Bleach Manga

The series was published in the Japanese-language magazine Weekly Shōnen Jump. The individual chapters are collected by Shueisha in series of tankōbon volumes, which also include a poem by the character of the cover. Chapter names in English have katakana above them to indicate how they are read in Japanese, similarly to furigana for kanji. The first volume was released on January 5, 2002 while currently thirty-six volumes have been released.

Bleach Manga

The distributing company Viz Media has been releasing the Bleach manga volumes in English in the United States. Viz released the first volume on June 1, 2004. The most recent volume released in the US was volume twenty-five, released on December 2, 2008. Viz has also released a Bleach box set on September 2, 2008, that contains all the first twenty-one volumes as well as poster and a booklet of the series. Viz has also been serializing the individual chapters in the Shonen Jump magazine since November of 2007.

Bleach Manga

The anime version of Bleach is produced by Studio Pierrot and directed by Noriyuki Abe. It began broadcasting in Japan on October 5, 2004, on TV Tokyo. Episodes 1-167 were made and broadcast in 4:3, with episodes 168+ made and broadcast in 16:9 wide screen.

Bleach Manga

On March 15, 2006, Viz Media obtained foreign television, home video, and merchandising rights to the Bleach anime from the TV Tokyo Corporation and Shueisha. Subsequently, Viz Media contracted Studiopolis to create the English dub of the anime, and has licensed its individual Bleach merchandising rights to several different companies. The English version of the Bleach anime premiered on Canada's YTV channel in the Bionix program block on September 8, 2006. Cartoon Network began airing Bleach the following evening as part of its Adult Swim block.

Bleach Manga

The show went on hiatus on October 20, 2007 after airing the first 52 episodes of the series. It was replaced with another Viz series, Death Note, while additional episodes of Bleach were being dubbed. YTV began showing reruns of the anime after episode 26. On March 2, 2008 at 1:00 a.m. EST, the series returned from hiatus and began the next 52 episodes. In the UK, Bleach premiered on AnimeCentral on September 13, 2007, with new episodes airing daily, but is currently on hiatus after airing the first 52 episodes.

Bleach Manga

Bleach Manga

Bleach

Bleach (Burīchi, romanized as BLEACH in Japan) is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Tite Kubo. Bleach follows the adventures of Ichigo Kurosaki after he accidentally obtains the power of a shinigami from Rukia Kuchiki. A shinigami is a Japanese death personification similar to the Grim Reaper. Gaining these abilities forces him to take on the duties of defending humans from evil spirits and guiding departed souls to the afterlife.

Bleach

Bleach has been continuously serialized in the Japanese manga anthology Weekly Shōnen Jump since August 2001 and has been collected in 35 tankōbon volumes as of October 2008. Since its publication, Bleach has spawned a substantial media franchise. The manga has been adapted into an animated television series produced by Studio Pierrot which is still ongoing in Japan as it adapts the story from the manga. The series has also spawned two original video animations (OVAs), three animated feature films, seven rock musicals, and numerous video games, as well as prompted the release of many types of Bleach-related merchandise.

Bleach

Viz Media licensed the manga for English-language publication in the United States and Canada and has released 24 volumes as of September 2008. In addition, it has been publishing the chapters in Shonen Jump since November 2007. On March 15, 2006, Viz obtained foreign television and home video distribution rights to the Bleach anime. Cartoon Network began airing Bleach as part of its Adult Swim block on September 9, 2006 in the United States. The first film, Bleach: Memories of Nobody was released in North America on Region 1 DVD by Viz on October 14, 2008.

Bleach

Compilation volumes of the manga have sold over 50 million copies in Japan and reached the top of manga sales charts in the United States. The anime adaptation has been similarly received, rating as the 7th most popular anime television series in Japan in 2006, and in the top ten anime for America from 2006 to 2008. The series received the Shogakukan Manga Award for the shōnen demographic in 2005, and is among the best-selling manga properties in both Japan and America.

Bleach

Bleach

Ranma Ryoga

Ryoga Hibiki (響 良牙, Hibiki Ryōga?) is a character in Rumiko Takahashi's anime and manga series Ranma ½. The name Ryoga can be broken down to read as "good fang," which refers to the fact that he has rather prominent canines. Hibiki is translated as "to echo or resound."

Ranma Ryoga

Ryoga is introduced in chapter 10 of the manga, titled "The Hunter" and in episode 7 of the anime entitled "Enter Ryoga, The Eternal Lost Boy", in which he casually stops a giant boar from attacking rural villagers. He politely asked for directions to Furinkan High School, but overshot the distance by 500 miles (800 km) south, and again shortly thereafter by 500 miles (800 km) north. A week later, he finally managed to reach his destination and promptly attacked Ranma. The latter had to think hard to remember him, but was glad to see him when he remembered Ryoga as a friend from his old boys' school (Junior High School in the anime, High School in the manga).

At first, it seemed like he simply has a grudge because the latter "ran away" from their scheduled fight, at a vacant lot located 500 yards (460 m) from his own house. His bad sense of direction forced him to wander all over Japan for four days looking for his destination, while Ranma only waited three days before leaving with his father for their training trip to China. Ranma recalls the motivation as consistently beating Ryoga to the last bread at lunchtime, slowly building up the latter's resentment towards him.

Ryoga ends up a week late travelling to their next duel. During their confrontation, he discovers Ranma's curse, and the latter accidentally cuts off part of Akane's hair, by kicking away Ryoga's belt-slash, leading both boys to profusely apologise.

Ranma Ryoga

Ranma Ryoga

Ranma Saotome

Ranma Saotome is a fictional character and the protagonist of the anime and manga series Ranma ½ created by Rumiko Takahashi. Ranma can mean "chaotic" or "reckless horse."

Ranma, the only son of Genma and Nodoka Saotome, was taken from his home by his father when approximately 2 years old, to begin a 13-14-year training trip to perfect his skills in the martial arts.

Ranma Saotome

While he was still a child, he befriended Ukyo Kuonji, the daughter of a travelling okonomiyaki chef and martial artist, although he was unaware that she was a girl. Genma engaged Ranma to Ukyo in exchange for her father's food cart, but he abandoned Ukyo and ran off with the cart without ever telling Ranma about the engagement or correcting him about Ukyo's real gender.

Later, near the end of the trip, Genma took Ranma to a training ground in China named Jusenkyo that few people used, due to the springs being cursed. Falling into them would transform a person into whatever first fell in. Not knowing this, and not having the patience to listen to a warning from the local guide, Genma attempted to train with Ranma atop the bamboo poles which jutted up out of the pools.

Ranma Saotome

When Ranma knocked Genma into Shonmaoniichuan/"Spring of 'Drowned' Panda", he was surprised to watch a panda emerge from the pond and leap onto one of the poles. Genma, now cursed, was able to hit a surprised Ranma into Nyannichuan (Niángníquán 娘溺泉), or the "Spring of 'Drowned' Girl". Thus he turns into a female version of his original form when splashed with cold water, which is only (temporarily) reversible through contact with hot water.

Ranma Saotome

Ranma Saotome

Akane

Akane Tendo is a fictional character in Rumiko Takahashi's anime and manga series Ranma ½.

She is the youngest of Soun Tendo's three daughters and one of the heirs to the Anything Goes School of Martial Arts.

Akane is the Japanese word for madder (Rubia cordifolia), as well as the crimson dye obtained from it. It is a common Japanese name.

Akane

Akane's mother died when she was very young. Perhaps because of this, she appears not to have learned many traditionally feminine skills, and her terrible cooking is a running joke during the series. Akane may see her sister Kasumi as a surrogate mother figure, since she helps her with more traditionally feminine chores.

Akane

Akane grows up as a tomboy, getting into fights, acting tough, and improving her martial arts. In elementary school, her classmates thought she was so much like a boy that she was cast to play Romeo in their production of Romeo and Juliet; Akane accepts the role and plays a very cute Romeo, though deep down she always wanted to be cast as Juliet, a wish that she'll have fulfilled only years later (though she would have four different Romeos fighting for her).

Akane

At the beginning of the series Akane had a crush on Dr. Tofu Ono, who patched her up many times when she got into fights. Unfortunately for Akane, Dr. Tofu is besotted with her older sister Kasumi. In an attempt to get his attention, Akane grew out her hair longer like Kasumi's. However during one of the first fights between Ranma and Ryoga, her hair is cut, a look she retains for the rest of the series.

Akane

Akane

Ranma Characters

The following characters all play in the Ranma ½ manga and anime and are listed alphabetically. For manga ranma characters, please see here:

Dojo Destroyer, is a huge man who specializes in challenging various martial arts dojos. His real name is never mentioned. When victorious, he takes their signs. His fighting style actually uses the signs he has taken as weapons in the duels. A combined effort of Ranma and Akane manages to defeat him.

Ranma Characters

The Gambling (Bakuchioh) King, who bears a striking resemblance to the 'King' Poker card, is a gambler who specializes in conning children, the only opponents he can actually defeat, out of their savings or other valuables they might have. Ten years ago, he met Ukyo Kuonji and Ranma Saotome and managed, by cheating, to win both Ukyo’s okonomiyaki cart and the Tendo Dojo, which Ranma had wagered. Enraged by their losses, the young duo turned on the gambler, wrapped him up like sushi, and threw him into a nearby river.

Ranma Characters

Harumaki is an old man who sends an astral projection of himself inside Ranma's dreams; apparently, this was only because of his strong desire of dating female Ranma, who looks very much like his wife when she was young, and not an intentional thing. He gets his wish and is able to date Ranma just once. Since it appeared that Harumaki would die soon and a date would be the only way to help him rest in peace, the young Saotome unwillingly agreed to fulfill the old man's fantasy. In the end, Harumaki fully recovered from his illness.

Ranma Characters

Hiroshi and Daisuke are students in Ranma's class at Furinkan High School. The duo became Ranma's friends and supporters, although they remain jealous of Ranma's luck with the ladies. They eventually learn about Ranma's curse and enjoy looking at him when he is in his girl form, noting "Why can't there be more girls like him?" The entire school found out (except for Kuno and the teachers) during Mousse's first appearance in the manga but in the anime it was a secret until very late in the series. It should be noted that their names were never mentioned in the Manga and that after the story arc when Hinako tries to teach Akane to swim, they vanished and were never mentioned again.

Ranma Characters

One day Kuno bought a phoenix egg from an antiques salesman so he could learn the phoenix sword technique. Despite the shopkeeper's admonition not to place the egg on his head, Ranma unknowingly did so, causing the egg to hatch. The phoenix was revealed to be a hideous, pudgy bird with a phoenix-like tail. The first thing it saw was Ranma, imprinting on him as its enemy, which it would attack relentlessly. It could also generate a blinding flash of light as a defensive mechanism to keep attackers at bay. The only way to stop the phoenix was to using some growth pellets sold to him by the shopkeeper which would make the phoenix leave the nest (the top of Kuno's head) faster than the 100 years it would otherwise take.

Ranma Characters

Manga Ranma

Takahashi drew inspiration for Ranma ½ from a variety of real-world objects. Some of the places frequently seen in Furinkan are modeled after actual locations in Nerima, Tokyo, Japan (both the home of Takahashi and the setting of Ranma ½). In addition, links have been shown between the manga and people, paintings, and even films.

Manga Ranma

Ranma ½ began publication in September 1987, appearing in Shōnen Sunday, following the ending of Takahashi's previous major work Urusei Yatsura. From September 1987 until March 1996, Ranma ½ was published on a near weekly basis with the occasional colorized page to spruce up the usually black and white manga stories. After nearly a decade of storylines, Ranma ½'s final chapter was published in Shōnen Sunday 1996, Volume 12.

Following publication in Shōnen Sunday, were then published in book form until 1996 the pages were published in normal black and white. Ranma ½ was eventually serialized into 38 of these volumes. In 2002, Shogakukan opted to republish these under a new format, the shinsōban. These were essentially the same as the tankōban save for a different cover and the inclusion of the original colored pages in Shōnen Sunday.

Manga Ranma

In addition to the regular storylines, Ranma ½ has had several special releases. First, The Ranma ½ Memorial Book was published just as the manga ended in 1996. Acting as an end-cap to the series, it collects various illustrations from the series, features an interview with Rumiko Takahashi, and includes tidbits about Ranma: summaries of his battles, his daily schedule, trivia, and a few exclusive illustrations. Second, a Movie + OVA Visual Comic was released to illustrate the OVA episodes "The One to Carry On" (both parts) and the theatrical movie "Team Ranma vs. the Legendary Phoenix." It also included information on the seiyū, character designs, and a layout of the Tendo dojo. Finally, guidebooks were released for three of the Ranma ½ games; these included not only strategies, but also interviews.

Manga Ranma

Manga Ranma

Ranma

Ranma ½ (pronounced Ranma one half) (Ranma Nibun no Ichi) is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Rumiko Takahashi with an anime adaptation. The story revolves around a 16-year old boy named Ranma Saotome who was trained from early childhood in martial arts. As a result of an accident during a training journey, he is cursed to become a girl when splashed with cold water, but hot water will change him back into a boy.

Ranma

In Japan, the manga was serialized in Shogakukan's Shōnen Sunday where it ran from 1987–1996. Takahashi has stated in interviews that she wanted to produce a story that would be popular with children. Ranma's main audience was boys from elementary to junior high school age.

Ranma

Ranma ½ was extremely popular among American anime fans in the 1990s and popularized many of anime's most common visual gags. The infamous 'cursed springs' plot device has even come up in anime-themed custom role playing games as a quick transgender device.

Ranma

Ranma