Board Thread:General Discussion/@comment-3244769-20140121195139/@comment-3244769-20140121210851

PrinceVertigo wrote: Zanpakuto cannot be restored if their Bankai form is destroyed, not broken, and I don't remember Szayelaporro destroying Hihiō Zabimaru, unless I missed something. Also, Mayuri mentions that his Bankai was destroyed once and he didn't restore it, only remodeled it. Perhaps he did the same for other Shinigami whose Zanpakuto are permanently damaged?

Also, Tosen's Zanpakuto also exists in sword form while the area of blindness is active, so you'd want to target the blade, though I don't see that as being easy. Remodeling is the only thing I can think of for Ikkaku, but I still don't understand why Ichigo got a new Zanpakuto if Ikkaku's stayed exactly the same. I mean, I understand why it is two blades, but I don't understand why it changed when his sword was being remade. If that were the case, Ikkaku or Mayuri would have different Shikais (they wouldn't necessarily be two blades, like Ichigo's, but they would look different).

On a side note, do Bankai weapons have to be completely destroyed in order for them to never recover? Does that imply that they would recover if only a part breaks? If so, how would Byakuya lose his Bankai if the entire thing had to be destroyed? I can understand if he loses a tiny blade each time one breaks, but he has thousands of those. If the every one had to be destroyed before he deactivated his Bankai, he would have no worries, as he would always get the broken blades back.

Darkhunter-X wrote: IStoleThePies wrote: Alright, I'm really curious. Apparently, a sword/weapon cannot be restored if it is broken, but that isn't making any sense. Renji's Bankai was completely shattered in his battle against Szayelaporro Granz (Espada 8), yet he was able reuse it at later times.

Renji's bankai was sealed or blocked from being released. Not destoryed. I saw his Bankai shatter completely, so I doubt it was sealed.