The soul reaper that Ichigo got his powers from.
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Rukia KuchikiBleach character
Rukia Kuchiki by Tite Kubo
First appearance
Bleach manga chapter 1
Bleach anime episode 1
Created by
Tite Kubo
Voiced by
Japanese
Fumiko Orikasa[1]
English
Michelle Ruff[2]
Filipino
Yasmien Kurdi
ProfileNotable relatives
Hisana Kuchiki (sister, deceased),Byakuya Kuchiki (brother-in-law, adoptive brother)
Zanpakutō
Sode no Shirayuki
Rukia Kuchiki (朽木 ルキア Kuchiki Rukia?) is a fictional character in the anime andmanga series Bleach created by Tite Kubo. In the series, Kuchiki is a Soul Reaper in charge of slaying evil spirits known as Hollows. At the beginning, after a brief meeting with the main protagonist of the series, Ichigo Kurosaki, who can see supernatural beings such as Soul Reapers, she is forced to give him her powers in order to fulfill her duties as a Soul Reaper. Kuchiki has appeared in several other pieces of Bleach media, including the four featured films in the series, the two original video animations, and several video games.
Kuchiki was the first character of the series created by Kubo, her design being the one he decided to use for all the other Soul Reapers. Reaction to her character is generally positive. Her differences from typical shōnen heroines is praised, as is her interaction with other characters. As a result, she usually ranks second in Weekly Shōnen Jump'sBleach popularity polls, and is consistently the most popular female character in those polls. Several pieces of merchandise have been released in Rukia's likeness, including a plush doll and a figurine
In Bleach
Kuchiki first meets Ichigo Kurosaki in the midst of a hollow attack. After she is heavily injured by the hollow, Rukia is forced to transfer her Soul Reaper powers to Kurosaki so that he can kill the hollow and save their lives and his family.[14] While he succeeds, Kuchiki is left too weak to return to Soul Society, and lives with Ichigo in the human world, intending to stay until her powers are restored. Therefore, her only ability then is her kidō spells, which are severely limited in strength and variety. She uses her kidō for such purposes as restraining, healing, or attacking others.[15] Because of the amount of time she spends with Kurosaki, Kuchiki has been able to gain a keen understanding of his inner workings.[16] Rukia's relationship with Ichigo is unique, for despite the relatively short amount of time they have known each other, Ichigo can easily confide in her and considers her a true friend because she is encouraging and understands what he is feeling.[17] During her time in the human world, Rukia remains unaccounted for in Soul Society, soByakuya Kuchiki and Renji Abarai are sent to find her and return her to the Soul Society.[18] They succeed, and upon their return Rukia is sentenced to death for giving her Soul Reaper powers to a human. Kurosaki ultimately arrives in Soul Society in time to stop her execution, and tries to get her to safety.[19]
During the arc, Rukia's past is explored. She died as an infant and was sent to Soul Society with her older sister, Hisana. Though Hisana initially tried to protect and provide for Rukia, she could not ensure her own survival while caring for a baby as well, and thus abandoned Rukia.[20] As Rukia grew up, she befriended Renji Abarai, and entered the Soul Reaper academy, where she was adopted into the Kuchiki family.[21] One year prior to the adoption, Hisana died after asking her husband, Byakuya Kuchiki, to find and adopt Rukia as his sister. This remains unknown to Rukia until Byakuya confesses it to her.[20] When she was accepted into the 13th Division, Rukia befriended the lieutenant of her division, Kaien Shiba, and trained under him.[22] During the course of a mission Kaien was possessed by a hollow and Rukia killed Kaien to protect herself.[22]
Rukia using the "first dance, white moon" ability of Sode no Shirayuki's shikai.
During Rukia's bid for freedom, she is stopped by Sōsuke Aizen and his accomplices. Aizen, having singlehandedly orchestrated Rukia's execution, reveals to her that within her soul is stored the Hōgyoku ("breakdown sphere"), a powerful artifact created and placed there by Kisuke Urahara that gives hollows Soul Reaper powers and vice versa. Wanting the Hōgyoku for himself, Aizen hoped that her death would give him access to it, but settles for a nonfatal alternative.[23] The Hōgyoku is removed from her body, Aizen and his men flee Soul Society, and Rukia is acquitted of all charges.[24] With theHōgyoku, Aizen is able to create an army of arrancar, which he uses to attack Ichigo and his friends once they return to the human world. Rukia and a group of other Soul Reapers are sent to assist in fighting the arrancar,[25] though after Aizen capturesOrihime Inoue they are recalled to Soul Society.[26] Rukia's zanpaku-tō, Sode no Shirayuki (袖白雪?, literally "sleeved white snow"), .[27] is also revealed as a completely white blade, earning it the recognition as the most beautiful zanpakutō in Soul Society.[28] Sode no Shirayuki utilizes ice to attack, each of its abilities being labeled as "dances" by Rukia.[27][29] During the anime's 13th season, Sode no Shirayuki manifests in a yukionna-like form, voiced by Mie Sonozaki.[30]
Unwilling to give up Orihime to Aizen, Rukia goes to Hueco Mundo with Ichigo to rescue her.[31] While there, Rukia encounters theEspada, Aaroniero Arruruerie, who is revealed to have possession of Kaien's body. Saddened that she had not saved her mentor from the control of a hollow as she had previously thought, Rukia manages to kill Aaroniero.[32] Rukia is badly injured during the battle, and it is not until Soul Society sends reinforcements to Hueco Mundo that she is revived and her wounds are healed.[33] She later assists Ichigo in his rescue to save Orihime from the Espada Ulquiorra Cifer by engaging the remaining Arrancars until requiring support.[34]Following Aizen's defeat and the loss of Ichigo's Soul Reaper powers, Rukia and Ichigo bid one another farewell as Ichigo loses the ability to sense Rukia's presence. Seventeen months later, Rukia, now lieutenant of 13th Division, returns to aid in restoring Ichigo's Soul Reaper powers. She then engages Riruka Dokugamine, one of the people that have stolen Ichigo's own powers.
Later Rukia shows signs of anxiety during the lieutenant meeting following Sasakibe's death. Later, during the Vandenreich's invasion, she senses Byakuya's death and screams his name before being knocked out by an unseen quincy.
[edit]In other media
Rukia has made several appearances outside of the Bleach anime and manga. She appears in all of the featured films in the series: she fights the Dark Ones with other Soul Reaper comrades in Bleach: Memories of Nobody and aids in the search for Tōshirō Hitsugaya inBleach: The DiamondDust Rebellion.[35][36] Rukia is also given the main focus role in the third movie, Bleach: Fade to Black where she is kidnapped and mind-wiped by two mysterious rogues, and later transformed into 'Dark Rukia'.[37] She is also present in both of theoriginal video animations produced in the series, helping Ichigo in Memories in the Rain and combating the rogue Soul Reaper Baishin in The Sealed Sword Frenzy.[38][39] In Rock Musical Bleach, a musical based on the Bleach series, she is played by Miki Satō.[40] In the Bleach video games, Rukia is a playable character in every game, including the Heat the Soul and Blade Battlers series. In some games, her human form and Soul Reaper state are available as separate characters,[41][42] while Dark Rukia is playable in Heat the Soul 6 and Heat the Soul 7
