Bleach, Vol. 1

They don't call it the big three for nothing. Amazing book great read.

I'm not an avid manga reader or anime watcher. However, after catching an episode of Bleach on Cartoon Network's Adult Swim, I was hooked! I decided to see what the roots of the TV show was like and checked out the first volume of Bleach, the manga. I was shocked at how closely the show followed this novel. It is a storyboard for everything that happens in the anime, right down to the sometimes-hilarious facial expressions and situations. The tried and true statement of 'the book is always better' holds up here; small details in the manga don't often make it on the air. The art is very well done and I appreciated being able to read it in the right-to-left manner intended by its author. Another plus to reading the manga is that you can see the full range of sketches that inspire the 'Death God - Picture Book' short that is found at the end of many of the episodes in the series.

Ok, so, when I first started reading the series, it was because a friend of mine had loaned it to me, and I had nothing better to read. After the first book, I thought, well, it's so-so, a fairly good book but nowhere near as good as say, Naruto. After the second book, I was interested, and after the third book, I was hopelessly addicted. This series is so good that it has become a very difficult addiction. Ironically, I rather didn't like the artwork that much, and almost all of the characters I found to be annoying. And then, the more I saw them, and as each character developed, I liked it more and more. Aside from Ichigo, Rukia, and Orihime, (and later on Yuruichi), I really didn't like any new character as they were introduced... and yet, the more I knew of them, the more I liked them, and then started to like them even more for the things I initially disliked.... I have grown to love these edgy and unique characters and artwork....(ah, how confusing!) After inhaling the first twelve books in the space of only two days, I simply could not get enough of this series. The anime is absolutely fantastic as well; after watching over 76 episodes of sub-titles (and I must add that I HATE subtitles) It has become one of my all-time favorites, requiring complete wallpaper changes for my computers and my cell-phone, as well as my ringtone and music selection. This series is good enough to make we want to learn Japanese to fully appreciate the original form. Don't take this as the ravings of some mad-Otaku, no, I have never been one of those. This could happen to you, too. It's just simply that good. Rukia and Ichigo have become almost the cornerstones of my life. Thank you Tite Kubo; thank you.

Now why would I compare Bleach to Dragonball Z. Well basically they are the same basic plotline if you take it distilled. The main character, while initially weak, clueless, plus stubborn, becomes stronger, and stronger, as the increasingly difficult challenges to him demand it. Like the Super Saiyen level transformations in DBZ, there are transformation levels for him, and his sword as well. The power increases are exponential. Like DBZ, you have to wonder what the practical limit of all that power is, they just keep upping the limits. Another strong DBZ tie is the story arc takes place over many, many episodes. You can almost lose sight of the initial goal in the time it takes the plot to get to them. Now the good news. There are fights, but it doesn't take six to ten episodes of posturing to defeat someone. Fights draw blood and appear to inflict some real damage. Plus characterization which was almost nil in DBZ save a few side episodes, is rich and well developed. At least until the last few episodes the side characters are well rendered, they don't just come off as the heroes weak little support partners. Bleach an a more interesting plot as well. Rather than someone who just likes to fight aka: Goku in DBZ, the main character here would initially rather avoid it all together. It takes his original mentor, Rukia, a female who gives him soul reaping powers, a lot of work to convince him to help others. He doesn't want to just run off like superman everytime a call comes in, but as she finds out if he sees someone in trouble, he really can't resist not helping. This reluctance makes a more believable hero, as least as much believability as you can really have in fantasy of this type. This series has great characterization but the action does not get going until they enter the realm of the "soul reapers" or more accurately from the Japanese translation "Death Gods". While it seems to take forever to finish this arc, at least the story is not just filler along the way. You can only take so many power-up scenes in an anime, of rocks, water and trees being stirred up, swirling around. All while under the energy driven, influence of someones power up, or ones natural fighting aura. There's a little of that here, but they treat it as an end, not a means. What I mean to say is that it's short, and adds to the drama, it does not linger till you get bored with the effect. Now it may be obvious that I'm reviewing an anime here and not necessarily the manga. I've seen the manga and like some but not all manga the anime follows the same line. The anime is available by fansubs and is a nice supplement once you've read some of the manga stories. Whats unique about this series is the interesting take on sword transformations. I've never seen so many ways to use a sword as are described in this series. As an old fan of the "Highlander", I just had to keep reading.

I've read Zombie Powder and several volumes of Bleach already, so I was happy to know that Viz wanted to bring it to the english-speaking audience. The concept of shinigami (soul reapers) is something that keeps this series interesting. Kubo Tite builds his manga by introducing Ichigo, a high school student who sees ghosts. Then he intoduces a situation where Ichigo is thrust into the role of a soul reaper. Meanwhile, we're given glimpses of interesting characters that interact with Ichigo daily, as well as this entire new world of spirits and the rules of life after death. Kubo Tite's style is refreshingly modern and energetic. He gives small profiles of the characters with each volume, noting things like their favorite type of clothing and foods. He also gives them a theme song. Contrary to what another reviewer said, those listed theme songs were in the original manga. The only thing that is really altered in Viz's treatment is the background sound effects, which are now completely written in english. Kubo Tite also has a cool unique style to his character's wardrobe. He also seems to like western pop culture. This is a great manga that is appealing to both shonen and shoujo fans. Sure, it's got action and drama, but it also has tons of interesting and quirky characters.

My attempts at making this a good, well written review have turned into long essays about the aesthetic qualities of the work. Thus, I reduce the facts to bulletpoints: - Bleach has amazing (well, by manga standards) artwork, going for a more angular style reminiscent of Trigun, where even the tiny illustrations of the characters have a special look to them. - The storyline is interesting, focusing on not just the development of the main character, Ichigo, but the characters around him that grow (not so much in this volume, but the foundations of the series rest on this volume. It ends on a cliffhanger by the way, expect to buy more volumes. - Tite Kubo likes to keep character bios and diagrams with his mangas, like in his previous book, ZombiePowder. It is not lacking in Bleach, but I have the feeling some of the bios were altered so that americans could emphasize a little better (at least with favorite song). Overall, Bleach is amazing, and a great alternative to getting punched in the gut.