Ichigo started off as a unique shounen protagonist but slowly lost what made him so special over time.
At the beginning of the Bleach series, Ichigo Kurosaki seemed to stand out from other shounen protagonists. For starters, Ichigo isn’t addicted to fighting strong opponents or overindulging in food. He even shows an interest in excelling in his academics. At one point he has one of the highest GPAs in his class. As a teenager, he seems to be emotionally mature and mentally fit. This allows his character to have introspective moments that truly add to his character.
Of course, there are times when he has goofy moments and his serious nature adds to them. However, when the mood calls for it, Ichigo’s serious nature really creates a different tone than his contemporaries such as Goku from Dragon Ball or Luffy from One Piece. Ichigo begins the story with a normal life that is then altered by an ever-changing world around him. This causes Ichigo to adapt quickly to such an environment. However, there comes a point when Ichigo stops being proactive and simply becomes reactive.
After the Rukia and Soul Society arcs, much like the series itself, Ichigo begins a pattern of cluelessness and reaction. Similar to the aforementioned arcs, the Arrancar arc sees Ichigo needing to rescue a friend while facing a hierarchy of enemies. This is where Ichgio’s special qualities seem to be less prevalent and his character flaws begin to show. Though this arc is filled with some of the most iconic scenes in the series as a whole and it is less noticeable during the first viewing.
In later arcs, Ichigo is fully established as a reactionary protagonist. Goku has the strength to chase after, Luffy has the One Piece treasure. Ichigo seems to not have a goal in later arcs. He simply reacts to what is happening and the plot seems to drag him to whatever destination it needs him to be at. Ichigo seemed to be a character that would gain a significant sense of purpose as the series continued. However, Ichigo becomes a hollow shell of what he could have been. Pun not intended.
As Ichigo became stronger and the world around him became more interesting, his wit and strong personality took a backseat. As an arc would move forward, Ichigo would stay as clueless as he did at the beginning of the arc. Instead of giving insight to his deeper emotions or understanding of the world around him, he would revert to the shounen tropes of “my friends give me strength,” or more appropriately, “give me my friend back!”
Ichigo was a promising character who failed to meet that expectation either due to overestimation or poor writing. This is not to say that characters such as Goku or Luffy are far superior to Ichigo. These characters also have their flaws. Though, there is a reason that a series with proactive characters often do better than a series with reactionary ones. One moves the plot forward while the other is carried by it.
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