Usually, we’re meant to relate to the main characters of an anime, especially a shonen anime, where the main character is working hard to get stronger, along with friends who are encouraging him and trying to do the same. But in the case of Bleach, it’s not always easy to relate to Ichigo.
He’s often hard-headed and doesn’t think things through all the time, making him frustrating to watch. On the other hand, Renji, who begins the series as a rival for Ichigo and is an antagonist for much of the beginning of the series, often seems very relatable and easy to root for. Here are five times we just didn’t quite get what Ichigo was about and five times we were actually on Renji’s team.
10 Couldn’t Relate To Ichigo: Fighting To Keep Rukia Out Of Soul Society Custody
This one is slightly tricky. It makes sense that Ichigo wouldn’t want his friend and companion to go to jail, where she is ultimately going to be executed for the crimes she’s committed. But Rukia herself agrees to go back to the Soul Society of her own accord, ready to atone for her crimes.
Ichigo starting a fight about it, because he doesn’t want her to go, is admirable and shows that he feels strongly about his friend and her safety. The problem is that she made a choice for herself, and we just can’t quite abide Ichigo not respecting it.
9 Could Relate To Renji: Letting Ichigo Rescue Rukia
Renji escorts Rukia back to Soul Society once she’s made it clear she wants to go back to atone for her crimes. He’s pretty anguished about this, since he cares deeply for Rukia, and he doesn’t want to see her get executed.
Still, he’s not sure what he can do to save her, knowing he’s not strong enough to do it by himself. When Ichigo turns up to rescue her himself, he and Renji fight. After Ichigo defeats him, Renji realizes that Ichigo can do what he can’t and sets aside his pride to make sure their friend is rescued.
8 Couldn’t Relate To Ichigo: Recklessly Running In
Ichigo is literally never willing to trust anyone else to do anything, especially when it comes to fighting. When his sister Yuzu is threatened by a Hollow, despite the fact that Rukia was there and had more experience fighting Hollows, Ichigo rushed in to try to save her.
While this is a heroic thing to do, and people maybe do crazy things when their loved ones are in danger, Ichigo’s actions are reckless and actually end up putting everyone in more danger. In fact, Rukia is actually injured because she now has to defend both Ichigo and Yuzu.
7 Could Relate To Renji: Battle Cheer
This is one of our very favorite moments with Renji. He’s usually a pretty gruff guy, which makes sense, since his whole job is to fight various creatures and people. But when he and his friends head into a battle that could be dangerous, everyone is tense, and Renji feels like they need to lighten up slightly.
In order to encourage them, he does a battle cheer, essentially becoming their cheerleader for a moment. The group even does a hands-in “Break!” like they’re about to head onto a football field. It’s touching, and we really felt close to Renji in that moment.
6 Couldn’t Relate To Ichigo: Trying To Save Orihime Himself
We’ve already mentioned that Ichigo has a killer knack for doing the exact opposite of what he should do, particularly when it comes to running into battles, a lot of which he’s not able to win. On one of the many occasions that Orohime is in danger, Ichigo finds out that she’s been kidnapped and decides that he’s going to rescue her.
His friends all offer to help, since Orihime is important to them too, but being stubborn is kind of Ichigo’s thing, and he runs off on his own anyway. It’s frustrating, since Orihime’s safety would probably be better off in the hands of several people coming to rescue her.
5 Could Relate To Renji: His relationship with Zabimaru
Each shinigami has a spirit they can use as a weapon in battle. This spirit is called the Zanpakutō. Higher ranking shinigami, like Renji, have powerful Zanpakutō who have names, personalities, and wills of their own. In Renji’s case, that spirit is Zabimaru, a creature with the body of a baboon and a tail that is also a snake with its own head and consciousness.
Many shinigami view their Zanpakutō as a tool and often end up fighting against it, but Renji and Zabimaru are able to work in tandem, making it feel more like a partnership. This is an interesting difference between Renji and other shinigami, and we really get this bond with an animal-like creature.
4 Couldn’t Relate to Ichigo: Not Trusting People
Ichigo constantly assumes that the people he meets are out to get him. On some level, that makes sense, but it’s also a great way to make enemies out of people who are just trying to help you out. A great example of this is Kūgo, who has offered to retrain Ichigo as a shinigami once he realizes he’s able to get his powers back.
After some setbacks and frustrations, Ichigo becomes more and more suspicious of Kūgo, eventually declaring he doesn’t trust him and attacking him, even though he ends up just doing his best to make sure Ichigo works his hardest.
3 Could Relate to Renji: His Column About Shikai
Renji is a burgeoning journalist in his free time. He writes a column about shikai in a newspaper. Essentially, the column is a tutorial, with tips on how to get stronger in combat and to use shinigami powers more effectively. Renji having this little side hobby really speaks to us, since we often only see these kinds of characters in combat.
What’s more, his column serves the sole purpose of helping others in his profession get stronger and better at their jobs, since he’s interested in having worthy opponents. He essentially lifts everyone up to be better.
2 Couldn’t Relate to Ichigo: He married Orihime
There’s nothing actually wrong with Orihime as a character. She serves a purpose as a healer and is often there to encourage Ichigo and his friends. But it was a surprise to all of us when she and Ichigo ended up getting married and having children at the end of the series.
Aside from feeling protective of her, Ichigo doesn’t seem to have very romantic feelings for her, though we do see those feelings for Ichigo from Orihime. It feels like we were supposed to root for this couple to get together, but Ichigo’s bond with Rukia made us feel more like they were the right choice.
1 Could Relate To Renji: Getting Together With Rukia
On the other hand, while we think that Rukia and Ichigo would have made a better couple than Ichigo and Orihime, considering that we see them interact for the longest period of time between any of these characters, Renji and Rukia also seem like a pretty good choice.
Renji has always been very protective of Rukia and is clearly devoted to her. He’s honestly anguished about the possibility of her dying and cares enough to set aside his pride to let Ichigo rescue her. Renji has really shown his feelings here, and we totally cheer this pairing.