Bleach (Bleach), Vol. 4

Rating:
Summary: One of the Slickest Shounens EVER.
Review: Bleach has a quite simple, and a bit plain plot. A boy in Japan named Ichigo, with unusual orange hair, becomes a shinigami. Shinigami are usually presented as "soul eaters" who live off eating souls of the dead. However, in Bleach, shinigami are spirits who send ghosts either to Soul Society, (in this case, "heaven") or hell. They also come in combat with hollows, which are basically ghosts-gone-wrong. His powers were attained from another shinigami, of the name Rukia. These two are basically the main characters of the entire series.

Now, the plot isn't the strongest thing in the series, but the execution of the series is very well done. Kubo does an excellent job with the nice, fluid action sequences; and his art is very, very stylish. He dresses his characters in a way that you would call..perhaps, sporty-chic? Without a doubt, Kubo definitely has a sense of fashion. The characters are designed very well, but you may find to forget the names very often. You can always refer to them by their personality, which I find almost impossible to do with any manga.

With quirky humor, and fantastic style, I recommend this manga to anyone. Yes, that means you girls too. Even if you absolutely hate manga/comics, give this a try.

Kubo, I salute you.

Rating:
Summary: One of the most fun series out there right now
Review: Bleach is a series that initially defies description, but quickly resolves itself into one of the more fun to read manga out there. Bleach is the story of Ichigo, a teenager with bright orange hair who can see ghosts. Through an accident of fate, he quickly finds himself with the powers of a Soul Reaper (Shinigami) who has to hunt down Hollows, which are evil spirits/ghosts that attack the living.

The first volume here serves as an introduction to most of the characters and concepts of the series, and as such sometimes it moves a bit slow with exposition and explainations, but it still manages to keep interest with a lot of fast paced and very clear action sequences and it sets the stage for a series that continually leaves you wanting to read more. I can't recommend Bleach highly enough.

Rating:
Summary: Hurrah
Review: Finally, an all around great manga. Beautifully drawn, interesting concept, and even enjoyable for the less shojo-inclined female manga fans such as myself. I am very happy that I bought this and I can't wait for more.

Rating:
Summary: Great Book
Review: I Think that this was a great book and if you are into the Dragonball series you would love this. The one reason I bought this book is because it had a preivew in Shonen Jump

Rating:
Summary: Kubo Tite and his exciting manga
Review: I've read Zombie Powder and several volumes of Bleach already, so I was happy to know that Viz wanted to bring it to the english-speaking audience.
The concept of shinigami (soul reapers) is something that keeps this series interesting. Kubo Tite builds his manga by introducing Ichigo, a high school student who sees ghosts. Then he intoduces a situation where Ichigo is thrust into the role of a soul reaper. Meanwhile, we're given glimpses of interesting characters that interact with Ichigo daily, as well as this entire new world of spirits and the rules of life after death.
Kubo Tite's style is refreshingly modern and energetic. He gives small profiles of the characters with each volume, noting things like their favorite type of clothing and foods. He also gives them a theme song.
Contrary to what another reviewer said, those listed theme songs were in the original manga. The only thing that is really altered in Viz's treatment is the background sound effects, which are now completely written in english.
Kubo Tite also has a cool unique style to his character's wardrobe. He also seems to like western pop culture.
This is a great manga that is appealing to both shonen and shoujo fans. Sure, it's got action and drama, but it also has tons of interesting and quirky characters.

Rating:
Summary: Tite Kubo Does it again
Review: My attempts at making this a good, well written review have turned into long essays about the aesthetic qualities of the work. Thus, I reduce the facts to bulletpoints:
- Bleach has amazing (well, by manga standards) artwork, going for a more angular style reminiscent of Trigun, where even the tiny illustrations of the characters have a special look to them.
- The storyline is interesting, focusing on not just the development of the main character, Ichigo, but the characters around him that grow (not so much in this volume, but the foundations of the series rest on this volume. It ends on a cliffhanger by the way, expect to buy more volumes.
- Tite Kubo likes to keep character bios and diagrams with his mangas, like in his previous book, ZombiePowder. It is not lacking in Bleach, but I have the feeling some of the bios were altered so that americans could emphasize a little better (at least with favorite song).
Overall, Bleach is amazing, and a great alternative to getting punched in the gut.