The series moved to the digital anthology Weekly Shonen Jump Alpha in January 2012 and Viz Media published it digitally as Shueisha released new chapters in Japan. North American licensee Viz Media serialized the individual chapters in Shonen Jump from its November 2007 to April 2012 issues. These 'negative' chapters are side stories that involve events that precede the main plot of the series. This is because, in addition to the positive numbered chapters, some chapters are published with a negative or fractional chapter number. The total count of published Bleach chapters and the number on the highest-numbered chapter do not match. Most chapter names are written in English and have katakana above them to indicate how they are read in Japanese, similar to the usage of furigana ruby characters with advanced kanji characters. The 698 individual chapters were collected by Shueisha in a series of 74 tankōbon volumes between January 5, 2002, and November 4, 2016. The manga was first published in Shueisha's Weekly Shōnen Jump from August 7, 2001, to August 22, 2016. Since that event, Ichigo has to fight Hollows, evil spirits of past humans that feed on unwary people.

The plot starts with Ichigo Kurosaki, a teenager who accidentally steals the powers of the Soul Reaper Rukia Kuchiki and subsequently assumes her duties while she convalesces.

The manga Bleach is written and illustrated by Tite Kubo. Cover of the first tankōbon for Bleach, released in Japan by Shueisha on January 5, 2002

Bleach 3 in 1 volume 1