Protagonist Ichigo Kurosaki met many new friends in the story of Bleach, and none of them stand out more than the petite Soul Reaper, Rukia Kuchiki. Rukia was Ichigo's first Soul Reaper friend, a reverse-isekai heroine who arrived in Karakura Town one night to hunt Hollows. She stuck around for a while, befriending Ichigo and teaching him all kinds of things while they hunted Hollows together after class.
All that was highly educational for Ichigo, who could see ghosts but was otherwise ignorant about Soul Reapers, Hollows, and the Soul Society. So, it fell to Rukia to teach him all that, while also providing much-needed exposition for viewers as the Bleach anime built up its world and combat system. Rukia mostly taught Ichigo some practical matters, but once or twice, she also taught him some heartfelt life lessons, too.
13 Rukia Taught Ichigo What Hollows Are
When Souls Don't Cross Over They Risk Becoming Hollows
In the very first episode of Bleach, Rukia arrived in Karakura Town to hunt a Hollow, and she ended up in Ichigo's bedroom while tracking that evil spirit. To Rukia's shock, Ichigo the human could see and hear her, so Rukia decided to explain her work to her new human friend. Using her own colorful drawings as a visual aid, Rukia reviewed the basic nature of Hollows.
They, as Rukia explained, are the twisted, ravenous spirits of the dead that eat other souls by instinct. But what Rukia didn't expect was for Ichigo to join her in the fight against Fishbone D, the Hollow that Rukia was hunting at the time. It was during that battl when Ichigo borrowed Rukia's powers to become a Soul Reaper himself.
12 Rukia Taught Ichigo How Hollows Are Formed
Ichigo Got a First Hand Look At Inue's Hollow Form
Ichigo Kurosaki soon got used to seeing fully-formed Hollows like Acidwire and Shrieker running around, but it wasn't until Episode 10 when he saw how Hollows are actually formed. Episode 10 was a comedic one, where the TV star Don Kanonji gathered a crowd to watch him hunt a Hollow near a hospital one night.
Don Kanonji didn't understand what was going on, so Rukia explained things herself. As she told Ichigo, a tormented soul of the dead will remain in place as its Chain of Fate is slowly lost. Over months, a hole will open in the soul's chest, and once the hole is complete, the soul mutates into a Hollow. Such a spirit is called a jibakurei, or a demi-Hollow.
11 Rukia Taught Ichigo What Hell is For
Hell is a Consequence For Certain Hollows
Rukia taught Ichigo that Soul Reapers use a brief ritual called Konso to purify a slain Hollow so it may relocate to the Soul Society as a peaceful, normal soul. Most Hollows meet that benevolent fate, such as Acidwire, but when Ichigo fought a Hollow called Shrieker, things took a horrifying turn. When Ichigo and his friends defeated Shrieker, that Hollow's original soul didn't move on to the Soul Society.
Instead, the gates of Hell itself appeared, and an entity from within seized Shrieker, dragging him into Hell for all time. As Rukia explained, Hollows who committed terrible crimes as mortal humans always ended up in Hell. Hollows can't be blamed for their actions as Hollows, but the original human is a different story. Bleach fans would later see Hell again in the Bleach movies and in the Bleach one-shot manga chapter.
10 Rukia Taught Ichigo About the Cycle of Souls in the Universe
Ichigo's Role Was to Help The Cycle to Move Smoothly
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Rukia and other Soul Reapers helped Ichigo understand that souls regularly move around in the various realms of the universe. When people die, their souls move on to the Soul Society, a place that Ichigo saw for himself in the fondly-remembered Soul Society story arc. In return, souls would eventually get reincarnated in the world of the living, maintaining a steady cycle of spirits.
That helped Ichigo understand the cosmic importance of what he was doing. As a substitute Soul Reaper, Ichigo wasn't just keeping people safe from Hollows -- he also helped keep that cycle moving smoothly, which was of utmost importance for him and other Soul Reapers. It's also the reason why Soul Reapers object to Quincy archers destroying Souls completely, since doing so disrupts the cycle.
8 Rukia Taught Ichigo What Mod-Souls Are and Why They Were Scrapped
Mod-Souls Were Meant to Use Combat Moves
The Substitute Soul Reaper story arc introduced all kinds of fun concepts relating to Soul Reapers and Hollows, which soon included the concept of mod-souls. While it was normal for Soul Reapers to use Gikon to separate a soul from its mortal body or gigai, mod-souls were entirely different. They were meant to use specialized combat moves in their new bodies, but the project was eventually scrapped.
In fact, there was an order to have all mod-souls recalled and destroyed, and Ichigo was troubled by the very idea. The mod-souls were conscious entities that didn't do anything wrong, so in Ichigo's eyes, they didn't deserve to be destroyed. That was why Ichigo, and then Rukia, protected the mod-soul they nicknamed Kon. Kisuke wanted Kon destroyed, but Ichigo and Rukia protested, so Kon was spared.
7 Rukia Taught Ichigo What Menos Grande Are
Menos Grande Are Stronger Hollows
Around the time Ichigo met his shonen-style rival Uryu Ishida, Ichigo encounted a massive Hollow unlike any he had seen before. He and Uryu pooled all their power to injure the oversized Hollow and drive it away, and it fell to Rukia to explain things. As she told Ichigo, that monster was a Menos Grande, a stronger type of Hollow. Then, in the Arrancar arc, Rukia drew new visual aids to explain that Menos Grande came in three different classes, all of which could also become Arrancars.
Ichigo was shocked to learn from Rukia that the giant Menos he once fought had merely been a Gillian-class, the weakest type of Menos. Meanwhile, the middle class was Adjuchas, and the strongest, Vasto Lordes. That was when Toshiro Hitsugaya arrived to explain that if Sosuke Aizen recruited ten Vasto Lorde-class Menos, then the Soul Reapers would be doomed.
6 Rukia Taught Ichigo Who Grand Fisher Was and How He Functioned
Grand Fisher Was Deadly & Very Old Hollow
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Another noteworthy Hollow that Ichigo met in Bleach's early episodes was a notorious one named Grand Fisher. Ichigo and Rukia ran afoul of Grand Fisher during the Kurosaki family's trip to Masaki's grave marker, and once again, it was up to Rukia to explain what was going on.
As Rukia told Ichigo, Grand Fisher was a unique and deadly Hollow that had survived Soul Reaper attacks for an incredible 50 years and counting. Grand Fisher relies on his shapechanging lure to confuse his enemies or use psychological warfare, which allowed him to slay many Soul Reapers. But even when armed with that knowledge, Ichigo was unable to slay Grand Fisher.
4 Rukia Taught Ichigo That Some Soul Candy Models Are Highly Popular
There Are Many Different Types of Soul Candy
Bleach had plenty of humor in its various arcs, and Rukia was often involved. For example, Rukia didn't just make use of Soul Candy to split souls from their bodies or gigai. She had preferences, and for that matter, so did many other Soul Reapers, as Rukia told Ichigo at some point.
Rukia's favorite Gikon was named Chappy, which had a rabbit theme, and that was the one that Rukia used right before fighting Di Roy Rinker. Rukia adored rabbits, so naturally, Chappy was her favorite, but there was serious competition. Other Soul Reapers, mostly girls, all loved Chappy too and competed for its use.
3 Rukia Taught Ichigo That He Must No Doubt Himself, Even When Struggling With Hardship
Rukia Was Ultimately a Great Teacher
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Not long after the Soul Society story arc ended, Ichigo Kurosaki was having a tough time. Despite his recent successes, he felt terrible because he didn't understand his half-other powers and couldn't even control them. That made him struggle to fight even the most ordinary Hollows, so Rukia returned to Karakura Town to fix things.
In her bluntly tsundere way, Rukia got Ichigo back into fighting shape and gruffly taught him to never doubt himself as a Soul Reaper or as a person. It was just what Ichigo needed, and his spirits were lifted. However, that made Orihime Inoue feel bad about herself, since she felt like Ichigo had replaced her with Rukia.
1 Rukia Taught Ichigo to Never Underestimate How Far Friends Will Go For Each Other
Loyal Friends Will Fight For Each Other No Matter What
After Orihime was abducted by the Arrancars and taken to the desert world of Hueco Mundo, the Soul Reapers refused to support Ichigo's mission to to rescue her. In fact, they didn't want Ichigo to go there, either, since everyone was getting ready to fight Aizen's Arrancar army. So, Ichigo defied everyone and snuck off to Hueco Mundo, joined by his friends Chad and Uryu.
Ichigo was pleasantly surprised when Uryu and Chad volunteered to help, and he was even more surprised when both Rukia and Renji joined him in Hueco Mundo. Ichigo hadn't expected either of them to help, but Rukia told him that as his friend, of course she and Renji would help Ichigo, teaching Ichigo all over again that they are loyal friends who fight together no matter what.
