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Agent of the Shinigami Arc (eps: 1 - 20)
General Overview
Also known by its English adaptation title, "The Substitute" arc, the first Bleach story arc is twenty episodes in length, and initially aired in Japan from October 2004 through February 2005. Ichigo Kurosaki is a 15 year old teenager with an unwanted talent for seeing spirits. This talent allows him to spot the Shinigami Rukia Kuchiki, whom he inadvertently interferes with during her duties. When Rukia is injured by a Hollow that attacks Ichigo's home, Ichigo is forced to temporarily take her Shinigami powers to defeat the Hollow. The next day, Rukia shows up at Ichigo's school as a normal human. She tells him that she has lost all of her powers, rather than merely the fraction she intended to give him, and cannot carry out her duties. Ichigo must take her place as Karakura Town's Shinigami while she recovers, guiding souls to the Soul Society and defending people from attacking Hollows.
Ichigo's spiritual power as a Soul Reaper is surprisingly large, attracting hungry hollows and even affecting nearby humans by awakening any spiritual powers they possess. His powers also attract an enemy of another type: Uryuu , one of the few remaining Quincy, a race of spiritually-empowered humans who were eradicated by the Shinigami long ago. In order to prove the Quincy are better than Shinigami, he challenges Ichigo to a hollow hunting contest. This goes horribly awry, as the bait Uryū uses to start the contest is far more effective than intended, summoning legions of hollows. During this contest, Yasutora "Chad" Sado and Orihime Inoue, two of Ichigo's friends, have their own spiritual abilities awakened when they are assaulted by hollows. Uryū and Ichigo eventually ally to drive off the hollows.
As the remainder of the school year passes, Ichigo, Rukia, Chad, Orihime, and Uryu become close friends. Rukia begins to grow comfortable with life in the living world but realizes that she needs to leave. Having already spent too much time in the living world without permission, she has become a wanted criminal. Her superiors in Shinigami send two elite Soul Reapers, Renji Abarai and Byakuya Kuchiki, to arrest her. Ichigo tries to prevent the arrest, but his efforts are in vain. Not only is he defeated, but Byakuya strips him of the Soul Reaper powers Rukia had given him. Rukia is taken to Soul Society, where she is sentenced to execution by the Sokyoku.
Kisuke Urahara, a mysterious shopkeeper and ex-Soul Society resident, approaches Ichigo with a way to recover his powers and save Rukia: Ichigo must die, and then find the Soul Reaper powers hidden within his own soul before he becomes a hollow. Ichigo narrowly succeeds in this endeavor, but emerges from the training stronger than he ever was before. Ichigo, Chad, Orihime, and Uryū then set off for Soul Society, led by one of Urahara's friends, a talking cat named Yourichi.
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2. The Shinigami's Work (dub, sub) - After last night's attack Ichigo decides to check up on his family but finds that they don’t remember anything about what happened. Later that day in school Ichigo meets the Shinigami from the night before; she is posing as an exchange student until her powers return! She tells him that he must take her place as the Shinigami of Karuakura Town for now. Later when a Hollow ambushes Ichigo and Rukia, Ichigo knocks a shard of the Hollow's mask off and recognizes the Hollow as his former friend, Orihime’s older brother!
3. The Older Brother's Wish, the Younger Sister's Wish (dub, sub) - Orihime and her friend Tasuki are hanging out at Orihime's house when they are suddenly attacked by the Hollow formerly known as Orihime's older brother. Ichigo shows up as a Shinigami and begins fighting him. During the battle, Orihime's brother is also struggling to gain control. Orihime is almost killed by the Hollow's initial attack but her soul was not severed, so Rukia was able to re-attach her soul to her body. Through a dialogue between Orihime and her brother, he is finally able to gain control of his mind long enough to say one last goodbye to her before Ichigo sends his soul off to the Soul Society.
4. Cursed Parakeet (dub, sub) - Chad, Ichigo's long time friend, is given a parakeet by one of Chad's other friends that is rumored to bring bad luck, as all it's previous owners have met with gruesome fates. Chad takes the bird in anyway being as he has a soft spot for animals and any small cute items. Ichigo’s sister Karin senses that the bird is really the soul of a young boy whose mother was killed after she comes in contact with it when Chad is brought into the Kurosaki clinic after being injured. The boy is now being hunted by a Hollow. Later when Ichigo and Rukia are chasing Chad, they meet up with Karin, who makes Ichigo promise that he will save the boy while he is taking her back home.
5. Beat the Invisible Enemy! (dub, sub) - Rukia and Chad are now fighting the Hollow who was hunting the young boy inside the parakeet. Chad cannot see the Hollow, but can vaguely sense it and attack it with a mighty punch to the face. Rukia, however, can see the Hollow, but since she still has not of her Shinigami powers, her Kidou has no effect. After the battle has progressed a while, and all seems lost for Rukia, Ichigo arrives on the scene, and commences his fight with the Hollow. However, when Ichigo defeats the Hollow, something unexpected happens; A giant gate appears, and the Hollow is dragged into Hell, since he committed heinous crimes, murder, while in life, the Zanpakuto can only cleanse the sins of a Hollow that it has committed while being that Hollow, sux to be him.
6. Fight to the Death! Ichigo vs. Ichigo (dub, sub) - Rukia purchases a pez dispenser shaped contraption that contains "substitute soul pills" that forceblly push a soul out of a body at Urahara’s store. Rukia instucts Ichigo that these are for him to use when she is not around and he needs to become a Shinigami. What Rukia does not realize is that she got more than she bargained for when it is revealed that what she purchased doesn't just contain any soul pill; it is a mod-soul created by the Soul Society with special augmentations that it can infuse into the inhabited body. This become's evident when a Hollow hunting mission arises and Ichigo swallows the pill containing this mod-soul who then takes his body for a joy ride. Pandemonium ensues, and the mod-soul must flee from Ichigo and Rukia when they show up at the chaos the mod-soul unleashed on Ichigo's classmates.
7. Greetings from a Stuffed Lion (dub, sub) - While Ichigo is chasing the mod-soul, Rukia gets a message on her soul pager about a nearby Hollow, and explains the origin of the mod-souls to Ichigo. Frustrated that they might lose the mod-soul and his body along with it, Ichigo reluctantly postpones the chase to defeat the Hollow. Meanwhile, the mod-soul rescues some kids who are attacked by a Hollow and fights it. This Hollow happens to be the same one Rukia got a notification for, and Ichigo and the mod-soul meet on the battle field again! Through the battle, Ichigo and the mod-soul are able to defeat the Hollow. Shortly after this, Urahara arrives and pushes out the mod-soul from Ichigo’s body with a tap of his cane. Rather than letting Urahara destroy the mod-soul, Rukia saves it and her and Ichigo place the pill stuffed animal, the soul inhabits the "body" and they gives it the name , short of mod-konpaku, its official name.
8. June 17, Memories in the Rain (dub, sub) - It is June 17, the anniversary of Ichigo's mother's death and the Kurosaki family cancel their regular activities (including school) to visit her grave. With this, Ichigo also requests that Rukia let him take a day off from Shinigami work as well, which she abbhorently objects to, until he reveals to her the reason. While at the graveyard Ichigo is confronted by Rukia, who shows up unexpectedly, and is asked if Ichigo suspected that his mother was killed by a Hollow. Ichigo's reaction is angry and unexpected, as he reveals that he is the one who killed his mother! Meanwhile in Soul Society, a Shinigami is sent to the Human World to seek out Rukia, who then confronts her and her why she hasn’t returned to the Soul Society. When Ichigo shows up he accidentally tells him that he is her substitute Shinigami before they battle; which turns out to be a felony in Soul Society law. Back at the graveyard, Ichigo’s sisters are being attacked by a Hollow.
9. Unbeatable Enemy! (dub, sub) - During his Battle with the Shinigami, they both sense the Hollow nearby that is attacking Karin and Yuzu. Acting on this newfound knowledge, Ichigo postpones his fight with the Shinigami and rushes to save his sisters. Upon arriving on the scene, Ichigo is shocked to find out that this is the Hollow that killed his mother 6 years earlier. As revealed by Rukia, this Hollow's code name is Grand Fisher, a powerful Hollow that has evaded the Shinigami for over 50 years. Faced with his mother's killer, Ichigo is resolved to fight alone and forbids Rukia to help him in any way, this is a fight to defend his pride!
10. Assault on Trip at Sacred Ground (dub, sub) - Don Kanoji, the star of a popular Japanese show that specializes in spirit exorcism, comes to Ichigo’s town to do a live show at an abandoned hospital. Though Yuzu and Isshin love the show, Ichigo and Karin think it's retarded, but go to the show anyway. This spectacle draws a large crowd, including many of Ichigo's friends like Orihime, Chad, Tatsuki, and Keigo. Rukia comes along as well and encourages Ichigo to relax, as the spirit that appears when Kanoji shows up in dramatic flair is only a demi-Hollow (half-Hollow) known as a "Jibaku" spirit, a soul that has strong attatchments or regrets and clings to the Human World. This soul is otherwise undetectable to Shinigami, but is not a Hollow and will not natrually transform into one for a long while. This is, however, until Kanonji attempts to open the hole in his chest thinking he is exorcising the soul but instead is rapidly accelerating the process of it becoming a Hollow. The soul disappears, and reforms on the top of the hospital as a Hollow! Kanoji must now rely on Ichigo's help to defeat it!
11. The Legendary Quincy (dub, sub) - It's just another average Hollow hunting day when Rukia gets a message on her soul pager about a nearby Hollow. However, when they arrive at the appointed place there is no Hollow to be found, it had already been defeated! Once again this happens later that night, but while Ichigo and Rukia are bickering over it, a man steps out of the shadows, declaring himself to be a Quincy and his hate for Shinigami. Rukia afterwards goes to the Urahara shop the next day to learn more about these Qunicy. Tessai tells her that the Quincy were a clan of Hollow fighting humans that, rather than cleanse and send Hollows to the Soul Society, they believed the Hollows to be evil and deserved only death, and thereby used their Spiritual powers to completely eradicate Hollows. This caused a deep schism between the Shinigami and Quincy that eventually lead to the Quincy's annahillation, it was either that or the end of the World. The Quincy, now known to be Uryuu Ishida a member of Ichigo's class, confronts and challenges Ichigo to a battle to determine the superior Hollow hacking being! Quincy or Shinigami, who is the strongest!?
12. A Gentle Right Arm (dub, sub) - The Shinigami, Ichigo, vs. Quincy, Uryuu, competition begins when Uryuu scatters a type of Hollow bait which is spread by the wind all over Karakura Town. In response, Hollows start tearing across the void to begin their feast. The rules are simple, whoever can slay the most Hollows in 24 hrs. is the supreme Hollow killing being. With no way to recall the bait, Ichigo panics and races to protect his family, unknowing of the danger approaching others that he cares for, such as Orihime and Chad. Elsewhere a Hollow ambushes Chad and his friends, forcing him to flee to protect them as he realizes the Hollow is after him. He ends up at a park that Karin is playing at, inadvertently drawing her into the battle. Since she can see the Hollow and he can't, they team up to survive. During the Battle, Chad reminisces about his grandfather and his purpose for strength, through this he awakens his own latent Spiritual power in the form of armor on his right arm capable of discharging blasts of Spirit energy. Power now his, he dispatches the Hollow and falls unconscious.
13. Flower and Hollow (dub, sub) - Whist Chad is dealing with his Hollow, another approaches the school where Orihime, Tatsuki, and Chizuru are cleaning up a mess created by said Hollow. After a while, Tatsuki leaves to change clothes and the Hollow attacks Orihime and Chizuru, raining down seeds shot from her forehead. These aren't your garden variety seeds as they can control any human they embed themselves into, as witnesses when the Hollow makes Chizuru, and her other classmates, attack Orihime. Tatsuki then shows up and defends Orihime before being shot full of seeds herself, being forced to strike Orihime as well. Wanting to protect Tatsuki, Orihime unlocks her own latent Spiritual power in the form of the "Shun Shun Riga" or "the six princess shielding flowers"; small sprites that can "reject" using different shield tactics. Using her newfound power, she heals Tatsuki, defeats the Hollow, and falls unconscious. Later, Urahara and Tessai show up with Chad, unconscious as well, and take them both back to the Urahara shop where he explains the existence of Shinigami and Hollows when they both awaken. Elsewhere, Ichigo and Uryuu are having a time of it defeating the Hollows, Uryuu is starting to get worried though, could so many Hollows have been gathered by so little bait?
14. Back to Back, a Fight to the Death! (dub, sub) - Ichigo bursts onto the scene where Uryuu has already met up with Rukia and KON (in Ichigo's body). Though faced with seemingly impossible odds, Uryuu runs head long into battle against the Hollows, telling Ichigo if he's to scared to fight to watch him destroy them all. Contemplating how he could be the last of the Quincies as he claims, Ichigo is told they story of the Quincies annihilation by Rukia. Ichigo then confronts Uryuu with this knowledge, but is stopped mid-sentence when Uryuu says he could care less about the old Shinigami/Quincy conflict, saying he actually sided with the Shinigami when he heard the story. Uryuu then reveals that his motivation is based on the murder of his Sensei/grandfather at the hands of the Hollows, and that the Shinigami could have helped his sensei, as he was under constant surveillance, but arrived on the scene 2 hours after his death. Realizing now they are completely surrounded, Ichigo shares his own motivation for waiting to kill as many Hollows as he can, and they resolve to fight back to back in a united front. This is when Urahara, Tessai, Jinta, and Ururu show up and defeat all the smaller Hollows around them, Urahara then tells them to deal with the giant Menos that had torn itself across the void and has appeared in the sky. Ichigo successfully drives back the Menos, but his Spiritual power, being released all at once, makes his Zanpakuto unstable and ready to explode. Uryuu, however, successfully stabilizes him by releasing the residual Spiritual power with his bow, and the battle is finally finished.
15. KON's Great Plan! (dub, sub) - KON's on a mission, a mission to get luvin from the ladies. Too bad for this fake stuffed lion though, as every plan gets turned upside down, blows up in his face. While KON's getting chased by some of Ichigo's classmates (and Chad??), Urahara receives a strange visit from a strange talking black cat by the name of Yoruichi, who seems to know him well enough to see through his faux identity.
16. The Encounter, Renji Abarai! (dub, sub) - Rukia knows that she doesn't belong in the Human World, she also knows she has stayed too long. And so, knowing these things, she runs away, tying KON to the back of the toilet and leaving a note for Ichigo before she goes. However, she doesn't get very far before two familiar Shinigami, Renji Abari and her older brother Byakuya Kuchiki, ambush her to taker her back to Soul Society as a prisoner. The transfer of Shinigami powers to a human is a grave offense to Soul Society law, but before things get worse, Uryuu shows up to help Rukia. After decoding the note Rukia left, Ichigo heads out as a Shinigami to find her, and shows up where Renji has just defeated Uryuu with apparent ease. Renji then discovers that Ichigo is the one who "stole" Rukia's Shinigami power, and shows Ichigo the true form of Renji's Shikai, revealing to Ichigo that all Zanpakuto have a name, and he is too weak if he doesn't know his own Zanpakuto's name. Can Ichigo defeat Renji in his current state!?
17. Ichigo Dies! (dub, sub) - The battle between Ichigo and Renji reaches a fever pitch, looking in poor favor for Ichigo until he releases an amazing amount of Spiritual pressure and gains the upper hand. This is when Byakuya gets involved and defeats Ichigo easily with super-fast movement, by first breaking his blade, then impaling him twice with his Zanpakuto. Ichigo defeated, and no one left to defend Rukia, Renji and Byakuya take her back to Soul Society to serve her sentence. Urahara then shows up and saves Ichigo and Uryuu, and takes Ichigo back to the Urahara Shop. Urahara tells Ichigo that he can save Rukia, but only if he trains with him. Can Ichigo retrieve his lost power and save Rukia?
18 Reclaim! The Power of a Shinigami (dub, sub) - Rukia has gone, and so has her memory to everyone in Ichigo's class, save he, Orihime, Chad, and Uryuu. School is now over, summer has started, and now with time to spare, Ichigo commences his training with Urahara. Yoruichi also takes it upon himself to train Orihime and Chad to harness their own Spiritual powers, though Uryuu prefers to train alone and declines their offer of training. Ichigo must go through different stages of training to re-establish his Shinigami power. The first stage is fighting with Ururu to get used to being a soul, when he is pushed out of his body and his Chain of Fate is severed by Tessai. After successfully evading Ururu, he is dropped into "Shattered Shaft" and is bound by Tessai. Urahara explains that withing 72 hrs., he will become a Hollow and if that happens, they will kill him. He must reclaim his Shinigami powers before then. Can Ichigo find it within himself to become a Shinigami once more, or will the Hollow within him devour his consciousness and take over!?
19 Ichigo becomes a Hollow! (dub, sub) - The final encroachment is nearing, Ichigo struggles to regain his power while his Chain of Fate devours itself, acting as a timer to his own death. Bound by Tessai's Binding Kidou, Jinta and Ururu tease him, Jinta saying that hunger is a sign that he will become a Hollow soon, and that much of the 72 hour time span has already elapsed. Suddenly and violently, his Chain of Fate completely devours itself, exposing a hole in his chest, his process of becoming a Hollow begins! While this is happening, deep within his mind, Ichigo meets the personification of his power, who tells him that he must find the "box" that contains his Shinigami power among the others that materialize before his inner world collapses. Remembering his experience with Reiraku (spirit ribbons), he is able to locate the right "box" and burst out of the shaft, emerging with a Shukakushou as well as a Hollow mask. With a thrust of the hilt of his Zanpakuto he shatters the mask, and look on victorious! The next challenge is now to begin, Ichigo must knock Urahara's hat off to complete the training, that which he meets with enthusiasm and says it will only take 5 min. to do.
20. Gin Ichimaru's Shadow (dub, sub) - Ichigo's training is complete, his Shinigami power returned, now begins the process of opening the gateway into the Soul Society. The process takes 7 days, after which, Ichigo, Chad, Orihime, and Uryuu are summoned to the Urahara Shop to make their journey into Soul Society. Rather than letting them go alone, Yoruichi travels with them through the Dangai (the world between the worlds) and into Soul Society as a guide. Can Ichigo and his friends make it through and rescue Rukia?
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Thread started: May 27 2008, 5:53 PM EDT
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This is the first installment of the episode guide: the first arc. Please read, I mean, you don't have to read all of it, but just look at a few and tell me what you think. I wrote them all myself, so I'd really like some feedback, especially if you see I made a mistake somewhere. Enjoy!
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