RE: Bleach Chapter #353
I was going to freak out about the ending. I'll admit it; my initial reaction was, "What the fuck was that?"
...But then I read this post and I understood. ^-^
So, basically, I went like this:
Ulquiorra chopping off one of Ichigo's horns and levelling-ish the playing field again?
MUCH LOLz @ Freudian symbolism! XD
So Ichigo comes back from the dead, totally surprising himself, but then the next thought in his head after "I'm ALIVE?!" is, "Are you hurted, Orihime?" (Peter Pan reference FTW! XD)
Shipper moment? Shipper moment. :D
Ishida getting the sword ripped out of him and no one cared?
WTF, KT, heal Ishida, damn it! This is beyond ridiculous. How is he even still alive? D:
...Also, am I delusional or has Ichigo grown up?
He's not angsting over hurting a friend! How is this possible? ...Oh, wait! I know! He's accepted that his friends aren't entirely incompetent. He's realized that people have to be allowed to protect themselves sometimes. He's realized --in a way-- that he isn't always going to be able to save the world. So, does that mean that his absolute drive to save Orihime is even more special? Why, Watson, my good fellow, I think it does!
Ulquiorra finding them "interesting"?
Yeah, I thought, this is a major UlquiHime chapter right at that moment. But then I realized he was talking about them. He's having a conversation with both Ichigo and Orihime and I must be wearing my shipper-goggles too tight but that seemed pretty telling to me, you know, what with the whole "them" thing. "Them", it's like the opposite of "us". "Us" is a coupley word, right? XD (OK, so this point was just me being a fangirl. Sue me :P)
Ulqui-Hime hands?
Mirror much, KT? Because that looks a lot like the scene above Soul Society when Ichigo and Orihime reach for each other. It adds credence to the theory of mirroring posited by the post linked above. Two scenes from the SS arc replay. Also, I'm sure there's tons of meaning behind the fact that IchiHime reached and held onto each other while Ulqui just disintigrated. I won't go into it though. I'll just sit back and let my little shipper heart smile.
The ending scene?
Upon re-reading, it's a lovely tableau. I can't really express why. It's just really bittersweet.
Final thoughts?
Please KT Sir, may I have some more?
RE: Real Life
Am in London. Have taken pictures. Am hacking unsecured wireless network to post to LJ. Will update you all properly in a few weeks. xx