Board Thread:Questions and Answers/@comment-9826910-20130618064245/@comment-11477779-20130715161940

Sternritter M wrote: I hope to see his new Zanpakutô in action soon too. Maybe some training to test his full power, both in Shikai and Bankai.

I think it was mentioned by someone, and I've noticed that myself, that he was always very quick, maybe too quick, to activate and rely on his Bankai in battle, after achieving it. Ever since he returned to the real world after the whole Aizen thing, and Ulquiorra and Yammy showed up. Maybe now he has gained some attacks in Shikai and got a more powerful Shikai that be can use actively without having to rely on the power of his Bankai like he used to. Maybe chalk it up to inconsistent writing but if you go by reliance on one's bankai to judge their power, then Ichigo would be right at the bottom, and we KNOW this isn't true. From a consistency standpoint he relies on it FAR too much like you said. Most likely it's a case of "Well, I've already revealed this character's bankai and it's cool, so let's use it." Ukitake, Kyôraku and Urahara still haven't used bankai, and they've fought difficult opponents too. Ichigo, Renji, Tôshirô, and to a less extent Byakua use theirs often. It's cool to see but lessens the overall impact I think. Ichigo's new bankai whatever form it takes should be an "oh crap!" moment when he uses it now, with his shikai able to deal with most anything else. However, considering the level of his opponents now, I still envision him using bankai most of the time.