Kenpachi and his "Partner"

[MiyamotoKenpachi]

When Kenpachi could hear his swords name....for the first time..(moslt likely)..i was like yes..it's finaly time..to end Bleach..

This tread is about his "partner"/ zanpakto...what could it's 'abilities be??..i thought and thought..to be honest I HAVE NO CLUE xd

A Zanpakto reflects..in a way the owner ..you sleep with it breath with it..well..it's a part of you actualy..so it's abilities should resemble yourself..but...what the ability of Kenpachi's shikai is ??
It would be ironic if it turns out to be an "kiddo"based zanpakto..that would contradict Kenpachi's own words O_o

So what are your thought's about Kenpachi's shikai..what will it do? what are the abilities ?..could it be pure defense? or pure attacking shikai?or both so what are your thought's about the shikai of Zaraki Kenpachi...go crazy..couse we don't know yet xD

[Minerva]

I've been expecting him to have a kidou-based zanpakutou. :amuse

Since Kubo likes to use the Undead theme for Zaraki, his zanpakutou probably has to do with that. Raising the dead, perhaps? After Yamamoto's bankai, necromancy would not be out of the question as a normal ability for a Shinigami.

[Latte]

Maybe we have already seen what it is capable of.

It seals proportions of his power to create 'backup saves' to ressurect him if he dies.

[Chimera Cord]

Isn't Kenpachi's partner Byakuya?

Oh, we're talking about his zanpakuto.




The zanpakuto is the self, not really a separate entity. It's like looking in a mirror and calling what you see you partner. The mirror may be a separate thing, but the reflection is just you.

[Tom2rules]

Personally I could see his Zanpakuto being somehow related to the whole "Undead" theme, maybe summoning giant skeletons for battle, raising the dead, turning himself into a unkillable skeleton? I have no idea what his sword could really do at this point.

But honestly, Kubo is going to be cruel to Kenpachi if he makes his Zanpakuto a Kidou type...

[Giusel]

I found a theory, can't remember how and where, about the chance Zaraki, and probably his Zan, was inspired by the japanese folklore creature known as gashadokuro (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gashadokuro).
It quite fits well in my opinion. Zaraki has been referred as Undead on Volume 13 (the one with him in cover, named The Undead indeed), his Reiatsu often looks like a giant skull, and used to attach bells onto his hair, before he grew bored doing it :P

[Chimera Cord]

I found a theory, can't remember how and where, about the chance Zaraki, and probably his Zan, was inspired by the japanese folklore creature known as gashadokuro (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gashadokuro).
It quite fits well in my opinion. Zaraki has been referred as Undead on Volume 13 (the one with him in cover, named The Undead indeed), his Reiatsu often looks like a giant skull, and used to attach bells onto his hair, before he grew bored doing it :P

In the omakes of the chapters where Zaraki was fighting Nnoitora, Kubo drew a gashadokuro to represent Kenpachi during the fight.

Between the form taken by his reiatsu and that omake, it's pretty much confirmed that his spirit is a gashadokuro.


Hell, he even turned into one when Unohana hit him with her bankai's ability during their fight.

[Giusel]

In the omakes of the chapters where Zaraki was fighting Nnoitora, Kubo drew a gashadokuro to represent Kenpachi during the fight.

Between the form taken by his reiatsu and that omake, it's pretty much confirmed that his spirit is a gashadokuro.


Hell, he even turned into one when Unohana hit him with her bankai's ability during their fight.

I searched that omake for some time, but couldn't find it. However, good to know that what's told in the "Spirits Are Forever With YoU" novel about his power wasn't actually the true power of his Zan :p

[Chimera Cord]

I searched that omake for some time, but couldn't find it. However, good to know that what's told in the "Spirits Are Forever With YoU" novel about his power wasn't actually the true power of his Zan :p

There's still a chance that his zanpakuto does something like that. After all, his shikai has been active this whole time so his whole power-level problem could have been caused by him not being able to control his shikai's power.

[my2kb22]

I could agree with everyone here saying its possible that zaraki's shikai ability could go along the lines of being "undead"....... although he is already and undead many many times....... how many times does he go down and then get up again..., imo his ability could be consume and regeneration.... that would make him even more of an undead lols.... like every time he hits/slashes an enemy his zanpaktou feeds on its reiatsu and regenerates his wounds etc...., and even if kenpachi has no wounds it could increases his power...hehe but that'd be too OPed... who knows though...kubo likes to OP certain characters and kenpachi is one of them

[MiyamotoKenpachi]

Nice ideas..yes it did cross my mind that it could be Undead...and something as the music wich was chosen for Kenpachi.."Superpredator"..even when he fought Ichigo the dead skull came from his back,,and same with Noitra..if you look closely..you can see a part of that skull when he attacks Bach..(it looks that way not 100% sure) and he has stolen a asauchi of a dead corpse..so it all points in that direction..but what it can do?..it's still is..unlclear....Kubo has waited long for this so i think he planned this well..i just hope it has Epic abilities....maybe it's gravity based..like raise his reiatsu..defence and attack with Kubo latley showing nice abilities "like Yamma bankai"and Isshin weired..blood thing..

The idea of Gashadokuro ..is very interesting..i have come across some similarities with other myths..but sadly i forgot O_o

[Minerva]

I searched that omake for some time, but couldn't find it. However, good to know that what's told in the "Spirits Are Forever With YoU" novel about his power wasn't actually the true power of his Zan :p
The omake are from vol 35. Here's one of the omake in question:
http://album.tealmermaid.com/bleach/ch310-omake.jpg
We have Nnoitra as a crescent-horned monster with his scythes fused to his hands (like Shiro-chan's blades are) and Zaraki as a sword-wielding skeleton. The gashadokuro myth would fit, in this case; the omake are straight from Kubo. That is probably what Zaraki is/what his zanpakutou is.

[Moon]

What if it's just a straight-up 5-10x attack power increase?

[Minerva]

What if it's just a straight-up 5-10x attack power increase?
Because it would be faster to give him a bankai instead of just increasing his attack power in shikai. If his attack power increases too much more, his targets will drop dead the moment he enters the battlefield before he even gets near them.

It's also not consistent with what's been shown for him ('Undead' theme and such). His skull reiatsu is clearly relevant here.

[Arkyle]

I think it will be a kidou based zanpakuto (haha now Yumishika can "come out" with his as well lol). Now that he can't limit his own power, he will constantly kill or fatally wound his opponets so if he brings them back he can defeat and kill them endlessly or to his heart's content.

[MaskedOne]

Kenpachi's zanpakuto is a HF Blade. It's based on taking his reiatsu to sharpen his blade im betting that's how he beat nnoitra. No wonder he can cut shit with that dull ass blade lol

@minerva aren't you supposed to hear bells ringing when a gasadokuro is near? Makes me think of kenchan when he had the bells in his hair.

[Dizfactor]

Kenpachi's zanpakuto is a HF Blade. It's based on taking his reiatsu to sharpen his blade im betting that's how he beat nnoitra. No wonder he can cut shit with that dull ass blade lol

@minerva aren't you supposed to hear bells ringing when a gasadokuro is near? Makes me think of kenchan when he had the bells in his hair.

Yes, they are often associated with the sounds of bells.


Woot, my degree in folklore finally came in handy.

[Minerva]

@minerva aren't you supposed to hear bells ringing when a gasadokuro is near? Makes me think of kenchan when he had the bells in his hair.
Really? I'm not as familiar with Japanese folklore as I would like. That's a good catch, in that case. That's probably why he had the bells before. Wikipedia (being ever-reputable :elmo) says their targets hear bells. Kubo is good at this; I remember Zaraki making a fuss that Ichigo could hear his bells.

Wonder why he removed them? And will he get them back now with his zanpakutou accessible?

[Dizfactor]

Really? I'm not as familiar with Japanese folklore as I would like. That's a good catch, in that case. That's probably why he had the bells before. Wikipedia (being ever-reputable :elmo) says their targets hear bells. Kubo is good at this; I remember Zaraki making a fuss that Ichigo could hear his bells.

Wonder why he removed them? And will he get them back now with his zanpakutou accessible?

Yep, thats it, his bankai will be sonic based on a bell theme. HAH.

[Franco]

I found a theory, can't remember how and where, about the chance Zaraki, and probably his Zan, was inspired by the japanese folklore creature known as gashadokuro (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gashadokuro).
It quite fits well in my opinion. Zaraki has been referred as Undead on Volume 13 (the one with him in cover, named The Undead indeed), his Reiatsu often looks like a giant skull, and used to attach bells onto his hair, before he grew bored doing it :P

I've seen this theory and I like it, but I've been holding out some hope for the longest time that Zaraki's zanpaktou spirit is a woman. No particular reason for thinking about it, really. Just that the image of a female zan spirit kicking his butt around in training is pretty hot. And funny. :D

[Arkyle]

I've seen this theory and I like it, but I've been holding out some hope for the longest time that Zaraki's zanpaktou spirit is a woman. No particular reason for thinking about it, really. Just that the image of a female zan spirit kicking his butt around in training is pretty hot. And funny. :D

That'd kill my mental image of the scene with the thick, manly, omnious voice coming from his zanpakuto as it speaks to Zaraki XD

[Black Mask]

Temporary invulnerability to all attacks, his zanpakutou makes him immortal for as long as his reiatsu can keep flowing through his blade.

THIS WILL BE THE WORST 60 MINUTES OF YUHABACH'S LIFE!

[Minerva]

Thought this top panel was relevant to our discussion:
http://i12.mangapanda.com/bleach/103/bleach-11103.jpg
Looks very like the images of a gashadokuro. I suppose we have to wait another 50+ chapters to find out if that's really what his zanpakutou is.

[Ichigo]

I'm going to go with what Unohana said about Kenpachi unconsciously bringing his power level down to others. His zanpakuto forces both parties into fighting on an "equal playing field." Basically, it nullifies the effects/abilities of others and forces them to fight one on one. It would make a lot of sense and fit with Kenpachi's personality.

[Panther King]

I like Minerva's thoughts on Kenpachi's zanpakutou having an undead theme. It would fit, considering his reiatsu takes the form of a golden skull. I can easily see his Bankai using that theme, giving him skeleton armor or allowing him to summon a great golden skull.

Combat-wise, I've always imagined his Shikai/Bankai to be something that complements his incredible stamina. Perhaps his zanpakutou grows stronger the more damage that he sustains, or the closer to death he comes. It would be a parallel between Shinigami and zanpakutou, if that was the case.

Of course, I wonder who could actually stand up to him with a power like that. XD

[Asuna Yuki]

I've always wondered what Zaraki shikai would be. I'd actually laugh if he has a "female" zanpakuto spirit. At one time, I was thinking it was going to be diamond related. So he would be like unbreakable and able to enjoy fighting for a long time. For the bankai it would be more along him getting like diamond like armor.

But reading this undead one, I cna see that happening.

[MaskedOne]

I realized something, related to the Gashadokuro. When Unohana released Minazuki's bankai, it appeared as if she was one as well. Is it odd to think it funny that his sword would say something exactly after he defeated her? I know, I know, its a little farfetched, but could Minazuki actually be his zanpakutos spirit? Sorta like how excalibur can only be pulled by "the true king", Minazuki can only be obtained by "the true kenpachi". Like its shikai could be completely different, but bankai is just like a bloodlust mode. Could also explain why we didnt get an explanation on Minazukis bankai. Just a thought didn't mean to mind quad anyone.

[Dizfactor]

I realized something, related to the Gashadokuro. When Unohana released Minazuki's bankai, it appeared as if she was one as well. Is it odd to think it funny that his sword would say something exactly after he defeated her? I know, I know, its a little farfetched, but could Minazuki actually be his zanpakutos spirit? Sorta like how excalibur can only be pulled by "the true king", Minazuki can only be obtained by "the true kenpachi". Like its shikai could be completely different, but bankai is just like a bloodlust mode. Could also explain why we didnt get an explanation on Minazukis bankai. Just a thought didn't mean to mind quad anyone.

Well, personally I think the lack of explanation about her bankai meant she might not be dead... "cough" my personal theory is no one is dead for reals dead until we get a panel or two of them explaining their bankai. I literally told my wife, who also follows bleach, that Yama was dead the moment he started explaining bankai abilities. The only reason for him to be showing at that point in the manga was to show his bankai before he croaked the big one. I actually literally said, "well, yama is going to get chopped in half" That last bit was a lucky prognostication. I really did not mean it literally I was just saying he was going to die. I kind of laughed a lot when it actually happened that way.

[Mcnubins]

After reading up on it and reading many of the posts here the idea of his spirit being related to a Gashadokuro seems the most plausible. The risen spirits of those who've died in war (by Kenpachi's hand????) or starvation (representative of those that lived in the 80th district, Zaraki???). It all ties together, all we need is a nice little bow to go on it.

[redexquisite]

I think his partner's spiritual form probably looks like a Gashadokuro. Bells in hair to warn enemies, skull/skeleton references...makes sense. For shikai, Zaraki loves battle and has had a life of subconsciously and consciously (eye patch) limiting himself based off of what Unohana explained. I would think his shikai should be simple, a limit breaker on his dormant power. If raising his reiatsu doesn't work..take off his physical restraint his eye patch...if that doesn't work, unleash his spiritual restraint and go shikai.

As far as bankai...I like the idea of his bankai having a minor kido property. Adds an ironic twist similar to how Sui-Feng hates her bankai. However the effect should be something like an equalizer/negation. It creates a physical one on one. Kido is negated, reiatsu is negated, straight last man standing thunderdome that once caught in it...neither can leave until the other is dead. Dangerous thing about this is Zaraki will need to be careful where he releases it. If unintentional allies like other captains get caught in it's range...unfortunately only 1 alive can leave.

[Elementalist]

I request to close this thread (some1 can make a new one)

Why do you want it closed? No point in closing it and opening the same thread so people will have to re-post their thoughts. :p

As for Kenpachi's sword, I hope that since we got to actually see it conversing with Kenpachi, then hopefully Kubo may let us see what his inner world looks like. The inner world concept was always very interesting, and it makes me sad that Kubo has only gone into one inner world this entire manga.

[harahara]

I'm hoping it's Kidou-based. Fingers crossed.

[Andygoesrawr]

Why do you want it closed? No point in closing it and opening the same thread so people will have to re-post their thoughts. :p

As for Kenpachi's sword, I hope that since we got to actually see it conversing with Kenpachi, then hopefully Kubo may let us see what his inner world looks like. The inner world concept was always very interesting, and it makes me sad that Kubo has only gone into one inner world this entire manga.

That would be awesome. I only recently noticed the link between "Tensa (Heaven Chain)" and the skyscrapers in Ichigo's inner world. Tensa means "that which connects the heavens to something" in this case being earth, so it's comparable with a skyscraper as well as Ichigo being both a Shinigami and a human.

So by extension, that could mean that Kenpachi's inner world would hint at what his Bankai would possibly be (although I'm strongly against him getting a Bankai, since the whole point of making him stronger is to defeat the Vandenreich because he doesn't rely on Bankai. If they find a way around the Bankai stealing then it would be fine IMO).

An expansive landscape littered with the bones of those who starved to death? I hope so! That would be a neat link to his origins (the poverty-stricken regions of the Rukongai) as well as a link to the Gashadokuro.

[Lortastic]

It could be something simple like the more blood and flesh lost, the stronger he gets.

I also like the idea of pain splitting. The damage he inflicts is split and it will akin to his love for battling.

[Shiropachi]

I don't think his sword will be kidou based. As was mentioned a Zanpakuto is an extention of its owner. It is basically the wielder itself. So in going off of who Zaraki is, I think it's going to be more of an "up close and personal" sword maybe with an ability similar to Zangetsu. The serrated edge could be a clue.