Ichigo Kurosaki

Ichigo Kurosaki (黒崎 一護) is the main character of the manga and anime 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 and sending Pluses to the afterlife. According to the Shonen Jump's character popularity polls, Ichigo is consistently the most popular character in Bleach.

Character outline
Ichigo is a tough, 15-year-old who always attempts to cultivate a detached image, for which he 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 Yasutora Sado 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. He is uncomfortable around nude or immodestly dressed women.

Ichigo is also a capable student, ranked at 23 of 322 in his school. While this freaked out Keigo Asano at first (he feared Ichigo was turning into a nerd), Ichigo notes that he regularly studies and doesn't neglect his schoolwork, most likely due to the fact that he has nothing better to do at home as he states himself. Many people tend to misjudge him based on his unusual (but natural) hair color, so he works hard to overcome their misconceptions.

His name, when separated as ichi (一) and go (五), is 1 and 5 or 15, which may be the reason behind the two numbers' frequent appearances in the series. The word ichigo (イチゴ) actually means "strawberry" in Japanese, and is normally only used as a girl's name; he explains in one episode that the way it is spelled for his name is ichi as in "first prize" and go from "guardian angel." Ichigo's father once told him that his name means "he who protects."

After Ichigo's spiritual power is unlocked, many other characters begin to develop spiritual powers as a consequence. This is because Ichigo produces so much spiritual power 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, and some even develop their own powers as a result.

Family
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. Isshin has a competitive rivalry with his son, and randomly attacks Ichigo at inconvenient times, 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, as well as his siblings to a lesser extent, has the ability to see and communicate with ghosts. While all the members of his family are able to see ghosts, Ichigo has the highest amount of natural spiritual power, though Karin has a comparable degree of spiritual awareness. Ichigo's father is also revealed to be a captain-level shinigami in exile who gave up his powers twenty years prior to the main storyline, having only recently regained them.

History
Ichigo's mother, Masaki Kurosaki, began taking him to a dojo to learn karate when he was four years old. There, he met and fought with Tatsuki Arisawa, whom he lost to the first few times. Whenever this happened, he'd start crying, only to stop instantly when comforted by his mother, to whom he was greatly attached.

When Ichigo was nine, 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 some kind falling through the air. 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 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.

Three 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 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 for each other in any situation.

Early story
At the beginning of the series, Ichigo sees and confronts Rukia Kuchiki, a shinigami (Soul Reapers in the English dub), 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 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.

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 fifty 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 and take his sisters home. She is reminded of Kaien Shiba'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 collapses into Rukia's arms from exhaustion.

During a duel with Uryū Ishida, a Quincy, a massive amount of hollows, including a Menos Grande, are drawn to the human world and defeated in one form or another, mostly by Ichigo and Ishida. Chad and Orihime also have their dormant powers awakened as a result, and each defeat a hollow on their own. 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 – both high ranking shinigami who come to arrest Rukia. During their battle, the two sources of Ichigo's power are destroyed, leaving him an ordinary human soul. 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 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. A hollow mask, a remnant of his training with Urahara, also consistently appears and reappears on his person to block what would normally be fatal blows. 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, 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. 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 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 attack. 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 functions like Rukia's glove and alerts him to the presence of hollows.

Bount arc
In the anime, after his adventures in Soul Society, Ichigo finds himself unable to perform the final release 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, which ends up unsuccessful, 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 says that Yoshino disobeyed 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. While visiting Ishida in the hospital, the group is met by Ban and Hō, Bount twins who use dolls that manipulate water. Ichigo attempts to defeat them, but any damage sustained to the dolls quickly regenerates, making attacking fairly pointless. 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 infiltrate Jin 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. His spiritual power surprises both Udagawa and Maki Ichinose, a shinigami deserter from the 11th Division who 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 succumb to his previous injuries. Izuru Kira soon appears to lend a helping hand, disabling the doll. Koga retreats, unwilling to kill such young men due to an incident in his past with a young Bount.

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; however, Ichigo grasps Zangetsu and stabs himself, absorbing the sword and speaking with its spirit, reaffirming his resolve. Ichigo uses his final release and the fight continues, but Kariya and Ichigo are now evenly matched. They are interrupted by Ishida who has temporarily regained his powers through a Quincy artifact. 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, then helps the Bounts to reach Soul Society since his artifact will be more effective there. Unfortunately, the Bount are also much stronger in Soul Society.

In Soul Society, they use Kūkaku Shiba's house as their initial base of operations and separate to search for the Bounts. After the Bount Yoshi almost kills Rukia Kuchiki, she is saved by Byakuya. Ichigo asks Byakuya for assistance, but Byakuya refuses, making it clear that he still dislikes Ichigo.

Later, he comes across Kariya and Byakuya fighting in a forest and joins in, even though Byakuya tells him he is not needed. Despite being outnumbered, Kariya is able to hold his own. Rantao, the shinigami that created the Bounts, steps in during the battle, giving Kariya a chance to escape with Koga while 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 explains the dangers of Ishida's battle accessory.

After departing from Rantao's home, 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, allowing the others to pursue the Bounts.

At the Technological Institute, Ichigo and Chad catch up to Kariya, but neither are able to stop him. Their battle inadvertently unearths the Jōkaishō, a massive energy source, which Kariya had been searching for. Kariya absorbs the energy and uses its destructive potential as a threat to keep Ichigo at bay. He then gives the whole of Soul Society a day to think about their impending destruction. With permission from Matsumoto, Ichigo uses the 10th Division as a base of operations during this time.

The next day, he saves both Ishida and Rantao from Kariya, and the two get into a protracted battle across most of Soul Society. They fight for a time, with Kariya being somewhat distracted yet still somewhat superior to Ichigo. He finally announces that he cannot waste any more time on Ichigo and summons his doll, which appears as a metallic hilt shaped like the Bount seal fused to his arm with a wind/electric blade. After much effort on Ichigo's part, the battle ends in a final sword clash, with Ichigo the victor. Before dying, Kariya tells Ichigo before turning into dust that he regrets not being able to watch if Ichigo will walk down the same path (where his friends eventually fear his immense power and desert him) he did because they were both burdened with great powers. This led Ichigo to wonder whether Kariya's actions up to now were to end his own eternal life.

The events of this arc leave Ichigo reminiscing about his life in the days preceding his encounter with Rukia. The group soon returned to the real world, with Rukia remaining behind, and Shinji Hirako awaiting them in Karakura town.

Arrancar arc
After returning from Soul Society with his friends, without 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, 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 his friends, the first being 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. Desperate, Ichigo uses his getsuga tenshō to damage Grimmjow. In his final release form, using the move allows his hollow side to become dominant, and Ichigo remarks that two or three more uses of it would allow his hollow to completely take over. Kaname Tōsen interrupts the fight and takes Grimmjow back to Hueco Mundo, leaving an unsatisfied Ichigo to sulk in his apparent loss and worry over an injured Rukia.

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 to keep it in check. 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 eleven 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 eleven-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 Ichigo while he sleeps, but is unable to. She does, however, confess her love for him.

Later, Ichigo 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 Orihime's apartment where Hitsugaya and Matsumoto took up residence and done via a live-conference device connecting Soul Society and the human world. Captain Ukitake greets them and informs them Orihime 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 Orihime has betrayed them. Renji requests permission to go to Hueco Mundo to rescue her but the request is denied, as Yamamoto believes that the death of one person and the death of the world are weighted on a scale, thus saving Orihime is not important overall. Ichigo asks to go save Orihime by himself, but Yamamoto once again denies the suggestion, stating 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.

Despite Yamamoto's decision, Ichigo decides to make preparations with Urahara to single-handedly retrieve Orihime from Hueco Mundo. At school, Tatsuki confronts him about her sightings in which she becomes angry and violent over his reluctantness 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 Orihime 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.

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 so at least he would stand a chance. Ichigo refuses and says 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 releases 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 blast aimed for Ichigo. Enraged, Dordonii attacks Nell, who is then saved by Ichigo, now using his final release.

Dordonii, not satisfied with Ichigo's final release, 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, but for only a second. Dordonii is pleased at first, but Ichigo severely wounds him with one strike in his hollow form. Ichigo then reverts back to his normal state as Dordonii falls in apparent defeat. Nell heals Dordonii and he tries to engage Ichigo again, but is once again defeated. In thanks for Ichigo fighting him at his full, Dordonii battles the Exequias sent after Ichigo so he can get away.

Shinigami powers
Ichigo, though not possessing any formal shinigami rank, can fight on the level of a shinigami captain and possesses several powerful techniques. 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 might take someone else weeks or years. One example is the final release of his zanpakutō, which he learns in three days while a normal shinigami would require hundreds of years of combat experience and at least ten additional years of special training to learn the same thing. It should be noted, however, that he used a special device designed by Urahara to accelerate the process. He also quickly gains mastery of flash steps while training with Yoruichi.

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.

When he is in his shinigami body, Ichigo's already impressive strength is greatly enhanced. He can easily wield his giant sword one-handed, leap several stories into the air, and in one case even fought off three lieutenants and their released zanpakutō bare-handed in rapid succession. He even shattered one of their released zanpakutō in a single punch.

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 (demon arts).

Normally, when going to the human world, captain and vice-captain-ranked shinigami have a limit placed on their power so they will not cause "unnecessary influence." Because he is not a ranked officer, Ichigo possesses no such limit. What exactly this "unnecessary influence" refers to is unclear. It may relate to the way Ichigo's friends developed spiritual powers by proximity to him.

Hollow powers
Ichigo's powers are not limited to just shinigami abilities; he possesses hollow powers as a result of his training with Urahara. Because he had to temporarily become a hollow (at least partially) to awaken his shinigami powers, he possesses a hollow spirit within him.

Ichigo's hollow spirit is a more evil version of Ichigo himself, as is common with humans who become hollows. The spirit is confident in his own superiority, and mocks Ichigo's inability whenever he gets the opportunity. He's also fond of taunting other opponents about their own weaknesses, another trait common amongst hollows. The title page of chapter 220 depicts the inner hollow with the mirror writing of Ichigo's name.

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, which Ichigo never noticed until after the fact. During his battle with Byakuya Kuchiki, the mask appeared on his face when he was near death, allowing his inner hollow to take over until Ichigo suppressed it. The same event is repeated multiple times after that, though Ichigo's ability to suppress it got quicker each time. Eventually, Ichigo's ability to suppress his hollow got quick enough that he could suppress it almost instantly. However, doing so left him effectively paralyzed during such periods, since his concentration was focused on suppressing it rather than fighting.

While his inner hollow is dominant, Ichigo is able to ignore any current injuries and becomes far faster and stronger than normal. The arrancar Ulquiorra has claimed that Ichigo's hollow-enhanced strength is even greater than his own when berserk, but fluctuates widely; Ichigo's fluctuations were the primary reason why he let Ichigo survive their first encounter.

While he was in training with the vizard, Ichigo's physical body was completely overcome by his inner hollow for a short period, causing his body to completely transform into a hollow. As a full hollow, Ichigo demonstrated several high-level abilities, including instantaneous 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.

After training with the vizard and subjugating his inner hollow, Ichigo can use his hollow mask while retaining his personality, but only for eleven seconds at a time. During this transformation, his hollow powers supplement his shinigami powers, giving him a vast increase in both strength and speed.

Zangetsu
Ichigo's zanpakutō is named Zangetsu (斬月 lit. moon cutter). Unlike those of most shinigami, who can seal their zanpakutō after releasing it, Ichigo's zanpakutō is always in its initial release state like the zanpakutō of Kenpachi Zaraki, likely due to the fact that both men possess unusually large amounts of spiritual energy. Yoruichi Shihouin has stated that his zanpakutō is a full-time released form type, implying that it is simply a type of zanpakutō that, once initially released, remains in said state.

The spirit of Zangetsu resembles a 30 to 40 year-old man, and Ichigo calls him "old man" or "uncle" (おっさん) as a result. Zangetsu has also been called the "black-clothed man" (黒衣の男). 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.

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 released form of Zangetsu resembles an oversized, though more elegant, cleaver blade without a hilt guard. 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 handle. 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. Zangetsu's special ability is the getsuga tenshō (月牙天衝, lit. moon sky-piercing fang), which fires concentrated energy blasts from the tip of the blade in the shape of a 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.

The final release of Zangetsu, named Tensa Zangetsu (天鎖斬月, lit. heavenly chains moon cutter), is considered completely out of the ordinary for any zanpakutō. Unlike most final releases, which usually create some sort of massive creature or effect, Ichigo's final release actually shrinks his sword down to a nodachi (Japanese long sword) with a black blade, a handguard in the shape of the manji (which is the kanji for "ban," meaning "full"), and a short chain dangling as the blade's tassel, which replaces the cloth from its initial release 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, much like that of Zangetsu himself.

While Ichigo's final release is usually a fairly short transformation, the initial transformation (as well as a few others for dramatic effect) has an extended sequence. First, Ichigo concentrates his spiritual aura around himself and his sword. The cloth section of his sword then wraps around his arm and Ichigo fires a blast forward or toward where his sword is facing. The transformation leaves a tremendous tornado behind, which when receding reveals Ichigo in his final release. In most cases, Ichigo merely performs a quickened version of the drawn-out transformation, excluding the large forward blast and the cloth wrapping around his arm.

As explained by Byakuya Kuchiki, Ichigo's final release is a compression of his power, rather than a vast expansion as other final releases 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. This form doesn't gain any additional special abilities, but it does possess an improved, black version of getsuga tenshō. In addition to the change in color, the black getsuga tenshō is much stronger and its path can be willfully controlled by Ichigo. The move 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.