Bleach TYBW: Why Ichigo's Zangetsu is different from other Zanpakuto, explained

Mangaka Tite Kubo, the genius that he is, has showcased his talent for impeccable worldbuilding in his magnum opus, Bleach. Spanning over 600 chapters, Bleach features one of the most extensive lores in manga history, with a plethora of different elements and characters.

Zangetsu, or Ichigo’s Zanpakuto has been a mystery in the narrative for quite some time and even though Kubo had tied all the loose knots surrounding it by the end of the manga, fans can still get confused over its out-of-the-box nature.

Disclaimer: This article contains spoilers from the Bleach manga

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Why is Ichigo's Zangetsu not a traditional Zanpakuto in Bleach?

Understanding the true nature of Ichigo’s soul.

To say that Zangetsu is unlike any other Zanpakuto is an understatement. Its novelty and powers stray miles away from the traditional shinigami blade.

Zangetsu represents Ichigo’s soul. The reason for its uniqueness is a result of Ichigo’s soul being anything but normal.

To understand Zangetsu and its true significance, we must first take a look at Ichigo’s heritage. Ichigo’s father Isshin Kurosaki used to possess shinigami powers which he gave up to save his pure blood Quincy wife Masaki. She was infected by a hollow and the shinigami powers from her husband neutralized the malicious hollow from her spirit, right before Ichigo's birth.

Ichigo was thus born with both Quincy and a coalesced Shinigami-Hollow powers inside him which went to manifest themselves in his Zanpakuto. The Zangetsu we first come across, or the old man in the black ragged cloak, is his Quincy self, taking form (he resembles the Quincy king Yhwach himself), while the White Zangetsu who looks like Ichigo, is his Shinigami-Hollow self.

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What makes Zangetsu so unique in Bleach?

The core fact that sets it apart from the rest of the zanpakutos is its dual personality, housing both the Quincy powers and the shinigami hollow powers of Ichigo.

This makes Zangetsu one of the most powerful of its sort in all of Soul Society. Ichigo however could not access all of it partly because of the perceived conflict between the two personalities of his Zanpakuto. Initially, the White Zangetsu, or the true Shinigami-Hollow manifestation, seemingly came off as a malicious force, trying to harm Ichigo, which later we learn is far from the truth.

Ichigo acknowledging his true self (Image via Tite Kubo)

The old man Zangetsu never wanted Ichigo to become a shinigami, so he tried his best to suppress the real Zangetsu, or the White Zangetsu, from influencing Ichigo. It is true that the two Zangetsus didn't always see eye to eye with each other but both shared the same goal of protecting Ichigo. It was only when Ichigo learned to acknowledge and accept his inner duality and successfully merge the opposing powers, that he unlocked the true potential of his Zanpakuto.

Additionally, the reason why his zanpakuto was always in a Shikai is because the Old Man Zangetsu was never the real Zangetsu to begin with. He was only channeling the Quincy part of Ichigo’s soul. In Bleach, a real Shinigami only has one true Shikai and one true Bankai, which are accessible through their pure shinigami soul, and since Ichigo is a tribred, the supposed Bankais which he had been manifesting up until this revelation, were never true Bankais.

Nimaiya revealing that Ichigo never had an Asauchi (Image via Tite Kubo)

Nimaiya had explicitly stated in the Thousand Year Blood War Arc that he never gave Ichigo any Asauchi, which meant that his Zanpakuto was never a true shinigami katana, making Ichigo a truly unique force of nature in the world of Bleach.