Board Thread:General Discussion/@comment-4310945-20131229044249

While I have played around with the concept of Arrancars achieving Bankai before now I really haven't thought much of it. But recent developments with the Asauchi and Ichigo have got me thinking about it much more seriously. So to elaborate on the subject, I am going to and analyze what we know about what is involved here. For those of us not caught up leave now because there are going to be spoilers. Although I think most people are more caught up on the manga than not, and more caught up than I currently am....

First: What is an Asauchi? An Asauchi {lit. Shallow hilt} are Zanpakuto that have not taken on a definite form. This makes them sort of a paradox since in practicality they are the weakest zanpakuto however actuality they are the strongest since they have the potential to become anything. No shinigami has awakened their zanpakuto spirit and/or{except for seemingly Ichigo} have achieved bankai without one.

Secondly: What is an Arrancar? An Arrancar is a Hollow that has either naturally or artificially with the Hōgyoku removed it's mask to gain shinigami powers. Their hollow powers are sealed inside a Zanpakuto which makes them different from the Zanpakuto Shinigami wield. {Why Kubo choose to call them Zanpakuto's in spite of them having a different nature than those of Shinigami is another topic all together}. When they release their zanpakuto with their Resurreccíon ability, they return to a form similar to or exactly like their former hollow forms.

side note: So far the only being besides an arrancar to have this ability is Kaname Tosen, who had hollow powers granted to him by Aizen with the Hōgyoku as a reward for his service and loyalty, also making him the only being to have a shikai, a bankai and a Resurreccíon.

So where am I going with this?: For all intents and purposes of the story as far as we know; arrancars zanpakuto's are NOT true Zanpakuto's and can not achieve Shikai and naturally bankai. However, since they do use shinigami like abilities could they do so either naturally with an Asauchi or artificially with the Hōgyoku both an asauchi and without?

First we will cover the possibility of natural progression with only an Asauchi. From what we know about how MOST Shinigami achieve Shikai, one must train with their Zanpakuto for a period of time. This period of time seems to differ from person to person. Ichigo seemed to be able to achieve Shikai within only a few minutes after gaining Shingami powers in the shattered shaft. One can assume that it takes longer than a few minutes for MOST shinigami. I'd dare say that at least it would take weeks or months at least and years if not decades at most

Another factor is the Asauchi itself. From what we are told by Ōetsu Nimaiya, the Asauchi must recognize the talents of the person involved. So we must consider that there is the very real possibility of the Asauchi would reject the Arrancar involved since they are not True Shinigami but Shinigami like hollows with False Zanpakuto that have evolved into shinigami like beings.

However Arrancars are closer to Shinigami in the sense that Visards are closer to Hollows than normal Shinigami are. Visards can don hollow masks, use Hollow abilities like cero and in extreme cases assume hollow like forms. This is demonstrated by Ichigo, Senji and the other Visards. If the analogy of Arrancars and Visards is true, then we can take it to the next level. However there is no conclusive evidence that can either confirm or debunk this theory. Also many Arrancars are arrogant in their own powers and abilities and would probably not take the opportunity if given the chance. In my humble opinion based on everything we know I will have to call this path plausible but unlikely.

Now, in this section I will cover the possibility of Achieving Shikai and Bankai artificially with the Hōgyoku both with and without an asauchi. The Hōgyoku's true power is to the ability to sense the hearts of those around it and materialize their deepest desire. This ability gives it the power to break down the barriers between Hollows and Shinigami since THAT is what Aizen and Urahara desired it to do in their inventing it. As previously stated, Kaname Tosen, had hollow powers granted to him by Aizen with the Hōgyoku as a reward for his service and loyalty. It can be assumed then that since it can grant a Shinigami full Hollow abilities that it can also grant full Shinigami abilities to Hollows. Now this brings into the question if that means the subject would have both a Shikai and a Bankai by default or if they would have to train like a normal Shinigami.

Also would they gain an Arrancar Zanpakuto as well or would their hollow abilities be sealed inside an Asauchi given to or taken by the Hollow? If the Hollow is already an Arrancar, would their false Zanpakuto be transformed into an Asauchi or would it be much like Ichigo and Kenpachi's own full time release Zanpakuto's? Or would they still require a REAL Asauchi to gain both Shikai and Bankai? Sadly there is little evidence based on the manga. The only thing we know can be observed again from Kaname Tosen, who possessed a real Zanpakuto which had Shikai, Bankai and Resurreccíon. his Zanpakuto took on the properties of both a normal Shinigami Zanpakuto and the ones that Arrancars have. However it's difficult to say whether or not an Arrancar's Zanpakuto would take on the properties of a Shinigami's. While it would have been nice to see Kubo's take on the subject it is likely we will never see the effect the Hōgyoku on an Arrancar's Zanpakuto. This means the multiple hypotheses that could stem from this subject will never see any further evidence confirming or denying them.

I hope you've enjoyed my somewhat in depth analyses into the subject and don't be afraid to share your thoughts, opinions and ideas. Just no spamming or flaming please. Keep it clean and polite. If you think I'm totally wrong on a certain point please tell me WHY, don't just say I'm stupid and retarded. Finally, above all else, follow the board rules. While that seems like a given sometimes people forget during a heated argument. Thank you all for your time in reading this painfully long post.  