Bleach is an anime television series based on Tite Kubo's manga series of the same name. It was directed by Noriyuki Abe, produced by TV Tokyo, Dentsu and Studio Pierrot, and aired in Japan from October 5, 2004, to March 27, 2012, running for a total of 366 episodes. The series follows the adventures of high school student Ichigo Kurosaki who can see spirits and becomes a Soul Reaper, after assuming the duties of Soul Reaper Rukia Kuchiki.
Viz Media obtained the foreign television, home video and merchandising rights to the Bleach anime from TV Tokyo Corporation and Shueisha on March 15, 2006. Subsequently, Viz Media contracted Studiopolis to create the English adaptation of the anime, and has licensed its individual Bleach merchandising rights to several different companies. The English adaptation of the Bleach anime premiered on Canada's YTV in their Bionix programming block on September 9, 2006. Cartoon Network in the U.S. began airing Bleach the following evening on September 10 as part of Adult Swim.
Forty-five pieces of theme music are used for the episodes: Fifteen opening themes and thirty closing themes. Several CDs that contain the theme music and other tracks have been released by Studio Pierrot.
A sequel anime television series that adapts the final story arc of the manga, titled ', premiered on October 11, 2022. It is directed by Tomohisa Taguchi and produced by the same companies as the original series.
The 88 DVD compilations of the series are grouped by season and were released in Japan by Aniplex between February 2, 2005, and January 23, 2013.
The first 32 DVD compilations have been released by Viz Media in the United States. 26 DVD collection box set of the series were released from June 10, 2008, to September 29, 2015. From July 19, 2016, to December 7, 2021, Viz released the series on Blu-Ray, with a total of 13 sets, half the number of DVD sets.
The series has been released in the United Kingdom by Manga Entertainment in half-season sets, then re-released into season sets.
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