Tite Kubo
His next series, "Bleach", about a high school student who becomes a "shinigami" and fights creatures known as Hollows, began running in the same magazine in 2001. Kubo initially expected the series' serialization to continue no longer than five years. The original story concept was submitted to "Weekly Shōnen Jump" shortly after the cancellation of "Zombiepowder", but was rejected. Akira Toriyama, creator of "Dragon Ball", saw the story and wrote a letter of encouragement to Kubo. "Bleach" ran for 15 years of serialization and reached over 686 chapters from 2001 to 2016. Additionally, an anime adaptation of the series was broadcast in TV Tokyo for 8 years from 2004 to 2012, spanning over 366 episodes. The manga was named a winner of the Shogakukan Manga Award for its category in 2004. Kubo and Makoto Matsubara have co-authored two novelizations of the "Bleach" series, which were published by Shueisha under their "Jump Books" label. The first was released in Japan on December 16, 2006, followed by a on December 22, 2007, a on December 13, 2008, and a on December 4, 2010. Kubo also appeared in the episode 112 of the Japanese radio program of "Bleach B-Station". In that program, Kubo was interviewed by Masakazu Morita, voice actor of Ichigo Kurosaki, the main character of "Bleach", and answered several questions from fans. On July 26, 2008, Kubo went to the United States for the first time and made an appearance at the San Diego Comic-Con International.
Bleach (manga)
Deb Aoki from About.com considered the series as the Best Continuing Shōnen Manga of 2007, along with "Eyeshield 21", praising the "compelling stories, dazzling action sequences and great character development". She also placed the title on her list of "Top 10 Shōnen Manga Must-Reads". The artwork and the character designs received positive response by IGN's A.E. Sparrow. He also commented on the series' ability to handle multiple minor character plotlines at the same time, which he considered a point of appeal, in response to fans' claims about a "lack of a story" in "Bleach". Leroy Douresseaux from ComicBookBin agreed with Sparrow in the number of storylines, but also praised the fighting scenes finding them comparable to the ones of popular films. On the other hand, Mania reviewer Jarred Pine criticized the series as being plagued with stereotypes from the genre. He felt it was a rough start for the series with unimpressive battles, overused gags, and a bad introduction for central character Ichigo that causes him to come across "as a frowning punk" whose one good trait is his desire to protect. Despite this, Pine notes that he loves the series, particularly its quirky, lovable characters. Jason Thompson said he was no longer able to take "Bleach" seriously after it introduced villains Ulquiorra and Yammy in a scene precisely mirroring Vegeta and Nappa's arrival in "Dragon Ball Z", but acknowledged it was likely intended as a deliberate homage. He also said Kubo was able to avoid the worst artistic failings typical in series which indulge in superpowered combat, but that the battle scenes were still sometimes difficult to follow.