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Bleach, Vol. 1 (Collector's Edition) (v. 1) | 
| Creator: Tite Kubo
Publisher: VIZ Media LLC
Category: Book
List Price: $19.99
Buy Used: $10.67
You Save: $9.32 (47%)
Rating:  1 reviews
Sales Rank: 624921
Format: Special Edition
Media: Hardcover
Edition: Collectors
Pages: 192
Number Of Items: 1
Shipping Weight (lbs): 1
Dimensions (in): 8.4 x 5.8 x 0.9
ISBN: 1421525763
Dewey Decimal Number: 741
EAN: 9781421525761
ASIN: 1421525763
Publication Date: August 5, 2008
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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Shipping: International shipping available
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| Editorial Reviews:
Product Description
This is Bleach, Volume 1 special Collector's Edition featuring premium packaging! Color art available for the first time! Larger trim size and hardcover with dust jacket. New cover art on the dust jacket and the original cover art on the hardcover. Printed endpapers and higher quality paper stock for better image quality. Hot-tempered 15-year-old Ichigo Kurosaki, the hero of the popular fantasy-adventure Bleach, has the unsettling ability to see spirits who are unable to rest in peace. His sixth sense leads him to Rukia, a Soul Reaper who destroys Hollows (soul-devouring monsters) and ensures the deceased find repose with the Soul Society. When she's injured in battle, Rukia transfers her sword and much of her power to Ichigo, whose spiritual energy makes him a formidable substitute Soul Reaper. But the orange-haired teenager isn't sure he wants the job: too many risks and moral dilemmas.
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| Customer Reviews:
Death and a strawberry August 9, 2008
E. A Solinas (MD USA)
3 out of 3 found this review helpful
Ichigo "Strawberry" Kurosaki is just your average teenage boy... except that he can see spirits wherever he goes. Ghosts, evil spirits, accident victims, all kinds.
So it's not exactly surprising that he gets involved in wild, dangerous adventures, at the start of the humorous, action-packed "Bleach." Since this is just the first volume, Tite Kubo's art and plotting experience some basic growing pangs, but the stories are fast-paced, amusing and sometimes incredibly poignant. And the spiky-haired Ichigo has the makings of a great manga hero.
One night a strange girl appears in Ichigo's bedroom, and is shocked when he can see her. She explains that she's a Soul Reaper, who helps the dead pass on to the Soul Society (a sort of afterlife... thing), and purifies evil spirits called Hollows.
But when Rukia is injured in a fight with a Hollow, all her powers are transferred to Ichigo -- and with them, the responsibility of killing Hollows all over his town. Ichigo is not enthusiastic about his new role, but he can't pass up the opportunity to help innocent spirits. And he finds out that it isn't easy juggling his new responsibilities with his everyday life -- especially since the powerless Rukia is now attending his school in a fake body, and living in his closet.
Even worse, his extra duties with Hollows are affecting his friends. First pretty, flaky Orihime is stalked by a Hollow she is very familiar with -- someone who was closer to her than anyone else. And Ichigo's enormous, mostly-silent pal Chad is given a "cursed parakeet," and immediately dangerous things start happening to him -- what is the parakeet's "curse," why is a Hollow pursing Chad, and why does his new pet seem to be intelligent?
The first volume of a manga series is usually the bumpiest ride, since the author/artist is busy introducing the characters and the main storyline. So it's not surprising that "Bleach's" first volume has a few bumps in the road, especially in the first couple chapters -- getting Ichigo into the whole Soul Reaper situation, introducing about half of the main cast, and to the whole worldview of this particular series. Things get much more complex later on, but at this point Kubo is just laying out the groundwork.
The artwork is also rather sketchy in the first few chapters -- Ichigo looks almost prepubescent and a bit thuggish in the first chapter, and the action panels look abrupt. Fortunately by the time Orihime's storyline rolls around, Kubo's art has settled into a smoother, more even style -- if still a bit rough around the edges.
Primarily this is an action manga, with lots of monster-slaying with swords (in Ichigo's case, a freakishly huge one) and a complex battle between Ichigo and a grief-maddened Hollow. But Kubo fills these scenes with a sense of pathos, such as Chad's fondness for the little parakeet, or Orihime's fond memories of her older brother, who saved her as a baby from their horrible parents.
Don't worry, there are a lot of comedic moments too -- Rukia's awful drawing skills, Ichigo playing baseball with pepper bombs, and Ichigo's kooky classmates and family. Not to mention Chad's quiet explanations ("Yesterday... I collided with a motorcycle").
This is our first introduction to the various characters, but Ichigo "Strawberry" is a pretty good hero, albeit in the mold of most action-anime heroes -- rough, fight-prone, determinedly lonerish, but very good-hearted. He doesn't want to go out and just be heroic, but he can't pass up a person who needs his help. The smart, prickly Rukia and sweetly flaky Orihime round out the cast, although gentle giant Chad hasn't been explored much yet.
The first volume of Tite Kubo's "Bleach" is a warmup for the bestselling series, but Kubo really hits his stride -- with art and story -- in the second half. Definitely worth getting, if nothing else to acquaint you with the world of the Soul Reapers.
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