Board Thread:General Discussion/@comment-7136323-20130414003028/@comment-2211792-20130414100000

1. I wouldn't say Soul Reapers are dead. For me, dead is something that no longer lives (i.e. a corpse). Soul Reaper do live, and they live their lives to the fullest. They may even count as organic beings to an extent; they just aren't as "material" as humans.

2, 3. See above.

4. Ichigo wasn't born a "true" Soul Reaper, but he does have Soul Reaper powers. However, nobody can say at the moment how exactly Zangetsu came to be, since Ichigo never had an Asauchi.

4. According to Isshin, Soul Reapers teach themselves to control how much reiatsu they release, else they would be swinging scyscraper-sized swords.

5. On the top of my head - Kaien Shiba, Byakuya's parents, Kenpachis 2 to 10, Kaname Tousen, Gin Ichimaru, Chojiro Sasakibe, Genryusai Yamamoto and many other unnamed Soul Reapers killed by Vandenreich and Aizen's Hollowfication experiments.