Board Thread:Questions and Answers/@comment-9826910-20130618064245/@comment-10630156-20130803123326

I've just been thinking about this Ichigo's Bankai has been strange only increasing his speed and not doing anything much else, but as we have seen Ichigo has not known or been able to achieve his true powers until now and what we have seen so far is a little bit of his actual power.

Now we look at the name of Zangetsu (Slaying Moon). The Moon has many motifs, the most common of which are Darkness, Time and Tides now look at the members of the Shiba Clan (as I believe this moon motif is hereditary in the Clan) both dead and living, Kaien even though his Zanpakuto didn't have any obvious Moon motif it did mention surging water and heaven so his Zanpakuto appears most likely to be the Tides motif. Isshin has the more obvious one, Engetsu (Scathing Moon) the name and the fire that appears in Shikai seem to hint that he has the Darkness or Hell motif. And then there is Ichigo who's strange Zanpakuto seems to only increase his speed or has this been a facade of his actual power which in retrospect seems connected to Time.

Having a Time-based Zanpakuto seemed to be a little strange to me when I first thought of this but once I think of it, it makes sense that this would be the case.

@Sternritter M

They would have had to have noticed Isshin and if they had they would have noticed Ichigo too, either before (for some not all) or after Aizen's revolt

I think that some of them have got to have known that he is a Shiba, but not Ukitake at least not initially (I doubt that he wouldn't have known after the end of the first arc) I wouldn't be surprised if Byakuya knew the entire time and didn't say anything as this is a issue between Noble Family members and noticing who Rukia had given nearly all the power to tried to "clean up" after her to make sure that Isshin didn't get found out. If the latter is true there would have to be another flashback most likely if he is told or notices that Ichigo knows the truth.