I realize I’m super late to the game on this series but I’ve been meaning to read it for a while now. Part-time student, full-time Soul Reaper, Ichigo is one of the chosen few guardians of the afterlife.

There is artistic and character ephemera that is giggle inducing and awesome for its ability to hook into and endearing the reader to the varied personalities of the series.If you haven't read Bleach, this is actually a story about a young high school boy named Ichigo Kurosaki, also known as 'Strawberry' due to his natural orange hair color who can see ghosts. For people who are new to this series and unfamiliar with it, I think this is a great introduction to the series, especially if you read the 3-in-1 edition instead of the single editions. There are so many things that were not in the anime, like Orihime and Tatsuki talking about Orihime’s crush on Ichigo and Tatsuki giving her suggestions on how she could get together with him. He never took drawing seriously until he was 17; after reading Dragon Ball he knew he wanted to be a manga artist. From then on the rest of the 3 in 1 volume has mostly stories of Ichigo hallow haunting and taking down big bads for people.

Now a full-fledged Soul Reaper himself, Ichigo quickly learns that the world he inhabits is one full of dangerous spirits, and along with Rukia--who is slowly regaining her powers--it's Ichigo's job to protect the innocent from Hollows and help the spirits themselves find peace. When his family is attacked by a Hollow—a malevolent lost soul—Ichigo becomes a Soul Reaper, dedicating his life to protecting the innocent and helping the tortured spirits themselves find peace.Recommend for all manga readers of appropriate age (it does get pretty violent at times) and anyone trying to dip their toes into these kinds of books.

I enjoyed the moments of goofy humor and the excitement of the fights, but feel like I'd probably enjoy the anime more--it was hard to keep track of the characters in black and white (when your protagonist's defining physical trait is his orange hair, it's a shame to keep him in monochrome), and it was so action-packed that sometimes I couldn't tell what was happening in the battles.I'll just say that Ichigo can see ghosts, and one day comes across a soul reaper - who accidentally gives her powers away and is stuck in a temporary human body. This manga is constantly being checked out at the library where I work, so I decided to check out (literally) the 3-in-1 manga and the first volume anime to see what the fuss was about. Also, I knew there were characters of color in it, as a Black Woman, that will definitely urge me want to read a story. I have heard rumors online about the new season of Bleach coming out which is totally exciting and I wonder if they’re true. Best known for his internationally bestselling series Bleach, Tite Kubo is the pen name of Noriaki Kubo, one of the most successful manga creators of all time.