Bleach FAQ
This will be linked on soul_society's main page as an easy reference. Feel free to participate. ^_^


If you have a question that you believe should be added to the FAQ, ask it here.

We'll start off with the basics for now:

What is Bleach?
It's a story about high school students, Shinigami, Hollows, and occasionally a Plus or two. Bleach is currently running in Shonen Jump, Japan's best-selling weekly manga publisher.

Viz is currently publishing Bleach in English. If you're in the U.S. check out your local bookstore! ^_~

Yeah, but what does "Bleach" mean?
There are several simple theories about the title.
1. Classmates and Teachers assume that the main character, Ichigo, bleaches his hair - when really it`s his natural hair color.
2. "To bleach" as in to make white, purify. Just as the Hollow are purified so they may be sent to Soul Society.
3. Kubo Tite could possibly be a hardcore Nirvana fan.

What about the Bleach Anime?
It began in the fall of 2004 and parallels the manga storyline with occasional adjustments added to or taken away from the plot. The plans for the Bleach anime seems to be similar to that of other popular manga-based anime such as Inuyasha, Naruto, and One Piece: the series will probably continue airing new episodes once a week until further notice.

The Anime is still a long way from catching up with the manga storyline. When it reaches the point where the manga and the anime are on the same page, I'm sure it's up to the producers to figure out what should be done with the series.

What is Soul Society about?
This is a place to talk about Bleach (i.e. links, rumors, translations, speculations). Posts about Kubo Tite and any of his previous works, like Zombie Powder, are cool too.

What are the rules for soul_society?
Pretty simple:
-No newbie posts. We don't need an introduction. When you're in, you're in.
-No Scanlations. Period.
-No icons, fanwork, or requests. Go check out the sister sites.
-Keep Quality over Quantity when it comes to community posts.
-When in doubt, ask the mod. rotwood @ gmail dot com

No, no, wait. Give me the full version
Okay!
RULES
No Newbie Intro Posts
No need to post just to say hi or categorize yourself as "new". When you're in, you're in. Welcome!
No Scanlations, or Talk Thereof
Don't ask because we won't tell.
Raw scans and Text Translations = OK.
Scanlations = Not OK
No Icons, Fanwork, Requests, or Non-discussion Q&A
Icons go to bleach_icons
Fanwork go to kurosaki_clinic
Requests and simple questions that can be answered without long discussions go to bleach_fact
The discussion and sharing of Bleach doujinshi can be found at bleach_doujin
Think before you Post
Before posting, ask yourself:
1. Has this been posted before?
2. Will it be of interest to so many other members?
Spoilers = LJ-Cut
Keep spoilers behind an lj-cut please.

That sucks! Why no scanlations!?
Because I suck. Because it's illegal. Because Viz does good translations and it wouldn't be nice undermine their publishing rights. Because I am not willing to take on responsibility for allowing scanlations. Because we get by pretty well with raws and text translations... I could give plenty of reasons. Let's just leave it at that.

What are the Sister Sites?
The sister sites to soul_society focus on specific areas of the Bleach Fan Community.
Check them out:
bleach_theatre a place to advertise for Bleach Roleplaying Games.
kurosaki_clinic is a place to share Bleach fanart, layouts, fanfiction, ect. ^_^
bleach_icons is a place to share Bleach lj icons. XD
bleach_fact is a place to get your Bleach questions answered, as well as for personal requests for images, old raws, anime eps, ect.
rukongai_report gives a weekly rundown of what is new with the Bleach communities.
rukongai is the Spanish-speaking Bleach Fan Community.

Are there spoilers at soul_society?
There are detailed discussions of the latest Bleach chapter and anime episode almost every week. Most Bleach spoilers will be put behind lj-cuts out of common courtesy - but this is fair warning that we're a bit of a spoiler-lovin' bunch.

Can I use your translations?
Nope. Any translations that are written by myself (rukia) are intended just for this community. If anyone is found using those translations on other sites or in scanlated works without permission, please let me know. I cannot speak for the text translations contributed by other members of this community, but I do ask that everyone treat them respectfully. ^_^

Oh no! I bought Shonen Jump this week, but there was no Bleach chapter. Has it been cancelled!?
Nope, it's ongoing. No worries. ^_^ It just so happens that Kubo Tite takes a week off here and there - which means he'll reward our patience later on with clever plot twists and/or extra color pages. He warns readers of breaks in a small disclaimer at the end of the previous chapter. The breaks usually don't last longer than one weekly issue.

Do you know where I can find Bleach-related fanlistings?
Check this post out for a pretty comprehensive list!

Can you help me find [insert Bleach site here]?
To start out with, check out this Very Comprehensive List of Communities first. ^_^
And then here's some more:
Rockin' Future 7 - Archive of soul_society: translations, info, and fanworks!
Rie Fu Official Site - Rie Fu sings the Ending song to the Bleach anime. Includes her English blog.
Toriyama's World - Originally, the scanlators of Bleach, before Viz picked up the title.
Strawberry & Lion - The very first translation site for Bleach. Has great translations of vol.1 to vol.4!
Soul-Data - Awesome Bleach info site with plenty of great links!
Too SCHEXAY - Archive of images, character songs, and an awesome layout.
Kubo Tite is your God - Bleach manga theories supported by images. Very entertaining!
Bleach Portal - A forum with accessible direct downloads for the anime.
bleach_rating - A Bleach character rating community
bleach_rpg - A Bleach roleplaying game
bleach__fans - A Bleach fan community
bleach_yuri - the Soul Society Yuri Division
bleach_yaoi - the Soul Society Yaoi Division
shin_gakuen - Shinigami Academy AU RP
bleach_claims - A Bleach Claims Community
bleachowners - Also a Bleach Claims Community

If anybody knows of a good link to add, let me know.

Any more things to add?