aka “Mistranslations that created the IH fandom”
aka I wanted to compare two moments in the manga to prove IHs wrong and ended up writing a whole analysis on the subject of Ichigo’s Instinct
Inspired by @wijnruit ‘s beautiful post
There are a lot of mistranslations that IHs take as evidence that their infamous pairing has ever even existed from Ichigo’s side before the 686 atrocity.
There are a lot of moments in manga, that IHs take as romantic for their ship
And all those moments are as pointed out by wijnruit and many others are recycled Ichiruki moments.
But let us concentrate on this particular one(this has probably been done by many, but still. Let’s refresh our memory, shall we?)
So here’s the moment from chapter 110
I don’t have the Japanese volumes, so I went and just wrote down what ichigo says in the original anime version. They are usually the same as in the manga, if they don’t change the plot
Here’s what he says in Japanese:
“くそ くそ くそ くそ。死にたくね。 死にたくね。 死にたくね。 こんな 所 で 死んでられんか よ。 まだ 死ぬわけにはいかねーんだ。 動け。 動けよ体。 止まれろ血。 俺 をもう一度戦わせてくれ 。 俺は… 俺はルキアを助けいけねーんだ 。”
“Kuso! Kuso! Kuso! Kuso! Shinitakune! Shinitakune! Konna tokoro de shinderarenka yo. Mada shinu wake ni wa ikanenda! Ugoke! Ugoke yo, karada! Tomarero, chi! Ore wo mou ichido tatakawasetekure. Ore wa…ore wa RUKIA wo tasukeikenenda!”
“Damn it! Damn it! Damn it! Damn it! I don’t wanna die! I don’t wanna die! There’s no way I’d die here! I can’t die yet! Move! Body, move! Blood, stop flowing! Let me fight one more time! I…I have to save Rukia!”
Even though he knows that if he dies not only Rukia, but everyone who has come with him, Chad who’s practically dying at the moment, Ishida, Inoue, Ganju, Hanatarou, and maybe he even thought Yoruichi would die too, will die too. That’s Ichigo. He always thinks that he is the one capable of saving people. And he says so. Himself. Chapter 89
In the anime he says “たぶん俺だ”(Tabun ore da) - “Probably me”, just so you know.
But still Kubo chose for Ichigo to say “I have to save RUKIA”. Not “I have to save everyone”, but RUKIA.
Ok, 240 chapters later THIS happens. And I guess this is the translation that the IHs have read
Where Inoue says “助けて”(Tasukete) - which is just “Help” or “Save”. The same verb Ichigo used when talking about saving Rukia. And like, I know the Japanese are known for omitting the personal pronouns. But either way, let’s not belittle Hime here. She wouldn’t say “help ME” or “Save ME”, because there was Ishida literally getting beaten to death a few feet away from her. Not to mention, again, everyone else, who will die because without Ichigo they can’t do shit in this manga (except for Rukia, Rukia somehow always kicks asses. I guess Kubo just loved her very much until he decided to assasinate her and every other character in his own manga, but whatevs).
There is actually a very good post somewhere here on tumblr explaining this moment in the manga,
but I am sorry I can’t remember how to find it, if someone can link me the post, I will edit this one with the direct link to that one.
But in short it is explained in that post how Inoue in the Japanese version screams in HIragana, indicating her just losing it. And it is explained how Ichigo’s words have no indication of him wanting to just save HER. No, he just hears someone calling and of course it triggers his instinct to protect. Here’s what he says in the anime, for example:
“ 呼 んでる 。 呼 んでるんだ 。 聞こえる 。 立て 。 立て 。 立て 。 立て 。 俺 が… 俺 が… 俺 が 護る 。”
“Yonderu. Yonderunda. Kikoeru. Tate! Tate! Tate! Tate! Ore ga…Ore ga…Ore ga _ mamoru”
“They(as in someone) are calling. They are calling. I hear it. Stand up! Stand up! Stand up! Stand up! I…I…I will protect”
He could have said “I will protect YOU” or “I will protect HER”, but he didn’t. You know why? Because that moment wasn’t about IH, it was about Ichigo and what drives him and his whole essence, about hi instincts. That was just a subtle continuation of a LONG discourse they had in Bleach about INSTINCTS
And you know what’s in Ichigo’s nature? What THAT instinct they were all talking about is?
“… If fate is a millstone, then we are the grist. There is nothing we can do. So I wish for strength. If I cannot protect them from the wheel, then give me a strong blade, and enough strength… to shatter fate.”
“Big brothers… you know why they’re born first? To protect the little ones that come after them!! “
”At first, I thought “I want to protect Mom.” The ones to protect increased with the birth of my sisters. I kept going to a dojo for the sake of protecting them. I got a bit stronger. The ones I thought I wanted to protect became more and more.“
”I’m not superman, so I can’t say anything big like I’ll protect everyone on earth. I’m not a modest guy who will say it’s enough if I can protect as many people as my two hands can handle either. I want to protect a mountain-load of people.“
“Rukia changed my fate. Rukia changed my destiny. It because I met Rukia I am able to fight and protect everyone”
“When he finished doing the dishes and turned to look at her, she’d already fallen asleep.
…What a happy expression you have there, he thought as he looked at her peaceful face. He felt deeply that… he was so fortunate to come to Soul Society, that he was so fortunate to have something to protect.”
Thank you, Yhwach, for putting it so accurately, by the way. Ichigo does think he’s the only one who can protect and save everyone)
For people who like to say “He never said he loved Rukia”, in order to dissmis Ichigo’s feelings towards Rukia, to claim THAT is Ichigo wanting to protect Hime specifically, is…strange. If IHs like so much for everything to be put down into words - here it is. He never said he wanted to protect Hime specifically. He didn’t want to protect HER.
He wanted to PROTECT. Period. “SAVE US” was just a trigger word for him. Because, you know, it’s in his fucking name! 一護 - Ichigo; 護る - mamoru. He’s the one who protects. It’s his whole character IHs think that moment in chapter 350 is an IH moment. No. It’s an Ichigo moment. It’s the conclusion of this long talk about instincts and what Ichigo’s instinct actually is. It’s his instinct to protect. It’s what makes Ichigo Ichigo
I could try and find even more of evidence in the manga, but I think this is plenty enough.
All of that and he still said he wanted to save Rukia specifically. When everyone was in danger. So we know where his priorities lay. And no amount of bullshit pulled out of the ass OOC chapters can erase that.
And fuck that ending for ruining Ichigo’s character. The one who was supposed to protect, the one who wanted to protect, whose instinct it was to protect…living a mundane life? Yeah, missed me with that.
turnnoffyourmind
annaxmalina
romaincrisis
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