For as long as he can remember, high school student Ichigo Kurosaki has had the ability to see spirits of the deceased, yet this hasn't prevented him from living a normal life. One day, upon returning home, Ichigo encounters an intruder in his room who introduces herself as Rukia Kuchiki, a Soul Reaper responsible for guiding souls to the afterlife. Their conversation is abruptly interrupted by a Hollow—an evil spirit notorious for devouring souls—that launches an attack. In a rash attempt to fend off the Hollow, Ichigo tries to intervene, but Rukia shields him from a retaliatory strike and sustains injuries in the process. Unable to continue fighting, Rukia proposes transferring half of her Soul Reaper powers to Ichigo. To her astonishment, Ichigo absorbs all of her powers, enabling him to defeat the Hollow effortlessly.
Now a Soul Reaper himself, Ichigo takes on Rukia's responsibilities, including eliminating Hollows and safeguarding both living and dead spirits. Alongside his friends Orihime Inoue and Yasutora Sado—who later uncover their own spiritual abilities—Ichigo soon discovers that the implications of becoming a Soul Reaper and engaging with the spirit world are far more profound than he initially thought.
Bleach has sold over 130 million copies globally as of 2022, making it one of the top 20 best-selling manga series ever; North American sales have also been substantial, with 1.7 million copies sold in the region. The series won the 50th Shogakukan Manga Award in the shounen category in 2005. It was published in English by VIZ Media under the Shonen Jump imprint from July 6, 2004, to October 2, 2018, and as omnibus volumes from June 7, 2011, to March 5, 2019. A hardcover collector's edition for volume one was released by VIZ Media on August 5, 2008. Box sets containing volumes 1-21 were released on September 16, 2008, volumes 22-48 on July 7, 2015, and the final box set with volumes 49-74 on November 6, 2018. The series has also been published in Brazilian Portuguese by Panini Comics since July 2007 and in Spanish by Glénat since June 2006, with 51 volumes published before the publisher ceased operations. It was later republished by Panini Comics from February 2013 to November 2017.
Additionally, numerous adaptations of Bleach have been created, including four feature-length films, various video games, spin-off light novels, databooks, a live-action movie, and even a musical.
Bleach was the first manga I ever read. Initially, it had a compelling story and well-developed characters. However, after the Soul Society Arc, the quality of the drawings, storyline, and character development started to decline significantly.
At first, the drop in quality wasn't too severe. The Arrancar Arc still had its highlights. We discovered that Ichigo's father wasn't just an ordinary human, which added an interesting twist. A new character, Shinji, was introduced with powers similar to Ichigo’s. We also gained a better understanding of what arrancars and vizards were, and the fights were fairly engaging.
The Hueco Mundo Arc followed, and it left us wondering if Bleach was turning into a fairytale where Ichigo, the knight, always had to save the damsels in distress—Rukia and Orihime—from danger in a foreign land. There were some cool battles in this arc, and we learned more about Orihime's abilities.
The Fake Karakura Town Arc came next, and this is where the series took a significant nosedive. The arc felt overly dragged out, and by the end, it seemed like it was extended just to keep readers in suspense for the final battle. Apart from introducing a few new shikai and bankai techniques, there was little to no character development.
I must warn you that the next arc is by far the worst in Bleach. If you’re nearing the end of the Fake Karakura Town Arc, I’d advise skipping ahead to chapter 459 and just reading summaries of the intervening chapters. Trust me, NOTHING HAPPENS in between.
Overall, I’d give this manga a 7/10 because I don’t want to completely dismiss the great story and characters from the beginning.
Bleach is the anime/manga I have the most mixed feelings about. My friend likes to describe it as a girlfriend with multiple personality disorder. Sometimes she's wife material, and sometimes she's the worst human you can imagine.
After that weird introduction, let me explain.
The Story: It's well-known that Bleach almost has no overarching story. There isn't a high goal the main character (MC) is trying to achieve. Despite this, I enjoyed it more than the other big three series. Although there is no strong storyline, it doesn't get boring, but it can become repetitive. 8/10
The Art: This is a bit of a complicated topic since the author suffers from physical and mental health issues, so I am somewhat forgiving in this aspect. The art up until the Thousand-Year Blood War arc was phenomenal. There were some weird angles in the panels, but if you've read Jujutsu Kaisen, you'd understand what I mean. It takes time to get used to the art, but it was awesome and made everything look unique and dark. Up until the Thousand-Year Blood War arc, the art quality took a significant dip. Considering the author's health, I didn't mind as much, but the fight scenes were still awesome. 10/10. Also, the style became a little "cartoony," similar to Fire Force or Soul Eater. Unlike the first arc, where the style looked more "adult."
The Characters: If we're talking about the main cast from the first two arcs, then yes, they are absolutely 10/10. Each one has a uniqueness that I feel is hard to achieve in manga, and everyone of them is amazing, even the villains. After the Hueco Mundo arc, characters started flooding into the manga from left and right. There were simply too many characters for me to remember, and they felt boring and unfun. 7/10
The Thousand-Year Blood War Arc: This is my most and least favorite arc in the manga. It has such cool and amazing fights, but it's also bombarded with fan service and unfunny comedy that starts to get annoying and unwelcome. However, it also has amazing dark moments like Unohana vs. Kenpachi or Urahara's Bankai. The issue is that these moments are short and don't give enough satisfaction, but I enjoyed them nonetheless.
I did enjoy the journey that Bleach took me on, and I am forever grateful for the author and his work.
A short review about every major arc in Bleach:
Man, I wish someone gave me a donut every time a Deus Ex Machina happened.
Bleach is a manga that has the highest highs and the lowest lows. At its best, it's a really hype story with cool-looking characters that you can root for and care about. At its worst, it's just a bunch of characters beating the crap out of each other trying to look cool and memorable but failing to do so.
- The Soul Society Arc:
An overall great arc that introduces some very cool characters. The main characters and all of the Gotei 13 captains and vice-captains have something that makes them stand out and feel memorable. The battles are also enjoyable, but the story is truly the best aspect of this arc—everything feels just right, and the conclusion has some emotional depth.
The only things holding it back are some generic shonen tropes, but they don't significantly affect the enjoyment of this arc.
Bleach could end here, and everything would be fine.
8/10
- The Arrancar Arc:
A fairly enjoyable arc, though nothing really stands out except for the character designs. The Arrancars are very memorable just by their designs alone, with Ulquiorra and Grimmjow being particularly standout characters. The story isn't anything special—it's just another overpowered villain wanting to become invincible. The author recycles a plot point from the previous arc, but there are some touching moments here and there.
This really feels like the ending for Bleach.
6/10
- Fullbringer Arc:
It had a promising start, but as it progresses, it becomes hard to care about what's happening in the story. This is where the main problem with Bleach really shines—there are too many underdeveloped characters, and you don't have time to care about them.
Ichigo's Bizarre Adventure part 3: Naruto filler arc.
4/10
- Thousand-Year Blood War Arc:
Too many things happen at once, too many characters are introduced, and too many repetitive fights occur. There are points where something interesting might happen, but it doesn't. This final arc really feels like a last-ditch effort to make Bleach stand out one last time, and it fails.
1/10
Some final notes:
- The character design is really good.
- The art overall isn't something that stands out.
- Ichigo is a likable character.
- By the end of it, Ichigo's powers really felt useless.
If you want to get the most enjoyment out of this series, just read up to the Arrancar arc.
STORY: 5/10
This is a shonen manga, and in my opinion, it's not a good one. If you've seen Inuyasha, Dragonball Z, or Yu Yu Hakusho, there's no point in reading this. Bleach borrows heavily from those series. It has flying and energy blasts from Dragonball Z, spirit energy (yes, they actually call it the same thing) from Yu Yu Hakusho, and the main character wields a man-sized sword that can shoot energy waves just like Inuyasha. If I could rate its originality, I'd give it a 0.
The story drags on endlessly. First, one girl gets captured, and they go to save her. To move the plot forward, guess what the mangaka does next? Another girl gets captured, and they have to rescue her again. He's copying his own work because he has so few ideas!
ART: 3/10
The art isn't terrible when characters are standing still... but this is an action manga. I can't tell what's happening in half the panels during fight scenes. The mangaka uses only pure white and pure black with very little shading, making it hard to distinguish between elements most of the time.
CHARACTER: 4/10
Character development is non-existent. There's a goofy girl, a serious guy, a smart guy, a quiet guy, and a serious girl. When one adjective can describe each character, that's a bad sign. Additionally, there are about 60-70 characters, which I find overwhelming. I prefer quality over quantity.
ENJOYMENT: 5/10
There is some enjoyment in the manga. I actually laughed out loud at some of the comedy towards the beginning of the series. However, once you get about 25% into the manga, the comedy becomes less frequent and less funny. I couldn't really understand what was going on in most of the action scenes, so I can't fairly judge those. It gets a 5 just because of the early comedy.
OVERALL: 4/10
Overall, I would give this manga a 4 because there's absolutely nothing original about it. Here's a prime example for those who've read it: Remember when the big guy and Ulili-something came to Ichigo's town? That scene is identical to when Vegeta and Nappa came to Earth in Dragonball Z. No difference. I can't fathom how people rate this manga above a 5. I think my 4 is pretty generous.
Bleach stands out as a remarkably cohesive work that excels within the battle series genre, offering minimal fluff and fat. The characters continually progress, the story remains engaging and intelligently builds upon itself, and it consistently refines and executes its themes with precision. This makes Bleach a near-perfect example of the battle genre. The series rewards investment in side characters and offers depth through thoughtful exploration of its themes and visual/textual metaphors. With a mature cast and a strong grasp of complex, tangible emotions, Bleach achieves great effect.
This anime was the absolute coolest when I was in middle school. However, if you're an older viewer looking for a story that progresses meaningfully, this might not be the right choice for you. The series seems to stretch out as long as possible to milk money, often taking 10 chapters just for a minor event to unfold. The artwork is impressive and the story is unique, but it's frustrating to spend three hours reading only to find that almost nothing significant has happened.
Rukia is adorable, though.
Suitable for ages 10-14.
Nuff said :(
This manga/anime makes me feel so much; I don't think I've ever felt this amazing in my life. The morals and experiences you get from it are just out of this world. My life feels so different now. I've read plenty of manga before, so don't label me as a casual—just check out my profile.
I was never bored once. Kubo combined a realistic setting with relatable characters and infused it into a fictional world. The art was phenomenal, and the fights were incredible. There were times when character development seemed sparse, but this manga was so damn entertaining that I didn't care. Not a single dull moment.
Don't listen to what others say about Bleach. Experience it for yourself. Most of the criticism comes from people who haven't truly engaged with it.