I’ve been thinking a lot about the GinRan and RenRuki parallels lately while making a set and I definitely have read a couple of pieces about this already so it’s nothing new but I’m still blown away by how much parallels there are between the two?
- They were all from the Rukongai and met each other when they were kids.
- The first offer of friendship was food. Gin offered a starving Rangiku dried persimmon while Renji gave Rukia her share of hard candy after helping him and his gang steal water. They both became best friends after that.
- Something of value was taken from them by a powerful man. Aizen took a piece of Rangiku’s soul while Byakuya “took” Rukia away by adopting her and making it impossible for Renji and Rukia to be together. (You can also add in the parallel of Aizen taking the Hogyoku from Rukia.)
- Both Gin and Renji decided to let go of Rangiku and Rukia thinking it’s for the best. Gin left Rangiku to join Aizen. Renji didn’t stop Rukia from being adopted. Both reasons were not clearly obvious which led to miscommunication and heartbreak.
- Gin joined/served Aizen with the hopes of killing him someday for what he did to Rangiku. Renji spent 40 years working on the goal to surpass Byakuya (he also ended up serving him in the process) so that he can approach (take back, in a way) Rukia again.
- Both pairs were at odds with each other at some point. Rangiku had to arrest Gin when they found out that Aizen was a traitor. Renji, while with Byakuya, arrested Rukia per the orders of Central 46.
- Both Gin and Renji went up against the men (Aizen, Byakuya) they served but ultimately held a grudge on. They both lost.
- When it mattered, though, both Gin and Renji saved and took Rangiku and Rukia away from danger. Gin flash stepped (or was it another move? I forgot) Rangiku away from Aizen when he was about to kill her and Renji carried Rukia away from Sokyoku Hill (after Ichigo yeeted her to him LOL).
Things, unfortunately, ended up being different for the two couples. GinRan had a sad ending while RenRuki had a happy ending. This just made me think of how GinRan is the tragic/darker mirror of RenRuki and how easily Renji could’ve gone Gin’s path if he didn’t have a good support system like Izuru, Momo, and Ikkaku. He could’ve easily been bitter, self sabotaged and worked on killing Byakuya (instead of just surpassing him). Which leads me to another thought - was this a miscalculation on Aizen’s part? Why didn’t he use that information to use Renji? Renji might be stubborn but the younger him might be easier to manipulate especially if Rukia is involved.
