Bleach

So as I was saying the other night, I have decided to do some Manga (Japanese graphic novel) research. I decided to begin with a series called Bleach. Bleach was first published in Japan in 2001 in the magazine Weekly Shonen Jump. I chose this particular Manga based on a conversation a few guild mates in World of Warcraft had one day. (Yes, I used to play World of Warcraft and will probably go back to playing it once the new expansion pack comes out). Anyway, it sounded intriguing. The Manga was so popular that it was next produced as an Anime (Japanese Animation). Currently I have read the first two episodes of the Manga and watched the first episode of the Anime. According to Weekly Shonen Jump website:

“The most popular manga magazine (collection of assorted manga stories) in Japan is Weekly Shonen Jump, the birthplace of the greatest artists and stories. Weekly Shonen Jump sells approximately 3 million copies every week, to ages ranging from elementary school students to adults — in a country with half the population of the U.S.”

That is a lot of magazines. What seems amazing to me is that the number of adults in Japan who read Manga far exceed the number of adults in the U.S. who read any type of graphic novel or comic book. And it is the average businessman (and women) that read manga in public, on trains while commuting to their profession business, without embarrassment or shame.

Here is the short description from the Weekly Shonen Jump website of Bleach, interestingly it is the identical description that appears on the back of the Manga:

“Ichigo Kurosaki has always been able to see ghosts, but this ability doesn't change his life nearly as much as his close encounter with Rukia Kuchiki, a Soul Reaper and member of the mysterious Soul Society. While fighting a Hollow, an evil spirit that preys on humans who display psychic energy, Rukia attempts to lend Ichigo some of her powers so that he can save his family, but much to her surprise, Ichigo absorbs every last drop of her energy. Now a full-fledged Soul Reaper himself, Ichigo quickly learns that the world he inhabits is one full of dangerous spirits, and along with Rukia, who is slowly regaining her powers, it's Ichigo's job to both protect the innocent from Hollows and to help the spirits themselves find peace.”

The web url’s for both Weekly Shonen Jump and the Official Bleach (in Japanese) website are listed below:

http://www.shonenjump.com/mangatitles/b/manga_b.php

http://www.j-bleach.com/

(a cool website if only for their splash page since I do not read Japanese)

Enjoy these sites; I’ll be back with more thoughts on the episodes themselves later.

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