Szayel Aporro Granz

Template:Bleach character info Szayel Aporro Grantz (ザエルアポロ・グランツ, Zaeruaporo Gurantsu) is a fictional character in the manga series Bleach created by Tite Kubo. He is an arrancar in Sōsuke Aizen's army, and the 8th Espada.

Character outline

Szayel Aporro Grantz is an average-sized arrancar with shoulder-length pink hair and reddish-orange eyes. He is Ilfort Grantz's younger brother, although Szayel is much stronger. The remains of his hollow mask take the form of rectangular-framed glasses that give him an intelligent appearance. His arrancar outfit is slightly different from others in that he wears a shorter hakama that exposes a type of sock covering his shins. His shirt is somewhat different from other arrancar, as well, as most arrancar have some form of jacket instead. The sleeves are unnecessarily long, covering the majority of his hand, and has extra seams on the chest area.

Szayel is the scientist of the Espada, developing various spiritual equipment for use by the arrancar. Using various methods, he is able to analyze the spiritual power of an opponent through those that person has defeated. He is also adept at creating devices that can manipulate and suppress spiritual power, as evidenced in his battle with Renji Abarai. Much like Mayuri Kurotsuchi, he seems to view others as potential research subjects. He often acts very condescending to those he considers to be less intelligent, mocking his opponents with a barrage of insults and sarcasm. However, he is considerate enough to quiet his followers and remain quiet himself so his opponent can say something.

Szayel sometimes acts without Aizen's approval. Although Szayel is very polite to Aizen, later gestures he makes when his back is turned make it appear that he resents him. Like the rest of the Espada, he possesses numerous Fracción, though his are hollows he personally modified and had made into arrancar by Aizen. Two of his notable subordinates are Lumina and Verona, both of whom are round arrancar with bare feet and sparse hair.

Synopsis

Hueco Mundo arc

Szayel first appears when Aizen gathers the Espada to inform them that Hueco Mundo has been invaded by Ichigo Kurosaki, Uryū Ishida, and Yasutora Sado. Despite the order to stand by idly, Szayel Aporro orders out the Exequias. Expecting to be punished for this action when discovered, he apologizes to Aizen. Aizen elects not to punish him because he doesn't view the infraction as destructive. Aizen then questions Szayel about his research and what useful information was extracted from Dordonii's body.

Szayel later appears before Renji Abarai, and Dondo Chakker arrives shortly after and explains who Szayel is. After he does so, Szayel reveals that Ilfort Grantz, whom Renji killed, was his older brother. In spite of this, Szayel cares nothing for his brother, since Ilfort was a mere gillian-class menos before becoming an arrancar. In fact, he had used Ilfort to gather data on Renji. Using his expertise in analyzing an opponent's spiritual power through their defeated opponents, Szayel has designed the room they're in to prevent Renji from using his bankai.

During the battle, he is informed of the mutual deaths of Aaroniero Arleri and Rukia Kuchiki, having been too busy with Renji to notice. Taunting Renji over the apparent loss of his friend, Szayel confidently proclaims that Renji has no hope of winning with his shikai, even boasting that Renji won't even manage to harm him. Renji disproves this boast by doing just that, but Szayel seems to be simply amused by the injury. Renji continues to fight, but Szayel easily blocks his attacks, and states his boredom at Renji's predictable fighting style. When called forth, Szayel's Fracción are about to kill Renji, but is interrupted when Uryū destroys one of them.

After the two introduce themselves, Szayel is delighted for the chance to examine a Quincy. Uryū in turn is pleased to have found an Espada so easily distracted, allowing him to appear behind Szayel and fire an arrow through his neck. Rather than kill him as one would expect, the arrow shatters. As Szayel's Fracción attack, Uryū's bow disappears. Szayel explains that he has researched the Quincy's powers, too. Having his Fracción stay back so he can analyze his opponents, Szayel is led into a trap by Renji and Uryū. Using a close-range kidō spell, Renji injures Szayel, forcing him to retreat. Having predicted Szayel's movements, Uryū catches him in a pentacle seal created by Seele Schneiders, and uses a gintō technique to envelop Szayel in a massive explosion. Though quite damaging, the blast does not kill Szayel, and he is able to completely heal himself by devouring Lumina. Szayel then departs to get a change of clothes and formulate a new plan. He later appears again in front of Renji and Ishida, and prepares to release his zanpakutō.

Powers

File:Zaera zanpakuto.jpg

Szayel Aporro's unsheathed zanpakutō.

Szayel is the Octavo Espada, making him the eighth strongest arrancar in Aizen's army. By his own admission, Szayel's skills lean more towards science than combat, which he uses to make up for the latter through his inventions that manipulate spiritual power. Szayel is manipulative in his battles, planning them out well in advance to improve his odds of winning. In his battle with Renji and Uryū, he uses data gathered from their previously defeated opponents to design devices that negate their powers.

Zanpakutō

Szayel's zanpakutō has yet to be shown in its released state. When sealed, it has an unusual guard consisting of a series of orbs attached to one-another in a sphere formation. The sheath is fixed to his sash with a vine-like rope. The edge is down like a tachi instead of up like a katana. The release command for his zanpakutō is "sip" (啜れ, susure).