Is Kisuke Urahara a Vaizard?

[Liung]

I know there is a lot of stupid threads about who is a Vaizard and who is not, but I would like to know what you think of Urahara Kisuke.

After all he discovered the hougyokou(?) which enable you to break your limits to attain new heights by becoming a hybrid hollow, is that only the scientist's curiosity or rather a way for him to achieve an unknown goal for which he needs more power?

It seems Urahara is kind, being a scientist wouldn't he want to experiment his discovery on him before using it on someone who first could be killed or second could use his newly found power in a bad way?

Furthermore, maybe his ban is related to the fact he became a hollow hybrid because :
1) SS would of course never wants a hollow in their walls
2) I assume hollow can't (for the moment at least) enter SS, because something is blocking them, if that's so I assume it would exactly be what is preventing Urahara to enter SS gate

Urahara sure is a mysterious character, what is he hidding from us? I would like to hear your arguments about him


Edit: A Vaizard is a hybrid Shinigami/Hollow, and an Arankar would be a Hollow/Shinigami if I'm not mistaken

[Pinkaugust]

what is a Vaizard? Will you explain it to me?

[yo586]

Urahara hid the device because he believed it to be too dangerous. I really don't believe he is a Vaizard. However, of course, it is possible, which is the problem with these "what if?" threads. I hope he isn't and I doubt Kubo will take that path.

[Potentialflip]

I thought this at first because in a way Urahara is a rogue shinigami which is what he calls the Vaizards to be. I'm surprised that Ichigo hasn't questioned about them to Urahara.

[Wrath]

Shinigami? Vaizard? Nonsense! Don't even try to apply such limitations to Urahara. He is beyond any definition.

Long ago, Shinigami and Hollows were one and the same, the original form of the soul. Over time they split apart, evolving down separate paths into the beings we know now.

Urahara is the last of the original souls, the limitless genius who defines the universe by his existence.

[Scared Link]

That's impossible!

[Liung]

Well rather I would say that Urahara isn't the last of the original souls, but the only one to begin with, he is the alpha and the omega cause we all know that he will be the one to taught little Aizen how to shut his trap and show him who he is or in other words what he won't ever dream of being :P

[blazingshadow]

he can't return to soul society because he was thrown out of the place. it's not that he's a hollow why he's unable to go it's because yamamoto most likely made a barrier to keep him out. hollows were able to enter soul society before (with aizen's help but still)

[Manetheren]

yeah, being a Vaizard wouldnt prevent him from getting in.

He managed to get Ichigo in. and Ichigo is part Hollow too. Though whether Ichigo is a Viazard is kind of odd. Since he became both Hollow and Shinigami at the same time, I wonder if he is something different than Vaizard or Allancar altogether.

[Moridin]

Urahara is clearly something other than a shinigami imo, whether its a vaizard or something else he's going to be something special.

[Marsallaus]

Hmmm, im not gonna jump on any bandwagon yet but Urahara is definatly a twisted character. Hes got that scholarly "I know tons" thing goin on, then a second later hes a sadist.

I would assume if he created the hybridization chemical he would test it on himself. Theories theories abound. Maybe hes the head hollow from Houcho Mundo? Who knows. Hes definatly a badass and I don't think we've even scratched the surface of his true power and motives.

-Mars

[Drakor]

I don't think he would have experimented on himself. But I do think he thought of a natural way to make a mix of the 3 aspects in 1.
Ichigo lost his shinigami powers due to Byakuyas move
Ichigo is human now
Ichigo while being human is then transformed into a human/shinigami/hollow form

So lets start a thread called what do you think Ichigo is now! I call it Huhollgami :laugh

[blazingshadow]

i think he was had a hollow way before his training to become a shinigami again. i believe the first manifestation of hollow ichigo was in his first fight with renji. ichigo was still in control over hollow ichigo back then but hollow ichigo was there. after the training to become a shinigami again hollow ichigo got stronger and ichigo has lost complete control over him.

[ten sa zangetsu]

I highly doubt that he is a vaizard, arrankar, or any other hollow-shinigami things. It's true that he's extremely powerful but I think there would have been something that at least slightly hinted that he was a vaizard.

[wraith69]

well der are many arguments for him being a vaizard, and some against but to talk about him being a vaizard is a little weak for the plot especially with the Kubo's(author of bleach) immense skill as an artist. However i think wrath has a good idea of what Kisuke could be... It would be a bit of a downer, even though it would explain alot, if he was. But I have a feeling that he his something more than just a vaizard, and I think his confrontation with Isshin said something about it. In that chapter Isshin said something to him about his reiatsu, something about not blaming him. Also after the battle to save icchigo from Ulquiora(the first arankaru pair to enter the normal world), Kisuke asked Youruichi about how she felt, something was definately hinted there. Maybe about the dissapearance of Youruchi from soul society(maybe she was sick and only kisuke could help her)...
At the very least i believe that kisuke would have prepared something big for himself, i mean he would have realised hougyokou would eventually fall into the wrong hands. So im not for him as a vaizard to put it simply.

[TEK]

The only thing making me consider this is the fact that he likes to test out his own experiments. He tested out that method to achieve bankai fast first. So I would assume that he might have done the same with himself with this. However, it does say that he realized the bad that could come of it and thus tried to destroy the Hougokyo but couldn't find a way to do so and thus hid it. So there is a chance that he discovered the bad parts about it without actually having tested it on himself. That's just a guess though.

[Dragonzair]

No, I don't think so! :wtf

Please no. XD

[Amatsu]

I have to admit that'd be damn interesting but come on be realistic...

Urahara was a captain for goodness sakes. I doubt soul society would let a vaizard be a captain.

[Liung]

Well the thing is in the first place why would someone create hougyokou just to make others stronger and let him behind?
The Elephant King pointed something I completly forgot which was Ban Kai training, he created it for himself in the first place, so why not with the Hougyokou? About the "bad part" of his discovery, it's Aizen who told us that, there is no garantee that it's the truth: He might not even know Urahara true motives.
Besides I don't think Urahara being "something else" would be good, I don't want to see another type coming, I mean we already have Shinigami, Arrankar, Vaizard and Hollow... So either he is a powerful Shinigami or an hybrid imo

[Amatsu]

I say powerful shinigami cause geez if Urahara's going to be classified as a vaizard you might as well say Isshin's one too.

[anbutofu]

that's an interesting theory, the only reason i would doubt he is a vaizard is the fact when ichigo escaped the pit to regain his shinigami powers everyone, including Urahara, was shocked to see ichigo's body w/ a hollow's mask until they realized the reiatsu did not belong to a hollow. if urahara was a vaizard he would be expecting the result.
and on a side note,i believe that ichigo is not a vaizard yet, to be vaizard you have to give in to your hollow side as stated in the manga, i think thats how ichigo will be stronger than the vaizards by overcoming his hollow side fully, while being able to use the power of the hollow side to full potential.

[cinosweiv]

I don't care whether he is a Vaizard or not, as long as the story is interesting, it is enough to me.
Even if he is Vaizard, he might be a good one, and he can train Ichigo to be a very very good one

[TEK]

I don't care whether he is a Vaizard or not, as long as the story is interesting, it is enough to me.
Even if he is Vaizard, he might be a good one, and he can train Ichigo to be a very very good one
Yea, good point. No matter what happens in the manga, as long as Kubo makes it interesting, I'll be satisfied.

[Marsallaus]

Time to touch base on topics mentioned. The special Bankai training thing was a very good point, so it makes sense he would use any practice/method he develops first in order to check it out. Also when Ichigo got out of the pit, Urahara was very calm about the whole thing. Tessai and the kids were freaking out, and Tessai even tried to whack Ichigo. Yet Urahara is up there just chilling saying "Give him time" or whatever. Also their reactions when they see he is in Shinigami clothing with a mask is different. The kids both assume battle stances and Urahara is just sitting there looking out from under his badass hat like nothing is wrong. And he takes the removing of the mask in stride like he is expecting it too.

So now on to new possibilities. Maybe Uraharas catwoman pulled an Ichigo. She tested his hybrid contraption on herself and he has already seen it in action. Which sort of explains why he asks her how she feels. And it was my understanding that Ichigo is a 2nd generation Shinigami because his pops was one. Maybe that is going to play a role in how things go down. Another untouched subject is the 4 noble houses. We know that Kuchihi and Shihouin are 2 of the 4, maybe Isshin is from one? So many avenues for speculation. Maybe Urahara is the last surviving member of the 4th house and hes uber badass because of their direct lineage to the start of Soul Society. I can hatch possibilities all day, but I prefer to let the plot unwind at its pace. Im outie.

-Mars

[Duttyman Momochi]

Time to touch base on topics mentioned. The special Bankai training thing was a very good point, so it makes sense he would use any practice/method he develops first in order to check it out. Also when Ichigo got out of the pit, Urahara was very calm about the whole thing. Tessai and the kids were freaking out, and Tessai even tried to whack Ichigo. Yet Urahara is up there just chilling saying "Give him time" or whatever. Also their reactions when they see he is in Shinigami clothing with a mask is different. The kids both assume battle stances and Urahara is just sitting there looking out from under his badass hat like nothing is wrong. And he takes the removing of the mask in stride like he is expecting it too.

So now on to new possibilities. Maybe Uraharas catwoman pulled an Ichigo. She tested his hybrid contraption on herself and he has already seen it in action. Which sort of explains why he asks her how she feels. And it was my understanding that Ichigo is a 2nd generation Shinigami because his pops was one. Maybe that is going to play a role in how things go down. Another untouched subject is the 4 noble houses. We know that Kuchihi and Shihouin are 2 of the 4, maybe Isshin is from one? So many avenues for speculation. Maybe Urahara is the last surviving member of the 4th house and hes uber badass because of their direct lineage to the start of Soul Society. I can hatch possibilities all day, but I prefer to let the plot unwind at its pace. Im outie.

-Mars

Shinigami? Vaizard? Nonsense! Don't even try to apply such limitations to Urahara. He is beyond any definition.

Long ago, Shinigami and Hollows were one and the same, the original form of the soul. Over time they split apart, evolving down separate paths into the beings we know now.

Urahara is the last of the original souls, the limitless genius who defines the universe by his existence.

First think on Aizens words.. the throne of heaven has been empty for to long.. this hints that the throne was once taken.. the throne could have belonged to an uber race or being..

now what if urahara is a direct descendant of this race.. possibily a half breed of this race and shinigami or a weakened version of this race..

there are 4 noble houses.. Nobles are usually referred to as descendants of god or those closest to god... So far we have seen that 2 noble houses have direct contact with eachother the shihouin and the shiba houses... which intern ties into urahara (god).. i did not include the kuchiki house because we do not know the extent of their connections to other houses... but byakuya's words show that they have to in a way lead the shinigami and set example for the rest of soul society (unless hougyokou was inserted before rukia left SS then we can say this house also has a close connection to "god")(they have to be perfect in other words almost god).. the 4th house is still unknown speculation is that isshin and ichigo belong to this house.. during the trip to SS every noble house expect this one was touched on.. that means that the 4th house either has done something terrible never to be mentioned again..

onto Kisuke and ichigo..

I beleive ichigo is neither vaizard or arrancar..
the way ichigo completed his training with kisuke.. u would beleive he is a vaizard imo he would be closer to an arrancar he ripped the full mask of... even tho we call him a vaizard because we seee him as shinigami before the training... ichigo however would be much closer to god (when i say god i mean urahara's race/possible race) then either a arrancar or a vaizard.. remember how ichigo awakend his shinigami powers thru rukia... now we dont know how long the hougyokou was in rukia... but it could well be possible that it was in her all that time.. and ichigo had contact during becoming a shinigami or awakening these powers..

Kisuke would have known this.. and thus ichigos training came about..

onto urahara himself.. why would u create something like the hougyokou.. urahara doesnt seem like the power hungry type.. what are his motives to create such a device.. could it be to recreate that lost race??

recreate god..

[Dr.Douchebag]

its very likely that he created the vaizard race in the first place by doing experiments on people who had potential similar to ichigo (maybe hiruko?)

i wouldnt be surprised if he turned out to be one of those scientist types with few moral constraints i mean just look at his successor.

[yelin]

i believe urahara is a godzaird.

[A3-kun]

Urahara is somewhat of a mystery, all we know is that he was once a very powerful Shinnigami, commander of that research thing and because of his experiments he was kicked out. Whether or not he's a Vaizard or something else, he has many secrets which (I hope) will be revealed slowly over time.

I don't care how it develops aslong as it's interesting.

[blazingshadow]

i think he was a vaizard but found a way to be a full hybrid but then again he could just be super strong like yamamoto and be defeated by ichigo to gain more power to defeat aizen. ichigo will eventually surpass him and i think hollow ichigo is almost at hia level.

my theory on ichigo and his hollow side is that he is like fei from xenogears and the evil one is only more powerful because he realizes most of ichigo's real strength. when they both unite completely they will achieve a power neither could obtain on their own.

[DrunkenYoshimaster]

i believe urahara is a godzaird.

no, hes a Godzillaird!

anyway I dont think hes a Vaizard or he probably would have given Ichigo advice as soon as he knew he became one. Instead his conversation with Isshin was to warn him the Vaizards were going after his son. If he was a vaizard who had learned to avoid being dominated by the mask, Im sure hed have said something helpful to Ichigo after the Yami, Urquiolla encounter, and spoke from personal experience. Instead it seems like something Ichigo will have to figure out on his own.

[Marsallaus]

Urahara wasn't kicked out, he chose to flee with his research. Youroich chose to leave with him and help him escape undetected. There has never been anything in the manga or anime to state he was kicked out. In the fight vs. Soi Fong she got all teary and asked why Youroich left without her. There was also the flashback thingy in the office where some strange people say that Youroich is wanted in connection to the disappearance of Kisuke.

I'm still going to support the angle that Urahara is a member of one of the 4 noble houses or he is some "god" being. As for the fusion thing being inside Rukia in chap/episode 1, it was stated that she "rented" a gigai from Kisuke and thats how she "got" it and why her powers didnt come back. But we do see in one of the last 10 chapters that Ichigo's dad (Isshin) is in fact a shinigami. This makes Ichigo a 2nd generation descendant. We don't really know how this would effect his powers. So far we have only seen (to my knowledge) people who arrived in Soul Society as normal souls (albeit with high reitsu) and became Shinigami through the school. Perhaps being 2nd generation children gain benefits that havn't been explained yet.

Also Soul Society acknowledging Ichigo as "honorary Shinigami" seems kinda shaky if there weren't extenuating circumstances. I mean, he and his band of misfits broke into the impenetrable Soul Society, managed to beat the shit out of the gate guard, and generally caused a huge ruckus. They defeated division captains, assisted in destroying Sokyakou, freed a death row felon, and by defeated the captains and persons with the ability to stop Aizen indirectly assisted his escape. With those deeds accredited to him, they just forget everything and say, "Here ya go kid, no harm no foul. Your a shinigami now!" seems pretty stupid. I could only see them doing something like that if they knew something Ichigo and we don't. Some food for thought.

-Mars

[Marsallaus]

Urahara wasn't kicked out, he chose to flee with his research. Youroich chose to leave with him and help him escape undetected. There has never been anything in the manga or anime to state he was kicked out. In the fight vs. Soi Fong she got all teary and asked why Youroich left without her. There was also the flashback thingy in the office where some strange people say that Youroich is wanted in connection to the disappearance of Kisuke.

I'm still going to support the angle that Urahara is a member of one of the 4 noble houses or he is some "god" being. As for the fusion thing being inside Rukia in chap/episode 1, it was stated that she "rented" a gigai from Kisuke and thats how she "got" it and why her powers didnt come back. But we do see in one of the last 10 chapters that Ichigo's dad (Isshin) is in fact a shinigami. This makes Ichigo a 2nd generation descendant. We don't really know how this would effect his powers. So far we have only seen (to my knowledge) people who arrived in Soul Society as normal souls (albeit with high reitsu) and became Shinigami through the school. Perhaps being 2nd generation children gain benefits that havn't been explained yet.

Also Soul Society acknowledging Ichigo as "honorary Shinigami" seems kinda shaky if there weren't extenuating circumstances. I mean, he and his band of misfits broke into the impenetrable Soul Society, managed to beat the shit out of the gate guard, and generally caused a huge ruckus. They defeated division captains, assisted in destroying Sokyakou, freed a death row felon, and by defeated the captains and persons with the ability to stop Aizen indirectly assisted his escape. With those deeds accredited to him, they just forget everything and say, "Here ya go kid, no harm no foul. Your a shinigami now!" seems pretty stupid. I could only see them doing something like that if they knew something Ichigo and we don't. Some food for thought.

-Mars

[Ulquiorra Schiffer]

This theory is interesting and I've thought about it before. It seems to me that Urahara wouldn't try an experiment on someone other than himself. He's pretty kind, he wouldn't hurt anyone without a reason. Furthermore, we know for a fact that Kisuke unlocked his Bankai using a special method that he himself created. This just further leads me to belive that he would try any experiment on himself first. Urahara also created the experiment that unlocks Shinigami powers or turns the user into a Hollow. So what's to say he wouldn't use that on himself as a test run. Urahara was pretty calm when Ichigo busted out of the hole with a Hollow mask. He just stood there and waited calmly for Ichigo to pull off his mask. Now remember that Urahara was the first one to say "If you turn into a Hollow, I'll kill you." If Urahara thought that Ichgo was going to stay a Hollow and become evil, he would have called out to Benihime and killed him on the spot. Urahara knows Ichigo's limits and isn't afraid to push them. Maybe he isn't afraid because Kisuke sees a little of himself in Ichigo. Maybe that's why he put him through the training to become a Vizard. (Even though I agree that Ichigo is more like an Arrancar) I'm not saying that Urahara is a Vizard, (or Arrancar, or whatever) but I am saying that there's something very special about Urahara Kisuke. Also... In reference to the Kurosaki's being the fourth noble family. I highly doubt that...Byakuya-sama would know. He obviously knows about all four noble houses. He's a part of one so I'm sure he knows about the other three. And it was never actually said that the Shiba clan were one of the four noble families... Soi Fong just said that they were a noble family...Not specifically one of the four. Right after she makes a reference about one corner decaying due to Yoruichi aiding the Ryoka. My thought is that if the Shiba clan was a corner she would have mentioned something about two corners of the four were decayed or destroyed.

[Fox_Retainer]

Doubt it....

He just found ways to make himself strong.

[DrunkenYoshimaster]

^^ I thought Urahara realized Ichi hadnt fully become a hollow and thats why he didnt attack. I think his threat of killing Ichigo without hesitation only applied to him knowing Ichigo had become one.

Also Soul Society acknowledging Ichigo as "honorary Shinigami" seems kinda shaky if there weren't extenuating circumstances. I mean, he and his band of misfits broke into the impenetrable Soul Society, managed to beat the shit out of the gate guard, and generally caused a huge ruckus. They defeated division captains, assisted in destroying Sokyakou, freed a death row felon, and by defeated the captains and persons with the ability to stop Aizen indirectly assisted his escape. With those deeds accredited to him, they just forget everything and say, "Here ya go kid, no harm no foul. Your a shinigami now!" seems pretty stupid. I could only see them doing something like that if they knew something Ichigo and we don't. Some food for thought.

-Mars

well SS was in the wrong and at fault for alot of it. They cant blame Ichigo for them being blind to what was going on, and had he not destroyed Sokyaku I suppose Aizen wouldve got Hyougoku (sp?) sooner, and poor Rukia wouldve been killed under false pretences. All things considered Im not the least bit surprised her captain declared Ichigo and honorary Shinigami and gave him that badge. Even Yamamato wouldnt try to argue to stop that

[yelin]

lol yamamoto is a old fool, strong but foolish.

[arcticphoenix16]

i just reread some manga chapters, and i realized that when mayuri re-formed his body, when the 4th division vice captain was informing everyone of aizen, mayuri's face looked EXACTLY like a young Urahara.

new theory: urahara created mayuri and tested on him! (i feel sorry for nemu's future, she's probably gonna be the main subject of mayuri's experiments)

[TEK]

I would experiment on Nemu too, just not the same way that Mayuri does. :D

[Nakor]

there hasn't really been a sign yet that he would be a vaizard. so i suspect he is not one. he might know how to turn himself into one. that seems plausible.

[Kazekage_Shinagami]

the only reason that I assume he is one is that, he seems to be the kind of scientist that would test things on himself as apossed to the new Capt. of 12th squad who is the kind that test things on other people till he gets it perfect.
So I assume he used the (can't think of it name right now) to turn himself into a vizard to test it.

[Mimycri]

Urahara a masked soldier? It's possible. He's avakened his soulraper with 'Avaken Benihime!' similar to the Arancar 'Avaken Volcanika!'. It's like his reaper is also a kind of sleaping type. Plus it's hard to discard his funky clothes.
He's probably tested the reagent on himself. He's just the type. The doll forcing out the soul raper in the same outside world as it's wielder was also tested by him 1st after all.
As for his exclie.. I think he's similar to the current researcher captain. He's doing things becouse he can. He's interrested in creating new things and observing them.

As for the theory of 'original' souls.. Normal humans seam like 'original' souls, aren't they?

Ichigo as something new? It's possible, but I don't think he's to rule or opress his dark side, but rather he'll have to have a packt with it/him. Just remember what Zangetsu told about Kenpatchi and his soul slayer: Partners who don't trust each other hurt only once effectiveness.

Chao!

[Amatsu]

Plus Yama is one strict old man... I doubt he'd let a Vaizard be a Captain that'd just seem OOC for Yama.

[Liung]

Yea just like he wouldn't let a traitor hypnotize him while performing hollow experimentations on younger shinigamis for example...

[AbnormallyNormal]

yeah urahara is the original vizard. and thats why his bankai kicks so much ass he cant even show it to poor chad.

[Yulwei]

If Urahara was a Vizard and was also their creator why would he speculate about their loyalty or lie about their origin to Isshin. He could just have said the Vizard are with us or against us and said that he created the Vizard rather than saying they might side with SS and they were created by forbidden spells. Isshin isn't going to sell him out since his own son is a Vizard.

Finally what is there to indicate he is one or created them. Nothing except people's assumption that he tests everything on himself and that he's so careless in his experiments that he accidentally turns others into Vizards or even that he's so uncaring about SS laws that he intentionally made them. If Urahara didn't care about SS law he would have gloried in the creation of the HG rather than attempting to destroy/hide it.

[Bresakar]

Thething that he's so skillfull that everybody shivers in fear when only hearing his name in SS means to me he's one of the greatest shinigami ever there. And Urahara was the only one to modify his zanpakutou into another shape next to Genryuusai. He is skillfull no doubt and I think he maybe have Hollow powers BUT isn't using them on purpose because he got an unwanted effect with Hougyoku when creating it. He may have been transformed.

[Yulwei]

Iba modified his zanpakuto into another shape as did Gin so that comment isn't accurate even if you consider that they're modifications are closer to swords than to the walking sticks of Yamma and Kisuke.

So far as we've seen there's no unwanted effects if you use the HG properly and if it's used improperly the worst you'll get is an incomplete hybrid. I fail to see why he would hide his powers other than the fact he hasn't faced anyone who he has to use them against.

[Mistshadow]

I honestly think Urahara is a Vaizard because he created the hogyoku or whatever it's called and if you made it, why wouldn't you use it on yourself? Also he must have had to test it somehow!

[outlaw star]

i'm gonna say that aizen will end up becomming a hybrid, and making war on soul society. at that point urahara will completely own him. after that, theyll reveal urahara to have been the king all along.

[Nelo]

oh please, I think Hougyoku was merely a McGuffin, created by Uruhara just for Plotkais sake.

About testing: I think just testing it on weak Hollows and killing the result will be enough for him to know about its power.

And as Ichigo said (presumably correctly), "Urahara doesn´t know how to help [him], otherwise he would have told [him]" regarding his Hollow-problem. Which means, even though Urahara is likely able to create another Hougyoku, it wouldn´t help Ichigo, as it seems to only work on Hollows...

[Bresakar]

Iba modified his zanpakuto into another shape as did Gin so that comment isn't accurate even if you consider that they're modifications are closer to swords than to the walking sticks of Yamma and Kisuke.

So far as we've seen there's no unwanted effects if you use the HG properly and if it's used improperly the worst you'll get is an incomplete hybrid. I fail to see why he would hide his powers other than the fact he hasn't faced anyone who he has to use them against.

where did Gin / iba transform their Zanpakutou?

If he used a migawarimi in fornt of an Espada and this dude Yammy doesn't even notice it I don't see a point in there that there is someone existent that can face his strength, except Yamamoto

[Akatora]

He might be, but in that case he ain't working with the other Vaizards.

[Saria19]

No, Urahara is definitely not a Vaizard or else he would have tried to further train and help Ichigo.

[Yulwei]

where did Gin / iba transform their Zanpakutou?

If he used a migawarimi in fornt of an Espada and this dude Yammy doesn't even notice it I don't see a point in there that there is someone existent that can face his strength, except Yamamoto

Gin has a very short sword and Iba has a knife(I know their weapons have proper japanese names but I can't be arsed to look them up). A zanpakuto's natural state is a bog standard sword so any variance is due to either the sword reflecting the users power ala Ichigo or the user altering the shape of their sword. Gin is a Captain and Iba is a VC so there's no way they're so weak they're swords would appear that small therefore it must be the latter. Just because they retain a degree of swordness doesn't make it less impressive than turning ones sword into a cane or rod. In addition Isshin said Captains have to alter the shape of their swords so that they're not swinging around skyscraper sized ones the fat Urahara and Yamma went that extra mile doesn't change the fact many are capable of doing it.

If he hasn't shown Vizard powers it's more logical to assume he doesn't have them than to assume he hasn't had a chance to show them.