Ichigo is voiced by Masakazu Morita in the Japanese anime adaptation;[1] Johnny Yong Bosch in the English dubbing;[3] and played by Sota Fukushi in the live-action film.

Critics have expressed dislike, however, for Ichigo's anticlimactic fights in the latter half of the series' due to his lack of memorable scenes at those points.

When drawing the manga series, Tite Kubo commented that Rukia Kuchiki, the first Bleach character he introduced, was originally intended to be the protagonist.

Kubo wanted to bring the readers a feeling of uneasiness when creating this design as it resembles more of a tokusatsu character rather than his kimono counterpart from the Soul Reaper form to the point it would fit Ginjou Shinjo better.

[20] Sota Fukushi played Ichigo in the live-action adaptation of the series with the storyline's first arc, with Bosch reprising his role in the English dub.

At the same time, Ichigo's younger sisters are attacked by a Hollow, a deceased spirit becoming a warped soul-eating monster which Soul Reapers deal with.

[21] In the following months, Ichigo acts in Rukia's place as the Soul Reaper in protecting Karakura Town from Hollows as their friendship continues to grow.

[24] In training with Kisuke Urahara in order to rescue Rukia, Ichigo obtains his own Soul Reaper powers and learns the name of his Zanpakutō, Zangetsu (斬月, literally “Slaying Moon”).

As he approaches the prison where she is being held captive, Ichigo does battle with, faces and defeats other Soul Reapers, including Renji Abarai, Kenpachi Zaraki,[26] and Byakuya Kuchiki, who adopted Rukia as his sister.

For his match against Byakuya, Ichigo learns his Bankai, Tensa Zangetsu (天鎖斬月, literally “Heaven Chain Slaying Moon”), which highly increases his speed.

[28][29] In time, Aizen targets Karakura Town with an army of Arrancars, Hollows that assumed human form with Soul Reaper powers, after subjecting them to the Hōgyoku.

[30] In order to defeat the Arrancars and to control his Hollow powers, Ichigo begins to train with the group of Soul Reaper outcasts known as the Vizard.

[31] During the invasion of Karakura Town, Ichigo's friend Orihime Inoue has been abducted by Ulquiorra Cifer, one of Aizen's strongest Arrancars: The Espadas.

During the battle interim, Ichigo learns a technique called the Final Getsuga Tenshō (最後の月牙天衝, Saigo no Getsuga Tenshō, literally “The Final Moon Fang Heaven-Piercer”) that weakens and defeats Aizen, allowing Urahara to seal him within a kidō barrier, at the cost of Ichigo's power.

[39] However, Ichigo later learns that Ginjo and his ally Shūkurō Tsukishima, a Fullbringer with ability to change people's memories, used him to take Fullbring powers for Xcution's use.

[45] Ichigo returns to the World of the Living, where he learns the truth that his mother was a pure-blood Quincy who was on a verge of hollowification after she was infected by White, Aizen's experimental Hollow.

[51] He also appears in both of the original video animations; fighting against a Hollow called the Grand Fisher in the first one and combating the rogue Soul Reaper Baishin in the second.

[57][58] Ichigo also appears in the first volume of Bleach Breathless Collection CD soundtrack series together with the embodiment of his Quincy powers that posed as the Zanpakutō spirit Zangetsu.

Amongst the Bleach reader base, Ichigo has been always highly ranked in the Weekly Shōnen Jump popularity polls for the series.

[75][76] Several publications for manga, anime, video games, and other related media have provided praise and criticism on Ichigo's character.

ANN's Melissa Harper commented that Ichigo's initial rebellious actions make him almost a stereotypical anti-hero, but note that he is soon revealed to be a more complex character with a sad past.

[71] Los Angeles Times's Charles Solomon comments Ichigo's character has little in common with protagonists from other series due to his bad temper and how he tends to fight.

[80] Ichigo's development during the Rescue arc in which he sets to save Rukia Kuchiki from being executed have been praised by ANN's Theron Martin.

He praised the scenes in which Ichigo manages to stop Rukia's execution and his subsequent demonstration of his Bankai as one of the "eminently satisfying landmark moments in the series".

[81] Wired News's Corrina Lawson stated that she liked Ichigo's strong sense of responsibility, and commented it was one of the reasons of the series' popularity.