Bleach

Reviewed by Mikah Canseco
April 29, 2007

Artist: Tite Kubo Author: Tite Kubo Publisher: Viz Media Genre: Action/Suspense/Romance Age Rating; Teen Website: Click Here Review Rating: 7.5 out of 10

Ichigo was born with the ability to see spirits.  One day his family is attacked by a lost spirit, or hollow.  Rukia, a soul reaper whose job is to balance the inhabitants of the human world and the spirit world, comes to the rescue.  She becomes injured while trying to protect Ichigo from the hollow’s powerful attacks and, in an act of desperation, transfers her powers to Ichigo to help him protect his family.

After the battle, Ichigo is unable to transfer Rukia’s powers back to her.  She explains that it is forbidden for a soul reaper to transfer their powers to another living being. Eventually, she is arrested and taken back to her own world to face the death sentence.  Ichigo decides to save her from this cruel fate by training with a former soul reaper.  He also allies with three friends who each discover unique abilities: Uryu is a Quincy, which was a lost race trained to take out the soul reapers, Chad is an extraordinarily strong person who is fiercely loyal, and Orihime has the power of tiny spirits who protect her from harm.  Together they meet the spirits of Rukia’s world and the militaristic government they are ruled by.  The four of them confront the captains and soldiers of the 13 military squads, each with different specialties and powers.  Ichigo discovers he will need more training in order to overcome these specialized forces.

This is a story that must be followed from the beginning to truly understand why some events happen and why some characters act the way they do. The character development is very well done.  In some of the manga, there are full descriptions of the characters so readers can identify with their favorite hero or villain.  As for the artwork, the panels can get a little confusing at times because there are random sketches that aren’t related to the story.  This book is in traditional Japanese format, so don’t forget to read it from RIGHT to LEFT!  If you haven’t read Bleach before, I suggest going out and giving it a shot.