[Theory] Why Kenpachi Cannot Attain Bankai

[Goetia]

In this thread, I will be talking about why I believe Kenpachi Zaraki cannot attain Bankai yet. I will give evidence and manga scans (and maybe some other sources) to support my views. Now, without further a due, I shall begin.

Attaining Bankai

Now before I get started, I'll talk about the ways to attain Bankai. To achieve Bankai, a Shinigami must be able to summon their Zanpakuto spirit (summon their manifestation in a physical form) and subjugate it. It usually takes 10 or more years for a Shinigami to become powerful enough to summon their Zanpakuto, and the experience needed to master the Bankai.


Another way of achieving Bankai is by using a special method that only Ichigo and Urahara managed to successfully utilize to achieve Bankai. This involves using a device called the Tenshintai which forcibly materializes a Zanpakuto spirit, skipping a huge portion of the training to materialize it. If the Shinigami successfully defeats his Zanpakuto within the allotted 3 days in which the Zanpakuto has materialized, then the Shinigami will have attained the Bankai. Urahara himself deemed it dangerous if that training continued for longer than 3 days.

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Why Kenpachi Cannot Attain Bankai

Okay, we're finally here.

One of the reasons Kenpachi cannot have attained Bankai yet is because he just learned his Zanpakuto's name; Nozarashi. And before you say "but he has the sufficient combat experience to begin Bankai training", that may be so, however the process of materialization takes constant bonding with a Zanpakuto. "Oh, but he is strong enough to materialize the Zanpakuto", again it requires bonding time with the Zanpakuto. And he has only JUST learned his Zanpakuto's name, there is no way he could've seen the materialized form yet.

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Another reason why Kenpachi cannot attain Bankai yet is the fact that he doesn't have access to the Tenshintai device that Urahara used. Urahara has also been with Kurotsuchi Mayuri the whole time, so Kenpachi accessing the underground facility and the Tenshintai is impossible.

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Thank you for reading, this is my first theory. Tell me what you think and leave some feedback as well.

 

[Sir Blades]

He will achieve it in this arc. Yamamoto himself praise that man's power and never bending will. I believe in Kenpachi.

 

[Calpal]

Well have you read the newest chapter?
Because his Zanpakutou is like Ichigos in the fact that its constantly in Shikai.
And he just called out the name of his sword, and it changed..
Sooo he has achieved Bankai.

 

[Goetia]

Well have you read the newest chapter?
Because his Zanpakutou is like Ichigos in the fact that its constantly in Shikai.
And he just called out the name of his sword, and it changed..
Sooo he has achieved Bankai.

Dude, its in the Shikai still. It is YOU who needs to read the chapter again. Swallow is the release command.

 

[Calpal]

Dude, its in the Shikai still. It is YOU who needs to read the chapter again. Swallow is the release command.

You were correct.
I am now apologizing
Lol

 

[Goetia]

You were correct.
I am now apologizing
Lol

Its all good. This thread took 2 hours to post due to trying to find manga scans Lol

 

[The 1 who knows]

He will achieve it in this arc. Yamamoto himself praise that man's power and never bending will. I believe in Kenpachi.

no he wont.....it will completely destroy his character

 

[Caliburn]

There is one extremely huge flaw in your reasoning: you base everything around the REGULAR ways of achieving shikai/bankai, but the fact is Kenpachi is everything but regular. You seem to forget that Kubo takes things like these extremely loose and has no issues whatsoever with contradicting everything you said here. If he wants to have Kenpachi go bankai, he will go bankai, regardless of the regular ways of achieving it. He is Kenpachi, so he is allowed to ignore such things.

The fact that he achieved shikai in a manner of days/weeks instead of 10 years already undermines your entire theory as it shows Kenpachi isn't following the regular path. Also there are Zanpaktous that divert from the norm in certain ways like Komamura's bankai that can heal itself, while others can't. And of all the characters in Bleach, Kenpachi is, outside Ichigo, the most irregular character of all. Not to mention Zanpaktous are supposed to be reflections of yourself, so I wonder what kind of Zanpaktou spirit Kenpachi has? It might very well be one that says 'screw everything'.

Finally till now it was considered that Kenpachi's zanpaktou was in a permanent shikai state, just like Ichigo's sword. That it looks like he released his shikai in this chapter doesn't automatically mean it's not his bankai. Kenpachi so far could beat nearly anyone with just his sword and now he would need to go shikai to beat a Sternritter? If you can go shikai, you have the potential of going bankai, meaning there is yet another level of power above what he is showing and that messes up the power levels completely.

That Kenpachi was the first captain in history to become a captain without achieving bankai shows he diverts from the norm as much as is possible. So stuff like that there are only two ways of achieving bankai and that it takes 10 years to achieve shikai are loose sand for a character like him. Even more so because this are the only known ways, Kubo can easily make Kenpachi follow his own way. That he needed to fight a specific person to be able to learn the name of his Zanpaktou again shows he is not regular.

All that stuff of 'you need to bond' and what not is something that can be discarded extremely easy just because this is Bleach and this is Zaraki Kenpachi.

 

[Zorø]

There is one extremely huge flaw in your reasoning: you base everything around the REGULAR ways of achieving shikai/bankai, but the fact is Kenpachi is everything but regular. You seem to forget that Kubo takes things like these extremely loose and has no issues whatsoever with contradicting everything you said here. If he wants to have Kenpachi go bankai, he will go bankai, regardless of the regular ways of achieving it. He is Kenpachi, so he is allowed to ignore such things.

The fact that he achieved shikai in a manner of days/weeks instead of 10 years already undermines your entire theory as it shows Kenpachi isn't following the regular path. Also there are Zanpaktous that divert from the norm in certain ways like Komamura's bankai that can heal itself, while others can't. And of all the characters in Bleach, Kenpachi is, outside Ichigo, the most irregular character of all. Not to mention Zanpaktous are supposed to be reflections of yourself, so I wonder what kind of Zanpaktou spirit Kenpachi has? It might very well be one that says 'screw everything'.

Finally till now it was considered that Kenpachi's zanpaktou was in a permanent shikai state, just like Ichigo's sword. That it looks like he released his shikai in this chapter doesn't automatically mean it's not his bankai. Kenpachi so far could beat nearly anyone with just his sword and now he would need to go shikai to beat a Sternritter? If you can go shikai, you have the potential of going bankai, meaning there is yet another level of power above what he is showing and that messes up the power levels completely.

That Kenpachi was the first captain in history to become a captain without achieving bankai shows he diverts from the norm as much as is possible. So stuff like that there are only two ways of achieving bankai and that it takes 10 years to achieve shikai are loose sand for a character like him. Even more so because this are the only known ways, Kubo can easily make Kenpachi follow his own way. That he needed to fight a specific person to be able to learn the name of his Zanpaktou again shows he is not regular.

All that stuff of 'you need to bond' and what not is something that can be discarded extremely easy just because this is Bleach and this is Zaraki Kenpachi.

I totally agree with this as long a read it was....XD

 

[Masked man]

No matter what do you think, Kenpachi is different level.

 

[Goetia]

There is one extremely huge flaw in your reasoning: you base everything around the REGULAR ways of achieving shikai/bankai, but the fact is Kenpachi is everything but regular. You seem to forget that Kubo takes things like these extremely loose and has no issues whatsoever with contradicting everything you said here. If he wants to have Kenpachi go bankai, he will go bankai, regardless of the regular ways of achieving it. He is Kenpachi, so he is allowed to ignore such things.

The fact that he achieved shikai in a manner of days/weeks instead of 10 years already undermines your entire theory as it shows Kenpachi isn't following the regular path. Also there are Zanpaktous that divert from the norm in certain ways like Komamura's bankai that can heal itself, while others can't. And of all the characters in Bleach, Kenpachi is, outside Ichigo, the most irregular character of all. Not to mention Zanpaktous are supposed to be reflections of yourself, so I wonder what kind of Zanpaktou spirit Kenpachi has? It might very well be one that says 'screw everything'.

Finally till now it was considered that Kenpachi's zanpaktou was in a permanent shikai state, just like Ichigo's sword. That it looks like he released his shikai in this chapter doesn't automatically mean it's not his bankai. Kenpachi so far could beat nearly anyone with just his sword and now he would need to go shikai to beat a Sternritter? If you can go shikai, you have the potential of going bankai, meaning there is yet another level of power above what he is showing and that messes up the power levels completely.

That Kenpachi was the first captain in history to become a captain without achieving bankai shows he diverts from the norm as much as is possible. So stuff like that there are only two ways of achieving bankai and that it takes 10 years to achieve shikai are loose sand for a character like him. Even more so because this are the only known ways, Kubo can easily make Kenpachi follow his own way. That he needed to fight a specific person to be able to learn the name of his Zanpaktou again shows he is not regular.

All that stuff of 'you need to bond' and what not is something that can be discarded extremely easy just because this is Bleach and this is Zaraki Kenpachi.

Achieving Shikai is different to achieving Bankai. To attain Shikai, one must be able to converse with their Zanpakuto in their inner world via Jinzen. While it takes 10+ years to achieve Bankai, it could take any amount of time for the Shikai. Do not forget that Ichigo (a fellow Shinigami that is also not the most normal Shinigami) attained the Shikai without Jinzen and Bankai with the Tenshintai method, despite Ichigo being on par with Kenpachi at the time. You saying that Kenpachi unlocked Shikai without Jinzen doesn't mean much, because Ichigo did the same.

With the sword activation this chapter, I have never seen an instance where a captain had to call a release command (other than the traditional "Bankai") to use the Bankai. This Sternritter is clearly incredibly strong (I'd go as far as to say that he is only inferior to Juha Bach, Jugram and Uryu), so strong that Kenpachi was forced to release his sword.

Nice resonse though, good job.

 

[Forbidden Tale]

Zaraki was special, because he was the only shinigami to ever become captain without achieving bankai, and he just used his "partial" shikai. Kubo already give him his "real" shikai, and as long as Kubo want to make Zaraki with bankai, he will do so.
I see him as one who will fight against Hashwalth, and i don't think that he could stand against him with power level he showed against Grammy.

 

[Goetia]

Before people post any further (this is really something I should have clarified in the title and 1st post Lol), this is a theory on why it would be impossible for Kenpachi to have obtained Bankai at this point in time. In the future, yes, he should have unlocked the Bankai. But right now, no.

 

[Caliburn]

Achieving Shikai is different to achieving Bankai. To attain Shikai, one must be able to converse with their Zanpakuto in their inner world via Jinzen. While it takes 10+ years to achieve Bankai, it could take any amount of time for the Shikai. Do not forget that Ichigo (a fellow Shinigami that is also not the most normal Shinigami) attained the Shikai without Jinzen and Bankai with the Tenshintai method, despite Ichigo being on par with Kenpachi at the time. You saying that Kenpachi unlocked Shikai without Jinzen doesn't mean much, because Ichigo did the same.

With the sword activation this chapter, I have never seen an instance where a captain had to call a release command (other than the traditional "Bankai") to use the Bankai. This Sternritter is clearly incredibly strong (I'd go as far as to say that he is only inferior to Juha Bach, Jugram and Uryu), so strong that Kenpachi was forced to release his sword.

Nice resonse though, good job.

You're doing it again. You are talking about the regular ways of shikai and bankai, but those only apply to regular characters.

Your entire reasoning is that you achieve shikai and bankai this way or that way and that Kenpachi does not conform with those ways of achieving bankai, thus he doesn't have it. However Kenpachi never followed the regular ways, in fact he is as abnormal as you can possibly be. Every captain in history had a bankai, except for him, he didn't need it. Every captain trained years to learn his own Zanpaktou, except for him. He had to fight a specific person to unlock it. It's very well possible that, assuming he isn't in permanently shikai state, he learned shikai and bankai at the exact same time. Kubo does stuff like this all the time and considering Kisuke's way is an invention, meaning it's possible for people to find other ways to reach bankai. After all it's related to each shinigami's own spirit and Kenpachi is seriously messed up, so his spirit will be too.

The fact is that you are using the standard norms of achieving bankai as an argument to say that a character, that never followed those norms to begin with, doesn't have bankai invalidates your entire reasoning. You didn't say anything that denies strongly the possibility of Kenpachi not achieving bankai. You need to learn to read between the rules. You stick way to hard to what is specifically said without interpreting it in a wider context.

Before people post any further (this is really something I should have clarified in the title and 1st post Lol), this is a theory on why it would be impossible for Kenpachi to have obtained Bankai at this point in time. In the future, yes, he should have unlocked the Bankai. But right now, no.

At this point of the series, there is no 'future'. It's the last arc of Bleach. If he doesn't have it now, it's extremely unlikely he will ever have. It's now or never.

 

[Forbidden Tale]

The problem i have with Zaraki doesn't having bankai is simple because of Unohana. Unohana is strong character, she is first kenpachi, she is even strongest shinigami out of strongest generation, she never fought in manga, only fought she ever has was fight against Zaraki and it was for Zaraki's sake. So Zaraki only getting Shikai from that training don't fit very well for me.

 

[Forbidden Tale]

At this point of the series, there is no 'future'. It's the last arc of Bleach. If he doesn't have it now, it's extremely unlikely he will ever have. It's now or never.

Kubo said that he have material for another 10 years (it was back in 2010).
I'm pretty sure that there will be another power up for Ichigo, because even after his training with RG i don't see him beating current Yhwach (and also Yhwach has potential to go stronger with every soul he absorb), so i think that with safe we can say that Ichigo will need more training.
Also, If kubo continues the tradition, Yhwach shouldn't be final villain, back in SS arc we thought that Gin is villain but it was later revealed that villain is Aizen, same happen in Fullbringer arc, Tsukishima was supposed to be villain but in the end Kugo take the spot and in both cases, the characters who were supposed to be good, actually were bad, so i wouldn't be surprised if Soul King is actually bad. It would also prolong the story. On top of that, it was already confirmed that Aizen will be back, so story is far from over.

 

[JIRAIYA perv]

to keep short, if Zaraki tells his Zanpakuto to act as a Katana, it acts as a Katana. if he tells it to be a Zanpakuto, it becomes a Zanpakuto and gives him access to Bankai, hell if he asks it to dance, that damn Zanpakuto better dance .....................

 

[Nebula]

I already forgot that Urahara is in Soul society. Lol

 

[Goetia]

You're doing it again. You are talking about the regular ways of shikai and bankai, but those only apply to regular characters.

Your entire reasoning is that you achieve shikai and bankai this way or that way and that Kenpachi does not conform with those ways of achieving bankai, thus he doesn't have it. However Kenpachi never followed the regular ways, in fact he is as abnormal as you can possibly be. Every captain in history had a bankai, except for him, he didn't need it. Every captain trained years to learn his own Zanpaktou, except for him. He had to fight a specific person to unlock it. It's very well possible that, assuming he isn't in permanently shikai state, he learned shikai and bankai at the exact same time. Kubo does stuff like this all the time and considering Kisuke's way is an invention, meaning it's possible for people to find other ways to reach bankai. After all it's related to each shinigami's own spirit and Kenpachi is seriously messed up, so his spirit will be too.

The fact is that you are using the standard norms of achieving bankai as an argument to say that a character, that never followed those norms to begin with, doesn't have bankai invalidates your entire reasoning. You didn't say anything that denies strongly the possibility of Kenpachi not achieving bankai. You need to learn to read between the rules. You stick way to hard to what is specifically said without interpreting it in a wider context.



At this point of the series, there is no 'future'. It's the last arc of Bleach. If he doesn't have it now, it's extremely unlikely he will ever have. It's now or never.

Very good argument. I concede defeat. But thank you for posting your input.

I already forgot that Urahara is in Soul society. Lol

I had to do a lot of digging and re-reading. This thread did take 2 hours to complete Lol.

 

[DoubleKamui]

I agree with Caliburn. Kenpachi is just a monster - he defies all logic that approaches him XD