Understanding the specifics of Bleach protagonist Ichigo Kurosaki's various forms and abilities, to say nothing of their origins, can be quite an undertaking. The series lore tends to be a bit on the heavy and dense side, which leaves some fans wondering just exactly what Ichigo is capable of. Is he a Quincy, how did he become a Hollow?
Ichigo obviously inherited Quincy status from his mother, but where did he get his Quincy and Hollow abilities? Breaking down the Kurosaki family tree and deep-diving into Ichigo's abilities isn't easy. This requires examining where they came from and how they manifest for Bleach's main character.
Updated on April 19th, 2024 by Louis Kemner: This feature about Ichigo Kurosaki's powers has been expanded with more information, including his powers from early in Bleach's story. There are plenty of questions about Bleach's hero, after all. Is Ichigo a Quincy? How did Ichigo become a Hollow? How can he use all of Bleach's major powers at once? When broken down, Ichigo's various spirit powers make more sense, and his powers even reflect his personal arc.
How Did Ichigo Get Started As a Substitute Soul Reaper?
Like many shonen protagonists, Ichigo Kurosaki learned, used, and discarded a variety of powers, abilities, and weapons. That's a normal part of any action hero's arc, with their ever-changing powers reflecting their personal growth. Similar to other shonen heroes like Luffy, Naruto, and Izuku, Ichigo Kurosaki got stronger the more he learned about his world's combat system, which also led to a change in self-image and even self-esteem.
All those heroes had to start somewhere, of course, with their initial powers being their weakest. Ichigo started off rather modestly in Bleach and had limited powers, but that was only because he was an ordinary teenager suddenly gifted with powers he didn't understand yet. Ichigo was totally ignorant of Soul Reapers, Hollows, and the Quincy tribe, but at least he had Rukia Kuchiki the reverse-isekai heroine to explain the basics.
The Evolution of Ichigo's Power As a Soul Reaper
Ichigo's first zanpakuto was a large, generic, and nameless weapon that echoed Ichigo's ignorance and inexperience of the time. It was just a melee weapon and nothing more, having no special techniques or transformations. Ichigo's shortcomings became obvious when he fought Renji Abarai and Byakuya Kuchiki, two Soul Reapers with named zanpakuto and shikai forms. Ichigo's zanpakuto broke during that encounter, but it was for the best, because it pushed Ichigo to get a new one and become much stronger.
That led to his training with Kisuke Urahara, who helped him obtain his first proper zanpakuto, named Zangetsu. That weapon had its own avatar, known as Old Man Zangetsu. At the time, Ichigo's powers were stronger but still rather modest, so he hadn't yet explored his Hollow side, nor did he know that Old Man Zangetsu represented Masaki's Quincy power. Ichigo had taken a major step in the right direction with a named zanpakuto capable of shikai, but it was just a taste of what was to come.
It wasn't until the Visored training arc when Ichigo learned about his Hollow's true nature, and it wasn't until the Thousand-Year Blood War when Ichigo learned of his Quincy heritage, too. Still, there were already hints that Ichigo's powers were unusual, including the fact that Zangetsu was always in shikai mode by default, and had no sealed form. Thus, Zangetsu had no shikai release command, though it would get a conventional bankai release command as Tensa Zangetsu.
How Did Ichigo Inherit Quincy Status?
Ichigo's lineage allows him to draw from a power supply of Quincy, Soul Reaper, and Hollow energy. As a former Soul Reaper and Captain of squad 10, Ichigo's father Isshin is the reason for his inheritance of Soul Reaper energy, while his mother Masaki, a pure-blood Quincy, is responsible for both his inherited Quincy and Hollow energies. The creation and inheritance of the hybrid Soul Reaper-Hollow powers is explained during the Thousand Year Blood War arc, where it is revealed that Masaki was attacked and infected by a Hollow prior to Ichigo's birth.
To save Masaki from the Hollow, Isshin donates the entirety of his Soul Reaper powers to her in order to balance out the Hollow's infectious energy. As a result, Masaki's soul becomes a fusion of Soul Reaper and Hollow energy, and it is this Soul Reaper-Hollow energy that is inherited by Ichigo. As Quincy status is a matter of blood rather than spirit, Ichigo's inheritance of Quincy power is free of both Soul Reaper and Hollow influence. Due to Isshin being rendered human upon saving Masaki, Ichigo is only a half-blood Quincy.
Ichigo's Soul Reaper powers were first awakened by Rukia Kuchiki through the absorption of her own Soul Reaper powers, and as his Hollow and Soul Reaper powers are mixed, the Hollow powers were simultaneously awakened by this event. Ichigo's Quincy powers are awakened through his confrontation with the Sternritter Quilge Opie after being exposed to his spirit energy. As a side note, Fullbringers are the offspring of a mother attacked by a Hollow, thus granting Ichigo access to Fullbring. The Tite Kubo-confirmed canon Can't Fear Your Own World light novels amend the requirement for Fullbringers to possession of a Soul King fragment, but as Ichigo has yet to appear in the series, it is unknown whether he is in possession of one, and if not, how exactly he accesses Fullbring.
How Ichigo's Quincy and Soul Reaper-Hollow Powers Manifest
When Ichigo enters his inner-soul to speak with his zanpakuto spirit, it manifests itself in two forms; the man wearing glasses and a black cloak, dubbed "Old Man Zangetsu," and White Ichigo. Ichigo thought of and treated these two figures as separate beings at first, believing Old Man Zangetsu to be his true Zanpakuto spirit and White Ichigo to be a Hollow attempting to take over his soul. In actuality, Old Man Zangetsu is a manifestation of Ichigo's Quincy power, while White Ichigo is the manifestation of his hybrid Soul Reaper-Hollow powers.
Quincy Zangetsu hates Soul Reapers, and knew that the path of a Soul Reaper would lead to a confrontation with King Yhwach and ultimately Ichigo's death. This led to Quincy Zangetsu limiting Ichigo's Soul Reaper-Hollow powers, working as a funnel for Ichigo's powers while at the same time masquerading as his true zanpakuto spirit. As Ichigo's opponents grew stronger, and Quincy Zangetsu became more attached to the boy, he would eventually relinquish control over Ichigo's powers. In doing so, Quincy Zangetsu introduces Ichigo to Hollow Zangetsu, who is again, a manifestation of Ichigo's true Soul Reaper powers, and thus the real Zangetsu.
As Ichigo grows stronger and accesses more of the power of the real Zangetsu, he unknowingly accesses and releases more of his Hollow powers as well, evidenced by his Visored and Vasto Lorde transformations. Ichigo at first thinks of these events as his inner Hollow attempting to take over his soul, but it is actually just the effect of Ichigo drawing on the power of the real Zangetsu. It is impossible for Ichigo to draw on the full potential of his Soul Reaper powers without also drawing out the potential of his Hollow powers, as they are one and the same. Ichigo Kurosaki knew for some time that he embodied the half-other trope with his Hollow powers, but he had the wrong perspective on them. His Hollow side wasn't interfering with his Soul Reaper powers -- his Hollow side was his power.
Hollow Zangetsu never wanted to take over Ichigo's soul, but simply wanted to help him grow stronger. This is evidenced by Hollow Zangetsu's frequent use of the term "partner" when referring to Ichigo, as well as his frequent pleading with Ichigo to allow him to continue fighting rather than sealing him away. Quincy Zangetsu further affirms this idea, pointing out that it was always the power of a Hollow, and not his Quincy abilities, that saved Ichigo in moments of desperation.
Mastering Zangetsu: Ichigo's Zanpakuto, Explained
During his meeting with Oetsu Nimaiya of squad 0/the Royal Guard, the creator of all Zanpakuto, it's revealed Ichigo never truly owned a Zanpakuto. The Hollow that attacked Masaki, simply named White, was created by Sosuke Aizen using a method similar to Zanpakuto creation, thus allowing him to act as a pseudo Asauchi for Ichigo to form his original sword. Ichigo undergoes the Asauchi trial, eventually discerning Hollow Zangetsu to be the real Zangetsu. However, following the revelation about Quincy Zangetsu, Ichigo still holds him in high esteem, and firmly asserts that both spirits were Zangetsu. As both spirits compose Ichigo's soul, and thus his Zanpakuto, Nimaiya is able to forge not one, but two Zangetsus for Ichigo: the shorter blade representing his Quincy power, the larger blade representing his Hollow and Soul Reaper powers.
Quincy Zangetsu and Hollow Zangetsu are two halves of the same soul, and thus two halves of the same zanpakuto. Therefore, it is only through his achievement of balance between these powers that Ichigo maximizes his potential. This is evidenced when Ichigo allows their combined form to stab him when mastering Mugetsu, symbolizing his acceptance of both halves of Zangetsu. Against Yhwach, when he grows the Horn of Salvation in his final form, Ichigo states that he still cannot control his inner Hollow, but that his Quincy powers will help him maintain balance, finally demonstrating a true understanding of the duality of his soul and powers.
In a way, Ichigo's final, truest zanpakuto in the TYBW arc represents him overcoming his grief of Masaki's death and moving into the future with a clear head. Ichigo only understood his powers and family tree after listening to Isshin's explanation, allowing Ichigo to feel more connected to his mother's Quincy legacy. Until then, Ichigo's grief had held him back as a troubled and punkish kid, as his fight against Grand Fisher showed. Grand Fisher's Masaki lure was a serious psychological attack on Ichigo, but by the TYBW arc's end, Ichigo was at peace. He had let go of his grief of Masaki and thus bade farewell to Masaki's legacy, Old Man Zangetsu. In so doing, Ichigo fully embraced his true power at last, and that was how he defeated Yhwach and foiled Yhwach's sinister goal of creating a deathless world to replace all existing worlds.
