IchiRuki FC V10! <3

[annie_08]

I think ichigo really need someone who can be his equal, and that is rukia. Orihime is nice and sweet, i have no doubt that she understand ichigo but she just can't reach him and that hurts her. despite all her efforts she can't help him.rukia, on the other hand, knows what to do and say to ichigo to make him feel better and back to his normal self. that's why i love them together.

[Inuhanyou]

Hello! I'm new! May I please join this lovely FC?
I'm a really big fan of IchiRuki because I think they are a relationship that really defines love/caring. Some people believe that IchiOri would be good for each other 'cause, well, they're probably your average helpless romantic girls (not that there's anything wrong w/ that) and IchiOri would, in their eyes, be a nice, sweet, and romantic relationship. I, however, not being much of a romance shoujo manga fan myself, am perfectly satisfied with IchiRuki. I personally think their relationship is much deeper than your typical manga couple. I think KT wants to show that love isn't just about those cheesy scenes with "i love you" and "oh i can't live w/o you" and stuff. I think he wants to show us that love is about giving that other person strength and the will to go above and beyond, to improve themselves for the better, and to do things that they couldn't normally do because they doubt themselves so much. And that's exactly what I see in IchiRuki. Some people say Rukia's just being abusive and aggressive with Ichigo when she tells him at the scene where she tells him to just become stronger and to apologize to Orihime (I believe it was 181 or 182?) I think Ichigo sometimes really needs someone to KNOCK some sense into him, and Orihime, being as sweet and unasertive as she is wouldn't be able to do that. I don't believe she has the strength in herself to begin with much less the strength to encourage and support Ichigo. I imagine if Orihime got Ichigo, she would be as awkward and uncomfortable as she is now with simply being around him and seeing his worried face directed towards her from time to time.

Oooooh you know what really ticks me off sometimes? When people say Rukia was emo at the SS arc. Well gee...if I were about to die and on top of that have my brother do nothing about, I'd be pretty depressed, too. But I don't belive she's emo though. She's not the type to go "oooh i'm so sad 'cause no one loves me so I'll just hide in my little dark corner" (err...not to stereotype or offend emos or anything). Sure she's sad, but that's because she's about to die, and more importantly she's sad because she believes she's corrupted someone else's destiny. That's pretty selfless if you ask me. She thinks about Ichigo even though she's about to die. Instead of going "why me? ooh poor me! what did I do to deserve this?", instead of thinking of her own misfortune, she thinks about Ichigo's.

Oooh it also ticks me off when people say Rukia's weak. Argh. They're so...superficial? Is that the right word to use? They're just judging by strength and skill. I think Rukia is one of the strongest characters not because of her fighting skills, but because of her resolve and her will. I believe it was Urahara who said that a person's will is his strongest point. Even Rukia, to Orihime, said that it's not one's inabilities that make them weak, but the fact that they have no resolve to fight.

...and there's my intro! ^(^-^)^

>> well after that speech i think syn will have no problem handing out membership to you xD But seriously, that was probably one of the best speeches that summed up pretty much what everyone else was thinking that i've ever read lol. Just put it so frankly. Props!

[koella]

Thanks ^-^
I've been reading this FC for a while and suddenly felt the need to relieve myself of my thoughts that I've kept bottled up for a while.

[Jaimie]

Hooray, welcome to all the new people!

@ koella: You summed up a lot of people's feelings, heh XD nice work!

Um, so are we still going to do weekly chapter discussions, Syn? XD Or is the chapter not out yet? I didn't check... guess I should go do that. D:

[Syn]

First, welcome koella! ^^
That was a good speech hehe, always good to read so early in the morning (someone help me!).

@Jaimie: I consider the chapter out as the RAW and the translation are out ^^ I'll put the discussion of the week soon ^^

[Hiona_kun]

Have you watch bleach episode 106? I already watch it. The opening and ending is different by using the movie scene, Memories of Nobody. In the opening song, it reveal Rukia shikai, Sode no Shirayuki. I felt very surprise when I watch it. I confuse, didn't Rukia shikai should be reveal when she fought the arrancars? And one more thing, the girl, Senna. I wasn't too pleased with seeing Senna too close to Ichigo. Can anyone of you explain this matters??

[Syn]

Discussion of the Week:
The Bridge scene (Volume 14, chapter 116)

Alright, I decided to go with the bridge scene for this first discussion, as I noticed a lot of you were unsettled by this chapter. First, I'll say it, I am totally fine with this chapter. I think it's a very sweet and tense moment. As this discussion is heavily pics-commented, you'll find it under the spoilers.

First: how Ichigo arrived:


On this one, you have Hanatarou and Rukia who feel Ichigo's reiatsu. And then, close-up on Rukia's eyes: she recognized him, without any doubt. On this pic, we only get a glimpse of Ichigo (yes, I'm talking about that blur lol). Close-up on that wing thing, and then close-up on Rukia's face, looking up, her eyes filled with surprised.
Nothing much to comment here. The tension is building up nicely ^^

Second: The meeting!


Only three pics on this double spread: Ichigo's arrival from Rukia's perspective, and a close up on each faces.
The background is white, tension and emotions are still building up. It's the first time since Rukia has been taken away (60 chapters, mind you!) that Ichigo and Rukia meet. One of the most beautiful IchiRuki pic, without a doubt.

Third: And as a knight...


... Ichigo kneels in front of her princess ^^
Everyone is looking at him, but he doesn't care. Please also notice that it's in front of Rukia, and no one else, that Ichigo lands. Very important for the following pics ^^

Fourth: Ah, the most controversial one!


This time, the first pic is from Ichigo POV. Rukia is there, in front of him. And then, we move in Rukia POV, and Ichigo, without showing his face pass by her, in slow motion. Ichigo go and talk to Hanatarou, but he doesn't even let him talk that he's already turning again to "face" Rukia. He then calls her, and she turns around.
Ok, I believe a lot of you have problem with that one, am I right? What I see in that page is exactly how ileenka described it in her LJ. At that point, Ichigo wasn't prepared to see Rukia. But, there she is. And he suddenly realized that she was, while landing in front of her. His emotions were rising, and the tension on this page is quite tangible.
I must remind you that whenever Ichigo is tense, that his emotions are showing up too much on his face, Kubo didn't show his face. Look at Ichigo, every time he was speaking of Rukia during those chapters were they were apart... we only get to see his back, or the lower half of his face, his eyes being hidden (BTW, this one is a very shoujo manner of drawing him). There are only two chapters that makes an exception: chapter 57 and chapter 213.
So, to come back on this particular page, Ichigo's face is, once again, hidden. The tension and emotions are too strong, and he needs to cool down a bit before talking to Rukia. It has been building up for 3 pages already (and one of them is a double spread), so of course, he can't let this makes him look like fool (although he does, doesn't he?).

Fifth: "I came to save you..."


Notice that in this page, Ichigo is looking away.
And yes. Since he landed, he still hasn't been able to look at Rukia in the eyes! Another tense moment, with this declaration.

Sixth: Bickering ensue!


Rukia makes a worry face, and well, bickering ensue, since Ichigo decides to look at her. Close-up to Rukia's eye, filled by worry and care, that makes him stop immediately. And then Rukia, on the verge of crying, telling him that she forbade him to come.
Ah, so much emotion, once again! It is Ichigo who breaks the ice, and let the tension cool down on this page. But what we, as the readers, will memorize is how Ichigo sees Rukia (yes, the last pic of the page is totally his POV): Rukia, nearly crying, worrying about him.

Seventh: Get mad at me after...


Rukia's head is down, as she has a hard time not to cry, seeing him in this state. Ichigo looks away (close-up), close-up to Rukia's eye when he talks again. He tells her to get mad at him after, and then shift his attention on Byakuya.
The main reason why Rukia didn't want Ichigo to come, and why she always tells him not to save her: because she's worrying over him, over his safety. It is irritating to read that Rukia was stupid, when really, she was only selfless. She knew all along that Ichigo would be hurt if he came. She also knew he would want to come, he would try to come, and that's why she forbade him to do so. Now, she sees him wounded, and she can't stands it!
As for Ichigo, he perfectly knew all of this, and seeing Rukia on the verge of crying is a little bit too much (that's why he looks away). Notice too the close up to his mouth, when he says that she can get mad at him after: at that moment, he doesn't want to hear anything, because he wants to focus on winning, and saving her. For him, it's just hard to not let his emotions drive him. He must concentrate, and thus, shift his attention on his opponent.

As I already said, to me, that moment *is* perfect, and totally fit both of them. Tension, emotions rising, concern, bickering, necessity to protect/save: everything is there, in 7 pages (well, 8 if you count the double spread as two). If Kubo would have want to say that Ichigo didn't mind Rukia, and that he didn't talk to her but to Hanatarou first because he didn't care about, he wouldn't have make Ichigo land in front of Rukia like this. If Ichigo didn't speak to Rukia first, that's only because he couldn't. Notice the -very important- difference. It's because he couldn't speak to Rukia that Kubo implies subtly that Ichigo is overflowed by his own emotions. And that makes that moment even more important.

Now, you're all welcome to voice your opinions! Agree, disagree? Did I make your opinion change on that matter? What did you think of that chapter first? And what do you think about it now?

[autumnsoliloquy]

Hmm, it's nice to revisit this scene once again! Undoubtedly every ichiruki's favourite eh?

I think the whole scene, from the point when Rukia recognises Ichigo's reiatsu up till Ichigo's semi-fight with Byakuya is flawless.

Firstly, in the first pic second panel which shows just Rukia's eyes, we can tell that she knew in that instant, straight away, that it is Ichigo. Aww shucks. And in the second pic, besides the whole white background we can see that Ichigo and Rukia share that moment of eye contact. Just the two of them, staring at each other's eyes as if the whole world does not exist. *insert ichiruki fangirl squeal here*

And so Ichigo finally lands in front of Rukia and moves straight to talk to Hanatarou. I dunno how this can be misinterpreted by so many! Like ileenka said in her LJ, he needed to take a breather. Now, we must remember that this is the first time Ichigo and Rukia has met ever since she was taken away. What happened when she was taken away? Ichigo tried to protect her, he got pwnzed and Rukia saved him by agreeing to go back to SS. I'm sure the two of them remembered that night when they see each other again in this panel. BOTH Ichigo and Rukia needed some time to sort out their feelings at this point, methinks, or else if Ichigo had gone straight to Rukia I think he would have gone all shoujo-ish and mushy with her -- which is so not ichiruki, ne?

I think the bickering came at the right time because the two of them needed an outlet for all those feelings, and well ichiruki's favourite outlet happens to be that. And about Rukia scolding Ichigo for coming to save her -- which has often been misconstrued as being ungrateful -- it's quite obvious that those were half-assed scoldings which is just Rukia's way of letting her concern show without being mushy. Because we all know, when it comes to ichiruki, if there's danger of going mushy they always cover it up by physical violence or bickering.

If Ichigo didn't speak to Rukia first, that's only because he couldn't. Notice the -very important- difference. It's because he couldn't speak to Rukia that Kubo implies subtly that Ichigo is overflowed by his own emotions. And that makes that moment even more important.

Yup. Anyway, what does it matter that Rukia isn't the first he talked to? It is RUKIA who he talked to the MOST eh? And with much more significance, I daresay.

[ileenka]

When Ichigo said, "Get mad at me after..."

I feel it's so sweet of him. Since when does Ichigo allow people to bully him, get mad at him, hit him, scold him, WITHOUT retaliating? Only if it's Rukia. There are many other chapters which support this, but in this panel, he's saying, "You can do whatever you want later, scold me, hit me later, whatever. But I'm still going to put my life on the line to save you."

I think the page where Ichigo comes flying down is so romantic, too. You know like in fantasy romance where the knight or prince rides on a mythical creature, soaring through the sky, searching for his loved one.

Anyway Ichigo didn't expect Rukia to be on the bridge. He came to save her, yes. But when he left with Yoruichi's staff in his hand, he left with the reason to save Hanatarou and Ganjuu who was in trouble. He didn't expect Rukia to be right there on the bridge as well. The sudden sight of her filled him with emotion, making him unable to talk to her after he landed. But he's very manly when he landed on one knee in front of her. XD And also when he said, "Rukia, I came to save you,"

So much love and emotion in this scene.

[இஜFaithஜஇ]

Waahh nice topic you picked Syn, i love that scene the best.
Well i since i adore this scene, then i have nothing against it, and it clearly shows that Rukia DOES care for Ichigo.
well i kind of think that Ichigo DID expect Rukia to be there, but only INSIDE the tower and not in open view like, so that is why he was shocked to see her there. And that is why he said "Rukia, I came to save you,". I bet he was prepared to say it since he snached that staff from Yoruichi XD
I really wanted that scene to last abit longer, but i also liked how Yoruichi came in and put everything to a stop