The reign of the Big Three Shonen manga is about to end as the second pillar is about the follow the way of the Naruto manga. The latest issue of Shueisha’s Weekly Shonen Jump featured the 680th chapter of Tite Kubo’s Bleach manga where it announced that the long running series is nearing its conclusion.
The newest chapter mentions that it is approaching the finale and reveals that there is a certain number of chapters left. However the actual number has been hidden by a blotch of ink.
Kubo announced in early 2012 that the manga was entering its final arc, that in itself was supposedly set to last a decade.
Bleach is a long running action shounen manga written and illustrated by Tite Kubo. The series first began publication in August 2001 in Shueisha’s Weekly Shonen Jump magazine where it has been featured every week. Since its debut a total of 72 compiled volumes have been released to date with the 73rd volume set to release on July 4th. The series has become one of Japan’s and the world’s most popular and well known series. There has been numerous adaptations of the series across various media, including a TV anime adaptation by Studio Pierrot (Naruto, Tokyo Ghoul) that ran from 2004 till 2012, which was directed by Noriyuki Abe (Yu Yu Hakusho, Ghost Stories). Apart from the anime TV series, there has been many Bleach anime films, OVAs, various video games, a few light novels and manga spin-offs, and even a series of musicals that ran from 2005 till 2012.
Here is a synopsis of the series from MAL:
15-year-old Kurosaki Ichigo is not your everyday high school student. He has from as far he can remember always had the ability to see ghosts and spirits. A fateful day arrives as Ichigo encounters the shinigami Kuchiki Rukia, who saves him and his family from a Hollow at the cost of injuring herself. During this encounter, with Rukia unable to defeat the hollow she transfers her shinigami powers into Ichigo. In the aftermath, unable to continue with her job, Rukia allows Ichigo to take on the role of a shinigami in her place as they together defeat the Hollows plaguing Ichigo’s town.
The Bleach manga is currently near its end. Further information about the final chapters of the series will be revealed in its upcoming chapters. Only one series of the big three remains strong, One Piece.
“Bleach”, images and all associated brands and titles © 2016 Tite Kubo and Shueisha