User blog comment:Godisme/Everything But The Rain/@comment-4957813-20130227211420/@comment-1351982-20130227211957

Yeah Kubo said plain out Ichigo is and will always be human, and Quincies are human as will, so he's just a special human. I'm sorry as much as some people want it, Ichigo never was and never will be a true shinigami, no amount of plotkai can change it, it's not physically possible in both the real world and Bleach world. Kubo made it as blatant as possible, and from past interviews its obvious he never intended Ichigo to be a full-blown shinigami.