Bleach, Vol. 1 [Paperback]

Tite Kubo (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 16, 2004

Hot-tempered 15-year-old Ichigo Kurosaki, the hero of the popular fantasy-adventure Bleach, has the unsettling ability to see spirits who are unable to rest in peace. His sixth sense leads him to Rukia, a Soul Reaper who destroys Hollows (soul-devouring monsters) and ensures the deceased find repose with the Soul Society. When she's injured in battle, Rukia transfers her sword and much of her power to Ichigo, whose spiritual energy makes him a formidable substitute Soul Reaper. But the orange-haired teenager isn't sure he wants the job: too many risks and moral dilemmas.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Bleach is author Tite Kubo's second title. Kubo made his debut with ZombiePowder, a four-volume series for Weekly Shonen Jump. To date, Bleach has been translated into numerous languages and has also inspired an animated TV series that began airing in Japan in 2004. Beginning its serialization in 2001, Bleach is still a mainstay in the pages of Weekly Shonen Jump. In 2005, Bleach was awarded the prestigious Shogakukan Manga Award in the shonen (boys) category.

Product Details

• Paperback: 200 pages
• Publisher: VIZ Media LLC; Original edition (June 16, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1591164419
• ISBN-13: 978-1591164418
• Product Dimensions: 7.5 x 5 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (43 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #226,139 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Bleach is author Tite Kubo's second title. Kubo made his debut with ZOMBIEPOWDER, a four-volume series for Weekly Shonen Jump. To date, Bleach has been translated into numerous languages and has also inspired an animated TV series that began airing in Japan in 2004. Beginning its serialization in 2001, Bleach is still a mainstay in the pages of Weekly Shonen Jump. In 2005, Bleach was awarded the prestigious Shogakukan Manga Award in the shonen (boys) category.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

19 of 20 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Tite Kubo Does it again, July 25, 2004

By 

L. A VIMISLIK - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Bleach, Vol. 1 (Paperback)

My attempts at making this a good, well written review have turned into long essays about the aesthetic qualities of the work. Thus, I reduce the facts to bulletpoints:
- Bleach has amazing (well, by manga standards) artwork, going for a more angular style reminiscent of Trigun, where even the tiny illustrations of the characters have a special look to them.
- The storyline is interesting, focusing on not just the development of the main character, Ichigo, but the characters around him that grow (not so much in this volume, but the foundations of the series rest on this volume. It ends on a cliffhanger by the way, expect to buy more volumes.
- Tite Kubo likes to keep character bios and diagrams with his mangas, like in his previous book, ZombiePowder. It is not lacking in Bleach, but I have the feeling some of the bios were altered so that americans could emphasize a little better (at least with favorite song).
Overall, Bleach is amazing, and a great alternative to getting punched in the gut.

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Surprisingly Entertaining, April 11, 2007

By 

Katherine Lin (Seattle, WA) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Bleach, Volume 1 (Library Binding)

I'm not an avid manga reader or anime watcher. However, after catching an episode of Bleach on Cartoon Network's Adult Swim, I was hooked!

I decided to see what the roots of the TV show was like and checked out the first volume of Bleach, the manga. I was shocked at how closely the show followed this novel. It is a storyboard for everything that happens in the anime, right down to the sometimes-hilarious facial expressions and situations. The tried and true statement of 'the book is always better' holds up here; small details in the manga don't often make it on the air.

The art is very well done and I appreciated being able to read it in the right-to-left manner intended by its author. Another plus to reading the manga is that you can see the full range of sketches that inspire the 'Death God - Picture Book' short that is found at the end of many of the episodes in the series.

13 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars I SEE HOLLOWS, September 24, 2005

By 

Sesho "www.sesho.libsyn.com" (Pasadena, TX USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Bleach, Vol. 1 (Paperback)

15-year old Ichigo "Strawberry" Kurosaki has a special ability right out of The Sixth Sense. He can see dead people. He tries to help out the spirits when he can but his homelife is pretty hectic because his father runs the Kurosaki Clinic along with his two little sisters Yuzu and Karin. His life gets even more complicated when a pretty girl dressed in samurai robes and bearing a sword appears in his room! Her name is Rukia and she is a "Soul Reaper", an agent of the "Soul Society" sent to destroy "Hollows", which refers to the spirits of dead people which feed on the souls of the living and the dead. Apparently, Ichigo is like a beacon to the Hollows because his spirit energy is so powerful and one shows up to devour him. In the midst of battle Rukia decides to transfer some of her power to Ichigo but the problem is that ALL of her power goes to him! Will he be skilled enough to save not only himself and Rukia, but also his family?

Bleach was a little too slapstick for me at first, but once it settled down into telling its story, it got quite good. There are some moments that are quite cheesy, but nothing damaging. The art is nice and clean and the characters are charismatic and likeable. It is quite funny but can also have sequences that are touching. Overall, this is a good start but I hope the following volumes continue to build on the plot.