I just started reading Bleach 3 days ago, and I finished this one today. I have never read manga before, but I love Bleach so much that I will be trying some others, too. This 2nd addition in the series is very exciting and leaves you satisfied. The cliffhanger wasn't as good as the first, but I will still be checking out 3 and up!

Alright, now I see what everyone is talking about. For those of you who may have read my review for the first volume, you know that I was skeptical of the start that Bleach had. I had felt that it wasn't enough to truly be rated as of yet, and thought that the story wasn't exactly the most original ever created. I also wanted a better glimpse of the main character, Ichigo, which the first volume failed to provide. But after reading this second volume, I definitely understand.

This is, simply, an exciting manga to read. The characters, the story, almost everything about this series isn't original, but it's a damn lot of fun. In fact, it's so fun that I think Bleach is doing a kind of reinvention of sorts by enlivening the manga ghost/action story (YuYu Hakusho, Shaman King). And, while this volume doesn't take many more steps than the first did, it definitely made it clear that those steps would eventually pop up somewhere. For now, you just have to enjoy the action and the comedy while meeting some possibly interesting people along the way.

After finishing this volume, which basically explored Ichigo's continued training as a substitute Soul Reaper, I'm actually sorry I gave the first volume a four. It deserved a five and I can't go back now and change that. This is an excellent manga series that promises to only get better. It can appeal to all ages, having more than enough to keep adult manga readers entertained while also not being graphic enough to make it too mature for kids. I highly recommend this manga to fans of Shonen Jump, as the similarities are too many to count.