Bleach

[fool_on_the_hill]

Bleach Episode Guide

Season 1: Agent of the Soul Reaper/The Substitute (Episodes 1-20)

Below are the individual episode summaries for the first season of the Bleach anime. SPOILERS can be found in these detailed posts, so if you are a new viewer to the series, you'd best avoid this thread or view at your own discretion.

[fool_on_the_hill]

The Day I Became a Shinigami [adult swim] Premiere Date: September 9, 2006 Opening Theme: "*~Asterisk" by Orange Range Ending Theme: "Life is Like a Boat" by Rie Fu Season: 1

Meet Ichigo Kurosaki, age 15. He’s a high-school student who possesses the uncanny ability to see ghosts. But when he meets Rukia Kuchiki, a Soul Reaper from the Soul Society who helps lost souls find peace, his not-so-normal life becomes even more abnormal. In order to save his family from the grips of a Hollow, an evil spirit that preys on humans, Rukia lends some of her powers to Ichigo. Much to her surprise, he absorbs most of her powers and in turn, he too becomes a Soul Reaper. Episode Discussion Thread

[fool_on_the_hill]

The Shinigami's Work [adult swim] Premiere Date: September 15, 2006 Opening Theme: "*~Asterisk" by Orange Range Ending Theme: "Life is Like a Boat" by Rie Fu Season: 1

The morning after his encounter with Rukia, Ichigo is surprised to learn that his family has no recollection of the night; instead, they believe a truck crashed through their house. He arrives at school to be greeted by a new student, who turns out to be Rukia herself. She explains to him that she's lost nearly all her powers and must stay in Karakura Town in a gigai, a fake body, until they return. Because of her weakened state, she expects Ichigo to take over her duties as a Soul Reaper. After being hit by a car, it is revealed that their classmate Orihime Inoue has lived alone since the death of her older brother Sora three years ago. That night, she and her friend Tatsuki Arisawa are attacked by a vicious Hollow, whom our heroes discover is actually the twisted spirit of Sora.

Episode 2 Discussion Thread

Submission by mgangel1124

[fool_on_the_hill]

The Older Brother's Wish, The Younger Sister's Wish [adult swim] Premiere Date: September 22, 2006 Opening Theme: "*~Asterisk" by Orange Range Ending Theme: "Life is Like a Boat" by Rie Fu Season: 1

Orihime and Tatsuki are both attacked by a seemingly invisible foe in Orihime's apartment. Tatsuki falls unconscious. Orihime notices that there is a chain connected between herself and her body. The Hollow is now visible to her and calls her name. Since she isn't sure who he is or how he knows her, the Hollow gets mad and tries to attack her. Ichigo stops his attack. He notices Orihime can see him and the Hollow tells him that Orihime is dead. He then throws Ichigo out the window. After Orihime takes a good look into the eyes of the Hollow, she realizes it is her brother, Sora. She tells him that the Sora she knew never would act that way. The Hollow tells her that he was lonely especially after Orihime met Tatsuki. He feels it's Tatsuki's fault that she forgot about him. He then eventually blames her as well and begins to choke her.

The Hollow notices the glow of Orihime's hairpins, the hairpins that he once gave her, and remembers when Orihime was younger. At one point, he tries to smash his head into a wall but goes after Orihime again. Once again he is stopped by Ichigo. The Hollow attempts to give the final blow when Orihime steps in. She apologizes for asking him to stay with her when he died. She also tells him that she knew he was watching over him. To make sure her brother moves on, she exclaims that she was happy with the new friends she had made so her brother wouldn't have to worry about her. With this, the spirit of her brother and his Hollow side have an inner struggle. He eventually turns back into his regular self. Rukia explains that the reason Orihime's brother was forced to be turned into a Hollow was because it would have been difficult for Ichigo to fight him otherwise. She also reveals that because Orihime's Chain of Fate wasn't severed from her body, she is still technically alive. Ichigo tells Sora that Orihime said that the hairpins she wears was a gift from him and she doesn't take them off. Sora takes Ichigo's Zanpakuto and points it at himself. When Ichigo tries to stop him, Rukia explains that this is the right way to end things. As a Soul Reaper, it is their duty to purify Hollows and allow them to enter Soul Society. Orihime wakes up and sees her brother for the last time. They exchange their good-byes and Sora passes on.

The next day at school, Orihime tells her friends what happened. The story she told, however, was no where near the truth. Ichigo realizes that Rukia must have done the same thing to her as she did to his family in episode one. Ichigo tells Rukia that even though he's not ready to risk his life for strangers, he still doesn't want to just sit back and not do anything. He accepts to help Rukia and her Soul Reaper work.

Episode 3 Discussion Thread

Submission by xXxSABRINAxXx

[fool_on_the_hill]

Cursed Parakeet [adult swim] Premiere Date: September 29, 2006 Opening Theme: "*~Asterisk" by Orange Range Ending Theme: "Life is Like a Boat" by Rie Fu Season: 1

Ichigo's friend Yasutora "Chad" Sado has acquired a rather unusual pet: a talking parakeet named Yūichi with a supposed death curse. Ichigo reminisces about how he and Chad met, explaining that the latter came to his aid in the middle of a fight without even throwing a punch. After a series of accidents, Chad finally ends up in the Kurosaki family clinic, a large wound on his back. Ichigo and Rukia determine that a Hollow is following the bird as Chad escapes another attack. Rukia and Chad attempt to fight the dangerous Hollow Shrieker with minimal success. Meanwhile, Ichigo attends to his sister Karin, who has grown more and more disturbed throughout the night. She explains that she has a mental connection with Yūichi. She pleads with her brother to help the boy, who longs to be reunited with his deceased mother.

Episode 4 Discussion Thread

Submission by mgangel1124

[fool_on_the_hill]

Beat the Invisible Enemy! [adult swim] Premiere Date: October 6, 2006 Opening Theme: "*~Asterisk" by Orange Range Ending Theme: "Life is Like a Boat" by Rie Fu Season: 1

Ichigo promises Karin that he will save Yūichi, while it becomes obvious that Rukia's powers have not yet returned for the fight. Despite not being able to see spirits, Chad comes to her rescue by delivering a punch to Shrieker's face and even hits him with a telephone pole. He and Rukia's efforts are for naught though, as Shrieker uses exploding leeches to drive them to the brink. Ichigo appears just in the nick of time to help. As they fight, Yūichi explains that the Hollow was once a famous serial killer, and the boy's mother was his last victim. When young Yūichi pulled his shoelaces and caused him to fall off a balcony to his death, the murderer returned from the grave for revenge. Shrieker was able to transfer Yūichi's soul into the bird's body, and led him to believe that if he helped him for three months, his mother would come back to life. Enraged and disgusted, Ichigo swiftly destroys the creature. Instead of disappearing like other Hollows, a giant skeleton door appears and Shrieker is dragged away. Rukia explains that it was Hell, as he was so evil in life that his soul could not be purified and taken to the Soul Society. They free Yūichi's soul from the bird's body to be with his mother.

Episode 5 Discussion Thread

Submission by mgangel1124

[fool_on_the_hill]

Fight to the Death! Ichigo vs. Ichigo [adult swim] Premiere Date: October 13, 2006 Opening Theme: "*~Asterisk" by Orange Range Ending Theme: "Life is Like a Boat" by Rie Fu Season: 1

Rukia visits the shop of Kisuke Urahara, a mysterious man with shady connections to the Soul Society. He provides her with a package that turns out to be a pez dispenser-like object filled with something called Soul Candy. She gives it to Ichigo and explains that Soul Candy is a pill that allows a person's soul to exit their body and leaves an artificial, lab-created spirit inside to watch over it. The faux spirit seems pleasent enough and assures Ichigo that he'll take good care of the body while he's out fighting Hollows. Of course, hilarity ensues as he's revealed to be a perverted show-off. Meanwhile, Urahara discovers that he gave Rukia defective goods. Ichigo accidentally used a Konpaku, a modified soul, that had been designed to create combat soldiers out of deceased corpses. All mod souls were ordered to be destroyed when experiments failed, but this particular one happened to get mixed in with a batch of Soul Candy and was spared. The spirit finds a group of children playing a video game and laughing about how they plan to kill their characters and make better ones. He freaks out and launches at them, only to be stopped by the real Ichigo.

Episode 6 Discussion Thread

Submission by mgangel1124

[fool_on_the_hill]

Greetings from a Stuffed Lion [adult swim] Premiere Date: October 20, 2006 Opening Theme: "*~Asterisk" by Orange Range Ending Theme: "Life is Like a Boat" by Rie Fu Season: 1

At Urahara's shop, a young employee named Ururu cries over the fact that she gave Rukia the wrong product but is consoled by her boss, who gently states that they'll just go fix the problem. Ichigo continues to spar with his own body until Rukia drags him off to fight yet another Hollow. The mod soul runs off, but is forced to return to the area when he senses a Hollow about to attack the boys from earlier. He fights until Ichigo returns, and the two team up to defeat the monster. They talk, and he explains the fear and sadness he felt at being ordered to die the day after he was born, wondering why his life should be in the hands of strangers. He came to believe that life and death should be decided by the individual, and has resolved not to kill another or watch anyone die. Urahara arrives to take back the soul but Rukia refuses to relinquish him, claiming that she is satisfied with her purchase. She and Ichigo deposit the pill into a stuffed lion, and name him Kon. The next morning, Ichigo realizes that June 16 is fast approaching. He asks Rukia for the day off, and when she inquires he reveals that it is the anniversary of his mother's death. Back in the Soul Society, Soul Reaper Eikichirō Saidō is given orders to find Rukia, as she is long overdue for her return.

Episode 7 Discussion Thread

Submission by mgangel1124

[fool_on_the_hill]

June 17, Memories in the Rain [adult swim] Premiere Date: October 27, 2006 Opening Theme: "*~Asterisk" by Orange Range Ending Theme: "Life is Like a Boat" by Rie Fu Season: 1

Ichigo's family makes its annual pilgrimage to the grave of Masaki Kurosaki, beloved wife and mother. Rukia not-so-stealthily follows along just in case a Hollow should attack. Rukia asks Ichgio if his mother could have been killed by a Hollow, but he denies it and leaves, as he blames himself. He'd seen a ghost girl by the river and ran to help her, but there was an accident and Masaki was killed protecting him. Elsewhere, Tatsuki and Orihime discuss Ichigo, as he and Tatsuki are old friends. She explains that he was a crybaby as a child, but always perked up and smiled for his mother. The day after her death, he skipped school and was found sitting at the riverside where Masaki died. Back at the cemetery, Rukia is confronted by Eikichirō Saidō, who states that she has committed quite a large crime. Before he can attack, Ichigo arrives to fight instead. They are swiftly interrupted by the news that a Hollow is attacking Ichigo's sisters at their mother's grave.

Episode 8 Discussion Thread

Submission by mgangel1124

[fool_on_the_hill]

Unbeatable Enemy [adult swim] Premiere Date: November 3, 2006 Opening Theme: "*~Asterisk" by Orange Range Ending Theme: "Life is Like a Boat" by Rie Fu Season: 1

Ichigo saves Yuzu from the Hollow, but sees the ghost girl whom he recognizes from the scene of his mother's death and realizes that the monster may have been involved after all. It turns out the girl is a lure used by the Hollow named Grand Fisher as bait to catch unsuspecting prey. Eikichirō and Rukia manage to save Karin while Ichigo continues to fight. Rukia understands that Ichigo is in a fight to protect his family's honor and will not interfere to help him. Ichigo's resolve is strengthened by a vision of his mother telling him to live and be happy, but the heavily wounded Grand Fisher is able to escape with his life. Eikichirō is pleasantly surprised at his abilities and agrees to do what he can to cover for Rukia. Later, Ichigo and his father stand at Masaki's grave to pay their respects. When Ichigo asks his father why he doesn't blame him for her death, Isshin replies that it was no one's fault and he is proud that the woman he loved would give her life to protect her son. Ichigo resolves to get even stronger in order to kill the demon who took his mother.

Episode 9 Discussion Thread

Submission by mgangel1124