Well, I haven't felt any more motivated to read this chapter than the past 100 or so...but if the spoilers I've read are right...wow. This certainly validates my decision to drop this manga like a sack of bricks. What a story-telling abomination. *shivers*

God XD I was hoping that spoiler was wrong. Sasuke/Sakura is honestly one of the most dysfunctional pairs I've ever read, and the final chapter only made it worse. I know shounen isn't written with a female audience in mind...but damn, what a horrible horrible message. It's sad, but I honestly hope Kishi just came up with the pairs randomly, because this really frowns upon his own character if he intended this all along.

Doesn't that describe Hinata to a T? Not really a positive thing (I find Orihime to be infinitely more interesting than Hinata, but I chalk that up to Kubo happening to be a much better writer), but if this ending taught us anything, a magic time-skip is apparantly all you need to make a one-sided crush into a viable pairing.

Maybe so, but in the case of Bleach, there's been a build up ever since the manga started, and frankly Ichigo's not gonna live with Chad and Inoue in the real world anymore after this whole Quincy thing.

@Bold, FTR, Kubo said that he'd designed Ichigo and Rukia to have contrasting hair color (Ichigo originally had Black hair), no mention of Inoue.

Look at it from this POV:
When Rukia was lonely and needed him the most, he didn't help her out, and he even came with Byakuya to hunt her down in the Human world.

When Rukia was put on a death sentence, Ichigo was ready to die for her (not to mention the whole "changed my world"/"I gained this bankai for her" stuff)

When Ichigo was basically at his lowest points, Inoue didn't pull him out of his stumps, and in some cases, worsened things even more.

Ichigo even admitted to Grimmjow that he came to HM to fight him.

But Rukia always managed to help him out, whether that's by giving him the power to protect in the Substitute arc, encouraging him with the "man in my heart" speech in the Arrancar arc, giving him back his powers in the Fullbring arc, or even indirectly when his Fullbring activated when he thought of their parting (not included in the anime), plus this:

doesn't look like a platonic look to me :P

What did Inoue do? re-assure him in his fight with Grimmjow after she herself caused him pain? Beg for him to help her when he had a giant hole in his chest? Bring out the evil he feared that could've killed Ishida and herself? Believe Tsukishima rather than him when she claims that she loves him (even Byakuya of all people didn't forget his bond with Ichigo when Tsukishima changed his memories)?

Yeah Naruhina wins. I'm totally satisfied with the ending. Now for the movie

But her name's Orihime XD

Uryu x Unohana and Kurosaki Ichigo x Kuchiki Byakuya = canon.

I assume this a reference to Kyoraku's (or was it Oetsu's? can't remember) warning earlier in the TYBW arc. Personally I took that as more artificial tension, something Kubo thrives on, rather than actual foreshadowing. Kubo might lock Ichigo in SS due to his new power, but he's no more obligated to keep him there than he was to keep him without Shinigami powers. 

My personal theory is that Ichigo's either going to join the Royal Guard or go back to his family as a permanent Substitute. Now that he has Quincy, Hollow, and Shinigami powers, I can't see him choosing to stay in SS any more than HM or the Quincy Palace. Basically, he'd either reach a point above everyone permanently, or he'd come back to the point he started the story at. The fact that the human nakama are still being brought to the forefront, while Ichigo's closest Shinigami companions, Renji and Rukia, are stuck fighting fodder with the likes of Ikkaku and Shuhei, tells me that Kubo still intends to emphasize his bonds with the human nakama.

As for the pairing stuff...I honestly can see it going any which way, or no way at all.

"You've seen Rukia and Byakuya's asses, when's my turn!?" XD

Lol, maybe that's for the best! XD