Rukia Kuchiki is a fictional character in the anime and manga series Bleach created by Tite Kubo. In the series, Rukia is a Soul Reaper in charge of slaying evil spirits known as Hollows. She was the series' first female lead during the first two story arcs, but was replaced by Orihime Inoue from the third arc onward. 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.