What happened to YACHIRU in TYBW? | Bleach DISCUSSION 

What do you think became of Yachiru? Did you like this subplot in TYBW? Let me know!

the man was so powerful he was a captain and vice captain at the same time

Imagine being so strong you basically shelve your power and make it an adorable pink haired monster

During the TYBW arc, we all went from "Where is Yachiru?" To "Who is Yachiru?" To finally "Why is Yachiru?"

The answer was recently revealed by Kubo in a Q&A, Yachiru is actually the manifestation of Nozarashi's bankai and the normal manifestation of the zanpakuto is that of a grown woman (kinda like how Zangetsu's appearance in Ichigo's inner world changes to a younger version when he goes bankai). Also, the fact that she has shinigami powers, namely having her own zanpakutou and being able to use shikai, while being a zanpakuto spirit herself is due to Kenpachi giving her a name, Yachiru.

Yachiru is the physical manifestation of Kenpachi's childlike love for battle.

I think her being his Zanpakuto makes Kenpachi's fight with Ichigo really interesting. In that fight Kenpachi acts like relying on your Zanpakuto is beneathe him and insults shinigami who do so and she's watching the whole time, and I don't recall her even reacting to that, but also her sitting on the side lines watching him fight by himself is a pretty perfect visual representation of him not fighting with his zanpakuto, his zanpakuto is literally on the side lines just watching and she seems pretty content to just let him do his thing.

Kenpachi always insists on Yachiru staying back during fights and fighting alone. It somewhat symbolizes Kenpachi not using his zanpakoto's release and fighting with just the sword (a tool / not partner) and his own spirit energy.

Just a thought: Every time Kenpachi fights, Yachiru always sits out and let Kenpachi fight, almost as if Kenpachi is not using his shikai (Yachiru) at all whenever he fights.

I didn't even see Nozarashi in Yachiru's eyes. Good call

Anime has clues where after losing to ichigo, Ken says he wishes he could talk to his sword, cue an immediate, dramatic shot of yachiru.

I remember ichigo saying “who are you? or rather what are you!?” He knew something was off about yachiru and that she wasn’t like other soul reapers

I always thought it was pretty obvious what happened. She manifested because Kenpachi basically sealed away his own power and the only way Yachiru could reach him was to manifest as a person. But when Kenpachi releases his power, Yachiru no longer needed to manifest herself anymore.

*Most captains:* FINALLY, after years of dedicated training, I can manifest my Zanpakutou to commute with and achieve Bankai *Zaraki:* What is the big deal ? I did it without even trying, had her by my side for a couple of centuries, then she gave me Bankai when I learned her real name. Hanging around Ichigo or Kenpachi and seeing them pull off this absurd stuff so easily must be pretty demoralizing for your average shinigami.

Soul Society Kenpachi: Why won't you speak to me sword? Yachiru: What do you mean, I'm right here!

Yachiru never interferes with Kenny's fights and thanks the opponent for the fun they have provided to kenpachi, also she may be the one actively suppressing his ability to release shikai since he would one-shot about everything up until tybw because she understands him and knows it's what he would enjoy the most as she would be the extension of his soul🤔

I makes me so sad that she's just gone now. She was one of my favorite characters.😭

She first stood on Ichigos shoulder he mentions she’s no ordinary reaper Noitora mentions no soul reapers sword can cut him, cuts to her licking her lips Kubo planned this, he wasn’t lucky

I think Kubo meant for Yachiru to be the physical manifestation of Kenpachis Zanpakuto from the beginning. Even her very first encounter with Ichigo he hints at something more. She jumps on Ichigos shoulder and swiftly acrobats away and Ichigo mentions “What’s up with this girl, I didn’t sense her presence or anything until she was on my shoulder!?!?” If you watch her character closely it’s as if she is popping in and out of reality (always visually present to us, but only when she wants to by other soul reapers) there’s times when she is on Kenpachis shoulder yet she is ignored by everyone entirely or she will just pop out of nowhere from behind Kenny. I wish they hinted it a little harder in the original few seasons

Yachiru is most definitely Kenpachi's zanpaktou spirit, there's no doubt about it. I think that was Kenpachi vs that Sternritter's most iconic moment when Yachiru gave Kenpachi the ability to use his bankai.

Here’s my take.. Everyone is correct lol. His Zanpaktou is definitely a constant release type.. However it is also constantly manifested as Yachiru. Kenpachi in his fixation on Retsu named the source of his power after her. Akin to calling your Zanpaktou the wrong name to its face.. So it stayed in a mock shikai state despite having the spirit right in front of him. It is possible she may not have known her name either, but there are hints that she wants Kenpachi to mature before giving him her full power. Meaning growing past his fixation on Retsu. I’m sure it was noticed by captains like Yama, Retsu and Shunsui that something is off about “Yachiru”. Heck Retsu and Shunsui were probably disturbed by it.. Kenpachi had to literally kill his obsession to spiritually mature enough to hear his Zanpaktou. As for Yachiru manifesting and growing I believe that it is exactly the same as with Starrk and Lilynette but mechanically they are different since hollows have a more direct connection with their power by default, while soul reapers true power is only accessible through their Zanpaktou. Meaning Yachiru probably had to hear Kenpachi say her name correctly before relinquishing her physical form.

You skipped a very important thing too when you talked about Ichigo defeating Kenpachi. He doesn't just say no response huh? She says "We will keep getting stronger and stronger together!"

I don’t actually think Yachiru herself realised who she is either.

There bond was always so wholesome every time they were on screen or in a panel. He's just like this hulking dad figure to his daughter. A daughter that can beat the living shit outta you lol Her seeing Kenny happy every time he fought someone strong, made her happy. Which almost felt like a bond between between a brother and sister. She wanted to see him happy and achieve his goals, and she would do everything in her power to make sure he achieved them. No one, and I mean no one, has a stronger bond then Ken and Yachiru in all of the Court Guard Squads.

If I'm not mistaken yachiru fully became one with kenpachi sword , since she is his zanpakto , she's not dead just no longer has a physical body , only kenpachi can talk to her .

Loved the fact that Yachiru was named after the OG Kenpachi!!

A point you glossed over and I don't think you noticed is that you mentioned the Asauchi Kenpachi took and imprinted on had been imprinted on by another Soul Reaper. Now the thing here is that maybe the Sword Spirit hadn't completely died off yet and when Kenpachi grabbed the sword, he kept the thing alive albeit in critical condition and that's why the sealed state is so jagged? Then you have Yachiru which is the Spirit he birthed inside the sword and the reason he couldn't use Shikai is that between hearing Yachiru as a physical manifest and his own views as a swordsman (particularly in the early portions of the series) that he couldn't hear that second voice the one he hears in the Muken and her release state might just be a forceful manifestion of the first spirit which is split and broken.

The most terrifyingly fearsome badass character has the cutest most adorable sword spirit

I just want people to consider that "Retsu Unohana" was originally known as _Yachiru_ Unohana. If you combine Unohana's influence on Kenpachi's life, it becomes astoundingly clear what happened and also explains why Kenpachi was never able to "truly" hear his zanpakuto.

Yachiru is Nozarashi. She manifested when Kenpachi was moving through the Kusajishi District, but due to his unique situation, she could not tell him her name since he still would be deaf to it. Thus, she accepted the identity of Yachiru Kusajishi, becoming his "daughter" and living her life as a child. Her own zanpakuto might have been because her manifestation was so strong that it gave her the qualities of a Shinigami in addition to her power as a Zanpakuto. However, Yachiru always knew that the day would come when Kenpachi would be able to hear the true name of his zanpakuto. When that happened, she knew that she could not be Yachiru Kusajishi anymore. This would explain why her shihakusho and Vice-Captain armband were left behind once Kenpachi debuted his Shikai: she returned to whence she came so as to lend strength to her master. She manifested once again when Kenpachi was struggling in order to give him his Bankai. The big question is: how could she have entered the Royal Dimension any other way?

She's his Zanpakutoh. Can't understand those who don't believe this part of the story. Kubo made it so obvious....

Kenpachi's theme is holding back his power to extend fights. His base takes a portion of his power and manifests it as yachiru. Shikai uses the power held off by yachiru, leading to her physical form vanishing Bankai uses the power "correctly", granting a level of might that threatens to break kenpachi's mind and body, transforming him into a savage killing machine Yachiru is a zanpaktou spirit who can manifest a physical body. Likely due to the raw amount of reiatsu she's gathered as a piece of kenpachi's power. It's very much like a shinigami version of starks power. Instead of splitting his soul, he splits his zanpaktou's, then re-unifies the power as he approaches bankai.

The reason why as soon as he kills Unohana he starts hearing his zanpakto is simple. He was nameless, he always was. The Kenpachi name hadn't been inherited properly until then. The whole point of getting your shikai and bankai is in part all about knowing yourself, how could a man without a name hear the name of his zanpakto? Once he truly inherited the name, then also could Yachiru use her real name too, as she has always been linked to Kenpachi.

When I found out I was like, damn his sword spirit was running the barracks all this time Meaning Ikkaku was taking orders from a spirit

What Yachiru is is one of my favorite characters in bleach and she will always stay that way.

I always thought that Yachiru manifested itself because Kenpachi only believed in his own power. He thought that zanpakuto powers would be "outside help" and only weaklings need help, so in order to create a bond with Kenpachi, Yachiru manifested herself as a young kid for Kenpachi to look after, this way she could help him without his knowledge. To me that's the reason she did what she did, but who knows. She is definitely his zanpakuto though, that's pretty clear.

So I think that it was clear that Yachiru was Zaraki's Zanpaktou. When they first met he asked what her name was. She didn't have one because he stole his sword from someone else. So he never knew the swords real name, so he named the child Yachiru after the person he respected the most. Since he has such a strong spiritual pressure the sword was able to manifest into the child we know now. Once he was able to beat Yachiru Unohana, he was able to finally get past his last mental block, and was able to hear his sword spirit in it's true from. Once activating his shikai it made sense to me that Yachiru vanished because she became her real form which was Nozarashi. I think because Kubo was rushed in the last moments of the 1000 year blood war arc he couldn't unpack more of this. It was like he had to get everything in of the things that the fans wanted to see. Zaraki's real sword and Bankai, Kisukes Bankai, Ichigo's mother....and so on. LOL

It’s kind of fitting that Kenpachi was so strong that he manifested his power in the form of a companion, just like Coyote Starke, the most powerful Vasto Lorde. Both of which were too powerful to control their ability around others and killed everyone on their presence. Plus it makes more sense that he didn’t recognize Nozarashi’s voice when he fought Unohana.

Kenpachi is just so powerful that his power just became a whole other person that could move autonomously away from him while he isn't aware of it. 🤷🏾‍♂️🤦🏽‍♂️

Keep in mind that (in the movie) when the zanpakto leave their owners, they are capable of using their own powers. Now, its my opinion but those two figures she summons could be sword spirits that represent possibly his shikai and his bankai, yachiru being the whole of the two. One of them is a beast, the other an skull like oni figure that looks similar to how he does in bankai. Take that for what you will.

I assume when kenpachi masters 100% of his bankai yachiru will end up looking like an adult. We see her as a baby before kenpachi becomes a shinigami and then somewhat of a toddler/little kid when he is a shinigami. Zanpaktou grow with their users.

If you haven't re-read Ichigo vs Zaraki's fight in the Soul Society Arc, you really need to. It pretty much cements that Kubo knew Yachiru was Zaraki's zanpakuto from the very beginning. 1. The theme of the entire fight was "working alongside your Zanpakuto". Similar to the Renji and the subsequent Byakuya fight, Zaraki is meant to act as a mirror to Ichigo as he develops as a character. During the fight the individuals most prominently displayed are Ichigo, White, Old Man Zangetsu (Ywhatch), Zaraki, and Yachiru. If White and Ywhatch are the spirits of Ichigo, it's not too far a leap to suggest Yachiru was the spirit of Zaraki 2. During the fight, after Zaraki removes his eyepatch and gets a surge of power, Yachiru is immediately shown (in the next panel) to similarly erupt with power. The fact that these scenes are purposely displayed right next to each other shows that Kubo was trying to lay the groundwork on connecting the two with one another. 3. After Zaraki loses to Ichigo, Yachiru argues that it was "2-on-1" so that it wasn't a fair fight. This means that Yachiru knows that Zaraki was fighting alone without any aid from his zanpakuto. 4. This is when it gets blatant from Kubo. Zaraki is musing about fighting side by side with his zanpakuto. The very next panel is him calling out to Yachiru and asking "Do you remember when I named you?" She says she does as well as "how many pieces of clouds were in the sky" to which Zaraki says he remembers as well. He then _tells her to be silent_ as he speaks to his Zanpakuto, asking for its name. The scene culminates with him holding his broken sword in the air with numerous "pieces of clouds in the sky" as a backdrop. If this isn't Kubo saying "Yachiru is your sword, bro" I don't know what is. This is even more clear when, as Zaraki picks up his sword, Yachiru responds, almost as if she knows what he is about to ask, right before he tells her to "be quiet". [I think the fact that he tells her to be quite so he can hear his Zanpakuto only for it to indeed not answer his words to be quite telling (no pun intended). It's very similar to the story of the Preacher in the Flood. The Preacher prays to God to save him from a flood only to shoo away two boats and a helicopter before dying. When he goes to ask why God didn't save him, God replies, "Idiot, I sent you two boats and a helicopter!" Here Zaraki is literally telling his Zanpakuto spirit to "be quiet" while talking to a broken sword, begging it to talk back. Again, very masterful work by Kubo.] 5. Finally, Kubo again makes it *very* clear upon rereading that Yachiru is Zaraki's spirit. As Zaraki makes a loud declaration that he wants to get stronger, Yachiru notes that "she had no name" and "she had no parents". It's not that "she never knew her parents" or "her parents died". It starts off saying "she had no parents". It then cuts to her saying, three separate times, that "they'll get stronger _together_ ". She also states that Zaraki is "everything" to her as the scene ends. Apologize for this being so long-winded, but there were so many revelations that showed that Kubo very much planned for Yachiru was Zaraki's real zanpakuto and was only stymied from truly revealing herself because of Zaraki's obsession with Yachiru Unohana. I wrote earlier in the comments that, by Zaraki giving his zanpakuto spirit a false name (Yachiru), he had effectively handicapped himself into never truly hearing from her despite the fact that she loved him so deeply and wanted to connect with him more than anything else in the world. TLDR:: Reread Ichigo's first fight with Kenpachi. Kubo knew what he was doing.

Lilinitte and Yachiru having same height, prob same age. Starrk on his resureccion kinda has an eyepatch like Zaraki( ik its not an eyepatch but still its close). Yachiru Unohana is the primera Kenpachi, so is Starrk the primera Espada. I see what you did there, Kubo-sensei!

I feel like she's a Lilinette to Kenpatchi's Starrk

I always thought it was cool that Unohana’s original name was Yachiru Unohana. Almost as if Nozarashi named it’s Zanpakto spirit Yachiru because of Kenpachi’s mental blocks he put on himself because of Unohana.

Surprised she didn't have a interaction with baby nelliel

To get a Bankai shinigami must materialise his zanpakuto spirit. "Materialise" - is the key word. Zaraki's zanpakuto spirit materialised itself/herself just to communicate with it's user somehow. It have got the shape of a child so there is no problem for her to wear cloth and etc. And Zaraki has got his bankai just because Yachiru (spirit) was already materialised and gave him his bankai. About her zanpakuto - when shinigami gets a zanpakuto his soul breaks into 2 parts: the user and the spirit. When she (Yachiru/spirit) is materialised - there is no problem for her to get an asauchi and get her soul divided too. So we have Zaraki's soul that divided into Zaraki and Yachiru, and than Yachiru (Zaraki's zanpakuto spirit/ part of the soul) divide her own soul into Yachiru and Sanpo Kenju. All this parts of one soul are related to Zaraki Simple scheme : 1)Zaraki's soul 2) Zaraki's soul ----> Yachiru 3) Zaraki's soul ----> Yachiru ----> Sanpo Kenju All this parts are essentially Kenpachi's soul, I think

Yachiru being kenpachi's zanpakuto spirit makes sense. If you think about it, a zanpakuto is also part of a shinigami's soul and they are so much similar personality wise. If you think about it, kenpachi is essentially an overgrown child. He's had little maturity and emotional growth. His sword being a child is logical. His like a child that only want to fight and do nothing else. I think when she came to the gotei 13 with kenpachi everyone at the 11 squad just went with it. Since she too is also strong. Also I think even if it was yachiru's voice kenpachi wouldn't recognize it mostly because he wasn't expecting it to be her. I also think a zanpakuto's form and powers is different than their manifestation as a being.

Well If you remember ikkaku and yumichika didn't go through the soul reaper academy either. They just showed up and decided to join squad 11 to fight and die for kenpachi. Neither of those two nor kenpachi and yachiru entered the Gotei 13 through traditional means.

I'd imagine the fully grown Nozarashi would look very similar to Unohana.

She's probably similar to stark created from a portion of kenpachis power to help regulate him and ease his loneliness

While truly nobody knows why she has a "shikai", Kubo left it clear by using Isane's comments on how she doesn't call a name or transforms the blade in any way, instead she just starts using Sanpo Kenju out of the blue, meaning it's *definitely* not a normal zanpakto release, heck, it might not even be a zanpakto at all. Fake Zangetsu, when forcefully materialized decided to instantly show a lot of random swords to push Ichigo to find him apparently, and making weapons appear out of nowhere is not a stretch of what a materialized zanpakto can do. Her as a manifestation of Kenpachi's soul could have just pulled part of his psyche into battle so she could fight by herself. With that said, we don't know, nobody knows. We know very little of what abilities materialized zanpakto spirits can show.

Do you think that Yachiru's only fight being against an imaginary person was supposed to hint at her true nature? The reason for her disappearance was explicity explained in WDKALY

I think this theory of Ychiru being a Zanpakuto spirit may be right, even in the filler episodes of Zanpakuto tales unknown in the anime Yachiru and Kenpachi never had Zanpakuto spirits appear from their Zanpakutos I think the reason why Yachiru/Nozarashi would appear before Kenpachi as a little girl is because before Kenpachi met her he was lonely, he didn't have any friends or family, he didn't even know his' own name, but if Kenpachi had someone to take care of he could learn to be more than just a nameless killer, as for her disappearence I don't know, but maybe she needed Kenpachi to focus on the battle and he'd learn the truth later, I don't know...

I doubt even Aizen knew of her true nature.

when kenpachi activated shikai, I think yachiru lost her physical body but somehow could still exist in astral form yachiru fought the robot poison captain once and said she just didnt breathe the poison , its a subtle clue of her being a sword too

I always interpreted the scene of Kenpachi asking Nozarashi why it won't speak to him and Yachiru just staring at him is because he still wasn't ready yet. He was still unconsciously holding back his power at that point, and therefore he was forcibly sealing Nozarashi as well. After all, releasing Shikai is the same as multiplying your own spirit energy by 10x, so that would be counterintuitive to what Kenpachi's subconscious is trying to achieve. It wasn't until his fight with Gremmy, when he realized he could still be pushed to his limits after Unohana died, that he gave in and let everything come out.

They probably let Yachiru become a member of the Gotei 13 because they knew she’d be the best coping mechanism for Kenpachi. She is literally the only character in the show that he never gives any negative energy towards.

What if the "false" shikai of Yachiru's is a remnant from the original shinigami's asauchi that Kenpachi took?

I can't wait to see Kenpachi's fights animated.

She simply became what she was meant to be given the crisis. Kenpachi's Zanpakuto. In a way I'd also say that even with her unpredictable and dangerous tendencies she represents the remnants of Kenpachi's conscience. Unohana's was healing others, Yachiru and her antics were Kenpachi's.

I would love for you to do more on Kenpachi. Part of me feels like he’s the most powerful true Shinigami. His battle axe looks so very much like Ichigo’s shikai in the Soul Society arc and what not. Also, I feel like once upon a time it was mentioned that the size of the Zanpakuto is somewhat/sometimes indicative of the wielders spiritual pressure

Kenpachi & Yachiru have close bond and understanding each other. Probably Yachiru didnt wanna ruin Kenpachi fight by letting him learn Shikai & Bankai. If we look back to all Kenpachi fight, he use one arm because he didnt want the fight to end quickly. So Yachiru might think, its better for Kenpachi to enjoy using his own brute strenght and tons of reiatsu first. She'll be there if Kenpachi in trouble such as when he versus Gerrard.

Yachiru's connection with Kenpachi always made me feel warm inside ❤ The theory of her being actually Kenpachi's zanpakutoo spirit is interesting and I saw that not coming and yet it made totally sense as they were so similar in personality it was odd as most captains and vice-captains were totally opposites to each other (Both Kenpachi and Yachiru liked fighting, they both had terrible sense of directions, they were always together etc). It even, yet again, inspirated me to try to create somekind, maybe similar, several mysteries between two characters myself 😁. I have something in my mind as I write this but nothing has been though completely 😊. What do you guys think?

The reason I think he was able to hear his blade for the first time and she was somewhere else is because she left only a little bit of herself in the blade to eventually become the blade again, kinda like a security measure. And the time when she finds his eye patch, its almost a sad moment, because it is like, she now knows it is time, time to leave the world she spent so many years in and with so many people, that she will eventually have to leave behind.

There were hints to Yachiru's nature early on in Bleach...and people UTTERLY missed it. Now with hindsight it's quite clear that Yachiru was NOT normal.

Yachiru always fascinated me from the start and wandered things , like how and why did she become a LT and why wasnt she afraid of Zaraki. I knew she was named after a captain but wasn't expecting Unohana. Still I would've loved to have seen her more in action.

I've always believed that Yachiru was more akin to what was going on with Stark. It was clear that Yachiru first appeared right after a battle. I think this was Kenpachi subconsciously fragmenting his power, but it wasn't enough, so he had to put mental limits in place too. Just like how Stark didn't want to be alone, Kenpachi didn't want to kill everyone he met. When the sword is talking to Kenpachi, I pictured it as more of an internal monologue. I think he has always had that power without Yachiru but was mentally restraining himself. Once Yachiru saw that Kenpachi was no longer restraining himself, she returned to him to restore and control the last of his power, his bankai.

I hope they give Nozarashi an adult female voice, because it would make it seem like Yachiru is a child because Nozarashi split her power.

Yeah I had a feeling that Yachiru was really a huge part of Kenpachi's Spiritual Pressure, personified in human form, sorta like Coyote Starrk's deal with Lilynette Gingerbuck. His power was so great and he was so lonely that he instinctively separated a part of his power to create a new partner to stave off their loneliness of being the strongest. Its really sad but also makes me wonder, while Kenpachi can hear his Zanpakuto, he's still never seen is spirit so will Yachiru one day reveal herself to Kenpachi or just keep him in the dark about it forever?

Did Yachiru die?? Sokka: ya know it was really unclear

I always wondered why Yachiru's release form resembles 2 hollow creatures. Maybe it could just mean Kenpachi have some hollow powers in him as well seeing how ridiculous powerful he is and Yachiru manifest that power on her end, like how shiro is the manifestation of ichigo's hollow

I honestly always just thought it was extremely obvious that she is Nozarashi. Not a theory, simply a foregone conclusion. Zaraki's Reiatsu is so extremely overflowing that it makes sense that she's visible to others as a result. Another support for this school of thought you didn't mention is that in every one of Zaraki's fights, she watches intently, and when someone tries to talk to her when he's fighting, she says "NOT NOW, KEN-CHAN IS FIGHTING" without taking her eye off the battle. Again I'm thinking Kubo might not realize people need to be explicitly told "she is his spirit" since he kinda made it really obvious and it's much more poetic for Zaraki to say "she's not around anymore" instead.

I agree with all the strangeness but I think it lines up perfectly with the Ichigo battle with him asking why his sword wont talk to him and the her standing next to him with the look on her face like she knows why it wont answer him. I think it works beautifully with Unohanes sin. I believe these directly coencide. As Yachiro is not only his bankai (I kinds think this is the case) but a direct manifestation of him holding himself back for his infatuation with Unohane. Or something like that. Its beautiful regardless of my lack of understanding lol

Also, when Ichigo first meets her he can't feel her spiritual pressure at all if I remember correctly. This theory would explain that, she uses Zaraki's spiritual pressure so she either didn't have her own or hers is indistiguishable from his

I’ve always just thought that Kenpachi’s reiatsu reserves were so insanely massive that he could create constructs with it and yachiru was that. And his bankai focuses that reiatsu which is why she can no longer have a physical body when he has it

This analysis kind of videos are much appreciated it makes the little nuisances of the story stand out and give us a clear explanation. Thank you

Happy to see someone has made exactly the video I was looking for

To me its obvious Yachiru is a manifestation of his zampakutou, or at least a partial one considering i dont think shes the actual full blown spirit. zaraki and nozarashi are probably so much in tune, that nozarashi, desperate to reach zaraki, partially manifested in order to achieve some level of a relationship, taking the form of a child to represent the infancy of said relationship. its curious that the first action yachiru does is touch his blade and the blood on it and smile, immediately resonating with him and his nature. the fact that she has a zampakutou is not wierd to me, zampakutou spirits although representation of the users soul, are still somewhat individual spirits on themselves, whos to say that if one was to be physically manifested and given an asauchi that it couldnt imprint on them just like it does with any other spirit, although the end result is something different in nature. gotei probably never really found it wierd cause theres nothing to find wierd, to them shes just a soul. the result in terms of abilities for yachiru is actually a "zampakutouception", even sharing the same exact thematic as zarakis own zampakutou. she appears again to "give" zaraki bankai, cause to achieve bankai you have to learn how to physically manifest your zampakutou spirit first, and zaraki was not at that level yet so yachiru appears again to serve as a bridge of contact between the real zampakutou spirit and zaraki. once shes not needed anymore i would assume she eventually fully fused with the zampakutou again, and this is why zaraki mentions that shes gone. i will swallow my words or at least part of them, when the naime comes out and we hear what voice comes out when nozarashi makes first contact, and if zaraki is surprised because this is the first time it speaks to him or is it because its a familiar voice.

We've to consider that what Yachiru created with her shikai is also part of her power, perhaps Kenpachi's ability is not just pure power, it has abilities to create companions too

You are clearing up so much of this arc for me.

I just finished the last two volumes last night. It’s finally time to watch every video this man has to offer :3

I do remember yachiru licking her lips/getting excited everytime kenpachi got in a good fight (particularly against ichigo/nnoitora) it was the first thing I thought of when she was revealed to be the spirit of nozarashi

I think there’s strong argument that the flashback for when Kenpachi meets her for the first time, that he actually passed out and entered the trance needed to converse with his weapon. Especially when it’s that peace and quiet after killing a whole bunch of people.

Loved the video. Late to the party but after listening to Nozarashi’s voice in E10 of the TYBW anime, I’m a little excited.

I agree with you Mr. Tommo, thank goodness I wasn't the only one thinking the same thing as you did.

I don't know why everybody's finds it hard with kenpaichi but not ichigo and stark

I personally thought she WAS his sword, and dissapeared when he finally used her power or learned the sword's name. I've also never thought too much about it.

Great video! Also, "the next time we see her, she is gone"? hmm. . .

GREAT CONTENT MAN KEEP IT GOING

When kenpachi is fighting ichigo for the first time when the message comes yachiru said don't bother me while Kennys fighting

How much cooler would it have been if instead of his release for bankai being unnamed he called it Yachiru as like the revelation of her being the spirit. Although, i thought she was his spirit since the fight with Ichigo, and Coyote Stark kinda sealed it for me because he is the same thing, which established precedent. Alternatively though, she could have died when turned to cookies.

Only a few more days before we get to hear the voice of Nozarashi! Super excited for this! :D

This blew my mind!.. maybe even something else, too… like I still think she may have been meant to be a reflection of KZ and if there was a needed successor to squad 11 it was her.. some kind of separate being in a way… but this has me thinking.. I can’t directly refute some of the evidence yet so this may legit the thing! Well done, thank you, and cheers my friends! Worth a watch for any Bleach fan!

I think that the same situation of Starkk happened with Kenpachi. He had so much spiritual presure, that he had a human manifestation of his zampakutou (same way starkk had lilynette).

I thought the implication was that Yachiru was Kenpachi's zanpakuto in its materialised form and nobody ever realised it. It also explains why he couldn't hear its name, because he was calling it Yachiru at the time. So probably they both finally figured out his sword and she demateriailsed

Thanks for the great explanation, back when I was a lil kid first time watching bleach and stumbling upon this kenpachi ang yachiru really puzzled my mind for how come yachiru always unscathed by any fights she's with kenpachi. Back there long ago manga wasn't really a thing for us poor kids. Reading the manga and searching for answers and finally stumbling upon this recommended vid. Really made a point of what confusion I had long ago. Thanks a lot even this was a year ago vid :D

I really don't know what you guys gone through but u all did well

Perhaps the reason Yachiru was passed through the soul reaper exam. Was due to Unohana, she either used her as a seal and somehow made her into a being to watch over Kenpachi until they needed him at full power.

Yachiru to Kenpachi: "If you use me properly, there's nobody you can't cut." Ichigo: "Am I a joke to you?!" Turns into a Dragonball fight. Ichigo and Kenpachi power scaling, Ichigo wins.