New PSP fighter from Sony

TOKYO--For what should come as major news to fans of the weekly Japanese magazine Shonen Jump, a game based on one of its popular manga series, "Bleach," is making its way to the PSP.

According to the latest issue of the magazine, Bleach is being developed by Sony Computer Entertainment. It will play as a 3D fighting game that uses the now-popular cel-shading art design. While the game doesn't have an official title, it is slated for release in the spring of 2005 in Japan.

Bleach is one of the most popular mangas currently running in Shonen Jump. The manga has also started to run as a TV anime series in Japan, and an action game for the PlayStation 2, based on the manga, is currently on track for a winter 2004 release.

The Bleach backstory concerns Ichigo Kurosaki, a normal boy who can see ghosts. After his family is assaulted by an evil ghost known as a "hollow," he and his family are saved by a shinigami, or ghost slayer, named Rukiya. Ichigo himself becomes a shinigami, which is where the game's story begins.