The old man whom Ichigo Kurosaki acknowledges as Zangetsu is the manifested spirit of Ichigo Kurosaki’s Quincy powers that can be found inside Ichigo’s inner world.

The spirit of Zangetsu appears as a tall (slightly taller than Kenpachi Zaraki), lean-built, and stoic middle-aged man. He has pale skin, high cheekbones, stubble, and long ragged black hair with brown highlights. His attire consists of a tattered white dress shirt with an upturned collar and cuffs, black pants, low-heeled boots, and a long, amorphous black overcoat with a burgundy highlight that flares out into ragged ends. He wears brown-tinted, semi-transparent wraparound sunglasses. Because of the spirit’s appearance, Ichigo tends to call him “Old-man Zangetsu” as a result. Zangetsu has also been called the “black-clothed man”.