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List of Bleach characters

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The major characters of the series in their high school uniforms.

The Bleach anime and manga series features a large number of characters created by Tite Kubo. The series takes place in a fictional universe in which the characters are divided into various factions and fictional races with distinct themes. All these races are human beings, that in the moment they died, they were able or not to rest in peace. Souls who manage to rest go to a place called Soul Society where they live for a long time until resurrecting in a new body or they instead can become Soul Reapers, who take care of souls.

The series opens telling how a teenager called Ichigo Kurosaki is given Soul Reapers power by Rukia Kuchiki. As he assumes the duties of a Soul Reaper, Ichigo has to fight against giant creatures called hollow which are really dead people who are not able to rest in peace. As he faces several hollows, some of his friends awake their own powers due to being close to him and start helping him. However, Soul Society, a type of military of Soul Reapers arrests Rukia for giving her powers to Ichigo and prepare to execute her. Unwilling to let her die, Ichigo and his friends go to rescue her to Soul Society, causing them to face several Soul Reapers. As the storyline continue, a former Soul Reaper called Sōsuke Aizen gathers a large number of hollows called arrancar, who obtained Reaper powers and prepares to attack Soul Society.

When creating the series, the author Kubo, is focused on around the a large number of new character designs and deals with making them participate in the plot. The characters have received praise and criticism by reviewers from anime, manga and other media. While some reviewers considered them "stereotypes" of manga characters, most of them remarked how each of them had their own characteristic and praised their illustration and how they fight.

Creation and conception

Bleach's creative process is focused around character design. When writing plotlines or having difficulties generating new material, Tite Kubo begins by thinking of new characters, often en masse, and rereading previous volumes of Bleach.[1] Kubo has said that he likes creating characters that have outward appearances that do not match their true nature, an element that can be found in many Bleach characters, as he is "attracted to people with that seeming contradiction" and finds an "urge to draw people like that when I work."[2] When creating characters for the manga, Kubo first attempts to create the design and later decide how it will be his personailty according to what he drew. Since creating them like this, Kubo considers every character to be unique and wants each of them to be developed along the series.[3] When asked about romantical relationships between certain characters, Kubo answers saying that he does not want to turn the series into a love story since he thinks there are more exciting aspects concerning theri personalities.[4] Bleach was first conceived from Tite Kubo's desire to draw a shinigami in a kimono, which formed the basis for the design of the Soul Reapers.[5] Several characteristics from them such as the kidō spells and the zanpakutō swords are also based on Japanese literature.[2] Rukia Kuchiki was the first character Kubo designed, but he did not see her as a lead character, so he created Ichigo Kurosaki to be the series protagonist.[6] Other characters from the series also use different languages to describe their terms. The powers from the Quincy are taken from German, while Hollows and arrancar instead use Spanish terms. Kubo became interested in Spanish because, to him, the language sounded "bewitching" and "mellow". The names of the arrancar are also based from famous Spanish architects and designers.[2]

Tite Kubo has cited influences for elements of Bleach ranging from other manga series to music, foreign language, architecture, and film. He attributes his interest in drawing the supernatural and monsters to Shigeru Mizuki's Ge Ge Ge no Kitaro and Bleach's focus on interesting weaponry and battle scenes to Masami Kurumada's Saint Seiya, both manga Kubo enjoyed as a boy.[5] Kubo has also commented that he has no tips when making characters designs though he mentions that one of his inspirations is by looking at people's faces, a trait Kubo used to do when he was a child.[7] One of his biggest problems in drawing the manga is the he has to make a chapter of 19 pages on a weekly basis. Although, he is helped by three assistants he has to do all the important illustrations and characters by himself.[8] In the making of battle scenes, Kubo's main inspiration is rock music. He comments he imagines the fights with that music and then he tries to find the best angle to make it.[9] Then, he tries to make the injures be very realistic in order to make the readers feel the pain the character is feeling.[1] Kubo mentions he sometimes is boring while illustrating them, so he tries to add a few jokes to make it more humorous.[9]

Primary characters

Ichigo Kurosaki

Main article: Ichigo Kurosaki

Ichigo Kurosaki (黒崎　一護, Kurosaki Ichigo) is the primary protagonist of Bleach, orange-haired high school junior Ichigo is forced to become a substitute Soul Reaper after unintentionally absorbing most of Rukia's powers.[10] His cynical nature at first makes him ill-disposed towards the duty, but with the passage of time he comes to accept and welcome the strength his Soul Reaper powers give him, as it allows him to protect those close to him.[11] In the Japanese series, he is voiced by Masakazu Morita while in the English adaptation he is voiced by Johnny Yong Bosch.[12][13]

Rukia Kuchiki

Main article: Rukia Kuchiki

Rukia Kuchiki (朽木 ルキア, Kuchiki Rukia) is a sarcastic Soul Reaper who is assigned hollow extermination duties in Ichigo's hometown. Though her physical appearance is that of a teenage girl, in reality she is around 150 years old. At the opening of the story, Rukia is forced to transfer her powers to Ichigo and assume a temporary lifestyle as a regular human.[10] She registers at the local high school and takes up residence in Ichigo's closet, while teaching him how to be a substitute Soul Reaper in her place.[11] She is voiced by Fumiko Orikasa in Japanese and by Michelle Ruff in English.[14][15]

Orihime Inoue

Main article: Orihime Inoue

Orihime Inoue (井上 織姫, Inoue Orihime) is a long-time classmate of Ichigo, closely linked to him by mutual friend Tatsuki Arisawa. She is effectively an orphan, as she and her elder brother Sora ran away from their abusive home at a young age, and her brother later died.[16] Though initially devoid of spiritual powers, she develops spiritual awareness early in the plot and later obtains one of the strongest powers in the Bleach universe, a god-like ability to reject fate.[17] She is voiced by Yuki Matsuoka in the Japanese series and by Stephanie Sheh in the English dub.[18][19]

Yasutora Sado

Main article: Yasutora Sado

Yasutora Sado (茶渡 泰虎, Sado Yasutora), better known as Chad (チャド, Chado), is one of Ichigo's friends at school. He is a biracial Japanese/Mexican student who towers over his classmates.[20] Despite his imposing appearance he is quite meek, and refuses to fight unless it is for the sake of another. Chad does not have awareness of ghosts at first, but this changes when he witnesses a group of children being attacked by a hollow. He discovers a unique ability that strengthens and armors one of his arms, enabling him to fight hollows. He later develops the ability to shoot energy from his armored arm. Hiroki Yasumoto voices him in the Japanese series Jamieson Price in the English adaptation.[21][22]

Uryū Ishida

Main article: Uryū Ishida

Uryū Ishida (石田 雨竜, Ishida Uryū, rendered as "Uryū" in the VIZ Media manga and "Uryu" in the VIZ Media anime and Bleach: The 3rd Phantom) is a Quincy, descendant of a line of priest-like hollow-hunting archers who were historical enemies of the Soul Reapers. He bears a deep grudge against all Soul Reapers, including Ichigo, and is an early antagonist in the series.[23] He comes to view Ichigo differently over time, however, eventually becoming a valuable ally and friendly rival.[24] He is voiced by Noriaki Sugiyama in Japanese and Derek Stephen Prince in English.[25][26]

Other characters

Bounts

The Bounts[27] (バウント, baunto) are a group of humans with special abilities. They are the main antagonists during the series' anime-exclusive Bount and Bount Assault on Soul Society arcs. The Bounts live by consuming human souls, which potentially gives them everlasting youth; according to Kisuke Urahara, they have historically been known as vampires. Like Soul Reapers, they each have a unique weapon known as a doll, a familiar equivalent to the Soul Reaper zanpakutō. Like a zanpakutō, a doll is its creator's power given physical form. However, instead of taking the form of actual weapons like zanpakutō do, dolls are mostly self-sufficient creatures when released, although they tend to be used as weapons in various ways such as a large battleaxe or a snake, as a sword and whip. A use of the German language is an apparent theme among the Bount given that several of their dolls have names based on German words. IGN criticized the Bounts as being "lame bad guys," noting that the bittō in particular were like "something straight out of a bad sci-fi movie," but admitted they were "decent plot devices" to develop the other characters.[28]

Hollows

Main article: List of hollows in Bleach

Hollows are the class of spirit that most enemies in Bleach are a part of.[10] They are formerly human spirits that were not sent to Soul Society in due time after death. This makes them lose their sense of being and giving them a craving for human souls. Their main characteristic is a white mask completely covering their face. Each hollow's mask has a design unique to that individual.[29] Arrancar, a stronger form of hollow that have acquired humanoid form and some of the powers of Soul Reapers, become the primary antagonists later in the series. Besides having a human body, their masks are partially broken to reveal part of their face.[30]

Humans

The humans featured in Bleach are residents of a modern Japan. Most are unable to interact with spirits in any way. In rare cases a human is born with the ability to speak and interact with spirits, with the degree of interaction growing with time. Many of the humans introduced in the series have only become spiritually aware through their interaction with series' protagonist Ichigo Kurosaki and, by extension, his friends.[31]

Keigo Asano

Keigo Asano (浅野 啓吾, Asano Keigo) is a classmate of Ichigo Kurosaki. He is an extremely hyperactive character and often uses overly dramatic movements and words to act out his feelings. As such, he is primarily comic relief, acting as an antithesis to his usually calm friend Mizuiro Kōjima. Keigo appears to be a shallow character at first glance, with a passion for slacking off. Indeed, he takes great pride in not making it to the honors roster in his class and labels those who do so "traitors" (including Ichigo and Chad).[32] Like many of Ichigo's friends, Keigo is spiritually aware, though he dismisses many of the peculiar things he sees as shootings for a TV show. He has yet to display any unique abilities, save blocking one of Rangiku Matsumoto's attacks. His parents are never seen, however he does have an older sister, Mizuho.[33] In the Japanese version he is voiced by Katsuyuki Konishi, while in the English adaptation Yuri Lowenthal is his voice actor.[34][35]

Mizuiro Kojima

Mizuiro Kojima (小島 水色, Kojima Mizuiro) is a classmate of Ichigo Kurosaki. He has a boyish face and gentle manner of speaking, with a marked fondness for older women. He is apparently very successful with these women, once going on a vacation to Hawaii with ten girls. In an omake chapter of Bleach, Mizuiro is revealed to have had very few friends prior to entering junior high school. He then has a change of fortunes and has since found a niche of people to hang out with, most commonly Keigo Asano.[36] Like many of Ichigo's friends, Mizuiro is spiritually aware, though he has yet to display any unique abilities. Jun Fukuyama voices him in the Japanese series, while in the English version he is voiced by Tom Fahn.[37][38]

Tatsuki Arisawa

Tatsuki Arisawa (有沢 竜貴, Arisawa Tatsuki) is a classmate of Ichigo Kurosaki and the best friend of Orihime Inoue. She has known both since she was young, sparring with Ichigo in their karate classes and defending Orihime whenever people picked on or bothered her.[39][40] Tatsuki is very tomboyish, displaying few feminine traits and even ranking as the second strongest student in her age group in all of Japan. In her friendship with Orihime, Tatsuki can sense Orihime from almost anywhere, even across dimensions; she is able to sense Orihime when she travels to Soul Society, but remarks that she can not sense her presence after Orihime is taken to Hueco Mundo. Throughout the series she slowly develops a spiritual awareness, and has recently revealed this awareness and, particularly, her ability to sense Orihime, to Ichigo.[41] She is voiced by Junko Noda in the Japanese version and Wendee Lee in the English dub.[42][43]

Isshin Kurosaki

Isshin Kurosaki (黒崎 一心, Kurosaki Isshin) is the father of the Kurosaki family. He is initially portrayed as a silly, fight-loving father who takes a keen interest in what his children are doing. He shows them affection either offensively or with an all-too-happy tone, which elicits comical reactions from his kids, usually in the form of a kick.[10] Later in the series he reveals himself as a former Soul Reaper, regaining his powers after twenty years so that he can avenge his wife's death by killing Grand Fisher. While in the form of a Soul Reaper, Isshin is generally more serious than usual, only breaking character to defend his eccentric parenting methods. It is unclear what he did while he was a Soul Reaper or why he left, it only being implied that he was captain-level by the piece of captain's robe worn over his shoulder. He seems to be aware of the goings on in the spiritual community through Kisuke Urahara, knowing of Sōsuke Aizen's actions, knowing when Kon is inhabiting Ichigo's body, and having known for some time that Ichigo has become a Soul Reaper.[44] Toshiyuki Morikawa is his seiyu and Patrick Seitz is his English voice actor.[45][46]

Karin Kurosaki

Karin Kurosaki (黒崎 夏梨, Kurosaki Karin) is the fraternal twin of Yuzu. She is typically cynical and sarcastic, and is significantly more assertive and aggressive than Yuzu. Karin is a no-nonsense kind of person and so does not hesitate to kick her father in the head when she thinks he is acting unreasonable. Karin's tough exterior results from her mother's death; because she could not be useful around the house like Yuzu, she resolved never to cry so that she would not burden her family with her personal troubles. Like Ichigo, Karin is spiritually aware, though she initially chooses to ignore the spirits she sees.[47] Once Ichigo becomes a Soul Reaper and starts combating hollows on a regular basis, she takes a greater interest in the spiritual world out of concern for him. When dealing with hollows herself (typically in omake chapters) she uses her prodigious soccer talents to deliver powerful blows to weak hollows.[48] She is aware of Ichigo's Soul Reaper powers, and tells him of this, but Ichigo decides to act as if he does not know what she is talking about.[49]Rie Kugimiya voices her in the Japanese series and Kate Higgins in the English adaptation.[50][51]

Yuzu Kurosaki

Yuzu Kurosaki (黒崎 遊子, Kurosaki Yuzu) is the fraternal twin of Karin. She is more soft-spoken, empathetic, and emotional in comparison to her sister. She takes care of the housework, such as cooking meals and tidying up the living space, on a daily basis.[47] She has a deep affection for Kon, calling him "Bostov". She is unaware of the fact that he is alive, and much to his chagrin frequently dresses him in feminine clothes and glues unwanted accessories onto his body.[52] Yuzu has a weak level of spiritual awareness, only being able to see faint outlines of spirits. As such she tends to get upset when her Soul Reaper brother, Ichigo, disappears, being unaware of where he is going or what he is doing. She seems to get along better with Isshin than either of her siblings.[53] She is voiced by Tomoe Sakuragawa in the Japanese series and by Janice Kawaye in the English version.[54][55]

Modified souls

Noba, Kurōdo, and Lirin with Kisuke Urahara

Modified souls (改造魂魄, kaizō konpaku) are artificial souls created by Soul Society researchers some time before the start of Bleach's storyline. They were created to reanimate the dead bodies of humans to act as a formidable fighting force, but this was found unethical and they were ordered to be destroyed. Four modified souls have been introduced in the series thus far, each having been saved from destruction. All have enhanced speed and strength when compared to normal humans, and often special abilities which set them apart from each other.[56] Each typically inhabits a plushie with all of their abilities intact (albeit scaled down to fit their size). The three introduced in the anime's Bount arc also possess a personal gigai (義骸), a synthetic human body, that they can use to avoid attention and otherwise regain complete use of their abilities.

Kon

Kon (コン) is the first modsoul to appear in Bleach. He primarily serves as a comedic foil in the series, receiving little respect and much disdain from other characters. He is not completely undeserving of this treatment as he is highly perverted in nature; he is drawn to girls with big breasts (and displays attraction towards Rukia despite her lack thereof, but more because he believes she saved his life) and, when inhabiting another's body, spends his time trying to look up skirts since "it will not be [his] reputation that gets sullied".[57] However, from the beginning he displayed a much more serious side to himself, believing that a life should not be taken on purpose after he witnessed the destruction of other mod souls.[58] Kon's area of expertise are his legs, and thus he can run faster and jump higher than any human, even in his plush form. He typically inhabits a lion plushie that he is very fond of, referring to it as his "sexy body". Kon also inhabits Ichigo Kurosaki's body whenever he is away, playing the part of Ichigo so that his family does not miss him.[59] Although Kon makes only sporadic appearances in the Bleach storyline, he frequently hosts and/or stars in omake specials for the series, self-proclaiming himself the series' mascot. He is voiced by Mitsuaki Madono in the Japanese series and by Quinton Flynn in the English version.[60][61]

Kurōdo

Kurōdo (蔵人) is a somewhat cowardly modsoul. His longwindedness and actions often provide comic relief. He has the ability to shapeshift, and can replicate the abilities of others when he does so (although he can not replicate the potency of said abilities). His plushie body is a rabbit-esque purse. Kurōdo's gigai is of a bespectacled man with a mustache and two-tone hair color (black to the right, blond to the left). He wears a gray top hat, multi-colored suit and tie, as well as dark brown boots. He is often told he talks too much. Nobuo Tobita voices him in the Japanese series and Michael McConnohie in the English dub.[62][63]

Noba

Noba[64] (之芭) is very quiet, rarely speaking more than a few words. He is fairly shy, hiding his head when he wishes to show no emotion. Despite this, he is somewhat analytical and adept at strategic combat. Noba has the power to teleport himself and others to almost any location he's been to. He can also create wormholes to redirect ranged attacks, both physical and energy based, back at the enemy. Noba's plushie body is an anthropomorphic turtle in gray dress trousers and a white ruffled shirt with a red bow tie. His gigai is of a young slim built, red haired man with aqua eyes wearing a fur coat with a shield on his back and a zippered mask. Tomokazu Sugita is his seiyu and Roger Craig Smith his English voice actor.[65][66]

Lirin

Lirin[64] (りりん, Ririn) acts as the leader of the modsouls introduced in the Bount arc. At times she is petty and arrogant, resulting in her initial dislike of Ichigo Kurosaki. Other times she shows real concern for others, eventually developing a fondness for Ichigo where in she will put herself in harm's way to protect him. She often looks down on Kon as inferior, which causes frequent arguments between the two. Her special ability is the creation of illusions. Lirin's plushie body is an anthropomorphic bird that wears a blue coat and boots. She doesn't like the plushie at all, and claims that she cannot change to another. Lirin's gigai is a small girl with short blonde hair wearing a pink, fur-trimmed coat, a purple bird-shaped cape, and red boots. She is voiced by Yumi Kakazu in the Japanese version and by Julie Ann Taylor in the English dub.[67][68]

Quincy

Quincy (クインシー, Kuinshī) are a clan of humans who, over many centuries, became spiritually aware. In doing so they devised their own brand of spiritual powers; they can absorb spiritual energy and then manipulate for offensive purposes. They most commonly reshape spiritual particles into various types of bow and arrows, but can also concentrate spiritual energy into the form of swords or explosives. At their height, Quincies used their powers to combat the hollows, protecting the inhabitants of the human world with a success rate greater than that of the Soul Reapers. Unlike the Soul Reapers, who purify the souls of hollows allowing them to rest in peace, Quincy destroyed the hollow, soul and all. This created an imbalance between the worlds of the living and the dead, threatening to destroy the universe. To prevent this, the Soul Reapers almost exterminated the Quincy, leaving only two Quincy to survive into the current Bleach storyline and creating a great animosity between the two groups.[23] Tite Kubo created the Quincy as rivals to the Soul Reapers, resulting in long-range weapons as a counter to the standard Soul Reaper zanpakuto and white clothing as an antithesis to the black Soul Reaper uniform. Their name stems from their symbol, a five-pointed star, and the prefix "quin," meaning "five," as well as Kubo's liking for the phrase "Quincy archer."[69]

Ryūken Ishida

Ryūken Ishida (石田 竜弦, Ishida Ryūken) is the father of Uryū Ishida. He is initially portrayed as a bitter and cold Quincy who detests his own people, believing his father, Sōken, and Uryū to be wasting their time training their Quincy abilities. Ryuken dedicates most of his time to the Karakura Hospital. Ryūken is a very skilled Quincy, capable of defeating two incomplete arrancar with only three arrows fired from his one-handed bow. His outfit is usually covered in blue crosses and Ryuken has inherited his father's Quincy Cross (滅却十字, mekkyaku jūji). To this end, he calls himself "the last Quincy", believing Uryū to be too talentless to deserve the title.[70] Though he disapproves the Quincy lifestyle, since it is impossible to make a living if one kills hollows all day, Ryūken restores Uryū's lost Quincy powers, under the condition that his son is to never associate with Soul Reapers, although this command is immediately disobeyed on the rationale that Ichigo is only a substitute Soul Reaper and that he is acting independently of Soul Society's orders.[71] Ken Narita voices him the Japanese series and Michael McConnohie in the English dub.[72][63]

Sōken Ishida

Sōken Ishida (石田 宗弦, Ishida Sōken) is the father of Ryūken and the grandfather of Uryū. He trained Uryū in Quincy abilities throughout his childhood, becoming his mentor in the process. Sōken tried to make amends with Soul Reapers by advocating a new system of response to hollow attacks: Quincy would be the first-response squad, protecting humans from hollows until Soul Reapers arrived to help. His proposal was never accepted, and he was eventually killed in a hollow attack.[73] Later in the series, Mayuri Kurotsuchi reveals to Uryū that this was his doing; he delayed the Soul Reapers meant to protect Sōken so that he could study Sōken's soul for his research. According to a reflection of a photograph seen in Uryu's glasses, all that was left of him in the end was his head.[74] Eiji Maruyama is his seiyu and David Lodge his English voice actor.[75][76]

Soul Reapers

Main article: List of Soul Reapers in Bleach

Soul Reapers are the protectors of souls, granting them access to Soul Society and keeping them safe from hollows. Many of the protagonists introduced in the series are Soul Reapers, either in profession, origin, or abilities. Each Soul Reaper possesses a zanpakutō, a sword that doubles as both a weapon and a physical manifestation of the owner's soul. Each zanpakutō has its own personality, which is at times at odds with its owner's.[10]

Though Soul Reapers make up the bulk of the characters from Soul Society that have been introduced in the series, a far greater number of souls occupy its outskirts. While many are simply departed humans' souls, a few have abilities resembling those of Soul Reapers.[77]

Kūkaku Shiba

Kūkaku Shiba (志波 空鶴, Shiba Kūkaku) is an ill-tempered fireworks expert and the somewhat authoritative older sister of Ganju. She lives with her family in flamboyant, ridiculously themed houses (which she changes in design and location regularly) on the outskirts of Soul Society. She is missing her right arm, which in the anime is replaced with a prosthetic.[77] Kūkaku is the head of the Shiba family, which fell from the status of nobility after her brother, Kaien, died. Because they knew only that Kaien was killed by a Soul Reaper, both Kūkaku and Ganju are distrustful of Soul Reapers when first introduced. After Kaien's killer, Rukia Kuchiki, explains how he died and apologizes, the Shiba make amends.[78] Kūkaku seems to have some kind of relationship with the Urahara Shop, knowing Yoruichi Shihōin and claiming to have worked with Kisuke Urahara in the past. She can perform high level kidō spells, and she carries a short-bladed sword on her back.[77] She is voiced by Akiko Hiramatsu and Cindy Robinson in the Japanese version and the English adaptation respectevely.[79][80]

Ganju Shiba

Ganju Shiba (志波 岩鷲, Shiba Ganju) is Kūkaku's younger brother. He is the leader of a gang, who all ride large boars. Ganju possesses a hot temper and a strong ego, though has shown a softer side, easily being cowed by his older sister, Kūkaku.[81][77] He and his sister initially hate Soul Reapers due to the death of their brother, Kaien, though after his interactions with Ichigo Kurosaki he overcomes this.[82] Ganju is not particularly attractive, something that has become a running joke in the series. He has a dagger which resembles a meat cleaver or a Chinese Dadao, though his skills are limited and he instead relies on his arsenal of fireworks and his earth magic. Ganju's earth magic does not seem to operate on the same principals as standard Soul Reaper kidō spells; the one technique he uses, Stone Wave (石波, seppa), does not need an incantation to work and is unnumbered. The spell can reduce whatever it is aimed at to sand or quicksand, useful when making holes in walls to escape pursuers.[83] He is voiced by Wataru Takagi in the Japanese version and by Kyle Hebert in the English dub.[84][85]

Urahara Shop

The Urahara Shop (浦原商店, Urahara Shōten) is a convenience store that predominately deals in snacks and small household goods. It also caters to a more select crowd of spiritually aware beings, providing them with merchandise it has acquired from Soul Society. Three of its regulars (owner Kisuke Urahara, Yoruichi Shihōin, and Tessai Tsukabishi) are former high-ranking Soul Reapers that are now fugitives of Soul Society.[86]

Kisuke Urahara

Kisuke Urahara (浦原 喜助, Urahara Kisuke) is the owner of the Urahara Shop. He wears traditional Japanese wooden sandals and a bucket hat, which has earned him the nickname "Mr. Hat-and-Clogs" (ゲタ帽子, geta-bōshi). Urahara is usually quite laid-back and has a jovial if not comical attitude, tendencies that tend to drive away customers.[86] He will similarly leave his store unattended for long periods of time while he trains series protagonist Ichigo Kurosaki and his friends in the store's cave-like basement.[87] Despite his odd work ethic and personality, Urahara can be very serious when the situation calls for it. When first introduced Urahara is largely shrouded in mystery, being knowledgeable of all spiritual-related subjects and a guide for Ichigo that works in the background. As the series progresses he is revealed to have been the captain of the 12th Division and 3rd seat in the 2nd Division, under Yoruichi, a century before the start of the series. He caught Sōsuke Aizen in the act of converting his fellow Soul Reapers into visoreds. Before Urahara had time to save them and turn them back into Soul Reapers, Aizen had framed him for the crimes and he was banished to the human world. Tite Kubo based his character off of Snufkin, whom Kubo finds "cool."

Urahara is a keen analyst, able to discern an opponent's weaknesses and attack patterns with ease, a quality he passes on to Ichigo Kurosaki during their training together. He is also an avid inventor, and while still a Soul Reaper created a number of items that went against Soul Society's conventions. Most prominent of these is the Hōgyoku (崩玉, "breakdown sphere"), a device that mixes Soul Reapers with hollows. Fearing the potential power it could give someone, Urahara tried and failed to destroy it, allowing it to fall into Aizen's possession midway through the series.[88] Urahara's zanpakutō is a shikomizue named Benihime (紅姫, "crimson princess"). When released, Benihime's blade becomes wider than that of his sealed zanpakutō and the hilt curves. In this form it has two known special abilities activated: it can create a polygonal "blood mist shield" capable of blocking most attacks and can fire a crimson-colored energy blast which is similar to a cero.[89] Benihime's bankai has yet to be revealed, but Urahara, when asked to use his bankai to help train Sado, states that his bankai is not fit for such a purpose.[90] Shin-ichiro Miki voices him in the Japanese version and Michael Lindsay in the English dub.[91][92]

Yoruichi Shihōin

Yoruichi Shihōin (四楓院 夜一, Shihōin Yoruichi) does not work at the Urahara Shop in any official capacity. She is an old friend of owner Kisuke Urahara, and so uses it as a place of residence when she is not abroad.[24] Her natural form is that of a woman, though can transform into a black cat at will. This form gives her a deep voice, which leads many characters to initially believe she is a male and thus call her "Mr. Yoruichi". Yoruichi is very easy-going; she insists that Soi Fon not use formalities when speaking to her, and has no qualms appearing naked before Ichigo Kurosaki.[93][94] She tends to avoid combat, and will not engage an enemy unless her allies will lose without her intervention. When first introduced, she helps Ichigo and his friends infiltrate Soul Society.[95] Having once been the captain of the 2nd Division, she is very knowledgeable of Soul Society. A century before the start of the series, she abandoned her post by helping Urahara, Tessai Tsukabishi, and the visoreds escape to the human world. Series creator Tite Kubo identifies Yoruichi as one of his two favorite female characters in the series, citing that he "has a lot of fun drawing her and creating stories with her."Deb Aoki. "Interview: Tite Kubo (page 2)". About.com. Retrieved 2008-09-16.

Yoruichi is skilled in the use of flash steps (瞬歩, shunpo), a high speed movement ability.[96] While the ability is not unique, her talents are; her speed is such that she is known as the Goddess of Flash (瞬神, shunshin, English TV: "Flash Master"). Yoruichi is also skilled with flash release (瞬閧, shunkō), a technique that combines hand-to-hand combat and kidō spells.[97] She has never been seen wielding a zanpakutō in the current Bleach storyline, though is shown carrying a kodachi-like blade during flashbacks. In her human form she is voiced by Satsuki Yukino in the Japanese version and Wendee Lee in the English dub,[98][43] while in her cat form Shirō Saitō voices her in Japanese and Terrence Stone in English.[99][100]

Tessai Tsukabishi

Tessai Tsukabishi (握菱 テッサイ, Tsukabishi Tessai) is Urahara's personal assistant in both business and other matters. He is a large, muscular man with a thick mustache who is always seen wearing an apron. He is shown to have great physical strength, made apparent by his ability to smash a hollow's head to pieces with a single, open-palmed thrust.[101] During the Turn Back the Pendulum miniseries, it is revealed that he was the captain of the Kidō Corps in Soul Society. As a result, Tessai is extremely skilled in kidō, demonstrated by his ability to use a level 99 binding spell while skipping its incantation. He has not been shown to carry a zanpakutō, but he did carry a shakujo during his time in Soul Society. For aiding Kisuke Urahara in his attempts to help the visoreds, Tessai was sentenced to imprisonment by the Central 46 and was forced to flee to the human world.[102] Kiyoyuki Yanada is his seiyu and Michael Sorich his English voice actor.[103][104]

Jinta Hanakari

Jinta Hanakari (花刈 ジン太, Hanakari Jinta) is a small, red-haired boy who is supposed to do manual labor for the shop, such as cleaning. Instead he usually slacks off and forces Ururu to do all the work.[86] Though he frequently bullies her, he does care for Ururu as he recovers her body after she is injured by an arrancar.[105] Though he is more knowledgeable than one might expect given his young appearance, he is still childish, calling Renji Abarai a "moocher" (居候, isōrō),and he enjoyed teasing, spitting and drooling on Ichigo when his Chain of Fate was severed and Ichigo was becoming a hollow in a incapacitated state.[106] Jinta seems to have a crush on Yuzu Kurosaki, calling her "The Goddess" and regarding anything she gives to him as sacred. His primary weapon is an oversized iron rod, similar to a Tetsubo, which he can use to attack.[101] He is voiced by Takako Honda in the Japanese version and by Jeannie Elias in the English dub.[107][108]

Ururu Tsumugiya

Ururu Tsumugiya (紬屋 雨, Tsumugiya Ururu) is a meek, black-haired girl who mostly does manual labor for the shop.[86] She uses a multi-barreled shoulder cannon as her weapon, which can turn into a rocket launcher to deal with powerful opponents.[101] Ururu's meek attitude is somewhat at odds with her fighting ability, which is undefined, but quite high (Urahara vaguely mentions that her fighting ability is at an "anti-Soul Reaper" level). Her punches and kicks have a lethal amount of force and far surpass what is capable of most characters.[109] She seems to respond robotically when injured or when hollows are nearby. During such times, Ururu seems to take on a rather simplistic view of right and wrong; she considers those that cause harm (relative to her) as enemies, and believes that enemies must be eliminated.[110] She is voiced by Noriko Shitaya in the Japanese version and by Wendee Lee in the English version.[111][43]

Visoreds

Group image of the Visoreds with Ichigo Kurosaki in the center. The Visoreds, clockwise from the top center are: Shinji, Rose, Mashiro, Love, Hiyori, Lisa, Hachigen, and Kensei.

The Visoreds are Soul Reapers who have obtained hollow powers.[112] The associated process is referred to as "Hollowification" (虚化, horō-ka), which was caused by Sōsuke Aizen.[113][114] To gain access to their hollow powers, a Visored dons a hollow mask. This allows them to augment their Soul Reaper abilities with hollow powers, as well as giving them access to some of the generic hollow abilities. The Visoreds have not shown any sort of hierarchy, seeming to prefer a loose-knit organization.[112] While the term Visored is spelled in the manga using kanji meaning masked army (仮面の軍勢, kamen no gunzei), it is pronounced as the English visored (ヴァイザード, vaizādo), an archaic meaning being "masked". Earlier English translations used "vizard",[115] which instead means "mask".[116]

Love Aikawa

Love Aikawa (愛川 羅武 (ラブ)[117][118], Aikawa Rabu) is the former captain of the 7th Division. He is a tall man sporting sunglasses, a spiked afro (shaped like a normal round afro during his days as a Soul Reaper), and a jogging suit. He seems to be very laid back, usually reading Shōnen Jump or some of Lisa's erotic manga in his spare time. His zanpakutō's hilt is in the shape of a heart, and he carries its sheath on a tōju hanging from his shoulder like a messenger bag. He is voiced by Tetsu Inada.[119]

Shinji Hirako

Shinji Hirako (平子 真子, Hirako Shinji) is the former captain of the 5th Division, preceding his lieutenant Sōsuke Aizen. He distrusted Aizen from the day they met, and thus made him lieutenant so he could keep an eye on him. Because Shinji never socialized with Aizen, however, he was easily deceived by Aizen's actions, culminating to his conversion into a hollow. Shinji's character is somewhat comical, adding a bit of levity to situations that are otherwise serious. He seems to like annoying his associate, Hiyori Sarugaki, which usually earns him a slap from one of her sandals.[120] He also appears to have a history of referring to cute girls he meets as his 'first love', complete with a deadpan look on his face despite the obvious lie.[121] An early design of Shinji can be seen in the first chapter's cover art, making it clear he was planned well before his introduction.[10] During several points in the anime, Shinji's outfit is depicted to look like Lupin the III, likely as a homage on the part of the animators. Shinji's hollow mask resembles a pharaoh's mask. Shinji is quite skilled with his hollow powers, using a single cero blast to easily overwhelm Grimmjow Jeagerjaques.[121] Not much has been revealed about Shinji's zanpakutō, as he rarely uses or even visibly wears it. He is voiced by Masaya Onosaka.[122]

Mashiro Kuna

Mashiro Kuna (久南 白, Kuna Mashiro) is the former lieutenant of the 9th Division under Kensei. She is a somewhat ditzy girl who is prone to throwing fits for the smallest of things, such as Orihime befriending Hachi or when Kensei insisted on following his subordinates into battle when they were still in the Gotei 13. She wears a white bodysuit and goggles in her green hair. Her overall style of dress is reminiscent of the costumes worn by the tokusatsu superheroes of late 1970s Japanese television. Her Soul Reaper uniform had sleeves that stretched past her arms, a pink scarf, and glasses in place of goggles. She often calls Ichigo Berry-tan, a play on Ichigo's name. Fitting with her tokusatsu theme, Mashiro's hollow form bears a distinct resemblance to an insect's head. She was able to maintain her hollow mask for fifteen hours on her first attempt to control her hollow. She is voiced by Akemi Kanda.[123]

Kensei Muguruma

Kensei Muguruma (六車 拳西, Muguruma Kensei) is the former captain of the 9th Division.[124] Kensei appears to be a young man with short, light-gray hair and several piercings. He also has a tattoo of the number 69 on his stomach, which was the inspiration for the one Shūhei Hisagi has on his cheek after saving him when he was younger.[125] In comparison with his fellow Visoreds, Kensei is a much more serious character. He has a short temper and is easily irritated, particularly by Mashiro. Kensei's zanpakutō is named Tachikaze (断地風, lit. earth-severing wind). His shikai shrinks it down into the form of a survival/combat knife. While in this form, Kensei demonstrates the ability to charge and fire spiritual energy from the blade. His hollow form looks humanoid with cylindrical structures sprouting from his back and shoulders. His mask looks similar to a hockey mask, but is squared off with six eyes and extends around the back of his head.[126] He is voiced by Tomokazu Sugita.[127]

Rōjūrō Otoribashi

Rōjūrō Otoribashi (鳳橋 楼十郎, Ōtoribashi Rōjūrō), commonly referred to as Rose (ローズ, Rōzu), is the former captain of the 3rd Division. He became captain approximately one year before Kisuke Urahara.[128] He is an effeminate man with long, wavy, blond hair and a frilly shirt. He seems to be interested in music, as he speaks to Love about an artist's new single and has been seen playing or tuning a guitar on several occasions. Rose appears to be one of the calmer and perhaps wiser ones amongst the group, though he becomes irritated whenever Love spoils a manga's story for him. His zanpakutō's hilt is in the shape of a diamond with curved edges, and its sheath is encrusted with diamonds. He is voiced by Shouto Kashii.[129]

Hiyori Sarugaki

Hiyori Sarugaki (猿柿 ひよ里, Sarugaki Hiyori) is a former lieutenant of the 12th Division under captains Kirio Hikifune and Kisuke Urahara. She viewed Hikifune as a mother figure, and thus initially refused to accept Urahara as her replacement. Hiyori is a tiny, blonde-haired girl with a fierce temper and violent tendencies. Hiyori often abuses Shinji Hirako, usually by slapping him with one of her sandals or using him as a human shield when necessary.[120] This behavior dates back to her time as a lieutenant, despite the fact that Shinji outranked her then. Hiyori took the longest to defeat her inner hollow out of all the current Visoreds, at 69 minutes and 2 seconds. Hiyori's zanpakutō is standard in appearance with her tsuba decorated in small hearts. Her hollow mask looks like that of a normal hollow mask with a large horn and pink like stripes on the top, resembling a Rhinoceros horn.[130] She is voiced by Reiko Takagi.[131]

Hachigen Ushōda

Hachigen Ushōda (有昭田 鉢玄, Ushōda Hachigen), commonly referred to as Hachi (ハッチ), is the physically largest Visored. He was formerly the Vice Kidō Captain (副鬼道長, Fuku Kidōchō) of the Kidō Corps under Tessai Tsukabishi. He wears a green tuxedo over a white shirt and has a black crossbone design in his pink hair. When he was a Soul Reaper, his hair was styled into a pair of horns and emblazoned with the symbol of the Kidō Corps. He specializes in binding spells, and as such is always tasked with making barriers for the Visoreds' use. He is skilled enough to use bakudō up to #99 without reciting their incantations. By his own admission, his powers are very similar to those of Orihime Inoue's. Despite his unusual size, Hachi is actually very kind and gentle, and seems to enjoy Orihime's company.[132] His zanpakutō is fairly ordinary and has an 'H'-shaped hilt with rounded edges. He is voiced by Takashi Nagasako.[133]

Lisa Yadōmaru

Lisa Yadōmaru (矢胴丸 リサ, Yadōmaru Risa) was the former lieutenant of the 8th Division under Captain Shunsui Kyōraku. She is a girl with glasses and long, braided, dark hair, who dresses in a sailor fuku, as opposed to the more Western-style uniforms worn by the female students of Karakura High School. In keeping with her current appearance, her Soul Reaper uniform had a shortened hakama resembling a skirt. She seems easily irritated and apparently likes to read erotic manga. She is also very curious, and would spy on the captain's meetings during her time in Soul Society. When she was a lieutenant for Gotei 13, she read to Nanao Ise, later her successor as lieutenant, every month. Her zanpakutō is considerably longer than most, making it appear like a nōdachi. She is voiced by Kanako Hatori.[134]

Merchandise

Several types of merchandise have been produced based on the likeness of the Bleach characters. Apparels from them include replicas of the zanpakutō, hollow masks as well as Soul Reapers clothes for cosplays.[135][136][137] Other merchandise based on them include action-figures, plush, and key-chains.[138][139][140] Characters are also featured on Bleach trading cards, Japanese soundtracks in which their voice actors perform songs related to them, and video games from the series.[141][142][143]

Reception

The characters from the series have received praise and criticism from several reviewers. Anime News Network noted them to be relatively stereotypical but with traits that make them look "special" noting the interactions they have as well as the large and variable cast of side characters.[144] They were also praised for having energetic attitudes and that each one can have a different types of fights. While they commented on Ichigo on being "almost a typical anti-hero", they mention that he is just a common person with a tragic past making him likeable to the fans.[145] The also praised Tite Kubo's artwork to give them good clothes and the anime staff for improving them.[144] Mania Entertainment agreed with praising the artwork of the manga and noted that the "characters have personalities and oddities all described in those designs". They have also praised the development of the characters remarking how Renji, before being defeated by Ichigo, he asks him to save Rukia, while during his first appearances he was more violent and was meant to arrest her.[146] IGN agreed and mentioned that the large number of plot happening within each character make the series more than "example of shonen fighting manga". However, the reviewer commented that it is hard to take the series serious when one of the arrancar is called Grimmjow Jeager-Jacques in the manga.[147] Wizard Universe also praised Ichigo's characters as the best hero of 2007 commenting that the only reason why he is not like every "shonen character" is that he only wants to save his friends, not because he tries to act as a hero.[148]

IGN also added that while some fights were dragged for many chapters, they are easy to enjoy to the abilities of the characters and the artwork from Kubo.[149] In another review, comicbookbin mentioned that the plot from the series would be pretty obvious but due to the fact that some characters avoid them such as Ichigo when denies becoming into a Soul Reaper or that he does not make any strange move with his zanpakuto sword.[150] Tite Kubo has been praised by comicbookbin.com for creating a "dense multi-layered narrative housing a mob of characters". They remarked how each character from the series had two subplots making the reader hard to remember.[151] In a review from the volume 20, they noted how Kubo turned the fights into "martial arts and epic fantasy serial" comparing them with fights from famous movies like The Matrix and praised how well drawn they are.[152] Anime News Network also added that the English voice acting of the characters is as good as the Japanese one, considering each of them to be very original.[153]

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