Bleach, Vol. 6

Great art and amazing story

Tite Kubo, Bleach: The Death Trilogy Overture (ViZ, 2002) The sixth volume of Tite Kubo's much-acclaimed Bleach continues the battle between Uryu and Ichigo, and more importantly, the battle between both of them and the myriad of hollows who've descended upon the city. The problem is, Uryu's hollow-bait has attracted enough hollows that a critical mass is about to be reached... I'm quite fond of this series, and recommend it highly. My only real problem with The Death Trilogy Overture is that I saw the ending coming a mile away. Still, after six volumes, Bleach is still going strong. Great stuff. *** ½

First off 'Bleach' is a great manga - one of the best i've read and that's saying something, because between me and my best friend we have quite the bundle of graphic novels! Seeing as this is volume six, anyone looking to buy it must already be hooked on Tite Kubo's amazing creation, but those of you who are just not sure then please read on and i'll try my best to convince you that this manga is the right choice. 'Bleach' is the story of Ichigo Kurosaki, a fifteen year old 'delinquent' with bright orange hair and a bit of an attitude. Ichigo can also see ghosts which is one of the things that sets 'Bleach' apart from most manga. He lives a fairly boring life until Rukia Kuchiki, a soul reaper, turns it all upside-down! Her job is to hunt down Hollows (spirits unable to move on to the next world for some reason or other) and bring them back to the soul society. Events transpire and Ichigo ends up taking all of Rukia's spirit energy in an attempt to save his family, leaving Rukia stranded in Japan with no means of getting back to her home. Ichigo must now become a substitute soul reaper while Rukia regains her powers. Volume six continues the deadly contest between Ichigo and Uryu but the Hollows just keep coming and to make things worse there's a bigger, meaner Hollow on it's way by the name of Menos Grande! Orihime and Chad have to make some big desisions and it looks like times up for Rukia! One of the things i loved about 'Bleach' was the illustrations. They are so distinctive and easy to look at - no squinting to make out someone's face, which is always a good thing! The characters are all very entertaining (there's the big-boobed and ditzy Orihime, the VERY open lesbian, Chizuru, the serious Uryu, the spunky Karin and a whole lot more) each with their own distinctive personalities and quirks - there's a 'Bleach' character for everyone! The comedy ranges from slapstick to adult humour with everything in between and you are guarenteed to laugh out loud - some of the jokes are just priceless! There's a whole lot of action, a whole lot of comedy, even a dash of romance for the ladies! I suppose what i'm saying is this manga has something for everybody. If you're still not convinced then just ponder on this; You wont know untill you try it! Hope this helped, Sarah.