Character Analysis: Ichigo Kurosaki
Bleach is an interesting battle shonen to look at, as it seems to be a very divisive series among shonen fans. For me, I would fall in the camp of generally liking the series, and I think one of the big reasons why is Ichigo Kurosaki.
So that's what we are going to be looking at today
By far the most interesting thing about Ichigo is that throughout the entire run of the series, he doesn't have a major goal he is striving towards. If you've seen any amount of battle shonen, the main character always tends to have their own goal that sort of defines them, wanting to become the pirate king (Monkey D. Luffy), wanting to become the wizard king (Asta), wanting to find their dad (Gon Freecss), or being the strongest fighter in the universe (Goku).
They all have their own goals and are actively pursuing them, taking out enemies that get in their way. Ichigo is very much the opposite, where he has no major goal he strives toward and is a reactive character.
You could argue that Ichigo's main objective in the series is to protect his friends and his town from the many supernatural elements of the world. Even his name Ichigo can be read as the one who protects. But, unlike the other goals, I've mentioned this feels more like a character trait of Ichigo's rather than his dream. He didn't really have this motivation before he had his powers unlocked.
Since Ichigo doesn't have any big aspirations, he goes through a lot of inner turmoil about who he is and how he fits into the greater scope of the story.
Ichigo's Journey
A significant portion of the story is dedicated to where Ichigo fits into the grand scale of things. Why was he able to see spirits, why does he have so much power, why does he have hollow powers? We get answers to these questions that let the audience have a better idea of who Ichigo is, and his connection to the world as a whole.
For instance, we find out Ichigo's dad was a shinigami, so that's why he was able to see spirits and has so much power as a shinigami. This gives him a connection to the soul society. He has hollow powers because his mother had part of a hollow inside of her, which gives him a connection to both the hollows and arrancar. This is also why he has fullbring powers and gives him a connection to the fullbringers. Lastly, his mother was a quincy so that's why he has quincy powers and gives him a connection to them.
These connections sort of give Ichigo a justification on why he is there, he isn't some random guy getting mixed into situations that don't involve him. Especially since he isn't actively pursuing some greater objective in the series.
the one downside to having all of these powers and somehow being connected to everything is the feeling that since he is the main character the world only revolves around him. The world doesn't feel organic because for reasons Ichigo is bestowed all of these superpowers that he somehow did not know he had until this part of his life. Not only that but he is the best at using all of these new powers that others have been using for centuries.
His Personality
Out of all the main protagonists in battle shonen, Ichigo stands out personality-wise. The common battle shonen trope is to have the main character act very sporadic and immature. Ichigo is a stubborn and mature type of guy who is moody and serious most of the time.
This type of character is usually reserved for a secondary character that plays off of the main character's explosive energy. You have Luffy and Zoro, Gon and Killua, or Goku and Vegeta.
Usually, the main character will switch to a more serious personality whenever they get upset or at the main fight of an arc, but Ichigo is always like this. I think this is a breath of fresh air in terms of battle shonen and is what makes him stand out from the crowd.
Take-Aways
- What are some things you can do to distinguish your main character?
- Personality
- Goals
That's all I have for now, have a great day!
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