When creating the manga series, Kubo 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.[38]
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.[39]
During the series' first chapter, Ichigo's wristwatch was based on one
Kubo himself wore at that time. In latter chapters, his wristwatch was
based on Naoto Fukasawa's W11K cellphone.[40] Along with Orihime Inoue, Ichigo has the hardest face to draw for Kubo.[41] When making illustrations featuring Ichigo, he found one weird as it featured him with a cheerful smile.[42]
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.[43]
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 he is warm and kind hearted, which attracts them.[44]
Following over fifty volumes of the manga released, Kubo believes
that Ichigo was the character that was developed the most. He emphasized
how every action Ichigo changes the course in the story as well as how
he feels attached to the character. When the Arrancar arc ended, Kubo
tried rebooting the series which resulted in Ichigo losing his Soul
Reaper powers; In the same way Ichigo became a Soul Reaper during the
series' first chapter, he starts searching for methods to recover his
original powers.[45]
Ichigo is voiced by Masakazu Morita in the Japanese anime,[1] while as a child he is voiced by Yuki Matsuoka.[2]Johnny Yong Bosch voices him in the English dub as a teenager,[3] and Mona Marshall as a kid.[4]
While enjoying Ichigo as one his best roles, Morita notes that voicing
him can be difficulty as a result of the character's thoughts before his
actions.[46]
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.