#meta time

While I would classify Rangiku as second-tier main character, she isn’t deemed important enough to really get to see what makes her tick. We don’t see a lot beyond the surface-level, her character isn’t developed beyond that for one reason or another. And unfortunately, Rangiku plays the all-important factor of being Gin’s driving force, reason for redemption/pity, but that’s it. We see more how Rangiku matters to Gin, but we never really see the reverse because Bleach in Shonen and they’re only allowed what, 1 main love interest storyline, otherwise the world ends?

Anyways, back to the main topic.

From the start of the Soul Society Arc, Gin is introduced as a villain and upon reflection and rewatching, we actually don’t see Rangiku and Gin interact all that much. Again, this is one of the things that truly infuriates me about this ship because it created mainly in tension, flashbacks and one-sided narratives and only in Gin’s death do we get any sort of canonization that there is/was a relationship between the two; beyond just the concept of them growing up together. It’s only in the dramatic conclusion that we see Gin’s true intentions and his true feelings, where his heart truly lies and who it lies with.

Now, in those flashbacks and one-sided narratives we see it at first from Rangiku’s point of view. Whenever Rangiku dwells on Gin, questioning his motives or what he’s doing her tone* (in the anime), and her demeanor are often sad, confused. Other than their original flashback panel/scene for first time meeting/introduction, most of her thought process on Gin revolves around his notorious abandonment/disappearances from her life.

Waking up to find footsteps leaving wandering away from their little shake, the view Rangiku has of Gin in more memories is that of his back. She’s constantly questioning his motives, his reasonings, wondering what he’s plan is for her, what he truly wants out of her. Her inner monologue during her fight with Kira is literally asks that exact question. Here was see that Rangiku doesn’t even know where she rests in Gin’s life. They had become Shinigamis because of his desire to make sure she doesn’t cry anymore, which should seem like a cementing force in their places in each other’s worlds. But Gin’s actions speak to the opposite of that. It’s as if his narrative goes from this protector of Rangiku, this desire to fulfil some sense or purpose to something entirely different once he comes in contact with Aizen, after he becomes a Shinigami.

As the Soul Society Arc wraps up and we see the departure of Aizen&Co, the idea that Rangiku is already beginning to grieve the loss of Gin starts to take shape.

She’s grieving the loss of the boy she once knew; she’s grieving the man she thought she knew. I also think she’s starting to grieve the loss of the future she thought they had. She states at one point “That’s what I hate most about you…” we can only assume that it is his disappearing act because that has been a reoccurring topic when it comes to Rangiku’s narratives revolving around Gin, but I also want to point out that it could be regarding to Rangiku not knowing Gin’s motives.

It is only at the end of their character development arc that we find out the whole truth, but Rangiku never truly does – this notion that Gin keeps her at arm’s length to protect could be the something she hates. The walls that Gin has built around himself, the façade that he has crafted has kept everyone out, including Rangiku and she is starting to realize how she doesn’t know who Gin really is and why. But also, the fact that Gin leaves her with nothing – but questions.

The stages of Grief are:

1. Shock & Denial

2. Pain & Guilt

3. Anger & Bargaining

4. Depression

5. Upward Turn

6. Reconstruction & Working Through

7. Acceptance & Hope

Obviously, the manner in which grief manifests for each person is different and how long they move through the stages is unique to each individual. Because Rangiku suffers from Surface-Level Storyline Syndrome we don’t see any of these stages or mentions of these stages until depression, in the filler Reigei arc, and while that is not recognized as canon, I think it’s important to mention and will come back to this later.

It is my belief that Rangiku is already going through stage 1 and 2 during this period. The shock of Gin’s betrayal is the first manifestation of her grieving process and while Gin isn’t dead (yet), he’s gone, it’s a break-up, a loss of the person most important to her. She’s in pain, she feels betrayed. The weight of being one of Gin’s most important, longest connections brings in a sense of guilt – how did she not know, how did she not see, how come she couldn’t stop him.

These feelings have to be weighing on her for much of the Arrancar Arc and Fake Karakura Town Arc and it comes to a dramatic head at the Winter War.

You can simply see the ferocity in her gaze the whole interaction with Gin prior to his fight with Aizen. Compared to how she looked at him the last time she saw him as he left Soul Society verses how she looks at him upon their reunion.

At some point we’ve entered the stage of anger but at the same time we’re still in denial because Rangiku’s question to Gin, to which Gin turns back on her – is how could he do this to Kira?When in reality she was asking ‘How could you to do this to me?’

It’s also interesting to mention the lack of Gin’s smile during the entire interaction with Aizen. I would safely assume that Gin didn’t expect Rangiku to make some dramatic show of force, to show up in her state because she had to know she wasn’t strong enough to take on him, let alone Aizen. It’s almost like during those few precious moments, he’s trying to recalculate his plan, which is why he ferries her away and places her under kido. And why he continues that rouse to Aizen in claiming that he killed her.

Of course, this leads to Gin’s “I’m a snake” monologue – referencing back to TBTP. Small side note, it wasn’t until years of watching, reading and writing Bleach that you start to notice these little things; but Gin’s narrative has always been defined by the ‘I’m a snake’ statement when in actuality he’s always been depicted as a fox or kitsune which in Japanese folklore are considered “faithful guardians, friends, and lovers.” I could write a whole research paper on this, but anyways back to the good stuff.

It is during the Fake Karakura Town/Winter War that the transition happens in the GinRan ship. Up until this point it was always from Rangiku’s point of view but now we’re getting Gin’s. We have the narrative in our heads that Gin is this terrible person, he’s a villain, he’s working with Aizen, he’s betrayed the people he cares most about and then BOOM. He flips the script.

The true reveal takes place, we see Gin’s motives for everything – and that motive is Rangiku; what was done to her; what was stolen from her; Gin is seeking revenge. In order to do this, he’s kept the driving force, his whole reason at arm’s length to protect her. In the end, he fails.

And the grief process for Rangiku starts over.

After the conclusion on the Winter War are we sneak a peak at how Soul Society and the rest of the Shinigami are moving on. No one has come out of that war unscathed and that’s the whole point – the loss of those three captains was a ripple effect that didn’t just hit each individual’s division directly, but it radiated out to those around them. The personal impacts that each of these captains had on so many among their ranks. We’re given this insight by Rangiku, who sees those around her picking themselves up, dusting themselves off, realizing their shortcomings and working to grow stronger. They won’t be defined by that one battle, they won’t be defined by the loss of their mentor, they’re moving on.

Rangiku claims that she too is moving on, and that Gin’s bad habit of leaving her with nothing is actually a sort of blessing, she has nothing to cling to, nothing to hold onto, nothing to keep her back from stepping out and moving forward…which is utter nonsense. While Gin may have left nothing physically for her to hold onto, he left her with everything emotionally, and mentally.

Rangiku never learned the reason for Gin’s actions, no one besides Aizen truly knows what happened to her as a child, who she is and what she was. Gin kept that from Rangiku for all those years, he never had the chance to explain her role in his actions. So, what did Gin leave her with? Questions.

Gin also left her with all the memories she has recanted over all the arcs leading up to this, as if the image of him lying there dying isn’t seared into her brain. As if her birthday isn’t going pass and she isn’t going to think of him, of why that day is important.

We’re back to the stages of grief, she’s denying that she has anything to hold onto. She’s still in a state of shock, she’s mourning his loss. I have referenced before that in the filler arc after this there is a mentioning of a month having passed and Nanao mentions to Rangiku that it’s good to see her kind of coming back to her old self to which Rangiku sort of questions what she had been for the last month – in which Nanao responds in kind that she had been depressed.

Now this isn’t canon, but I think it ties in rather well, because unfortunately with Bleach being a shonen feelings are kind of just dropped like a hot potato. One moment they’re sad and then not anymore. We don’t see really any other character suffer besides that of Ichigo, but then we have this moment where someone else mentions that another character’s personality has been off for a month (shocker off-screen however).

Now comes my interpretations.

For the whole period of the Soul Society arc until the end of the Winter War you are seeing Rangiku going through a grief process as well as character development. She is learning during that whole time how to live without Gin.

In the beginning, it’s simply learning to live without him romantically perhaps. Since Aizen references that he always assumed Gin has “feelings” for Rangiku, I have personally headcanoned that they had a relationship that may have been one of those ‘worst-kept secrets’ in Soul Society. Everyone knew they were together, but it was meant to be hush-hush, however as things were beginning to heat up with Aizen’s plans, I have always pinpointed around the events of Isshin’s disappearance, Gin ended things – out of protection for Rangiku.

Gin’s betrayal cements this process, Rangiku needs to learn how to live without him in her life and without him in Soul Society. Their lives had been so interwoven for so long that pulling back would be a process, learning to live without him would be like learning breathing again. It wouldn’t be easy.

While she has proven to herself that she can live, thrive and survive without Gin in her life, the idea of death isn’t exactly what she had in mind. The idea that he’d still be there – without being there – is where her mindset is at until ultimately, she is forced to truly let him go for good. And so, she grieves, hard, for months, if not years – if not for the rest of her life.

One has to, right? To see the man, you loved die before you, not knowing why, not understanding his motives, never getting the answers to the questions you don’t even know you should ask, it must be torment.

They were in a sense soulmate, meant for one another – Gin devoted his life to literally a stranger. He had no idea who this girl was, but he saw a crime being committed, he knew it was wrong and swore vengeance on someone he didn’t know without even knowing the girl’s name first. And Gin was Rangiku’s whole world, when someone doesn’t start counting the days until they’ve met you, you’re important, you’re literally their everything. She is basing the passage of time off of when she met the boy who saved her life. To lose that person, it can’t be something you simply get over, in a month, or a year. You simply slowly start to come to terms, with the new reality and the new normal. That void never goes away, the hole in your heart is never going to be filled, not by drink, not by another person, not by things. It lingers and for a time it gets worse before it gets better.

Now, of course, I have to talk about the haircut. The start of The Thousand Year Blood War is 17 months later, so over a year and a half has passed, and I don’t think that is enough time for Rangiku to have healed or to be out of her grieving process/mourning period. I think it will be with her forever, but we enter a new stage in the grief process, the Upward Turn and Working Through.

It’s pretty cliché to do the whole “New Hair, New You” thing after a break-up, but I get why it’s done. It’s meant to show growth, it’s meant to show the passage of time, it’s meant to show the letting go of one’s former self. For the most part prior to the events of the main storyline of Bleach, Rangiku always had shorter hair. So, it’s kind of natural for her to go back to that to start over. I’m not against it, I think it’s a way to show that she had let go somewhat, moved on to a point she felt comfortable with.

The way I have written Rangiku is that after the events of the Winter War, there’s a pronounced shift in Rangiku. There’s a more complex level of emotions to her after Gin’s death – she’s able to eventually return to a resemblance of her old self but she’s never quite there. The majority of her soul was taken by Aizen, but that hurt far less than when he stole half her heart.