Ichigo Kurosaki (黒崎　一護, Kurosaki Ichigo^?) is a fictional character in the anime and manga franchise Bleach by mangaka Tite Kubo. He is the story's main protagonist. The series begins with Ichigo receiving Soul Reaper powers as a result of a run-in with Rukia Kuchiki, the Soul Reaper assigned to patrol his city, 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, wholes, to Soul Society.

In addition to the main series, Ichigo appears in many other pieces of Bleach media, including the two featured films in the series, the two original video animations, and several video games. Merchandise based on Ichigo's likeness has also been released, including toys, clothing, and action figures. Ichigo's character has been well received among both fans and reviewers. In Shonen Jump character popularity polls, Ichigo consistently ranks as one of the most popular characters in Bleach, and the 2007 Japanese Newtype magazine polls ranked him as one of the top 100 most-loved anime characters. Reviewers of the series have also remarked favorably on his personality, though some considered him to be a stereotypical anti-hero during the first few episodes of the series.

Personality

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 bullies in his school, who constantly pick fights with him.^[10] Ichigo claims that he does not care what others think and seems to enjoy fighting the bullies. While in junior high school, Ichigo met and befriended Yasutora "Chad" Sado, a boy from another school 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 pact with Chad in which they both agreed to fight and risk their lives for something the other was willing to risk their life for. Ichigo comments that thanks to Rukia his life changed, and thanks to her he is able to protect the people he cares for.

When Ichigo was nine, his mother, Masaki Kurosaki, 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. Prior to learning about this, 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. Since then, Ichigo lives with his father Isshin Kurosaki and his two younger sisters, Yuzu and Karin. His father runs a small medical clinic.

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, notably on the sampler hanging on his bedroom door. The word ichigo (苺/イチゴ), written in yet another way, means "strawberry" —one of his nicknames— in Japanese, and is normally only used as a girl's name; when teased about this fact, Ichigo proudly counters that his name is spelled with ichi (一) as in "first" and go (護) from "guardian". Ichigo's father once told him that his name means "he who protects." The name also means 'one's lifetime

Abilities

Ichigo is one of the rare living humans in the Bleach universe to possess innate spiritual powers, which give him the ability to see ghosts. When the full extent of these powers is unlocked as a consequence of his meeting with Rukia Kuchiki, they turn out to be both massive and contagious, and many of his friends begin to develop spiritual powers due to their proximity to him. Because Ichigo produces 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 beings.

Though he does not possess any formal Soul Reaper rank, Ichigo's overall abilities are great enough that he can fight on the level of a Soul Reaper captain. When he is in his Soul Reaper form, Ichigo's already impressive athletic abilities are greatly enhanced.

Ichigo's zanpakutō is named Zangetsu (斬月, Zangetsu^? literally "cutting moon"). Unlike most Soul Reapers, who can seal their zanpakutō after releasing it, Ichigo's zanpakutō is always in its shikai form. Its sealed form is that of an ordinary zanpakutō, but oversized as a result of Ichigo's uncontrolled spiritual pressure. Zangetsu's spirit takes the form of a middle-aged man, voiced by Takayuki Sugo in the Japanese anime and by Richard Epcar in the English dub. 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. In its shikai, Zangetsu takes the form of an oversized cleaver blade without a hilt or guard.Zangetsu's bankai, named Tensa Zangetsu (天鎖斬月, Tensa Zangetsu^? literally "heavenly chained cutting moon"), is considered completely out of the ordinary for any zanpakutō. Ichigo's bankai shrinks the sword down while his uniform also changes to resemble the robe worn by Zangetsu's human form. By compressing his power, Ichigo can move at high speeds, exceeding those of flash steps, and is given matching agility and reflexes, allowing him to use his natural strength to its limits. Zangetsu's special ability, in either form, is the Getsuga Tenshō (月牙天衝, Getsuga Tenshō^? literally "moon-fang piercer of the heavens", translated in the English anime as "piercer of heaven"), an energy blast fired from the tip of the blade.

 In addition to his Soul Reaper powers, Ichigo partially becomes a hollow while reobtaining his Soul Reaper powers with the help of Kisuke Urahara. This leaves him with an inner hollow spirit that grows in strength as the series progresses. The spirit has an arrogant personality and mocks his counterpart's inability in a sneering, didactic fashion whenever the chance arises. The hollow occasionally takes over Ichigo's body, at which times it fights like a berserker, is able to ignore any injuries Ichigo has previously sustained, and shows considerably increased speed and strength. Ichigo is taught to control his hollow by the vizard, allowing him to call upon his hollow powers at will and without sacrificing control to his hollow self.He is also taught to call on his hollow's powers by donning his hollow mask, supplementing his Soul Reaper powers with his hollow powers. Ichigo can initially only maintain this form for eleven seconds, but the limit increases substantially during his third battle with Grimmjow Jeagerjaques