Hollow Ichigo of Bleach in a fighting stance

About this picture - Hollow Ichigo of Bleach in a fighting stance

Hollows are introduced as the primary enemies of the Soul Reapers, and therefore of protagonist Ichigo Kurosaki. The two main duties of Soul Reapers both serve to control the population of hollows: Reapers perform a ritual known as a soul burial to lay ghosts to rest before they become hollows, and can purify a hollow's soul by slaying it with their blades. When either of these duties is fulfilled, the soul goes to the Soul Society to live as an ordinary human until reincarnation on earth. If a Hollow committed grave sins in life, its purification instead opens the Gates of Hell (referred to as the Underworld in the English Dub), and it is dragged to Hell for punishment. Hollow intrusions into Ichigo's hometown are the driving plot force for Bleach's first arc, at the end of which Ichigo leaves earth for Soul Society. - ypmidn00174 - Camera settings: 1/125 sec at f / 3.5 - 85 mm - ISO 800 - Camera model and lens: NIKON D600 - 85.0 mm f/1.4