Ichigo Kurosaki is your everyday average Japanese highschooler, except for his oddly-colored hair and ability to see ghosts. That all changes when he meets Rukia Kuchiki, a Soul Reaper sent by Soul Society to slay Hollows, monstrous evil spirits. They are promptly attacked by a Hollow, and Rukia is forced to transfer her powers to Ichigo so that he can protect her and his family. Though Ichigo only meant for it as a one-time thing, he's forced to take over Rukia's job as a Soul Reaper while she recovers. What follows is adventures within the afterlife as Ichigo tries the navigate his duties of being a Soul Reaper and the trials and tribulations of the organization Rukia serves, the Soul Society, and the monstrous enemies both he and the Soul Society face.
Bleach began as a manga written by Tite Kubo and published in Weekly Shounen Jump in 2001 alongside the likes of Naruto and One Piece, with which it became known as the "Big Three" due to their runaway popularity. In October 2004, Bleach was adapted into an anime by Studio Pierrot, which ran until March 2012, when it was replaced by Rock Lee's Springtime of Youth. Also in 2012, the manga entered its final arc, The Thousand-Year Blood War. However it ended up concluding abruptly due to cancellation (Mostly from slow pacing and waning popularity) in August 2016, bringing the manga to an end after 15 years and 686 chapters. Some of the plot points Left Hanging by the manga's abrupt end were followed up on by the light novels Bleach: We Do Knot Always Love You (2016) and Bleach: Can't Fear Your Own World (2017). In March 2020, it was announced that the manga's final arc, "The Thousand-Year Blood War", would receive an anime adaptation for October 2022.
Bleach is more than just a manga and serialized anime: several animated films, video games (most of which never saw overseas release), novellas, and even a theatrical production have been released. In 2012, Warner Bros. announced they would be producing a live-action film adaptation. This eventually came to pass when the film was announced in the final manga chapter in August 2016. The live-action film was in production and released to Japanese theaters in 2018. Eventually, a international release followed on Netflix in September 2018.
In July 2018, Kubo released a one-shot spin-off called BURN THE WITCH, set in London, England and dealing with the Western Branch of Soul Society. BURN THE WITCH received an animated film adaptation in the fall of 2020, and a full serialization in Shonen Jump eariler in the summer of the same year.
Works this franchise includes:
Anime & Manga:
- Bleach manga (2001—2016, 2021)
- Bleach anime (2004—2012, 2022—)
- Bleach: All Colour But The Black artbook (2006)
- Bleach: Official Bootleg: KaraBuri+ artbook (2007)
- Color Bleach+: Bleach Official Bootleg artbook (2010)
- BURN THE WITCH (2018, 2020)
- Bleach: Jet artbook (2018)
Animated Movies and OVAs
- Bleach: Memories in the Rain OVA (2004)
- Bleach: The Sealed Sword Frenzy OVA (2005)
- Bleach: Memories of Nobody (2006)
- Bleach: The DiamondDust Rebellion (2007)
- Bleach: Fade to Black (2008)
- Bleach: Hell Verse (2010)
Literature
- Light novels
- Bleach Letters From The Other Side The Death And The Strawberry (2004)
- Bleach The Honey Dish Rhapsody (2006)
- Bleach: The Death Save the Strawberry (2012)
- Bleach Spirits Are Forever With You Books 1 and 2 (2012)
- 13 BLADEs (2015)
- Bleach: We Do Knot Always Love You (2016)
- Bleach: Can't Fear Your Own World Books 1, 2, and 3 (2017—2018; 2020 - English release)
- Novelizations
- Bleach: Memories of Nobody (2006)
- Bleach: The DiamondDust Rebellion, Another Hyōrinmaru (2007)
- Bleach: Fade to Black, I Call Your Name (2008)
- Bleach: Hell Chapter (2010)
- Databooks
- Bleach: Official Character Book SOULs. (2006)
- Bleach: Official Animation Book VIBEs. (2006)
- Bleach: Official Character Book 2: MASKED (2010)
- Bleach: Official Invitation Book The Hell Verse (2010)
- Bleach: Official Character Book 3: UNMASKED (2011)
- Bleach: The Rebooted Souls (2012)
Live-Action Films
- Bleach (2018)
Theatre
- Rock Musical Bleach
Video Games
- Bleach: GC: Tasogare ni Mamieru Shinigami - GameCube (2005)
- Bleach: Advance: Kurenai ni Somaru Soul Society - Game Boy Advance (2005)
- Bleach: Erabareshi Tamashii - PlayStation 2 (2005)
- Bleach: Hanatareshi Yabou - Erabareshi Tamashii - PS2 (2006)
- Bleach: Blade Battlers - PS2 (2006)
- Bleach: Blade Battlers 2nd - PS2 (2007)
- Bleach: The Blade of Fate - DS (2006)
- Bleach: Shattered Blade - Wii (2006)
- Bleach: Dark Souls - DS (2007)
- Bleach: The 3rd Phantom - Nintendo DS (2008) - includes original Arrancar Arturo Plateado from Bleach: Shattered Blade.
- Bleach: Versus Crusade - Wii (2008)
- Bleach: Soul Carnival series - PSP
- Soul Carnival (2008)
- Soul Carnival 2 (2009)
- Bleach: DS 4th: Flame Bringer - DS (2009)
- Bleach Heat The Soul series - PlayStation Portable
- 1 - adapts up to the end of the "Agent of the Shinigami" arc (2005)
- 2 - adapts up to the end of the "Soul Society: The Sneak Entry" arc (2005)
- 3 - adapts up to the end of the "Soul Society: The Rescue" arc (2006)
- 4 - adapts up to midway through the "Arrancar: The Arrival" arc (2007)
- 5 - adapts up to the end of the "Arrancar: The Hueco Mundo Sneak Entry" arc (2008)
- 6 - adapts up to the end of the "Arrancar vs. Shinigami" arc; includes Dark Rukia from Fade to Black (2009)
- 7 - adapts up to the end of the "Arrancar: Downfall" arc; includes Dark Rukia from Fade to Black, Muramasa from the "Zanpakutō Unknown Tales" filler arc, and Shuren from Hell Verse (2010)
- Bleach: Soul Ignition/Resurrección - PlayStation 3 - adapts up to the end of the "Deicide" arc; includes Kokuto and Skullclad Ichigo from Hell Verse (2011)
- Bleach: Bankai Battle - iOS and Android (2014)
- Bleach: Brave Souls - iOS and Android (2015) - A gatcha action game that adapts the entirety of the main series and includes several Original Generation characters; also adapts the Bleach: Can't Fear Your Own World and Bleach Spirits Are Forever With You light novels
- Bleach: Paradise Lost - iOS and Android (2017)
- Bleach: Immortal Soul - Android and iOS devices (2020) - A turn-based gacha card game published by OasisGames
- Bleach: The Separation - iOS (2023) - A turn-based based gacha card game by SMART PANDA LIMITED
- Bleach Soul Resonance - Android and iOS (2024) - A 3D action RPG game developed by Black Moon Studio and published by NUVERSE
Other
- Jump Super Stars - DS (2005) - Ichigo Kurosaki is playable and Rukia Kuchiki is a support character
- Jump Ultimate Stars - DS (2006) - Ichigo Kurosaki, Rukia Kuchiki, Toshiro Hitsugaya, and Renji Abarai are playable
- J-Stars Victory VS - PS3 and Play Station Vita (2014) - Ichigo and Aizen are playable characters, and Rukia is an assist character
- Jump Force - PS4 and XBox One (2019): Playable characters include Ichigo Kurosaki, Rukia Kuchiki, Sosuke Aizen, and Renji Abarai; with Toshiro Hitsugaya and Grimmjow Jaegerjaquez as DLC.
