[citation needed] Bleach was first conceived from Tite Kubo's desire to draw a shinigami in a kimono, which formed the basis for the design of the Soul Reapers.

[10] When asked to design a Christmas cover with a female character, Kubo initially thought of using Rukia, but eventually chose Orihime Inoue as he thought the character was better suited for it—he has stated that he previously made a Christmas illustration with Rukia, and that he received requests from several fans wanting to see the image.

In contrast to this, Kubo has found that he liked Rukia more in the illustrations where her face expresses pain, such as when she is going to be executed in the manga.

[18] As Rukia grew up, she befriended Renji Abarai, and entered the Soul Reaper academy, where she was adopted into the Kuchiki family.

[30] 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.

[31] She later assists Ichigo in his rescue to save Orihime from the Espada Ulquiorra Cifer by engaging the remaining Arrancars until requiring support.

Seventeen months later, Rukia, now lieutenant of Squad 13, returns to aid in restoring Ichigo's Soul Reaper powers before engaging the Fullbringer Riruka Dokugamine.

When the Soul Society is abruptly invaded by the Wandenreich, an organization made up of Quincy who has survived their genocide one thousand years before, Rukia discovers Byakuya attacked by Äs Nodt, and is knocked out before she can come to her aid.

Rukia is taken to the Royal Dimension so she could be healed, and is then taught by Ichibei Hyosube to achieve her bankai, Hakka no Togame (白霞罸, literally "Censure of the white haze").

Returning to the Soul Society when the Wandenreich resume their attack, Rukia utilizes her newly acquired bankai to defeat Äs.

In the subsequent battles against Yhwach's Schutzstaffel Rukia and a large number of high rank Soul Reapers are quickly defeated by the powerful Gerard Valkyrie.

[36] Rukia appears in both of the original 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.

She is played by Hana Sugisaki and the film took place during the Soul Reaper Agent arc, when she had to transfer her powers to Ichigo.

[48] In 2009, Rukia ranked 4th in a survey of the Japanese music distributor Recochoku titled "The Character I Want to Be My Bride".

[53] Merchandise based on Rukia's appearance has been released, including a key chain,[54] a plush doll,[55] and a figurine.

[57] Ruff was the winner in the category "Best Voice Actress (English)" from the 2009 SPJA Industry Awards for her work as Rukia.

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

Although Chris Beveridge from Mania Entertainment noted Rukia's introduction in Bleach was typical in several others series, he praised how she interacted with her schoolmates and Ichigo.

However, the removal of the humor from Rukia's scenes as a schoolgirl due to the English translation was lamented, although Ruff was extolled for doing an "excellent job.

[60] Her subsequent appearances in Soul Society were criticized by ANN's Theron Martin due to her lack of activity making them "irritating given how strong a character she was in the series' early going".