Ichigo Kurosaki

Ichigo Kurosaki character in the Bleach manga series He is the main protagonist of the Bleach series who receives Soul Reaper powers after befriending Rukia Kuchiki, the Soul Reaper assigned to patrol around the fictional city of Karakura Town. Ichigo is a Human who is also a Substitute Shinigami. Ichigo is the son of Isshin and Masaki Kurosaki, and older brother of Karin and Yuzu. He is also a Jump Force Teammate of Licht, Natsu, Goku, Dark, Subaru, and Ayato. He is good former friend of the other teammate Yugi, Jaden, Yusei, Yuma, Yuya, Yusaku, and Clarice in the anime Tag Force Chronicle.

Appearance
Ichigo's most distinguishing feature is his spiky orange hair, a trait he has been ridiculed about for years on end. He is a fairly tall, lean-built young man with peach skin and brown eyes. He likes to wear slim fitting clothes. He has a tendency to wear shirts patterned with the number 15 because his name is a homonym for the number. Since becoming a Shinigami, he has become noticeably more muscular, as noted by his sister Karin. When in his spiritual form, Ichigo wears the standard Shinigami attire, with the addition of a strap across his chest. Initially, it was a thick brown belt to hold his Zanpakutō sheath, but it later became a red rosary-like strap after awakening his own Shinigami powers. It is shaped like a kite with a flat top and bottom. Ichigo's appearance has caused several people, including Jūshirō Ukitake, to note a similarity to Kaien Shiba, the former lieutenant of the 13th Division. After training in the Dangai, Ichigo's hair grows considerably, and he is noticeably taller, as stated by his friends. After Ichigo loses his Shinigami powers, his appearance reverts to the way it was before his Dangai training.

Personality
When he was younger, Ichigo considered his mother to be the center of his world, always smiling when he was with Masaki and regularly holding her hand. Despite crying whenever he lost in a match at the dojo he attended, Ichigo started to smile again as soon as he saw Masaki when she came to pick him up. At a very young age, Ichigo heard his father saying his name means "to protect one thing," which instilled in him a desire to protect his mother. When his sisters were born, he began attending a dojo for the sake of protecting them. Since then, the number of people he wishes to protect has continued to grow, causing Ichigo to risk his life to protect both the people close to him and complete strangers.

As a teenager, Ichigo is stubborn, short-tempered, strong-willed, and impulsive. Despite claiming not to care about what other people think about him, he attempts to maintain a detached and "cool" image. He generally keeps his face set in a near-permanent scowl, with his eyebrows drawn together. His outspoken, hot-headed demeanor is a trait Ichigo himself has acknowledged, and if somebody picks a fight with him, he cannot help fighting back. He coldly refers to his teachers as "instructors". He is genuinely compassionate and empathetic towards others, promising to bring a Plus flowers and a toy plane, or soothing others when they become upset.

Ichigo is a capable student, ranked 23rd in his year at school, who studies regularly and does not neglect his schoolwork. He works as hard as he does to overcome the misconceptions many have about him based on his hair color and fighting. Ichigo hates fortune telling, horoscopes, feng shui, psychics, and anyone whose trade involves taking money from people for things they cannot see. He has difficulty remembering people's faces and names. However, Ichigo can remember the names of noticeable individuals even when they did not directly tell him their names. Ichigo becomes extremely shy and uncomfortable around nude or immodestly dressed women, a fact both Yoruichi Shihōin and Rangiku Matsumoto have teased him for. Ichigo is often disrespectful when talking to those older than himself, calling Genryūsai Shigekuni Yamamoto "gramps" and referring to several of the Shinigami captains by their given names without using honorifics.

When it comes to fighting, Ichigo has a complex sense of honor; he regularly seeks to exact revenge for the cruel actions of his opponent, such as instilling the fear of being murdered in Shrieker and cutting off the right arm of Yammy Llargo in retaliation for him ripping Yasutora Sado's right arm off. He often taunts and belittles his opponents when fighting, sometimes attacking without warning. Ichigo has a strong desire to win his fights, but in what he views as a legitimate manner. To this end, he has often refused the aid of his inner Hollow, even when knowing it would allow him to win. Ichigo's resolve in battle can waver at times, which can impede his fighting prowess, and goes into a state of depression and self-loathing when he loses a major battle or lets a friend down.

Ichigo despises those who mistreat their allies in any way, even if they are his own enemies. He was disgusted when Yammy calls Ulquiorra Cifer, Nnoitra Gilga, and Grimmjow Jaegerjaquez "trash".

Quincy Powers & Abilities
Blut (血装 (ブルート), burūto; German for "Blood," Japanese for "Blood Guise"): A Quincy ability which gives one inhuman defensive & offensive capability. Blut Vene (静血装 (ブルート・ヴェーネ), burūto vēne; German for "Blood Vein", Japanese for "Stilled Blood Guise"): One of two Blut abilities, Blut Vene is the defensive Blut. Ichigo's imprisonment by Quilge Opie transferred some of Quilge's Reiatsu to Ichigo, which awakened the memories within his Reiatsu left by his mother, who was a Quincy. This has given him access to the defensive Blut. He has used it to survive an attack from Yhwach's sword, which only left a small cut. This power can also be used to aid Ichigo against critical wounds that have already been inflicted, able to stop the severe loss of blood that would be caused from said wound.

Trivia

 * According to Shonen Jump's character popularity polls, Ichigo was consistently the most popular character in Bleach in the first three polls, but ranked 3rd in the fourth popularity poll.
 * Ichigo's Zanpakutō, Zangetsu, was voted the 3rd most popular Zanpakutō in the Zanpakutō popularity poll, while his Bankai, Tensa Zangetsu, was ranked 10th.
 * As credited by Tite Kubo, his theme music is "News from the Front" by Bad Religion.
 * Ichigo claims his name comes from ichi for first prize and go for guardian angel, though his father told him his name means "he who protects." Using certain kanji (苺), Ichigo's name can mean "strawberry," which led Jidanbō Ikkanzaka to comment that Ichigo has a cute name and Mashiro Kuna to nickname him "Berry-tan". Upon hearing his name, Ikkaku Madarame stated men whose names contain the word ichi are often powerful and talented.
 * The number 15 on Ichigo's bedroom door is both a reference to his age and a pun on his name: ichi-go can be read to mean "one-five (一五)".
 * Despite various people noticing how Ichigo resembles Kaien Shiba in looks and personality, neither Ganju nor Kūkaku, Kaien's siblings, have commented on that.
 * In the manga, after Ichigo sliced of one of Grand Fisher's tentacles, he cut off the Hollow's arm in order to save Karin. In the anime however, Eikichirō Saidō sliced off Grand Fisher's arm instead.
 * In the manga, Kanonji protects Ichigo from the Demi-Hollow and frees the Shinigami's Zanpakutō while inside the abandoned hospital. In the anime however, this all takes place on the roof of the hospital, and Kanonji frees Ichigo from being bonded to the railings instead.
 * In the manga, after Ichigo won his battle against Byakuya, he yelled in victory before collapsing. However, in the anime, he yelled in pain instead.
 * There is some inconsistency regarding Ichigo's wounds from training with Hiyori when Orihime arrived at the Visored Warehouse to find him. Though in the anime the wounds aren't visible, but between pages in the manga, they aren't initially visible, but then reappear in the next pages.
 * When Ichigo takes a new Hollow form in his fight against Ulquiorra, the chapter sketches reveal his Substitute Shinigami Badge is broken.
 * In chapter 499, Ichigo's Bankai's tsuba seems to revert to its previous form, rather than being curved and jagged.
 * Though his Reiatsu is gold in the manga, the anime portrays it as blue.
 * In chapter 627, the shoulder pads on Ichigo's new Shinigami outfit appear to be reversed, with the scaled pad appearing on his right shoulder and the normal strap appearing on his left, when he first sees the new Wandenreich city.
 * Ichigo's registry number in Xcution was 007.