Zaraki Kenpachi's Zanpaktou: Shikai or not?

[StillAlive]

Not even damaged...


Edit:
Now if you look at this image you can see that Zaraki's soulslayer doesn't look like a normal, sealed one: It has a white bandage wrapped around its handle like Ichigo's constant released shikai-zangetsu and its guard doesn't look normal, too. Not to speak of its damaged style that fits Zaraki's scar-addiction pretty well.
Now I'm not sure about this but didn't Kenpachi say his sword doesn't even have a name? Maybe he simply is going to give it a name himself - just as he did with his own and Yachiru's name .

[Kraco]

Kenpachi's sword wasn't cut in half or even damaged in that fight, Ichigo's was.

Really? Peculiar. Care to explain this, then?



(In case you can't explain it otherwise than by saying: I got owned, it's episode 40, around 2:14 or so.)

[Ryllharu]

It was my understanding that Kenpachi never even thought about his sword as anything other than to hack things apart with. To him, it was always just a tool. He had never even thought about looking deeper into it until Ichigo defeated him. That's why it became so worn away, he neither cared for it or considered it.

As for it's unique appearance, the lowest state of every shinigami zanpakutou is unique. Since the beginning of the series. Look back through it or even through the manga. The details are often small, but they are there. Kenpachi simply becoming a shinigami gave his zanpakutou a unique appearance. Ichigo's very first version had a slightly different guard the moment he took Rukia's powers, in addition to being obviously larger.

Kenpachi's zanpakutou is not in shikai. Only Ichigo's is in permanent Shikai because he's too much of a moron to suppress it. (Plus, it is also a convenient device to make him easier for the audience to recognize.)

[animus]

I liked how at the beginning of the show everyone made all the hustle and bustle about Ichigo's zanpaktou being so massive and how it's a sign of his massive reiatsu. Now no one even cares about that, and his reiatsu's not even considered high anymore.

Kenpachi knew his zanpaktou's name at one point but he forgot it, he probably released it and forgot it due to him only thinking it's a tool, and since he was so strong didn't bother to have it go shikai ever maybe. *shrug* Ichigo learned Zangetsu's name, released him, had it in constant permanent release and still has not forgotten the name. So I do believe Kenpachi MIGHT have had been able to release shikai at one point, but I do not beleive that is the case anymore.

[Munsu]

I just don't see how you guys can ignore how Zaraki mentions that his sword is unsealed and Ichigo then tells Yoruichi that both of their zanpakutous are the same, and she doesn't deny it. Zaraki further explains how his reiatsu is so big and strong that he forced it to become unsealed, and that it's impossible to seal it given his reiatsu. These are facts from the series, and you guys can't ignore them or deny them at your convinience.

There's a big difference between a constantly released zanpakutou and him being able to use the powers and abilities of said zanpakutou and it's shikai.

The only difference between him and Ichigo, is that Ichigo fights with Zangetsu, while Zaraki fights alone with his forced released zanpakutou, hence he can't tap into the abilities his zanpakutou may be able to offer.

Just as an aside, has it been implied that Zaraki lost his memories? I know he didn't have a name when he found Yachiru, and that's when he decided to use Kenpachi has his name. I don't know if his past has been explained further, only that he gave her the name Yachiru because it was the name of the only person he ever cared for.

[mage]

Really? Peculiar. Care to explain this, then?



(In case you can't explain it otherwise than by saying: I got owned, it's episode 40, around 2:14 or so.)

Oh, I only checked up to the end of 39. Guess your theory makes sense, then.

[ForteCross]

well... there is another point of view... when kenpachi killed yachiru's parents, and when he fought with ikaku... he didnt have shinigamis cloth... either of the three... not yachiru, ikaku and kenpachi... so i though that at that time there were not shinigamis at all... only spirits with high reiatsu in SS... and then kenpachi have already that katana... so i dont think that it is a shinigami sword... just a sword he used to pick fights....this is only based on the anime... so im not sure if those flashbacks were in the manga

[Assassin]

the ikkaku flashbacks weren't. but ya its possible thats the same sword he had since before he became a shinigami.....though his lack of caring about his weapons indicates that he has no attachment to it, so theres no reason to assume he wouldn't just toss it if it got too busted up.

[StillAlive]

well... there is another point of view... when kenpachi killed yachiru's parents, and when he fought with ikaku... he didnt have shinigamis cloth... either of the three... not yachiru, ikaku and kenpachi... so i though that at that time there were not shinigamis at all... only spirits with high reiatsu in SS... and then kenpachi have already that katana... so i dont think that it is a shinigami sword... just a sword he used to pick fights....this is only based on the anime... so im not sure if those flashbacks were in the manga

I'm not sure but I don't think Zaraki killed Yachiru's parents. They were killed by some thugs I guess.
It is very difficult to say whether Zaraki, Yachiru and Ikkaku were shinigami or not before they joined the 11th Division.

My view of things so far: If you look at "being a shinigami" is doing the job of one they definitely weren't shinigamis. But if you consider having the powers of a shinigami makes you a shinigami then they were freakin' shinigamis... I dont't think that just anyone with a high reiatsu can become/is a shinigami. Look at the Quincies, Sado, Inoue etc, they are not shinigamis but all of them have notable amount of reiatsu. Also Ichigo had his own latent deathgod powers from the start and Grandfisher said something about Ichigo being a real shinigami not only a substitute for Rukia as his dad is a shinigami, too. So it seems deathgod powers are inheritable which makes it even more unlikely that anyone can become a shinigami (without lending the powers of one). Consequently Zaraki is a shinigami right from the start and thus this makes his sword a real zanpaktou.

The shinigami-clothes-thing is a minor plot hole I think: When Rukai gave her powers to Ichigo he immediately got the clothes of one so it may seem that shinigami powers and clothes go hand in hand with each other. But I guess they just needed to make a difference in the look from Normal- to Shinigami-Ichigo. And its the same with Zaraki and the others - one set of clothes before and one set after they joined the 11th Division - just for the look. I don't think there are "rules" for how a shinigami's clothes have to look. The lower shinigami just do look the same 'cause there clothes are like uniforms and they mustn't wear anything else on duty. No Extrawurst

Sorry if this was too much off-topic

[Kraco]

Look at the Quincies, Sado, Inoue etc, they are not shinigamis but all of them have notable amount of reiatsu.

They aren't dead... The real shinigami are souls in the SS. Who knows, when the high reiatsu quincies died, they might have still had those powers as souls, and some might have become shinigami. Although some of them used those devices, so it's hard to say how many of them had high enough inherent potential, but surely there were more people like Ishida and his dad.

Ichigo is a unique matter, because first he became a shinigami by getting Rukia's powers while he was still alive. But the next time he actually practically died, and in that sense became a genuine shinigami, for whatever it's worth...

[Mhalador]

I don't know why Kenpachi's sword looks so worn. Sometimes I have thought it's because he doesn't know its name - but not so that it couldn't heal itself but rather as a sign of a protest. Zaraki has abused it for ages without bothering to know anything about it. However, it can heal itself just fine, because it was cut nicely in half in the final clash of Ichigo and Kenpachi. If it couldn't heal itself at all, Zaraki would have been fighting with a dagger for the rest of his days. But such wasn't his fate and later against Tousen it was just fine.

On top of that, don't their zanpakatou return to their sealed form when they're broken in shikai and bankai? I can't remember the last time Ichigo had his sword broken, but if it has been since he got his shikai and it didn't seal back up then my point is invalid.

[NeoCybercoin]

Because Ichigo's Zanpaktou is an All Release type. It's can't go back to its sealed form. So even if it is broken it will remain in Shikai form.

[StillAlive]

They aren't dead... The real shinigami are souls in the SS. Who knows, when the high reiatsu quincies died, they might have still had those powers as souls, and some might have become shinigami.

I see what you're saying but when the Ichigo bunch went to SS to save Rukiaa a portal/gate separated their souls from their bodies to let their souls enter SS. So I would call them practically dead and no one of them (except Ichigo of course) turned into a shinigami in SS...

[Assassin]

the quincy's were killed by hollows, so i dont think they became anything except hollow food. i think it was explained that if a hollow eats your soul, you become a hollow or cease to exist or something like that. But you dont go to SS unless a shinigami excersices you.

[Munsu]

Quincy's killed by Hollows? They were actually hunted down by the Shinigami because they were messing the balance, destroying souls. Of course, some were killed by Hollows, but most of them were killed by Shinigamis.

[Mhalador]

Because Ichigo's Zanpaktou is an All Release type. It's can't go back to its sealed form. So even if it is broken it will remain in Shikai form.

That's what I'm saying. If it broke, and didn't go back to release then that could mean that Zaraki's zanpaktou could be a permanent shikai like Ichigo's since it didn't change. Likewise it could mean it's just in a sealed state. I'm leaning toward the latter. As far as I know, every other zanpaktou went back to the sealed state after breaking. I just can't remember Ichigo's ever breaking AFTER he got his shikai. The only time I can remember is when he lost his powers.

[Assassin]

Quincy's killed by Hollows? They were actually hunted down by the Shinigami because they were messing the balance, destroying souls. Of course, some were killed by Hollows, but most of them were killed by Shinigamis.

i was referring to the last of the quincy's....the ones that were mentioned during the ishda/wierdo captain fight. or was that just his grandfather?

[StillAlive]

I just can't remember Ichigo's ever breaking AFTER he got his shikai. The only time I can remember is when he lost his powers.

It broke in the fight with Zaraki (therefore after he gained shikai). Nevertheless I think you don't actually see if Ichigo's sword turned into sealed form in the time he is in his inner world fighting his hollow-self or if it stayed in shikai-form

[Crash]

Based on the fact that Kenpachi's sword looks nothing like a standard Zanpaktou i'd say it's a perma-release shikai like Ichigo's. All the evidence in dialogue and appearance of the sword suggests it. If it isn't shikai then he's got the only sword in all of SS to look nothing like a standard unreleased Zanpaktou. The only exception i can think of being Urahara who's sword appears to look like a cane, though i think he's simply chosen to conceal it that way since he's living in the real world now.

[bagandscalpel]

Based on the fact that Kenpachi's sword looks nothing like a standard Zanpaktou i'd say it's a perma-release shikai like Ichigo's. All the evidence in dialogue and appearance of the sword suggests it. If it isn't shikai then he's got the only sword in all of SS to look nothing like a standard unreleased Zanpaktou. The only exception i can think of being Urahara who's sword appears to look like a cane, though i think he's simply chosen to conceal it that way since he's living in the real world now.

Ichigo's original sealed zanpaktou was unique, too.

But then again, it was just a normal katana, over-inflated by reiatsu. So by that logic, Zaraki's should be the same, if it were sealed. Thus, I'd have to say he's got perma-shikai.