Thread:Saris Khan/@comment-24384232-20141211031559/@comment-3403804-20141211233130

It's true, Zanjutsu and Hakuda should BOTH have ways to combat Kido on equal terms, but thus far, there's yet to be determined exactly how. I contributed much to the development of Kido when I first came here, and Sei's working hard on Hakuda. Zanjutsu is still rather misunderstood.

At any rate, the way I see it, if you're a Kido Specialist whose against someone who simply happens to be a Master Swordsman but who has spread their abilities over a larger area, the opponent will likely not be able to respond to your magic with Zanjutsu alone. The skill difference is probably too high. But if a Kido Specialist and a Zanjutsu Specialist were to fight, it'd probably be pretty even.

I think Zanjutsu is misunderstood because most see it merely as swordsmanship, which in my opinion is not the case. Zanjutsu is waay more than simple swordsmanship, it's way more spiritual and philosophical than that. Zanjutsu to me, is about refining the bond with your Zanpakuto above all else, completely mastering it's Shikai and developing this part of yourself through the greatest extremes, eventually your character would manifest traits associated with their Zanpakuto even in their sealed form, marking both their swordsmanship, which is likely tempered by a powerful bond of mutual trust and understanding to a degree greater than simple swordwaving skills. Their Shikai and Bankai would be tremendously powerful as a result, leagues beyond what they started out as. True masters of Zanjutsu would probably have alternate forms of release for the same Zanpakuto, and different stages of Bankai as well.

I therefore strongly disagree when you state that Zanjutsu becomes redundant past the release point, I'd say that is when it truly shines.