Butterfly Dreams

Feb 14 2008

OTP - Ichigo & Orihime - IchiHime [BLEACH]

15 Responses to “OTP - Ichigo & Orihime - IchiHime [BLEACH]”

1. # Leonon 14 Feb 2008 at 10:09 PM

   IchiHime is the only pairing I accept regarding those two characters. Ichigo is another case but Orihime has blatantly revealed her love for him already even though he was unconscious at the time. Now only if Ichigo can be less dense even if he is a shounen main character…

2. # Whispered.Hopeon 15 Feb 2008 at 8:45 PM

   Mm, that’s true. Along with IchiHime, I used to kind of like Ishida and Orihime after that one episode way back when during the rescue Rukia arc. But now that Orihime’s gone and really said she loves Ichigo, I won’t like any other pairing than those two ^^ Mm, if only Ichigo can confess, too! That’ll be the day.

   I’m glad you like this pairing, though! I thought I was the only one xDD;

3. # kanachidorion 03 Mar 2008 at 7:19 AM

   i love this ep too..as i’m a big fan of this pairing..lol
   but i wish she had kissed him on the lips!! AHHHHHH

4. # animesennaon 11 Mar 2008 at 9:20 PM

   Yes I totally agree!! =^-^=
   Orihime is the only woman 4 Ichi-kun! If only she kissed him! I think Ichi-kun is going realize his feelings!

5. # hilaryon 15 Mar 2008 at 9:39 PM

   the recent episode i watched, something in the 160s made me begin to feel ichigo might harbout feelings for orihime. In that moment when ulchiorra says it was he that forced orhime to join aizen, ichigo goes absolutely crazy with rage. he forgets about the fact that rukia is dieing (!) because he is so consumed with anger towards ulchiorra for what he has done to orihime.

6. # Whispered.Hopeon 16 Mar 2008 at 1:15 PM

   It wouldn’t be Orihime’s nature to kiss him, so I’m glad she didn’t. But it’s still frustrating xD

   hilary: I had that same exact feeling. He bypasses the fact that Rukia’s dying to attack the man who took Orihime away from him…! xD I’d like to think that, but an annoying little voice in my head is also saying that if he got Orihime she could heal Rukia for him T__T

   I’m surprised there’s no Ichigo x Rukia fans yet! Yay!

7. # ichihime fanon 25 Mar 2008 at 6:28 PM

   i wish that after the battle with aizen ichigo wud realise that orihime meant more to him than just a friend. i like rukia too but she is like 150 and renji and her seem so cute together! i can only see ichigo and rukia as good friends. orihime and ichigo seem perfect for each other and he was soo angry and upset when he found out orihime was gone. i think the battle with ulqiorra will be cool because i think most of it will be revenge for taking orihime away!
   ^__^ cant wait!

8. # ORICHIGO LOVERon 12 Apr 2008 at 2:47 PM

   yea im with ya i love orhime and i dont get why people hate her. just because shes weak sometimes and got big boobs doesnt make a person weak. an she is trying to get stronger for ichigo. your right ichigo did get angry also when they told him she had died.

9. # Bleach_ maniac_Babeon 25 Apr 2008 at 9:16 AM

   This is all nonsense!!!! Orihime and ichigo don’t seem to fit together at all its not that i don’t like her, well actually i find her annoying, she and him would look cute together but thats about it really, when i first saw bleach it was in the middle of the rukia arc, i first saw orihime then i saw ichigo and i thought they were cute together, but when i noticed her bizarre personality i switched over…

10. # Candyon 27 Jun 2008 at 10:55 PM

    Are you KIDDING me!?1 I don’t think so. I don’t think the the idea of Rukia and Ichigo together are good. First off, despite them being the two main characters, I think Rukia sees Ichigo more as her brother or somebody she has. As you can tell through the episodes, you watched. She fights with him often, cares about him, and has sister-like traits like the time she only sees Ichigo as somebody who looked like Kaien and not to mention, Ichigo seems to care for Orihime, despite being dense and not knowing Orihime’s feeling for him, just as Orihime cares for him despite her unrequited love. Hopefully for now…and besides Ichigo went to the FASTER or at least from what I can recall from the time. I think Ichigo took more TIME to rescue Rukia if you look coloser at it. Although we don’t know quite yet what will happen, Tite Kubo answer will definately help….hopefully.

11. # Candyon 27 Jun 2008 at 11:06 PM

    I don’t think so! ^ I think IchiHime FTW! Because first off, Rukia treats Ichigo more like a brother and though he reminds her of Kaien, it still makes no different and just because they’re both the main characters (Rukia and Ichigo), doesn’t make any difference eithier! Not to mention, it took him a bit wee longer to save Rukia in the Soul Society then saving Orihime in Hueco Mundo! Not to mention Ichigo does care for Orihime even though it’s not fully revealed on Ichigo’s part. I think Tite Kubo will fully explain or at least show what happens!

12. # antorihimeon 24 Jul 2008 at 5:08 PM

    orhime is pathetic. For fawk sake she confessed her love to a sleeping
    ichigo. that’s a bit creepy and all this whose going to get together with who..it won’t ever happen bleach isn’t that kind of series.i used to like orihime but through out the series I began to hate her because she is so weak. she’s all ’strong’ on her own but around ichigo she weakens does her kurosaki-kon. I really wish they could make orihime a bit stronger,but I guess kubo wants to keep her weak. but no matter what she’s always going to be the comic relief in the series..and that’s about it.no offense to you orhime lovers but i honestly hope they use less of her like they did before..

13. # ichiruki or ichihimeon 20 Aug 2008 at 8:58 PM

    This shows that rukia is better that orihime

    Ichigo VS Sora and Ichigo VS Byakuya:

    VS

    I think it’s quite interesting that Ichigo fought the two brothers. First, we must not forget that Ichigo *is* a big brother himself, with two sisters that he cherishes and wants to protect. And, in both cases, he faces brothers who want to kill their sister, something that he cannot understand or fathom, no matter what.

    So, very early in the manga, Ichigo faces Sora. In fact, Sora is his first big opponent, and it allows Ichigo to understand what hollows are, what goal they pursue, why he has to fight them.

    I have to reckon, Ichigo’s intent on protecting Inoue is high, but it’s only how Ichigo is. This statement, “If you want to kill Inoue… you better kill me first” could be very romantic (in a way). But it reminds me of this panel, where Ichigo is all “try to get me first”, just to protect Yuzu and Karin. And that was only three chapters before that statement, which always left me with the impression that Ichigo saw Inoue as a second Yuzu, a little sister who had to be protected. The fact that, in the next chapter, he reaffirms the big brother’s role in a family (that to protect the ones that came after) outlines this feeling. I’ll notice the “A brother telling his sister ‘I’ll kill you’… you never say something like that!” because that’s something we’ll see again in his fight against Byakuya.

    The fight ends with Ichigo showing empathy [because he too knows how hard it is to lose someone dear] and explaining that the brother was not the only one who was sad.

    With Byakuya, it is another story. Ichigo’s fight with Sora happened very early in the manga, with no set up at all. His fight with Byakuya happened after a 100 chapters set up, with growing intensity, him saving Rukia just on time, not to mention him dying in order to become a shinigami again and go in Soul Society.

    If ‘the brother who must not kill his sister’ theme comes back, Ichigo goes further, way further than that. The fight is *very* different from the one he had with Sora; it’s way more personal too. He begins with a “I don’t like it! I’m going to use everything that I have… to defeat you! I’ll beat you… until you have no strength left!!” He qualifies Byakuya’s words about him executing his sister as a sick joke, and orders him to never say that in front of Rukia again. And then he taunts Byakuya to use his bankai. Why? Because Ichigo is not only fighting for Rukia’s life; he’s also fighting for her pride. His opponent is leagues ahead of Sora, but it’s not what matters. It’s how Ichigo handles the fight. The whole “Then I will take you to Rukia and… make you cry while apologizing to her!” is also something he never wanted to do with Sora. Because the goal is somehow different, it’s not only saving Rukia that is on the line here, it’s not only teaching Byakuya a lesson about how big brothers are supposed to act. Later on, during the fight, Ichigo insists that he will step on Byakuya’s pride if that has anything to do with Rukia’s execution, because that’s why he obtained bankai for (to save her).

    Ichigo’s motivation in this fight is at its highest, especially when he thinks “I came here… to win! It’s meaningless to just survive and meaningless to just fight!” And he cannot help but ask Byakuya why he doesn’t even try to save Rukia.

    Which leads us to the after fight; I did add some scenes from ch179, to be fair, to have Ichigo’s reaction to Byakuya’s explanations (well, the true ones). As we see right after the fight, Byakuya explains that he only obeyed the rules. And when Ichigo declares that he would fight the rules, Byakuya understood that it wasn’t him that Ichigo was fighting, but these rules that condemned Rukia to a death sentence. Last, we see Byakuya telling Rukia about Hisana, with Ichigo listening intently and receiving his thank you for everything that he did for Rukia.

    As I already said, it’s very difficult to compare those two scenes, but I think it’s pretty safe to say that Ichigo was much more concerned during the Byakuya fight. Ichigo did not only fight for Rukia’s life, but also for her pride and against the rules. He wanted to change things, not only to fight. To achieve his goal, he needed to win. The Byakuya fight had a huge set up (it was the third time Ichigo and him met up) and it is impossible to deny how heavily Kubo insisted on these chapters.

    Memories in the Rain:
    This arc leads to several comparisons. Let’s begin XD

    VS

    I only put one picture for Inoue, as it conveyed perfectly what I wanted to say. In Memories in the Rain, Kubo began to really accentuate the differences between Rukia and Inoue. When we see Ichigo telling Rukia what happened, that his mother died and talking to her about that matter more than he ever had, even with his family, we have, on the other hand, Inoue who has Tatsuki telling her what she knows about this (and it’s so little, after all).

    And while Rukia makes a beautiful speech, telling Ichigo that she cannot step into his secrets like this and that she’ll wait for him to be ready, Inoue is the one asking a third party to tell her that story. We can also point out that if Inoue feels closer to Ichigo, in reality, it’s Rukia with whom he bonded during this mini-arc.

    At this point, Kubo already shows us that Rukia is the one who bonds easily with Ichigo, while Inoue watches him from afar.

    VS

    That parallel was brought to my eyes by NeoSapien XD
    Actually, there is nothing much to say, except that both girls were put in the same position. They had to watch from afar a fight that Ichigo *had* to win alone, for his own pride. They exactly had the same gesture, to grip their own arms, probably to prevent themselves from intruding. It shows that it is important for them to respect Ichigo’s wishes, but that they’ll be both here for him. Both scenes are, in my opinion, equally powerful.

    VS

    These scenes are certainly very interesting to compare. Essentially because of the atmospheres and metaphors that Kubo used.

    In the first one, we can see Ichigo falling in Rukia’s arms while facing her and her catching him without failing. He ends up with his head on her lap, scene considered as very romantic in a Japanese point of view. And even Kon (in Ichigo’s body) is worried, he barely dares indrudes. The little panel proves that he catches Rukia’s soft look for Ichigo, as she begins to heal him and reassures him about Ichigo.

    In the second scene, we see Ichigo falling backwards in Inoue’s arms who tries to catch him and fails. It ends up with Ichigo laying on the ground, with Inoue sitting beside him, crying because she’s happy he’s alright. The scene is very cute and funny, but far from romantic.

    In my opinion, those two scenes are very representative from what IchiRuki and IchiOri are. In the first relationship, you have two partners who can always be there for each other; she never fails to reach him, may it be metaphorically or physically. In the latter, Ichigo isn’t aware of Inoue’s feelings; when he falls and she tries to reach out for him, she fails.

    The Don Kanonji show:

    VS

    Ichigo hates the Don Kanonji show, but that’s something both girl ignore. First, he meets up with Inoue who does the “bohahaha” thing. He is surprised and I think it’s at this time that he understands that he won’t escape it at school. Tatsuki, who knows, prevents her from redoing it a second time –it is interesting to notice that Inoue didn’t catch at all that it bothered Ichigo, she who is usually so keen on his feelings.

    One week later, after tons of bohahaha, Ichigo goes to the show with his family. Inoue notices that he is kind to do so, since he doesn’t like it, but he doesn’t get why she says that because for him, it’s normal (to go with his family). His face shows mostly surprise, so, since this happens after the incident with Sora, I’m wondering if he does not ponders on that too (that she misses a family to go with at these kind of events).

    Next thing we know, he’s with Rukia who does the bohahaha thing too XD Of course, he thinks she does this on purpose (hence his reaction XD); but, unexpectedly, on the next page, he realizes that she cares for him. And, without even trying, she reaches him as he sees her kindness, while he was oblivious to Inoue’s kindness two pages before. And then, he also realizes that she doesn’t know what the hell is going on XD

    Those scenes are only little scenes, but it adds up to the overall scheme that Kubo is storytelling since the beginning. Rukia always manages to catch Ichigo’s attention easily, while Inoue tries and fails.

    The rumours:

    VS

    The first page is just here as a reminder of what Ichigo thinks about the rumours… “If I worried about what others thought, I’d have dyed my hair black a long time ago.” That was back in volume 1, where apparently, being seen with Rukia didn’t look like it bothered him.
    Now, right after the Don Kanonji show, in volume 4, we see that Ichigo is so worried about those rumours going on between him and Rukia that he doesn’t dare show up at school with her and tries to stay far away from her. He gets various stares that unsettle him. Notice too how the rumours are nicely propagated by Mizuiro XD

    As for the second one, what do we see? Effectively some random souls that stare at Ichigo and Inoue, thinking that she is already taken. While this statement is true in the sense her heart is already taken, it doesn’t look like those stares bother Ichigo at all.

    Again, two tiny scenes that help Kubo to build Ichigo’s character, as he shows how much he changes around Rukia and around her only, for that particular matter.

    The separations:

    VS

    The first separation occurs right after Rukia protected Ichigo and prevented her brother to kill him off. And that’s something he perfectly knows; and the emotion in Rukia’s face gets him, as she is on the verge of crying and that’s the first time he sees her in such state. Her “You’re going to die anyway…” is such a plea to live and to not follow him that he understood, at that moment, that she was protecting him in exchange of her life. And of course, the heavy theme of the rain added up with the black page showing how his mind blew out at the idea of her dying for him.

    The second separation is vastly different, as Ichigo is asleep and totally unaware that Inoue was going away, trying to protect them (in her head). She confesses sweetly, and then goes. This is a one-sided separation, as she thinks she’ll never see him again and he is well… sleeping.

    Again, Kubo knows well his relationships, as Ichigo and Rukia’s departure was fully emotional for both characters. The rain, that implies Ichigo’s sadness, also played its part. With Inoue’s departure for Hueco Mundo, it’s again a one-sided emotion, as she is the one who confesses but he’s not even hearing it. It reflects how the relationships are working: Ichigo Rukia and Ichigo ____>’ Oh, Ichigo, how rude can you be, I wonder? XD

    While the second scene is funny and cute, it’s still as one-sided as ever; meanwhile, the IchiRuki scene was epic and displayed how it affected them both. If one could make fun of how Ichigo carried Rukia (let’s not forget that he just caught her when she was below him too, so it’s not as if he had a choice there), then he has to make fun of how Ichigo is carrying Inoue (first thought was woah… is Inoue some kind of bag of potatoes?). Not to mention that Kubo even went further and downplayed the whole IchiOri scene by having Ichigo implying that he thought that Inoue was heavy >___>’

    The girls are rescued…

    VS

    These two scenes struck me because of all the differences they implied. Sure we can’t compare them at 100% because of the differences in the scenes. However, what is interesting to notice is that in Rukia’s case, she noticed how Ichigo grew stronger and how he made her stronger, standing up for her like this. I’d also like to point out that, a chapter before, she was saying that she wouldn’t thank him (which was false, because in the end she did thank him; that allowed her thank you to be very special for Ichigo).

    Inoue, on the contrary, is happy to see that he’s still himself; which can be understood since his mask scared her a lot. On the other hand, even with his mask on, he still protected her, so she should have known better (and I think that is Kubo’s intent, to show us the limits of Inoue understanding Ichigo). And she thanks him right away. The scene is sweet, but immediately cut by Nel.

    While these are tiny scenes not meant to be compared at a deep level, I found it interesting that Rukia was visibly strengthen by Ichigo while Inoue had been scared and was just glad in this shot. Not to mention that, by delaying her ‘thank you’, Rukia effectively made a bigger impact on Ichigo (because he thought, for the second time, that it was his line) while Inoue’s ‘thank you’ passed as a normal thing in his eyes (he was just glad that she was safe, like he would be for anyone, really –even Nel earned that kind of soft look previously, when he was fighting Ulquiorra).

    Rukia and Inoue cheering Ichigo up:

    VS

    For information, I didn’t put Inoue’s last cheer for Ichigo because we can’t really compare the situations, as Rukia never saw Ichigo in Vizard form. So for now, I’ll only compare their cheer when Ichigo was down after Ulquiorra and Yammi’s attack.

    Inoue tried to cheer up Ichigo by… being her usual self and telling him not to worry about her. Which utterly failed. She couldn’t reach him although she was trying to, because he had set up walls around him.

    Walls that got very easily broken down by Rukia’s powerful speech. She didn’t wait and had him back in a matter of minutes, forced him to take action and that worked. I also put the little discussion they have in ch214, because Rukia is saying the exact same thing as Inoue earlier (it’s my own fault, don’t give me that look etc), but, unlike Inoue, she went straight to the point and grabbed Ichigo’s attention (“if it’s about that hollow inside of you, how about asking Urahara?”). She immediately understood that it was about that that he was moping around again.

    That’s another difference in how the girls handle Ichigo and how he is responsive to them; Inoue tries to reach him with her usual kindness and that doesn’t quite work. On the other hand, Rukia goes to the point and if that doesn’t work, she changes her way with him, and grabs his attention by doing so. Ichigo is, of course, very responsive to Rukia’s ways oh handling him, because she never lets him down.

    The looks Ichigo gave them:

    VS

    There is not a lot to comment on those pics. The first one shows Ichigo with a guilty look (hence the “don’t give me that look”). The second one is probably one of the softest faces Ichigo ever made. It’s a very powerful and special moment. Inoue saw it as a romantic gaze, given how she reacts to it.

    Now, this is probably where the authorial intent enters into play more than anything. Both moments were important, both moments were seen through Inoue’s eyes. The first one implies guilt, the second one romantic feelings, romantic enough to make her sad. The second one is pointed up by Kubo himself, who made it a chapter cover. And Inoue recalled it later on, while the first look wasn’t retold through her memories.

    Reaching Ichigo:

    VS

    Nothing much to say either on this one. It’s mostly a little reminder from Kubo; something that already happened a lot in Bleach. Inoue is rushing, wanting to go to Ichigo to help him during the fight against the Arrancars. She is stopped by Ulquiorra though, and in the end, it’s Rukia who reaches Ichigo and saves him from a certain death (only to be put in danger right after that).

    It’s a little bit, but one that fit in Kubo’s puzzle, so I put it too XD

    The girls in Ichigo’s room…

    VS

    It was flagrant, because it was in the same chapter. On the first page, we see Rukia, who is taking care of Ichigo in his room, being asked by his sisters if they can eat with him. She’s integrated in the Kurosaki household, seen as someone important in Ichigo’s life by all the members to a point where they leave his care to her. On the second page, we have Inoue who sneaks in and is all embarrassed because not only it’s the first time she goes in Ichigo’s room, but she has to sneak in to enter in this place.

    Inoue and Rukia are at each completely polar opposites there; you have one who never entered in the Kurosaki’s house, and even less Ichigo’s room and the other one who is already part of the family and seen as an important figure in Ichigo’s life. So important, that she outshines the sisters who ask her if they can eat in their brother’s room!

    The nakama:

    VS

    “Inoue is our friend” Now, that’s what I call something clear and straight to the point from Ichigo XD He doesn’t hesitate to say that Inoue is a friend because well, she is! And that’s all how he sees her. With Rukia, though, that is something else… from her own hesitation to ask if they’re friends, to his own, unsure reply, this scene lacks the straightforwardness that the first one has.

    Kubo’s intent is clear on that one; Ichigo is direct when he says that Inoue is his friend, because there is nothing on his mind that could suggest otherwise. Meanwhile, he’s very unsure about what Rukia is to him. She’s a friend, yes, but at the same time, she’s not tagged as a friend at all in his mind… so what is she? Something more than a friend, but that he can’t place quite well, as neither can Rukia place it about Ichigo.

    And do you know th new movie

    It’s very ichiruki…….

    there is a news that Tite Kubo is involve in making the movie

    and do know that Tite Kubo is a ichiruki shipper

14. # J.on 29 Aug 2008 at 1:22 PM

    If ichiruki is what Tite Kubo wants, that’s what we’ll have to live with - the worst pairing ever, cos I will only ever see them as partners “150-years-old boy-looking-woman vs 15 year-old-boy”.

15. # good girlon 08 Sep 2008 at 3:08 PM

    I honestly like Orihime and Rukia both as people. They both have something different to bring to the table. Personally, I favor Ichigo and Orihime, but I wouldn’t be all that upset if he ended up with Rukia. both of them have something unique and cool about them.
    Why Orihime? Well, I didn’t like her at first, which is funny because a lot of you say you liked her at first, because she was a bit weird. However, her heart is probably the biggest and most selfless out of all of them. It is interesting that they compare her power to that of a god’s. I think she is the only one trustworthy of such a power because she’s humble and kind. She wouldn’t ever abuse it. That just says a lot about her character. I think Ichigo needs someone like her to be a litght to him.
    But i’m not saying Rukia is a bad match for him either. I just don’t feel like she would care about him anywhere near as much as Orihime. No matter how many “moments” they have, their personalities don’t mesh all the way. They both are just too much alike, stubborn and fiesty. I do believe they have some form of feelings for each other romantically, (Although I am beggining to debate on whether it really is romantic or friendly), but I’m not sure if anything will happen there. But, in all fairness, they could still be together, they would just fight all the time and probably break-up and get back together, which doesn’t seem worth the effort to me. We all know couples like that.

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