Quick Facts
| Volume | #1 |
| Released | 2004-07-06 |
| Pages | 200 |
| ISBN | 978-1591164418 |
| Official Title | Bleach Vol. 1: Ichigo Kurosaki. 15 years of Bleach |
| Release Date (JP) | January 5, 2002 |
| Arc | Substitute Soul Reaper Arc |
Inside this volume
Bleach begins with the story of high school student Ichigo Kurosaki, who has been able to see ghosts for as long as he can remember. His ordinary life changes when he encounters the Soul Reaper Rukia Kuchiki, who is seriously wounded while protecting his family from a monstrous Hollow. Forced to transfer her powers to Ichigo, Rukia inadvertently creates a new Substitute Soul Reaper charged with defending both the living and the dead.
As Ichigo struggles to understand his new responsibilities, he confronts increasingly dangerous spirits while balancing school and family life. The volume establishes the supernatural setting, introduces the core concepts of Hollows and Soul Reapers, and lays the foundation for the series' central conflicts without revealing later developments.
Quick Facts
Ichigo Kurosaki lives an unusual life due to his ability to see and communicate with ghosts. One evening, Soul Reaper Rukia Kuchiki arrives in his room while tracking a Hollow drawn by Ichigo's exceptionally strong spiritual power. When the Hollow attacks the Kurosaki household and severely injures Rukia, she transfers her powers to Ichigo so he can defend his family. Ichigo unexpectedly absorbs nearly all of her spiritual power and defeats the Hollow with ease.
With Rukia stripped of her abilities, she remains in the Human World while Ichigo takes over her duties as a Substitute Soul Reaper. She enrolls at his school under the guise of an ordinary student and instructs him in locating and defeating Hollows while guiding lost souls to the afterlife.
The volume also focuses on Ichigo's classmates. Orihime Inoue is haunted by the Hollow created from the spirit of her deceased brother, Sora. Ichigo ultimately defeats the Hollow while allowing Sora's true feelings to reach his sister, giving him peace before his soul departs.
The final chapters introduce another of Ichigo's classmates, Yasutora "Chad" Sado. After Chad rescues a parakeet possessed by the spirit of a young boy named Yūichi, Ichigo realizes that another dangerous Hollow is pursuing the child, setting up the next stage of the story.
Chapters in this volume
View more- Ch. 1Death & Strawberry
- Ch. 2Starter
- Ch. 3Head-Hittin'
- Ch. 4Why do You Eat It?
- Ch. 5BINDA BLINDA
- Ch. 6Microcrack.
- Ch. 7The Pink Cheeked Parakeet
Major events
Characters introduced
MAINIchigo Kurosaki
BleachIchigo Kurosaki is an orange haired teenager who lives in Karakura Town, being a capable student at his High School. But, more importantly, he's a Substitute Soul Reaper. Ever sinc
MAINRukia Kuchiki
BleachRukia is a Soul Reaper from the Soul Society who met and saved Ichigo Kurosaki's life by lending him her spiritual power. After saving him, she is forced to temporarily remain in t
MAINOrihime Inoue
BleachOrihime Inoue is a teenage girl who lives by herself in Karakura Town, being a close friend of Ichigo Kurosaki. Orihime is alot of things, being friendly, kind, sensitive, and humo
MAINYasutora Sado
BleachYasutora Sado, or as his friends call him, Chad, is a teenager of Mexican descent who is close friends with Ichigo Kurosaki. He is extremely tall and appears to be much older than
SUPPORTINGIsshin Kurosaki
BleachIn the beginning of the series, Isshin is portrayed as a silly, fight-loving father who takes a keen interest in what his children are doing, but does it either offensively or with
SUPPORTINGKarin Kurosaki
BleachKarin is the cynical and sarcastic daughter of Isshin. Compared to her soft-spoken twin, Karin is the more authoritative of the two. She is an excellent soccer player with a kick p
SUPPORTINGYuzu Kurosaki
BleachYuzu is Karin's fraternal twin (both were born on May 6 of the same year) and more soft-spoken in comparison to her authoritative sibling. She is also the more empathetic of the tw
SUPPORTINGSora Inoue
BleachOrihime's older brother. Sora was 15 when Orihime was born. Because his parents were so abusive, Sora left home as soon as he turned 18, taking Orihime with him. Having more o
SUPPORTINGKeigo Asano
BleachKeigo is typically a goofy and an extremely hyper-active character, often using overly-dramatic movements and words to act out his feelings. In other respects, he is the stereotypi
SUPPORTINGMizuiro Kojima
BleachHe's one of Ichigo and co's friend. He has a boyish face and speaks in a gentle manner. It seems to give Keigo the creeps at times whenever he speaks respectfully towards
SUPPORTINGTatsuki Arisawa
BleachTatsuki is Orihime Inoue's best friend and is super protective of her, and of all of Ichigo's friends, Tatsuki has known him the longest, having trained together at an afterschool
SUPPORTINGDon Kan'onji
BleachDon Kanonji is a popular spirit medium who has a television show called Ghost Bust (English: "Spirit Hunter") that is watched by 25% of Japan's population. His catch
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