Gantenbainne Mosqueda

Gantenbainne 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. 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, his tail emits energy that he gathers in his hands and shoots forward in one powerful blast, destroying everything in its path. Before doing so, Gantenbainne says to himself, "Dios, luego nos perdone" in Spanish meaning, "May God forgive us."

Cirucci Thunderwitch

Cirucci's appearance is 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 "car-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. 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 (this change is permanent though).

Dordonii Alessandro Del Socacchio

Dordonii 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 consist 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 the armor in his legs which keeps him hovering in the air, as well as adding 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.

Arrancar - Privaron Espada

I'll now be posting about the Privaron Espada
Enjoy

Yammy

Yammy 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, he 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. It affects a wide area, but any individual with even slight spiritual power are able to resist it. Despite being one of the first arrancar and espada seen in the series his zanpakuto's name and full powers have yet to be seen.

Aaroniero Arruruerie

Aaroniero Arruruerie was a gillian, the weakest class of menos, before becoming an arrancar, and the last of the first-generation Espada. He usually covers his face with a white mask covered in holes while in the light. In place of a normal head, he has a large, glass capsule filled with red liquid and two floating heads. The two heads tend to talk in tandem when revealed, giving the effect of two people speaking at once. In the anime, one head speaks with a deep voice while the other speaks in a high-pitched, child-like voice.

While all hollows can cannibalize each other to gain power, Aaroniero has the ability to completely absorb other hollows, merging not only their extra power with his own but also gaining their individual abilities. Once a hollow is absorbed in this fashion, Aaroniero can manifest any aspect of them at will, including their physical form. It is for this reason that Aaroniero, despite his gillian status, was able to become an Espada (though its unknown if this same process inhibited his evolution into an Aduchas). 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 has 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, Aaroniero can manifest any power he has absorbed through his zanpakutō, morphing it into a perfect approximation of the one he absorbed, as he does with Kaien's Nejibana. His absorption ability also allows him to perfectly mimic the accompanying battle styles of those powers. When released, it turns Aaroniero's lower body into a huge, blob-like mass resembling an incredibly bloated cartoonish octopus, with dozens of stubby tentacles and mouth like mask pieces, giving him access to the full range of his absorbed abilities. He can still manifest the powers of those he has absorbed in this form, but has no limit to the total number.

Szayel Aporro Granz

Szayel Aporro Granz is an average-sized arrancar with shoulder-length pink hair and reddish-orange eyes. He is Yylfordt Granz's younger brother, although Szayel is much stronger. The remains of his hollow mask take the form of rectangular-framed glasses that give him a scholarly 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 the shirt has extra seams on the chest area. In his later appearance he also dons a cape.

Szayel is the scientist of the Espada, developing various spiritual equipment for use by the arrancar. Using various methods, one of which involves implanting a subject with rokureichū (a data-gathering device), 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 is quite sadistic and seems to view others as little more than research material. However, he is mockingly considerate enough to quiet his followers and remain quiet himself so his opponent can say something.[5] Szayel also openly expresses his disdain of beings who aren't hollows, viewing them as inferior. This racism is also an ulterior motive for his allegiance to Aizen as he hopes Aizen will do away with the non-hollows once he becomes the king of Soul Society. Szayel, however, has shown signs of fear and aggravation with taking damage in battle, actually having to fight, or having his plans fall apart as shown when he first started fighting Ishida or after realizing his abilities were useless on Mayuri Kurotsuchi.

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.[6] Two of his notable subordinates are Lumina and Verona, both of whom are round arrancar with bare feet and sparse hair, though Lumina was casually eaten to heal her master. Szayel seems to show the same lack of care for his creations as Mayuri, using them as fodder in battle. When Verona speaks up against this after Lumina is devoured, Szayel quiets her by saying he'd just "make a new one" later.

Zommari Leroux

Zommari Leroux is a tall, heavily featured, dark-skinned arrancar who displays a calm, contemplative personality and rarely spoke until his confrontation with Byakuya. His chin is marked by several triangular tattoos. 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. Zommari's first major appearance is shortly after Aaroniero Arruruerie's death. As he is about to finish off Aaroniero's killer, Rukia Kuchiki, he is interrupted by Byakuya Kuchiki. The two do battle and, after releasing his zanpakutō, Zommari takes control of Rukia's body to use as his puppet against Byakuya. Byakuya counters this attempt and attacks Zommari with his bankai. Zommari barely survives, realizing that he has lost. He begs for his life before he angrily dismisses shinigami as arrogant for believing they have a right to hunt and judge hollows simply because they consider them evil. Byakuya counters by stating he was fighting simply because Zommari "pointed [his] sword at [his] pride" (referring to Rukia), then coldly kills the Espada with a single strike. Zommari dies shouting his praise for Aizen.

Zommari's sonído is the self-proclaimed fastest among the Espada, to the point that 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"). 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"). This is signified by a sun-shaped mark on the affected area. 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. This sphere was strong enough to barely withstand the attack of Byakuya Kuchiki's bankai, at the cost of depriving him the use of a substantial amount of eyes.

Luppi

Luppi temporarily replaces Grimmjow Jeagerjaques as the 6th Espada when Grimmjow is demoted by the loss of his arm. Luppi is a youthful Espada 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, looking like a hair comb or barette. Luppi's attire consists of long sleeves that fall past his hands, hiding them. The location of his hollow hole is hidden from view, but 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 talked.

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 armpit. 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 can also rotate, allowing Luppi to spin the tentacles like helicopter blades.

Grimmjow Jeagerjaques

Grimmjow has light blue hair and eyes, which have blue/green lines below them similar to the eye markings on the Panthera genus of cats as well as the red marks on Ikkaku Madarame's eyes. Grimmjow's attire consists of a white hakama and a black sash; his white jacket is ragged with an upturned collar. The inner lining is black, the sleeves are rolled up, and Grimmjow wears it open, leaving his chest revealed. The remains of his hollow mask consist of the right jawbone, and his hollow hole has moved to his abdomen.

Grimmjow appears to be a laid back and irreverent individual, but this scruffy appearance hides an impulsive, excessively violent personality and a lethally short temper. Grimmjow is blunt, rude, and quite sadistic, revealing an insane grin in battle, much like Kenpachi Zaraki. Grimmjow has little respect for authority and says whatever is on his mind, regardless of whether or not it is appropriate. This attitude leads to conflicts with Kaname Tōsen, who holds Grimmjow in the same low regard as he did Zaraki. He also has conflicts with Ulquiorra Schiffer, the 4th Espada, usually because Ulquiorra interrupts his fights or doesn't act on his own impulses. He has also developed a grudge against Ichigo Kurosaki for wounding him during their first and second fights, and is eager to return the favor. He purposefully kept the large scar on his chest from their first battle as a reminder of this.

Grimmjow is the sixth Espada in Sōsuke Aizen's army of arrancar, meaning he is ranked sixth in terms of strength. Grimmjow was the first character to be revealed as an Espada in the series. A crooked number 6 is tattooed on his back just above and to the right of his hollow hole. Aizen personally marks the Espada, the ten most powerful of his arrancar, with such tattoos as visible marks of their rank and ability. After Kaname Tōsen cuts off and burns his arm, Grimmjow is demoted and quickly replaced by Luppi, much to his annoyance. After Orihime Inoue heals his arm, he kills Luppi to regain his rank, impaling him on his newly restored arm and then vaporizing Luppi's torso with a cero blast.

Grimmjow is a very rude and disrespectful character. He uses none of the honorifics in the Japanese language, except when addressing Aizen, and refers to Orihime as woman in conversation. However, he does appear to have some sort of a code of honor, as he is unwilling to fight an injured Ichigo, bringing Orihime to heal him beforehand so their battle will be a fair one. He also saves Orihime from two female arrancar beating her to repay the debt of restoring his arm, though he immediately wants another favor in return.

Grimmjow's character design draws heavily from Gamma Akutabi, a character in Tite Kubo's earlier manga, Zombie Powder. Gamma has prosthetics in the same area where Grimmjow has his remnant hollow mask. They both share a missing arm, although both on different sides. Grimmjow's released form makes the resemblance even more apparent with similar long spiky hair. The two have also been identically posed for volume covers.

Nnoitra Jiruga

Nnoitra is the fifth Espada, signified by the "5" tattoo on his tongue. He is an extremely tall and lanky arrancar, dwarfing Yasutora Sado by at least a foot (even when leaning over). He has long, black hair and almost always wears a huge smile on his face which reveals his upper teeth. He wears an eyepatch, three bracelets on each wrist, and his arrancar uniform includes an overblown, spoon-like hood, although in the past, it only had a normal collar and his hair was just above shoulder length. The remains of his hollow mask and hole are not visible.

Nnoitra seems rude and lecherous, accented by his snake-like eye and his nickname for Orihime Inoue, "pet-sama". He even asks Ulquiorra how far has he gone with Orihime's "training", and Ulquiorra turns away and calls him disgusting. In flashbacks to his time as the 8th Espada, he is shown to be a firm believer of male chauvinism as he constantly tried to see that women who are deemed stronger than men, such as Nel Tu, set to more "appropriate" inferior ranks. Though he initially appears to be very sadistic, he has no desire to kill those he sees as weaklings because it does not help prove that he is the strongest Espada which he is quite concerned in proving. However, he has no problem fighting strong characters who are injured and exhausted, a trait Ichigo and Grimmjow both berate him for.

Despite the fact that he resents females, he is not totally emotionless when it comes to his subordinates. When his subordinate Tesla engages Kenpachi Zaraki he screams for Tesla to get back before Tesla is killed. However, the prospect of a new battle quickly erases this feeling from his mind.

Ulquiorra Schiffer

Ulquiorra is a male arrancar with a melancholic appearance and has green eyes with slit pupils. He has cyan lines descending from his eyes, making it appear as if he is crying, and is almost always frowning. He wears typical arrancar clothes: a white jacket, black sash, and a white hakama; however, his jacket has longer coat-tails than others. Like most other arrancar, he possesses remnants of his former life as a hollow in his appearance. In his first appearance, Ulquiorra's hollow hole is positioned at the base of his neck, but when Ichigo encounters Ulquiorra in Las Noches, it has been moved onto his chest. The remainder of his hollow mask lies on top of his head, forming a broken helmet, much like that of the example silhouette of a vasto lorde. His Espada number, four, signifying his rank amongst the Espada and level of power, is tattooed on the left side of his chest.

Ulquiorra is a very cold and callous figure, hitting his comrade Yammy in the stomach with his arm on one occasion in an effort to get his attention. He also deems anyone he does not find of particular interest to be "trash" and therefore expendable. As noted by Grimmjow Jeagerjaques, Ulquiorra has a habit of stabbing people in the same location as his hollow hole whenever he's particularly interested in a battle.

Ulquiorra is also analytical; during his and Yammy's first visit to the human world, he makes several remarks on the humans who confront them. He theorizes that Orihime Inoue's healing power is a temporal-spatial ability, which Aizen describes as the rejection of fate, and comments on how Ichigo Kurosaki's bankai can easily get through Yammy's defenses. He also notes Ichigo's power fluctuation, which varies between very weak and stronger than his own.

It would appear that Ulquiorra and Grimmjow, the 6th Espada, are not on good terms. While Ulquiorra allowed Yammy to kill anyone he deemed as "trash", which included Ichigo, Ulquiorra allowed him to live based on his belief that Ichigo's power was so turbulent that eventually he would destroy himself. Grimmjow's conflicting viewpoint was that Ichigo should have been destroyed outright, as he could overcome his weakness and grow even stronger. Despite Grimmjow's argument, Aizen trusted Ulquiorra's judgment. This disagreement led to Grimmjow's unauthorized assault on the real world. Though Ulquiorra is of a higher rank than Grimmjow, Grimmjow is confident that Ulquiorra is afraid to fight him for fear of them destroying one another

Neliel Tu Oderschvank

Neliel Tu Oderschvank, otherwise known as Nel Tu[3] (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. Ichigo assumes her hollow companions are responsible for this. Nel and her companions also 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 revert to her child-form and gave her amnesia. Because of her amnesia, she is initially 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 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 can defeat Nnoitra and is left at his mercy.

Nel's initial ability is the power to swallow enemy attacks and fire them back with powerful force, 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" (with 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?).[7] 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 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.

Hallibel

Currently the only female Espada, Halibel does not seem to talk much. She has dark skin, green eyes, spiky blonde hair, and wears an oddly-cut variation of the arrancar jacket that has long sleeves and bares most of her midriff as well as a good portion of her breasts. In the anime, the lower part of her jacket is slightly extended to cover the latter. She also carries her zanpakutō on her back; the sword itself is notably broad 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. She witnesses the battle between Grimmjow and Ichigo along with three female arrancar subordinates, telling them that it is only natural to fear an Espada in full released form. She also comments that the battle between the two is similar to a fierce battle between two Espada, and she wonders why Ichigo is so powerful for a human.

Stark

Stark is a male arrancar who appears to be very lazy, reminiscent of Shunsui Kyōraku. At the beginning of the meeting in which the Espada are all shown, he is heard complaining of having just woken up prior. He is also seen asleep while all the other Espada were being informed that one of them had been killed, and doesn't seem 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

Arrancar - Espada

I'll now be posting all the Espada members
Enjoy

Ishida Souken

The mentor of his son, Ryūken, and grandson, Uryū, Sōken (born March 22) was a kind old man whom Uryū admired. He preached an unusual variant of Quincy philosophy advocating cooperation with the shinigami, so that the Quincy could operate as a first-response squad, defending humans while they waited for the shinigami to arrive. Sōken was killed by hollows while shinigami forces were purposely held back by Mayuri Kurotsuchi so he could study Sōken's soul for his research. His death is the primary reason Uryū hates the shinigami, although after learning of the conspiracy Uryū's hatred has become less for shinigami in general than for Mayuri in particular.

Ishida Ryuuken

Ryūken is the son of Sōken Ishida and father of Uryū Ishida. The Director of Karakura Hospital, he is also known as the last Quincy, a status contested by his son. He appears to be a cold, work-oriented man, and is estranged from both his father and son. Ryūken detests being a Quincy on the grounds that it does not enable one to make a proper living, and would rather focus on saving the living instead of the dead. He even goes so far as to state that the Quincy would become extinct once Sōken's generation died out, urging Uryū not to follow in his grandfather's footsteps. This makes him relatively unusual among the Bleach characters aware of the spiritual world, who generally give it higher priority than the living world.

Strangely enough, Ryūken also shares a relationship with Isshin Kurosaki not unlike that of their sons. He comments on Isshin's newly regained powers when the latter pays him a visit, and the two exchange banter about their sons and parenting styles. Isshin notices that Ryūken still smokes, despite being in a hospital. Kisuke Urahara also appears to know who and what he is.

Even though Ryūken scorns his status as a Quincy, he dresses in white and his tie has blue crosses all over it, an obvious reference to the Quincy cross. During the anime's Bount arc, there are blue crosses all over the floors and walls of Ryūken's hospital, as well. Sōken suggests to Uryū in flashback that he has hidden motives the boy does not understand yet. Ryūken also helps to restore Uryū's lost Quincy powers on the condition that he never associate himself with shinigami again, even if they were his friends.

To Uryū's surprise, despite his lack of enthusiasm for the Quincy Clan, Ryūken is extremely powerful. His skill level as a Quincy surpasses that of his son, who is considered a genius by the avid Quincy researcher Mayuri Kurotsuchi. In fact, he possesses all the skills and techniques known to the Quincy, having inherited his father's power and his Quincy Cross. When he first appeared as a combatant during the Arrancar arc, Ryūken defeated two incomplete arrancar with three shots: one to rescue Uryū, and one to kill each arrancar. He has also constructed a secret training chamber underneath Karakura Hospital which hides spiritual energy.

Like all Quincy, Ryūken uses a bow as his primary weapon. He also has detailed knowledge about Hollows and their abilities, such as high speed regeneration. Unlike other Quincy seen thus far, however, Ryūken is capable of willfully changing the size of his bow and can fire multiple shots at once. He can also fire arrows one-handed and at rapid-speed. His bow is white, rather than blue. In the anime, it has a more metallic look to it and is solid, compared to most Quincy bows. Ryūken uses a pentacle to create his bow, although the artifact is still called the Quincy Cross (滅却十字, mekkyaku jūji?).

Quincy

Unlike the shinigami, who use a sword as their primary weapon, the Quincy's weapon of choice is a bow. It is constructed from spiritual particles drawn from their surroundings, also unlike the shinigami, who rely on their own innate spiritual energy. (As a reflection of this, Quincies have white spirit threads like normal humans, while shinigami have red spirit threads.) Flashbacks in the anime show earlier Quincy using longbows or crossbows and firing spiritual arrows from them. Quincy bows are summoned using an artifact called a Quincy Cross. The only limit to a Quincy's ability to create and fire arrows is their own stamina and ability to absorb ambient spirit particles. Quincy also have various tools and battle aides that can increase their power or serve as secondary weapons.

Another contrast between the shinigami and the Quincy are their methods. While shinigami purify hollows, thus preserving the balance of souls between the two worlds, the Quincy destroy hollows, former soul and all. In doing so, the balance between the worlds is slowly tipped towards one side, endangering both worlds. This danger led to a Quincy-shinigami war, which ended in victory for the shinigami and the deaths of many Quincy. The Quincy line was closely monitored over the decades, as their numbers continued to dwindle. Later Quincy advanced the idea that since they were already among the living and still more numerous at the time, they could act as "first responders" to hollow attacks, protecting humans until the less-numerous shinigami could send a representative to finish the hollow off. Embittered by the recent war, the shinigami refused to participate, opting instead to allocate their limited resources to reacting to the most dangerous hollows and current hollow attacks. This caused great enmity towards shinigami by Uryū Ishida, Ichigo's classmate and a Quincy, whose grandfather (the last advocate of the Quincy plan) had been slain by a team of hollows before the shinigami could arrive.

The final point of contrast between Quincy and shinigami is their respective choice of uniform. While the shinigami wear traditional, black, flowing hakama, the Quincy wear white, form-fitting, high-collared tunics. These bear some resemblance both to Mandarin Chinese dress and to the cassocks of Catholic priests. This gives the Quincy a distinctly "foreign" or "Western" style compared with the shinigami. One peculiar recurring motif of Quincy is that of a cross, which appears frequently on their uniforms and artifacts. The cross is not the same shape among all Quincy (e.g. Uryū uses a Celtic cross, while Ryūken uses a pentacle). There is also a six-pointed cross that appears on the back of Uryū's Quincy tunic. In the Christian church of the late Roman era and early Dark Ages, the Latin cross had not yet come to dominate church imagery, and all three of these symbols would have been in use. This, combined with their attitude and goals, gives the Quincy much in common with medieval knights, or, more specifically, crusaders. While the differences between Quincy and shinigami in costume and iconography are minor compared to the differences in weaponry and ideology, a few chapter cover images have exploited the black/white contrast to create a yin-yang motif, most notably chapter 189, "Resolve".

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Arrancar Ranks

The arrancar under Aizen's command are arranged into various ranks based on their strength. Not all of the existing arrancar are under Aizen's command, mostly through lack of interest on Aizen's part.

The Espada (十刃（エスパーダ）, Esupāda?, Japanese for "ten blades," Spanish for "sword") are the top-ranked arrancar in Aizen's army. The Espada at the time of the group's introduction consists of nine males and one female.[5] Each Espada member is chosen for their superior combat ability and then assigned a number from 1 to 10 that indicates their rank and relative power level, which is tattooed somewhere on their body (Grimmjow's is on his lower back, for instance). The Espada are given control over the Números and are regarded as the strongest arrancar in existence. Similar to the power gap between captains and lieutenants in the Gotei 13, the strength of the Espada far surpasses that of the average Número. As Aaroniero Arruruerie notes, all of the Espada except him were at least adjuchas-class menos before becoming arrancar.

The Números (数字持ち（ヌメロス）, Numerosu?, Japanese for "number holders," and Spanish for "numbers") are the combat specialists. They are assigned a two digit number at birth from 11 to 99 to indicate their age (Número 11 is the oldest, Número 99 is the youngest). The basic Número uniform consists of a white-collared jacket and robes held with a black sash. However, the uniform is customizable, giving each Número a sense of individuality. The fighting ability of Números is thought to be superior to all other arrancar, except for the Espada (current and former).

The Fracción (従属官（フラシオン）, Furashion?, Japanese for "subordinate officers," Spanish for "fraction") are a subsection of the Números that directly serve a specific Espada. The number of Fracción for any given Espada varies: Stark and Nnoitra Jiruga would seem to have just one, while Szayel Aporro Granz has at least a dozen.

The Privaron Espada (十刃落ち（プリバロン・エスパーダ）, Puribaron Esupāda?, Japanese for "ten fallen blades," Spanish for "deprived") are former Espada who have officially lost their rank and are assigned a three-digit number. Being former Espada, they are far stronger than the normal Números. They reside in Tres Cifras, which translates literally from Spanish as "three digits". As mentioned by Dordonii, these former "naturally created" Espada were rendered obsolete after Aizen began artificially creating arrancar to meet his own standards.[6]

The Exequias (葬討部隊（エクセキアス）, Ekusekiasu?, Japanese for "funerary attacking force," Spanish for "funeral") are arrancar that are part of the execution division, apparently charged with termination of intruders and rebels. They are the equivalent of the Soul Society's Onmitsukidō

Arrancar

An arrancar is a hollow that has removed its mask and gained shinigami powers. The name arrancar is a Spanish verb meaning "to remove" or "to rip off," a reference to an arrancar's removal of its hollow mask. In the manga, arrancar is written using a kanji spelling meaning torn mask (破面, yamen?), but is pronounced as the Spanish arrancar (アランカル, arankaru?).

Few hollows have the potential to remove their masks normally, and even if they manage it the change is not significant. Sōsuke Aizen is able to artificially create arrancar with the Orb of Distortion, which also unlocks much more of their potential than a natural transformation would. The process of turning a hollow into an arrancar is called shinigamification (死神化, shinigami-ka?).[4]

Arrancar and ordinary hollows differ in two ways: the location of their holes and the near-total disappearance of their masks. When hollows become arrancar, the chances of them retaining a humanoid form increase with their intelligence; only vasto lorde-class arrancar will definitely assume a humanoid form. If powerful enough, an arrancar can seal his or her excess power into the form of a zanpakutō. Unlike with shinigami, this zanpakutō is simply the hollow's true form sealed into a sword. Therefore, an arrancar's release of their zanpakutō is merely a temporary restoration of their former selves. An arrancar release is called resurrección (帰刃（レスレクシオン）, resurekushion?, Japanese for "returning blade," Spanish for "resurrection"). Arrancar do not have a known second release.

Those arrancar under Aizen's command also have a standard theme for their clothing. Their uniforms consist of a white jacket, black sash, white hakama, and black socks with white sandals; in essence, the uniforms are basically inverted shinigami uniforms.

Menos Grande

Though most hollows are simply transformed human souls, a sub-group of hollows known as menos (メノス, menosu?) Spanish for "minus" or "less", exist. Menos are conglomerations of hundreds of normal hollows, resulting in a single composite entity of far greater strength than any normal hollow. Menos-class hollows are considered so dangerous that Soul Society sends only highly trained shinigami teams to handle them. These incursions seem to be rare, however, as menos rarely leave Hueco Mundo unless attracted by large sources of spiritual power or encouraged to by other forces.

Menos are created when the void within an ordinary hollow's heart becomes so substantial that human souls are incapable of sustaining it, at which point it begins devouring fellow hollows. These cannibal hollows are attracted to one another, and a mass inter-devouring follows, resulting in a gillian. Following this transformation, the gillian can evolve twice more, first into an adjuchas and finally into a vasto lorde, provided certain conditions are met. Menos evolution is not only contingent upon the menos eating other hollows, but also upon the menos' ability to avoid being eaten. If another hollow succeeds in devouring a part of their body, evolution becomes impossible.

Gillian (ギリアン, girian?, Spanish for "countless creatures") are the weakest class of menos and the first stage of menos evolution. They are giant in comparison to other hollows, dwarfing even the largest standard hollows by at least the size of a two-story building, but lack agility and intelligence. While a gillian-class menos is quite powerful, they are still much weaker than a shinigami lieutenant. According to Tōshirō Hitsugaya, they are comparable to "foot-soldiers", reflected in their uniform appearance. In Soul Society, gillians are known as menos grande and are shown in textbooks discussing menos. Menos grande literally means "big minus" in Spanish ("less big" is also a possible translation) or "less". Similarly, the kanji for menos grande is 大虚, meaning big emptiness.

Though gillians usually have no personality to speak of, one of the many hollows that comprise it may retain control over the new entity, reflected in the unique mask it wears in comparison to a normal gillian. Only these gillian variants have the potential to evolve into adjuchas-class menos. The evolution is facilitated by the continued cannibalization of fellow hollows, even other gillians.

Adjuchas (アジューカス, ajūkasu?, Spanish for "stone demon") are the medium class of menos in terms of power, and the second stage in the menos evolution. Adjuchas can vary radically in appearance, from bulky humanoids to the jaguar-like form of Grimmjow Jeagerjaques. Unlike the gillians, they are roughly human-sized. They are also much smarter than the gillians and have the power to match. It is likely they could fight evenly with at least a shinigami lieutenant. They watch over the many gillian-class menos, and in the anime are also capable of controlling them, or at the least those put in charge by Aizen can.

Adjuchas-class menos are much smaller in population compared to the gillian class, due to the rarity of any one hollow being capable of overwhelming the many other hollows that comprise the body of a gillian. Furthermore, the adjuchas must continue to devour hollows, or its mind will be absorbed by the hollows comprising its form and it will revert back into a gillian. The subsequent lack of an individual will also preclude the reverted gillian from becoming an adjuchas again.

Vasto lorde (ヴァストローデ, vasuto rōde?, Spanish for "enormous king") are the most powerful class of menos, and the final stage in the menos evolutionary line. They appear almost completely humanoid, and each one is stronger than an average shinigami captain; Tōshirō claims that ten of them under Sōsuke Aizen's control would be enough to defeat all of Soul Society. It seems that Aizen has important plans with them, but the details haven't been revealed.

Vasto lorde are the least common form of menos, but the exact population is unknown. They are believed to reside within the very depths of Hueco Mundo. Apart from the need to cannibalize even more hollows, any special requirements for the creation of a vasto lorde are unknown

Hollow

Hollows are former pluses (deceased human souls) that lose their hearts to despair or remain in the real world for too long. In the anime, nonhuman spirits (specifically, dogs) can also transform into hollows. Any spirit that is not guided to Soul Society by a shinigami may eventually descend into a hollow. The process by which a soul becomes a hollow usually takes months (if not longer), reflected by the length of the soul's Chain of Destiny (因果の鎖, inga no kusari?, Chain of Fate in the English dub), which resides in the center of their chest The Chain of Destiny slowly corrodes over time, reflecting the degradation of the soul's ties to the living world. The process can be accelerated under certain conditions, such as being attacked by another hollow or through the use of certain spiritual powers. When the chain completely decays, the soul is warped into a unique and monstrous form with a vaguely skeletal mask and a large hole where their chain was once connected.

In Bleach, the majority of ghosts peacefully move on to Soul Society after their deaths. Some, however, stay in the living world to fulfill certain goals, such as looking after a loved one, protecting a particular location, or pursuing a grudge from beyond the grave. However, with only limited abilities to interact with the living, and by definition tied to their goals, many ghosts find they are unable to cope when their loved ones move on or old enemies forget them. At this point, some will become dangerously obsessed with fulfilling those goals, even if the means to fulfill them renders the soul empty: for example, killing anyone who comes near a loved one, in order to keep them from hurting that person. In doing so, the ghost warps into a hollow and, ironically, often makes the focus of their obsession into their first victim, such as Orihime's brother, Sora, does.

Once a soul becomes a hollow, it is driven to devour other souls, living or dead, to fill the void caused by its descent. While their former obsession often becomes their first target, most hollows will eventually become mindless creatures concerned only with finding the most potent souls to devour. Stronger and more evil hollows are often able to retain some of their intelligence in hollow form, making them more dangerous than the average hollow. While most hollows are evil, or at the very least mindless, at least a few are not, as is the case with Nel Tu and her hollow companions.

The most distinctive feature of a hollow, their mask, is formed to protect the naked instinct that is left in a being after the loss of its heart, and in some ways is the tangible form of the hollow's madness. The masks of different hollows can differ greatly in shape and form, but they are always white and skull-like. The masks also obscure the original identity of the hollows. The mask can be shattered, temporarily allowing the hollow to regain its original identity, but it will regenerate after a short period once the hollow takes over again.

Hollows have widely varying physical characteristics and powers, and few hollows ever appear the same (the few that do are often clones). In terms of appearance, hollows can range from furry (like mammals) or lizard-like in appearance to outright demonic. A hollow's abilities are often determined by their power. Weaker (and by definition less intelligent) hollows usually only attack in a melee style, whereas stronger hollows have a wide array of abilities with which to kill their quarry. Hollows also vary in size, though it tends to be fairly consistent amongst the various classifications of hollows. In Hueco Mundo, some hollows are no larger than common pets. Most common hollows are about twice the size of an adult human, though it can vary to a degree. Huge hollows, aptly named for their size, are as large as two-story buildings. Finally, gillian-class menos are even larger than the huge hollows, standing as tall as a common skyscraper.

Hollows are usually killed by splitting their mask and head in two, but most fatal wounds will effectively dispatch them. When this is done by a shinigami's zanpakutō, the hollow is not truly killed; its spirit is purified of the sins it committed as a hollow. This allows the spirit within to enter Soul Society as a plus. In cases where a hollow committed great sins as a mortal, its purification will summon the gates of hell, which drag the soul to its punishment. When a hollow is killed by a Quincy, however, it is destroyed, soul and all, which has potentially disastrous effects on the spiritual balance of the worlds. The series doesn't address the effects of other spiritual powers on hollows, such as those of Orihime Inoue or Yasutora Sado, but such occurrences are rare.

Mashiro

Mashiro is a somewhat ditzy girl who wears a white bodysuit and goggles in her green hair. Her overall style of dress is reminiscent of the costumes worn by the tokusatsu superheroes of late 1950s Japanese television, perhaps meant as a contrast between her age and childish appearance. She was able to maintain her hollow mask for fifteen hours on her first attempt to control her hollow, which means she did not need to train like the other vizard. She often calls Ichigo Berry-tan, meaning "strawberry", a play on Ichigo's name. When first meeting Orihime Inoue, Mashiro takes an instant disliking to her saying she is annoying and doesn't understand why Hachigen helps her.

Rose

Rose is an effeminate man with long, wavy, blond hair and a frilly shirt. He seems to be interested in music, as he spoke to Love about an artist's new single and has been seen playing or tuning a guitar on several occasions. Rose seems to be delighted that a person with powers similar to a vizard exists. He also appears to be one of the calmer and perhaps wiser ones amongst the group due to his comments about Orihime in regards to Hachi, though he becomes irritated whenever Love spoils a manga's story for him. His zanpakutō's hilt is in the shape of a diamond with curved edges. His zanpakutō's sheath is encrusted with diamonds.

Love

Love is a tall man sporting sunglasses, a spiked afro, and a jogging suit. He seems to be very laid back, usually reading Shōnen Jump or some of Lisa's erotic manga in his spare time. He and Rose seem to be close friends. His zanpakutō's hilt is in the shape of a heart, and he carries its sheath on a touju hanging from his shoulder like a messenger bag.

Kensei Muguruma

Kensei appears to be a teenager with short, light-gray hair and several piercings. He wears a basketball jersey and cargo pants with combat boots. In comparison with his fellow vizard, Kensei is a much more serious character. His zanpakutō, when first seen in the manga, is shown to have a rectangular-shaped hilt in a sort of 'H' shape. His shikai shrinks it down to about the size of a survival/combat knife. While in this form, Kensei demonstrates the ability to charge and fire spiritual energy from the knife.

Lisa Yadōmaru

Lisa is a girl with glasses and long, braided, dark hair. She dresses in a sailor fuku, as opposed to the more Western-style uniforms of Karakura High School students. She seems easily irritated and apparently likes to read erotic manga (specifically, Josei manga). She appears to be ambidextrous, initially wielding her zanpakutō with her left hand (like Ikkaku Madarame) and then switching to her right during her fight with Ichigo

Hachigen Ushōda

The physically largest vizard, Hachigen wears a tuxedo and has a black crossbone design in his pink hair. He is usually referred to as Hachi (ハッチ, sometimes translated as 'Hutch'), but his actual name is Hachigen. He seems to be a binding spells expert, since he is always the one in charge of making barriers and such for the vizard's use. He seems to also have powers similar to Orihime Inoue's, and he was the one who healed Tsubaki's injuries when Orihime's own powers were insufficient to do so. Despite his unusual size, Hachi is actually very kind and gentle and seems to enjoy Orihime's company.

Hiyori Sarugaki

Hiyori is a tiny, blonde-haired girl with a fierce temper and violent tendencies. Her hair is worn in pigtails and she wears a red jogging outfit (which is decorated with the first kanji of her name). She also has a tiny fang on the left side of her mouth. Hiyori often abuses Shinji, usually by slapping him with one of her sandals. Her hollow mask is rhinoceros-like in appearance, sporting a prominent horn centered near the forehead. She took the longest to defeat her inner hollow out of all the current vizard (excluding Ichigo, who took about the same amount of time), at 69 minutes and 2 seconds. Hiyori's zanpakutō is standard in appearance with her tsuba decorated in small hearts, a contrast to her not-so-girlish personality. She normally wears her sword from her right shoulder, like Ichigo. She was the vizard who attempted to awaken Ichigo's uncontrolled inner hollow, and then was nearly choked to death by it.

Shinji Hirako

Shinji initially appears as a vizard recruiter, though he later is shown having a more solid, yet unofficial, leadership position. An early design of Shinji can be seen in the first chapter's cover art, making it clear he was planned well before his introduction. Shinji's character is somewhat comical, adding a bit of levity to situations that are otherwise serious. He seems to like annoying his associate, Hiyori Sarugaki, which usually earns him a slap from one of her sandals. He also appears to have a history of referring to cute girls he meets as his 'first love', complete with a deadpan look on his face despite the obvious lie (he apparently never did this with Hiyori, further annoying her). One of his previous acclaimed crushes was Lisa Yadōmaru, a fellow vizard, and his current is Orihime Inoue. Shinji also has an unusual tongue ring. During several points in the anime, Shinji's outfit is depicted to look like Lupin the III, likely as a homage on the part of the animators.

Shinji takes up the guise of a new student and Ichigo Kurosaki's school in an attempt to make him join the vizard, though Ichigo refuses. Ichigo, after losing to Grimmjow Jeagerjaques, does eventually go to the vizard headquarters to learn to control his inner hollow, however, though refuses to join. Shinji, angered, has a fight with Ichigo, though Hiyori interrupts and takes over Ichigo's training. During a fight with Hiyori's hollow, Ichigo transforms into his own hollow form, and Shinji, retaking control, leads the vizard in subduing Ichigo's hollow form. Shinji also sends Ichigo to his inner world, where he confronts his hollow form and fully transforms into his hollow form, though Shinji and the other vizard take turns battling it until Ichigo successfully becomes a shinigami again. Shinji also reappears and saves Ichigo and Rukia Kuchiki from Grimmjow by using his hollow mask.

While Shinji's combat time is limited, he is implied to be a powerful combatant, as are most of the vizard. At one point, when Shinji begins to fight with Ichigo, the other vizard mention that Ichigo is foolish to battle Shinji and that Shinji is not taking the battle seriously. Shinji's hollow mask resembles a pharaoh's mask. Shinji is quite skilled with his hollow powers, such as cero blasts. The video games also depict him being able to split the cero blasts into a pryamid shaped attack. Not much has been revealed about Shinji's zanpakutō, as he rarely uses or even visibly wears it. The hilt and sheath are red. None of his release states have been shown, and the times that he does seriously fight he seems to rely more on his hollow mask.

Vizard

The vizard are the antithesis to the arrancar; they are shinigami who have obtained hollow powers and whose shinigami powers remain dominant (although they do have to undergo a process and maintain their dominance over their hollow), while the arrancar are hollows that have obtained shinigami powers and whose hollow powers remain dominant. Having begun as shinigami, the vizard appear entirely human. Unlike the arrancar, they do not have holes or partial masks (common traits of transformed hollows) anywhere on their body, though they can produce masks on demand, and they carry zanpakutō like normal shinigami. When using their hollow powers, a vizard's appearance does not change except for the mask on their face and the color of their eyes, with the whites of their eyes turning black and the irises gold. This process of donning one's hollow mask is referred to as "Hollowification" (虚化, horō-ka?).

The existence of shinigami/hollow hybrids was first hinted fairly early in the manga. When Ichigo Kurosaki was training with Kisuke Urahara, Urahara severed Ichigo's Chain of Fate in order to force him to regain his lost shinigami power. Ichigo was able to recover his shinigami powers when his body began the process of turning into a hollow. Ichigo's transformation happened out of sequence, his mask forming first instead of his body breaking apart and reforming, a sign of his resistance. When he emerged as a shinigami, he was also wearing a hollow's mask, which he broke off. After he arrived in Soul Society, the hollow mask reappeared on him on several occasions, even though he repeatedly discarded it. In the fight against Byakuya Kuchiki, Ichigo's hollow form reformed and his mask started to reform around his face. However, before he completely transformed, Ichigo was able to regain control and tear off the mask once again. Whether this process is uniform for all vizard or merely unique to Ichigo is unclear, though the later symptoms are hinted at being common.

Ichigo later discovers that there are other shinigami who have acquired hollow powers besides himself. Shinji Hirako, a boy carrying a zanpakutō and a hollow mask, reveals that these renegade shinigami call themselves the vizard. Shinji tries to convince Ichigo to join their group, saying that only he can teach Ichigo how to control his "hollow within" and keep it from taking over and destroying everything Ichigo cares about. Ichigo initially refuses Shinji's offer, but relents after realizing he can't control his inner hollow on his own. Ichigo insists that he's merely using them to learn how to control his inner hollow.

It is unclear what the motives of the vizard are. It is known, however, that vizard are considered criminals by Soul Society for committing the ultimate taboo of acquiring hollow powers. Hollows would also never accept a vizard, due to their former status as shinigami. It is because of this that it can be presumed that the only side the vizard are on is their own. Regardless, they seem to be valuable allies-to-be in the battle against Sōsuke Aizen's army of arrancar, as Kisuke Urahara mentioned.

Unlike in Soul Society, where the rank is given accordingly to shinigami within a division, or in Hueco Mundo, where a number is assigned to each arrancar reflecting their strength, the vizard have not yet revealed a structure based on hierarchy. However, Shinji Hirako does appear to be in some sort of leadership role.

Masaki Kurosaki

Masaki, born on June 9 and died on June 17, is the mother of Ichigo, Yuzu, and Karin. She died while Ichigo was still a child, and her death deeply affected her family. Isshin keeps a large poster of her on the wall and occasionally talks to it for comic relief. Though Ichigo initially did not know how she died, he later discovers that the hollow Grand Fisher was actually responsible for her death. Grand Fisher had intended to kill Ichigo, but killed Masaki instead when she protected him. Both Isshin and Ichigo blame themselves for her death. Because of her death, her three children changed completely in personality: Ichigo changed from a smiling mama's boy into his scowling, short-tempered self; Yuzu turned from a crybaby to a reliable housekeeper; and Karin turned from a crybaby into a robust tomboy.

Yuzu Kurosaki

Yuzu is Karin's fraternal twin (both were born on May 6 of the same year) and more soft-spoken in comparison to her authoritative sibling. She is also the more empathetic of the two girls. She takes care of the housework, such as cooking meals and tidying up the living space, on a daily basis. She also regularly cuts Ichigo's hair.[1] She likes to play with Kon, calling him "Bostov", unaware of the fact that he's alive, which most often involves her dressing him in feminine clothes and gluing on unwanted accessories, much to his chagrin. Unlike her siblings, Yuzu is only able to see faint outlines of spirits. Both girls help out in the family's clinic. She is Karakura Yellow in Don Kanonji's Karakura Superheroes. She tends to get very upset whenever Ichigo disappears for anything longer than a day due to her brother complex for Ichigo. In episode 33 of the anime series, Yuzu finally sees a spirit clearly which turns out to be a cat that died and had formed an attachment to her thus becoming an obsessed spirit. For the short time they are together the cat protects Yuzu from hollows by creating a "force field" and later turning into a large burning lion which then defeats the hollows and then returns to its original form. A little while after the attack the cat disapears, its obsession being fullfilled. Yuzu is also the name of a citron

Karin Kurosaki

Karin is the cynical and sarcastic daughter of Isshin. Compared to her soft-spoken twin, Karin is the more authoritative of the two. She is an excellent soccer player with a kick powerful enough to hurt weak hollows. Karin's tough exterior results from her mother's death; because she could not be useful around the house like Yuzu, she resolved never to cry so that she would not burden her family with her personal troubles.

Karin is a sensible person and will not hesitate to kick her father in the head when she thinks he's acting unreasonable. She initially claims that she believes spirits do not exist, yet can see them just as well as Ichigo can. She can also sense them from great distances, which usually manifests as a headache. In spite of her attitude about spirits, Karin is willing to use her abilities to earn a little cash, such as her position as Karakura Red of Don Kanonji's Karakura superheroes. Karin actually knows that Ichigo is a shinigami and wants to know why he's suffering out of concern. In the anime she also met Hitsugaya when he helped her at a soccer match and revealed himself as a shinigami. Karin is a homonym for Japanese quince, a name of a fruit, which matches Ichigo's name being a homonym for strawberry.

Asano Keigo

Keigo is a student at the Karakura High School, in the same classroom as Ichigo Kurosaki. He is an extremely hyperactive character and often use overly-dramatic movements and words to act out his feelings. In other respects, he is the stereotypical Japanese teenager. The Asano family consists of Keigo's mother, father, his sister Mizuho, and Keigo himself.

Keigo is used mainly for comical effect. He is good friends with fellow student Mizuiro Kōjima. Keigo appears to be a shallow character at first glance, with a passion for slacking off. Indeed, he takes great pride in not making it to the honors roster (higher than the 50th ranking) and labels those who do so "traitors" (including Ichigo and Chad). However, Mizuiro states that Keigo is much smarter than his bad grades show. In a recent omake, he imagined Ikkaku to be a spy with a license to kill or a shogun's bodyguard who cuts down evil-doers. Mizuiro suggested that Ikkaku would be his older brother, as his sister Mizuho likes Ikkaku, much to Keigo's chagrin.

Keigo, like many of Ichigo's friends, is spiritually aware as a result of constant contact with Ichigo. While he can see spirits and other such supernatural phenomena, he has not manifested any unique abilities, much like Tatsuki. He only becomes aware of the fact after seeing Ikkaku Madarame in battle, having dismissed his previous sightings as shootings for a TV show.

Mizuiro Kojima

Though he has a boyish face and gentle manner of speaking, Mizuiro has a marked fondness for older women. Ichigo once warned Rukia about his infatuation with older women, which confused Mizuiro as he doesn't know that Rukia is actually very old. He is apparently very successful with these women and often excuses himself from Asano's activities because of a date with one or more women, the latter being more likely. In an extra chapter in the twelfth volume of Bleach, it is revealed that Mizuiro had very few friends until junior high. He is very distant towards his mother, who is seldom home. Despite not being shown as such, he's recently been revealed to have been fully endowed with spiritual awareness like Tatsuki and Keigo, and watched Ichigo, Chad, and Uryū go into Hueco Mundo

Tatsuki Arisawa

Tatsuki is a student at the Karakura High School, in the same classroom as Ichigo Kurosaki, her childhood friend and karate partner. When they were children, Tatsuki regularly saved Ichigo when he was getting beaten up, as well as cheering him up when he was upset. A tomboyish karate practitioner with dreams of becoming a vale tudo champion, and already ranking Japan's second strongest in her age group, Tatsuki seems to possess no stereotypically feminine qualities as is typical of female manga characters. Her only obvious feminine trait is how she writes her name: using hiragana (たつき), though this is because she thinks it looks feminine while she considers the kanji of her name un-cute.

Tatsuki is best friends with Orihime Inoue and is constantly protecting her from men looking for a date, to say nothing of Chizuru Honshō, the school lesbian, who often approaches and grabs Orihime's breasts. Tatsuki has done this since middle school, when she beat up some bullies that were trying to cut Orihime's hair, and had already done so once before her brother died. After that, Tatsuki promised to protect her from anyone who dared to make her cry, and she and Orihime became best friends.

In the earlier parts of the series, Tatsuki mainly hangs out with Orihime, and also protects her from the hollow Numb Chandelier, but gets injured. When Orihime's powers awaken, Tatsuki in turn gets protected by Orihime. Soon after that, Tatsuki begins to see hollows clearly, but never mentions it to Orihime. Tatsuki made Orihime promise that she will come back alive before Orihime goes to Soul Society. Later on, during the first invasion of the Arrancar, Tatsuki nearly dies at the hand of Yammy, who uses his special technique called Gonzui to suck up human souls. A timely rescue by Orihime and Chad saves her. Tatsuki also witnesses the battles between Ichigo, Hitsugaya's team and the arrancar. When Orihime gets taken away to Hueco Mundo, Tatsuki is noticeably upset at her sudden disappearance, punching Ichigo's head through a window and shouting at him for not telling her what he knows. She later is accompanied by Keigo and Mizuiro to Urahara's Shop and sees Ichigo leaving for Hueco Mundo.

Like many of Ichigo's friends, Tatsuki is spiritually aware to the point that she can clearly see ghosts, hollows, shinigami, and other such supernatural phenomena. She is also strong enough to survive spiritual attacks most humans are incapable of dealing with, though this may be due to her karate training. Despite acquiring the ability to see and sense spiritual entities around the same time as Orihime, she has not exhibited any unique spiritual abilities as of yet. She also has the ability to sense Orihime, no matter how far away she might be, but remarks that when Orihime disappeared during the Arrancar arc that she couldn't sense her anymore.

Tessai Tsukabishi

Tessai is a large, muscular man who always wears an apron. It is unclear what work he does for the shop, but he is Urahara's personal assistant in both business-related and other matters. Tessai is extremely skilled in kidō, shown by his use of a level 99 binding spell (and the fact that he skipped the incantation of the lvl. 99 spell), possibly the most difficult of them. He is also shown to have great physical strength, made apparent by his ability to smash a hollow's head to pieces with a single, open-palmed thrust. He is also fiercely proud of the shop; this is shown when Orihime Inoue praises the shop basement, finding it really cool, and Tessai bursts into tears when thanking her. When Soifon refers to the shop as "pokey," his instant reaction is irritation and he has to be subdued by Urahara. He is known to buy TV displayed medicines, much to Urahara's chagrin. He is also among the few who find Orihime's food tasty, the other being Rangiku Matsumoto. Tessai is over 200 years old, as he tells Rukia that the word "Quincy" "brings back memories" from that long ago.

Jinta Hanakari

Jinta is a small, red-haired boy who is supposed to do manual labor for the shop, such as cleaning, but usually slacks off and forces Ururu to do all the work. He desires to be a baseball star and is Karakura Red (fighting for the position with Karin Kurosaki) in the team of Karakura Superheroes led by Don Kanonji. He seems to be in love with Yuzu Kurosaki, calling her "The Goddess." This is shown in the omake chapters after the anime episodes when he gives her discounts at the shop and treating a good-luck charm she gave him as an extremely important possession (it was really Kon's plushie body tied to a string, which caused a fight between the two over it during a soccer game). Jinta, like the other shop members, appears to be old and wise when he isn't fooling around. While he likes to constantly bully Ururu, he does care for her, shown when he recovered her body after she was wounded by the arrancar Yylfordt Granz. Also like Ururu, he displays powerful fighting abilities comparable to those of shinigami, though not to the same extreme degree that she does. His primary weapon is an oversized iron rod, similar to a Tetsubo.

Ururu Tsumugiya

Ururu is a meek, black-haired girl who mostly does manual labor for the shop, as well as assisting Urahara in training Ichigo. She is Karakura Pink in Don Kanonji's superhero team and uses a multi-barreled shoulder cannon as her weapon. Her shoulder cannon can also turn into a rocket launcher to deal with powerful opponents. She seems to respond robotically when injured or when hollows initially appear. Jinta also mentions that she reacts to strange spiritual presences, such as those of arrancar. During such times, Ururu seems to take on a rather simplistic view of right and wrong. She considers those that cause harm (relative to her) as enemies, and believes that enemies must be eliminated.

Ururu's meek attitude is somewhat at odds with her fighting ability, which is undefined, but quite high (Urahara vaguely mentions that her fighting ability is at an "anti-shinigami" level). Her leg-strength in particular is far greater than it should be, even when compared to Kon while he's in Ichigo's body. Her combat skills are shown when she gives the arrancar Yylfordt Granz a devastating kick to the head while he is fighting with Renji Abarai, overpowering him to the point that he is forced to release his zanpakutō. In the anime, she also delivers a powerful kick to Sawatari's giant whale doll, Baura.

Ririn

Ririn, while in her gigai form, is a small girl with short blonde hair wearing a pink, fur-trimmed coat, a purple bird-shaped cape, and red boots. When not in her gigai', she inhabits an anthropomorphic bird plushie. Her special ability is the creation of illusions. She acts as the leader of the trio, and has a fondness for games. She is partnered with Ichigo Kurosaki. At first she disliked Ichigo due to their conflicting personalities, but now she has grown to be very fond of him, even becoming at times extremely jealous of Rukia Kuchiki's close relationship with Ichigo. She can be petty and arrogant at times, but she shows real concern for her friends. She has stepped into harm's way more than a few times to help save Ichigo, Rukia, Kon, and others. She often looks down on Kon as inferior, which causes frequent arguments between the two.

Cloud

Also known as Claude or Cloud, Kuroud is a bespectacled man with a mustache and two-tone hair color (black to the right, yellow to the left). He wears a gray top hat, multi-colored suit and tie, as well as dark brown boots, giving him an appearance similar to a circus manager. His plushie body is a rabbit-esque purse. He is partnered with Orihime Inoue. He has the ability to shapeshift, and can replicate the abilities of others when he does so (although he can't replicate the power levels of said abilities). He is somewhat cowardly and is terrified of snakes. His longwindedness and actions often provide comic relief. He is also somewhat perverted, like Kon, or at the very least is thankful for the opportunity to be held by attractive women (being a purse helps in this regard). Rukia seems to like him because he resembles Chappy the Rabbit in his stuffed animal form.

Nova

More commonly known as Nova, Noba is a young man in a fur coat with a shield on his back and a zippered mask, with a slim build, red hair, and aqua eyes. In his gigai, he appears somewhat like a ninja. He inhabits an anthropomorphic turtle plushie in grey dress trousers and a white ruffled shirt with a red bow tie when out of his gigai. He's very quiet, rarely speaking more than a few words and also rather shy, zipping up his hood when he wishes to show emotion while in his gigai, or pulling his head into his shirt while in his stuffed animal form. One example of this is when Rukia Kuchiki picks Noba up in his stuffed animal form and holds him close to her face, he is seen to blush at the close contact and lowers his head into his shirt. He is partnered with Yasutora Sado, who is equally quiet. Noba has the power to teleport himself and others to most any location he's been to. He can also use his spiritual sense to teleport to the location of those with spiritual powers. Additionally, he can create wormholes to redirect ranged attacks, both physical and energy based, back at the enemy. He can also absorb fire. When he is in his plushie, his teleportation range is limited to about two meters. Despite being unusually shy, he is somewhat analytical and adept at strategic combat.

Don Kannoji

Don Kanonji is a popular spirit medium who has a television show called Ghost Bust (Viz: "Spontaneous Trips to Spiritual Hot Spots", or just "Spontaneous Trips" for short; English TV: "Spirit Hunter") that, at the time of his introduction, is watched by 25% of Japan's population. The method in which Don Kanonji used to rid ghosts, thinking he was sending spirits to heaven, actually quickly caused those spirits to become hollows (he would take his cane and forcibly rip open the holes in spirits that hadn't fully changed into hollows yet). He found this out when he and Ichigo Kurosaki fought a hollow that appeared because of Don Kanonji during a television taping at Karakura Town. He later formed the Karakura Superheroes, which consists of the Kurosaki sisters and the children at the Urahara Shop, to get the show's declining ratings up. His special attack is "Golden Kanonball," a tiny ball of golden light that moves slowly and explodes with surprising power. He speaks in a mixture of Japanese and English. His trademark pose is to cross both arms over his chest and laugh boisterously and deeply. His catch phrase is "Smells like bad spirits!" This is most likely a tribute to "Smells Like Teen Spirit," a song by the band Nirvana. He seems to have some knowledge on hollows and shinigami, albeit slight due to his limited interaction with them.

Shiba Kukaku

Kūkaku is an ill-tempered fireworks expert who is particularly known for her ridiculously-themed houses and large breasts. During the Bount arc of the anime, she states that she is the same age as Kisuke Urahara. She wears a prosthetic right arm in the anime, which is at odds with her scenes in the manga, where she is illustrated with just a stump. She assists Ichigo and company by launching them via her special Kakaku Cannon so they can enter Seireitei. Kūkaku is part of the former noble clan Shiba. Prior to the storyline, a hollow fused with her older brother Kaien, which forced Rukia Kuchiki to kill him. She does not seem to be a shinigami, but she knows high level kidō, and she carries a short-bladed sword on her back.

Ganju Shiba

An outrageous figure, Ganju wears a vest, scarf, bandana, and pair of goggles. He is often found with his gang, who all ride large boars. Ganju's boar is named Bonnie (affectionately referred to as Bonnie-chan). The omake sketch after episode 114 implies that Bonnie was accidentally cooked into a stew by Retsu Unohana during a friendly cookout including her, Ganju, and a few others from the 4th Division. Similar sketches have occurred in the series, but Bonnie is always shown alive and well by the next episode. Ganju possesses a deep hatred for shinigami, a hot temper, and a strong ego. Though he always acts tough, he has shown that he also has a softer side, easily being cowed by his older sister Kūkaku, and later develops an understanding to Ichigo Kurosaki with a relationship similar to Ichigo and Renji Abarai's. The fact that he is not particularly attractive is a running joke in the series, and rather than deny this fact he tends to talk around the subject, especially when Yumichika Ayasegawa makes note of it.

Because of his brother's, Kaien Shiba, death at the hands of Rukia Kuchiki when he was still young, Ganju holds a grudge against all shinigami. This grudge is slow to dissipate even after he learns the truth of the incident. It is implied that after Kaien and his wife Miyako's death, the Shiba clan lost its status as one of the Noble Clans (which include the Kuchiki and Shihouin clans). There now remain only four Noble Clans, as the Shiba had been the fifth. Upon Ganju's introduction, he and Kūkaku are the only remaining members of the clan.

Though Ganju is not a member of the shinigami forces, he is of the Shiba clan and can fight on a level above that of an average shinigami, but lower than that of the higher ranking seated officers. He has a zanpakutō which resembles a meat cleaver or a Chinese Dadao, though he never demonstrates the ability to use its initial release. Ganju's sword skills are limited, so he relies primarily on his arsenal of fireworks, his agility, and his earth magic. Ganju's earth magic doesn't seem to operate on the same principal as standard shinigami kidō. The one technique he uses, Stone Wave (石波, seppa?), doesn't need an incantation to work and is unnumbered. The spell can reduce whatever it is aimed at to sand or quicksand. He can even perform it with his feet. This ability proved to be useful to make holes through the walls when running away from Yumichika

Hisana Kuchiki

Hisana was Byakuya's wife who died of a disease fifty years before the main storyline. As she was a commoner, Byakuya was strongly admonished against marrying her, but did so out of love, thus disobeying the rules of the Kuchiki noble house. She was the older sister of Rukia Kuchiki in their past lives, and both were sent to Inuzuri (a poor district of Rukongai) where Hisana abandoned her sister, unable to support both herself and the infant Rukia. Hisana later greatly regretted this decision, even in her final moments, and searched for her every day during her marriage to Byakuya. In accordance with Hisana's dying wish, Byakuya adopted Rukia as his sister, disobeying the rules a second time. She and Rukia are very similar in appearance.

Sora Inoue

Sora was Orihime Inoue's older brother. He raised her for most of her life, and died in the Kurosaki Clinic from wounds suffered in a car accident three years before the series began. He enters the story quickly as a hollow, Acidwire. In the anime, he is seen being dragged to Hueco Mundo to be turned into a hollow at the behest of Grand Fisher. This is not shown or even suggested in the manga; one can assume that his feelings of being forgotten by Orihime were what prompted his transformation in this case. In the official English-language manga translation, he was given the name Kakei as his real name had not been mentioned at that point,[9] but he is still called Sora in the character popularity polls. Curiously, before being purified by Ichigo, Sora was able to remove his hollow mask and recover his original personality. While such an act has been described as the process which creates an arrancar, Sora remains in hollow form, albeit with a human head. Presumably, this is because of Sora resisting his hollow self, rather than the hollow itself removing the mask.