Bleach Volume 27 cover image is courtesy of barnesandnoble.com.

Rated “T” for “Teen”

Ichigo “Strawberry” Kurosaki was born with the ability to see ghosts, and because of this ability, Ichigo met a young woman named Rukia Kuchiki.  Rukia changed his life forever when she introduced him to the world of the Soul Reapers.  Now, Ichigo is also Reaper, cleansing malevolent lost souls, called Hollows, and protecting the innocent.

As Bleach, Vol. 27 (entitled goodbye, halcyon days) opens, the Arrancars, led by the renegade Soul Reaper, Sôsuke Aizen, force Orihime Inoue, a healer with amazing abilities, to join them, but they allow her the opportunity to surreptitiously say a last goodbye to one person.  When Ichigo learns that Orihime is still alive, he bucks the Soul Society’s leadership and launches a rescue mission.  He and his friends, Uryû Ishida and Chad Yasutora, sneak into the Arrancars’ other-dimensional headquarters, Hueco Mundo.

THE LOWDOWN:  When it isn’t depicting high-octane action scenes (that rival in intensity big Hollywood action films), Bleach is hiding one subplot of intrigue after another up its sleeves, but the main attraction is the lead character, Ichigo “Strawberry” Kurosaki.  For all Bleach’s weirdness:  outrageous aerial battles, exotic settings, and outlandish characters, Ichigo’s journey to find himself, as a young man of two worlds, grounds this fantasy.

POSSIBLE AUDIENCE:  No shonen reader can be without the incredible Bleach.

A