Primary characters
Ichigo Kurosaki
Ichigo Kurosaki (黒崎 一護 Kurosaki Ichigo) is the primary protagonist of Bleach and main hero. An orange-haired high school student, Ichigo becomes a "substitute Shinigami (Soul Reaper)" after unintentionally absorbing most of Rukia Kuchiki's powers. His cynical nature at first makes him ill-disposed towards the duty, but, with the passage of time, he accepts and welcomes the strength his Soul Reaper powers give 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
Orihime Inoue
Orihime Inoue (井上 織姫 Inoue Orihime) is a long-time classmate of Ichigo Kurosaki who gains a crush on him later on in the series, 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 an accident. Though initially devoid of spiritual powers, she develops spiritual awareness early in the plot and later obtains the God-like ability to warp reality through rejecting past phenomena. She is voiced byYuki Matsuoka in the Japanese series and by Stephanie Sheh in the English dub.
Yasutora "Chad" 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 at 7 feet 2 inches.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 attempts to protect Ichigo's sister, Karin,and her friends from a hollow. He discovers a unique ability that strengthens and armors his right arm, enabling him to fight hollows. Eventually as his power develops, Chad learns that he is a Fullbringer and joins Xcution to help Ichigo regain his Soul Reaper powers. Hiroki Yasumoto voices him in the Japanese series, while Jamieson Price plays him in the English adaptation.
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, and eventually becomes a valuable ally and a friendly rival. He is voiced by Noriaki Sugiyama in Japanese and Derek Stephen Prince in English.
Renji Abarai
Modified souls
Modified souls (改造魂魄 kaizō konpaku), or Mod-Souls for short, are artificial souls created by Soul Society researchers some time before the start ofBleach'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 plushiewith 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. 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 face 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, using inter-dimensional portals. The dimension inside the portals appears to be red. 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. He retreats into his shell when embarrassed or feeling shy. 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.
Lirin
Lirin (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. She can sense Bount reishi, along with their dolls. 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, red bow, and blue boots. She does not 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, Kurōdo, and Noba all live at Urahara's shop while not in action. She is voiced by Yumi Kakazu in the Japanese version and by Julie Ann Taylor in the English dub.
Nozomi Kujō
Nozomi Kujō (九条 望実 Kujō Nozomi) is a Mod Soul who has escaped from Soul Society and is wanted by Kagerōza Inaba. She is actually the result of Project Spearhead, the experiment that created the first Mod-Soul in the image of its overseer Ōko Yushima. However, the Mod Soul splintered into two: One half becoming Nozomi who embodies Yushima's restraint and other being Inaba who bares their creator's grudge on the Soul Society. Ending up in Karakura Town while envading the Reigai, Mod-Soul based clones of Soul Reapers created by Inaba, Nozomi is found by Kon and befriends Ichigo and his friends as they protect her. In the process, she manages to open up and show off her exuberant personality while manifesting her own Zanpakutō Arazome Shigure (退紅時雨Faded Scarlet Late Autumn Shower) which can absorb spirit pressure in its released state. Eventually, Nozomi is captured and Inaba proceeds to use his lab equipment to asborb her and assume the intended form of a Reigai in Yushima's image. However, Nozomi's conscious is able to endure and fights Yushima as he battles her friends. Though she managed to separate from him, Nozomu dies from the internal wounds she inflicted on Yushima while she was still a part of him. She is voiced by Hisako Kanemoto
