List of Bleach characters

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 features a teenager called Ichigo Kurosaki who is inadvertently given Soul Reaper powers by a Soul Reaper named Rukia Kuchiki in a moment of desperation during a battle. As he assumes the duties of a Soul Reaper in her stead, Ichigo has to fight against giant creatures called hollows which are the souls of people who are not able to rest in peace after death. Over the course of the first season, some of his friends discover their own powers which are somehow awakened by proximity to Ichigo.

The Soul Society has rigid feudal laws that Rukia breached when she gave her powers to a mortal. Ichigo's first great adventure involves infiltrating Soul Society with his friends, seeking to rescue Rukia from a sentence of death at the hands of her fellow Soul reapers. Many mysteries are uncovered in the process of that rescue and several pivotal characters are introduced, including the rebel Sōsuke Aizen, a Soul Reaper captain who departs at the end of that story arc with great powers and the implication of much mayhem to come.

When creating the series, the author Kubo focused on the large number of new character designs and deals with making them participate in the plot. He also decides their personalities after designing them so that all characters can be unique. The characters have received praise and criticism by reviewers from anime, manga and other media. While some reviewers considered some of the characters to be "relatively stereotypical" of manga characters, most reviewers have remarked how each character is distinct, and some reviewers have praised the illustration of the characters 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. Kubo has said that he likes creating characters with 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." When creating characters for the manga, Kubo first attempts to create the design and later decides what a character's personality will be, according to what he drew. Kubo considers every character to be unique and wants each of them to be developed along the series. When asked about potentially-romantic relationships between certain characters, Kubo states that he "doesn't want to turn the series into a love story", since he thinks there are more exciting aspects of their personalities to draw out.

Bleach was first conceived from Kubo's desire to draw a shinigami in a kimono, which formed the basis for the design of the Soul Reapers. Several characteristics from them such as the kidō spells and the zanpakutō swords are also based on Japanese literature. 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. Other characters from the series also use different languages to describe their terminology; the powers from the Quincy are taken from German, while hollows and arrancar instead use Spanish terms; for the latter, Kubo believed that the language sounded "bewitching" and "mellow". Additionally, the names of several arrancar are based on famous architects and designers.

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. Kubo has also commented that, when making characters designs, one of his inspirations is by looking at people's faces, a trait Kubo used to do when he was a child. One of his biggest problems in drawing the manga is the fact 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. In the making of battle scenes, Kubo's main inspiration is rock music. While listening to the music, he imagines the fights with that music and then he tries to find the best angle to make it.He then tries to draw very realistic injuries in order to make the readers feel the pain the characters are feeling. Kubo mentions that he's sometimes bored whilst illustrating them, and tends to add in a few jokes to make it more humorous.

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 freshman Ichigo is forced to become a substitute Soul Reaper after unintentionally absorbing most of Rukia's powers. 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. 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. In the Japanese series, he is voiced by Masakazu Morita while in the English adaptation he is voiced by Johnny Yong Bosch.

Rukia Kuchiki

Main article: Rukia Kuchiki

Rukia Kuchiki (朽木 ルキア, Kuchiki Rukia) is a 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 ten times older than Ichigo. At the opening of the story, Rukia is forced to transfer her powers to Ichigo and assume a temporary lifestyle as a regular human. 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. 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. She is voiced by Fumiko Orikasa in Japanese and by Michelle Ruff in English.

Orihime Inoue

Main article: Orihime Inoue

Orihime Inoue (井上 織姫, Inoue Orihime) is a long-time classmate of Ichigo Kurosaki, linked to him by mutual friend Tatsuki Arisawa. She is effectively an orphan, as when she was 3, her older brother Sora left their abusive parents' home with Orihime and raised her on his own. Later on, when Orihime was in middle school, he died in a car accident. 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. She is voiced by Yuki Matsuoka in the Japanese series and by Stephanie Sheh in the English dub.

Yasutora "Chad" 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. 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 his right arm, enabling him to fight hollows. He later develops the ability to shoot energy from his armored arm and also discovers that his left arm holds powerful offensive abilities. Hiroki Yasumoto voices him in the Japanese series, while Jamieson Price plays him in the English adaptation.

Uryū Ishida

Main article: Uryū Ishida

Uryū Ishida (石田 雨竜, Ishida Uryū) 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. He comes to view Ichigo differently over time, however, eventually becoming a valuable ally and friendly rival. He is voiced by Noriaki Sugiyama in Japanese and Derek Stephen Prince in English.

Other characters

Bounts

The Bounts (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. Their leader, Jin Kariya (狩矢 神, Kariya Jin), aims to consume living spirits and gain massive amounts of power. As the series progressed, however, he reveals that his plans are to invade Soul Society along with the remaining Bounts. However, they are defeated by the Soul Reapers with Kariya being killed by Ichigo Kurosaki. 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 (the Bounts’ mosquito-like creatures that collect souls) in particular were like "something straight out of a bad sci-fi movie," but admitted the Bounts were "decent plot devices" to develop the other characters.

Hollows

Main article: List of hollows in Bleach

Hollows are the class of spirit that most enemies in Bleach are a part of. 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 gives them a craving for human souls. Their main characteristic is a white mask completely covering their face and a hole near their heart. Each hollow's mask has a design unique to that individual. 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. Their holes are no longer restricted to being near their heart, and can be located anywhere on their body, including their head.

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.

Keigo Asano

Keigo Asano (浅野 啓吾, Asano Keigo) is a classmate of Ichigo Kurosaki. He is an extremely gay character and often shove dildos up his ass with hisgay freinds fr a good time. He loves to get nailed in the ass with a huge dick. As such, his is one of the biggest fags in all of the world. 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). 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. In the Japanese version he is voiced by Katsuyuki Konishi, while in the English adaptation Yuri Lowenthal is his voice actor.

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. He is shown to be spiritually aware, but has yet to display any unique abilities. 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. Jun Fukuyama voices him in the Japanese series, while in the English version he is voiced by Tom Fahn.

Tatsuki Arisawa

Tatsuki Arisawa (有沢 竜貴, Arisawa Tatsuki) is a friend 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. Tatsuki is very tomboyish, displaying few feminine traits and even ranking as the second strongest student in her age group in all of Japan, despite having a broken arm during the tournament. Apart from being spiritually aware, 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. She is voiced by Junko Noda in the Japanese version and Wendee Lee in the English dub.

Kurosaki family

The main character from the series, Ichigo Kurosaki, lives along with his family who owns and work in a medical clinic in Karakura Town. 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. Later in the series he reveals himself as a former captain-level Soul Reaper, regaining his powers after twenty years so that he can avenge his wife's death by killing Grand Fisher. He seems to be aware of activities in the spiritual community, such as Sōsuke Aizen's actions and that Ichigo has become a Soul Reaper. Isshin was planned to be a Soul Reaper from when Kubo created chapter one of Bleach, but his position as a Soul Reaper captain came later, as the concept of Soul Reaper officers was invented much later. He is voiced by Toshiyuki Morikawa in the Japanese dub and Patrick Seitz in the English dub.

Ichigo's fraternal twin sisters are Karin Kurosaki (黒崎 夏梨, Kurosaki Karin) and Yuzu Kurosaki (黒崎 遊子, Kurosaki Yuzu). Karin is typically cynical and sarcastic, and is significantly more assertive and aggressive than Yuzu. Like Ichigo, Karin is spiritually aware, though she initially chooses to ignore the spirits she sees. 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. She is voiced by Rie Kugimiya in the Japanese dub and Kate Higgins in the English dub. Yuzu 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. She has a deep affection for Kon (whom she does not know is alive), calling him "Bostov". Yuzu has a weak level of spiritual awareness, only being able to see faint outlines of spirits. She is voiced by Tomoe Sakuragawa in the Japanese dub and Janice Kawaye in the English dub.

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. 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". 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. 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. 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.

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.

Noba

Noba (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. Nova'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 ninja-esque outfit: a fur coat with a shield on his back and a zippered mask. Tomokazu Sugita is his Japanese voice actor and Roger Craig Smith his English voice actor.

Ririn

Ririn (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. Ririn'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. Ririn'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.

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 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. 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."

The only two surviving Quincies are Ryūken Ishida (石田 竜弦, Ishida Ryūken, romanized as "Ryūgen" in Bleach Official Character Book SOULs and other Japanese sources) and his son Uryū Ishida. Ryūken is portrayed as a bitter and cold Quincy who detests his own people, believing them to be wasting their time training their abilities. However, he is soon discovered to be extremely powerful (as he needed just one shot to destroy a Menos when defending his son; it hints the he may rival or exceed the power of a captain) and possess many of the lost or stolen artifacts of the Quincies (some of the new weapons that Ishida currently uses are "borrowed" from his father). Ryuken, like his son, has ties with the shinigami (he is shown to have been acquainted/friends with Isshin Kurosaki) Another known Quincy is Sōken Ishida (石田 宗弦, Ishida Sōken), 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. His proposal was never accepted, and he was eventually killed in a hollow attack due to his old age (with Mayuri Kurotsuchi being responsible for not sending Soul Reapers to save him).

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. 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.

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. 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. 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 carries a kodachi tied around the remaining portion of her right arm. She is voiced by Akiko Hiramatsu and Cindy Robinson in the Japanese and English versions, respectively.

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. Incidentally, Ganju's boar, Bonnie-chan, met her end in a nabe which Ganju himself was invited to by 4th squad captain Unohana. Ganju possesses a hot temper and a strong ego, though has shown a softer side, easily being cowed by his older sister, Kūkaku. 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. 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 can reduce whatever earth it is aimed at to sand or quicksand, useful when making holes in walls to escape pursuers. He is voiced by Wataru Takagi in the Japanese version and by Kyle Hebert in the English dub.

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.

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. 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. 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, before which he was a 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.

Urahara is a keen analyst, able to discern an opponent's weaknesses and attack patterns with ease, a quality he passes on to Ichigo 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. 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 three known special abilities: 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. In the recent movie, Fade to Black, Urahara used one more ability, namely "Shred Benihime." It shot hundreds of attacks which emitted from his bloodmist shield. 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. Shin-ichiro Miki voices him in the Japanese version and Michael Lindsay in the English dub.

Yoruichi Shihōin

Yoruichi Shihōin (四楓院 夜一, Shihōin Yoruichi) is not an employee 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. Her natural form is that of a dark-skinned woman with purple hair, though she 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. 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. Having been the former captain of the 2nd Division, she is very knowledgeable of the Soul Society's history due to her background from a high ranking noble family. A century before the start of the series, she abandoned her captain position 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."

Yoruichi is skilled in all Soul Reaper tactical combat and the use of flash steps (瞬歩, shunpo), a high speed movement ability. While the ability is not unique and common for any Soul Reaper, her speed is almost unmatched leading to be known as the Goddess of Flash (瞬神, shunshin, English Anime: "Flash Master"). Yoruichi is also very skilled with "Flash Release" (瞬閧, shunkō), an advance combat technique that combines hand-to-hand combat and kidō abilities. The use of shunko allows the user to fight bare-handed against an opponent's weapon without being injured. She has never been seen wielding a zanpakutō in the current or gaiden storyline, though is shown carrying a kodachi-like blade during flashbacks. She is voiced by Satsuki Yukino in the Japanese anime and Wendee Lee in the English dub, while in her cat form Shirō Saitō voices her in Japanese and Terrence Stone in English.

Tessai Tsukabishi

Tessai Tsukabishi (握菱 鉄裁, 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. 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 using forbidden kidō spells in 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. Kiyoyuki Yanada is his seiyu and Michael Sorich his English voice actor.

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. Though he frequently bullies her, he does care for Ururu as he recovers her body after she is injured by an arrancar. 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 an incapacitated state. 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. He is voiced by Takako Honda in the Japanese version and by Jeannie Elias in the English dub.

Ururu Tsumugiya

Ururu Tsumugiya (紬屋 雨, Tsumugiya Ururu) is a meek, black-haired girl who mostly does manual labor for the shop. She uses a multi-barreled shoulder cannon as her weapon, which can turn into a rocket launcher to deal with powerful opponents. 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. 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. She is voiced by Noriko Shitaya in the Japanese version and by Wendee Lee in the English version.

Visored

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

The Visored are Soul Reapers who have obtained hollow powers. The associated process is referred to as "Hollowification" (虚化, horō-ka), excluding Ichigo, Sōsuke Aizen created the Visored by this method. 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 Visored have not shown any sort of hierarchy, seeming to prefer a loose-knit organization. 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", which instead meant "mask".

Love Aikawa

Love Aikawa (愛川 羅武 (ラブ), Aikawa Rabu) is the former captain of the 7th Division. He is a tall man with a spiked afro (shaped like a normal round afro during his days as a Soul Reaper), and wears sporting sunglasses and a jogging suit. He seems to be very laid back, usually reading Weekly Shōnen Jump or some of Lisa's erotic manga in his spare time. Love's hollow mask is designed after a traditional Japanese Oni mask. Love is later shown to be quite physically strong, being able to rip a Menos Grande in half with his bare hands. Love's zanpakutō is named Tengumaru (天狗丸, lit. tengu). His shikai transforms it into a large kanabō reminiscent of a black cactus, twice the size of Love. Tengumaru has the ability to project fire from its tip. He is voiced by Tetsu Inada in Japanese and Travis Willingham in English.

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. He has also grown an unknown relation with Ichigo: when asked by Captain Yamamoto which side he was, Shinji answered by saying he was on neither the Gotei 13 nor Aizen's side, but on Ichigo's. 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. 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. 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. Shinji is quite skilled with his hollow powers, using a single cero blast to easily overwhelm Grimmjow Jeagerjaques. His Hollow mask resembles a pharaoh's mask. He is voiced by Masaya Onosaka in the Japanese version and Roger Craig Smith in the English version.

Mashiro Kuna

Mashiro Kuna (久南 白, Kuna Mashiro) is the former lieutenant of the 9th Division under Kensei. She is a somewhat carefree-crazy 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 does not know the causes.. Her overall style of dress is reminiscent of the costumes worn by the tokusatsu superheroes of late 1970s Japanese television, even her attacks are announced like a Tokusatsu superhero. She often calls Ichigo Berry-tan (or "Berry Boy" in the English manga, and "Carrot Top" in the anime), a play on Ichigo's name. Unlike the other Visoreds and Ichigo who have to undergo a type of training to control their hollows, Mashiro is able to maintain her hollow mask for fifteen hours straight on her first attempt to control her hollow. However, in the mid-battle with Wonderweiss Margera her mask was suddenly shattered well before her time limit due to the over usage of the hollow mask. Nevertheless, when she in hollow mask, she is physically powerful compare to her tiny body frame and easily destroyed a group of Menos Grande and gigantic hollow monster that came along with Wonderwise only using a single power kick in each attack. Even Wonderwise were having great deal of trouble on fighting her when in Hollowfiction and she was even uninjured when Wonderwise managed to captured her scarf and threw her ferociously towards the massive concrete buildings. Her mask resembles a cricket or hornet's head. She is voiced by Akemi Kanda in the Japanese anime and by Laura Bailey in the English anime.

Kensei Muguruma

Kensei Muguruma (六車 拳西, Muguruma Kensei) is the former captain of the 9th Division. He 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, and piercing on his left eyebrow. 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. Tachikaze can also manipulate wind, as demonstrated when Kensei uses several wind blades to slice up a hollow, killing it instantly. His hollow mask resembles an ice hockey mask, with several rectangular slits. Kensei's bankai is named Tekken Tachikaze (鐡拳・断地風, lit. Iron Fist Earth-Severing Wind). The combat knife transforms into two bladed bronze knuckle like weapons in each hand that are connected by a long fabric-like thing, that curls up his arms like bandages and form a small arc above his head. He is voiced by Tomokazu Sugita in the Japanese version of the anime, and Dave Mallow in the English version.

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. 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. Compared to the other Visoreds, whose masks are normally flat, Rose's mask resembles a bird's beak and, thus, juts out from his face. Rose's zanpakutō is named Kinshara (金沙羅, lit. gold shala). His shikai transforms the blade into a long, plantlike whip with a flower at its tip. Prefaced as Kinshara Eleventh Sonata (金沙羅奏曲第十一番, Kinshara Sōkyoku Daijūichiban), Kinshara's technique, Izayoi Bara (十六夜薔薇, lit. "sixteen-night rose"), causes this tip to discharge an explosion of energy. He is voiced by Shouto Kashii in Japanese and Troy Baker in English.

Hiyori Sarugaki

Hiyori Sarugaki (猿柿 ひよ里, Sarugaki Hiyori) is a former lieutenant of the 12th Division under captains Kirio Hikifune and then 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. 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. Her mask resembles a rhinoceros head with a long, slim horn on the forehead. Her zanpakutō is named Kubikiri Orochi (馘大蛇, literally "beheading serpent") and is released with the command "Chop". It takes the form of a large cleaver with a jagged edge. She is voiced by Reiko Takagi in the Japanese version and Mela Lee in the English dub.

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 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. His mask resembles an Native American tribe mask. He aids in Soi Fon's battle against Barragan and while losing an arm, he ultimately defeats him. He is voiced by Takashi Nagasako in Japanese and Joe Ochman in English.

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. She seems easily irritated and apparently likes to read erotic manga. In the English translations, it has been edited to "swimsuit magazines". 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 mask resembles almost like a knight's helmet, with a cross shape opening on it. Her zanpakutō is called Haguro Tonbo (鉄漿蜻蛉, literally "iron dragonfly"). In its shikai form, it becomes a large guan dao or monk's spade with a fanned blade and large orb on the opposite end. She is voiced by Kanako Hatori in the original Japanese version and by Tara Platt in the English Dub.

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. Other merchandise based on them include action-figures, plush, and key-chains. Characters are also featured on Bleach trading cards that have different abilities depending on the character appearing in the cards. In Japan, there have been released soundtracks in which the voice actors from the anime perform songs related to their characters. Most characters are also featured in video games from the series, with most of them being fighting games.

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. They were also praised for having energetic attitudes and distinctive ways of fighting. 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. They also praised Tite Kubo's artwork to give them good clothes and the anime staff for improving them. 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. 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. Wizard Universe also praised Ichigo 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.

IGN also added that while some fights were dragged for many chapters, they are easy to enjoy due to the abilities of the characters and the artwork from Kubo. In another review, comicbookbin said that Bleach's characters tended to avoid the most obvious courses of action, giving the series an element of unpredictability . 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 although that made them more complex. 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. Anime News Network also added that the English voice acting of the characters is as good as the Japanese one, considering each of them very original.