BLEACH — 558 & 152
I was going back through (relatively) recent chapters when I spotted the above scene from 558. And immediately I thought: “why does this seem familiar?” Well, as you can see, I found out why.
Clearly the scene from 558 is Renji returning the favor for 152, but I’m not sure exactly what Kubo’s intentions were behind this parallel. Ichigo’s “job” to defeat Yhwach is already obvious, so why is the scene with Renji necessary? And, more importantly, why was it necessary to portray the scene as a parallel of 152? After all, it could have been any other character telling Ichigo to complete his mission and they could have done it in any other way.
So why the nod to 152? Maybe it’s just my RenRuki heart talking, but I thought it was not only an important scene in reemphasizing Ichigo’s mission, but also a significant scene in reaffirming Renji’s feelings for Rukia.
It’s an indication that Renji is still thankful for Ichigo reuniting him and the love of his life.
