Bleach: Are Toshiro and Momo in Love? Relationship Explained!
Toshiro Hitsugaya is one of the most popular characters from Bleach; even Kubo himself said in one interview that he liked Hitsugaya a lot and that he was glad to see that the fans accepted him. The Captain of the 10th Division, he is the youngest among the Captains, and while he is, as a Soul, hundreds of years old, he actually looks like a young boy. Due to that fact, his private life has rarely been in the spotlight, but in this article, we are going to tell you about his relationship with Momo Hinamori.
Toshiro Hitsugaya and Momo Hinamori are, as far as we know, not in love, but they are very close to each other, and while they’re not related, they do behave a lot like siblings, and they are of a similar age, which is why fans ship them together so often. In that aspect, it has to be said that they are, indeed, close and that out of all Toshiro-related ships, this one has the most potential, seeing how both of them are Shinigami and are close to each other. Still, officially, as of the “NO BREATHES FROM HELL” one-shot, they are not a couple in Bleach.
The rest of this article will explore Toshiro Hitsugaya’s relationship with Momo Hinamori while focusing, in particular, on the nature of their relationship and whether they are in love with each other or not, which is also the main and principal question of this article. If you’re not fully up-to-date with the events of Bleach, this article might contain some important spoilers, but we have to state that no new information will be presented here, as we will focus on old and well-known facts about the two of them.
Toshiro and Momo are close, but as far as the canon is concerned – they are not a couple
As we usually do in such articles, we start off with an analysis of the characters’ personalities, so let us see what we can reveal in that aspect here.
Toshiro is fundamentally different from his Lieutenant, Rangiku Matsumoto, in that he is typically quite serious, mature, and occasionally grouchy, despite being a child. He typically becomes rather irritated when others act foolishly, make mistakes, or bring attention to himself.
Furthermore, it appears that Hitsugaya dislikes being considered a child (although he is one) more than he dislikes engaging in immature behavior. Additionally, Toshiro dislikes his nickname Shiro-chan, which loosely translates as “little white,” and he appears to take offense when Momo Hinamori uses it. She routinely refers to him as Hitsugaya-kun, despite the fact that he insists on going by Commander Hitsugaya. To his annoyance and despite his protests, Ichigo exclusively calls him by his first name, just like Byakuya Kuchiki and Kenpachi Zaraki.
Additionally, it appears that Toshiro has excellent intuition because he was one of the few who picked up on Ichimaru Gin’s gaffe; naturally, he was unable to recognize Sosuke Aizen’s hypnosis, like the other captains.
On a general level, Hitsugaya is rather a grumpy individual. He suffered from post-traumatic stress after he stabbed Momo in the chest while believing he was fighting Aizen (due to Kyoka Suigetsu’s hypnosis). Later, when Hinamori’s Reigai inquires about it, he appears shaken by the experience. Gin Ichimaru observed that Hitsugaya is like a celestial guardian who is reincarnated every few centuries, or more specifically, an incarnation of such a guardian, while the two of them battled.
On the other hand, Momo is an optimistic and easygoing girl who is generally very trusting but also very impulsive, emotionally vulnerable, and sometimes quite naive. She admires her former commander Sōsuke Aizen so much that she even believes Aizen is still a good person and that Gin is just manipulating him.
This is why she was ready to kill Toshiro when a fake letter accused him of killing Aizen and why she refused to acknowledge Aizen’s betrayal even later on in the story. Still, she grew a lot as a character later, and her personality became much firmer, especially because she hung out a lot with Rangiku.
Ultimately, during the Quincy Blood War, she showed a lot of determination and courage, helping her new Captain, Shinji Hirako, when needed. Shinji respected her very much and was protective of her, valuing her contributions to the fight.
Now that we have settled this, we can actually proceed to explain the relationship between the two and the nature of their relationship. The two of them have been friends since they were young children, and they grew up in the same neighborhood, which is a well-known fact from the series.
Although Toshiro is a little younger, the age gap is not particularly apparent. Momo lived close to Toshiro’s house while they were still in the Rukongai, so the two of them often hung around as children, and after Momo entered the Shinigami Academy, she would always visit Toshiro during breaks. This is how the two of them ended up being so close.
Later, when Rangiku motivated Toshiro to join the Academy as well, Toshiro rose up the ranks quicker than Momo, and while they did not end up being in the same Division, they remained close friends. Momo did not change her attitude towards him because he was a Captain, and she was only a Lieutenant, and Toshiro always remained highly protective of her. This is why it shocked him to see her hurt on more than one occasion during the fight against Aizen.
The nature of their relationship has often been described as being sibling-like, but they are not actually related, so the closeness can indicate both romantic feelings and just genuine friendship. Currently, they are not a couple, and while they do care for each other, it hasn’t been implied that there is anything romantic in their relationship. So far.
We don’t know how all of this will play out, but there is a lot of shipping potential in this case, which is why we have analyzed all the aspects we needed for you, so you can fully understand the nature of their relationship in Bleach.
Ultimately, if there is one character in the series that Toshiro actually cares for and would risk his life for, it is Momo. He has gone to great lengths to defend Momo on more than one occasion. Although it only seems friendly for now, she also likes him a lot, and there is more than enough information to discuss a prospective ship in this scenario. In all honesty, if any Toshiro-related ship materializes, we’d put our money on this one.
They are around the same age, both Souls, care about and like each other, and have known each other since they were young. Although we’re not sure if Kubo will make them a couple in the future, this ship is the one we’d bet on in case Toshiro is ever paired up with a pre-existing Bleach character.