Summary

Bleach is an anime series that follows the life of a 15 year old boy by the name of Kurosaki Ichigo, a high school student with the ability to see ghosts, and a Soul Reaper named Rukia Kuchiki. The early parts of the story focus mainly on these characters. As events unfold, the story begins to delve deeper into the world of the gods of death.The story opens with the sudden attack of a Hollow (evil soul spirit) towards him and his family. To the rescue comes a female Shinigami (Death God) named Kuchiki Rukia. Rukia chases the Hollow off, and is astounded by the fact that Ichigo can see her and the Hollow, which most mortals cannot. She explains that Shinigami have two duties: to lead the “Pluses” (good souls) to their rest in Soul Society, and to exterminate Hollows, who endanger them. All Shinigami carry a Zanpakutou, or Soul Slayer, with which they can release the Pluses and kill the Hollows. These Zanpakutou resemble katanas in their shape and size. After Rukia is severely wounded while trying to protect Ichigo, she intends to transfer half her powers to Ichigo, hoping to give him the opportunity to face the hollow on equal footing. Ichigo unintentionally absorbs almost all her powers instead, allowing him to defeat the hollow with ease. The next day, Rukia appears in Ichigo's classroom as a transfer student. Much to his surprise, she appears to be a normal human. She theorizes that it was the unusual strength of Ichigo's spirit that caused him to absorb almost all her powers, thus leaving her stranded in the human world. Rukia has transferred herself into a gigai — an artificial human body — while waiting to recover her abilities. In the meantime, Ichigo must take over her job as a Soul Reaper, battling hollows and guiding lost souls to Soul Society.


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