Tite Kubo

A long-awaited showdown between Ichigo "Strawberry" Kurosaki and Byakuya Kuchiki has begun. Has Ichigo succeeded in mastering bankai, the highest level of power that a Soul Reaper can attain, to face Byakuya as an equal?

Ichigo Kurosaki was a little boy when his mother passed away. One rainy day, Ichigo, whose ability to see the undead is a blessing and a curse, tried to stop a young girl from drowning in a nearby river. His mother, Masaki, ran after them, frantically trying to rescue her only son. Then everything went black, and Ichigo awoke only to discover his mother dead and the little girl gone. It's the anniversary of Masaki's death, and the entire Kurosaki...

Ichigo must enter their world to retrieve Rukia from the Soul Society, but he knows he's a long way from ready, so he practices his fighting and hones his spiritual energies. Finally, he must prevent his Chain of Fate from consuming itself or become a Hollow himself.

A new reality-show craze is sweeping the nation, garnering legions of screaming fans (the majority of them being teenaged girls). But this program comes with a supernatural twist--the host, a media-savvy spiritualist, travels to local hotspots and performs exorcisms, live on national TV! Surly Soul Reaper Ichigo Kurosaki has his doubts about this primetime prima donna, and his assumptions are about to be put to the test--the show is heading straight...

Ichigo defeats Ikkaku and discovers where Rukia is being detained before her execution. Meanwhile, Ganju is having more difficulty with his opponent, and Uryû finally has an opportunity to prove how much more powerful he has become.

Immediately after checking into the Kurosaki Clinic with a mysterious scar on his back, the muscle-bound Chad goes AWOL. Accompanying Chad is a talking parakeet imbued with the soul of a young boy named Yuichi. It doesn't take newbie Soul Reaper Ichigo Kurosaki long to surmise that a Hollow must be involved. Ichigo is about to sidcover that not every soul is bound for the Soul Society, especially if it's tainted with innocent blood.