Introduction

The story opens with the sudden appearance of the shinigami Rukia Kuchiki in Ichigo Kurosaki's bedroom. She is surprised at his ability to see her, but their resulting conversation is interrupted by the appearance of a "hollow", an evil spirit. After Rukia is severely wounded while trying to protect Ichigo, she intends to transfer half her powers to Ichigo, hoping to give him the opportunity to face the hollow on equal footing. Ichigo unintentionally absorbs almost all her powers instead, allowing him to defeat the hollow with ease.
The next day, Rukia appears in Ichigo's classroom as a transfer student. Much to his surprise, she appears to be a normal human. She theorizes that it was the unusual strength of Ichigo's spirit that caused him to absorb almost all her powers, thus leaving her stranded in the human world. Rukia has transferred herself into a gigai — an artificial human body — while waiting to recover her abilities. In the meantime, Ichigo must take over her job as a shinigami, battling hollows and guiding lost souls to Soul Society.

Characters

All Bleach characters are "souls". Living humans contain souls within their bodies, while disembodied souls, or spirits, have a form composed of particles of spiritual energy called ectoplasm (霊子, reishi?), which mimics human anatomy but ages more slowly. This form encompasses all of the spirit's being; there is no distinction between spirit and body. There are a variety of different types of spirits in Bleach, each with a different visual theme and approach to combat.

Main characters

See also: List of Bleach characters Ichigo Kurosaki (黒崎一護, Kurosaki Ichigo?) Voiced by: Masakazu Morita (Japanese), Johnny Yong Bosch (English) The primary protagonist of Bleach, the orange haired high school junior Ichigo Kurosaki is forced to become a substitute shinigami after unwittingly 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 it, recognizing that even if he is not able to save everyone, he can at least use his skills to protect those close to him.
Rukia Kuchiki (朽木ルキア, Kuchiki Rukia?) Voiced by: Fumiko Orikasa (Japanese), Michelle Ruff (English) Rukia Kuchiki is a cool-tempered shinigami who was sent on a hollow extermination patrol in Ichigo's hometown. Though her physical appearance is that of a teenage girl, in reality she is around 150 years old. Rukia is forced to transfer her power 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 shinigami in her place.
Orihime Inoue (井上織姫, Inoue Orihime?) Voiced by: Yuki Matsuoka (Japanese), Stephanie Sheh (English) Orihime Inoue is a long-time classmate of Ichigo, closely linked to him by mutual friend Tatsuki Arisawa. She is effectively an orphan, as she and her elder brother Sora ran away from their abusive home at a young age, and her brother later died. Though initially devoid of spiritual powers, she begins to develop spiritual awareness and later obtains one of the most powerful healing abilities in the Bleach universe, able to completely restore a body to its previous state regardless of how severely it is wounded.
Yasutora "Chad" Sado (茶渡泰虎, Sado Yasutora?) Voiced by: Hiroki Yasumoto (Japanese), Jamieson Price (English) Yasutora Sado, better known as Chad, is one of Ichigo's few 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. He does not have awareness of ghosts at first, but this changes when he witnesses a group of children being attacked by a hollow. He discovers a unique ability that strengthens and armors one of his arms, enabling him to fight hollows. He later develops the ability to shoot energy from his armored arm.
Kisuke Urahara (浦原喜助, Urahara Kisuke?) Voiced by: Shinichiro Miki (Japanese), Michael Lindsay (English) A mysterious and cheery man characterized by his hat that shadows his eyes and the geta (wooden sandals) he wears, Kisuke Urahara runs the Urahara Shop, a candy store that also sells supernatural items to shinigami. Despite his sanguine nature he is one of the most significant figures in the Bleach universe, bearing immense knowledge of the spiritual realms which he uses to mastermind the operations of the protagonists.
Uryū Ishida (石田雨竜, Ishida Uryū?) Voiced by: Noriaki Sugiyama (Japanese), Derek Stephen Prince (English) Though on the surface nothing more than the solitary class genius, Uryū Ishida is actually a Quincy, descendant of a line of priest-like hollow-hunting archers. He bears a deep grudge against all shinigami, including Ichigo, but comes to view Ichigo differently over time, eventually becoming an ally and friendly rival.
Renji Abarai (阿散井恋次, Abarai Renji?) Voiced by: Kentarō Itō (Japanese), Wally Wingert (English) Renji Abarai is an elite shinigami bearing the rank of 6th Division lieutenant, making him second in command of a sub-branch of the shinigami armed forces. Although first introduced as a deadly enemy, he has conflicting loyalties between his duties and Rukia, with whom he grew up. A rash and driven man, he holds both a deep respect and animosity towards his immediate superior, 6th Division captain Byakuya Kuchiki.