User blog comment:Darknesslover5000/Is Ichigo going to lose his Hollow Powers?/@comment-2089817-20100703082341

"Removing his despair" probably refers to dependence. From the moment he fought Grimmjow a second time, Ichigo had become too reliant on his mask. Thus, he never bothered working to perfect his Bankai. Tensa Zangetsu probably wants Ichigo to beat Hichigo (who has both the Hollow powers and Bankai, reference to how Ichigo's been fighting) with only his Bankai. Only then, will the final Getsuga Tensho be attainable.