Tite Kubo

The long-awaited showdown between Ichigo and Byakuya Kuchiki has finally begun.

Bleach.

Ichigo Kurosaki has always seen ghosts, but the day he meets Rukia Kuchiki changes everything. When the Soul Reaper lends him some of her power to fight a Hollow--an soul-eating spirit that's drawn to psychic people--he takes it all,  weakening her and making himself a Soul Reaper in the process. Now, it's his job to protect the innocent from Hollows and help the spirits find peace.

Sarah Sammis

In Bleach Volume 1, Ichigo Kurosaki, aka "Strawberry" who is an average kid except that he can talk to ghosts. A late night encounter with a hollow introduces Ichigo to Rukia Kuchiki and the Soul Society. Before he knows it, he's a shinigami, enfused with Rukia's power and charged with chasing down Hollows.

I come to Bleach having seen the first few DVDs of the anime series of the same title. It's fun to spend a little more time with the characters and get more involved in the story and in Ichigo's world. We watch the anime with the Japanese language track and I don't always read all the subtitles, so it's nice to read the translated manga.

Ichigo realizes a Hollow is involved when Chad checks into a hospital with a mysterious scar on his back and disappears along with a talking parakeet imbued with the soul of a boy named Yûichi. Ichigo soon discovers that not all souls are bound for the Soul Society, especially those tainted with innocent blood.

Bleach 2 brings in more characters into the mix. First is Chad, the big smart "thug" of the school who has a huge heart and spirit power of his own. He befriends a cursed parakeet because he's the only one strong enough to survive all the bad luck that follows owning the bird. Of course the bad luck turns out to be a hollow but Chad holds his own.

The second half brings Ichigo and Rukia closer together as partners. What should be an "easy" way for Ichigo to control how and when he leaves his body ends up leading to a funny and embarrassing day of mistaken identity.

On the anniversary of his mother's death, Ichigo and the Kurosaki clan head to the cemetary to pay their respects. Later, Ichigo confronts the Grand Fisher, the Hollow that was probably responsible for his mother's death.

Bleach vol 3

Although Bleach 3 has the delightfully random Orihime on the cover, this volume is all about the Strawberry (Ichigo). The day is June 17th, the day that Ichigo's mother died and the day he stopped smiling.

In this volume, Ichigo finally grows as a character. His motivations, emotions and abilities start to make sense. His deep-seeded stubbornness is also explained.

Through a combination of flashbacks and a very long winded fight scene between Ichigo and a hollow, we learn how Ichigo's mother died and how her death has affected the entire family. An interesting side note is the father's reaction to Ichigo's emotional outburst at the end of the book. It was after that scene that I finally began to like Ichigo's father.

A new reality-show is sweeping the nation with a media-savvy spiritualist who travels and performs exorcisms live on TV, as its host. Ichigo Kurosaki doubts the authenticity of the host--and the show is headed to his neighborhood. What will happen to the balance between the spiritual and earthly worlds?

Bleach 4 further explains what Hollows are and how they are created. Ichigo and a popular TV psychic learn the hard way the danger of doing haphazard spiritual cleansing.

A mystery also begins near the end of the volume. Someone other than Ichigo and Rukia are taking care of the hollows. Either that or her detector has started to misfire. The who behind the mystery is shown on cover but the how and the why is revealed in volume 5.

Overall I like how each new volume brings something new to the overall story arc. Each one reveals more information either on characters or on how the world works. Volume 4 does both, bringing in more pivotal characters and better explanation to how the spirit world works.

Ichigo meets Uryu Ishida, the last of a clan of Quincys who kill Hollows without hesitation. Determined to make Ichigo see his way is better, Uryu proposes a contest--whoever kills the most Hollows wins the honor of hunting the Hollows. Also, Orihime and Chad awaken to their own psychic abilities.

As the cover art implies, much of Bleach 5: Right Arm of the Giant is about Chad and his unusual abilities. As Chad is honing his strength we are treated to Uryû Ishida's back story as the last Quincy. Finally there is Orihime who is also coming into her powers.

Although there are the usual fights with Hollows, Bleach 5 is mostly about Ichigo's friends (or soon to be friends). It's about their back stories, their abilities and how they are important to Ichigo. The Hollows here are just to show what Ichigo's friends can do without him.

I like Chad. He's not the typical stupid heavy. He's quiet, embarrassed by his strength but he's smart. He's also very nice, even if he's not the most social of characters.

The real duty of Soul Reapers is to maintain the balance between this life and next. Ichigo and Uryu's competition inadvertantly results in the creation of a leviathan of a Hollow whose size alone can destroy that balance. Can Ichigo defeat it and protect the equilibrium of the universe?

Bleach vol 6

Although "Hat and Clogs" is on the cover of Bleach 6, he is waiting in the wings to clean up the mess that Uryû and Ichigo create.

Volume 6 is the breaking point in the current rhythm of the series. It is also the point where the Soul Society's role in the universe is finally explained. They keep the balance of souls between the two worlds. Unfortunately Uryû and Ichigo have thrown that completely off kilter.

Can they put things to rights? Can they work together long enough to fix the mess? And finally, will all of this go unnoticed? Of course not.

Rukia severely displeased the Soul Society when she transferred Soul Reaver powers to Ichigo, and they have sent to of their agents to eliminate Ichigo and bring Rukia to justice. Their only hope may be the arrival of Uryû Ishida, the Quincy.

Bleach 7 takes the series in a new direction. The fallout from Ichigo and Uryû's Hollow competition leads to Rukia's arrest. Can they save her from certain execution?

Most of this volume is a long drawn out fight between Ichigo and Rukia's captors. Lots of sword play and posturing.

Needless to say, Ichigo gets his ass handed to him. In all of this abuse he begins to learn that he might have powers and strength beyond what Rukia has given him. He also learns first hand the prejudices of the Soul Society.

The second half of Volume 7 focuses on the training of Ichigo and his friends. Ichigo's training re-emphasizes the theme of balance from Volume 6. There is a fine line between becoming a Soul Reaper and becoming a Hollow.

Bleach

Bleach 8 is a pause in the action, a deep breath before the entry into the Soul Society.

Although Bleach 8 lacks the action of the previous couple of volumes, it has one of my favorite scenes: Ichigo becomes a Soul Reaper but at a tremendous price. He also learns the name of his zanpaku-tô.

There are also brief glimpses into the Soul Society but so far we are uninitiated voyeurs. Characters are introduced and back stories hinted at. This volume will be fun to go back and reread with a few extra ones under my belt.

Ichigo and company meet their first obstacle on the road to saving Rukia from the Soul Society. It is Jidanbô, the monstrous gatekeeper who hasn't let anyone enter the gate he guards in over 300 years, but Ichigo just sees that as an extra challenge. Anything less would be boring!

Bleach vol 11

** spoiler alert **
            It's been two months since my last Bleach review. Other reading commitments have gotten in the way of the reading for fun. I took some Bleach volumes along for the ride during our Oregon road trip but I only managed to read Volume 9.

In Volume 9, subtitled "Fourteen Days for Conspiracy" Ichigo and his friends make it into the outer ring of the Soul Society. Unfortunately there's the little problem of the four gates blocking the inner circle.

If they can't go through the gates the only other choice is to go over them. That's where "Rukongai's Premier Fireworks Expert" comes in. Her plan though is in Volume 10.

On a bittersweet side note, Chad is briefly reunited with the spirit in the parrot who serves as a tour guide as Ichigo et al. get their bearings.

With the help of Kukaku - a one-armed explosives expert and old friend of the mysterious talking cat Yoruichi - Ichigo and crew are one step closer to infiltrating the Soul Society and rescuing their friend Rukia before she is executed. For Kukaku's plan to work, Ichigo must control his enormous resevoir of spiritual energy - and there's no telling how much collateral damage this will cause.

Up until volume 10 of Bleach, I've enjoyed the manga and the anime equally. Volume 10: Tattoo on the Sky breaks that trend; I enjoyed the anime more.

Volume 10 spends most of its effort on showing how cool and scary the different captains of the soul society are. On the flip side, Ichigo and the others are learning how to control their spirit power. I really liked this training scene in the anime but here it falls flat.

But the largest chunk of volume 10 is devoted to Ichigo and friends coming head to head with the captains of the Soul Society. Lots of slashing and posturing and onomatopoeias and very little in terms of plot progression. I know from previous volumes that this series goes in cycles and I know from sneaking peaks at Nanashi-inc, I know things are going to get exciting really soon.

Ichigo defeats Ikkaku and discovers where Rukia is being detained before her execution. Meanwhile, Ganju is having more difficulty with his opponent, and Uryû finally has an opportunity to prove how much more powerful he has become.

Bleach 11 picks up the pace now that all the members of the Soul Society (and their aunts and uncles) have been properly introduced. Now that we know who they are; let the blood shedding begin!

In the process of fighting in their scattered way and trying to reconnoiter, Ichigo and his companions learn more about the Soul Society, it's different companies, the layout of the compound and most importantly, where Rukia is being held.

While the relationship between Renji and Rukia is set up to be the big dramatic reveal of "A Star and a Stray Dog," I much preferred the comedic scenes with Hanatarô Yamada of the Fourth Company and the tour through the sewers.

With reports of powerful intruders defeating a number of assistant captains, the inner sanctum of the Soul Society - the Seireitei, the home of the Soul Reapers - is put on a state of high alert. Matters are further compounded by the mysterious death of a prominent captain. Meanwhile, Ichigo confronts Kenpachi Zaraki, captain of the eleventh company, and by far the most brutal fighter in the Seireitei!

Bleach vol 12

Bleach 12 is basically Bleach 11 The Revenge. It's more fighting, more bloodshed, more posturing over spirit power and an explanation as to what it takes to be a captain in the Soul Society.

For most of this volume I was pretty uninspired but it all. There's only so much escalation of violence one can take before it gets repetitive and silly. Bleach 12 hit that point for me.

The best parts of the volume were the scenes that explained Ichigo and Chad's friendship. Chad's back story explains a lot about him and why he is so loyal to Ichigo.

Fifteen-year-old high school student Ichigo Kurosaki has martial arts skills and the ability to see ghosts, and his life is about to change when he meets Rukia Kuchiki, a soul reaper and protector of innocents.

Bleach 13: The Undead relies heavily on more bloated spirit energy battles. The biggest battle in this volume is between Ichigo and Kenpachi Zakari who is what Ichigo could have become if his friends hadn't intervened. Kenpachi relies on his brute strength both in his physique and in his spirit energy. Kenpachi is where Ichigo was back in Volume 8 except that he's never advanced beyond that critical point in his training.

In the process of learning about Kenpachi's underlying weakness Ichigo returns to the strange abandoned urban setting where he first learns to meld his strength with that of Zangetsu. His return to this metaworld gives hints as to its true power and to Ichigo's destiny.

I liked Bleach 13 more than the previous couple of volumes. It felt like the story was getting back on track even if the battle with Kenpachi Zakari took more of the pages than I would have liked. At least his battle was a means to further exposition.

Ichigo and Yoruichi race to save Ichigo's friends from Rukia's cold-blooded brother, Byakuya Kukichi. They arrive to find Ganju in tatters, and Rukia with him. Ichigo is bent on defeating her brother this time, but he is nowhere near prepared.

Bleach 14: White Tower Rocks has convinced me that now is a good time to take a break from reading the series. I'm getting tired of the never ending escalation of opponents and spirit energy. The newest one, Mayuri Kurotsuchi, I've actually seen in an anime clip that was posted on Nanashi-Inc awhile back. All I can say is he's more impressive in the anime than in the manga. In the manga he reminds me of a demented kachina but he doesn't instill in me the visceral reaction he did in the clip.

Bleach 14 gives a false sense of forward progress. Rukia nearly escapes. Ichigo nearly manages to single handedly rescue her only to almost be mortally wounded again. I know Ichigo is supposed to be stronger and more determined than what anyone has ever seen and if he can learn to hone his powers but after awhile it pushes the suspension of disbelief well past the breaking point.

In the early volumes, a lot happened in each issue. There were always a couple hollows to dispatch, friends discovering secret powers and the odd relationship between Ichigo and his father. Now it seems that the rescue party is slogging through quick drying cement. Each new volume seems to have less in the way of plot progression than the previous one.

That's not to say I totally hated volume 14. Yourichi obviously has an interesting back story and powers previously unrevealed which calls into questions her motivation for joining the team. Likewise, there are some weird after affects of Ichigo's near transformation into a Hollow.

I have up through volume 17 which I will be reading and reviewing eventually. For now though I will be concentrating on different manga series.

Kirsten Simkiss

As Ichigo and his friends get closer to rescuing Rukia, they come to face more and more serious adversaries. As someone who's watched the show, you might realize that most of these people later become their allies and they all just let it go. Go figure. In the mean time, it fills pages.

I think this was my second time reading this first volume, but it’s been well over a decade since that time. It seems to hold up well, considering, and I recall liking the characters more after they developed a bit. In this volume, they’re still working out the kinks of how the world works, which is fun, but also time consuming in terms of story. Still, it’s a great start to what I recall as being a great story line.

Ichigo "Strawberry" Kurasaka never asked for the ability to see ghosts. The noose is tightening around Ichigo. His inner Hollow can't wait to consume him, the sinister transfer student has him trapped for a mysterious job, and now powerful new enemies have landed in his hometown to destroy him.

Not a lot really happens specifically in this volume. It’s more of a continuation of threads that are pulling tighter and tighter around Ichigo. When I watched the anime as a teen, I remember being obsessed with Hollow Ichigo because he was so creepy. In this volume, he spends most of his time being worried about Hollow Ichigo. Toward the end, the new villains appear - Aizen’s hollow minions.

As Ichigo and Uryu do battle to see who is better by Uryu’s standards, picking off hollows in the streets, Chad and Orihime are made aware of the full gravity of the choice they need to make next. But, of course, things can only get worse, not better, as the menos grande hollow appears - the largest hollow seen to date.

Ichigo Kurosaki never asked for the ability to see ghosts--he was born with the gift. When his family is attacked by a Hollow--a malevolent lost soul--Ichigo becomes a Soul Reaper, dedicating his life to protecting the innocent and helping the tortured spirits themselves find peace. Find out why Tite Kubo's Bleach has become an international manga smash-hit! The war between the Soul Reapers and the Quincies continues as Renji and Rukia join the battle. But are their newfound powers enough to take on these fearsome adversaries? And what is the true purpose of the war?

Ken Yuen

Did I miss this or just forget it before?

Ichigo Kurosaki never asked for the ability to see ghosts--he was born with the gift. When his family is attacked by a Hollow--a malevolent lost soul--Ichigo becomes a Soul Reaper, dedicating his life to protecting the innocent and helping the tortured spirits themselves find peace. Find out why Tite Kubo's Bleach has become an international manga smash-hit! Unable to use their Bankai special abilities, the Soul Reaper captains are at a severe disadvantage against the invading Quincy army. Urahara has a plan to turn the tide of battle, but will it be enough as the Quincies continue their onslaught?!

Looks like I missed this one the first time.

Ichigo Kurosaki never asked for the ability to see ghosts--he was born with the gift. When his family is attacked by a Hollow--a malevolent lost soul--Ichigo becomes a Soul Reaper, dedicating his life to protecting the innocent and helping the tortured spirits themselves find peace. Find out why Tite Kubo's Bleach has become an international manga smash-hit! The Soul Reapers of Squad Zero continue their defense of the royal palace as Yhwach's strongest Quincies reveal their true powers! But when Hyosube, the leader of Squad Zero, joins the fray, will Yhwach be forced into the fight as well?

Part-time high school student, full-time Soul Reaper, Ichigo is one of the chosen few sword-wielding guardians of the afterlife. Ichigo Kurosaki never asked for the ability to see ghosts—he was born with the gift. When his family is attacked by a Hollow—a malevolent lost soul—Ichigo becomes a Soul Reaper, dedicating his life to protecting the innocent and helping the tortured spirits themselves find peace. Find out why Tite Kubo’s Bleach has become an international manga smash-hit! With the death of Reio at the hands of the Quincy King Yhwach, the world starts to crumble. Hope seems lost until Ukitake performs a mysterious ceremony to save the Soul Society. Meanwhile, Soul Reaper Captain General Kyoraku has his own plan, but will it mean making a deal with the devil?

Part-time student, full-time Soul Reaper, Ichigo is one of the chosen few guardians of the afterlife. Ichigo Kurosaki never asked for the ability to see ghosts—he was born with the gift. When his family is attacked by a Hollow—a malevolent lost soul—Ichigo becomes a Soul Reaper, dedicating his life to protecting the innocent and helping the tortured spirits themselves find peace. Find out why Tite Kubo’s Bleach has become an international manga smash-hit! With the death of Reio at the hands of the Quincy King Yhwach, the world starts to crumble. Soul Reaper Captain General Kyoraku enlists Aizen to help in the war against the Quincies, but is relying on a traitor a wise move? And as Ichigo heads toward Yhwach, he runs into an unexpected figure!

Part-time student, full-time Soul Reaper, Ichigo is one of the chosen few guardians of the afterlife. Ichigo Kurosaki never asked for the ability to see ghosts—he was born with the gift. When his family is attacked by a Hollow—a malevolent lost soul—Ichigo becomes a Soul Reaper, dedicating his life to protecting the innocent and helping the tortured spirits themselves find peace. Find out why Tite Kubo’s Bleach has become an international manga smash-hit! As the war between the Soul Reapers and Quincies heads for a climactic conclusion, Mayuri finds himself up against the weirdest enemy yet. Can his daughter Nemu step in and finish a foe that refuses to die?

Would have thought a story with more Nemu and Nanao would be more interesting.

Bleach.

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