Bleach's shonen protagonist, Ichigo Kurosaki, wouldn't have gotten very far without the help of his beloved friends, such as Yasutora "Chad" Sado and certainly Orihime Inoue. In the show's first season, Orihime seemed to merely be Ichigo's fun-loving classmate, but she soon proved to be much more than that. She has a unique role in the story of Bleach.
Orihime has latent spiritual powers, and by the time the Soul Society arc began, Orihime could use six spirit-fairies to cast spells, and her ability to reverse a phenomenon made her one of anime's best healers. In fact, her capture was what prompted the entire Hueco Mundo story arc. However, fans might wonder if Orihime could have said more or done more to play an even more active role in the story. What were some missed opportunities?
10 Orihime Could Have Used Tsubaki To Better Effect
As a whole, Orihime was valued for her capacity to conjure protective barriers and heal people, which impressed even the Visored warrior known as Hachigen Ushoda, himself a kido expert. Orihime did have a third spell, one meant for offense, but she never did much with it.
Orihime's sixth fairy is Tsubaki, who is her sole offensive weapon. In theory, Tsubaki can race toward a target and pierce them like a living, thinking bullet, but Tsubaki never accomplished much like that. In fact, Yammy Llargo squished him with a single move.
9 Orihime Could Have Helped Ichigo Handle The Frog Hollow With Don Kanonji
The spiritual superstar Don Kanonji was in town, and the cameras rolled as he confronted a jibakurei and forced it t become a Hollow by mistake. Ichigo and his friend Rukia Kuchiki were on the scene, but at the time, Ichigo was rather weak, and slaying this frog-like Hollow took some work.
If Orihime had come along to watch this show live (she was a fan), she could have thrown up a barrier to shield the jibakurei from Don, if she had manifested her powers by then. Or, if she was too slow for that, Orihime could have helped protect Ichigo from this Hollow with her barrier.
8 Orihime Could Have Been Rukia's Tour Guide
Early in the show, Rukia was like a reverse-isekai heroine, and she was having all kinds of fun seeing how human life works in various settings, such as high schools, TV, convenience stores, and more. She and Ichigo focused their friendship on fighting Hollows, for the most part, and Rukia lacked a more ordinary friend at the time.
That's where Orihime could have come in. She and Rukia got along just fine, and if Rukia was in the mood for it, Orihime could have shown Rukia around Karakura Town, pointing out all the local attractions, historical spots, and her personal favorite features. It would have been a fine girls' night out.
7 Orihime Could Have Inspired New Medical Kido For Squad 4
Not all Soul Reapers are dedicated entirely to combat. Squad 4 is the medical brigade, focusing on evacuating wounded Soul Reapers and healing them far from the front lines. Medical kido is widely practiced among these Soul Reapers, along with other defensive kido techniques (and even shikai releases).
Orihime can't easily learn kido, not being a soul, but she could have shown her unique arts to Captain Retsu Unohana and her Lieutenant, Isane Kotetsu, and inspired them to develop similar kido spells. Unohana certainly has the talent for it.
6 Orihime Could Have Cheered Up Ichigo After The Soul Society Arc
After the Soul Society arc ended, Ichigo struggled to control his inner Hollow, which interfered with his battles against Hollows, and that bothered him greatly. He fell into a funk, and Rukia was able to snap him out of it with some stern but well-meaning words.
Orihime knew about that, and she felt terrible that Ichigo was relying on Rukia and not her. Orihime admitted to Rangiku Matsumoto that this was sheer jealousy, but what if Orihime had been gutsy enough to beat Rukia to the punch and snap Ichigo out of that funk? That would have been fascinating to see, and Rangiku would be so proud.
5 Orihime Could Have Given Ichigo That Love Confession Face To Face
Shonen series such as Bleach have few romantic scenes compared to shojo titles, but Orihime did get one sweet scene when she healed Ichigo in his sleep and made a love confession before departing. Ichigo had no idea that Orihime spoke those words.
What if Orihime had timed this so she healed Ichigo and made her confession while Ichigo was awake? Doing this would have shown how gutsy and bold Orihime had become, and it would have galvanized Ichigo's will even more. He would have truly gone all-out against the Espadas if he knew that Orihime loved him.
4 Orihime Could Have Tried To Steal Or Destroy The Hogyoku
During the Hueco Mundo arc, Orihime was brought before Sosuke Aizen inside Las Noches, and she was shown the Hogyoku, the magical sphere that would enable all of Aizen's plans. Orihime later vowed to find a way to swipe and destroy the Hogyoku, but she did very little, if anything, to that effect.
Aizen used the Hogyoku as planned, but in an alternate take of the story, Orihime found a way (perhaps with Grimmjow Jaegerjaques' help) to steal the Hogyoku, or at least try to. Doing this would have been an impressive and heroic act on her part, and the rest of the Hueco Mundo story arc would have turned out somewhat differently.
3 Orihime Could Have Shown Ulquiorra The Meaning Of "Heart"
Orihime's jailer was the 4th Espada, Ulquiorra Schiffer, who doubted that an intangible "heart" could bind Orihme to her friends and give her hope. They had a philosophical debate over this, and in his dying moments, Ulquiorra was desperate to see if Orihime really did have a point.
As he crumbled to ash, Ulquiorra reached out to Orihime, and she reached out in return, but it was too late. If they had another moment together, Orihime could have told Ulquiorra exactly what the heart is, and Ulquiorra might have found true happiness or inspiration at last. He could have died happy, thanks to Orihime.
2 Orihime Could Have Learned Basic Martial Arts & Fought More
Overall, Orihime isn't a melee combat specialist, but even if she can't easily rank among the top anime martial artists, she could have taken a more active role in Bleach's fight scenes if she took a few lessons from her good friend, Tatsuki Arisawa. No doubt Tatsuki the karate enthusiast would have taught her a few moves.
Tatsuki takes karate and Orihime's safely quite seriously, so it's conceivable that at one point, Orihime could have learned some unarmed combat moves and put them to use against low-level Soul Reapers in the Soul Society arc, or against weak Arrancar like Loly Avirrne in the Hueco Mundo story arc. Uryu Ishida would be in for a pleasant surprise, seeing Orihime defend herself like that.
1 Orihime Could Have Volunteered At The Kurosaki Clinic
Ichigo's family runs an independent medical clinic, the Kurosaki clinic, right there in their own home. Rarely are any guests seen visiting for medical care, but still, this shows Isshin Kurosaki's caring side, and what if Orihime volunteered there?
Having Orihime regularly volunteer at the clinic could have alluded to the healing nature of her abilities later on, and it would have shown how hardworking and selfless she is. This also would have endeared her to Isshin himself, who might have done more to protect Orihime anytime she was in danger.