Why is the show called Bleach? [Archive]

eLcHaKeTeRo

2006-01-01, 14:37

why is the show called bleach?.......some one was saying that it was cus of ichigo's hair color......

That's pretty much it, Ichigo's hair colour is a natural 'orange' that you get if you bleach black hair, he cops quite a bit of flack for it when he's younger, one other student, who has bleached his hair insists Ichigo goes back to hhis normal hair colour to avoid copying him, which fires ichigo up quite a lot.

i was like WTF when i read this.....if the last part is true im goin to have to watch the whole thing over for the 6th time......because i dont remember any of that....

Souzouryoku

2006-01-01, 20:18

why is the show called bleach?.......some one was saying that it was cus of ichigo's hair color......

Everyone asks this. No one is quite sure. It could be:

1) His Hair
or
2) Some theorize that Tite Kubo is a huge Nirvana fan...hence the name Bleach (I believe one of their albums was called Bleach in the past)

I think there was another possibility but I'm not sure.

Thewanderer

2006-01-01, 21:29

Everyone asks this. No one is quite sure. It could be:

1) His Hair
or
2) Some theorize that Tite Kubo is a huge Nirvana fan...hence the name Bleach (I believe one of their albums was called Bleach in the past)

I think there was another possibility but I'm not sure.
Maybe the possibility of Ichigo slowly being 'bleached' into a hollow? I mean, his hollow form is pretty pale...

NoSanninWa

2006-01-02, 02:26

1) His Hair

2) Some theorize that Tite Kubo is a huge Nirvana fan...hence the name Bleach (I believe one of their albums was called Bleach in the past)
This isn't just a guess. Kubo Tite said in an interview that he is a Nirvana fan.

I think there was another possibility but I'm not sure.
Other theories...

3) Kaien's soul was bleached by Rukia's zanpaktou to be reborn as Ichigo.

4) Rukia's clothes were bleached from black to white when Ichigo stole her power.

Then there is my favorite theory:

5) All of the above. He just took the name of the album, turned it into a theme and ran with it because he liked the word.

Kinny Riddle

2006-01-02, 03:52

Grees

2006-01-02, 04:32

Maybe Kubo just used a random name generator on the net.
Or what i think happen was, he like Nirvana's, heard their album, and thought that Bleach would sound cool, compact, catchy for an anime show and since he cant think of anything better he use it, it has no theme and nothing to do with the show.

AoiMidori

2006-01-02, 04:33

i wondered why it was bleach lots of time..
but did ichigo really bleached his hair?? i don't remember watching or noticing it in the anime.. and i didn't read the manga..

Kinny Riddle

2006-01-02, 04:52

i wondered why it was bleach lots of time..
but did ichigo really bleached his hair?? i don't remember watching or noticing it in the anime.. and i didn't read the manga..
Don't think he bleached his hair, Ichigo said he was born that way, which explains why he gets picked on by bullies and teachers in the past, and why he toughened himself up into the young man he is prior to meeting Rukia.

NoSanninWa

2006-01-02, 06:08

Isn't it enough to simply be curious?

It is unlikely to change anyone's life to know the answer to this question, but do you think that there is a good reason to avoid thinking about it?

wingdarkness

2006-01-02, 06:10

Small One ,knowing why a show is named something is pretty important stuff...at the very least it's worth talking about...

Figuring out why may make you figure out other things too...My personal theory was that the spirits that exist inside the Zanpaktu (sword-slayers)...had thier souls Bleached to be able to exist within the swords...I don't know but all the sword-slayer creatures seem too evil-looking to lend their powers without their souls being bleached...Anyway my idea probably sucks ^^...:o oh well...

@NSW is the site lagging? It's been taking minutes for pages to load for me all day...Just wondering if it's me...

Ultimoo

2006-01-02, 07:14

why is the show called bleach?.......some one was saying that it was cus of ichigo's hair color......

i was like WTF when i read this.....if the last part is true im goin to have to watch the whole thing over for the 6th time......because i dont remember any of that....

ok just to answer your other question about ichigo almost getting into a fight with another guy over his hair, only happens in the manga, just before the chad/parakeet bit, but chad shows up then and well you can guess what happens to the other guy then. :heh:

oh and I thought the show was called bleach because of the whole subtle refrences everyone makes about his hair being bleached....guess not!

eLcHaKeTeRo

2006-01-02, 08:38

ok just to answer your other question about ichigo almost getting into a fight with another guy over his hair, only happens in the manga, just before the chad/parakeet bit, but chad shows up then and well you can guess what happens to the other guy then. :heh:

oh and I thought the show was called bleach because of the whole subtle refrences everyone makes about his hair being bleached....guess not!

...i think that u read that wrong...that wasnt my opinion, to tell u the thruth i really dont have a theory.....but if the show is named after the Nirvana album that would be awesome.....im also a big fan of Nirvana....

Cats

2006-01-02, 08:46

It's called Bleach because the manga is called Bleach.

I personaly don't think that Kurosaki is his real name, after seeing his dad in the shinigami outfit you kinda get the idea that his not just some ordinary guy....... so "Bleach" could very well be his real name

1.0.7.

2006-01-02, 10:14

it'scalled bleach coz its called bleach.. we don't really care, the show's good and we're enjoying ourselves..isn't that what matters more?
and i think everything is just made up- kubo tite could just as well colour ichigo's hair purple, have his weapon be a purse and call the show tinky winky right?
all the hairdo, the whole ichigo hollow thing..yeah well.. we can make up all we want, but until KT confirms why so..we can only speculate, not entirely baseless..and some of the trivia is interesting. but that's all it will go down as- trivia~the question is t.r.i.v.i.a.l.
which means of little value or importance. so everything being debated here is ultimately utterly useless. if you want to over analyze, i suggest the gundam forums.
there was a similiar thread beforehand.. and things just kept going round and round in circles.

Last_Hope

2006-01-02, 14:57

I think about it in another way: Is there a good reason to ask about it?
IMHO not. It's just a name. The main attribute of names is, that they usually don't have a special meaning.

Since when does people need a good reason to be curious? Haven´t you seen "Desperate Houseviwes? :heh:

I wouldn´t mind knowing why they named it Bleach. A small trivial thing that won´t change my life but it´s still fun to know.

Ziv

2006-01-02, 15:06

I think about it in another way: Is there a good reason to ask about it?
IMHO not. It's just a name. The main attribute of names is, that they usually don't have a special meaning.
The titles of most artworks do have special meanings, be they insignificant or not. Most people are just too nonchalant to care.

Daniel E.

2006-01-02, 16:25

Other theories...

3) Kaien's soul was bleached by Rukia's zanpaktou to be reborn as Ichigo.

4) Rukia's clothes were bleached from black to white when Ichigo stole her power.

Then there is my favorite theory:

5) All of the above. He just took the name of the album, turned it into a theme and ran with it because he liked the word.

Yes, number 5 is also my favorite.

eLcHaKeTeRo

2006-01-02, 23:17

I think about it in another way: Is there a good reason to ask about it?
IMHO not. It's just a name. The main attribute of names is, that they usually don't have a special meaning.

i beg to differ, most names do have somrthing to do with the shows.....it just so happens that we dont know why in this case.....
and look at this guy trying to sufficate any thought of curiosity......curiosity is one of the best things...

Mousuke

2006-01-02, 23:26

I don't know why it's called Bleach.....because they're "bleaching out" the bad spirits? :heh:

Arti

2006-01-02, 23:52

If I ever become a mangaka, I'm naming my manga something totally random, like Cup. That'll baffle my readers for years while they come up with these crazy theories.

Ichimaru

2006-01-03, 01:03

Its called bleach because ichigos hair was black n he bleached it orange :D

eLcHaKeTeRo

2006-01-03, 01:13

Its called bleach because ichigos hair was black n he bleached it orange :D

i dont think that he bleached it orange....unless he got hold of some peroxide when he was an infant

NoSanninWa

2006-01-03, 03:24

I think that the reason for the ":D" was because he knows that he was being silly. We all know that Ichigo's hair is naturally that color. It was made pretty clear.

Souzouryoku

2006-01-03, 21:24

I don't know why it's called Bleach.....because they're "bleaching out" the bad spirits? :heh:

Bah...when my older cousin asked me why the show was called Bleach I gave him the exact same answer, and he looked at me like I was crazy or something :|

*sigh* Though u were probably kidding, I was entirely serious :p

Eclipze

2006-01-03, 21:35

Well, at least the random name + good storyline +action makes it a fan magnet:heh:

Komataguri

2006-01-03, 22:26

Its named bleach because the author wanted to name it bleach.

Simple as that.

Mousuke

2006-01-03, 22:35

Bah...when my older cousin asked me why the show was called Bleach I gave him the exact same answer, and he looked at me like I was crazy or something :|

*sigh* Though u were probably kidding, I was entirely serious :p

Meh, in any case the title doesn't really matter...it's better than "Supernatural Shinigami" or "Death God Ichigo" or "Full Metal Death God" :heh: I like the title "Bleach"; it's quick, it's snappy, and it's contemporary. Although it's a random name, it sums up the feeling of the series pretty nicely. ^_~

IchiNiiSan

2006-01-03, 22:43

i wondered why it was bleach lots of time..
but did ichigo really bleached his hair?? i don't remember watching or noticing it in the anime.. and i didn't read the manga..
blah, I doubt it, especially since he said "if I really cared what anybody thought about me I would of dyed my hair black along time ago."

青和紙

2006-01-03, 23:02

I don't know why it's called Bleach.....because they're "bleaching out" the bad spirits? :heh:
I like this explanation best. It really does make sense - especially since Shinigami "purify" Hollows.

IchiNiiSan

2006-01-03, 23:06

I like this explanation best. It really does make sense - especially since Shinigami "purify" Hollows.
In all honesty I think it's a combination of things, it's true kubo liked nirvana, he admitted it, so that album could have had alot to do with him naming the show bleach, and they also bleach their souls, and all that stuff, it's probably alot of things together that made him go "this makes the most sense"

SladeX

2006-01-03, 23:43

Morisato

2006-01-04, 03:46

Isn't it obvious? His hair is bleached.

Grees

2006-01-04, 04:04

I got another explanation, maybe the maker was really, and i mean really addicted to this stuff, he may wants to marry it and have children with it, even have dreams about it:
http://www.epa.gov/kidshometour/images/bleach.jpg

1.0.7.

2006-01-04, 05:37

I always thought it was called bleach because Ichigo coming from a white mom and jap dad had orange hair that looked like it was "bleached". Ichigo's growing pains about his hair is kinda reminiscent of post WW2 japan where these ameri-japanese kids were picked on/segregated due to their american heritage and identified by their "bleached" hair...

Sounds plausible eh?

i didn't know about the whole segregation thing..that's why i couldn't understand why people would pick on ichigo simply because his hair was orange..
the first sentence i don't really understand..but if what i read is what you meant..isn't isshin a brunette? and isn't masaki a jap name?
ever wondered..ichigo has orange hair, karin has black hair, yuzu is a blonde.. is kurosaki masaki really in heaven? ;)

SladeX

2006-01-04, 10:33

I figure the whole hair color issue with the kids is due to the fact Kubo's NOT a genetic expert and just assumed if you got a white mom, you got all the colors of the rainbow available lol

Today is a different outlook on people as you got crazy hairstyles all over and western concepts being "slipped" in to normal japanese society... one only needs to see all the engrish all over Tokyo to get an idea of what's going on there. I suppose when Kubo was growing up, he saw the last remnants of that kind of segregation disappearing.

Either way, it makes for a good shounen type hero because despite his upbringing he's a good person...

Clarste

2006-01-04, 14:32

Edit: Ah, nevermind. There's no point.

Ziv

2006-01-04, 16:18

青和紙

2006-01-04, 19:33

i didn't know about the whole segregation thing..that's why i couldn't understand why people would pick on ichigo simply because his hair was orange..
the first sentence i don't really understand..but if what i read is what you meant..isn't isshin a brunette? and isn't masaki a jap name?
ever wondered..ichigo has orange hair, karin has black hair, yuzu is a blonde.. is kurosaki masaki really in heaven? ;)
If you look at Japan, they tend to pride themselves on their purity as a nation and a people. Japan, as of 2000, is 99.4% Japanese, with no significant immigration or emigration fluxuations. They have stringent immigration regulations (MUCH more than the US), and they've never had a serious problem with illegal immigration (they're an island, go figure). So, if there were really a Japanese boy (half or full) with that kind of hair in today's high school system, it would make total sense that he would stick out and be persecuted against to a certain extent. Just like in the US with Political orientation coming from one's family during middle and high school, it seems natural that certain "resentment" toward Americans and American influence might be filtered down to today's generation of Japanese (although I really doubt it, unless a family REALLY hated America).

IchiNiiSan

2006-01-04, 23:44

Omg People Stop Saying It's Because His Hair Is Bleached His Hair Isn't Fucking Bleached Gahhh.

NoSanninWa

2006-01-05, 00:13

Omg People Stop Saying It's Because His Hair Is Bleached His Hair Isn't Fucking Bleached Gahhh.
It's because his hair LOOKS LIKE it has been bleached. :D

There are too many reasons to call the show Bleach. While everyone has their favorites, it is clear that the mangaka just took it as his theme and then threw in as many different examples of Bleaching as he could. Otherwise why are there so many good reasons?

The color of Ichigo's hair and the bleaching of Rukia's robes both appear in episode 1. That's pretty good evidence that he didn't have a single reason because he knew people would be looking for the meaning of the name in the first chapter. When more than 1 reason was found in that first chapter he had to know it would keep people guessing. Obviously he meant that.

moshun

2006-01-05, 18:23

i thought the author liked Nirvana or something so thats why he named the show Bleach

Ziv

2006-01-05, 18:30

If you look at Japan, they tend to pride themselves on their purity as a nation and a people. Japan, as of 2000, is 99.4% Japanese, with no significant immigration or emigration fluxuations. They have stringent immigration regulations (MUCH more than the US), and they've never had a serious problem with illegal immigration (they're an island, go figure). So, if there were really a Japanese boy (half or full) with that kind of hair in today's high school system, it would make total sense that he would stick out and be persecuted against to a certain extent. Just like in the US with Political orientation coming from one's family during middle and high school, it seems natural that certain "resentment" toward Americans and American influence might be filtered down to today's generation of Japanese (although I really doubt it, unless a family REALLY hated America).
but what about all the other kids with blue, purple, red, green, white, and teal colored hair?

Soluzar

2006-01-05, 18:33

There are too many reasons to call the show Bleach. While everyone has their favorites, it is clear that the mangaka just took it as his theme and then threw in as many different examples of Bleaching as he could. Otherwise why are there so many good reasons?

The color of Ichigo's hair and the bleaching of Rukia's robes both appear in episode 1. That's pretty good evidence that he didn't have a single reason because he knew people would be looking for the meaning of the name in the first chapter. When more than 1 reason was found in that first chapter he had to know it would keep people guessing. Obviously he meant that.

Yeah. My own favourite interpretation is that bleach kills germs and keeps your bathroom clean, whereas Shinigami kill hollows, and keeps the world "clean". Even though that's my favourite interpretation, it's clearly not the only thematic link to bleach that has been deliberately placed in there.

eLcHaKeTeRo

2006-01-06, 00:14

i thought the author liked Nirvana or something so thats why he named the show Bleach

...thats an original one....

im startin to believe that he named it bleach cus he wanted to mess with us

NoSanninWa

2006-01-06, 00:37

im startin to believe that he named it bleach cus he wanted to mess with us
Bing-Bong!

We have a winner! :D

moshun

2006-01-06, 05:06

...thats an original one....

im startin to believe that he named it bleach cus he wanted to mess with us

It's the Nirvana album, people. Kubo is a hardcore musictard, hence the very interesting theme songs for the characters, and hence the title of the series.
http://forums.narutofan.com/archive/index.php/t-46908.html

Named after Nirvana\'s first album, Bleach is the story of 15-year-old Kurosaki Ichigo, a boy with a constant scowl on his face, who just happens to see ghosts.
http://www.tv.com/bleach/show/28625/reviews.html&review_id=104630&flag=&order=

NoSanninWa

2006-01-06, 20:13

GundamZZ

2006-01-06, 23:27

I knwo some red heads doesn't dye their hair right. They ends up having orange hair. For many Japanese manga readers, it's unwritten. Manga characers can have different hair color, and their real hair color is black. Different hair color is used to distinguish each character. For Ichigo's case, he most likely dye his hair to orange. It doesn't sound right. How about this manga is actually story about laundry. :cool:

There was a similar case in Bastard. It took twenty or more volumes to reveal that the title is named after Dark Shneider's birth. The manga bleach may eventually give about the explanation.

eLcHaKeTeRo

2006-01-06, 23:28

Just because something is said on a website such as NarutoFan's forum or Tv.Com doesn't make it true. I happen to believe it myself, but please don't flash around fan made sites like these as evidence. (Tv.Com is edited by "knowlegable" fans, not by anyone actually affiliated with Bleach.)

...you took the words out right out of my mouth, but mine would have been alittle bit more charged with insults :cool: , im goin to stick with my previous theory

NoSanninWa

2006-01-06, 23:31

...you took the words out right out of my mouth, but mine would have been alittle bit more charged with insults :cool: , im goin to stick with my previous theory
Insults are bad, mm'kay?

I wonder if Kubo Tite finds it funny when fans work themselves into a tizzy trying to figure out why he named it Bleach?

Dark`

2006-01-06, 23:52

I wonder if Kubo Tite finds it funny when fans work themselves into a tizzy trying to figure out why he named it Bleach?
I would. Like someone else said earlier in this thread, if I were ever in the same kind of position as someone like Kubo, I'd give the series some vague name to keep people guessing. Maybe something like...Pen.

Person 1: ZOMG, he's using a pen! That must be why he named it pen!

Person 2: No way! It must be short for penguins! Look, he watching them on TV!

Person 3: Pfft, you're both idiots. He named it that just to drive people like you two nuts.

Person 1 & 2: Stfu n00b-juice! What the hell do you know?!

Souzouryoku

2006-01-06, 23:53

I wonder if Kubo Tite finds it funny when fans work themselves into a tizzy trying to figure out why he named it Bleach?

Probably :D Naming your story something really creative, and having people debate over it, always gives the writer satisfaction. It makes you feel witty I guess :p Whenever I write for my creative writing class, I always think up titles that will blow the socks off my teacher, or atleast I try to. The title is one of the most important things :D It's the first thing you read..well..most likely the first thing.

I doubt we'll ever get an answer. Unless there is some HUGE reason why it is named Bleach that he just isn't telling us. It'd be cool if the name held some secret to a future plot.

eLcHaKeTeRo

2006-01-07, 05:42

if u had a show and it was named something random, it probably woulndt mean anything to anyone else but u i think this the case

Souzouryoku

2006-01-07, 11:55

if u had a show and it was named something random, it probably woulndt mean anything to anyone else but u i think this the case

Well obviously it means something to us...since we are all debating about it. Or in other words, it doesn't mean anything to us yet :D

Bleach isn't completely random. Naming it something like umm..."picture frame" or "pen" would be random. But "Bleach" is, in a way I suppose, related to the series. Bleaching bad spirits, Ichigo's hair, they are all possible "theories" of why the show could have been named Bleach. If it were something completely and totally random, it would be much much harder to make a connection. *shrug*

Anyway, just be glad they didn't name the show....Bad Spirits or Shinigami or Ichigo or Hollow -.-

青和紙

2006-01-07, 17:15

but what about all the other kids with blue, purple, red, green, white, and teal colored hair?
That's why Anime is such a popular form of art - it has that fantasy, alternate-reality quality to it. I mean, think about all the Anime which is mostly inspired by and/or meant to resemble Western culture. Not really Japanese, are they?

Morisato

2006-01-07, 19:06

but what about all the other kids with blue, purple, red, green, white, and teal colored hair?
That's because they don't REALLY have blue, purple, red, green, white, and teal colored hair, you've never heard in any anime where someone says "hey look at that guys green hair" (unless his hair really was green). But most of the time, they're only colored to help the audience distinguish characters, in the world of the anime, they're hair is actually black/brown.

Eclipze

2006-01-07, 22:20

That's because they don't REALLY have blue, purple, red, green, white, and teal colored hair, you've never heard in any anime where someone says "hey look at that guys green hair" (unless his hair really was green). But most of the time, they're only colored to help the audience distinguish characters, in the world of the anime, they're hair is actually black/brown.
Um, what? :twitch:

This is anime we're talking about, so whats with calling the colored hair just being a distinguisher? When was there ever a rule stating that "colored hair is just to allow people to distinguish one person from another"?. None, nada.:eyebrow:

And the reason they dont go round saying: "hey, look at Mr. X's X colored hair!" is because its NORMAL in their world.

KaneDragon

2006-01-07, 23:17

If I stare at this thread long enough, everything suddenly becomes clear:
http://img215.imageshack.us/img215/7079/vgcatsbleach7gt.jpg (http://www.vgcats.com/comics/?strip_id=148)

Eclipze

2006-01-07, 23:52

If I stare at this thread long enough, everything suddenly becomes clear:
http://img215.imageshack.us/img215/7079/vgcatsbleach7gt.jpg (http://www.vgcats.com/comics/?strip_id=148)
what the....ROFL:heh:

eLcHaKeTeRo

2006-02-16, 03:08

If I stare at this thread long enough, everything suddenly becomes clear:
http://img215.imageshack.us/img215/7079/vgcatsbleach7gt.jpg (http://www.vgcats.com/comics/?strip_id=148)

i think he's right.

Bob from Walmart

2006-02-16, 12:42

eLcHaKeTeRo

2006-02-16, 22:10

The reason to why i think it's called bleach is because of the story. Bleach removes colour from clothes so it can be used as an analogy when compared to Spirits being removed from their body, in a way making them hollow and colourless.

But really im not sure, maybe the creator was doing some laundry at the time and saw some Bleach while in writters block about the name.

OMG. I had an epiphany while this.....

the vizards are all white as if bleached, but i kind find it hard to beleive that KT thought this far in while entitleing his manga. This is just another one of my wild speculations

porchoky

2006-02-16, 22:48

imo the main reason if there is one, probably is the hollow/spirit thing, but i think its just one of those shows with a random word as the title that sort of relates but not relaly. (like Touch or something?)

Bob from Walmart

2006-02-17, 00:51

Ya, i think bleach is too symbolically similar to the actual story to be a coincidence. Bleach - Takes colour away from clothes, Colour can also be the main source and identity of that clothing sometimes. Just like an analogy it fits quite well IMO, Souls being taken away from bodies and or the person not being the same and turning into a hollow, which evidently a hollow has no colours that i've noticed so far.

But then again Black and White has been used in the Bleach show so often for obvious Back Flashes of the past, Hollows or something thats mysterious, and even the Uniforms of the Death gods.

And does anyone know if its actually possible for me to download episodes of bleach from limewire?

-KarumA-

2006-02-18, 12:28

<.<; i thougth because of Ichigo's hair, it looks like its bleached

acidflower

2006-02-18, 12:57

eLcHaKeTeRo

2006-02-18, 17:00

Ok. This HAS been answered over 200x. So, let me answer it the 201st time.

It's because Kubo Tite was a big fan of Nirvana, and they released a new album called Bleach or something. So he named the anime after it.

Correct me if I'm wrong, anyone?

edit: if you download bleach using limewire, people like that should be shot and hung.

im not saying you are wrong, but I cant say that you are right either......because no one really knows for sure. It's all up for grabs, as for the Nirvana theory I have heard it like 200 times.

and Ichigo's hair is not bleached. I think we talked about this in the first couple of posts on this thread...

lavielove

2006-02-18, 17:12

Tite Kubo was just lurking around his washing machine before he prepared those two mangas,zoombie powder and bleach.

UberDork

2006-02-19, 14:41

Bleach you can use to clean something and he went to the other dimension to clean some dirth!!!

You guys ever thought of that one???

Grees

2006-02-19, 15:27

All shinigami's wear the same outfit all the time, so they must clean their clothes more often, hence Bleach.

Dr.Ozzie

2006-02-25, 17:49

So I'm just scanning this thread, right, and I'm finding it very hard to believe that no one has suggested the following:

Bleach makes things white.
White is the traditional Japanese color of death.

That, in combination with the creator's Nirvana fanship and the seemingly-artificial color of Ichigo's hair, which results in a big part of his personality, gives the title multiple layers of significance to the show and its creator.

Knowing that, the idea that the title could be completely random is ludicrous, and I think it's a misguided Devil's Advocacy that's keeping some stubborn individuals arguing from that stance. No one does that. Do you think you'd work for years on a huge creative project, something very important to you, and then give it a random title just to mess with people?

wingdarkness

2006-02-25, 18:48

Do you think you'd work for years on a huge creative project, something very important to you, and then give it a random title just to mess with people?

This happens more often then I think you know...

Fukuda did it with Gundam SEED...He wanted the series to start with an "S" and came up with Multiple S-names like STRIKE, SIN, etc...He went with SEED because he thought Americans would (for some inexplicable reason) like that name more...That's why SEED is a stupid acronym aswell and during the course of 2 series has never been explained in any depth whatsoever...

sCRYed is another title that I still have no clue to why the series is named that way and have asked many times and have still yet to get a resonable response...

There are more titles too...Anime tends to have alot of series that make you double take from the title...BLEACH is no different...While I think your opinion is indeed ineteresting it doesn't trump many of the other opinions here...

BLEACH still has yet to have a definitive explanation...Seemingly it can be alot of different things, but I do agree that it isn't random...

Illuyankas

2006-02-25, 18:56

Because it sounds better than Cheese.

Dr.Ozzie

2006-02-26, 18:53

Well, that's pretty interesting. I didn't realize that some people really did that. It still seems to me that most titles--sCRYed, for instance--could be picked apart a little more. Titles of things tend to be some of the most important clues to the themes thereof.

Dionysus

2006-02-27, 16:11

Ghosts are white, Bleach turns stuff white.

Possibly named out of cornyness

d3v4st4t10n

2006-02-28, 11:30

well, these are all theories. We'll never know the truth until the author tells us xD
anyway, I prefer to leave it a mystery. The World would just be too boiring if we knew all the truths of this world ;D

Astrologica

2006-03-04, 21:37

When I finished watching the first episode I ran for my dictionary to know what "bleach" meant. (Non-native english speaker...)
And I thought that shinigami were the "bleach of the world", keeping our side white pure of those stains (hollows/ghosts) XD

Now after reading this I don't know what to think.

MajesticXII

2006-03-15, 08:20

I agree with white which is the color of death being the reason of naming the anime Bleach...

But about the other theories,if you have black hair and you bleach them you make them orange??? I think not they get blonde and then white if you overdo it.

If its true then im going to cut some of my hair and bleach it to see what happens

Whitewind

2006-03-19, 17:52

I like the name bleach for the title because its original, rather than having it named after the main character of the anime. =o. You all should know what im referring to. Plus, the title bleach having the not so coincident connections with the anime is also a plus.

Neo Tensa Zangetsu

2007-02-20, 18:57

how did Kubo Tite (creator) ever come up with Bleach as the name for his anime

Sazelyt

2007-02-20, 19:06

how did Kubo Tite (creator) ever come up with Bleach as the name for his animeI found this on another website, since, there are currently theories, posting them should be ok:
- Bleaching the hollows to purify them, as a shinigami
- Ichigo bleaching his hair as assumed by the others
(another not much related one is related to the band Nirvana, and Kubo being a fan...)

kagato3

2007-02-20, 20:16

I found this on another website, since, there are currently theories, posting them should be ok:
- Bleaching the hollows to purify them, as a shinigami
- Ichigo bleaching his hair as assumed by the others
(another not much related one is related to the band Nirvana, and Kubo being a fan...)

Most likely it is a bit of all the reasons. Many of the early chapters are based on song titles re-enforceing the Nirvana bit .

Lendial

2007-02-20, 21:23

wow KT likes nirvana?

hitokirigirl

2007-02-22, 07:34

I found this on another website, since, there are currently theories, posting them should be ok:
- Bleaching the hollows to purify them, as a shinigami
- Ichigo bleaching his hair as assumed by the others
(another not much related one is related to the band Nirvana, and Kubo being a fan...)

But Ichigo's hair is naturally orange, isn't it ? I'd rather go with your first idea.

TheAnswer

2007-02-22, 12:19

He chose the name Bleach because Ichigo is gonna be a bleach salesman in the future.

Suhaki

2007-02-22, 14:46

I think this topic will never end XD Unless Kubo himself would answer ^^

Zu Ra

2007-02-22, 15:59

Kubo has Bleached hair just like Ichigo . Kubo shares the same star sign as Ichigo that makes you think doesnt it was Ichi's hair color the reason for the show being called Bleach

Ryuk

2007-02-22, 17:32

Ichigo is a bleached version of kaien, maybe there's some connection there

Zu Ra

2007-02-22, 17:40

In the first draft of Bleach on the cover Ichi has Black hair while in the story Bleached hair . First Draft is not Chapter 1 :D

Pippin4242

2007-02-22, 18:33

I think the Nirvana reference is a much stronger theory than people seem to accept. Bleach is littered with references and homages to music, particularly American rock music. There is even one Nirvana reference we can be fairly certain of- Don Kan'onji's catchphrase, "Smells Like Bad Spirits!" For the uninitiated, "Smells Like Teen Spirit" is one of the most famous Nirvana songs, though it didn't come from the album "Bleach"; it came from the followup to Bleach, "Nevermind".

Great song. :D

*~Pips~*

pothead21

2007-02-22, 20:32

id think it was from nirvana, that makes sense to me...what little of it

Ryuk

2007-02-23, 12:48

I think Geta Boshi nailed it, kubo had a black haired main character and probably a bad title. Then He bleached it all.

eLcHaKeTeRo

2007-02-28, 12:34

omg first drafts are just that, things get changed alot from first drafts to final products. I dont think thats a good explanation lol

MitsuKiske

2007-02-28, 13:25

ok I sesarched Bleach and went to Wikipedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bleach_(manga)) and found this: ブリーチ, Burīchi, romanized as BLEACH in Japan

eLcHaKeTeRo

2007-02-28, 13:58

ok I sesarched Bleach and went to Wikipedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bleach_(manga)) and found this: ブリーチ, Burīchi, romanized as BLEACH in Japan

Im sorry But I fail to see u point, anyone who has been watching Bleach Already knows this :p

Slayerx

2007-02-28, 14:12

Fukuda did it with Gundam SEED...He wanted the series to start with an "S" and came up with Multiple S-names like STRIKE, SIN, etc...He went with SEED because he thought Americans would (for some inexplicable reason) like that name more...That's why SEED is a stupid acronym aswell and during the course of 2 series has never been explained in any depth whatsoever...

sCRYed is another title that I still have no clue to why the series is named that way and have asked many times and have still yet to get a resonable response...

Err.. what about the SEED-mode(god-mode) the characters go into?
While it's questionable as to whether Fukuda came up with the name SEED first and named the god-mode after the shows title or visa-versa, in the end title gundam SEED DOES have something to do with the show itself.... y'know... even if he never didn't bother to explain what the hell seed-mode is...

As for sCRYed... looking it up on wiki, while not mentioned in the anime the word is mentioned and has some significance in the manga... its a term that relates to the evolution of alters or something like that (that should end the mystery for you =p)

overall, titles of shows/comics/movies/what-ever, having little or nothing to do with the series in question is quite rare; if they occur at all. Titles generally have some kind of connection to the show...

Animas

2007-02-28, 14:13

Just that kubo likes engrish?
Well thats my guess because even with the other guesses i still dont believe they are correct...

wingdarkness

2007-02-28, 14:25

Err.. what about the SEED-mode(god-mode) the characters go into?
While it's questionable as to whether Fukuda came up with the name SEED first and named the god-mode after the shows title or visa-versa, in the end title gundam SEED DOES have something to do with the show itself.... y'know... even if he never didn't bother to explain what the hell seed-mode is...

As for sCRYed... looking it up on wiki, while not mentioned in the anime the word is mentioned and has some significance in the manga... its a term that relates to the evolution of alters or something like that

overall, titles of shows/comics/movies/what-ever, having little or nothing to do with the series in question is quite rare; if they occur at all. Titles generally have some kind of connection to the show...

LOL I don't even remember when I wrote that...Obviousy the context doesn't make sense to me right now...So I'll pull a mulligan..

As for Bleach I'm cool with thinking it probably has multiple meanings...One being the Nirvana connection...another being Ichigo's hair color as it relates to his other self, another being in that fact he (as a shinigami) bleaches lost souls (hollows)...The next (and probably canon) explanation will probably be revealed near the end of the series I suspect at the creators whim...

Slayerx

2007-02-28, 15:16

LOL I don't even remember when I wrote that...Obviousy the context doesn't make sense to me right now...So I'll pull a mulligan..

How could you not remember? i noticed that you said it on 2/25... one year ago (which i did not notice... damn forum thread necromancy...) XD

Zu Ra

2007-02-28, 15:53

The reason the first draft is mentioned is for this :D

http://img409.imageshack.us/img409/8057/pg01hh8.th.jpg (http://img409.imageshack.us/my.php?image=pg01hh8.jpg)

His Hair Color on the Cover is Black while inside its Bleached or Orange

Question

2007-03-10, 10:52

This is why its is called Bleach (http://uncyclopedia.org/wiki/Bleach).

Seriously though...i bet Kubo was just trying to find some cool, exotic(well to japanese anyway, english words are probably exotic, its like how hagen daz has a german name even though its not german ice cream) catchy, name for his manga. He probably examined his manga from all angles, the setting, the characters, so on and so forth, and he just saw Ichigo's hair and hit on it.

In the japanese manga industry a manga with a english title is probably going to attract more attention than everything else with a japanese name.

chutup

2007-03-15, 04:42

I know it is related to his hair colour but I have another theory about it as well. I remember some of the first episodes had scenes with black stuff creeping through Hueco Mundo, turning the white sand dark. Perhaps Ichigo has to 'bleach' this darkness from the world?

Also, it's just a cool word. Like, nobody ever thought of it that way before, because it relates to something so common, but it is does actually sound really cool. I'm thinking maybe Kubo Tite heard that word and didn't know what it meant but he thought it sounded cool, then he found out later...

magenet

2007-03-15, 07:53

i thought it was called bleach because all hollow mask are white and when ichigo hollow comes out he looks all bleached out white shinigami outfit whitish hair and so on.

Kittie Rose

2007-03-17, 22:54

Maybe the entire series is a peroxide induced fantasy?

But yeah, that is the exact shade you get when you bleach black hair and don't quite get it blonde, it even reacts to light the same way, I doubt it's not on purpose. I guess the fact that it's not actually bleached, just looks like it is, is meant to be amusing to some bizarre way to Japanese people who are fascinated by blondes(Did you know every Nintendo female went from brown to blonde at some point? And also, they have serious trouble telling the difference between light red and blonde?) since they don't have anything remotely close to it naturally. I guess being born with hair that can only occur unnaturally is a way of signifying a character is weird.

You can get Orihime's colour from bleaching black hair too. Most people hate bleached orange but you can get some pretty shades.

Kittie Rose

2007-03-17, 23:00

Its named bleach because the author wanted to name it bleach.

Simple as that.

These replies really suck, WHY did he want to name it bleach?

Maybe he had a reason, maybe he didn't. But the likelihood is, he did. It doesn't make you any smart or mature for saying OH THERE'S NO REASON OR MEANING TO ANYTHING IT'S JUST CALLED THAT, it just looks stupid. If you don't care about why it's called Bleach, then get out of the topic and let other people enjoy their speculation.

shenzu

2007-03-18, 00:35

Because he looked at a Mr. Clean brand bleach when he thought of Ikkaku;s design

zwolf

2007-03-23, 18:27

i think it is because ichgo kills or in a way bleach them of their evils

Kenpachiisawesome271

2007-06-27, 20:34

my friends and i were watching bleach when the question came up. we were wondering and my one friend came up with the theory that its called bleach because Bleach drains the color of something, thusly turning it white and white is the symbol of purity. Since soul society acts like a heaven of sorts, white could symbolize soul society. thats the theory my friend came up with.

eLcHaKeTeRo

2007-06-29, 00:33

i have another theory, and its that people dont read this thread before posting.:uhoh:

UnderscoreX

2007-06-29, 03:31

5 bucks says Kubo doesn't speak English and doesn't even know what "Bleach" means. Kinda like how you see people with random chinese characters tattooed on them saying "water" or something abstract.

adevilinthedark

2007-06-29, 13:10

Supposedly its called "Soul Cleanser" in Japanese. We changed it to bleach cuz "Soul Cleanser" is a crappy show name here. Thats what I heard at least.

Konpachi

2008-08-27, 01:32

Bleach for the colour of the hollow masks? Ichigo gets a hollow mask so he... 'bleaches' himself, in that sense?

ichirukiforever

2008-08-27, 02:53

Supposedly its called "Soul Cleanser" in Japanese. We changed it to bleach cuz "Soul Cleanser" is a crappy show name here. Thats what I heard at least.

i think i read somewhere else that bleach is japanese for the word "soul" and that is what the anime/manga is mainly about

Mitsuomi1971

2008-08-27, 15:27

This is like the umpteeth thread I've seen this question being asked. Mods should consider making a separate sticky for just this question alone.

To answer the originator's question:

Bleach can mean both Ichigo's bleached hair as well as the shinigami's job of "bleaching" the sins of the Hollows and sending them to Soul Society.

afaik Shinigami do not send Hollow to soul society, they are sent to Hueco Mundo...clean souls go to SS...just what I recall watching on the eps.

my friends and i were watching bleach when the question came up. we were wondering and my one friend came up with the theory that its called bleach because Bleach drains the color of something, thusly turning it white and white is the symbol of purity. Since soul society acts like a heaven of sorts, white could symbolize soul society. thats the theory my friend came up with.

Actually in asian culture at least when I lived in Japan...Black was the color of purity and life...white means death and bad fortune...

BleachAddict

2008-08-27, 17:23

Actually in asian culture at least when I lived in Japan...Black was the color of purity and life...white means death and bad fortune...

The Chinese, i think even Koreans, wear White during funerals. not really sure about bad fortune though, white is still considered as puritiy in asian culture.

i think i read somewhere else that bleach is japanese for the word "soul" and that is what the anime/mnga is mainly about

the bad-subbed Bleach episodes i watched earlier during my career as a Bleachfangurl :heh:, Shinigami was subbed as Bleach - i was so weirded out with that. Its wrong.

LeminLyme

2008-08-27, 19:08

Rawr. Ichigo's original hair colour was black, but Kubo bleached it during the creation process. =P

Mitsoumi, the hollows slayn by zanpakutou are purfied and reborn in SS. Dunno about the color purities tho.

Royal_Devil

2008-08-27, 19:10

This will all be answered soon. Someone with contacts in BA actually interviewed Kubo and while she has to keep things quiet until the magazine she works for publishes it, she did say Kubo told her why it's called Bleach.

LeminLyme

2008-08-27, 19:41

Ten bucks on "Just 'Cuz"

Mitsuomi1971

2008-08-27, 22:52

Mitsoumi, the hollows slayn by zanpakutou are purfied and reborn in SS. Dunno about the color purities tho.

? really? Then how do hollow end up in Hueco Mundo to begin with if they are not sent there by Shinigami?? There is SS/Hueco Mundo and then there is Heaven and Hell these are facts of the Beach world...I seem to recall when Rukia was explaining this to Ichigo she told him that the really bad ones end up as Hollow because of some attachment, pain or just being a bad mofo...some are cleansed as you say but then some go to Hueco Mundo...unless I am mistaken...and it is possible as I am not always right...but some references to specific eps would help me out so I can make sure I am not saying incorrect things

dragonmeister

2008-08-28, 03:47

Maybe KT drank a whole big bottle of bleach and got the idea for bleach.
Or maybe we can use the ancient cop out: 'KT moves in mysterious ways'

nozomi vamp

2008-08-28, 10:51

Don't think he bleached his hair, Ichigo said he was born that way, which explains why he gets picked on by bullies and teachers in the past, and why he toughened himself up into the young man he is prior to meeting Rukia.

yea he didn't bleach his hair but if you look he is only person in the school with orange hair everyone else is black or brown. so he's "bleached" from everyone else.

nozomi vamp

2008-08-28, 10:54

5 bucks says Kubo doesn't speak English and doesn't even know what "Bleach" means. Kinda like how you see people with random chinese characters tattooed on them saying "water" or something abstract.

but it all has meaning to them and it bleach in japanese or whatever is the same as what we got here the title is translated too

CharlesDiBritannia

2008-08-28, 11:36

It'll turn out Hitsu-chan's the main character and it's after his hair XD, better than a few theories. =D

LeminLyme

2008-08-29, 06:18

Mitsoumi, souls that are left on the living world and not exercised by Shinigami are left to have their soul chain wither away and their beings become demented into hollows, or be eaten by hollows befor a shinigami comes to do whatever. Either way spawns a being as a hollow in hueco mundo, and from there they either advance, die from other hollows, or are cleansed by a shinigami's zanpakutou in battle on earth. =D

the mage

2008-08-29, 14:17

Bleach, real life the substance, turns things white and white is the colour of purity.

When soul reapers use their zanpakutō on hollows they are cleansing that soul, freeing it of its sins committed as a hollow.

Bleach turns things white - purifies.
Soul reapers purify hollows with their zanpakutō so they can find peace in the soul society.

That's what I've always thought about the title. :)

LeminLyme

2008-08-29, 14:28

Mage, that's the obvious reason. I prefer the that Ichigo's original design had black hair and Kubo artistically bleached his hair~ =)

the mage

2008-08-29, 14:47

Didn't realise you were looking for something deeper. :mad:

LeminLyme

2008-08-29, 14:49

xD I'm just digging to make things more interesting on a forum =)

the mage

2008-08-29, 14:58

I see.
Did anyone post any good answers apart from Ichigo's hair and my obvious one?

LeminLyme

2008-08-29, 15:31

Similar but different variations of what we said <_>

Astrithor

2008-09-07, 01:32

Ive always thought, maybe thats an americanization of the Japanese pronunciation of the word "Breach"...you know, like, engrish? But thats kinda just a theory, it has no real founding.

Royal_Devil

2008-09-17, 10:20

We have an answer.

Thanks to Jaina's interview with Kubo you can find in the latest Anime Insider (http://community.livejournal.com/bleachness/182821.html)

"Is there a reason the manga is called Bleach, or is that a secret?"

KT: The Soul Reaper-the color that you associate with the Soul Reaper is black. But "black" is too straightforward. So I thought about "white," but just white is too simple. So if you put "bleach," somebody can associate that with white. So that's how Bleach came.

Kakashi

2008-09-17, 10:31

Scep

2008-09-17, 10:49

oh,wow. So that's the answer huh. Did anyone hit bingo in this thread? XD Very nice find btw.

Amirali

2008-09-17, 10:59

oh,wow. So that's the answer huh. Did anyone hit bingo in this thread? XD Very nice find btw.
From what I searched, this guy came the closest:

But then again Black and White has been used in the Bleach show so often for obvious Back Flashes of the past, Hollows or something thats mysterious, and even the Uniforms of the Death gods.

YouMightHaveAIDS

2008-09-18, 22:00

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YnyRUzgqj7k

Ichigo&Rukia

2008-09-26, 11:10

That's some pretty strange logic by Kubo. What colour does one associate a Soul Reaper with? Black! What's the opposite of black? White! What's another way of saying white - which has nothing to do with anything? Bleach!

:heh:Agreed. I think it was weird as well. Thought I love black and white(and it's NOT because of obvious shippy reasons xD)<3

Noe

2008-10-26, 19:00

I've always thought it was because of the Hollows..their colors in the beginning episodes reminded me of the color 'Bleach.'

I have no idea what I'm typing about, LOL.

Ryuuken

2008-10-26, 19:23

yeah calling the anime black or white would be lame as hell
and bleach is kinda unique

a google search will put out the anime as much as the thing itself...

bleachlover

2009-07-12, 04:53

u noe.......i really think that it is that the hair is bleached cus like theres LOADS of characters who have strange coloured hair:
1. Ichigo
2. Renji
3. Hitsuguya
4. Grimmjow
5. Yachiru
6. Slyazel (i THINK thats how u spell it?)
7. Jinta
8. Ichimaru
9. Nel
10. Ukitake
11. Mayuri (apparently hes got blue hair)

so there ya go..... more than 10 characters from bleach do have random coloured hair!
plz tell me if i missed any!

Intranetusa

2009-07-20, 16:31

ichi bleaches his hair orange...bleach

lawls

Kafriel

2009-07-21, 01:31

Because I bleached my pants after watching the beach episode :heh:

not rly but I thought it would be fun to post

Gin

2009-07-21, 01:33

Because I bleached my pants after watching the beach episode :heh:

not rly but I thought it would be fun to post

:confused: you wore pants during the beach episode? :heh::heh::heh::heh::heh:

Waking_Dreamer

2009-07-21, 03:07

ichi bleaches his hair orange...bleach

lawls

Does he bleach it orange? I thought his mother had the same colour hair...?

Kafriel

2009-07-21, 03:09

^ No, but it's uncommon in Japan to have fair-coloured hair, and since Ichigo appears like the bully-type, everyone else assumed he was bleaching it at first...I think.

DeathTofu

2009-07-21, 04:41

no idea ^^

Pheano

2009-07-25, 13:47

kamyu

2009-07-25, 15:26

i cant find it but it was in one of the older SJ mangas
kubo sais it had to do with the collor of their uniforms
he wanted to call the show black and then he decied to do the oposite of the collor and went with white
but it sounded to blah so he did bleach instead of white
also he said that origionaly the show was suposed to be with guns not swords

from the previous page:

We have an answer.

Thanks to Jaina's interview with Kubo you can find in the latest Anime Insider (http://community.livejournal.com/bleachness/182821.html)

"Is there a reason the manga is called Bleach, or is that a secret?"

KT: The Soul Reaper-the color that you associate with the Soul Reaper is black. But "black" is too straightforward. So I thought about "white," but just white is too simple. So if you put "bleach," somebody can associate that with white. So that's how Bleach came.

Pheano

2009-07-26, 01:16

lol i wasnt going to read all 8 pages to see if there was an answer
since i had it

Intranetusa

2009-07-26, 21:33

^ No, but it's uncommon in Japan to have fair-coloured hair, and since Ichigo appears like the bully-type, everyone else assumed he was bleaching it at first...I think.

It's pretty common actually, because a lot of people there bleach their hair orange.

Ichigo must have a skin tone/hair color defect like albinos or Michael Jackson if he actually has naturally orange hair.

nevenacheese

2009-08-05, 11:21

hm.... not really.
orange hair does exist, mainly in the scandinavian lands but still...

CMHerrera

2009-08-05, 16:02

Ichigo's hair must be between like redish blond. And thats why he has orange hair maybe just a thought

BankaimasterZ1245

2009-08-10, 13:49

Tite Kubo himself ( the creator of bleach ) gave two reasons to calling it that. One was a symbolic reason. As the soulreapers cleanse souls, it's like they are "bleaching" their souls. Like how bleaching in a clothes sense means to remove stains and blemishes, the shinigami remove sin and corruption from the souls. The other reason he gave is because "Bleach" was the name of his favorite Nirvana (thats right, kurt kobain nirvana)album.