Ichigo Kurosaki

Ichigo Kurosaki (黒崎 一護, Kurosaki Ichigo) is a playable newcomer character in Super Smash Flash 2. He is the 16-year-old protagonist of the Bleach franchise. He appears in his Shinigami form and uses his zanpakuto "Zangetsu".

Character description
When creating the manga series, Tite Kubo, creator of Bleach, commented that Rukia Kuchiki, the first character he created, did not seem like a lead character, so he created Ichigo to be the series protagonist. When designing Ichigo's appearance, Kubo had thought of several types attributes of the character that were never added to the story. Initial design sketches show Ichigo wearing glasses, and having dark hair and kind eyes. When designing Rukia, however, Kubo modified Ichigo's appearance to contrast with hers, giving Ichigo orange hair, a trademark scowl, and removing the glasses. Along with Orihime Inoue, Ichigo has the hardest face to draw for Kubo.

Kubo considered Ichigo's greatest strength to be that he is considerate and thoughtful as he always thinks about other people's needs. However, he also saw that as his greatest weakness, since worrying about his friends tends to put him in danger. Kubo was asked in an interview if he had any plans to focus in the love triangle between him, Rukia and Orihime., but Kubo chose neither to confirm nor deny it as he did not want to focus in romance. Kubo thinks Ichigo is very popular among fans since he "looks cool". He also mentioned that as fans read more about him they discover that underneath him is warm and kind hearted, and that attracts his fans.

Ichigo is voiced by Masakazu Morita in the Japanese anime, while as a child he is voiced by Yuki Matsuoka. Johnny Yong Bosch voices him in the English dub as a teenager, and Mona Marshall as a kid. Bosch has liked Ichigo's character due to how he wants to protect people. However, he experienced difficulty voicing him in the episodes in which Ichigo shouts for a long time.

In the series canon, Ichigo is an orange-haired 15-year-old teenager able to see spirits, he even befriend some of them. He meets Soul Reaper Rukia Kuchiki in the midst of a hollow attack. After Rukia is heavily injured by the hollow, she is forced to transfer her Soul Reaper powers to Ichigo so that he can kill the hollow and save their lives and his family. Though he defeats the hollow, Ichigo absorbs almost all of Rukia's spiritual power, and he is forced perform her Soul Reaper duties until she recovers her powers.

In Super Smash Flash 2
Due the big success and popularity of the Bleach franchise, Ichigo makes an appearance as a starter character. He was one of the first newcomers, along with Mario, Kirby, and Lloyd, confirmed according to the trailer and demo. He is also the only representative of the Bleach universe and franchise so far.



Normal Ground Attacks

 * Standard Attack 1: Slashes vertically in front of him. 4%


 * Standard Attack 2: Slashes horizontally across in front of him. 4%


 * Standard Attack 3: Slashes up over his head. 6%
 * Downward Tilt: Moves forward a bit and slashes horizontally in front of him. 5%


 * Downward Smash: Lifts his sword high in the air, then, yelling, thrusts it into the ground, releasing a wide blast of energy on both sides. Four hits for 13% uncharged, three hits for 16% fully uncharged.


 * Forward Tilt: Slashes horizontally. 12%


 * Forward Smash: Slashes forward powerfully with his sword. 17% uncharged, 24% fully charged.


 * Upward Tilt: Slashes above his head. 7%


 * Upward Smash: Slashes in an arc above his head, similar to his up tilt. 15% uncharged, 21% fully charged.


 * Dash Attack: Slashes from above his head to his side, slightly moving forward. 12%

Aerial Attacks

 * Neutral Aerial: Slashes horizontally. 10%


 * Forward Aerial: Slashes horizontally, in a tighter motion than his neutral aerial, while moving forward somewhat. 11%


 * Backward Aerial: Turns around and slashes horizontally behind himself. 11%


 * Upward Aerial: Same as his up smash, but in the air. 11%


 * Downward Aerial: Slashes below himself. If he hits a foe, Ichigo bounces up. If anyone hits the arc of Ichigo's sword and not the sword itself, he or she is powerfully meteor smashed. 16% sweet-spotted, 12% sour-spotted.

Grabs and Throws

 * Grab: Simply reaches a hand out to grab.


 * Pummel: Slashes with his zanpakuto. 2%


 * Forward Throw: Same as forward smash. 12%


 * Backward Throw: Same as forward smash, except backwards. 14%


 * Upward Throw: Same as up smash. 9%


 * Downward Throw: Same as down smash. Four hits for 13%.

Other

 * Ledge Attack: Rolls and gives a quick slash. 8%

Misc.

 * Entrance: Rukia hits Ichigo in human form, making Ichigo (in his shinigami form) come out of his human form, in which, promptly after, Rukia and human Ichigo disappear.
 * Taunt: 1) Points sword in front of him and says 「お前を斬るぜ. 」 (Omae wo kiru ze, lit. "I'll kill you")
 * 2) Ichigo attempts to put on a headband, fails and drops it, and falls to his knees in embarrasment, and then comes back up.
 * 3) Slashes his sword to his side and says *insert what he says here*.
 * Revival platform: Stands on his Reiryoku.
 * Fanfare: Excerpt from "Number One", Ichigo's theme from Bleach.
 * Wins: Holds his zanpakuto over his shoulder.
 * Loses: Looks at the background with his back turned toward the camera.

Role in The Flash Of Shadows
Currently unknown.

Trivia

 * In previous versions of the SSF2 Demo, Ichigo used a slightly different moveset. Prior to v0.2a, Ichigo's down special move was the Stunning Slash instead of the Down Swipe.