Ichigo Kurosaki not only has cool powers and a zanpakuto, but some deeply meaningful relationships in Bleach. Unlike characters like Kenpachi Zaraki and Grimmjow, Ichigo isn't the type to fight just for its own sake. He fights to protect his friends and family, and his emotional bonds with him add a humanistic layer to his many supernatural adventures. One example is Ichigo's connection to his classmate, Orihime Inoue.
Ichigo's other friendships with characters like Uryu, Chad, and Rukia may be more popular among Bleach fans, but there's no doubt that his friendship-turned-romance with Orihime formed the real emotional core of his Soul Reaper adventure, and the two of them played off each other well. In some key ways, Ichigo and Orihime were reflections of one another, and in other ways, gave the other what they sorely lacked, making their relationship essential one in every arc of Bleach.
How Ichigo and Orihime Relied on One Another Throughout Bleach
Ichigo Kurosaki and Orihime Inoue relied on each other a great deal, both as fighters and human beings, giving their relationship several layers. On a practical level, Ichigo and Orihime were counterparts, since they were both spiritually gifted humans with totally different powers and abilities. While Ichigo had a zanpakuto named Zangetsu, Orihime had the power of Shun Shun Rikka, a unique spiritual gift geared toward defense and healing. In many ways, Orihime was like a schoolgirl turned fantasy cleric. More than anyone else, Ichigo relied on her abilities to sustain him during his partial isekai adventures in realms like the bleak desert of Hueco Mundo. In return, Orihime needed Ichigo to fight as a swordsman to defend her from enemies like Ulquiorra Schiffer and the Sternritter.
Ichigo and his friends formed an adventurer party in Bleach's various story arcs, with Chad being the muscle and Uryu Ishida the Quincy their planner and archer. All of their roles meshed, none more so than Ichigo and Orihime. One key example was in Las Noches, when Ichigo needed Orihime to heal him so he could fight his nemesis Grimmjow Jaegerjaques one more time to settle their feud once and for all. Ichigo all but died at Ulquiorra's hands, so at Grimmjow's insistence, Orihime healed Ichigo back into fighting shape. She did the same when Ichigo finally defeated his shonen rival and moved on to foes like Yammy and Ulquiorra. In return, Orihime regularly needed Ichigo to protect her from their team's many enemies, like when he fought Ulquiorra when the latter decided to dispatch Orihime for good.
Ichigo and Orihime also supported each other on the inside, with the intangible "heart" that could bind them across any distance, even on different worlds. They may not have heard Kaien Shiba's brief lecture on the topic, but they still embodied the heart, much to Ulquiorra's confusion. As best friends, Ichigo and Orihime innately trusted one another to save them no matter the danger, and that's what kept Orihime's morale up during her captivity in Las Noches. It also inspired Ichigo to fight that much harder when clashing with Grimmjow, with Orihime being the only Bleach character who could have rallied Ichigo's spirit. Orihime's words alone gave Ichigo the strength to win a losing fight against Grimmjow, and even if it looked like obvious plot armor, it still spoke volumes about their unique bond.
Ichigo's and Orihime's friendship was a strong one, but it still faced challenges, especially after the fondly-remembered Soul Society story arc concluded. Around that time, Rukia Kuchiki was rescued and rapidly regaining her strength, allowing her to support Ichigo more than ever. Ichigo was struggling with his inner Hollow, and Orihime didn't know how to help, so it fell to Rukia to snap Ichigo out of his poor emotional state. Orihime knew about this, and was wracked with insecurity & envy that Rukia had supported Ichigo so well while she could not. Orihime even feared that Ichigo was replacing her with Rukia in his mind, only for Rangiku Matsumoto to assure her that that wasn't the case. Rangiku was right, as Ichigo's strong heart with Orihime in the Hueco Mundo arc showed. Still, Orihime was only human, and it was understandable that she felt threatened by Rukia.
Orihime Indirectly Helped Ichigo Overcome His Grief
One of Ichigo Kurosaki's biggest personal themes was his unresolved grief about his late mother, Masaki Kurosaki. Bleach's characters rarely commented on this directly, aside from the Kurosaki family's visit to Masaki's grave site. Even so, Ichigo's character arc was strongly rooted in Masaki's passing. He was once a happy, carefree boy who became a standoffish punk when his mother died. Only later did Ichigo learn the truth of his Quincy mother and bloodline. After he learned the full truth of his family tree, Ichigo finally said good-bye to his mother's memory by symbolically parting ways with "old man Zangetsu." That made him stronger on the inside and outside.
As for Ichigo's friends, none of them served as amateur grief counselors, but they did help Ichigo feel less alone by filling his life with love and companionship to fill the void Masaki left behind. All of Ichigo's friends contributed, but Orihime Inoue was the one who added maternal warmth to Ichigo's personal life, which gradually made him happier and more hopeful over time. Interestingly, no one in Ichigo's actual family came close to doing this, since his father was more like a mentor and his twin younger sisters were people who relied on him, not the other way around.
It fell to Orihime Inoue, of all people, to add a warm touch to Ichigo's life. Orhime was still closest thing to a nurturing mother figure Ichigo had during Bleach's main events. She had the right personality for such a role, being a down-to-earth and supportive person who was closely attuned to everyone's emotions despite her slight ahodere tendencies. While Bleach's story didn't explicitly say so, the story's events suggest that Orihime gradually became a maternal figure in Ichigo's life, making it easier for Ichigo to move on from his mother's death and think about the hopeful future rather than the painful past. At least, the material makes it easy for fans to interpret it that way and adds another complex layer to Ichigo's and Orihime's relationship.
Ichigo and Orihime Gave Each Other the Happy Ending They Deserved
In the long run, Ichigo's and Orihime's relationship felt like it would inevitably lead to the happy ending that it did. Some shonen anime give their male leads several female companions, many of whom deemed "waifu" material by fans. In Bleach's case, Ichigo didn't have very many options -- nor did he need them. Fans love to romantically ship Ichigo with Rukia, since the two have strong on-screen chemistry as fellow tsunderes and have explored each other's worlds. Rukia was a reverse-isekai heroine who introduced Ichigo to the world of Soul Reapers and Hollows, and then Ichigo visited Rukia's home to save her. However, IchiRuki had some problems, such as their differing lifesplans and commitments in their own worlds.
That left Ichigo with exactly one other option for a love: Orihime Inoue. Compared to some shonen series, Bleach was being stingy with Ichigo's potential girlfriends, but Orihime was all Ichigo needed. Bleach was clearly never meant to be a harem, nor did any of the would-be love triangles go very far. Instead, Bleach had simple but wonderful romantic intentions with Ichigo, since he and Orihime both deserved a happily-ever-after in light of all they did to save the Soul Society and, indeed, the entire universe. While Rukia also deserved a happy and romantic endgame, she and Ichigo were clearly never meant to be together, so Rukia settled down with Renji, a fellow Soul Reaper. That left room for the canon Ichigo/Orihime marriage, as seen in the epilogue manga chapter.
Unlike shonen leads like Deku, Naruto Uzumaki, and Luffy, Ichigo Kurosaki never fully identified with his superhero ways, and he didn't aim to become Hokage or the symbol of peace, which might not even be worth it. Ichigo was just an ordinary citizen who happened to have spiritual gifts. When all the villains in Bleach were dealt with, Ichigo gladly returned to that civilian life and hung up the cape. Orihime Inoue felt the exact same way, so as fellow humans with meshing lifestyles, the two of them could easily settle down together, and they did.
Ichigo overcame grief and countless battles, while Orihime lost her own family to tragic circumstances, so they were both overdue to have a joyous, healthy family, and they did so together, including having a son together, Kazui. There's no way either of them could be truly happy or content with any other outcome, so their marriage was the natural endgame for their gradual and rock-solid romance.
