis more time to dub additional episodes of Bleach. The series began airing again on March 2, 2008,[33] but went back on hiatus on November 21, 2009, after the airing of its 167th episode. Adult Swim is now airing new episodes at 12am on Saturday in their animated programing block Toonami.

In the United Kingdom, Bleach premiered on Anime Central on September 13, 2007, with new episodes airing weekly.[citation needed] The English dubbed version of Bleach premiered on Animax Asia on December 18, 2009 with the first 52 episodes and season 2 premiered on March 18, 2011 this time with the original Japanese audio with English subtitles.

As of January 2012, 76 DVD compilations have been released by Aniplex in Japan.[34] Viz Media has released 32 DVD compilations of the English adaptation of the anime,[35][36] along with seven season boxsets that contain the first seven seasons of the anime.[37][38][39] On July 29, 2009, Aniplex released a "TV Animation Bleach 5th Anniversary Box" that includes 15 DVDs and three bonus discs.[40]

Soundtrack CDs

Composed and produced by Shirō Sagisu, 11 CD soundtracks have been released for the Bleach anime series and movies. Bleach Original Soundtrack 1 was released on May 18, 2005, which contains 25 tracks, including the first opening and ending themes in their original television lengths.[41] Bleach Original Soundtrack 2 followed on August 2, 2006 with an additional 23 instrumental tracks.[42] Bleach Original Soundtrack 3 later followed on November 5, 2008 with 27 instrumental tracks.[43] Bleach Original Soundtrack 4 was released on December 16, 2009 with 30 instrumental tracks.[44] Bleach: Memories of Nobody Original Soundtrack was released with 25 tracks from the Bleach: Memories of Nobody film. Bleach: The DiamondDust Rebellion Original Soundtrack was also released for the Bleach: The DiamondDust Rebellion film, with 29 tracks from the movie, followed by Bleach: Fade to Black Original Soundtrack for the Bleach: Fade to Black film, with 29 tracks, followed by Bleach: Hell Verse Original Soundtrack for the Bleach: Hell Verse film, with 21 tracks.[45][46][47] Bleach: The Best contains 12 of the opening and ending themes from the series in their full length versions, later followed by Bleach: Best Tunes, which contains 12 more opening and ending themes.[48][49]

Three Radio DJCD Bleach 'B' Station season CD sets, each containing six volumes, have been released in Japan.[50] The third season is still ongoing in Japan.[51] Eight drama CDs have been produced for the series as well, featuring the original voice actors from the series; these drama CDs have only been included as part of the DVD releases.[52]

The Bleach Beat Collections is an ongoing set of CDs published by Sony Music featuring recordings by the original Japanese voice actors that provide a look at the personalities of the characters they play, as well as the voice actors themselves. The first CD was released on June 22, 2005, and as of March 2009, 21 volumes have been released across four named sets called Sessions.[53]

Films

There are four feature films based on the Bleach series, all of which are directed by Noriyuki Abe, director of the Bleach anime series. The films have been released in December of each year starting in 2006. Each movie features an original plotline along with original characters designed by Tite Kubo, which is contrary to the normal practice for anime-based films, as the original author usually has little creative involvement.[54]

The first film, Bleach: Memories of Nobody, was released in Japan on December 16, 2006 and had a limited release in American theaters in June 2008.[55][56] The movie is centered around the activities of the "Dark Ones," who were banished from the Soul Society and are subsequently trying to destroy both the Soul Society and the World of the Living. Memories of Nobody was released in North America on Region 1 DVD by Viz Media on October 14, 2008.[57]

The second film, Bleach: The DiamondDust Rebellion, was released to Japanese theaters on December 22, 2007.[58] Its plot focuses on 10th Division captain Tōshirō Hitsugaya's efforts to clear his name after an artifact belonging to Soul Society's king is stolen while under his care. The DiamondDust Rebellion was released in North America on Region 1 DVD by Viz Media on September 8, 2009.[59]

The third film, Bleach: Fade to Black, was released in Japan on December 13, 2008. In the film, members of Soul Society are struck with amnesia, caused by a parasitic Hollow causing them to lose their memories of Ichigo and Rukia. When he goes to the Soul Society to investigate, Ichigo discovers that Rukia has not only forgotten him, but has forgotten her own identity as well.[60] The film was released on DVD on September 30, 2009.[61] The English Dub release of Fade to Black was released on Region 1 DVD by Viz Media on November 15, 2011.[62]

The fourth movie, Bleach: Hell Verse, was released in Japan on December 4, 2010.[63] In it Ichigo is heading into the Gates of Hell, which is where Hollows who had committed evil during their lives as humans are sent. Tite Kubo did oversee the production of the film.[64]

Besides animated film in March 2010, Warner Bros. (USA/Canada/International) confirmed that it is in talks to create a live action movie adaptation of the series. Peter Segal and Michael Ewing have been lined up to produce the movie.[65]

Musicals

Bleach has been adapted into a series of rock musicals, jointly produced by Studio Pierrot and Nelke Planning. There have been five musicals produced which covered portions of the Substitute and Soul Society arcs, as well as three additional performances known as "Live Bankai Shows" 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.[66][67][68]

The musicals are directed by Takuya Hiramitsu, with a 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, Miki Satō, who plays Rukia Kuchiki, and Eiji Moriyama, who plays Renji Abarai.[69]

Trading card game

Main article: Bleach Trading Card Game

Two collectible card games (CCG) based on the Bleach series have been produced. Bleach Soul Card Battle, produced by Bandai, was introduced in Japan in 2004.[70] As of October 2008, seventeen named sets have been released for the series.[71]

Bleach TCG was introduced in the United States by Score Entertainment in May 2007,[72] but ceased publication April 2009, just before the planned launch of its seventh expansion, Bleach Infiltration.[73] This cancellation was attributed to the ongoing recession, which has heavily affected TCG sales.[73] 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.[74] 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. As of December 2008, six named sets have been released.[75]

Video games

See also: List of Bleach video games

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 PlayStation Portable.[76] Currently, the majority of the games have only been released in Japan, though Sega has localized the first three Nintendo DS games and the first Wii game for North America.[77] So far, all dedicated Bleach games released for Sony's consoles have been developed and published by SCEI, whereas the games for Nintendo consoles are developed and published by Sega, and the Nintendo DS games are developed by Treasure Co. Ltd..[78][79]

Light novels

Tite Kubo and Makoto Matsubara have co-authored two novelizations of the Bleach series, which were published by Shueisha under its Shounen Jump Books label. The first volume, BLEACH-letters from the other side: The Death and The Strawberry, was published on November 15, 2006, and the second, Bleach: The Honey Dish Rhapsody, was published on October 31, 2008.[80][81]

Other

A single Bleach artbook, All Colour But The Black, has been 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.[82][83]

Four 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.[84][85] Bleach: Official Character Book SOULs. was later released in English by Viz Media on November 18, 2008.[86] The third databook, Bleach Official Bootleg: KaraBuri+ (BLEACH OFFICIAL BOOTLEG カラブリ プラス), 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, Tedious Everyday Tales Colorful Bleach (徒然日常絵詞 カラフル ブリーチ Tsuredure Nichijou Ekotoba Karafuru Buriichi), that were published in V Jump. The omake-style panels are similar to those included in the main series, but reveal more of the daily lives of characters.[87] The fourth book, Bleach: Official Character Book 2: MASKED, was released on August 4, 2010.[88] 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. It should be noted that while 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. 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.

Reception

As of May 2007, Bleach had sold a total of 40 million copies, ranking as the fourteenth best-selling series from Weekly Shōnen Jump.[89] By February 2012, it had sold more than 78 million copies making it the magazine's sixth best-selling series of all time.[90] In 2013, this number increased to 82 million copies sold.[91] In 2005, Bleach was awarded the Shogakukan Manga Award in the shōnen category.[92][93] 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.[94] In total the manga has sold 3,161,825 copies in Japan during 2008, becoming the year's 5th best selling series.[95] In the first half from 2009, Bleach ranked as the 2nd best-selling manga in Japan, having sold 3.5 million copies.[96] 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.[97]

North American sales of the manga have also been high, with each volume having sold over 1.2 million copies.[98][99] Volume 16 placing in the top 10 graphic novel sales in December 2006[100] and Volume 17 being the best-selling manga volume for the month of February 2007.[101][102] 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.[103] 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.[104][105]

Deb Aoki from About.com considered the series as the Best Continuing Shōnen Manga of 2007, along with Eyeshield 21, praising the "compelling stories, dazzling action sequences and great character development".[106] She also placed the title on her list of "Top 10 Shōnen Manga Must-Reads".[107] The artwork and the character designs received positive response by IGN's A.E. Sparrow. He also commented on the several storylines going on in the series at the same time due to the large number of supporting characters which make the manga appealing in response to fans' claims about a "lack of a story" in Bleach.[108] 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.[109][110] 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.[111]

References

  1. ↑
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 "Bleach TV Anime Ending on March 27". Anime News Network. 
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 Deb Aoki. "Interview: Tite Kubo (page 1)". About.com. Retrieved September 16, 2008. 
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 Charles Solomon (August 28, 2008). "Creator Tite Kubo surprised by 'Bleach' success". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on April 23, 2009. Retrieved September 17, 2008. 
  5. ↑ Tite Kubo at Metacritic.
  6. ↑ Anime Insider (Wizard Universe) (61): 39. October 2008. ISSN 1547-3767. 
  7. ↑ Shonen Jump #51. Volume 5, Issue 3. March 2007. VIZ Media. 328.
  8. ↑ Kai-ming Cha (August 4, 2008). "Kubo Comes to Comic-Con". Publishers Weekly. PWxyz, LLC. Retrieved September 17, 2008. 
  9. ↑ 9.0 9.1 9.2 9.3 9.4 9.5 Shonen Jump. Volume 6, Issue 6. June 2007. Viz Media. 12.
  10. ↑ 10.0 10.1 10.2 10.3 10.4 10.5 von Feigenblatt, Otto F., Japanese Animation as a Global Product: The Lingering Traces of Nijonjinron and the Rise of Globalism and Hybridity (August 2, 2012). Journal of History & Social Sciences, 2(2), pp. 1-14, July-December 2012. Available at SSRN: http://ssrn.com/abstract=2195562
  11. ↑ Kubo, Tite (2004). "Chapter 6". Bleach, Volume 1. Viz Media. ISBN 1-59116-441-9. 
  12. ↑ Drazen, Patrick (Jun 29, 2011). A Gathering of Spirits: Japan's Ghost Story Tradition from Folklore and Kabuki to Anime and Manga. iUniverse. pp. 11–12. 
  13. ↑ Pine, Jarred (2005-02-24). "Bleach Vol. 1 Review". Mania Entertainment. Retrieved 2009-04-23. 
  14. ↑ Santos, Carlos (2005-08-21). "Bleach Review". Anime News Network. Retrieved 2008-12-25. 
  15. ↑ 15.0 15.1 15.2 Tite Kubo, Masakazu Morita (August 2007). Tite Kubo Interview, Bleach B-Station 112. Japan: Bleach B-Station. 
  16. ↑ Bleach Uncut Season 2 Box Set; Behind the scenes of Bleach (DVD). Viz Media. August 19, 2008. 
  17. ↑ Harper, Melissa (2007-01-22). "Bleach DVD 1 - Review". Anime News Network. Retrieved 2008-03-11. 
  18. ↑ Alexandre, Carlos (July 30, 2007). "Anime Review: Bleach, Vol. 1". popcultureshock.com. Retrieved September 4, 2009. 
  19. ↑ "Tite Kubo". Viz Media. Retrieved December 8, 2011. 
  20. ↑ "BLEACH―ブリーチ―/1" (in Japanese). Shueisha. Retrieved January 8, 2008. 
  21. ↑ "Bleach 43" (in Japanese). Shueisha. Retrieved February 4, 2010. 
  22. ↑ "Viz to Serialize Bleach, Publish Slam Dunk". Anime News Network. July 27, 2007. Archived from the original on April 2, 2009. Retrieved October 26, 2008. 
  23. ↑ "Bleach, Vol. 1". Viz Media. Retrieved January 8, 2008. 
  24. ↑ "Bleach, Vol. 29". Viz Media. Retrieved August 8, 2009. 
  25. ↑ "Bleach (Box Set)". Viz Media. Archived from the original on April 2, 2009. Retrieved October 24, 2008. 
  26. ↑ "Bleach , Vol. 1 (Collector's Edition)". Viz Media. Archived from the original on April 2, 2009. Retrieved November 17, 2008. 
  27. ↑ "Bleach Manga Volumes 1-21 Digital Color Edition". Retrieved October 19, 2012. 
  28. ↑ "List of Bleach episode titles (1-13)" (in Japanese). TV Tokyo. Archived from the original on March 6, 2009. Retrieved January 28, 2009. 
  29. ↑ "ぴえろ BLEACH =ブリーチ=" (in Japanese). Studio Pierrot. Retrieved April 7, 2009. 
  30. ↑ "Viz Media named master licensor for hit Japanese action manga Shōnen Jump's Bleach" (Press release). Viz Media. Archived from the original on May 4, 2007. Retrieved April 1, 2007. 
  31. ↑ "Viz Announces Bleach Merchandise Licenses". Anime News Network. Retrieved March 24, 2007. 
  32. ↑ "Swim Picks up Bleach". Anime News Network. March 30, 2006. Retrieved April 12, 2009. 
  33. ↑ "Adult Swim to Run 52 More Episodes of Bleach". Anime News Network. January 28, 2008. Retrieved December 11, 2011. 
  34. ↑ "Bleach: Season 14 DVDs Arrancar: Downfall" (in Japanese). Aniplex. Retrieved January 27, 2012. 
  35. ↑ "Bleach, Vol. 1 (DVD)". Viz Media. Retrieved January 17, 2009. 
  36. ↑ "Bleach, Vol. 20 (DVD)". Viz Media. Retrieved July 11, 2009. 
  37. ↑ "Bleach Uncut Season 1 Box Set (Standard Edition)". Amazon.com. Retrieved October 5, 2008. 
  38. ↑ "Bleach Uncut Season 2 Box Set". Amazon.com. Retrieved October 5, 2008. 
  39. ↑ "Bleach Uncut Season 3 Box Set: The Rescue". Amazon.com. Retrieved September 26, 2009. 
  40. ↑ "TV Animation Bleach 5th Anniversary Box Limited Release". CD Japan. Retrieved November 7, 2009. 
  41. ↑ "TV Animation BLEACH Original Soundtrack 1" (in Japanese). Amazon.com. Retrieved July 20, 2009. 
  42. ↑ "TV Animation BLEACH Original Soundtrack 2" (in Japanese). Amazon.com. Retrieved July 20, 2009. 
  43. ↑ "TV Animation BLEACH Original Soundtrack 3" (in Japanese). Amazon.com. Retrieved July 20, 2009. 
  44. ↑ "TV Animation BLEACH Original Soundtrack 4" (in Japanese). Amazon.com. Retrieved December 11, 2009. 
  45. ↑ "劇場版 BLEACH MEMORIES OF NOBODY Original Soundtrack" (in Japanese). Amazon.com. Retrieved July 21, 2009. 
  46. ↑ "劇場版 BLEACH The DiamondDust Rebellion Original Soundtrack" (in Japanese). Amazon.com. Retrieved July 21, 2009. 
  47. ↑ "劇場版 BLEACH Fade to Black Original Soundtrack" (in Japanese). Amazon.com. Retrieved July 21, 2009. 
  48. ↑ "BLEACH: The Best" (in Japanese). Amazon.com. Retrieved July 20, 2009. 
  49. ↑ "BLEACH BEST TUNES(DVD付)" (in Japanese). Amazon.com. Retrieved July 20, 2009. 
  50. ↑ "RADIO DJCD BLEACH"B"STATION Second Season6" (in Japanese). Amazon.com. Retrieved July 20, 2009. 
  51. ↑ "RADIO DJCD BLEACH"B"STATION Third Season Vol.4" (in Japanese). Amazon.com. Retrieved July 20, 2009. 
  52. ↑ "BLEACH 破面(アランカル)・激闘篇 1 【完全生産限定版】 [DVD]" (in Japanese). Amazon.com. Retrieved July 20, 2009. 
  53. ↑ "BLEACH : ディスコグラフィ" (in Japanese). Sony Music. Retrieved January 1, 2009. 
  54. ↑ (in Japanese) Bleach: The DiamondDust Rebellion (Media notes). Japan: Toho. 2008.
  55. ↑ "Japan Box Yearly Box Office 2006". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved July 3, 2009. 
  56. ↑ "First Bleach Film to Run in U.S. Theaters June 11–12". Anime News Network. April 17, 2008. Retrieved July 21, 2009. 
  57. ↑ "Bleach Movie 1 (Standard Edition)". Retrieved July 21, 2009. 
  58. ↑ "Japan Box Yearly Box Office 2007". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved July 3, 2009. 
  59. ↑ "Bleach Movie 2: The DiamondDust Rebellion (2007)". Amazon.com. Retrieved July 21, 2009. 
  60. ↑ "Third Bleach Film, First Major Film Have Titles, Dates". Anime News Network. July 15, 2008. Retrieved July 15, 2008. 
  61. ↑ "劇場版BLEACH Fade to Black 君の名を呼ぶ(通常版) [DVD]". Amazon Japan. Retrieved October 7, 2009. 
  62. ↑ "Third dub movie". Anime News Network. July 2, 2011. Retrieved July 2, 2011. 
  63. ↑ "December's Bleach: Jigoku-Hen Film Overseen by Kubo". Retrieved July 13, 2010. 
  64. ↑ "Bleach: Jigoku-Hen Film, Yakumo Promos Streamed (Updated) - News". Anime News Network. September 14, 2010. Retrieved July 3, 2011. 
  65. ↑ "Warner Brothers in Film Talks for Bleach Manga". Anime News Network. Retrieved March 22, 2010. 
  66. ↑ "Studio Pierrot's official Bleach musical site". Retrieved September 16, 2008. 
  67. ↑ "ロックミュージカル『BLEACH』". Nelke.co.jp (in Japanese). Nelke Planning Co., LTD. Archived from the original on March 21, 2007. Retrieved December 30, 2011. 
  68. ↑ "Bleach Rock Musical". Anime News Network. April 11, 2005. Retrieved September 16, 2008. 
  69. ↑ "Rock Musical BLEACH Saien - Live". CDJapan.co.jp. Retrieved July 21, 2009. 
  70. ↑ "Bleach Soul Card Battle Starter Deck 1st Ed Blue Pack". Atamaii. Retrieved November 5, 2008. 
  71. ↑ "Bleach-Soul Card Battle-Bandai" (in Japanese). Retrieved November 5, 2008. 
  72. ↑ "Official Bleach TCG: FAQ". Score Entertainment. Archived from the original on December 17, 2008. Retrieved November 2, 2008. 
  73. ↑ 73.0 73.1 "'Bleach TCG' RIP". icv2. Retrieved May 22, 2009. 
  74. ↑ "Official Bleach TCG: Rules". Score Entertainment. Archived from the original on December 17, 2008. Retrieved November 2, 2008. 
  75. ↑ "Bleach Trading Card Game - Bankai Starter Deck". Amazon.com. Retrieved July 21, 2009. 
  76. ↑ "IGN: Bleach: Heat the Soul". IGN. Retrieved September 1, 2009. 
  77. ↑ Gantayat, Anoop (July 28, 2006). "Bleach 2nd Details". IGN. Retrieved August 16, 2007. 
  78. ↑ "IGN: Bleach: The Blade of Fate". IGN. Retrieved August 16, 2007. 
  79. ↑ "IGN: Bleach: Shattered Blade". IGN. Retrieved August 16, 2007. 
  80. ↑ "Bleach novel series" (in Japanese). Shueisha. Retrieved April 15, 2008. 
  81. ↑ "Bleach novel series" (in Japanese). Shueisha. Retrieved April 15, 2008. 
  82. ↑ "BLEACHイラスト集 All Colour But The Black" (in Japanese). Shueisha. Retrieved April 27, 2008. 
  83. ↑ "The Art of Bleach". Viz media. Retrieved April 23, 2009. 
  84. ↑ "BLEACH―ブリーチ― OFFICIAL CHARACTER BOOK SOULs." (in Japanese). Shueisha. Retrieved April 27, 2008. 
  85. ↑ "BLEACH―ブリーチ― OFFICIAL ANIMATION BOOK VIBEs." (in Japanese). Shueisha. Retrieved April 27, 2008. 
  86. ↑ "Bleach SOULs. Official Character Book". Viz media. Retrieved July 3, 2009. 
  87. ↑ "BLEACH OFFICIAL BOOTLEG カラブリ+" (in Japanese). Shueisha. Retrieved April 27, 2008. 
  88. ↑ "BLEACH―ブリーチ― OFFICIAL CHARACTER BOOK 2 MASKED." (in Japanese). Shueisha. Retrieved August 13, 2010. 
  89. ↑ "Comipress News article on "The Rise and Fall of Weekly Shōnen Jump"". Comipress. May 6, 2007. Retrieved June 2, 2008. 
  90. ↑ "Top 10 Shonen Jump Manga by All-Time Volume Sales". Anime News Network. October 23, 2012. 
  91. ↑ "Shueisha Media Guide 2013: Boy's & Men's Comic Magazines" (in Japanese). Shueisha. Retrieved 2013-12-27. 
  92. ↑ "小学館漫画賞: 歴代受賞者" (in Japanese). Shogakukan. Retrieved August 19, 2007. 
  93. ↑ "の作品はオンラインで購入することができます" (in Japanese). Shogakukan. Retrieved December 14, 2006. 
  94. ↑ "2008's Top-Selling Manga in Japan, #1-25". Anime News Network. December 19, 2008. Retrieved December 30, 2008. 
  95. ↑ "2008's Top-Selling Manga in Japan, by Series". Anime News Network. January 2, 2009. Retrieved January 3, 2009. 
  96. ↑ "Top-Selling Manga in Japan by Series: 1st Half of 2009". Anime News Network. June 15, 2009. Retrieved June 15, 2009. 
  97. ↑ "Top-Selling Manga in Japan by Volume: 1st Half of 2009 (Updated)". Anime News Network. June 15, 2009. Retrieved June 15, 2009. 
  98. ↑ "Viz To Release Bleach The Movie 2: The DiamondDust Rebellion on DVD". Anime News Network. September 1, 2007. Retrieved September 28, 2009. 
  99. ↑ "Viz Media's Shonen Jump Welcomes Bleach Manga Creator Tite Kubo for Ultra-Rare Appearance at 2008 San Diego Comic-Con International". Anime News Network. May 21, 2008. Retrieved September 28, 2009. 
  100. ↑ "Top 100 Graphic Novels Actual--December 2006". ICv2. January 16, 2007. Retrieved March 28, 2007. 
  101. ↑ "Top 100 Graphic Novels Actual--February 2007". ICv2. March 20, 2007. Retrieved March 28, 2007. 
  102. ↑ "Civil War Finale Tops the Charts". ICv2. March 20, 2007. Retrieved March 28, 2007. 
  103. ↑ "Interview with Viz's Gonzalo Ferreyra, Part 1". ICv2. January 21, 2010. Retrieved January 21, 2010. 
  104. ↑ "American Anime Awards Finalists Announced". Anime News Network. February 2, 2007. Retrieved September 28, 2009. 
  105. ↑ "American Anime Awards Winners". Anime News Network. February 24, 2007. Retrieved September 28, 2009. 
  106. ↑ Aoki, Deb (2007). "2007 Best Continuing Manga List — Top 10 Current Manga Series of 2007". About.com. Retrieved December 13, 2008. 
  107. ↑ Aoki, Deb. "Recommended Reading — Top 10 List of Shōnen Manga Must-Reads". About.com. Retrieved December 13, 2008. 
  108. ↑ Sparrow, A. E. (March 12, 2007). "Bleach: Volume 18 review Blink and you'll miss something very cool". IGN. Retrieved November 1, 2008. 
  109. ↑ Douresseaux, Leroy (January 27, 2007). "Bleach: Volume 22 review". comicbookbin.com. Retrieved November 1, 2008. 
  110. ↑ Douresseaux, Leroy (July 22, 2007). "Bleach: Volume 20 review". comicbookbin.com. Retrieved November 1, 2008. 
  111. ↑ Pine, Jarred (February 24, 2005). "Bleach Vol. #01". Mania. Retrieved December 13, 2008. 

External links

Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to: Bleach (manga)
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Bleach (manga).
Media
Films
Video games
Characters
Related
Book • Category
Series currently running in Weekly Shōnen Jump
Weekly Shōnen Jump: 2000–2009
2000
2001
2002
2003
2004
2005
2006
2007
2008
2009
Works of Pierrot
Television series
OVAs
Films


This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike; additional terms may apply for the media files.