Board Thread:General Discussion/@comment-25062345-20140615050701/@comment-11269545-20140615204427

Xilinoc wrote: I feel like I should interject with what, exactly, captains possess that Ichigo does not.

Most captains, with the exception of Kenpachi, have considerable skill in most or all of the four Shinigami arts (Zanjutsu, Hoho, Kido, and Hakuda). While a very proficient swordsman, Ichigo was only really taught the basics of Zanjutsu by Urahara, and his training in Shunpo with Yoruichi was the same case, although he naturally progressed in skill in both areas over time.

More importantly, however, is that a captain needs to have good leadership qualities, the ability to keep their division together, and a solid work ethic to get all of that paperwork done. Different captains have different ways of doing this (Mayuri keeps everyone in line through intimidation, Kenpachi lets everyone do their own thing). Now, can you imagine Ichigo leading a group of 300+ Shinigami on a daily basis? I certainly can't.

However, the final nail in the coffin, as it were, is the available captaincy positions. Currently, the 3rd Division, 4th Division, 7th Division, 8th Division, and 9th Division have no captains (Komamura's a wolf with no powers, so he's gonna get replaced, I think). Now, captains of a division, in addition to having skill in various fields of combat, needs to fit in with their division's code of ethics, work priorities, and overall personality, right? Well...

The 3rd Division's motto is essentially "war is terrible", and Ichigo likes fighting, as pointed out by his inner Hollow and Kenpachi, so that wouldn't exactly be a good fit.

The 4th Division is the healing division of the Gotei 13, and they would want a captain with lots of experience tending to wounds and using healing Kido. Ichigo is not that kind of captain.

The 7th Division is all about men overflowing with masculinity, gusto, and loyalty. Ichigo just wants to protect his friends, and though he's an honest, straightforward guy who would fit in this division as a regular Shinigami, see above for the whole "leadership" thing. Also, it's likely that Love will resume his position as captain of this division after the war is over.

The 8th Division's members are accustomed to strong leadership. Ichigo is not exactly known for this.

The 9th Division, surprisingly, oversees arts and culture in the Seireitei (Gin was Gin, and Kensei was apparently a really good cook, so there you go). Ichigo isn't an art connoisseur by any stretch of the imagination.

tl;dr Ichigo isn't cut out for captaincy. gin was the captain of the 3rd division, Tōsen was captain of the 9th division