Bleach (ブリーチ Burīchi?, romanized as BLEACH in Japan) is an ongoing manga series authored by Tite Kubo. Since its debut in 2001, Bleach has been adapted into an anime series, two OVAs, two anime films, a rock musical, and numerous video games. Compilation volumes of the manga have sold over 39 million copies in Japan.
Bleach follows the lives of Ichigo Kurosaki, who is a high school student with the ability to see ghosts, and a shinigami (Soul Reaper or, literally, "death god") named Rukia Kuchiki, who crosses paths with Ichigo while hunting an evil spirit known as a hollow. Rukia is wounded during the ensuing confrontation with the spirit and is left with no choice but to transfer her powers into Ichigo. Thus the adventures of Ichigo and Rukia begin. Together they search for hollows and perform soul burials on wayward souls, cleansing the spirits and sending them to Soul Society. The early parts of the story focus mainly on the characters and their pasts, rather than the actual occupation of the shinigami. As events unfold, the story begins to delve deeper into the world of these gods of death on the "other side" called Soul Society.
Since its first appearance in August 2001, the Bleach manga has appeared weekly in Shueisha's Shonen Jump magazine. Shueisha also compiles the chapters into bimonthly tankōbon volumes. The first volume of the manga has sold over 1.25 million copies in Japan, and the manga series as a whole has sold over 40 million volumes. In 2005, Bleach was awarded the prestigious Shogakukan Manga Award in the shōnen category.
The Bleach animated TV series is broadcast on Wednesdays by TV Tokyo and affiliated stations throughout Japan. It is co-produced by TV Tokyo, Dentsu and Studio Pierrot and directed by Noriyuki Abe, with character designs by Masashi Kudō and music by Shiro Sagisu. The first episode was aired on October 5, 2004. The first 63 episodes were based on the manga, and the following 46 were original to the anime. Beginning with episode 110, the anime has returned to the manga storyline, yet incorporates elements from the previous 46 filler episodes. In addition, two OVAs have been produced and an animated film, Bleach: Memories of Nobody, was released in Japan on December 16, 2006. A second Bleach film will be released in December 2007. In a 2006 internet poll by TV Asahi, Bleach was ranked as Japan's seventh-favorite anime program.
VIZ Media has released 20 English-language volumes of the manga in North America, and numerous scanlation groups continue to release unofficial English translations of new chapters. North American sales of the manga have been high, with Volume 16 placing in the top 10 graphic novel sales in December 2006 and Volume 17 being the best-selling manga volume for the month of February 2007. On March 15, 2006, VIZ Media obtained foreign television, home video, and merchandising rights to the Bleach anime from the TV Tokyo Corporation and Shueisha. Subsequently, VIZ Media contracted Studiopolis to create the English dub of the anime, and has licensed its individual Bleach merchandising rights to several different companies.
The English version of the Bleach anime premiered on Canada's YTV channel in the Bionix program block on September 8, 2006. Cartoon Network's Adult Swim began airing Bleach the following evening. The English version of Bleach was nominated for the "best manga" and "best theme" awards at the 2006 American Anime Awards, but did not win either category. It was nominated again in 2007 in the fields of "best manga", "best actor", "best DVD package design", and "best theme", but failed to win any awards.