Turns out that youtube has the entire 108 (thus far) episodes of Bleach for viewing. A very nicely done anime. It starts out feeling like a typical super-power teenager anime and then gets darker and deeper than you could possibly expect. Still being produced in Japan. The story-arc is rather drawn-out, but it has plenty of twists and turns (and powerup moments) along the way.
The basic story is that a uniquely spiritually gifted young high schooler inadvertantly obtains the powers of a shinigama (death god) and uses them for good. The Death Gods live in "Soul Society" (pronounced as spelled) and come to Earth to fight "Hollows" (spirits of the dead who have remained on Earth so long that they have lost their heart and hunger for human souls to consume--hence the name) and guide the dead to the afterlife. The first twist is: it's a mortal sin for a human to be given the power of a death god. The second twist is: there is strife in Heaven and the characters of Bleach become pivital to the power struggle. Japanese with English subtitles. I'm wondering if the story is based on Japanese mythology. Obviously the setting is.
