WARNING: The following contains spoilers for the Bleach one-shot chapter by Tite Kubo, Jan Cash and Vanessa Satone, available now in English via Viz Media.
The new Bleach one-shot introduces a whole new generation of Soul Reapers for Ichigo and his friends to meet. Years have passed since king Yhwach's downfall and the Soul Society has long since moved on. This includes the Soul Reapers' sense of fashion and style.
For the most part, Soul Reapers in Bleach wear black robes while civilians in the Soul Society wear traditional Japanese commoner clothing. But times are changing, and new characters such as Lieutenant Yuyu Yayahara represent a fresh wave of Soul Reaper fashion -- which may reflect author Tite Kibo's fondness for trendy, modern styles.
Bleach's First Gyaru Soul Reaper: Yuyu Yayahara
A few brand new characters appear in the one-shot, while two others -- Ichika Abarai and Kazui Kurosaki -- make their first full appearance after brief cameos at the end of the original Bleach manga. Partway through the one-shot, Ichigo meets the first-ever gyaru Soul Reaper: Lieutenant Yuyu Yayahara of Squad 8, who serves under Captain Lisa Yadomaru.
Nothing is known of Yuyu's zanpakuto just yet, but she does have serious combat skills. Yuyu also represents a new wave of fashion and pop culture in Bleach. Ichigo and Rukia have become a bridge between the Soul Society and the world of the living, including through fashion, which is evident in Yuyu's design. Few Soul Reapers previously knew or cared about human clothing trends, to the point of wearing tacky outfits when posing as humans in their gigai bodies.
However, Yuyu knows exactly what human fashion is like. Unlike most Soul Reapers, she modified her uniform to match gyaru style. It includes a short skirt while baring her midriff, white leggings, long and fancy fingernails, earrings, dyed hair, and artificially tanned skin -- all trademarks of real-life gyaru. To add the cherry on top, Yuyu has a smartphone with Internet access, allowing her to keep up with modern trends and make her own contributions. She has truly become a 21st-century Soul Reaper, and only Bleach's Tite Kubo could deliver such a charming and colorful character.
Tite Kubo Loves To Dress Up His Characters
Ever since Tite Kubo launched Bleach back in 2001, he has infused his art with a love of modern fashion and pop culture, usually via color spread art and sometimes in the main story itself. Major characters such as Ichigo, Rukia Kuchiki, Renji Abarai, and even Byakuya Kuchiki and Toshiro Hitsugaya become fashion models, looking sharp in brand-new outfits and giving Kubo a chance to show off his talent for drawing colorful and stylish characters. These outfits tend to either be suits and gowns, or trendy styles for urban youths who like hoodies, logo tees and colorful headphones, among other accessories.
Bleach characters often act as amateur models, such as Rukia's charming outfits, Ichigo's cool punk attire, and even uniformed characters such as the Soul Reapers and Quincy make stylish changes to their getups. Mask de Masculine is like a wrestler Quincy with a mask, Captain Shunsui Kyoraku has a colorful pink robe and Byakuya is always seen with an expensive scarf. Yuyu Yayahara continues this trend in distinct 21st-century style for a whole new generation.
