Espada / Arrancar

Arrancar
Arrancar are hollows that have had their masks almost completely removed and have gained the powers of a Soul Reaper. In the process, they gain a more humanoid appearance as well as strength, speed and intelligence beyond the level of a simple hollow. They also gain hierro, skin so hard they can fight against opponents with swords bare-handed. Arrancar become major antagonists during the second part of the series as they start being led by Sōsuke Aizen who uses the Hōgyoku to create and perfect the arrancar. According to Tite Kubo, many of the arrancar are named after real life architects and designers.[6]
Like Soul Reapers, arrancar possess zanpakutō. Unlike Soul Reapers, whose zanpakutō are manifestations of their owner's soul, arrancar's zanpakutō are manifestations of their former hollow selves. With occasional exceptions, an arrancar's zanpakutō resembles a regular sword in its sealed state. When released through a process called resurrección, part of their original hollow form is restored, changing their appearance, giving them greater strength, and granting them access to their original abilities.

Espada
The Espada are the ten strongest arrancar in Sōsuke Aizen's army. They are ranked in order of their strength and have their respective number tattooed somewhere on their body as proof of their superiority. The Espada are also allowed to choose any ordinary arrancar and have them appointed as their direct subordinates, referred to as fracción. The members are listed according to their rank.
Stark
Stark is the Primera Espada, signified by the number "1" tattoo on the back of his left hand. Stark has an overall lazy and laid back personality as he is seen sleeping when the Espada learn of Aaroniero Arruruerie's death, and does not appear overly concerned by the news. Lilinette, his young female fracción, typically shows the concern that Stark does not. When he is shown to be serious, however, his personality changes completely; he comes off as reluctant but nonetheless willing to do what needs to be done to complete the task at hand. He also appears to be a pacifist, going as far as to suggest that he and Shunsui Kyōraku pretend to fight until everyone else is finished (an offer which the peace-loving Kyōraku almost accepted). The remains of Stark's hollow mask consist of a bottom jaw that is positioned like a necklace and his hollow hole is on his sternum, right below the tip of his mask. While his combat abilities have not been shown, he is at the least very fast, as he easily manages to kidnap Orihime Inoue while Kenpachi Zaraki and Ichigo Kurosaki are only a few feet away. His laziness also manifests itself in his fighting style, as he refuses to fight Shunshui Kyōraku at full strength when asked to, just the same he shows himself to be a very capable fighter, observing that Kyōraku is ambidextrous and is trying to correct the speed of his swing to hide that fact.

Barragan Luisenbarn
Barragan Luisenbarn is the Segunda Espada. He is a stout, older and grumpy arrancar, and the remnant of his mask takes the form of a five-pointed crown. He bears large visible scars on the left side of his chin and across his right eye, and wears a large rope-like sash with a sun-crested buckler attached to it in addition to the regular obi sash. Despite being the second Espada he takes it upon himself to lead the arrancar once Aizen is trapped, giving orders from a skull-adorned throne, even instructing Halibel to "not underestimate him".
Barragan has six male fracción; Charlotte Cuuhlhourne, Abirama Redder, Findor Carias, Pō, Ggio Vega, and one who remains unnamed.

Halibel
Halibel is the Tercera Espada, signified by the "3" tattooed on the inside of her right breast, she is also the only current female Espada. She is very calm and rarely speaks, and when she does it's fairly serious, such as when she tells her three female fracción Apache, Mila Rose, and Sun-Sun that being afraid of an Espada's released form is a natural reaction. The remnants of Halibel's hollow mask are covered by her coat and collar most of the time; her mask covers the lower portion of her face from her nose down, extending down her neck and out to either side of her chest, although still leaving much of her breasts exposed. She carries her zanpakutō horizontally behind her shoulders; the sword itself is notably broad and short compared to those of other Espada, and the inner portion has been removed, leaving only the "outline" of the sword. In the manga, her breasts are partially shown; however in the anime they are completely covered.

Neliel Tu Oderschvank
Neliel Tu Oderschvank, commonly known as Nel Tu, is a good-natured, child-like arrancar when first introduced. The remains of her hollow mask make up a cartoonish skull on the top of her head. Nel and her companions believe Soul Reapers, not hollows, to be evil, and as such are afraid of them. In spite of this, she develops an attachment to Ichigo Kurosaki and starts following him around after her introduction. She's often mispronouncing Ichigo's name as 'Itsygo' due to her lisping and she is a self-proclaimed masochist. Nel's true form is that of a fully-grown woman, her mask appearing less cartoonish with a pair of curved horns. A large "3" tattooed on her back indicates that she was previously the Tercera Espada. Tired of her superiority over him, Nnoitra Jiruga snuck up on and attacked Nel from behind with the help of Szayel Aporro in the past, managing to crack her mask, causing her to turn into her child-form, giving her amnesia, and allowing him to expel her from the Espada. When Nel runs into Nnoitra years later as he begins to torture Ichigo, she turns into her adult form with her memories restored. Though considerably more mature than her child form, she retains her child-like voice and affection for Ichigo, as she comically hugs him without realizing that her strength is causing him personal injury. As she is about to defeat Nnoitra, Nel reverts back to her child form, with no apparent memory of what had just occurred.
In her child-state, Nel's vomit (which she believes to be saliva) acts as a rather weak, but useful, healing agent. In both her child and adult form, she can swallow cero attacks and fire them back. In her adult form, she can also add her own cero to this blast, doubling its power, aptly named a "double cero". Nel's zanpakutō, which manifests when she transforms, is named Gamuza. Her released form is that of a ibex-like centaur with longer curved horns, a thick tail, and armor over her shoulders and hands. Her sword transforms into a double-ended white lance, giving her the appearance of a medieval knight or a jouster.

Pesche Guatiche
Pesche Guatiche is a seemingly harmless, humanoid arrancar whose body is covered in a sort of light armor, complete with a mask resembling an insectoid head with a large pair of mandibles. His hollow hole is positioned near his stomach. He was once Nel Tu's fracción, but after his mask fragment was forcefully removed by Nnoitra Jiruga and Nel received amnesia, he accompanied her around Hueco Mundo to keep her safe. Years later, when Nel accompanies a group of humans, Pesche follows her into Las Noches. He starts following Uryū Ishida, having mistaken him for Ichigo Kurosaki(and later on uses it just to irritate him), which upsets him because Uryū's appearance leads him to believe that he is the weakest of the group. Pesche possesses an ability he calls "Infinite Slick", in which he sprays his saliva at an object, severely reducing its friction. Contrary to its name, it is of limited supply, "Finite Slick" having been an uninteresting name. He carries an energy sword he calls Ultima inside his loincloth, but it is unclear if it is his zanpakutō.

Dondochakka Bilstin
Dondochakka Bilstin is a large, spotted humanoid arrancar with a tiki mask and compound eyes. Despite his menacing appearance, he is prone to tear-filled outbursts at the slightest provocation, usually when he's worried about something. He frequently inserts the phrase "don'tcha know" in his speech. He was once Nel Tu's fracción, but after his mask fragment was forcefully removed by Nnoitra Jiruga and Nel received amnesia, he accompanied her around Hueco Mundo to keep her safe. Years later, when Nel accompanies a group of humans, Dondochakka follows her into Las Noches. He starts following Renji Abarai, whom he frequently irritates with his clumsiness and emotional outbursts. Dondochakka possesses numerous insect spirits within his stomach, one being Bawabawa, an eel-like hollow who acts as both pet and transportation for Nel Tu and her companions, and he can spit these spirits out at will as allies in combat. In addition, he carries a kanabō inside his stomach, but it is unclear if this is his zanpakutō.

Ulquiorra Schiffer
Ulquiorra Schiffer is the Cuarta Espada, signified by the "4" tattooed to his chest. His name stems from that of a furniture designer named Patricia Urquiola. He has a largely stoic appearance, rarely even changing his facial expression, and does not allow the actions of others to impede the tasks set to him by Sōsuke Aizen. He will attack his comrades to get them to pay attention to him, and deems anyone he does not find of particular interest to be "trash" and therefore expendable. The remainder of Ulquiorra's hollow mask forms a broken helmet with a curved horn and covers the left half of his head. His hollow hole has moved since his first appearance; when first introduced it is at the base of his neck, but in later appearances it has been moved onto his chest.
Though Ulquiorra has yet to fight with his full power, he has displayed a number of unique tendencies; he usually keeps his hands in his pockets when in a combat situation, only bringing them out to deflect attacks, and Grimmjow Jeagerjaques notes that he tends to stab opponents in the chest, the same location as his hollow hole, whenever he is particularly interested in a battle, though it is unclear if Ulquiorra is conscious of this habit. He is very analytical; he almost accurately theorizes the means behind Orihime Inoue's abilities, and recognizes that Ichigo Kurosaki's power constantly fluctuates between comparatively very weak and far stronger than his own. He also seems to refrain from killing a person unless necessary, twice sparing Ichigo and proclaiming he would not harm Orihime because he had not been ordered to. He can replay events he has seen to others by removing and crushing his left eye, which then turns into dust and flows around those Ulquiorra is relaying information to. Ulquiorra is a firm believer in absolute materialism and has stated that what his eye cannot see does not exist. The name and released state of Ulquiorra's zanpakutō have not been revealed. Aizen leaves Ulquiorra command over Las Noches when he invades the false Karakura Town. Ichigo arrives there to recover Orihime, and Ulquiorra engages him in battle, drawing his zanpakutō in the process.

Nnoitra Jiruga
Nnoitra Jiruga is the Quinta Espada, signified by the "5" tattooed to his tongue. He wears a large eye-patch that covers most of the left side of his face, as well as the remnants of his hollow mask (a small set of jawbones and teeth) and his hollow hole, both located around his left eye socket. He is very rude and lecherous, and firmly believes in male chauvinism. Nnoitra hates the idea of a woman being stronger than or outranking a man, and longs to give any woman in such a position their "deserved" inferior rank. This mindset led to his attack on Nel Tu, who frequently defeated him in battle though never killed him. He gave her amnesia and exiled her from the Espada, hoping to be stronger by the time they met again. Nnoitra has stated the only time he feels truly alive is when he's gurgling on his own blood. His sole fracción Tesla idolizes Nnoitra and models himself in Nnoitra's image.
His zanpakutō, Santa Teresa, takes the form of a giant ax-like weapon bearing two crescent moon blades fused together at their backs. When released, Nnoitra gains two additional pairs of arms, and each of his hands gains an identical scythe-like weapon. Nnoitra's wounds heal almost instantly in his released state, and he can also regenerate severed limbs.[27]
Nnoitra is drawn to the site of the battle between Ichigo Kurosaki and Grimmjow Jeagerjaques. While he tortures the exhausted Ichigo, his former companion Nel Tu returns to what is revealed to be her adult form and attacks Nnoitra to protect Ichigo. Though she almost defeats him yet again, her amnesia returns and she is left at his mercy. Kenpachi Zaraki soon arrives to help them, and he and Nnoitra exchange increasingly more devastating blows, each finding great enjoyment in the fact that they can survive one another's attacks and therefore prolong the battle. After a long and destructive battle Nnoitra dies what he believes to be a "warrior's death;" his life ending a split second before his body hits the ground.

Grimmjow Jeagerjaques
Grimmjow Jeagerjaques is the Sexta Espada, signified by the "6" tattooed to his back . His name stems from that of an architect named Nicholas Grimshaw. Grimmjow is very disrespectful, never using honorifics and having little respect for authority figures. He is often openly insulting to such people save for Sōsuke Aizen, and even this respect is quickly abandoned when Aizen is out of earshot. Grimmjow has an overly violent lust for battle, always seeking out the strongest opponent in a given area and he is very confident in his abilities, believing himself to be equal to, or even stronger than the fourth Espada, Ulquiorra Schiffer. Though he shows little regard for his allies or anyone who would get in his way, Grimmjow has some sense of honor; he rescues Orihime from two arrancar torturing her in return for healing his arm, and first has Ichigo's wounds healed before their final rematch. Grimmjow hates being looked down on, becoming infuriated beyond consolation when he feels that someone does so and has stated that he will readily crush anyone who looks down on him, be it friend or foe. The remains of his hollow mask consist of the right jawbone, and his hollow hole is located on his abdomen. Before becoming an arrancar, Grimmjow was a panther-like adjuchas-class menos who wandered Hueco Mundo, and he eventually met and led a group of other hollows in their mutual quest for power. As time passed and Grimmjow became the only one who grew stronger, he ate pieces of the others' flesh so that their evolution would not regress and so he could become even stronger. These hollows later became his loyal followers: Shawlong Qufang, Edorad Leones, Ilfort Grantz, D-Roy and Nakim.
When his zanpakutō, Pantera is released he regains some of his former feline appearance such as jagged teeth, feline ears, clawed hands and feet, and a tail that can be used as a powerful whip.[30] This state augments his speed drastically and gives him animal-like agility and movements to match. His roar can create shockwaves in the air, he can also fire a number of largely destructive "darts" from his elbows and create energy claws called Desgarrón from his fingertips.

Luppi
Luppi temporarily replaces Grimmjow Jeagerjaques as the Sexta Espada, signified by the "6" tattooed to his right hip. He has a youthful and feminine appearance, and tends to be rather demeaning to opponents or those of lower ranks. The remains of his hollow mask (a top row of teeth) rests on the left side of his head. Luppi's zanpakutō is Trepadora, and in his released state eight tendrils sprout from a carapace mounted on his back, which he can control independently to combat a group. The tentacles can also grow spikes to cause additional damage. After Grimmjow's arm is restored, the reason for his demotion, he promptly kills Luppi to regain his rank.

Zommari Leroux
Zommari Leroux is the Séptima Espada. He is a quiet, reverent figure that praises Sōsuke Aizen and despises Soul Reapers for arbitrarily judging hollows. The remnants of his hollow mask take the form of a necklace made out of teeth and a ridge of spikes running down the center of his forehead. Zommari has the self-proclaimed fastest sonído among the Espada, referred to as Gemelos Sonído. He can leave up to five afterimages in his stead when using it. His zanpakutō is Brujería and in his released state he gains a total of fifty eyes, each of which can be used to gain complete control of whatever or whoever they look upon; this technique is called Amor. His legs are also replaced by a pumpkin-like structure that he can hide within as a defensive measure. When Zommari tries to avenge Aaroniero Arruruerie's death by killing Rukia Kuchiki, he is stopped and killed by her brother, Byakuya Kuchiki.

Szayel Aporro Granz
Szayel Aporro Granz is the Octava Espada. He is an intellectual and the scientist of the Espada, thinking highly of himself and following his plans down to the finest detail. He is quite sadistic and views others as little more than research material. He thinks poorly of non-hollows, and hopes that Sōsuke Aizen will someday eliminate all entities that aren't hollows. Szayel has a variety of methods for analyzing an opponent's abilities, such as studying the damage done to their former opponents. Once doing so, Szayel can nullify the effects of their abilities, making him virtually immune to their attacks. In addition to the immunities gained from studying his opponents, Szayel has his own group of fracción that he has personally modified so that he can heal his wounds by eating them. Those so devoured can be recreated later. The remains of his hollow mask take the form of rectangular-framed glasses.
Szayel's zanpakutō is Fornicarás and in his released state Szayel grows two pairs of thin wings, and his lower body transforms into a flock of long tentacles. He can shoot a stream of blood-like liquid from his body and if even one droplet comes into contact with an opponent a doppelganger of them is created that Szayel can control to use their abilities against them. By wrapping an opponent in his wings, Szayel can create voodoo dolls of them. Any damage done to the dolls' internal organs is done to the original, debilitating them from the inside. Should he be eaten, Szayel's body will fuse with its opponent's nervous system, allowing him to gain complete control of their body. The last of his many abilities, known as Gabriel, allows him to be reborn if he is injured beyond repair by impregnating an enemy and absorbing their spirit particles, turning them into his own and killing the victim in the process.
Szayel engages Renji Abarai and Uryū Ishida in battle, during the course of which he nullifies each of their abilities and damages them enough to be in a non-combative state. Just as he loses interest in them and is about to finish them off, Mayuri Kurotsuchi arrives to help them. Being of equal scientific and analytical ability as Szayel, Mayuri is able to render all of Szayel's abilities useless. After Mayuri kills him Szayel reconstitutes himself inside of Nemu Kurotsuchi, ingesting a large dosage of an experimental drug stored in Nemu's body in the process. This drug greatly increases his reaction time to the point where one second seems like a century to him. With his physical body unable to compensate for his over-enhanced mental state, Szayel is effectively paralyzed and left to suffer a slow and painful death by Mayuri shortly after.

Aaroniero Arruruerie
Aaroniero Arruruerie is the Novena Espada, signified by the "9" tattooed to his two faces. He has an unusual glass capsule filled with red liquid and two floating masks in place of a head, which he usually covers with a tall white mask. The two masks tend to talk in tandem when revealed, giving the effect of two people speaking in turn. The upper mask speaks with a deep voice while the lower mask speaks in a high-pitched, child-like voice, and they appear to have a level of individuality as the lower mask is more afraid of death, screaming blasphemy to Aizen when he dies while the upper mask merely curses one word. He is the last of the first-generation Espada. Aaroniero possesses the ability to broadcast information of whatever he is currently seeing or experiencing to other arrancar, which he does prior to his death at the hands of Rukia Kuchiki.
Aaroniero is unique in that he can absorb other hollows in their entirety, not only giving him their power but their unique abilities and memories as well. Once a hollow is absorbed in this fashion, Aaroniero can manifest any aspect of them at will, including their physical form. Through an unusual series of events, he also absorbs the Soul Reaper abilities of Kaien Shiba. The weakness of this power is sunlight, which nullifies it on contact and reveals Aaroniero's true form. Aaroniero's zanpakutō is Glotonería and it is unclear what its sealed form is, but Aaroniero seems to imply that it is a deformed tentacle-ridden appendage that replaces his left arm. In his released state the lower half of his body turns into a huge, purple, octopus-like mass with dozens of tentacles and cartoonish mouth-like mask pieces. With Glotonería released, Aaroniero can access the full range of his abilities at will, as opposed to the single ability limit imposed on him when it is sealed.

Yammy
Yammy is the Décima Espada, signified by the "10" tattooed to his left shoulder. What remains of his hollow mask is the jawbone, which rests on his chin. He is the largest, but not the brightest, of the Espada, as he relies upon Ulquiorra Schiffer to explain things and give him orders while in battle. Yammy relies primarily on his brute strength and cero blasts in battle, taking little interest in using his sword until he is overpowered. Aside from his fighting abilities, Yammy can suck the souls from living humans en masse using gonzui. It affects a wide area, but any individual with even slight spiritual power is able to resist it to some degree. The name and released state of Yammy's zanpakutō have not been revealed.

Privaron Espada

Dordonii Alessandro Del Socacchio
Dordonii Alessandro Del Socacchio is more goofy when compared to other Espada, however, he is much more serious in battle. During his battle with Ichigo Kurosaki, Dordonii tries to goad Ichigo into using his bankai and hollow mask, hoping to earn his former position back by defeating Ichigo at full power. He is defeated once Ichigo complies, and thanks Ichigo for the favor by fighting against the Exequias to buy Ichigo time to escape. He is implied to have been killed by the Exequias. Dordonii's zanpakutō is Giralda and in his released state, Dordonii grows armor that starts at his feet, wraps around his calves, and juts out at his waist with two more spikes. While released, two enormous cyclones come from exhaust spouts on the armor covering his legs, which keeps him hovering in the air and add extra force to his kicks. In addition, two beak-like extensions jut out from these cyclones, which are used to execute long-range strikes, though Dordonii is also capable of manifesting many more if the need arises.

Cirucci Thunderwitch
Cirucci Thunderwitch has an unusual sense of style (similar to a gothic lolita); her outfit consists of a frilly dress, large poofy sleeves that cut off at her shoulder, short purple-colored hair, teardrop markings on each cheek, and knee-high boots. The remains of her hollow mask are positioned in her hair right above the left side of her forehead and resemble a spiked hairpin. Despite her rather odd appearance, she has no qualms about pointing out when others have similar fashion, as she does to Uryū Ishida. After Uryū defeats her, she is implied to have been killed by the Exequias. Cirucci's zanpakutō, Golondrina, takes the form of a whip with a large, spinning, Yo-Yo like disk looped into it. When released, Cirucci sprouts large wings with ten moon-shaped blades in place of feathers. These blades vibrate at a high frequency, making an audible humming noise in the anime. Cirucci can remove these blades and fire them through the air or summon them back at her own will. Her arms also become long and she gains sharp claws on each hand, and she forms a long, thick tail. Her released state rapidly consumes her spiritual energy, but she can get around this problem by ripping off her wings and long claws, instead fighting with a luminous pink blade of spirit particles at the tip of her tail. Such a change is permanent and she equates it to "cutting off an arm."

Gantenbainne Mosqueda
Gantenbainne Mosqueda has an afro-style haircut with thick sideburns and a goatee. The remains of his hollow mask are a sunglasses-shaped plate on his forehead with four teeth coming out above each eye. Gantenbainne's zanpakutō, Dragra, takes the form of a pair of two-pronged punching daggers attached to Gantenbainne's wrists by hinges. In its released state, Gantenbainne's arms grow longer and become covered in dome-shaped armor plates, and the punching daggers come to resemble dragon heads. Similar plates also extend down his back and form a tail. He pulls his mask fragment over his eyes at certain points in combat. When attacking, he can shoot various blasts from his fists. After he is defeated by Yasutora Sado, Gantenbainne is spared in thanks for fighting with all of his strength. As Chad leaves, Gantenbainne warns him of an approaching Nnoitra Jiruga who easily silences him with one hit. After Chad is also defeated, both he and Gantenbainne are found by the Exequias. Retsu Unohana intervenes before they can be killed by Rudobone and heals their wounds.