Theories about ichigos sword zangetsu

[AvatarOfWoe666]

Why is it that every other person with a soul slayer carries their sword in normal katana form til a fight begins except ichigo? Is it possible that what we think of as ichigos first release is actually just his normal carry around katana form if not why does he not have a normla sword like all others that he has to release just curious. If you want to shoot me down thats cool but it just bugs me

[Ethanol]

This may of been discussed in another thread...not 100% sure. But,

It makes Ichigo (the main character) more unique that his sword is always released. He doesn't contain it like the others because either he can't, or He chooses not to.

That's my opinion on it.

[Raku]

Simple. Evry1 else than Ichigo wears there not released because of 2 things : 1. There's a law saying that you can't release your soul Slayer in Soul Society (Ukitake tells Byakuya in 1 of the episodes) and 2. It's just more comfortable to walk around with it not released. The reason Ichigo doesn't turn his soul slayer back is because 1. It got pretty much same size so no reason to turn it back 2. Why got it unreleased when it's weaker in that stage? 3. Ichigo don't follow the rules of soul Society

[animalistic]

not sure bout that, cuz i read in a lot of places that zangetsuz shikai was too powerful to compress and turn it back to its normal state, and this has been proven cuz even when ichigo is unconcious his zanpakutoh doesnt change back like everyone elses (remember the ikaku fight)

[Ti1301]

It just comes like that.
It's not by choice that it is unsealed at all times.

[vittorio301]

ichigo doesnt know how to return it back to normal...well..previously before attaining shikai. He didnt know it was in its released form. Refer back to EP where Yoroichi tells Ichi about his Zanpakutou.

[Demexor]

i think it was because its too powerful to seal. so it said. + i doubt he knows how too.

[Sandal Hat]

Ichigo's zanpakuto is too powerful to return back to its asauchi form that's why it always stays in its released form. Plus, you won't see anybody else walking around with there swords in shikai because of the rules and + there zanpakuto's aren't strong enough to stay in there shikai all the time.

[T_Ichigo]

well, my theory is that Zangetsu is unique compared to the others zanpaktou souls like Zabimaru for example. Zangetsu can "stand" at the 2nd form for ever, while the others can't because they're not like Zangetsu, and he's also unique .. I mean .. his bankai form is like a katana. Except that, Ichigo's normal katana has broken into 2 pieces ... but I wonder how Renji received his new sword, it was broken at the end of the battle between Byakuya =S. Ichigo's the main character so maybe kubo tait just wanted him to be different.

[sith29]

Zanpakutou can heal itself. You just need to put some reiatsu to it. He didn't get new sword. zabimaru just healed himself.

back on topic: I think Ichigo just don't know how seal zangetsu back to its first form.

[Jedi28]

He gets in enough fights that it's probably less time consuming to just have it unsealed all the time. Plus, like everyone else said, I don't think he knows how to seal it.

[Chronomaru]

Umm if you look at it...his soul slayer got broken and the only thing left was the handle....

[Jedi28]

I thought that too at first but then, Kenpachi's sword got broken, Renji's sword got broken a couple of times, and Hitsugaya's VC's sword got cracked by Gin (back when Hitsugaya fought Gin and then she ended up saving Hinamori when Gin tried to kill her). The swords reform or heal themselves after a certain amount of time. Ichigo's unsealed sword got broken by Renji and his sealed sword got broken by Kenpachi. Normally it takes time for the sword to reform but since Ichigo is so powerful he almost immediately reformed his sword in his fight with Kenpachi.

[Sandal Hat]

" is so powerful that he cannot return in his sealed state: he is constantly on the first level of invocation."

-BleachTV.com

[AznPoi]

maybe he's just too dumb to know how to turn it back into its sealed form. that's my theory. Seeing that he can't really even control his reiatsu, that's why it's always flowing out like Ishida said. So maybe it's the same with his sword.

[AvatarOfWoe666]

Does anyone think that this is leading up tO ichigo having a third form to his sword that is larger more like a normal Ban kai Since he treats his shikai like a base form for his sword?

[zembu]

that seems possible but all we know so far is that there is shikai and bankai

[sith29]

No it would be too strange if he had some third form of Zanpakutou. Even Yama don't have one( or maybe he has????)

[sniperz]

if there's a third or forth form of a sword. tat might be uber powerful so wat wil it be call?
bumkai? bikai? zomkai? lol..

[Pazuzumaki]

I would stop watching right away if there was suddenly a third form. You know its dying when they just start pulling generic crap like that out of their butts *coughSuperSaiyancough*. Besides, it's called Bankai, and from what I understand, that's supposed to mean FULL release.

[NykylaiHellray]

Also his bankai has the symbol of bankai as its hilt (IT IS NOT A SWASTIKA)

so that is definatley the limit.

Though he may gain new attacks, like byakuaya has many variations of his bankai, depending on the situatuion

[Sandal Hat]

maybe he's just too dumb to know how to turn it back into its sealed form. that's my theory. Seeing that he can't really even control his reiatsu, that's why it's always flowing out like Ishida said. So maybe it's the same with his sword.

Ichigo fixed this problem long ago. He learned how to control his reiatsu and stop the unnatural flow before getting bankai.

[Kuchiki-Sama]

Didn't someone say that there are Soul Slayers which must be released to use Shikai and those which are constantly released, like Ichigo's and Kenpachi's Soul Slayer?

I'm pretty sure this was mentioned in one episode...

[vittorio301]

Also his bankai has the symbol of bankai as its hilt (IT IS NOT A SWASTIKA)

so that is definatley the limit.

Though he may gain new attacks, like byakuaya has many variations of his bankai, depending on the situatuion
do search on Swastika and u will find a topic that went in depth as to ichigos "supposed" symbol on his hilt. it doesnt mean bankai like most think and YES it is a swastika just not the kind that u imagine. or google it (swastika)....it will be informative.

[sith29]

Didn't someone say that there are Soul Slayers which must be released to use Shikai and those which are constantly released, like Ichigo's and Kenpachi's Soul Slayer?

I'm pretty sure this was mentioned in one episode...

Kenapchi's sword isn't constantly released. Its in his first form. Zaraki just don't know its name nd thats why he can't release it. And bankai means full releas. It would be stupid if there would be something more. There can be more atacks( like in byakuya bankai) but not another level.

[vittorio301]

i dont think ppl read or watch the Ep closely or pay attention..theres no mystery to Ichigos Zanpakutou. Rewatch the EPs.

[Polygon]

i dont think ppl read or watch the Ep closely or pay attention..theres no mystery to Ichigos Zanpakutou. Rewatch the EPs.

No it's not. It goes the opposite way.

[vittorio301]

i meant to say " dont read the forums or watch the EP closely".

[Gin-Ichimaru]

ichigo's zangetsu is just big because he likes it like that, btw would it still be broken if he returned it back to normal? that may be why.

[sith29]

Zangetsu healed when he released it to shiaki form so it would not be broken.

[duncandun]

Pretty sure his original soul slayer only looked the way it did because it was influenced by Rukia's deathgod powers that he got from her, until he found his own power it diden't change. I personally think that he has a third form of his sword, I mean, Aizen can't have shit on some of the guys in Hell, If you remember back in ep.8? i think, when the hollow that killed ichigos mother came to earth, there were like 4 or 5 humanoid looking guys that told him to kill ichigo.
They must be a hint at the forces behind the hollows, And probobly make aizen look like a balsa wood stick figure.

[Kyouka Suigetsu]

Rewatch episode 8. What do you notice about one of those humanoids chest? You'll be quite surprised.

[AznPoi]

Ichigo's sword is weird, it goes big (zanpakuto), bigger(shikai), then puny(bankai). You can't really geuss what the hell his bankai does seeing that Kubo keep twisting the story each time we are sure it's going to be something. Maybe his bankai's special along with its speed is Zangetsu materializing and fighting alongside Ichigo as his Bankai's special?

[sith29]

nah i don't think so. The black gatsuga is probably the other atack of his bankai. He just don't know how to use it yet

[duncandun]

Seems to me bleach is supposed to go further then him just learning that black fang thing, the whole point of it is ichigo getting stronger etc etc.

[sith29]

But bankai means full relaese. It would be stupid if thre would be something above it. bleach would change into another dragon ball with SSJ15 levels. I don't like even the idea of it.

[Fering]

Theres also something mention is ep 20, about how ichgo's sword has no spirit power in it. This could be the reason why its shaped the way it is too.

[moat]

i read the first page of posts, but not the middle ones.....i'm lazy! anyway, all i can say is that when Ichigo started his Bankai training Yoruichi told him, that Zangetsu was an all the time released type of zanpakutou, but no reason was given, so i guess there very well could be a reason, but i don't think so, i think that's just the way it is. although it's most likely b'cuz zangetsu's power is too vast to seal it. b'cuz the only reason the bankai is smaller, is b'cuz Zangetsu feeds more off of ichigo's power...i think. it was mentioned during the Byakuya fight, but i can't remember. ^_^

[Fering]

i read the first page of posts, but not the middle ones.....i'm lazy! anyway, all i can say is that when Ichigo started his Bankai training Yoruichi told him, that Zangetsu was an all the time released type of zanpakutou, but no reason was given, so i guess there very well could be a reason, but i don't think so, i think that's just the way it is. although it's most likely b'cuz zangetsu's power is too vast to seal it. b'cuz the only reason the bankai is smaller, is b'cuz Zangetsu feeds more off of ichigo's power...i think. it was mentioned during the Byakuya fight, but i can't remember. ^_^

What was said in the Byakuya fight is that the attack ate a large part of his power then shot a high mass of power out of the sword. This was before bankai.

[EasyE002]

Personally, I think what we consider Zangetsu's shikai is it's normal, unreleased form, and the smaller "bankai" is the shikai. I mean, Ichigo obtained bankai in less than three days. I don't think he knows everything about his zanpakuto yet, and still has room for more growth and power.

[wonderkamote]

i wonder... when ichigo went on fighting with Byakuya, when his other personality appeared, the hollow type ichigo, he "showed" ichigo how to really used the bankai form of his Zangetsu... what if the hollow type ichigo knows the next potential stage of Zangetsu? i haven't read any of the manga's and only watched the animes (3 days straight)

and yeah, i hate it too when it becomes a dragon ball z type goku thing, having higher and higher power until it's become crazily the most powerfull man in the universe

[blove54]

maybe if and wen ichigo controls his hollow zangetsu will get a new form that would be cool

[prime91]

why do some of you think that he has another stage besides bankai? His bankai is strong! But Ichigo just can't really use it yet. He obtained it in 3 days and didn't get the change to train it yet. I'm pretty sure that he has a long way to go before he actualy masters it. And when he masters it, his abilities will rise to another level. I'm pretty sure that the speed thing and the black fang attack will be it. But it will be strong, seeing that the hollow ichigo could pwn Byakuya with it.
I think it remains in shikai because:
-Ichigo has an enormous flow of reiatsu that even though he did practise it I think he can't fully control yet. Others use reiatsu to hold theire zanpakuto released. Maybe Ichigo does too but he just doesn't notice it.
-Zangetsu is too strong to get sealed, maybe Ichigo could've never reached shikai with Rukia's power, and now that he has his own, he might have some power boost.
- He is too plain stupid and he doesn't know how to seal it.

[Althion]

well as far as i have read in the posts nobody really remember what was said they are all guessing and naming off quotes that relate to but not directly....its not that ichigo doesnt know how to but its that he cant....if everyone remember s your soul slayer reacts with your reiatsu..hence why ichigos sword was so big in the first place..he has so much reiatsu he cant control how much is being released or leaked out of him at time(menos fight with ishida for ex)

[wonderkamote]

quick question, haven't read the manga version yet but are they in parallel with the anime?does the manga has a lot more info?

i do still believe that ichigo would have another stage of power besides bankai.if you noticed, most animes do that, dbz, yuyu hakusho, flame of recca, samurai x (kenshin) just to name a few...

[frbbls]

nope nothing changed, but he learned the kuroi technique.

Byakuya has so many forms, cause his zanpaku-to CAN take shape into those forms. When the Final Form is beat u see the sword just tear apart, making it only logical it was created by the same 'petals' from senbonzakura.

[Undying]

Well, Byakuya did say that when Sanbonzakura takes the Sankei form, it condences all the petals into the swords. Tha's why he has so many forms. As for Ichigo, the best technique he has with his BanKai so far is the Kuroi Getsuga.

[blove54]

maybe he wont get another form but maybe his appearancewill change, like dbz(super saiyen) but wenever he does master it he will own all

[sparkle_freeze]

my theory is that Zangetsu is too powerful and also that it acts independent of Ichigo so it either chooses to remain in that state or Ichigo has no means to contain it. Another reason may be because Ichigo's not as bothered by its size as smaller shinigami might be. It kinda also fits his style better..

[Caesar]

my opinion is that zangetsu doesnt change to its original for is that there isnt any more!!!!! zangetsu was created from a hilt!! when all the others let go of shika the sword changes exacly the sword it was before!! we saw ikkaku and the medicine in his zampakuto. i think there is no point to say that ichigo doesnt know because zangetsu would change to its originall form whenever he fell unconsious.(this is what was said after ikkaku vs ichigo).

in order to change his zampakuto, zangetsu should be broken or sth to find another host[[[[[[this is totally a theory of mine]]]]]]]]]

[ssjtrunkssgurl]

well its cooler than the rest... and i think it can go to another stage besides bankai, beacuse #1 ichigo is the main character, and most main characters can do things beyone the other ppl...
#2, he is a hollow/death god, making him srtonger so yea... making his sword capaple of being better
#3, he is the only accidental death god so he should have a special power besides bankai... so yea... i just think his sword is cool... and zangetsu is kinda hot...

[Undying]

There is no another stage. It was mentioned that there are 2 stages for the Zanpaku-to's - Shikai and Bankai. that's it. Period. There is no other level. Or don't you think that the all mighty, over-2000-years-old-tai-master would know of it? I assume that he everything there is to know about Zanpaku-to stages.

[Fering]

well its cooler than the rest... and i think it can go to another stage besides bankai, beacuse #1 ichigo is the main character, and most main characters can do things beyone the other ppl...
#2, he is a hollow/death god, making him srtonger so yea... making his sword capaple of being better
#3, he is the only accidental death god so he should have a special power besides bankai... so yea... i just think his sword is cool... and zangetsu is kinda hot...

He is not the only accidental death god (and hes not accidental, powers where freely given), we know this because of the tailsman he gets at the end of 63.

[AnimeLoverX]

i think its just cuz to make ichigo, the main character look more "special"

[Fering]

Now that 68/69 is out, you have to wonder if since he cant achive bankai in the real world if that was the true form of his bankai. Theres something about him and his sword that we dont know about yet.

[DarkenReaper57]

His sword temporarily went back to its unreleased form right after he achieved bankai. You can see it in its unreleased form (it is in the older-style covering on his back) when you see Ichigo's back right before he interrupts the execution.