Bleach is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Tite Kubo that has appeared in Weekly Shonen Jump since August 2001.
Bleach follows the adventures of Ichigo Kurosaki, a high school student with the ability to see ghosts, and Rukia Kuchiki, a shinigami (Soul Reaper or, literally, "death god"). The early parts of the story focus mainly on the characters. As events unfold, the story begins to delve deeper into the world of these gods of death.
The manga series has been adapted into an animated television series, two OVAs, two animated feature films, a rock musical, numerous video games and a TCG (Trading Card Game). Compilation volumes of the manga have sold over 40 million copies in Japan, and have reached the top of manga sales charts in the United States. The manga received the Shogakukan Manga Award for its shōnen title in 2005, and the anime has been nominated for several American Anime Awards.
Bleach was a Nashville-based Christian rock band that formed at Kentucky Christian University, in Grayson, Kentucky. Formed in 1995, Bleach originally went by the name Muffin. They disbanded in 2004.
In 1997 Bleach earned a Dove Award in the category of Modern Rock Recorded Song of the Year for their song "Epidermis Girl", which was released on their debut album Space.
In 2003 the members of Bleach announced that they were going to disband. After the announcement, the band said goodbye to their fans in the form of a farewell tour, which was followed by the final album Farewell Old Friends. Bleach's "last show" was performed on August 29, 2004, in Nashville, Tennessee, but on March 13, 2005, Bleach performed a reunion show to benefit the Aaron Marrs Memorial Fund. They also performed a reunion show at The O.C. Supertones's last show, which was held at Biola University on October 7, 2005.
Bleach's sound was often compared to Weezer or what is sometimes referred to as alternative or geek rock.
Bleach music is featured in the Christian video game Dance Praise. The songs "Heartbeat", "Rock N Roll", "Static", and "Super Good Feeling" are included with the game.
Davy Baysinger and Jared Byers both have a side project band named Royal Empire Music. They have made songs for a compilation CD series called My Other Band for Mono vs. Stereo records. Russ Fox is now playing guitar in the rock band The Red Velvet and runs Huntington's Broadmoor Recording Studio.
