Bleach artist, Tite Kubo is one of the most popular manga artists in Japan and worldwide. Bleach, the best known work of Tite tells the story of Ichigo Kurosaki, a high school student who becomes a shinigami and fights entities known as Hollows. The series sold over 130 million copies and spawned an anime adaptation, movies, novels, video games and more.
However, Bleach is not the only work of Kubo that deserves recognition. This article will explore some of his other works that people must read if you are a fan of his style and storytelling.
Every work of Tite including Bleach
Zombiepowder
Kubo's first serialised manga, Zombiepowder, appeared in Weekly Shonen Jump from 1999 to 2000 and had 27 chapters. It tells the story of a group of bounty hunters who are searching for the mythical Zombie Powder, a substance that can revive the dead or grant immortality. The manga has action sequences, eccentric characters, and dark humor that are signature to Kubo. Although it was canceled due to low popularity, it is still worth reading to see Kubo's early work and potential.
Burn The Witch
Kubo's most recent manga, Burn the Witch, began as a one-shot in 2018 and was developed into a four-chapter mini-series in 2020. It takes place in the same world as Bleach but concentrates on a different branch of the Soul Society that deals with dragons rather than Hollows. The manga centers on two witches who protect dragons in Reverse London, a secret area of the city where magic and dragons exist. The manga has a fresh and colorful art style, a fun and adventurous tone, and a lot of references to Bleach and British culture.
Rune Master Urara
Another one-shot manga by Kubo, Rune Master Urara, appeared in Weekly Shonen Jump in 1996. It is a fantasy comedy about a girl who can use magic runes to cast spells and summon creatures. She meets a boy who is looking for his missing sister and decides to help him with her powers. The manga has a cute and whimsical art style, a light-hearted and humorous tone, and some action scenes involving magic battles.
Bad Shield United
Bad Shield United is another one-shot manga by Kubo, which was published in Weekly Shonen Jump in 1997. It is a parody of superhero comics, featuring a team of androids called Shields who battle against evil organizations. The manga has a dynamic and exaggerated style of art, a satirical and absurd tone, and a lot of references to pop culture and other manga.
Utra Unholy Hearted Machine
Ultra Unholy Hearted Machine is a one-shot manga created by Tite Kubo. The plot centres on the transformation of a young guy named Riko into a cyborg by a scientist. Riko faces the dangers of being a cyborg in a society that despises him and struggles to come to terms with his new life.
Bleach
Kubo's most well-known and popular manga, Bleach, appeared in Weekly Shonen Jump from 2001 to 2016, lasting 74 volumes and 698 chapters. It tells the story of Ichigo Kurosaki, a high school student who becomes a shinigami and fights against Hollows and other supernatural threats. The manga has a combination of action, humour, drama, horror, and romance in addition to an expansive and intricate narrative and a huge and varied cast of characters. The manga has won several awards, inspired various spin-offs and adaptations, and influenced many other works in the genre.
Bleach: Inspired by Shinigami
Japanese manga artist and character designer Tite Kubo is best known for the 2001–2016 manga series Bleach, which as of 2022 has sold over 130 million copies. He was born on June 26, 1977, in Hiroshima Prefecture, and decided to become a manga artist in elementary school after reading Saint Seiya. His first published work was a short story titled Ultra Unholy Hearted Machine in 1996.
He then created his first serial, Zombiepowder (1999–2000), before starting Bleach. He has also provided character designs for some anime adaptations of classic Japanese literature, such as Sakura no Mori no Mankai no Shita, The Spider’s Thread and Hell Screen.
The idea of shinigami was influenced by Kubo’s interest in yokai (monsters) and supernatural themes. Inspired by Saint Seiya, he also desired to produce a manga with armored characters and interesting weapons. Kubo claimed that he sought to come up with a design that he believed was cool in order to differentiate his shinigami from the conventional Japanese depiction of death gods. He also said that he did not have a clear image of what a shinigami’s job was at first and that he developed it as he went along with the story.