Bleach introduction

Ichigo Kurosaki is a rough-and-tumble teenager who has always had the special ability to see spirits. The story begins with the sudden appearance of an oddly-dressed stranger in Ichigo's bedroom. This stranger is the shinigami Rukia Kuchiki, who is surprised at his ability to see her. Their resulting conversation is interrupted by the appearance of a hollow, an evil spirit. After Rukia is severely wounded during battle trying to protect Ichigo, she decides to transfer half of her powers to Ichigo, hoping to give him the opportunity to face the hollow on an equal footing. Ichigo unintentionally absorbs almost all of Rukia's powers during the attempt instead, allowing him to defeat the hollow with ease.

The next day, Rukia turns up in Ichigo's classroom as a transfer student. Much to his surprise, she now appears to be a normal human. She theorizes that it was the unusual strength of Ichigo's spirit that caused him to fully absorb 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 the afterlife.

The primary protagonist of Bleach, orange-haired high school freshman Ichigo Kurosaki is forced to become a substitute shinigami after unwittingly absorbing all 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. When Ichigo later loses his powers as a substitute, he chooses to become a full-fledged shinigami, risking death to gain his own abilities.

  Rukia Kuchiki 朽木 ルキア   

Rukia Kuchiki is a shinigami who was sent on a hollow extermination patrol in Ichigo Kurosaki's hometown. Though her physical appearance is that of a teenage girl, she is actually over a hundred 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    

Orihime Inoue is a long-time classmate of Ichigo, closely linked to him by mutual friend Tatsuki Arisawa. For all intents she is 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 possesses some 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     

One of Ichigo's few friends at school, Yasutora Sado, better known as Chad, is a half-Japanese, half-Mexican high school 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 any awareness of ghosts at first, but when a group of children is attacked by a hollow in front of him he discovers his unique ability, The Right Arm of the Giant, which turns his right arm into metal and lets him fight hollows.

  Kisuke Urahara 浦原 喜助

  Uryū Ishida 石田 雨竜                                                                                                                               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 Kurosaki, but comes to view Ichigo differently after seeing how his ideals do not match those of most shinigami, eventually becoming an ally and friendly rival.

 Renji Abarai 阿散井 恋次        

Renji Abarai is an elite shinigami bearing the rank of 6th Division lieutenant, making him second in command of an entire sub-branch of the shinigami armed forces. Although first introduced as a deadly enemy, he has conflicting loyalties between his job and his friendship with Rukia, with whom he grew up. A brash and driven man, he holds both a deep respect for and a deep rivalry against his immediate superior, 6th Division captain Byakuya Kuchiki.