Bleach

Genre action Publisher VIZ/Shonen Jump External Links Viz DAM Website

An encounter with the supernatural transforms a high school student into a fully fledged ghostbuster in Bleach, a manga from VIZ's Shonen Jump line that blends elements of horror, action and high school comedy. The manga is popular in Japan, with an anime version slated to debut in October 2004.

15-year-old Ichigo "Strawberry" Kurosaki - so known for his bright orange shock of hair - is a typical high school student: He's rebellious and exudes a carefully cultivated attitude. He also has a wacky home life (his father, the local doctor, attacks the young man randomly to hone his martial arts skills), a group of friends at high school and a pretty girl with a crush on him.

But as is common for young men in manga stories, Ichigo also possesses an unusual talent: He can see ghosts. Although his two younger sisters share the talent to a limited degree, Ichigo possesses unusual spiritual gifts. These psychic powers enable Ichigo to communicate with and appease the spirits of the departed.

As the manga opens, Ichigo delivers a marital arts smackdown to a group of careless skateboarders who have upset a small shrine to a dead child, putting her spirit at rest once more. Ichigo regards his ability as a nuisance - he seems to act as a ghost magnet, with some wandering spirit always haunting him - but has little inkling of the problems they're soon to cause.

His abundant psychic energies attract a "hollow" - a lost soul that devours ghosts and humans alike. On the hollow's trail is a centuries-old, sword-wielding "soul reaper," Rukia Kikuchi. A soul reaper is a spiritual entity - in Rukia's case, one who resembles an attractive young woman - from the Soul Society, whose duties are to guide wandering spirits into the afterlife and dispatch the hollows that threaten them. She's surprised to discover that Ichigo can see her - as a spirit, she's normally invisible to humans - and even more shocked when the lad frees himself of the binding spell she used to keep him out of her way.

Unfortunately, as Rukia brings Ichigo - and the reader - up to speed, the hollow attacks. Ichigo's spirit energy is so strong that it interferes with Rukia's ability to sense the hollow, and the monster wounds her, putting her out of the fight. Her one chance is to transfer part of her own soul reaper abilities to Ichigo. But Ichigo's power is such that he draws all her soul reaper mojo, leaving Rukia stripped of her abilities, save for a few simple spells. On the other hand, Ichigo has inherited tremendous power, and Rukia's magic sword grows in his hands to tremendous size (not unlike Inu-Yasha's Tetsusaiga).

Armed with his new powers and giant sword, Ichigo dispatches the attacking hollow with ease. The next day, his family remembers nothing of the attack, but there's a new student at his school - Rukia. Bereft of her powers, she's forced to occupy a simulated human body until her abilities return. (In a funny bit, Rukia later grumbles that the Soul Society's designers were more concerned with the temporary body's cute factor than giving it strength and speed.) Rukia explains that since Ichigo has her soul reaper powers, he must fulfill her duties until her abilities return. Although hardly enthusiastic about having been drafted, Ichigo recognizes his debt to Rukia and agrees.

Bleach tells the ongoing story of Ichigo's growing soul reaper skills, which are put to the test against an ever more challenging array of hollows. In facing them, Ichigo also learns more about what hollows are and the perils they pose. He also has to keep his soul reaper activities secret from his classmates, even when they too unwittingly become targets of the malevolent hollows.

Since Ichigo battles the hollows in spirit form, leaving his physical body behind, his classmates think he's seized with a sudden case of fainting spells. There's also a hint of romantic entanglements, as the time Ichigo spends with Rukia is noticed by Orihime, who has a serious crush on the orange-haired lad. (Not to worry - the cute and innocent Orihime's, er, well-developed body catches the eye of a several of her more lusty classmates, posing the potential for romantic rivalry.) The storyline also provides some amusing moments as the centuries-old Rukia attempts to fit in among Ichigo's high school classmates. (She also, not surprisingly, develops an affinity for horror manga.)

Hollows seem to threaten Ichigo's family or friends, and grow in their level of threat, making his adventures over the first two issues continually interesting. Fortunately, Rukia still possesses some magic that wipes the memory of hollows and soul reapers from normal humans. In an amusing running gag, Rukia's magic doesn't specify what memories replace the encounters with the hollows, so Ichigo's classmates regale each other with outlandish - but utterly sincere - tales of Yakuza gunmen and runaway trucks.

Interestingly, Bleach doesn't pursue very far the "reluctant hero" storyline that's prevalent in many shounen manga like Neon Genesis Evangelion and RahXephon. Although Ichigo is at first reluctant to risk his life in combat with the hollows, he agrees out of recognition of the giri, or obligation, he owes Rukia for saving himself and his family. Soon he's performing his task with relish, especially when his friends' lives are at stake.

Kubo's art is free-form and dynamic, ranging from the grotesquely misshapen hollows to chibi representations of characters as they express annoyance. Exaggerated gestures and facial expressions lend a comedic touch at the appropriate moments. The action gets bloody at times - hollows seem able to inflict harm on one's physical as well as spiritual being. Kubo skillfully portrays the action as Ichigo and his super sword combat the more than mortal peril the hollows represent.

The 200-page manga is presented in traditional Japanese right-to-left format. VIZ's Shonen Jump line presents quality manga titles at an affordable price; a volume's suggested retail price is US$7.95. The plentiful entertainment offered by a typical issue makes Bleach a particularly fine value at that low price.

Bleach is a pleasing blend of action, horror and comedy with a supernatural theme. Kubo combines strong, well-defined characters with a pleasing art style that blends elements of action, horror and comedy styles. After reading the first two issues, the reader is sure to be eager for the rest of the series.