Premieres 12/18, Every Mon-Fri at 7.30pm
What happens to us after we live our lives on Earth? Do we simply cease to exist? Or will our ‘souls’ continue ‘living’ in another dimension or world? We may never get an answer to the question until it is too late. One thing is for sure – the latter possibility certainly makes human lives much more significant than just a frivolous existence on Earth, and we will step into such a universe in Animax’s upcoming anime series, Bleach! (read more below)
Premiering 18 December 2009 and airing weekdays 7.30pm, Bleach is one of the most popular anime series in the world. The action-packed supernatural-themed anime series ranks among the best-loved and the most well-known anime franchises such as Dragonball, Slam Dunk Naruto, InuYasha, and Fullmetal Alchemist, as a brand that even non-anime fans know. Bleach follows 15-year old student Ichigo Kurosaki, whose life changes after he meets ‘Soul Reaper’ Rukia Kuchiki, acquires her powers, and opens the door to ‘Soul Society’, an entire world and society where human souls ‘live’ after their time on Earth.
Able to see souls of the deceased, orange-haired Ichigo regarded the spirits around him as a minor annoyance, and had been able to live a normal life with his two sisters and father who run a clinic. One fateful day, a mysterious woman in a black kimono with a katana (Japanese sword) appears in his room. Identifying herself as Rukia, she is a ‘Soul Reaper’, one of many guardian spirits responsible for leading souls to the spirit world called ‘Soul Society’. As they get acquainted, Ichigo’s family is attacked by huge, monstrous ‘Hollow’ spirits which consume other souls. With Rukia injured, Ichigo steps up to take on the Soul Reaper’s responsibilities and powers to protect his family and loved ones.
As Rukia’s superiors find out she has gone against Soul Society laws with her transfer of power to Ichigo, she is hauled back to her world to be executed. Swearing to save Rukia from death, Ichigo then embarks on a journey of discovery that will awaken the latent Soul Reaper powers in him while gathering a group of friends who risk death with him on the perilous mission in Soul Society.
Bleach is based on the manga of the same title by Tite Kubo, that has sold over 50 million copies as of May 2008, as well as winner of the 2005 Shogakukan Manga Award in the shōnen (youth) category. Beyond the manga and anime TV series, Bleach has been brought to the big screen on three theatrical releases that made over US$15 million in Japan alone. More than 20 Bleach game titles have also been released for various consoles including Nintendo DS, Nintendo Wii, Sony PlayStation Portable, Sony PlayStation 2, and Game Boy Advance, since 2005. In addition, two trading card games have been created, and even a live-action rock musical was staged at Space Zero Tokyo in August 2005.
