Ichigo Kurosaki
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is the main character of the anime and manga series Bleach. The series begins with Ichigo receiving shinigami powers as a result of a run-in with Rukia Kuchiki, one of the many shinigami who inhabit the spirit world, Soul Society. These powers come at the cost of Rukia's own, and as a result, Ichigo is forced to work as Rukia's stand-in, fighting to protect people from hollows (evil spirits), and sending "Pluses" (pure souls) off to the afterlife.
Character outline
Ichigo (sometimes called "Strawberry", due to Ichigo (苺) also meaning strawberry), is a tough 15-year-old teenager. He attempts to cultivate a detatched image, and to this end keeps his eyebrows constantly furrowed and his mouth always in a scowl. However, he is revealed to be kinder and more intelligent under the surface than his appearance and attitude would suggest.Ichigo has natural orange hair, a fact that annoys many upperclassmen in his school, who constantly pick fights with him. Ichigo claims that he does not care what others think (about his hair and other subjects) and seems to enjoy fighting the bullies, often helped by Chad.
Ichigo lives with his father, Isshin Kurosaki, and two sisters, Yuzu and Karin. His father runs a small medical clinic in their house and the entire family pitches in to help. Ichigo has a competitive rivalry with his father, and constantly fights with him physically, though it is in a light-hearted manner.
On the outside, the Kurosaki's seem to be a fairly normal family, except for one fact. Ichigo has had an exceptional ability for much of his life: to see and communicate with ghosts. As a matter of fact, the entire Kurosaki family has some degree of spiritual power. Of the children, Ichigo has the highest amount of natural spiritual power, though Karin has a comparable degree of spiritual awareness.
After Ichigo's spiritual power is unlocked, many other characters begin to develop spiritual powers as a consequence. This is because Ichigo produces an incredible amount of spiritual power (reiatsu), so much that he is unable to contain it in his body, which causes it to constantly spill out. Constant exposure to Ichigo's energy causes several of his classmates to became spiritually aware.
Later on in the manga, Ichigo's father is revealed to be a captain-level shinigami in exile. This suggests that Ichigo gets his tremendous powers from his father in addition to his mother.
History
As the main character, Ichigo's history is given in more detail than many other characters's. However, it usually comes in small pieces from different times in his life.
At age 3, Ichigo's mother, Masaki Kurosaki, began taking him to a dojo to learn karate. There, he met and fought with Tatsuki Arisawa, he lost to her and started crying. Ichigo was then comforted by his mother, to whom he was greatly attached.
At age 9, Masaki was killed by the hollow Grand Fisher, although Ichigo did not find out the true cause until early in the main Bleach storyline, and previously thought she had been cut by debris of something falling through the air. Ichigo was distraught and walked on the shore where his mother was killed for days. The entire Kurosaki family transformed at the death of Masaki - Karin became tough and did not cry again, while Yuzu took up the household chores. Prior to learning about the Grand Fisher, Ichigo felt guilty for his mother's death, blaming himself for wandering too close to the water and causing her to drown saving him.
While in junior high school, Ichigo met Chad, then from Mashiba Junior High, who helped him out of a fight. Chad, although extremely strong, was often the target of beatings because he refused to fight for his own sake due to a promise he had made as a child to his grandfather. Upon discovering this, Ichigo made a deal with Chad in which they both agreed to fight for each other in any situation.
Synopsis
Hollow arc
At the beginning of the series, Ichigo sees and confronts Rukia Kuchiki, a shinigami, when she enters his home while hunting a hollow. Because of his interference with her work, she is wounded and forced to transfer her powers to him; this is a desperate measure in order to save the Kurosaki family. During the transfer, Ichigo fully absorbs Rukia's powers rather than taking half as she intended. He displays immense power as a shinigami despite his lack of experience. With his new powers, Ichigo makes quick work of the hollow, and Rukia leaves.The next day, Rukia turns up in Ichigo's classroom as a transfer student. Much to his surprise, she is now apparently a normal human. Rukia informs Ichigo that she is using a gigai – an artificial body that is used by shinigami for various purposes, such as recovering their power when drained –, and that while she recovers her abilities, Ichigo must take over her job, battling hollows and performing soul burials in her stead. At this time, he is only able to transform into a shinigami when a special seal on Rukia's glove is used to "knock out" the shinigami portion of his soul, and is dependant on Rukia to transform; as the series progresses, this is replaced by taking a substitute soul, Kon. Even later on, Ichigo is given a shinigami "license", which bears the same symbol as Rukia's glove.
Ichigo's new duties set off a flurry of activity both in the human and spirit worlds. At one point, the hollow Grand Fisher, who has evaded the shinigami for over 50 years, comes to the human world and attempts to consume Karin and Yuzu. It is at this point that Ichigo finds out that the Grand Fisher killed his mother and seeks revenge, although a wounded Grand Fisher escapes.
An increased amount of hollows, including a Menos Grande, a sort of superhollow, appear in the human world and are dispatched in one form or another by Ichigo, with the help of Uryū Ishida, Chad, Rukia, and even Orihime Inoue. Ichigo's victory against the Menos draws the attention of Soul Society, triggering the beginning of the next arc.
Soul Society arc
After drawing the attention of Soul Society, Ichigo loses the shinigami powers he gained from Rukia after fighting Renji Abarai and Rukia's brother Byakuya Kuchiki – high ranking shinigami who come to arrest Rukia. It is revealed that it is a felony for a shinigami to transfer their powers to a human, and Rukia is arrested. Desperate to save Rukia, he undergoes intensive training against with Kisuke Urahara that nearly costs him his soul, but awakens his own true shinigami abilities by doing so. Immediately upon reacquiring his shinigami powers, Ichigo leaves for Soul Society with Orihime, Chad, Yoruichi, and Ishida.Ichigo battles against many shinigami during his time in Soul Society, managing to tie or defeat numerous lieutenant-level and captain-level shinigami. Much of the time he is seriously wounded, and on several occasions he barely survives, but each time his incredible endurance carries him through until he is able to be healed. The first fight is with Jidanbō, a Seireitei gatekeeper, which Ichigo wins easily, but he is in turn effortlessly repelled by captain Gin Ichimaru. Ichigo enters Seireitei accompanied by Ganju Shiba after being launched from Kūkaku Shiba's spirit cannon. He then proceeds to fight Ikkaku Madarame. Ichigo beats Ikkaku, even after the man reveals his zanpakutō's initial release (shikai), and learns that he is being hunted down by Zaraki Kenpachi.
Ichigo is then met by Renji Abarai, who seeks revenge for his earlier defeat. Renji injures Ichigo, who becomes stronger during the fight and defeats Renji, after which Renji "converts", asking him to rescue Rukia and no longer wishing to fight Ichigo. Renji is taken into detention for trying to fight alone and losing, while Ichigo is healed by Hanatarō Yamada in Seireitei's sewage system. Ichigo finally encounters Kenpachi Zaraki on his way to the Shrine of Penitence, where Rukia is held, and at first can hardly injure the powerful captain, who, according to Hanatarō, is immortal. Ichigo finally calls upon the strength of his zanpakutō to defeat Kenpachi. In the aftermath of the fight, both Ichigo and Kenpachi are left incapacitated, Kenpachi being evacuated by his vice-captain Yachiru Kusajishi, while Ichigo is rescued by Yoruichi Shihouin.
Yoruichi tells Ichigo that he cannot save Rukia with his present power and asks him to train to achieve the final release of the zanpakutō (bankai). Ichigo completes the training in three days, something that only Kisuke Urahara had previously done. He, along Yoruichi and sympathetic captains Shunsui Kyōraku and Jūshirō Ukitake converge upon the Sōkyoku to stop Rukia's execution. At the last possible second, Ichigo stops the execution, and proceeds to dispatch three lieutenants - Marechiyo Ōmaeda, Isane Kotetsu and Chōjirō Sasakibe, bare-handed. He is then confronted by Byakuya Kuchiki.
During this battle, Ichigo reveals his final release (bankai) against Byakuya, and easily outmaneuvers Byakuya's attacks. Despite this, he does not kill him when he has a chance. Byakuya counters using the second form of his final release, and while he is still unable to touch Ichigo, Ichigo's endurance finally runs out, leaving him in critical condition. At this point, Ichigo's inner hollow surfaces and injures Byakuya to the point that both combatants have almost no power left. After regaining control of himself, Ichigo faces off against Byakuya in a final duel, with Byakuya using his bankai's most powerful ability, and Ichigo simply forcing the rest of his spiritual pressure into one massive Getsuga Tenshō. After this final clash, neither has the strength to fight, but Byakuya admits his defeat because his blade was destroyed by Ichigo's, and decides not to kill Rukia. Ichigo then finds out that the events at Soul Society were an elaborate ploy masterminded by Sōsuke Aizen and confronts him, but is unable to defeat him or even buy enough time for the scattered captains to return before Aizen departs for Hueco Mundo.
Prior to leaving Soul Society, Ichigo is given a medallion by Ukitake that serves as a kind of "license" that allows him to hunt hollows in his area officially. It is a powerful artifact that allows him to become a shinigami on demand as well as alert him to the presence of hollows.
After Soul Society
Bount arc (anime only)
After his adventures in Soul Society, Ichigo is found unable to perform bankai outside of Soul Society and undergoes training with three mod souls, initiated by Urahara. Along the way, Chad, Orihime, and Renji become involved as well.After the training, he finds out about the Bount and confronts Yoshino, who uses a powerful fire type doll. Ichigo is unable to win, even with the help of Rukia Kuchiki, but is unintentionally saved by another Bount, Ryō Utagawa, who claims that Yoshino disobeyed his orders.
Utagawa appears later to try to eat Ishida's soul, and a battle between him and Ichigo's group ensues. Yoshino then appears and takes Ishida away from harm. While visiting Ishida in the hospital, the group is met by two of Kariya's subordinates who use dolls that manipulate water, Ban and Hō. Ichigo attempts to defeat them by slicing through the water, however, any damage sustained to the dolls is quickly regenerated, rendering all attacks useless. Ichigo discovers that when the two twin Bount are separated, their ability to control their dolls is greatly reduced, and with some assistance from Ganju Shiba, the group succeeds in blowing the weakened dolls up with fireworks, killing the Bount twins in the process. Ichigo and the others must then search once more for him Ishida, who escaped with Yoshino during the battle. Ichigo is later informed of Ishida and Yoshino's kidnapping, and infiltrates Kariya's mansion accompanied by his friends, including Rukia who had returned to earth just prior to the hospital battle.
Upon entering Kariya's mansion, Ichigo engages Utagawa in battle, during which he obliterates a large portion of the house with his getsuga tenshō. His spirit force surprises both Utagawa and Maki Ichinose, a shinigami deserter from the 11th Division who has joined forces with the Bount. When Utagawa takes Kariya's seal Ichinose appears and attacks Utagawa, injuring him and causing him to fall into a crevice created during the battle.
Upon Utagawa's apparent death, Ichinose confronts Ichigo. The two fight until Kariya calls for a stop. Kariya then completely overpowers Ichigo. As Ichigo is at the brink of defeat, Kisuke Urahara and his assistants arrive to rescue them, completely demolishing the remainder of the mansion in the process.
Later on, Ichigo fights Koga Gowa and his doll, Dalk, after the bitto nearly kill Keigo Asano. Ichigo is slowly beaten, allowing his hollow form to appear. Ichigo manages to repel his hollow self and take over, only to become at the mercy of Koga and Dalk. Kira soon appears to lend a helping hand and a fight ensues with Koga using his brute force. Eventually Koga retreats, hating to see young men die. Ichigo, Chad, Orihime, Renji, and Rukia are preparing to invade the Bount's hideout.
Manga
After returning from Soul Society with his friends, without Rukia, Ichigo's life returns to the state at which it was before he left. However, this serenity is broken with the arrival of new student, Shinji Hirako. Shinji is more than he appears, as he is a recruiter for the vizard. Approaching Ichigo, he attempts to convince him to join his organization. However, Ichigo refuses, even after being informed that his inner hollow will eventually take over and destroy everything in sight. Still, Shinji doesn't give up, reappearing in class the next day to make more attempts at convicing Ichigo to join.Later, two arrancar, Yami and Ulquiorra, appear in Karakura town at the order of Aizen in order to locate Ichigo, who is believed to be a threat, and gauge his strength. They are also to eliminate anyone they encounter who is deemed trash. This results in Yami seriously injuring Tatsuki Arisawa and later, Chad, when he and Orihime attempt to intervene. Before Yami can kill her, Ichigo arrives and quickly releases his bankai, managing to cut off Yami's arm, in retribution for what he did to Chad. However, Ichigo's inner hollow soon manifests, giving Yami the opportunity to injure both him and Orihime. They are saved by Yoruichi Shihouin and Kisuke Urahara. Urahara blocks Yami's attacks and sends energy blasts of his own at Yami. Ulquiorra quickly intervenes and decides that their mission is complete, as Ichigo has proved weaker than previously thought, weak enough to be deemed trash. He opens a window back to Hueco Mundo, in order to report back to Aizen. This experience leaves Ichigo in a poor mood, losing his will to be a shinigami, since he cannot protect his friends from harm.
This mood lasts until six shinigami: Ikkaku Madarame, Yumichika Ayasegawa, Renji Abarai, Rangiku Matsumoto, Tōshirō Hitsugaya, and Rukia Kuchiki, arrive in the material world, confronting Ichigo in class. Rukia drags out Ichigo's shinigami form, sending him to fight a hollow. As Ichigo reacts sluggishly against it, she identifies the root of his problems and tells him that he needs to pull himself back together or the same thing will happen all over again. This manages to strike a nerve in Ichigo, causing him to regain his will, destroying the hollow. Immediately afterwards, Rukia drags Ichigo over to Orihime, where he reaffirms his commitment to protecting her. Later that day, the shinigami meet at Ichigo's house to discuss the growing arrancar threat. It is here that Ichigo learns what the arrancar actually are. After discussing this, the group splits apart to find lodging for the night, except for Rukia, who manages to be formally accepted into Ichigo's house, sleeping in the same room as his sisters.
Later that night, six arrancar: D-Roy, Shawlong Qufang, Edorad Leones, Il Forte Grantz, and Nakim, all under the command of the Espada Grimmjow Jaggerjack, invade Karakura town without the consent of Aizen. These arrancar believe that it was a mistake for Ulquiorra to have left Ichigo alive after their confrontation a few days earlier. Their mission is to seek out and eliminate any person with even a modicum of spiritual pressure. As these arrancar split up, Rukia and Ichigo are confronted by D-Roy, who is quickly dipatched by Rukia and her zanpakutō's initial release ability. However, Rukia is seriously injured by a single attack from Grimmjow, leaving Ichigo to fight him. Although Ichigo releases his bankai, he is unable to gain any advantage on Grimmjow who is blocking Ichigo's attacks with his bare hands. Ichigo then decides to fire a single getsuga tenshō that manages to connect, doing some damage to Grimmjow. Ichigo remarks that he could probably use getsuga tenshō 3 or 4 more times before he loses control and his hollow side manifests itself. Angered by this attack, Grimmjow is about to draw his zanpakutō when Kaname Tōsen interrupts the fight. He has arrived to bring Grimmjow back to Hueco Mundo, as Aizen is displeased with him for breaking orders and allowing the five other arrancar that came with him to perish. Grimmjow departs with Tōsen back to Hueco Mundo, leaving an unsatisified Ichigo to sulk in his apparent loss.
After his fight with Grimmjow, Ichigo, feeling that his attempts to suppress his inner hollow are failing, rethinks the original offer Shinji had made and seeks out the vizard in order to learn to control his inner hollow. Ichigo locates their hideout within an abandoned warehouse, greeted by Shinji and seven other vizard. When Shinji ask if he has decided to join up with them, Ichigo replies that he has only come to learn how to control his inner hollow. Ichigo then charges at Shinji, with a fight quickly breaking out between the two of them. It is noted by the vizard present that neither is using their full strength. This fight is cut short when Hiyori Sarugaki knocks out Shinji and decides to fight Ichigo herself. As the fight begins, she manifests her hollow side, allowing her to control the battle, bringing Ichigo to the brink of death. However, Ichigo once again loses control of his body and his inner hollow manifests itself. The hollow proceeds to choke Hiyori nearly to death, but the other vizard, including Shinji, came to both Hiyori and Ichigo's aid. After destroying the hollow mask and reverting Ichigo back to his shinigami state, Shinji remarks that Ichigo cannot simply keep his hollow in check with his body or mind, but must force it into the very core of his soul. Ichigo then begins training on a special spirit-draining apparatus, which resembles a simple exercise chair, in order to have enough spiritual power to confront his inner hollow. However, he refuses to complete the training, kicking the chair at Shinji, believing this method to be a waste of his time. Shinji agrees that this method probably is too slow for Ichigo and forces him into his inner world (where Zangetsu and the inner hollow reside) in order to face his hollow.
Ichigo's hollow side squares off against his shinigami side in this inner world, both of them wielding Zangetsu, although keeping with his hollow's colorless and pale appearance, he wields a white Zangetsu. While fighting with his hollow side, Ichigo is constantly demanding to see Zangetsu, the embodiment of his zanpakutō. The hollow responds by saying that he was always part of Zangetsu and that his personality is now simply dominant over that of Zangetsu's, equating it to a servant trading places with its master. Ichigo realizes that if he manages to defeat his hollow side, the hollow will revert back to the being known as Zangetsu, allowing him full control over that part of his spiritual power. After several more exchanges, both Ichigo and the hollow release their bankai. Ichigo attempts to use a getsuga tenshō against the hollow, but since this move was originally performed by it, the attack does not do any damage. The hollow then fires off a getsuga tenshō of his own, badly injuring Ichigo. It then mocks Ichigo and vaporizes his sword. The hollow then lashes out at Ichigo with his hands, launching him backwards with an energy blast to his face. It then comments that the difference between itself and Ichigo is that while the hollow side basks in killer instinct, Ichigo himself lacks it, instead needing reasons to fight his opponents. It is this reason why the hollow believes itself superior to Ichigo. After this, the hollow impales Ichigo upon its white zanpakutō, stating that it will never allow someone weaker than it to dominate him. However, this talk about instinct awakens something within Ichigo. It gives him the will to grab the hollow's zanpakutō and turn it black, forcing the hollow to drop it. However, it seems as though this last act took all the strength Ichigo could muster, causing him to slip into a dream-like state. In this state, danger comes quickly in the form of the jagged edge of Kenpachi's blade. When Ichigo, surprised and confused, asks Kenpachi what he is doing there, the being simply smiles, asking who Kenpachi is. The being represents the primal instinct that drives one to kill, manifesting itself as an appropriate form and giving Ichigo a lesson on battle. As the hollow ponders on what has just transpired, Ichigo pulls the sword from his gut and stabs the hollow in turn. Engulfed in black, the hollow smiles, laughing off the fact that Ichigo beat him and warning him that if Ichigo slacks off again he'll return. But even after that, the hollow surprises Ichigo, asking him to take care of himself and not die.
However, these events with his hollow were not taking place in a vacuum. While Ichigo was battling, his subconcious outer personality in the vizard's warehouse has become that of his hollow. Even after all of its limbs are bound down by a demon arts spell cast by the vizard Hachigen, Ichigo's outer personality manages to break out of its prison. The vizard take turns to keep Ichigo's outer personality under control, each of them fighting for 10 minutes. After 70 minutes, it appears to the vizard that the hollow has won. As the hollow prepares to fire off a "Cero" energy blast, Love prepares to transform into his own hollow form to subdue it. However, the left arm of the hollow suddenly begins to crack and break, exploding powerfully and shocking nearly all the vizard. Shinji allows Hutch to break his binding spell, allowing Ichigo to move around. Emerging from the explosion, Ichigo collapses, obviously spent from his fight with the hollow. Remembering his last conversation with his hollow side, Ichigo tightly grasps his zanpakutō and vows that he will not weaken. Ichigo trains with Hiyori to increase the amount of time he can stay in hollow form. However, even after a month of training, he can only remain in it for 11 seconds flat.
However, when the arrancar once again arrive in Karakura, earlier than expected, Ichigo rushes out of the vizard's base to confront them. Both Kensei and Love attempt to hold him back, as they believe he is insufficiently trained, although they let him go after Shinji tells them to, albeit not without protest. Ichigo brashly heads off to fight Grimmjow, and despite using his masked form and Grimmjow's loss of an arm, is unable to defeat him within the 11 second limit. His mask crumbles, and he is brutally counter-attacked.
Powers
Ichigo's power as a shinigami is unquestioned. As of chapter 229, he is stronger than most Captain-level shinigami, but still cannot match up against the Espada. According to Aizen and Urahara, Ichigo's most astounding ability is his growth rate. He grasps the basic control of techniques such as the final release (bankai), which would take a shinigami with hundreds of years of combat experience at least ten additional years to learn, in a mere three days.Physically, Ichigo is in top form even when not in his spiritual body. Ichigo has been trained in martial arts both professionally (He has been taken to the dojo since he was a small child) and by his father Isshin's constant assaults and surprise attacks when at home. He regularly fought and defeated bullies and gangsters when in high school, and was a better martial artist than even Tatsuki, the second strongest high school girl in Japan, before they were in middle school (although, during their first spar Tatsuki made him cry).
When he is in his shinigami body, Ichigo's already impressive strength is greatly enhanced. He can easily wield his sword Zangetsu one handed, leap several stories into the air, and in one case even punch through 3 lieutenants' released zanpakutō in rapid succession.
In terms of fighting style, Ichigo relies mostly on his zanpakutō, Zangetsu, (See below) and would be considered a Zanjutsu (sword technique) specialist. Ichigo has never been formally taught any Kido, instead prefering straight melee combat. He does, however, appreciate the value of the Shunpō speed boost technique, which he appears to have great natural talent for.
Zangetsu
Like any other shinigami, Ichigo has a zanpakutō. Ichigo's zanpakutō is named Zangetsu (斬月 lit. moon cutter or cutting moon), and nicknamed "old man" or "uncle" (おっさん ossan) by Ichigo, as its materialized form seems to resemble a 30-40 year old man (in Japanese, such men are referred to as "uncle"). Zangetsu has also been called the black-clothed man (黒衣の男 kokui no otoko).Bleach databook; page 84.
During his initial sealed state, Ichigo's zanpakuto looked like a giant version of a normal zanpakutō. The large size was due to Ichigo's immense spiritual power, which he didn't know how to control at the time. It had a rectangular handguard and Ichigo carried it in a giant sheath on his back. It is broken by Byakuya Kuchiki during their first encounter, but Ichigo continues using what's left of it until Kisuke Urahara slices it to bits during his training. This training, consequently, brought forth Ichigo's true zanpakutō, Zangetsu.
The shikai form of Zangetsu is an "incomplete sword" with no guard or sheath. It bears the appearance of a giant elegant cleaver. It is as tall as he is, around six feet, and has a black blade and silver edge. Ichigo's zanpakutō is different in that it always stays in its shikai state, possibly because of his high level of power. Upon learning their zanpakutō's name, most shinigami gain the ability to keep it in its sealed form until they encounter a situation where they need to release their zanpakutō. Ichigo has not yet been able to do this. (Though he may have simply never been taught or does not need to as his spiritual power is enough to mantain this.)
Ichigo carries his zanpakutō on his back with an unusual sheath that appears as a wrapped up bandage-like cloth, that is generated by Zangetsu himself. When its time to be used in battle comes, the sheath shrinks away from the blade and hangs as a tassel at the bottom of the hilt. Zangetsu's special ability, named getsuga tenshō (月牙天衝 lit. moon sky-piercing fang), fires concentrated energy blasts from its tip in the shape of a blue crescent moon. Kisuke Urahara forced Ichigo to perfect this ability in order to fight on a shinigami lieutenant's level. Ichigo uses this ability without knowing its name several times, but masters the technique later on when he discovers its name, getsuga tenshō. As stated by Zangetsu, knowing and not knowing the name of an attack makes a difference in the amount of power that it releases.
Zangetsu's cloth has also been used as a weapon by Ichigo's inner hollow, whom Zangetsu summoned. He used it to swing the sword around and attack from a considerable distance; and did so continuously. Ichigo used this himself in order to destroy a massive execution ground (the stand of Sōkyoku), implying that the technique can be used to temporarily focus and enhance his power.
The bankai form of Zangetsu, named tensa Zangetsu (天鎖斬月lit. chains of heaven - slicing moon), is considered completely out of the ordinary for any zanpakutō. It consists of an ordinary katana (or a nodachi, as its size is about 175 cm) with a black blade, a handguard in the shape of the manji, which is the kanji for "ban" (full), and a short broken chain dangling as the blade's tassel and replacing the cloth from its shikai form. In addition to his sword, Ichigo's robe is replaced with a long-sleeved, ankle length black coat with red lining that is closed at his chest. The coat looks similiar to the coat worn by his zanpakutō's spiritual form.
As explained by Byakuya Kuchiki, Ichigo's bankai appears to be a compression of his power, rather than a vast expansion as other final releases are. This hugely compressed power enables Ichigo to move at an incredible speed, far surpassing flash steps (shunpo), and gives him an agility and reflexes to match, while allowing him to use his strength to its limits. It appears as though Ichigo has yet to fully master his bankai.
When first fighting using his bankai, Ichigo's inner hollow comes out to fight Byakuya and he tells Ichigo that he can show him how to use bankai correctly. Byakuya comments that Ichigo has been getting progressively slower during the fight - a result of him not being used to the immense boost of power that tensa Zangetsu brings, which is shattering his bones as he fights. It also seems that Ichigo has not yet found any special abilities to his bankai except for getsuga tenshō, which he already knows from his shikai; during bankai, it is in a modified form as Byakuya Kuchiki noted when he called it kuroi getsuga (lit. black moon fang). Contrary to popular belief, kuroi getsuga is not its actual name, since Byakuya was just commenting on the color change it took from shikai to bankai. It maintains the name getsuga tenshō. This move is a mixture of black and red and rather than taking on the shape of a crescent moon it seems to take on whatever shape Ichigo desires as he seems to be able to control its trajectory in the way that Byakuya is able to do with his bankai. Ichigo says it is his hollow self's move, meaning it allows his hollow to start taking over. He also states that if he were to use it more than 3-4 times, his hollow self would completely take over. This problem has been solved however, with his recent defeat of his hollow self and control of his hollow powers.
Trivia
- Bleach creator Tite Kubo assigned several characters theme songs which are used to give insight to characters that might not normally appear in the run of the manga or anime. In Ichigo's case, the song is "News From the Front", by Bad Religion.
- Early scanlations of the manga noted Ichigo's birthday as July 7 instead of July 15, causing great confusion among fans.
- Ichigo likes chocolate and spicy food. His favourite celebrities are Al Pacino and Mike Ness and the person he admires most is William Shakespeare.Bleach manga; volume 1 tankōbon (chapter 7, page 22).
- Ichigo's birthday coincides with the most important day of Obon, a Japanese festival honoring one's deceased ancestors.
- Ichigo's name means "Ichi" for "One" and "Go" for "Protector" (as shown at 20:02 of episode 21). However, his name has a large number of associated puns. The most infamous is that Ichigo is also a homonym for "strawberry", a reference to his hair colour. "Ichi" and "go" means "one" and "five"; the number 15 appears throughout the manga (notably Ichigo's age and the sign on his bedroom door). Also, "nii" (or "nii-san" or "-sama," with polite suffix) means "big brother," but "ni" also means the number 2. "San" is the number 3. Put together as Ichi-nii (which Karin sometimes calls Ichigo, which is a play on 1-2), you can read it as Ichi-nii-san - or 1-2-3.
- When Ichigo used to go to the hair dresser, people would ask him about his hair color and since he hated that, he doesn't go anymore. Normally, Yuzu cuts it.
- In the first anime episode, there is an electric guitar which suggests Ichigo might like to play or listen to rock music (which is viable, considering one of his favorite celebrities is Mike Ness from the band Social Distortion).
- According to the Shonen Jump's character popularity polls, Ichigo is consistently the Bleach series's favorite character.
References
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