#and orihime has superpowers now

[el-yon]

Personal Bleach Positivity time for a good week.

So here I am, struggling with being a mentor/supervisor to late teens/early twenties while still figuring stuff for myself (not a real adult! i'm six kids in a trenchcoat!), and I am appreciating Bleach themes again -- this time, this is about mentorship.

I related so hard to the damaged Lieutenants ensemble in my school and workplace life, dealing with various awful situations, and now I find myself constantly wondering: "ok I am not an Aizen, but geez, how does one not screw this up?!". How do you build trust with someone who depends on you without overstepping? how do you know when to step in, when to step back?

And wow, I am loving Shinji and Momo more than ever

Because you know, Shinji's initial approach to Ichigo was bad - he was also hiding stuff from him, pushing for him to join them and manipulating Ichigo's doubts and struggles to get him to where Shinji (and the Vizards) wanted him to be. But that changes as he realizes Ichigo's not part of them, and Shinji's not going to make up for the damaged Captain-Lieutenant relationship with Aizen by training this new superpowerful kid.

Shinji gets a second chance with Momo and OH do they get it right! I have this feeling that were it not for Momo, Shinji might have not re-joined the Gotei, and were it not for Shinji, maybe Momo wouldn't have been able to fully get back either - Kubo did a wonderful job here. Aizen damaged Shinji, his Captain, and Momo, his Lieutenant: in a cascading and ripple effect that reached most of the Divisions, his betrail severed the very bonds that make the Gotei work, which is the emotional trust (not just hierarchy/discipline) between mentor/mentee, chief and subordinate. Aizen never let himself be mentored (by anyone, I'm assuming), and never mentored. Shinji meets Momo in the worst of the circunstances and he sees the damage in her that mirrors his own, and he chooses to re-builds that bond that has been severed.

We don't know how long it took, but Shinji read Momo, her hardworking self, her talent, her kind and helpful nature, and figured out how to bring the best in her - he was finally mentoring someone. On the other side there is Momo, displaying one of the most phenomenal example of strenght of heart in all worlds, who found it in herself the will to get back on her feet, back to work, and most of all, to trust again, let herself be mentored, and would you look at how amazing it is when it is done right.

Same goes for the healing and rebuilding processes of Rose and Izuru, Kensei and Shuuhei (even though Kensei takes a cof cof different approach), other cases such as Byakuya and Renji, or Yoruichi and Soi Fon, and even Rukia -- who was stripped of the mentee position from Kaien, pushed into a mentor position with Ichigo. But Ichigo is not her subordinate, and she re-teaches herself how to be a supportive friend to both him and Orihime (Rukia stepping up to train her is very important to me so it goes here).

Mentorship is a relationship, is a bond, and even if it has a time frame, it requires equal levels of respect, empathy, dedication, ethic, and trust from both sides -- and I'm talking from the toxic-filled environment of Academia but this goes for all mentor/mentees bondings out there.

[pluralmedia]

So here's a weird case we aren't sure if they count or not? MK from Lego Monkie Kid and his clones, Porty, Painter, and Delivery. I'll lay down the situation here, but the 11 minute S1E2 where it first goes down is here

https://youtu.be/RtzTDi_4ZxI

Okay so I say this is systemhood because systemhood is multiple people utilizing/residing within a singular body (for example, irl soulbonds, walk-ins, and system travellers are still a system if they choose to use the word) What's happening here is that MK has the powers of the Monkey King from Chinese mythology, and one of those powers is manifesting clones made from strands of his own hair. At first, they're perfectly the same as MK, BUT once the clones stay out interacting with the world around them, they diverge and become their own people with individual personalities, quirks, and desires. (kinda like created headmates!) This goes so far as for Porty to try and claim he's the "real" MK for fear of being unsummoned the first time, but his own individual accent he developed during his time out betrays him.

But that's not even the coolest part! Because while they can be un-summoned by MK or even themselves if they don't want to be around at the moment, they don't just revert away when that happens. In fact, pretty much every single time MK resummons his clones throughout the series, the diverged clones show up again with all their awareness and personhood attached. It's unclear where they go in the meantime, but hypothetically, a sort of dormancy back within MK.

So basically, the only "separate" bodies these guys get are ones that're literally an extension of the superpowers the main body already has, created out of that bodys own strands of hair (and those bodies turn back into hair when desummoned), and the identities of the clones evidently return to MK and stay with him for the entire time they're not summoned until they're needed next. Porty even desummons himself in one episode very casually, showing he doesn't equate it to death.

This has been a ramble but i think it counts now that I talk it out! Thanks for reading!

This is more of an edge case leaning towards no, we would think.

If they only canonically have awareness or sapience when they are summoned outside the body, thats less of a body *sharing* thing and more like the HDM daemons or Orihime's little summoned fairies in Bleach which we are not counting where they are tied to a body but dont use it.

If one takes plurality as a collection of material experiences that are interpreted through the lens of being more than one in a body, from this perspective of experiences they dont sound like they qualify?

They arent fronting or switching, they do not communicate or passively influence or otherwise 'intrude' without taking executive control in any way while inside MK rather than manefested, they are not tied up in any dissociative symptoms, and they are not aware on any level when they are not summoned.

Plural-esque? Sure. Easily interpreted plural? Most definitely. Quasi-plural? Sure. But directly Canon Plural? Not quite.

Plural-esque stuff like this in media is super cool, but not exactly what we are taking. We would encourage you to write analysis posts like this yourself instead, or consider checking with Pluralstories on dreamwidth if this example is plural-esque enough to submit! They take plural-esque media as well. https://pluralstories.dreamwidth.org/

If the show ever does make it clear in the future they are aware to some level or experiencing the world while not summoned and thus inside MK, feel free to submit again though!

[johannepetereric]

Karin and Yuzu are the firstborn and the ones stabbed.

The Hollow powers split between them, though Yuzu still can’t see them very well. She’s getting better at sensing ghosts, though, even though they’re still a blur at 15. Karin was also always to see and hear them

Masaki was walking Karin and Yuzu when they were 9, and Karin noticed the girl at the river and tried to get her away while Yuzu followed after Karin to get her away from the river. And Masaki died the same way.

Ichigo was 4 at the time, when he came in with Isshin, so he remembers the idea of her enough to mourn her.

The ghosts follow him too.

Karin still refused to cry, looked depressed and was a delinquent; and Yuzu still did the cooking. Ichigo was still bullied. A few years later, Isshin signed him up for karate lessons, and that’s how he met New Best Friend Tatsuki.

(Do the girls inherit Keigo and Mizuiro?) He always has a smile on his face, even when he’s scared and it wavers and he wants to cry tears of pain. It’s kind of creepy. He gets bullied for this on top of his hair color.

When Ichigo started elementary school, he and Orihime and Uryu and Chad and Tatsuki were all in the same class. Orihime liked Ichigo, and he liked her back, and they bonded over the freaky stuff and cooking. Uryu and him grew to be academic rivals. He also came out as able to see ghosts, minus the Quincy part, once Ichigo brought it up. Tatsuki is the same as always. Later, Chad was also being beaten up by older kids, sand Ichigo’s protector instincts made Shiro form and take over.

So Chad and Shiro fought the guys off as best they could, and Chad called the ambulance and Shiro thought they deserved to die. Shiro’s smiles are “You’re approaching me?” attempts at scary.

Meanwhile, Ichigo was watching from the sidelines and the two selves argued in the Inner World (which still has skyscrapers but is still full of life now) about what to do between them.

Ichigo apologized the next day at school for how he acted after the beat-up. He wasn’t himself. Chad just rolled with it. Ichigo asked him to be friends, and now the friendship circle is 6.

(I’m not sure what to do about Chizuru?)

Even once they had separate class, they still found a way to meet up outside school and shared lunches on the roof sometimes—Ichi’s an adventurer, and Orihime thinks it’s fun. The others just don’t want them to die. Uryu took it as a challenge to beat his rival at something.

(How do we handle Jinta and Uryu? Have them he not-so-secretly-superpowered students as well.)

Shiro and Ossan/Tensa are alters like Moon Knight in this AU.

[againstboredom]

Sow this when I was reading the first chapter of Once More actually. I quite enjoy it, and will leave a review at the end. One of the most interesting set-ups I have ever seen. Reminds me a bit of trill culture and of my favorite Star Trek character, Jadzia Dax.

I’ll check the Claymore anime, hope it’s as good as the manga, thanks for the rec.

First of all, thank you for taking the time to respond. I really appreciate it.

Yes , I agree nothing wrong with being a stay at home mother. It wouldn’t be my preference, but there are worst things. What I don’t like is when people say that it should be the norm for all women.

In fiction I have a problem with it when I see girls dreaming about a carrier or five, and ending up housewives. I need to know what changed? Don’t presented just as the normal thing in every case. In a world like Naruto or Bleach, where power is not dived along gender lines I expect more equality or I expect the problem to be addressed.  The author is Japanese, but he isn’t writing about real Japan, but about a world where people have superpowers, and so many things are going to change with that.

I’m also stupefied that people that now for sure that there is an afterlife aren’t more affected by the idea, Naruto-verse I’m looking at you.

Hinata was never made to be a fighter, and I’m glad that she has the life she always wanted. Orihime, we don’t know for sure if she’s a housewife yet, but if she was she will probably be happy,  but I think that with her powers she should advertise herself as a holistic healer or something and help sick people part time. I totally agree, Orihime looks bad because she is show-cased in environments where she shouldn’t be present , Rukia is not as strong as her but she has the training and mental fortitude of a soldier. No dis to Orihime, when she is in her lane she is wonderful and a literal life-saver.

Another thing that I don’t like is that when I see a hausewife in anime, they tend to only be presented as cooking, mothering etc. I want to see them paint, write, do charity work.OR, help their kids train, or teaching them lessons that aren’t about feeling or manners . But I understand your frustration, I hate people that give women the stink eye if they want to have a traditional marriage and stay at home to raise their kids, it’s a perfectly valid choice. Unfortunately, where I’m from women are expected to both work and marry and do all the house-chores and take care of the babies.

You are right, if you’re a fighter be a good one. If you’re a healer be a good healer, if you’re a mother be a good mother.

As specific examples, I think that Rukia was shafted on screen/panel time towards the end, that’s it. A woman doesn’t need to be able to bit all the male cast to be strong. I wish her friendship with Ichigo  was still there by the end of the manga and I wish that Renji and Byakuya apologized on page for the way they treated her in the beginning. That’s it. I like ichiruki more, it’s true but ichiruki romance is not necessary  for me to enjoy Bleach, her husband apologizing for delivering her to be killed is.

Sakura, well the rant is becoming novel length already, but for me she was the female lead most wronged by her author.

I suspect that you, like me consider that the women in Bleach were done dirty. Am I right, and if I am who are the winners of the got -done- dirty competition?

How about in all shonen? Who takes the cake?

And for a Naruto edition, if you know, care and want to respond. Is it Sakura? Is someone else? Is it Kaguya? Is it all of them?

Thank you.

Allow me to prefix this by saying it got very salty towards the end.

The women were treated poorly, but I also maintain that they were written in a different era by another culture whose tastes are entirely foreign to my own. They're entirely not to my tastes. But I also recognize that other female shonen/seinen manga characters have been written extremely well. Among my favourites are the Claymore Claire and Casca from Berserk.

As a personal aside, among my favourite mangas is Claymore, which is a cast comprised about 99% of female characters who are designed to be living weapons. I highly recommend it.

I can't speak for all shonen because I haven't read all shounen but in the categories described, all characters were done dirty in Bleach.

Orihime. Her character was so thoroughly reduced between the anime and the manga. I've read the manga and her first and second act was fantastic. I wish we saw more of that Orihime. She was an absolute delight and one of my favourite parts. But after the Aizen reveal and the arc that followed, she stagnated and sharply took a turn for the worse, to the point where it was extremely clear Kubo was struggling to keep any of his non-Shinigami characters relevant. I have no issue with her become a stay-at-home mother. Motherhood is one of the most important roles in society. Hell I'd happily become one myself when I find the right man.

But to sum up my personal problem with Orihime briefly: she's a gardener in a war. We don't need gardeners in war.

Rukia was the deuteragonist and she got cast by the wayside. She is the catalyst of the manga, she gave Ichigo his powers, invested him with pride in those powers and helped him come back to himself when he was trapped in a spiral.... then she disappears. Her relevance vanishes completely. Made worse by the fact there was a perfect opportunity for a bookending in the last bout against Aizen-Wannbach, but it was abandoned completely for some bollock "Bro" moment between Renji and Ichigo? As if Renji is supposedly as important to him as Chad purportedly is or Rukia actually is?

I will preference my summary of the other female characters by stating outright this is my inner Warhammer 40k fan talking.

The crux of my complaint through the entire story, for Bleach and Naruto, is; you're all meant to be warriors. Soldiers... you are entrusted to protect on pain of death or take lives if demanded of you; will you fucking act like it?

Quirk is all well and good, but can I please have the impression at ANY point that any of you take your jobs seriously? Can we pretend that you possess a level of martial discipline and prowess please?

[mysterylover123]

Mysterylover watches Bleach Episodes 12-13

1. Aw, boo Uryu! If you’re gonna fight fight fair. Unleashing all those hollows! I was promised a RivalFight.

2. Fyeah more TatsuHime. Tatsuki is getting spirit powers now. Does this mean Ori and Tatsu are gonna get involved with the plot?

3. Is it me or does Rukia’s buddy look like a fugitive from One Piece?

4. Karin also getting some development, yay! Though it’s sad development as all her friends turn on her. She’s so sassy, I love her. 

5. Chad is back. And apparently his real name is ‘yastora’ or something like that, not Chad. Thank god, that name was just so dissonant. 

6. OMG Orihime has such a lesbian harem. I’m jealous of her, and as usual she’s just being The Best. Saving her girlfriends. OMG please let her get powers and be involved in the main plot too.

7. Go ahead and kiss her Chizuru. You know you wanna. “I like it much better when you’re laughing!” OMG Tatsuki has some competition. 

8. YAS TATSUHIME VS A ZOMBIE APOCALYPSE. Tatsuki jumps in to save her girl. YAS. Join up with Ichi and Ruki. You four will rule the world.

9. Tatsuki, for Ori, can fight against her body being taken over. Another shipping weakness of mine, S/Os fighting through hypnosis to save each other. And she BIT that thing, like Goku vs Freeza. Holy Crap Tatsuki’s the best.

10. Wow bastards picking on poor Flashback Orihime. F you all. And Tatsuki befriending her while she was lonely, her hair shows her trust, etc. I hate to keep harping on about this but O-T-FREAKING-P.  “Please  don’t cry” OMG please save her with the power of love Ori.

11. Holy Shit it actually worked. YES. ORIHIME HAS FREAKING SUPERPOWERS. I AM SO EFFING HAPPY RIGHT NOW. 

12. She talks to pixies or whatever they are. YAS. Flower Power. Whatevs. Ori has superpowers now. Go save the day (and your girlfriend), Ori. 

13. YAS she did it. Holy shit she’s amazing. Just....taking out supervillains within seconds of starting work on her powers. Fainting of course, because that’s what happens the first time you use your OP Shonen Power and it overwhelms you. And now she’s finding out about the plot. YAS. 

14. Wow ichigo, you basically did nothing. And we were promised a rival fight! Since Ichi is murmuring how mad he is at Uryu, I’m guessing he will fight him in an episode or two anyway. 

15. FUCK YOU KON. Keigo is no longer the Mineta of this show, that Title of Dishonor belongs to Kon now. 

16. Rukia and Uryu are meeting now. And he’s showing that he has something of an honor code, so I’m assuming he’s going to be the Rival With a Heart of Gold (and those smirks between him and Ichigo are certifying the shipping vibes. . Anyway these two episodes were really good. Just a genuine treat, filled with good RivalRy, Ladies kicking ass, and Orihime being awesome. Good show.

[troius]

Orihime picks up that Uryu’s feeling mildly jealous and unappreciated, and praises him to compensate for it. It is WILD the degree to which Kubo is working with his inter-character dynamics here, as it is so crazy unnecessary, but he’s doing it and wow, I’m only appreciating it now, as I push a frankly very uncool age to be on tumblr analyzing a shonen manga.

To wit:

So Ichigo went to rescue Rukia from Soul Society and Orihime came with him mostly because she has a crush on him but also because she has superpowers that she doesn’t really know what to do with and the guy mentoring her and Chad and Ichigo said that rescuing Rukia is what people with supernatural superpowers should do so Chad came too because he’s Ichigo’s best friend but he pretty quickly started crushing on Uryu who only came because he wanted to one-up Ichigo and beat up some Soul Reapers but he pretty quickly started crushing on Orihime.

Oh, and let’s not forget that Renji was involved in Rukia’s arrest but he secretly loves her and now wants to break her out of prison and run away but can’t find a way of doing it without disobeying his commander who is also Rukia’s brother. Rukia was arrested because she’s a ghost cop who gave Ichigo her ghost cop superpowers to save his life.

And that’s what you missed on Glee. (Am I dating myself?)

[bansept]

Ichihime Random Headcanons : Movies

I should work on animating a run, but oh well. Have those very random and honestly not very clever headcanons about our orange heads reacting to movies.

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Superhero movies :

Ichigo finds them boring. Most of the time, the plot is obvious, and the moment the villain is introduced, he knows how the hero is going to defeat them. Orihime, on her side, is the type to be very hype about them, since they have superpowers and that's cool.

They sit next to each other at the start, but as the story goes, Orihime changes positions, seats, even stands for certain parts, and Ichigo definitely gives up on watching the movie when his girlfriend stands in front of the screen for the 10th time. He simply sits there, scrolls on his phone, and chuckles at Orihime's reactions.

Action movies :

Ichigo likes the ones with a desperate situation, like Armageddon, Interstellar, Gladiator... Anything can happen, and he's often seen gripping the couch while his eyes stare intently at the screen. Good luck disturbing him during those epic scenes.

Orihime appreciates them, but without too much exaggeration. Too much fighting and she starts joking and talking about other things, to make the atmosphere less intense.

While Ichigo stays rigid for the whole movie, Orihime ends up with her feet on his lap and taking the vast majority of the couch, yawning.

Comedies :

Ichigo chuckles, Orihime laughs.

For once, Ichigo likes them as much as Orihime, when they are good. If they have lazy writing and too many crude jokes that are pretty much useless to the movie, then he hates them, but if the humor is on top and the story has a cute accent to it, then he is sold and will have a great time. Orihime just loves all of them, since it's rather easy to make her laugh.

Orihime sits on top of Ichigo, with his chin on her shoulder. That way, she knows he'll watch, and he knows he can tickle her anytime.

Romance :

Ichigo doesn't want to admit it's his favorite. Not because he's ashamed, but because it would lead to an unhealthy amount of movies to watch all day for the weekend, because Orihime would make them have a marathon.

Orihime cries when the couple has to be split apart for whatever reason, and Ichigo gently rubs her back, telling her it will be okay. And of course, it is okay, because when the happy ending ends, the two adults kiss, Ichigo mocking Orihime for doubting such movies. She doesn't mind much.

That feeling when a sex scene comes up and you're with your parents? They feel like that if Rukia and Renji are over, the two shinigamis wriggling their eyebrows while teasing them for choosing such a decadent movie. But when they are alone, the scene is... interesting to study, and notes are taken.

Do they sit with each other? Yes, they sit cuddled together, so much that if one pauses the movie to go grab some snacks or get a bathroom break, it takes a good 5 minutes to untangle their limbs.

Animated :

Ichigo liked only a few before he watched more with Orihime. The classics from Studio Ghibli, that Yuzu and Karin "forced" him to see with them always the reference.

Orihime did check a few Disney when she was by herself, but was always too sad at the end to say she really enjoyed them. But then she got to experience more, and dang it if they're not well made.

They watch it all from Disney and Dreamworks, but still have so many from other studios to see, it's crazy. Ichigo, of course, immediately picks up the Shakespeare reference from the Lion King, and talks more about the differences rather than the movie itself.

Orihime hugs Ichigo to her for the whole movie, stopping only to sing the songs she knows, or hum the music, and Ichigo smiles at the comfort those movies give.

Horror :

Ichigo was against. Orihime was against. Their lives were fine until Rukia the Gremlin made them watched a certain Conjuring movie.

Orihime dislikes them for the unnecessary violence, mental and physical. She can watch them and not have nightmares, but she prefers not having throwbacks from when she was a captive.

Ichigo doesn't flinch, doesn't even squint his eyes at the jumpscares. He is utterly unimpressed for the whole 1 or 2 hours, but the minute he hears something from the kitchen, he gets a knife. Don't test him on that.

They form the wall of "You shall not scare me" together, their knees ready to block unwanted images.

Rukia deeply apologizes when she notices Orihime being so uncomfortable, promising to check the movie as much as she can before suggesting it. Orihime calms her down and it's settled: no psychological horror.

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There it is! Something for you guys to munch on!

I apologize for the lack of content right now. It's almost the end of my school year, so things are a bit tight, but I'm still writing!

It's still far ahead, but I will be participating in the upcoming Ichihime Week, while still updating the stories I have.

I plan to do : BG AU, Steeling You and then Protector before writing some more stuff, maybe, for the special week.

Until then, bisous!

[dearcat1]

Superheroes Bleach Au; Who would get what power in your magnificent opinion?

Uhm.. I'm going to assume you meant the Karakura Gang plus Kisuke? 

Ichigo's power can't be named. He's the main protagonist, OP doesn't begin to cover it. Talk no jutsu comes with the role and therapy no jutsu coats his fist. Buddy will either make an ally out of you or you'll be atomized. ?

Orihime's powers are regeneration and barriers, or so most think. Lady is a goddess in disguise, her real power is over reality. She can and will overrule it if she desires. She's just too nice to do it frequently. 

Chad? Superstrength. Not very glamorous, I know.  But we love him anyway because buddy, you will find more loyalty in this lovable man's little finger than in any regular human being. Strength gets an upgrade when in proximity with Ichigo. 

Uryu? Yes, he's good with archery. All those pretty lights, you know. But his superpower is actually sewing. Do you think it's lame? Have you heard that legend about Loki? Also, try to fight with your clothing malfunctioning on you, I dare you. 

Tatsuki. One word: badassery. Enough said. 

Mizuiro has some sort of technopathy. Do you think he's on the phone all the time for fun? No. That's the gadget he uses to concentrate and access all other technology in Karakura. Did you think you were safe doing your pathetic dancing routine in your living room? 

Newsflash; you're not. He's got it, on HD. Bow to his blackmailing abilities.  

Kisuke is too sexy for your lame superpowers. And he'd like to remind everybody that he's a genius. If he wants to access some superpower in particular, he creates something that allows him to. Now, get out of his lab. He has cute students to train and Aizen's dreams to crush.

[ichigo-and-orihime]

Ichihime: Shoujo Manga

These are some manga I have read that somewhat reminded me of Ichigo and Orihime as a couple. I’m perfectly aware how unique each relationship is, and they cannot compare to each other. But these are just my recommendations or ideas.

Please add any that remind you of ichihime, if you would like to :D

↳

CHOEGANG GEUNYEO

Sae-mi is a cute girl with a small body, but she also hides a very big secret. She’s the strongest girl on Earth!! Can she keep her identity a secret and confess to her crush, Yeong-min! 

Imagine, Orihime being the one with ultra superpowers that she has trouble controlling, especially in front of her crush Kurosaki Ichigo. In a romantic comedy where she is bashful and aiming to be by the side of her oblivious friend. 

Fruits Basket

Tohru Honda has been living in a tent since her mother dies in a car accident, but ends up living instead with Yuki Sohma, her school’s “prince”, along with his relatives Shigure and Kyo. But Tohru soon discovers that the Sohma clan has a secret of it’s own: certain members of the family are possessed by the animals of the Zodiac, so whenever they are hugged by a member of the opposite sex they turn into that animal! Tohru promises to keep their secret and vows to somehow break the curse, and she may just end up healing the Sohma clan members in other ways as well…

Sorry I can’t unsee Orihime’s positive smile and attitude even after everything she faces, and falling in love with the odd-haired delinquent that has a sad and tragic past. Especially that scene where Kyo turns into the monster he struggled to conceal, reminds me of a certain scene from Bleach. 

INOCHI MIJIKASHI, KOI SEYO FURYOU SHOUNEN!

If you don’t date her, you’ll die! That was the prediction made to that delinquent boy. But…what will be his destiny? 

A misunderstood delinquent with wild hair and a beautiful and happy girl? Both falling in love?? Sorry, couldn’t help but think of Ichigo and Orihime in a odd AU.

KISS MADE NO KYORI (YOSHINAGA YUU)

Kaji, Yuzuha’s unrequited love, is a good friend of her twin brother Suguru. He’s the same age but goes to a different school and since elementary school, he’s been going in and out of Yuzuha’s home. She’s been in love with him all this time, but can’t make a serious face when around Kaji. Now they both change to the same high school and there’s the chance to decrease the distance between Kaji and her…?! 

In an alternative universe where Orihime has a family and twin brother, she realizes that she might have feelings for her brother’s best friend. In a heap of misunderstandings, they reminded me of a younger them. Especially Kaji, he reminds me so much my cool Ichigo.

Anitomo

Nanase, is a polite, a little old-fashioned girl,who just got a boyfriend for the very first time. He is a pure and kind guy, and is a good friend of her brother. However, both of them have no idea what they should do next… For Nanase, holding hand would be too embarrassing, and ‘dating’ is something …

If Ichigo was a blushing cute guy I would say this fits him, but it doesn't at all. So why am I recommending this? Simple, because Nanase reminds me of Orihime, and when they are both together I can’t stop to think that their interactions remind me of ichihime. 

Boku ni Hna no Melancholy Kiss

When Hana was a child visiting her mother’s grave, she got to know a young boy named Yuzuru. He was Hana’s first love. When she heard that he ended up moving away, she thought that it wouldn’t be possible to see him anymore, but…? 

This is just my chance to share this manga I love, when I read this I thought of an AU where Ichigo and Orihime knew each other as children, and how they were separated. It was a nice idea in my head, a lot of angst and chasing after the one you love sorta of feeling. 

[ulkoilla]

Related to the point of Ichihgo being the protagonist, I’d like to add a theme: equal skills/power (RenRuki) vs. unequal skills/power (IchiRuki)

Ichigo’s role as a protagonist makes him gain what is essentially superpowers and he does so extremely fast. Assuming he won’t lose the powers, the odds are he’ll always be stronger than Rukia, while Renji and Rukia are more or less equals. Rukia is slightly behind in training, but they play by the same rule book and are relatively close in skill. Ichigo sets the rule book on fire and throws it out of window, where it lands on a truck full of match boxes, and when THAT fire dies down, now one can even tell there was any book.

Relationship (hopefully) isn’t about who kicks whose butt in bankai, but I think this dynamic reflects. Ichigo’s and Rukia’s relationship was from the start focused on protecting and saving, and because of Ichi’s protagonist role, he tends to be the one doing the saving. With Rukia and Renji, this too seem more equal for me. Renji plays his part in saving Rukia during Soul Society arc, but when they first met, it was Rukia who single-handedly did the saving.

(On a side note: it’s also interesting that the first time we see interaction between Rukia and Ichigo and Rukia and Renji, the knight in a shining armor actually causes the need to save Rukia. If Ichigo didn’t mess Rukia’s her up, she probably wouldn’t have been hurt in the first place. Renji might not have had much say on whether Rukia gets dragged back or not, but he was there, doing the dragging. So, congrats, guys.)

Ff is great because the power cap can be a factor or it can be taken out. I’ve seen interesting IchiRuki takes on both. My personal preference usually is in more equal skill, but I read different takes. I especially like AUs, where it’s easier to wrangle Ichigo skilled but humanly so, and Rukia can be the weaker fighter because please tell me why young rich person would have skills of a bodyguard? That’s what the young handsome bodyguard is there for! The second theme it’d love to add could as well go for Rukia Orihime friendship post but now it goes here: improving or repairing what was (RenRuki) vs. creating yourself anew (IchiRuki). This is maybe more of a variation of many points in op but I think it is interesting enough to stand on its own.

When we first saw Rukia, she was serious, in her shinigami uniform, maybe a bit melancholic and so forth. She almost dies. Soon after we see her smiling, in cute skimpy dress, waving at (if memory serves) Ichigo. She seems happy.

This could be a persona, but the longer Rukia stays in Karakura, less she seems to want to go back to her old life and her old self in Soul Society. Obviously there may be other reasons than her being in love with Ichigo - she has friends, a “normal”, pleasant life, and back home waits disciplinary action and loneliness etc, but she appears a different person from what we saw when we first met her. She seems a happier person than she was when we first met her, almost like being a high school kid in Karakura was a chance for her to became the person she wants to be. This is a new Rukia, a different Rukia.

In comparison, RenRuki depends on a different second change. No uprooted life. No new identity. Just the same old, same old, only you try to fix it best you can. In this scenario, she takes what she learned in Karakura and applies in in her old life. She’s the old Rukia: Rukongai trash, shinigami and a Kuchiki. Only she is an improved version because of what she learned.

What comparisons can be made between renruki and Ichiruki? I often wondered about this.

This is such a hot button issue that as soon as I received this (perfectly polite) ask, my body tensed up and my brain went Am I being trolled?

It’s honestly a shame that there is so much bad blood behind this, because it is, in fact, a very interesting thing to talk about, and I am going to attempt to do so in good faith, because I love thinking about this kind of thing. Even though I am very openly a Renruki shipper, I love all three of these characters very much, and I think that Ichigo and Rukia’s relationship is very important! I am doing my best to be neutral, although I have not read very much Ichiruki fanfic/meta, so please give me a benefit of a doubt. Obviously, I can’t stop anyone from reblogging this and putting their own comments on it, but I have no interest in getting in debates over it, so don’t be surprised if I don’t engage.

This is both long, and I am sure some people don’t care, so I’m gonna put the rest under a cut. I have tried to hard to write this in a way that will not make anyone mad, but if you think it will make you mad, please give yourself the gift of not clicking on it.

So, what is the same between Ichigo and Renji? Lots, actually. Physically, they are both tall, strong, and have ridiculously colored spiky hair. They are outwardly grumpy, but secretly have soft, gooey centers. Neither one of them is dumb, but they are both dumbasses. They are protectors: they would rather take any amount of pain or damage onto themselves than see a loved one hurt. Their friends are everything to them, and that goes triple for Rukia.

How are they different, then? There are three major bullets:

- Ichigo is alive. Renji is dead. Perhaps this is a little flip, but Renji belongs to same world that Rukia does, and Ichigo does not. This is not a value judgment, it is just a fact: If Rukia ends up with Renji, she stays where she is. If she ends up with Ichigo, either Rukia or Ichigo have to make a huge change. I will get back to this.

- Youth vs. Experience. Ichigo is a 15-year old boy, as we are told about 1000 times. There is some mystery over how old Rukia and Renji are, but they have graduated from secondary education and are currently employed. I think it’s safe to assume that they are roughly close in age to each other, but I think Rukia may perceive Renji as seeming older than herself-- he graduated from school, and she didn’t; he’s on his third squad transfer, whereas she’s hasn’t budged from her initial, entry-level job, and he’s now middle management. However, the arc of the story we don’t get to see, is that over the timeskips, Rukia not only catches up to, but surpasses him. Also, not for nothing, but I think that in the same way Rukia is immediately drawn to Ichigo because of his resemblance to Kaien, I think she is also drawn to him for his resemblance to Young Renji-- a grumpy, prickly young man, leaking self-doubt from every pore, whom she is more able to be generous towards through the lens of age and experience. (And I think this comparison could support either ship)

- Ichigo is the protagonist. Rules don’t apply to him. Fate breaks on his sword. He represents the triumph of love or hard work or dreams or what have you over the cruel millstone of the world. Renji, on the other hand, is firmly bound to the rules of the world in which he inhabits. In fact, that is arguably the entire purpose of his character. Renji’s fights are often used to set the stakes of the conflict-- ah, Renji got mangled, this guy must be tough. In the Soul Society Arc, he is an antagonist because he is doing what he is supposed to. In the TYBW, Kubo literally throws the two of them in a pit to fight some asauchi just to make the point that Renji is a shinigami and Ichigo is something else.

Let’s jump over to Rukia for a moment. Rukia is a great character, one of my favorite characters in any media. Rukia contains multitudes. She is tough and strong, but often melancholy. She can be beautiful and elegant, but she also lies and breaks rules and tried to put Kon in a dead cat once. Emotionally, she likes to present a cool front, but she has a big, loving heart, and she feels deeply. As a character, all of this makes her very easy to project onto, which is why I think so many people OTP her with someone, no matter who.Some people choose to try to make her into one of these things or another, and some people try to keep her as the full bundle of contradictions that she is.

There is no romantic content in canon Bleach. There is no romantic content in canon Bleach. There are many, many scenes that can be interpreted romantically, but no one goes on a date, no one kisses. Ichigo gazes longingly into the eyes of all his friends, it’s just a thing he does. Orihime does explicitly proclaim at one point that she loves Rukia, although I suspect that in the original Japanese, it’s the word for “friendship love” and not the very-rarely-used “romantic love.” I have seen a scene-for-scene comparison of IchiHime “romantic moments” only it’s Chad and Uryuu (which I choose to believe supports IshiChad, rather than negates IchiHime, but we may all choose for ourselves!) My point is that shipping in Bleach is a DIY craft, which, when we’re all having a good time, is what makes it so fun.

So, bringing all of this together, given that Ichigo and Renji are fairly similar characters, why are the ships so different, and what makes one appeal to some people and be abhorrent to someone else?

I think about romance stories a lot. I actually took a class on romance novels in college and I just really like to think about the mechanics of stories. In the truest sense of the word, “romance” is about extremes-- about sailing the high seas and wearing ostentatious shirts and shouting off a cliff in a rainstorm. When we talk about romance as a genre, the characters tend to behave in a way that we would not prefer our actual romantic partners do, but the over-the-top nature of it makes us swoon and our hearts drop -- except when it doesn’t. What is heart-breakingly romantic to some people can be a huge turn-off to others. The biggest fight my husband and I have ever had was over a kdrama. The male lead was hiding his identity from the female lead in order to help her, and I found it all to be deeply, deeply romantic, and my husband turned to me and said “He is being dishonest with her and I think it’s morally wrong” and I almost died.

So, let’s break down some of the themes of the two ships, which I think gets at the meat of what you were asking. Now, like I said, shipping is very participatory, and anyone may have their own ideas of how these relationships would be, and I am a big fan of “a great writer can get away with anything”, but in broad strokes, I think that these are the themes of the two ships:

IchiRuki:

Love conquers all/ Love is enough to overcome differences of class, age, lifestyle, geography, etc.

Instant connections/Love at first sight

Love is a force of the universe that cannot be denied or defeated

Young love

Grand gestures

Your partner changes you (in a positive way)/You effect change in your partner

Your partner is the center of your world

Your partner is the one person who can get through to you/You are the one person who can get through to your partner

Banter

Dumbassery

RenRuki:

Love takes work

Best friends to lovers

Second chances/Broken things can be repaired

Love is a choice

You improve with age

Shared experiences build love

Pining

Working together with your partner to create a mutually satisfying life together

Your partner enriches your world, but your independence is maintained

Banter

Dumbassery

There is also some degree of character interpretation at work, too-- there seems to be a huge degree of disagreement between fans as to whether:

a) Ichigo enjoys his normal, human life, and even though he do anything to protect what he loves, he would prefer to live a human existence with his human friends and family. He credits Rukia will helping him realize his strength and powers.

b) Ichigo is unsatisfied with his human life and that meeting Rukia opened the doorway to a life of excitement and adventure, on top of being given the strength to protect his loved ones.

As far as Ichigo pairings go, I think that most IchiHime people fall in category (a) and most IchiRuki (and GrimmIchi) shippers fall in (b). In both cases, peoples’ ships align with their view of what makes Ichigo happy. Most IchiRuki content I have seen  seems to feature Ichigo moving to Soul Society, rather than Rukia moving to Karakura. Rukia pretty explicitly indicates at the end of the Soul Society Arc that she wants to stay in Soul Society, plus she’s got a pretty established life there. Contrast that to the story of Isshin and Masaki-- Isshin seems pretty flippant and disaffected about his life in Soul Society; it doesn’t seem like it was a particularly hard choice for him to give up being a shinigami. Also, it’s pretty clear that what Isshin did was illegal, and I’m not sure there would be an easy way for Rukia to just say “WELP, I’m off to live as a human, smell you jerks later.”

To try to wrap things up, I think the actual dynamics of an IchiRuki or RenRuki relationship would be very similar, actually. They would banter a lot and dive headfirst into danger and support each other no matter what. Byakuya would treat either guy with the vaguest, most grudging amount of respect. The primary perpetual, unresolved argument between Rukia and Ichigo would be “The Living World is dumb/Soul Society is dumb”, whereas with Rukia and Renji, it would be “Squad 6 is dumb/Squad 13 is dumb wait no I didn’t mean that Captain Ukitake is an angel.”

Personally, I headcanon Renji as being more able than Ichigo to step back and be the support person in the relationship (see that bullet about Ichigo being the protag), so I think that RenRuki could manage to run a functional household, whereas Ichigo and Rukia would just go on adventures until they got arrested for tax evasion.

*For the record, I am very pro-IchiRenRuki, except that they would be even worse at running a household. It’s just Renji trying to explain how a chore wheel works while Rukia and Ichigo walk out the door on him.

[ryuuppai]

[i7] Kujo Tenn Birthday Photobook Part 3: Tenn and his Junior Idols

Part 1 / Part 2 / Part 3 / Part 4 / Part 5

Riku: Tenn-nii happy birthday~!

Riku: I got it wrong! Kujo-san, happy birthday~!

Tamaki: Tenten, happy bday–––!!

Yamato: Kujo, congrats!

Tenn: Thank you. It's still early.

Nagi: HAPPY BIRTHDAY!

Iori: Kujo-san, happy birthday.

Sogo: Kujo-san, happy birthday. We are always indebted to TRIGGER. Please keep being the people to whom we look up. 

Mitsuki: Congrats! Cheers!

Tenn: I said that it's still early. You guys are pretty excited, aren't you. 

Yamato: It's because we have Riku over here. He's in birthday countdown mode everyday. 

Tsumugi: For the discussions to be used in this photobook series, Riku-san and Kujo-san's birthdays are coincidentally on the same day, so everyone, please have me in your care!

Mitsuki: It's fine! We understand! Kujo, I've seen the Tenn Photobook! As expected, you were pretty cool–!

Tenn: Thank you. 

Riku: Everyone, which photograph of Kujo-san did you like best!?

Iori: Nanase-san, aren't you too excited to lead the conversation......

Sogo: I liked Kujo-san's Last Dimension costume. Rather than looking royalty-like as usual, it had a little devil feel and an edge to it. Perhaps the musical has influenced my point of view, though. 

Tenn: So you've watched it. Thanks.

Sogo: Of course!

Nagi: I liked Kujo-shi's kimono. You magnificently transformed into a virtuous Japanese lady just like a kabuki actor (1). 

Tenn: Thank you. Please try asking Izumi Iori or Osaka Sogo what is the true meaning of kabuki actors' transformations. 

Nagi: Does it not mean "Your cosplay is wonderful"?

Tenn: Nikaido Yamato, please do not teach him lies. 

Yamato: How did you know it was me?

Tenn: There's no one else who would.

Riku: Yamato-san, which one of Tenn

Riku: Yamato-san, which one of Kujo-san's photographs did you like best!? You can answer by including the cover picture too!

Yamato: Onii-san likes his casual clothing. It's nice that there's space alongside his clavicles. 

Riku: Why is that nice? It's a good thing that Kujo-san has space there? 

Yamato: It's hard to explain to a pure kid......

Tenn: I will make sure to remember it. Thank you.

Mitsuki: I guess I like the Christmas one–! The fact that the role was somewhere between a cute role and a Santa's role, it left a lasting impression on me! A warm and fluffy Kujo was fresh!

Tenn: Izumi Mitsuki was also cute in that drama. Thank you.

Riku: What else!? The cover picture is also part of your choices!

Tamaki: I like that one

Tamaki: The one where he matches with Rikkun and Iorin

Iori: That's the FureFure! Youth Anthem one, isn't it.

Tamaki: That

Tamaki: It was cute seeing him together with Rikkun and Iorin

Tamaki: That time, I looked more grown-up, and Tenten looked more child-like

Tamaki: Rikkun and Iorin too

Iori: What do you mean?

Riku: I'm older than you, Tamaki!

Tenn: The visuals and the song of the Love&Game group were adult-like, after all. What did you think of my child-like self?

Tamaki: You were cute like a toy soldier. The three of you looked like you came out of a box of toy soldiers.

Riku: I was happy to wear matching outfits too! The last person is Iori, right! Which photograph did you like best? You can pick the cover picture too! 

Iori: You want us to pick the cover picture, don't you? Not only does your lead in seem forced, you are pretty persistent. 

Riku: I didn't say that! You can pick whatever you like! Just pick the one that you like?

Mitsuki: Ah– Riku is sulking

Yamato: Should Onii-san change his answer to the cover picture

Sogo: I am also changing my answer to the cover picture.

Nagi: Me too :)

Tenn: You guys, please have more faith in the me that you like. 

Iori: I like the Kujo-san on the cover. He's making a gentle, soft expression. The same goes for his gaze directed at the fans.

Iori: I wonder who in the world produced such a magnificent picture. 

Riku: Ta-dah–! It was me–!

Tamaki: We know.

Mitsuki: We know.

Iori: We know.

Riku: 

Tenn: Thank you. I'm happy to have been able to receive so many wonderful comments.

Yamato: There you go again–. You immediately made a business-like comment.

Tenn: No, I mean it. I'm happy that I could leave different kinds of impression on each one of you. Of course, it's also thanks to the costumer and the cameraman, though.  

Tenn: I respect you guys, so I'm proud of the fact that I can have a place in your hearts. Even though it's a bit embarassing.

Sogo: It's an honour for us, as well. Kujo-san.

Tamaki: Yeah–. Keep doing your best from now on.

Sogo: It's "I will look forward to your future activities," Tamaki-kun!

Tenn: It's fine. Thanks. I'll be doing my best.

Tenn: Nanase-san too, thank you for taking such a great picture. 

Riku: My pleasure!

Riku: 

Tsumugi: Well then, I will be asking Kujo-san questions from IDOLISH7! There were a lot, so it was hard to narrow them down!

Tenn: I'm looking forward to it. I'll be in your care.

[Tsumugi: What kind of superpower would you like to have?]

Tenn: A superpower? I guess the ability to clone myself. I do think that it'd be nice if there were two or three of myself, sometimes.

[Tsumugi: What are you wishing for, for Tanabata (2)?]

Tenn: I wished for my work to bring happiness to our fans, to our members, and to the people involved with it.  

[Tsumugi: What is your fanservice specialty?]

Tenn: A wink, and then BANG!

Tsumugi: Thank you! It was fun, but before we realized it, it's already ending. .

Riku: Huh!? It's already the end!

Tamaki: Even though I want to keep talking to Tenten

Tenn: Sorry. I have another job after this. I'm happy that I could talk with you all.

Tenn: In the same way that you said that you're looking up to us, we're also looking up to you. We will keep being in your care, from now on.

Mitsuki: The same goes for us!

Sogo: Happy birthday, Kujo-san.

Iori: Although you must be busy, please take care of yourself, and don't push yourself too hard. 

Nagi: Kujo-shi too, spend an amazing birthday with everyone from TRIGGER. 

Yamato: Good work! We'll be sending you messages on the actual day too!

Tenn: Thank you. Please have fun on Nanase-san's birthday with everyone in IDOLISH7, as well.

T/N

(1) The term that Nagi uses here is 大和撫子七変化 (yamato-nadeshiko shichihenge). I’m going to explain the meaning by breaking it down. Yamato-nadeshiko refers to a “ woman who displays the feminine virtues of old Japan.“ On the other hand, sichihenge refers to a type of kabuki, during which the actors quickly change outfits to seven times. If you take the term literally, it says “seven transformations.” If you have trouble imagining what it’s like, you can think of those modern magic tricks where the performers quickly change outfits on stage. But shichihenge, on top of the costume change, can also refer to the characters being multifaceted. For example, there’s a period drama called “Kotohime Hichihenge,” in which the character on top of being a princess, was skilled at swordfighting. The fact that Nagi thought that it meant that his cosplay was good is due to an oversimplified explanation of the term lol

(2) Tanabata is a Japanese Star Festival that takes place on July 7. The two deities and lovers Orihime and Hikoboshi are separated by the Milky Way, but can meet on that day, so people write their wishes on strips of paper (tanzaku), to wish to the stars. You can learn more about it here.

[evilkitten3]

I can’t believe I just saved the Bleach fanbase

Y'know what? I'm sick of the Bleach discourse. I'm ending it right now.

You ship IchiHime? Awesome. RenRuki? Great. IchiRuki? Neat. RenIchi? Beautiful. RukiHime? Marvelous. RenHime? Golden.

It's all canon now. That's right – the true ending is RenIchiRukiHime.

Ichigo and Rukia and Renji and Orihime are all married to each other, in a happy and healthy polyamorous relationship. Kazui is Ichigo and Orihime's kid, Ichika is Renji and Rukia's kid; the other two decide against having biological children because that would become extremely complicated due to laws in both worlds, but it doesn't matter because all four of them are parents to any kids they have.

Kazui got Ichigo's last name, Ichika got Renji, and they all agreed that Rukia's next kid would have Orihime's last name because Kuchiki is a fancy-shmancy super important name and can't be given to any random person (Rukia isn't a Kuchiki by blood, and thus cannot pass on the name). To make up for it, Orihime agrees to give her next kid the Kuchiki name, as she's not bound by Soul Society's laws and therefore they can't do shit to stop her (Byakuya approves of this, but not aloud).

Ichika and her sibling are both Shinigami, Kazui gets a mix of Quincy and Shinigami powers, and Kazui's sibling gets a mix of Hollow powers and whatever the hell kind of magic Orihime has.

Orihime runs a bakery called "The Four Corners Bakery", known for letting just about anyone in so long as they promise not to kill people. She gives jobs to anyone temporarily staying in the living world (e.g., Shinigami on the job, Arrancars with nothing better to do, the occasional jobless Quincy, etc.). Riruka buys donuts from her on a daily basis (and is effectively a full-time employee but won't admit it), and Urahara builds one of his crazy underground fight zones for people who need to work off some stress. Orihime also sells "feel-better treats", which are custom-made baked goods that look like whoever the maker doesn't like. Ironically, Loly buys them only from Orihime directly, because no one else is willing to make them for her.

Renji eventually becomes captain of the insert-number-of-your-choice-here division, Ichigo and Uryuu (who is dating Chad) bicker a lot, and Tatsuki gets some cool superpower because lord knows she deserves one.

There, I solved all your problems. Y'all can chill now.

[recentanimenews]

I Just Watched the Live Action Trailer and Now I'm Nostalgic for Bleach

Near the end of the month, Shinsuke Sato's live action film adaptation of Bleach will have finally come out after being announced two years ago. Trailers have been dropping, and at this point we know most of the characters that will be featured as well as the presumed villain. I have to admit, I'm not usually the type to get worked up for these live action anime movies; there are so many new things out there to see – why would I be concerned about a retelling of a story I've already seen?

  Bleach, though? Bleach is different. For me, Bleach is the beginning of what has become a lifelong love for anime, and seeing these trailers brought back those memories after a long time.

    The year is 2004 or 2005, and I recently got a subscription to Shonen Jump – but mostly for the Yu-Gi-Oh! cards. I've been into stuff like Pokemon and Dragon Ball Z, but wasn't really into anime as a whole – that is, until I come across an ad for a new comic called Bleach. The ad sells it as a horror action manga, and I think the monsters look cool, so I pick up the first couple volumes from a bookstore and am hooked instantly. I wasn't wrong about the monsters; the Hollows are huge and scary, featuring distinctive designs and a truly otherworldly feeling about them.

    That stylistic sensibility shines through the whole manga, in fact. Tite Kubo has an unmatched knack for urban fashion that not only looks great but also expresses his characters without words. He names his chapters with a focus on feeling over function, with titles like “A Fighting Boy 2 (The Cigarette Blues Mix)” and “Can't Smile Don't Blame.” Each volume even begins with a poem meant to reflect the inner conflict of the character on its cover in utterly abstract ways.

  Kubo's paneling is more akin to a movie's storyboard than a typical Jump action comic, following actions and eye movements to the point that entire chapters can go by without much if any dialogue or obvious plot momentum whatsoever (much to the dismay of some weekly readers). In its best moments, Bleach can feel less like a story and more like an aesthetic emotional exercise. In other words, function follows form in every case, for better or for worse, a storytelling philosophy that still informs my tastes to this day.

    However, what really sold Bleach to a middle school-aged me wasn't all that fancy stuff I couldn't have possibly put into words yet. No, it was the main character, Ichigo Kurosaki himself.

  I'd been reading the various series serialized in the magazine on-and-off and was sort of into superhero stories too, but found myself never really liking the protagonists of these kinds of save-the-world stories. When Ichigo came along, though, he finally spoke to me, finally felt like a “real” person in a “heroic” position. You see, unlike many of his peers, Ichigo doesn't have an inclination to protect everyone and everything.

  This actually forms the basic conflict at the beginning of the story; Ichigo has been granted superpowers from the ex-Soul Reaper Rukia, but unlike Rukia, who has been raised and trained to go out and exterminate Hollows for the sake of everyone, Ichigo's priority is what is in front of him. He won't go out of his way to save a stranger across the world, but if there is a crisis right in front of him and he feels like he has the power to prevent it, that's where he feels his responsibility lies. Of course, as the story goes on, the scale of what counts as “in front of him” expands as his ability and understanding of the world expand, but he never really loses that core essence of his character – it simply evolves as he does.

    That brings me back to this new movie and its surprising but welcome villain: the murderous Grand Fisher. In the original story, Ichigo's regret and initial reluctance to be a hero comes from his guilt over the death of his mother. When he was a kid, he saw a girl falling into a river and ran off to save her, but his mom ended up dying protecting him in the process. Later we learn that the girl was a ruse – Grand Fisher's ability is to set traps like that to lure people in so he can eat them, and his mother was one of his victims.

  The arc where Ichigo finally confronts Grand Fisher is one of the most emotionally charged and satisfying sections of Bleach, so I'm glad the live action movie decided to place its focus there instead of leaping right into the more iconic settings and imagery of the Soul Society and other larger universe aspects of Bleach. Plus, Grand Fisher's lure ability can easily be adapted to be truly frightening, as he creates reproductions of people, at one point even taunting Ichigo with the image and voice of his own deceased mother. Played right, this could be a solid stand-alone story without any of the lore baggage of the later story elements, but possibly setting those up to go off of in sequels if the movie is successful enough.

    Of course, the trailers also feature fan-favorite characters Renji and Byakuya, meaning the story is definitely on its own separate trajectory, as they don't show up until well after the Grand Fisher events in the anime and manga. Luckily, we can also see side characters like Chad, Uryu, and Orihime, so here's hoping the film manages to tell a good story while including a surprising number of the extended cast!

  Are you looking forward to the new Bleach movie? I'd love to know what you're expecting – and hoping – to see from this new adaptation, so be sure to sound off in the comments below!

  ---

If you want to talk about sports anime, David is your guy. You can get him excited about weekly anime on Twitter @navycherub or hear him gush about galactic heroes on his podcast @Tsunday_Best.

By: news+feed@crunchyroll.com

[mysterylover123]

Mysterylover Watches Bleach episode 355 “Hime Gets Donuts and a Tsundere”

1. We join Urahara and Ichidad as they talk about Ichigo’s future. Decide the fate of our hero, dudes. 

2. RUKIA!!!! OMG RUKIA’S BACK GUYS I DID NOT EXPECT THIS RUKIA!!!! OUR LEADING LADY SHINIGAMI HAS RETURNED

3. Back in Video Game Land Ichi’s sword gets broken and itl ooks like the bad guy’s gonna win. I’m sure that he will indeed die here and the other 400 or whatever chapters are about Ruki and Hime dueling monsters in revenge.

4. ORIHIME IS HERE!! Another leading lady arriving to help s ave the day. The villain calls her hte “healing item”, which I guess is true, though given the extent of her powers I feel like Hime can be so, so much more than that. 

5. Hime goes to heal Ichi and Chad shows up and apparently he set this up. Dude that’s the smart move should’ve done that from the beginning. But apparently he ‘didn’t want to get her involved’. Eye roll. 

6. Oh and Chad got hurt by the villain dude too. Damn he really has it out for Ichigo’s friends. I think. LOL I don’t know I’m not sure what his plan is.

7. Villain dude: What’s taking so long? Hime: DON’T RUSH MY PROCESS. Roughly paraphrased.

8. FYEAH HIME JUST OWNED THIS AHOLEWITH A NEW ATTACK SHIELD THING. OUR GIRL IS FINALLY TAKING ON ANOTHER VILLAIN!!

9. Hime’s been training her ass off it seems just in case more shinigami trouble came their way. That’s our girl. LOL Ichi did you really think you were the only one with superpowers?

10. Of  course being Hime she heals the villain too. And we get a cute IchiHIme moment where he’s grateful for her help and she smiles.

11. WE get some fun banter between Orihime and Pigtails over the intercom. I’m relieved there hasn’t been too much fighting over Ichi between these two. 

12. GIVE ORIHIME A CHAIR DAMMIT. Oh and she finally gets to eat all the donuts she wants BTW. 

13. Hime and PIgtails are eating donuts and bonding over Orihime’s backstory as she talks about how her parents were apparently abusive shits and her brother - who I still remember, BTW, more than half the random guards from last arc - saved her from them.

14. I AM SO HAPPY RIGHT NOW. And Pigtails is asking her how she’s so smiley. We’re getting honest character development here.

15. Pigtails - whose name is Riruka - is having such a moment with Hime right now. Hime is calling her a nice person and she’s blushing and baka-ing at her. Well we can now check Redhead Tsundere off of the Orihime Harem checklist. 

16. DAMN THE OTHER DUDE CUT ICHI’S FREAKING EYES OMG. THAT’S GOTTA HURT.

17. The dudes are like no hime don’t heal him let him fight without eyesight he’ll be fine manliness and all. 

18. OK THESE ASSHOLES LOCKED HIME IN A CAGE TO STOP HER FROM HEALING ICHI THEY ARE OFFICIALLY ON MY SHIT LIST.

19. We end with Ichigo having a powersplosion, a sword in the gut, and apparently reaching fullbring. Boom just like that.

20. LOL I know I said I was gonna speed things up and here I took anohter full episode. I can’t help it guys there’s so much weirdness to comment on. 

[mysterylover123]

Mysterylover watches Bleach episodes 243-244 "Goofball Hime Returns!"

1. NEW OP! The highlights of this one include a look at our stylishly dressed and sexy new cast of villains, and a hero lineup that includes a badass Orihime wielding some kind of weapon. Sadly, none of the Soul Reaper characters. I'm sure they'll return eventually, but I guess this is the Humans Only arc.

2. OOH, Ichi reveals there's been a time skip and he's now a senior! And Hime and Chad revealed to everyone that Ichi's a superhero, so no more secret identity crap. Except he doesn't have a secret id anymore. OK...

3. OOH and Ichi's sisters are getting powers now! Cool, are they gonna fight this arc? AND IS THAT TATSUKI WHAT'S UP WITH YOUR HAIR GIRL?!

4. Ooh and Uryuu's back in focus since he's the only one with powers left. And Ichi's missing Rukia, who - DAMMIT - hasn't showed up to visit her other human friends. Seriously Ruki?

5. OOH and we're dealing with high school stuff. And Ichigo gets good grades? I didn't know that. So he's not the classic, bottom of the class Shonen hero IQ? COOL.

6. "I'm enjoying my quiet retirement" Ichi basically says. Oh damn dude you know that's an invite to IMMEDIATELY have it ripped apart. In film speak that's like saying "DESTROY ME PLOT"

7. And Ichi's still a tough badass, even without superpowers, so he beats up a purse snatcher like the superhero he is. THAT'S OUR ICHI.

8. Though apparently the guy whose purse he saved is evil or something. DAMMIT PLOT HE HAD 3 DAYS LEFT TILL RETIREMENT

9. Tatsuki has a part time job at the dojo! And OOH YES THERE'S MY GIRL FINALLY!! ORIHIME, who struts down the hall like a goddess who everone she passes immediately falls for. And she's got longer hair and she comes in by rolling down a pole!! Tatsuki reprimands her.

10. OMG TATSUHIME IS BACK AND BETTER THAN EVER. And Ichigo is officially attempting to join their OT3. I legit enjoy all 3 corners of this trio now.

11. ORIHIME IS GETTING TO BE WHACKY AND ECCENTRIC AGAIN. I've missed eccentric Orihime, she's been through so much crap recently we haven't gotten to see her goofing around. And Ichi highlights that her "eyes now look like #3". LOL THIS IS HILARIOUS I LOVE IT.

12. "boss" So Ichigo has a job? And he immediately gets fired. Or quits. And then a gigantic thug team shows up to...threaten him? URYUU SHOWS UP TO THREATEN THEM LIKE A BAMF.

13. And it appears our new villains' boss is a sexy maid. NOICE. And Ichi and Uryuu are bickering about how to handle the thugs in 244. (just kiss already). OOH URYUU IS CLASS REP? I DIDN'T KNOW THAT.

14. This really is my week for shipping Shonen heroes with their glasses clad, class rep BFFs.

15. And they get beaten up by a BAMF SEXY LADY WHO IS ICHIGO'S NEW BOSS OMG I'M IN LOVE AT FIRST SIGHT WHO ARE YOU SEXY BOSS LADY?! YOU REMIND ME OF IZUMI CURTIS.

16. So we meet Ichigo's boss and determine what his job is. It is very strange. His boss apparently has kids and she is able to flop from sexy badass to loving mom in an instant. I LOVE HER.

17. HER NAME IS IKUMI? Screw I'm just calling her Izumi. THIS IS WHAT COMES OF BINGING FULLMETAL ALCHEMIST AGAIN. Everyone is FMA.

18. YAY BACK TO ORIHIME. "Hey did someone kidnap Ichigo? Do I have to go rescue him?" "Nope just his boss" "Yeah that sounds like Ichigo. Always surrounded by weirdos like you and me."

19. Hime apparently has a 6th Ichigo sense. And Hime has a part time job?! OMG LETS SEE HOW SEXY AND WEIRD HER BOSS IS. Anyway Uryu''s got a stalker apparently.

20. Anyway Ichigo's getting hired to track down his own dad apparently? And Karin is training with Urahara. And she's resolved to protecc her big brother. NOICE. This arc needs to end with all the lady BAMFS lining up to kick some ass.

21. Some shit's gonna go down that'll threaten Ichi's family and our new mullet-haired villain or whatever he is warns him.

22. Orihime comes by his window with bread and is now in Ichi's room feeling awkward. "LOL HIME YOU'VE BEEN HERE BEFORE" says Ichi. Oh, do tell? Also Hime and Ichi are now comfortable bickering a little, which is definitely making me ship them hard.

23. Hime asks if he's being stalked. And Ichi tells her it's ok that she's so inquisitive. Uryu is stalking them and annoyed apparently that Hime is stealing his boyfriend. Then follows our new villain stalker off to see what's up. AND OMG URYU DON'T BE DEAD!!

[mysterylover123]

Mysterylover watches Bleach Episode 346 "Everyone Wants Ichigo Now Apparently"

1. So to recap, Folks are getting attacked and Ichi is frustrated that there's nothing he can do. So he calls a weird number.

2. This arc sure is different. Like we've flipped over into a completely different genre. From Shonen to Spy Thriller.

3. Over at school Hime brings us the news that something's up with Chad in the most...Orihime way possible. And she also has developed the "jumping out the window" shonen ability.

4. Ichi blows her off when she attempts to invite him to visit Chad with her. What's up with you Ichi-grumpy pants?

5. I'll admit I don't really like Orihime's redesign. She's mostly just drawn a little older and with bigger boobs, but the redesign makes her look too One-Piece girl for my comfort. Though she totally rocked that jumper last episode. This design needs baggy clothes.

6. Anyway since Hime actually cares about the plot she's checking in on Chad to try and investigate what's up and remembering the threats Uryu-dad made.

7. Ichi meets up with Mysterious New Human Villain at night so they can have a Serious Plot Talk in really moody green lighting.

8. Ichi gets taken to their secret lair (Am I safe in assuming these guys are villains? They're drawn to look like villains but so far they seem to be helping Ichi out. I dunno, just a vibe

9. OOH, they're gonna get him his Soul Reaper powers back! OMG!! Didn't see THAT Coming!

10. Anyway Pigtail Maid Villain is here and throwing a temper tantrum at her minion, who she proceeds to punch in the chest and hurt her hand. How random.

11. Aaand back to Ichigo and the bombshell he just heard. He responds by threatening the guy who might be able to help him.

12. The guy takes Ichi drinking, which makes me wonder what the drinking age is in Japan. Anyway Ichi is apparently being introduced to the Origins of Quirks. (human based superpowers)

13. This guy can apparently turn booze green and make it dance. Huh. Must make him a hit at raves. Anyway more specifically he controls stuff the "soul" of an object.

14. So telekinesis basically. And apparently booze has a soul. That's....creepy. So are there like soul reapers for booze? Rukia's Booze Reaper buddies?

15. And apparently these guys can walk on water with this power. It sounds kinda like these guys all have similar powers to Orihime, but less cool than hers.

16. FULLBRING, so that's why this is called the Fullbringer arc! I was curious. Anyway Maid Girl is finally here.

17. We get her name but I'm still calling her Pigtail Maid. Oh and Chad's with her! And he looks creepy but hey maybe that makes this a little more legit.

18. Or even less so. Is Ichi freaking out about this cause Orihime was worried? I wonder, it seems like an unusually extreme reaction for hime and that's the only explanation the episode has given.

19. Pigtail Maid apparently finds Ichigo really really hot. Ichi must be working something this arc, that's two girls in one episode swooning over him. Didn't used to do that...did he do something with his hair or something?

20. I mean last arc he was running around buff and shirtless half the time and no girls were swooning then. And he looks not really different this arc. Anyway they're expositing about why Hollows have holes in their hearts, which is kinda poetic.

21. Anyway we get a long exposition speech that amounts to "another dude has hollow + soul reaper powers and you can swap". I think. It's long.

22. Anyway Ichigo cares more about what's up with his friends than getting his powers back. YAS THAT'S OUR PROTAGONIST. You go be a hero now.