Itchigo

(黒崎 一護, Kurosaki Ichigo) is the protagonist of the Bleach series. The series begins with Ichigo receiving Shinigami powers as a result of a run-in with Rukia Kuchiki, the Shinigami assigned to patrol Karakura Town. These powers come at the cost of Rukia's own and, as a result, Ichigo concedes to work as Rukia's stand-in, fighting to protect people from evil spirits called Hollows and sending good spirits, Pluses, to Soul Society. 
For the most part, Ichigo appears like a normal teenage boy; the one exception to that is his spiky orange hair, a trait that he has been ridiculed about for years. He is a fairly tall person with peach skin and brown eyes. Also, since becoming a Shinigami, he has become noticeably more muscular, as noted by his sister Karin. It has been stated by various people (including Jūshirō Ukitake) that Ichigo bears a striking resemblance to Kaien Shiba, the former Lieutenant of the 13th Division.
Personality-wise, Ichigo is a stubborn, short-tempered, occasionally confrontational, spontaneous, determined, outspoken, strong-willed, impulsive young man. Despite being witty and cynical, he is shown to be genuinely compassionate and empathetic about others such as bringing a spirit flowers or soothing others when they become doubtful. He is also extremely protective of his friends and family. This latter trait is the driving force behind most of his actions and almost all of the story arcs have stemmed from him rushing off to save someone, usually females.
He attempts to maintain a detached and "cool" image, despite claiming to not care about what other people think about him. For this reason, he generally keeps his face set in a permanent scowl with his eyebrows drawn together. However, despite this "tough guy" image he tries to maintain, he becomes extremely shy and uncomfortable around nude or immodestly dressed women, a fact both Rangiku Matsumoto and Yoruichi Shihōin have teased him for. It is also noted by Lisa Yadōmaru that Ichigo enjoys reading her erotic mangas though he denies it. He is also rather cocky and has been known to taunt and belittle his opponents when fighting. Conversely, he can also go into a state of deep depression when he loses a major battle or lets a friend down. Ichigo has a habit of misreading other people's names, such as Uryū Ishida and Yasutora Sado (the latter case results in Sado's nickname, Chad). One of the series running gags is that he keeps forgetting his classmate's faces and names, with his friends claiming he only knows half the class. However, he seems to remember names much easier later on in the series.
Although his cocky, hot-headed, and spontaneous nature (as opposed to his true personality) makes him appear rather dimwitted to more composed and calculating individuals (particularly Uryū), Ichigo is a capable analyst when required, and can instinctively catch on to some things much quicker than those around him. His natural orange hair and rebellious disposition tend to annoy many bullies in his school, who constantly pick fights with him. Ichigo claims that he does not care about other people's opinions about him (both in regards to his hair and other subjects), and seems to enjoy fighting people. Similarly, he is also a capable student, ranked 23rd in his school, studies regularly and doesn't neglect his schoolwork; he claims that he has "nothing better to do at home". It is later revealed that he works as hard as he does simply to overcome the misconceptions many teachers have about him, based on his hair color and interactions with other students. It is shown in a recent omake that even with his Shinigami status he is still able to pass exams, though his teacher gave him remedial exams because of his constant disappearances.
Due to his constant fights with bullies and his permanent scowl, many students are rather afraid of him. Despite this, he has a warm and kind heart, defiantly looks out for those placed in his charge, and is, to a degree, quite compassionate once he understands another's point of view. Rukia even states in the first movie that "he only looks scary". This trait makes him quite likeable to children. As such, he has almost never threatened or raised his voice to his younger sisters, Karin and Yuzu (Only one occasion and that is questionable as to who he was taking to). However, he has some trouble with authority and traditional respect, and is often quite rude and disrespectful when talking to those older than himself. Although he does not intend to be rude, he tends to call General Yamamoto "gramps" and refers to some captains (particularly Kenpachi, Byakuya, and Hitsugaya) by their given names, despite verbal protests from Byakuya and Hitsugaya (Hitsugaya suggests at one point that Ichigo does so on purpose). However, he does use Japanese honorifics for a number of individuals such as Urahara, Yoruichi, Unohana and Ukitake. He also refers to Rangiku Matsumoto as Rangiku-san but refers to Yumichika Ayasegawa and Ikkaku Madarame by their first name. In the third movie he also used the -san suffix in relation to Hisagi and Komamura. However, he called Izuru Kira just Kira in the Zanpakutō Unknown Tales filler anime arc but in the same arc he referred to Shunsui Kyōraku as Kyōraku-san. Ichigo has been shown to refer to Mayuri Kurotsuchi without honorific, which the latter finds irritating.
Several female characters in the series have possibly developed romantic feelings for him, often due to his inwardly compassionate nature, namely Orihime Inoue, Nelliel Tu Oderschvank, Ririn, and possibly, Rukia Kuchiki and Senna.
Ichigo was born as the son of Isshin Kurosaki and Masaki Kurosaki, 15 years before the main storyline. His sisters Karin Kurosaki and Yuzu Kurosaki were born a few years later. During his childhood, Ichigo was signed into a karate class by his mother. In the class, Ichigo met and was eventually befriended by Tatsuki Arisawa, who would beat Ichigo in every match they had. Tatsuki would also help Ichigo if he was being picked on by bullies and cheer him up if he was upset.
On June 17th, when Ichigo was nine years old, he was taken home from his karate class by his mother. He saw a girl near the river and saw her falling into it. Concerned, Ichigo ran after to save her, unaware that the girl was really a lure from the Hollow Grand Fisher. Masaki, concerned about her son's safety, ran after Ichigo to protect him, but she was killed by Grand Fisher as a result. Because everyone loved Masaki very much, Ichigo blamed himself for his mother's death and went missing for some time before being found by a very concerned Tatsuki. With the death of their mother, Ichigo, Yuzu, and Karin all changed drastically. Ichigo still blamed himself for his mother's death as time went on.
Three years before the main storyline, Sora Inoue was brought to the Kurosaki Clinic from a car accident. Ichigo met Orihime Inoue, Sora's younger sister during this time. However, Sora died in the Kurosaki Clinic.Ichigo eventually entered Mashiba Junior High School. During this time, Ichigo had finally defeated Tatsuki in a karate match and left the class soon afterwards. Ichigo regularly got into fights with thugs, due to the unusual color of his hair. During one of these fights, he met Yasutora Sado. He mispronounced his name on his name tag as "Chad", and continued to call him as such from that day. They made a pact to protect each other and have remained good friends since. Because of the amount of fights they got into, Ichigo and Chad were given reputations of being gangsters themselves.
Ichigo and Chad eventually went to Karakura High School, and their reputations followed them as well, causing a few classmates (namely Keigo Asano) to be nervous about their presence there. During a fight with a gang led by Reiichi Ōshima, Ichigo and Chad met Mizuiro Kojima and Keigo Asano, the latter of which they saved. While Keigo was initially afraid of Ichigo and Chad, both he and Mizuiro eventually became friends with them.
Despite having very little official training as a Shinigami, Ichigo's fighting abilities have come to be powerful enough to easily defeat Seated Officer-level Shinigami and Menos-class Hollow, rival those of captain-level Shinigami and Espada-ranked Arrancar, and capable of fighting on equal footing against all but the strongest and the most powerful of foes.
Master Swordsmanship Specialist: In terms of fighting style while in his Shinigami form, Ichigo relies mainly on swordplay, and thus would be considered a swordsmanship specialist. Despite his Zanpakutō's large size, Ichigo has shown himself able to use it with great speed and accuracy and still maintain great strength. While usually performing right-handed, Ichigo appears to be ambidextrous as he has shown proficient skill wielding Zangetsu in his left. His overall skill has been shown capable of competing on equal grounds against sword masters of Byakuya Kuchiki and Kenpachi Zaraki's caliber. Aside from his initial training with Urahara, he is basically on a "learn as you go" training regimen thus his skill has developed by fighting rather than formal instruction, becoming even more capable with every fight.
Expert Hand-to-Hand Combatant: Physically, Ichigo is in top form even when not in his spiritual body. Ichigo has been trained in martial arts since he was a small child both professionally and by his father. He has repeatedly shown great agility and coordination in his attacks. In addition to having powerful kicks and punches, Ichigo has also shown proficiency in counterattacks, takedowns, and bodylocks. He has repeatedly been able to catch an opponent's weapon strikes with a single hand. He also regularly defeats multiple bullies and gangsters, and is a better martial artist than Tatsuki Arisawa, the second-strongest girl in all of Japan, despite fighting with a broken arm in the last few matches of the competition. While he stopped training officially after defeating her, his constant attacks from bullies and his father help keep his skills fresh. It should be noted that he was able to effortlessly dispatch three lieutenants with Shikai released Zanpakutō in rapid succession merely bare-handed.
Flash Steps Expert: Though not particularly versed in its various techniques, Ichigo has become proficient enough of the technique itself to keep up with and even surprise captain-level Shinigami with his speed. Even Byakuya Kuchiki, one of the most proficient users of Flash Steps in Soul Society, complimented Ichigo's might and proficiency in it. During his first demonstration of this skill, he was able to knock out three lieutenants and grab his sword before any of them hit the ground. Despite this, his inexperience with Flash Step has been seen various times as with his battles against Grimmjow and Ulquiorra who were both initially able to outmaneuver him.
Vast Spiritual Power: Despite originally being human, Ichigo has been noted on several occasions to have tremendously vast levels of spiritual energy well beyond other Shinigami, capable of defeating a Gillian before awakening his true power with only his sealed Zanpakutō. Even at less than half strength, his spiritual energy is still comparable to a Captain-level fighter. It is capable of paralyzing with fear lieutenant-level Shinigami (e.i. Renji), and even intimidate captain-level Shinigami (e.i. Byakuya and Jūshiro). It is so overwhelming that even when worn-out in battle, he can continue fighting effectively while still capable of unleashing Getsuga Tenshō or even unleash and maintain his Bankai. Because Ichigo's spiritual energy constantly being so high even at its base level without him consciously being aware of it, he rarely becomes exhausted in battle, thereby meaning the sheer resilience and amounts of energy Ichigo has is monstrous. The two best examples of the sheer amount and strength of Ichigo's spiritual energy at its peak was shown when equaling if not surpassing that of the full strength of Kenpachi Zaraki, another Shinigami well-known for his exceedingly high energy levels, and when he held back the Sōkyoku, a blade with the power of a million Zanpakutō. Despite all this, Ichigo's spiritual energy is still rather difficult for him to control as he has no formal training in controlling and is known to fluctuate wildly, as stated by the 4th Espada Ulquiorra Cifer. Due to this and that he has far more spiritual energy than his body can consciously contain, it leaks out constantly, preventing him from hiding it and effectively making stealth impossible when dealing with other spiritually-aware creatures. However, he has learned how to harden his spiritual energy and enhance the strength of his attacks or act as a barrier to reduce the impact of attacks on him, if not negating them completely.
Immense Strength: Even without his Shinigami powers, Ichigo has shown himself to be deceptively strong, as shown from his ability to smash a man's head through a concrete floor. When he is in his Shinigami body, Ichigo's already impressive strength is greatly enhanced. His overall abilities are great enough that he was able to fend off three Shinigami lieutenants with a single punch each; one of which shattered one of their Zanpakutō at the same time. His strength is also great enough to stop repeated axe blows from Jidanbō and hurl Rukia several meters into Renji’s arms and still send them both skidding several meters more, both feats with a single-hand.
Immense Speed: Even before learning Flash Step, Ichigo has repeatedly shown himself to be highly fast fighter. Ichigo has demonstrated great reflexes in battle, able to quickly dodge a strike with no wasted effort and then instantly counterattacks. He is able to strike quickly without warning and in rapid succession. His speed also allows him to follow the movements of faster opponents to better analyze their movements or blocking difficult and otherwise fatal strikes.
Immense Endurance: While only a teenage Human, Ichigo has shown himself to be a highly resilient man, as shown from his ability to safely break free from a binding spell (albeit a low-level one) and withstand an assault from a large Hollow. When in Shinigami form Ichigo's physical endurance is strengthened to the point he can continue fighting effectively after most injuries and can survive attacks that would easily kill normal Humans effortlessly. It was stated by Rukia that a Shinigami's life force is their spiritual power. As such, Ichigo is able to withstand attacks that would be fatal to most Shinigami. He could even withstand a point-blank Cero blast from Ulquiorra Cifer. Even Aizen, who once nearly cut Ichigo all the way in two, was amazed at Ichigo's ability to survive such a blow. Uryū once stated that Ichigo was a monster in this regard.
Advanced Growth Rate: According to both Aizen and Urahara, Ichigo's most astounding ability is his growth rate: he grasps the basic control of advanced techniques in days where it would take several years for even the most gifted Shinigami. Shortly after getting Shinigami powers and with no previous training, began learning advanced spiritual energy sensing techniques by sheer instinct, as he proved he can use a spirit ribbon to find Yuichi Shibata (in bird form). Another example of his growth rate is the amount of time he took to learn the Bankai of his Zanpakutō, which he learns in two days (albeit with the assistance of a special device invented by Urahara that was originally intended for three days). For a normal Shinigami, this same feat would require several years of combat experience and at least ten additional years of special training. He also gains mastery of Flash Step while training with Yoruichi, which was done over the same period as his Bankai. Besides his improvements in his Shinigami abilities, Ichigo was also shown able to greatly increase the time he could maintain his hollow mask from eleven seconds to considerably longer amounts of time. In the Hueco Mundo arc, during his first fight with Ulquiorra, he is instantly incapacitated by one Cero blast even with his Hollow mask (which broke within a second), but only a few hours later, he is able to withstand another Cero from Ulquiorra without undergoing Hollowfication and can analyze Ulquiorra's movements much better than before, whereas he "felt like [he] was fighting a machine or a statue", and failed to predict and counter his attacks. This feat, as Ichigo explains, was done either by experience, because Ichigo has become more of a Hollow, or because Ulquiorra has become more of a Human.
High-Level Intellect: Despite his somewhat punkish attitude, Ichigo has shown himself to be analytical, perceptive, and deductive. In his high school, Ichigo's grades are almost always near the top, despite his work as a substitute Shinigami. Aside from that, Ichigo appears to be able to determine the pattern of his opponent's battle methods and correctly deduce a proper counter-strategy to defeat his opponents attacks; such as in his battles with both Ikkaku Madarame and Renji Abarai, where he would have been successful in dodging their weapons, if not for unforeseen abilities. He is also fairly charismatic, able to gain the trust, respect, and friendship of even his greatest adversaries, often due to his inwardly compassionate nature and remarkable combat prowess. Additionally, it's worth noting that Ichigo has impressive leadership skills, and will sometimes act as the de facto leader of the Ryoka, despite the fact that Uryū and Renji occasionally compete with him over leadership responsibility (often due to their proud natures, as well as their equally-impressive intellect, combat prowess, and leadership skills), as seen in the Soul Society and Arrancar arcs respectively. Ichigo does exert some amount of power and authority over Urahara at times, likely due to Ichigo's aforementioned charisma, coupled with Urahara's respect for him.Determination: It seems that Ichigo's power, both in terms of how much spiritual energy he can access and his actual fighting abilities, is tied to his determination or will to win. It's shown that when he focuses on victory, his strength is enhanced. In the anime, this is depicted by his eyes glowing bright blue and occasionally his being engulfed in a bright blue aura. The same is included when he is in his Vizard form, in which case his glowing is yellow. This effect has been shown while he was battling Renji for a second time, and when he defeated his inner hollow. In his last battle against Grimmjow, Ichigo had most of his mask beaten off and was on the verge of collapse as Grimmjow prepared his finishing blow. However after noticing Orihime, who was saddened by watching him get hurt, Ichigo managed to catch Grimmjow's hand without effort or looking, and gripped tight enough to prevent him from moving away. Ichigo then managed to make a clean slash into Grimmjow (despite the fact he had lost most of the benefits from his hollow mask), whereas before most of the damage that he had inflicted that actually made Grimmjow bleed was from Getsuga Tenshō attacks. In his second battle with Ulquiorra, even after taking a direct hit from Ulquiorra's Cero Oscura and nearly incinerated, he is seen to be able to continue to fight and even use Getsuga Tenshō.
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=== Zanpakutō ===
Zangetsu 	Zangetsu
 	
Moon Cutter, Cutting Moon斬月Zangetsu	
Moon Cutter, Cutting Moon斬月Zangetsu
Seiyū 	
Takayuki Sugo
Voice actor(s)	
Richard Epcar
Voice actor(s)	
Alfonso Vallés (Spain)Andrés Gutiérrez Coto (Latin America)
Debut 	
Chapter 63
Debut 	
Episode 19
Appears in 	
Manga and Anime
Zangetsu (斬月, Moon Cutter or Cutting Moon): When Ichigo first becomes a Shinigami, his Zanpakutō is a standard looking katana, but oversized with an equally-oversized brown sheathe hung by a strap over his right shoulder. It has a rectangular bronze handguard with inward-curved edges, a stylized flame pattern on the long sides, and a simple decorative slit on the short ones. The handle is red with two light blue tassels on the end of the handle. The large size is due to the unfocused but immense amount of Ichigo's spiritual power, which he didn't know how to control. As a result, the sword itself was rather weak, since very little spiritual power was used to create it. Nevertheless, it was powerful enough to subdue a Gillian-class Menos and lesser Hollows, completely blocking a Cero from the former. It was even able to upturn the ground with a single strike. Because of its weak spiritual energy nature, Byakuya Kuchiki was able to easily cut off most of the blade during his first encounter with Ichigo and Kisuke Urahara subsequently slices it down to the hilt during their training, forcing Ichigo to learn the name of his Zanpakutō in order to release its true form.
The spirit of Zangetsu resembles a tall (about the height of Kenpachi Zaraki) 30 to 40-year-old man with unkempt facial hair and long ragged black hair. He dresses in tattered all black garbs with narrow sunglasses and a long flowing overcoat that flares out into ragged ends. Because of the spirit's appearance, Ichigo calls him "Old-man Zangetsu" (斬月のオッサン, Zangetsu no ossan) as a result. Zangetsu has also been called the "black-clothed man" (黒衣の男, kokui no otoko). Zangetsu is portrayed as wise and calm in most matters, and fond of testing Ichigo in unusual ways, many of which have a purpose completely contrary to the stated goal. While the inner world is one of tall skyscrapers, Zangetsu has stated to prefer more lush, natural surroundings like bright sunny skies and green forests. Zangetsu has displayed the ability to temporarily close fatal wounds during combat, though whether or not this is a unique ability is unclear, as it could be due to the massive amounts of spiritual energy, as demonstrated by Nnoitra Jiruga. Since first awakening his own Shinigami powers, Ichigo has had a strong connection to his Zanpakutō, as shown from how Zangetsu would regularly come to aid him with words of wisdom when Ichigo is in a difficult situation.
However, since Ichigo developed an inner Hollow (as a result from nearly becoming one while having his Shinigami powers restored), Zangetsu and the Hollow are both the source of Ichigo's power and share the same spirit body in Ichigo's inner world, the stronger presence retaining more control (and overall appearance) of their body; in which case, the spirit of Zangetsu takes the form of an all-white (clothes and being), somewhat deranged version of Shinigami Ichigo with a strong desire take control of Ichigo's body and power for himself.
*Shikai: The Shikai form of Zangetsu looks like an oversized elegant cleaver rather than a formal "katana". He has no crossguard and no proper hilt; what Ichigo holds is the cloth-wrapped tang. The sword is as tall as Ichigo is, 1.75 meters, and has a black blade with a silver edge. The cloth wrapping on the tang seems to react to Ichigo's will, changing length at a thought or twining about the blade in an impromptu sheath. When in combat, the cloth falls away when necessary, shrinking back to a manageable size. The cloth can also be used to swing the weapon like a flail and toss it at opponents for mid-range combat, but this is rarely done. The cloth also can be done to wrap up wounds, as Ichigo does during his fight with Ikkaku Madarame, but this is also done rarely. Ichigo has also on more than one occasion used Zangetsu's wide blade as a shield from incoming attacks. Unlike most Zanpakutō, which can be sealed into their original form, Zangetsu is always in its Shikai form. Yoruichi Shihōin has stated that his Zanpakutō is a full-time released form type because of Ichigo's vast but uncontrollable spiritual energy upon generation of it, implying that it is simply a type of Zanpakutō that without proper control of his spiritual energy, once in Shikai form, it remains in its said state.
:Shikai Special Ability: Zangetsu's special ability is the Getsuga Tenshō (月牙天衝, Moon Fang Heaven-Piercer; "Piercer of Heaven" in the English anime), which fires concentrated energy blasts from the tip of the blade in the shape of waves or a crescent moon or in a shape of a wave. Ichigo uses this ability without knowing its name several times but masters the technique later on during his Bankai training. As stated by Zangetsu, knowing the name of an attack heightens its power compared to its strength when the wielder does not know its name. The Getsuga Tenshō is a powerful technique with great force, capable of cause large scale damage. Ichigo was even able to use some of its power when Zangetsu was still in its sealed state. While it is currently the only attack Ichigo knows from Zangetsu, Ichigo has used this technique in several different manners, such as striking the ground to create an omnidirectional blast to knock away incoming attacks or slashing at the ground to upturn it and crush everything in its path. Ichigo can also keep Getsuga Tenshō within Zangetsu to augment his sword swings.
*Bankai: Tensa Zangetsu (天鎖斬月, Heavenly Chain Moon Cutter or Heavenly Chain Cutting Moon): It is considered completely out of the ordinary for any Zanpakutō. Unlike most Bankai forms, which usually create some sort of massive creature or effect, Ichigo's Bankai actually shrinks his sword down to a daitō (Japanese long sword) with a black blade. Also, upon releasing, it seems to allow Ichigo to break free from any attack that binds him and prevents him from moving. The crossguard has four prongs bent out to form the shape of the manji (which is the kanji for "ban," meaning "full", as in "full release"). The blade itself is durable enough to withstand a strong punch from Yammy Riyalgo and even a direct hit from Grimmjow Jaegerjaquez's strongest attack, Desgarrón; in both cases, the blade did not break. Instead of the cloth his Shikai form had, a short length of chain with a broken link at the end dangles from the base of the hilt. In addition to his sword, Ichigo's robe is replaced with a long-sleeved, ankle-length black coat (or shikakusho) with red lining that is closed at his chest, then left to flare out into ragged ends, much like that of Zangetsu himself. This coat is part of Ichigo's Bankai and the damage it can take is directly proportionate to the remaining strength and level of Ichigo's Reiatsu. Ichigo's initial inexperience with controlling his Bankai led to a serious drawback; the force of his compressed spiritual power caused all of his bones to crack, as stated by his inner Hollow, gradually decreasing his speed and power over time. This drawback has not been mentioned since its introduction, so it has (presumably) been overcome.
:Bankai Special Ability: Zangetsu's special attack remains Getsuga Tenshō and can be used in the same manners, but can be used in an enhanced form. When used with Zangetsu's Bankai, these potent blasts can become black with a red outline and their path can be controlled, with explosively augmented power and speed. During Byakuya Kuchiki's fight with Ichigo, he refers to this attack as a "Kuroi Getsuga" (黒月牙; "Black Moon Fang"). This term simply refers to the darkened color of the attack, not its actual name. When used with his Bankai and Hollow mask in combination, Ichigo's tremendous speed allows him to move faster than the Getsuga Tenshō itself, allowing him to fire multiple blasts from different directions. The Kuroi Getsuga was first displayed by Ichigo's inner Hollow, and initially carried the risk of causing his inner Hollow to surface if used too much. With Ichigo's later control over his inner Hollow, this is no longer a problem. It has come to a point where the red-outlined black energy of the Kuroi Getsuga emanates off of Ichigo's body when his spiritual pressure is exerted, replacing his blue aura. It should also be noted that ever since Ichigo mastered his Vizard form, he produces a black aura with a red outline that surrounds him as he initiates Bankai, rather than a white aura that shoots high into the sky.
::*Physical Enhancement: As explained by Byakuya Kuchiki, Ichigo's Bankai is a compression of his remarkable power, rather than a vast expansion as other Bankai are. This vastly compressed power enables him to reach levels of physical and spiritual prowess most Shinigami would have their bodies give out at and cannot handle. It allows Ichigo to move at very high speeds exceeding those of Flash Steps, and gives him matching agility and reflexes, possibly equaling, if not surpassing, Yoruichi's speed, allowing him to be undetectable to unfocused eyes. His new speed is so great, that it also enhances his Flash Step prowess and allows him to create dozens of tangible clones to confuse his opponent. Ichigo's Bankai also allows him to use his natural strength to its limits as shown from how effortlessly he blocked a punch from Yammy, an Espada known primarily for his immense strength. In addition, his already immense spiritual energy has grandly and explosively increased, and now has a deep black spiritual energy with a crimson outline.
::*Enhanced Bankai Duration: Furthermore, the fact that all of his energy is "compressed" means that usage of his Bankai doesn't expel as much spiritual power as other Bankai from the point of activation; thus allowing him to use Tensa Zangetsu at a much longer duration than any other Bankai users of his level.
:*chigo's spiritual powers are not limited to just Shinigami abilities; he also possesses Hollow powers as a result of his training with Urahara. While attempting to recover his Shinigami powers, Ichigo began transforming into a Hollow from the corrosion of his severed soul chain. Ichigo succeeds in awakening his Shinigami powers, but retains his Hollow spirit inside himself from the transformation. The title page of Chapter 220 depicts the inner Hollow with the mirror writing, spelling backwards, of Ichigo's name.
:*t different points in the series, Ichigo's Hollow powers have manifested themselves in different ways. Initially, Ichigo's Hollow mask would appear on his body to block fatal blows, which Ichigo never noticed until after the fight had ended. During his battle with Byakuya Kuchiki, the mask appeared on his face when he was near death, allowing his inner Hollow to take over until Ichigo suppressed it. The same event is repeated multiple times after that such as when Ichigo fought Gō Koga in the Bount Arc. While suppressing his inner Hollow, Ichigo is left effectively paralyzed, since his concentration was focused on suppressing it rather than fighting. The Hollow claims that it manifests itself to protect Ichigo during near death moments because it is connected to Ichigo, and it would be a great inconvenience to the Hollow if Ichigo were to die.
:*hile he was training with the Vizard, Ichigo's soul was completely overcome by his inner Hollow for a short period, causing him to physically transform into a Hollow. His near-complete hollow form resembles a large, humanoid lizard. In this form, Ichigo demonstrated several high-level Menos abilities, including: rapid regeneration, enhanced strength, and Cero.
:*n this form, Ichigo also demonstrates being able to generate other bizarre Hollow-like appendages from his body, like the large, eyeless, worm-like entity that he used against the Vizard Kensei Muguruma in retaliation to Kensei blasting him with energy gathered and fired from his released Zanpakutō. However, this form didn't last long as Ichigo emerged from the Hollow shell as his standard Shinigami self wearing a Hollow mask.
:*lso, during Ichigo's fight with Ulquiorra Cifer during the Fake Karakura Town arc, Ichigo's hollow form and powers seem to have evolved to a much higher level as he demonstrated an extremely powerful Cero that even countered a Cero Oscuras, an immense Sonído might as opposed to Flash Step, and a great enough endurance to stop a second released Espada's ultimate attack bareheaded. However, Ichigo is still unable in his hollow form to tell friend from foe as shown from attacking Uryū.
:*chigo's spiritual powers are not limited to just Shinigami abilities; he also possesses Hollow powers as a result of his training with Urahara. While attempting to recover his Shinigami powers, Ichigo began transforming into a Hollow from the corrosion of his severed soul chain. Ichigo succeeds in awakening his Shinigami powers, but retains his Hollow spirit inside himself from the transformation. The title page of Chapter 220 depicts the inner Hollow with the mirror writing, spelling backwards, of Ichigo's name.
:*t different points in the series, Ichigo's Hollow powers have manifested themselves in different ways. Initially, Ichigo's Hollow mask would appear on his body to block fatal blows, which Ichigo never noticed until after the fight had ended. During his battle with Byakuya Kuchiki, the mask appeared on his face when he was near death, allowing his inner Hollow to take over until Ichigo suppressed it. The same event is repeated multiple times after that such as when Ichigo fought Gō Koga in the Bount Arc. While suppressing his inner Hollow, Ichigo is left effectively paralyzed, since his concentration was focused on suppressing it rather than fighting. The Hollow claims that it manifests itself to protect Ichigo during near death moments because it is connected to Ichigo, and it would be a great inconvenience to the Hollow if Ichigo were to die.
:*hile he was training with the Vizard, Ichigo's soul was completely overcome by his inner Hollow for a short period, causing him to physically transform into a Hollow. His near-complete hollow form resembles a large, humanoid lizard. In this form, Ichigo demonstrated several high-level Menos abilities, including: rapid regeneration, enhanced strength, and Cero.
:*n this form, Ichigo also demonstrates being able to generate other bizarre Hollow-like appendages from his body, like the large, eyeless, worm-like entity that he used against the Vizard Kensei Muguruma in retaliation to Kensei blasting him with energy gathered and fired from his released Zanpakutō. However, this form didn't last long as Ichigo emerged from the Hollow shell as his standard Shinigami self wearing a Hollow mask.
:*lso, during Ichigo's fight with Ulquiorra Cifer during the Fake Karakura Town arc, Ichigo's hollow form and powers seem to have evolved to a much higher level as he demonstrated an extremely powerful Cero that even countered a Cero Oscuras, an immense Sonído might as opposed to Flash Step, and a great enough endurance to stop a second released Espada's ultimate attack bareheaded. However, Ichigo is still unable in his hollow form to tell friend from foe as shown from attacking Uryū.http://
=== Vizard ===
he Vizard are Shinigami who have obtained the power of a Hollow through a process known as Hollowfication. In order to use this power, they must don the mask of the Hollow within them. Because he began to turn into a hollow while attempting to recover his Shinigami powers, Ichigo was turned into a Vizard.chigo's Hollow mask manifests in the appearance of what could best be described as a menacing skull. While pure white on the right side, the mask possesses a total of ten red stripes (a total of ten can be seen during his latest fight with Ulquiorra) spread across three spots on the left side of his mask. The mask began with only three stripes, and has since increased. The red/black stripes on Ichigo's Hollow mask changed in thickness after he subjugated his Hollow, covering almost the entirety of the mask's left half during his third battle with Grimmjow Jaegerjaquez. The significance of this has yet to be revealed, although the prevailing theories are that it represents Ichigo's control over Hollow Ichigo, or the continued usage of his Hollow powers.
:*uring Ichigo's fight with Ulquiorra, it changed to a mask that resembles a Human skull with two horns. Two stripes begin on the back of his mask and go to the front, resulting in a shape that resembles a broken outline of a heart. The eye holes also widen from their slit shapes, becoming more open.ut in the aftermath of his victory over Ulquiorra Cifer, Ichigo's mask has changed again, as seen when he faces off against a released Yammy Riyalgo. Where his mask once had a series of thick red-black stripes that covered almost the entire left half of his mask, there are now only four thick black stripes that appear to emerge outwards from the widened eye-holes of his mask and either disappear into both sides of the lower jaw or travel past the very top of the mask itself. Quite noticeably, the horns seen in his new Hollow form are not displayed on the mask. His sclera and iris can be clearly seen, uninfluenced by his Inner Hollow, in his left eyehole. However, the right eyehole shows neither sclera nor iris. The significance of this has yet to be explained.fter training with the Vizard and subjugating his inner Hollow, Ichigo can use his Hollow mask while retaining his personality, but could originally only wear it for eleven seconds at a time. His limit and Hollow powers greatly increases during his third battle with Grimmjow and he was even able to reform it after being destroyed during his fight with Ulquiorra Cifer, but to what extent is unclear. His Hollow powers became strong enough (comparable to the times when he was possessed) to block Grimmjow's Gran Rey Cero without any effort and has shown the capacity to "repair" his mask when it has begun to crack during this fight.
:*he reasons, behind Ichigo now being capable of fighting entire battles with his mask, currently remains unknown. While Grimmjow speculated that Ichigo's improvements came from a subconscious need, it's also possible that his time limit increased due to him fighting with it in Hueco Mundo similar to Chad's own powers becoming stronger there. However, once Ichigo's mask changed in his battle with Yammy Riyalgo, he noticed his mask felt different as well, as if it was heavier, and he is unable to resummon it. It is unknown if the time limit has changed as well.
:*elow is a list of the effects of Ichigo's Hollowfication:
:**Hollow Mask: The Hollow mask was originally a sign of Ichigo's possession by the Hollow within him, but after his training with the Vizard it has become indication that he is merely utilizing his Hollow powers. To access Hollow Ichigo's power, Ichigo must summon Hollow Ichigo's mask onto his face, which is normally done by placing one of his hands over his face and concentrating spiritual matter on it in order to manifest the mask (previously it had appeared on its own before he mastered the Hollow within him), summoning the mask in a "ripping" fashion. With the mask in place, Ichigo has access to most if not all the abilities of a Hollow (although most of the other Vizard have been able to shift the position of the mask while apparently still retaining the abilities of their Hollowfied state) even subconsciously using a Cero during his training with the Vizard. Apparently, Ichigo can sustain his Hollow powers even if portions of his mask have been broken off without restoring them, as seen during the end of his fight with Grimmjow. He recently acquired a new mask with vertical stripes above and below his eyes, looking completely different from his original mask.
:**Enhanced Spiritual Power: While wearing the mask, the spiritual power Ichigo possesses becomes even greater than before. His spiritual power is so great, that he was considered equal to a released Espada by the 3rd Espada, Tia Harribel. 
:**Hollow Combat: When Ichigo fights with his mask on his fighting style becomes more instinctive than practiced. The Hollow mask also makes Ichigo more ruthless, akin to the battle style of Hollow Ichigo. Throughout the duration of the Hollowfication, Ichigo has shown less concern for injuries to his person, even going so far as to ignore grievous wounds to continue fighting.
:**Mask Shielding: The mask has also shown the ability to block attacks on Ichigo's body from within his robe, serving as a shield to stop or lessen attacks on him, sometimes saving his life. One example is when the mask blocked several hits from Renji's Zanpakutō during their fight, Hanatarō Yamada notes the hits could have been fatal. 
:**Enhanced Strength: While using the Hollow mask, Ichigo gains a substantial increase in strength. As evident when he instinctively blocks an attack from Grimmjow in his released state and after unleashing his Hollowfication state in his battle with Ulquiorra, even was able to slightly pierce his sword. With the use of his new mask, when he used Getsuga Tenshō with a single-arm, and it immediately sent Yammy Riyalgo down to the ground head first while he was in his much larger and stronger Resurrección state. 
:**Enhanced Endurance: As in his third fight with Grimmjow, Ichigo shielded Orihime from a barrage of Grimmjow's dart bullets which have enough destructive force to destroy a large building. Even after taking this barrage, he was still able to fight and defeat Grimmjow, even destroying one of his Desgarrón claws, which was Grimmjow's most powerful technique. Apparently, using the Vizard form makes him much more pain resistant, Ichigo even states at the beginning of his Vizard training that "wearing the mask feels like being in control of someone else's body". 
:**Power Augmentation: While wearing the mask, Ichigo's Hollow powers supplement his Shinigami powers, giving him a vast increase in both strength and speed. The explanation for this is that since Hollows boost their natural abilities by obtaining spirit power around them, either by absorbing it in its ambient form or devouring it directly from another living being, Ichigo attains power from two separate sources: that from himself (drawn using his Shinigami powers), and that from his immediate environment (drawn with the help of his Hollow powers), allowing him to draw power from both sides. It could even be suggested that the Hollow mask allows Ichigo to recapture the energy he constantly leaks into the environment, making him more efficient. 
:**Enhanced Getsuga Tenshō: When Ichigo wears his mask, the power, speed, blast area, force, and size of the Getsuga Tenshō becomes drastically augmented to the point of seriously harming a foe to a certain degree. 
:**Mask Regeneration: Ichigo seems to have the ability to repair small amounts of damage that is inflicted upon his mask. This is seen during his 3rd fight with Grimmjow and during his most recent fight with Ulquiorra. This "repairing" of his Hollow mask manifests in a similar manner to the Hollow regeneration he exhibited when he was subconsciously transformed into a Hollow while being trained by the Vizard to contain his inner Hollow. It is currently unknown to what extent the damage can be to his mask before he is unable to repair it. He has also been shown to have the ability to call his mask out a second time after it shatters, but with less benefits. Also his sclera do not change, and remain Human. This was first used against his first fight with Ulquiorra, although unseen, it was used to help defend against Ulquiorra's Cero, and again with his most recent confrontation with him, after he went into his released form.