Bleach Vol-1: Strawberry and the Soul Reapers
Manga by: Tite Kubo
Published Domestically by: Viz
By: Pasifist Monk

Introduction

"We fear that which we cannot see"

With those words we begin the first volume of Bleach.

Story

The story of Bleach is about a teen named Ichigo "Strawberry" Kurosaki. Ichigo, for some reason he cannot understand yet, was born with the ability to see and talk to ghosts.

After defending the shrine of a dead girl from some skater punks, Ichigo goes home to his family-owned clinic. After the usual fight with his psycho doctor father he retreats to his room where he's surprised to find a young girl in a kimono walking through his wall. As it turns out she is Rukia Kuchika a Soul Reaper; a member of the Soul Society whose sole mission is to vanquish the hollows (evil spirits), and send the wholes (good spirits) to their final resting place.

This only becomes quite clear to Ichigo when a hollow appears and attacks his family. He tries to save them but is no match for it and is injured. As the hollow goes for the final blow Rukia steps in front of it and saves him. But for her effort she gets wounded and unable to finish the hollow off. She has no choice but to give some of he powers to Ichigo so that he can stop it. Unfortunately Ichigo takes all of her power and in the process becomes a full fledged soul reaper. After disposing of the hollow he soon realizes that his world will never be the same.

Review

After reading a lot of manga about the supernatural I found Bleach to offers something very refreshing while also having this feeling of nostalgia. The story is cross between Ghostbusters and a teen drama with the touch a samurai film. The title character Ichigo has a likeable quality about him, he has a good heart loves his family, but if you cross him watch out! And now since he has the power of a soul reaper, he is more of a badass then before.

Rukia, the soul reaper that gave Ichigo his new powers and now his would-be mentor has this high maturity level you wouldn’t know by looking at her. But as you continue to read on you realize that she is bound by her duty and is willing to sacrifice herself to see it through. These are the things that she tries to instill in Ichigo although it isn’t easy.

Other characters introduced in this first volume is Orihime Inoue a busty teenage girl and a classmate of Ichigo’s. Whose school girl crush on him might just cost her life? Also introduced is Yasutura Chad. A powerhouse of a guy, He’s so strong not even an I –beam can take him down.

I truly recommend this manga. The artwork is amazing every panel is very detailed and the story pulls you in from the first five pages. Mr. Kubo defiantly put his heart ito his work. As you read you start to feel for the characters and the situations that Kubo puts them through. Even though it is not clear why it's called Bleach, its impressive mix of action, comedy and drama should have you coming back for more ghost busting excitement.

Conclusion

The Pacifist is pleased A+

Pasifist Monk