Orihime Inoue is MORE IMPORTANT Than You Think

the festival of tanabata recalls the legend of guru shokujo also known as the cowherd and the weaver girl it's a legend shared across china korea and japan that tells the story of urihime and hikoboshi the names that are represented by the star's vegan altair respectively these two lovers were separated by a circumstance and the river of amanogawa only allowed to meet on the seventh day of the seventh month connected by a bridge of magpies that came together in response to odahume's tears driven by a desire that filled them with faith that they would eventually meet again however if it rains on this day the river will rise too much preventing the bridge from connecting the two and delaying their meaning for yet another year this reign is known as the tear of urhime and hikoboshi interestingly enough rain also plays a thematic role throughout the story of thai kubo's bleach as well as one of the main characters of the story being named after the weaver girl herself and upon reading her character poem at the beginning of volume 3 we see the following words [Music] if i were rain that joins the sky and earth that otherwise never touch could i join two hearts as well i feel that you know though very obviously important to the story of leech is neglected by readers as nothing more than another useless female character her only powers are that of healing and she doesn't play a major role in terms of attack and one of the longest arcs in the entirety of bleach and arguably weekly shonen jump itself is predicated upon her rescue as such the label of useless seems to follow her around but is that really the truth is that all she is or is there more to the character than anybody seems to understand is she nothing more than a useless damsel in distress or is she possibly one of the most vital characters to the core of not just bleach but also the development of kurosaki ichigo who is changing the world of this story with his very actions well the only way is to walk into the rain and search for the heart to find the bridge that connects us to the weaving princess starved of the connection to the one she loves this is inoue a girl who is more important and stronger than you think [Music] our introduction to arihime and the manga is through her attraction to ichigo immediately taking place after the events of chapter one where he got his shinigami powers she's portrayed as being a little weird and having a strange imagination but the most noticeable aspect of her aside from is possibly her long orange hair which concerning her connection to ichigo is very important to consider as it's one of the things focused on the most when talking about ichigo's complex as an outsider whereas ichigo eventually used violence to deal with bullying and stereotyping because of his bright orange hair viewed in japan as a typical trait of a delinquent and even more importantly the mark of an outsider orihime is manifested in a lack of confidence in herself she was bullied and harassed and borderline tortured by her classmates in school just for looking a certain way even forcing her to cut her long hair that her older brother was so proud of her older brother who protected her her long hair that she originally cut into tatsuki her most precious friend told her to be proud of it her friend who protected her so along with this hair that is so similar to the one she is in love with we also notice a similar theme in the aspect of protection whereas ichigo lashed out at everyone else orihime was always protected by others as if it was the natural thing to do her older brother sora protected her from their abusive parents and tatsuki protected her from her bullies represented best by this drawing placed between chapters 41 and 42 of a dragon protecting a princess yet while she was being protected you see this tendency of her to shield her own feelings and pain from those she loves she never told sora about any of the bullying going on in her life fearing that it would worry him too so she resolved to only tell him about the good times when orihime eventually was going through turmoil with her feelings regarding ichigo as well as her situation with the world of shinigami and was approached by tatsuki to see if there was anything wrong she simply lied and didn't tell her the truth while being shielded from pain by others she herself was ultimately shielding her true feelings from those around her especially the ones that hurt the most from her tendency to hide her true feelings from her loved ones to her being an outsider but also in the fact that the orange hair they both had were remarked by their loved ones as something to be proud of even more similarly having those same loved ones be deceased yet the difference here lies in how they approach the aspect of protection ichigo when thinking back to his mom recalls that the reason he wants to protect her was because she protected him his desire to protect is for those who protected him when he was unable to as if to make up for his own weakness orihime was always protected and ichigo always sought to protect ichigo engaged with conflict while orihime shielded others from ever experiencing pain both were still alone in their own feelings but notice how ichigo's first important bout as ashinigami came when her older brother returned in the form of a hollow harming her and his regretful attempts to keep her with him that desire for connection left hollow when he left her alone this is also the first time it's revealed that hollows are humans who eventually fall into despair and are left empty signified by the holes in their chests but it's also the first time ichigo ever made his first decision to not take rukia's words at face value what ended the fight wasn't any attack made by ichigo but in action by orihime when her brother was expressing the despair of slowly leaving odahime's heart and being replaced by ichigo and tatsuki instead of simply rejecting his pain and letting ichigo kill him off she instead embraced it wholeheartedly hugging him even though he bit into her and wounded her she finally told him the truth of the pain she was hiding from him as he expressed that even though he knew that she was hiding her pain it was still a sign that she still loved him and the way ichigo ends the conflict isn't through killing him like some monster but appealing to his heart essor broken its tears being reminded of his hairpins that she wore every day in her own words she hated them even so much that she fought with him that being the last conversation they ever had yet that symbol of her pain was also a representation that she would always love him ending the chapter of sora's mask finally breaking off as he disappeared her actions caused pain to both of them but it ultimately resolved the feelings they weren't able to express they were finally able to see each other's hearts orihime's interactions in the story always seem to revolve around pain or someone being hurt whether it be sora tatsuki okiora or especially ichigo fitting as well as that her eventual power that she gains is that of a shield because like ichigo she desires to protect that which she loves yet unlike ichigo that assertiveness as well as the ability to attack are simply against her nature said power only awoke because tatsuki was fighting to protect her from a hollow only to fall and get violently injured a sight that rorhime reacted to not in fear but in resolve to protect the friend who always saved her all those times before the drawing between chapters this time subverting the former the princess instead protecting the dragon this power she has is known as the sunshine rika translated into english as the six flowers of the hibiscus shield or in the official viz translation six princess shielding flowers this power manifests six fairies who form three different shields the first being santan keshon aka the three sacred lynx shield or the three godshield the power to reject that which lies in front of the shield that being anything otahime faces the second is the sultan kisun aka the second sacred return shield or the twin god reflection shield that rejects what's behind the shield that being any damage that anyone she's protecting faces and arguably the most notable for the sake of understanding orihime's character is kotenzanchin aka the solitary sacred cutting shield or the low god slicing shield the ability to reject both sides of the shield and thus sever anything it flies through yet time and time again this power is the least utilized of any vorhime's three shields because the other two lie within her nature the desire to protect and heal but against her nature is the capacity to harm revealed later on in irankar this power more so than chad's brazo de retro de gigante represents that of a shinigamis noted by ushoda hachigen to more closely resemble his own abilities it's clear that while orihime has this power to reject all harm and pain she herself refuses to cause pain to others despite the fact that pain is how she ultimately begins to connect she was only able to understand more about ichigo and tatsuki told her about the pain and suffering he went through when his mom died sympathizing with him because of her shared experience with sora she leaves tatsuki's house in the rain while hiding under an umbrella noting how this was the first time she grew to see why ichigo was the way he was feeling for him not kindness but what she defines as one-sided sympathy she was only able to truly understand his feelings not through any of his joys or happiness but because of his grief and pain as she looked up into the rain and once again we see the symbolism of the rain return only in this instance and while it may be obvious that it's rain for the sake of it being sad note that this chapter takes place in volume three where horizon poem lies a poem that details the desire to connect through becoming the rain also recall the legend of tanabata and the tears of urime this symbolism of rain and arguably even tears are tied to this idea of pain but also connection so to begin to understand urohime you have to consider all of these moving parts the random tears of odahime the desire to protect and the connection brought about by pain because while seeming separate they are all intrinsically tied and what better place to start than with the arc that led everyone to believe that she is nothing more than a damsel in distress the arc that began her steps to connect to ichigo by hurting him the most as mentioned before the irancar arc is the longest arc in all of bleach as well as possibly the longest in all of weekly shonen jump a staggering 14 volumes long 27 if you include fei karakura town and easily the longest we've had to watch ichigo pursue a single antagonist and also the ark that hits its full stride when orihime gave herself up to okiyora to save her friends as ichigo similar to how he went to protect rukiya was joined by his friends to invade hueco mundo to save their friend but how it was initiated was with the entrance of arguably one of the most important characters in the series especially in regards to the development of ichigo norihime okiora cipher he and yami with relative ease destroyed chad orihime ichigo destroying chad's arm shattering tsubaki who served as arahima's only form of attack and treating ichigo like he was nothing when his hollow powers went out of control in the end ichigo who wanted to save everyone found himself protected once again the protector of karakura town was useless against these new foes and orihime couldn't do a proper job of fighting for herself their pride was in shambles and their weakness forcibly thrust out in the open and more importantly this sense of inadequacy would slowly force a wedge between ichigo the protector and odahime the princess who wants to protect but looking at the order of events we find something interesting it's chad who assumes that rodahime's suntan kishon wouldn't be able to block yet she unlike him was able to defend against yami's attack she herself says that she wants to make sure ichigo doesn't have to fight for her resolving a fight by herself that mindset led to failure ichigo then arrives apologizing for being late and ends up taking all of the hits begging odahime to stay back neither one accepted the other's help and almost trampled over each other to take the blow so the other could be safe but both were useless in the end and had to be protected the desire to protect that gave them both their power was ultimately their greatest disparity in their relationship keep in mind the meaning behind orihime desired that concept of pain is something she blocks people off from experiencing themselves she puts on a brave face so no one is hurt by her pain burying it all alone behind a shield that she puts up between her and others whereas ichigo resolves to take all of the pain by fighting so they don't have to but such a protection only hurts themselves and more importantly hurts the objects of their protection the ones they love and thus this becomes the greatest conflict between these two throughout the arc ichigo furious at his own weakness after seeing chad and orihime is sad and depressed but the one who snaps him out of it isn't orihime but rukia the one who changed his world she forces him to move and gets ichigo to express his regret to urihime it was rukia and not orihime but why urihime in some sense was jealous of the relationship ichigo and rukia had orihime was only able to sympathize with ichigo through their shared pain but never stood at his side as a competitive equal like rukia could but there is an important distinction rukia simply tells ichigo that the way to get past his struggles is to get stronger or to force himself to move past it it's actions made for the sole purpose of a sudden break from the darkness a slap of encouragement on the back but it's still one that avoids the pain at the core and even amongst fans of bleach who believe that rory may is not suited to be by ichigo's side it's important to see that this is also a belief she holds towards herself manifesting as jealousy towards the girl who could do what she couldn't this is addressed in the aftermath of yami nokiora's arrival in her home about this feeling of jealousy saying that just feeling like that makes her weak and a bad person to which rongaku responds by saying that just by addressing those painful feelings is proof that she's a good person and more importantly that ichigo needs both of them and notably while rukiya makes ichigo move by pushing past pain orihime makes him evolve by addressing it when ruki originally disappeared it was orihime immediately told him to go to seoul society and save her because that's what he already wants to do and while she was gone decided that she refused to let him go alone after all rukia is a precious friend and one of the only people to break down her walls was arihime who came to her with her vulnerability and pain exposed orihime is only able to connect with another when she shares her pain yet over and over again she refuses to do the same with ichigo who she loves more than any other because he's the one she wants to protect the most no harm should ever have to come to him yet again while she was gone everyone she loved was threatened and was given the only way to save them by okiora addressing her not with threats but the blunt's honest and painful truth she would go with him to hueco mundo and leave her friends behind allowed only to say goodbye to one person and the one she chose was ichigo she was only able to tell him her honest feelings of love when he couldn't see her and even then she couldn't connect with him [Music] [Music] foreign [Music] [Music] foreign [Music] arigato and with the tier votihime falling on his face and a note that said goodbye halcyon days she was gone and goodbye to the joyful days of happiness and comfort causing ichigo greater pain than ever before it's ability to connect with others through shared grief longing and sorrow that makes her character so necessary for ichigo but what else is notable is that the same must be done to her not physically but emotionally in order for her to open up this is why her connection to the nihilistic okiyora is so potent in developing her and ichigo okiyora doesn't hide anything to keep others from being hurt like they do because he doesn't comprehend emotion much less the need to preserve bonds by hiding such things when urime had already resolved to stay in las noches to give them time to get stronger ichigo chad uryu renji and rukia came anyway despite her wishes told her by okiora who says it bluntly followed by this shouldn't mean anything to you you are in body mind and soul one of us now every action he takes regarding her feelings is cold and calculating whether it hurts her or not and ironically this results only in growing her resolve he asks her if she can sense chad falling stating that it shouldn't matter that they would fall regardless like lamps in the slaughter even against the espada that gave ichigo so much trouble who was stronger than anyone they had faced before she still stood her ground and even retaliated against him utterly confusing the empty man who stood before her but even though orihime showed no fear and only resolved in the face of las noches and even the irancar who tortured her there is one place where she shows an immense fear beyond anything else there is this inherent fear that urime has of ichigo when he's in his visored form that becomes important when you read the iranka arc she constantly mentions how he feels different like a monster with eyes that don't reflect her face within them even the steadfast face she expresses when ichigo is fighting grimjao goes away when she sees the look in his eyes only snapping out but nell tells her to keep cheering for him even if she's afraid so she calls out to ichigo not to win but simply to stop getting hurt prompting ichigo to finally defeat grimjao there is a desperation ichigo has for hime that he doesn't have for anyone else while he has that same desire to protect everyone for orihime that drive is even greater be it due to the way everyone is naturally drawn to protect her because she's a princess or even her perceived weakness it's inferred that ichigo cares the greatest for her and would do anything to protect her it's not even the same level of drive he has for rukia and with rukia it was no one else's words but hurihimes that made him go after her and for orihime she desires the ichigo who is smiling being happy when she sees him with that face he always has on but such an unchanging relationship does nothing but stagnate and ultimately harm so the solution to push past it is connection a connection brought about by pain oh the connection between rory me and okiyora becomes all the more clear when you realize that okiyora is a name that is a play on the phrase el kiyora also known as the one who cries evidence even more by the tear marks on his face whereas order he may reject pain by hiding it okiora can't comprehend it he is a being who embodies the aspect of death known as emptiness and is thus utterly confused by the actions of ichigo no regime and the perceived faith they have in each other that he sought to break down in her own words she realized something and agonizing while her friends were facing death and suffering for her sake because just as she wanted nothing but their safety was willing to risk death for it they felt the same for her while ichigo was defending her okiota continued to be baffled by their actions she didn't need to be saved yet he did so anyway orihime didn't need to protect him but she did anyway even while witnessing their dysfunctional relationship of two throwing themselves over the other okiyora grew to understand their feelings more while also challenging their illogical actions and atop las noches for their final battle okiyora transformed into his resurrection named murcielago as black reigns showered the battlefield and once again orihime found herself simply watching alongside a call back to her witnessing the fight between ichigo and biakiya the first time had uryuhu foolishly trying to protect me who resolved to stand still preventing herself from intervening while still watching ichigo fight his hardest but this time it was uryou who told her to have faith while her own that ichigo would win was wavering it was the first time she ever moved regardless of her steadfast faith she always had and this time she couldn't save him powerless yet again her cries of pain called him back from the brink of death now a monster obsessed with nothing but defeating the enemy that could hurt his friends the embodiment of that poisonous desire to protect without any regard for the other person's wishes she ended up relying on him again hurting him and making him rampage driven by that sole desire to protect now twisted because of his own failure and her anguished screams and the one who stopped him and saved uryu was the enemy who caused them both so much pain while ichigo won the battle this was a victory of evolution for no one but okiora it was a victory ichigo refused to accept and when oki ora looked at and asked if she was afraid of him she responded with no an answer that she wouldn't be able to have with ichigo just moments prior her hand reached out to his as okiyora discovered where the heart lied and the desire to reach out one's hand to connect what the irancar arc reveals is something interesting ichigo's desire to protect his friends was a desire lacking in the faith of their abilities he didn't trust his friends enough to fight by his side and resolve to simply fight in front of them even before he entered weko mundo he told uriu and chad they simply weren't strong enough until they proved him wrong as such he crushed their feelings and his own body but considering ichigo and orihime walk a similar path the same applies to her she didn't trust that her friends be alright without her so she ran after them and sacrificed herself for their sake she thought she could protect them on her own and while overjoyed that they came to save her still had wavering faith that they would survive as much as she tried to have faith in ichigo she still worried about him she still didn't trust that he wouldn't get hurt when she saw his visored form she lost all the joy and safety she felt when he was there that lack of faith drove her to go to his side worsening his condition and turning him into a monster against okiyora the fear she felt when she looked into his eyes wasn't that he was an inhuman monster it wasn't that he was resorting to violence it was fear that grew because in those instances she realized the happy and strong ichigo she loved was suffering and becoming something he wasn't all because of her own weakness to protect someone is to impose your own strength upon those you feel lack it to protect in this way is one that ultimately hurts them but what i find most interesting is that calling orihime's power a shield or healing isn't entirely correct her power after all isn't a shield it's rejection [Music] it was unohana revealed later to be the first kenpachi who was the first person who ever remarked arohime's abilities when she saw her healing unohana reacted with shock citing her to be even greater than the captain of the fourth division known for their abilities it's also unohana who is instrumental in reviving the power of the strongest shinigami the one who was meant to inherit the title of kenpachi by killing him over and over again she would break down the walls that were hiding his true self his potential and his real feelings that he buried so he wouldn't have to break off his connection by healing him over and over again she will revive the person she knew he was but you can only heal that which needs healing you can only truly connect and heal hurts when you inevitably hurt someone in fact the connection uno hanayatiru had with kempachi began not through any friendly meeting but a battle that scarred them both it was his most treasured connection and memory but one he only made through pain orihime when meeting hachi is also told something interesting he gives her back tsubaki and tells her that her powers are like his and says that they're not suited for combat while this seems like the same type of putting down that urahara gave her by saying she should call it quits it's more so clarification her power is simply not suited for combat and that's a fact she is not a combatant notice that this is coming from hachi who never once launches an attack in the fake katakura town arc yet is a phenomenal force in the battlefield being instrumental against baragon where soy fun even with her powerful bangkai was no match his power after all is predominantly shields and barriers he even stresses that she should not do what she is suited for but what she wants highlighted even further by rukia she was never a burden on the battlefield and soul society even though she never once attacked in rukia's words those who fall in battle are not the weak of power but the weak of spirit so for hime's power wasn't suited for combat yet she belonged in the battlefield what was her role it's through the iran car arc and subsequently the change we see in full bring the orihime experiences her greatest evidence of growth whereas before she would let ichigo wallow in his pain or refuse to poke further unless she needed to she instead reaches out to ask ichigo his real feelings trying to break down the barrier as much as she could this change is reflected in rudika who also grew to love ichigo and was worried about his injuries that he was sustaining but rather than worry now orihime says that she's come to terms with that painful feeling no longer jumping over him to protect him from harm she instead resolves to let him fight get injured and experience pain but even then heal him as many times as it takes because she has to do what she can another conversation between the two has odihimi remarking on her painful past something she was hesitant to share before now talking about it openly with a smile on her face and when ritu cover marks that saying in such a way means there's something wrong with her orihimi replies by saying i've already been saved i can talk about these things with a smile thanks to ichigo this is even further evident with this color page of orihime riruka dancing in the rain rituka shielding herself with an umbrella and orihime hugging her from outside it with this statement as long as i'm with you even the rain is fun urihime is now outside embracing the rain that symbolizes a connection grown through pain in fact the end of the fullbring arc has ririka finally embracing her connections with rihime by her side crying for her sake ending with a set of panels one of which thinking or hime for crying for her what's also important is to compare the difference between rukia and orihime once again in regards to the rain rookie as the rivals in the story can be thought of as pushing away sadness she repeatedly removes the rain from ichigo's world even literally in the full ring arc when she gives him his powers back but urime is one who weathers the rain even when her mind was warped by tsukishima she still wept when she saw ichigo crying overriding any of the powerful memories that he had implanted in her because her desire to see ichigo's smile was greater than anything else yet it was still the rain that made her move it was still his tears that sent her into action and not his smile she and ichigo learned to expose each other to the painful feelings they both had the legend of tanabata is one that began in response to odhime's tears without the rain first arriving to signal the bridge of magpies there would be no connection [Music] is a character that i feel is more misunderstood than any other in bleach and i feel it stems from that belief of her uselessness the fact that she never fights on her own with her own power is seen by many to be her weakness but that is antithetical to her purpose as a character as well as her journey throughout the story of leech that runs parallel to our main character who seeks to protect as many as he can her power doesn't lie in attack because she's not suited for it her role as a princess is to stay back behind her knight and be shielded but her power is rejection her abilities are those of one who rejects the role of the protected and heals the one she loves not through one-sided sympathy or joyful days but by weathering through the rain and tearing down the barriers that lie between them but only if she herself tears her own down her role that she chose is not that of an attacker a role that doesn't suit her nature it isn't as a princess which lies in conflict with her desire to protect her friends that she loves a knight is a warrior who wields not just a sword but also a shield a protector who only attacks is unable to protect anyone a knight incapable of attack is no more than a liability ichigo is merely a sword orihime is a shield it's only together that they can fulfill their wishes this comes so ahead of the end of thousand year blood war as they ascend to the top before ichigo faces yuebak ichigo who never relied on anyone else before and refused their help because he wanted to protect them all himself told orihime that he can't do it alone and is in charge of defense that he was counting on finally finally finally she was able to fight to protect him this time by his side and in the fight when ichigo was going to lose his composure she was the one who snapped him out of it neither one fighting to shield the other but two mutually relying on one with the perfect synchronization on the battlefield the ultimate callback to their greatest failure and connecting is when ichigo activates his hollow powers and the scene mirrors the moment he became a vastly lord but his face this time held a smile and when told to step back she had faith he would win the end product of their growth and the mutual trust is at the very end finally after all of their hard champagne they ended up in a future where they could smile finally free of the rain the very symbol of that joy in the name kazui their son the bridge of magpies was finally able to connect the two lovers for they had learned to weather the rain thank you all for watching another video by your truly what what but also another bleach video by yours truly what the what i know it's been a long time and i promised more bleach content ever since why i'll never stop loving bleach which is one of the videos i'm most proud of this year but as you can see by the length of this video it took a while it took a while because there's just a lot of things i had to say and there's going to be more bleach content coming next year so if you don't want to miss that you should probably subscribe however these videos would not be possible without my patrons who stuck with me throughout this entire time namely people like some [ __ ] online if you want more information on videos that are coming out you can just follow me on twitter check out my discord and if you want to support me on patreon you can always donate to my coffee also the script for this video is available on my website to go check that out thank you guys for watching i'll see you next time goodbye i'm the perfect gatekeeper like do y'all get it yet like subscribe to what the what right now hit that bell make sure to comment like you know all that here we go again white anime a mango i got you cover friends turn on the bell like subscribe and join us

Channel: WatTheWut

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Keywords: WattheWut, Wat, the, Wut, WattheWat, WuttheWut, WuttheWat, What, WhattheWhat, Anime, Cartoon, WtW, bleach, orihime inoue, ichigo, orihime, bleach anime, bleach manga, bleach 2021, inoue orihime, orihime and ichigo, orihime says goodbye to ichigo, ichihime, rukia orihime, bleach female characters, orihime vs, tite kubo, orihime heals grimmjow, orihime and ulquiorra, ichigo x orihime, orihime and ichigo kiss episode, orihime and ichigo moments, orihime and ichigo dub, orihime slaps ulquiorra

Id: aIW1tdyncGg

Length: 35min 42sec (2142 seconds)

Published: Mon Mar 01 2021