Board Thread:General Discussion/@comment-4806374-20131117085439/@comment-26420452-20131117142105

A Zanpakutō is the manifestation of a Shinigami soul's core. It's just wrong to treat a Zanpakutō as a different person. It's not something that is your partner, that lends power or gets in the way. A Zanpakutō and a Shinigami are one. That's what Ichigo came to realize. In this case, you've got Quincy-Zangetsu too, but it's the same relationship, he's (a part of) the core of Ichigo's soul.