Substitute Shinigami Arc
The opening arc: Ichigo takes on Rukia's duties as a Soul Reaper.
The Substitute Shinigami arc is the first season of the Bleach anime, released in English by Viz Media simply as The Substitute. Directed by Noriyuki Abe and produced by TV Tokyo, Dentsu and Studio Pierrot, its twenty episodes adapt the first eight volumes of Tite Kubo's manga, chapters 1 to 70.
Quick Facts
- Episodes
- 20
- Network
- TV Tokyo
- First aired
- 5 October 2004
- Last aired
- 22 February 2005
Lore & Background
Ichigo Kurosaki, a teenager from Karakura Town who can see spirits, meets the Soul Reaper Rukia Kuchiki while she is hunting a Hollow. Badly hurt protecting him, she passes her powers to Ichigo so he can carry out her duties while she recovers in a temporary human body, and she stays on in the human world to mentor him.
Reader's Guide
The opening theme is Orange Range's "Asterisk". The ending theme is Rie Fu's "Life is Like a Boat" for the first thirteen episodes and Home Made Kazoku's "Thank You!!" for the last seven. The arc came out on five DVD compilations of four episodes each.
The season follows high-school student Ichigo's adventures after he becomes a Soul Reaper and takes over Rukia's work. It aired on TV Tokyo from October 2004 to February 2005; the first English broadcast ran from September 2006 to January 2007 on YTV's Bionix in Canada and Adult Swim in the United States.
Did You Know?
- The first DVD compilation was nominated for best DVD package design at the 2007 American Anime Awards.
- Bionix in Canada aired each episode a day before Adult Swim.
More in Story Arcs & Timeline
Elsewhere in Bleach
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