SolVanderlyn
Thanos acquires the fully powered Infinity Gauntlet in The Avengers: Infinity War, but loses when all the superheroes team up together to stop him.
Welcome to the Bleach manga thread! Bleach was considered one of the "big three" of shonen manga, along with One Piece and Naruto, for quite some time. While the height of its popularity has long since passed, the series is still ongoing and is currently in its final story arc. There are open spoilers for the manga beyond this point.
Bleach (ブリーチ is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Tite Kubo. Bleach follows the adventures of Kurosaki Ichigo after he obtains the powers of a Soul Reaper (死神 Shinigami, literally, "Death God") —a death personification similar to the Grim Reaper—from another Soul Reaper, Kuchiki Rukia. His newfound powers force him to take on the duties of defending humans from evil spirits and guiding departed souls to the afterlife, and set him on journeys to various ghostly realms of existence.
Bleach was first conceived from Tite Kubo's desire to draw a Shinigami in a kimono, which formed the basis for the design of the Soul Reapers in the series and the conception of Kuchiki Rukia. The original story concept was submitted to Weekly Shōnen Jump shortly after the cancellation of Kubo's previous manga, Zombiepowder, but was at first rejected. Manga artist Akira Toriyama saw the story and wrote a letter of encouragement to Kubo. Bleach was accepted for publication a short time later in 2001, and was initially intended to be a shorter series, with a maximum serialization length of five years. Early plans for the story did not include the hierarchical structure of the Soul Society, but did include some characters and elements that were not introduced into the plot until the Arrancar arc, such as Ichigo's Soul Reaper parentage. The series was originally meant to be named "Black" due to the color of the Soul Reapers' clothes, but Kubo thought the title was too generic. He later tried the name of "White," but came to like "Bleach" more for its association with the color white and that he did not find it too obvious.
Current Arc:
Quincy Blood War - The Wandenreich, a Quincy organization, invades Soul Society, targeting the Soul King. It is revealed how Kurosaki Isshin lost his powers, and Ichigo regains his own over the course of the story arc.
Important players in the current arc:
Kurosaki Ichigo - (黒崎 一護 is a Human who has Shinigami powers. He is also a Substitute Shinigami. Ichigo is the son of Isshin and Masaki, and older brother of Karin and Yuzu. Ichigo is the main character of the series. While he lost his powers after the battle against Aizen, he has recovered them since.
Ishida Uryu - (石田 雨竜 is a Gemischt Quincy residing in Karakura Town. He is a student at Karakura High School, where he is a classmate and friend of Ichigo Kurosaki. He is a member of the Wandenreich with the designation "A", as well as Yhwach's future successor.
Chad - (茶渡 泰虎, Sado Yasutora), also known as Chad (チャド, Chado), is a Human teenager who lives in Karakura Town. He is a student at Karakura High School, where he is in the same class as Ichigo Kurosaki. He helps Ichigo fight the Wandenreich.
Inoue Orihime - (井上 織姫 is a Human living in Karakura Town. She is a student at Karakura High School, where she is in the same class as Ichigo Kurosaki and her best friend, Tatsuki Arisawa. Like her friends, she becomes involved in the fight against Yhwach and his underlings.
Urahara Kisuke- (浦原 喜助 is the former captain of the 12th Division, as well as the founder and 1st President of the Shinigami Research and Development Institute. He currently lives in the Human World after being exiled, where he owns a small convenience store, "Urahara Shop", which doubles in selling Shinigami items. The shop is maintained by Urahara himself, as well as his employees Tessai Tsukabishi, Jinta Hanakari, and Ururu Tsumugiya.
Kurosaki Isshin - (黒崎 一心, formerly known as Shiba Isshin (志波 一心, is the former captain of the 10th Division, husband of Kurosaki Masaki, father of Kurosaki Ichigo, Kurosaki Karin, and Kurosaki Yuzu. Isshin is the former head of a branch of the Shiba Clan and the current head of the Kurosaki family.
Gotei 13 - The Gotei 13 (護廷十三隊, Goteijūsantai; 13 Division Imperial Guards, 13 Court Guard Companies in the English manga) is the primary military branch of Soul Society and the main military organization most Shinigami join after leaving the academy. They are tasked with protecting Soul Society from its impending invasion.
Royal Guard - The Royal Guard (王属特務, Ōzokutokumu; translated as "Royal Special Task Force" in the English dub, literally translated as "King Subordinate Secret Service") also known as the Zero Division (零番隊, Zerobantai), is an organization that is dedicated to the protection of the Soul King, the Royal Family, and the Soul King Palace. While referenced earlier in the series, they finally make their appearance when Soul Society is threatened.
Yhwach - Yhwach (ユーハバッハ, Yūhabahha), often referred to simply as "Your Majesty" (陛下, heika) by his underlings, is the monarch of the Wandenreich and Father of the Quincy. He also possesses the designation "A".
Jugram Haschwalth - Jugram Haschwalth (ユーグラム・ハッシュヴァルト, Yūguramu Hasshuvaruto) is a Quincy and the Wandenreich's Sternritter Grandmaster (星十字騎士団最高位 (シュテルンリッター・グランドマスター, shuterunrittā gurandomasutā; Japanese for "Highest-Ranked of the Band of Star-Cross Knights") with the designation "B". He is also the advisor to Emperor Yhwach and the substitute as the monarch when Yhwach sleeps. He is second-in-command of the Wandenreich.
Sternritter - The Sternritter (星十字騎士団 (シュテルンリッター, shuterunrittā; German for "Star Knights", Japanese for "Star Cross Knight Band/Order") are a specific group of powerful Quincy in the Wandenreich's army, who play a pivotal role in the invasion of Soul Society, being tasked with purging the Shinigami.