The New Logo

I've made a logo for this blog. Actually it have been done last week but i forgot to save it so I can't post it here. Very much sorry 4 the wait...

As you can see, on the top of this post, thats the logo! And apparently I'll post it to my sidebar... but this time will be different.. I'll post it ON TOP of the posts so everyone can see it the first time they got in. No need to go down and there it is and blah blah blah!!!

From:
Hitsugaya Nataeera

Kuchiki Rukia

Rukia Kuchiki (朽木 ルキア, Kuchiki Rukia^?) is a fictional character and protagonist in the anime and manga series Bleach created by Tite Kubo. In the series, Rukia is a Soul Reaper in the 13th Division under Jūshirō Ukitake. Shortly after meeting the main protagonist of the series, Ichigo Kurosaki, who can see supernatural beings such as Soul Reapers, she is forced to give him her powers in order to fulfill her duties as a Soul Reaper. Rukia has appeared in several other pieces of Bleach media, including the three featured films in the series, the two original video animations, and several video games.

Rukia was one of the first characters of the series created by Kubo, her design being the one he decided to use for all the other Soul Reapers.^[4] Reaction to Rukia's character is generally positive. Her differences from typical shōnen heroines is praised,^[5] as is her interaction with other characters.^[6] Rukia usually ranks second in Weekly Shōnen Jump's Bleach popularity polls.^[7] Several pieces of merchandise have been released in Rukia's likeness, including a plush doll and a figurine.^[8][9]

Creation and conception

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.^[4] Because of this, Rukia was one of the first characters of the series to be created. Before deciding that every Soul Reaper had swords, Kubo thought that they all should use guns while only Rukia used a scythe. However, this was changed as he created the Soul Reaper kimono. Kubo also mentioned that Rukia did not seem like a lead character, so he created Ichigo Kurosaki to be the series protagonist.^[10] Ichigo's initial design had black hair like Rukia; Kubo had to modify Ichigo's appearance to contrast with hers, giving Ichigo orange hair and a trademark scowl.^[11]

As for her name, Kubo stated that, because Rukia looks like a shinigami, he wanted her name to sound like a shinigami's name. When deciding upon her family name he considered using "Kuchiru" (朽ちる, lit. "to rot"^?) because it sounded like a name a shinigami would have, and then decided to use "Kuchiki" (朽木, lit. "rotten wood"^?). He adds that he once heard something that sounded like "Kuchiki Rukia" on Japanese television, and liked it enough to use it as a name.^[10] Her first name was conceived as a result of Kubo hearing the Latin name for cosmos on television, and later decided that the name really suited her since the Latin word from which her name is derived means "light" and Kubo sees her as "a ray of light for Ichigo." Shonen Jump asked in an interview if Kubo had any plans to make Ichigo and Rukia a couple, but Kubo chose neither to confirm nor deny it.^[12] After designing Rukia's zanpakutō, Kubo noted he liked it a lot and made it to be the most beautiful one from the series.^[13]

When Kubo was asked to make a cover with a female character during Christmas, Kubo initially thought of using Rukia; he later changed to use Orihime Inoue as he thought Orihime was more suitable for such role. However, Kubo commented he previously made a Christmas illustration with Rukia, and that he received request by several fans wanting to see the image. In contrast to this Kubo has found he liked Rukia more in the illustrations in which her face expresses pain such as when she is going to be executed in the manga.^[14]

Character outline

Background

Rukia died as an infant and was sent to Soul Society with her older sister, Hisana. Though Hisana initially tried to protect and provide for Rukia, she could not ensure her own survival while caring for a baby as well, and thus abandoned Rukia.^[15] As Rukia grew up, she befriended Renji Abarai, and over the coming years the two stayed together and looked out for one another. Once they entered the Soul Reaper academy, Rukia was adopted into the Kuchiki family.^[16] One year prior to the adoption, Hisana died after asking her husband, Byakuya Kuchiki, to find and adopt Rukia as his sister. Disgusted with herself for abandoning Rukia, Hisana wanted her sister to be part of the Kuchiki family while never knowing of their relation to each other. After succeeding in this task, Byakuya kept his word, treating Rukia as a sister and keeping his wife's secret until the end of the Soul Society arc, where he finally tells Rukia about Hisana's past.^[15]

When she was accepted into the 13th Division, Rukia's abilities made her a prime candidate for a seated position. Wishing to keep Rukia out of harm's way, Byakuya used his influence as a captain to make her ineligible for such a position.^[17] In time, Rukia befriended the lieutenant of her division, Kaien Shiba, and trained under him.^[18] During the course of a mission Kaien was possessed by a hollow and Rukia was forced to kill Kaien to protect herself. While dying, Kaien apologized to Rukia for allowing himself to be possessed and thus putting her in that position.^[19] Rukia returned his body to his family, though could not find the courage to tell them how he had died until she learned about Hisana.^[20]

Personality

Although there was nothing she could have done to prevent Kaien's death, Rukia continually feels guilty about what happened to him throughout the series. Because she immediately killed Kaien without first trying to find a way to help him, Rukia convinces herself that she valued her own life over his. The only solace she is able to find in his death is the belief that she saved him from a hollow's control.^[21] This guilt-ridden attitude carries over to her relationship with Ichigo Kurosaki; when Rukia is taken into custody and Ichigo is gravely wounded in an attempt to save her, she assumes that he dies of his injuries. Feeling that Ichigo's death would have been avoided had she never met him,^[22] Rukia loses her reason for living and resigns herself to her sentenced execution.^[23]

Because of the amount of time she has spent with Ichigo, Rukia has been able to gain a keen understanding of his inner workings. She is as such always able to help him overcome his own self-doubts, showing him that he can and wants to complete a given task when he himself thinks otherwise.^[24] Rukia's relationship with Ichigo is unique, for despite the relatively short amount of time they have known each other, Ichigo can easily confide in her and considers her a true friend because she is encouraging and understands what he is feeling.^[22] Rukia's ability to get into others' heads comes into play a number of other times throughout the series, most commonly while in the human world. By playing the part of a poor, innocent girl, Rukia is able to get others to side with her and otherwise focus their scrutiny on an unrelated topic so that her peculiar

Abilities

Rukia using the "first dance, white moon" ability of Sode no Shirayuki's shikai.

As Rukia begins the series by giving the bulk of her powers to Ichigo, her only ability then is her kidō spells, which are severely limited in strength and variety. She uses her kidō for such purposes as restraining, healing, or attacking others.^[27] After returning to Soul Society and regaining her Soul Reaper abilities, Rukia is able to cast spells at her previous capacities, such that she can cast multiple spells in quick succession and even use two spells at the same time.^[28] Rukia's kidō skills are of great caliber amongst Soul Reapers, and by her own admission her mastery over kidō far surpasses her mastery with a blade.^[29]

Rukia's zanpakutō, Sode no Shirayuki (袖白雪^?, literally "sleeved white snow"), is released with the command "dance" (舞え, mae^?).^[30] In its released state the blade becomes completely white and a ribbon forms from the pommel, earning it the recognition as the most beautiful zanpakutō in Soul Society.^[17] During the anime's 13th season, Sode no Shirayuki manifests in a yukionna-like form, voiced by Mie Sonozaki.^[31]

Sode no Shirayuki utilizes ice to attack, each of its three abilities being labeled as "dances" by Rukia. "First dance, white moon" (初の舞・月白, some no mai, tsukishiro^?) denotes a circular area around Rukia's target and freezes everything within the circle from the ground upwards until it reaches the sky.^[30] "The next dance, white ripple" (次の舞・白漣, tsugi no mai, hakuren^?) fires a massive wave of ice from Sode no Shirayuki's blade.^[32] "Third dance, white sword" (参の舞・白刀, san no mai, shirafune^?), her final ability reserved only for when her blade is broken, reforges her zanpakutō with ice particles, piercing through any object in its path and freezing anything in the vicinity.^[29]

Plot overview

Rukia first meets Ichigo Kurosaki in the midst of a hollow attack. After she is heavily injured by the hollow, Rukia is forced to transfer her Soul Reaper powers to Ichigo so that he can kill the hollow and save their lives and his family.^[33] While he succeeds, Rukia is left too weak to return to Soul Society, and lives with Ichigo in the human world, intending to stay until her powers are restored. During her time in the human world, Rukia remains unaccounted for in Soul Society, so Byakuya Kuchiki and Renji Abarai are sent to find her and return her to the Soul Society.^[34] They succeed, and upon their return Rukia is sentenced to death for giving her Soul Reaper powers to a human. Ichigo ultimately arrives in Soul Society in time to stop her execution, and tries to get her to safety.^[35]

During Rukia's bid for freedom, she is stopped by Sōsuke Aizen and his accomplices. Aizen, having singlehandedly orchestrated Rukia's execution, reveals to her that within her soul is stored the Hōgyoku ("breakdown sphere"), a powerful artifact created and placed there by Kisuke Urahara that gives hollows Soul Reaper powers and vice versa. Wanting the Hōgyoku for himself, Aizen hoped that her death would give him access to it, but settles for a nonfatal alternative.^[36] The Hōgyoku is removed from her body, Aizen and his men flee Soul Society, and Rukia is acquitted of all charges.^[37] With the Hōgyoku, Aizen is able to create an army of arrancar, which he uses to attack Ichigo and his friends once they return to the human world. Rukia and a group of other Soul Reapers are sent to assist in fighting the arrancar,^[38] though after Aizen captures Orihime Inoue they are recalled to Soul Society.^[39]

Unwilling to give up Orihime to Aizen, Rukia goes to Hueco Mundo with Ichigo to rescue her.^[40] While there, Rukia encounters the 9th Espada, Aaroniero Arruruerie, who is revealed to have possession of Kaien's body. Saddened that she had not saved her mentor from the control of a hollow as she had previously thought, Rukia manages to kill Aaroniero.^[21] Rukia is badly injured during the battle, and it is not until Soul Society sends reinforcements to Hueco Mundo that she is revived and her wounds are healed.^[41] She later assists Ichigo in his rescue to save Orihime from the Espada Ulquiorra Cifer by engaging the Exequias,^[42] but is defeated by the Cero Espada Yammy.

Appearances in other media

Rukia has made several appearances outside of the Bleach anime and manga. She appears in all of the featured films in the series: she fights the Dark Ones with other Soul Reaper comrades in Bleach: Memories of Nobody and aids in the search for Tōshirō Hitsugaya in Bleach: The DiamondDust Rebellion.^[43][44] Rukia is also given the main focus role in the third movie, Bleach: Fade to Black, I Call Your Name where she is kidnapped and mind-wiped by two mysterious rogues, and later transformed into 'Dark Rukia'.^[45] She is also present in both of the original video animations produced in the series, helping Ichigo in Memories in the Rain and combating the rogue Soul Reaper Baishin in The Sealed Sword Frenzy.^[46][47] In Rock Musical Bleach, a musical based on the Bleach series, she is played by Miki Satō.^[48] In the Bleach video games, Rukia is a playable character in every game, including the Heat the Soul and Blade Battlers series. In some games, her human form and Soul Reaper state are available as separate characters,^[49][50] while Dark Rukia is playable in Heat the Soul 6.^[51]

Reception

Rukia has ranked highly in the Weekly Shōnen Jump popularity polls for the series, placing in the top five most popular characters in all four polls. She was ranked as the second most popular character after Ichigo in the first two polls, and fell to third place in the third poll, being replaced by Tōshirō Hitsugaya.^[7][52][53] In early 2008, she was voted the second most popular character in Bleach, receiving 383 votes less than the front runner, Tōshirō Hitsugaya.^[54] Her zanpakutō, Sode no Shirayuki, ranked 2nd in the zanpakutō popularity poll of the series. The Japanese music distributor Recochoku has made two annual survey of which anime characters that people would like to marry. Rukia ranked 4th in the category "The Character I Want to Be My Bride" from the 2009 survey.^[55] In a 2007 character poll from the Japanese magazine Newtype magazine character polls, Rukia has been featured as one of the most popular female characters from any anime.^[56]

Merchandise based on Rukia's appearance has been released, including a key chain,^[57] a plush doll,^[8] and a figurine.^[9] Fumiko Orikasa, Rukia's Japanese voice actor, liked how Rukia was developed while fighting against the arrancar, noting her to be a hero during her introductions. However, she was sad by how after Rukia defeats the first arrancar, she is instantly stabbed by the arrancar Grimmjow.^[13] Michelle Ruff, Rukia's English voice actress, found Rukia to be a "survivor", due to how lonely she initially was and how she has been developed through the anime series as she had to start trusting people. She also liked how cool Rukia is when she is fighting but noted it challenging how to voice Rukia due to her various attitudes.^[58] Ruff was the winner in the category "Best Voice Actress (English)" from the 2009 SPJA Industry Awards for her work as Rukia. Rukia also won in the category "Best Female Character" based on her appearances on Bleach: Memories of Nobody.^[59]

Several publications for manga, anime, video games, and other related media have provided praise and criticism on Rukia's character. Although Chris Beveridge from Mania Entertainment noted Rukia's introduction in Bleach was typical in several others series, he praised how she interacted with her schoolmates and Ichigo.^[6] Anime News Network's (ANN) Melissa Harper praised the differences between Rukia and stereotypical shōnen heroines, asserting that Rukia's loss of her powers and subsequent dependence on Ichigo were "a great source of both drama and comedy in the show." However, the removal of the humor from Rukia's scenes as a schoolgirl due to the English translation was lamented, although Ruff was extolled for doing an "excellent job."^[5] Carlos Alexandre from popcultureshock.com regarded her as "less of a foil to Ichigo and more like the other side of the same coin". Her actions and words were also commented by Alexendre to make Rukia deserve the respect she commands.^[60] IGN called the scene where Rukia is forced to leave Ichigo Kurosaki and return to Soul Society as "touchingly beautiful" and celebrated Rukia's character development during her time in the human world.^[61] Her subsequent appearances in Soul Society were criticized by ANN's Theron Martin due to her lack of activity making them "irritating given how strong a character she was in the series' early going".^[62]

Kurosaki Ichigo

Ichigo Kurosaki (黒崎 一護, Kurosaki Ichigo) is a fictional character in the anime and manga franchise Bleach by mangaka Tite Kubo. He is the story's main protagonist. The series begins with Ichigo receiving Soul Reaper powers as a result of a run-in with Rukia Kuchiki, the Soul Reaper assigned to patrol his city, Karakura Town. These powers come at the cost of Rukia's own, and as a result, Ichigo concedes to work as Rukia's stand-in, fighting to protect people from evil spirits called hollows and sending good spirits, wholes, to Soul Society. In addition to the main series, Ichigo appears in many other pieces of Bleach media, including the three featured films in the series, the two original video animations, and several video games.

Ichigo's character was created to replace Rukia as the lead character from the series as Kubo noted that Rukia was unsuitable to be the protagonist. Merchandise based on Ichigo's likeness has also been released, including toys, clothing, and action figures. Ichigo's character has been well received among both fans and reviewers. Ichigo is also featured Weekly Shōnen Jump character popularity polls, consistently ranking as one of the most popular characters in Bleach, while the 2007 Japanese Newtype magazine polls ranked him as one of the top 100 most-loved anime characters. Reviewers of the series have also remarked favorably on his personality, though some considered him to be a stereotypical anti-hero during the first few episodes of the series.

Creation and conception

When creating the manga series, Kubo commented that Rukia Kuchiki, the first character he created, did not seem like a lead character, so he created Ichigo to be the series protagonist.^[9] When designing Ichigo's appearance, Kubo had thought of several types attributes of the character that were never added to the story. Initial design sketches show Ichigo wearing glasses, and having dark hair and kind eyes. When designing Rukia Kuchiki, however, Kubo modified Ichigo's appearance to contrast with hers, giving Ichigo orange hair, a trademark scowl, and removing the glasses.^[10] Along with Orihime Inoue, Ichigo has the hardest face to draw for Kubo.^[11]

Kubo considered Ichigo's greatest strength to be that he is considerate and thoughtful as he always thinks about other people's needs. However, he also saw that as his greatest weakness, since worrying about his friends tends to put him in danger. Kubo was asked in an interview if he had any plans to make Ichigo and Rukia a couple, but Kubo chose neither to confirm nor deny it as he did not want to focus in romance.^[12] Kubo thinks Ichigo is very popular among fans since he "looks cool". He also mentioned that as fans read more about him they discover that underneath him is warm and kind hearted, and that attracts his fans.^[13]

Ichigo is voiced by Masakazu Morita in the Japanese anime,^[1] while as a child he is voiced by Yuki Matsuoka.^[2] Johnny Yong Bosch voices him in the English dub as a teenager,^[3] and Mona Marshall as a kid.^[4] Bosch has liked Ichigo's character due to how he wants to protect people. However, he experienced difficulty voicing him in the episodes in which Ichigo shouts for a long time.^[14]

Appearances

In the Bleach manga and anime series

Ichigo is an orange-haired 15-year-old teenager able to see spirits. He meets Soul Reaper Rukia Kuchiki in the midst of a hollow attack. After Rukia is heavily injured by the hollow, she is forced to transfer her Soul Reaper powers to Ichigo so that he can kill the hollow and save their lives and his family.^[15] Though he defeats the hollow, Ichigo absorbs almost all of Rukia's spiritual power, and she is forced to stay in the human world until it returns. In the meantime, Ichigo performs her Soul Reaper duties.^[16] When Ichigo was nine, he tried to save a spirit to be eaten by the hollow Grand Fisher, and his mother, Masaki Kurosaki, was killed by the hollow while protecting Ichigo.^[17] Even after that discovering the hollow was responsible, Masaki's death continues to influence Ichigo by causing him to feel guilt for his inability to protect those close to him and therefore, he thanks Rukia for giving him the powers to protect them.^[18][19]

Ichigo with the spirit of Zangetsu while wielding his zanpakutō in its shikai form.

When his actions eventually attract the attention of Soul Society, Rukia is taken back to the spirit world to be executed, and Ichigo leads an effort to save her.^[20] To rescue her, Kisuke Urahara trains him to become a Soul Reaper with his own powers allowing him to have a new zanpakutō named Zangetsu (斬月, literally "cutting moon").^[8] Unlike most Soul Reapers, who can seal their zanpakutō after releasing it, Ichigo's zanpakutō is always in its shikai form. Zangetsu's spirit takes the form of a middle-aged man, voiced by Takayuki Sugo in the Japanese anime and by Richard Epcar in the English dub.^[21][22] 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. Zangetsu's special ability is the Getsuga Tenshō (月牙天, literally "moon-fang slices the heavens", translated in the English anime as "piercer of heaven"), a wave of spirit particles released from his blade's edge. Correspondent to the name, the wave is shaped like a crescent moon.

^[23] Zangetsu's bankai, named Tensa Zangetsu (天鎖斬月, literally "heavenly chain cutting the moon"), shrinks the sword down to a fully black one while his uniform also changes to an outfit similar to Zangetsu's. Ichigo's bankai is a compression of his spiritual pressure, rather than a vast expansion as is usually the case. By compressing his power, Ichigo can move at incredibly high speeds.^[24]

However, Ichigo partially becomes a hollow in the same training.^[25] This leaves him with an insane inner hollow spirit that grows in strength as the series progresses and tries to take control of his body to fight. This control has manifests itself in several ways during the series, first as a berserker rage and later as a physical transformation. The inner hollow takes form as Ichigo's evil alter ego and mirrors his appearance.^[26][27]

Upon Ichigo's arrival in Soul Society, he repeatedly clashes with high-ranking Soul Reapers as he approaches Rukia Kuchiki's location. With the assistance of Ichigo's newfound allies, Rukia is saved, though she quickly falls into the hands of Sōsuke Aizen.^[28] Aizen, the mastermind behind Rukia's execution, fulfills his plans by removing the Hōgyoku from her body. While he is unable to kill her, he and his accomplices manage to flee Soul Society as the Soul Reapers reunite against him.^[29] In the aftermath, Ichigo is made a "subsitute Soul Reaper" and is allowed to return home with his friends.^[30]

Ichigo's appearance while performing bankai and using his hollow mask.

Aizen, through the use of the Hōgyoku, creates an army of arrancar that he sends to attack Ichigo and his friends in the human world. When Ichigo and company are unable to deal with the arrancar threat, Soul Society sends a group of Soul Reapers to help them.^[31] In order to fight the arrancar Ichigo is taught to control his hollow by the Visored, Soul Reapers with hollow powers, allowing him to call upon his hollow powers at will and without sacrificing control by donning his hollow mask.^[32] Ichigo can initially only maintain this form for eleven seconds, but the limit and strength of it increases substantially during his fights in Hueco Mundo.^[33][34] Although they fend off the arrancar with the bolstered defenses, they are unable to prevent the abduction of Orihime Inoue. When Soul Society refuses to save her, Ichigo and his friends go to Hueco Mundo to rescue her on their own.^[35] With the help of a few friendly arrancar he meets along the way, Ichigo is able to reunite with Orihime.^[36] However, she is recaptured by Ulquiorra Cifer. Ichigo engages him in combat and subsequently kills him in a new hollow form.^[37] He later reappears in Karukura Town to fight Aizen.

In other media

Ichigo appears in the featured films of series; protecting a Soul Reaper named Senna in Memories of Nobody, aiding in the search for Tōshirō Hitsugaya in the The DiamondDust Rebellion.^[38][39] and investigates a mysterious incident, involving mass amnesia of most Soul Reapers, especially Rukia, who was kidnapped by two mysterious rogues in Fade to Black.^[40] He also appears in both of the original video animations; fighting against a hollow called the Grand Fisher in the first one and combating the rogue Soul Reaper Baishin in the second one.^[41][42] In the Bleach video games, Ichigo is a playable character in every game, including the Heat the Soul and Blade Battlers series. In some games, his hollow form and bankai state are available as separate characters.^[43][44] In Rock Musical Bleach, a musical based on the Bleach series, he is played by Tatsuya Isaka.^[45] His character is featured in two volumes from the Bleach Beat Collection CD soundtrack series which features themes composed by his Japanese voice actor, Masakazu Morita. These include the first of them in which he is the only character and the fourth season's fourth volume along with Rukia.^[46][47]

Reception

Amongst the Bleach reader base, Ichigo has been highly popular, having always ranked within the top 5 in the Weekly Shōnen Jump popularity polls for the series. He has usually taken first place, though in early 2008 he dropped to 3rd place.^[48][49] His zanpakutō, Zangetsu, also ranked 3rd in the zanpakutō popularity polls. His character also appeared in the 2007 Japanese Newtype magazine polls ranked him as one of the best anime male characters.^[50] In the Society for the Promotion of Japanese Animation Awards from 2008, Ichigo ranked as the third best male character.^[51] The Japanese music distributor Recochoku has made two annual survey of which anime characters that people would like to marry. Ichigo ranked tenth in the category "The Character I Want to Be My Groom" from the 2008 survey and eight in the 2009 poll in the same category.^[52] Wizard Entertainment considered Ichigo the best hero from 2007, commenting that he does not try to be a hero as he just fights in order to protect his friends or to return a debt.^[53] He was also 20th in IGN's Top 25 Anime Characters of All Time with comments focused on his design and personality.^[54]

At the first Seiyū Awards in March 2007, Masakazu Morita won in the category "Best Rookie Actor" for his role as Ichigo Kurosaki.^[55] Ichigo's voice actor in the English adaptation, Johnny Yong Bosch, has also been praised for his voice work on Ichigo's character by Anime News Network (ANN), which favorably compared Bosch and Morita's work.^[56] Various merchandise based on Ichigo's appearance has been created, including action figures,^[57] plush toys^[58] and key-chains.^[59] Since the series was released, replica models of Ichigo's zanpakutō^[60] and bankai^[61] have been produced for purchase by collectors and fans.

Several publications for manga, anime, video games, and other related media have provided praise and criticism on Ichigo's character. Mania Entertainment reviewer Chris Beveridge commented that Ichigo's history about how he becomes a Soul Reaper in the series could be "obvious", but it is avoided by how Ichigo tries to avoid his role. Additionally, he commented that Ichigo does not have "awkward moments" when fighting with hollows or handling his zanpakutō, making him a more normal person.^[62] ANN's Melissa Harper commented that Ichigo's initial rebellious actions make him almost a stereotypical anti-hero, but note that he is soon revealed to be a more complex character with a sad past.^[56] Los Angeles Times's Charles Solomon comments Ichigo's persona has little in common with protagonists from other series due to his bad temper and how he tends to fight. However, he added that readers from the series still "love" Ichigo.^[63] Although the way Ichigo becomes a Soul Reaper was found to be relatively common by Carlos Alexandre from popcultureshock.com he noted that was unimportant, and then added Ichigo's character of a "tough guy with a heart of gold" had already been done in several series.^[64] Charles White from IGN praised Ichigo's climactic fight against Byakuya Kuchiki as one of the best fights in the Bleach series,^[65] and later Ramsey Isler gave additional praise to both the design and voice acting for Ichigo's inner hollow.^[66] Ichigo's development during the story arc in which he sets to rescue Rukia Kuchiki from being executed have been praised by ANN's Theron Martin with the scenes in which he manages to stop her execution and his subsequent demonstration of his bankai as one of the "eminently satisfying landmark moments in the series".^[67]

Hitsugaya Toushirou

Hitsugaya Toushirou : 10th Squad Captain

Background

Hitsugaya's early life was spent in Junrinan, District 1 of Rukongai. There he lived with his grandmother and Momo Hinamori. As a child, Hitsugaya had an icy demeanor that estranged himself from others, with the exception of his grandmother and Hinamori. The three were very close, and Hitsugaya was irritated when Hinamori left to join the Soul Society academy. Throughout his childhood, he was always aware of what seemed to be an icy presence within himself and had continuous dreams about a plane of ice. Five years after Hinamori's departure, Hitsugaya encountered Rangiku Matsumoto, then a normal, unranked shinigami, in a marketplace, when she stood up to a merchant who left his change on the counter, rather than handing it to him.

That night, Hitsugaya dreamt again of the icy plain and finally met Hyōrinmaru for the first time, though he could not hear the spirit's name. He woke up to find Rangiku admonishing him for not being able to control his power, which had been freezing his grandmother. She told him that power like his needed to be controlled, and convinced him to become a Soul Reaper. With Hitsugaya's natural talent, he entered the Soul Society academy in spite of his age and became known as a prodigy, quickly ascending to captain of the 10th Division, ironically making him Rangiku's superior.

Personality

Tōshirō Hitsugaya is very young by Soul Society standards. Born in Rukongai, he became the youngest ever to reach captain rank. Thus, he is called a "boy genius" or a "child prodigy" by many. Hitsugaya is generally mature and serious, in contrast to his free-spirited lieutenant, Rangiku Matsumoto, although he can sometimes be short-tempered and irritable. Despite their personality differences, he and Matsumoto seem to be very close. Hitsugaya is shown to also be easily irked by others goofing off or drawing unneeded attention to themselves, as shown when he led a team of Soul Reapers (himself, Matsumoto, Renji Abarai, Ikkaku Madarame, and Yumichika Ayasegawa) into Ichigo Kurosaki's school. He hates anything that he deems childish and hates being described as something close to a child, evident in a filler episode when he meets Ichigo's sister, Karin, who pats him over the head further angering him. This is also shown more in the omake chapters, where he is repeatedly mistaken for a child, much to his annoyance. despite calling it a child's game, he is shown to be extremely good at soccer, easily beating a jr. high school team.

Hitsugaya's intuition is extremely sharp, and he is the first person to correctly suspect Gin Ichimaru of foul play, though he understandably did not suspect Sōsuke Aizen of the same. He is very protective of Momo Hinamori, due to the fact that they were old childhood friends, promising to kill those who harm her.

A running gag is Hitsugaya getting annoyed when anyone refers to him by anything other than his title, "Captain Hitsugaya" (日番谷大長, Hitsugaya-taichō^?). Hinamori has called him by "Tōshirō," ("Hitsugaya-kun" in the Japanese manga and anime) and both she and Ukitake have occasionally used "Little Shiro" (シロちゃん Shiro-chan) — a nickname meaning "Whitey" (Snowy in the English manga) in reference to his hair — in both cases without repercussion, however. In the Shinigami Golden Picture Book sketches (omakes found at the end of episodes of Bleach), Jūshirō Ukitake comically gives Hitsugaya candy and other food like watermelon which there are certain amounts of flashbacks towards because "Jūshirō" and "Tōshirō" sound similar and because they both have white hair, making them both "Shiro-chan."

Abilities

• Dragon form: Voiced by: Daisuke Matsuoka (Japanese), Travis Willingham (English)
• Spirit: Voiced by: Kenji Hamada

Hyōrinmaru's shikai.

Hitsugaya's zanpakutō is Hyōrinmaru (氷輪丸^?, literally "ice wheel", idiomatically "full moon"). Hyōrinmaru's shikai command is soar into the frozen sky hyorinmaru (霜天に坐せ, sōten ni zase^?, literally "reign over the frozen heavens"). Hyōrinmaru is the strongest of all ice element zanpakutō in Soul Society. Hyōrinmaru's spirit is a winged Chinese dragon made of ice, while in the Zanpakutō Unknown Tales anime arc it takes the form of a amnesic man with long green hair and a blue x-shaped scar on his face, being calm and quiet most of the time. Hyōrinmaru allows Hitsugaya to control water and ice. The slashes created by Hyōrinmaru gives off an immense amount of spirit power which overflows from the tip of the blade, creating a flow of ice vaguely shaped like Hyōrinmaru's dragon spirit. The dragon flies at opponents and instantly freezes anything it touches. The chain-blade also freezes anything Hitsugaya traps with it.

Hyōrinmaru's bankai.

Hyōrinmaru's bankai, named Daiguren Hyōrinmaru (大紅蓮氷輪丸^?, literally "great crimson lotus ice wheel"), causes ice to flow from Hyōrinmaru onto Hitsugaya, forming into two large wings, a tail, guards over his feet in the shape of dragon claws, and twelve large flower petals. During one of Hitsugaya's earlier battles, the arrancar Shawlong speculates that Hitsugaya's bankai will fade when all twelve petals disappear and that Hitsugaya's bankai is incomplete due to his young age. Later during his fight with Luppi, Hitsugaya states that "even if [Hyōrinmaru is] shattered, it will reform as long as there is water present.

Hyōrinmaru's bankai has four known special techniques. The first is Ryūsenka (竜霰花^?, literally "dragon hail flower"), which freezes any enemy Hitsugaya stabs, locking them into a cocoon of ice and freezing them to the core. Once frozen, Hitsugaya can shatter his opponent. The second is Sennen Hyōrō (千年氷牢^?, literally "thousand-year ice prison"), which forms a multitude of ice pillars using the moisture in the atmosphere. These pillars hold the enemy prisoner for a thousand years, also freezing them. His third technique, Guncho Tsurara (literally "icicle flock"), he launches a multitude of ice shards in an attempt to impale his opponent. His fourth, and implied most powerful move is called Hyoten Hyakkaso (literally "frozen sky-hundred flowers funeral"). This attack causes 100 snow flakes to fall from the sky, freezing anything they touch in a flower like shape. When all 100 flakes fall, the life of the one trapped by the attack is ended. A fourth attack, Hyōryū Senbi (literally "Ice Dragon Swirling Tail")This technique allows Hitsugaya swings his sword in a linear direction and creates overflowing ice from his blade in the form of a crescent.Zekku (literally "Void Sever"), allows Hitsugaya to control his Hyouryū Senbi technique and send it up into the air.

Plot overview

Introduced along with the rest of the Gotei 13, Hitsugaya's intuition leads him to suspect 3rd Division captain Gin Ichimaru of foul play as the circumstances surrounding the coming execution of Rukia Kuchiki become more complicated. He warns Hinamori of these suspicions, which inspires her to attack Gin following Aizen's murder. When Izuru Kira steps forth to defend his captain against Hinamori, he admonishes Hinamori for losing control of herself and forgetting her duty, and has her and Kira sent to prison. When Hinamori is manipulated into thinking that Hitsugaya killed Aizen, Hitsugaya knocks her out, and believing Gin responsible, attacks him. The fight is interrupted when Hitsugaya dodges an attack that almost leads to Hinamori's death, only to be intercepted by Matsumoto. Seeing how destructive Rukia's execution is becoming, Hitsugaya tries to stop the execution by appealing to the Chamber 46, only to discover all 46 members are dead and Aizen is responsible for murdering them, having faked his death. When Hitsugaya discovers Hinamori injured and interrogates Aizen, Hitsugaya tries to kill him, but he is defeated with a single strike.

In a later arc, Hitsugaya leads a group of Soul Reapers assigned to defend Karakura Town against the arrancar threat. During the first attack, he battles Shawlong Qufang. Though heavily injured, he wins after being allowed to remove his power limit. During the second arrancar attack, he fends off Luppi. Though Hitsugaya is initially unable to defend against Luppi's attacks and is knocked to the ground in a single hit, Luppi's inattentiveness and overconfidence gives him ample time to build up a finishing move. Upon learning that Orihime has followed the arrancar back to Hueco Mundo, Hitsugaya and his team return to Soul Society to help in the preparation for the war against Aizen. He returns to Karakura Town with the rest of the captains, and engages the 3rd Espada, Tia Harribel in combat alongside Hiyori Sarugaki and Lisa Yadomaru until Aizen steps in and kills her, stating she isn't strong enough to fight for him anymore.

He engages Aizen in battle and, with the combined efforts of Soi Fon, Kyoraku and Shinji Hirako, is able to stab Aizen through the chest. However, it is quickly revealed that Aizen had been using his zanpakutōs hypnotic abilities since the start of the fight, thus tricking Hitsugaya into stabbing Momo instead. With Momo fatally injured, Hitsugaya attacks Aizen in a blind rage, only to be cut down with Soi Fon, Kyoraku, and Shinji.

Appearances in other media

He appears in all of the featured films in the series: he fights the Dark Ones with other Soul Reaper comrades in Bleach: Memories of Nobody.^[18] He is the main character in The DiamondDust Rebellion, where he searches for the thieves who stole the "King's Seal," an ancient artifact, after crossing paths with and fighting them. This led the Seireitei to suspect him of treason. As Ichigo Kurosaki and others go out in search of him, Hitsugaya stumbles across a dark secret concerning a long-dead Soul Reaper named Kusaka Sōjirō, who was his close friend and rival when he was younger. A one-shot manga chapter focusing on Histugaya's past was released to promote the film, revealing how Hitsugaya learned of his powers. Apparently, Kusaka uses the King's Seal to come back to life for revenge, but in the end is killed by Hitsugaya in a final rematch. He also appears in the third film, in which he loses his memories of Ichigo and Rukia, along with the other Soul Reapers.

Hitsugaya is featured in the 30 minute original video animation, Sealed Sword Frenzy, in which he is part of the group of captains sent to the real world to seal away the escaped and notoriously dangerous shinigami criminal, Baishin. During their first encounter, he successfully fends off the criminal, though Baishin escapes.

Hitsugaya has been a playable character in every Bleach-related video game released so far, the only exception being Bleach: Heat the Soul. Often, he's playable in several different forms, such as his shikai and bankai and even in a gigai. He is also a playable character in the Nintendo DS game, Jump Ultimate Stars.

He also appears in two Bleach Beat Collection albums aside: The first one was a compilation album with Momo Hinamori and his lieutenant, Rangiku Matsumoto. The second one was also a compilation album, this time with the protagonist, Ichigo Kurosaki. His two songs are 'This Light I See' and 'Bleach the Limitation'. He is also portrayed by Takashi Nagayama in the Rock Bleach Musicals.

Reception

Hitsugaya has been highly popular in the Weekly Shōnen Jump's Bleach popularity polls ranking most of the times within the top ten. In early 2008, Hitsugaya was voted the most popular character in the series, replacing Kurosaki Ichigo, who had previously held the position. He received 8278 votes, 383 votes more than Kuchiki Rukia, who finished second. Hyōrinmaru was voted the most popular zanpakutō in the Zanpakutō Poll. In the 2007 Japanese Newtype magazine character polls, he was voted the 9th most popular male character in any anime. Various merchandise based on Hitsugaya's appearance has been created, including action figures, plush toys and key-chains.

In order to promote the second film of Bleach, the trailer had the line "Execute Hitsugaya!". Kubo admitted that it was his own idea to make everybody be surprised, but he and Masakazu Morita, the voice actor of Ichigo Kurosaki, received a lot of letters from worried fans, causing Kubo to apologize in response. The Japanese music distributor Recochoku has made two annual survey of which anime characters that people would like to marry. Hitsugaya ranked 8th in the category "The Character I Want to Be My Groom" from the 2008 survey and 3rd in the 2009 poll in the same category.

Various publications from manga, anime and other media have commented on Hitsugaya's character adding praise and criticism. Carl Kimlinger from Anime News Network praised Steve Staley, Hitsugaya's English voice actor, for giving an interesting variation of his voice rather than "integrity-destroying abominations". In another review he comments that Hitsugaya's unresolved personal issue is, along with the ones from others characters, to be a good part from the climax of one of the story arcs from Bleach. He additionally praised Hitsugaya's bankai for the good animation it has in the anime. IGN's Ramsey Isler found Hitsugaya to be one of the most common "fan favorite" characters from the series, but lamented the fact that his first fight against an arrancar was not very entertaining and his character did not "get a chance to shine."His appearances in DiamondDust Rebellion were praised by Active Anime's Holly Ellingwood who noted them "involving and intriguing" and liked his scenes with Matsumoto.