Through subsequent development of the series, however, Kubo decided to make her a valued ally and instead introduced Ichigo as the central character. When drawing the manga series, Kubo commented that Rukia, the first Bleach character he introduced, was originally intended to be the protagonist. However, critics disliked his anticlimactic fights in the series' latter half due to his lack of memorable scenes at these points. Merchandise based on Ichigo's likeness has been released, including toys, clothing and action figures. Reviewers of the series have praised his personality, though some consider him to be a stereotypical anti-hero. The 2007 Japanese Newtype magazine polls ranked Ichigo as one of the top 100 most-loved anime characters. He was consistently ranked as the most popular character in Bleach. Ichigo is often featured in Weekly Shōnen Jump character popularity polls. His character has been well received among both readers and reviewers. In the live-action film, he is played by Sota Fukushi. In the English dubbing, he is voiced by Johnny Yong Bosch. In the anime series adaptation, Ichigo is voiced by Masakazu Morita in Japanese. Kubo said that Ichigo was created to replace Rukia as the protagonist of the series, because he felt she was unsuited for the role.

Ichigo appears in other media after the manga series, including the anime television series, four anime films, two original video animations, rock musicals, several video games, light novels and the 2018 live-action film. These powers come at the cost of her own, and as a result, he concedes to work as her stand-in, fighting to protect people from evil spirits called Hollows and sending good spirits, wholes, to a dimension known as the Soul Society. He is the main protagonist of the series, who receives Soul Reaper powers after meeting Rukia Kuchiki, a Soul Reaper assigned to patrol around the fictional city of Karakura Town. Ichigo Kurosaki ( Japanese: 黒崎一護, Hepburn: Kurosaki Ichigo) is a fictional character in the Bleach manga series and its adaptations created by Tite Kubo. Ichigo Kurosaki as illustrated by Tite Kubo

Bleach all soul reapers ranked in power