Greetings and salutations, fellow comic book readers!
Today we will take a detour into the wonderful world of Japanese comic books (otherwise known as Manga) to introduce a title that is extremely popular with people of all ages around the world. A veritable pop phenomenon: Bleach! One of the best selling manga titles of all time, selling something like 80 million copies in Japan alone. That is a lot of comics! It has been around since 2002, collected in the weekly manga magazine Shonen Jump. Since it has been introduced, Bleach has inspired an animated television series from 2004 to 2012, four animated feature films, seven rock musicals(?/!), and numerous video games, as well as a plethora of related merchandise! It is a title that has officially hit its mainstream stride, appearing in North America on Cartoon Network.
Today we will take a detour into the wonderful world of Japanese comic books (otherwise known as Manga) to introduce a title that is extremely popular with people of all ages around the world. A veritable pop phenomenon: Bleach! One of the best selling manga titles of all time, selling something like 80 million copies in Japan alone. That is a lot of comics! It has been around since 2002, collected in the weekly manga magazine Shonen Jump. Since it has been introduced, Bleach has inspired an animated television series from 2004 to 2012, four animated feature films, seven rock musicals(?/!), and numerous video games, as well as a plethora of related merchandise! It is a title that has officially hit its mainstream stride, appearing in North America on Cartoon Network.
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| The First Issue! |
The story revolves around, Ichigo Kurosaki, a young man who obtains the powers of a
Soul Reaper (literally, "Death God")
—a death personification similar to the Grim Reaper—from another Soul
Reaper. Not a bad gig, I know, but Ichigo's powers force him to take on the duties of defending humans from
evil spirits and guiding departed souls to the afterlife. Professor O finds this a pretty good deal, but what if you do not like the people you have to save? Meh, we will let Ichigo decide that one, he is the Soul Reaper.
A recommended read, dear readers! It is Punk Rock with a dash of Highway To Heaven…and swords. The manga is gloriously read back to front as the original Japanese version, but unlike the original Japanese version it is in English. Professor O has seen you browsing the manga shelves at the SSJCPL, he has witnessed you ogling the titles while making sure no other adults see you, but dear reader, you need to go on, give it a try!
Until next time, fellow readers!
Professor O
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