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With this last one, they have animated the scene where Rukia lets go of Renji's hand, 3 times. First, in the old anime. Then, in the movie Fade to Black the scene appears again in Renji's memories when he is trying to remember Rukia. And finally, from Rukia's perspective, I like a lot this last one, it's a different angle and the focus on their hands separating is powerful, and the light of that large window in front of Renji adds a special atmosphere.

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So, I was looking for a good quality image of this screenshot of the Bleach anime 20th anniversary video, and I couldn't find any with a clear image. Someone on Twitter posted quality screenshots of the video with Rukia's memories of Ichigo, Kaien and Byakuya, and all of them were good, except this one which still looked blurry. Then I realized that those scenes are supposed to be from Rukia's perspective, and in this scene with Renji the image is blurry because she was crying! Rukia had tears in her eyes and because of that the scene is seen blurry. It's a great and subtle detail. I love it

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Question 606 from Klub Outside is an interesting one, because it can give a glimpse of the years of separation of Rukia and Renji, and of how Rukia dealt with the situation.

Because, Byakuya has called Renji "Renji" since the start of the manga, this is when they arrived at Karakura to capture Rukia. This is before Renji and Rukia's reconciliation, so, why did Byakuya know that Rukia called Renji "Renji"? This implies that Rukia often talked about Renji. It should be often because, that Byakuya decided to call Renji by his first name implies that Byakuya had gotten so used to hearing about him that he already felt Renji as someone familiar, so it was just natural for Byakuya to call him simply "Renji". Or Byakuya saw something else in the way that Rukia talked about Renji. Because Rukia calls Ichigo "Ichigo" too, and Byakuya still calls him by his full name or simply "Kurosaki", even although he has come to appreciate him. So something must have noticed Byakuya that impelled him to call Renji by his first name.

I don't know if Byakuya and Rukia talked much between them about Renji, because they had a distant relationship that it made the communication between them difficult. Maybe Byakuya sometimes asked Rukia some things about her past, and then here she talked about her friends and the person who was with her at the academy. But also, with his indirect methods to worry about Rukia, perhaps Byakuya asked other people that Rukia talked to, maids and servants, or her division members, about what she would tell them. Even maybe Byakuya was sometimes secretly listening to some Rukia's conversations, lol. I've also read some theories that maybe Rukia said Renji's name in her dreams.

Another possibility is that during those years of separation, despite they avoided each other's paths, Renji and Rukia met sometimes when Byakuya was accompanying her, and they acted very awkwardly while Byakuya raised an eyebrow, and then Byakuya would ask Rukia about that guy.

Through all of this it's probable that Byakuya realized of the importance of Renji for Rukia, and I even bet he guessed the type of importance. Because I had always speculated that Byakuya had chosen Renji as his vice-captain because he wanted to know more of him because he knew of Renji and Rukia's past relationship, and this new answer from Kubo almost makes me sure of it. Because I doubt that Byakuya would choose someone like Renji, from the 11th division, not the type of shinigami that he would prefer to have next to him, if not for an ulterior motive.

I'd like some manga panels about this matter.

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People now hopped on this theory that the reason renji wasn't in rukias fears was bc she had absolute confidence in him and his abilities and she had nothing to worry about when it comes to renji as opposed to byakuya, ichigo and orihime. And i wish i could subscribe to this theory as well but i feel like that's not how fear works? And if rukia believes renji is invincible and nothing bad can ever happen to him ever... that's not really a good thing. That's why renji being the "fear you've been trying to avoid" worked so well, but kubo had other ideas i guess. How probable do you think this theory is?

I am always going to look to the manga first for "what Kubo meant", and I think the manga-only scene where Rukia tells Renji to go hide himself between fights is a pretty strong argument that she does not have anything close to "absolute confidence" in him. Further, the strongest evidence that she might have that view is the fact that she tells him he can handle Mask by himself, except that the delivery of that line in the anime came off to me as a lot less "I have full confidence in you, babe" and a lot more "This man is a clown and you can have him."

It feels like the anime is trying to cram as much as they can into a very strict time limit, and they are stripping out what they gotta in order to do that, most of which is character stuff. The way they paced the episode made me feel like you were supposed to be focusing 100% on how spOoOooky As Nodt's fear powers were, and 0% on whatever Rukia was going through internally.

The OG anime did Renji dirty constantly. TYBW has not been nearly so bad, but they are definitely reducing Rukia and Renji's role from that in the manga (and perhaps they are doing that to everyone. I can't speak to that, but R&R are my blorbos, so I can say for sure that they have both lost a lot of scenes and not been prominently featured in trailers despite being longtime primary characters.) Whether or not "something bad happening to Renji" was the reason he wasn't included in Rukia's first fear montage, the fact that they didn't just plop him into it suggests to me that Kubo had a reason, and that it was a strong enough reason that they kept it that way. Personally, I'm just going to keep believing my unhinged secret Renruki content conspiracy theories, and the fact that the anime cut it just supports the idea that there was secret, volatile content that was worth cutting.

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I've seen that this scene, that it has now been adapted by the anime but in a very different way, is being analyzed to prove if Renji is one of the most important persons to Rukia or not.

In the first place, that people have doubts about Renji's importance to Rukia is laughable. Renji and Rukia, who lived together during many years, and part of that time were just the 2 of them, surviving in that poor place, obviously forged a very strong bond. Renji was the most important person to Rukia during years. And later, after a very long and unwanted separation, they regained their previous relationship where they have again the strongest bond. Renji is the person with who Rukia spends her time in the Soul Society when she is not working or is with her family Byakuya, he was and still is her best friend (by the time this scene appeared in the manga).

What I don't undertand is why some people instead of thinking why Renji is not there, reach the conclusion of "Renji is not that important to Rukia", which doesn't make sense. I very much agree with what a Japanese renruki fan said on Twitter: "I don't think you're the right person to read BLEACH if you think that Renji's absence in that scene = poor Renji". kubo drew it like that because it has a meaning.

In fact, the Japanese fans I've seen on Twitter have been trying to interpret that scene to understand why Renji is not there, because the reason is never going to be because he is not really important to Rukia, so those fans try to find the real answer.

I had told my interpretation of those scenes of the manga here:

The truth is I was confused and I'm stil confused about the meaning of which were Rukia's fears in that scene, and why Renji is not there.

And the anime adaptation has made it even more confused, because they have simply copied what happened with Byakuya in his fight, in his case with Rukia's image, and in Rukia's case with Ichigo, Orihime and Byakuya. Why did they change it? No idea, and I'd find strange that it was Kubo's idea because the scenes in the manga have, in my opinion, a much deeper meaning, they were Rukia's meaningful memories of those relationships, and Rukia might feel fear of losing those relationships, not of their deaths, just like she lost her relationship with Renji. But in the anime it looks like Rukia is afraid they die so that would mean they really try to put those persons as the most important or closest to Rukia, which doesn't make sense if Renji is not there.

But with what I don't agree at all it's with the explanation that Rukia is not afraid for Renji because she knows he is very strong now. I doubt that Rukia think Renji is stronger than Byakuya or Ichigo, who went to the Royal Realm too, and, above all, it's just natural to be always afraid for the safety of the loved ones when they are doing something dangerous, like fighting someone very strong, or simply to be afraid to someday lose the loved ones.

I was very interested in how they were going to adapt the scene in the anime, and I didn't like it, it was much better with Rukia's flashbacks of important moments of those relationships. At least they didn't add Renji in the anime scene, what means kubo didn't forgot Renji when he drew that chapter in the manga, and it means that Kubo left Renji out on purpose, for a still unknown reason. I'm happy for that, and, despite I'd someday want to know why, in fact Renji is really being highlighted with respect to Rukia's other relationships precisely by not being in that scene.

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The age of Ichika and Kazui in the new one-shot

I've seen people speculating about their age and I think people think they are older than what they are really. Following the info we know from manga and novel, in the new Bleach one-shot Ichika is probably still 7 years old and Kazui just turned 6. I will explain it.

The fights of the last Bleach arc took place during the month of June. When Ichigo was sent to the human world by Nimaiya, it was exactly June 17th, the anniversary of his mother's death:

And he came back to SS the next day, and from here, 1 or 2 days passed until the battle with Yhwach ended. 

Then, in the last chapter there is a time-skip of 10 years, although it was the Obon festival, so that means it's August:

Renji and Rukia got married 3 years after the last arc, and in the novel it's said it was in December, so this is 3 years and some months. Ichika's birthday is October 28th. So she was born 4 years after the last arc, so she might be 6 years old in the last chapter, but she was actually still 5 (and 9/10 months) because she would turn 6 in October.

In the artbook Jet, Kubo drew an illustration of Kazui and Ichika as teenagers, and he said Kazui was 13 years old here, and Ichika was

around 15, so she is around 2 years older than him. Kazui's birthday is April 29th, so, him and Ichika probably have an age difference of exactly 1 year and a half. So, in the last chapter (August) he was 4 years old (and 3-4 months).

In the new one-shot 2 years have passed since then, but it hasn't still been said what month or Season is. But it seems Ichigo and his friends are wearing short sleeves at Keigo’s ramen shop, and if they are doing a ceremony for Ukitake, who died 12 years ago in June, it's very probable it be June too, or at least Summer. So Ichika would still be 7 years old (she would be 8 in October 28th), and Kazui just turned 6 in April 29th.

I noticed in the one-shot that in some drawings they really represented that age, and other times they looked a little older, but, going by height, Ichika is barely taller than her father's butt, and when she trained with Ikkaku she looked very small too, so it's clear she is still a very little kid (and/or maybe she inherited her mother's height too).

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The new Bleach one-shot was really a very sweet surprise. Although I practically stopped of publishing posts here, I’ve been following all Bleach news and new art that Kubo has been publishing, mainly through Twitter and forums, and I’ve especially been hoping for a new chapter of Bleach, and it finally happened.

 During the previous weeks to its release, I was very anxious about the period where would be placed, and what would treat, would be humorous, serious, the characters looked very different, if Ichika and Kazui appear, what age they will be and I will like their characters,   etc. And I was very happy it took place just 2 years after the last chapter, because then the kids would still be little. I wanted to see more of their characters as little kids because they would be more adorable. And the chapter confirmed they really are. Finally they have a more defined personality and we can feel attached to them because of who they are, and not because they are the children of our favorite characters. Very adorable kids indeed. And the rest of characters have the same personalities we loved. It’s like time hasn’t passed, like if the last bleach chapter was published the last week, the continuity is excellent.

Actually, reading some parts of the chapter, I felt like I was reading my dream fantasy, it exactly appeared what I wanted the most, to see Renji and Ichika interacting as father and daughter, and it was fantastically done by Kubo. The chapter is full of panels I adore, and especially seeing Ichika grabbing his father and taking refuge behind him, and Renji trying to calm and protect her placing his hand on her head, was the mos adorable thing in the world.

Although Renji and Rukia as couple had less focus, I liked very much to see them interecting again, in their house, and they looked very happy and relaxed. And they showed again that intimacy they have, seeing Rukia holding Renji’s hand to talk to the phone, instead of holding it herself, was a great detail.

I would like to see some kiss, but maybe that too much for what kubo want to show.

But, in short, I’m very happy and I can say that I’m almost totally satisfied with what I hoped of new Bleach content, and I almost don’t need anything else. 

Now, I’ve felt the need to express my thoughts, feelings and joy in this site again, so I will write some posts.

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New drawing by Kubo sensei for the COVID-19 quarantine

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Rukia and Renji's childhood friends - Info from BLEACH JET Booklet [Translation]

Here is my translation of Kubo’s character sheet for Renji and Rukia’s childhood friends. I know a lot of people have always wanted to know their names but I think no one had shared this information among the western fanbase yet!

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Once the outcome of the battle between Ichigo and Renji had been determined, chapter 98 is where Renji entrusts Ichigo with the rescue of Rukia. This is the character sheet of the three childhood friends who appeared in Renji’s recollections during that moment. Character names, traits and so on are revealed to the world for the first time!

(From left to right)

藤丸 - Fujimaru

He is the tallest of the group.

Has a strong sense of responsibility and is the witty one.

小三郎 - Kosaburou

Quiet.

He is a hard worker despite his appearance.

マメ次 - Mameji

Is usually the butt of the joke.

Timid but good with numbers.

Translator’s Notes:

I believe Mameji gets his name from the fact that he’s small! ‘Mame’ is often used in Japanese for small things.

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@renjiweek ———— Day 7: AU

I wanted to draw so much more for the renjiweek but couldn’t, but I also always wanted to draw Renji as a taichou and that I could do. 

Rokubantai taichou, Abarai Renji.

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Started watching Bleach with my bf and I instantly fell in love with Renji so I decided to draw him Based it on the image seen at the bottom!

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+add Lunchtime 🍙 框(キョウ)

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Lunch_box Meeting 🍱 Present for Chihaya-san 框(キョウ)

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RenRuki fan art ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

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Happy Father’s Day <3

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6/16 Japanese sweet’s day 🍡 框(キョウ)

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Renji and Rukia need an onscreen kiss