So let's start off by telling you what Bleach is, Bleach is a Japanese manga/anime. Manga can be viewed as a comic book, and an anime like a cartoon.
The manga is further than the anime, the anime is based upon the manga.
The manga now has about 300+ chapters. If you want to start reading I'd suggest This site. Thanks to Jerre <3
You can download the episodes of the anime from Dattebayo from torrents, this is LEGAL. Dattebayo is a fan-subbing group that subs more than just Bleach it also subs [url=<upcoming>]Naruto[/url]
Of course I would recommend you to start at the beginning, so start reading/watching the first chapter/episode!
Characters:
Main character: Ichigo Kurosaki (黒崎 一護)
The primary protagonist of Bleach, orange haired high school freshman Ichigo Kurosaki is forced to become a substitute shinigami after unwittingly absorbing most of Rukia's powers. His cynical nature at first makes him ill-disposed towards the duty, but with the passage of time he comes to accept and welcome it, recognizing that even if he is not able to save everyone, he can at least use his skills to protect those close to him.
Kurosaki Ichigo as a Shinigami(Death God)
Other important characters:
Rukia Kuchiki (朽木 ルキア)
Rukia Kuchiki is a shinigami who was sent on a hollow extermination patrol in Ichigo Kurosaki's hometown. Though her physical appearance is that of a teenage girl, in reality she is around 150 years old. Rukia is forced to transfer her power to Ichigo and assume a temporary lifestyle as a regular human. She registers at the local high school and takes up residence in Ichigo's closet, while teaching him how to be a substitute shinigami in her place.
Orihime Inoue (井上 織姫)
Orihime Inoue is a long-time classmate of Ichigo, closely linked to him by mutual friend Tatsuki Arisawa. She is effectively an orphan, as she and her elder brother Sora ran away from their abusive home at a young age, and her brother later died. Though initially devoid of spiritual powers, she begins to develop spiritual awareness and later obtains one of the most powerful healing abilities in the Bleach universe, able to completely restore a body to its previous state regardless of how severely it is wounded.
Yasutora "Chad" Sado (茶渡 泰虎)
Yasutora Sado, better known as Chad, is one of Ichigo's few friends at school. He is a biracial (Japanese/Mexican) student who towers over his classmates. Despite his imposing appearance he is quite meek, and refuses to fight unless it is for the sake of another. He does not have awareness of ghosts at first, but can still touch hollows, and eventually is able to see them when he witnesses a group of children being attacked by a hollow. He discovers a unique ability that strengthens and armors his arms, enabling him to fight hollows.
Kisuke Urahara (浦原 喜助)
A mysterious and cheery man, Kisuke Urahara runs the Urahara Shop, a candy store that also sells supernatural items to shinigami. Despite his sanguine nature he is one of the most significant figures in the Bleach universe, bearing immense knowledge of the spiritual realms which he uses to mastermind the operations of the protagonists.
Uryū Ishida (石田 雨竜)
Though on the surface he is nothing more than the solitary class genius, Uryū Ishida is actually a Quincy, descendant of a line of priest-like hollow-hunting archers. He bears a deep grudge against all shinigami, including Ichigo, but comes to view Ichigo differently over time, eventually becoming an ally and friendly rival.
Renji Abarai (阿散井 恋次)
Renji Abarai is an elite shinigami bearing the rank of 6th Division lieutenant, making him second in command of a sub-branch of the shinigami armed forces. Although first introduced as a deadly enemy, he has conflicting loyalties between his duties and Rukia, whom he grew up with. A brash and driven man, he holds both a deep respect and animosity towards his immediate superior, 6th Division captain Byakuya Kuchiki.
These are the most important characters in the beginning, the rest will be added. But with a spoilers sign of course!
Now let me explain the different 'races' in Bleach:
Human: The humans of Bleach are much like the residents of modern Japan, and most cannot see or sense disembodied spirits in any way. Spirits can, however, inhabit artificial human bodies called gigai which are visible to ordinary humans. One in 50,000 humans is a medium with some awareness of nearby spirits, but only a third of these are able to see them clearly, and only the strongest of mediums are able to speak with or touch spirits. Certain unique humans naturally have both the power to sense and the strength to fight with spirits. Ordinary humans can gain the ability to interact with spirits by spending time around a large source of spirit energy.
Plus: Benign spirits in Bleach are known as pluses (wholes in the official English editions). A plus is the spirit of a person who has died. A chain, known as the Chain of Fate (因果の鎖, inga no kusari?), protrudes from the chest and binds the plus to a location, object or person that they felt close to in life. The soul can move about freely if the chain is broken, but this also causes the chain to corrode. Normally, pluses are sent to Soul Society by shinigami in a ritual called soul burial (魂葬, konsō?) before this corrosion becomes significant. If the Chain of Fate is corroded entirely before a soul burial can be performed, a hole will form in the chest of the soul where the chain was once anchored. Such souls are driven mad and become evil spirits known as hollows. If the Chain of Fate is torn out deliberately, this also leads to spiritual degradation.
Shinigami: Shinigami (Soul Reapers in the official English editions, Death Gods in most subtitled versions) are the psychopomps of Bleach. They are souls with inner spiritual power, recruited from the ranks of the residents and nobility of Soul Society. Like all spirits, they cannot be detected by normal humans. Shinigami use their zanpakutō, supernatural swords that are the manifestation of their owners' power, to perform soul burials on pluses. Shinigami also use zanpakutō and magic known as kidō to fight their archrivals, the hollows. A group of shinigami known as the vizard have obtained hollow powers, gaining removable masks and access to certain hollow abilities.
Hollow: The hollows are the major antagonists of Bleach. They are evil spirits who reside in Hueco Mundo but travel to the living world to feed on the souls of the living and dead alike. Like shinigami, hollows are made of spiritual matter and cannot be detected by ordinary humans. While the majority of hollows can be overcome by the average shinigami, there are some which surpass even the most elite shinigami in strength. All normal hollows wear white masks, but a small group of hollows have broken them, becoming arrancar. By shattering their masks, these hollows regain the ability to reason, sometimes obtain a humanoid form, and gain access to shinigami powers.
Quincy: The Quincy are a clan of spiritually aware humans who once fought against the hollows, and use bows composed of spiritual energy to slay them. As opposed to shinigami, Quincy absorb and channel energy from their surroundings to fight. Unlike the shinigami method of killing hollows which allows the hollow to enter Soul Society, the Quincy technique simply destroys the hollow's soul entirely. This method has the propensity to shatter the balance of the universe, because when souls are destroyed, the number of souls entering and leaving Soul Society cannot remain equal. This issue prompted the shinigami to conduct a campaign to exterminate the Quincy about 200 years before the main storyline. At least two Quincy still remain.
Artificial soul: Artificial souls (Also know as Modified Souls, or Mod Souls) are a type of soul mass-produced by the shinigami. Issued in pill form, they are used to force shinigami out of their gigai during protracted stays in the living world, and also to evict pluses that refuse to leave their bodies after death. They come with a pre-programmed personality that animates the host body until the owner returns. In addition to the mundane versions, a series of experimental souls authorized and created by shinigami researchers exists. Known as modified souls, these were meant to hunt hollows by possessing soulless human bodies and supercharging a particular aspect of them (for example, strength or speed). The shinigami decided to scrap the project due to the inhumanity of forcing dead bodies to fight, and ordered the destruction of all modified souls. Only one modified soul exists in the manga (Kon), but there are three more such characters in the anime.
Bounto: Exclusive to the anime, the Bountos are a clan of human beings with high spiritual energy and special powers. They were accidentally created by shinigami scientists looking for a way to create eternal life. Bountos consume the souls of human beings to survive; theoretically, a Bounto could live forever by doing so. Although the Bountos have a strict rule to consume only the souls of the dead, the final group of Bountos chose to drain souls from living humans in order to become more powerful. Each Bounto uses a "doll" in combat, a type of familiar possessing its own special abilities. Every doll is unique and is a manifestation of the user's power. If the doll is destroyed, its owner is destroyed as well.
Where it all takes place:
Human world: Gense (現世, living world?) The human world of Bleach is modern Japan, specifically, a fictional area of Western Tokyo called Karakura Town. In this world, Ichigo attends school and fights hollows. Places of note are the high school, the Urahara Shop, the river where Ichigo's mother was killed, the cemetery, Karakura Hospital, and Ichigo and Orihime's homes.
Soul Society: ソール ソサイティ (souru sosaiti, ソール ソサイティ?) Soul Society consists of an expansive walled city Seireitei (瀞霊廷, Court of Pure Souls), in the center and four regions, each with 80 districts, outside of it. The districts outside of the Seireitei are known as the Rukongai (流魂街, Town of Wandering Spirits) and are the place where non-shinigami and commoners live. The district number of the Rukongai (ranging from 1 to 80) also describes its conditions. District 1, the closest to Seireitei, is peaceful and orderly, while the most distant District 80 is filled with criminals and has the poorest living conditions. A king resides in another realm within Soul Society.
Hueco Mundo: ウエコ ムンド (ueco mundo, ウエコ ムンド?) Hueco Mundo is the desert-like area between the human world and Soul Society. Literally meaning "hollow world" (the word hueco can also mean "hole"), it is where hollows reside undetectable when not hunting in the human world. Entrances to Hueco Mundo are created by ripping the dimensional fabric between the two worlds.
Here are some previews of bleach, the anime and the manga!
Youtube trailer, in English though
Introduces the Characters in a nice way though
Official bleach site
Bleach
I hope you enjoy! This is still in the making of course, so bare with me!
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