did anybody noticed the mask of a hollow hid underneath ichigo's clothes??
well, it's really confusing me a lot,...because what happened was the mask had protected ichigo from getting critical wounds or even from dying,..
not once, but twice.....do you guys get my point???
is ichigo a.........................hollow,that is.:eek:

Well, Ichigo was on the verge of becoming a Hollow. As we saw after his initial encounter with Byakuya and Renji in particulaur, his zanpakuto was shattered and his Shinigami abilities pushed deep into dormancy. Training with Uruhara helped him overcome this and find his true Shinigami abilities. Basically, this mask represents what he almost became, without me spoiling anything too big. Now, if you don't want spoilers, stop reading here..













Okay, now, as we saw, when he emerged from the training pit in Uruhara's basement, we see him wearing the mask of the Hollow he almost became. This wasn't just for decoration. There actually is a Hollow deep inside Ichigo. If we look to the fight with Kenpachi, we see Zangetsu gets snapped in half and Ichigo left almost dead. Just before he is about to die, time stops, and Zangetsu materializes before him. He takes Ichigo deep inside himself and forces him to earn the right to weild Zangetsu. He tosses IChigo a normal, sealed zanpakuto, and another Ichigo appears. This one seems to be what Ichigo would look like in photo negatives, as his appearance and colors are the direct opposite of Ichigo's. He weilds the true Zangetsu, and begins to duel (real) Ichigo. The real Ichigo wins, and we hear the alternate Ichigo's words as he regains conciousness. Something to the effect of "Fight hard and keep this body safe. It will be mine one day...". Now, looking at this, and at Ichigo at this point, we see he surely isn't a Hollow. After all, he still uses a zanpakuto and can interact with other spiritual beings and humans without a lust for eating them. However, he holds a very Hollow-like spirit within. Let's look to his duel with Byakuya. During the fight, Byakuya reveals his zanpakuto's ultimate form, and nearly overpowers Ichigo. He loses conciousness for a moment, and a very strange thing happens. His face partly changes to that of a Hollow, and his fighting spirit multiplies. He would have killed Byakuya had it not been for the real Ichigo regaining control. So, at this point we can tell Ichigo's Hollow-like inner self wants him to live, if only for selfish reasons. Now, in the manga up at this point, we discover Ichigo is in fact (translation may be wrong) a Vaizard. He's told this by a new student at his school, who appears to be one of these as well. This new student attempts to recruit Ichigo into their ranks, and a young girl enters into the story not long after this. They both weild a zanpakuto. Soon, Ichigo encounters a duo who incite a battle with Chad and Orihime. Chad's arm is pretty much crushed, and Orihime nearly killed. They both have a hole on them somewhere as all Hollows do, but they both weild zanpakuto. What does this all mean? Bottom line is Ichigo is part Hollow. And he's not alone. As recently as I've read it, Soul Society has sent a few people to join Ichigo in preperation for the oncoming assault by these other Vaizards like Ichigo [Hitsugaya Toushirou, Abari Renji, Madramme Ikkaku, Matsumoto Rangiku, Kuchiki Rukia, & Ayasegawa Yumichika in full school outfits.

B4 I read all o this is part of that paragraph contain spoilers

Sorry. It was late when I typed this up and I assumed that everyone was up-to-date with the manga and anime since it wasn't under either specific heading.

Sorry. It was late when I typed this up and I assumed that everyone was up-to-date with the manga and anime since it wasn't under either specific heading.
mmm no thats okay I didnt read it but you could already guess that was a hollow mask

Well, yeah. That much was obvious, but I figured I'd go the extra mile and tell why it kept reappearing.

there is a difference though in the white robed hollow-shinigamis and the vaizards..the white robed ones are hollows who succeeded in removing their masks, while the vaizards are the ones who are like ichigo, i believe..shinigamis with hollows within them

there is a difference though in the white robed hollow-shinigamis and the vaizards..the white robed ones are hollows who succeeded in removing their masks, while the vaizards are the ones who are like ichigo, i believe..shinigamis with hollows within them

Hmm.. interesting observation... By white-robed ones, you mean the ones with holes in their, umm, chest (like Ulquiola <- dunno the right spelling) and Yami? And by vaizards, you mean, the new guy at school with the weird hair and smile (forgot his name) and the girl whom he was with later?

Yeah there is a difference. Vaizards are former shinigami's who are trying to get hollow powers. Allankars, like Ulquiorra, are hollows who took they're masks off and got semi-shinigami powers.

why dose he wear a mask???

Yeah there is a difference. Vaizards are former shinigami's who are trying to get hollow powers. Allankars, like Ulquiorra, are hollows who took they're masks off and got semi-shinigami powers.
*cough* must xplain allankars more (srry im just gonna use this spelling even though its incorrect)
*****SPOILERS**** (highlight to read)

Strength of Allankars are all proportional to class, they're modelled after the three classes of the Menos "Gillian" "Ajucas" and "Vastrodes". those like Ulloquiorra are modelled after the Vastrodes, they are humanoid and have powers that far surpass ANY shinigami/ even captains (in theory) however that is to be the end product, ulloquiorra is an "experimental" Vastrode made by Aizen, the likes of Yami are like the "Ajucas" strong, but not undefeatable by Captains. The Last and weakest of the Allankar, are those who are without the help of Aizen, the likes of the Grand Fisher (un-masked) they are much like the "gillian" but possibley weaker.


well thats to my understanding.. pls give more info if im incorrect

Thanks for the explanation

Strength of Allankars are all proportional to class, they're modelled after the three classes of the Menos "Gillian" "Ajucas" and "Vastrodes". those like Ulloquiorra are modelled after the Vastrodes, they are humanoid and have powers that far surpass ANY shinigami/ even captains (in theory) however that is to be the end product, ulloquiorra is an "experimental" Vastrode made by Aizen, the likes of Yami are like the "Ajucas" strong, but not undefeatable by Captains. The Last and weakest of the Allankar, are those who are without the help of Aizen, the likes of the Grand Fisher (un-masked) they are much like the "gillian" but possibley weaker.


well thats to my understanding.. pls give more info if im incorrect
erm...yeah so? All I said was that Vaizors and Allankars are different.

damn u guys really post a lot....anyways ichigo's mask protects him
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To op:

Ichigo doesnt wear the mask. It mysteriously poped up in his shigami robes during the fights with Renji and Kenpachi. The reasons for the mask has been exceptionally explained >.> To add, (those that didnt read spoiler(s)) most people wont understand why this is significant till the Soul Society arc is done.

yeah though I understand it so basically this mask is kinda like a naruto kyuubi?

lol...quite some good explanations there...
I am not reading the manga..but i read your explanation anyway...lol.

cant wait to see what happens about this in the anime

It gets confusing to me about the vaizards and stuff.

and what do you call again those who are being guided by aizen?allankar..blah...something like that

Hmm.. Kanami.. You have too much time on your hands.
^^''
But yes, well said, he is part hollow, or something close to that effect.
But yes, he has that power inside of him, and that power exists with Zangestu, get rid of that power, you get rid of the Hollow inside of himself, true or false? We'll have to wait and see.
Who is this Zangestu? Why is he so powerful? He;s strong, but Ichigo has more power than him, he's just a little medium for Ichigo to channel his power into, take a look at the bankai of the Zangetsu.
And also, the mask.. It might take over compltely wouldn't it?
Since Ichigo managed to take it off when it was at around 50% of completion, but what happens if the thing was completely formed? Would Ichigo become trapped inside like the Hollow is right now?

the mask probably protects him becuase he wants ichigos body. since ichigo is a strong shinigami with high spirit energy its something rare. it also said something when ichigo was in his own mind and the hollow told zangetsu to train ichigo well cuz one day his body would be his. so the hollow wants to become a shinigami so he can break the barrier between hollow and shinigami and become unbelievably powerful

Hmm.. Kanami.. You have too much time on your hands.
^^''
But yes, well said, he is part hollow, or something close to that effect.
But yes, he has that power inside of him, and that power exists with Zangestu, get rid of that power, you get rid of the Hollow inside of himself, true or false? We'll have to wait and see.
Who is this Zangestu? Why is he so powerful? He;s strong, but Ichigo has more power than him, he's just a little medium for Ichigo to channel his power into, take a look at the bankai of the Zangetsu.
And also, the mask.. It might take over compltely wouldn't it?
Since Ichigo managed to take it off when it was at around 50% of completion, but what happens if the thing was completely formed? Would Ichigo become trapped inside like the Hollow is right now?

Pah. You say that as if it's a bad thing. Free time is equal to no work which is equal to more anime! :D

Anywho, first things first. Zangetsu is simply the name/avatar for Ichigo's sword. He's not a real person, that's just how he manifests to communicate with Ichigo and other spiritual beings. Next, as far as the mask goes, it taking over is apparently what will happen if Ichigo doesn't join the Vaizards. It apparently will someday overpower Ichigo's will and make him kill those closet to him. Or something to that effect. By the way, Ichigo wasn't halfway transformed when he beat the Hollow in Uruhara's training. He was basically 100% counting down. So, he was at 1% when he over came it, I suppose. If the Hollow had completed its formation, Ichigo would simply cease to exist. Him attaining Ban Kai seemed to even it out, though they are constantly fighting for control. Another thing, Zangetsu is not the cause of Ichigo's Inner Hollow. If you mean when he fought with Kuchiki Byakuya, the Hollow simply took over and used Tensa Zangetsu to fight him. The Hollow knows how to use Zangetsu better than Ichigo, but that doesn't mean they are connected.