List of Espada in Bleach

The Espada.
Top row: Nnoitra, Barragan, Grimmjow, Aaroniero, Halibel.
Bottom row: Yammy, Stark, Ulquiorra, Szayel Aporro, Zommari.

The Espada are a group of powerful arrancar led by Sōsuke Aizen in the anime and manga series Bleach. The Espada consist of ten members at any given time, ranked in order of strength. The Espada serve as the major antagonists later on in the series.

Members

The members are listed in order of rank where known, and in order of introduction for those whose rank has not yet been revealed. The first three hold the top three ranks, but their specific ranks haven't been revealed.

Stark

• Voiced by: Rikiya Koyama

Stark (スターク, Sutāku) is a male arrancar who appears to be very lazy; he is seen sleeping when the Espada learn of Aaroniero Arruruerie's death, and does not appear overly concerned by the news. His shoulder-length hair is dark and parted down the middle. He also has a goatee. The remains of his hollow mask consist of a bottom jaw that is positioned like a necklace. His hollow hole is on his sternum, right below the tip of his mask. When Aizen sends him to reclaim Orihime Inoue, he states he is uncomfortable doing so, though is able to accomplish the task in an instant despite Kenpachi Zaraki's and Ichigo Kurosaki's attempts to stop him.

Stark's Fracción is Lilinette (リリネット, Ririnetto), a female arrancar who seems quite mischievous, in that she enjoys waking Stark up in unusual ways: first by shoving her fist in his throat, then by squeezing his testicles. Despite her initially childish behavior, she does seem to show some concern for the ominous occurrences in Hueco Mundo, In Manga 315, she is shown accompanying Stark to Karakura town.

Halibel

• Voiced by: Megumi Ogata

Halibel (ハリベル, Hariberu) is the only current female Espada. Halibel does not seem to talk much. She has dark skin, green eyes, spiky blonde hair with several braided locks, and wears an oddly-cut variation of the arrancar jacket that bares a good portion of her breasts. The jacket is extended slightly in the anime to better cover this. Halibel carries her zanpakutō on her back; the sword itself is notably broad and short compared to others and has a western-style guard. The remnants of her hollow mask are partially covered by her collar, but it is clear that she at least has pieces of mask on both sides of her cheeks as well as thinner fragments that frame her eyes.

Halibel's Fracción consists of three female arrancar: Mila Rose, Apache, and Sun-sun. Mila and Apache seem to be fairly competitive whereas Sun-sun seems to be more mature.

Barragan

• Voiced by: Shōzō Iizuka

Barragan (バラガン, Baragan) is a stout, older, grumpy-looking arrancar. He has a crown-like mask on his forehead. He has four Fracción.

Neliel Tu Oderschvank

File:NellTu.jpg

Nel in her child and adult forms.

• Voiced by: Tomoko Kaneda

Neliel Tu Oderschvank (ネリエル・トゥ・オーデルシュヴァンク, Nerieru Tu Ōderushuvanku), commonly known as Nel Tu (ネル・トゥ, Neru 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's appearance is in stark contrast to her vocabulary, which contains a number of bizarre phrases and words one wouldn't expect such a small child to know, such as referring to herself as a masochist. Nel and her companions represent oddities among hollows; though most hollows are evil, Nel actually fears shinigami, assuming they are in fact the evil ones. In spite of this, she develops an attachment to Ichigo and follows him into Las Noches.

Nel's true form is that of a fully-grown woman with longer hair but otherwise similar features. Her skull mask changes slightly, its features appearing less cartoonish with a pair of curved horns. A large "3" tattooed on her back indicates that she was previously the 3rd Espada. She was expelled from Las Noches by Nnoitra Jiruga after a sneak attack by him and Szayel Aporro Granz caused her to turn into her child-form and gave her amnesia. Because of her amnesia, she is doubtful when Nnoitra identifies her as a former Espada, but when he begins harming Ichigo, Nel's concern causes her to spontaneously transform into her previous form. Although having grown up physically, she still seems to have her child-like affection over Ichigo, as she suddenly hugs him after attacking Nnoitra without realizing that Ichigo was losing consciousness. She reverts back to her child form, with no apparent memory of what had just occurred, before she could defeat Nnoitra and is left at his mercy.

In her child-state, Nel has the ability to swallow energy blasts and fire them back, indicated by the eyes on her skull mask glowing. Her vomit (which she believes to be saliva) also acts as a powerful healing agent. In her adult form, Nel's speed and strength are greatly increased, and her attack absorption ability is much easier for her to use. According to Nnoitra, Nel's trademark is to absorb an incoming cero by swallowing it, and fire one of her own while returning it, thus creating a "Cero Doble" (doble meaning double in Spanish).

Nel's zanpakutō, which manifests when she transforms, is named Gamuza (羚騎士（ガミューサ）, Gamyūsa, Spanish for "chamois," Japanese for "antelope knight") with a green sheath and hilt shaped like two crescent moons back-to-back. Its release command is "declare" (謳え, utae). 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 lance, giving her the appearance of a medieval knight or a jouster. One of her attacks is called Lanzador Verde (Spanish for "green thrower" or "green spearman"), in which she throws her lance directly at her opponent. The lance moves at high speed and rotates extremely fast, drilling through anything it hits.

Ulquiorra Schiffer

Main article: Ulquiorra Schiffer

Nnoitra Jiruga

• Voiced by: Nobutoshi Canna

Nnoitra Jiruga (ノイトラ・ジルガ, Noitora Jiruga, first name is sometimes romanized as Nnoitora) is the 5th Espada, signified by the "5" tattoo on his tongue. He is an extremely tall and lanky arrancar. He has long, black hair, and typically wears a huge smile on his face which reveals his upper teeth. Nnoitra also wears a large eyepatch that covers most of the left side of his face. His hollow hole and mask fragments are behind the eyepatch, the latter consisting of a small set of jawbones and teeth surrounding his hollow hole. Nnoitra is rude and lecherous, accented by his serpent-like features and his nickname for Orihime Inoue: "pet-sama". He seems to firmly believe in male chauvinism, and makes a point of disgracing any female arrancar in a position of authority over men. This resulted in his sneak-attack on the previous third Espada Nel Tu as revenge for constantly defeating him in battle; after this, he expelled her from Las Noches, hoping to be stronger by the time she returned. Ultimately, Nnoitra desires to prove that his strength is the greatest of the Espada, and takes advantage of any weakness to achieve this end; however, he generally does not bother attacking opponents who appear unconscious or incapacitated. It is revealed that this stems from an inferiority complex he developed whilst serving with Nel Tu.

Nnoitra attacks Yasutora Sado after his defeat of Gantenbainne Mosqueda, though is disappointed with how quickly he wins. Nnoitra then heads off to battle Ichigo Kurosaki once the latter has defeated Grimmjow Jeagerjaques. With Ichigo weakened and unable to defend himself, Nel Tu briefly fights in his place, though she almost defeats him with her released form, her reversion to a child leaves her no match for Nnoitra. It is not until Kenpachi Zaraki arrives that Nnoitra is drawn off. The two exchange increasingly more devastating blows; each finding great enjoyment in the fact that they can survive one another's attacks and therefore prolonging the battle. Kenpachi, via the use of Kendo, eventually claims victory once Nnoitra is no longer able to endure his attacks. Nnoitra refuses to accept defeat however, and charges Kenpachi once more, only to be struck down. Nnoitra dies before his body even hits the ground, the type of death he had always hoped for.

Having the self-proclaimed toughest hierro of any Espada, past or present, Nnoitra can deflect serious attacks without any sign of injury. By touching his fingertip to the ground, Nnoitra can track and measure sources of spiritual power. He fires cero blasts from the tip of his tongue. His zanpakutō, Santa Teresa (聖哭螳螂（サンタテレサ), Spanish common name for Mantis religiosa, Japanese for "sacred crying mantis"), takes the form of a giant axe-like weapon bearing two crescent moon blades fused together at their backs with a large-looped chain connected to a ring at the knob of the shaft. In flashbacks to his time as the 8th Espada, Nnoitra's zanpakutō only possesses one outward-facing crescent moon, as opposed to the two it features now. Its release command is "pray" (祈れ, inore). When released, Nnoitra gains two additional sets of arms, each wielding identical scythe-like blades produced from the folds of his wrists. He usually conceals the second set to surprise opponents. His hollow mask changes, looking torn and gaining jagged teeth. He also grows a pair of horns on his head, one longer on one side than the other, mimicking the cresent shape of his sealed zanpakutō. Nnoitra's wounds heal almost instantly in his released state, and he can also regenerate severed limbs.

Grimmjow Jeagerjaques

Main article: Grimmjow Jeagerjaques

Luppi

File:Luppi.JPG

Luppi with his sealed and released zanpakutō.

• Voiced by: Daisuke Kishio

Luppi (ルピ, Rupi) temporarily replaces Grimmjow Jeagerjaques as the 6th Espada when Grimmjow is demoted by the loss of his arm. Luppi appears youthful with short black hair and a rather feminine face. The remains of his hollow mask (a top row of teeth) rests on the left side of his head. Luppi's attire consists of long sleeves that fall past his hands, hiding them. His Espada tattoo is prominently displayed on his right hip. Luppi tends to be rather arrogant, insulting Grimmjow for his lowered rank and boasting constantly when in battle. He tends to say "Sorry!" in a mocking tone after insulting somebody. After Grimmjow's arm is restored, he kills Luppi to regain his Espada rank. Luppi and Gin Ichimaru seem to have been on good terms, as Gin comments about being lonely after Luppi's death, citing the fact that the two often spoke.

Luppi's zanpakutō is Trepadora (蔦嬢（トレパドーラ）, Torepadōra, Spanish for "climber," Japanese for "ivy girl"), a short blade resembling a kodachi or tantō that he wears close to the underarm. Trepadora is released with the command "strangle" (縊れ, kubire). When Trepadora is released, eight tendrils sprout from a carapace mounted on Luppi's back. Luppi's mask also changes, growing into a makeshift helmet. Luppi can freely and independently control these tentacles to attack his opponents, making him skilled at group combat. The tentacles can also grow spikes to cause additional damage. The carapace is able to rotate, allowing Luppi to spin the tentacles like helicopter blades.

Zommari Leroux

• Voiced by: Taiten Kusunoki

Zommari Leroux (ゾマリ・ルルー, Zomari Rurū) is a tall, dark-skinned arrancar who displays a calm, contemplative personality and rarely speaks prior to his confrontation with Byakuya Kuchiki. The remnants of his hollow mask consist of a small row of bony spikes extending along the crest of his head, skull-shaped earrings, and a bony necklace. After learning of Aaroniero Arruruerie's death, Zommari goes to kill Aaroniero's killer, Rukia Kuchiki. He is interrupted by her brother, Byakuya Kuchiki, and the two do battle. Though he releases his zanpakutō and tries to use its abilities against Byakuya, Zommari is no match for his bankai. Realizing that he has lost, he angrily dismisses shinigami as arrogant for believing they have a right to hunt and judge hollows simply because they consider them evil. Byakuya strikes him down, and Zommari dies shouting his praise for Aizen.

Zommari is the 7th Espada and has the self-proclaimed fastest sonído among the Espada. With his sonído he can leave up to five afterimages of himself behind when he moves, which earned it the name Gemelos Sonído (双児響転（ヘメロスソニード）, Hemerosu Sonīdo, Spanish for "twins sound," Japanese for "twin resounding revolution"). His zanpakutō is called Brujería (呪眼僧伽（ブルヘリア）, Buruheria, Spanish for "witchcraft," Japanese for "sangha of bewitching eyes") and resembles a regular katana except for the guard, which appears as a thick disk with spikes around the rim. It is released by the command "suppress" (鎮まれ, shizumare). When released, Brujería covers his entire body with fifty open eyes, and his legs are replaced by a pumpkin-like structure surrounded by cycloptic faces. Using the eyes on his body, Zommari can take control of one object per eye. He refers to the effect as amor (Spanish for "love"). Although he can take control of an opponent's limbs individually, he can also take control of their entire body by targeting their head. The release can also be used as a defensive resource, as its lower half can become a full sphere that covers his upper body.

Szayel Aporro Granz

• Voiced by: Kōsuke Toriumi

Szayel Aporro Granz (ザエルアポロ・グランツ, Zaeruaporo Gurantsu, sometimes romanized as Szayelaprro Granz) is the 8th Espada and Yylfordt Granz's younger brother. He has shoulder-length pink hair and reddish-orange eyes. The remains of his hollow mask take the form of rectangular-framed glasses that give him a scholarly appearance. Szayel is an intellectual and the scientist of the Espada, thinking highly of himself and following his plans down to the finest detail. He 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. He is quite sadistic and views others as little more than research material. He thinks poorly of non-hollows, and hopes that Aizen will someday eliminate all entities that aren't hollows.

In addition to the immunities gained from studying his opponents, Szayel has his own Fracción. He has personally modified each of them so that he can heal his wounds by eating them. Those so devoured can be recreated later. The name of Szayel's zanpakutō is Fornicarás (邪淫妃（フォルニカラス）, Forunikarasu, Spanish for "Will fornicate," Japanese for "Lewd concubine"). Its release command is "sip" (啜れ, susure). Szayel releases his zanpakutō by swallowing it. His body then swells to enormous proportions and explodes, revealing Szayel's released form. Szayel's released form grows a pair of wing-shaped structures from his back while his lower body transforms into a flock of long tentacles. Blood-like liquid drips from his clothes, fingertips, and wings in this state.

Szayel's released state grants him a number of different abilities. When droplets of the liquid dripping from his body touch an opponent, a copy of them is created that uses their own abilities against them. Szayel occasionally alters these clones' appearances to make them more aesthetically suitable. By wrapping an opponent in his wings, Szayel can create voodoo dolls of them. Any damage done to the dolls' internal organs (accessed by taking them apart and removing the organs with no damage to the original) is done to the original, debilitating them from the inside. Should he be eaten, Szayel can gain control of the opponent's nervous system, allowing him to gain complete control of their body. His final ability, called "Gabriel", allows him to be reborn if he is injured beyond repair by impregnating an enemy. He then devours his way out of their body, killing them in the process. Szayel takes great pride in this ability, comparing it to that of a phoenix.

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. When Szayel reconstitutes himself inside of Nemu Kurotsuchi after Mayuri killed him, he inadvertently ingests a large dosage of poison inside Nemu which vastly augments his reaction time and perceptions, 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. Mayuri stabs him in the heart and breaks the blade off, leaving Szayel to suffer for what seems as an eternity to him, while begging for a quick death.

Aaroniero Arruruerie

File:Aaronieroanime.jpg

Aaroniero without his external mask.

• Voiced by: Toshihiko Seki

Aaroniero Arruruerie (アーロニーロ・アルルエリ, Āronīro Arurueri) is the ninth Espada and the last of the first-generation Espada. He has an unusual glass capsule filled with red liquid and two floating masks in place of a head. The two masks are both tattooed with the number 9, signifying his rank, and 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 other speaks in a high-pitched, child-like voice. He usually wears a white mask to hide this.

Aaroniero is the only gillian-born arrancar among the Espada. His unique ability to absorb other hollows in their entirety is what allowed him to retain his position. While all hollows can cannibalize each other to gain power, Aaroniero can absorb not only their extra power, but their unique abilities 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 shinigami abilities of Kaien Shiba by eating Metastacia. The weakness of this power is sunlight, which nullifies it on contact and reveals Aaroniero's true form. Aaroniero also possesses Synchronized Recognition (認識同期, ninshiki dōki), 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's zanpakutō is Glotonería (喰虚（グロトネリア）, Gurotoneria, Spanish for "gluttony," Japanese for "eating hollow"). It is activated by the command "devour" (喰い尽くせ, kuitsukuse). When sealed, it takes the form of a deformed arm-like appendage with many sprouting tentacles that is concealed under a glove. When released, it turns Aaroniero's lower body into a huge, octopus-like mass (colored dark purple in the anime) with dozens of tentacles and cartoonish mouth-like mask pieces. This form represents the combined form of the 33,650 hollows he has absorbed. 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

• Voiced by: Kenji Nomura

Yammy (ヤミー, Yamī) is a giant, dark-skinned arrancar with a distinct ridged cranium and a black pony-tail. What remains of his hollow mask is the jawbone, which rests on his chin. A tattoo of the number ten, signifying Yammy's rank and level of power amongst the Espada, is on his left shoulder. Not the most intelligent individual, Yammy relies on his brute strength in battle, taking little interest in using his sword until he is overpowered. In addition to his strength, he makes use of cero and bala blasts, like many other high-class hollows and arrancar. He relies on his superior, Ulquiorra Schiffer, to explain things and give him orders while in battle. Aside from his fighting abilities, Yammy can suck the souls from living humans en masse using gonzui (魂吸（ゴンズイ）, Japanese for "soul breath"). It affects a wide area, but any individual with even slight spiritual power is able to resist it.

Privaron Espada

File:Privaronespada.JPG

Gantenbainne (left), Dordonii (top), and Cirucci (bottom).

The Privaron Espada were once Espada, though after Aizen acquired the Orb of Distortion they were demoted in favor of his own artificially-created arrancar.

Dordonii Alessandro Del Socacchio

• Voiced by: Kōji Ishii - 103rd arrancar

Dordonii Alessandro Del Socacchio (ドルドーニ・アレッサンドロ・デル・ソカッチオ, Dorudōni Aressandoro Deru Sokacchio) resembles a stereotypical portrayal of the Devil. His hair is done into a pair of "horns" and he has a van-dyke beard and mustache. The remains of his hollow mask consists of a small plate with horns mirroring those in his hair. In comparison with the other arrancar, he has a more goofy personality, similar to Don Kanonji's. He is much more serious in battle, however. During his battle with Ichigo Kurosaki, Dordonii refers to Ichigo as "niño" (Spanish for "boy") and tries to goad him into using his 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 named Giralda (暴風男爵（ヒラルダ）, Hiraruda, referring to Giralda, Japanese for "storm baron") and is released with the phrase "whirl" (旋れ, maware). When Giralda is released, Dordonii grows large horns on his shoulders and armor that starts at his feet, wraps around his calves, and juts out at his waist with two more spikes. His mask also extends, framing his face. 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 bird-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. Dordonii is able to release his zanpakutō without unsheathing it.

Cirucci Thunderwitch

• Voiced by: Houko Kuwashima - 105th arrancar

Cirucci Thunderwitch (チルッチ・サンダーウィッチ, Chiruchi Sandāwicchi) dresses akin to the gothic lolita style of Japanese fashion. 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. Cirucci has wings on her back, but it is unclear if they are part of her outfit or something else. 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 habits, as she does to Uryū Ishida. She also gets quite bothered if an enemy attacks her while she is talking. Once Uryū defeats her, she is implied to have been killed by the Exequias.

Cirucci's zanpakutō is named Golondrina (車輪鉄燕（ゴロンドリーナ）, Gorondorīna, Spanish for "swallow," Japanese for "wheel iron swallow") and is released with the phrase "rip off" (掻っ切れ, kakkire). In its unreleased state, it takes the form of a whip with a chakram looped into it that is capable of deflecting incoming projectiles in addition to its function as a standard whip. When she releases it, Cirucci sprouts large wings with ten moon-shaped blades in place of feathers. In addition to their normal offensive and defensive properties, Cirucci can remove these blades and fire them through the air or summon them back at her own will. Her wings and feathers vibrate at high speeds that increase her attack and defense capabilities. Her arms also become long and she gains sharp claws on each hand, and she forms a long, thick tail. Armor that resembles the spinning disk of her zanpakutō appears on each of her shoulders. Her mask grows into 'feathers' flowing from her forehead, down her back, and then coming out from each side at her waist. Cirucci's release consumes her spiritual powers rapidly, but she can get around that problem by ripping off her wings and long claws, instead using the tip of her elongated mask to collect spiritual energy and use it to fight with an energy blade at the tip of her tail. This change is permanent, akin to amputating limbs.

Gantenbainne Mosqueda

• Voiced by: Masato Funaki - 107th arrancar

Gantenbainne Mosqueda (ガンテンバイン・モスケーダ, Gantenbain Mosukēda) has an afro-style haircut with thick sideburns and a goatee. His outfit has been modified to match his particular style, including large frills on his collar and thighs. The remains of his hollow mask are a sunglasses-shaped plate on his forehead with four teeth coming out above each eye. There is a star in the center of the mask fragment, which allows Gantenbainne to see when he pulls the plate down over his eyes. During his battle with Yasutora Sado, he inadvertently helps Chad unlock his true potential, since Chad's powers are similar to those of hollows. Gantenbainne is defeated by Chad, who spares him in thanks for fighting with all of his strength and helping him grasp his full power. After being defeated, he warns Chad of an incoming Nnoitra who easily dispatches him with one hit. After Chad's defeat, both he and Chad are found lying unconscious on the ground by the Exequias. Captain Unohana intervenes before they can be killed.

Gantenbainne's zanpakutō is called Dragra (龍拳（ドラグラ）, Doragura, Japanese for "dragon fist"). In its sealed state, it exists as a pair of two-pronged punching daggers attached to Gantenbainne's wrists by hinges. Gantenbainne can charge the daggers to give his punches extra power. When Dragra is released, 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, giving him an appearance similar to an armadillo. He pulls his mask fragment over his eyes in combat.

When attacking, he can shoot various blasts from his fists. His strongest attack involves him gathering and concentrating energy from his tail tip to his fists and firing a large blast, a technique he calls Dios, Ruego Nos Perdone (主よ我等を許し給え（ディオス・ルエゴ・ノス・ペルドーネ）, diosu ruego nosu perudōne, Spanish for "God, I ask that you forgive us"; Japanese for "Ye lord, bestow forgiveness upon us.")

See also

• List of Bleach hollows