what lies in true courage-

Wednesday, November 01, 2006

Basic info: Classed: Substitute Shinigami
First Seen: Volume 001, Chapter 001a
Hair color: Orange
Eye color: Brown
Age: 15
Height: 174cm
Weight: 61kg
Birthday: July 7
Blood Type: AO
Occupation: Highschool student / Shinigami

• Name Meanings

Ichigo’s name can be undestood in many ways. Officially, Ichigo's name means "Ichi" for "One" and "Go" for "Protector", as explained by him in episode 21 to Ikkaku. Other versions would say that his "Ichigo" can translate to "Strawberry", as a reference to his hair, or that the separation of the name into "Ichi" and "Go" can mean "one" and "five"; this can be seen as both his age, and the number-sign that appear on his room door.

• Personality Description

On first impression, people would say Ichigo is an anti-social though guy; this is however a front he sets up towards other people. Only those who he calls friend truly knows the depths of his character, seeing him as determined, compassionate, and driven by the need to do what is right, no matter the personal loss to himself. As a Shinigami, he possesses more endurance than experience, which leads to alot of scolding from higher skilled people for his lack of skill but in time they see how deep his potential is and are even more amazed by how fast he grows in skill. It is seen that his determination is his true strength, forcing him to push onward where anyone else would quit, and even to surpass his own limitations when the need arises.

However from the moment he had regained his Shinigami powers a darker being was awakend in his soul; mostely refered as Inner-hollow or Inner-Ichigo. This personality only started to take over when Ichigo reached the power of bankai and was about to die. This part of Ichigo fights with supreme understanding of the use of Zangetsu and unlike the kind Ichigo he fights without hesitations ad only pauzes for arrogant taunts. The main objective of the Inner-hollow is to get complete control over Ichigo’s body. But thanks to the Vaizard training he was able to overcome his Inner-hollow and gain his power, but he did get the warning that if Ichigo would ever lose his determination and be on the brink of death that he would take over once again.

• Character History

Kurosaki Ichigo is the main character of the ''Bleach'' series , a fifteen year old high school student from Karakura High who has the power to see ghosts. By the age of three, he had already begun training in the martial arts, leading him to meet Tatsuki Arisawa for the first time. When he was nine years old, his mother was killed when he tried to save a person from commiting suicide. He later learned it was a hollow named Grand Fisher who killed his mother. The result of his mother's loss took a great toll on him, bringing him as far as to blame himself for the event.

Ichigo held his head up high since his mother died considering he was a cry baby when he was young. Ichigo's lifestyle has been rough ever since childhood; he was picked on when he was young due to his unusually colored hair, which resulted in his stick to himself attitude. By age 15, he had developed a reputation within his school as trouble; as a result, he works hard to keep his grades, if for nothing more than to spite those teachers who look upon him with negative views. His tough guy attitude, combined with martial arts training and naturally gifted physique, gives him the power to fight to defend himself and others who are in the need of help. The high spiritual powers he possesses also leads him to protect the memory of those spirits who linger on, defending their memorial sites from those who didn't show their respect.

Ichigo’s life drastically changes after he met a shinigami girl named Kuchiki Rukia. Kuchiki Rukia is a Shinigami (which is translated as death god/soul reaper in English) from Soul Society. Ichigo acquired the Shinigami powers from Rukia when a Hollow invaded the Ichigo residence and threatened the life of his two sisters Yuzu and Karin and the hollow left Shinigami Rukia unable to defend them; so she decided to give her powers to Ichigo to kill the hollow and to protect his family. Rukia only intended to transfer some of her powers to Ichigo but like manifest destiny Ichigo took all her powers and became a Shinigami with unique powers.

So Ichigo's life starts a new as a Shinigami, as he battles endless hollows to protect the people he cares for and the helpless. Rukia having no power left to return to soul society has to stay by Ichigo's side by the use of a Gigai and as she waits to regain her energy she teaches Ichigo the Shinigami ways and all she knows. But when Ichigo drove back a Menos Grande; he found Rukia missing the next evening and found a letter from her which said goodbye and thanks. Ichigo immediatly went after her but she was already found by 2 people from Soul Society; one of them was Rukia’s brother. Ichigo learned that the transfer of Shinigami powers was a felony and Rukia would be punished, with this knowledge he fought the other guy named Abarai Renji. At first he was losing but he suddenly boosted his spirit power and before he could finish Renji, Rukia’s brother named Byakuya fataly injured Ichigo and broke his Zanpakutou in two. In order to let Ichigo survive she agreed to go back to Soul Sociey and face punishment. The last she said to Ichigo was not to follow him and then the 3 dissapeared through a gate. Ichigo lay down, dying on the ground but was saved by a mysterious merchant named Urahara Kisuke; an exiled shinigami. Ichigo had lost his Shinigami powers he had from Rukia but he then learned he had his own Shinigami powers deep within his soul during the training he got from Urahara in order to save Rukia. He then went to Soul Society with his classmates: Chad, Inoue, Ishida & a talking cat named Yoruichi, in order to save Rukia.

Where Ichigo had entered Soul Society as below the level of a Lieutenant, he left there as a Shinigami of high renown, having defeated four Lieutenants, as well as Captains Zaraki Kenpachi and Kuchiki Byakuya, in his short time there. As proof of his skill, he was awarded with a Medallion by Shinigami Captain, Ukitake Jyuushiro, signifying Kurosaki as a Substitute Shinigami, recognized by Soul Society as an ally.

Once back in the human world Ichigo continued fighting normal hollows and led a normal live, this however did not last very long. A mysterious person, Shinji (a person who just joined his class) attacked Ichigo with a Zanpaktou while Ichigo was looking for hollows. Shinji then explained that he was a Vaizard (a masked soldier in English) and that he was the same as Ichigo. He told Ichigo that he wanted him to join the Vaizards but Ichigo refused and went off to a strong hollow energy. When he got there he found Chad severely injured and Inoue about to be attacked, with strong determination he went into bankai and sliced of the arm of the human-like hollow. But Ichigo’s Inner-hollow wants to surface which renders Ichigo unable to fight and he gets injured pretty bad. Luckily he was saved by Urahara and Yoruichi. After that event a team from Soul Society, which included Rukia, came undercover in Gigai’s to Ichigo’s school. Hitsugaya leaded this team and explained everything about the two hollows he had faced, which were created by Aizen, the Arrancars. That night a group of Arrancars came to Ichigo’s town to kill everyone with an above average spirit power. Ichigo joined the Soul Society team but he saw an Arrancar which was even more powerfull then the ones he faced before pierce Rukia with his bare hand. This Arrancar was a higher level, Espada Nr. 6 called GrimJaw. Ichigo went into bankai again and was able delivering only a scar by using Getsuga Tenshou (the only technique he learned from Zangetsu, and also used against Byakuya as his final move), after he did that Ichigo’s Inner-hollow started trying to take over again, once again Ichigo was defensless but GrimJaw couldn’t kill him because Tousen told him to go back to the hollow world. This incident was the last drop for Ichigo and he went to seek out the Vaizards in order to get control over his powers. Once he got there he made clear that he wouldn’t join them but he did wan’t the training to supress his Inner-hollow. He then learned how to do this and how to summon the mask which gave him the power the Inner-hollow uses. But until now he can only maintain the mask 14 seconds, he fought this way when GrimJaw came after him again but the mask broke before he could deliver the final blow, Ichigo was drained from his powers but Rukia interfered but that didn’t stop GrimJaw long and Rukia was about to get killed but at the last second Shinji saved them. Ulquirra saved GrimJaw and said that their mission was complete. The day after they found out Inoue was now in Hueco Mundo (hollow world), the leaders from Soul Society think she joined up with Aizen but Ichigo gets angry when he hears this because he knows that could never be true. Ichigo asks for Soul Society to lead him into Hueco Mundo so he can save Inoue but they refuse to help him. Of course Ichigo is determined to save her so he heads to Urahara, who to Ichigo’s suprise had already made the preparations to go after Inoue. The bigger suprise for Ichigo was that Chad & Ishida were coming along with the same determination. And so they went into the darkness of Hueco Mundo.

{/Wednesday, November 01, 2006}
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