BLEACH: Why Isn’t Orihime Stronger?

The one BLEACH character that is the most misunderstood and underestimated by fans of the series is Orihime Inoue. Despite her absolutely broken abilities, she isn’t much help in a combat situation beyond her reality-warping healing abilities, but someone with her powers should surely be much stronger than she appears to be over the course of the series.

Unlike Rukia or Yoruichi, Nel or the host of other female characters in BLEACH, Orihime’s use of her powers makes her better suited to support, especially before her training with the Visored Hachigen. What is it about Orihime that makes her so divisive, and why isn’t she just “stronger” in the way everyone else is?

RELATED

Bleach: Orihime’s Shun Shun Rikka, Explained

Despite being a mere human, Orihime possesses the power to fight alongside Soul Reapers — a feat only possible due to her Shun Shun Rikka.

What Exactly Are Orihime’s Powers?

The “Weakest” Reality Warper That Ever Was

Orihime Inoue is a Fullbringer who has an attachment to special hairpins given to her by her older brother Sora on the day he died. Having seen what became of her brother’s soul, and subsequently also managed to see his safe passing over to the afterlife, her attachment to her brother and his present may have greatly strengthened, eventually leading to the manifestation of her powers, the Shun Shun Rikka. Being a Fullbringer means that at some point, a prenatal Orihime was exposed to Hollow Reiatsu, while in the Can’t Fear Your Own World novels, it is revealed that the Hollow attacks on the pregnant mothers of Fullbringers were caused by the fact that their unborn children’s souls contained fragments of the Soul King Adnyeus himself.

While initially presented as some kind of healing forcefield or shield coupled with fairies that conduct her attacks, Orihime’s powers are something far more terrifying. When she was kidnapped by the Quatro Espada, Ulquiorra Cifer, at the behest of Sо̄suke Aizen, it was for the actual effect of her ability, which he surmised was not something as basic as shielding or healing, but the ability to reject phenomena. What this means is that Orihime can revert objects to a state before something happens, as seen when she manages to bring back Grimmjow Jaegerjaquez’s severed and disintegrated arm, or the countless times she has healed the wounds of Ichigo and the countless officers of the Gotei 13 sustained in battle.

Why Orihime Is Seen As a Weakling

A Less Combat-Ready Personality

What’s interesting to explore is the difference between Orihime in the 2004 BLEACH anime and in the manga, as the former did set her up to be more of a damsel in distress than she actually is. Her inability to engage enemies in a fight and neutralize them the way someone like Rukia or any other female combatant on the cast would is perhaps the biggest reason why she would be seen as surplus to requirements (and was in fact seen that way during the Arrancar arc by Kisuke Urahara).

She is not the kind of character who resolves to kill her foes, and her application of her special ability specifically as a support mechanism rather than a weapon is less about an inability to fight and defend herself, but rather a matter of temperament. Her ability is in and of itself powerful enough to affect reality, and such an ability is only as dangerous as the individual wielding it. While she herself is not the kind of personality that would engage in, relish or even desire battle, Orihime is not a weakling because of it, but rather, one whose strength is shown in other ways.

Orihime The Strong

She Isn’t Weak, Just a Different Kind of Strong

Orihime’s own Reiatsu must be off the charts for her to be able to get close enough to the intense battles fought by her allies to be of any use even in a supportive role (she has been around powerful Hollows, Arrancar, Captains and even Ichigo’s Vasto Lorde transformation and has been able to withstand the Reiatsu of characters far more powerful or dangerous than herself. She is also very decisive, as even before she had powers, she was never the type to just let things happen.

When her Hollowfied brother tried to kill Tatsuki Arisawa, Orihime used her head (literally) and fought desperately to protect her friend. When the Arrancar first showed up, she suffered attacks from Yammy Llargo and Ulquiorra, and even resolved to go to Hueco Mundo without telling anyone in order to protect her friends.

However, because she won’t bust out of captivity or kill hundreds of guards as she’s imprisoned, it gives the impression that she is weak. During the Arrancar Arc, Orihime’s worry and fixation on Ichigo made her notorious for calling out to him, which further deepened the impression that she is only a character who needs saving.

This is despite the fact that even right under Aizen’s nose, Orihime was plotting to destroy the Hogyoku with her powers, which would’ve saved the Shinigami a host of trouble had Aizen not already fused his Hogyoku with Urahara’s and embedded it into his own body. When Ichigo challenges Yhwach in the final battle, Orihime is right there with him because he would be unable to do it without her, so despite the fact that she isn’t the one for killing her enemies, she is still strong enough to face the strongest antagonist Ichigo has ever faced together with him.

Your changes have been saved

Based on Tite Kubo’s battle shonen manga, Bleach centers around Ichigo, a high school student who is dragged into the world of Soul Reapers. The original anime ended in 2012, but it was revived in 2022.