Well I think that IchHime makes more sense: Rukia is a spirit, right? So in order to be with her Ichigo has to die and go to the Soul Society? 'Cause... he's still a living human. But then, hey... His father was a shinigami that lost his powers, right? So his body is a gigai, yes? Or when shinigami loses their power they obtain human body or something? I'm a bit confused... hehe
LOL, I was actually talking about this up above. I think Isshin's going to have to enter the plot again, there's too many unanswered questions concerning his past.
Just because Rukia "changed" his world doesn't justify who Ichigo should have feelings for her. And technically, after the last ARC, you learn that it was really Aizen that changed his world, not Rukia. And let's just hope and pray he doesn't fall for Aizen.
I actually started out as a IchiRukia shipper, but after the Rukia rescue arc, the emotional bond just doesn't quite seem to be there as much. You don't get that feeling from Rukia as much, it just seems more platonic since that rescue arc. But you can tell throughout the series how much Orihime cares for Ichigo. So now I'm more of a IchiHime shipper. What makes it harder is Ichigo's emotions seem the same in the Rukia rescue arc as he did in the Orihime rescue arc. With Rukia, he cared about her and he owed her a debt for helping him save his family. With Orihime he also cared about her and was protecting a friend. So in both situations you can't really tell if it was completely platonic or if there was something there. Sometimes you get glimpses of "hey, something might happen between these two" but you never really know for sure. Also, Ichigo reminds Rukia of Kein-dono who she was very fond of. With Orihime Ichigo reminded her of her older brother, who she was also fond of. So right now, I'd say it's a pretty even split between the two.
I just prefer Orihime because I like her character a lot more as a romantic compliment. Plus, she's human so it works out a little better from a technical standpoint. She is trying so hard to become stronger to help protect him can't be left out either. I like the fact that she's grown more as a character. Before she wanted to keep him from fighting so he wouldn't get hurt. Now, she wants to become stronger so she can protect and help him in his battle. There is a depth to her feelings for Ichigo that I think surpasses Rukia. Plus, she cracks me up.
I'm actually sort of the same way, but I guess I'm pretty indifferent as far as an ending goes. I can see it going in any direction, or in no direction at all. I think his bond with Rukia is one of the most important in the series, but I'm not sure if that necessarily equates to mutual romantic feelings. From where it's standing now, I think Orihime's feelings will have to be resolved in order for IchiRuki to happen. Nothing annoys me more than when shipping issues are resolved off-panel. It's like the author's saying, "Ha ha, your ship died 100 chapters ago and you didn't know about it!
" IchiRuki, on the other hand, is still pretty ambiguous in my opinion, so a resolution isn't necesarily needed for IchiHime to happen. I'd prefer it Kubo did one for either pairing, but we'll see.
I'm still rooting for IchiNel though
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