One of the interesting aspects in Bleach is when ichigo can see zanpakuto spirits fanfiction
This article will take a look at the various different types of fanfiction that can be found online.
This article will provide an overview of the different types of zanpakuto spirits that exist and to what degree you can find them in popular Bleach fiction (the author does not condone using Bleach material for anything other than entertainment purposes).
The final section discusses what to do if you want to write your own fanfiction about characters who wield a zanpakuto.
Ichigo seeing zanpakuto spirits in his time before meeting Rukia is extremely rare.
The only fictions I could find about Ichigo seeing spirits in his early childhood were two short ones – one was written by Dark Prince Black Moon, the other by IchiGrimm.
There are no specific details about when these stories take place in Ichigo’s childhood, but it seems that they just don’t play a crucial role in the story, since they are usually just mentioned briefly in passing.
1. Ichigo sees other zanpakuto spirits during the series.
This is the most common type of fanfics, where Ichigo meets other zanpakuto spirits besides Zangetsu.
It’s debatable if Ichigo should see these spirits at all, since it’s never explicitly stated in canon that he can see them – but keep in mind that this is fanfiction, where anything goes.
1.1 Other shinigami with zanpakuto
Ichigo first meets zanpakuto spirits during his fight with Renji Abarai. While battling iruka Sayonara he is able to see the spirit of Zabimaru, until it fades away without an explanation.
He is then told by Yoruichi that this is not the first time he has met a zanpakuto spirit, which would be Uryu’s zanpakuto Tensa Zangetsu.
Ichigo later meets the spirits of Hana Yori Dango, Byakuya Kuchiki and Sado Kuchiki.
During his fight with Aizen he sees Juzumaru which tells him “Kisuke Urahara” will die soon. In the manga I haven’t been able to find Yoruichi telling him about these two spirits again.
During Bleach chapter 474 Ichigo sees the spirit of Senbonzakura when fighting against the Gotei 13.
1.2 Zanpakuto in Soul Society
Ichigo is able to see Zangetsu’s spirit again after his fight with Byakuya Kuchiki.
Ichigo’s meeting with Zangetsu is somewhat different in both manga and anime – in manga Ichigo meets Zangetsu for the first time, while in anime they are already good friends.
It seems that at this point Yoruichi has told Ichigo about other zanpakuto spirits, because their conversation is quite detailed about these spirits.
Ichigo is later able to hear the voice of his zanpakuto spirit, who is called Zangetsu during a fight against Muramasa.
This proves that Ichigo can see and hear the spirits of his friends’ zanpakuto, but it doesn’t seem that he can see them.
In anime episode 191 there is a small scene where you can barely make out Ichigo seeing his zanpakuto spirit, which was not included in the manga version.
But this isn’t particularly important, since the scene itself is quite irrelevant.
1.3 Zanpakuto in Hueco Mundo
After Ichigo’s fight with Tsukishima he meets the zanpakuto spirit of Tensa Zangetsu, who has been following him for some time without him noticing.
They have a conversation, which proves that Tensa Zangetsu can both see and hear Ichigo. This shows that there is some kind of link between Ichigo and his zanpakuto spirit, but it seems like this link is still incomplete.
This is later confirmed when Ichigo’s zanpakuto spirit tells him about his inner hollow, which he cannot see.
Ichigo meets Kon during his fight with Ulquiorra Cifer, who was revealed to have a zanpakuto spirit. According to Rukia this is not uncommon for arrancar, but it’s still rare among shinigami.
It seems that the zanpakuto spirits of arrancar are less powerful than those of shinigami, because Ichigo isn’t able to see the spirit of Ulquiorra’s zanpakuto.
These spirits are usually able to communicate with their owners via thought waves.
2. Ichigo and zanpakuto spirits
There are different ways of writing fanfics where Ichigo and his zanpakuto don’t meet, but it’s still implied that they can communicate.
The first type is where Yoruichi explains to Ichigo what the spirit of a zanpakuto is and how it exists.
This can be found in fictions such as “Passionate Desire” by Tainted Paradise, “Players” by Ishida Uryuu and “When Love Becomes A Battlefield” by Kyuubey Girl.
The second type has Ichigo hear his zanpakuto spirit without Yoruichi explaining anything about the nature of zanpakutos.
This is fairly straightforward, but it might require some suspension of disbelief. This can be found in fictions such as “Apathie” by Hollow Ichigo and “Who am I” by Lady Dark Stark.
It seems that you can get away with not meeting your zanpakuto spirit in fanfics, but if you want to write a story where you show interaction between Ichigo and his zanpakuto, then the next section will prove useful for you.
