Rukia is an unseated Shinigami in the 13th Division under Jūshirō Ukitake. She meets Ichigo Kurosaki, a high school student, and through a set of circumstances, he obtains her powers, forcing her to take up residence in his home and him to take her place as a shinigami.
Short and petite, Rukia is among one of the shortest characters in Bleach (especially for her physical "age"), easily being towered over by people of Chad's or the Espada's height, such as Neliel Tu Oderschvank. She has pale skin and dark hair, she somehow manages to always keep a stray bang in between her eyes. She has a purplish eye color which at times looks as if they have some dark-blue in them. Byakuya said to Rukia that she strongly resembles her older sister and his own wife, Hisana Kuchiki.
Initially born into a lower class, Rukia retains her modesty even as an adopted member of the nobility: she is graceful and "clean", yet chooses to talk to ordinary people. However, her cool and lone demeanor often forces her to hide her personal troubles even from her friends. Although she tells Ichigo that she is nearly ten times older than he, she is endearingly clueless about the ways of the modern living world.
ichigo Kurosaki ( Kurosaki Ichigo) is the protagonist of the Bleach series. The series begins with Ichigo receiving Shinigami powers as a result of a run-in with Rukia Kuchiki, the Shinigami assigned to patrol Karakura Town. These powers come at the cost of Rukia's own, and as a result, Ichigo concedes to work as Rukia's stand-in, fighting to protect people from evil spirits called hollows and sending good spirits, pluses, to Soul Society.
For the most part, Ichigo appears like a normal teenage boy; the one exception to that is his spiky orange hair, a trait that he has been ridiculed about for years. He is a fairly tall person, with white skin and brown eyes. Also, since becoming a Shinigami, he has become noticeably more muscular, as noted by his sister Karin.
Byakuya Kuchiki is the 28th head of the noble Kuchiki clan, one of the four great noble families in Soul Society. As such, Byakuya acts in an aristocratic manner — he seems always serene and apathetic towards other people, even when he is actually deeply conflicted. He is also extremely calm, even in battle, and is very seldom surprised by even the most drastic of actions. However, when he was younger, he was quick to anger and very hotheaded, as noted by his grandfather Due in part to his status in Soul Society, he generally acts indifferent, bordering on arrogance, to most situations that he is faced with as seen from how he rarely views his opponent worth his time. Despite this trait, Byakuya is a very perceptive man and is fully aware of the limits of his abilities and usually anything he states in comparison to an opponent is justified.
Ukitake is a tall man who suffers from tuberculosis. This causes him to frequently have a sickly appearance and is what causes his pale complexion and white hair.
110 years ago he wore his hair in a long ponytail. Currently, his hair is worn long, cascading down his back almost reaching his waist. He wears it parted on the left side with one long piece that tends to fall over his right eye. His eyes are a hazel/brown color. Ukitake wears the common Shinigami uniform with a long sleeved captain's haori, with a red lining. He wears a narrow obi in which he secures his Zanpakutō.
At first, his lieutenant Kaien Shiba performed them, but following his death they were performed by his 3rd Seat officers, Kiyone Kotetsu and Sentarō Kotsubaki. He often spends his time recuperating at Ugendō, his family's estate
Kaien had a youthful appearance and was a fairly tall person, with white skin and aqua green eyes. Kaien had spiky raven black hair. He wore the normal uniform with his lieutenants badge on his left arm as standard. He had a tattoo of the Shiba family crest on his arm.
It is widely believed that Ichigo Kurosaki closely resembles Kaien in appearance. While Rukia was training Ichigo she often became exasperated by his lack of understanding of things Kaien would have known, and Ukitake is stunned by Ichigo's appearance. Byakuya Kuchiki also notes the resemblance, even stating that Ichigo's attitude annoyed him as Kaien's had.
Uryū operates on a moral ethic known as the "Pride of the Quincy" and has a strong sense of justice. He has also shown to be very chivalrous, stating that he enacts justice on men who abuse or treat women badly. He demonstrates this at multiple points throughout the series, such as when he tried to defend Rukia Kuchiki from Renji Abarai when he and Byakuya Kuchiki came to the real world to take her, or when he defends Orihime Inoue at multiple points throughout the Soul Society arc.
As far as his personality goes, Renji is about as eccentric as any other Shinigami. He varies from smug and cocky in his first appearances to downright disquietedness and depression after his major defeats, but shows himself to be an incredibly serious and determined fighter when confronted with an actual challenge. Renji harbours deep affections for Rukia Kuchiki, bordering on romantic love -- he is deeply grieved when she is adopted by Byakuya Kuchiki and later becomes obsessed with saving her, and he reacts with puppyish joy when she shows up during the Bount arc. This is proven numerous times throughout the story, particularly during his flashback of his youth with Rukia in Rukongai. Willing to fight, kill, and die for whatever he believes in, Renji is a dangerous man to those who stand in his way. He is much like Ichigo Kurosaki in many respects, and the two are mistaken for brothers in the anime's Bount arc. Ichigo claims they are cousins to keep things simple, allowing many hilarious situations to occur later. He likes taiyaki (a popular fish-shaped pancake usually filled with sweet bean paste) and dislikes spicy food.
Yoruichi Shihōin is a dark-skinned woman with golden-colored eyes and long purple hair, which she keeps up in a ponytail. Her standard attire consists of a backless, black sleeveless undershirt she wears a orange overshirt with two white straps on each shoulder, she wears a large beige sash around her waist like a belt with black stretch pants and long beige wrist warmers, secured by bands and long beige leg warmers with brown light shoes, allowing for stealth and easy use of Shunpo. She previously wore a beige neck warmer, which she pulled up to cover her face in order to hide her identity, but seems to have forgone its use. She unlike any known Shinigami is able to transform into a black cat for long periods of time.
