Bleach

Bleach is a Japanese supernatural action anime television series that debuted on TV Tokyo in October 2004. The series adapts the shōnen manga created by Tite Kubo.

Tite Kubo published the manga in Weekly Shōnen Jump from August 2001 to August 2016, compiling the story into 74 tankōbon volumes. Studio Pierrot produced the television anime under the direction of Noriyuki Abe, with character designs provided by Masashi Kudō. The series broadcast 366 episodes between October 5, 2004, and March 27, 2012. Shueisha and TV Tokyo supported the run across 16 seasons, which included several anime-only story arcs such as the Bount storyline. In October 2022, Pierrot introduced a sequel series titled Bleach: Thousand-Year Blood War to adapt the final story arc.

Ichigo Kurosaki is a 15-year-old high school student in Karakura Town who has the natural ability to see ghosts. His life shifts when a malevolent spirit called a Hollow attacks his home and injures a Soul Reaper named Rukia Kuchiki. Rukia transfers her supernatural powers to Ichigo so he can defeat the beast and save his family. With Rukia temporarily stripped of her power, Ichigo assumes the duties of a substitute Soul Reaper. He defends human souls from monstrosities while guiding wandering spirits safely into the spiritual afterlife known as the Soul Society.

Shirō Sagisu composed the musical score, which Aniplex released across four original soundtrack compact discs. The franchise spawned four animated feature films between 2006 and 2010, starting with Memories of Nobody and concluding with Hell Verse. Adult Swim launched the English-language broadcast across the United States in September 2006 on its Saturday night action block. At the 2007 American Anime Awards, the television adaptation earned nominations for Best Actor, Best Theme, and Best DVD Package Design. Aniplex issued 88 DVD sets in Japan between February 2005 and January 2013.