Board Thread:General Discussion/@comment-5218928-20140305213023/@comment-5218928-20140306191405

Kibaou wrote: So not only Hihiou Zabimaru and Fuji Kujaku are related, but all Zanpakuto are related in a since that they all might react in a way when their names are said wrong. (...) It doesn't matter what reason the name comes from, point is that it has been said and it makes Zanpakuto react in a way.

Basically, that. This is a concept that I've seen in egyptian mythology and in the culture of the japanese samurai: if you know the "true name" of something, then you hold power and authority over it. And for the japanese samurai, this was specially true as they believed that each and every one of their swords had a spirit existing within. That's why offering sake to the blade occured sometimes, and why they would meditate for hours with their swords.

So getting the name wrong is a huge deal here. At shikai level, the sword doesn't change and at bankai levels, the manifestation won't be complete.

Schiffy wrote: Again, Zabimaru withheld something from Renji, and basically gave him a fake Bankai name.

Yup, and that goes against everything that Yoruichi told us: which is that Zanpakuto have to be made to obey their wielders by use of force. No one ever said that the Zanpakuto could lie. "Tensa Zangetsu" didn't lie to Ichigo, but it said plainly: "Yes, I know the technique you want to learn and I'm NOT teaching you. DEAL WITH IT."

It opens up new possibilities for every Shinigami that has already been introduced, and who knows ... Kubo might surprise us with another character suddenly getting a new, different bankai.

Kibaou wrote: But I don't think that the reveal that Renji's bankai wasn't a "true" bankai is cop-out. That's your opinion, I am cool with it and I respect it, but it feels that way for me: Kubo had fully-developed Renji as a character as far back as the Soul Society arc -- We've already seen his shikai, we know all his reasons for fighting and we saw his bankai. Compare to other characters who were introduced in the Soul Society arc and we STILL haven't even seen what their shikai looks like (until last episode, it was Yachiru [the kid] who held this 'honor'), let alone bankai. Renji suddenly discovering that his bankai wasn't "a true bankai" is a cop-out to me, because this allowed Kubo a chance to redevelop Renji's bankai/superpower and make him more awesome/appealing to the audience: it'd be the same as Kubo revealing in future episodes that Daiguren Hyorinmaru or Jakuho Raikohben aren't true bankais, either.

Sure, he has complete freedom to design his characters however he wants and if it makes the story cooler, more power to him ... but when he bypasses the in-universe rules that he himself established? That's a cop-out, d00d.

I still like the story, anyway. :P