Tite Kubo

Noriaki Kubo (久保 宣章, Kubo Noriaki), born June 26, 1977, and known by his pen name Tite Kubo(久保 帯人, Kubo Taito), is a Japanese manga artist. His most significant work is the manga series Bleach.

Biography
The son of a town council member in Fuchu, Aki District, Hiroshima, Tite Kubo graduated from the local high school. He had already decided to become a manga artist when he was in elementary school and one of his biggest influences to become a manga artist was Ge Ge Ge no Kitaro by Shigeru Mizuki. In an interview, Kubo has stated that he entered a magazine's manga contest, and that although he did not win, one of the magazine's editors noticed his talent. They subsequently worked together on joint projects. Not long afterward, his first manga short, "Ultra Unholy Hearted Machine", was published in Shueisha's  Weekly Shonen Jump Special in 1996. This was followed by two more shorts, and in 1999 his first serial, Zombie Powder, began in Weekly Shonen Jump and ran for four volumes until 2000.

His next serial, Bleach, about a high school student who becomes a shinigami and fights evil spirits, began running in the same magazine in 2001. As of December 4, 2007, Bleach has reached over 300 chapters, and an anime adaptation began running in Japan in 2004. The manga was named a winner of the Shogakukan Manga Award for its category in 2005. A Bleach movie was released in Japan on December 16, 2006, followed by a second movie on December 22, 2007.

Short stories

 * "Ultra Unholy Hearted Machine" (1996, Weekly Shonen Jump Special. Appears in volume 2 of Zombie Powder.)
 * "Rune Master Urara" (刻魔師 麗, Kokumashi Urara) (1996, Weekly Shonen Jump. Appears in volume 3 of Zombie Powder.)
 * "Bad Shield United" (1997, Weekly Shonen Jump. Appears in volume 4 of Zombie Powder. Also makes a cameo in Bleach as the fictitious movie Bad Shield United 2.)

Serials
Initially appearing in Weekly Shonen Jump and published by Shueisha in Tokyo, Japan, both manga have been licensed in North America by Viz Media.
 * Zombie Powder (1999–2000, Weekly Shonen Jump, Shueisha. Collected in four volumes in 2000 and discontinued.)
 * Bleach (2001—, Weekly Shonen Jump, Shueisha. Collected in 32+ volumes.)

Artbooks

 * Bleach All Colour But The Black
 * Bleach Official Bootleg

Others

 * Bleach Official Character Book SOULs
 * Bleach Official Anime Guide Book VIBEs