Bleach by Tite Kubo

Just finished reading all fifty-something volumes of the Naruto manga series? I’d recommend Bleach. The similarities are embedded deeply within the story, but they are certainly there. Bleach is about a teenager in high school who is one of the most powerful guardians on Earth. Ichigo, the main character, can see the dead souls that failed to travel to the afterlife and are now trapped in our world torturing the living. It is Ichigo’s job to help them cross over by helping them finish the task that is keeping them earthbound. This is the beginning of a complex story line that entwines loyalty, betrayal, family drama and eventually the fate of the world hanging in the balance, while waiting for Ichigo to find his true strength to conquer it all. Like Naruto, Ichigo must look within himself to overcome the challenges that will test his will and rely on his friends to face the plot twists that take the readers for a long and amazing ride. As is typical in manga this one is drawn in black and white. --Claudio Leon