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The name "Bleach" seems to be having no relevance to the plot unlike most
other series. Was it just chosen at Kubo-sensei's whim or does it have some
significance? Maybe some cultural significance associated with shinigami, etc.
that I am now aware of?


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2013-01-30T19:03:47.970
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bleach
What is the significance of the name Bleach?


Kubo himself has commented on this. Below I've taken the quote from [Bleach
Answers
Wiki](http://bleach.answers.wikia.com/wiki/Why_is_the_story_called_%22Bleach%22):

> The title wasn't Bleach when Tite Kubo decided to draw a story about
> Shinigami. This was before he drew the one-shot manga that appeared in
> Akamaru Jump. The weapon wasn't a sword, but a scythe. Only Rukia had a
> scythe and the other characters used guns. At that point, the title was
> Snipe (as in "Sniper"). Right before he started drawing, he began to think
> that a sword would be better and realized he couldn't use Snipe as a title
> anymore. He began looking for a title that grasped the bigger picture.
> Shinigami are associated with the color black, but it would have been boring
> to use "black". "White", on the other hand, can suggest black as a
> complementary color. So Tite Kubo chose "Bleach" to evoke the impression of
> the color white.

I've also heard other theories, which aren't as well supported by interviews
with Kubo but still seem to have some evidence supporting them. One is that
shinigami "cleanse" souls, similar to what bleach does (Kubo himself mentioned
this in an interview, but it's not clear whether he noticed this before or
after deciding on the name). Another is that Kubo is a fan of the band
Nirvana, and their first album is _Bleach_. So there might be more than one
reason, but the quoted one above is the one he usually gives when asked about
it.


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According to the creator, Tite Kubo, when the Shinigami strike a Hollow with
their Zanpaktou, they bleach (i.e. clean) the darkness and evil in the
Hollows.


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Or maybe Ichigo is bleaching his hair to that color so it would be closer to a
version he remembers his mother having? And the title is about him - who is
the main character, after all?


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