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is a fictional character in the anime and manga series ''Bleach'' created by Tite Kubo. In the series, Rukia Kuchiki is a Soul Reaper in charge of slaying evil spirits known as Hollows. At the beginning, after a brief meeting with the protagonist of the series, Ichigo Kurosaki, who can see supernatural beings such as Soul Reapers, she is forced to give him her powers in order to fulfill her duties as a Soul Reaper. Rukia has appeared in several other pieces of ''Bleach'' media, including the four featured films in the series, the two original video animations, and several video games. Rukia was the first character of the series created by Kubo, her design being the one he decided to use for all the other Soul Reapers.〔 Reaction to her character is generally positive. Her differences from typical ''shōnen'' heroines is praised, as is her interaction with other characters. Additionally, she usually ranks second in ''Weekly Shōnen Jumps ''Bleach'' popularity polls, and is consistently the most popular female character in those polls. Several pieces of merchandise have been released in Rukia's likeness, including a plush doll and a figurine. ==Creation and conception== ''Bleach'' was first conceived from Tite Kubo's desire to draw a ''shinigami'' in a kimono, which formed the basis for the design of the Soul Reapers. Because of this, Kuchiki was one of the first characters of the series to be created. Before deciding that every Soul Reaper had swords, Kubo thought that they all should use guns, while only Rukia used a scythe. However, this was changed as he created the Soul Reaper kimono. Kubo also mentioned that Rukia did not seem like a lead character, so he created Ichigo Kurosaki to be the series protagonist. Ichigo's initial design had black hair like Rukia; Kubo had to modify Ichigo's appearance to contrast with hers, giving Ichigo orange hair and a trademark scowl. As for her name, Kubo stated that, because Kuchiki "looks like a ''shinigami''", he wanted her name to sound like a something a ''shinigami'' would have as a name. When deciding upon her family name he considered using because it sounded like a name a ''shinigami'' would have, and then decided to use . He adds that he once heard something that sounded like "Kuchiki Rukia" on Japanese television, and liked it enough to use it as a name.〔 Her first name was conceived as a result of Kubo hearing the Latin name for cosmos on television, and later decided that the name really suited her since the Latin word from which her name is derived means "light" and Kubo sees her as "a ray of light for Ichigo." ''Shonen Jump'' asked in an interview if Kubo had any plans to make Ichigo and Rukia a couple, but Kubo chose neither to confirm nor deny it. After designing Rukia's ''zanpakutō'', Kubo noted he liked it a lot and made it to be the most beautiful one from the series. When Kubo was asked to make a cover with a female character during Christmas, Kubo initially thought of using Rukia; he later changed to use Orihime Inoue as he thought Orihime was more suitable for such role. However, Kubo commented he previously made a Christmas illustration with Rukia, and that he received request by several fans wanting to see the image. In contrast to this, Kubo has found he liked Rukia more in the illustrations in which her face expresses pain such as when she is going to be executed in the manga. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Rukia Kuchiki」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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