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Ichihime week 2025, day 1: red string of fate

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ICHIHIME WEEK 2025 DAY 01. Red String of Fate / Waiting

Can you hear that sound?

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Always Ichihime💘

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How the Japanese fans themselves interpret 'those Lust arc scenes ™ '

The debate around whether or not Ichigo is referring to Orihime both before and during his Perfect Hollowfication in The Lust has reared its ugly head…yet again. 

This is so bizarre to observe as someone who’s been part of the Japanese speaking Bleach fandom for several years during its run. I have never seen any Japanese fan dispute the fact that the subject was solely Orihime. Nor have I ever seen this particular scene being mentioned in any context other than “Ichigo reacting to Orihime’s voice/cries for help.” 

To put it simply, the context is so obvious that this isn’t even a debate in Japan lol. I know it’s been said a hundred times already, but to reiterate pronouns are very often ignored in Japanese (I omit pronouns like 80% of the time) especially when you’re talking about another person because doing so may even be considered rude as well as sounding totally unnatural. In fact, if Ichigo had used “彼女” (she/her) it would sound like he’s referring to his girlfriend. 

Ichigo doesn’t need to use a pronoun to indicate who he’s talking to because it’s obvious from the context, obvious to everyone except overseas Ichiruki fans it seems. So, I’ve taken the liberty to show everyone how Japanese fans themselves interpret this scene with sources unlike the

“just trust me bro”

essay that spawned this hilarious mess in the first place. Below are some of the Japanese fan reactions to Ichigo’s Hollow transformation during The Lust chapters (or references to it) in relation to Orihime’s presence. 

Blog post from 2009:

Source: 

https://ameblo.jp/rain-chaime/entry-10358790684.html

Ichigo’s heart tries to answer Orihime’s voice …then, there is a change in Ichigo…

“Help… her… I will… help her.” In response to these words, Orihime feels responsible for seeking his help.  Orihime…it can’t be helped, because Ichigo is Orihime’s personal hero lol.

Blog post from 2010:

Source: 

http://wondertime.blog31.fc2.com/blog-entry-1386.html

She can’t do anything, moreover she has no idea what to do, the only thing she can do is to call out Ichigo’s name… “Help me…! Kurosaki-kun!!” Something strange happens to Ichigo who responded to the voice of Orihime …!!! *sweats*

Anon jokes about Orihime’s voice bringing Ichigo back to life in a discussion thread:

Source: 

https://bbs.animanch.com/board/1318379/

Even if Ichigo dies, he’ll probably just power up with Inoue’s voice and come back to life.

Blog post from 2010:

Source: 

https://plaza.rakuten.co.jp/kazusaroom/diary/201005190001/?scid=wi_blg_amp_diary_next

At the very least, the frustration I felt towards Orihime at the time I was reading the magazine has now turned into understanding. “help me! kurosaki-kun!” Ichigo suddenly shows a reaction to Orihime’s voice “She’s calling … she’s calling me.” “Stand up! Stand up!” Ichigo says. “I will protect her!”

Blog post from 2010:

Source: 

http://strawcat.blog12.fc2.com/blog-entry-2441.html

Orihime, who is helpless to do anything but watch as her friends fall, can only cry out Ichigo’s name… Something extraordinary occurs in the body of Ichigo who had returned [to life] in response to that voice, the Ichigo before her eyes is perfectly Hollowfied!!

Blog post from 2010:

Source: 

http://kadukikagayaki.blog129.fc2.com/blog-entry-83.html

Orihime’s desperate sorrow … it finally comes through in her voice as she wants Ichigo to help her… Something strange is happening to Ichigo’s body… this is finally happening isn’t it? Ichigo who was losing consciousness still manages to respond to Orihime’s cries and then he wakes up, I mean, his form goes berserk…

Article about Ichigo’s Hollow transformations:

Source: 

https://11kamone.com/ichigo-horou-18894#i-11

At that time, Ichigo who was revived in response to Orihime’s cries, transformed into a figure that closely resembled the above-mentioned Hollow, White, and then defeated Ulquiorra. 

Article about Ichigo’s Perfect Hollowfication:

Source: 

https://performance-navi01.com/ichigo-perfecthollow/33919/#41350

In order to protect Orihime during the fight against Ulquiorra, which I mentioned earlier, Ichigo becomes perfectly Hollowfied. 

Analysis of Volume 41:

Source: 

https://note.com/zawa_no9cs/n/n24cc091c50cc

Fallen before Ulquiorra who displayed overwhelming power with “Resurreccion - Segunda Etapa,” Ichigo responded to Orihime’s voice which uttered “help me” before becoming perfectly Hollowfied and the battle between the two draws closer towards the end.

Volume 41 impressions:

Source: 

https://ameblo.jp/mangasho5/entry-12424584769.html

But…. Orihime’s cry. Orihime’s tears  It rouses something in Ichigo whose consciousness had already started to fade.

Ichigo was resurrected from the brink of death by the the words of Orihime as she uttered “help me, Kurosaki-kun!”

Volume 41 reviews:

Source: 

https://bookmeter.com/books/565371#js-book-reviews

After being awakened by Orihime’s voice, Ichigo undergoes Hollowfication of his whole body?

Ichigo is ominously awakened by Orihime’s voice.

When Orihime’s cries reach Ichigo, who should have died, Ichigo is revived via a Hollowfication that is different from his previous form.

Ichigo was roused by Orihime’s words before taking on his next form. 

After Orihime’s cry made Ichigo rise up, he becomes a Hollow!?

Every. Single. Discussion… around these chapters in Japan say the same thing,

the remnants of Ichigo’s humanity is reacting to Orihime and Orihime alone.

I could carry on with more and more examples until I break this post with the amount of links I can find. Find me one, just one Japanese article, discussion thread or blog post that indicates the opposite… oh wait, you can’t because they don’t exist.  Just to be clear we have:

All official translations and reliable fan translations (like Cnet)… actually, even the old fan translations which came out before the official ones…all of them include the she/her pronoun because it’s obvious and correct.

The databook refers to Orihime specifically.

Masakazu Morita’s interview

The Japanese fans themselves…

But apparently overseas Ichiruki fans understand the Japanese language better than Japanese people. The audacity lmao. And to think, the one and only source of information for the other side is some rando chick - with a reputation for misinformation and toxic online behaviour - who made a “just trust me bro” essay over a decade ago. Thanks for reading, Rei

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Family💘

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This scene has always been one of my personal favorite IchiHime moments– and so underrated as well! content warning for mentions of: #domestic abuse, #child abuse, #gendered slurs (in linked image)

Here, we have Orihime approaching Ichigo to apologize to him for possibly annoying him with her Kanonji impression earlier in class. Even if she was having fun, she’s clearly feeling guilty just with the possibility of having made Ichigo uncomfortable, and she makes a clear effort to rectify the situation as soon as she can. She isn’t apologizing to make herself feel better, she’s apologizing because she thought she’d made Ichigo feel badly. She puts his feelings before her own, like any good friend or acquaintance would.

Ichigo brushes off her worries with a wave of his hand, saying it isn’t a big deal at all. Which is a bit funny to me, because I distinctly remember him being in an openly foul mood about it all day prior to this moment, and being irritated by it following this scene. Maybe he doesn’t mind it so much when Orihime’s the one shouting “Bohaha”? (which holds water– he really doesn’t seem to mind…) Maybe he’s appreciative of her apology and doesn’t feel the need to be as harsh on her as he’s been with others? (wait, isn’t that a recurring theme? People pissing Ichigo off by teasing him, and the only one he doesn’t throw a fit at because of it is Orihime? Hmm…)

Then Ichigo makes her happy without even trying. And how he manages this shouldn’t really be taken lightly given the fact that he addresses Orihime’s damaged past regarding her family:

Orihime originally came from an abusive household, where it’s implied she was beaten regularly (or rather, violently enough that Sora feared she would die if he didn’t take her away). And after her brother dies and comes back as a hollow, he tries to kill her. It’s been made abundantly clear that Orihime comes from a broken family, like most of the main cast, but I feel as though Orihime’s is especially notable given its much darker themes (call it my character bias, if you want to though).

Ichigo is kind to his siblings. He, like Orihime, puts the feelings of others that he cares about before his own. She thinks he’s kind for it, especially since he’s doing something that he hates just to make his family happy. She voices this observation, and he seems puzzled by her words because, to him, “it’s normal”. What Ichigo doesn’t realize is that to Orihime, this isn’t normal at all.

The fact that he doesn’t make a big deal out of it is what gets her, in my opinion. That he quickly replies, without skipping a beat, with that cute little hint of naivety that comes with youth, “it’s normal”. Orihime hasn’t had experience with family treating each other with kindness as a normal thing (outside of her time with Sora– who was probably working so often to provide for them that he didn’t spend much time with her, if we’re being realistic). In her world, treating family with kindness, looking out for them, doing things you hate to see them happy… that isn’t normal. But for Ichigo, it is. And though he won’t ever accept the compliment, those two simple words of his reaffirm in her heart that he is most definitely a kind person.

I got a little repetitive there, but I felt it was a bit difficult to articulate my point… so, I hope I did it okay! Okay what else did I want to say…

All right, so I’ve always felt like the final panel in this scene is the exact moment when her feelings for Ichigo began to grow from a crush into love. She appreciates his personality, his selfless and kind nature, and his heart so much –and the fact that he doesn’t realize all these good qualities just makes her care for him more. I just really love this scene it’s so underrated but so so important for so many reasons.

IDK WHERE IM GOING WITH THIS ANYMORE HE MAKES HER SO HAPPY RIGHT FROM THE VERY START AND HE DOESNT EVEN REALIZE HOW GOOD HE IS AND SHE DOESNT REALIZE HOW GOOD SHE IS BUT THEY BOTH SEE GOODNESS IN EACH OTHER……………

OTP FOR LIFE

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Five lives💘

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😍😍

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Best Support🧡

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Hero and Heroine together

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Yhwach surprised to see Orihime healing Ichigo in the middle of the battle

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OMGGGG BEST HEALER

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Ichigo and Orihime are so adorable when they interact🥰

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