User blog comment:Godisme/Shades of the Bond/@comment-44061-20111130194255/@comment-1713487-20111201001530

The only possible implication I take out of Kugo's Bankai is simply because he's leeching off the reiatsu Ichigo unleashed from using his own Bankai. Should that reasoning hold true, Ichigo is just making him grow continuously stronger and stronger; which begets the question of how Kugo will be contained now?

As for Ichigo's new look, it only looks new from us, the readers', perspectives. If we were looking at Ichigo through the same eyes as same, Uryu or Rukia, his Bankai might not actually look any different. For the sake of the story, the new appearance might simply reflect Kubo's new preference for Ichigo's look without inciting a full explanation into the new uniform.

Also, I just wanted to point out that I admire how you might not always be THE first to outline the plot errors in a chapter, but you are consistently on the alert for these types of errors Salubri. Reminds me of just how deeply I actually have to read into my manga, particularly the Shounen titles.