Ikki was an orphan before being adopted by the Noyamano family, whose parents were friends of Ikki’s parents. Here, he was loved, but still proved a handful.

He got along well with his adoptive sister Ringo, who has had a crush on him since youth, which Ikki remained oblivious to.

Once, while reflecting with Ringo, he was led to wonder who his real parents were. This led him to go as far as climbing a large tower, at a young age, to see if he could see his real parents from up there. A helicopter was sent to rescue him, but as a soldier tried to rescue him, Ikki bit his arm, causing the soldier to drop him. Ikki was caught by a giant crow as he fell. Since that incident he earned the title, “child of the wind”.
edit Life during the anime

Ikki is in his second year of Junior high and is leader of the East Side Gunz at the start of the anime.

He grows an interest in Air Treks after being beaten up by by the leader of the Skull Saders’ team who was using Air Treks. This led him to watch AT videos belonging to his sisters and he used to watch a girl called Simca practice.

One night he sneaked into a room in house, covered in “keep out” stickers. Here he discovered much AT material and realised that his sisters have been using ATs without him knowing. He took a pair of ATs for a spin. He ends up in a challenge with the Skull Saders, where he must race them to knock a sign over a shop in the area. Ikki won the race, with the help of Sleeping Forest, but is made work for shop owner to pay for the damage to the sign.

After Kazu and Onigiri are hospitalized by Buccha, while defending the East Side Gunz, Ikki challanges Buccha to an Parts War. With the help of other members of the East Side Gunz, Ikki defeats him, and causes Buccha’s team, the Night Kings to be disbanded.
Ikki later starts his own AT team with his friends, Kazu and Onigiri and they also recruited Buccha. After starting the team, Kogarasumaru, the East Side Gunz becomes disbandedhttp://images.absoluteanime.com/air_gear/ikki.jpg

• Anime and Manga Portal

Fullmetal Alchemist (??????, Hagane no Renkinjutsushi?, lit. “Alchemist of Steel”), is an ongoing Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Hiromu Arakawa. The world of Fullmetal Alchemist is styled after the European Industrial Revolution. Set in a fictional universe in which alchemy is one of the most advanced scientific techniques known to man, the story follows the brothers Edward and Alphonse Elric, who want to restore their bodies after a disastrous failed attempt to bring their mother back to life through alchemy.

The manga is serialized in Square Enix’s Monthly Shonen Gangan magazine (starting August 2001) and currently has 22 tankobon volumes. It was adapted into an animated television series of 51 episodes by Bones from October 4, 2003 to October 2, 2004, later followed by a film sequel that concluded the story of the anime. Fullmetal Alchemist would later spawn a second series called Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood, which first premiered in Japan on April 5, 2009. A multitude of spin-off novels, original video animations (OVAs), drama CDs, soundtracks, and video games have been adapted from the series. A collectible card game, multiple supplementary books, and a variety of action figures and other merchandise based on the characters of the series have also been released.

The manga has been licensed by Viz Media for publication in the United States, with twenty bound volumes released currently. Although there are no major differences with the Japanese version, some pages have been edited to avoid minor references to western theology. Funimation has dubbed the anime episodes in the United States and Canada, and has also released them in all English-speaking DVD regions. The English version of the film premiered in a limited number of U.S. theaters on August 25, 2006 and was later released on DVD. Funimation and Destineer have also been releasing the video games from the series.

The franchise has seen high popularity in both Japan and North America. As of March 2008, the Fullmetal Alchemist manga has sold over 30 million copies in Japan. The English release of the manga’s first volume was the top-selling graphic novel during the year 2005. In two TV Asahi web polls, the anime was voted #1 most popular anime of all time in Japan. It was nominated in six of the eight categories for which it was eligible at the American Anime Awards in February 2007, winning awards in five of them. Reviewers from several media have noted the characters’ complex personalities and original designs.
Contents

Plot

Edward and Alphonse Elric are two alchemist brothers searching for the legendary Philosopher’s Stone, a powerful object which would allow them to recover their bodies (which were lost in an attempt to bring their mother back to life through alchemy). Born in the village of Resembool from the country of Amestris (??????, Amesutorisu?), the two brothers live there with their parents. Their father, Hohenheim, leaves home for unknown reasons and years later, their mother, Trisha Elric, dies of a terminal illness leaving the Elric brothers alone. After their mother’s death, Edward becomes determined to bring her back through the use of alchemy, an advanced science in which objects can be created from raw materials. They research Human Transmutation, a forbidden art in which one attempts to create or modify a human being. However, this attempt fails, ultimately resulting in the loss of Edward’s left leg and Alphonse’s entire body. In a desperate effort to save his brother, Edward sacrifices his right arm to affix Alphonse’s soul to a suit of armor. Some days later, an alchemist named Roy Mustang visits the Elric brothers, and he tells Edward to become a member of the State Military of the country to find a way to recover their bodies. After that, Edward’s left leg and right arm are replaced with automail, a type of advanced prosthetic limb, created for him by his close family friends Winry Rockbell and her grandmother Pinako.

Edward sets out to become a State Alchemist (??????, Kokka Renkinjutsushi?), an alchemist employed by the State Military of Amestris, which infamously annihilated much of the neighboring country of Ishbal’s population in the past decade. Becoming a State Alchemist enables Edward to use the extensive resources available to State Alchemists, but it also turns him into what they call a “dog of the military”. His more friendly relationship with Roy Mustang however, whom he reports to and who recruited him, allows the brothers freedom to search for the Philosopher’s Stone as part of Edward’s research, as each State Alchemist is expected to independently research new things which may be of a use to the State Military of Amestris. The brothers set off in search of the Philosopher’s Stone as a means to restore their bodies. Throughout their journey, they meet many antagonists, including those who are willing to do anything to obtain the Philosopher’s Stone; Scar, one of the few surviving Ishbalans, who seeks vengeance on the State Alchemists for the destruction of his race; and the homunculi, a group of human-like creatures who carry pieces of the Philosopher’s Stone inside themselves, and from it derive the ability to survive almost any harm.

As the story progresses, Edward and Alphonse discover the vast expansion of Amestris was the result of the homunculi, who created and secretly control the State Military. The homunculi and much of the high-ranking military officers are commanded from behind the curtains by the creator of the homunculi, a man simply known as “Father” who gained immortality by using a copy of Hohenheim as his new body centuries before the series’ timeline. He plans to use Amestris as a gigantic transmutation circle, possibly to transmute the entire country into the Philosopher’s Stone. When Edward and Alphonse discover Father’s plans, they, along with other members of the State Military, set out to defeat him.

• Differences in the first anime adaptation

The first half of the anime’s plot basically follows that of the manga, but the plots severely diverges near the middle of the story; when Ed and Al reunite with their teacher. A former lover of Hohenheim, their teacher’s teacher, Dante, acts as the series’ main antagonist, appearing only in the anime. Centuries ago, the two perfected methods for making the Philosopher’s Stone, achieving a sort of immortality by transferring their soul and intellect into others’ bodies as they age. Hohenheim was eventually overcome by the guilt of sacrificing lives to make the Stone and left Dante. Although Dante is still able to jump from body to body to cheat death over the centuries, she is able to spend less time in each body as it decays faster with each jump. She uses the Homunculi to spur Edward and Alphonse, along with other Alchemists equally desperate, into creating another complete Philosopher’s Stone for her.

When Scar tries to create the Philosopher’s Stone, the stone is infused into Alphonse’s metal body, making him the main focus of Dante’s efforts leading to him being kidnapped. When Edward goes to rescue him, he is killed by the homunculus Envy. Alphonse uses the Philosopher’s Stone to revive his brother but disappears in the process. Dante tries to escape, but she is killed when the homunculus Gluttony, whose mind Dante had earlier destroyed, fails to recognize his master and devours her. After being revived, Edward risks his life to bring back his brother in exchange. As a result, Edward ends up in a parallel world, while Alphonse recovers his original body. Determined to return with Alphonse, Edward becomes involved in rocketry research, with the intention to use that technology to try to get back to his home world.

The story is followed in Fullmetal Alchemist the Movie: Conqueror of Shamballa situated two years after the end of the anime. While Edward is working in Germany to find a way to return to Amestris, Dietlinde Eckhart, a member from the Thule Society, discovers the existence of Ed’s world and starts giving him hints to open a portal to Amestris. Alphonse, having been looking for his brother after two years, also discovers the portal and opens it at the same time as his father Hohenheim opens the one from Germany, allowing Dietlinde to enter Amestris and try to conquer it. Edward reunites with his brother and they join forces to defeat Dietlinde. Knowing the danger that both worlds are now connected through the portal, Edward returns to Germany to destroy that side of the portal, knowing that he would be trapped there forever. Alphonse secretly follows him, having decided to stay with Edward.

• Production

After reading about the Philosopher’s stone, Arakawa said that she became attracted to the idea of using alchemy in the manga. She liked it so much that she started reading books relating to alchemy, which she found very complicated due to the fact that some books contradicted others. Arakawa was attracted more by the philosophical aspects than the practical aspects. For the Equivalent Exchange concept, she was inspired by the work of her parents who had a farm in Hokkaido and always had to give all their effort in order to earn the money to eat.

Arakawa wanted to integrate social problems into the story. She gathered information watching news programs and talking to people, such as refugees, war veterans and former yakuza. Several plot elements expand on these themes, such as Pinako Rockbell caring for the Elric brothers after the death of their mother, and the brothers helping people all over the country, to gain an understanding of the meaning of family. When creating the fictional world of Fullmetal Alchemist, Arakawa was inspired after reading about Europe during the Industrial Revolution period; she was amazed by how different the people from different countries were, in terms of their culture, architecture and clothes. She was especially interested in England during this period and “added to it her own original flavor to turn it into a fantasy world”.

When the manga began serialization, Arakawa had in mind how the story would end. As the plot continued, however, she felt some characters were maturing and decided to change some scenes, resulting in some sketches of the faces of the characters being improvised. In creating the characters’ designs, she comments that the manga authors Suiho Tagawa and Hiroyuki Eto are her main inspirations, and describes her artwork is a mix of both of them. The easiest of the series characters for her to draw was Alex Louis Armstrong, as well as little animals. Due to the fact she likes dogs, Arakawa added several of them in the story. Arakawa made comedy central in the manga because she thinks it is intended for entertainment, and tried to minimalize focus on sad scenes.

During the development of the anime, Arakawa allowed the anime staff to work independently from her, and requested having a different ending from the one in the manga. She said that she would not like to repeat the same ending in both media, as well as to make the manga longer to work more in the development of the characters. When watching the ending of the anime, she was amazed about how different the homunculi creatures were from the manga and enjoyed how the staff speculated about the origins of the villains.

• Media

Manga
Written and drawn by Hiromu Arakawa, the Fullmetal Alchemist manga series is serialized in Square Enix’s monthly manga magazine Monthly Shonen Gangan. It has been serialized since Monthly Shonen Gangan’s August 2001 issue (published on July 12, 2001) and it is still ongoing. with a new chapter in every issue. Square Enix is collecting the chapters in tankobon format. The first volume was released on January 2002, and as of April 11, 2009, 22 volumes have been released. A few chapters have been rereleased in Japan in two “Extra number” magazines and Fullmetal Alchemist, The First Attack, which features the first nine chapters of the manga as well as other side stories. Viz Media is releasing the manga in North America. The first volume was released on May 3, 2005, and the latest volume they have released is volume 19 on July 21, 2009.

The content of the manga released by Viz in the United States were mostly consistent with the original material. As of August 2007, the only edits that have been made were to a set of twelve panels from volume 8, depicting the Homunculus Greed tied to a cross-shaped stone slab in crucifixion style. In the U.S. version the stone was redesigned to become round in each panel, as commented by Viz to avoid references to Christianity. This change in the manga was made with the approval of Arakawa.

In Singapore, the manga is being published by Chuang Yi. Publishing in both English and Simplified Chinese, nineteen volumes have been released in English, while twenty-one volumes have been released in Simplified Chinese. In Poland, Japonica Polonica Fantastica is publishing the manga – as of July 2009, sixteen volumes have been released. In France, the manga is being released by Kurokawa. Volume eight, released in September 2006, was available also in a collector’s edition, which consisted of the book packed with the original comedic novel Flame Alchemist, focusing on Roy Mustang’s schedule. Prior to this, this novel was only available with the limited edition of volume six in Japan. In Brazil, Editora JBC is publishing the manga with forty-two volumes equivalent to the first original twenty-one volumes having been released currently. In Italy the manga is published by Panini Comics using the label “Planet Manga”

• Anime series

Fullmetal Alchemist
The animation studio Bones adapted the manga into a 51-episode anime series. It was directed by Seiji Mizushima, written by Sho Aikawa and co-produced by Bones, Mainichi Broadcasting System and Aniplex. Character designs were handled by Yoshiyuki Ito. The anime was broadcast on Mainichi Broadcasting System, TBS, and Animax in Japan from October 4, 2003 to October 2, 2004, with a 6.8 percent television viewership rating. The English dubbed version of the anime was produced by Funimation and debuted on the Adult Swim block of the United States cable channel Cartoon Network on November 6, 2004. A year and a half later, Canada’s YTV began airing it on March 3, 2006. The anime’s later story and conclusion by Bones is different from the manga (which is still ongoing) due to a request by Arakawa. During the making of the anime, Arakawa was present in meetings to give the staff insight in the world of Fullmetal Alchemist, though she did not actively take part in any writing for the TV series.

The series has been released in a series of thirteen DVDs from December 17, 2003 to January 26, 2005 in Japan. Funimation also released the same series of DVDs from February 8, 2005 to September 12, 2006 in the United States. MVM had released the first eight volumes in the United Kingdom; however, Funimation gave the rights over to Revelation Films.

A film sequel, Fullmetal Alchemist the Movie: Conqueror of Shamballa, was made by the same studio, and premiered in Japanese theaters on July 23, 2005. A series of five original video animations (OVAs) were also released. The majority of these OVAs are side stories and do not expand on the plot. These OVAs also include a live action segment with Alphonse Elric travelling around a city. In March 2006 a DVD featuring these OVAs was released in Japan with the name of Fullmetal Alchemist: Premium Collection. Funimation acquired and dubbed Premium Collection during the end of 2008 for English release. The DVD was released in English on August 4, 2009. During January from 2009, Bones released a “DVD box archives” of the anime. It will include the first anime of 51 episodes, the film, the CD soundtracks, and guidebooks from the series.

Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood
In the 20th volume of the manga, creator Arakawa announced that a second Fullmetal Alchemist anime series was being produced. Bones produces the new series with Yasuhiro Irie as director and Hiroshi Onogi as writer. The title of the series is also Fullmetal Alchemist in the Japanese version. The series premiered on April 5, 2009 on MBS-TBS’ Sunday 5:00 pm JST anime timeblock, replacing Mobile Suit Gundam 00, and that voice actors Romi Park and Rie Kugimiya reprised their roles as main characters Edward and Alphonse Elric respectively. On March 20, 2009, it was announced that the English title of the series was Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood and that it would receive its English language premiere on Animax Asia, with Japanese audio and English subtitles, on April 10, 2009 at 8:30 p.m, five days after its Japanese premiere. On April 3, 2009, Funimation announced they would stream English subtitled episodes 4 days after they air in Japan. Madman Entertainment will also stream it “within days” of the episodes airing in Japan Funimation later suspended the release of new episodes of the series for a few weeks due to an incident involving an episode of One Piece being downloaded before it had aired in Japan. However, the episodes are now back on the Funimation website as well as on the official Funimation channel on Youtube. Aniplex started releasing the series in DVD and Blu-ray on August 26, 2009, with each of them containing two episodes. Funimation recently announced the cast for an English dub of the series, with plans to begin releasing the series on DVD in America starting in spring of 2010.

• Anime and Manga Portal

Bleach (????, Burichi?, romanized as BLEACH in Japan) is a Japanese shonen manga series written and illustrated by Tite Kubo. Bleach follows the adventures of Ichigo Kurosaki after he accidentally obtains the power of a Soul Reaper—a Japanese death personification similar to the Grim Reaper—from Rukia Kuchiki. Gaining these abilities forces him to take on the duties of defending humans from evil spirits and guiding departed souls to the afterlife.

Bleach has been continuously serialized in the Japanese manga anthology Weekly Shonen Jump since August 2001, and has been collected in 41 tankobon volumes as of October 2009[update]. Since its publication, Bleach has spawned a substantial media franchise. The manga has been adapted into an animated television series produced by Studio Pierrot which is still ongoing in Japan as it adapts the story from the manga. The series has also spawned two original video animations (OVAs), three animated feature films, seven rock musicals, and numerous video games, as well as prompted the release of many types of Bleach-related merchandise.

Viz Media licensed the manga for English-language publication in the United States and Canada and has released 28 volumes as of September 2009[update]. In addition, it has been publishing the chapters in Shonen Jump since November 2007. On March 15, 2006, Viz obtained foreign television and home video distribution rights to the Bleach anime. Cartoon Network began airing Bleach as part of its Adult Swim block on September 9, 2006, in the United States. The first film, Bleach: Memories of Nobody was released in North America on Region 1 DVD by Viz on October 14, 2008, with the second film Bleach: The DiamondDust Rebellion released in North America on Region 1 by Viz on September 15, 2009.

Compilation volumes of the manga have sold over 50 million copies in Japan and reached the top of manga sales charts in the United States. The anime adaptation has been similarly received, rating as the 7th most popular anime television series in Japan in 2006, and in the top ten anime for America from 2006 to 2008. The series received the Shogakukan Manga Award for the shonen demographic in 2005, and is among the best-selling manga properties in both Japan and America.

• Plot

The story opens with the sudden appearance of one of the Soul Reapers (??, shinigami?, lit. “death god”), a military order who escorts the souls of the dead, named Rukia Kuchiki in teenager Ichigo Kurosaki’s bedroom. She is surprised at his ability to see her, but their conversation is interrupted by the appearance of a “hollow”, an evil spirit who was originally a human soul. After Rukia is severely wounded while trying to protect Ichigo, she attempts to transfer half of her reiatsu (???, lit. “spirit pressure”) to Ichigo in order to let him face the hollow on equal footing. Ichigo unintentionally absorbs almost all her energy, allowing him to defeat the hollow with ease. The next day Rukia appears in Ichigo’s classroom as a seemingly normal human, and informs Ichigo that his absorption of her powers has left her stranded in the human world until she recovers her strength. In the meantime Ichigo shelters Rukia in his home and takes over her job as a Soul Reaper, battling hollows and guiding lost souls to the afterlife realm known as Soul Society (???(???·?????), Soru Sosaeti?).

After a few months of this arrangement, in the sixth volume of the series, Rukia’s Soul Reaper superiors find out about her giving her powers away (which is illegal in Soul Society) and send a detachment to arrest her, and sentence her to death. Ichigo is unable to stop Rukia’s capture, but with the help of several of his classmates who also possess spiritual abilities and ex-Soul Reaper Captain Kisuke Urahara, he sets off for the Soul Reaper base, located in Soul Society. Once there, Ichigo and company battle against the elites of the Soul Reaper military, and are ultimately successful in halting Rukia’s execution.

It is then revealed that Rukia’s execution and Ichigo’s rescue attempt were both manipulated by Sosuke Aizen, a high ranking Soul Reaper previously believed to be murdered, as part of a far-reaching plot to take control of Soul Society. Aizen betrays his fellow Soul Reapers and allies himself with the strongest hollows, arrancar, becoming the main antagonist of the series, and Ichigo teams up with his former enemies in Soul Society after learning that the next step in Aizen’s plan involves the destruction of his hometown. However, Ichigo goes with a few friends to the Hollow’s world, Hueco Mundo (??(??????), Weko Mundo?), in order to rescue their friend Orihime Inoue who was kidnapped by Aizen in order to reduce the number of Soul Reapers defending Soul Society. At this point, Bleach chronicles the war between Aizen and the Soul Society, a plotline which has not yet been resolved. According to Tite Kubo, the ending of the series is not yet planned out or written.

• Production

Bleach was first conceived from a desire on Tite Kubo’s part to draw shinigami in kimono, which formed the basis for the design of the Soul Reapers in the series, and the conception of character Rukia Kuchiki.The original story concept was submitted to Weekly Shonen Jump shortly after the cancellation of Tite Kubo’s previous manga Zombiepowder., but was 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 Soul Society, but did include some characters and elements which did not come into the plot until the Arrancar arc, such as Ichigo’s Soul Reaper heritage.The series was originally meant to be named “Black” due to the color of the Soul Reapers’ clothes, but Kubo thought it was too generic. He later tried giving it the name of “White”, but came to like “Bleach” more as it was associated with the white color and he did not find it too obvious.

Tite Kubo has cited influences for elements of Bleach ranging from other manga series to music, foreign language, architecture, and film. He attributes his interest in drawing the supernatural and monsters to Shigeru Mizuki’s GeGeGe no Kitaro and Bleach’s focus on interesting weaponry and battle scenes to Masami Kurumada’s Saint Seiya, both manga Kubo enjoyed as a boy.The action style and storytelling found in Bleach is inspired by cinema, though Kubo has not revealed any specific movie as being an influence for fight scenes. When pressed, he told interviewers that he liked Snatch but did not use it as a model. Kubo has also stated that he wishes to make Bleach an experience that can only be found by reading manga, and dismissed ideas of creating any live-action film adaptations of the series.

Bleach’s creative process is focused around character design. When writing plotlines or having difficulties generating new material, Kubo begins by thinking of new characters, often en masse, and rereading previous volumes of Bleach.Kubo has said that he likes creating characters that have outward appearances that do not match their true nature, an element that can be found in many Bleach characters, as he is “attracted to people with that seeming contradiction” and finds an “urge to draw people like that when I work.”The terminology used in Bleach has a variety of inspirations, with each category of character bearing a different linguistic theme. Many of the names for swords and spells used by Soul Reapers were inspired by ancient Japanese literature. Hollows and arrancar use Spanish terms. Kubo became interested in Spanish because, to him, the language sounded “bewitching” and “mellow”.

• Media

Manga
The chapters of the Bleach manga are written and illustrated by Tite Kubo. In Japan, they have been published in Shueisha’s Weekly Shonen Jump since 2001.Since Bleach’s premiere, over three hundred chapters have been released in Japan. Most chapter names are in English and have katakana above them to indicate how they are read in Japanese, similar to furigana ruby characters used with advanced kanji characters. In addition to the main series chapters, some chapters are published with a negative chapter number. These “negative” chapters are side stories and consist of events that precede the start of the series.North American licensor Viz Media has been serializing the individual chapters in Shonen Jump since November 2007 in the United States.The individual chapters are collected by Shueisha in a series of tankobon volumes, which include a poem based on the cover character. The first volume was released on January 5, 2002; as of October 2009, 41 volumes have been released.

Viz released the first volume on June 1, 2004, with 28 volumes released as of September 2009.The company released a hardcover “collector’s edition” of the first volume with a dust jacket on August 5, 2008, followed by a box set on September 2, 2008, containing the first 21 volumes, a poster, and a booklet about the series.

Anime
The episodes of the Bleach anime series are directed by Noriyuki Abe and produced by TV Tokyo, Dentsu, and Studio Pierrot.The episodes have aired since October 5, 2004 on TV Tokyo in Japan.Viz Media obtained the foreign television, home video, and merchandising rights to the Bleach anime from TV Tokyo Corporation and Shueisha on March 15, 2006.Subsequently, Viz Media contracted Studiopolis to create the English adaptation of the anime,and has licensed its individual Bleach merchandising rights to several different companies.The English adaptation of the Bleach anime premiered on Canada’s YTV channel in the Bionix programming block on September 8, 2006. Cartoon Network began airing Bleach the following evening as part of its Adult Swim block.Adult Swim stopped broadcasting new episodes of the English adaptation on October 20, 2007 after airing the first 52 episodes of the series. It was replaced with another Viz Media series, Death Note, to provide Studiopolis more time to dub additional episodes of the series. The series returned from hiatus on March 2, 2008.In the UK, Bleach premiered on AnimeCentral on September 13, 2007, with new episodes airing daily, but is currently on hiatus after airing the first 52 episodes.

As of July 2009, 52 DVD compilations have been released by Aniplex in Japan.19 DVD compilations of the English adaptation of the anime have been released by Viz Media,and 3 DVD collection boxes have been released that contain the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd seasons of the anime.

CDs
Eleven CD soundtracks, produced by Shiro Sagisu, have been released for the Bleach anime series and movies. Bleach Original Soundtrack 1 was released on May 18, 2005 and contains twenty-five tracks, including the first opening and ending themes in their original television lengths.Bleach Original Soundtrack 2 followed on August 2, 2006 with an additional twenty-three instrumental tracks.Bleach Original Soundtrack 3 followed later on November 5, 2008 with 27 instrumental tracks.Each of the films from the series have also had their own CDs. Bleach: Memories of Nobody Original Soundtrack was released with twenty-five tracks from the Bleach: Memories of Nobody anime film. A soundtrack was also released for the Bleach: The DiamondDust Rebellion film, with nearly thirty tracks from the movie and finally a 3rd one for the “Bleach: Fade To Black, I Call Your Name” movie, with twenty-nine tracks.Bleach: The Best contains twelve of the opening and ending themes from the series in their full length versions later followed by “Bleach: Best Tunes” with contains the next twelve of opening and ending themes.

The Bleach Beat Collections, is an on-going set of CDs published by Sony Music featuring recordings by the original Japanese voice actors that provide a look at the personalities of the characters they play, as well as the voice actors themselves. The first CD was released on June 22, 2005; as of March 2009, 20 volumes have been released across four named sets called “Sessions”.

Two “Radio DJCD Bleach ‘B’ Station” CD season sets, each containing six volumes, have been released in Japan.The third season is still ongoing in Japan.Five drama CDs have been produced for the series as well, featuring the original voice actors from the series. These drama CDs have only been included as part of the DVD releases.

• Films

There are three feature films based on the Bleach series, all directed by Noriyuki Abe, director of the Bleach anime series. The films have been released in December of each year starting in 2006. Each movie features an original plotline, rather than being an adaptation of the manga’s story. They also feature original characters designed by Tite Kubo, which is contrary to the normal practice for anime-based films, as the original author usually has little creative involvement.

The first film, Bleach: Memories of Nobody, was released in Japan on December 16, 2006 and had a limited release in American theaters in June 2008.The movie is centered around the activities of a group called the “Dark Ones,” who were banished from the Soul Society and trying to destroy both Soul Society and the World of the Living. Memories of Nobody was released in North America on Region 1 DVD by Viz Media on October 14, 2008.

The second film, Bleach: The DiamondDust Rebellion, was released to Japanese theaters on December 22, 2007.Its plot focuses on an artifact belonging to Soul Society’s King, and 10th Division captain Toshiro Hitsugaya’s efforts to clear his name after it is stolen while under his care. The DiamondDust Rebellion was released in North America on Region 1 DVD by Viz Media on September 8, 2009.

The third film, Bleach: Fade to Black, I Call Your Name, was released in Japan on December 13, 2008. In the film, members of Soul Society are struck with amnesia causing them to forget Ichigo and Rukia. When he goes to Soul Society to investigate, Ichigo discovers that Rukia has forgotten not only him, but her own identity as well.The film was released on DVD on September 30, 2009.

• Musical

Bleach has been adapted into a series of rock musicals, jointly produced by Studio Pierrot and Nelke Planning. There have been five musicals produced which covered portions of the Substitute and Soul Society arcs, as well as two additional performances known as “Live Bankai Shows” which did not follow the Bleach plotline. The initial performance run of the Bleach musical was from August 17 to August 28, 2005 at the Space Zero Tokyo center in Shinjuku.

The musicals are directed by Takuya Hiramitsu, with a script adaptation by Naoshi Okumura and music composed by playwright Shoichi Tama. The songs are completely original and not taken from the anime soundtrack. Key actors in the series include Tatsuya Isaka, who plays Ichigo Kurosaki, Miki Sato, who plays Rukia Kuchiki, and Eiji Moriyama, who plays Renji Abarai.

• Trading card game

Two collectible card games (CCG) based on the Bleach series have been produced. “Bleach Soul Card Battle”, produced by Bandai, was introduced in Japan in 2004.As of October 2008, seventeen named sets have been released for the series.

“Bleach TCG” was introduced in the United States by Score Entertainment in May 2007,but ceased publication April 2009, just before the planned launch of its sixth expansion, “Bleach Infiltration”.This cancellation was attributed to the ongoing recession, which has heavily affected TCG sales.Designed by Aik Tongtharadol, the TCG is a two-player game in which each player starts with at least 61 cards: a “Guardian” card, a 60-card “main deck” and an optional 20-card “side deck”. A player loses if their power, as dictated by their Guardian card, is reduced to zero, or if they are unable to draw or discard a card from their deck.The cards for the game have been released in named sets with each set released in three formats: a 72-card pre-constructed box set containing a starter deck and two booster packs, a 10-card booster pack, and a 12-pack booster box. As of December 2008, six named sets have been released.

Maid-sama!, known in Japan as Kaichō wa Maid-sama! (会長はメイド様!, literally “Student Council President is a Maid!”?), is a shōjo manga by Hiro Fujiwara. It is currently serialized in LaLa magazine, and currently there are seven published volumes released in Japan, with the eighth currently in production. In the Anime Expo 2008 panel, North American publisher Tokyopop announced its various newly licensed series and Kaichō wa Maid-sama! will be titled as Maid-sama!. It has been recently announced that an anime adaptation has been green lighted.

1. Plot

Seika High School, once an all-boys school notorious for its wild students and for generally being a terrifying place for girls, has recently become a co-ed school. With the female population still a minority and living in fear of the over-the-top antics of the males, Misaki Ayuzawa takes it into her own hands to reform the school and allow the girls to feel safe in the rough environment.

Training, studying and even becoming the first female student council president of the school, Misaki has gained a reputation among the male students body as an uptight boy-hating dictator and as a shining hope for the teachers and fellow female students. However, despite her tough-as-nails appearance, she secretly works part-time at a maid cafe in order to support her family. Unfortunately, her hard-earned reputation is threatened when the popular and somewhat impassive Usui Takumi takes an interest in her after discovering her in a maid uniform after school.

2. Characters

• Seika High School

Misaki Ayuzawa (鮎沢 美咲, Ayuzawa Misaki?)
Voiced by: Sanae Kobayashi
The protagonist of the story, Misaki is the first female Student Council President at Seika High and known for her extremely demanding and aggressive attitude towards boys, relentlessly attempting to reform them to live up to what she considers are acceptable standards of behavior. Though many of the male students fear and even hate her, the ones who get to know her come to see that she’s actually very fair and willing to help anyone who needs it. She eventually becomes widely respected for her exceptional academic ability, her great athletic skill, and her many accomplishments as President. Her negative attitude towards males is mostly attributed to her father amassing with a huge debt and then disappearing; Misaki became determined to make sure her spacey and helpless mother, Minako (美奈子?) would not have to work so hard to support both Misaki and her younger sister, Suzuna (紗奈?). To this extent, she secretly and, at first reluctantly, works as a maid-waitress at Café Maid Latte. Misaki is always driven to do her best regardless of the endeavour, and has a strong sense of justice, though she also has a tendency to forget her own well being in the process of helping others. She gradually develops feelings for Usui Takumi, but refuses to acknowledge them until volume 7 of the manga, when she tells Usui how confused she is about her feelings when he is around her. After Misaki is re-elected as President, she finds Usui on school’s roof, and he stands behind her with his arms around her waist; though he tells her she can run away if she dislikes it, she doesn’t, saying “it’s not like I hate this,” to which Usui responds “I don’t intend to let you run away, Ayuzawa.”

Takumi Usui (碓氷 拓海, Usui Takumi?)
Voiced by: Tomokazu Sugita
One of the most popular boys at Seika High, Usui appears to take little interest in anything and prefers to observe things as they unfold, though he proves to be extraordinary talented in a number of different fields — including cooking, playing the violin, playing chess, and understanding table etiquette– which indicates that he is likely from a wealthy family. Furthermore, a shot of his room shows a large panoramic space with a wide view of the city and a game console on the floor. He develops an interest in Misaki and is the first to learn she is working at a maid café, but chooses to keep her secret. He regularly tells Misaki he likes her, but she dismisses his behavior simply as a joke or harassment; because of this, along with his uncanny ability to appear whenever she needs him, his wide-ranging skills, and the fact that he survived jumping off the school’s roof into the swimming pool, Misaki often refers to him as a “perverted space alien” (or some variation thereof). Regardless, he continually helps and watches over her, offering insightful advice on how to deal with the boys at Seika effectively and even becomes possessive of her (especially around Shintani Hinata). At one point, he tells Kanou that he doesn’t want to date a girl seriously, which Kanou initially misunderstands as Usui not being serious about the President; later, however, Kanou realizes that “dating” and genuinely caring for/loving a girl are different things to Usui. While Misaki is campaigning for re-election as student council President, she asks him to stay away from her for the length of the race so that his popularity won’t unfairly influence voting in her favor. Usui agrees but replies, “…and it’s such valuable, precious little time…” implying that his time with Misaki is limited. Though the reasons for this aren’t known, Usui’s mysterious meeting with Miyabigaoka High School’s student council president at the beginning of chapter 39 is most likely related in some way. Usui’s family circumstances are also still unknown, other than the fact that he deliberately lives alone in a highrise apartment, and that he has an older brother.

Hinata Shintani (深谷 陽向, Shintani Hinata?)
A childhood friend of Misaki who came to Seika High in search of his one-sided first love; Misaki. When they were children, he was an overweight boy who Misaki saved when he fell from a tree. He fell in love with her, but soon moved away to live with his grandfather in the countryside when his parents died. When he returns, his appearance changed considerably from losing so much weight (supposedly from eating nothing but vegetables), though he remains a glutton. He admires Usui’s strength and talent, though Usui seems indifferent to Shintani outside of his monopolizing Misaki’s time. He refuses to give up on Misaki despite being fully aware of her and Usui’s feelings for each other, having resolved prior to moving that he would not let Misaki having a boyfriend deter him. Misaki’s mother and sister both note that he physically resembles Misaki’s father, though he claims that he would never abandon the people he cares about.

Shouichirou Yukimura (幸村 祥一郎, Yukimura Shōichirō?)
Voiced by: Hiro Shimono
The Vice President of the Student Council, he tries to help Misaki where he can, and enjoys office routine. At first, he, like the rest of the student council, is fearful of Misaki, but he eventually comes to be on fairly close terms with both her and Usui. Yukimura is hard-working, earnest, and capable of doing most administrative work, but is not athletic in the least, especially in comparison to Misaki and Usui. His gentle, almost feminine demeanour and slight stature make him appear somewhat weak, a fact he is sensitive about, even lamenting his lack of strength for his inability to be more helpful to Misaki. He’s both terrified and in awe of Usui, after Usui kisses him as a “reward for his hardwork” (which, unbeknownst to all, Usui only did to make light of kissing Misaki, after noticing that she was visibly upset and incredibly jumpy around him). Yukimura has a seven-year-old sister named Rui.

Naoya Shirakawa (白川 直也, Shirakawa Naoya?)
Voiced by: Hiroyuki Yoshino
A male student at Seika High School who initially dislikes Misaki because of her forceful methods of reforming Seika. He and his friends discover that she works at a maid café early on in the story, but after she is defended by Usui, they quickly become her biggest fans, as well as regulars at Cafe Maid Latte, often referred to as the “idiot trio.” His nickname is “Shiroyan.”

Ikuto Sarashina (更科 郁斗, Sarashina Ikuto?)
Voiced by: Tetsuya Kakihara
The second of the “idiot trio,” which includes Shirakawa Naoya and Ryuunosuke Kurosaki. A closet otaku, he is actually good at drawing manga illustrations and enjoys writing. His friends call him “Ikkun.”

Ryuunosuke Kurosaki (黒崎 龍之介, Kurosaki Ryūnosuke?)
Voiced by: Yuichi Nakamura
The third member of the “idiot trio” who frequent Cafe Maid Latte, nicknamed “Kurotatsu.”

Sakura Hanazono (花園 さくら, Hanazono Sakura?)
A good friend of Misaki’s and one of the few female students at Seika High, Sakura is friendly and cheerful and, like the rest of the girls, relies on Misaki for protection from the wild behaviour of the boys. She is quite popular amongst the boys, but frequently rejects their confessions; in particular, she’s rejected ex-rugby captain Masaru Gouda (剛田将, Gōda Masaru?) one hundred times. According to Shizuko, Sakura falls in love without carefully considering what the person is really like, as exampled by her persistent feelings for the two-faced, womanising singer of a popular band from a nearby high school.

Shizuko Kaga (加賀 しず子, Kaga Shizuko?)
One of Misaki and Sakura’s friends, a sensible and intelligent girl who often spends lunchtime with them. Shizuko is a member of the flower arranging club and is good at math, but isn’t very good at physical activities. She has an older brother in university and a younger sister in junior high school; according to Sakura, the three of them look very alike.

Soutarou Kanou (叶 爽太郎, Kanō Sōtarō?)
A withdrawn male student who is initially against Misaki as the student council President because of her aspirations of increasing the female population of Seika High. In order to sabotage her presidency, Kanou tries to hypnotize Misaki, Usui, and the student council with his pupil-less eyes (one of the very few, random supernatural aspects of the series) into ruining Misaki’s reputation. It is revealed that his gynophobic attitude comes from his mother abandoning his family when he was young and his father warning him to be wary of women, and after failing to hypnotize Misaki, she punishes him by assigning him to work closely with his female classmates during the school’s cultural festival, in hopes of forcing him to get over his fear. The punishment is ultimately successful, and he slowly becomes friendlier with Misaki and the rest of his female peers, as well as with Yukimura. Though he runs against Misaki during her re-election as President, he opposes using underhanded means to gain victory, remains on good terms with her, and is genuinely surprised when he realizes his supporters weren’t aware of the extent of all that Misaki had accomplished, asking them “didn’t you guys already know that the student council president is an incredible person?”

• Café Latte

Satsuki (さつき?)
Voiced by: Rie Tanaka
The manager of Café Latte and Misaki’s boss, a 30 year old woman who has a tendency to voice out her fantasies. She is a cheerful woman who enjoys her job because it allows her to make others happier. She is very understanding of Misaki’s circumstances, knowing that Misaki does not particularly enjoy working at a maid café, and is perceptive of other people’s feelings. Satsuki also ends up hiring Usui as a part-time cook, much to Misaki’s chagrin.

Honoka (ほのか?)
An employee at Café Latte. She can become somewhat maniacal about getting in character for her job and criticizes Misaki for her initial resistance to acting parts outside of her comfort range, as well as for being ashamed of working at Maid Latte and hiding it from her peers.

Erika (エリカ?)
A college student working at Café Latte. She notes that Misaki is strong and picks up work quickly, and claims that it doesn’t feel like Misaki is younger than her. She has a tendency to eavesdrop and is described as having a “voice fetish.”

Subaru (すばる?)
An employee at Café Latte. Like Honoka, she does not have a full-time job and makes a living from part-time work. She considers Misaki to be hard working.

Sayu (さゆ?), Gon-chan (ゴンちゃん?)
Two other employees at Café Latte. Sayu is 18 and Gon-chan is 20 years old. They do not appear often.

Aoi Hyoudou (兵藤 葵, Hyōdō Aoi?)
Voiced by: Yuki Kaida
Satsuki’s nephew, the son of Satsuki’s older brother, a junior high school student who enjoys dressing like a girl. His androgynous features allow him to pass off as a girl and his female persona is well-known as a cute internet idol. Aoi enjoys toying with the feelings of men, but is eventually exposed as a boy by Misaki. He later yells at Misaki for not being more decisive about her relationship with Usui, and for leading Shintani on, even if she was doing it unintentionally. It’s this scolding that eventually pushes her admit to Shintani (and probably for the first time, clearly, to herself) that she does in fact have feelings for Usui.

Nagisa Hyoudou (兵藤 なぎさ, Hyōdō Nagisa?)
Satsuki’s younger sister and Aoi’s aunt, Nagisa is the manager of a beach house known as “Ocean House.” She asks for Satsuki and her employees to come and work at her beach house during the summer since her shop is not as popular as she would like. Nagisa is somewhat tough on Aoi for trying to dress like a girl because her older brother sent Aoi to her beach house to become more masculine.

• Miyabigaoka High School

Tora Igarashi (五十嵐 虎, Igarashi Tora?)
The Student Council President at Miyabigaoka High School, he initially appears as a gentleman who marvels at Misaki and the changes she has brought to Seika High, offering her a chance to come to Miyabigaoka with an exceptional loan. He is quickly revealed to be a lecherous young man who has become bored with the women surrounding him, who are easily submissive because of his wealth. He enjoys causing drama around him and he thinks that money can buy anything. Misaki’s strong will and outright rejection of his monetary bribe to have her join the Miyabigaoka Student Council captures his interest. It is later revealed that Tora has some ties to or knowledge of Usui’s past or background, which he may be exploiting to some as of yet unknown end.

Kanade Maki (真木 奏, Maki Kanade?)
The Vice President of the Student Council at Miyabigaoka High, he and Igarashi attempt to buy out Café Latte and change it into a butler café. Misaki, Usui, and the Café Latte staff are able to prevent him from realizing his plans through a competition.

Hirofumi Koganei (小金井博文, Koganei Hirofumi?)
A bespectacled student at Miyabigaoka High School who looks down upon Seika students. After insulting two students for taking an interest in chess, they hit him and Misaki forces them to go with her to apologize to him. When she discovers the reason why they attacked Koganei, she demands that Koganei apologize to her students as well. He agrees, only on the condition that they defeat him in chess, which Usui does with little trouble. Koganei is ranked fourth in the nation as a chess player. He was originally intended to be the president of Miyabigaoka High School Council by the author, but rejected by the editor.