Yoruichi

The story opens with the sudden appearance of Shinigami Rukia Kuchiki in Ichigo Kurosaki's bedroom. She is surprised at his ability to see her, but their conversation is shortly interrupted by the appearance of a Hollow, an evil spirit that feeds on the souls of both the living and the dead. After Rukia is severely wounded while trying to protect Ichigo from the Hollow, she attempts to transfer half her powers to Ichigo in order to let him face the Hollow on equal footing. Ichigo instead unintentionally absorbs almost all her powers, allowing him to defeat the Hollow with ease. The next day, Rukia appears in Ichigo's classroom as a seemingly normal Human, and informs Ichigo that his absorption of her powers has left her stranded in the Human World until she recovers her strength. In the meantime, Ichigo shelters Rukia in his home and takes over her job as a Shinigami, battling Hollows and guiding lost souls to an afterlife realm called the Soul Society.

After a few months of this arrangement, in the sixth volume of the series, Rukia's Shinigami superiors interpret her disappearance as desertion, send a detachment to arrest her, and sentence her to death. Ichigo is unable to stop Rukia's capture, but with the help of several of his classmates who also possess spiritual abilities and ex-Shinigami Kisuke Urahara, he sets off for the Soul Society to save her. Once there, Ichigo and company battle against the elites of the Shinigami military, and are ultimately successful in halting Rukia's execution.

It is then revealed that Rukia's execution and Ichigo's rescue attempt were both manipulated by Sōsuke Aizen, a high-ranking Shinigami previously believed to be murdered, as part of a far-reaching plot to sabotage the Soul Society. Aizen betrays his fellow Shinigami and allies himself with the Hollows, becoming the main antagonist of the series, and Ichigo teams up with his former enemies in the Soul Society after learning that the next step in Aizen's plan involves the destruction of his hometown. The Gotei 13 unite to defeat Aizen and his army of Arrancar, but are unable to stop Aizen in the fake version of Karakura Town that they created. Ichigo ultimately defeats Aizen in the real Karakura Town at the cost of his Shinigami powers.

Seventeen months later, Ichigo is approached by a mysterious organization of Fullbringers known as Xcution with an offer to help him recover his lost powers in order to transfer their own to him and become normal humans; however, it is revealed their true objective is to steal Ichigo's Fullbring in order to empower their own by orchestating a massive manipulation of his family and acquaintances. Ichigo regains his Shinigami powers thanks to Rukia and the Gotei 13, and fights against Kūgo Ginjō, the leader of the Xcution and the first Substitute Shinigami, ultimately killing him in the following battle.

One month after Ichigo regains his Shinigami powers, an army of Quincy known as the Wandenreich declare war on the Shinigami and invade the Soul Society without warning. Led by the Quincy King Yhwach, the Wandenreich devastates the Soul Society and puts the balance of the three worlds at risk by killing the Soul King. With support from the Royal Guard, the Gotei 13 and Ichigo's group battle against the odds to overcome Yhwach's future-altering abilities and his legion of Quincy followers. Following massive casualties on both sides, Ichigo ultimately kills Yhwach with the help of Aizen and Uryū, restoring balance to the three worlds and finally putting an end to the Wandenreich.[1]

All Bleach characters are "souls". Living Humans contain souls within their bodies, while disembodied souls, or spirits, have a form composed of particles of Reiryoku called Reishi (霊子, Spirit Particles), which otherwise mimics Human anatomy, aside from incredibly slowed aging (Rukia appears to be in her late teens, but is actually over 150 years old.). This form encompasses all of the spirit's being; there is no distinction between spirit and body. There are a variety of different types of spirits in Bleach, each with a different visual theme and approach to combat.

Main characters See also: Characters Ichigo Kurosaki

The primary protagonist of Bleach, Ichigo Kurosaki is a orange-haired high school student who 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. Rukia Kuchiki

Rukia Kuchiki is a Shinigami who was sent on a Hollow extermination patrol in Ichigo's home town. Though her physical appearance is that of a teenage girl, in reality she is over 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

Orihime Inoue is a long-time classmate of Ichigo, linked to him by mutual friend Tatsuki Arisawa. She was primarily raised by her older brother Sora, who took her with him when he ran away from their abusive parents at the age of 18. Although initially devoid of spiritual powers, she begins to develop spiritual awareness and later obtains the unique ability to "reject" any kind of damage that a person suffers in battle, enabling her to completely restore their body regardless of how severely it was wounded beforehand. Uryū Ishida

Though on the surface 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. His father refuses to have anything to do with the Quincy, so he receives training from his grandfather, until his grandfather is killed. Yasutora Sado

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 later discovers a unique ability that strengthens and armors his right arm, enabling him to fight Hollows. Renji Abarai

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 job 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. Character types See also: races 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.[2] Certain unique Humans, like the Fullbringers, 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.[3] Plus: Benign spirits in Bleach are known as Pluses. A plus is the spirit of a person who has died. They are distinguished by a chain, known as the Chain of Fate(因果の鎖, inga no kusari), that protrudes from the chest. This once bound the plus to its living body. Normally, Pluses are sent to Soul Society by Shinigami, but if this is not done before the Chain of Fate is corroded entirely, a hole will form in the chest of the Plus where the chain was once anchored. Such souls are driven mad, lose their heart and become evil spirits known as Hollows.[4][5] Shinigami: Shinigami (Soul Reaper 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' powers, to primarily perform two different tasks. The first is to perform Konsō on Pluses and the second is to slay Hollows, the act of which purifies them and allows them to pass on to the afterlife.[4] Visored: The Visored are a rogue group of Shinigami who have Hollow powers, gaining removable white masks and access to certain Hollow abilities. Hollow: Hollows are the central antagonists of the Bleach franchise. They are evil spirits that reside in Hueco Mundo, but travel to the Human 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,[5] but a small group of Hollows have broken them, becoming Arrancar. Arrancar: Arrancars are evolved Hollows who, through various means, have shattered their masks; these Hollows regain the ability to reason, sometimes obtain a humanoid form, and gain access to powers similar to those of Shinigami.[6] Quincy: The Quincy are a clan of spiritually aware Humans who once fought against the Hollows, using weapons composed of spiritual energy to slay them.[7] As opposed to Shinigami, Quincy absorb and channel energy from their surroundings to fight.[8] 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.[7] 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.[9] This issue prompted the Shinigami to conduct a campaign to exterminate the Quincy about 200 years before the main storyline.[10] Artificial soul: Artificial souls (also known as Modified Souls, or Mod-Souls) are a type of soul mass-produced by the Shinigami.[11] 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.[11] They come with a pre-programmed personality that animates the host body until the owner returns.[11] In addition to the mundane versions, a series of experimental souls authorized and created by Shinigami researchers exists.[12] 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).[12] 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.[12] Only one modified soul exists in the manga, but there are three more such characters in the anime. Fullbringer: The Fullbringers are rare spiritually aware Humans who are born with an ability called a Fullbring, in which they can manipulate the "soul" of matter for a variety of effects. Their powers are defined by Hollow Reiryoku.

The planes of existence in the Bleach universe broadly correspond to the life and afterlife of Human belief systems. The living Humans of Bleach reside in a world resembling present-day Japan; buried souls live in a kind of afterlife called the Soul Society; evil souls are sent to Hell. Once in the Soul Society, a spirit is able to live far longer than Humans can in the living world, with many living for centuries or even thousands of years. Once a spirit dies in the Soul Society, its soul is sent back to the living world and reborn as a new Human. This provides the two worlds with balance.

Human World: Also referred to as the World of the Living, the Human World of Bleach is modern Japan, specifically a fictional area of Western Tokyo called Karakura Town.[13] In this world, Ichigo attends school and slays Hollows who come to town to consume innocent human souls. Places of note are Karakura High School, the Urahara Shop, the river where Masaki Kurosaki was killed, the town cemetery, Karakura Hospital, and Ichigo and Orihime's homes. Soul Society: The 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 commoners live.[14] The district number of the Rukongai (ranging from 1 to 80) also describes its conditions.[15] 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.[15] A king resides in another realm within Soul Society.[16] Hueco Mundo: Hueco Mundo is the desert-like world between the Human World and Soul Society where it is eternal night. Literally meaning "hollow world" (the word hueco can also mean "empty"), it is where Hollows reside when not hunting in the Human world, where they are undetectable. Entrances to Hueco Mundo are created by ripping the dimensional fabric between the two worlds (Garganta). Hell: Hell is the destination of those who committed unforgivably evil acts during their lives in the Human world. When a Hollow whose mortal soul is too wicked to enter Soul Society is slain by a Zanpakutō, the gates of hell (giant doors held by skeletons) appear and begin to open. A giant, laughing spirit with a blade then spears the wicked soul and drags it down into hell.[17]