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He slips out of his summer uniform at Karakura Daiichi High School, and into a Shihakusho, with Zanpakuto in hand. Then, Ichigo Kurosaki begins to transform. His sword's form changes from the Shikai form "Zangetsu" to the Bankai form "Tensa Zangetsu," and Ichigo himself transforms into a masked Hollow, and then into a full Hollow with horns.
This illustration was created as a color frontispiece for the 38th issue of Weekly Shonen Jump in 2010. The main part of the manga begins in the pages following this illustration, and with only his socked feet, the edge of his kimono, and the chain visible on the left edge of the page, we can see where Ichigo is leaping toward.
Chapter 416, titled Deicide 18 (The End), is the climax of the Arrancar Arc. Ichigo lands in front of Sosuke Aizen, a being who has transcended both Shinigami and Hollow.
The original image was illustrated on three sheets of B4 size paper (257mm x 364mm) in sections and colored with dye-based inks. The Shihakusho was depicted by printing two coats of solid color on a separate sheet, and then applying two more coats with a black marker. The clear black color is quite impactful.
To transform this page into a manga artwork, the three separate pictures were joined and divided into eight color plates. Prints were made using collotype printing, a method of layering single colors as was customary in woodblock printing. Enlarged from the original size and printed on large Mino washi paper, the work has a much longer shelf life in addition to a more dynamic impact.
The work features seals that were designed by and added under the supervision of Tite Kubo. On the top right is an inshuin seal that reads "BLEACH." In the left corner, there is a hakubun seal with Tite Kubo's name in Japanese, while the bottom features his name in the Roman alphabet as a gagoin seal. In addition, the work is signed by the artist.
＜Notes on product＞
For purposes related to protection and delivery, the product comes in a scroll-like storage container commonly known as a karimaki.
A blockchain-linked sales certificate is included. All works are registered to Startbahn Cert., a blockchain certificate service. You can view blockchain certificate information by scanning the IC tag card with a smartphone.
These works are delicately printed on traditional Japanese paper (washi). Please handle with care after purchase.
After purchasing the artwork, the lottery winner may additionally buy the scroll mounting option. For details on how to purchase this option, please refer to the separate email we will send you after you win the lottery.
＜Notes on application＞
Before your application, please make sure that you can make online payments for this artwork. (e.g., Total credit card limit, PayPal limit, etc.)
Please refrain from canceling your application after winning the lottery. (In the event of cancellation or no payment by the due date may result in refusal to purchase any future artwork on this website.)
Kubo debuted in 1996 with Ultra Unholy Hearted Machine (published in Weekly Shonen Jump Summer Special). He published BLEACH in Weekly Shonen Jump between 2001 and 2016,. In 2018, he released a new work, Burn the Witch. Recently, in 2021, a new episode titled "BLEACH: New Breaths from Hell" was released.
Kubo won the 50th Shogakukan Manga Award for BLEACH in 2005. And in 2008, he received the Comic-Con International Inkpot Award.
BLEACH is essentially a battle action story that follows the life of the protagonist, Ichigo Kurosaki, who has suddenly gained Shinigami powers. The story linedepicts the growth of Ichigo and his friends as they battle evil spirits called Hollows and other Shinigami adversaries. The manga was made into an animated television series in 2004. The manga series concluded in 2016. The total worldwide circulation of the 74 BLEACH mangavolumes (tankobon) exceeded 130 million copies as of December 2022. A new episode, "BLEACH: New Breaths from Hell," was published in the 36th and 37th issues of Weekly Shonen Jump in 2021 (it went on sale August 10). In December 2021, an exhibition of the original artwork was held to commemorate the 20th anniversary of the initial publication of BLEACH.In 2022, The anime "BLEACH :Thousand-Year Blood War" was released.
コロタイプ プリント
Collotype is one of the oldest practical photomechanical printing techniques, with a proven ability to preserve images for over a century. For this reason, photographs printed using collotype are still used today in restoration records of Kyoto’s temples and shrines.
Founded in 1887 during the Meiji era, Benrido remains the world’s only workshop capable of producing color collotype prints. Known for projects such as life-size reproductions of the murals in Hōryū-ji’s Golden Hall, Benrido was entrusted with the plate-making and printing of this work.
The current production process employs high-resolution digital cameras, large-format negative film, glass plates, dedicated pigment inks, and collotype printing presses.
Image capture is performed using a high-resolution Phase One camera. This has allowed us to capture even subtle colors and paper textures that cannot be recorded when using a flatbed scanner. In offset printing, the standard method for commercial printing, four CMYK colors and four printing plates are typically used. By contrast, Shueisha Manga-Art Heritage’s art prints are sometimes made using over 20 colors and 20 printing plates, depending on the work.
After separating the colors using software, the parts where different colors overlap are retouched. For example, when a character’s outlines or hair are drawn over skin tones, even minimal plate misalignment can expose the white paper beneath, and the sense of depth created by overlapping colors would be lost if the data were reproduced without adjustments. For this reason, areas left white in the data are retouched by filling them in with the same skin tone. This work cannot be done automatically, so it is all carried out manually by the staff.
The production of Tite Kubo's BLEACH/The Millenium(2022)The completed data is output to large-format negative film at the same dimensions as the final print size. The negatives are checked, and a pencil is used to draw gradients and other details directly onto the negatives in places where finishing touches are deemed necessary.
The production of Tite Kubo's BLEACH/The Millenium(2022)In Japanese, collotype used to be called hariban, meaning “glass plate” (hari is an archaic word for glass). In this process, a gelatin photosensitive solution is poured onto a glass plate and spread evenly over the surface by tilting it in all directions. The glass plates typically used come in two sizes: one that is 695cm × 455cm × 10mm thick, weighing approximately 9kg, and another that is 1250cm × 720cm × 10mm thick, weighing approximately 24kg. The glass plates are placed for approximately 1hours in a drying chamber adjusted to 60–65°C and about 20% humidity, until they reach a state suitable for plate making.
The negative film is placed on the exposure table, a glass plate is set on top, and a rubber sheet is laid over it. The air is removed to ensure close contact, the table is rotated, and ultraviolet light is irradiated from above. Once exposure is complete, the glass plate is taken off the table and rinsed under running water. Minute wrinkles can be seen on the resulting printing plate. In offset, gravure, inkjet, and other such printing methods, colors and lines are formed by groups of small dots. On the other hand, in collotype printing, tonal variation is expressed by the amount of ink held within these wrinkles. A defining feature of collotype printing is the smooth gradations, where no halftone dots are seen, even when viewed under magnification.
The production of Tite Kubo's BLEACH/The Millenium(2022)Benrido operates 4printing presses made by Mitani (Aichi) and one large-format printing machine made by Hirose Iron Works (Osaka). Mitani’s printing presses were introduced between the 1950s and 1970s, and Hirose Iron Works’ large-format printing press was introduced in 1995. The large-format press has a maximum print size of 24 × 48 inches (about 600 × 1200 mm). The other presses have a maximum print size of 20 × 24 to 25 inches (approximately 500 × 600 to 635 mm). These machines are known as flatbed cylinder presses, which are equipped with impression cylinders that rotate and apply pressure against a flat plate to print.
The production of Tite Kubo's BLEACH/The Millenium(2022)Printing is carried out using pigment inks used in collotype printing. The inks are produced by Mitsuboshi Printing Ink (Osaka). With a pigment content of 60%, the ink is extremely hard, offering excellent lightfastness and weather resistance.
The ink is manually spread with a spatula and evenly applied across the metal plate of the press. The glass printing plate is dampened with water using a sponge. Gelatin expands when water is applied, but areas that have been exposed to light and hardened do not expand. Since oil-based pigment ink repels water, areas that received stronger exposure retain less moisture and hold more ink, while areas that received little exposure retain more moisture and hold less ink. This results in differences in shading, which enables rich gradation.
The paper is fed manually, one sheet at a time. The properties of paper naturally vary by type. But printing behavior also varies with the season and climate. When handmade washi paper is used, the thickness varies piece by piece. For this reason, before the paper is fed through the printing press, each sheet is gently rolled to remove creases and ensure uniform passage.
Benrido has produced many reproductions of national treasures and important cultural properties. However, this was their first attempt at producing prints using the vivid colors found in manga illustrations. When printing using more than 20 plates, minimizing plate misregistration wasn’t the only challenge. There was also concern over whether the washi paper could withstand this level of multi-color printing. During the printing process, each printed sheet was checked one by one with a loupe.
The production process of Eiichiro Oda's ONE PIECE/The Scroll I(2024）