Arrancar

An Arrancar (Spanish for "*To Tear Off*", Japanese for "*Ripped Mask*") is a Hollow that has removed its mask and has gained Soul Reaper-like powers.

## Overview

Arrancar are a group of Hollows that gained similar powers to that of a Shinigami by removing their masks. The individuals that Aizen turned into Arrancar using the Hogyoku possess powers far beyond those of previous Arrancar and possess supreme killing abilities. Especially powerful Arrancar were assigned ten numbers by Sosuke Aizen and came to be known as the Espada.

Arrancar are the result of Hollows removing their masks. However, an average Hollow removing their mask would not be a problem for the Thirteen Court Guard Squads: to hold their own against the Thirteen Court Guard Squads, the ones removing their masks would need to be Gillian or stronger.

An Arrancar that was previously a normal Hollow, rather than a Menos-class, has been shown to be more powerful than some Vasto Lorde. This is shown when the Hammerhead Arrancar manages to defeat Tier Halibel and her future Fraccion.

Pseudo-Arrancar have not developed much in the past few decades. Sosuke Aizen was the first to create a breakthrough; Aizen has tried to create a full Arrancar by using the Hogyoku.

The number that the Arrancar (with numbers 11 and above) have are not the order of their strength, but rather the order of their birth. First, via the Hōgyoku, they are reborn from Hollows into Arrancar. Then, according to the order in which they are born, they were assigned a number, starting with eleven.

Arrancar and ordinary Hollows differ in several ways:

* Humanoid Form: A Menos usually takes on a Human shape when it becomes an Arrancar. The only ones that will definitely get a 100% Humanoid form are Vasto Lorde-class Menos. For the remaining two levels, there are many who don't get a completely Humanoid form, despite becoming Arrancar. Therefore, the closer one looks to a Hollow, the lower its power of reasoning. All Arrancar retain a hole in them somewhere, as well as fragments of their Hollow form (in the shape of protrusions and partial masks). There have been Arrancar who have claimed that they gave up their Human forms in order to obtain enormous power. A number of Arrancar have tried to conceal the remnants of their past whilst others choose to hide their faces completely to escape unwanted attention. Most also have a colored marking of some sort on their face, although some only gain these markings upon the release of their Zanpakuto (Ex: Nnoitora, Szayelaporro, and Halibel). A few cases that include visible markings without the release of a Zanpakutō include Ulquiorra's tear marks, Sung-Sun's pink dots, the dashes under Grimmjow's eyes, the marking which runs across Nelliel's cheekbones and nose, and the marks on Yammy's cheek bones.
* Physiology: Uryu Ishida theorized Arrancar share not only the powers of Shinigami, but also their anatomy. During his battle with Cirucci Sanderwicci, he aimed for the area where the Chain of Fate would be located, and upon striking it Cirucci immediately lost not only her release form and mask fragment, but seemingly all traces of her former power.
* Estigma: the pattern on an Arrancar's face. It is potentially the remaining part of a mask and is unique to each individual. The pattern may appear when performing Resurreccion for many Arrancar.
* Hole: one of the most distinctive characteristics of an Arrancar is the hole in their body. It is said to represent the lack of a heart that is difficult to fill.
* Zanpakuto: The Arrancar seal the nuclei of their abilities within the form of a sword. It is entirely different from what Soul Reapers use. When they release their Zanpakuto's seal, they unleash their true power and their true form. The combat efficiency of an Arrancar with a released Zanpakuto is increased several times over. Therefore, an Arrancar's release of their Zanpakuto is merely a temporary restoration to their former selves, granting them any powers their Hollow form possesses. The act of release is called Resurreccion (Spanish for "*Resurrection*", Japanese for "*Returning Blade*"), which is activated with a command phrase followed by the name of the sword. An Espada's Resurreccion is claimed to be different from that of a normal Arrancar.

### Physical Appearance

The Arrancar under Aizen's command have a standard theme for their clothing. Their uniforms consist of a white jacket, black sash, white hakama, black tabi and white zori that bear an opposing similarity to a Soul Reaper's zori; in essence, the uniforms are basically inverted Soul Reaper uniforms. Arrancar uniforms display more variation than those worn by Soul Reapers however.

### Personality Traits & Mindsets

While most of the Arrancar either develop or retain their own personality traits, the majority of Arrancar appear to be similarly cold, cruel, ambitious, impatient, selfish, overconfident, ruthless, arrogant, impulsive, brutal, relentless, battle-hungry, overbearing, short-tempered, indifferent, and/or egotistical.

Not all Arrancar residing in Hueco Mundo are loyal to Aizen, but they prefer not to interfere with his plans. However, many naturally evolved Arrancar felt it necessary to align themselves with him to obtain more power. While there are Arrancar who choose to follow Aizen in the hopes he will deliver them salvation, others ally with him purely out of respect. As Aisslinger Wernarr put it, Aizen is someone who is fearless, which creatures born out of fear and pain, such as Hollows, find admirable.

## Powers and Abilities

* Bala (*Hollow Bullet*)
* Cero (*Hollow Flash*)
* Descorrer (*Loosed Void*)
* Hierro (*Steel Skin*)
* High-Speed Regeneration
* Pesquisa (*Probe Circuit*)
* Resurreccion (*Returning Blade*)
* Sonido (*Sound Ceremony*)

## Espada Equipment

* Caja Negacion (*Anti-Membrane of Negation*)