BLEACH" redirects here. For other uses, see Bleach (disambiguation).

Bleach

The first volume of Bleach (published in Japan by Shueisha on

January 5, 2002) featuring Ichigo Kurosaki.

(Burchi)

Genre

Action, Adventure, Fantasy

Manga

Written by

Tite Kubo

Published by

Shueisha

English publisher

AUS / NA/ UK

Viz Media

Demographic

Shnen

Magazine

Weekly Shnen Jump

English magazine

NA

Shonen Jump (former)

Weekly Shonen Jump

Original run

August 2001 ongoing

Volumes

65 (List of volumes)

Anime television series

Bleach

Directed by

Noriyuki Abe

Produced by

Jun Takibuchi

Written by

Masashi Sogo

Music by

Shir Sagisu

Studio

Studio Pierrot

Licensed by

AUS

Madman Entertainment
NA

Viz Media
UK

Manga Entertainment

Network

TV Tokyo

English network

AU

SBS, Cartoon Network (Adult Swim)

CA

YTV, Neon Alley

NZ

Cartoon Network
SEA

Animax Asia
UK

AnimeCentral, Sony Movie Channel

US

Adult Swim (Toonami), Neon Alley[1]

ZA

Animax South Africa

Original run

October 5, 2004 March 27, 2012[2]

Episodes

366 (List of episodes)

Related works

Bleach: Memories of Nobody (2006 film)

Bleach: The DiamondDust Rebellion (2007 film)
Bleach: Fade to Black (2008 film)
Bleach: Hell Verse (2010 film)
Bleach-related video games
Anime and Manga portal

Bleach ( Burchi?) 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 ( Shinigami?, literally, "Death God") a death personification similar to the Grim
Reaperfrom 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, and set him
on journeys to various ghostly realms of existence.
Bleach has been serialized in the Japanese manga anthology Weekly Shnen Jump since August
2001, and has been collected into 65 tankbon volumes as of September 2014. The series has
spawned a media franchise that includes an animated television series that was produced by Studio
Pierrot from 2004 to 2012, twooriginal video animations, four animated feature films, ten rock
musicals, and numerous video games, as well as many types of Bleach-related merchandise.
English-language releases of Bleach are coordinated by Viz Media, which has released several
volumes of the manga each year since 2004, and published chapters of Bleach in its Shonen
Jump magazine since November 2007. 60 such volumes are available in English as of April 2014.
Viz Media secured foreign television and home video distribution rights to the Bleach anime in
2006. Cartoon Network's Adult Swim began airing dubbed episodes of Bleach in the United States
that Fall, and Hulu later began to stream subtitled versions of the anime a week after each episode
aired in Japan. Viz Media has also released each of the Bleach feature films in English.
Bleach received the Shogakukan Manga Award for the shnen demographic in 2005, and is among
the best-selling manga in both Japan and the United States. Bleachhas sold more than 82 million
copies in Japan since its publication, and continues to perform commercially despite significant
downturns in both the Japanese and English manga markets. Among critics, Bleach is most
commonly praised for its action scenes, character designs and art, but considered to have a
relatively stereotypical plot, oftentimes sluggish pacing, and draws widely variant opinions as to the
quality of its characterization.