Follow us on Google News
Get the latest updates directly in your Google News feed
The anime community is in a perpetual state of shipping wars by pairing random characters who have no romantic feelings toward each other. The most notorious case of toxicity might go to theMy Hero Academiafanbase but older anime fanbases also fall victim to this.
Bleachmight be your typical shonen anime filled with actions and follows the theme of death but it does have romance. The protagonist, Ichigo Kurosaki, marries Orihime Inoue and they even have a son. Likewise, many others get married and live happily. However, someBleachfans weren’t happy for them.
While Ichigo and Orihime were always written to be love interests since the start ofBleach,some fans believed he had better chemistry with Rukia Kuchiki and to this day think he should’ve ended up with her instead.
Some anime fans might have difficulty comprehending that men and women can remain platonic friends but alas, here we are again. There are several reasons why Orihime was better suited for theBleachprotagonist, other than the fact that Tite Kubo also said so.
Ichigo was always interested in Orihime, never Rukia
Orihime’s love for Ichigo is always louder and wears her heart on her sleeve. TheBleachprotagonist, on the other hand, had more subtle ways of professing his affection for her. He’s noticeably quite brash with his friends, including Rukia, but with Orihime, he’s more careful and soft.
He’s always protecting her and puts her first as seen when he transforms into his Vasto Lorde form. Ichigo gets driven in this form by a sense of protection, specifically to protect her. This was the moment several fans were convinced that he does, indeed, love only her.
Studio Pierrot, the animation house behindBleach,did have a certain bias towards Rukia and Ichigo. Several scenes meant for Orihime and the protagonist were switched out for Rukia. The anime-only viewers likely got misled by this adaptation, whereas manga readers knew Orihime was the one for him.
“That was the last bit of his arrogance”: Tite Kubo is a Mad Genius for One of the Most Brutal Byakuya Scenes in Bleach That Started His Redemption
This happened withNarutoas well whereSakura isn’t so “insufferable,” underutilized, nor very touchy with Narutoin the manga as compared to the anime. It seems Studio Pierrot tends to warp the manga’s version of events heavily. This is exactly what happened with Rukia.
Orihime’s character in the anime adaptation was also skewered in the process.She came off as whinyso it’s no wonderBleachfans wanted Rukia to be with Ichigo instead since they hate any female character with this archetype.
The importance of Ichigo’s platonic friendship with Rukia
From the beginning ofBleach,Rukia and Ichigo share a distinctly close friendship. They’re almost like siblings to each other. They even bicker like they’re related but in truth, they are just long-time friends. She’s also the one who introduced him to Hollows, Pluses, and such.
The platonic friendship between them is as important as Ichigo’s romantic relationship with Orihime. They both keep him in check but in very different ways. While Orihime heals him through his grief, Rukia is the person who can give him a good kicking when he needs courage. It’s what friends are for.
Tite Kubo Evaded the Most Common Shonen Trope Not Even ‘Dragon Ball’ and ‘One Piece’ Escaped
Besides, if Rukia ended up with Ichigo,who would Renji Abarai end up with? Did these shippers even stop to think about her marriage with the red-haired shinigami?
Tite Kubohas written their relationship beautifully too but fans chose to ignore it in favor of her with Ichigo. Sometimes, delusion isn’t the solution.
Bleachis available on Crunchyroll.
Bidisha Mitra
Articles Published :802
Bidisha is an Anime Content Writer at FandomWire with over 700 published articles. With over 7 years of writing experience, she’s versatile and adept. When she’s not writing, she’s also a voice actor on the side.Bidisha is currently continuing to learn Japanese and gets more fluent everyday. Her expertise is One Piece, Bungo Stray Dogs, and Haikyuu, but has been watching anime for over a decade. She was previously a Content Writer reviewing the latest Kpop music.
