Ichigo Kurosaki
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| Ichigo Kurosaki | |
|---|---|
| Occupation | High School student, substitute shinigami, Vizard |
| Birthday | July 15 |
| Height | 174 cm (5' 8½") |
| Weight | 61 kg (134.5 lbs) |
| Blood type | AO[1] |
| Zanpakutō | Zangetsu |
| Theme Song | "News From The Front" by Bad Religion[2] |
| Seiyū | Masakazu Morita |
| Voice Actor | Johnny Yong Bosch Mona Marshall (child) |
Ichigo Kurosaki (黒崎 一護 Kurosaki Ichigo?) 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. According to the Shonen Jump's character popularity polls, Ichigo is consistently the Bleach series favorite character.
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[edit] Character outline
Ichigo is a tough 15-year-old. He attempts to cultivate a detached 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. Ichigo often teams up with Chad to fight these battles.
Ichigo likes chocolate and spicy food. His favorite celebrities are Al Pacino and Mike Ness and the person he admires most is William Shakespeare.[1] He is uncomfortable around nude or immodestly dressed women. He is also the object of Orihime Inoue's affections. However, Ichigo is still unaware of her feelings.
Ichigo is also a capable student, ranked at 23 of 322 in his school. While this freaked out Keigo (he feared he was turning into a nerd), Ichigo made it a point that he regularly studies and does not neglect his schoolwork.
His name when seperated as "ichi" and "go" is 1 and 5 or 15, which may be the reason behind the numbers frequent appearences in the series. Allthough, the word 'Ichigo' actualy means 'Strawberry' in Japanese, and is normaly only used as a girls name, he explains in one episode that the way it is spelt for his name is 'Ichi' as in 'First prize' an 'Go' from 'Guardian Angel'.
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 become 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.
[edit] History
Ichigo's mother, Masaki Kurosaki, began taking him to a dojo to learn karate when he was four years old.[3] 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.
When Ichigo was 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 put herself in harm's way to save him.
Sometime 3 years before the main storyline Orihime Inoue's older brother Sora died in the Kurosaki clinic from injuries acquired in a car accident, 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.
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.
[edit] Synopsis
[edit] Early story
At the beginning of the series, Ichigo sees and confronts Rukia Kuchiki, a shinigami (called Soul Reapers in the english translation), 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 in a desperate measure 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, Ichigo discovers Rukia in his classroom as a transfer student. Much to his surprise, she is now apparently a normal human. Rukia informs Ichigo that she is using a faux body (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 dependent 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 Ichigo's sisters, Karin and Yuzu. It is at this point that Ichigo finds out that the Grand Fisher killed his mother and seeks revenge. Rukia tries to keep Ichigo from fighting, as she feared the hollow was too strong, and Ichigo orders her to go with Kon to take his sisters home. She is reminded of Kaien's last fight as a fight for honor, and reluctantly follows his orders. Ichigo greatly wounds Grand Fisher, but the hollow manages to escape. He then tries to follow him, but, energy spent, collaspes into Rukia's arms.
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, Kon, and Orihime. Ichigo's victory against the Menos draws the attention of Soul Society, triggering the beginning of the next arc.
[edit] 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 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 Kenpachi Zaraki.
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. He, along with 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, barehanded. 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 final release'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 plot 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 badge by Ukitake that serves as a kind of "license" that allows him to hunt hollows in his area officially. It is a multi-purpose artifact that allows him to become a shinigami on demand as well as alert him to the presence of hollows.
[edit] After Soul Society
[edit] Bount arc (anime only)
After his adventures in Soul Society, Ichigo is found unable to perform the final release (bankai) outside of Soul Society and undergoes training with three modified souls, initiated by Urahara. Along the way, Chad, Orihime, Ishida 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 Udagawa, who claims that Yoshino disobeyed his orders.
Udagawa 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 Bount twins, Kariya's subordinates, named Ban and Hō, who use dolls that manipulate water. Ichigo attempts to defeat them, but any damage sustained to the dolls is quickly regenerated. He discovers that when the twins 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 company then infiltrates Kariya's mansion in search of Ishida.
Upon entering Kariya's mansion, Ichigo engages Udagawa in battle, during which he obliterates a large portion of the house with his getsuga tenshō. His spirit force surprises both Udagawa and Maki Ichinose, a shinigami deserter from the 11th Division who has joined forces with the Bounts. When Udagawa takes Kariya's seal Ichinose appears and attacks Udagawa, injuring him and causing him to fall into a crevice created during the battle.
Upon Udagawa'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 then invades the Bount hideout that Ugaki is defending with Chad, Orihime, Rukia, Renji and the modified souls. Four shinigami lieutenants who had entered the cave earlier and fought Ugaki's doll, Gesell, assist them. Finally only Renji and Ichigo continue into the depths of the cave to find Ugaki. Renji decides to take on Gesell one on one with his final release (bankai) so that Ichigo will have the strength to take on the remaining bount. Renji's attacks send Gesell on a fury that ends when Ugaki is killed by his own doll (possibly due to the doll being influenced by Kariya). The cave begins to crumble and Yumichika convinces Ichigo to leave them behind and go further into the cave.
Ichigo finds the remaining Bount and they open a portal to an unknown destination. Ichigo attacks Kariya and Kariya brutally counterattacks. Kariya picks up Ichigo and explains that the Bounts are actually going to Soul Society to seek revenge on their creators. Kariya picks up Zangetsu and threatens to use the sword to kill Ichigo. Ichigo grasps Zangetsu and speaks with him, reaffirming his resolve. Ichigo uses his final release (bankai) and the fight continues but Kariya and Ichigo are now evenly matched. They are interrupted by Ishida who has regained his powers. He explains that the Bounts needed a Quincy in order to use the Quincy's ability to manipulate spirit particles to convert living beings into souls. Ishida shoots an arrow at the gate turning it into a spirit exchanger, allowing the Bounts to finally be able to use the gate. The Bounts go through the gate and Ishida explains that he and the shinigami have a better chance of defeating the Bounts in Soul Society than in the living world. Ichigo, his friends, and the shinigami prepare to use the gate to enter Soul Society.
In Soul Society, they use Kūkaku Shiba's house as their base of operations from which they separate to search for the Bounts. After the Bount Yoshi almost kills Rukia Kuchiki who is saved by Byakuya just in time. Ichigo asks Byakuya Kuchiki for assistance but Byakuya refuses, making it clear that he still dislikes Ichigo. Later he comes across Jin Kariya and Byakuya fighting in a forest and joins in even when Byakuya tells him he is not needed. The three face off in a fight of 2 vs. 1 (Ichigo and Byakuya vs. Kariya). During the fight Rantao steps in, an injured Kariya is evacuated by Koga Gowa, and Rantao takes Ichigo and Uryū Ishida, who arrives soon after Rantao, back to her home in Rukongai.
Rantao explains to Ishida and Ichigo about how her spirit powers were sealed and she was banished for the creation of the Bount. She also informs Ishida and Ichigo that Ishida's new battle accessory is basically an extremely dangerous weapon and afterwards falls asleep. After awaking, Rantao tells them they will meet again and Ichigo and Ishida leave. Later they meet up with Tōshirō Hitsugaya, Rangiku Matsumoto and Renji Abarai who are in the middle of a battle with former shinigami Maki Ichinose. This does not last long though as Kenpachi Zaraki arrives and challenges Ichinose and by doing so saves the group.
Later on, Ichigo meets up with Chad, and both face off against Kariya. He uses his final release once again, but this proves unfortunate as Kariya manages to beat him again. After Kariya activates the Jōkaishō, Ichigo meets up again with Ishida and Orihime. With permission from Matsumoto, he uses the 10th Division as a base of operations. Later, he saves both Ishida and Rantao from Kariya, and gets ready to fight him again.
[edit] Arrancar arc
After returning from Soul Society with his friends, sans Rukia, Ichigo's life briefly returns to the relatively peaceful state at which it was before he left. This serenity is broken with the arrival of new student Shinji Hirako. Shinji reveals himself as a recruiter for the vizard, approaches Ichigo and attempts to convince him to join his organization. Ichigo persistently refuses, even after being warned that his inner hollow will eventually take over and destroy everything in sight. Shortly afterwards, two arrancar, Yammy and Ulquiorra, appear in Karakura town in order to locate and evaluate Ichigo's strength. Ichigo battles Yammy using his final release (bankai), and manages to cut off the giant's arm. However, Ichigo's inner hollow soon interferes, paralyzing Ichigo, and Yammy injures both him and Orihime. The arrival of Yoruichi Shihouin and Kisuke Urahara forces Ulquiorra into strategic retreat.
After his failure against the arrancar, Ichigo loses his will as a shinigami since he cannot protect his friends. This mood lasts until the arrival of Gotei 13's expeditionary force: six shinigami sent to the human world under the command of Tōshirō Hitsugaya. Rukia, who is among them, forces Ichigo to defeat a hollow, all the while chastising him. This causes him to regain his spirit, and reaffirm his commitment to protect Orihime Inoue. Later that day, Ichigo discusses the growing arrancar threat with Hitsugaya's force, and learns what the arrancar actually are. Rukia is formally accepted into Ichigo's home, sleeping in the same room as his sisters.
That night, six arrancar under the command of Grimmjow Jaggerjack invade Karakura Town, intending to finish what they view as an incomplete mission on Ulquiorra's part. They split up, seeking targets with spiritual power. Ichigo's house is targeted, first by D-Roy, who is quickly dispatched by Rukia, and then by the much mightier Grimmjow, who eliminates Rukia in a single strike. Ichigo uses his final release, but Grimmjow manages to block Ichigo's attacks with his bare hands. Desperately, Ichigo decides to fire a single getsuga tenshō which connects, damaging Grimmjow. Ichigo remarks that he can probably use getsuga tenshō 3 or 4 more times before he loses control and his hollow side manifests itself. Kaname Tōsen interrupts the fight and takes Grimmjow back to Hueco Mundo, leaving an unsatisfied Ichigo to sulk in his apparent loss.
Ichigo, unable to control his inner hollow, accepts Shinji Hirako's offer and seeks out the vizard in order to gain control. During a sparring match with Hiyori Sarugaki, he loses control to his hollow side once more, and nearly kills her. After reverting back to his shinigami state, Ichigo is informed that he cannot simply keep his hollow in check with his body or mind, but must force it into the very core of his soul. After a brief period of unappreciated training, Ichigo is told to confront his hollow side within his inner world. There, Ichigo squares off against his hollow self. Even after several exchanges, Ichigo is unable to damage the hollow, while badly injured and stabbed himself. Finally, Ichigo is defeated, and his sword shatters. After a brief discourse with his hollow, and then another with an inner manifestation of Kenpachi Zaraki, Ichigo realizes his trouble is that he lacks pure fighting spirit, instead needing reasons to fight his opponents. His spirit rekindled by this revelation, Ichigo is able to make a comeback, seizing the hollow's sword and impaling him on it. His hollow subdued for the moment, Ichigo fades back to reality. When he comes to, he learns that while he was fighting internally, his outer body had transformed into that of a powerful and berserk hollow. The vizard had taken turns battling this monster, and Ichigo had regained control just as it was about to launch a cero energy blast, saving the vizard Love from its impact. Ichigo then trains with Hiyori to increase the amount of time he can stay in masked form.
A month later, the arrancar once again invade Karakura, and Ichigo brashly heads off to fight Grimmjow even though he can only remain in his masked form for 11 seconds. This backfires, as despite using his masked form, and Grimmjow's loss of an arm since their last meeting, Ichigo is unable to defeat him within the 11-second limit. His mask crumbles, and Ichigo is brutally counter-attacked. On the brink of defeat and pinned to the ground, Ichigo is granted a short reprieve by Rukia. As Grimmjow recovers from Rukia's attack, Shinji Hirako appears and fights him until the arrancar retreat by order of Ulquiorra.
When tending to Ichigo's wounds, the vizard Hachigen reveals that Ichigo's spiritual power has been contaminated somewhat by Grimmjow's. As per his instructions, Rukia takes him back to the Kurosaki Clinic to recover. While in a deep sleep, he is visited by Orihime, who has been taken prisoner by the arrancar and given a twelve hour reprieve by Ulquiorra to say good-bye to just one person. Orihime tries to kiss a sleeping Ichigo as well as confessing her love for him.
Later, he wakes from a bad dream and realizes that the wound from his wrist is healed. Trying to sense by spiritual pressure who has healed him, he is visited by Hitsugaya who tells him to come immediately for an emergency shinigami meeting. The meeting is held at Inoue's apartment where Hitsugaya and Matsumoto took up residence, and the other shinigami are also present. The meeting is done via a live-conference device connecting Soul Society and the human world, where Captain Ukitake greets them, and informs them that Inoue's two escorts report that she was taken by an arrancar and might have been killed. Ichigo informs them that she visited him to heal him the night before, which leads Yamamoto to believe that Inoue has betrayed them. Renji requests permission to go to Hueco Mundo to rescue her but the request is denied as Yamamoto justifies that the death of one person and the death of the world is weighted on a scale. Ichigo then appeals to go save Orihime by himself to Yamamoto but permission is denied once again, as Yamamoto states that Ichigo is a significant asset to Soul Society. The shinigami are ordered to return to Soul Society to fortify their defenses, leaving Ichigo alone.
Ichigo decides to make preparations with Urahara to single-handedly retrieve Inoue from Hueco Mundo. At school, Tatsuki confronts him about her sightings in which she becomes angry and violent over his relunctantness to explain himself. She reveals to him that she is able to sense his and Orihime's spiritual energy, and can see Ichigo and other shinigami. She is restrained by Keigo and Mizuiro while Ichigo walks away coldly telling his friends not to get involved. At Urahara's shop, Ichigo is joined by Ishida with his Quincy powers restored and Chad with a new more powerful right arm. After some convincing, the trio agree to help each other rescue Inoue and Urahara opens a gate to Hueco Mundo. Ichigo leads Chad and Ishida into Hueco Mundo but unknown to him, Tatsuki, Keigo, and Mizuiro had followed him and witnessed his departure.
[edit] Hueco Mundo arc
As Ichigo, Chad, and Ishida enter Hueco Mundo, they are immediately detected by Aizen and attacked by two arrancar, Demōra and Iceringer. Ichigo is then told to stay back and simply watch as Chad and Ishida engage the two arrancar by themselves. Once they are victorious, the room and passageway collapses around them, forcing the trio to race outside where they see their destination, a castle in the middle of a barren desert.
They see what looks to be a human being chased by three hollows. After Ichigo attacks the three, it is revealed that the 'human' is actually an arrancar named Nell and her brothers with their pet hollow, Bawabawa. Ichigo's group catches a ride on Bawabawa when they are attacked by another hollow, Lunuganga, which is made of sand. Ichigo is unable to hurt the hollow, but the trio is saved by Rukia and Renji when Rukia freezes Lunaganga in a circle of ice.
Ichigo and his group break into Las Noches and split into five directions, leaving Nell and her brothers behind. The siblings decide to follow Ichigo but get lost. Nell is the only one who catches up to Ichigo, arriving just in time to see Dordonii, a fallen Espada with a number of #103.
As Ichigo and Dordonii fight, the difference in power between the two quickly becomes apparent. Dordonii then suggests Ichigo use his final release (bankai) so at least he would stand a chance. Ichigo refused and said that he is going to beat all the Espada, but if he needed to use final release in every battle it would only be a sign of weakness. Dordonii then released his zanpakutō without unsheathing it, thus greatly increasing his power. In his released form and commanding the wind, Dordonii is more than a match for Ichigo.
Ichigo is "rescued" by Nell, who manages to absorb and reflect a cero blast aimed for Ichigo. Enraged, Dordonii attacks Nell, who is then saved by Ichigo, now using his bankai.
Dordonii, not satisfied with Ichigo's bankai, wishes to see his hollow form. He even resorts to attacking Nell in an attempt to force Ichigo to transform. Ichigo sets Nell aside and tells Dordonii he will show him his hollow form for only a second. Dordonii is pleased until Ichigo wounds him severely with one strike in his hollow form. Ichigo then reverts back to his normal state as Dordonii falls in apparent defeat. Nell heals Dordonii who tries to engage Ichigo again only to lose again. In thanks for Ichigo fighting him at his full, Dordonii battles the Exequias sent after Ichigo so he can get away.
[edit] Powers
[edit] Shinigami Powers
Ichigo is a Captain-level shinigami, and possesses a wide range of powers and techniques. 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 since he was a small child, both professionally and by his father'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.[4]
When he is in his shinigami body, Ichigo's already impressive strength is greatly enhanced. He can easily wield his sword one-handed, leap several stories into the air, and in one case even punched through three lieutenants' released zanpakutō bare-fisted in rapid succession, without any help from his own sword.
In terms of fighting style, Ichigo relies mostly on his zanpakutō, Zangetsu, and would be considered a zanjutsu (swordsmanship) specialist. He has also quickly gained mastery of shunpo (flash steps), while he was in Soul Society. Ichigo has never been formally taught kidō (demon arts), instead preferring straight melee combat.
[edit] Hollow Powers
Ichigo's powers are not limited to just shinigami abilities; he also bears hollow powers, thanks to him becoming a hollow temporarily before he awoke his true shinigami power. At different points in the series, these hollow powers have manifested themselves in different ways. Initially, his hollow would appear when Ichigo began to approach death. At these times, a mask would appear on Ichigo's face, and his strength and abilities would greatly increase. Later on, as his hollow side became more invasive, Ichigo would be effectively paralyzed each time it emerged, as he attempted to resist his inner hollow. The title page of chapter 220 depicts the hollow with the mirror writing of Ichigo's name. The arrancar Ulquiorra has claimed that Ichigo's strength is even greater than his own when berserk, but it fluctuated widely; Ichigo's fluctuations were the primary reason why he let Ichigo survive their first encounter.
After training with the vizard and subjugating his inner hollow, Ichigo is now able to use his masked hollow transformation[5] at will, though only for 11 seconds consecutively. During this transformation, his hollow powers supplement his shinigami powers and he has the ability to freely use techniques that are otherwise limited in his shinigami form, such as the black getsuga tenshō.
While he was in training with the vizard, Ichigo was for a short period completely overcome by his hollow side, to the point that his body completely turned into a hollow. This body demonstrated a set of previously unseen abilities. These included instantaneous regeneration, enhancement of limbs, and the capability to fire cero from his fingers. However, this form didn't last long as Ichigo emerged from the hollow shell as his standard shinigami self.
[edit] 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).[6]
During his initial sealed state, Ichigo's zanpakutō 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.
[edit] Initial Release (Shikai)
The released 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, 174 cm, and has a black blade and silver edge. Ichigo's zanpakutō is different in that it always stays in its released state. 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. This may be because he was never taught how to do so, or because it was broken during his training with Kisuke Urahara.
Ichigo carries his zanpakutō on his back with an unusual sheath that appears as a wrapped up bandage-like cloth, which is generated by Zangetsu himself. When Ichigo engages in battle, the sheath automatically 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. 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 (using the tassle or wrappings that form the sheath) to 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.
[edit] Final Release (Bankai)
The final 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, 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, which replaces the cloth from its released 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 similar to the coat worn by his zanpakutō's spiritual form.
As explained by Byakuya Kuchiki, Ichigo's final release 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, 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 final release.
It also seems that Ichigo has not yet found any special abilities to his final release except for getsuga tenshō, which he already knows from his initial release; during final release, 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 initial release to final release. 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. Ichigo seems to be able to control its trajectory in the way that Byakuya is able to do with his final release. Ichigo says it's 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 three to four times, his hollow self would completely take over. This problem has been solved, however, with his defeat of his hollow self and control over his hollow powers.
[edit] References
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| Karakura High School: | Ichigo Kurosaki | Orihime Inoue | Uryū Ishida | Yasutora "Chad" Sado | Tatsuki Arisawa | Keigo Asano |
| Shinigami: | Shigekuni Yamamoto-Genryūsai & Chōjirō Sasakibe | Soifon & Marechiyo Ōmaeda | Gin Ichimaru & Izuru Kira | Retsu Unohana, Isane Kotetsu, & Hanatarō Yamada | Sōsuke Aizen & Momo Hinamori | Byakuya Kuchiki & Renji Abarai | Sajin Komamura & Tetsuzaemon Iba | Shunsui Kyōraku & Nanao Ise | Kaname Tōsen & Shūhei Hisagi | Tōshirō Hitsugaya & Rangiku Matsumoto | Kenpachi Zaraki, Yachiru Kusajishi, Ikkaku Madarame, & Yumichika Ayasegawa | Mayuri Kurotsuchi & Nemu Kurotsuchi | Jūshirō Ukitake, Kaien Shiba & Rukia Kuchiki | Kisuke Urahara, Yoruichi Shihouin, & Isshin Kurosaki |
| Vizard: | Shinji Hirako | Other Vizard |
| Arrancar: | Ulquiorra | Grimmjow Jaggerjack | Yammy | Wonderwice Margera | Other Arrancar |
| Other characters: | Ganju Shiba | Kon | Ryūken Ishida | Jin Kariya | Other Bounts |
