BLEACH SPOTLIGHT:
ICHIGO KUROSAKI

year 14, month 5

Here we are, once again, showcasing some of our fandoms greatest characters! Last time we had a look at one of the deadly Quincies of the Thousand Year Blood War Arc, Bambietta Basterbine. What a name! I wonder where Tite Kubo came up with that one! Well, we love our side characters and supporting villains, but today we are going to dive into the profile of the main of the main, our orange haired strawberry, Ichigo Kurosaki!

Ichigo Kurosaki has been the focal point of the entire series since 2001, when we met him at the very beginning, making him almost 23 years old in our memories! (Not in the actual fandom though, of course). This character made a big splash on the manga pages when we watched him beat up a bunch of ruffians for desecrating a memorial spot of a little girl. This made us know that, while he was a bit of a “yeah whatever” kind of character, he still had some heart. This theme carried on throughout the series, directing his decisions and choices and affecting the overall movement of the world around him. So, let’s take a good look at who he really is!
 

ICHIGO KUROSAKI’S FASHION LIFE

There is so much to know about Ichigo Kurosaki. When we started the journey, he was a 15 year old high school student attending Karakura High School (yeah, he looks older than this, I was shocked in the beginning too). Ichigo was born July 15th 1985, making him 17 as of the ending of the Thousand Year Blood War arc. Even though his powers are a bit all over the place, Ichigo was born to a Shinigami, Isshin Kurosaki, and Quincy Masaki Kurosaki. This mixture of blood makes him a rather unique hybrid species, though officially he is a Human Quincy. Ichigo is best known for his orange coloured hair, which he would often get mocked over. Out of all the characters in the series, none have quite had as many fashion changes as him, as he has seven different outfit changes, including his bankai uniforms, but not including the Hell Arc armour. Ichigo’s uniforms always seem to change depending on the kind of power he wields.

ICHIGO KUROSAKI’S POWERS

Now this is quite a big list to go through, as Ichigo has demonstrated many different kinds of powers, but we will only cover the canon material. So! First off is Ichigo’s Shinigami power, which he gained from being stabbed by Rukia Kuchiki in the very beginning of the series. This is the main power we all see, which we eventually learn is called Zangetsu. Ichigo Kurosaki’s shikai has changed drastically over the series, starting as a huge curved blade with no tsuba and only a bandage for the handle.

During the Fullbringer arc, the form changed slightly, giving his blade a longer and more jagged appearance. However, it wasn’t until TYBW that the blade changed to its true form, a merge of his shinigami and hollow powers. Now, Zangetus takes the form of two all black swords, one still looking similar to his previous sword, and another looking like a khyber knife with a handle formed above the blade.

In bankai, the sword has always had the same change, going from a huge hack and slash sword, to a thinner and more usable katana. Again, in the Fullbringer arc, it changed appearance to look more like a broad saber. Finally, in TYBW, the blade turns into a variation of his smaller khyber knife which becomes the inner part of the sword with black wrapping fixed to it, making the blade slanted and a guard made from the blade. Ichigo Kurosaki’s bankai is called Tensa Zangetsu.

Apart from bankai, one of Ichigo’s last moves is the Final Getsuga Tensho. This is a merging between his zanpakuto and himself, creating a form of unreal power. However, if he uses this technique, he loses his powers, as he did after his fight against Sosuke Aizen.  

HOLLOW, QUINCY, AND FULLBRING?!

Ichigo has had plenty of powers previously, but all were only stepping stones to his final form. One that still continues now is his hollow power. Ichigo had the ability to use a vizard mask to summon his inner hollow powers and enhance his combat. We haven’t seen it used since the Arrancar seasons but it's fair to assume he can still do it. Now, his hollow power comes in a full transformation, making him look like a half mix of his inner spirit and his vasto lorde transformation from the Ulquiorra fight.

Ichigo’s brief time as a fullbringer gave him probably his weakest powers, yet still very capable. This depended on using his substitute shinigami badge as his object affinity to recreate a version of his old shinigami powers. In its final form, Ichigo had a full armour and sword that looked somewhat similar to his bankai form.

Due to his Quincy heritage, Ichigo was able to access Quincy power as well, but only Blut Vene, a defensive form of Quincy Blut which armours the skin and blocks attacks.
 

YOUR WORLD, YOUR POWER

Ichigo sure had a whole lot of development in his powers, and on World of Reapers, you get to craft your own journey too! Whether it’s creating a cool Fullbring or developing your own Zanpakuto, or even riding dragons as a Witch, there’s no end to the creative imagination you can access! Be like Ichigo Kurosaki and make a terrifying power that will leave your enemies quaking!

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