#chara: pantera rey azul

[strangefellows]

I HAVE A BRAND I MUST UPHOLD I'M DYING YOU GUYS

ITS MY ASSHOLE CAT.

and his full episode airs next week TWO DAYS BEFORE MY BIRTHDAY

[strangefellows]

holds up grimmjow like simba and wiggles him

look one of my og blorbos i love him so much i could AND HAVE, HERE ON TUMBLR EVEN, talk for literal ages about this cat man, i love him i love him i love him

[strangefellows]

i haven’t been talking much abt bleach tybw here but holy shit you guys i am loving it so much its like 10 years ago waking up one morning a week to hit the new bleach drop i love it it’s so pretty and badass and hh i missed this

but like. guys. guys, idk how many of you have been here since the start buy guys. you don’t know how much i love grimmjow. out of all my early just-starting-out anime boyfriends (him, kurama, itachi, kaiba) he’s stuck the longest and loudest. maybe because he’s the only one i’ve really RPed as (or maybe all the drama involved in said rp era) but holy shit. he means so much to me y’all.

if he shows up next week, on the episode dropping four days before my birthday, i just. hh.

[strangefellows]

nothin like going back through a bunch of your old grimmjow analysis posts to make you remember how much you love that asshole cat

[strangefellows]

ichigo & grimmjow parallels: arrancar arc (pt.6)

TL;DR

IT’S THE MOMENT I’VE BEEN WAITING FOR YOU GUYS. Part Sexta: The Best Damn Fight in the Series, Thanks, feat. Overanalyzing Grimmjow.

IT’S TIME.

Oh god the parallels, the juxtaposition, I can’t with the panel setup alone.

Speaking of juxtapositons, I feel like I should point out the covers of this chapter and the next one (279 and 280):

Kubo has absolutely stopped trying to be subtle, because the parallelism here is all but beating you over the head with a stick.

“He makes a promise to himself -- he expresses his feelings in words so he’ll follow through. [...] When he says he’s going to win, he’ll win for sure.”

First of all, I tend to take any observation Orihime makes about Ichigo as true facts about him because she’s so attuned to him: so this is absolutely true -- and it’s also similar to what Dordonii said earlier, so there’s that.

He’s not the only one, though, who shouts and roars his feelings and determination to win into the air in a promise to himself.

Grimmjow understands Ichigo pretty well, too, I’d say. He knows that Ichigo cares about other people, and that’s what pushes him to fight, so he brings up what he did to Rukia to try and spur him into real action. He knows Ichigo wants this fight, knows how badly, and he wants to hear it.

The one thing he doesn’t understand, though, is the same thing that White/Zangetsu had to learn: that Ichigo is more than just instinct. He has those instincts, yes, but Ichigo isn’t ruled by them like Grimmjow is. He isn’t fighting to kill Grimmjow, he isn’t fighting to crush him: like Orihime said, he’s fighting to win. That’s all.

All Grimmjow knows is instinct -- he doesn’t understand the power that comes from fighting like Ichigo does, fighting with a reason to back up his instincts. He doesn’t understand the well of strength that comes from fighting for others.

See? He doesn’t understand. Calls him pathetic for having no killing intent, but -- he doesn’t get that you don’t need it. You don’t need to fight to the death.

He has a point -- why didn’t Kurosaki leave the moment he saw Orihime? Because he wants to fight, too. Ichigo wants this fight. Otherwise he’d have run off to find the others, Grimmjow be damned.

But just because he wanted this fight, badly, doesn’t cancel out the fact that he’s fighting for Orihime and the others.

The phrasing here is weird, but in the anime it makes it clear that Grimmjow’s insinuating that Orihime is traumatized and hurt emotionally -- something he’d know pretty well, since he saw the girls beating the crap out of her. He’s using this to pull Ichigo’s full strength out of him, because even if he doesn’t get it, he knows Ichigo fights best when he’s angry on his friends’ behalf. So...provoke him.

“It looks like you don’t understand, so let me explain. You’re wrong. You came here to fight. You still aren’t seeing it -- the path your instincts are pointing you towards. You are a shinigami, I am a Hollow!! Whichever side loses will be annihilated!! That’s how it’s always been, for thousands of years!! Do you need any other reason to fight?! Come on!! The one who remains standing will return alive, that’s all it comes down to!!”

Cue me in the distance pointing emphatically at White/Zangetsu.

Ichigo has some pretty good expressions here, and I like that his faces are beside the fragments of the speech that sound most like White/Zangetsu. Because it’s clear here and now that Ichigo fully realizes just how much he and Grimmjow are alike. Talking about instincts, and fighting for fighting’s sake and that’s all, to fight to the death for the sheer knowledge that the survivor is stronger, to fight because fighting to survive is all you know -- it hits him here, I think, just how much he recognizes in Grimmjow.

It’s still not enough, though -- Grimmjow wants that mask out.

I don’t think he really cares that Orihime is right there, or if he does, he knows that Ichigo will block it -- he doesn’t attack noncombatants, but he knows 100% that it won’t connect. Ichigo won’t let it. Ichigo protects, Ichigo gains power from protecting, so Ichigo will release all his power to protect Orihime. It’s a logical progression.

And I think it’s worth noting that Ichigo calls out to Grimmjow to stop as if he thinks he’ll listen. As if he thinks he’d do what Ichigo would do if he realizes his cero might hit bystanders.

Something else these two have in common: they hate fighting their opponents when the opponent isn’t giving 100% of their power. They want to face down the enemy’s full, full strength and beat it. He’s been waiting for this, just like Ichigo was waiting for Byakuya to use Bankai.

THOSE EYES!!

Coughs pointedly.

Again, Grimmjow is smart: he can guess from sight what might’ve caused Ichigo to be able to break the 11 second limit from the second round. But he doesn’t care, because it just means they can keep fighting at 100% longer.

First of all, I LOVE THIS TRANSLATION, LET ICHIGO SAY FUCK, OH MY GOD YES.

Second of all, I love how he just fucking turns that around and throws it right back in Grimmjow’s face. Like we needed proof that Ichigo is here for this fight just as much as Grimmjow is. He, too, wants Grimmjow to stay at his 100% as long as possible. He wants this fight to be good.

KUBO YOU’RE KILLING ME HERE, HOLY SHIT, THE WAY YOU KEEP FRAMING PANELS WITH THEM AS MIRRORS OF EACH OTHER IS ENDING MY LIFE.

Also, boy, they’re just feeding off each other. 

“You look like shit, you reaching your limit?” “Ha, fuck no. You look pretty awful yourself, though.” “Nah, sorry, your vision’s just shitty.”

They are absolutely living here, and are keeping up out of sheer determined enthusiasm for this fight, (metaphorically) feeding off each other’s energy.

Okay, first of all, his expression in that top-left panel on the second page here is destroying me, but I’ll come back to that in a sec.

Secondly, here is where Grimmjow realizes he underestimated just how strong Ichigo could be when fighting for someone’s sake. 

ALRIGHT NOW LET’S TALK ABOUT THAT FACE. The soft, gentle expression Ichigo has when he apologizes. “Sorry, Grimmjow. I can’t take any more damage than this.” Sorry -- the fight’s over. I can’t keep doing this, because the person I care about is upset. We end this here. I know you want to keep going -- I do too -- and I’m sorry, but this isn’t just about enjoying this fight. 

It’s not about enjoying the fight; it’s about protecting his friends. That’s why Ichigo apologizes here with that soft look on his face. He gets it, he understands Grimmjow completely -- but he also knows that he’s not like Grimmjow. This isn’t just about instincts and killing for Ichigo. And he’s sorry, Grmmjow, but that’s how it is. He can’t keep playing forever, this fight has to end.

But Grimmjow refuses. He won’t let this end that easily. He won’t let Ichigo’s softness and understanding reach him

And boy, now I get to have some real fun.

Historia de Pantera y su Sombras -- roughly translated, history of panther and its shadows.

First of all, let me tell you how fucked up I am about this chapter title and the fact that we see five distinct shadows behind Grimmjow, framed in such a way that it’s almost sympathetic -- and we know these shadows: Shawlong, Edorad, Nakeem, Yylfordt, and Di Roy. Grimmjow’s shadows. His fracciones. 

And we are abso-fucking-lutely discussing how we get the description of the most horrifying aspect of being a Menos in Grimmjow’s backstory.

Let me lay this out for you: as a Gillian, a Hollow is a writhing, roiling mass of mindless hunger, thousands of souls pressed into each other with no sense of self, no ego, nothing. Just endless noise and hunger. But sometimes, sometimes, a Gillian will end up with one soul stronger than the rest. Individuality. And that Gillian will turn again to cannibalism, eating to sate that hollow hunger and evolve again into an Adjuchas.

But that’s not even a little safe for them. Now they learn fear. They learn the fear of losing the one thing they have: themselves. They must eat and eat and keep eating, keep devouring each other, or else their individuality will disappear with no way of becoming themselves again, fall back into that mass of thousands and lose the one thing any Hollow can claim as theirs -- their own mind.

Put this in context of Grimmjow himself, and we get a very, very clear picture of the way he’s learned to live.

For the longest time, he was alone. Living with that terror of regression, he fought every day to survive. To live. To consume and grow stronger, stronger, ever stronger, so that he wouldn’t have to be afraid anymore. And not helping his case was the fact that he was so small -- a little panther amid towering, building-sized Adjuchas. He had to fight twice as hard, twice as fiercely, twice as much as anyone else who thought him easy prey. 

And then, as we see above, he runs into a group that -- like the rest -- wants to eat him.

They fail.

They fail to kill Grimmjow, and then they recognize his strength.

They bow. He becomes their king -- he didn’t force them to follow him, he didn’t terrify them into it, he didn’t do what Aizen did. He simply showed them his strength, and Shawlong and the others decided that this Adjuchas was strong enough to be their king. They decided he was the one they could follow.

He was strong, and they knew it -- they validated his strength, they stood with him -- and clearly, they stood with him all the way to Aizen and beyond, to their deaths, and they never once faltered.

Why is he flashing back to this now? Well...

Here’s the thing. 

They stood behind him. Not beside him. They followed him, but they were weak. That’s what Grimmjow understood, that’s what he knew. (This is reinforced with his second flashback.) He didn’t have friends. He didn’t have comrades. He didn’t have equals. He had people who followed him out of respect for his strength, people who told him over and over that he was strong, he was king, he was better than them. 

He doesn’t grasp that someone could be equal, that someone could see him as an equal, and he doesn’t understand that it isn’t an insult. 

He doesn’t understand that this is respect. This isn’t bowing to someone stronger, this isn’t mocking someone weaker, this is looking at him as an equal. As someone strong, someone worthy of fighting. 

He’s lived his entire life under the concept that there is only stronger and weaker. There isn’t ‘equal’. He was king because people told him he was stronger than them, that they were weaker than him. There is stronger -- Aizen, Ulquiorra, et cetera -- and there is weaker -- everyone else. There is no room for someone looking at him like they are equal. A king can have no equals, so he doesn’t understand, and he sees it as an insult.

Ichigo’s starting to catch on, though, he’s still not quite there yet.

Grimmjow is quick to set him straight, though.

He doesn’t care what you are: human, shinigami, Arrancar -- it doesn’t matter. If you’re a good fight, it doesn’t matter what you are (though that does contradict what he said earlier about ‘you’re a shinigami, I’m a hollow’, which implies that that was bullshit, and now that he’s being pushed to the edge he’s admitting why he’s really after Ichigo’s head). 

Anyone, anyone who underestimates him will be ripped apart. 

He doesn’t understand that Ichigo isn’t underestimating him. Ichigo sees him as an equal; that’s respect. That’s acknowledgement. That’s, in a way, what Grimmjow wants. But it’s not what he sees.

And he doesn’t see it because he can’t grasp it. He’s lived his life as a Hollow, full of endless hunger and fear of regression. He’s lived his life knowing nothing but the fight to survive, the power to destroy. He can’t grasp the things he sees in Ichigo’s eyes, so he can’t understand what’s behind it.

The loneliness of the king, more like [me screaming].

Because this all but confirms what I was saying -- that even though Grimmjow can’t grasp what’s in Ichigo’s eyes, can’t understand what it means, it’s what he wants.

His pack were all weak. They gave up. They admitted defeat. They resigned themselves to always be weak. They kept walking behind him until the end, but they let that become the status quo. 

He hated that.

“They’re all cowards, every damn one of them. Whatever. I’ll just consume them. As they become my flesh and blood, they’ll see beyond.”

He hated their cowardice. Their weakness. He hated it, resented it. But he carried them with him anyway. He let them walk behind him until the end, and he carries them with him even now -- the parts of them he devoured, the parts of them that are his power now. (And that opens a whole other road of discussion about the fact that technically, that means he did have something he fought for at one point.)

But that isn’t enough.

They were weak, he is the king. That’s something ingrained so deep into him that he can’t see what he actually wants, even though it’s obvious. He can’t understand it, because it’s beyond what he knows.

He wants an equal.

And here he is right in front of him -- Ichigo. And you know how it’s said that you can understand someone when you cross swords with them? I think Ichigo has a pretty clear idea of the things Grimmjow can’t understand, at this point. And that’s why he says this now. 

He’s acknowledging, first of all, that they’re the same. He was right -- Ichigo is here to fight and to win. He came here to fight Grimmjow, to defeat Grimmjow. Just like Grimmjow thought.

He’ll beat Grimmjow. He’ll beat Ulquiorra. He’ll beat Aizen. He came here to fight them, to defeat them. He says this so Grimmjow gets it -- he did come here to fight. They’re the same. But...

But he’s not just here for that.

He’s here to fight. He’s here to win. He’s here to defeat all of these people, just as Grimmjow accused him of.

But he’s here to do that because of the thing that makes him stronger, the thing that makes him different from Grimmjow. He’s here to fight and to win...because of his friends.

And in this moment -- in that last sliver of a panel, that look in his eye, that silent ‘oh.’ -- Grimmjow gets it.

He gets that he’s lost. He gets that Ichigo is stronger, and he gets that Ichigo is stronger because he’s fighting for something more than just the fight itself. And he gets that’s why he lost.

And Ichigo does what he does best -- Ichigo extends a hand.

Look at that look in his eyes, the look on his face. He’s not looking at an enemy. He’s not looking at a stranger. He’s looking at someone he understands deeply, he’s looking at someone he gets, who he gets doesn’t understand him in turn.

He doesn’t want to kill Grimmjow, he doesn’t even want Grimmjow dead. What he does want isn’t clear just yet, though, but it will be.

Grimmjow isn’t done yet, though. He’s strong and he’s stubborn, and he’s so very, very proud.

And Ichigo gets that -- the look on his face is frustrated, surprised even, but it isn’t afraid. It isn’t really angry, either.

He’s bleeding, he’s broken, he’s too exhausted to even keep his release going, but he refuses. He refuses to acknowledge it, refuses to allow his loss.

Ichigo still isn’t angry, though. But he doesn’t do what he did with Dordonii. He doesn’t do Grimmjow the honor of taking him down again with all of his strength, and not just because he doesn’t have that much strength left. There’s another reason, and he won’t even use his sword for this because the fight is over.

He grabs Grimmjow’s wrist with his bare hand, stops him in his tracks, and then he says what is probably the fucking best line in the entire damn fight, if not the best thing in their entire relationship.

“Stop it, Grimmjow. I don’t know about you being a king or whatever...but just beating up everyone who annoys you, and becoming a king by yourself...where the hell’s the fun in that? If I really piss you off that much, I‘ll fight you as many times as you like. So for now...can’t you just stop...!”

Look at this -- this is just. This is so good. This is absolutely it. This is where it all comes together.

Ichigo wants an equal, too. He has friends, he has Renji and Chad and even Ikkaku, yeah, but...it’s different with Grimmjow. Ichigo can see that he and this guy are all but mirror images of each other. And he wants someone like that in his life. He’ll fight him as many times as Grimmjow wants to fight, because they’re the same. 

But -- they’re different, too. Grimmjow doesn’t have what Ichigo does, and Ichigo here outright questions that, outright asks him why. Fighting everyone in your way and leaving yourself all alone...where’s the fun in that? That’s what Ichigo doesn’t understand. How you can keep fighting for fighting’s sake without anyone beside you -- he’s never had to be alone, so he can’t understand why Grimmjow seems to want it.

(He doesn’t, though. The flashbacks prove that -- Grimmjow wants an equal just as badly. He wants someone strong to stand beside him, someone who won’t give up like his Fracciones did, he wants someone who can keep up with him, even though he isn’t self-aware enough to realize it.)

Or maybe now he is -- and this is just angry denial, because he doesn’t want to admit it, or because understanding what he wants and understanding why Ichigo is stronger doesn’t mean he accepts that answer.

Unfortunately, neither of them have time to hash things out properly, because NNOITRA IS A BIG FUCKING JACKASS WHO HAS TO INTERRUPT WHAT COULD HAVE BEEN FUN CHARACTER DEVELOPMENT TIME, YOU STUPID NOODLE SPOON.

[cough] Sorry.

Ichigo feels that, though. Just when he thought he might be able to get through to someone who could be a friend...surprise stabbing.

But even so, he can still protect Grimmjow -- because he doesn’t see Grimmjow as an enemy anymore, and even if he did, he’d still do this because he has honor, and would never let this happen to anyone.

He’s protecting him and I die. This isn’t fair. The fight’s over. This isn’t right. Grimmjow can’t fight back anymore, so there’s no reason to attack him, and he refuses to let anything happen to him, especially after he made the effort to reach out.

And for Grimmjow’s part...he can’t believe this is happening. Nnoitra has to rub it in his face, of course, because Nnoitra is Grimmjow turned up to 11 and without any redeeming features, but Grimmjow...he doesn’t know how to react to any of this.

His enemy defeated him, but didn’t kill him. His enemy told him they could fight whenever he wanted. His enemy keeps looking at him like an equal, something he both doesn’t understand and wanted, badly. His enemy is stronger in a way he can barely understand, a way he has no context for. 

His enemy saved his life.

And of course, this is the last time we see him for over three hundred chapters.

As such -- and because we don’t see him for very long outside of him chasing Askin around for like 2-3 pages at a time -- it’s really hard to guess at how much of what Ichigo said he internalized and how much he changed over the 17 month time-skip. But I like to think he did.

We can address that, though, when we get there. 

In the meantime, I might just speed through everything else because this arc is almost over, and after this arc/the timeskip is when Ichigo is fucked up enough that he drops a lot of the traits we’re talking about in this series...so there’s a lot less to talk about.

But we’ll go through it all, I promise.

[strangefellows]

OKAY IN RETROSPECT I SHOULD HAVE REALIZED THIS SOONER BECAUSE OF THE WAY THE TABLE WAS FRAMED IN THE PANELS EARLIER BUT

GRIMMJOW YOU SIT RIGHT NEXT TO AIZEN OH MY GOD WHAT ARE YOU DOING YOU ABSOLUTE MADMAN

[strangefellows]

ichigo & grimmjow parallels: arrancar arc (pt.4)

TL;DR

Well, it’s time for the next part of this dang post series. Part Four: The Second Round of Combat, and Lead-Up To Round Three.

A note before we begin: starting in this bit, I’m gonna be discussing how Ichigo and Grimmjow relate to each other as well as the parallels between them. I feel like after the last part -- Ichigo’s interaction with his Inner Hollow -- he’s able to recognize himself in Grimmjow a little better, or at the very least, it’s noticeable that Ichigo starts treating Grimmjow a bit differently. 

And now we start!

So apparently it’s basically assumed that if people of This Type are screaming at each other, they’re getting along? Makes sense.

Not really relevant, but I had to double-take when I scrolled past this panel because I saw the jaw bone of the mask and went !!!!!

I just want to take a moment to look at this sequence of panels and talk about how Kubo deliberately framed this to elicit sympathy for Grimmjow. The bottom two especially. The way Luppi’s face is framed, the shadows of the panels, the way his shirt flaps up to reveal the burned scar where we know the 6 tattoo once was, the phrasing of it -- he’s dropped from Espada, there’s nothing he can do -- I just...ugh. It’s very blatantly trying to get us to feel bad for him, (effectively I might add) and it’s interesting to me.

The scene where he loses his arm wasn’t played out for us to feel bad for him as much, but now Kubo writes this and it’s juxtaposed with Yammy and Ulquiorra’s conversation earlier -- “hey at least you brought your arm back so you wouldn’t get kicked out of the espada like grimmjow” -- to make us realize just how much Grimmjow’s lost because of what happened last time we saw him. 

The first sympathetic Espada/Arrancar we’re given isn’t Nel, it’s technically Grimmjow. 

And of course, the first person each of them runs to is the other -- they both want to continue that fight from last time, badly.

And look at Ichigo’s face in that last panel: he’s fucking ready to go. 

“lmfao did u forget, ur bankai didn’t touch me” “nah man did YOU forget it gave you that scar?”

These two don’t miss a damn beat with the trash talk; they feed each other with it, honestly.

It’s a lot more subtle here than in other examples of it, but Grimmjow does here what Ichigo has done so many fucking times before.

Ichigo sees what happened to his arm, asks about it -- because that sure as hell wasn’t like that a month ago -- and Grimmjow lies through his teeth. Just like Ichigo lies through his teeth whenever someone asks him if he’s okay when he’s not. I’m fine, it’s nothing, don’t worry about it. Ichigo does that all the damn time. Lies because his pride won’t take someone worrying for him, he doesn’t want anyone to worry.

And here someone is lying to him in the exact same way: and Ichigo reacts the way he knows he’d want someone to react, because he knows exactly what Grimmjow is doing:

Acts like he doesn’t know, pretends he didn’t catch the lie. Lets Grimmjow save his pride with that piece of bullshit, because he knows he’d want the same thing if the situation was reversed.

Chants loudly GRIMMJOW IS SMART HE’S VERY CLEVER HE CAN READ A COMBATANT’S SKILLS AND LIMITS REALLY WELL. I might be wrong but I don’t feel like he gets enough credit for that. 

Destructive boy, look at him go. “Take it easy,” Shinji I don’t think he has that in his dictionary.

Clever and reckless -- he does the same thing later with Ulquiorra and wrecks his entire arm, so I feel like this is a common strategy with him: he’ll gladly and quickly hurt himself a little if it means saving himself from hurting a lot. 

That and he’s fucking insanely reckless in a fight because what the hell is self-preservation, right? If it works it works.

Confronted with something you don’t want to admit to, don’t want anyone else to get involved in? Be an asshole!

I think we need to appreciate the fact that until this moment, Ichigo was 100% planning on going to Hueco Mundo and fighting through all the Espada and Aizen by himself.

BY. HIMSELF.

It’s panels like this that remind me why I love Ichigo so much.

Meanwhile, the what the actual fuck expression on Grimmjow is still also pretty great -- I’m sure he’s thinking the same thing as Luppi, or at least he’s thinking this is a sick and cruel joke on Aizen’s part. And then it actually happens, and wow.

I think this is the most civil he’s been to anyone, ever, in any appearance he’s ever had so far. Maybe his fracciones? But other than that...this is noticeably less harsh. I mean yeah he calls her ‘onna’/chick/woman/whatever, but that’s standard ‘I don’t know your name and don’t really care’ behavior. 

Meanwhile, we switch to Ichigo yelling at someone because they’re rubbing his lack of talent on certain things in his face, I love it.

Heh. Look at you, Ichigo. WHY ARE WE RUNNING LET’S FIGHT NOW WHO  CARES IF WE BREAK SHIT CMON ISHIDA LET ME GO I WANNA FIGHT

Grumpy the Grump.

That reaction, man.

And I’m gonna cut this off here, because we’re winding up for the big finale of these two boys this arc c: 

Soon. I’ll have it up by tomorrow I’m sure.

[strangefellows]

ichigo & grimmjow parallels: arrancar arc (pt.3)

TL;DR --

FINALLY THE OTHER PART I’VE BEEN WAITING FOR -- Part Three: In Which I Scream For Several Paragraphs About Ichigo’s Inner Grimmjow

While he’s building up his resolve to go to the Vizards for help, he goes to where he first got beat and thinks about the people who beat him -- his reasons to get stronger, to beat them and protect his friends.

This is probably not that big of a deal on the surface, but -- this is probably identical to how Grimmjow approached Aizen, given what’s implied and outright said via flashbacks in Grimmjow and Ichigo’s final fight.

“I don’t want to join you, I just want to use you to get stronger. And if you don’t agree I’ll just make you do it by force.”

Admittedly, the outcomes are very different: Shinji does genuinely want to help Ichigo anyway, so the point is moot and he never forces the ‘joining’ issue, but Aizen is a douchebag manipulator with immnse power, so Grimmjow ends up one of his flunkies whether he likes it or not. That’s the hero/villain side differences, isn’t it?

(I mean, for real, I literally wrote Grimmjow meeting Aizen for the first time in a fic a few days ago, and Grimmjow’s thought process in that was nearly identical to what Ichigo says/does here.)

Scared and intimidated, but still refusing to do something he doesn’t want to do. So stubborn.

Don’t throw exercise equipment at people, Ichigo.

His angry faces are so good.

“Don’t let it eat you. Consume it instead. Because if you get eaten...that’s the end.”

And that’s just how Hollows work in general, isn’t it?

Hello, Zangetsu.

SO SPEAKING OF THAT, I feel like we need to discuss things that don’t come up until the final arc, because that knowledge is incredibly important here. This is not simply Ichigo’s Inner Hollow -- this is Zangetsu. This is his Zanpakutō, his inner self. This isn’t an intruder in his soul, this is part of him. 

So, whatever he says is something that Ichigo, somewhere inside of himself, feels. The things he says are genuinely 100% part of Ichigo, even if he doesn’t express them on the surface or accept them entirely.

That’s important.

And speaking of which, the first thing that stands out is that he calls Ichigo king.

Who else do we know that calls himself king -- well, several characters do, but the important thing is that Grimmjow does.

Crazy Man Grin and insults, hello yes.

Someone likes a good fight.

And now we get to the most important dialogue of this fight.

“Do you know what the difference is between a king and his horse? [...] There’s only one answer. INSTINCT!! A vital tool for someone who has equal power but wishes to seek out something more, a vital tool for someone who wishes to become a king!! With this, the user will naturally be drawn to battles, be drawn to more power, and use such to mercilessly obliterate his enemies beyond any hope of recognition! Slicing them into pieces, mangling them, all of this brought on by an absolute raw hunger for battle! Our skin is peeled off, our meat scooped out, bones crushed, nerves nullified!! Every part of us chiseled down to the very core! All in order to further sharpen our killing instinct!! Something you have no knowledge of! Your instinct is too obvious, too normal! You only fight with reason, and you always need a reason to cut down your opponents! Just who the hell did you think of attacking when your sword was vaporized? You see, this is why you will forever be weaker than me, Ichigo! [...] There’s no way that I’ll let a king weaker than me ride me around like a little bitch. I won’t tolerate that kind of existence! You are weaker than me, so I’m going to destroy you.”

Bolding is obviously mine.

Now, keep in mind that this is part of Ichigo’s fucking soul speaking. This isn’t some invading Hollow -- this is Ichigo. This is a part of him he has to learn to accept and control. But it is a part of him.

Ichigo has this in him. Ichigo has this creature of instinct in his soul, this violent beast that hungers for battle, that has no reason to fight, only the desire to kill his enemies and revel in it.

I call this guy his inner Grimmjow for a reason -- because he is. This is Ichigo’s most basic nature, his raw instincts, and it sounds exactly like Grimmjow.

The thing that makes Ichigo different from him, though, is that Ichigo tames his inner beast. Acknowledges it, accepts it, and works together with it -- Grimmjow doesn’t. Grimmjow is his inner beast, and any hypothetical character development on his end would go the opposite direction, learning to fight and live with more than just his instincts.

Four times, the word is repeated -- and oh, oh shit, what’s this? 

Kenpachi shows up? Well, that really helps with what I’ve got going here.

“I have no reason to fight you!” “Did I say you need a reason for a battle?”

Gestures pointedly at this exchange.

“You’re the one who sought out this battle. You’re the one who seeks power! Ain’t I right, Ichigo? And for a bastard who seeks nothing but power...all he does is jump from one battle to another, with no exceptions! Do you keep fighting to get that power within the palm of your hands? Or are you seeking power so that you can keep fighting? Hell if I know! But -- there is one thing I do get...somehow, some way, both of us turned out to be the exact same type of person!”

First of all, I might be getting genuinely emotional over here because I forgot this part of the scene. 

Second of all -- this is a manifestation within his soul, not the real Kenpachi, so clearly it’s saying things that Ichigo himself believes on some level. And wow, the things he’s saying. It’s just reinforcing what White/Zangetsu already said -- part of Ichigo thirsts for battle, whether it’s fighting to get strong or getting strong to keep fighting. He lives for it, seeks it out, seeks out power.

“We’re always gonna keep on searching, Ichigo! You use your own instinct to search out these battles -- that’s just because there’s no other way to get that power you so desire. Battle onwards, Ichigo! Get a grip on that overbearing power of yours, pick up your sword, and cut down all those who stand in your way! There’s no other road that exists for you! All that’s in front of you, and everything behind you, Ichigo!”

And it continues! With another drop of the word instinct -- and again, a continuing of the point: Ichigo seeks out battles to get stronger, because he thrives on it. It’s all that there is for him, the endless fighting. Cutting down those who stand in your way (which is incredibly similar to what he says to Grimmjow after their last fight wow).

I’m convinced that if this had happened at a later point, it would have been Grimmjow here shouting these exact same fucking words at Ichigo instead of Kenpachi. I don’t even need much imagination to picture him saying everything Kenpachi’s just said.

And what does Ichigo say to all these accusations? 

Nothing.

He simply shakes off his fear and hardens his resolve and silently OHKO’s White/Zangetsu. And this is what he says -- you had the instinct to seek out this battle (and win).

A Cool Pose.

But seriously, as telling as it is that a large part of Ichigo’s very soul is basically almost exactly Grimmjow, it’s just as telling that Ichigo doesn’t even try to argue or deny it, just accept it and tell that part of him that he’s not going to let it beat him and take over.

Because as much as Ichigo is just like Kenpachi, just like Grimmjow, he’s also different -- because he does have a reason to fight.

He fights to protect the people he cares about, he raises his blade to battle for his friends. He loves to fight and seeks battle, yes, but he goes into battle for his loved ones.

And therein lies the difference, what separates him from the beast.

[strangefellows]

ichigo & grimmjow parallels: arrancar arc (pt.5)

TL;DR

God am I glad there’s enough material for another full post before I do the big fight so I can make that part six, so here’s Part Five: Ichigo Makes His Way Through The Fight-Palace AKA Las Noches 

When last we left off...

Grimmjow saw Ichigo was in the house (so to speak) and proceeded to lose all common sense and self-preservation. I love how Nnoitra is over there like “what the fuck” tbh, but the point is that, well...

Good plan, my dude, get up and leave the table when the World’s Shittiest Dad-And-Pet-Owner is literally right next to you. Someone in a post I made earlier about it (shoutout to @mismerccray ) commented that his seating position was like a teacher putting the problem kid right up front, and honestly? True.

Tosen Knows You’re Full of Shit, but I don’t blame Grimmjow for trying, because last time Tosen got mad at him he lost a damn arm. Still, though, flimsiest excuse ever. You never call him Aizen-sama, not even to his face, except when you’re trying to bullshit. You’re literally trying to use him as an excuse to go fuck up Ichigo, which is commendable, but it won’t work and now you’re gonna get humiliated.

Also -- interesting thing to note is that I’m 100% sure that this moment is when Grimmjow finally learns Ichigo’s name. This is the first time he hears it, and after this is when he starts shouting Kurosaki -- before it was just ‘shinigami’.

This is not the face of someone who is even remotely loyal to Aizen. This is the face of someone who resents being here with every fiver of his being, but he’s stuck because Aizen made him an Arrancar. This is the face of someone who wants to tear Aizen’s throat out with his teeth.

This is the face of someone who has no time or patience for any of Aizen’s bullshit, either.

Meanwhile, Ichigo is still trying to get to Las Noches, and suffering a nerd friend. HE HAS NO TIME FOR YOUR NERDINESS, ISHIDA, WE GOTTA GET TO THE FIGHT-PALACE.

(probably it’s something to do with the lack of a sun, for the record)

He’s such a little shit, I’m dying. Oh my god, Ichigo, don’t fucking go after Uryuu like this -- or do, honestly, it’s hilarious. I love that he’s like this with so many of his friends, just giving them endless shit. 

ISHIDA SHUT UP WE GOTTA GO TO THE FIGHT-PALACE WE DON’T HAVE TIME FOR A BRIEFING

He makes the best faces.

This is so good??? Lunuganga shows up and Ichigo just immediately Getsuga Tenshou’s his ass and Nel and co are like OH MY GOD BAD GUY THAT WAS A SURPRISE ATTACK!!! And Ichigo is like what the fuck, no it wasn’t, I hit him from the front, also shut up it worked didn’t it?

What a little shit.

A little shit who probably should have asked what the deal was before attacking, but when has Ichigo ever done that?

SHE KEEPS CALLING HIM A BAD GUY....

And Ichigo, yanking her cheeks is really not helping your case, bud.

Friends punch friends in the face when they’re being stupid -- this is just how Ichigo’s friendships work in general, isn’t it?

Sorry, Ichigo, Byakuya is just Like That. 

TIME TO FUCKING SMASH OUR WAY INTO THE FIGHT-PALACE LET’S DO IT. (And with such a grin on his face, man.)

Well, Grimmjow isn’t the only one who’s told a crying Nel to shut the fuck up. Though in this case her tears are probably a little less genuine, lol.

I CAN’T BREATHE???? OH MY GOD ICHIGO.

He says this with such a grin on his face. He’s wary, yeah, but he’s also excited.

This reaction to Dordonii’s antics is hilarious. Ichigo is so done, but if he has to...

Did...Grimmjow get to hang with the Privaron during his month of no-rank? I need to know these things.

HOLY SHIT, ICHIGO. That is so arrogant????

“You aren’t worth my bankai.” Boy, that is so fuckin’-- man, I miss this side of him. He got a lot more serious after the timeskip and we don’t see this from him anywhere near as much. Sometimes, yeah, but for the most part this isn’t really much of a thing anymore. It’s a symptom of circumstances, for sure, especially after the Fullbring Arc (where I am 100% convinced he developed some major PTSD), but it’s still...sad to think that he’s lost something of his ability to really enjoy himself and be this arrogant/confident.

Good on him, able to call himself out for being fucking stupid re: thinking he can go any less than all out on anyone in Las Noches.

“In order to fight, you issue commands unto yourself. That is a necessary thing for those who seek strength.”

“Do you mean to say that strength is not your true goal? if protecting your friends is your real wish, then having strength gives you the ability to do so, correct?”

Notable observations.

I can’t believe Dordonii pulled the exact same shit Grimmjow pulls. 

I WANT TO SEE YOUR FULL POWER, AND I KNOW YOU HAVE A PROTECTOR COMPLEX, SO I’M GONNA ATTACK YOUR FRIENDS TO FORCE IT. Is Ichigo really that obvious? Buddy.

It may piss him off, but put in this context, Ichigo understands -- he understands that he’s being almost disrespectful by holding back. He gets it that there’s shame in refusing to go all out for any stupid reason, and that it’s disrespectful to the person you’re fighting to give it less than your all. He gets it, because he’d feel the same way were someone to hold back against him. It’s a matter of pride.

He understands now, and this is when he puts Nel down and does Dordonii the honor of full-strength.

For fuck’s sake, Grimmjow does the same damn thing. What is with Ichigo’s opponents and going all I’M NOT DONE YET ASSHOLE STOP BEING NICE AND PITYING ME. Ichigo reacts the same, too, only...well, I’ll get to that. Still, he’s all like STOP TRYING TO FIGHT I WON AND YOU’RE HURT.

Pride is a powerful thing -- but an honorable fight wins friends. Ichigo did Dordonii the kindness of going at him at full strength, even though he was injured, and in return Dordonii helps him escape and go further.

However, Dordonii’s advice isn’t something Ichigo would follow even if he heard it. As much as Ichigo understands matters of pride, he will always extend a hand to the enemy even when he wins -- that’s just how he is. 

And that’s how he earns such fierce friendships from such powerful, prideful fighters such as Ikkaku, Renji, and even Dordonii himself. Even if it tramples on their wounded pride, Ichigo will extend a hand. Because he understands that pride. But (hypocritically, a little) he also understands that pride means nothing if  it kills you, and it’s better to swallow it and live to fight again than to die because your pride meant more than your life. That understanding is what earns him such respect -- and, for certain people cough Grimmjow cough -- such resentment.

The realization that Ichigo literally only knows Ulquiorra’s name at this point because he heard Grimmjow say it when Ulquiorra came to get him after their second fight.

He’s furious, but he’s together enough to be confident in his victory.

Granted, he’s wrong about the rank, but man. Going straight for the top, are we?

This is already pretty long, but I feel obligated to drag this out all the way, so -- time to see what Grimmjow is up to!

Oh, right. Pretending he doesn’t understand the basic concept of A Door.

I would just like to note that this is the only time in this scene he grins. He’s deadly serious the rest of the scene and it’s jarring. Look at this.

I also want to note that after that grin and bit of dialogue, his comment to Loly is the only time he fucking speaks. He fucking destroys these two without a grin or a single word or taunt. That is noticeably, severely out of character for him, so it’s something that stands out. Why is he reacting like this? 

Because he owes her.

He broke down the door and utterly destroyed two of his own comrades because he feels like he owes for fixing his arm.

Even then, though, that doesn’t explain his attitude during this scene -- owing someone doesn’t mean you act uncharacteristically methodical and silent when you tear someone apart.

I think it’s another example of what we see soon -- Grimmjow has an honor code. This code demands fair fights; one on one, full strength against full strength, all of you against all of them, and both people fucking reveling in the violence. What he walked into was the opposite of that: two people at full strength against a weak opponent who can’t or won’t fight back. 

And he tore them apart for that.

(Not that that makes him a nice person, because he then proceeds to vaguely threaten Orihime and manhandle her a little.)

Well, he’s a dick about it, but at least he’s basically telling her to heal herself. You could always just admit that seeing noncombatants beat to shit makes you uncomfortable, Grimmjow.

And again, he’s rude and a jackass to Nel here, but he’s not attacking her and he doesn’t kick her aside. He has at least a basic sense of refraining from attacking noncombatants, yeah?

This on the other hand still makes me just sit her and ?????? at Grimmjow. This was ENTIRELY UNNECESSARY, GRIMMJOW. Was it to keep the fact that you were freeing the prisoner A) secret or B) preparing a bullshit escuse if you were caught? Because that makes some kind of sense. I feel like it’s still a little over the top though. Just throw her over your shoulder, man.

He’s so serious about it, man. That’s when you know something’s really up here.

Honestly, though, I’d be damn angry too if some guy who has no personal reason to even give a shit about Ichigo in particular aside from “let’s hurt the woman by taking out her not-boyfriend” takes the guy who scarred me -- that guy that I all but fucking pissed on -- and takes him out before I even get my real fight.

Grimmjow: threatens to murder Nel if she doesn’t shut the fuck up. Also Grimmjow: doesn’t actually follow through, and even lowers his voice to normal levels to tell her to shut up and let him get fixed up.

He actually is surprisingly civil about answering Orihime’s question.

And then gets worked up again because I FUCKING CALLED DIBS, ULQUIORRA, YOU ARE NOT ALLOWED TO UNDERMINE THAT. Ulquiorra just violated the rules of Grimmjow’s honor code and went after someone Grimmjow intended to fight, and he’s pissed about it. Pissed enough to do some really stupid shit, clearly, though it’s obvious he never respected the chain of command anyway.

(And Grimmjow, you mark your prey too. Don’t fucking deny it.)

Aw, look, he’s in the reaction panels with Orihime and Nel.

Also cute: Ichigo is more ?????? than !!!!!! about him being there. Like, confusion, yeah, but he’s not panicking just yet because obviously he hasn’t hurt her, so what the shit is happening here?

He starts shouting, and ignores Orihime to let slip why he’s so damned shouty and in a hurry about the whole thing -- it’s not that he wants her to hurry the fuck up and so he can get started with the fight, it’s that he wants her to hurry the fuck up before Ulquiorra shows up. Who’s scared of who, now, Grimmjow?

Another reaction shot with him alongside our heroes and having the same expression as them!

Is this or is this not the same damn thing Ichigo does all the time, only in a slightly different context?

Pictured: Grimmjow being weirdly protective of Orihime. Most likely because she’s busy healing Ichigo for him, but still. She does tend to elicit that kind of reaction from people, even enemies. See: Kenpachi.

TFW you attempt to beat your superior officer’s ass because he stole your big fight and now you’re actively distracting him while your one enemy heals your other enemy so you can fight -- effectively aiding your enemy against your own side.

TFW you’re now officially technically a traitor to the Espada, if you think about it; but you don’t think about it because you literally don’t care. As long you get your fight.

GRIMMJOW THAT IS MADNESS PLEASE STOP, DEFLECTING A CERO WITH ANOTHER CERO IS NOT A VALID STRATEGY OUTSIDE OF DBZ.

His reaction to sealing Ulquiorra in the Caja Negacion is....very weird to me? He’s so serious in this panel. 

I wonder if he doesn’t like the idea of the Caja Negacion -- he seems to me to value freedom very highly, and hate being bossed around or caged, so the concept of stuffing someone in an inescapable cage must bug him at least a little. Even if it’s not permanent in Ulquiorra’s case.

Again, he’s very civil and gives Orihime a decent, calm explanation of what the Caja Negacion is. I feel like this is something that’s definitely worth pointing out: he can be calm and civil if he wants to be; he’s not an angry shouty ball of swearing and fight all the time. I wouldn’t even call it friendly, but he can certainly hold a normal conversation if he has to.

And there goes the civility -- he doesn’t usually go after noncombatants, it seems, but Orihime’s blatantly refusing to do what he wants her to, after it’s been made blatantly clear that they are running on a very limited time frame. Grimmjow wants his damn fight, needs his damn fight more than anything, and this girl is telling him no. He’s getting real sick of people telling him ‘no’.

First of all, JESUS CHRIST GRIMMJOW.

Second of all, Ichigo is just as here for this as Grimmjow is, but he’s a lot better about it. Please heal me, Inoue, and him too. He wants this fight, too. He agrees with Grimmjow; he wants them both at top shape for this. But he won’t let Grimmjow threaten it out of her.

Grimmjow’s pride won’t let him accept healing when he didn’t ask for it -- but Ichigo knows exactly what to say to override that pride and get him to agree to being healed: taunt him and provoke him. That’s how you get him to do something, make it a challenge.

He understands Grimmjow pretty damn well.

And with that...it’s time.

Next time, we finally get to the moment I’ve been waiting for -- OVER-ANALYZING THE FINAL FIGHT, YAYYY!!!!

[strangefellows]

ichigo & grimmjow parallels: soul society arc (pt.3)

As usual, TL;DR here:

Part Three: Ichigo vs Renji and Ichigo vs Kenpachi, featuring Rival Fight One and Ichigo’s Inner Grimmjow’s Debut. (Bonus Round: The Chad Flashbacks)

“Don’t you like to risk your life?”

The one thing I feel like I need to get across -- because I was reminded that it’s pretty easy to misread it, especially in the HM Arc -- is that I’m not saying Ichigo only likes to fight. That’s the biggest difference between him and Grimmjow, and why they’re foils, why they’re counterparts. 

Ichigo fights to protect, and Grimmjow fights to fight. That’s where the big difference is. But just because someone fights selflessly, fights to protect his loved ones and to save the people who need him...that doesn’t mean he can’t enjoy himself in a fight. One thing does not in the least discount the other. You can like to fight and still fight selflessly. 

And Ichigo likes to fight. He fights a lot. He enjoys it. He’s up to fighting literally the entire Gotei 13 if he has to, here. If they’re in his way he’ll beat them down. 

It’s the concept of loving to do something you’re good at -- he’s good at fighting, so he loves to fight; enjoying what you do doesn’t necessarily mean it’s a meaningless activity. People are happy doing things they’re good at, whether it’s something like drawing or painting or fighting or sports or saving people’s lives as a doctor or a lawyer or anything like that. Ichigo fights for his family and friends, and he’s good at it...so he loves doing it.

That’s where he and his darker counterparts differ entirely. I’ll probably talk about this more when we get to Kenpachi and the Inner Hollow.

Gets smashed through a wall, gets back up like “lmao is that it? that wasn’t that bad, if everyone else is this strong i can beat them easily”. Ichigo, please.

Scar Count: As of chapter 100 it’s been there for 45 chapters now, and it’s still there~!

Flashback to Chad things means more good material! God Ichigo you got hit in the head with a rock and you’re like “nah i’m fine those fuckers cheated.”

I love him, he’s bleeding from a head wound and wobbling on his feet and he’s like ‘meh, I’m good, let’s get going’. What a stubborn shit.

Ichigo you realize that you just outright implied that you’ll take anyone on regardless of whether or not you think you can win? You nerd.

The mother of all Crazy Grins.

~Honor Code~ 

It’s a good contrast to Kenpachi (who in of himself is notably unlike Grimmjow), who tells him he’s offering a free hit in as a handicap -- Grimmjow would never do that; he believes in a fair fight on both ends, and giving someone a free hit doesn’t quite seem like making it ‘fair’ as it does implying that the other person is weak enough to need one. 

In fact, I believe that if Kenpachi’s a foil to anyone, it’s not Grimmjow -- who’s pretty hardcore on honor codes and fair fights -- but Nnoitra, who’s the one that goes hard on the killing aspect of fighting. But that’s not what these posts are about!

More high-school Ichigo, more of his great attitude! He’s so annoyed that Chad just stands there and lets himself get beat on, man. Fight back!!

Look at this put-upon face! He’s so exasperated with this big ol’ pacifist weirdo, but he can’t help but sit down and talk to him.

What a grumpy antisocial nerd.

Oh my god, that’s destruction of property!

It’s very understated, but that’s definitely a Crazy Man Grin. This is probably one of my favorite panels of Ichigo, and we really forget he’s like this. 

Look at this boy having just dropkicked a gang leader in the face, stepped on the guy’s face and stole his cellphone, and turns around and openly counts the gang members while saying they’re all going to need ambulances when he’s done. That is aggressively confident and incredibly badass, and the act of a guy who knows he’s going to beat these guys down -- and with a smile and an air of pride that say he’s going to enjoy it.

Again, I’m not discounting that Ichigo fights to protect, I’m saying that he fucking loves a good fight, because he’s damn good at it.

“Fight for me, and I’ll fight for you. If you put your life on the line to protect something, then I’ll put my life on the line to protect it, too.”

That’s it right there. That’s the difference between Ichigo and Grimmjow: Ichigo uses his fists and his love of fighting to help and protect the people he cares about. Grimmjow fights for the sheer joy of fighting, because he doesn’t have what Ichigo does, bonds like Ichigo has.

(I could go further with that last sentence but that’ll veer dangerously into headcanon territory and I’m trying to stick with textual evidence.)

And this is basically why Kenpachi and Grimmjow are not similar. 

Grimmjow wouldn’t tolerate the idea of purposely making yourself weaker to enjoy a fight, the lie he told about his arm notwithstanding. A fight’s two people giving everything they got, not holding yourself back for any arbitrary reason.

“To fight, or to live...choose.” “It’s pointless to just fight...it’s pointless to just live...I want to win...! I WANT TO WIN!”

No explanation necessary here.

Not going to really say much, since this isn’t the bit with the Inner Hollow I was thinking of, but boy god does the quick shots of the Inner Hollow look like Grimmjow.

Not much needs to be said here.

Ichigo does like to fight, but faced with someone like Kenpachi, whose love of fighting transcends Ichigo’s to the point of near-insanity...it’s not even comparable.

Okay! I think this should be about it. Next bit I’ll probably do Ichigo’s training and his fight with Byakuya. :)

[strangefellows]

ichigo & grimmjow parallels: arrancar arc (pt.6.5)

Bonus -- Part 6.5, the Official Viz Translations! 

I own a copy of volume 32 (of course I do), so I went through to see what the official translations of some of the stuff is, and though most of it is basically the same, I picked out a few things worth mentioning.

FIRST OF ALL, EXCUSE ME, WHAT?

“I hurt your friends! You know you want to rip me apart! I would if I were you.” 

‘I would if I were you’??? Grimmjow, did you just admit to having A Feeling about your Fracciones and/or just call them your friends? God bless.

More blatant parallels, courtesy of the end of chapter sketches. Kubo, really?

I’m not sure what I want to say about this, but I feel like it Says Something.

As if the one scanlation I posted wasn’t blatant enough -- I know how you feel.

HE’S BLEEDING AND OUT OF THE BLOOD ARE FIVE TRAILS, MIRRORING THE FIVE SHADOWS ON THE COVER OF THE CHAPTER ABOUT HIS FRACCIONES!!!! REFERENCING HOW THEY’RE PART OF HIM!!

I am still dying over this.

[strangefellows]

ichigo & grimmjow parallels: arrancar arc (pt.1)

TL;DR --

And since there isn’t much left of note in the SS Arc, we’ll start the Arrancar arc! So here’s Part One: In Which Ichigo Has To Deal With Hollow-Shinigami and Shinigami-Hollow.

Just a few instances of Ichigo being a snarky little shit in the middle of a tense situation.

Hell yeah, time to fight. He’s nervous, but he’s still grinning about it.

I COMPLETELY FORGOT THIS HAPPENED, OH MY GOD.

“You’ll slowly be devoured by the hollow inside you... Your own power will destroy everything.”

...

Yes, Renji, he did. That’s what he does. (Also pot, meet kettle.)

I know this is Rukia saying this to Ichigo, but it’s...it’s really good. The advice people give him tends to be stuff like this and it’s interesting. If you’re afraid, get stronger than your fear.

I love Ichigo’s temper, gosh.

This was a short installment, I know, but--! I’m saving up for the special edition next part -- THE BLUE KITTY SPECIAL!!! GRIMMJOW HIMSELF FINALLY APPEARS!! (and also the inner hollow probably).

[strangefellows]

My bleach episodes 165-167 aesthetic:

The way Grimmjow's hand is animated when he drags his fingers across the blade to release Pantera.

Grimmjow's kitty paws and how well animated them and his feline legs are.

His sharp feline canines.

Grimmjow's repeated oh shit faces.

The Hand Catch

Ichigo's face when he catches Grimmjow's hand, and "Sorry, Grimmjow. I'm not allowed to get hurt anymore."

Ichigo catching Grimmjow when he falls after he loses.

THE SPEECH HE GIVES GRIMMJOW!!!!!!!!

[strangefellows]

ichigo & grimmjow parallels: soul society arc (pt.2)

Help, I keep doing this.

The TL;DR above the cut as usual.

Part Two: Ichigo and Ganju The Eternal Shouting Match and Squad 11 Adopts Ichigo, Round One.

GOOD LORD, ICHIGO. Five days getting your ass whipped by Urahara. Dang, son, you make determination an art form.

Cover of chapter 73!! Scar Count: 18 chapters since Ichigo got it, it’s still there~

ICHIGO KUROSAKI WE DO NOT ATTACK CAPTAINS ON A WHIM YOU ARE NOT PREPARED FOR THIS FIGHT WHAT ARE YOU DOING. Oh, wait, you’re a reckless nerd. Carry on then. (Besides, it’s Gin, Gin needs an ass-kicking.)

HOLY SHIT, ICHIGO.

The best reaction to getting smacked around and embarrassed, honestly. Bonus startled ‘Hime.

And thus we meet Ganju, and within three panels Ichigo punches him in the face.

I miss this side of Ichigo so much.

Never forget Ichigo was an expert hand-to-hand fighter way before he used a sword. (Reminder: Tatsuki is the 2nd strongest girl in Japan, and only lost the finals because she had a broken arm.)

LADIES AND GENTLEMEN, ICHIGO IS PROBABLY BETTER AT HAND-TO-HAND THAN HE IS SWORDSMANSHIP, NEVER FORGET.

Ichigo is like I’M GONNA FUCKING BEAT THAT GUY INTO PULP I’M GONNA WAIT RIGHT HERE FOR HIM SO I CAN KICK HIS ASS. God, this boy.

I’m reminded suddenly of Grimmjow’s shouting at Ichigo about how he didn’t just come to save Orihime, he came to fight...

What pride, lmfao.

Chants “HE REPAYS HIS DEBTS HE’S REALLY INTO PAYING HIS DEBTS” very loudly.

And lo, we meet Ikkaku. And Ichigo is very overconfident once again! He never backs down from a challenge, what a good boy.

Crazy Man Grin(tm) -- Madarame Edition!

Time for some fun; they both are looking like they’re enjoying this.

POINTS EMPHATICALLY AT IKKAKU. SEE? HE SEES IT!

Look how much fun he’s having!!

That grin, tho.

Ichigo, you keep doing this to people!!!

HOW DO YOU KEEP ATTRACTING THESE PEOPLE, ICHIGO? Do they see in you the same thing you see in them? Like attracts like, I guess.

It keeps happening!!!

Foreshadowing: Kenpachi Edition.

Crazy boy happy to be fightin’.

God why does Ichigo attract so many people so much alike? Ikkaku lost a fair fight so in return he’s gonna let Ichigo get on with his shit and not give up any info -- a fair reward for winning.

Muffled laughter, boy oh boy. Welcome to Squad 11, Ichigo.

With that note, I’m gonna end this part here. Next episode, Rival Fight #1 and maybe even OH GOD ITS KENPACHI, RUN (with a side of good good character stuff).

[strangefellows]

ichigo & grimmjow parallels: soul society arc (pt.1)

I promised, didn’t I? 

Again, TL;DR above the cut, but we’re doing the second part of the “Kitty has way too much invested in this” show, featuring Ichigo’s inner Hollow and Squad 11, with a guest appearance by Ichigo’s desire to pound Byakuya Kuchiki into the floor.

Part One: Renji What The Fuck, The Appearance of Ichigo’s Lingering Scar, and This Boy Loves To Fight.

Not an Ichigo thing, but I just like to document the Crazy Man Grins on people that aren’t Grimmjow because sometimes it seems like Grimmjow’s the only one Known For It -- it’s nice to see all the Similar Boys do it.

R-Renji....are you beta Grimmjow? Now that I think about it, he kind of is...ANYWAY THIS ISN’T THAT POST, THIS IS ABOUT ICHIGO.

Boy, people in this anime just LOVE doing that name thing, amirite? For example, REMEMBER MY NAME, AND PRAY YOU NEVER HEAR IT AGAIN? 

“Oops, were you just bragging about me being unable to hit you? My bad, should I go back to listening to you monologue?”

Who backs down from a fight? Not him! Not even when he’s been hurt; that just makes him more determined to win.

Look at this boy!!! Look at him!! I don’t know why it was made into this huge deal in later arcs - and then forgotten about - but this boy loves a good fight, look at how fucking ready to go he is!! It’s not a bad thing, I mean, Grimmjow and Hollow Ichigo both point it out (another tally) and it’s like “oh no how bad” but...dude, it’s fine. Even if you fight for others, it’s okay to enjoy yourself. It’s okay to fucking love a good fight!! Why was it made a big deal, it’s another point in common with so many others, Grimmjow included.

IS THAT THE SAME FUCKING SPOT ONLY SMALLER, KUBO?

Ichigo you are literally bleeding out on the ground, and yet you still have the voice to talk shit. Gosh.

[sings] Strong-eeeeeeeer~ than yesterday~

Sorry, Keigo, but you’re the designated Comedic Violence target. Because we always need a reminder that our boy has a bad temper!

I’m gonna be over here cackling at the irony in that Ichigo got a nasty chest scar from someone and now he’s like I’M GONNA KICK HIS FUCKING ASS IN A REMATCH about it. Oh boy, honey. Now you know what it’s like on the other end of that sword.

Scar Count: Still there as of three chapters later. (This will be a tally for how long Kubo remembers that Ichigo had the lingering scar. He got it in ch. 55, for reference.)

Not really relevant to the point of the post, but really cute all the same. Look at this fighty boy.

Excuse me while I go laugh in a corner. Ah, Ichigo, so innocent. Really, though, Urahara, THIS IS FUCKING DANGEROUS WHAT THE FUCK YOU ABSOLUTE MADMAN.

It’s not relevant to the post, not really, but god is the Shattered Shaft trial fucked up. And if those mouths on the chains is what normally happens...god, do I feel bad for those spirits who go through that. Their few hours/days as a human is just...traumatizing.

Again, not 100% relevant, but still I feel like it’s important to gesture loudly at the fact that Ichigo is part Hollow just as Grimmjow -- being an Arrancar -- is part shinigami.

Shattering and removing his own Hollow mask...now, isn’t that how a Hollow becomes an Arrancar...? Hm. If that’s not symbolic somehow, I’ll eat Urahara’s hat.

Am I going to C/P every panel where Ichigo is screaming and angry and threatening death and/or bodily harm? Probably.

Both very good points, Ichigo.

Cover page of chapter 68! Scar Count: Still there thirteen chapters later!

“We have to win!” That’s my boy.

I think here is a good spot to stop part 1, because hooooly shit this is gonna get long otherwise. Anyway part two coming up, and that bit’s probably gonna be mostly Ikkaku.

[strangefellows]

ichigo & grimmjow parallels: arrancar arc (pt.2)

TL;DR --

Part Two of the Arrancar arc: GRIMMJOW SPECIAL!!! THE OTHER GUY IN THIS PARALLELS THING FINALLY SHOWS UP!!!! 

Okay I know he goes on to be like “Ulquiorra should’ve killed them all, I told him so,” but I really just want to focus on the second line here. Boys, gosh. They all act like a bunch of homicidal frat boys, let’s be real. What bros.

Our Crazy Man Grin expert is back at it again! And he’s already very different from the arrancar we’ve already seen. Yammy spoke casuall, but was ridiculously stupid and needed to take orders constantly, and we all know Ulquiorra was serious and logical and unemotional. Grimmjow, here, now, is very noticeably more like the shinigami we’ve seen -- Kenpachi in particular at this point, albeit more “villainous”. He’s rude, he’s casual, he’s loud, he doesn’t respond well to orders and logic, and he works together with a group just the same as him personality-wise, similar to Kenpachi and Squad 11. 

It’s definitely something to pick up on, along with the fact that he hasn’t stopped grinning since he got here -- he’s raring for a fight, and you can see it in his face easily. This is a guy that is all in for a fight, and he’s delighted that Ulquiorra (in his view) fucked up and left the orange-haired shinigami alive. Just means more fun for him.

That really must have spooked Di Roy, I’m not gonna lie. Some asshole just grabs his hand mid-strike and sasses him about kicking his ass...woof. Not many people can do that.

I gotta wonder what the hell is running through Di Roy’s head at this moment watching this punk kid scream at his friend and threaten the weird fake body thing.

Continuing the sass. 

Okay remember how I said I was going to try to avoid getting into headcanon so much? Well, it’s canon now so fuck that.

Grimmjow stayed behind when the others moved, probably to wait and see who was strongest -- and then Di Roy got killed, and he turns up almost immediately with the outright stated goal of killing them extra dead because they got Di Roy.

Our second glimpse that this guy is not the average Arrancar -- the last two we saw were pretty nasty to each other; well, Yammy was just kinda dumb, but Ulquiorra was rude and called him stupid and probably wouldn’t have given a crap if Yammy had gotten himself killed save for the fact that Aizen needed him. Grimmjow is even a dick to Ulquiorra, which implies his behavior here doesn’t extend to anyone but his Fracciones. And even in the coming pages, Yylfordt and Edrad dismiss Di Roy as weak and complain that they shouldn’t have brought him along -- still a bit shitty, but as his fellow Fracciones, it’s probably more out of annoyance than hating him.

Grimmjow, though. Grimmjow in his first lines ever to Ichigo and Rukia explicitly makes it clear that he’s gonna fuck them up extra bad for killing one of his Fracciones. That’s definitely not of the norm based on what we’ve seen so far.

I’m mostly avoiding grabbing screens of Ikkaku because this isn’t about him, but I felt like this one really retrospectively drives home the point I made earlier -- look at Ikkaku, look how much fun he’s having fighting a strong opponent. That’s all Grimmjow, too. The way Grimmjow is presented, his desire and love for strong opponents to fight, it’s the same way that Squad 11 (Kenpachi and Ikkaku) are presented. He’s coded as it is to remind us of these particular shinigami, and it’s definitely noticeable. Though later on we’re given a real Kenpachi foil in Nnoitra, and there’s a lot of differences between our crazy Captain and Grimmjow, Ikkaku is the one that keeps on being very similar.

And who is the guy Ikkaku first fought? The guy it’s established would fit right at home in Squad 11 and even went on to spar with Ikkaku for fun because they made friends via their fight? Ichigo, of course.

AND ANOTHER THING! See that scar there on Ikkaku? That right there was from his fight with Ichigo. Seems he has a thing for marking his future friends. Jeez, Ichigo.

EDRAD HOLY SHIT DON’T TALK ABOUT GRIMMJOW LIKE THAT.

I mean, no, I’m sorry, but still. He must recognize his boss in this crazy guy at least a little, this ‘fight-loving idiot’ -- and that’s why he’s doing him the honor of releasing his Resurreccion. Ikkaku’s type is the type he can’t stop fighting ‘til it’s really, really over, because he knows that type. If he doesn’t smash them to bits, they’ll just keep getting up. 

Just like his boss, after all.

And we’re right back to our boys, finally! I like that our first color spread for this bit is framed like this. We get our boys, one per panel, facing each other like a mirror image. Grimmjow is grinning, Ichigo not so much. But they still feel similar somehow? It might be my bias or Kubo’s style, but...

I noticed I’m being more talkative this part -- it’s partly because I’m definitely biased, as Grimmjow is my favorite bleach characters and a character I’ve roleplayed as for four or five years now (so I have a lot of thought put into him), but it’s also because it’s a lot harder to point out his similarities to Ichigo than it is to point out Ichigo’s similarities to him. We can easily see those, because even Grimmjow points them out. Ichigo can be loud and rude and violent and angry, can love a good fight, hell, his Inner Hollow is basically Grimmjow in and of itself. But for Grimmjow...it’s a bit harder to say how he’s like our favorite substitute Shinigami. So I feel like I have to do a bit more talking to get it across.

His second comment, right after telling them he’s gonna fuck them up double hard for killing Di Roy? Which one of you is stronger. He’s not gonna waste his time with small fry, he wants to go straight to the real fight, the real fun.

(Which is probably why I think that he only goes after Rukia first because he guesses correctly that she was the one who took down Di Roy, given Tsukishiro’s explosion and that he saw some of what Ichigo could do already. So regardless of who was stronger, he was still gonna take her out first. If she was stronger, she would’ve tanked the hit and he would’ve gotten his fight then. If not, then he takes out his Fraccion’s killer and gets his fight in the orange-haired kid.)

“Don’t give me any compliments. After all, I haven’t yet released reiatsu worthy of any praise! Whether or not it’s praiseworthy...will be decided by your death!”

It interests me that Grimmjow in particular that stresses that the way he is is because he’s a Hollow, and Hollows are beings of hunger and instinct and destruction. But with Ikkaku giving this showing, we gotta wonder -- is he just saying that because he has no outside context? Because clearly Hollows aren’t the only ones who act like that.

HONESTLY I’M TRYING TO KEEP THIS TO GRIMMJOW AND ICHIGO PARALLELS BUT THIS KEEPS HAPPENING???? GOOD LORD.

Grimmjow, grumpy that Ichigo isn’t at full power. It’s no fun, no challenge, if his opponent isn’t giving it their all.

[jazz hands] Hand-to-hand combatant~! He definitely prefers to use his fists and feet, for sure. By now the others (except Edrad, who had to be coerced a bit) had already drawn their swords.

Look at this happy man, he’s so fucking delighted to have just been ripped up by Getsuga Tenshō. That means Ichigo’s a challenge.

But no, really, LOOK AT THE FRAMING HERE. Again, opposite sides of the page, like a mirror, both are grinning, both have blood on their faces, and both are trash-talking each other. “Shinigami.” “Arrancar.” It’s amazing and perfect and just so great of an example of how Kubo writes them as mirrors of each other more so than any other character+Ichigo.

That feels a lot like what Grimmjow is gonna be shouting soon enough, and I can’t imagine that he doesn’t feel the same way. He wants to go and finish it, I’m sure, but he knows with Tousen there he can’t. But he wants to.

He’s really observant, super smart, too -- people seem to forget that Grimmjow’s pretty damn smart.

He’s alive, but he lost, and it eats at him. He may have survived, but he knows he lost completely and utterly, and he can’t stand it. He can’t stand it just as much as Grimmjow can’t stand being humiliated in the next scene. Both of their experiences here pit them against each other again, because they were so affected by the fight -- Ichigo’s realization that he can’t do anything if he doesn’t get his shit together, and Grimmjow’s loss of everything (his fracciones, his arm, his rank) -- and that’s going to drive them to keep clashing.

Speaking of the next scene...

I’ve talked about this scene in particular at length in another post in the context of how horrifying it was if you really think about it, and how much Grimmjow absolutely loathes Aizen, but I can talk about it again in this context too!

“Apologize to Aizen, Grimmjow.” “No.”

The way that panel is framed makes him look like a petulant teenager and I love it. Then again, he’s probably like that because it’s sinking in that all his Fracciones are dead, not gonna lie. He’s pretty quiet for a lot of this bit.

I’m honestly reminded a little of Ichigo trashing Byakuya’s adherence to The Rules Of Soul Society, not going to lie.

That’s it for now! Next time I think will be Ichigo and the Vizards, and Grimmjow’s next appearance. Yay!