Board Thread:General Discussion/@comment-29325824-20190316164100/@comment-1920550-20190413195826

Ok, let's break this down.

First i was simply cautioning towards putting Zangetsu into the conversation period, so that reply was not for you.

Second of all, the simplicity of Getsuga Tensho makes it the ultimate invalid example. No matter how much reiatsu, you pour into it, how well you refine it with precise control, the core effect remains the same, being a glorified reiatsu blast. Also it's simplicity makes it much a much easier ability to learn and use compared to an ability that makes you a practical immortal.

Third of all, again i never made any claims about you reffering to shikais being the true names or whatnot, i simply used that to make a point, that point being that knowing the Shikai name means jack squat...it's simply the first step in drawing out and mastering the abilities of your Zanpakuto spirit, something that can be obtained with little effort. It's akin to a first meeting. Now for the vast majority of those cases, that first meeting will usually be fruitful, as the spirit will grant the Shinigami their supposed core special ability. But that's not the rule.

That is an entirely different concept to what I was arguing about. I am not talking about how skilled any shinigami is at using their zanpakuto's special ability. I am talking about just the use of the zanpakuto's special ability (in shikai) which Hisagi seemingly never learned until after getting bankai.

Actually it is what you are arguing about, except you didn't even notice. Being skilled in Zanpakuto usage goes beyond knowing to use their abilities, it involves developing a close connection with that spirit from the start. The closer the connection, the more is drawn out. If the connection is not nurtured properly Zanpakuto's will withold their power from their users, in an amount proportionate to how much friction there is between them even if they know their correct names in Shikai and/or Bankai. Now Hisagi's case is simply the most egregious, because he's hated his Zanpakuto spirit since the start. The fact that he know it's name means jack shit, since he's not only never tried to create a connection to it, he openly avoided it. Hell he's unique in it because he was the one who resisted the connection, while Kazeshini kept hounding him to unite with him, when most cases its the other way around.

The other case that comes close to that is Rukia. Her connection with her blade was so piss-poor (in her case due to the complexity of her abilities) that she and everyone else believed it's special ability was simply a form of ice control that was weaker than Toshiro's. When in reality the Shikai's special ability is manipulating her body temperature to below zero temperatures, up until absolute zero. Now from a outside POV that may seem like the same thing, but it's not. The later effect is the ability to manipulate the core reason why ice is created...it cuts off the middle man and goes straight for the source.