Plot/Story

Rukia is a Shinigami sent to earth with the mission of destroying Hollows (the souls of humans that have become corrupt over time) and returning their cleansed soul to the Soul Society.

Ichigo (I just cannot respect a guy named strawberry [Ichigo = Strawberry]) is a normal human with the not so normal ability to see ghosts; as well as an abnormally high level of spritual power.

So Rukia comes to earth in search of a Hollow, ends up in Ichigo's room due to his level of spiritual energy and he promptly kicks her... hard. This surprises her, as humans shouldn’t be able to see Shinigami.

They are soon attacked and during the combat Ichigo unintentionally steals all of Rukia's Shinigami powers. He destroys the creature that attacked them and the story moves on from there.

Characters

Strawberry (umm, I mean Ichigo)>>> The main character, he's very powerful and manages to win on simply brute strength alone. (Though later we do see him augment his strength with skill and experience [that’s when things get really cool])

Rukia>>> Shinigami girl. Her job was to save souls by defeating Hollows... Ichigo interfered with her mission and then things got complicated. She regrets dragging him into the whole Hollow killing ordeal.

Chad>>> Essentially a walking battle tank. He's big, strong and he hits things quite hard. Association with Ichigo eventually sparks his dormant power and he becomes capable of manifesting the Right Arm of Destruction (which, funnily enough.,.. destroys things)

Inoue>>> Ditz!! She’s an amusing character though. Like Chad, her association with Ichigo sparked something and she gains tha ability to summon these seven little fairy creatures. Three for defense, three for healing and one for assault (Tsubaki - this guy kicks ass despite being 10cms tall).

Ishida (Quincy)>>> He hates you... Carries a bow, is the last of the Quincy - exorcists that were wiped out by the shinigami. He is very powerful... and he hates you. (see volume 4 - Quincy Archer Hates You)

Drawing Style

Not great, the characters are all reasonably different, and the shinigami swords are all impressive. However, I found the overall style to be... err... a little lacking. It’s just not as well defined as some other manga I can mention.

Enjoyment

There is much enjoyment in this manga. Half of it comes from Ichigo's father... he is so weird that you just have to laugh at his antics. Anyway, aside from that Kon, who is essentially a replacement soul who is stored in a stuffed teddybear-like thing for safekeeping, provides some entertainment as well.

In addition to these obvious comic characters, the other characters all have their moments that amuse you. And it’s generally done in good taste.

Must mention the Omake at the end of each chapter... - the majority of these are great. Make sure you don’t skip over them.

Overall

Bleach is quite good. I got into it cause a friend of mine would rant about it endlessly and I decided to find out if it was worthy... It is.

Bleach combines a wide assortment of characters, all with different personalities with humor, impressive action, and occasionally a depth that is often missing in Shounen manga.

Bleach is worth your time.

(Done by Taito Kubo)
(English version by Viz)