Ichigo Kurosaki

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Modèle:Infobox animanga character Modèle:Nihongo is a fictional character in the anime and manga series Bleach created by Tite Kubo and the main protagonist of the franchise. The series begins with Ichigo receiving shinigami powers as a result of a run-in with Rukia Kuchiki, the shinigami assigned to patrol Karakura Town. These powers come at the cost of Rukia's own, and as a result, Ichigo concedes to work as Rukia's stand-in, fighting to protect people from evil spirits called hollows and sending good spirits, pluses, to Soul Society. According to Shonen Jump's character popularity polls, Ichigo is consistently the most popular character in Bleach.

Character outline

Ichigo is a 15-year-old who attempts to cultivate a detached image, for which he keeps his eyebrows constantly furrowed. Ichigo has natural orange hair, a fact that annoys many upperclassmen in his school, who constantly pick fights with him.<ref>Bleach manga volume 4, chapter 34, page 9</ref> Ichigo claims that he does not care what others think (both about his hair and other subjects) and seems to enjoy fighting the bullies.

Ichigo is also a capable student, ranked at 23 of 322 in his school.<ref>Bleach manga volume 5, chapter 35, page 12</ref> Ichigo regularly studies and doesn't neglect his schoolwork, due to the fact that he has nothing better to do at home. It is later revealed that Ichigo works so hard only to overcome the misconceptions that many teachers tend to have about him, based on his hair color and interactions with other students.

Ichigo possesses the unusual ability to see spirits as a consequence of his innate spiritual power. After the full extent of Ichigo's immense spiritual power is unlocked as a consequence of his meeting with Rukia Kuchiki, as well as his subsequent inability to control it, many of his friends begin to develop spiritual powers due to their proximity with him. Frequent exposure to Ichigo's energy causes several of his classmates to become spiritually aware, and some even develop their own unique powers as a result.

Ichigo lives with his father Isshin Kurosaki and his two younger sisters, Yuzu and Karin. His father runs a small medical clinic in their house, and recruits the entire family in his business. Ichigo's father is portrayed as a comical, inept character who often challenges his son with mock attacks and berates him for being late for dinner, Karin also has the ability to see spirits and Yuzu acts as the de facto mother of the family.

Ichigo likes chocolate and karashi mentaiko. His favorite celebrities are Al Pacino and Mike Ness and the person he admires most is William Shakespeare.<ref name="Profile">Bleach manga; volume 1 tankōbon (chapter 7, page 22)</ref> He is uncomfortable around nude or immodestly dressed women despite the "tough guy" image he tries to maintain.

Ichigo's name, written with homophone kanji, means 1 and 5 when separated as ichi (一) and go (五), the reason behind the two numbers' frequent appearances in the series. The word ichigo (苺/イチゴ), written in yet another way, actually means "strawberry" in Japanese, and is normally only used as a girl's name; when the gatekeeper Jidanbō teases Ichigo about this fact, Ichigo proudly states that his name is spelled with ichi (一) as in "one" and go (護) from "guardian". Ichigo's father once told him that his name means "he who protects."

History

Ichigo's mother, Masaki Kurosaki, began taking him to a dojo to learn karate when he was four years old.<ref name="Age four">Bleach manga; chapter 18, page 3</ref> There, he met and fought with Tatsuki Arisawa, whom he lost to the first few times. Whenever this happened, he would start crying, only to stop instantly when comforted by his mother, to whom he was deeply attached. Tatsuki described Ichigo as a thin child, who looked very happy and always smiled when around his mother.<ref>Bleach manga; chapter 18, pages 28-29</ref>

When Ichigo was nine, Masaki was killed by the hollow Grand Fisher, although Ichigo did not find out the true cause of her death until early in the main Bleach storyline.<ref>Bleach manga; volume 3 tankōbon, page 119 (chapter 22, page 11)</ref> After her death, Ichigo was distraught and stood 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 Grand Fisher, Ichigo felt guilty for his mother's death, blaming himself for wandering too close to the water and causing her to put herself in harm's way to save him. Even after that, Masaki's death continues to influence Ichigo by causing him to feel guilt for his inability to protect those close to him: because of this guilt, Ichigo developed a resolute will to gain the power to protect his loved ones. This is a recurring theme in many of Ichigo's battles, particularly the assertion that his reasoning is the opposite of what he claims: his opponents often charge that he protects his loved ones in order to fight, not the other way around.

Three years before the main storyline, Orihime Inoue's older brother Sora died in the Kurosaki clinic from injuries acquired in a car accident.<ref name="Sora Inoue">Bleach manga; volume 1 tankōbon, page 96 (chapter 3, page 12)</ref> Ichigo watched as Orihime cried for her brother, although he did not find out that the crying girl he saw was Orihime until a short time before the main storyline.<ref name="Sora Inoue"/>

While in junior high school, Ichigo met and befriended Yasutora Sado, then from Mashiba Junior High, who helped him out of a fight. Ichigo called him Chad because of the nametag he was wearing, which can be read either Sado or Chad, and continued using the name after being corrected. 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 and risk their lives for something the other was willing to risk their life for.

Synopsis

At the beginning of the series, Ichigo meets Rukia Kuchiki, who comes to deal with a spirit haunting Ichigo's home. Once he confronts Rukia about her presence she, though surprised that he can see her, introduces him to the world of the shinigami. As they talk, a hollow drawn to their spiritual pressure attacks them. Rukia is injured in her efforts to protect Ichigo and his family, forcing her to transfer her powers to him if they are to be saved. Ichigo vanquishes the hollow, though finds himself stuck with Rukia's abilities. Unable to carry out her shinigami duties until her powers are restored, Rukia forces Ichigo to fill her position in the meantime.

As Ichigo deals with hollows across Karakura Town, his friends and fellow classmates begin to develop and exhibit their own unique spiritual powers due to their time spent with him. Ichigo's actions and those of his classmates draw the attention of Soul Society, who soon send Byakuya Kuchiki and Renji Abarai to retrieve Rukia. Rukia tries to go with them quietly, though Ichigo attempts to stop them. Byakuya leaves Ichigo on the verge of death and takes away his shinigami powers as punishment before returning to Soul Society with Renji and Rukia. Ichigo, determined to go to Soul Society and save Rukia, goes to Kisuke Urahara for training to regain his powers. Once his training is complete, Ichigo and his friends are escorted to Soul Society by Yoruichi Shihouin.

Upon arriving in Soul Society and breaking into the Seireitei, the group is split up. Ichigo is forced to fight a number of high ranking shinigami as he searches for Rukia. Though he defeats Ikkaku Madarame, Renji, and Kenpachi Zaraki in turn, his many fights leave him both injured and fatigued. Yoruichi takes Ichigo away to rest, and once he recovers she trains him to utilize bankai in order to prepare him for his eventual battle with Byakuya. Once completing his training, Ichigo goes to the site of Rukia's planned execution where he singlehandedly stops the Sōkyoku and dispatches three lieutenants in order to give Rukia time to escape.

Byakuya soon intervenes in Ichigo's escape attempt, and the two do battle. Although his new bankai proves a fair match for Byakuya's own, his inexperience with the ability gives Byakuya an advantage. It is only through the brief manifestation of his inner hollow, a remnant of his training with Urahara, that Ichigo is able to avoid being out right killed and draw with Byakuya. Although Byakuya is defeated, Ichigo soon learns that the shinigami behind Rukia's execution, Sōsuke Aizen, still intends to kill her. An injured Ichigo attempts to fight to save her, but Aizen quickly disposes of him. Rukia is ultimately saved by Byakuya, though Aizen is able to escape Soul Society with the object he sought. Ichigo and his friends are healed and return to the human world, Rukia having chosen to stay behind.

Ichigo is soon reunited with Rukia during the Bount invasion. Ichigo fights against the Bount with his shinigami allies and friends. After the battleground shifts from the human world to Soul Society, Ichigo confronts the Bount leader, Jin Kariya. After much effort on Ichigo's part, the battle ends in a power clash, with Ichigo the victor. With the Bount vanquished, Ichigo returns to the human world once again.

As Ichigo resumes his school activities, Aizen's arrancar begin attacking Karakura Town. After his defeat during the first arrancar invasion, Soul Society sends a team of shinigami to help defend the city, Rukia being amongst them. Rukia's presence proves useful during the second invasion and Ichigo's battle with Grimmjow Jeagerjaques, though Ichigo's unwillingness to use his inner hollow brings him defeat once again. Determined to better handle this force, Ichigo goes to the vizard for training that will keep the inner hollow in check. In his month of training, Ichigo is able to gain control of his hollow for eleven second intervals, which briefly gives him the upper-hand during his rematch with Grimmjow during the third arrancar invasion. The advantage isn't enough to overcome Grimmjow, however, and Ichigo is only spared by the intervention of Rukia and another vizard. Grimmjow and the other arrancar are forced to retreat before either side can claim victory.

The arrancar's reasons for ending the battle prematurely are soon discovered to be a result of their capture of Orihime Inoue. Soul Society, unwilling to go after Orihime, recalls Rukia and the other shinigami forces. Ichigo, not about to give up on Orihime, goes to Hueco Mundo with Yasutora Sado and Uryū Ishida to rescue her. After their arrival, they are joined by Rukia and Renji, neither of which are willing to abandon Orihime. Their group is also joined by Nel Tu and her companions. Upon reaching Las Noches, they spilt up, with Nel following Ichigo. As he makes his way through the arrancar base, Ichigo is met by Dordonii, a former Espada. Although he tries to defeat Dordonii without using his hollow powers, Ichigo is eventually left without options. Dordonii is defeated as a result, and Ichigo continues on his way.

As he progresses further into the arrancar base, Ichigo runs into Ulquiorra Cifer, the fourth Espada. Ulquiorra severely injures Ichigo and leaves him to die. Grimmjow, wanting to finish his battle with Ichigo, brings Orihime to him so that he can be restored to battle readiness. Once he is well enough, the two do battle, and Ichigo is eventually able to defeat Grimmjow. As he prepares to escape with Orihime, Nnoitra Jiruga arrives and attacks Ichigo in his weakened state. Unable to match Nnoitra's abilities, Ichigo is left at his mercy. Nel, angered by Nnoitra's treatment of Ichigo, reveals herself as the former third Espada and fights Nnoitra in Ichigo's place. Nel is able to fend off Nnoitora easily because of her former position, but eventually reverts to her child form. It is not until the arrival of Kenpachi Zaraki that they are finally saved.

Powers

Though he does not possess any formal shinigami rank, Ichigo's overall abilities are great enough that he can fight on the level of an elite shinigami captain. According to Aizen and Urahara, Ichigo's most astounding ability is his growth rate: he grasps the basic control of advanced techniques in days where it should take weeks or even years. For example, he masters flash steps in three days while training with Yoruichi, done simultaneously with his acquiring of bankai.

Physically, Ichigo is in top form even when not in his spiritual body. Ichigo has been trained in martial arts since he was a small child, both professionally and by his father's constant assaults and surprise attacks when at home. He regularly fights with and defeats bullies and gangsters, and is a better martial artist than even Tatsuki, the second-strongest high school girl in all of Japan.

Shinigami powers

When he is in his shinigami form, Ichigo's already impressive strength is greatly enhanced. He can leap several stories into the air, and in one case even fought off three shinigami lieutenants and their released zanpakutō bare-handed in rapid succession; he shattered one of their zanpakutō in a single punch. The arrancar Ulquiorra has claimed that Ichigo's spiritual power at its peak is even greater than his own, but that it fluctuates wildly when he is in conflict with his inner hollow. Because he has far more spiritual energy than his body can contain, it leaks out constantly, preventing him from hiding it and effectively making stealth impossible when dealing with other spiritually-aware creatures.

In terms of fighting style, Ichigo relies mostly on his zanpakutō and the use of flash steps, and thus would be considered a swordsmanship specialist. Ichigo has never been formally taught kidō and has trouble controlling his spirit energy in all but the most basic of ways, due in part to the sheer amount of it he has.

Unlike most lieutenant and captain strength shinigami, Ichigo is able to fight with his full power in both the human and spiritual worlds. While captains and lieutenants have their power limited to a fifth of its normal level during trips to the real world in order to avoid unnecessarily influencing surroundings, Ichigo holds no rank in the Gotei 13 and thus has no such limit.

Hollow powers

Ichigo's spiritual powers are not limited to just shinigami abilities; he possesses hollow powers as a result of his training with Urahara. While attempting to recover his shinigami powers, Ichigo began transforming into a hollow from the corrosion of his severed soul chain. Ichigo succeeds in awakening his shinigami powers, but retains his hollow spirit inside himself from the transformation. The title page of chapter 220 depicts the inner hollow with the mirror writing of Ichigo's name.

Ichigo’s hollow spirit is his evil alter ego. The spirit is pretentious and mocks his counterpart’s inability in a sneering, didactic fashion whenever the chance arises. He relishes the idea of taking Ichigo’s strength for himself, and claims to be the manifestation of Ichigo's instinctive lust for battle and the next kill. He also seems to gain any abilities that Ichigo knows, evidenced by his usage of getsuga tensho and his usage of bankai. Unlike Ichigo, the hollow fights like a berserker, and is able to ignore any injuries Ichigo has previously sustained along with considerable increases to his speed and strength.

At different points in the series, Ichigo's hollow powers have manifested themselves in different ways. Initially, Ichigo's hollow mask would appear on his body to block fatal blows, unbeknownst to Ichigo until the fight ends. During his battle with Byakuya Kuchiki, half of the mask appeared on his face when he was about to get the finishing blow, allowing his inner hollow to take over until Ichigo suppressed it. The same event is repeated multiple times after that, first indication of which being Ichigo's left eye gradually blackening, as the hollow takes control. While suppressing his inner hollow, Ichigo is left effectively paralyzed, since his concentration was focused on suppressing it rather than fighting. The hollow claims that it manifests itself to protect Ichigo during near death moments because it is connected to Ichigo, and it would be a great inconvenience to the hollow if Ichigo was to die.

While he was in training with the vizard, Ichigo's soul was completely overcome by his inner hollow for a short period, causing him to physically transform into a hollow. His near-complete hollow form resembles a large, humanoid lizard. In this form, Ichigo demonstrated several high-level abilities, including high speed regeneration, enhancement of limbs, and the ability to fire cero blasts from his fingers. However, this form didn't last long as Ichigo emerged from the hollow shell as his standard shinigami self wearing a hollow mask.

After training with the vizard and subjugating his inner hollow, Ichigo can use his hollow mask while retaining his personality, but could originally only wear it for eleven seconds at a time.<ref>Bleach manga; chapter 216, pages 9 and 11</ref> His limit increases during his third battle with Grimmjow Jeagerjaques, but to what extent is unclear. His overall limit is barely a fraction of the amount other vizard can maintain their masks. After the time limit, the mask breaks and Ichigo loses its benefits. Subsequent attempts to use the mask can only be maintained for an instant. While wearing the mask, Ichigo's hollow powers supplement his shinigami powers, giving him a vast increase in both strength and speed.

Zangetsu

• Seiyu: Takayuki Sugo
• Voice Actor: Richard Epcar

Ichigo's zanpakutō is named Zangetsu (斬月 lit. cutting moon).<ref name="Zangetsu"/> Unlike most shinigami, who can seal their zanpakutō after releasing it, Ichigo's zanpakutō is always in its shikai form. Yoruichi Shihouin has stated that his zanpakutō is a full-time released form type, which is a type of zanpakutō that, once in shikai form, remains in said state. For that reason, Zangetsu has no release command.

The spirit of Zangetsu resembles a 30 to 40 year-old man, and Ichigo calls him Modèle:Nihongo as a result. Zangetsu has also been called the Modèle:Nihongo.<ref name="Kokui">Bleach Official Character Book SOULs; page 84</ref> Zangetsu is portrayed as wise and calm in most matters, and fond of testing Ichigo in unusual ways, many of which have a purpose completely contrary to the stated goal. Zangetsu has displayed the ability to temporarily close fatal wounds during combat, though whether or not this is a unique ability is unclear.

When Ichigo first becomes a shinigami, his zanpakutō is simply an oversized version of a regular sealed zanpakutō, complete with an equally oversized sheath on his back. The large size is due to Ichigo's immense spiritual power, which he didn't know how to control. As a result, the sword itself was rather weak, since very little spiritual power was used to create it. Byakuya Kuchiki cuts off most of the blade during his first encounter with Ichigo and Kisuke Urahara subsequently slices it down to the hilt during their training, forcing Ichigo to learn the name of his zanpakutō in order to release its true form.

The shikai form of Zangetsu resembles an over sized, though more elegant, cleaver blade without a hilt, instead it has a makeshift handle formed by some cloth wrapped around the tang. The sword is as tall as Ichigo is, 1.74 meters, and has a black blade with a silver edge. Ichigo carries his zanpakutō on his back by the cloth wrapped around the tang. When not in combat, the cloth extends to cover the rest of the sword and falls away when necessary, shrinking back to a manageable size. The cloth can also be used to swing the weapon like a flail and toss it at opponents, but this is rarely done. This was first demonstrated by Ichigo's inner hollow, then again by Ichigo himself while rescuing Rukia.

The bankai of Zangetsu, named Tensa Zangetsu (天鎖斬月, lit. heavenly chained cutting moon), is considered completely out of the ordinary for any zanpakutō. Unlike most bankai forms, which usually create some sort of massive creature or effect, Ichigo's bankai actually shrinks his sword down to a daitō (Japanese long sword) with a black blade, handguard in the shape of the manji (which is the kanji for "ban," meaning "full"). The cloth wrapped around the hilt is replaced by a short chain with a broken link, similar to that of a plus spirit. 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, much like that of Zangetsu himself. Lately, color pages of the manga show that Ichigo's bankai clothing now has a white lining as opposed to red.

As explained by Byakuya Kuchiki, Ichigo's bankai is a compression of his power, rather than a vast expansion as other bankai are. This hugely compressed power enables Ichigo to move at speeds exceeding those of flash steps, and gives him matching agility and reflexes, allowing him to use his natural strength to its limits. With enough usage and acquired height, Ichigo can even appear as though he is flying. Ichigo's initial inexperience with controlling his bankai led to a serious drawback; the force of his compressed spiritual power caused all of his bones to crack as stated by his inner hollow, gradually decreasing his speed and power over time. This drawback has not been mentioned since its introduction and is assumed to have been overcome.

Zangetsu's special ability (in either form) is the getsuga tenshō (月牙天衝, lit. moon fang heaven stab, Viz: Moon-Fang Piercer of the Heavens), which in shikai form fires concentrated energy blasts from the tip of the blade in the shape of a blue crescent moon. Ichigo uses this ability without knowing its name several times, but masters the technique later on when he discovers its name. As stated by Zangetsu, "knowing and not knowing the name of an attack makes a difference in the amount of power that it releases". When used with Zangetsu's bankai, these blasts are black with a red outline and their path can be controlled. During Byakuya Kuchiki's fight with Ichigo, he refers to this attack as a Modèle:Nihongo. This term simply refers to the darkened color of the attack, not its actual name. When used with his bankai and hollow mask in combination, Ichigo's extreme speed allows him to move faster than the getsuga tenshō itself, allowing him to fire multiple blasts from different directions. The kuroi getsuga was first displayed by Ichigo's inner hollow, and initially carried the risk of causing his inner hollow to surface if used too much. With Ichigo's later control over his inner hollow, this is no longer a problem. Ichigo is also capable of utilizing getsuga tenshō to augment blade swings, as seen in the fight with Byakuya Kuchiki, and the manifestation of Ichigo's inner hollow.

References

Modèle:Bleach characters

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