Bleach,
Vol 2
Author: Tite Kubo
Publisher: Viz Media
American
release date: August 3, 2004
Format/Genre/Length: Paperback/Manga/Supernatural/200 pages
Overall Personal Rating: ★★★★★
After the strange encounter with the Hollow,
Ichigo takes Chad to his family’s clinic to be treated. But the next morning,
to his dismay, Chad has disappeared! Ichigo questions his friends but no one
has seen him. Rukia is helping Ichigo search, but she has no sense of any
Hollow presence. Ichigo has the idea to feel for Chad’s parakeet’s spirit
presence, although Rukia claims it is too faint to detect. When Ichigo manages
to detect it, she is rather taken aback and greatly surprised. Chad and the
parakeet are in hiding, and the parakeet, whose name is Yuichi, tries to get
Chad to leave but he refuses. He runs into Rukia and Ichigo at the same time as
Ichigo’s sister Karin appears, drawn by something she can’t explain. When she
faints, Rukia tells Ichigo to take her home and she’ll chase after Chad.
Unfortunately, the Hollow
finds her first, and she’s in no position to fight him, not without her powers.
When she throws a spell at him, not only doesn’t it work, but he realizes she’s
a Soul Reaper. Yuichi tells chad that Rukia is being attacked, although Chad can’t
see the Hollow. Chad puts Yuichi in a
safe place then runs to help Rukia. He punches him, which takes the Hollow
aback, but he decides it was a lucky punch. Working together, maybe Rukia and
Chad can defeat this Hollow, or at least not die before Ichigo has a chance to
return. When Ichigo learns what the Hollow has done to Yuichi, it only
infuriates him all the more.
Rukia realizes she needs to
stock up on a few supplies, so she makes her way to an innocuous-looking
shop—Uruhara Shoten. A boy and a girl are sweeping in front of the closed shop,
and they admit her. The shopkeeper, Kisuke Uruhara, sleepily greets her.
Obviously he is acquainted with the Soul Reaper. Not only that, but he seems to
carry supplies such as a soul reaper might require. When Rukia inquires about
an order she’s made, Uruhara sends Ururu to get it. To Rukia’s dismay, it’s not
the one she ordered. He tells her that was out of stock, this is the second
most popular choice, so she is forced to accept it.
The next day, Rukia presents
her purchase to Ichigo – a dispenser of sorts marked Soul Candy. The dispenser has the head of a duck, although Rukia
had wanted the bunny. She explains that when he takes the candy, in order to
perform soul reaper duties, his empty body becomes animated by a proxy soul.
Back at Uruhara’s shop, however, the shopkeeper realizes, to his dismay, that a
terrible mistake has been made. Can it be rectified in time, even as Rukia
demonstrates to Ichigo how it works and they suddenly receive an order to fight
a Hollow. Or will the defective soul Uruhara inadvertently sold Rukia ruin
Ichigo’s reputation for good?
In the second volume of
Bleach we meet Kisuke Uruhara and the people in his employ—Tessai, Ururu, and
Jinta. Remember them, you’ll be seeing a lot of them. We also discover how stubborn Rukia is, very
much her own woman who does what needs to be done. She still isn’t sure what to
make of Ichigo, who is like no one she’s ever encountered before. For a human,
he has some pretty amazing skills. For his part, Ichigo seems to be taking to
being a soul reaper—even a substitute soul reaper—like a duck to water. Since
he’s used to seeing the dead, he doesn’t think twice about being able to see
Hollows, and doesn’t even question their existence, as some might. Someone else to remember for future volumes
is the defective soul who’s taken Ichigo’s place and doesn’t want to give it up.
(It helps that I’m also watching the anime).
Tite Kubo uses humor well in
his manga, but he is also capable of dramatic, more soul-intense moments which
will bring tears to you eyes. He’s good at manipulating emotions. Rukia’s annoyance at not getting the “chappy”
she ordered (the bunny dispenser) not only pegs her as pretty human and far
from perfect, it’s also damn funny.
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