In terms of attitude, Ikkaku is a stereotypical 11th Division member — violent, fight-loving, and rude; this has been noted by Tetsuzaemon Iba, among others. He loves fighting so much that he is unwilling to travel anywhere without a sword, resorting to carrying a wooden one when posing as a student at Ichigo's school. He does have a sense of loyalty and responsibility, however, unlike many of the lower-ranked 11th Division members. Ikkaku is fiercely loyal to Kenpachi, under whose command he wants to fight and eventually die.

Ikkaku has many personality traits in common with his division's captain Kenpachi Zaraki, which is why they seem to have so much respect for one another. Ikkaku considers fighting fun and tries to get as much "fun" as he can out of his opponents, so much so that he will take deadly risks to drag out the fight for as long as possible. During a fight with a challenging opponent, he is almost constantly smiling, much like Kenpachi does. Like all 11th Division members, he considers the only honorable battles to be those fought one-on-one and even the threat of death is not a reason to ignore this fact, since, as a rule, the winner is only determined when the other is dead. He does consider surviving an otherwise lost battle good luck, however, he's also sensible enough to carry a blood-clotting ointment in the hilt of his Zanpakut?.

Ikkaku is one of the few Shinigami in Soul Society who is referred to by their given name instead of their family name, a rarity amongst them, but seemingly more common between members of the 11th Division. Only Makizo Aramaki and Toshiro Hitsugaya have called him Madarame so far. Ikkaku appears to be one of only two characters who are left-handed, the other being Uryu Ishida. It is equally possible he is ambidextrous, like Lisa Yadomaru, as he switches to his right hand during his battle with the Arrancar Edorad Leones and uses his sword sheath as a secondary weapon in battle.