People of different nationalities, genders and ages love Japanese animated films and TV shows - anime. This is a separate culture, a world in which there are no borders. It will take several lives to review all the anime. “Bleach” is a cult Japanese series that has gained popularity around the world. Some actors of the animated series “Bleach” (seiyu), engaged in the voice acting of characters, became famous thanks to their participation in this project.
general information
The animated series “Bleach” is the standard of the shonen genre. Literally from the Japanese genre means "boy." Shonen is distinguished by dynamic, exciting scenes in which there is a share of humor. The series was shot by Japanese director Noriyuki Abe with the support of Studio Pierrot. In Japan, anime appeared on television in October 2004. In Russia, television broadcasting began much later - in December 2010. The series has 366 episodes in 16 seasons. “Bleach” is designed for a target audience consisting of boys and youths aged 10 to 18 years.
History of creation
The series “Bleach” was shot on the basis of the manga of the same name created by the mango Taito Kubo. In an interview, he said that the idea of ​​history came to him when he wanted to draw Rukia in a kimono. Comics started selling in August 2001. Kubo wanted to complete the plot in 5 years, but unexpectedly for him a huge stir appeared around the manga. As a result, successful comics were released weekly in Shonen jump magazine for over 10 years. Anime adaptation began to be released in 2004 on TV Tokyo. Since 2006, the series began to be published in English. On Russian television, the anime “Bleach” appeared in 2010 on a 2x2 channel.
Not all episodes of the animated series “Bleach” were officially translated into Russian. Only the first 9 seasons were shown in Russia. The remaining episodes were translated by anime fans on their own. It is worth noting that many animeshniki prefer to watch their favorite series in the original, without Russian voice acting, but with subtitles.
Actors (seiyu) TV series
Seiyu are the actors who voice the characters in the anime. Among all the actors of the animated series "Bleach" should be highlighted:
- Masakazu Morita voiced the main character - Ichigo Kurosaki. Seiyu was born on October 21, 1972, and in 2007 he was awarded the Best Beginner Actor Award at the Seiyu Awards for his role in the Bleach series.
- Orikasa Fumiko is a Tokyo seiyu voiced by Rukia Kuchiki. She was born on December 27, 1974 and gained great popularity in Japan. She has many other well-known roles.
- Suchiyama Noriaki voiced a close friend of the protagonist - Yasutor Sado (Chad).
- Matsuoka Yuki is an actress who voiced Orihime Inoue, a classmate of Ichigo. For her work in the series, Seyuu received the Best Supporting Actress Award in 2007.
- Morikawa Toshiyuki is a singer and seiyu who voiced several roles at once: Issin Kurosaki (father of the main character), Tsubaki and Kaname Tosen.
Other actors of the animated series "Bleach" (seiyu):
- Noda Junko (Tatsuki Arisawa).
- Kugimiya Rie (Karin Kurosaki).
- Fukuyama Jun (Yumichika Ayasegawa).
- Nakajima Saki (Chizuru Honsho).
- Miki Sinichiro (Kisuke Urahara), etc.
The plot of the series
Ichigo Kurosaki, a fifteen-year-old student living with his father and younger sisters, is in the center of the plot of the Bleach series. When he was very young, his mother died. Ichigo leads a completely normal life at first glance: he goes to school, curses with his father, helps in a family clinic. But in fact, the guy is not so simple - he has long been able to see ghosts and communicate with them. Once a character randomly gains the power of the death god (shinigami). Since then, his life has been filled with vivid adventures, difficulties and dangers.
Animated series "Bleach": Season 1
In the first season of anime, the viewer gets acquainted with the main characters. Events take place in modern Japan, but it is filled with many spirits and ghosts. Rukia Kuchiki is a Shinigami fighting these monsters. Hunting for an evil spirit ("empty"), she ran into Ichigo. Soon the spirit joined them, and Rukia entered into a battle with him, as a result of which her strength went to Ichigo. For this, the girl was arrested and sentenced to death.
Bleach (animated series): Season 2
The main character, together with friends, hurries to the aid of Rukia in the Community of Souls, but on their way there is a barrier in the form of evil spirits. The execution of the sentence of Rukia was postponed for two weeks. Ichigo tries to defend her by fighting prison officers and captains.
Bleach: Season 16
The young man was 17 years old, he moved to high school. Having beaten one thief, Ichigo made himself an enemy in the face of a group of bandits. Then the hero gets acquainted with the organization Xcution, which offers him to help restore the ability of the Shinigami. Ichigo agrees and begins to train to get the right skills.
Manga "Bleach"
The manga released in 2001 was successful, and the author had to come up with new storylines. Taito Kubo brought into its history various elements from music, cinema, other languages ​​and architecture. For example, from the Spanish language appeared “empty”. Although all the main characters evoke associations not with white but with black, mangaka decided that Black is a common name for manga. Therefore, the story came out under the name Bleach, which literally translates from English as “bleach”, and white always suggests its own shadow - black. The last volume of the manga was released in 2016.
TV series adaptation
- Card game. Based on the Bleach storyline, two collectible card games were created: Bleach Soul Card Battle (2004) and Bleach TCG (2007). The first was sold in Japan, and the second in the USA.
- Musical. The studio, which shot the Bleach anime, later (in 2005) adapted the rock opera Rock Musical BLEACH together with Nelke Planning. The musical contains almost all the main characters, except Isis Uryu. This is due to technical difficulties. Work on the performances was: composer Shoichi Tama, screenwriter Naoshi Okumura and director Takuya Himaritsu. At the moment, 5 musicals have been created.
- Based on the series, several games for consoles were released in Japan and the USA. The most popular series of games belong to the genre of fighting game: Bleach DS, Bleach GC and Bleach: Blade Battlers.
- OVA - separately released series lasting about 25 minutes. This anime format is characterized by high image quality. Noriyuki Abe created 4 films. Separate scripts were written for OVA that are not related to the main line of the animated series Bleach. Actors voicing key characters were also busy in the new project.
Over the years of its release, the anime “Bleach” has become truly legendary. The incredible atmosphere of comedy and adventure has so pleased the countless fans of this story that they lacked only anime and manga. Therefore, in 2018, the full-length film “Bleach”, expected by fans, will be released with 24-year-old Sota Fukushi in the title role. Taito Kubo will help director Shinsuke Sato create this picture.