Zangetsu (spirit) (Darknesslover5000)

Zangetsu (斬月) is the manifested spirit of the Zanpakutō owned by Ichigo Kurosaki, Dyan Arashi, and Kento Tensei.

Appearance
The spirit of Zangetsu resembles a tall, 30- to 40-year-old man with unkempt facial hair and long, ragged, brown hair. He dresses in tattered, all-black garbs with narrow sunglasses and a long, flowing overcoat that flares out into ragged ends. Because of the spirit's appearance, Ichigo calls him "Old-man Zangetsu" (斬月のオッサン, Zangetsu no ossan), while Dyan calls him "Zangetsu-san". Zangetsu has also been called the "black-clothed man" (黒衣の男, kokui no otoko).

Personality
Despite manifesting as a Zanpakutō Spirit for three different Shinigami, their respective Zangetsu's personality do not alter much between them. Zangetsu is portrayed as wise and calm in most matters, and fond of testing Ichigo in unusual ways, many of which have a purpose completely contrary to the stated goal. While Ichigo's inner world is one of tall skyscrapers, Zangetsu has stated to prefer lusher, natural surroundings like bright sunny skies and green forests, something that manifests in both Dyan and Kento's Inner Worlds. Zangetsu is shown to care very much for his respective masters, having saved Ichigo many an occasion, and saved Dyan (resulting in the latter learning Shikai).

When he's merged with an Inner Hollow, much of the Zanpakutō spirit's personality seems to be in effect, though Zangetsu is prone to violent outbursts akin to an Inner Hollow.

Powers & Abilities
Master Swordsmanship Specialist: During his short battle against Ichigo and his inner hollow, Zangetsu demonstrated highly proficient skill in swordsmanship, enough to fight most of the battles with only a single hand. With well-timed manuevers, Zangetsu was repeatedly able to land critical hits on Hollow Ichigo (although they were quickly healed).

Enhanced Speed: During his battles, Zangetsu was shown to be highly fast, able to outmaneuver a number of relentless assaults from Hollow Ichigo.

Zanpakutō

 * Shikai: When manifested by either Ichigo or Dyan, Zangetsu can summon a sword that takes the form of his constant Shikai release state: an oversized, elegant, black cleaver almost as tall as himself with no crossguard or proper hilt. It is instead held by its cloth-wrapped tang. It is unknown, but assumed, that when manifested by Kento, he can manifest his sealed state and then release it.
 * Shikai Special Ability: Zangetsu's is largely used for melee combat but possesses one known special ability.


 * Getsuga Tenshō (月牙天衝, Moon Fang Heaven-Piercer): Shikai_Zangetsu_Getsuga.jpg the instant of the slash, Zangetsu's blade absorbs his spiritual energy and releases highly condensed spiritual energy at the tip of the blade. Magnifying the slash attack and then flies forward. This slash takes the form of a crescent moon or in the shape of a wave. As stated by Zangetsu, knowing the name of an attack heightens its power compared to its strength when the wielder does not know its name. Getsuga Tenshō is a powerful technique with great force, capable of causing large scale damage.


 * Bankai: Tensa Zangetsu (天鎖斬月, Heaven Chain Slaying Moon): Muramsa_Tensa_Zangetsu.jpg Tensa_Zangetsu_Face.png is considered completely out of the ordinary for any Zanpakutō. Unlike most Bankai forms, which usually create some sort of massive creature or effect, The Bankai actually shrinks his sword down to a daitō (Japanese long sword) with a black blade. The crossguard has four prongs bent out to form the shape of the manji (which is the kanji for "ban," meaning "full", as in "full release"). Instead of the cloth his Shikai form had, a short length of chain with a broken link at the end dangles from the base of the hilt. When manifested under Muramasa's control, Zangetsu's Bankai merely changed the appearance of his sword. However, when he is willfully manifested by his wielder or is using Bankai in their inner worlds, his appearance changes to that of a teenager with a slightly similar appearance to Ulquiorra Cifer. He loses the sunshades that he wears in Shikai and his robe gains a hood.
 * Bankai Special Ability: Zangetsu's special attack remains Getsuga Tenshō and can be used in the same manners, but can be used in an enhanced form. When used with Zangetsu's Bankai, these potent blasts can become black with a red outline and their path can be controlled, with explosively augmented power and speed.


 * Physical Enhancement: This Bankai is a compression of his remarkable power, rather than a vast expansion as other Bankai are. This vastly compressed power enables to reach levels of physical and spiritual prowess most Shinigami would have their bodies give out at and cannot handle. It allows Zangetsu to move at very high speeds exceeding those of flash steps, allowing him to be undetectable to unfocused eyes. This Bankai also allows Zangetsu to use his natural strength to its limits. His new speed is so great, that it also allows him to create dozens of tangible clones to confuse his opponent. In addition, his already immense spiritual energy has grandly and explosively increased, and now has a deep black spiritual energy with a crimson outline.


 * Enhanced Getsuga Tenshō: Kuroi_Getsuga_Tensa.jpg Zangetsu retains the use of Getsuga Tenshō and can be used in the same manners, but can be used in an enhanced form. These potent blasts are vary in color with Tensa Zangetsu's ownder (Ichigo's is black and red, Dyan's is black and green, and silver and green) and their path can be controlled, with explosively augmented power and speed. Tensa Zangetsu can also keep Getsuga Tenshō within Zangetsu to augment his sword swings.
 * Saigo no Getsuga Tenshō (最後の月牙天衝, Final Moon Fang Heaven-Piercer)" Not a technique Zangetsu has access to, but it is a technique he has knowledge of, teaching Ichigo the move before the latter's final fight against Aizen.

Hollow Tensa
Hollow Tensa (虚天鎖 Hollow Heaven Chain) is a form of Tensa Zangetsu that the Zanpakutō can take on only when his master possesses an Inner Hollow. In this form he represents the owner's Spiritual Power as a whole, evenly merging both their Shinigami and Hollow powers. For a Shinigami-Hollow Hybrid, Tensa Zangetsu must be defeated in this form to master Jinzen and learn the Final Getsuga Tenshō. His appearance changes in this form to become a near-inverted version of his standard appearance. His normally brown hair becomes white, his outfit changes to one that resembles Ulquiorra Cifer's Murciélago form, he gains a broken black Hollow Mask on the left side of his head, and his eyes become mismatched, one iris remaining blue and the sclera white, while the other iris becomes silver and the sclera becomes black.


 * Enhanced Strength: In this form, Tensa Zangetsu was able to cut Ichigo's blade in half and throw the Substitute Shinigami into a building.


 * Massive Spiritual Power: While how much is unknown, Ichigo stated that the Hollowfied Tensa Zangetsu could have killed him easily, hinting at his great power.


 * Enhanced Getsuga Tenshō: During his fight with Dyan, Tensa Zangetsu's Getsuga Tenshō changes from black with a dark green to white with bright (nearly invisible) pink pink outline with outstanding power.
 * Saigo no Getsuga Tenshō (最後の月牙天衝, Final Moon Fang Heaven-Piercer)" Not a technique Zangetsu has access to, but it is a technique he has knowledge of, teaching Ichigo the move before the latter's final fight against Aizen.


 * Enhanced Speed: As Hollow Tensa, Tensa Zangetsu's remarkable speed is further increased, and noted by Dyan to be an even blend of both Sonído and Shunpo. Just like in Bankai, Hollow Tensa is capable of producing dozen's of tangible clones to confuse opponents, shown when Dyan's Getsuga Tenshō struck an afterimage, and found himself surrounded by many.

Trvia

 * "Hollow Tensa" is not an official name for Tensa Zangetsu's merged form, merely a named coined by fans.

Quotes
(To Ichigo) "Abandon your fear. Look forward. Move forward and never stop. You'll age if you pull back. You'll die if you hesitate."

(To Dyan) "Is this it for you Dyan? Have you really lost your will to fight? Do you intend to die here?"

(To Ichigo over the state of his Inner World) "Look at this world! Your world! Littered with hope-filled skyscrapers that pierced the sky! It's now been degraded to a copy of that tiny town you grew up in! The constant raining in this world has stopped, but in return, everything has sunk into this sea!! It's all, Ichigo, because you despaired and ceased to walk forward. Ichigo. I won't let you remain this way. Right here and now, I will pull out the source of your despair."

(To Ichigo, regarding Hollow Ichigo) "I see. So this is the first time you've seen. You defeated Ulquiorra Cifer in this form."