Ranking the Espada
Let’s have an exercise in futility: ranking the Espada. There have been many number theories and mathematical sequences generated in order to create a logical order to the ranking of the Espada but so far none have been correct. Because I’m bored, let’s talk about what you think the ranking of the Espada might be. There might be spoilers below so don’t click if you’re not caught up with the manga. I have included a picture of the infamous tea party table seating for reference (click for bigger).
Here’s my personal prediction on the ranking:
1. Ulquiorra
2. Nnoitra
3. Stark
4. Old Espada
5. Halibel
6. Grimmjow
7. Zommari
8. Szayelaporro
9. Aaroniero
10. Yammy
Bolded names are the confirmed rankings by manga. All the rest are based on gut feeling with no complicated number sequences or formulas, except for Noitora - I think he is #2 based on what he told Telsa. He thinks he’s the strongest Espada but yet he’s not recognised as the strongest, so this probably means he’s #2. And I think Ulquiorra is #1 because he’s so damn intelligent and analytical, and he is Aizen’s pet as well.
This is the current actual rankings as revealed by the manga, together with my new predictions:
1. Stark
2. Halibel
3. Old Espada
4. Ulquiorra
5. Nnoitra
6. Grimmjow
7. Zommari
8. Szayelaporro
9. Aaroniero
10. Yammy
So let me hear all your theories and predictions on the rankings of the Espada!
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When I saw the title, I thought you were going to talk about Granado Espada… LOL
I like the pink haired guy who is that?and he’s quit handsome too!
but I guess I have to search all those characters,their not familiar to me!
Cheryl: Haha I thought that the picture might have hinted otherwise
na2niet: He is Zaelapollo Grantz, the Octava Espada.
Ehh, you must explain your gut feeling! =p
I would rank the old man higher, they’re always the ones with the most power.
Still I agree with Ulq being the first ranked. His character is the most developed so far and there has to be a reason behind that. To be Aizen’s pet is not easy, you need some kind of standard at least hahaha!
On another note. Have you seen the Ulq/Aizen fics floating around? =p
Well I already explained Ulquiorra and Noitora so I won’t go through them again. In anime cliche, the bored guy is usually one of the most powerful ones and there’s a certain parallel with Shunsui. I would have put him as #2 if not for Noitora’s words.
And also because of the old man power cliche, I made the old mustachio as #4 above the chick who is #5 because I think maybe the chick should be more powerful this time. I don’t like the look of the dark Espada so I just threw him into the remaining slot #7.
I don’t even want to think about the Ulq/Aizen yaoi fics but I’m sure there is lots of Ulq/Orihime h-doujins popping up around Japan already!
Eh, well, I use AnimeNano to check for new blog entries so XD
Oh no wonder
Well there’s always a chance that the anime cliche won’t prevail here.
“I don’t like the look of the dark Espada so I just threw him into the remaining slot #7.” –> You sound so biased here hahaha! What if KT throws us all in a loop and he is number 1? With the many twists, I wouldn’t be surprised if some random unknown espada is suddenly revealed to be number 1.
And I really don’t see the popularity of Ulq/Ori…its kinda disturbing. >
Rankings are always full of bias
And Kubo won’t throw us that kind of lame loop because his manga is all about the cool characters being the best
And that one looks the least cool, I would have put him at #10 if Yammy wasn’t there already!
Oh look 4 posts! I’m breaking my own record!
Anyway that’s true about the cool characters being at the top. But most charas in Bleach are cool anyway hahaha.
It’ll be super interesting to see whether your prediction comes true!
So really. Power rankings is equivalent to coolness rankings as well? XD
Yeah power = coolness! It’s always the small harmless dude that usually turns out to be the most dangerous one. The big bolstering fierce ones are usually the first to be beaten.
I hope at least my top 3 predictions are correct!
Yah look at Yammyyyyyyyyyyy. Not surprised he’s no 10 haha. Perhaps there’s a significance in why KT chose these 2 as the first one to come down to bug Ichigo and gang.
No 1 and No 10 together!
O yeah, I think your top 3 for the most part should be quite accurate. However Noitora could be over-estimating his own strength so he might not be no2.
Hahaha yah eh, I didn’t think of it that way - it’s the #1 and the #10 of the Espadas together! Well if Noitora is not #2 then Mr. Bored will be #2! That’s where I originally envisioned him to be.
I’m guessing we’ll probably find out #7 soon if Kubo decides to make Ishida meet the #7.
Yup, it makes sense to send your best guy down right? I guess if you reread the manga again, there will be clues here and there that will point out Ulq’s ranking.. I really do strongly think that he’s number 1, based on character development alone.
I want to see whether your ranking for no7 is correct. You and your biasedness. I will laugh if he’s any higher than what you gave him. =p
Yeah Aizen is always sending Ulquiorra to do this and to do that. He places a lot of trust in Ulquiorra and thus that’s why Ulquiorra is #1 since Aizen knows he’s got the power to accomplish all those tasks.
What is this anime/manga? I haven’t seen it…-_-;;;;
hooooooooly…nevermind! i found out! hahaha i’m such a dolthead……….
Holy o.o Nor broke her record? Lotsa comments xD
Anyway~ Haha jw, you explained to me your rankings before. I would go with your order, too. It makes a lot of sense, to be honest o_ob
Aww man it’s no fun if everyone keeps agreeing with my order
There’s no discussion that way lol
I think the rankings are probably like this (some changes):
1. Ulquiorra
2. Noitora
3. Hot Arrancar Girl
4. Bored guy with gloves
5. Black guy with earrings
6. Grimmjow
7. Old guy
8. Zaelapollo
9. Aroniro
10. Yammy
Hot Arrancar Girl is #3 because I love strong women in anime/manga and I think she could very well be close to being #1 but doesn’t care about it as much as Noitora to brag about it and doesn’t want to be a pet to Aizen like Ulquiorra.
Well my top 10 would look like this:
1. Ulquiorra(it seems that he feets 1 spot best, but there is one thing that doesn`t fit here, when he come with yammy to “real world” he says/think:”When his reiatsu is low. it`s inconsequential.But when it`s high, it`s greater than mine”.So basiclly that means Ichigo got “top” reiatsu stronger than Ulquiorra, and that`s smth strange when we consider what Capt Hitsugai said “Bluntly put, a Vaste Lorde`s battle abilities are evan greater than captain`s.” so we got here Ulquiorra rank 1(let asume that is the case) being strongest , but same time having weaker reiatsu than Ichigo? Smth is not right here anyway if you see my point.
2. Bored guy with gloves (”low talking” char are always strong xD)
3. Brooding chick(there is only 1 “female” so she gotta be stong xD)
4. Old moustachio man(like some1 said it already “old” guys are always strong
5. Noitora
6. Grimmjow
7. Stone-face dude with skull earrings(he looks preatty weak to me tbh so about this spot i`m like 90% sure
8. Zaelapollo
9. Aroniro
10. Yammy
P.S.
Note that all this is based on feeling, I don`t evan read manga(can`t force myself to start from begining and can`t just start now xD)
Leon: Hahaha I did think that the arrancar girl might be very powerful as well but I got a bias for the bored guy because he looks kinda cool and reminds me of Shunsui also
Flamehaze: Yeah everyone agrees that Ulquiorra is #1. The part where he says that Ichigo’s reiatsu peaks higher than him, I think he was referring to a full hollow Ichigo rather than a Vizard Ichigo. Or maybe he was referring to Ichigo being higher than him unreleased. I’m surprised you put Noitora so low though!
alkan: The way Noitora speaks about being number one, like you pointed out, suggests heavily that he must be number 2, or at the very least number 3. I can’t imagine him being any lower.
Leon: Yup I agree. Maybe we will get to see the bored Espada interact with Ishida or Ichigo in the manga soon so that we can have an idea of his strength.
i dont think Ulquiorra is the strongest, cuz one of the Espada said that no sword can cut through my skin after all i am the strongest Espada. I think it was the top left guy that said it.
I have a theory:
Based on the pattern of: Yami #10, Zaelapollo #8, Grimjow #6
If we continue with even numbers around the table we have: Bored guy w/ gloves #4
Brooding Chick #2
Then starting with Aroniro #9
Mustache guy #7
Stone face guy #5
Ulquiorra #3
Noitora #1
I know its a reach but that pattern fits, Ulquiorra I always thought would be at least in the top3 and Noitora claims to be the strongest and if the pattern holds true then he would be.
RJ: I think you’re referring to Grimmjow who isn’t the strongest Espada, he’s only #6.
scamps: Well that numbering theory certainly holds for the existing Espada. Only thin that stops Noitora from being #1 is that he says he’s not recognised as the strongest but he think he is. You can take it as the usual arrogance of bad guys. A few more Espada numbers might prove or disprove your theory.
According to the table:
back to front
9 - 10
3 - 4
7 - 8
1 - 2
5 - 6
That’s my prediction.
y: That makes Noitora #7 and Ulquiorra #5 which are both highly unlikely to me
I’d definitely rate Ulquiorra within the top 3!
this is just a guess off of my gut, but the one after is a pattern i looked at.
Gut order
1. sleep bored espada- he told Noitora to be quiet, and Noitora said nothing back
2. he isn’t afraid of anyone, but in one of the translations of the manga, he was worried about one person’s name that he almost slipped up with.
3. Ulquiorra- perfect for being used as a pet. 3 is not too high, which makes him useful for lower tasks, but at the same time, he has all others under him.
4. Dark skinned espada. from looking at the comments he makes, he’s not to egotistical. he gives straight answers. he’s about getting straight forward to get the task finished.
5. female espada. quiet and looks skillful, but sounded slightly worried when she heard about ichigo and his friends breaking in.
6. Grimmjow
7. old man- he could his number to throw you off. he sounds cocky, but this is just my gut feeling.
8. Zaera-Polo
9. Aaroneiro
10. Yammy
Pattern order- zig zag
10 yammy
9 aaroneiro
8 zaera-polo
7 noitora
6 grimmjow
5 ulquiorra
4 old man
3 girl
2 dark skinned espada
1 sleepy espada
oh snap! i just realized that my pattern theory is the same as alkanphel. btw, number 2 for my gut feeling order is Noitora. i forgot to put his name.
actually that’s not alkanphel, that’s someone else lol that’s someone name “y.”
alkanphel: I don’t see Ulquiorra top 3 and I definitely do not see Noitora in top 3.
Well, I think it can be said that Ulquiorra is definately in the top 5. After all, he is at least ranked higher than Grimmjow. Since he mentioned that Ichigo could at least equal him in power in hollow form, he may be number 5 (though he seems stronger than this, it wouldn’t really be a surprise if he was the 1st Espada. Not sure about the others. The tall dark Espada seems fairly intelligent and isn’t cocky at all, so I would assume that he’s in the top 5. Same goes for the girl; if she’s the only girl in the Espada, I would suspect her of being top 5 material. The quiet one is most definately top 5 material. Which leaves us with Noitora and the old Espada. I think one of them is the 7th Espada. On the one hand, Ishida may run into Noitora; if they fight (and Ishida has any chance of surviving) he would probably have to be lower than Grimmjow. Also, it’s possible that Ichigo will have a showdown with Grimmjow or Ulquiorra, so I don’t really think he will fight Noitora. On the other hand, Chad could always run into the Old Espada (who does happen to look a lot like Chad’s grandfather…). If this were true, he would have to be 7th Espada at the strongest for Chad to take him on. But aside from the 4 already revealed, Noitora, and the Old Espada, I’m pretty sure the others are all in the top 5.
Oh, and don’t forget that Ulquiorra (based on his mask shape) is almost definately a Vasto Lorde level Espada… definately an arguement for his top Espada ranking, as Aizen seems to have big plans for the Vasto Lordes. We don’t know anything about the Menos classes of the other Espada (excluding Yammy- Adjuchas, and Aaroneiro- Gillian) except that they are above Gillian, so for all we know there could be more Vasto Lordes around.
Here’s a guess about the rankings for the Espada (keep in mind 5 and 7 could alternate, depending on which Espada appears on the scene first).
1. Ulquiorra
2. Bored Espada
3. Large Dark Espada
4. Female Espada
5. Noitora
6. Grimmjow Jaggerjack
7. Old Espada
8. Zaero-Polo Grantz
9. Aaroneiro Arleri
10. Yammy
Here’s my ranking for the Espada (keep in mind that 5 and 7 can change, depending on which Espada appears on the scene first).
1. Ulquiorra
2. Bored Espada
3. Large Dark Espada
4. Female Espada
5. Noitora
6. Grimmjow Jaggerjack
7. Old Espada
8. Zaero-Polo Grantz
9. Aaroneiro Arleri
10. Yammy
Heres My Rank Yo!
1. Ulquiorra - coz when Grimmjow was talking shit about ichigo “What if he gets stronger some shit like that” Ulquiorra said hes gon kill him by himself and grimmjow didnt say nothing back “speechless”
2. Noitora - Tyring so hard to be the strongest, probly jealous of Ulquiorra
3. Bored Arrancar - no comment
4. Arrancar Girl - She looks hella strong too
5. Old Arrancar - He looks stronger than Grimmjow
6. Grimmjow -
7. Nigga Arrancar - ionno
8. Zaero Polo Grantz
9. Aaroneiro Arleri
10.Yammy
Ulquiorra is most likely the top Espada (as well as a Vasto Lorde level Espada). Considering Grimmjow was speechless at Ulquiorra’s comment about finishing off Ichigo, he must be incredibly powerful. The quiet, bored Espada also seems powerful. Now, correct me if I’m wrong, but I don’t think he spoke once at the meeting; this would make him the only member of the espada that hasn’t spoken yet. Also, I think everyone is underestimating the tall, dark Espada. For all we know, he could be the 1st Espada. Somehow, I suspect that he’s one of the top 5 (and he seems more observant and careful than some of the others, like Grimmjow and Noitora). Now, if Noitora happens to cross paths with Ichigo in the near future, Ichigo would be screwed if he was in the top 4 (if the same scenario was with Ishida and Noitora, 7th at the strongest for Ishida to win). I suspect that Noitora and the old Espada are the only real candidates for 7th place, but I could be wrong. Honestly, I suspect that Ulquiorra, the quiet Espada, the female Espada, and the tall dark Espada would be intelligent enough not to run out into battle carelessly. Yammy and Grimmjow would at least be able to better analyze the situation, though Grimmjow is extremely careless. Don’t forget that the old Espada does happen to look alot like Chad’s grandfather; I don’t really think it would be a surprise if this were the case (they already threw in the Aaroneiro-Kaien and Zaera-Polo/Il Forte Grantz connections). If this were true, and Chad had any chance of ever defeating him, he would have to be the 7th Espada. Then again, Noitora could be 7th too.
nice observation. i always suspected the sleepy, bored espada to be in the top because of the fact that, he was the only espada that didn’t talk at the meeting. the only thing he said was be quiet, and that he was still sleepy to Noitora. This was before the meeing, and Noitora didn’t say anything back to him. I like your point though how u were saying that other espadas are basically recklessly running out into fights. Specific arrancar like Ulquiorra, dark espada, and female are more observant. at first, i thought the “being to careful” was a sign of inferiorty, but it shows more that the character would not take their opponent lightly if they fought, which is dangerous. other espadas had at least made one comment of cockyness before they knew their opponents. Noitora keeps trying to prove himself. Zaera-Polo in the beginning thought it would be entertaining if they broke into their room. Old man arrancar called them weaklings. Grimmjow was holding his grudge. Aaroniro rushed out into a fight. The female seemed cautious by her responses to Noitora. I thought she would be weaker like i said, but this sign of cautiousness can be a sign of how serious she is. Ulquiorra is just waiting. the dark skinned espada seems straight forward, wants to get the job done. sleepy espada doesn’t give a shit about anything, so my guess for him is that he is number 1. lol
I’d also like to think that the bored Espada is at the top but I think it’s more likely to be Ulquiorra because of how much trust Aizen places in him.
I would definitely not be surprised if the old Espada is Chad’s grandfather, with all the connections suddenly popping up.
Spoilers for Chapter 269:
Well, now Aaroneiro is dead and we know the names of 2 more Espada. The female Espada is Halibell and the bored one is Stark. And it looks like an Ulquiorra vs. Ichigo battle is about to take place. Now if Ichigo has any chance of winning (and no one interferes with the fight) I would say that Ulquiorra would have to be the 5th Espada. Also, unless he intends to interupt this fight, Noitora is headed in Ishida’s direction. Noitora would be the 7th Espada for Ishida to have any chance of winning (though his zanpakuto does look extremely badass and powerful…). Stark, Halibell, the dark Espada, and the old Espada may be the top 4, though I still can’t shake the feeling that the old one is 7th. Infact, I’m expecting that Stark (in particular) and the dark Espada are the best candidates for 1st Espada. As cool as I think Ulquiorra is (and I’d really like him to be the 1st), he has already approached Ichigo; there is almost certainly going to be a battle (unless someone interferes), so 5th ranking at the strongest would be the only chance for Ichigo to win. It would make sense, since Ulquiorra did say Ichigo could at least equal him in power. I’m really interested by Stark though, somehow I think he’s very likely the 1st Espada. One thing to make note of: I don’t know how significant it is, but so far Noitora, Halibell, and Stark have been revealed to have servants (mini-espada?). Maybe significance of rank, maybe nothing, but I thought it was something to look out for.
I have a feeling that Ishida will encounter Stark instead of Noitora. Stark and Lilinet seem to be the reverse of Shunsui and Nanao in their personalities if you noticed. And all these Espada and their servants is too much like the captains and vice-captains.
The reason I think it’s Noitora is that he was heading for someone. Maybe he’ll interupt Ulquiorra’s fight. However, if he doesn’t, he’s headed in Ishida’s direction. What makes you think Ishida will run into Stark? Personally, I think Stark would be too lazy/tired to fight. Would be interesting; maybe it would have a similar outcome to the Chad/Shunsui fight earlier on. Honestly, right now, Stark doesn’t seem like that much of a bad guy. In fact, I’m hoping that he’s Espada number 1, which is why I’d like him to stay put and not get himself killed like Arroneiro did (and Zaero-Polo could). This Espada/servant thing is intriguing though. As far as I know, Ulquiorra, Grimmjow, Arroneiro, Zaero-Polo, and Yammy don’t seem to have them. Maybe it’s a hint of who the top 3 (or 4 if the dark Espada/old Espada has one) Espada are. Maybe I’m overanalyzing things, but with the probable Ulquiorra/Ichigo battle, I’m thinking Ulquiorra may not be as powerful as was originally let on.
I’m curions about what will happen with the shift of ranks though. Will Yammy become the 9th Espada? Will Wonderwice, or some other powerful arrancar make it to the ranks of the Espada? Will they carry on like nothing happened and just have 9 Espada (or 8 if Zaera-Polo gets himself killed too)?
Most of my thoughts are from a metaplot standpoint. The reason I think Noitora won’t meet Ishida is because the reiatsu he detected was probably Ichigo and also that we’ve seen him in ‘action’ already. Since everyone is/was in some sort of battle with an Espada except Ishida, he’s the next one to meet one of them.
The most likely one is Stark who has been highlighted in 269. I wouldn’t be surprised if the battle between them ended up like Chad vs Noitora. Since you think he is too lazy to fight, maybe Lilinet will fight in his place first but Ishida will overpower her and Stark will interfere.
I’m not thinking too much about the Ulquiorra/Ichigo battle because I think it will end up like Chad vs Noitora - overwhelming victory to Ulquiorra. I doubt Ulquiorra will even release to fight Ichigo.
Zaelapollo seems to have those 2 weird blobby servants called Lumina and Belona. Kinda fitting for a twisted arrancar like him.
It’s quite possible that Wonderwice will become #9 which is why he was introduced so long ago for no obvious reason…until now.
Chad retaliated after Tesla interfered in 263. Even though Noitora was on his way to find another power level, he could have possible decided to finish Chad off. they didn’t show wat happened. they cut to the next character. and if chad didn’t get knocked the hell out after Tesla’s interference, he may keep attacking because he’s already shown his persistence in all his fights. we’ve never seen him back down. he’s always fought until he had been beaten. the only time was when ichigo interfered, and he told him to leave. other than that, chad has fought all the way, and he’s still standing. there may be a continuation. i’m still keeping in mind though that it’s possible that Noitora will ignore chad and leave to run into ishida. for all we know, he may even find ichigo, and interrupt Ulquiorra.
as for ishida, i can see him running into the female, who is overlooking the building (plus he’s always fighting females lol), a slight chance of Stark (since Stark had his sleep “disturbed.”
Well I think that Chad is pretty much out for the count. The part where Chad owns Gantenbien then later gets owned by Noitora is a mirror of the SS part where he owns the 3rd seat and then Shunsui owns him back. In this case Chad was using his very last attack with his life essence in it but Telsa somehow negated the attack.
I can certainly see Ishida meeting Halibel since it’s his running gag to keep fighting the females lol!
makes sense. i can agree with that. he’s either fighting a female, or someone super demented. lol
Ishida’s probably going to fight Halibel. Noitora will probably interupt Ulquiorra’s fight with Ichigo. After all, unless Ulquiorra’s the 5th Espada, Ichigo has virtually no chance of survival. Plus, Noitora said he was headed for a powerful opponent. Looking at what we’ve seen of Zaera-Polo and Arroneiro’s zanpakuto’s, Noitora is way too strong to be the 7th Espada. I’d give that spot to the old Espada or Halibel. Also, I think Ishida will win his fight; after all, it wouldn’t make sense of all the main characters lost their battles. Seeing as Ulquiorra’s confronting Ichigo, Noitora’s probably headed in their direction, Zaera-Polo’s fighting Renji, Grimmjow and Yammy are nowhere to be seen, and Arroneiro’s dead, that just leaves the 4 that we haven’t really seen in action. Stark doesn’t seem to care much about the situation, and the only one that appears to be outside is Halibel. Also, I would expect that Yammy and Grimmjow (although very reckless) would be intelligent enough to lay low for awhile. At this point, everyone in Ichigo’s group (those that broke into Hueco Mundo) is strong enough to take out Yammy. Halibel vs. Ishida seems like the next big battle.
i think stark is the type to end up betraying aizen.
i also think that ishda will end up fighting halibel, i dont even think that ichigo will eaven end up fighting ulquiora, as he apears to be a main espada and i dont think they will kill him off so quikley, the most likley thing is ichigo will get ready for his battle onley to bi intorupted by grimjaw.
Stark is the type that would have never had any loyalty to Aizen in the first place. The only reason the Espada follow Aizen is convenience; most of them don’t seem to be unconditionally loyal to him. Arroneiro felt betrayed in the end. Grimmjow and Zaera-Polo clearly work behind Aizen’s back because of their ulterior motives. Noitora is avariciously seeking power and recognition. Stark doesn’t seem to care about much. Not to mention, we don’t know what Ulquiorra’s true motives are. And about the Ichigo/Ulquiorra fight; even if Ulquiorra were to lose, that doesn’t automatically mean he will die. Also, it’s very likely that someone like Noitora or Grimmjow will interupt the battle. For all we know, a few of the Espada may even survive. But unless SS sends its’ forces to Hueco Mundo, there isn’t going to be enough time for all the main characters to fight all the Espada; if Ichigo can’t beat anything more powerful than the 5th Espada, then they’ll need some serious back up. I suspect that Halibel would be smart enough to not rush into a fight though (unless Ishida finds her). My big question about Ulquiorra is this: yes, he may seem very powerful (definately more powerful than Grimmjow), but it would be completely obvious for him to be the 1st Espada. Don’t forget, Ulquiorra did say that Ichigo could at least reach him in power (when Ichigo is at maximum power). I seriously doubt Ichigo is prepared enough to take on the top Espada yet, so unless Ichigo doesn’t end up fighting Ulquiorra, I wouldn’t place him at the top.
i agree with you 100%. in my opinion, i don’t think ichigo should be more powerful than every espada at his current state. (even if he may lose due to the fact he can’t hold his Vaizard mode long). it creates too much of a power gap like, why the hell did he fight the guys in the beginning to struggle?…”Oh, so if he held the mask a slight bit longer, everyone is finished?”….i can understand mastering the mask, but if this is the case, why would Aizen create such a “weaker” army. it makes no sense. Soul Society would have already broken into Hueco Mundo, and defeat everyone I assume. Aizen cannot be THAT dumb. if Ichigo’s max strength can surpass Ulquiorra when he hasn’t even mastered it yet, (of course when it randomly reaches the peak) there would have to be some stronger espadas, unless Aizen is so careless and confident that he and his 2 main henchmen know they’re stronger….that would be stupid though. right now, where ichigo stands, he hasn’t even mastered Zangetsu yet, and we haven’t seen any other forms of Zangetsu yet either. Ichigo has to master Zangetsu, holding his Vaizard form, and Zangetsu in the Vaizard form. Ichigo cannot be strong enough to defeat all of his opponents yet because he’s still “weak.” this is why i cannot see Ulquiorra being espada number 1. if anything, i could see it being Stark or the dark skinned espada….this is all my opinion though.
This Ichigo/Ulquiorra showdown does kinda ruin any rematch with Grimmjow. I agree that Stark and the dark Espada are the most likely candidates for 1st Espada. Now, this may mean nothing, but I was thinking about the way some of them treat each other: Noitora acts somewhat condescending to Ulquiorra and Halibel, but says nothing bad to Stark when told to be quiet. Also, with the inclusion of Noitora, Ulquiorra seems to look down upon some of the other Espada (thinks Grimmjow and Noitora are reckless, think yammy needs to work on his powers of observation, would probably consider Arroneiro and Zaera-Polo foolish for rushing out into fights). Yet, Ulquiorra answered the dark Espada’s question at the meeting (3 intruders, 1 missing) without hesitation.
Now this isn’t finalized, but this is my current list:
1. Dark Espada
2. Stark
3. Noitora
4. Old Espada
5. Ulquiorra
6. Grimmjow Jaggerjack
7. Halibel
8. Zaera-Polo Grantz
9. Arroniero Arleri
10. Yammy
My updated list:
10. Yammy
9. Aaroniero
8. Zael
7. Noitora
6. Grimmjow
5. Halibel
4. Shaft
3. Ulquiorra
2. Grampa
1. Stark
i realized that Guest. i thought about it too. i didn’t really think to much about Ulquiorra’s quick response to the dark espada b4 like that, but he obviously has some respect for him. Stark doesn’t care about anything at all. lol. like u said though, he told Noitora to be quiet, and he said nothing back. Noitora did talk down to Ulquiorra and Halibel though.
We can’t really say too much about Stark’s motivations because we’ve hardly had much time to see him interact with the others unlike Noitora or Grimmjow. All we know is that he seems incredibly lazy.
How the Espada talk to each other seems rather meaningless since it’s not a formal structure like the Gotei 13. The loud ones like Grimmjow and Noitora make a lot of noise and posturing while the calm ones like Ulquiorra and Stark just ignore them.
that’s true as well, but the fact that some of the espadas are more sophisticated, focused, and cautious makes a difference with some of the lower levels that have already been introduced. some of the minor details that just appeal to me are some of the things that seem more superior. for instance one example is that i would can honestly say by the looks of the dark espada is that he’s wise, sophisticated, and somewat has a sense of superiorty. he sits with good posture like someone else pointed out, and his design is fine shaped hollow jewelry. lol. this is just something that i look at. he could be #7 for all i kno, but i just observe a lot, so my other reasons i gave b4 plus this create a perfect reason for me to believe that he is in the top 4.
The sophistication thing is true. The way some of them act (dark Espada, Ulquiorra, Halibel, Stark) would make it seem that they are in the top 5. Stark seems really lazy and tired, but I think we’ll find that he’s alot more powerful than he likes to let on. By actions alone, I would say that Noitora could be 7th Espada, but judging by his sword and strength, he’s almost certainly between 3 and 5. Who knows, maybe he’ll interupt Ichigo’s fight with Ulquiorra and reveal himself as the 5th Espada. Also, although Noitora talked down to Ulquiorra, it doesn’t seem like Ulquiorra thinks much of Noitora either. To gain Ulquiorra’s respect, you’d have to be both intelligent and powerful; Ulquiorra’s respectful demeanor toward the dark Espada makes it seem like he outranks Ulquiorra. I wouldn’t be surprised if Stark outranked Ulquiorra either. Hopefully, the next chapter will give us some foresight into this matter.
Currently, I’d save 7th spot for Halibel or the old Espada. I’m still unsure about Ulquiorra; he could easily be the 1st Espada, he’s definately in the top 5, and his mask does resemble that of a Vasto Lordes. Aizen does seem to put a greater amount of trust in him than in most of the others. Plus, he’s clearly the most developed one so far. But the thing that makes me suspect that he’s not the top Espada is the fact that he admitted that Ichigo at full power could reach, or even top his own power. Since Ichigo’s not ready to take on the top yet, he could take on the 5th Espada.
yeah. that’s the same thing i said earlier about ichigo, and i know that ichigo has a lot to work on. since this is so, other guys out there must be more powerful than ichigo until he masters everything. since this is true, i would assume that Ulquiorra is not espada number one. this is all my guess though becuz anything can be possible.
Yeah Noitora tried to disturb Ulquiorra but he just ignored Noitora’s nonsense and gave an overwhelming explanation on Aizen’s mental cage on Orihime. Then Noitora had nothing left to say.
Ulquiorra is definitely a vastrode though. It’s been hinted at least twice already: first when they had the shadow of a vastrode which had the same mask shape as Ulquiorra, and second when Ishida was talking about the 3 types of menos, he mentioned the gillian, adjuchas and vastrode. The accompanying images to those 3 were Edorado(gillian), Yammy (adjuchas) and Ulquiorra (vastrode).
I agree that Ulquiorra is definately a Vasto Lorde. But looking at the image of the example Adjuchas, which resembled Yammy, it seems to just be an example. I mean, look at Zaera-Polo and Grimmjow (both of which I expect to be Adjuchas); they are alot more powerful and much different in appearance to the example one that looked like Yammy. For all we know, the example Vasto Lorde resembling Ulquiorra is just a low level Vasto Lorde. There could even be a couple more Vasto Lordes in the Espada. Judging from the information given, Ulquiorra could easily be the top one, but someone will have to interupt their fight (most likely Noitora or Grimmjow) if that’s the case.
that’s true, but we don’t know exactly how many vasto lordes are in the espadas right now either. i say this because vasto lordes are the espadas that have the most humanoid form before they become arrancar. there’s no proof right of how many espadas looked human b4 they became arrancar. that’s why we can’t say too much. for all we know, most of them could be vasto lordes leaving a couple as adjuchas, or most could be adjuchas like most assume. we could all be hit with a shocker, so you never know. right now, a spoiler (supposedly true, but don’t know) claims that Ulquiorra is espada number 3, and Halibel is 5. the only reason why i bring this up is because, if this “spoiler” happens to be true, it would be unexpected to most people even though they guessed something different. that’s all i wanna point out.
I wouldn’t be surprised if Ulquiorra was the 3rd Espada. I’m expecting (and hoping) that the dark Espada and Stark are the top 2. Now, this is all a preliminary guess, but I’d say that there are 3 (5 at the most) Vasto Lordes in the Espada. If I were to assume that this “spoiler” is true, I’d say that 4th and 7th slots are open for Noitora and the old Espada. I could be completely wrong though; the old one could be the top Espada as well. But I’ve noticed that the dark Espada seems observant and highly intelligent; and Stark, even though he acts tired all the time, was also observant enough to realize that Arroneiro died.
sounds reasonable. it just so tricky to me sometimes cuz i could believe noitora or the old man is 7. but sometimes i think if noitora is 7, how delusional is he to claim that he’s the strongest? it makes better sense if he’s saying this in the top 3, but at the same time, he can be trying very hard to prove himself….it’s crazy. can’t wait to see who number 7 is.
Yeah that’s why I think Noitora is #2 because of how he think he’s the strongest but Aizen doesn’t recognise it as such. He’s clearly more intelligent than Grimmjow or Yammy from the way he thinks and acts, besides his crazed look when encountering Chad.
I’m expected Ulquiorra to be in the top 3 but of course my personal guess is #1. Stark is also in the top 3 for me. Actually for Stark, Ulquiorra and Noitora, any of them could be #1 in my eyes.
The dark Espada could be placed higher but as we know from Zaelapollo, intelligence is not equal to power or ranking. Zaelapollo is probably a very intelligent adjuchas, hence his very human look but low ranking.
b4 i would’ve thought that Ulquiorra was in the top three, but i have several reasons now of why i don’t currently. through my opinions, i’ll explain the sequence that i’ve overlooked b4 i restate the seating pattern again. in the beginning, it was reasonable to introduce the 10th espada, Yammy. they didn’t wanna tell us Ulquiorra’s ranking. when ever since ichigo entered hueco mundo, the story has been introducing the lower level espadas, or introducing them almost “chronoligically,” but in a specific range. espada 10 was clear. then they introduce Noitora, wat number could he have been? they didn’t tell us, but instead introduced espada #9, Aaroniero. after him espada #8, Zaera-Polo. this left a gap for espada seven. we already new that espada 6 was Grimmjow. judging from Chad not being able to hurt Noitora, he should have faced a lower level espada. it would still make sense for Noitora to be espada number 7 because Kubo obviously did not want to introduce the top 4. it seems strange for Noitora’s claim of being the strongest, but he can be “delusional.” there are those that are stongly thickheaded, and he’s proven to be so. this automatically makes chad outmatched that someone stonger than chad, like ishida would have to face him. Ichigo had already matched with Grimmjow, so there was a new approach, Ulquiorra vs Ichigo. this still keeps the secrecy of the top 4 espadas, even if Aizen has great trust in Ulquiorra. he is not the only one that has proven to be loyal and wise. this gives the perfect chance of making Ulquiorra espada number 5. then boom, the top 4 remain cautious of wat to do because Aaronier has perished. espada five is taking charge, leaving the other four to wait until it is necessary to take charge. i guess that the old man is number 4. hali-bel waits to make a move (i guess she is number 3). the dark skinned espada as number 2 meditates. while espada number 1’s lazy ass goes to sleep. since in my opinion all the espadas five and under have been in combat or are starting to engage in combat, i believe that it has reflected in my earlier guess about the seating arrangement. since i kept rankings in my head in which the espadas were introduced i put 2 and 2 together. these are the rankings
9 10
3 4 ——–Hali-bel and old man
7 8
1 2 ——–Stark and dark skinned espada
5 6
all the other espadas have been introduced longer, and the pattern shows that the top four in this seating arrangement are still barely known in the story leaving all the others “known.”
Well, you’re pattern could work, but it seems too predictable. Also, what if halibel was 4th, old Espada 3rd, Stark 2nd, and the dark Espada was the top? Still, Noitora’s zanpakuto looks alot more powerful than it should be at 7th Espada level (though it could be to just mislead people into thinking Noitora’s stronger than he really is).
According to wikipedia, Ulquiorra is now listed as the 5th Espada. This is probably incorrect, but I just thought I’d throw that out there in case anyone was interested.
hmmm…..IF the ranking of Ulquiorra become’s correct, so far my prediction is working as follows. that’s true thought, that if my pattern is correct, there is the possibility that instead of old man 4, Hali-bel 3, dark-skinned espada 2, Stark 1, the order CAN be Hali-bel 4, old man 3, Stark 2, dark skinned espada 1. i’m not saying that every single thing they show is according to an order, but according to the way they were introducing the top for in ch. 269, i still keep my prediction of the top 4. Stark was shown last, dark-skinned espada 2nd to last. only old man and Hali-bel seemed to mix up in their introduction. but i’d say the pattern is working pretty good so far at least.
Yeah, I’d just make sure not to rely too much on this. The only place it says his supposed rank is right below his picture (when you look under arrancar and click his name). Take it with a grain of salt; if it’s true, cool, but I kinda doubt it. I was just throwing it out in case anyone wanted to know.
I definitely do not trust what Wikipedia says at all since anyone can just go and edit the information there. Your ranking by seating pairs is interesting and we can only confirm/deny it with more information. Besides, there’s too much story invested into Ulquiorra by Kubo for him to be a lowly 5th rank.
Well, I just checked and it was taken down, much as I expected it to be. I didn’t really believe it though, I was simply putting it out there for more discussion. I realize that Ulquiorra is by far the most developed Espada so far, but Ichigo has no chance against him if he’s any stronger than 5th; and 5th Espada is not weak, by and means. I guess all I’m trying to say is that if I created this story, I certainly wouldn’t introduce the top Espada first; I would save the top ones for later.
I suppose that Kubo Tite wanted to make his top Espada someone who was quite involved in the story aka Ulquiorra so that the main hero (Ichigo) has more reason to fight him or be involved somehow with him. It’s pointless to suddenly reveal the top Espada later on when he doesn’t have as much development and becomes just another bad guy to be defeated.
makes sense. at the same time, they could possibly develop into more of the characters. if Ulquiorra ends up being espada 5, there still is the huuuuge chance that ichigo still can’t win. even though he murked grimmjow with his mask, he didn’t hold it long enough, which means he failed to beat him. we can assume that ichigo can barely beat grimmjow unreleased. released can be a problem. so if Ulquiorra is number 5, that’s another level of strength, plus his released form. they can possibly stop it there with ichigo, and make him lose so he can be rescued or return home and train. because in the SS arc, he never fought Ukitake, Shunsui, or Yamamoto. they probably would’ve spanked him (my guess lol), and maybe the healing female captain (Aizen was impressed that she was able to tell that something was wrong with Aizen’s fake corpse even while she was under complete hypnosis). instead ichigo ended up fighting Byakuya (the one we all assumed to be the top captain). we still don’t know much about all the captains in Soul Society as well, so it can be the same concept in Hueco Mundo with the Espadas.
The latest chapter pretty much confirms that Ulquiorra should be in the top 3. Ulquiorra bare-handed blocked all the hits of bankai vizard Ichigo and yet didn’t even have a scratch. He’ll probably bleed a bit next week and start to actually fight seriously but still unreleased.
that’d be tight. i saw the much. it was sick. ichigo seems like he may get pwned. wat’s he gonna pull from his sleeve this time. lol
i saw the match*
Top 3 makes sense. I personally wouldn’t put him higher than 3rd though. I’d suspect that Stark and possibly the dark Espada (or maybe the old one) are stronger. I could be wrong though. Hopefully next chapter will reveal something about Ulquiorra’s ranking.
Here is my ranking of the espada:
1. Bored guy
2. Ulquiorra
3. Noitora
4. Dark Chick
5. Black guy…
6. Grimmjow
7. Old guy
8. Glasses
9. Aaroniero
10. Yammi
I am 90% sure Ulquiorra is not #1 because that would just be too boring and predictable, but he is probably top 3 because of all the events in the manga (he is either ranked 2 or 3). The bored-looking guy is definitely top 3. Noitora wouldnt be top 3 if he didn’t brag… so I am no sure about him… but he did beat up chad pretty easily…
and the black chick is probably 3/4 too because we need a chick up there in the ranks.. XD (+ she looks pretty cool)
The black guy and the old guy seem to be the weakest of the remaining unrevealed espadas, and I got a feeling chad will be fighting the old guy so… he is #7
Ishida will probably fight the girl… unless Yourochi shows up in Hueco Mundo (which I think is quite possible). If Yorouchi does show up, Ishida will probably end up fighting the black guy.. so putting him as #5 makes sense. Also, if Yorouchi shows up that means Uruhara will too!! Aizen vs Uruhara!! I really hope that will happen!
I also have a feeling the vizards will show up too and shinji will fight noitora.
as for who would fight the bored guy… my first instinct is: No one
The bored guy seems to be a pretty nice guy and lazy too… I feel like he will briefly show us his power and release and eventually give up after a fight with whoever because of his good nature(maybe because of orihime? = this is completely random.. XD)
This guy also reminds me of captain shunsui, which turned out to be one of the strongest in Soul Society but didn’t really show us a fight… Same thing might happen in Hueco Mundo….
Anyways… There still seems to be a lot remaining to this arc so I don’t think it will be ending soon which I am quite happy about
Oh and if the pink haired guy didn’t tell his ranking I would have ranked him higher… so my rankings could be way off…
Updated Ranking Guess:
1. Dark Espada
2. Stark
3. Ulquiorra
4. Noitora
5. Halibel
6. Grimmjow
7. Old Espada
8. Zaera-Polo
9. Yammy
As much as I’d like any of the Vizards to show up, I doubt they will because if they did get him, Aizen will never let them get out again. He won’t just sit back and watch the show, he’ll probably direct all the Espadas to hunt them down.
i know that as of now, everyone is predicting that Ichigo will get murked by Ulquiorra. i kind of am too, but i realized that even though Ichigo is a Vaizard, isn’t it possible for him to have a released form? we saw his complete inner hollow when he was training. this means that maybe he can tap into it as a transformation similar to the arrancar. if this is so, he can possibly be way stronger. this is just something i looked at. i’m guessing that probably eventually this can happen, but as for now, i believe that ichigo is just going to get get pwned for the time being. lol and i still think that Ulquiorra can be espada 5.
Nah. That’s because becoming a Vizard means to hold your shinigami form with access to hollow powers. The hollow form of Ichigo needs to be arrancarised first before he can have a ‘release’, and even then he won’t be a Vizard or even Ichigo anymore, just another powerful hollow.
I think maybe both the vizards and arrancars are trying to reach the same form - the ultimate perfect shinigami/hollow hybrid.
I was thinking about the aftermath of Arroniero’s death. Does anyone think he’ll be replaced (perhaps with Wonderwice or some other arrancar)? Or do you think Yammy will move up one notch and the Espada will stay at 9 members? Personally, I would find it very tiring if they kept on replacing the dying Espada. Though, that may be the plan; get rid of the weaker ones to make room for the Vasto Lordes. I suspect that a few current Espada will survive. Maybe the whole point of the current arc is to eliminate the weaker Espada, introduce the Vasto Lordes as future Espada members, and prepare for Aizen’s war (which may include rematches with current/future Espada). Thoughts, opinions?
i am almost 90 precent sure ulquiorra is not number 1 since why would number 1 be equal to or weaker then 100 percent ichigo. personally i think he is just in the range of number 5-3 espada. The chick, old guy, Stark are definity top five. but i’m unsure about noitora and the guy with studs.
There’s a possibility that Wonderwice might become the #9 Espada since there was no real reason for him to be introduced until now. As for the elimination of weaker Espada, we’ll have to see how the battle between Renji and Zaelapollo goes first.
As cool as Ulquiorra is, I don’t think he’s the top Espada. On the other hand, I don’t think he’s 5th or 7th Espada either. 5th would work, but it would be kinda strange for Grimmjow to end up speechless at Ulquiorra’s comment (that he’d take care of Ichigo himself if it came to it) if there was only a 1 number difference. Also, we have to consider just how many Vasto Lordes are currently in the Espada. There’s Ulquiorra, but what about the others? Noitora, strong as he may be, doesn’t seem careful or analytical enough to be a Vasto Lorde. The old Espada also made prior cocky remarks about Ichigo’s group. Take a look at the example Adjuchas and Vasto Lordes; they look almost exactly like Yammy and Ulquiorra. Maybe Yammy and Ulquiorra are just the weakest examples of their respective classes. I would expect Ulquiorra to be much stronger than Grimmjow, but still leave a gap between him and the top Espada: he has to be strong enough to present Ichigo with his toughest battle yet, but weak enough that Ichigo still has a ways to go before reaching the top (present and possibly future) Espada and Aizen once their battle is over. Also, the dark Espada seems highly observant and Stark was able to shut Noitora up. I think those two (ranking wise) are interchangable. Anyways, I’ll reiterate my current Espada ranking:
1. Dark Espada
2. Stark
3. Ulquiorra
4. Noitora
5. Halibel
6. Grimmjow
7. Old Espada
8. Zaera-Polo
9. Yammy
And as far as Wonderwice goes, do we know (for a fact) that he’s stronger than Yammy? Anyways, with the coming of the Vasto Lordes, I wouldn’t be surprised if Yammy and Grimmjow (along with the 7th Espada) are forced out of the Espada ranks. Honestly, I don’t expect Zaera-Polo to survive his fight with Renji. Maybe this would be the end of Yammy; he’d just leave and that would be the end of his story. I suspect Grimmjow would fight back and get himself killed (possibly by Aizen or Tousen). I don’t know about Ulquiorra, Noitora, and Halibel, but if there’s a new arc involving Aizen’s war after this one, I’d expect that at least the dark Espada and Stark would remain in the ranks of the Espada.
I read all of this, and I noticed no one mentioned that Ichigo is the main character, unless Aizan is going to win the war, Ichigo can’t die. I’ve never heard of someone who is not a main character beat the main bad guy, and Ichigo is the most powerful of the main characters. I never believed that Ulquiorra was he first Espada, but I do think that he is one of the top three. This is my list-
1. Stark
2. Ulquiorra
3. Noitora
4. Black guy
5. Halibel
6. Grimmjow Jaggerjack
7. Old man
8. Zaera POlo Grantz
9. Aaroniero Arleri
10. Yammy
I think the old guy is 7th because of the way he acts.
Guest: Although you say that Noitora isn’t careful or analytical to be a vastrode, there’s really nothing that says a vastrode has to be intelligent at all. For example Zaelapollo seems fairly intelligent but I’m sure he’s just an adjuchas.
As for Wonderwice, we know nothing about him at all which is what makes his existence a mystery. He doesn’t add anything to the story at all until now where he might be the replacement for #9.
I wonder about Wonderwice. he seemed to be very powerful due to his actions. obliviously dealing with the enemy, he’s proven to have abilities that we haven’t quite seen yet. Urahara makes him sound skilled.
i also decided to illustrate my espada rank predictions lol here it is.
damn it didn’t show up. lol i must of did it wrong. how do i post up pics? lol
I just saw the new Bleach introduction, and the espadas are standing in the same order as they are sitting in the manga picture. i’m sticking with my prediction because it makes sense. lol
MANGA PIC SHOWS FROM AIZEN’S VIEW
9- Aaroniero 10- Yammy
3- Hali-ble 4- Old man
7- Noitora 8- Zaera-Polo
1- Stark 2- dark skinned espada
5- Ulquiorra 6- Grimmjow
ANIME PIC SHOWS FROM BACK OPPOSITE SIDE
10- Yammy 9- Aaroniero
4- Old man 3- Hali-bel
8- Zaera-Polo 7- Noitora
2- dark skinned espada 1- Stark
6- Grimmjow 5- Ulquiorra
Ulquiorra has been confirmed as the 4th Espada. The zigzag theory doesn’t work any longer.
i guess it doesn’t, but i must wait for the final conclusions to close it. lol
Are the chapter 271 spoilers confirmed as fact yet? If they’re REALLY true, what else happened in the chapter? Any new Espada names or numbers (excluding Ulquiorra)?
I’ve checked on Ulquiorra’s ranking, and it is confirmed that Ulquiorra is officially espada number 4. you can actually find the pictures with him revealing it. looks like my theory went down the toilet. lol i COULD create another one, lol, but i think i will keep this one to myself……if i was to just guess off the top of my head….it’s like this now
1 Stark
2 dark espada or Noitora
3 dark espada or Noitora
4 Ulquiorra
5 Hali-bel
6 Grimmjow
7 old espada
8 Zaera-Polo
9 Aaroniero
10 Yammy
Spoiler pictures of the 271 pages have proven it so I guess my theory is shot down as well. And it seems that everyone else who commented here was wrong too.
I guess my updated list now is:
1. Stark
2. Noitora
3. Old Espada
4. Ulquiorra
5. Brooding chick
6. Grimmjow
7. Stone-face dude with skull earrings
8. Zaelapollo
9. Aaroniero
10. Yammy
Yeah, I think you are right, alkanphel.
Also, I think everyone is underestimating the tall, dark Espada.
Yeah. He could also be the 1st Espada.
But somewhere they said it´is comfirmed that the black dude is the 7th Espada.
Hm… Maybe, there could be a Zero Espada. Who knows?
I think the dark dude as 7th Espada was a fake spoiler. Honestly, he seems like one of the top 3. Same goes for Stark. Noitora and the old guy could also be candidates for top 3. I think Halibel could be 5th or 7th. I knew that Ulquiorra wasn’t the top Espada; like I’ve said earlier, it would have been too predictable. I believe the candidates for first should be Stark, the dark Espada, and the Old Espada. To be honest though, I don’t really like the old one, so I hope he’s 7th. He seems somewhat intelligent (not to mention his crown shaped mask…), but he made cocky remarks about Ichigo’s team along with Arroniero and Zaera-Polo (who happened to be 9th and 8th Espada), and look where they are now; Arroniero is dead, and Zaera-Polo may also by the time his fight is over. Right now, my biggest question is where is Noitora ranked. His zanpakuto looked really badass, and he seems to think alot of himself. It’s implied that he’s probably not the 1st Espada, but I’m wondering what his rank is in comparison to Ulquiorra. He talked down to Halibel, making it appear he was higher ranked than her, but when he talked down to Ulquiorra, it seemed like Ulquiorra was just toying with him, provoking him.
The dark espada is not confirmed to be the 7th espada because, THAT same spoiler said that Ulquiorra was espada number 1. Ulquiorra is already confirmed to be espada number 4. We’ll just have to wait for the dark espada’s rank still.
So many people underestimate the dark Espada. I would assume from what we know about Ulquiorra’s personality that although he doesn’t think very much of the lower Espada (Noitora?, Grimmjow, and Yammy, though he seems to respect Yammy to a degree), he would respect those higher ranked than himself. This is what leads me to believe that the dark Espada is in the top 3, since Ulquiorra seems to respect him. And Stark just has to be in the top 3, he is just too cool a character to waste for 5th or 7th Espada. I know that’s not a validation for his ranking, but from the way he acts to the way he was able to shut Noitora up at the Espada meeting, I think it’s logical to deduce that he’s one of the top Espada. Honestly, I’m unsure of where Noitora, Halibel, and the Old Espada fit in; all of them could be candidates for 5th or 7th ranking. I hope Noitora actually does something soon; it doesn’t take that long to catch up with Ichigo or Ishida.
I think it would be pretty ironic if the old Espada was #1 so as to mirror Yamamoto in the Gotei 13
ok rankings:
1. Old Man
2. Gloved Guy
3. Halibel
4. Ulquiorra
5. Black Guy
6. Grimjow
7. Noitora
8. Zaelapollo
9. Aaroniero
10. Yammy
THANKS FOR YOUR INPUT GUYS
THE LIST IS REVEALED:
1. Stark
2. Noitora
3. Black Dude
4. Ulquiorra
5. Halibel
6. Grimmjow
7. Old Espada
8. Zaeropollo
9. Aaroniero
10. Yammy
ANSWER REVEALED SEEMS LIKE HE’S GOT A GOOD LIST. HMMMM. I WON’T ONLY BE INDECISIVE ABOUT SWITCHING 2 AND 3, BUT AT THE SAME TIME, I DO REMEMBER NOITORA MAKING A COMMENT B4 HE SAID HE WAS THE STRONGEST. THIS IS WAT HE SAYS IN THE TRANSLATION THAT I HAVE. “I HAVE NO INTEREST IN WEAKLINGS. THOUGH I DO HAVE INTEREST IN CHIH” THEN HE GETS INTERRUPTED BY TESLA. THIS MEANS HE CAN POSSIBLY 2ND BECAUSE HE IS ONLY WORRIED ABOUT 1 ABOVE HIM BY THE WAY HE TALKS. HE DIDN’T GET TO FINISH SAYING THE NAME, BUT IT’S EITHER THE LAST NAME OF AN ESPADA THAT HASN’T BEEN INTRODUCED, OR A FIRST NAME OF ONE THAT HASN’T BEEN INTRODUCED. IF THAT’S THE CASE, HALI-BEL IS ALREADY OUT, AND MAYBE STARK (THIS MIGHT BE HIS NICK NAME).
one more thing. basically (in my opinion, and if this translation is correct), any one who has Chih in the beginning of there first or last name is espada number one in this scenario because it’s Noitora’s only concern. this is my guess.
Ey, the new chapter is out now. Ichigo can’t win because Ulquiorra is too strong. Hopeless.
I think Answer Revealed has a very good list; I think I’ll have to agree with it for the moment. As for Noitora, “Chih” doesn’t have to be anyone’s name. I don’t speak any Japanese, but that translation could have simply indicated that he located someone with a high power level. It could have simply been an expression like that, as opposed to someone’s name. Though, I still want Stark to be the top Espada (he’s too cool a character to not be), the dark guy or old guy could also be top Espada.
Actually that “chih” was just an expression, like “pfft”. It wasn’t a name or anything.
Someone with an very active imagination on this Chinese forum thinks that Ulqiorra is actually no.1, but he used paint to disguise himself as no.4 as to discourage Ichigo, so that Ichigo doesn’t have to die and Orihime doesn’t have to be sad.
The Ulqiorra x Orihime relationship seems to be getting a LOT of supporters lol.
Hahaha that’s a pretty active imagination I’d say. But I’m not sure why that means Ichigo doesn’t have to die since the manga shows Ulquiorra impaling Ichigo so I”m pretty sure he wants to kill Ichigo.
dude, i wonder if the Vizards have rankings, or are they just some gang with a leader?
makes sense about the expression. but i at least know that there is enough proof about him being concerned about someone else, so in this scenario maybe he’s 2nd? i would’ve put him lower, but since my zig zag theory died, i’m looking at my old speculations.
hxecute: I doubt the Vizards have any rankings at all. Seems more like a group of friends with a mission to complete.
Remember in the Espada meeting when Aizen showed off his power, knocking Grimmjow down just with his presence. Now, this is hard to tell with the speech bubbles in the way, but it looked as if Zaera-Polo and the dark Espada were worried (it looked like the dark Espada may have even been sweating). Now, on the other side of the table, although appearing interested in what Aizen had to say, Stark and Noitora didn’t even seem to be phased at all. Ulquiorra seemed alright too, though you don’t see the reactions of the other Espada. Since Ulquiorra is a Vasto Lorde level Espada, I’d imagine that there would be a great gap in power between him and Grimmjow. I would also guess that Ulquiorra is the weakest of the current Vasto Lorde Espada. Here’s an updated guess of the rankings based on this information:
1. Stark
2. Noitora
3. Halibel
4. Ulquiorra
5. Dark Espada
6. Grimmjow
7. Old Espada
8. Zaera-Polo
9. Arroniero
10. Yammy
Man I Cant Believe Ulquiorra is only number 4!
well i guess starks is number 1
and noitora is 2
and so…
i was hoping ulquiorra would be
number 1 lol
wat i had observed at Aizen’s meeting was that it should the reactions of the first 4- old man, Aaroniero, Yammy, and Zaero-Polo. i know that they were sitting near eachother, but the point i’m making is that most of them made arrogant comments….right after that, Aizen says not to underestimate them. then it shows the other four- Ulquiorra, dark skinned espada, Hali-bel, and Noitora. their comments seem like they were taking things more seriously with the exception of Noitora. this could be a sign to show who the more superior espadas were. this gives off the impression that the other 4 are higher than the first 4 shown. Grimmjow was shown right after with his dilemna with Aizen, and we already know where he stands. As for Stark, i get the impression that he’s number 1 for every reason he has, including the small fact that he did not say a word at that part, as if they want to reveal him yet. this is wat makes me believe that old man is in the bottom half, while Hali-bel, Noitora, the dark skinned espada, and Stark are in the top half. due to all the details that u can check in Ch. 244, 245, and 269, i continue to believe that Stark is number 1, and the dark skinned espada is number 2. this leaves the old man as 7, because he continues to make cocky remarks (he can if he’s number 1, but i don’t count on it). Hali-bel would be left with the 5th rank, or 3rd rank. if her silence at the meeting towards Noitora was because she didn’t sweat him, i would place her as 3rd. if she stayed quiet because he was intimidating, then 5th. as for Noitora 3rd rank for him if he’s trying to prove himself without being delusional. (unless he’s so serious that he’d be number 2 while the dark skinned espada is 2) i can also see him 3rd if his disrespect towards Ulquiorra was because he was more superior (unless Ulquiorra knows he’s stronger than Noitora)
*correction”-”unless he’s so serious that he’d be number 2, while the dark skinned espada is 3″
I figured that the weaker members of the Espada (five adjuchas and one gillian) would have been intimidated/effected by Aizen’s display of power towards Grimmjow. Due to the fact that the dark Espada and Zaera-Polo appear nervous and negatively effected by Aizen’s power, it would be sufficient to think that they are ranked lower than the Vasto Lordes (Ulquiorra, Stark, Noitora, and Halibel). I could be wrong about Zaera-Polo and the dark Espada’s expressions toward Aizen’s power because of the speech bubbles in the way, but that’s what it looked like to me. Also, Zaera-Polo almost panicked later on when Aizen questioned him about his research. The dark Espada seemed intelligent though, and Ulquiorra seems to respect him to some degree. He doesn’t seem cocky enough for 7th place, so for now I think the dark Espada is 5th, while the old Espada is 7th. Now, for Halibel, it would be likely for the only female Espada to be ranked highly. She doesn’t seem to cut it as top Espada, but I think 3rd is extremely likely. Noitora is cocky and delusional, but lets face it; if Ulquiorra and Halibel were higher than him and he insulted them, they could easily kick his pompous ass. Noitora obviously thinks he’s superior to them by his demeanor, yet Stark was able to shut him up at the Espada meeting. Now going by this logic, I’ll reiterate my current (and probably not last) Espada ranking list:
1. Stark
2. Noitora
3. Halibel
4. Ulquiorra
5. Dark Espada
6. Grimmjow
7. Old Espada
8. Zaera-Polo
9. Aaroneiro
10. Yammy
Also, keep in mind that the Espada could change significantly soon. For all we know, Aizen could gather the Vasto Lordes and kick out the lower echelon (5th-10th) of the Espada. Ulquiorra could become the weakest member of the newly completed Espada. We also have to realize that some of the current Espada (ex. the dark and old ones) may never come into play, as they lose their ranking. Just something to keep in mind, with Aizen’s premonition of a complete, Vasto Lorde level Espada.
Could this be the true seating of the Espada?
9 - 10
3 - 7
2 - 8
1 - 5
4 - 6
Makes sense; 9th and 10th are at the end of the table, 5th through 8th on Aizen’s right, and 1st through 4th on his left.
urukiorraaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa ç_ç i wanted HIM as number oneeeeeee T_T
btw, now i go for:
1-Halibel (i chose her to replace ulquiorra only for… the tits XD)
2-Noitora
3-Stark
4-Ulquiorra (ç_ç)
5-the old guy (chad’s grandfather X-D)
6-Grimmjow (i think there also will be some h-doujinshi with HIM and inoue… >_>)
7-the nigga-one
8-Zaerapolo (go! go for it! beat the crap out of LoseRenji, go!!!)
9-Aaroniero (all about him sucks, his story, his death, his motherfuckin’ shikai…)
10-Yammy
Guest: That seating arrangement seems completely arbitary though. You can easily swap the places of the 1,2,3,5,7 seats and there won’t be any real difference.
I’m pretty much gunning for Stark as #1 and Noitora and #2 now which makes sense on Noitora but the #3 spot might either go to the old one or Halibel.
I figured that my seating arrangement made some sense though. 9th and 10th are at the end of the table, 5th-8th on the right side, and 1st-4th on the left. So far, it works. Plus, it has evens and odds across from each other (not that it means anything). It could easily be arbitrary, but it fits with the numbers I have already mentally assigned the remaining Espada. Look at the right side of the table: you have Grimmjow who, although completely awesome, is also completely reckless; Zaera-Polo, who is also cocky and reckless; and the old Espada, who is cocky (and will possibly be reckless in future encounters). Take a look at chapter 245 though; when Aizen shows off his power, Zaera-Polo and the dark Espada don’t look so well. Obviously, the same goes for Grimmjow. But Stark, Noitora, and Ulquiorra (the left side of the table) seem, for the most part, completely uneffected. I agree alkanphel, I hope Stark and Noitora are numbers 1 and 2, respectively. I’d say that Halibel has a better shot at #3 than the old one does. Plus, the old one seems like the most boring Espada. If he’s actually Chad’s grandfather, and Chad takes him on later (and has a shot at winning), I’d expect him to be 5th or 7th. Anyways, take it with a grain of salt, but this is my prediction for the Espada ranks.
i decided to overlook ch. 245 , but Zaera-poro’s face was covered up too much. lol when i looked at the dark espada, i just noticed his 3 marks above his eye brow. that’s part of his look. he has 3 marks above his eye on both sides, then he has 3 upside down triangles above his chin. other than that, i didn’t notice anything odd about those 2. if you look at the dark espada in every picture, he has those same marks in all of them.
I tot Grimmjow was already removed from No.6? lol
No he was reinstated when Orihime regenerated his arm and number and he obliterated Luppi right away.
272!
Well we now know that ALL Espadas have officers, if they chose to have officers.
It seems that Ulqiorra was protecting Orihime in some way, since as soon as he was gone some other Arrancar tried to kill her. And Ulqiorra didn’t outright kill Ichigo, or at least he doesn’t intend and never intended to kill Ichigo - if he wanted to kill Ichigo he would’ve finished him off instead of leaving him there (although it looks like Ichigo’s about to die anyway).
Yeah earlier on we were told that the Espada could command any of the lower arrancars but know there is actually a title (Flaccion) for those arrancars whom the Espada choose to serve them.
I don’t think those 2 arrancar brats were going to kill Orihime though. They were probably roughing her up because she’s suddenly Aizen’s new pet and they resent that.
Wonder if Ulquiorra or Yammy have officers? Hah… then again, maybe Ulquiorra chose Yammy. I would imagine if Arroniero had servants, he would have probably already eaten and absorbed them. Now that I think of it, could the five arrancar that accompanied Grimmjow for the first attack (Shawlong, Ilforte, etc.) be his Flaccion? Either way, I’m interested in what Grimmjow’s intentions are in the new chapter, as well as possible revelations of the Espada rankings.
1-Stark- 2-Old man 3-Black Dude: Because he has three triangels tatooed on his chin and everytime there is a side angle of him there are three dashes above his eye 4-Ulquiorra 5-Halibel 6-Grimmjow 7-Noitora-Envious of Ulquiorra and also wants to prove his strength to badly meaning he must be lower. 8-Polo 9-Aaroniero 10-Yammy
yes i would think so. too bad they didn’t make shawlong an espada. he would’ve been a tight espada.
0. Wondewice Margera - powerful uncontained experiment
1. Stark - calm, uninterested, most plain human looking (strongest, smartest, sensible)
2. Noitora - Starscream type second in command attitude. wanting to be the strongest but it not.
3. Mohawk Dude - seems to be very strong and intelligent. (Soundwave type)
(Done with the transformers)
4. Ulquiorra
5. Halibel
6. Grimmjow
7. Old Man
8. Zaelapollo
9. Aaroniero
10. Yammy
Or this one could be it too…
1. Halibel
2. Stark
3. Noitorra
4. Ulquiorra
5. Mohawk dude
6. Grimmjow
7. Old Man
8. Zaelapollo
9. Aaroniero
10. Yammy
I think its one of these two.
Well, so far Stark seems to be ranked higher than Noitora. Also, Noitora seems to be ranked higher than Ulquiorra and Halibel. This would lead me to believe that Stark and Noitora are in the top 3. If not Noitora, at least Stark. Stark, the dark Espada, and the old Espada seem to be the only good candidates for 1st Espada, though I’m really hoping it’s Stark. The fact that they’re the last members to be revealed by name makes me think at least one of them could be in the top 3. I’m still wondering about Grimmjow though; what is he going to do with Orihime? Is he going to use her to help him fight Ichigo, or is betrayal against Aizen his real goal right now. Personally, I’d like him to rebel against Aizen and survive. He would make a good ally in battling the new Espada during the war, albeit with his own different motivations. Not that he should become a good guy or anything, but I’d like him to act more independently from Aizen. A rematch with Ichigo would be a cool way to wrap up this arc; they fight, Grimmjow releases, Ichigo wins and spares Grimmjow, Aizen doesn’t get a chance to kill Grimmjow, Grimmjow vows to get revenge on Aizen/the Espada. I think that after his release, Zaera-Polo will be killed. Yammy will be demoted, but could possibly become Ulquiorra’s servant. Also, I’m curious if the two unrevealed Espada will ever come into play. If they’re the 5th and 7th Espada, they may be knocked entirely out of their ranks altogether. Ulquiorra could become the new 10th Espada (and if not that, one of the weaker members of the new Espada). For now, I feel that Ulquiorra, Stark, Halibel, and Noitora will survive this arc and remain in the Espada. And Noitora’s being lazy; does it seriously take 10 chapters to track someone down?
I do agree with:
1) Stark
2) Halibel(has similarities to Soifon and she is cpt of the 2nd division, though in Gotei 13 divisions number does not equal strength,but I’m pretty sure it’s like this)
3) Noitora
The rest is unimportant :P!Or it could be possible to change 2 with 3 but I strongly believe Halibel is 2nd espada.This is the top 3 espada because:
a)Their the only ones that have direct subordonates(it’s a too odd for a mere conicidence)
b)They obiviously look the strongest!
Well, if you really want to rank by similarities to the 13 divisions, you should probably put the old Espada at the top. Seriously though, I really want Stark to be the top Espada. I disagree about your order for 2 and 3; Noitora is probably higher than Halibel simply for the fact that, like with Ulquiorra, he talked down to her. I know Noitora is cocky and delusional, but I would expect a higher ranked Espada to either kick his ass for those comments, or say something that would shut him up (like Stark did at the Espada meeting). Halibel, on the other hand, said nothing. I’d be surprised if Noitora was ranked lower than Ulquiorra. I don’t know just how big the gap in power is between Ulquiorra and Grimmjow, but judging from what we’ve seen of Grimmjow, Zaera-Polo, Arroniero, and Yammy’s zanpakuto’s (not that we’ve seen much of this, but we can get the general shape of their zanpakuto’s), it seems safe to infer that Noitora’s is both larger and more powerful.
Here is my list that I think is the real ranking, because it really makes sense.
1st Espada- Stark
2nd Espada- Halibel
3rd Espada- Noitora
4th Espada- Ulquiorra Schiffer
5th Espada- Tall Dark Skinned Guy
6th Espada- Grimmjow Jaggerjack
7th Espada- Old Guy
8th Espada- Zaera-Polo Grantz
9th Espada- Aaroniero Arleri(Deceased)
10th Espada- Yammy
My Reasons: First lets start with Stark, he is obviously the strongest because he’s always tired and bored, and if you were of a lower rank you wouldn’t be like that because you would always have to be alert, following orders. Also, he silenced Noitora, who is one of most the disruptive Arrancar there. After Stark comes Halibel, who is very similar to Soifon in many ways, such as the way they both wear they’re sword. Then it just makes sense to make Noitora the 3rd because of how he speaks to everyone else (including Ulquiorra). Skipping Ulquiorra, comes the big dark skinned guy. He seems pretty strong, and seems to have some authority, so he must be the 5th. Finally, skipping Grimmjow, comes the old guy. He seems confident in his ability, and he sort of looks like Captain Komamura of the 7th Division, thus making him the 7th Espada.
yo what chapter you guys talking about
that Starks told Noitora to shut up?
anyone know?!
Well, after taking the pic and writing the numbers over it…i got:
1.Halibel
2.Noitora
3.Stark
4.Ulq.
5.Black Guy
6.Grimmjow
7.Old Guy
8.Zarea-Pollo Grantz
9.The dead one…
10.Yami
no particular reason, just messed around with the picture…wrote in whats been confirmed, it kinda looked like it was going clockwise even…so then i went counterclockwise odd…but then again if you look at it, Ulq is 4, if Stark is 3, then itd be 3-4 next to each other, then we have Noitora and Halibel, 2-1, Yami and the dead guy, 9-10, old guy and the Grantz, 7-8, and Blackguy+Grimm, 5-6….honestly…it might turn out that there is no particular order with the picture at all…wouldnt we feel stupid?
O- the chapter is 244. when the espadas sit, Stark tells Noitora to be quiet because he is still sleepy. Noitora doesn’t respond. u can tell who is who if u know how each espada dresses.
oh and in case u can’t tell em apart, when Noitora sits, all u see is his pants at first with a chain, and he yells out loud.
Aeikos: The only people who would feel stupid would be the ones who insisted that there was some pattern or order to the seating arrangement that determined the Espada ranks. Personally I don’t believe there is any pattern or order so it doesn’t matter to me
1. Old Espada
2. Noitora
3. Stark
4. Ulquiorra (#4)
5. Halibel
6. Grimmjow (#6) // Luppi (was Former #6 Espada)
7. Stone-face dude with skull earrings
8. Zaelapollo (#8)
9. Aaroniero (#9)
10. Yammy (#10)
The Arrankar (Espada) in my list with “#” is from the manga oficial rank release….
As far as I’m concerned, Luppi was never a “real” Espada; he was just an expendable tool. Ironically enough, it looks that way for several of the current Espada. I’m interested in seeing what role the Vasto Lordes will play.
sorry 2 go off the whole topic of ranking i really hope u guys don’t mind..i’m junior i like in the caribbean so bleach dosen’t show here n i hav 2 watch it on youtube but the last bleach episode i saw was 120 i haven’t found any of the others n i’m sure i’m missin alot…can anyone plz send me a site where i can watch from 121- where ever they @ now?
yo. bleach is also on this site
http://www.dailymotion.com/us
Hey junior I know a great site where you can see the show in perfect high quality. Go to http://www.Veoh.com. It works the same way Youtube does except theres no banning of the shows.
thanx alot guys.
It would be nice to know how many of the Espada are vastrodes and how many are adjuchas, since we know that there was only 1 gillian among them.
Well I think that the top 5 espada are Vasto Lordes, and Espadas 6,7,8,and 10 are only high level adjuchas.
Well I’m pretty sure Yammy is confirmed as an adjuchas.
i really think
Stark is rank 1…
man i wish they reveal the ranks already!!!
lolz! ohh man and no manga this week sucks!!
This is my updated opinion on the Espada ranking:
1st Espada- Stark
2nd Espada- Halibel
3rd Espada- Tall Mohawk Guy
4th Espada- Ulquiorra Schiffer
5th Espada- Noitora
6th Espada- Grimmjow Jaggerjack
7th Espada- Oscar Joaquin De La Rosa(Maybe?)
8th Espada- Zaera-Polo Grantz
9th Espada- Aaroniero Arleri
10th Espada- Yammy
Noitora is a confusing Arrancar Its confusing because he can be seen as either the 3rd, 5th, or 7th. The thing is he can’t be in the top 3 because those three are most likely Vasto Lordes and because he’s so freakishly tall he is probaly just an extremely high level Adjuchas. So he is most likely to be the 5th Espada because that’s where he seems best.
Official: Menos type has nothing to do with how human they look, it’s intelligence. Noitora could just be a not so smart vastrode.
Noitora would work well as 3rd or 5th. I know sword size isn’t a real indication of power, but a zanpakuto of his size would be highly disproportional when placed between Grimmjow and Zaera-Polo’s. I just find it hard to see Noitora talking back to Ulquiorra and Halibel if either of them are more powerful. On the other hand, it seemed almost as if Ulquiorra was toying with him in their previous discussion, so who knows. Although he seems pretty careless, I think he’s smarter than he’s letting on. He might be egotistical, but he was still able to hold his own in battle. He’s different than Zaera-Polo and Arroniero, who carelessly rushed out into battle, and are now paying for their mistakes. However, 10 chapters is far too long for him to have not found an opponent; he needs to do something in the next couple of chapters.
if i wanted to have a crazy guess to have the remaining espadas in positions i would least expect, it would be like this:
1. dark skinned-espada
2. old espada
3. noitora
5. stark
7. hali-bel
(this list is to show a mix up ranking to indicate that these could be the rankings since we can’t anticipate them) THERE IS NO REASONING FOR THEM BESIDES THE FACT THAT THEY ARE RESULTS DUE TO OTHER ANTICIPATED VOTES.
basically these rankings are for us to be like “i can’t see those being the rankings.” lol
but if i wanted to be serious and guess, it’s pretty much the same as my older guess:
1. Stark
2. Noitora or dark-skinned espada
3. dark-skinned espada or Noitora
5. Hali-bel
7. old espada
Here’s my updated rankings with the new names:
1st Espada- Stark
2nd Espada- Halibel
3rd Espada- Tall Dark Skinned Guy
4th Espada- Ulquiorra Schiffer
5th Espada- Noitora
6th Espada- Grimmjow Jeagerjaques
7th Espada- Oscar Joaquin De La Rosa
8th Espada- Szayel Aporro Grantz
9th Espada- Aaroniero Arleri (Deceased)
10th Espada- Yammy
My current list:
1. Dark Espada
2. Stark
3. Halibel
4. Ulquiorra Schiffer
5. Noitora
6. Grimmjow Jaggerjack (Boycotting the new spelling; it sucks)
7. Oscar Joaquin De La Rosa (?)
8. Zaera-Polo Grantz (Same as Grimmjow)
9. Arroniero Arleri (Deceased)
10. Yammy
Yammy is officially a pushover; he’s pretty useless, and will almost definately be kicked out once the new Espada is formed. Now, I believe there are three possible scenarios: 1. Yammy is defeated/killed by someone (possibly Chad); 2. Once the new Espada is formed, Yammy will still play a minor role (ex. Ulquiorra’s assistant); 3. Yammy is completely removed from the Espada, and is effectively wiped off the face of the Bleach world.
Now, Zaera-Polo will most likely be killed in his battle against Ishida and Renji. Like Arroniero, he served his role well, but was ultimately a dispensible character. Now that leaves us with the top 7 Espada. I feel it would make most sense for the old one (Chad’s Grandfather?) to be 7th. After all, he made very cocky remarks about Ichigo’s team, alongside Zaera-Polo and Arroniero. Although his dialogue could easily be there to fool the fans, I don’t feel he deserves a place in the top 3. Plus, if he does end up being Chad’s Grandfather (which would most likely indicate a final showdown with him and Chad), he would probably have to be one of the weakest members of the new Espada. However, Noitora also appears cocky. I feel as though their positions in the Espada can be interchangeable. Noitora does look pretty strong from his zanpakuto’s appearance, but Ulquiorra seemed to be almost toying with him in their previous dialogue. This is what leads me to believe that Ulquiorra may outrank him.
Now, this assumption has no real merit, but I would imagine that the only female in the Espada would be one of the stronger ones. As for Stark, I feel that he is just too cool a character to waste on the lower echelon of the Espada. Again, no merit in the assumption, just what I personally want. As for the tall, dark dude, everything about him just seems to scream 1st Espada; from his sitting posture, to his commanding presence. Now, I could be completely wrong with all 5 of my guesses for the remaining Espada, but this is what I currently think. Also, am I the only one that thinks Grimmjow may die in the current arc (possibly at the hands of Ichigo, Aizen, Tosen, or Ulquiorra)? Then again, maybe he’ll suddenly gain Vasto Lorde powers and become one of the top Espada (who knows, anythings possible, and Grimmjow’s cool enough to do it). Either way, I hope some cool Vasto Lordes are thrown into the mix once the new Espada is assembled.
Guest. u got a nice observation there. hmmmmm.
Here is my list that I think is the real ranking, because it really makes sense.
1. Stark
2. Noitora
3. Halibel
4. Ulquiorra
5. Old Espada
6. Grimmjow
7. Stone-face dude with skull earrings
8. Zaelapollo
9. Aaroniero 10.
i really want to know who would win if the arrancars (espada) VS the vizards
and if urahara kisuke was the one who invented H
Well first of all, Guest, that was a good theory right there. You really proved all of your thoughts. Getting back on topic, I firmly believe that the big dark skinned guy is the 3rd Espada. It is true that he appears to have a commanding prescence, but to me, he does not seem to be the top Espada. As said by a guest once, if you look closely at him in the meeting picture, he has 3 markings above his left eye. He has the same 3 markings under his lip on his chin in the Espada picture… Oh and one more thing, I’m with you on the boycotting of the new names, Jeagerjaques sucks!
Ok, I see where you’re going, and for all I know you could be right about the tall, dark dude being 3rd, but think about it; the marks don’t really have to mean anything. I mean, Arroniero’s mask had 8 holes in it, but that didn’t make him the 8th Espada. Halibel has 2 circular things on the top of her arrancar uniform, but that doesn’t necessarily make her 2nd. However, you could easily be right about his ranking. Personally, the only 2 Espada that I feel deserve 1st ranking are the tall, dark dude and Stark. Noitora being 1st wouldn’t be very logical, and Halibel doesn’t seem to fit there as well. The old one could be first as well, but he seems too cocky.
True. The old guy has to be of a lower rank like 7th because like you said, if he is Chad’s grandfather, then they are most likely to have a showdown. Chad really isn’t the strongest out of their group so they’re going to have to make this Espada particulary weak for people like Ichigo but just as strong as Chad.
Also what you said about Halibel could also be true, however the reason why I think shes the 2nd is not because she has those two circles on her collar, but because she bears a striking resemblance to Soifon of the 2nd Division.
Well, I guess we’ll just have to wait and see. Though, if you think Halibel should be 2nd because of her resemblance to Soifon, wouldn’t it make sense to put the old Espada at 1st to parallel Yamamoto? And am I the only one that wants the Zaera-Polo fight to be over with; at this point, I don’t even care about his release, I just want to see some more confirmations in the Espada rankings. I want to see more of Grimmjow and Stark, as well as finding out just where the hell Noitora ran off to.
Noitora’s one of my favorite Arrancar, and I’ve been dissapointed at how Tite Kubo hasn’t brought him up again.
I personally love. the Espada. Here is what I base my predictions on what the true rankings will be like.
1. Stark (It seems as though he follows Aizen out of bordom, allthough I don’t beleive it was confirmed he did. His mask is completely removed and the only remains of it are a necklace. Meaning he’s GOT to be the Top Ranked Espada.
2. Halibel (I don’t know why, but Halibel strikes me as though she should be number two in the Espada Ranks. She’s the only female in the Ranks, and the remains of her Hollow Mask are on her cheeks, meaning that her mask was almost completely removed too. It seems to me she should be number 2…)
3. Noitora (As much as I love him, he has allready claimed he’s not the top ranked Espada. However, that hat is kickass, and I beleive that he is defedently tougher than Ulquiorra, by just the way he was talking to him.)
4. Ulquiorra
5. The old Espada (Age dosne’t always nececerily come with power, but usually wisdom. In terms of looks, he couldn’t possiblybe the first ranked Espada. I’d be pissed if he was.)
6. Grimmjow Jaggerjack (God I wish he was ranked higher…)
7. The African American Espada (I could easily rank this guy as number 2, but I didn’t. He doesn’t seem to look all that powerful, but I could be wrong…)
8. Zearra Polo Grantz
9. Aaroneiro Arlei (Hard to beleive a Gillan is stronger than an Adjucas, Yammy. Aaroneiro was pretty cool up until the time he was incapacitated.)
10. Yammy
Rob: Mask fragment size is probably meaningless since that means Grimmjow should be higher ranked than Ulquiorra. And also Edorado only had a tiny nose mask fragment which would have made him the most powerful one.
Rob, i noticed that about Stark as well. i know that everyone has some type of mask remains whether it’s large or small (irrelevant to ranking). However, Stark is the only espada who doesn’t have a hollow mask attached to him. if he wanted to, he could take off his necklace, and u wouldn’t be able to identify him as an espada. i think that this a key factor for him being number 1. i’m not saying that whoever has a smaller piece or less is higher ranked, but i’m saying that since his mask is a necklace, he DOES NOT have remains of a mask on him at all. his is just for charm. my opinion is that he is number 1.
Stark is too cool not to be number 1. Unfortunately, Tite Kubo isn’t going to be inclined to put Stark at the top simply because the fans want him to be at the top. As much as I hope Stark is the top one, I’m bracing myself for disappointment if he happens to be weaker that I’d like (ex. 5th or 7th). Still, if he is infact the top Espada, there must be some reason for it. I think an important clue to accurately guessing the numbers of the remaining Espada members is Noitora. Unfortunately, he’s still a bit of an enigma. For example, he appeared to be talking down to Ulquiorra and Halibel. Ulquiorra retorted by calling him small-minded and later, when Noitora finished off Chad, an idiot. However, Stark was able to stop Noitora from talking at the Espada meeting. Noitora is pretty cocky, but he’s also more careful than some of the others (Grimmjow, Zaera-Polo, Arroniero). Now, no matter how prideful Noitora may be, it would not be wise for him to talk down to his superiors. If Ulquiorra wasn’t as calm and collected as he is, and had a temperament akin to Grimmjow’s, he would have kicked Noitora’s ass (or at least given him a good threat). Also, keep in mind that Noitora had no response for Stark.
Now, I believe, unless this is all purely coincidence and I’m over-analyzing everything, there are two distince posibilities:
1) Noitora did not talk back to Stark because he is clearly outranked. He talked back to Ulquiorra and Halibel because he is stronger than them, and is in the position to do so.
2) Noitora talked down to Ulquiorra and Halibel because they are ranked higher than him; this is because of jealosy and resentment, as well as his constant pursuit of the highest rank. So, basically, he hates them because Aizen placed them at higher ranks; Stark is weaker than him and, therefore, poses no threat for Noitora.
Now, this may mean nothing at all. I could easily be over-analyzing everything, but I just figured I’d throw that out there for further discussion.
both explanations sound reasonable. i might agree from both pieces. lol the only thing that i would keep in mind always is that, i think that MAYBE Stark DID shut Noitora up. lol just wat i think. Stark is starting to get some character development, which is good. we should find out soon. i have my eyes on the dark espada as well. he’s very mysterious. he seems like the strong silent type, but sophisticated and intelligent.
1. Stark - Lazy, uninterested, and just sorta resembles Aizen in the way he rests on his hand. Seems more of the commander type than someone who would actually go out and fight.
2. Halibel - Soi Fong meets Yoruichi? 2nd Squad Captain = Number 2 in Espada
3. Noitora - If he was second, he probably wouldn’t have made such a fuss over being first. He’s gotta be around 3rd to make him feel unnoticed.
4. Ulquiorra - Never thought he would be the top anyways. He does too much field work to make him the leader.
5. Stone-face dude with skull earrings - Not enough character development to feasibly add him in as the strongest espada.
6. Grimmjow - He’s awesome, but he’s doesn’t beat Ulquiorra. And frankly, the number 6 suits him a lot better than 5 anyways.
7. Old Espada - Looks weak, and is probably there for “wisdom” purposes unless he goes Yamamoto Genryuusai on us, but that would make it way too resemblant to the Gotei 13.
8. Szayelaporro - The Mayuri of the group. Useful, but at the same time, who cares?
9. Aaroniero - pwned. just…pwned.
10. Yammy - Weak even when you compare him to the Privaron Espada. Ichigo could own him with just his normal bankai.
1. Halibel
2. Stark
3. Noitora
4. Ulquiorra Schiffer
5. Old Man/Studs
6. Grimmjow Jeagerjaques
7. Old Man/Studs
8. Szayel Aporro Grantz
9. Aaroniero Arleri
10. Yammy
I’m going to try to rationalize this with logic.
-Noitora at #3-
He has said he isn’t the first, but thinks himself to be just as strong. Usually those who brag about such things have something to back it up. Ulquiorra seems to direspect him, which could mean they are very close in power, possibly only a single digit.
-Stark at #2-
Being the lazy one, Stark wouldn’t probably be a low ranking Espada. Its not a good character idea for him to be lazy and weak, however lazy but powerful makes for a good setup. However, those in positions of highest rank, usually must put up with being a figurehead, which generally means one can not be lazy. Being in second in command however put him at just the right spot to be carefree enough to slip in naps and oversleep.
-Halibel at #1-
Due to her attitude, appearance she seems well off enough to be ranked in the top 5. My thought is that since the Espada are a backwards version of the Soul Society, a female would be in power.
-Old Man/Studs at #5 and #7-
The old man seemed to be cocky and, due to his fairly small size, wouldn’t seem to be high up on the list. Even the leader of the 1st Division is tall, even though he is hunched. Studs seems too straight up, obedient and bland to be too powerful. However, the lack of character definition in both these two makes it hard to place them.
From what Lillinet said to Stark, it seems almost implied that Stark is at the top. She asks him if he’s “ok with that,” in reference to Arroniero’s death; that would insinuate that he should care, even though he doesn’t show it. If anything, I think the top Espada would be in command of the lower ones, and part of his job may entail making sure the lower ones don’t go out and get themselves killed. Stark doesn’t really seem to care about much, though. If we were going by behavior only, the old man and Noitora would be the 5th and 7th Espada, respectively. Since Bleach isn’t always predictable, that may not be the case. Also, according to the most recent spoiler (which may or may not be correct), it appears that Zaera-Polo fled; if true, very disappointing, as I had hoped that 3 Espada would be disposed of during this arc.
i think that stark is number one since his very name in german can mean “strong”
i also think that stark is number one since his very name in german can mean “strong” also manga hints
Yeah, I noticed that when his name was introduced. The word stark means completely or entirely, so maybe. I’d like to see him be the strongest Espada, but the dark one could work too. I really don’t want the old one to be the top though, and I can’t see Halibel or Noitora as the top one. I think Noitora is in the top 5 though. It’s a bit difficult to compare his rank to Ulquiorra’s though; we don’t know who’s superior. According to one translation I read, Noitora is incredibly rude to Ulquiorra, and goes as far as telling Ulquiorra to stop being a little bitch. In both translations I’ve read, Ulquiorra suggests that Noitora is small-minded for his behavior. Obviously, Ulquiorra knows alot more about Aizen’s plans than Noitora (or any other Espada, for that matter), but he turned out to be only 4th. And the outcome of the Zaera-Polo fight was interesting. Sure, I’m disappointed that only one Espada was taken out so far, but Zaera-Polo eating his subordinate sure was an interesting twist. Strange that his number and hole aren’t visible. Perhaps they’re on his legs, perhaps he doesn’t even have a hole. After all, we never saw a hole on Arroniero; maybe he didn’t have one either. Zaera-Polo could have also removed his hole as well, he seems crazy enough to do that. If the spoilers I read for chapter 277 are correct, it appears that we’ll see a bit of Grimmjow and Ulquiorra (with Orihime and Ichigo’s body) in that chapter, maybe even an eventual fight between the two Espada. Now, all we need is for Noitora to crash the party.
Honestly, I think Ichigo’s team made an incredibly stupid mistake by just walking in and assuming they had a chance against even the lower level Espada. Spliting up was bad enough, but they didn’t even investigate before they went out into battle. I mean, they have Nell and the other two hollows accompanying them (who, living in Hueco Mundo, must know a bit about the Espada), and they didn’t even think to ask about the specific Espada members. I’m sure Nell has some idea of who Ulquiorra and Grimmjow are; Pesshe even knew who Zaera-Polo was, along with his number. Something tells me that Noitora is very powerful though. After Chad defeated Gantenbein, Noitora appeared. Now, it wouldn’t be too much of a problem if it was someone like Yammy or Arroniero, but Gantenbein told Chad to run. Obviously, because he knew Chad had no chance in hell of winning. Still, Gantenbein seemed to know who Noitora was, or at least recognized him.
ya. that was some sort of signal of how powerful Noitora could be. i DO remember that. he knew that Chad was out of his league, so he told him to run. good point. as for Aaroniero, he might have had his hole hidden under his clothing. if not, he was an experiment anyway. as for Szayelaporro, i was shocked by the fact that u didn’t see his tatoo or hole. since he’s a scientist, maybe he found a way to cover up his hole or something, and as for his tatoo, maybe it IS on one of his legs.
I decided to devise a new ranking system based on resemblance to the captains of the 13 divisions. I noticed many similarities to the captains when looking at the Espada. For example:
Ulquiorra= Byakuya
Stark= Shunsui
Halibel= Soifon
Zaera-Polo= Mayuri
Noitora= Zaraki
Old Espada= Yamamoto
Then, I decided to order the unranked Espada in order of strength of the respective captains. Now, the old Espada could also be Chad’s grandfather (which would invalidate the resemblance of the old Espada to Yamamoto), but I figured I’d make this list since I was bored. I’m sure it doesn’t have too much relevance to the story, it’s just an interesting topic. Anyways, here’s my Espada rankings based on the captains:
1. Old Espada
2. Stark
3. Dark Espada
4. Ulquiorra
5. Noitora
6. Grimmjow
7. Halibel
8. Zaera-Polo
9. Arroniero
10. Yammy
Stark is number 1 - no doubt about it lolz he doesnt seem to care about whats already goin on n shit! lol! and the way he acts haha!
No, he doesn’t really seem to care at all. All he really wants to do is sleep. I get the feeling that he’s not really all that bad, but could kick nearly anyone’s ass if provoked. Noitora didn’t even respond when Stark told him to shut up at their meeting. He really reminds me of Shunsui; he could easily defeat anyone in Ichigo’s team, but he doesn’t seem like the kind of guy that would just kill for the sake of killing.
Anyways, I’ve been thinking about Noitora; I’ve always felt that the 3rd and 5th spots suited him best, but now I’m leaning more toward the 5th. Think about it; Ulquiorra seems really powerful for only 4th place, so I’d expect that the top 3 would be even more observant and intelligent. Now, Noitora doesn’t strike me as a pushover (and for all we know he really could be the strongest Espada), but at the same time he doesn’t seem very careful. Look at the 4 we know the least about: Stark, the black guy, and the old guy all appear to be inside their respective rooms, and by the looks of it Halibel is outside somewhere. Meanwhile, Noitora goes out looking for a fight (alongside Arroniero, Zaera-Polo, Grimmjow, and Ulquiorra). To be fair to Ulquiorra and Noitora, they were far more prepared than the others; Arroniero and Zaera-Polo were just careless, and if things go according to plans, Ichigo just may finish Grimmjow off for good. Now, I honestly do want to see a final showdown between Ichigo and Grimmjow. It’s about time. I mean, what else did everyone expect? He’s Grimmjow. I’ve been reading crazy theories on other sites, even insinuating an Ulquiorra vs. Grimmjow fight. While that would be cool, it’s obvious that Ulquiorra would wipe the floor with Grimmjow. At this time Ichigo’s powerful enough to take Ulquiorra down, so all he really needs is an extra push and Grimmjow’s done. Grimmjow is currently my favorite Espada (though Stark will probably change that when we find out more about him), but I feel that he’s already served his role in this story. He doesn’t appear to have a backstory of any significance, he’s just obsessed with power. Now, I just want to see a good fight, and Grimmjow going out with a bang.
One thing that’s interesting is Gin’s corridor manipulation. We don’t know what exactly he did, but we can assume that he led Rukia, Renji, and Ishida to weaker Espada. Chad wasn’t as lucky and ended up with someone way too difficult for him to handle. Somehow, Noitora strikes me as more powerful than just 7th. Right now, I’m thinking 5th might work best. He seems powerful enough, but he has a real bad attitude. Ulquiorra even went out of his way to call Noitora an idiot for rushing out to fight against orders. Ulquiorra sure doesn’t seem to think too much of the weaker Espada, but by his demeanor I would assume that he’d treat the stronger Espada respectfully, just like he acts toward Aizen. Plus, the way they were talking together makes it seem as if they are closely ranked. I could be wrong, and Noitora could be 3rd, but I get the feeling that they are close in power. Having said that, Ulquiorra went out of his way to immediately answer a question from the dark Espada. He didn’t even hesitate; so maybe the dark Espada is one of the top 3 (hopefully along with Stark).
Here’s wut i think:
1. The old guy cuz hes old!
2. STARK. cuz he just looks like it!
3. Noitora cuz he claims hes at the top of the espada and if he was below ulquiorra hes stupid for saying those things.
4. Ulquiorra
i’ve already kept a ranking prediction, and it stil remains until proven, but i have been wondering about the old man with the crown mask. he could be #1 to represent being the “king” of the espadas, but i just thought something. wat if he is not in the top 3, but his crown means that he is the king of adjucha level hollows? just something to think about. i could imagine that since vasto lordes are so rare and superior, maybe it’s like a privelage to be the strongest adjucha right below vasto lordes. the reason why i think it would be important to be recognized as this is because, i would think that vasto lordes are on a whole different level from what i know, so they wouldn’t have to be included or compared to any other form of hollows. being the highest level adjucha can be something that that hollow can take pride in. others may look up to him below the vasto lordes of course. this is just just a thought though.
Interesting prediction. If that were true, it would place the old Espada at 5th. Hopefully we’ll get some more ranking confirmations soon. I’d personally like Stark to be at the top though; after all, the most powerful arrancar are also said to be the most human. And Stark seems pretty human. Not just in appearance; he doesn’t seem all that bad.
Now, one thing about Noitora that people may be overlooking is his claim of being the strongest Espada. It may seem like a bluff, but for all we know he may actually be telling the truth. Now, keep in mind strongest doesn’t necessarily mean top ranked. He may physically be the most powerful, but there could be a couple of others that, while not quite as powerful as Noitora, are more skilled in other areas. A key in determining where he falls ranking wise is figuring out his relationship with Ulquiorra; does he view Ulquiorra as an inferior, or as competition?
yea. Stark is #1 material. Noitora might be telling the truth at the same time though. i could see the old espada at 5 for the break point dividing the vasto lordes from adjuchas as well. but i could also see him as number 7 meaning that Aizen’s plan for having only vasto lordes espadas is almost done. but about stark. i might have mentioned this b4. i don’t remember, but i recognized something different from him than all other espadas. everyone has made a point about the amount of hollow mask appearing on an arrancar. the conclusion was that it didn’t matter who had more or less. i agree….but…..Stark’s case is different. he does not have a hollow mask attached to him period. his is jewelry. everyone has some type of fragment of a hollow mask. if he decided that he didn’t wanna wear his mask, you could mistake him for a different being. i think this could be a factor in him being number one, because it isolates him from everyone else. his hollow remain is only a necklace, and nothing more.
Hmm..good points. Here’s what I’ve put together about the espada:
1. Stark - Carefree attitude towards the killing of a comrade and generally doesnt care what’s going on around him probably because he is the strongest.
2. Halibel - While Noitora was rambling on about how Aaroniero Arleri was killed, Halibel and Stark seemed to me the calmest out of everyone else.
3. Noitora - He claims that he’s the strongest but goes out and picks fights to prove he is which leads me to believe he really isn’t and just wants to get noticed.
4. Ulquiorra
5. Dark Man - I was thinking of how to differentiate whether the dark guy should be here or the old man and I felt it more likely that the dark man is the 5th espada. Being the oldest doesn’t always make you the strongest hence why I make the old man number 7.
6. Grimmjaw
7. Old Man - Seeing the crown as his remaining hollow mask I naturally assumed he was the number 1 espada, but I think he may have more influence over the Adjuchas. Or actually being one of the most powerful out there.
8.Zaera-Polo Grantz
9.Aaroniero Arleri
10. Yammy
Hmm sorry bout that. Meant to say under 2. Halibel - While Noitora was rambling on about how Ichigo and the others entered Las Noches, Halibel and Stark seemed to me the calmest out of everyone else. And while Noitora tried to start something with Stark and Halibel, he was shut up by Stark meaning there is a gap of power between the three and that attitude that Noitora had was probably resentment for being below them.
One thing that strikes me about Stark is just how human he seems. He seems pretty normal compared to some of the others. One interesting thing that I observed was how he treats Lillinet; Noitora and Zaera-Polo aren’t exactly nice to their subordinates. Out of all 4 of the Espada shown with their fraccion, Starks was the only one that didn’t refer to the respective Espada as -sama. Honestly, it seems like Stark treats her as an equal; something most likely very uncommon within the ranks of the Espada.
As far as Noitora goes, he’s most likely the 3rd or 5th Espada. I can’t see him as the top one, and the same goes for Halibel. If the old man turns out to be Chad’s grandfather, then he’ll probably be 7th. Noitora sure is a confusing character though; we can’t tell if his treatment of Ulquiorra and Halibel is because he resents their superiority, or if it’s because they are inferrior to him. Stark did seem to shut him up, so I’ll assume at least Stark is above him. One thing that’s troubling me is that more often than not, the most powerful enemy is the last revealed. Seeing as there are still 2 unnamed Espada, I have a feeling that the big black dude is definately up there in the power ranks. Still, I hope that Stark does end up as the strongest Espada.
ya. i guessed old man was 7 too. at the meeting those that were lower or made cocky remarks were grouped with certain espadas. those that remained quiet were grouped with the others. old man was talking cocky along with Szayelapporro. Aaroniero was grouped with them and he’s already dead. now Yammy is left with him. the other group that kept quiet was Ulquiorra, the dark espada, Hari-bel, and Noitora (with the exception of him). Aizen told the cocky group not to underestimate Ichigo. while the 2nd group did not receive a lecture. when i tried to narrow it down. i can see Hari-bel at 5. She does seem to have some superiorty, but to me, she seems a little bit more inferior than a couple of others. maybe she’s not, but waiting outside looking over the building seems kind’ve worried to me. maybe she wasn’t, but just gave me the impression. the dark espada didn’t react to anything so far. i can see him as 2 or 3. as for Noitora, i can see him as 2, so then he’s not far from number 1 making him envy not being the first. if he’s 3, maybe that seperates him better from number 1 because if he was 2 rankings away, maybe that sets up Stark better, because he shut up Noitora like nothing at the meeting. if he was 1 rank away, maybe he wouldn’t look at it as such a big difference. as for slot 5, if he somehow ended up there, that means when Ulquiorra talked to him, he was talking down to Ulquiorra. If not,Ulquiorra had a reason to be the way he was.
And this is what leads me to believe that Noitora is below Ulquiorra:
1. Their conversation. On the one hand, Noitora told Ulquiorra to stop being a little bitch. But after that Ulquiorra seemed to dominate the conversation. It seemed that Noitora wasn’t even able to grasp some of the concepts Ulquiorra was talking about.
2. Think about it. Ulquiorra, fourth in all of the arrancar under Aizen, practically killed Ichigo with just his bare hand. Now Chad, who is much weaker than Ichigo, was slashed by Noitora’s zanpakuto; keep in mind it was his sword, not his hand. If Ulquiorra were to impale Chad on his arm, he would have been even worse off than Ichigo, but after being sliced by Noitora, he still had the energy to stand. Tesla even seemed afraid for Noitora’s safety, which may indicate that Noitora isn’t as tough as he thinks he is. Now, I’m sure Noitora was just playing with Chad, but I would imagine that the top 3 Espada would have left Chad alot worse off than Noitora did.
hmmm interesting. seems like that could be true. makes sense that someone of a higher rank than Ulquiorra would’ve left with more damage done.
One interesting thing about Stark is his mask; it’s a necklace. Not sure if it’s been confirmed, but has his mask actually been completely removed? I know that it looks like a necklace, but can he actually take it off. If he can, that means that he is a completed Espada (and the only one so far); that would also mean that he is currently the top Espada. Furthermore, he seems the most human of the group. He’s calm and collected, but too lazy to really care about what’s going on behind the scenes. He’s not impulsive or reckless; if he could really take off his necklace (as guest2 suggested), then he really could fit in as a normal person. One thing that I found particularly interesting was his relationship with his subordinate; unlike all of the other Espada so far, he seems to treat his fraccion as an equal. Lilinet just refered to him as Stark; all the other fraccion so far have added -sama when addressing their Espada. Just thought it was interesting how different he already seems from most of the other Espada. If Wonderwice was able to make the ranks of the Espada, and one or two more of the current ones were removed, maybe we’d get a few new Vasto Lordes in there. Still, I hope that if Stark is infact the top Espada, that he won’t move down the ranks when new ones are added. I was thinking that maybe the weaker ones that might get kicked out, like Yammy, could still have important jobs in the future, like leading the gillian in the Winter War.
Anyways, here’s my current list:
1. Stark
2. Halibel
3. Dark Espada
4. Ulquiorra
5. Noitora
6. Grimmjow
7. Old Espada
8. Zaera-Polo
9. Arroniero
10. Yammy
I know for a fact Ulquiorra is definitely #4. It will be revealed in like the next chapter.
This is for my unfinished list and all the information is true…
4.ulquiorra schiffer
6.grimmjow jaguarjack
8.szayel aporro grantz
9.aaroniero arleri
10.yammy
unknown espada ranks:
noitora
halibel
stark
Umm… will, Ulquiorra’s rank was revealed about 10 chapters ago. And yes, your unfinished list is correct so far. Right now, there’s 5 unranked Espada. Noitora claims he’s the strongest Espada, but it seems like a bluff; firstly, the top Espada’s number wouldn’t be revealed so early on, and second, he seems like he’s trying awfully hard to prove himself. Because of these reasons, as well as personal opinion, I would safely place him at either 3rd or 5th place. The old Espada is my candidate for 7th; honestly, I feel he’s the most boring of the bunch (though I could be proven wrong when I finally see him in action), not to mention he looks very similar to Chad’s grandfather. Now, if he’s just some random old guy, I could see him near the top; but if he is infact Chad’s grandfather (and assuming Chad would be the one to have a final confrontation with him), I would assume he’d be one of the weaker ones. To me, Halibel doesn’t seem like top Espada material; maybe top 3, but not the 1st Espada. The best candidates for top Espada are Stark and the tall, dark Espada. On the one hand, the dark Espada seems very powerful and important; however, there are reasons that lead me to believe that Stark is the top Espada. I’m thinking that his removed mask (now as a necklace) means something. We don’t know if he can actually take the necklace off, and it very well may be stuck to him. What really gave it away to me was his subordinate asking if he was ok with Arroniero dying; it makes sense, really. Think about it - when someone in the Espada hierarchy dies, the top one should obviously be informed about it. The fact that Lilinet asked him if he was ok with it happening makes it seem as if he has an obligation to do something about it… you know, being the top ranked and all.
ohhhh. i c now. yea. Lilinet asks him to do something about it, as if he’s in charge to do so. but yet, he doesn’t care, so it’s confirmed that the problem is ignored. i can see the same top 3 candidates as well. i can very much be wrong, but judging from actions and impressions, Hari-bel seems to have a cool, quiet attitude. she seems like a good number 3. i still have 5 in mind, so i can place Noitora up there. Stark…we know his situation and to add about his necklace. as for the dark skinned espada, ever notice how elegant and superior he looks? he has good posture and he seems sophisticated. his robe adds to it. also notice that he has hollow jewelry. lol wat hollow wear’s jewelry? is jewelry that important to have that it shows the superiorty of your position? of course the arrancars have to have their own look, but hollow jewelry? lol it’s interesting if u think about it. it’s pretty cool. i can see him at 2.
oh yea. and for the record, (even though, you can look at it for yourself) he wears a bone ring on his left index finger, a bone ring on right thumb, a bone necklace, and a skull and crossbones earring on his left ear. i don’t know if he has another earring because they never show the right side of his face. all of his camera shots are at the left side of his face, or the front (without showing the right. lol
Honestly, I could see Noitora, Halibel, and the dark Espada at 2, 3, or 5; all of those could work out. Noitora could easily be in the top 3, but it would seem odd for someone like Ulquiorra to talk down to his superiors. In this respect, it would almost definately place the dark Espada in the top 3; the rest really hinges on where Noitora and Halibel end up. The only ones I’m confident about placing right now are Stark and the old Espada (1st and 7th). The way I saw the meeting, when Aizen told them about the intruders, the first pannel showed 7-10 underestimating them, while 2-5 (except Noitora) being more cautious. Grimmjow is obviously 6th, and Stark, who didn’t talk at all during the actual meeting, is left at 1st. The dark Espada does seem very powerful though. Hopefully, we’ll get a few more ranking revelations (as well as the last 2 names) within the next few chapters.
you’re estimation is exactly what i had guessed through the same observation. i noticed 7-10 in one panel, and 2-5 in the other. while 6 disobeys, and 1 is left without making a comment because he doesn’t care, and it doesn’t matter.
btw…assuming the old espada is 7, and assuming that Hari-bel and the others are the higher ranked
I don’t want to change the subject or anything but Tite Kubo’s really been getting me dissapointed lately. He’s left many holes in the Hueco Mundo Arc, such as where has Noitora ran off to, where’s Rukia, and what happened to Renji, Uryu, and Szayel Aporro. And one more thing, Grimmjow’s released form seriously looks gay.
I actually like Grimmjow’s release. Besides, Kubo’s probably saving all the really good releases for the Vasto Lordes. I agree about Noitora and Zaera-Polo though. It shouldn’t take Noitora that long to find whoever he was looking for… unless he already did, and it just hasn’t been shown yet. Somehow, I’m not convinced that Ichigo is the target he was looking for. As far as the Zaera-Polo fight, it’s really dragged on for far too long. If that fight continues, hopefully he’ll just release and lose quickly. I don’t really think that many of the weaker Espada have much of a role left in the story; Yammy could live, and be Ulquiorra’s fraccion, but we haven’t seen him in over 30 chapters. I’d be interested in seeing why Zaera-Polo was so afraid of Aizen in chapter 255, and what his real motivations are, but other than that, it doesn’t seem like Zaera-Polo has much left to contribute to the story. By the looks of it, Aizen seems to want an all Vasto Lorde Espada; Gin even manipulated corridors so Rukia and Renji met up with weaker Espada. To Aizen, all of this seems to be a game, Ulquiorra even said it himself. By the looks of it, Aizen doesn’t really seem to want the weaker ones kept alive; knowing him, it wouldn’t seem out of character for Aizen to have the remaining adjuchas level Espada killed off to make room for the Vasto Lordes.
from a spoiler pic that i’ve seen, it seems that we’ll get to learn a little bit more about Hari-bel. if the spoiler is true, it could be more of a way to get her into the current conflict in my opinion. my guess is that, if she starts to get involved with Renji, Ishida, or Chad, she may draw me to believe number 7 because, so far, they have introduced most of 6-10.
that means i can see the rankings like this if so:
1. Stark or Old espada
2. Noitora
3. Dark espada
4. Ulquiorra
5. Stark or Old espada
6. Grimmjow
7. Hari-bel
8. Szayelaporro
9. Aaroniero
10. Yammy
but now i’m thinking. in the pic, Hari-bel’s fraccion are laughing. if for some reason, Chad has to do with this and they’re laughing, i could believe that Noitora is who they’re laughing at. this would imply that they’re finding it humorous that someone had lost to Noitora which is not comparible to their “great” Hari-bel. this could be a sign of her superiorty. that would throw off my ranks a lil. lol
From what I gather, Halibel and her fraccion are watching the Ichigo vs. Grimmjow fight. It appears the fraccion are excited, though I’m still unsure whether Halibel actually says anything in this chapter. Personally, I’d place Halibel at 3rd. I can say that she’s almost definately in the top 5 though; think about it, if she was weaker than Grimmjow, she would probably look a bit more concerned about Ichigo fighting on par with someone stronger than her. I don’t think she’s the top one, but I’d place her in the top 3.
ya i just checked out a spoiler summary. it’s seems that her fraccion and she are observing ichigo. i will give her slot 5 or 3.
This Ichigo vs. Grimmjow battle is shaping up to be very interesting; I’m sure it’ll be even more awesome when it’s animated. Honestly, with all the foreshadowing (with the chapter cover showing all the dead Espada, and Grimmjow being next in line) I’m expecting Grimmjow to die. He’s one of the coolest Espada, but he doesn’t seem to have much of a role left in the story. I think it would be interesting if this arc ended with all the curent Espada ranks revealed, as well as a glimpse of the future Vasto Lorde Espada. Maybe current Espada 5 and 7 will actually do something this arc.
If Aizen’s plan is to create an all Vasto Lorde Espada, we can assume that everyone but Ulquiorra and the top 3 are expendable. One thing that always bothered me was how Wonderwice was considered an Espada by Soul Society, but this was never developed further. From the looks of it, I get the feeling that Wonderwice could be a Vasto Lorde. I think that his young age and inexperience is what’s keeping him back. Aizen probably sent him to the real world to gauge his experience level. Maybe by the time the Winter War comes, he’ll be mature enough to be placed in the new Espada. So, if we go by this logic, there should be 5 new Espada by the time of the Winter War. That way, we can have 5 familiar ones, as well as 5 more mysterious Espada that we know next to nothing about.
As far as the current Espada is concerned, remember that Vasto Lordes are the ones that have a 100% chance of looking human. Now, looking at the 5 unranked ones, Noitora and the old one seem the least human. The old one seems kind of human, but not with all those scars. Wonder how he got those… Listening to the old Espada speak, he seems very arrogant and overconfident; traits not common of Vasto Lordes. I was fascinated that Halibel seemed impressed by Ichigo’s power; how she thought he seemed too powerful. She even went as far as comparing the fight as one between Espada. This leads me to believe that Halibel is either the 3rd or 5th Espada, seeing as the top couple probably wouldn’t be that impressed.
the ranks i have predicted will finally stay as long as the nest results come. lol
i keep my guess for Hari-bel at number 5. if old man is portrayed as “king-like,” the missing ranks for me is
1. old espada
2. Stark
3. dark espada
5. Hari-bel
7. Noitora
but if he is portrayed as a shit talker who just keeps under estimating because he’s not wise, then my ranks are as follows for the missing slots:
1. Stark
2. dark espada or Noitora
3. Noitora or dark espada
5. Hari-bel
7. old espada
until the next ranking, my predictions varies.
Noitora and the old espada move around for me because either Ulquiorra talked down to him as a superior, while Hari-bel felt like she didn’t have to because she was superior, or Noitora acts like an ass to both because he’s more powerful. old espada’s crown-shaped fragment gets me. lol he can still be the weaker link that is decieving me though. he talks a lot like i said earlier.
I think the old one is 7th. He does talk alot. I just can’t see the top Espada as an overconfident shit talker. Remember how the first thing he said was how Ichigo’s team was just a bunch of kids? He went right along with 8, 9 and 10 when he underestimated them. Then he made fun of Arroniero for dying. I’m going to stick with him at 7th. Noitora and Halibel switch around from 3 and 5 for me. I could be wrong though.
As far as the others go, Stark and the dark Espada would make the best top Espada. Stark is incredibly lazy, but he can afford to be lazy if he’s at the top; no one would be able to take him down, and his job would most likely consist of keeping the others in line. On the other hand, the dark Espada seems very straight forward, and would also be good at keeping the others in line.
It’s funny; if I were to take a look at the picture of the 10 Espada, and only knew Grimmjow and Yammy’s ranks (like when the chapter came out), the dark Espada would be my first pick for 1st. Just looking at him, I can tell he’s one of the tougher ones. At first Stark didn’t stand out at all; he only told Noitora to shut up at the beginning, and I thought nothing of it. But looking back, it makes sense. Back then, Ulquiorra was nearly everyone’s pick for top Espada (and I assumed he was one of the strongest ones), but the dark one seemed the most obvious choice for 1st. It was only after Arroniero died, that Stark started to show how important he was. His subordinate even asked him if it was alright that Arroniero died; indicating that he might be in charge of keeping the others in line.
hey hey pls tell me what chapter that
stark told noitora to shutup!!!!! pls tell me!
i havent seen that chapter yet so pls!
and can some1 give me the link for the manga!
It’s in chapter 244, right before the Espada meeting in 245. I’m sure you’ll find it if you look carefully. You don’t see his face when he says it, but he’s the one wearing the gloves. It appears Noitora and Zaera-Polo were discussing the intruders, and Stark told Noitora to shut up because he was tired. A word of advise though, I’ve located one version of the translation that wrongly has Stark say that it would be fun if the intruders entered in the throne room. That translation is off, but as long as you find the one where he tells Noitora to stop talking so loudly, it’s good. And if you haven’t read 245 yet, that’s the Espada meeting where all the Espada except Stark speak.
Well personally I would rank Noitora at 7 while Halibel has a pretty secure position as the 5th Espada.
Though I always wonder why people put Noitora as the top 5 Espada when its pretty obvious from his attitude. The fact that he decided not to kill Chad because he wasn’t strong enough to prove to Aizen that he was strong enough to be Espada Uno is enough reason for him to be the seventh Espada.
Since Halibel could be 5, then the remaining top 3 positions seem to be a tie between Stark, Black dude and “King”. Stark seems to possess a certain degree of power from his reaction in that particular chapter and how Lilinette asked whether it was ok for Aaroniero to die. Therefore these are my rankings for the top 3…
1. “King”
2. Stark
3. Black guy
I get the feeling that the old man is the 7th Espada. Looking at the Espada meeting, when they were first told of the intruders, 7-10 were shown looking down on their enemies in the first panel, while the second panel showed 2-5 (excluding Noitora) being more cautious. We already know Grimmjow’s 6th, and the top Espada, Stark, was too lazy to care about what was going on. The fact that Lilinet asked if it was ok for Arroniero to die solidifies that he’s one of the most important Espada. To be honest, the old Espada appears very overconfident and doesn’t seem that interesting a character. Now, if he turns out to be Chad’s grandfather (there’s a strong resemblance, and that would help him in the character development department), I don’t think he’d be one of the tougher ones.
Noitora seems powerful, but he is more characteristic of a mid-ranked villain. Plus, from the way his conversation with Ulquiorra went, they seem closely ranked. Due to the fact that Ulquiorra doesn’t seem the type to directly insult a superior, and due to the fact that Noitora probably isn’t the brightest Espada, I would assume he’s the 5th Espada. Though he could also be 3rd, 7th still isn’t out of the question. One thing that does raise major questions is the brief fight between Ulquiorra and Grimmjow. It appears that Ulquiorra was actually afraid to fight Grimmjow. Now, I understand Ulquiorra doesn’t really seem to be a fan of fighting, and I know it’s because of Grimmjow’s irrational behavior; but if he’s afraid to fight the 6th Espada, would Ulquiorra really have the guts to directly insult Noitora if he was ranked 5th?
1. Dark Skinned with horned mohawk
2. Stark
1. Dark Skinned with horned mohawk
2. Old Man with crown
3. Halibel
4. Ulquiorra
5. Stark
6. Grimmjoww
7. Noitora
8. SZaeylzaporro
9. Aarionerrio
10.Yammy
I seriously doubt Stark is 5th… 2nd is plausible (and the tall, dark dude could work as the top one), but I personally hope he’s the top one. Out of all the unrevealed Espada, Stark seems the coolest. Plus, Lilinet asking if it was ok for Arroniero to die confirms that he’s high ranked.
Remember, the Vasto Lordes are the only ones with a 100% chance of appearing human. If Ulquiorra (the weakest Vasto Lorde in the Espada) is to be used as an example, the top 3 should be even more analytical and observant than he is. They should be level-headed and not prone to rush out into battle; they don’t have anything to prove, they know their capabilities. The Vasto Lordes (not including Ulquiorra, since he already knew the protagonists) have no connection to the main characters, and as such, have no desire to interfere with the current conflict. However, that may change if the situation calls for it.
If Ichigo ends up killing Grimmjow, Halibel might have to step in. Looking at the current Espada, and using Ulquiorra as a model Vasto Lorde, I’d say the top 3 consists of Halibel, Stark, and the dark guy. Noitora and the old guy are most likely 5th and 7th.
ulquiorra is #4 cuz his tatoo says 4
i wouldn’t put Noitora at number 7, not only because of the events that happened b4 with him and Ulquiorra, and Hari-bel. but i honestly think that he seems like a character that ichigo would have to fight. and if ichigo has to fight him, he has to be stronger than grimmjow. ichigo is always fighting a strong superior guy, or he’s fighting a blood lusting psycho. Noitora is a psycho. lol either Chad gets him back, or Ichigo will owe him.
btw, if Chad can get him back, then that takes away the whole “him having to fight Ichigo” thing.
I think Chad would be best off fighting the 7th Espada (his grandfather?). You have to wonder why all the Espada are being shown such a long time before the winter war though. It seems that the ones with the most screen time are the weaker ones that will most likely die before the current arc is over. I wouldn’t be surprised to see 5-10 replaced by the time the winter war starts. Now, if Noitora is 5th Espada and makes it to the winter war, I’d like to see him fight Zaraki; they are both similar, and would enjoy a good fight. If Zaera-Polo happens to live through this arc, I’d like to see a showdown with Mayuri. I think those would be interesting scenarios, I just don’t know if those particular arrancar will still be Espada (or even alive) by then. As far as Ichigo vs. Noitora, I don’t think it’s going to happen. I’d like to see Ichigo take on the 1st Espada during the winter war. Seems that the Ichigo vs. Grimmjow battle is nearing its end, so maybe we’ll find out Halibel’s rank next chapter.
Actually I think Grimmjow is closer to Zaraki then Noitora. For one, both Grimmjow and Zaraki has had similar power battles with Ichigo.
Also I have the feeling that Noitora will survive for the winter war (or get replaced by a Vasto Lorde level Arrancar assuming he isn’t one)
Grimmjow seems more like Renji to me. Noitora even resembles Zaraki (with the eye patch and all). Noitora and Zaraki are both on the crazy side, and want to fight powerful opponents; it would be interesting to see them face off. For all we know, Noitora could be in the top 3, but we can’t know that for sure. I assumed that when Aizen said he wanted an all Vasto Lorde Espada, that 5-10 would be kicked out by the time the current arc is over. I’d be interested if Wonderwice was able to join the ranks of the Espada. Seems that we’re getting closer to the answers, with the Grimmjow fight almost finished.
Chapter 284 just proved that Grimmjow was an Adjuchas level Menos…
Wats up guys im new and i’ve been keeping up with ur convo and yea i was kinda shocked when i found out that grimmjow was adjuchas before he turned espada though he does look like a strong adjuchas
It appears that next chapter will be the conclusion of the Ichigo vs. Grimmjow fight. It appears that Grimmjow had the potential to become a Vasto Lorde, but in doing so he would have had to eat his own fraccion. Having said that, Grimmjow still seems to have a great potential for becoming a Vasto Lorde; it would be an interesting development if he survived, left the Espada, and returned during the Winter War as a Vasto Lorde. On another note, I was thinking about Aizen’s plans. Now I may be completely wrong, but what if his plan all along was for Orihime to reject the existence of the hogyoku. After all, according to Ulquiorra, this is all a game to Aizen; if it works, good, if not, just as well. Plus, Aizen seemed pretty happy after his meeting with Orihime. Knowing Aizen, and how he is always two steps ahead of the protagonists, it wouldn’t surprise me at all if this was his real plan. He says he has need of her power, but we still don’t know exactly what he’s planning. Hopefully the next chapter will shed some light on the remaining Espada ranks; seems like Halibel may be next.
1.Stark- bored but may be very strong
not sure ->2.Halibel- ok…..only reason cuz she hot lol
about them ->3.Noitora- wants to be number one very badly
4. comfirmed Ulquiorra
5. Bald brotha
6. Grimmjow my theory is all the ones sitting on
7. Old guy the left side are vasto lorde on the right
8. Szayelaporro Adjuchas and 9-10 high lvl Gillian not
9. Aaroniero sure bout 5 and 7 ether so what you guys
10. Yammy think for a 14 year old lawl!!
dam it my post got screwed up srry guys reposting
1.Stark- bored but may be very strong
not sure ->2.Halibel- ok…..only reason cuz she hot lol
about them ->3.Noitora- wants to be number one very badly
4. comfirmed Ulquiorra
5. Bald brotha
6. Grimmjow
7. Old guy
8. Szayelaporro
9. Aaroniero
10. Yammy
my theory is all the ones sitting on the left side are vasto lorde on the right Adjuchas and 9-10 high lvl Gillian not to bad for a 14 year old lawl!
If there’s any seating order at all, you’d be correct. I’ve got to say that the big dark guy looks tougher than just 5th Espada though. Also, another way to look at it is that the first panel in the Espada meeting was 7-10 (meaning the old guy is 7th), while the second showed 2-5; everyone knows Grimmjow’s rank, and Stark was too lazy to care about the situation. He’s an interesting character, really. He seems to be the one least effected by the intruders, and has authority over the lower Espada. Also, he is different from the rest of the Espada; he is the only one without his mask remains attached to his face. His remains seem to be more like a necklace and, although we know next to nothing about him, could very well be removable. He’s the only arrancar we’ve encountered so far that didn’t have a mask directly attached to his face; this must mean something.
Even though he’s had virtually no screen time, I can deduce that Stark knows exactly what’s going on. He strikes me as the type that already knows what Aizen’s true plan is. Assuming he’s really the strongest, 1st rank would be perfect for him. After all, Aizen doesn’t want his highest ranked Espada to be reckless (ex. Grimmjow and Noitora) or just a blind follower (ex. Ulquiorra); he needs someone that, while serious about the position, is too apathetic to care about stopping Aizen’s ambitions. Aizen doesn’t have time to deal with opposition from the strongest Espada, and Stark naturally doesn’t care enough to interfere.
I don’t trust for one second that Aizen really cares about the well being of the arrancar; he uses nearly all of them like pawns just to further his schemes, even a devoted follower like Ulquiorra. I’m sure Aizen’s enjoying the current Ichigo/Grimmjow fight (and laughing at the fact that Ulquiorra was sealed by Grimmjow) right now; in fact, I’d go as far as saying that Aizen himself instigated this fight for his amusement. This whole thing is just a game to him; subordinates can be replaced. I’d imagine that the top Espada, the strongest known arrancar in all of Hueco Mundo, would be able to figure out what Aizen is really up to by now.
This is not that hard, They like writting thier numbers in hidden ways across thier face and such. I mean common if your bored and drawing pictures all day might as well bne somewhat sly.
1: Either “Old guy” or Halibel I’d say halibel cause of the solid single stripe… but id also say old guy so you have a final battle between the general and him
2: 2 stripes across forehead + wanting to be known as #1, Noitora
3: 3 scars above eyes, 3 written in beard, Black Guy with mowhawk
4: 4 Shell plates on side of head, Ulquiora
5: Either “Old guy” or Halibel (maybe old guy has 5 points but i think its 6
6: 6 teeth, Grimmjow
7: 7 resembled in his hair, Stark
8: 8 written by his glasses, Zaera
9: Aaroniero
10: Yammy
I don’t know why so many people seem to think the old guy could be 1st. I can almost guarantee you that he’s not. So he’s old, maybe he was around longer than some of the others. Maybe his crown means something, but so far he hasn’t given me any reason to believe he’s anywhere near the top of the Espada. First off, he’s full of himself; he called the intruders kids, and went out of his way to call Arroniero pathetic after he died. If you want to take this as a sign, he was the only one concerned enough about the intruders to make a comment after Arroniero died (Stark seemed the least concerned, seeing as he slept through it, and only commented about it because Lilinet woke him up). Secondly, there’s still the small chance that the old guy is really Chad’s grandfather; if this were true, I’d say that he couldn’t be stronger than 5th. Honestly, he doesn’t seem to be that interesting a character.
Of all the unranked Espada, Stark seems to have the greatest potential. One thing I’d hate to see though, is this whole Stark is number 1 thing turning out like Ulquiorra’s rank; I’m glad Ulquiorra’s ranked 4th because it would be boring if there wasn’t anyone tougher than him. Nearly everyone went along with the notion that Ulquiorra was the strongest Espada until they were proven wrong. Now, many people seem to think that Stark is the strongest; the one thing I don’t want to see is the same kind of outcome with Stark’s rank. This time, I feel that there is enough evidence to put Stark in the top 3. He is by far the most interesting unranked Espada, and it would be a shame to waste a character like that for a lower rank. If you want to know who SHOULD be in the top 3, that’s easy; just look at Ulquiorra as an example of how a Vasto Lorde would behave. Ulquiorra is a cold and calculating character; he’s serious about his job, and doesn’t underestimate anyone. He’s quiet, and thinks before he says anything, unlike the weaker ones that don’t know when to shut up. The only other Espada that share Ulquiorra’s disposition are Stark, Halibel, and the dark guy. Now, I said that these 3 deserve to be the top ones; that doesn’t mean that Kubo will actually make them the top 3 Espada, it only means that those 3 should logically be at the top.
Here’s a revised list:
1. Stark
2. Dark Espada
3. Halibel
4. Ulquiorra
5. Noitora
6. Grimmjow (Unknown, but will most likely be replaced in the future)
7. Old Espada
8. Zaera-Polo
9. Arroniero (Deceased)
10. Yammy
this is just a little prediction i made when i was looking at the pictures. i was just thinking, “what if they wanted to set an order through the arrangement of the picture.” sounds funny, but i was looking at it, and it looks good….ch. 245, when we’ve already seen that old man is part of the impatient group of espada, i looked at a number arrangement that would be cool to think about. we already know most of the ranks of the espada in this chapter on page 6….start with Yammy, who is 10 (bottom left corner). Go up to Aaroniero (top right corner). Go back to Szayelaporro (bottom right corner). then go across to the old espada (top left corner). this makes espada number 7 in this pattern…..6 is not involved….now for the important part—-> you saw the order i went from picture to picture….take that pattern to page 7, and look at the arrangement of the remaining espada….just don’t start at hari-bel this time. start at Noitora which would make this a mirror. that means the next pic ur going to from there is Ulquiorra, back down to Hari-bel, then across to the dark espada. these are all the rankings through the patterns.
7 9
10 8
pg. 6
4 2
3 5
pg. 7
if u looked at all of it correctly…these are the ranks
1. Stark (not involved)- doesn’t care
2. dark espada- hasn’t spoken
3. Hari-bel- could make sense…as she absorbed ichigo’s fight with grimmjow, she compliments ichigo’s strength.
4. Ulquiorra- Ulquiorra has claimed once that ONLY when ichigo’s reiatsu remains at its max, it is higher than his.
5. Noitora- not a bad position for him still. this is still the top 5. that means that the reactions of Hari-bel and Ulquiorra towards him make them superiors. this proves that Noitora is just envying both of them.
6. Grimmjow (not involved)
7. old espada- impatient to fight like his lower comrades
8. Szayelaporro
9. Aaroniero
10. Yammy
one little thing i just notice about my picture arrangement prediction is that when u look at each of the ranks from left to right, they’re spaced by 2.
7 9
10 8
2 is between them
4 2
3 5
2 is between them as well
Yeah, Guest2, your order is the same as mine; I noticed that when I devised that list. Now, I can’t guarantee that particular order is correct, but I believe Kubo was hinting at who was in the upper echelon, and who was in the lower one when he drew those pictures. Showing the old guy complaining along with the weakest 3 Espada makes him appear weak, while showing Ulquiorra, Halibel, and the dark guy being serious shows that they shouldn’t be underestimated.
The reason I put the dark guy above Halibel is because she was actually impressed by Ichigo; even Ulquiorra was somewhat impressed by Ichigo’s mask, but Halibel didn’t look as concerned as Ulquiorra did when he first saw it. Halibel may have been somewhat impressed by it, but I don’t think the top 2 would be affected by it at all. Keep in mind that she didn’t even flinch at 2 opponents at 6th Espada level fighting; I think this is enough to put her in the top 3.
Now, Stark could be on a totally different level, as he obviously isn’t phased at all by the intruders; plus, he’s the only arrancar we’ve seen so far that didn’t have a mask fragment directly attached to his face. I think that’s significant. If the necklace Stark wears is removable, and not actually attached to him, perhaps it’s a testament to show just how much more evolved he is than the other Espada. If not, that still doesn’t change the fact that he’s the only one that doesn’t have his mask attached to his face.
ok so here is my version of the ranking and the only ones im not sure of are 3-1 these are 70% acurate. so here they are:
10.Yammy
9.Arreniro
8.Zaerapolo
7.The eye patch and hat guy with the cresent moon sword(forgot name)
6.Grimmjow
5.The massive black guy(dont know name yet)
4.Ulquiorra
3.The lazy looking guy(he kind of reminds me Kyouraki Shunsui)
2.The SMOKIN!!!HOTT!!! arrancar girl(who needs a name when you’re that hot)
1.The old guy(dont know name yet)
PS: a little information ppl should know is that not all arrancar were Vastro Lorde. Quite frankly most of the arrancar were once Adjucha which is Gillian which gained a personality then transformed but had to eat other hollows to maintain their form.if they didnt eat they would return to the Gillian form and could never transform again. In the manga it is revealed that grimmjow was also an Adjucha and that he traveled with shawlong,nakim,edorad,Ilfort. They were all Adjucha.The only Vastro Lorde in Aizens arrancar are the old guy,ulqiorra,hot girl, and the black dude. the lazy guy im sstill skeptical about him being vastro lorde because he seems to laid back,kind and care free to be a vastro lorde. its said that vastro lorde are the toughest kind of hollow which means they would have gone through a whole lot of killing and fighting to become so strong. the lazy dude doesnt seem that enthusiastic when it come to fights. my reasoning is that going from:Hollow>Menos Grande (Gillian)>Menos Grande (Adjucha)>Vastro Lorde must be a long road filled with fighting and killing. thus only the toop 5 arrancar could have been Vastro lorde. and the idea of Ulqiorra being the strongest is utter bullsh!t. why would Aizen send his most powerful arrancar to take care of ichigo? that would mean tha arrancar themselves must suck ass. why would you send your strongest warrior to do a childs work when you could send the weaker ones to assess the situation?DUH
PS:PS: if ichigo had transformed into a hollow when he was training with uharahara they wouldnt have been able to contain him and he would have slaughtered them because his reiastu would be on par or higher than Ulquiorra. then if he went to hueco mundo he would have probably transformed into an arrancar on his own and been more powerful than aiznen’s strongest arrancar.
I really don’t think the old guy could be the top one; he’s just too cocky. I’m almost positive that Noitora and the old guy are the 5th and 7th Espada, respectively. The remaining 3 seem like they may be even more observant and analytical than Ulquiorra. I think my last post clearly conveyed my opinions on the Espada ranks, so until we get some more definitive evidence to prove otherwise, this will be my final ranking of the Espada:
1. Stark
2. Dark Espada
3. Halibel
4. Ulquiorra
5. Noitora
6. Grimmjow
7. Old Espada
8. Zaera-Polo
9. Arroniero
10. Yammy
1. Stark, DUH you can just tell!
2. Noitora, DUH he said he said he the strongest but not the number one!
3. Big Black GUY, DUH the 103 privaron is a big huge guy just like him!
4. Ulquiorra
5. Hanibel, DUH the 105 privaron is a girl so hanibel took her place!
6. Grimmjow
7. OLD GUY, DUH he’s strong but old, ove course he stronger than a brain (8)
8. Szayel Aporro
9. Arroniero, HAHA dead, WEAK!
10. Yammy, for being 10 he strong he’s out lived 9.
right now, there are a couple of spoilers out. they’re not confirmed yet, but Noitora is being referred to as “great sensei” by Grimmjow in these spoilers. where would u place him if so?
I think that’s just what the person that wrote the spoiler called Noitora. According to the spoilers, Noitora slices Grimmjow with his scythe. Seems like poor Grimmjow may have been cut in half… what a way to go. Noitora said something along the lines of “you just don’t know when to give up. This shinigami is mine.” If Grimmjow is actually dead though, we can’t discount Orihime’s abilities to bring him back (it’s possible). Now, keep in mind that Grimmjow was severely weakened at the end of the fight (so even a weaker Espada had a chance to cut him down), but I think this chapter is enough to prove without a doubt that Noitora is in the top 5.
Right now, if he’s healed, I’d say Ichigo is strong enough to fight an unreleased 5th level Espada, so maybe Noitora is weaker than Ulquiorra. At first I’d say that the top 3 consists of Stark, Halibel, and the dark Espada, but Noitora could change that. I still think Stark is stronger than Noitora, since he didn’t respond to Stark’s insult at the meeting, but it’s hard to tell how he’s ranked when we see his behavior with Halibel and Ulquiorra. I’m hoping that next chapter Nell freaks out and says something like “you’re Noitora (last name)… the (insert number) Espada!.” Maybe Halibel will crash the party and reveal her rank as well.
I can tell you now that Noitora and Halibel are pretty much confirmed to be in the top 5 (Noitora sliced Grimmjow, and Halibel didn’t flinch when watching 2 opponents at 6th Espada level fighting). I’d assume from his behavior that the old one is 7th. Alot of people that rank the old guy as 1st use his resemblance to Yamamoto and battle scars (age and experience) to justify their opinions. Remember that arrancar cannot evolve further after being bitten (hurt?) by another, so it looks as if the injuries were inflicted while he was still alive; people say that scars = experience, but the more experienced ones would most likely avoid getting injured. To add to the mystery, we still don’t know exactly how Chad’s grandfather died, so maybe the old Espada and Oscar Joaquin de la Rosa are one in the same; the scars could actually mean something afterall. I can’t say how the actual ranking will play out since all this guessing is futile, but I’m really hoping that Stark’s the top one.
Noitora likes to ruin happy times. lol Chad’s victory over Gantenbein, then Ichigo saving the day against Grimmjow. he’s good at making an entrance. neways ya lol, Noitora gives me the impression that he’s in the top 5. even though Grimmjow was weakened, and a lower espada could have takin him in that condition, i still feel that Noitora is higher. i feel an angry Ulquiorra vs Noitora fight coming. lol
Yeah, and if that’s not enough, Halibel’s still waiting on the sidelines. I think it’s possible that a weaker Espada took Grimmjow out, but it looks like he’s confirmed in the top 5. Halibel’s also in the top 5, judging by her reaction to 2 opponents at 6th Espada level fighting evenly; if she’s not phased at all, it’s likely she’s in the top 3. That means, only Stark, the dark guy, and the old guy could possibly be 7th. I’m going to have to go with the old guy as 7th. Noitora may be 5th; He might be powerful, but remember that Ulquiorra thinks he’s an idiot. Anyone could’ve taken Grimmjow out at that point, so we don’t know just how powerful Noitora is.
Remember the Ulquiorra fight; Ichigo barely scratched him, and was almost fatally wounded. Now, Noitora doesn’t really seem like a nice person, and probably doesn’t have any morals; Noitora will do whatever it takes to become the strongest Espada. That means, since he deemed Ichigo worthy, he’s out to kill Ichigo. If Ichigo couldn’t harm Ulquiorra, and Noitora’s stronger than that, Ichigo’s going to need some serious backup right now if he wants to survive. But, if Noitora’s the 5th Espada, Ichigo could at least hold his own until Noitora released. I’m hoping that if the fight isn’t interrupted, that it’ll at least be an interesting one; hopefully we’ll learn his and Halibel’s ranks, as well as see some more of Stark and the 2 unnamed Espada. I’ve got to say that if Noitora isn’t the top Espada, then it’s very unlikely he’ll reveal his rank himself. More than likely Nell will reveal Noitora’s rank.
Also, what’s up with Zaera-Polo? He’s spent months changing his clothes, hopefully we’ll get a conclusion for that fight. Maybe Ishida and Renji already figured out how to escape that room and are attempting to rescue Chad and Rukia. Assuming Noitora is 5th, maybe there’s time to take out Noitora and Zaera-Polo before the HM arc ends. That would leave 6 remaining Espada and Wonderwice as a possible future Espada.
Ranking 1
1)Old Espada
2)Stark
3)Dark Espada
4)Ulquiorra(!)
5)Halibel
6)Grimmjow(!)
7)Noitora
8)Zaeruaporro(!)
9)Aaroniero(!)
10)Yammy(!)
Those with (!) are already confirmed by the manga/anime. I placed the old espada and the dark skinned man in the top 3 because first of there is a big reason why their names are not revealed, second old people should NEVER be underestimated if people already forgotten about the 1st division captain. It is also obvious that Stark and Halibel is of higher rank than Noitora, simply because Stark already looks like he is top espada and Halibel seems to be smarter than Noitora. Many people are also thinking that Noitora is the second strongest simply because he manages to beat Chad, Renji is the one who helped train Chad and yet he along with Ishida is already close to being beaten.
Ranking 2
1)Halibel
2)Noitora
3)Stark
4)Ulquiorra(!)
5)Old Espada
6)Grimmjow(!)
7)Dark Espada
8)Zaeruaporro(!)
9)Aaroniero
10)Yammy(!)
It is already believed that Halibel is in fact of higher rank than Noitora simply because she seems to piss Noitora off. And maybe Noitora was also able to beat Chad easily because he IS one of the top espada. So if those are true then it should lead Halibel on top, Noitora on 2nd and Stark, being the top looking espada would be in third, if not then it would be:
1)Stark 2)Halibel 3)Noitora
There are also some captain/espada twins:
Yamamoto = Old Espada(Looks like or might just be Chads grandfather)
Soifong = Halibel
Kenpachi = Noitora
Ky
I don’t think their similarities to the captains really matters that much. I can understand the 5 you listed (you forgot one, Ulquiorra = Byakuya), but that doesn’t mean that the old guy will be the top Espada simply because Yamamoto is in charge of the captains. Don’t forget, there’s a reason why Yamamoto is in charge; Yamamoto is powerful and intelligent, the old Espada on the other hand is extremely arrogant (calling the intruders weak, calling Arroniero a fool) and hasn’t said or done anything that convinces me he’s any tougher than 7th Espada. When Kubo shows a picture of him with the weakest 3 Espada complaining and underestimating the intruders, he appears weak; or at least, that appears to be what Kubo was hinting at. This is why I believe the old guy is the weakest of the unrevealed Espada. Not to mention, if he turns out to be Chad’s grandfather, he would have to be one of the weaker ones if they plan on having a final showdown. I don’t think the resemblance to Yamamoto is a validation to make him the 1st Espada; that would be far too predictable and very disappointing.
Out of the remaining 4, Stark seems to have the most potential, by far. Also, he is the only arrancar so far that doesn’t have a mask fragment attached to his face; maybe there’s a reason for that. At the Espada meeting, Kubo first showed a panel with the weakest 4 acting like fools. I believe the second panel was of Espada 2-5 being more serious (except Noitora); we already knew Grimmjow’s rank, and Stark was just too lazy to even speak at the meeting, except to shut Noitora up before it even began. Logically, I’d have to say that Stark, the dark guy, Halibel, and Ulquiorra are the top 4, seeing as they’re the only ones that seem to have common sense (not to mention, they seem like the most intelligent of the group). Noitora seems tough, but his erratic behavior, as well as his desperation to prove he’s the best, would make him a terrible leader.
I would have to agree that Noitora and Halibel are in the top 5 after seeing the summary of the latest chapter. But then again I always expected Noitora to be either number 2 or 3. I also thought that Halibel would probably be number 5.
On the wikipedia it says the following:
Ulquiorra(4th espada)
Grimmjow(6th espada)
Szayel Aporro Grantz(8th espada)
Aaroniero Arleri(9th espada)
Yammy(10 espada)
So we can take out the idea of Ulquiorra as being #1 or #5.
Wikipedia doesn’t tell any other ranks though, srry.
Good debate! Here’s my take on it:
1. Stark (I initially thought he might be lower, bt some of the arguments here have changed my mind. I definitely think he’s #1 now)
2. Noitora (see below)
3. Halibel (Could be #2, but I’m kind of leaning toward her being weaker than Noitora because of how he talks to her)
4. Ulquiorra
5. Shaq (’cause it’s the only spot left for him)
6. Grimmjow
7. Grampa (as has been said, he’s basically an ass. Not top-ranked material.)
8-10 confirmed.
My theory is this:
Aizen wants an all vasto-lorde espada, but it isn’t always easy to demote people, especialy when they’ve got short fuzes and can cause a lot of havok when they get mad. Seeing as he’s a manipulator, he decides to use Ichigo & Co’s attack to eliminate the lower ranks. To do that, Gin starts secretly switching around the rooms so that the good guys end up fighting the weaker espada. Aizen orders all the espada to their rooms, because that way it’s easiest to just direct the invaders to the ones that he wants to eliminate. Afterward, he could claim that it was just an “unfortunate coincidence” that all the weaker espada got killed.
So why do the big guns come out?
Aizen still needs Orihime, so he sends his loyal minon Ulquiorra to make sure that Ichigo doesn’t save her. Ulquiorra defeats Ichigo, but doesn’t kill him, because he knows that Ichigo isn’t strong enough to challenge the top tier, but could still be useful in eliminating weaker opposition.
Grimmjow, being an ass (I don’t like him), screws up the plan though, so when Ulquiorra gets trapped, someone else has is dispatched to pick up where he left off–Halibel. It makes sense for Halibel to be stronger than Ulquiorra because obviously if #4 couldn’t cut it, someone weaker isn’t going to be able to either.
Meanwhile Noitora has gone out to fight against orders. I rank him higher than Ulquiorra and Halibel because of how he talks to them, and the fact that among guys as powerful as the espada, you’ve got to have something to back that sort of attitude up. Ulquiorra later refers to Noitora as an idiot though, because he knows that Noitora iis way too powerful for Ichigo & friends to handle; Noitora would just waste them all, which would screw up Aizen’s plan for eliminating the lower ranking espada.
My guess for what happens next is that Ulquiorra breaks free of the field that Grimmjow put him in, and he and Halibel step in to stop Noitora from doing much more. Either that or Tousen shows up to intervene in a similar way.
Any-who, that’s what I think is going on, even if most of it is just guesswork.
Amon: nice theory, it makes sense.
It’s all a game to Aizen; Ulquiorra even said that to Noitora. I don’t think Grimmjow really harmed Aizen’s plans though. I’m curious as to whether Halibel was ordered to intervene, or if she just came out of curiosity. One thing that’s odd is that the 7th Espada hasn’t reveled himself yet (I’m assuming it’s the old guy); I can understand Yammy being smart and laying low since he’s already fought the enemy, but Espada 9, 8, and 6 all went out of their way to pick fights, so where’s 7?
Now, correct me if I’m wrong, but have we actually learned about the circumstances surrounding the death of Chad’s grandfather yet? It’s hard to see in the manga, since we haven’t seen much of the old Espada yet, but when I looked at the most recent opening in the anime (and paused it to take a look at the picture of the old Espada), the resemblance was uncanny. Maybe we’ll learn how he actually died; maybe the beating he took for Chad left him with all those scars… It would be a very interesting plot development to say the least, and would certainly elevate him above his seemingly mediocre status. I think this arc is the perfect time for a reunion between him and Chad…
I’m suspecting Aizen’s trying to weed out the weaker Espada to make room for the Vasto Lordes; it’s probably for this reason that he hasn’t put Wonderwice in the Espada yet. Certain Espada like Ulquiorra definately know this, and the remaining 3 Vasto Lordes probably have it figured out too. The weaker ones are too foolish to see this, and Noitora is too self-absorbed to care; mark my words, this will be his fatal mistake, he’s not as tough as he thinks he is, and one of these days he’ll have his ass handed to him. Whether it’s by Ichigo, Zaraki, another Espada, or even Aizen himself has yet to be determined, but his overconfidence will be his downfall; that, I’m sure of.
i can see Noitora as an adjucha, and also being the previous numnber 1 espada. this means that when vasto lordes came into the espada, his rank had dropped. this would make him try to prove he is the strongest, even though he knows that naturally he couldn’t be. with my opinion as that, then my ranks would be as follows (assuming that those above him are vasto lordes)
1. Stark
2. dark skinned espada
3. Hari-bel
4. Ulquiorra
5. Noitora
6. Grimmjow
7. old espada
8. Szayelaporro
9. Aaroniero
10. Yammy
That would make sense. Noitora wouldn’t have seen the top 4 in action, so he would be oblivious to just how powerful they are. Since he has no way to gauge how tough they are, he still considers himself the strongest. To be honest though, Noitora seems like a coward. Sure, he’s probably strong, but if he really wanted to prove he was the strongest (like he constantly says he is), all he would have to do is kill Aizen and make the others follow him. It’s so obvious, but all he does is chase weaklings, and then complain when he finds out how weak they are. Clearly, he’s not nearly tough enough to take Aizen on, and he’s jealous of his superiors. He was angry with Halibel and Ulquiorra looking down on him (and later on, Ulquiorra referred to him as an idiot in front of Orihime), but was too afraid to talk back when Stark told him to shut up. Noitora is clearly too afraid to talk back to Aizen because of how powerful he is, so maybe it’s an indication that Stark is the strongest Espada; he took his chances talking back to Ulquiorra and Halibel who were closer to him in power, but he didn’t dare talk back to Stark. Stark’s name even means strong…
Noitora’s moping around (and his apparent inferiority complex, much like Grimmjow’s) is not characteristic of how the strongest arrancar in all of Hueco Mundo should act. Another thing: I noticed that some people think that the adjuchas release forms of the Espada will all be animal-like, since Grimmjow’s was. I don’t know if that’s really relevant, but if you want an arguement for Noitora as the 5th Espada, he does look kinda like a scorpion; especially in the most recent chapter, the way he throws and catches his scythe…
about the old espada, i think it would be very interesting to see if he was connected to chad like many people have thought. notice how we’ve never seen chad’s grandfather’s eyes, but since we’ve seen the espadas eyes, it’s not like we can tell that he is Chad’s grandfather. so it would be cool if he was, and they refer to a flashback where they show his eyes, and ur like “oh shit, it was him.” that’d be interesting. i would also place him as number 7 for this. so he can showdown with Chad at some point.
more off topic, but i have a feeling that at some point in the story, Chad is going to be one of the most important characters a lot later. since he came to hueco mundo, he’s felt more at home. his powers are hollow-like, right? so if his powers are hollow-like, and the power of his arms are from his grandfather, then his grandfather would have to be a hollow of some sort wouldn’t he? he’s also felt a stirring in his power ever since he’s been in Hueco Mundo. maybe his power is reacting to his “home” and his “grandfather.” i can see Chad as a full bodied hollow hybrid that would have to face ichigo one day or somethin. would be coo to see….neways ya…
7 fits old espada for sure to me, along with his attitude and his appearance with the weaker espada, unless it was to throw us off. the crown-shaped mask doesn’t mean much yet as of now.
Am I the only one starting to envision a “Luke… uh, I mean CHAD–I am your grandfather!” moment here? I’d be cool with that as long as it doesn’t go into the territory of “Join me on the dark side… it is your destiny!”
The Noitora being 5th but not knowing how overmatched he really is theory is pretty interesting. My money is still on him being 2 or 3, but that’s definitely got some merit to it too.
i have something similar: old espada finds out that a couple of other espada have been engaged in battles. so now, he walks outside out of curiosity to take a look at things not knowing he’s going towards chad. “Hehe. wat’s the big hype round here bout. they’re just a bunch of ki….huh?” Chad slowly lifts his head up to hit his chin on the ground looking up. “Abuelo?”….(cliffhanger)
Noitora’s back baby!!!!
Anyway forgetting about that, my ranks remain the same.
1st Espada- Stark
2nd Espada- Halibel
3rd Espada- Tall Spiky Guy
4th Espada- Ulquiorra
5th Espada- Noitora
6th Espada- Grimmjow Jeagerjaques
7th Espada- Oscar Joaquin De La Rosa?
8th Espada- Szayel Aporro Grantz
9th Espada- Aaroniero Arleri
10th Espada- Yammy
1. Noitora
2. Old Espada
3. Stark
4. Ulquiorra
5. Stone-face dude with skull earrings
6. Grimmjow
7. Halibel
8. Szayelaporro
9. Aaroniero
10. Yammy
To OrochiGab: Noitora will never be the first Espada….its obvious enough that he’s not the first espada from the way he b!tches abt how he has to prove that he deserves to be the strongest Espada and how he complains to Tesla abt how he should be the first Espada
well i have revised my post seeing how the manga has taken such a turn.
so here it is:
10.Yammy
9.Arroniero
8.Zaerapolo
7.^Shaq *bringin da POWER*
6.Grimmjow
5.Noitora
4.Ulqiorra
3.Stark
2.*^Halibel (*i think thats hot gurls name)
1.Old Guy (is he chads grandad i dunno)
^= These two ranks can be switched to achieve a new setup im not sure but i tink the big guy is 7th espada. if he is like yammy he is weak
Just because the dark guy is big doesn’t mean he’s like Yammy. Sure, he may be one of the largest Espada, but he seems really intelligent; in a way, he seems like a tougher, colder version of Ulquiorra. Think about it, if Ulquiorra is supposed to be the model of a Vasto Lorde, then wouldn’t it make sense for his superiors to be even more intelligent and analytical than him. The remaining 3 that fit this mold are Stark, Halibel, and the dark Espada; they are all quiet, think before they speak, and seem very intelligent from what we’ve seem of them so far.
Stark knew about Arroniero’s death without even being conscious and didn’t seem concerned at all when he woke up. His demeanor suggests that he already knows exactly what is happening; that Aizen plans on using the intruders to eliminate the weakest Espada to make room for more Vasto Lordes, which explains why he didn’t really want to interfere. Then again, Lillinet seemed pretty determined to see Stark do something about it, so maybe he’ll actually do something after all. Halibel acted like Ulquiorra when she observed Ichigo and Grimmjow fighting; she seems just as analytical as Ulquiorra, if not more so. Likewise, when the dark guy didn’t know who the fourth member of Ichigo’s team was, he was quick to ask who it was; Ulquiorra’s quick response seems to indicate he has respect for him, which leads me to think this unranked Espada is stronger than Ulquiorra.
Noitora and the old guy are the best candidates for 7th Espada. I’d have to say that Noitora is more likely to be the 5th Espada though, since he did seriously injure (perhaps even kill) Grimmjow in the most recent chapter. We still don’t know the old guy’s identity, but he does look alot like Chad’s grandfather. I particularly noticed this when seeing him in the most recent opening from the anime; it’s hard to get a real good look in the manga, since we don’t have any real good images of this Espada, but the picture in the opening (though only for a split second) really does look like Chad’s grandfather. I’m hoping this is true, as it would actually make this Espada interesting.
A lot of people seem to be missing the point when they rank the old guy as the top Espada; it’s either his resemblance to Yamamoto or his scars = experience. Personally I think the former is too predictable and boring, while the latter is incorrect. If he is Chad’s grandfather, then perhaps he got those before he died. Scars don’t indicate strength or experience among hollows, if he got these while he was an arrancar, that would simply mean that he got into a lot of dangerously close fights. That would mean that his opponents were closely ranked in strength, which in turn means that he is nothing special, just like the enemies he barely defeated. The stronger ones would be able to return from battle unscathed, but the fact that he didn’t indicates that he was weak, or that he got them before he became a hollow.
Like I’ve said time and time again, this is probaly the most accurate ranking!
1st Espada- Stark
2nd Espada- Halibel
3rd Espada- Tall Spiky Guy
4th Espada- Ulquiorra
5th Espada- Noitora
6th Espada- Grimmjow Jeagerjaques
7th Espada- Oscar Joaquin De La Rosa?
8th Espada- Szayel Aporro Grantz
9th Espada- Aaroniero Arleri
10th Espada- Yammy
My Reasons: #1, Stark is most likely the first Espada mainly because of the way he acts. Would a lower ranked Espada really ever act so lazy and tired? Of course not. Anyway, everything about him screams Espada 1.
Reason #2, Halibel has that feeling to her that makes it seem like shes extremely powerful, but not the top. She has that commanding presence to her. She also has a great resemblance to Soifon, even though that doesn’t mean shes 2, it still makes her a candidate.
Reason #3, The tall dark espada has a commanding presence to him too, and like Guest said up there, even though he’s big like Yammy doesn’t mean he’s weak.
Reason #4, Noitora is most likely the 5th Espada, he is certantly stronger than Grimmjow, because even though Grimmjow was weakened at the time, you still have to think that would a lower ranked Espada really be able to even scratch him? Of course not. Anyway, it seems like Noitora belongs there.
Reason #5, The Old Espada is the 7th because he has some wierd relation to Chad. There’s gonna be some loopy wierd battle, some “Huge” revelation and its probaly gonna turn out to be Chads Grandfather. Now when you think about it, Chad really isnt the strongest out of their group. So of course thet’re goin to have to make his Espada opponent weak, but not weak enough, just strong enough so they could have a battle that’ll last 4 manga chapters.
I’m right, you guys know it.
Official: I agree with you on the rankings. The only thing I’d argue is that Halibel and the dark guy are both interchangable. Think about it, assuming Noitora’s 5th. He had no problem insulting Ulquiorra and Halibel, yet was too afraid to respond to Stark. Now Noitora seems to be full of himself, but he knows when to back down. I can see Noitora standing up to his two immediate superiors (Ulquiorra and Halibel), but I’d imagine he’d have a harder time talking back to the top 2. He talked like he and Ulquiorra were closely ranked, and he seemed to resent Halibel even more.
Now, another theory is that Stark is so powerful that he has evolved beyond the point of having to wear a mask (meaning that his necklace fragment is not actually attached to his body); Stark could be so strong that not even the other Vasto Lordes combined could hold a candle to his power. This could explain why he’s comfortable sleeping all the time, since no one could possibly challenge him. This may also invalidate my claim that Noitora wouldn’t dare to insult the 2nd Espada, since 2, 3, and 4 are close enough in rank for him to feel safe talking back to.
Well, I’ve got to say that your arguments have won me over to hoping that Noitora is #5 and Halibel and Shaq are numbers 2-3. That said, I still have a gut feeling that Noitora is in the top 3 (his general jerkiness could, after all, be because he is indeed stronger than Halibel and/or the Dark espada).
But it would be cooler if Noitora were stuck at #5.
1.Ulquiorra
2.Stark
3.Noitora
4.Halibel
5.Szayel Aporro Grantz
6.Grimmjow Jeagerjaques
7.Old Guy
8.Aaroniero
9.Dark espada
10.Yammy
What the hell? We already know that Ulquiorra is 4, Szayel is 8, and Aaroniero is 9. Where the hell have you been?
i dont understand the latest bleach episode…i think it’s episode 136. Ulquiorra was taken down by arrancar who werent even espada level how the hell is that possible. i mean come on! Ulquiorra could block techniques comparable to cero barehanded! How could that be…he was able to fend of ichigo in his hollow without too much trouble
its a little off-topic but i just wanna know how could this happen?
I’m inclined to believe that Ulquiorra was made significantly weaker to show that these Arrancar are important and relatively strong, but since they’re not on his side anymore, this technically gives Ulquiorra a chance in the next episode or episodes to strike back with his full power. Perhaps he’ll be the one who ultimately finishes off Patras and will prove that he’s as strong as he should be. I agree with you though, it’s really lame how they let him get all slashed up.
Umm you can see the mark on the black dudes chest slightly covered by cloths. It looks like it could be a 3 or 7.
Concerning the new episode, I’m not really concerned with Ulquiorra losing to Patras. Personally, I just think Ulquiorra’s being a good actor. Notice how Aizen was sitting in the room right before Patras showed up. Aizen could have easily used his zanpakuto to fool Patras into thinking he wasn’t really there. I’m sure Aizen wanted Ulquiorra to throw the fight; either that, or Aizen’s illusions are powerful enough to make Patras think he was killing Ulquiorra. I’m almost positive that after Patras left, Ulquiorra got up unharmed and said something akin to “what shall I do now, Aizen-sama?” Now that Ulquiorra is in the real world, I hope this mini-arc ends with Ulquiorra killing Patras without even lifting a finger (similar to the way he effortlessly dismembered those two shinigami when he kidnapped Orihime).
On another note, it appears episode 138 is back to the real story! I don’t think it’s been confirmed yet, but I’m hoping it’s true. Can’t wait to see the Espada animated.
ya. i think that Ulquiorra really couldn’t have been really harmed by Patras. i think it was to throw us off and piss us off at the same time. then, in the next episode, hopefully we can relieve ourselves seeing how powerful Ulquiorra really is. it’s weird though.
btw, these filler arrancar are kinda wack. look at their released forms. how long did it take to come up with them? lol one of the guy’s faces looks like a previous filler arrancar face already used. it was the one that multiplies. i just can’t wait until they introduce the espadas in the anime. they better do them good, or it’ll be gay. they’re also softening up. the anime now is starting to get less bloodier than the soul society arc. i hope that when the hueco mundo arc comes, they don’t ruin it.
…omit the first “really” in my first sentence. *
Uh huh. So back on topic, i saw somewhere about the possibilty of the two circles on Halibel’s turtle-neck being the symbol that says she’s Espada 2. That’s also the same with the 3 symbols on Deadro’s (I just felt like giving the big guy a name cause i dont like typing “tall dark guy” over and over again)chin and side of his head.
sounds like something to take in. but at the same time, we HAVE witnessed the revealed espadas with an actual tatooed number. so i dunno, but it’d be coo to see different representations of the espadas.
i heard about that too. and i DID notice the dark espada with e markings on him on different parts of his face.
Concerning the anime, I hope the Espada turn out alright. Hopefully the next few epidodes will do the next arrancar attack justice; I shudder to think how they plan to cut down on the violence for Luppi’s death. The anime doesn’t usually disappoint me though, and I was alright with how Yammy smashing that arrancar’s head in (ep. 127) turned out, so hopefully they’ll pick up the pace after the next filler episode and bring back the blood.
Back on topic, we still haven’t seen Szayel’s hollow hole or Espada number yet, assuming he even has them. Maybe he was able to remove the hole. About the tattoo - maybe it’s on his leg. I did notice the 3 marks on the dark Espada, and the 2 circles on Halibel’s uniform, but I think it looks a bit too obvious. It could be right, but the reason I think the dark guy is stronger than Halibel is that he seems less interested in the intruders.
Stark seems to be the least concerned of the group, as he slept through Arroniero’s death, and the dark guy seemed comfortable meditating; Halibel and Ulquiorra both felt the need to either start or watch a fight. Notice, although Ichigo isn’t a threat to either of them yet, they both seem somewhat impressed by his power. Ulquiorra looked shocked and afraid when he first saw Ichigo’s transformation, while Halibel wondered how a human could be so powerful. I get the feeling that the top 2 aren’t impressed enough to make an appearance.
….. Damn that was pretty good. I never really thought about it like that. You’re right, the top two espada would really not be that impressed by the intruders. Also, we have to think about the fact that when Noitora asked Halibel if she was scared of Ichigo and the rest, she didn’t say anything. She obviously was threatened by their intrusion, possibly hinting that she might even be a lower level than Ulquiorra.
Guest: You do know that what rubbish happens in the anime has no relation to the manga at all. There’s been quite a few contradictions in the anime already but they just ignore it when the contradictions come to light.
I also don’t think the number of markings have anything to do with their rankings because none of those whom we have seen their ranks already have any similar number of markings.
will they have another arc after hueco mundo.
Akira: I’d imagine that the Winter War arc would follow the Hueco Mundo one. There’ll probably be stuff inbetween them though.
So, anyways, I was thinking about what Noitora’s rank may be, and I have a new theory. Aside from his seemingly high rank, Noitora’s demeanor seems very characteristic of the weaker Espada; Yammy hasn’t shown himself to be the brightest Espada, Arroniero and Zaera-Polo underestimated their opponents, and Grimmjow wanted to settle the score with Ichigo. I think Noitora fits 7th place well with his inferiority complex and delusion that he’s the strongest. The only thing that sets this off is that he does actually appear stronger than that. I was looking over some older chapters and stumbled upon something interesting; on the first page of chapter 254 there are silhouettes of 3 current Espada - notice, from closest to furthest away they are Noitora, Zaera-Polo, and Arroniero. Now, Szayel and Arroniero both turned out to be 8th and 9th, so maybe Kubo put that in as a hint to Noitora’s rank.
When I think about it, something made me wonder if Noitora was really half as tough as he thought he was from the very beginning. Even though Ulquiorra is 2 places above Grimmjow, he seemed afraid to fight him; even though he doesn’t agree with Grimmjow’s actions, he seems to respect him in some sense. Look at Ulquiorra’s face when he confronts Grimmjow before his imprisonment; he looks hurt, like he feels betrayed. With Noitora, Ulquiorra talked down to him, and even called him an idiot in front of Orihime. Now this may just be because Noitora has no morals, while he respects that Grimmjow has some sense of honor, but if Ulquiorra’s afraid to instigate a fight with the 6th Espada, then why would he talk down to someone even stronger than Grimmjow?
The old guy (Oscar Joaquin De La Rosa?) could also be 7th, but think about it; if he really is Chad’s grandfather, and this arc really is going to end soon, then they probably won’t have a final confrontation until the Winter War. Now, keep in mind that Aizen wants to get rid of the weaker Espada to make room for the Vasto Lordes. I understand that he has to be weak enough for Chad to fight, but if he was 7th, he would probably be removed before the Winter War even began. So, if he’s going to last until the war, he should be around 5th Espada level. Maybe I’m just overanalyzing everything, but I thought it deserved some discussion. Either way, I think Noitora and the old guy are the best candidates for 5th and 7th.
By the way: personally, I still think Noitora’s 5th, but if he did turn out to only be the 7th Espada, that would certainly be an interesting revelation. I’ve got to admit that he looks tougher than Grimmjow though. Either way, I’m curious what his real rank is going to be so we can finally put to rest the constant debate of just how tough Noitora really is.
this is the official ranking so far. i contacted kubo.
1.old guy
2.dark guy
3.Halibel
4.Ulquiorra
5.noitora
6.Grimmjow
7.stark
8.Szayel
9.Aaroneiro
10.Yammy
Yeah ok, watever. We all know thats just a freakin fan made list. #1, If it was really Kubo then he would have thought of something more clever and better than that and #2, I dont think Kubo would ever just give away his rankings to be posted on the internet, world wide to everyone. So nice try akira.
1 - Stark
2 - Noitora
3 - Halibel
4 - Ulquiorra
5 - Black guy with mohawk mask
6 - Grimmjow
7 - Old Guy
8 - Grantz
9 - Aaroneiro
10 - Yammy
and since Aaroneiro is out of the picture i think Wonderwise will join the espada
hmmmm. i still hold my ranking prediction, but i’m starting to question it. someone else brought up a point on a forum, and you can refer to this information. read page 1 of chapter 254. according to the picture and information, it seems that Noitora, Aaroniero, and what looks like Stark were part of the first generation of espada. this was before the Hougyoku was being used on hollows. this could mean that whoever was in this picture could have been demoted.
and i don’t know if this is similar, but it seems that in ch. 229, you see the same espada as in chapter 254 standing around Aizen while he is using the Hougyoku. to me, i just guess that they are witnessing the ability of it. Aaroniero is in the back. Noitora is in the front. Stark is there as well. makes me think that Luppi could have been a first generation espada as well, but he was probably bumped out. Hari-bel is there as well. with this, i’m taking a guess that since we all see Hari-bel, Stark, and Noitora as “looking powerful,” maybe they were the top 3 of the first generation.
these will be my 2 predictions if this all is true:
1. dark espada
2. Stark
3. Hari-bel
4. Ulquiorra
5. Noitora
6. Grimmjow
7. old espada
8. Szayelaporro
9. Aaroniero
10. Yammy
and
1. old espada (even though he was categorized with the weaker espada, maybe he was to trick us, and maybe he has the right to be so cocky)
2. dark espada
3. Stark
4. Ulquiorra
5. Hari-bel
6. Grimmjow
7. Noitora
8. Szayelaporro
9. Aaroniero
10. Yammy
Guest2: About page one in chapter 254 - I already brought it up myself right here about 8 posts ago (take a look at it). You were right about Noitora and Aaroniero being in the picture, but Stark is NOT the other Espada; it’s Szayel. My point when I brought it up was that in order from closest to furthest was Noitora, Szayel, and Aaroniero; so therefore, since Szayel and Aaroniero panned out to be the 8th and 9th, that Noitora may be 7th. I can tell you that it’s definately Szayel, not Stark. Your theory about those 3 being the top of the first generation is pretty good though.
New spoiler: it hasn’t been confirmed yet, but it looks like Noitora may be the 2nd Espada with his tattoo on his tongue. Guess I was really off on his ranking… Anyways, if that’s true, here’s a revised list:
1. Stark
2. Noitora
3. Halibel
4. Ulquiorra
5. Dark Espada
6. Grimmjow
7. Old Espada
8. Szayel Aporro
9. Aaroniero
10. Yammy
Now, some people are jumping to conclusions and assuming that Halibel’s #1, but as far as I’m concerned it’s all BS. Honestly, I’m getting really sick of all the Halibel fanboys. I mean, she’s a cool character and all, but I’d be SO disappointed if she turned out to be the top one. She’s not THAT tough. Remember that Halibel and Ulquiorra were impressed that Ichigo was so powerful for a human, while Noitora and Stark don’t seem to be impressed at all; Noitora only wants to be the strongest, while Stark is too lazy to care. This pisses Noitora off because the strongest Espada is a slacker, while he’s out trying to prove himself. Noitora isn’t really that impressed with Ichigo’s strength, he just wants the credit for taking him out. Stark, however, is so confident in his abiities that he can sleep peacefully knowing that no one can stand up to him.
Kubo stumped us again. he’s always doing that. if someone could just try to think like him. HE HAS TO BE READING OUR COMMENTS THEN CHANGING THE STORY! lol
i found another spoiler
the “2″ that we see, is a 5 in this one.
i found another spoiler
the “2″ that we see, is a 5 in this one. i’m not saying his rank isn’t 2, but i took a look at the 2, and it looks weird. the five is perfect looking.
Wait a minute, where are you guys getting all this from? Did i miss out on a new manga chapter or something?
The “5″ looks more true because of the crease lines on the tongue intersecting nicely with the number.
Well, I have to say that I would *rather* Noitora be number 5, but I still think I makes more sense for him to be number 2. That said, and to echo a previous poster… where are you guys finding these spoilers?
ya they do. the 2 looks to fake
The 5 looks true, but it’s kinda weird that Ichigo would look so shocked to see someone ranked one number above Grimmjow; it would make more sense if Noitora was 2nd. I don’t think Ichigo would really be that phased by someone one level above Grimmjow, but I’m sure he’d panic if he knew that his opponent was even stronger than Ulquiorra. According to a tentative translation, when Noitora shows his rank, he says something like “I’m this many levels (the number he said was cut off) above that trash you just strugled to defeat.” Now if that’s true, why would he say levels (plural)?
lol thats a really good theory i think he’s 2 as well, I dun give a shit that people think the spoiler with 2 is fake
The problem is that it really does look like a 5. The 2 just looks photoshopped. I’d rather him be 2nd, and it would make sense according to the story and the script (which could easily be a fake), but I’m not going to get my hopes up; I’ll be satisfied with the Espada rankings as long as Stark’s number 1. I mean, his name is STARK… it means strong or complete, how could Kubo give him a name like that and not make him the top one?
AHA! Found it.
Anyhow, I agree that the 5 looks more realistic, but it doesn’t make as much sense. Especially since Ichigo freaks out afterward and the chapter is supposedly titled “The Strongest Espada.” It just seems like that would be a lot of overblown nonsense to go though if Noitora were number 5.
Wait, I can just see it: some lame explanation where we find out that Noitora is physically the strongest espada, but in terms of other powers and intelligence, he’s still ranked lower, ie. 5. Plus it would explain why Ichigo is screaming the way he is, because he’s saying “I can’t believe that you would would actually come up with somethign that lame!”
Noitora is number 5. since the new pics are out, i guess you can say that it’s confirmed.
ok seriously…im sorry if I sound noob but where the heck did you all find these supposed images of Noitora’s tatoo? If I recalled correctly there wasn’t a new Bleach Chapter yet so im in doubt abt this until someone can actually give me a link for this.
Malachi: The pictures are on various Bleach forums. If you look around for threads about chapter 287 spoilers, you’re bound to find it.
Well, it’s now confirmed that Noitora is the 5th Espada. Though, it’s ridiculous that some idiot would go through the trouble of inverting the number in the first place. It looks like my original prediction of Noitora as 5th ranked was correct after all, so I’m going to stick with this as my current Espada ranking:
1. Stark
2. Dark Espada
3. Halibel
4. Ulquiorra
5. Noitora
6. Grimmjow
7. Old Espada
8. Szayel Aporro
9. Aaroniero
10. Yammy
Looks like it’s time to update the list above.
i predicted 5 too. i finally got 1 right. lol…….i’m not saying my picture theory is correct, but i hope the rankings keep hitting the nails. if so, then maybe it is? dunno, would be cool if it was.
ch. 245 page 6
old espada=7 Aaroniero=9
Yammy=10 Szayelaporro=8
Grimmjow (didn’t talk, which makes midpoint)=6
page 7
Ulquiorra=4 dark espada=2
Hari-bel=3 Noitora=5
Stark (didn’t talk, which makes finishing point)=1
Well, after all this time, and all of the spoilers, my ranks remain the same.
1. Stark
2. Halibel
3. Tall Dark Man
4. Ulquiorra
5. Noitora
6. Grimmjow
7. Oscar Joaquin De La Rosa?
8. Szayel Aporro
9. Aaroniero+
10. Yammy
It’s really hard to tell, but i think that possibly both of the spoiler pics are right. If the numbers was tampered with on photoshop, then whichever one was fake wouldn’t be able to first of all blend in with the manga page, and they wouldn’t still have the line that goes through his tongue, however both do. So what i’m thinking is that this was probably just a mistake by Kubo and realising that #2 was probably too high for Noitora, he instead changed it to 5, to balance out his possible future rankings.
()
Oh, and i heard about some Orihime bankai and that its supposed to have all her petals out and stuff but it sounds like a load of malarchi to me.
omg are u serious noitora is only 5??? god damnn and hes all saying hes the strongest ulquiorra will pwn him!! so this is my rankings again
1. stark
2. halibel
3. Black dude
4. Ulquiorra
5. Noitora
6. Grimmjow
7. Old Dude
and so so
Sorry for posting again guys, I know i’m basically totally disagreeing with what i wrote right now but it has to be heard! You know if you flip the 5 on his tongue around it forms the 2, and if you flip the 2 it forms the 5!
Sorry but im posting one more time! I read somewhere that Orihime says that she swore herself to Aizen and apologizes to Ichigo. She then says Espada 1, Inoue Orihime reporting! Then activates her Zanpakuto which is Sette Falda Fiore (Seven Leaf Flower), and yet again this is most likely fake.
Guest: Ok found the said images
Anyway I doubt its a 2 but a 5…I mean how on earth is Aizen supposed to tatoo a 2 onto Notitora’s tongue upside down (note: from this Im using his mouth as a reference point for the ‘base’) therefore it has to be a 5 altough im pretty sure chaps aren’t supposed to come out so soon. Therefore I’ll be in doubt until I see the actual chap released.
Also on a sidenote: Zaerapolo finally gets changed after almost 10 chapters…just added it because I saw it along with the Noitora spoilers.
Where did you see that?
Noitora is now officially the 5th Espada. I’ve seen a real picture from the real Manga Spoiler and it clearly shows the 5. The 2 was someone playing a prank on everyone, and it clearly worked. The way to spot out that the 2 is fake is that if you look at the top of Noitora’s tongue there is a triangle of shadow, and when you look at the bottom of the 2 there are still those strain marks.
I gotta hand it to whoever did that though, they really fooled us all. It was well done.
Well, it does indeed look like the 5 is legit, but I have to say, the more I think about it in the current situation, the less sense it makes!
1. If Noitora is really number 5, then why is acting so cocky after just seeing #6 get beaten? Can he not stick his own tongue out far enough to see that he’s only 1 level higher, or is he really that deluded? Even for someone who thinks he’s the strongest, it just doesn’t seem quite right.
2. Why is Ichigo so surprised and in an apparent state of shock and awe? I mean, he just beat down #6, and even if he is hurt, #5 can’t be *that* intimidating, can it? After all, Ichigo isn’t the type who frequently freaks out and runs around scared at the prospect of fighting a powerful opponent–he went into the fights against Zaraki, Byakuya and Grimmjow head on, after all. The only times that he’s really been down and frightened are when he’s just really had his ass handed to him, like after the first times that he fought Yammy and Grimmjow and lost because he couldn’t control his hollow. But this time around he won, so that doesn’t seem right either.
3. Halibel has been watching this whole thing since Grimmjow started things up. With Noitora ranked 5, it’s almost certain that she’s 2-3 levels more powerful than him, and could probably manhandle both Ichigo and Noitora with one hand tied behind her back. Which raises the question: why doesn’t she just step in, kill whoever needs killing and return Orihime to her cell? I mean, even if Aizen wants Noitora to get killed, there has GOT to be a better way to do it than to let Ichigo constantly be beaten up and healed and beaten up and healed again.
So I’m keeping my fingers crossed that somehow the rest of the chapter manges to explain things in at least a semi-rational way. Maybe Ichigo is having a panic attack not because of Noitora, but because Halibel has jumped down and is standing behind him, or because he sees that Ulquiorra has popped out of his little stasis field and is heading over. Right now I’m just having a hard time meshing the image fragments with the characters and the overall whole.
As for Sayzel, he’d better be wearing one snazzy outfit, considering how long it took him to put it on!
Ok this is alot.
#1. Noitora is the cockiest of all the Espada. he is constantly trying to prove he is the top Espada. So, since Noitora just saw that Ichigo took down Grimmjow, who is #6, this shows Noitora that Ichigo is strong enough for him to fight, and Noitora thinks that if he takes down Ichigo, he’ll prove to everybody that he is the Strongest Espada (even though he’s not)
#2. Ichigo was wounded by Grimmjow and now he has to fight another Espada. Fighting Grimmjow took alot out of him, so obviously he knows that fighting an even stronger Espada will definitly kill him so thats why he’s afraid.
#3. Probably the best reason Halibel won’t jump in and stop the fight is because she wishes to view the battle and watch Ichigo’s development.
Oh, and for Szayel, he does have a new outfit, and it actually doesn’t look that bad.
this doesn’t look good for our heroes. lol i’ll tell everyone why ichigo’s afraid. it’s not only because he’s stronger than grimmjow or number 5. it’s because he’s a seductive, psychotic freak with a double crescent moon scythe, linked to chain that’s connected to his body like some imprisoned monster. he has a freakin tatoo on his tongue. and he lusts for ichigo’s death by his hands. ichigo should be pissing his pants right now. the guy is a nut, even though he’s freakin awesome lol
btw. i forgot to say that i was referring to Noitora.*
REPOST
this doesn’t look good for our heroes. lol i’ll tell everyone why ichigo’s afraid. it’s not only because Noitora’s stronger than grimmjow or that hes’s number 5. it’s because he’s a seductive, psychotic freak with a double crescent moon scythe, linked to chain that’s connected to his body like some imprisoned monster. he has a freakin tatoo on his tongue. and he lusts for ichigo’s death by his hands. ichigo should be pissing his pants right now. the guy is a nut, even though he’s freakin awesome lol
So, I was basically right about Noitora being #5 this entire time. I also want everyone to know that I was the first to create these rankings, not anyone else.
1. Stark
2. Halibel
3. Tall Mohawk man
4. Ulquiorra
5. Noitora
6. Grimmjow
7. Oscar Joaquin De La Rosa?
8. Szayel Aporro Grantz
9. Aaroniero
10. Yammy
1. Stark(or black dude)
2. Black dude with stone mohawk(or stark)
3. Old guy
4. Ulquiora (fixed)
5. Halibel
6. Grimmjaw(fixed)
7. Noitora
8. Szayel Aporro Grantz(fixed)
9. Aaroniero(fixed)
10. Yammy (fixed)
Based on the philosophy of saving the best for last. Black dude with mohawk could be number.
Ok, I don’t know how important this is, but if you look at all the ranked Espada, there seems to be a pattern; it’s not that significant, but of all 3 revealed pairs (all sitting across from each other), the one on the left is ALWAYS strongest. Now that could easily change when we get the rest of the numbers, but I’m assuming that it may pan out after all. The old guy is the most likely candidate for 7th Espada. He’s overconfident, and the only things we’ve heard him say show it (calling the intruders weak, being the only one out of the unrevealed 4 that cared enough to call Aaroniero a fool). Because of Grimmjow’s defeat, Espada 7 and 10 should be afraid by now; practically anyone can defeat Yammy, and the old guy would stay in his room if he knew what was good for him. Based on screen time alone, Halibel seems to be the second most likely candidate for 7th; I’d rule this out though, because of her confidence when watching the Ichigo vs. Grimmjow fight.
If you look at Ulquiorra as a model for how a Vasto Lorde should act, you will notice that Halibel is not much different than him; she seemed even less concerned about vaizard Ichigo. The fact that Ulquiorra and Halibel were both concerned enough to fight Ichigo, or watch his progress, seems to indicate that both of them are close ranked; because of this, I’d rank Halibel 3rd. The dark guy doesn’t seem to care that much, and is content meditating. He also seems very powerful; he’s calm and confident, and the way he demanded an answer for who the 4th member of Ichigo’s group was (at the Espada meeting), as well as Ulquiorra’s fast response, seem to indicate that he is well respected amongst the Espada. Because of this, I’d rank him as the 2nd Espada.
Now, everything about Stark indicates that he is very high up in the ranks. From his name (the word stark means strong) to his carefree attitude, he is by far the laziest Espada. The reason for this is probably that he is so powerful that he knows that none of the others could ever stand up to him. He was able to make Noitora shut up before the Espada meeting, and was the only Espada that didn’t speak during the actual meeting. Also, he is the only arrancar we’ve seen so far that didn’t have his mask fragment attached to his face. Instead, he wears his as a necklace (the dark Espada wears a necklace too, but he also has the bone spikes on his head). Perhaps this means Stark is the strongest. The word stark can also mean complete, so perhaps he’s the first complete Vasto Lorde; he’s so powerful that he’s completely removed his mask and now wears it around his neck as a souvenir.
how in the hell will ichigo get out of this predicament will grimmjow wake up to the truth and help ichigo or will ulquiorra step in after he escapes and take on noitora someone please tell me
Well I’m guessing Orihime is going to play a big part in taking care of Noitora, she’s probaly going to use some powerful technique that she’s never shown before. Grimmjow looked pretty wasted, so I don’t think he’s gonna come back right away to help Ichigo. Knowing Kubo, Grimmjow might come back later in the story to either kill Ichigo or help him. As for Ulquiorra there is a strong possibilty that he will return, but probably already at the climax of the Ichigo-Noitora fight.
01)Old Espada
02)Stark
03)Halibel
04)Ulquiorra(#)
05)Noitora(#)
06)Grimmjow(#)
07)Dark Espada
08)Szayel Aporro(#)
09)Aaroniero Arleri(#)
10)Yammy(#)
OR
01)Stark
02)Dark Espada
03)Halibel
04)Ulquiorra(#)
05)Noitora(#)
06)Grimmjow(#)
07)Old Espada
08)Szayel Aporro(#)
09)Aaroniero Arleri(#)
10)Yammy(#)
Theres barely any point in ranking the Espadas because more or half of them will be replaced by Vasto Lordes lol
lol true the espada are the psuedo army while the Vasto lords are still to come. But did aizen find any yet?
I think stark might be 07 because of his care free attitude.
Stark- Could rise up in the ranks but chooses not to. So we never know. But I think Stark is the consensus number one.
Lol stark is so strong that only sign of his hollowness(mask) is on his private area.
Well, if my ranking is correct, I’m assuming Aizen wants the current Vasto Lordes (Stark, dark guy, Halibel, and Ulquiorra) in the new Espada. I’d also count on Wonderwice having a more prominent role in the future; if he’s a Vasto Lorde, then we know half of the new Espada already. It would be kinda boring if all the current Vasto Lordes are moved to the lower Echelon of the Espada by the time of the Winter War, so maybe Stark (since his name means strong) will remain the strongest even after all the new ones appear; perhaps he’s so powerful, that no future Espada could ever outrank him.
So now we gotta think here. When Aizen does eventually reform the Espada with Vasto Lordes, who is going to be demoted? Now it would make for an interesting story if Ulquiorra, who is basically Aizen’s lapdog, was replaced by an even stronger Espada.
For some reason I don’t see Wonderwice being an Espada. He’s strong, however he doesn’t excactly have the best intelligence. He acts like a little kid.
Well, having gotten a chance to actually read the chapter now, I have to say that a lot of my initial skepticism is gone. Considering Ichigo’s comments that Noitora is so skinny but “his brute strength is amazing” it seems like noitora’s claim to be the strongest espada is probably to be taken literally in terms of pure muscle power. So he can probably punch harder than Stark, but his spirit power and other techniques aren’t on the same level. So far, Noitora is shaping up to be everything that I had hoped Grimmjow (Who really just needs to die now) would have become but didn’t. Noitora may be a cocky bastard, but he definitely looks to be smarter than the other lower ranking espada too–the others (Grimmjow obviously included) wouldn’t have thought to do anything about Ichigo’s allies/fan club, but Noitora has Orihime eliminated from the picture pretty quickly.
That definitely meshes with the theory that the smarter the hollow is, the more powerful, and it would definitely place the Old espada at number 7.
The “amount of mask removed” theory is interesting, and it would definitely fit Halibel, Shaq and Stark as the top three, but Ulquiorra still has a lot of mask, which throws the whole thing off, unless you say that his is a helmet, meaning he has nothing left on his face.
On a random side note, I’m happy to see that Sayzel’s dress includes several new attachments and a cape, which partially excuses him for taking so long.
You know you should really put spoiler tags when you’re gonna reveal something in the chapter. Thank you for screwing up the surprise for me.
it pains me to see that some people are still being retarded. havent countlesss people in numerous posts already siad theres no way Ulquiorra or noitora can be the first espada. like seriously these are the most up to date rankings i can give you:
10.Yammy
9.Arreniro
8.Zaeropollo
7.Shaq
6.Grimmjow
5.Noitora
4.Ulquiorra
3.Halibel
2.Stark
1.Old guy
Now there are people saying that stark is the most powerful because he has no mask. well i can clearly say thats a load of bullsh!t.look at zaerapollo do you see a mask?the answer is no, he has no mask. does that make him stronger than ulquiorra?the answer is no.just because the mask is not on his face doeesnt mean it didnt take another form. for shaq(the black espada) his mask could have taken the form of his necklace and in zaerapollo it could be his glasses. the espada’s hollow powers are sealed in their zanpakuto and when it is released they return to the partial original form.just like ichigo when his calls out his hollow he turns into a partil hollow. for arrancar it is assumed that the less fragments of your mask you have the more pwowerful you are but that is wrong. if so that would have ment noitora is more powerful than ulquiorra.for shinigami the bigger your zanpakuto the more powerful you are said to be. that statement was wrong because captain level shinigami seal their zanpakuto so that they wont be running around with sky scraper size zanpakuto. that was all cleared up when isshin(ichigos dad) fought grand fisher in his arrancar form. so in the end having a small zanpakuto doesnt neccesarily mean youre weak or have a small reiatsu and having less of you mask doent neccesarily mean youre more powerful.
Actually Zaerapolo’s mask is his supposed glasses while Shaq’s mask is probably either his necklace, mohawk or both…
Anyway I doubt the theory about the mask fragment sizes is really supportable. I mean Zaerapolo is a perfect example, he looks extremely human, his mask fragments are actually his glasses but he’s ranked 8th. This means that for all his intelligence (which has a huge factor on how human-like an arrancar becomes and probably influences mask fragment sizes too) he’s still ranked 8th.
There are probably other factors that are involved in ranking the Espada that somehow make it possible for Aaroniero (formerly a Gillian) to overpower Yammy (probably an Adjuchas) which are also applicable to how Noitora can be ranked at 5th for all his physical stength.
I really hate it when people rank an Espada in an exact same position as their shinigami counterpart. The Old Guy is the first and foremost one that everyone thinks is 1st Espada, simply because he looks like Yamamoto. Ulquiorra looks like Byakuya, but is he the 6th Espada? No!. The Old Guy is most likely the 7th because he probaly has some relation to Chad. If you think about it, Noitora (who’s the 5th) took out Chad almost instantly, so if the old guy is related to Chad then 7th Espada should be the perfect level for Chad to fight with.
The only one exception for the counterpart ranking is Halibel. Despite what everyone says, I believe that she is 2nd. She seems extremely powerful, and even though she seems a little threatened by Ichigos presence, doesn’t really mean that she’s weak. She was only surprised about because Ichigo fought like an Espada.
As for the mask fragment size, I believe it plays a little role in ranking the Espada. But I don’t believe it matters how big it is, I think the connectivity of the mask to the Arrancar is what counts. Look at Stark, his is not really connected to him at all. When he became an Arrancar it probably completely came off, and he merely just picked up that particular fragment to seem like he was any normal Arrancar. There’s also Ulquiorra. His mask fragment is quite large, however it is not greatly connected to him, because you can see Ulquiorra’s hair coming out from under it. So what I think is that the top 4 Espada are Vasto Lordes and just felt like putting back on some pieces of their former selves.
ya. even though i’ve made hollow mask theories, i never fully concluded them. even though Szayel Aporro’s mask doesn’t seem visible, i always thought that it would be the glasses or something. that’s why to me, it seems slightly uncanny for Stark to not even have a mask attached to him at all.
about vasto lordes putting on pieces of their former selves on, that would be cool. u could definately use the dark espada for that example all the way if that was true. he’s iced out hollow style. he’s has bone rings on each finger, plus a bone necklace, a bone earring, and of course his bone hawk. he’s hollow pimpin. lol
yammy 10
aeronorio(dead) 9
sayyel apporo grantz 8
old guy 7
grimmjow 6
noitora 5
ulquiorra 4
black guy 3
halibel 2
stark 1
ps i think there will be a team up with ichigo and grimmjow, coz now ichigo is protecting grimmjow against noitora. coz its just like renji and ichgo used to hate each other. but they’re now the best of friends.
and i think that in the end, ichigo and aizen will have a full out vizard fight with both of them unleashing their inner hollow.
theyre probably gonna have the new espada ( all vasto lordes) against the 10 remaining captains who are probably much stronger now.
then at the end. when the battle is at his peak, urahara and the karakura gang(ichigo, chad, inoue, ishida, yoruichi, and (tatsuki?)) will show up and say that they are the 14th squad and kick ass!!!!
SPOILER
aizen is a vizard
I like FlameHaze’s prediction, because the new ep. och the manga shows that Noitora is #5.. and Stark looks really pwning so he is #1. Cred to FlameHaze for the “correct” prediction already in March! :]
I’m guessing that Stark’s mask has some importance; Szayel’s mask is his glasses, which are attached to his face, and although the dark guy has some unattached fragments, he still has those bone spikes attacked to his skull. My point was NOT that the size of the mask fragment is important, rather that Stark is the only arrancar we’ve seen without a mask fragment directly attached to his face; this in itself is significant. It might be nothing, but then again, it might mean everything. There are only 4 ranks left in the Espada to guess about now, so just about everyone is going to have similar lists.
I firmly believe that the old guy is the 7th Espada. Whether he’s related to Chad or not is a moot point; nothing he’s said or done indicates anything to me other than the fact that he’s a cocky fool. He’s overconfident, calls the intruders weak and was the only one of the unranked Espada that cared enough to comment about Aaroniero’s death (and when he did, he called Aaroneiro a fool). If you compare him to the other 3 unranked Espada he sticks out like a sore thumb; Halibel, although worried about Ichigo, seemed less concerned than Ulquiorra did when he first saw viazard Ichigo, and the tall dark guy also seems very intelligent (notice how quickly Ulquiorra answered his question at the Espada meeting - this indicates that Ulquiorra respects him, or at the very least is his inferior). This alone is enough evidence for me to put Halibel and the dark guy in the top 3. That leaves Stark and the old guy.
The word stark means strong in German (in English, depending on the usage, it can also mean complete), so it wouldn’t make sense for him to be one of the weaker Espada; nothing about him indicates that he’s weaker than Ulquiorra. Don’t forget the way he was able to shut Nnoitra up at the meeting, something that Halibel and Ulquiorra were not able to do. Due to the way they behave, and how similar they are, I’m inclined to believe that Ulquiorra and Halibel are one rank apart from each other; Halibel was less concerned about Ichigo than Ulquiorra was, but at the same time was too worried to be one of the top 2 Espada.
Since Stark and the dark guy seem to be the least concerned with the intruders, I’m ranking them as the top 2; I’m fairly certain about Halibel and the old guy’s ranks, the only thing I’m not sure of is which of the remaining 2 is the top Espada. On the one hand, Stark would make the perfect top Espada; he’s strong, but he seems like the type that would be giving out orders to the weaker Espada rather than being one of the foot soldiers. Even though we know virtually nothing about him, he’s already one of my favorite Espada; he’d be the coolest Espada Kubo could possibly use as 1st ranked. On the other hand, you can’t forget that the dark guy still doesn’t have a name, and very often in stories like these, the strongest enemy is the last one to appear (or in this case, the last one to be named).
i think stark is the most complete arrancar…
i think he is too
anyone ever notice how the right side of the dark espada is never shown? it either shows the left side, or it cuts off if the front is shown. i wonder if his tatoo is on it or something.
The right side of his face was shown in the anime opening, so I highly doubt it. I don’t think any of the Espada would choose to have their tattoo in such a strange place (Aaroniero was the exception, and he constantly hid his true face). I’m curious where the remaining Espada tattoos are though; hopefully we can finally get an explanation about Szayel’s tattoo and hollow hole. If I had to guess, I would say that Szayels is on his leg. Also, I think Stark’s could be on one of his hands.
oops. duh i forgot. i’ve focused so much on the manga, that i forgot about the anime. just a little weird that in the manga we never get to see the right side of his face. but ya, i guess if u count the anime, it’s true that we have, unless they made an error. i know that in the opening, stark isn’t wearing his mask fragment, (even though it’s mostly assumed to be worn as jewelry [in the manga, he has always been shown wearing it, never without it]) which could be an error, unless they felt like not having him wear if it WAS “removable” for him.
i think ulquiorra will kill noitora when he escapes then will try to kill ichigo but grimmjow holds off ulquiorra long enough for ichigo and orihime to escape but sadly grimmjow will die knowin he helped someone besides himself.
From what I hear, Kubo seems to be a lot more involved with the anime than most mangaka are. I would assume that the anime team already knows all the Espada ranks, as well as the deal about Stark’s mask (you’re right - I don’t recall seeing it in the opening, though it was hard to tell since I only saw him for a split second); they would have to know what’s up with Stark’s mask if they didn’t put it on him in the opening.
Oh, and by the way, if you look at the chapter 270 spread of the Espada, it appears that Stark isn’t wearing his mask fragment. You can also see the hilt of his sword.
whats the deal with patros how become when his men stabbed ulquiorra at the end he appears fine. just a theory but on the big dark guys chin is three points couls that be his number.
is there a chapter where we get a clear view of stark? or, what chapters show him best?
Akira, that could be a possibilty.
These are the following chapters that Stark appears in:
229: He appears on in the background when Ulquiorra and Yammy enter the room where Aizen is using the hougyoku on Wonderwice.
244: He appears when the Espada gather for their meeting. The other Espada are discussing the intruders and Szayel remarks that it would have been more intertaining if they had just entered in the throne room. When Nnoitra laughs and agrees with Szayel, Stark tells him to shut up and says that he’s still tired. Nnoitra does not respond.
245: He is the only Espada that doesn’t speak during the actual meeting.
269: He appears when the 4 unranked Espada are informed of Aaroniero’s death. He seems the least concerned of the group, as he slept through it. He doesn’t seem to be concerned, and it appears he was aware of the passing events even though he was fast asleep. When his subordinate, Lilinet, asks if he was really alright with Aaroniero dying, he says “what exactly are you asking me to do about it?”
You can also see a color picture of him on the chapter 270 spread of the Espada. He doesn’t seem to be wearing his mask in this picture, and you can also see the hilt of his sword.
cool, thanks =D
here’s what i think:
01)Stark
02)Spiked Espada
03)Halibel
04)Ulquiorra
05)Noitora
06)Grimmjow
07)Old Espada
08)Szayel Aporro
09)Aaroniero Arleri
10)Yammy(#)
The old dude was way too arrogant and doesn’t seem fitting to be in the top 3. Halibel seems confident and powerful but she being second doesnt seem right. The spiked one seems fitting (calmness) to be second but not first. Stark with his laid back personality is sure to have a lot of power and he also told Noitora to shut up so…yeah.
Another prediction i have is that all espada below grimmjow or uli will be replaced , since he lost to Ichigo and the new espada has to SEEM powerful.
EX: Dordonii (devil like dude, 103rd) quickly beaten by Ichigo compared to Grimmjow’s fight with Ichigo.
My theory is that Gin manipulated the hallways to make sure the intruders fought the non-vasto lorde Espada. Think about it; Aizen has already stated that he wants an all vasto lorde Espada, so he wants Ichigo’s group to wipe out the weaker Espada. Remember that when Dordonii died, Aizen was disappointed that the intruders didn’t get any farther than that. Espada 5-10 are expendable, Aizen WANTS them to die so he can replace them with even stronger arrancar. A couple of them may get lucky and survive (Grimmjow, maybe Yammy), while the others have already set themselves up to die in this arc (Aaroniero, Szayel, Nnoitra). The vasto lordes seem to realize this; Ulquiorra is Aizen’s pet, so of course he knows what’s going on, Halibel seems very cautious, and Stark didn’t want to do anything about Aaroniero’s death, since it was exactly what Aizen wanted. I’m guessing that the only remaining Espada by the end of this arc will be the top 4: Stark, dark guy, Halibel, and Ulquiorra, the rest of them are expendable to Aizen.
i have that same theory. makes sense for it all of it to be this way.
about the urahara inventing the hogyouku to create an arancar thing, well i guess urahara himself was the one who first to create an arancar and i think this is one of the reasons why he was exiled in the soul society.not only that as stated by some of you he himself possible even more powerful than you think because as the one who created the hogyoukou to create an arancar must be genius and powerful enough.well its in his character that he is unpredictible don’t you think?
p.s. have you read/watch the episode/chapter about the surprise that ichigo was a captain class shinigami? if you guys agree with me, (correct me if i am mistaken) kurosaki ishin and urahara kisuke had a conversation about arancars and the vaizards ryt? not only that the 2 old men wer not surpise about it. in fact they already had a knowledge about in. in other words long time ago before the arancar and the vaizards saga(lol) the 2 already existed.
this is my theory guys what do you think?
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Since i am so busy i may get loose track about these topic. if anyone who cares pls email me some updates @ osoyvillacorta@gmail.com regarding this topic thanks guys.
From my P.O.V i would do:
1- Stark (The lazy ones tend to be the strongest)
2- Old Guy (The more powerful are always the elderly)
3- Dark-Skinned dude (He just looks like #3)
4- Ulquiorra (Proven)
5- Noitora (Proven)
6- Grimmjow (Proven)
7- Halibel (The women usually don’t end up the strongest, it’s a known fact)
8- Szayel Aporro (Proven)
9- Aaroniero Arleri (Proven)
10- Yammy (Proven)
just judging by marks on the espada who currently have no number, I would guess something like this:
1. Stark / Halibel
2. Old Man (2 scars)
3. Dark Espada (3 marks above eyes / on his chin)
4. Ulquiorra
5. Noitora
6. Grimmjow
7. Stark / Halibel
8. Szayelaporro
9. Aaroniero
10. Yammy
Marks on the faces of my supposed 3 / 2 give some probability of them fitting in that rank, but Stark has no marks as far as I can tell, and Halibel’s face is covered; so it could be either one of them as #1. I personally think its Stark, purely for a few reasons that cant really be proven anyway =D (Noitora shutting up at his command and not doing so for Halibel may show an indication of more respect for a possible #1 over a possible #7, however, it may not be respect or inferiority that made the difference. Its possible that Noitora just listens to Stark while he wouldn’t listen to Halibel because of a disrespect for women, as shown with Orihime, calling her ‘pet’ and asking Ulquiorra what he ‘taught’ her, to which Ulquiorra replys “disgusting”) another reason Stark is a more probable candidate for #1 is just because his shinigami parallel; Shunsui Ky
i think it goes something like this
1.stark
2.halibel
3.dark skinned guy
4.ulquiorra
5.noitora
6.grimmjow
7.old guy
8.szayel
9.aaroniero
10.yammy
this would be very possible cuz the old man isnt a vasto lorde so aizen wants to get rid of him. and the dark guy has three points under his chin wich look very much like a three. and halibel and stark are the top two cuz the lazy guy is always the best like on naruto shikamaru hes lazy and yet hes the best of the konoha 7. and halibel is definatly strong cuz the way she talks. plus i cant see her being lower than three.
whos the fat guy in chapter 198 along with the guy that looks up all the time. who are they.
Those guys are just some arrancar Kubo drew in i guess to fill up the Arrancar ranks.
O and sjo318, I agree with you about the markings, but it does not count for all of them. The dark guy is most likely #3, however i really disagree about the Old Man.
So my rankings remain the same as they have always been:
Espada 1- Stark
Espada 2- Halibel
Espada 3- Dark Mohawk Man
Espada 4- Ulquiorra Schiffer
Espada 5- Noitora (btw I hate that new name they gave him on wikipedia, Nnoitra sucks)
Espada 6- Grimmjow Jeagerjaques
Espada 7- Granado (I saw somewhere that this is the Old Man’s name. It might not be right, but this is what im calling him from now on)
Espada 8- Szayel Aporro Grantz
Espada 9- Aaroniero Arleri
Espada 10- Yammy
For me here is one of my theory, what if the espada now that we see are only the vice captain levels of the espadas what if there are stronger arrancars.
also if my first theory isn’t right then my second is that maybe the espada rank that Ichigo and his comrades are seeing right now are fake what if Aizen was just playing around with Ichigo and his friends when they invaded Hueco Mundo.
Well, Aizen IS playing around with Ichigo’s team; he’s also playing around with the Espada. Basically, I’m expecting this arc to end with just the top 4 Espada remaining (most likely Stark, dark guy, Halibel, and Ulquiorra). The others will either die (Aaroniero, Szayel, Nnoitra) or get demoted (Yammy, Grimmjow); I’m still unsure about the 7th Espada’s fate. Aizen will find 6 arrancar to replace the fallen Espada (one of which might be Wonderwice), and will start preparations for the Winter War. Oh, and hopefully Kubo will end this arc with a really good twist.
it would be impossible for aizen to be a vizard because the vizards shinigami powers are dormant aizen uses his shinigami powers. i think he wants to gain hollow powers to become even stronger.
There’s another thing that’s pretty interesting about the Espada. It seems that it becomes easier for the higher ranks of Espada to use a Cero. Ulquiorra doesn’t really need to use much effort, and can perform one with just one finger. Grimmjow needs to use his hand, and Yammy needs to use his mouth, similar to how Gillian do it. If you notice this than in the future watch how the other Espada (including the ones whos rank we dont know) perform their cero. It might give us an indication to their ranks.
Official: sounds pretty interesting. So, perhaps the top ones could perform cero without visably moving… can’t wait to see Stark use a cero in his sleep…
i know this from manga and japanese stuff
1.Halibel(the ninja girl)
2.the black guy(unnamed)
3.the guy with the crown(unnamed)
4.Ulquiorra(u should kno him the short guy with black hair)
5.Noitora(the guy with the hat)
6.Grimmjow(u should kno him the spiky blue haired guy)
7.Stark(the dull lookin guy with black hair)
8.Apporo(the guy with glasses)
9.Aaroniero(the guy with the long mask)
10.Yammy(the big guy with the hollow stuff on his jaw)
yo i have a question for u all…
but.. y do u all think stark is number 1?
We all think he’s #1 because it is all over him. Everything about him screams that he’s the 1st Espada. The way he acts especially, he really isn’t threatened or concerned at all about the intruders. Also his hollow mask isn’t really connected to him, meaning that he could be a perfect Arrancar.
Aside from the fact that he’s the most interesting unranked Espada, Stark just seems really powerful; you know, that lazy-but-deadly attitude. Notice how calm and collected he was when Lilinet asked him what he was going to do about Aaroniero’s death. Also, keep in mind that the word ’stark’ means strong in German (it can also mean complete in English). My theory is that he is the first ‘complete’ arrancar; he’s the only arrancar we’ve seen that didn’t have his mask fragment directly attached to his face. All the others do, even the big dark guy with the bone fragment necklace has part of his mask directly attached to his head; it has to mean something significant. If you look at his appearances in the anime’s most recent opening and on the chapter 270 spread of the Espada, you’ll notice that he’s NOT wearing his mask… In this sense, Stark is very unique amongst the Espada; he also seems the most human of the group. Going by what we’ve seen of him so far, I’m going to bet that he’s the top Espada.
Oh, and Andrew Min: I don’t believe that Halibel posesses the traits that the strongest Espada should have. For one, she’s very impressed by Ichigo’s strength (rather, that a mere human could be so powerful). That alone tells me that she’s not one of the top 2; she appeared less concerned about Vaizard Ichigo than Ulquiorra did, but I wouldn’t think that the top 2 would be impressed enough to go out of their way to watch Ichigo fight. If anything, Halibel’s much more likely to be 7th than Stark, what with her having the most screen time of the 4 unranked Espada. She does seem very calm and collected though, which is why I don’t put her at 7th. The old guy seems to fit 7th place due to the fact that he’s an overconfident fool; all we’ve heard from the guy was him trashing Aaroniero and the intruders. Since he’s the only remaining Espada that hasn’t given me any reason to place him in the top 3, I think he’s 7th.
One thing I will emphasize is this: it is HIGHLY UNLIKELY that Kubo would divulge the names of BOTH of the top 2 Espada so early; one of the unnamed guys HAS to be in the top 2 (I’m sure you’ve heard the phrase - saving the best for last - or in this case, the strongest). With what I understand about Kubo’s writing style and taking into account how I would personally handle a story like this, even if I did give away the name of the top Espada, I wouldn’t give out the names of BOTH of the strongest guys; I’d save at least one for later. Even though Stark has been named, it doesn’t seem like he’ll be doing anything soon; maybe Kubo just slipped this in as a hint to who the top guy was. There’s only so many ways the remaining 4 could be ranked, somebody’s bound to get it right.
Guest: You’re statement right there changed my way of thinking. I see what you mean now. Time to finally upgrade my list:
Espada 1- Stark
Espada 2- Dark Mohawk Man
Espada 3- Halibel
Espada 4- Ulquiorra Schiffer
Espada 5- Nnoitra
Espada 6- Grimmjow Jeagerjaques
Espada 7- Granado
Espada 8- Szayel Aporro Grantz
Espada 9- Aaroniero Arleri
Espada 10- Yammy
After what Guest just said, it seems Halibel is most likely the 3rd Espada. This would explain the reason why she’s impressed with Ichigo’s power. (Granado is NOT the Old Man’s name but i saw somewhere that it might be. Im just keeping my options open.
Halibel wouldn’t be in the top 3 for 1 reason:
1. Women enemies don’t usually end up one of the strongest, it’s a known fact.
What the hell are you talking about? Yoruichi is almost as powerful as Urahara. Soifon is Captain of 2nd Division!
Actually, the best argument for Halibel as 7th is that she has the most screen time of the unranked Espada. It does seem kind of strange that Kubo has revealed 4-10, but completely skipped the 7th Espada; though, that’s probably just to keep people guessing. Anyways, I’ve noticed that all the Espada releases so far have been animal-like in appearance; Grimmjow was the panther king, Szayel the butterfly queen, and Aaroniero the tentacle monster. Aaroniero’s gigantic octopus-like release was kind of wierd, but it seems that adjuchas releases are animal-like in appearance (though, vasto lorde releases probably look much more humanoid, since they looked human before becoming arrancar). Now, looking at Nnoitra, he DOES seem to strongly resemble a snake… So going by this logic, the 7th Espada probably has an animal-like release; anyone have any guesses to which of the unranked Espada looks most like an animal (and if so, what animal)?
I do agree with Guest, Halibel did have a lot appearances then any other and was somewhat jealous of Ichigos power when fighting Grimmjow. And would you think by looking at Granado(old guy), Stark and the Dark-Skinned guy that one of them, would be weaker than Grimmjow? Halibel would most likely fit that description, in my opinion.
Don’t get me wrong though; I personally think Halibel’s the 3rd Espada, but the fact that she’s had the most appearances so far (not to mention, she’s the only one that was interested enough to watch the intruders) is the best justification for those who think she’s 7th. She may have appeared shocked when she saw Ichigo’s potential, but her calm exterior seems to suggest that she’d have no problem taking him out.
On another note, it appears that chapter 289 will feature a battle to the death! Looks like it may be Szayel’s time to go… This announcement was on the last page of chapter 288, so if Szayel actually dies, that means that Nnoitra is the only remaining Espada currently in the way. It also means that we may get to see some more of the unranked Espada very soon.
Yes I agree , I think that szayel will die in the next chapter ………
Uryuu smiled! I think he’s powerful enough to defeat an espada (after all in ichigos group I think he’s second to ichigo in terms of powers and abiliteies he even defeated a captain in one shot) Hmmmmmm in Espada rankings my personal prediction is :
1.Starck
2.Old Guy
3.Halibel
4.ulquiorra
5.Noitora
6.grimmjow
7.the big guy with earrings
8.szayel
9.arroniero
10.yammy
I put starck in number one because he’s always bored , Maybe the reason why he acts like that because he’s the strongest and no one dares to fought a hollow like him ?
Szayel might not actually die in chapter 289, but it was advertised at the end of 288 that there would be a fight to the death. Either way, he’ll probably lose in 289 and die at the beginning of 290. With Nnoitra being the only Espada in the way, we’re bound to see some of the unranked guys very soon.
So about the Animal transformations. I think Granado (Old Man) is most likely going to take a huge animal form, most likely a bear or something. Nnoitra looks alot like a Cobra, so that’s probably what his resureccion is going to look like. As for the vasto Lordes they’re Going to take a human like form just like Guest said.
An interesting sidenote is that this is all part of Aizen’s plan. I dont know if you guys have noticed this, but isn’t kind of strange for all of the lower Adjucha ranked Espada to die? Most likely Aizen wants Ichigo and his team to kill the Adjucha’s in the Espada, thats why he told the Espada at the meeting to act normal and not to engage the intruders! Because he wants some of them to die, just so that he could replace them with Vasto Lordes!
Yeah, that sounds about right. Remember that Aizen was disappointed at Ichigo’s lack of progress when he found out how long it took him to defeat Dordonii; he hoped they would have gotten further by that point. Aizen and Gin both seem to enjoy watching their progress. It’s all a game to them. Just keep in mind that anyone weaker than Ulquiorra is expendable to Aizen; he’s waiting for the Vasto Lordes so he can finally complete the Espada. Aaroniero is dead, and judging by the hint at the end of chapter 288, Ishida and Renji are finally going to have a fight to the death with Szayel; Even Nnoitra will probably die during this arc.
That leaves only Yammy and Grimmjow left. Yammy is most likely going to be killed by Ulquiorra or another Higher up Espada. Grimmjow is probably going to escape and is going to help Ichigo during the Winter War. Or he’ll just be killed along with Yammy, at Ulquiorra’s hands.
my rankings are
1-stark
2-haliber
3-brown guy
4-ulquiorra
5-noitora
6-grimmjow
7-old guy
8-szayel aporro
9-aaroniero
10-yammy
i think the brown guy is the 3rd espada just because he has 3 lines in his chin,like (III),the old guy is number 7 because hes old,and stark is number one,just cause hes cool,i’m not sure whos better between haliber and him
Ooook. And its Halibel not Haliber
I really hope grimmjow will survive and help ichigo during the winter wars ………..
Maybe Nell will heal him ?
Dont you think?
I’d like it if Grimmjow survived too. I’m thinking that Nell will create a diversion so Orihime can heal Ichigo; this will eventually force Nnoitra to release. I don’t really want to see them in the next chapter though; the next chapter should have the conclusion to the Szayel fight.
Ok, this is the complete conversation before the Espada meeting starts. Keep in mind that it may not be word for word, but it’s essentially what happens. I can’t be positive about the first 2 voices (since you don’t see who says it), but I’m fairly confident I know who they are. Anyways, here’s the conversation:
Dark Espada: It appears we have some intruders.
Old Espada: Intruders?!
Dark Espada: The 22nd Underground Tunnel appears to have collapsed.
Old Espada: Oh?! Well, they picked a pretty far away place to enter then!
Szayel: I know. It would have been more intertaining if they all just broke into the throne room.
Nnoitra: HAHAHA… That would’ve been good!
Stark: Shut up… I’m still tired over here, so keep it down.
From this conversation, it appears that the dark guy was intuitive enough to figure out 1. that they had intruders, and 2. that Underground Tunnel 22 just recently collapsed. The old guy, however, was surprised that there were intruders and didn’t know where they entered. Going by this, the dark Espada is higher ranked than the Old Espada.
Also, Ulquiorra was very quick to answer the dark guy’s question at the meeting and seemed to respect him. So, going by that, the dark Espada is tougher than Ulquiorra.
Also, Stark was able to shut Nnoitra up. For Nnoitra, who goes as far as insulting his superiors, to actually listen to Stark, means that the latter is much stronger than Nnoitra. By default, Stark is also stronger than Ulquiorra.
Finally, during the meeting, Halibel lectured Nnoitra about underestimating the intruders, to which he angrily responded “I didn’t mean it like that, for fuck’s sake!” Although Halibel didn’t respond, it seemed like she was talking down to him. She seems very similar to Ulquiorra in personality, so I’d put her as 3rd Espada. Note that although Nnoitra talks back to Ulquiorra and Halibel, he refuses to talk back to Stark; this implies that Stark is more powerful than Halibel.
Going by this, Stark, Halibel and the dark guy are in the top 3, while the old guy is 7th. The only 2 that could logically be the top Espada are Stark and the dark guy.
I’m sorry Guest but I think the Espada Meeting went more like this (this also includes the meeting, for those who never read it):
Aaroniero- It appears we have some intruders.
Granado- Intruders?!
Dark Espada- Underground Tunnel #22 just recently collapsed.
Granado- #22?! Thats quite far from here isn’t it?!
Szayel Aporro- I know. It would’ve been much more interesting had they just broken into the throne room all at once.
Nnoitra- Hyah-haa!! That’d be great!!
Stark- You’re so… noisy.. Look, I’m still sleepy, so don’t be so loud al the time, got it?
Aizen- Good morning, Espada. We’ve been attacked by the Enemy. First though, I think we should warm up some tea.
(Aizen goes on to give the Arrancar their tea and gives the names of the intruders to the Espada)
Aaroniero- And they are… …enemies?
Granado- What the hell? You said we had an enemy attack, I was expecting something else. These bastards are kids!
Szayel Aporro- They don’t look to interesting… …not one bit.
Yammy- ..Tch
Aizen- Do not underestimate them. They are the ones called “Ryoka”. These four humans invaded Soul Society and challenged the Gotei 13.
Dark Espada- Four..? Then we’re still missing one, aren’t we? Who’s the other one…?
Ulquiorra- Inoue Orihime.
Nnoitra- So you’re saying they came to rescue they’re friend? Isn’t that sweet. Even though they look so weak.
Halibel- Didn’t you hear? Aizen-samas speech confirms the fact that they are not to be taken lightly.
Nnoitra- I didn’t mean it like that for Fuck’s sake! What’s you’re problem anyway? You scared or something
Halibel- ….. (Halibel seems to sulk)
The rest is just Grimmjow trying to leave but Aizen stops him. I believe its Aaroniero in the beginning because he has the ability to recieve and transmit information from anywhere in Hueco Mundo, so he most have gotten a report. Stark also uses his authority here, because he really shuts Nnoitra up.
Now Halibel is very difficult to rank. She seems to fit the Third Espada rank however, if she was the 3rd Espada, why wouldn’t she talk back to Nnoitra? Why would Nnoitra talk like that to her if she’s two ranks above him, and why would she sulk?
You’ve got a point. I wasn’t going word for word though; I was just writing what happened at the meeting as best I could remember it. Aaroniero could very well have been the first speaker, but we can’t know that for sure. I assumed it was the dark guy, but either way, my claims about his high rank are still valid.
About Halibel, I guess it can be difficult for some to rank her, but until I’m proven otherwise, I’ll stick with her as 3rd. You know, maybe she just didn’t care enough to respond to Nnoitra. Don’t forget that Grimmjow made a scene before she could respond. Take a look at what the old guy says. He calls them weak, saying he expected something else when he heard there was an enemy invasion. Unlike the other 3 unranked Espada, he hasn’t said anything really intelligent, or done anything that leads me to believe he’s a Vasto Lorde. Either way, I hope the new Vasto Lordes prove to be interesting.
STARCK is the COOLEST ESPADA !!!!!!!!!! I PREFER HIM OVER THE BIG GUY TO BE THE NUMBER ONE ESPADA !!!!!!!!!!
and it looks like that he is not a bloodthirsty one compared to Noitora and Grimm ………
Also he is not one of Aizen’s pet (yammy and Ulquiorra)
I agree - Stark is my favorite Espada. Although Stark is definately my preference for 1st Espada, the dark guy is the only other acceptable top Espada. Halibel and the old guy just don’t have the right personallity to be the top one. The one thing I’m worried about is that it’ll end up just like when everyone thought Ulquiorra was number 1. Still, Stark is my favorite Espada (even with only a couple of panels), and has the greatest potential for character development.
i think the reason why Nnoitra talks like that to Halibel and Ulquiorra is that he thinks he is stronger than the both of them if we think back to his comment about being the strongest espada (but he was lying to himself as he knows he is not stronger than Stark which is why he listens to him over Halibel and Ulquiorra)
Here is my ranking:
1 - Stark
2 - Halibel/Dark Skinned Espada
3 - Halibel/Dark Skinned Espada
4 - Uluqiorra
5 - Noitora
6 - Grimmjow
7- Old Espada
8 - Szayel Aporro
9 - Arroniro
10 - Yammi
Personally, my favorite Espada is Stark and thus, biasedly, my pick to be number one. I was excited, when I started reading this blog, by the fact that most people not only had Stark as their pick for number one Espada BUT they also had very logical sounding reasons based on evidence from the manga. However, I fear that Stark might end up being the seventh Espada. I mean in the beginning of the blog most people though Ulquiorra to be number one and had (what sounded like) very convincing reasons. But I mean we can guess till we’re blue in the face but I think the best way to avoid disappointment is to wait until the numbers are actually revealed.
There has been one detail that has bothered me for a while that I have a question about and was hoping someone here could answer for me. After Grimmjow loses the five arrancer (Ilforte, Nakim, D-Roy, Qualong, and the Volcanica guy) both Aizen and Hitsugaya (on different occasions) claim that those five weren’t even Adjuchas. However, from Grimmjow’s flashback seen we see that all of them, even D-Roy were cleary Adjuchas. So i was wondeirng is this a mistake or am I missing something here?
StarkFanForeva: Actually the original gang of Ilforte, Nakim, D-Roy, Shawlong and Edorad were mostly former evolved Gillian. Namely its the supposed sub-stage after becoming an aware Gillian (I believe chapter 284 goes abit into detail about this) and the stage that is before Adjuchas (not counting Nakim since he’s an aware Gillian).
Stark is the 7th espada. Just look at the remainings of his hollow mask. It is clearly the bottom jaw of an adjuchas. (look at the the remainings of the hollow masks from yammi and grimjow)
As for the rest:
1. old guy (crown)
2. Halibel
3. black guy
Making Stark the 7th Espada is the most insipid thing Kubo could possibly do. That would totally ruin the Espada for me. I just can’t see the overconfident and foolish old guy in the top 3. Also, keep in mind that we haven’t seen Halibel’s mask, so that could also have the same kind of jaw; you can’t discount it and say Stark is 7th because of his jaw. There is still a lot we don’t know about vasto lordes. For all we know, there might not even be any vasto lordes in the Espada right now; if that were the case, none of the mask shapes would mean anything. Either way, I’d like Stark to at least be in the top 2. I don’t really care if the dark guy ends up stronger than Stark, but Halibel and the old guy just don’t have the right mannerisms for someone at the top of the Espada. Just keep in mind that Stark is apparently the only one that can remove his mask (at least it looks that way, since he wasn’t wearing it in the anime intro and the chapter 270 spread of the Espada).
I agree i think that Aizen is waiting for the Hougyoku to fully complete itself before he will transform Vastro Lords into arrancar, when that moment come for sure he will have his true espadas and he will also luanch his attack on soul society and Ichigo’s city.
Judging from Stark’s comment to Nnoitra at the Espada meeting, it seems clear that Stark is infact stronger than Nnoitra. Since he shut Nnoitra up, Stark must be stronger than him. Nnoitra talks down to whoever he wants; he was even rude to his direct superior, Ulquiorra. He constantly brags about how he’s the best, and was seen talking back to 2 Espada, while he didn’t respond to Stark. Perhaps this shows that Stark’s on a completely different level than Nnoitra and the 2 Espada he insulted.
I’ve got a new theory though. The new chapter states that Nell was once an Espada. It doesn’t seem like she’s a privaron, rather she just left Aizen’s group; this would explain why someone like Dordonii didn’t recognize her. Ulquiorra, Grimmjow and Dordonii don’t seem to recognize her, but Nnoitra does. Infact, Nnoitra is the one that tells Ichigo that she’s an ex-Espada. My theory is this: Nnoitra is one of the oldest arrancar and was once at the top of the Espada. Unlike some of the newer arrancar, Nnoitra actually knew Nell since they were both in the Espada at the same time. If Nnoitra was once the 1st Espada, it would make sense that he’s angry for being demoted to 5th; this would also explain why he feels the need to prove himself to Aizen, so he can return to his old rank.
That’s a good theory, however I just can’t imagine Nell in Espada robes, or even being that powerful. Also, if Nnoitra was really the 1st Espada then why isn’t he in the 101st Privaron Espada position?
Well, Nell could have been an ‘original’ Espada, one that became an arrancar before Aizen came along (or before he obtained the hougyoku). Also, you’ve got the whole Privaron thing wrong; If Nnoitra was the strongest Espada at one point, all it would take is 4 tougher Espada to bring him down to 5th. We don’t know much about the Privaron, but it was never stated that they were ranked by strength, rather it seems as if they are ranked by order of demotion. For example, former Espada 10, 9 and 8 would become 101, 102 and 103, respectively. If the 1st Espada was overpowered by one new Espada, it would make no sense to make him 101; the logical answer is bring him down to 2nd. Nnoitra’s strong enough to keep his place in the current Espada, but with the coming of the vasto lordes, 4 new arrancar have stripped him of his much desired 1st Espada rank. This would explain why he’s so hostile toward Halibel, and talks back to Ulquiorra; he’s jealous that the new guys stole his rank.
I too also have problems visualizing Nell in Espada robes though of course this would be entirely logical if you consider how Nell simply ate Dordonii’s cero and fired it back.
Also I suppose the only reason why Noitora isn’t in the Privaron at all is that he probably had enough power to overpower 6,7,8,9 and 10 and therefore stay at 5 and I guess that if Nell was strong enough to be in the 1st espada but that still doesn’t explain her reasons for leaving (for some reason im expecting Nell to have a more mature looking form)
i think noitora was in the old espada as number one and he had to get his new rank on his toung so that he didnt have to get a 101 tatoo(pointless) or have it riped out like grimjow did when he was temporalily removed
Actually, that was a stupid theory; Nnoitra, Szayel and Aaroniero were shown while Dordonii was talking about the new Espada Aizen used the hougyoku on, so Nnoitra probably wasn’t an old Espada (at least, not as old as someone like Dordonii). This raises a lot of questions though, as Ulquiorra, Grimmjow and Dordonii either didn’t know Nell, or refused to acknowledge her. There must be a reason why Nnoitra was the one to recognize her. It seemed like they knew each other. Maybe Nell looked different during her time with the Espada, so most of the others just don’t recognize her. There’s got to be a logical explanation for all of this; hopefully we’ll get it next week.
Maybe Nell has the ability to change her form at will? (sort of like Yoruichi)Also perhapes the only reason why Noitora was the only one (so far) to recognize her was probably because he has seen her in that form before when she was part of the Espada. Either that or Noitora was just one of the older Arrancar who knew her from some earlier batch of Espada while the new Espada were still Hollows.
It’s very likely that Nell looked drastically different while she was in the Espada. Maybe something happened that reverted her to this child-like form. She might have some history with Nnoitra as well, since they seem to know each other. Either way, she looks very frightened right now; Dondo mentioned that Nell couldn’t get any closer to Los Noches and seemed afraid of Nell’s power, so maybe she’ll revert back to her old form. Still, now that we know she was once Espada material, we can deduce that she might have a fighting chance against someone like Tesla. Also, the new color picture of Ichigo foreshadows that something big may take place with his mask soon…
yeah whats up with that new picture it looks like the exuiqas leader but how become its on top of ichigo what is he going to transform into a hollow or what someone tell me.
You know Guest, you’re starting to scare me. I’m starting to believe that you’re Kubo or something, because all of you’re theories and predictions are coming true. Or, there’s someone that comes to this forum who’s Kubo and checks out what we’re saying.
So we have finally found out whats up with Nell or should I say Nerieru-tou-Odderushuvanku. So whats probaly going to happen is Nell’s going to revert to her true form, and she’s going to take on Nnoitra or Tesla. That mask we saw in the beginning could have been an evolved form of Ichigo’s mask, or it could be Nell’s true mask.
Im also starting to wonder who the heck Guest is…since most of his theories and predictions are starting to come true for some eerie reason.
For all we know he could really be Kubo but still theres no reason to believe that he IS Kubo
Anyway about the new manga spread…yeah the new mask in the upper left hand quarter of it does seem to hint at something bigger thats going to happen since its overlaid with an image of both Ichigos. Maybe a new Shinigami release? (not likely to happen but still…)
Haha… I can definately assure you that I’m NOT Kubo. I’m just a fan with a very active immagination. For me, it’s not very difficult to predict what will happen; after I read anything long enough, I can get a general sense of the author’s writing style, and easily deduce what might happen given they stick to their usual style. I could be completely wrong about what’s going on with Nell though; with all those plot twists, he could easily stray from his usual writing style and throw us all for a loop. But if I was Kubo, yeah, Stark would definately be number 1.
The Nell twist was totally unexpected. But could we lay off giving away what has happened in the new manga chapters at least a day or two, because someone kind of gave it away on here before I had a chance to read the new chapter. But back to the Nell being Espada. I don’t know why everyone is assuming that Nell has a “true” form. I mean look at Zaraki’s Fukutaicho (Vice-Captain). But that still doesn’t explain why those other arrancar didn’t recognize her. I’m defintely feeling the whole “Noitora used to be the strongest Espada” because it would explain why he’s delusional to the level he is though he’s only number five. The mask I think is Nell’s Mask because remember when Noitora said something to her along the lines of “is that what your mask has become?”..but yea, VERY interesting twist. Though I didn’t like this chapter because instead of clearing up the MANY MANY questions we have, it added MANY MANY new ones. I’m kind of sad that the Szyael-Ishida-Renji story didnt get moved along AT ALL. Didn’t the end of the last chapter say “Battle to the Death” how misleading lol.
Hey people i think the order is halfway correct but in the new chapter
of bleach manga, Nnoitra #5 tells ichigo that neil is a former espada
what do you think guys
Yeah, last chapter did say there would be a battle to the death. Very misleading indeed. I would imagine next chpater will start out with Nell, but move on to the Szayel fight by the end. I’m also disappointed that there was no resolution to the Szayel fight. After 290, I’d really like the next 2-4 chapters finishing the fight to the death with Szayel (preferably 2, but 4 if Kubo decides to give him a cool back story). With that out of the way, we can finally see the Nnoitra fight end.
As far as the Nnoitra fight goes, I’d like to see Nell actually do something. Maybe she could fight Tesla, giving Orihime time to heal Ichigo. Once healed, Ichigo will be too much for Nnoitra, so he’ll release. Now, for my theory on Nnoitra’s release: He’ll look snake-like. As for his zanpakuto, I think it’d be really cool if his sword could actually control day and night; his scythe is shaped like two crescent moons, so maybe he could turn day into night after he releases.
Although I like Szayel and Nnoitra as characters, I’d really like to see Kubo kill them off; if anything, it shows guts for an author to kill off his characters. Only one of the Espada has died so far, and five more are dispensible to Aizen, so I’d like to see some of them finished off with style. After these two fights, I’d like to see both parties (ichigo/Orihime, Ishida/Renji) get intercepted by the 2nd and 3rd Espada. After the Szayel fight, Ishida and Renji could get intercepted by the dark guy, while Halibel finally decides to approach Ichigo after Nnoitra is defeated (still don’t know how Nnoitra will die, maybe Ulquiorra will kill him); both of them would reveal their numbers - they’re not there to fight the intruders, but to bring them to Aizen.
I don’t know if anyone else has really thought about it yet, but look at how many unrevealed Espada there are: 4. With two more numbers revealed, you’ll have two unranked Espada left. That means, with the revelation of one of the last two unranked Espada, you’ll also get the final Espada’s rank as a result. So, if 2 and 3 revealed themselves, you’d only have 1 and 7; once one of those two gave out their rank, you’d immediately know the final rank as well.
I’d also like the old Espada to actually do something. Perhaps he could confront Chad. The ideal situation in my eyes, would involve him finding Chad, and bringing him back to his room. Chad would wake up to find out that he was healed by the old guy, who then reveals his number (7th) and identity: Oscar Joaquin De La Rosa. Since he seems really cocky, perhaps he’d try to convince Chad to join the dark side or something lame like that. This would bring on the epic final fight of the Hueco Mundo arc, during which Chad is able to reach his full potential and defeat his grandfather. After this, it’s all up to Kubo; I’m not going to even try to predict what kind of twist he’ll decide to end this arc with.
I really like the Espada. Yammy is kind of boring, and so are the 2 unnamed guys (only because they haven’t done anything yet), but all the others have turned out to be really incredible characters. Look at Stark and Halibel; we know next to nothing about them, and they already have devoted fanclubs. The fan in me really wants this to be the order of the unranked Espada: 1. Stark, 2. Halibel, 3. Dark Espada, and 7. Old Espada. I realize however, that Kubo’s had it all planned out from the start, so it doesn’t really matter what we want since he’s already decided on their ranks. With the strong backing of Stark and Halibel, one can still hope that he’d make them Espada 1 and 2, respectively, based on fan support alone. Alright, so that’s the end of my long theory of what I’d like to happen during this arc (it’s probably completely wrong, too), so any feedback would be appreciated; was it a good theory, or was it a complete waste of time?
No, this was a really well done theory. It makes complete and total sense. I agree with you on everything here, especially the theory about the Old Man. He most likely is going to get into a battle with Chad.
about people guessing Stark as number 1, he just HAS to be. if kubo wanted to loop us with the first 4 espada in that one chapter during the meeting, he could’ve actually picked old man as 1. i hope he didn’t do that though. my predictions are the same but i’ll give reasons again.
1. Stark- it’s been mentioned many times b4, but he did not speak during the espada meeting, while everyone one else did. his mask fragment is not attached to him. he is also very lazy and seems the least worried.
2. dark espada- he gives reports immediately. he gathers information immediately. but when he is told to ignore the intruders, he totally disregards them. he hasn’t spoken since the meeting, and he hasn’t seemed worried. he is only seen meditating quietly.
3. Hari-bel- since Ulquiorra has claimed once that ichigo was stronger than him, it would make sense that Hari-bel would only be impressed by his reiatsu. anyone one higher than her shouldn’t be impressed. she never said ichigo was stronger than her, but she couldn’t believe the reiatsu he was releasing. she is on the side as we speak, watching and observing her opponent. she is obviously somewhat worried.
4. Ulquiorra
5. Nnoitra
6. Grimmjow
7. old espada- everything that comes out of his mouth is nonsense. he acts just like the ranks below 7. plus, this is the perfect rank for chad to fight. chad has become much stronger, and i can’t seem him beating grimmjow yet, so ranking him right below grimmjow would fit.
8. Szayel Aporro Grantz
9. Aaroniero
10 Yammy
Hmmmmm that mask on Ichigo on the colored pages is disturbing me ……… Is it Nells’s complete hollow mask or Ichigos new transformation ?
Come to think of it Nell’s mask is a broken skull …….
OR there is a possibility that there is a “vizard release” (ban-kai is for shinigami and resureccion for arrancar why vizard release is not possible?)
Vizard has (I think) the highest battle capabilities compared to Shinigami’s and arrancar’s …. They have hollow’s inside of them : like ichigo they are two different entity living in one body they are not dead but rather sealed . means vizards can fight with two different style ………..
Ichigo + mask + bankai + Vizard release? = the one who will kick aizen’s butt
Dont you agree ?
Okay the szayel arc is getting to be a little bit boring …… all talks no fights …….. its not like that he is very important to the story
But well for the remaining unranked espada here is my prediction
1.) stark (he is my favorite)
2.)The Big Black guy
3.)Halibel
7.) The old guy who looks like a bear
yeah the espada have some animal traits:
Grimmjow>>>>panther
Luppi>>>>>octopus
Yammy>>>>>ape
Old guy>>>>>Bear
Noitora>>>>>cobra (because of his hood and his face when you look at him at front view he looks like a snake)
I think the top five are Vasto Lordes
Dont you people agree ?
On the topic of Noitora’s release, I do think it will be something snake-like–that much seems pretty obvious. Based on his “nobody can break this body” comment, one theory is that his released form might make him invulnerable to damage. A power like that would be ridiculously good on the surface and could additionally lead to Noitora thinking that he’s really the strongest Espada since it would in effect make him unbeatable by anyone who isn’t smart enough (i.e. all other arrancer who aren’t vasto lorde). Energy draining attacks and abilities like illusions could still affect him though, and so could things like suffocation, so it wouldn’t necessarily be an overly powerful ability, considering his rank. I have no idea if the theory is accurate, but it seems like it could fit. The night/day thing is a cool idea too, but I’m not sure how it might transfer to a battle ability. I would find something water-based (moon controlling the tides) more likely. I still think invulnerability would be cooler though.
@ Guest: nice theory about Chad and the Old Man! I can definitely see that happening. As far as killing characters… yeah. Some death is definitely in order. He can start with Grimmjow and run down the line from there.
Actually Luppi’s Trepadora is actually a plant (heck Trepadora can be translated as Rambling which is a vine) but the other Espada might have animalistic releases though that actually remains to be seen as Grimmjow, Szayel and Aaroniero were the only ones to have released…thats basically 3 out of 10 Espada.
I have a feeling that Noitora’s release could be something colossal and seemingly hopeless to defeat, something that reinforces his belief that he’s indestructible and also seeing as how his zanpakuto is huge meaning that its possible that some of his release’s size leeched into its sealed form.
As for Nell, perhapes the injuries she sustained were from Noitora himself seeing as how he was so smug when he asked her about the mask. Also the reason why she was so afraid during Noitora’s battle with Ichigo could be a combination of her concern for Ichigo as well as the fear that Noitora might finish what he failed to complete…namely the total defeat of Nerielle Tu Oderschvank .
the way i can see their releases, with some of the theories that those above me have shown are as follows:
Nnoitra- he DOES look like a cobra, and his tongue is long as crap.
Grimmjow- panther
Szayelaporro- plant-related of some sort
Aaroniero- cuddlefish
Yammy- ape
old espada- bear, he’s big and has a similarity to one. hmmmm but he could very well be a lion. he has a crown which could be a metaphor for king of the jungle if he somehow becomes number 1 (king of the espada)
Ulquiorra- if not a bat, he’s gonna end up having horns and wings. i can feel it.
hari-bel- for some reason they’re always making females similar to birds lol watch her be some type of bird even though i can’t really imagine an animalistic form for her.
dark espada-……uhhhhh….if i were to pick an animal…well all i know is that he has to have a mohawk. his mohawk is going to grow, and he’ll look like a psycho. lol….i can see him looking similar to Astaroth when he has his mohawk. that would be awesome.
Stark- hmmm…a sloth because they’re lazy. j/p….i really can’t think of one for him either. i can’t even create an image of what he might look like
guest2 only Adjucha ranked Arrancar seem to have an Animal Appearence. Those are Espadas 5 and lower. Here are the similarities that i think match:
5- Nnoitra= Cobra
6- Grimmjow= Jaguar
7- Granado?= Bear, Lion, or even possibly a very big Dog.
8- Szayel Aporro= Butterfly
9- Aaroniero (Aaroniero was not an Adjucha, however he was just as powerful as one)= Octopus
10- Yammy= Ape
In the Numeros:
Iceringer= Bird
The top 4 Espada are Vasto Lordes and are going to take a much more human appearence. So basically, the top 4’s resureccion are going to be sort of like Ichigo’s bankai, they are probably going to seem small and weak but are in fact, extremely powerful.
Ok, so since its gonna be a while until the next chapter comes out, I was just wondering if anyone else makes like a mental ranking of the Captain. I do and this is what I personally think. (I think this could be an interesting discussion we can have until we have some more information to work with).
1 - Captain-Commander Yamamato
2 - Aizen
3 - Ukitake and Kyoraku
4 - Kuchiki Byakuya
5 - Zaraki Kenpachi
6 - Ichimaru Gin
7 - Hitsugaya Toshiro
8 - Mayuri Kurotschi
9 - SoiFon
10 - Kaname Tousen
11 - Komamura
12 - Unohana
No one has to reply to this I knwo this is steering away from the main topic. I just felt like sharing since we’re in the ranking mode.
commander has power to order other captains , and other captains don’t have power to order other captains around the number just mean what they control of a job or a divison
StarkFanForeva- Here’s my list.
1- Aizen / Yamamoto
2. Shunsui / Ukitake
3. Unohana (her official stats are quite high, and she was the only one able to see through Aizen’s trick; my bet is that she’s a lot more powerful than she appears…)
4. Gin
5. Byakuya
6. Kenpachi
7. Hitsugaya
8. Tosen
9. Kurotsuchi
10. Soifon
11. Komamura
It’s really difficult to rank the captains though. We haven’t seen enough of every captain to correctly gauge a complete order. We can assume that Aizen, Yamamoto, Shunsui, and Ukitake are the strongest ones, but after that it’s all based on personal opinion. There was some official thing I read showing the stats of the captains, and Unohana was surprisingly high ranked. Kenpachi is relatively weak in some areas, but can still overpower someone like Tosen; with bankai, he’d be insane. Either way, after the top 4 the rest are pretty much up to personal opinion.
Anyways, back to the main topic: the vasto lordes are probably going to have humanoid releases. Now, keep in mind that humanoid doesn’t mean they’ll look like normal humans; there’s still a chance that they’ll look a bit strange. I can’t even begin to guess about the top 3, but I’d imagine that Ulquiorra’s release has something to do with eyes (his powers involve taking one of his eyes out, and the guard of his sword is eye-shaped).
i agree Guest because unohana resisted aizen’s complete hypnosis while being under it.
Knowing Kubo’s writing style, it seems most likely that he’d place the Espada with the least screen time in the highest rank, rather than the ones we’ve already seen a lot of. People originally thought Ulquiorra was the strongest because he had the most screen time, but the reality of this is exactly the opposite. Kubo would most likely place a character like the dark guy or the old guy at the top because he likes to save the best for last. However, there are things that make me doubt either of those are the 1st Espada.
Kubo seemed to be hinting that the old guy was a fool from the meeting, so it seems like he’s probably the 7th Espada. Halibel and the dark guy seem interchangable between 2nd and 3rd place. There’s something very important that seperates Stark from the others though. Take a look at the chapter 270 color spread of the Espada. Take a very close look at Stark; look at his neck. Notice anything? His mask is missing! I highly doubt Kubo would make a mistake like that, so this is what leads me to believe that Stark has to be the 1st Espada.
I can understand Kubo trying to shock and surprise us by revelations such as Ulquiorra and Nnoitra’s ranks; before Ulquiorra was revealed, I had him pegged between 3rd and 5th and I guessed Nnoitra’s rank correctly, but these revelations seemed to really shock a lot of people. Ulquiorra’s rank was an incredible twist, but the shock of any Espada other than Stark ranked as 1 wouldn’t be a good surprise; Stark and Halibel are quickly becoming two of the most popular Espada (only surpassed by Ulquiorra and Grimmjow), and it would make sense to stick Stark in first place since he has the most potential out of all the Espada.
You know, it’s funny; back when I first saw the Espada meeting, I immediately noticed the large, dark guy. Right when I saw him, I knew he was powerful. So for awhile, I assumed he was probably the top one based on everything we knew about him (look at his superior posture and demanding presence). He just screamed 1st Espada. After Aaroniero died and we finally learned Stark’s name, my opinion changed drastically; ever since chapter 269, I’ve hoped that Stark is the top one. It’s amusing because if you weren’t paying attention you’d completely overlook him at the Espada meeting; afterall, he never even spoke during the meeting. So, in a way, making Stark the top one would be a bit of a twist.
je pense que le classement des Espadas est le suivant :
1-Noitora
2-old Espadas
3-Harribel
4-Ulquiorra
5-Stark
6-Grimmjow jagguer jack
7-le gars ne cheuveux noire
8-Zaeroapolo
9-Aeroniro
10-Yammy
Hirako: Nnoitra est le cinquième Espada. Ceci est la liste actuelle:
4. Ulquiorra Schiffer
5. Nnoitra
6. Grimmjow Jaggerjack
8. Szayel Aporro Grantz
9. Aaroniero Arleri
10. Yammy
The rest is all up to personal opinion, though I’m fairly confident that Stark and the old guy will be 1st and 7th Espada, respectively.
Guest you speak Spanish????
No, that was French actually. I’m really terrible at speaking it, but I learned enough in school to respond to Hirako’s post.
Ulquiorra is still trapped in the negation and grimmjows fight(the reason for ulquiorras imprisonment) is over which should mean its time for him to come out now and possibly kick Nnoitras ass and ichigos(again)
guest 1..I don’t understand why you think that Ulqiuorra would try to fight Noitora when he escapes from the negation. Noitora has done nothing that would merit Ulquiorra attacking him and we all know that Ulquiorra doesnt attack for no reason. I think what happens next all depends on how strong Nell really is. If she was say 10th Espada when she was part of the Espada than that wont do any good but if she was in the top 5 then she might be able to help Ichigo out.
which is Stark n Halibel
bleach fann: Stark is the very lazy guy with black hair who always looks bored. Halibel is the well endowed and only female Espada with the blond hair. O btw, for all you pervs who were excited about seeing Halibel’s boobs in the anime, you’re out of luck. It seems the anime people have decided to cover her boobs up.
I’ll only predict ones unknown as of now.
1) Stark
2) Halibel
3) Old guy
…
7) Black dude
Bleach fann: Stark is the lazy guy, as StarkFanForeva stated. He’s the only one that doesn’t speak at the Espada meeting, so if you want a good picture of him, check out chapter 269. If you want a good picture of Halibel, check out the beginning of chapter 282.
StarkFanForeva: I agree. I thought it was hilarious that the anime team made Halibel wear a bra. I bet all the pervs are really pissed off now. She’s a nice character and all, but there’s way too much hype surrounding her. I mean, she’s more popular than Stark now, and it’s all because of her big boobs. Don’t get me wrong; I like Halibel, and I’m hoping she’s 2nd or 3rd Espada, but there’s way to much hype over her for all the wrong reasons.
Anyways, looking at the new chapter cover, it appears that the new spelling for Nell’s name is Nel. Don’t know if I like it. I like Grimmjow more than Grim Jaw, and I’ve gotten used to the new spellings for Nnoitra, Szayel and Aaroniero. It’s just a bit annoying that Kubo constantly changes up the names of the new characters; I’m boycotting ‘Jeagerjaques’ - Jaggerjack is so much cooler than that. My biggest fear is that Halibel and Stark’s names could drastically change; I mean, with the crazy ways Kubo decides to spell names, we could end up with Harribelle and Staarq.
Wait so its kubo that changes the spellings? I thought it was the people who translated that keep messing up..Does anyone know why he does that?
i thought that maybe it was our translations being wrong too. as for hari-bel, it IS kinda funny how they added a braw on her. maybe they did that in that one shot though. in the opening, she doesn’t have a braw.
bra*
Well yeah, our translations ARE wrong, but Kubo could have easily left the official names of characters like Nell and Noitora unchanged, seeing as they had been spelled those ways for months prior to the random changes. Nel seems kind of wierd though; I thought Kubo liked those double letters for the Espada names (UlquioRRa, NNoitra, GriMMjow, Szayel ApoRRo, AAroniero, YaMMy). Going by this, it would seem logical for Halibel to have double letters somewhere in her name. Stark however, doesn’t need this as it could ruin the true meaning of his name. I sincerely hope he doesn’t alter Stark’s name, as it’s perfect as it is and doesn’t require any changes.
ok StarkFanForeva i see your point but Ulquiorra has to come out soon and i agree with the idea of their being further powers to a vaizard than the ones shown as looking back on ichigos fight with his inner hollow when his hollow was about to disappear he said that if ichigo realy wants to master his powers ichigo musnt die before he shows up again implying there is more to a vaizard than shown
Nnoitra>>>>> ノイトラ
basically i’m trying to see how these match exactly. i thought they used a hyphen-looking symbol for dragged sounds. we always right it out with 2 “n’s.” does that mean that the pronunciation is written out correctly in that katakana written form? it would seem to be No i to ra, but apparently the “o” in “to” is silent. hmmm. it’s all weird. i wonder if it’s still written that way. btw, this katakana written form is from wikipedia.
I don’t know the first thing about Japanese, so I can’t help you there.
I recently read on a forum that Kubo personally stated that Wonderwice is stronger than the lower-tier Espada in an interview. I have no way of checking the validity of this claim, since it’s been nearly impossible for me to track down any interviews with Kubo, let alone more recent ones about arrancar. If anyone knows about this, or knows how to locate recent interviews with Kubo, let me know.
well… the only obvious results would be:
1)Old Espada
2)Stark or Dark Espada
3) Stark or Dark Espada
7)Halibel
OR
1)Stark or Dark Espada
2)Stark or Dark Espada
3)Halibel
7)Old Espada
OR
1)Stark
2)Halibel
3)Dark Espada
7)Old Espada
As for the old espada, its either he is 1st or 7th… And just a reminder, bleach is full of plot twists just as how ulquiorra didn’t turn out to be the top espada, keep in mind that looks and actions aren’t everything, who knows, maybe luppi and aaroniero arent dead yet, nel could be given a seat of power, wonderwice could be top espada, yammy cut off ichigos arm, etc…
I’m hoping that it ends up like this:
1. Stark
2. Dark Espada/Halibel
3. Halibel/Dark Espada
7. Old Espada
But, if Kubo wanted to be really predictable and boring, he’d choose this as the ranking (to match it up with the captains):
1. Old Espada (Yamamoto)
2. Stark (Shunsui)
3. Dark Espada
7. Halibel (Soifon)
That wouldn’t be a plot twist; that would be predictable and incredibly disappointing. Look at the old guy - he’s a fool; do you really think Aizen would put an overconfident fool at the top? And as far as Ulquiorra’s rank is concerned, that wasn’t really a plot twist. With all the information we were given, we had no way to accurately rank him; we could place him higher than Grimmjow, but that was it. Some people insisted he was the top one, others had him pegged between 3rd and 5th. The main reason so many people believed Ulquiorra was at the top was because he had the most screen time and he was the most poular. So really, we just all jumped to conclusions without thinking objectively because many of us believed that the most developed Espada at the time had to be the strongest. Just keep in mind that with Kubo, more screen time = lower rank.
GUEST: Kubo may be good with the plot twists (heck…no one expected Aizen to be the evil mastermind behind his own murder) but he definitely won’t throw in a plot element that makes absolutely no sense at all and he’s definitely not the kind of person who revives dead characters without a really good reason along with a reasonable explaination of why the character isn’t dead when he looks dead.
Back on topic: Basically all the lists point out that Stark seem to be an obvious candidate for the Uno Espada while the rest are pretty much interchangable
You’re right Malachi, I’m just worried that Kubo purposely led us to believe Stark was the top one, only to reveal later that he’s not. I agree; he definately wouldn’t throw in a plot twist that made absolutely no sense. Everything about Stark seems to point to the fact that he’s the top one; from being the only one that didn’t speak at the Espada meeting to having his mask suspiciously absent from the chapter 270 Espada spread, everything about him just screams 1st Espada. He’s my favorite Espada now, even with only a couple panels; he has the most potential out of the Espada, so I really hope Kubo makes him the top one.
1- black guy
2- halibel
3- stark
4- ulquiorra
5- noitora
6- grimmjow
7- old guy
8- szayel
9- aarionero
10- yammy
Anyway the anime has finally reached the point where Orihime will eventually have to go along with Ulquiorra to Hueco Mundo and Ichigo has to go and rescue her…it makes me so excited to finally see the other Espada animated especially Aaroniero (yep…you might hav guessed that Aaroniero is my favorite Espada despite the fact that he was the second Espada to die after Luppi).
What would be a real plot twist? The revelation that something else is controlling/manipulating Aizen. Then Ichigo and gang have to go to Hell(Hell is an actual realm in Bleach) after the Winter War to defeat it though we’ll have to wait and see if that actually happens.
Apologies if I’ve gone a bit off the track but putting up another Espada ranking theory will just be repeating what Guest and practically everyone has been saying.
I never considered Luppi a REAL Espada; he was there so briefly, and didn’t really do much. I like the way they animated him, though. I agree about the Espada though; I can’t wait to see them all animated. I’m also particularly interested in seeing the Aaroniero fight; he was one of the most interesting Espada, and certainly the cruelest one we’ve seen so far. Even though he was part of the new generation of Espada, he’s probably a lot older than most of the arrancar. Think about it; I believe that the Rukia/Kaien story took place around 50 years before Bleach began and Aaroniero was around then, so who knows how old he really is. I feel he was a wasted character though; with the disposal of 33,650 hollows at his command, he could have put up a really epic fight. Still, the fight was one of the highlights of the Hueco Mundo arc.
Guest: Well Aaroniero does have the ability to use the powers of ALL the Hollows he has consumed at once once he releases Glotoneria so it will be pretty epic using 33,650 different powers and abilities at once though of course that raises the question of why he didn’t really go all out (probably due to his arrogance and the belief that she can’t kill Kaien’s image). His battle against Rukia (and nearly killing her) is proof of why he’s the Novena Espada despite the fact that he’s a Gillian and also he was the first true Espada opponent who has gone against them at full power (not exactly at his fullest capabilities but you get the idea) giving the audience an impression of the strength of the 8th Espada onwards
nell transformed into her espada form. man i hpoe she kicks noitoras ball licking ass i hate him
To be honest, Espada 8, 9 and 10 all seem to be at similar power levels. Yammy’s power is brute strength, but he is terrible at detecting reiatsu, which is the reason why he’s the 10th Espada. Rather than being much more physically powerful than Yammy, 8 and 9 seem to have traits that Aizen finds more useful. Aaroniero alone is very weak, but through devouring over 33,000 hollows, he attained enough strength to enter the Espada. He also had the ability of synchronized awareness, which was more useful than Yammy’s brute force. In the end, Aaroniero’s gillian nature was his fatal flaw, as he severely underestimated his enemy.
Look at Szayel Aporro; he definately isn’t a fighter, and a released Yammy could probably fare well against him. The reason why he’s 8th is because he’s more useful than Aaroniero and Yammy, since he is the top scientist in all of Hueco Mundo. Yammy might be physically stronger than him, but Szayel has many tricks up his sleeve. So it seems that pure strength isn’t the only thing considered when Aizen picks his Espada. Still, the fact that most of the Espada are stronger than 33,650 hollows combined is pretty impressive when you think about it.
Is it me, or do all Arrancar girls have big tits?
Pretty much, except for Lillinet.
Ok I don’t exactly understand how Nell can go from Espada-ish to looking like a toddler (Nnoitora’s explaination doesn’t convince me for some reason) but it seems that she’s awakened her Espada form…now we just have to see what she’s capable of.
so another disappointing chapter…gosh, i get all excited and then there’s not much movement…I mean Nell (or should I say Nel) looks pretty sweet in her Espada form but that’s pretty much all we gained from this chapter..and that was even at the very end..AGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH im getting frustrated..Kubo really needs to start answering our questions not giving us new ones..AHHH REVeAL SOME MORE ESpADA RANKS ALREADY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
What I dont understand is how is Nel an espada but doesnt carry a Zanpakuto around with her. Could she have not held it like Hanataro did during the soul society arc??
As much as I want to see more ranks revealed, it looks like it’s not time for that yet. None of the unrevealed ones seem interested enough to show themselves yet; the most likely one to do anything seems to be Halibel right now. I’m interested in how Nell plans on taking care of Nnoitra. By the look on his face, he seems genuinely shocked. It also seems like he surprise attacked her and threw her out of Hueco Mundo because she pissed him off, so Nell might actually have a chance against him now.
I’m disappointed in how Kubo has dragged the Szayel fight at an astoundingly slow pace. I was hoping Szayel would’ve been finished off before Nnoitra, but Kubo’s not going to be able to do that at the rate he’s going. It would have been a lot better if Kubo finished off Szayel before the Nell revelation, but who knows; maybe there’s a good reason why he didn’t. At any rate, Nnoitra and Szayel have both proved to be really effective villains. I’m interested to see where the story’s heading next.
Numero Tres: Maybe Nel is something like an Arrancar version of Yoruichi? (shape-shifting, lacks a weapon but packs a really mean attack). Maybe Nel doesn’t even need a zanpakuto and could just blow Nnoitora haflway across Las Noches with a Bala. (Imagine a flying Nnoitora)
i think nell looks hot in her adult form but ill just make sure in the next chapter before i say stuff.
I think by the look on Nnoitra’s face, Nell actually has a good chance against him. Even if Nell can’t defeat him on her own, leaving her with Nnoitra will give Ichigo the perfect chance to take Tesla out. If Nnoitra proves too much for Nell, Ichigo will have time to heal and finish him off. If not, it would be pretty cool to see Nell kick Nnoitra’s ass.
That is what I was thinking also Guest. Since Tesla is weaker than Nnoitra, Ichigo shouldnt have such a hard time defeating him, but it could be more difficult because Tesla does have Orihime in his grasp and could use her to stop Ichigo. I am excited to see Nell stomp a mud hole in Nnoitra’s ass though.
ulquiorra should be #1 rank because we never saw him touch his zapaktou yet, only relying on his bare hands
tomdestruction: but the fact that he isn’t serves as an indication of how truly powerful the top 3 Espada are.
Look at it this way: Nnoitra’s been fighting a weakened Ichigo for 4 chapters and still hasn’t finished him off. Now, considering Ulquiorra practically slaughtered Ichigo at full power in about a chapters length, you realize the power between Ulquiorra and Nnoitra is immense; this is just between Espada 4 and 5. Now imagine the leap between Ulquiorra and the 1st Espada. Comparing the top Espada to Ulquiorra is like comparing Nnoitra to Yammy; even Ulquiorra is nothing compared to the top one.
But at the same time, Guest, I don’t think that Noitora (I refuse to spell it with two Ns, just like I refuse to spell Nell with one l) is fighting Ichigo at full power. I’d find it hard to believe that the difference between Noitora and Uluqiorra’s power is that much since Grimmjow was able to fight on equal par with Ulquiorra, at least for a while.
Keep in mind Grimmjow never actually injured Ulquiorra. Ulquiorra doesn’t seem to like unnecessary fighting; it’s not like he expected Grimmjow would go that far, he just let his guard down. To be honest, Nnoitra doesn’t seem that much tougher than Grimmjow, he’s just an opportunist that takes advantage of the situation so no one can defeat him. A healed Ichigo could easily take on an unreleased Nnoitra. You realize Halibel and Stark also avoid confrontations, so the same could have happened to them if they weren’t careful. Speaking of Halibel, could she have been placed there by Aizen himself to watch over things since Ulquiorra is indisposed? Perhaps since his favorite Vasto Lorde was trapped in another dimension, he decided to call upon the next strongest Espada to make sure things went according to plan.
I have a theory on a possible Vizard release. Think of the inner hollow spirit like that of the spirit of a Zanpakut
Guest you make a good point, but one thing I still question how would he know Ulquiorra was trapped in the void to send Halibel?
umm so I just watched the Bleach movie “Memories of Nobody” and..I just gotta say..ABSOLUTE CRAP..It was the worst insult to Bleach I have EVER seen..and not only was it littered with inaccuricies..There was a horrible underdeveloped storyline and yea..pretty much I want that hour and a half of my life back..haha sorry just had to rant
I guess if one applies Bleach to the actual storyline it’ll make no sense whatsoever( which is what most Shonen Jump movies end up doing) However Senna seems to be the movies only redeeming point.
It seems as though we’re going in circles or nowhere in terms of Espada ranking
Well yea since we’re not getting anywhere with the Espada Ranks..I have a question to ask that’s been bugging me for the longest time. I think it’s soooooooo innacurate to call Soul Society “heaven”. For most religions Heaven is a place of absolute peace and happiness for all individuals. Soul Society is pretty much another Earth. I’m so confused about the fact that you can die in Soul Society. Like WTF? and where do you go when you die in Soul Society?? And Why is Soul Society so segregated, why is Seiriti so much better than Rukongai???
Ok, this is what i’ve come to believe; Soul Society is probably just some sort of Purgatory, because you still have hollows enetering it, and the Shinigami are placed there to protecet it. The real “Heaven” is probably the King’s Realm, where only the King and his guards reside.
Actually though I believe that Bleach technically has no heaven due to what is called a Soul Cycle (using Memories of Nobody as a reference) which involves rebirth between Soul Society and Earth. Namely what happens is…
Human->Dies->Becomes a Spirit->Shinigami performs Soul Burial->Goes to Soul Society->->–>Dies in Soul Society-> Reborn as Human->return to step 2
This would also explain the Shinigami’s role as balancers since they facilitate the Soul Burial process as well as the purification of Hollows (which are mostly human souls gone feral). Mainly the Gotei 13’s only role is strictly to enforce this balance by any means necessary (which is what brough about the near extinction of the Quincy and a factor in the Bounto’s downfall)
Now isn’t this way more interesting than shuffling Espada about?
Alright, so I have a couple of things to add about the Espada. This has spoilers from chapter 291; I know some people don’t like to read the spoilers early (StarkFanForeva), so just avoid this if you don’t want to know.
SPOILERS:
According to the new chapter, Nel was the former 3rd Espada; she still has the 3 tattooed on her back. She ends up fighting Nnoitra, overpowering him at the end of the chapter. The end of the chapter seems to be foreshadowing that we’ll learn about their past very soon. Anyways, if Nel was 3rd, that means she’s around the level of the current 3rd Espada (most likely Halibel or the dark guy). That means there are only 2 current Espada that could easily defeat her. Hopefully that means we’ll finally get to see who the top one is in the near future (I REALLY hope it’s Stark). The intruders are overpowered enough, so I don’t really want some new, unknown arrancar taking over 1st place; I’d rather have Stark be the strongest.
Anyways, if Nel is around 3rd rank (stronger than Ulquiorra), that means she’s most likely a Vasto Lorde. Remember how Aizen said he was waiting for the Vasto Lordes to complete the Espada… maybe he was planning for Ichigo to bring Nel there the entire time. Also, according to interviews with Kubo (I can’t confirm the validity of it - I just heard this on a forum, so I could be wrong), he personally stated that Wonderwice was stronger than the lower-tier Espada; perhaps he’s a Vasto Lorde too. So, with Nel and Wonderwice, not to mention the top 4 Espada, Aizen has already found 6 Vasto Lordes; if he can manipulate Nel, and Wonderwice finally evolves past his current mental state, then Aizen will only have to find 4 more Vasto Lordes.
END OF SPOILERS.
About Soul Society; I believe Malachi’s description fits best, but we still don’t know anything about the King’s Realm. My hope is that if the Winter War really takes place, we’ll get to see Aizen go there.
Even if Nel is 3rd, it doesn’t always mean she’s at the level of the current #3. Nel is probably a pre-Hougyoku Espada so that means she would be weaker than the Espadas created with the Hougyoku. It’s only because of her high rank in the former Espada that lets her fight with Nnoitra. Just look at the other former Espadas like Dordoni and Cirucci - they sucked.
Yeah, but Dordonii didn’t recognize her. Nnoitra said they’d only been seperated for a short time, so she probably beacame an Espada after the Privaron were removed from the Espada. Anyways, the new chapter kind of hints that we’ll get a flashback pretty soon, so we should know the true story in the next chapter or two. Keep in mind that Nnoitra attacked her from behind, so he wasn’t actually tougher than her. I don’t know if you’ve seen any pictures from the chapter yet, but Nel seems to be a lot stronger than Nnoitra. Also, look at her mask. In adult form, her mask has two horns; it’s a Vasto Lorde mask. I’m pretty confident that the old guy is 7th, but one of the others is the current number 3. Nel still has the 3 tattooed on her back, so maybe she’ll confront the current number 3 after Nnoitra’s finished (Halibel’s the closest to the scene, as far as I know).
Nel was rank 3 espada… hmm i just have this feeling maybe
halibel-sama is rank 3.. maybe halibel replaced her or something!!!
I thought Espada lost there number if they were “kicked out” the top ten. Like Grimmjow did when he lost his arm to Tousen. Since, Nell still has hers doesn’t that make her the current 3rd Espada?
Yeah orlac, I get that feeling too. It seems like Halibel’s the closest one to the scene. The dark guy could also be 3rd, though. Something big is going to happen in the near future; some kind of a revelation. Seriously - Aaroniero’s dead, Grimmjow’s defeated, Ulquiorra’s trapped in another dimension, and Nnoitra and Szayel are both likely to die after their current fights; half of the Espada are in a total mess. Something big has to happen soon; with Nel on their side, Ichigo’s group have the potential to beat all but the top 2 Espada.
Numero Tres: Nel was never officially kicked out, Nnoitra surprise attacked her from behind and threw her out of Hueco Mundo himself; I’m sure he just didn’t care enough to remove her tattoo at that point.
It seems that the anime’s next episode will officially kick off the animated version of the Hueco Mundo.
Hmm for some reason Nel strikes me as the Yoruichi of the Hueco Mundo arc so for all we know there could be a showdown between Halibel and Nel (complete with a prolonged flashback about Nel’s previous relationships with the other Espada)
my guess remains:
1. Stark
2. dark espada
3. Hari-bel- i think that she’s going to end up fighting nel, and that she was her replacement
7. old espada
makes me wonder. what if hari-bel is 3 for real? Nnoitra loathes Hari-bel, and he also hates Nel. nel was 3, so maybe he wants to take that spot to feel more accepted. obvioiusly it hasn’t worked, but it just seems like a possibility. or maybe since he banished nel, hari-bel took her spot, and she seemed to act like nel or remind him of nel, which made him hate her as well.
oh and plus…i can’t really picture anyone one else fighting hari-bel besides another strong female.
Its possible that there might be a Hari-bel vs. Nel battle sometime in the near future but still its possible that Kubo might avoid making too many connections back to the Soul Society arc in terms of the Espada’s relationship with each other. The examples are clear everywhere, Ishida and Szayel, Ichigo and Dordonii and even Chad’s sommat short battle against Nnoitra are all reflections back to the Soul Society arc. Though of course Kubo could be really predictable and still pit them against each other *shrugs*
yes yes yes yes yes yes noitora will die i am so glad i hate him. and i bet nell will fight ulquiorra next since she is higher in rank than ulquiorra and could totally kill him too. or she will fight halibel and that will decide who gets the rank of number 3. and grimmjow will probably help ichigo. ps. nell tu has the same body structure as rangiku.
So do you think the other two arrancar that were with Nell is her fraction?
I thought about that too. hmmm, but i don’t see how this babyish look comes in place for Nel, or why. i wonder if anyone else looks different as well, or something. i mean, nel is recognized and so forth, but then her brothers are just nobodies that no one knows? i don’t understand how that would make sense because, they are “The Desert Brothers now,” unless its made up of different outcasts that make “brothers.” just a little note, i wonder if pesshe’s patched eye is only for look, or does it have any meaning whatsoever. it looks like theirs sewing lines to keep the cloth on. that doesn’t seem very natural for a hollow, or arrancar if you ask me.
you can change the number 3 espada now because it is a she and her name is
neriel
aka nel who has been following ichigo around hueco mundo
she was attacked by Nnoitra and her memory messed up
and she went all little and stuff
but when ichigo was fighting nnoitra and was losing
she came back after nnoitra said something about her true identity
ragnarok: Actually technically (or at least according to Aizen’s point of view) someone else is the Tres Espada even though Nel was never officially removed from the Espada (since her tatoo is still intact) however since Nnoitra did attack her from behind and tossed her out of Las Noches Aizen simply promoted someone else into the empty position. Therefore she is still the Tres Espada along with whoever took over her position while she was gone.
Im not too sure whether Pesshe and Dondochakka (oddly enough I still remember the Don Kanonji reference: “Don who?”) are really her Fraccion or just a couple of Hollow who followed her and looked after her in her child-like state out of fear (she is after all the 3rd most powerful Arrancar in Hueco Mundo even though that position was taken). For some reason I find that Hari-bel was her former Fraccion…(yes im thinking back to the Soifon-Yoruichi thing again)
are we not gonna see noitoras zanpakuto release cuz im trying to draw his release but its hard cuz i have no idea what where his hollow mask is located
akira takamoto: I have a feeling that Nnoitra’s mask is hidden somewhere under his eyepatch or his huge collar…anyhow I believe the mask fragment is purely a remnant of their Hollow form whih might give one an idea of what that Arrancar used to look like as a Hollow. Yes it is possible that its related to the apperance of an Arrancar’s release but still appearances are nothing as we have learnt in the Bleach universe.
hi guys! I am also excited to know who are the strongest amongst the Espada.
6 out of the 10 Espada rankings were already revealed. The order are as follows:
10 - Yammy
9 - Aaroniero
8 - Szayelaporro
6 - Grimmjow
5 - Nnoitora
4 - Ulquiorra
Initially, I thought that Nnoitora belong to the top 3 (if not that #1), because of his acclaim that he is the strongest among the Espada. But I was surprised when it was revealed that he is indeed the 5th Espada. Anyway, I could resemble Nnoitorra’s attitude same as Kenpachi Zaraki. They both love to battle the strongest opponent and prove that they are indeed the strongest warrior.
As for the remaining 4 slots in Espada, here is my guess:
7 - Stone-face dude with skull earrings
3 - Halibel
2 - Stark
1 - Old Espada
Nel is the former 3rd Espada and her gender is female. Halibel is the only female Espada. I think that Halibel succeeded Nel as the 3rd rank Espada, after the incident wherein Nnoitora (as he claims) attacks Nel violently causing Nel to get amnesia, became a retarded child and exiled out of Los Noches. So to fill in the void, Halibel became the 3rd Espada. As for my guess that the “Old Espada” is the 1st rank Espada is that, in the Gotei 13 Gen. Yamamoto, is the captain of the 1st Division and the commanding general of all the division captains and who happens to be quite old. So, I just have this wild idea that “Old Espada” is the 1st Espada, the strongest Espada who commands all the lower rank Espada’s much like Gen. Yamamoto who is the commanding general of the Gotei 13, thus having the rights to command all other division captains.
This is out of the Espada ranking topic. However, I just wonder on how Kisuke Urahara and Isshin Kurosaki are associated with each other? It is a fact that they are both Shinigami (Urahara was the former 12th Division captain and Isshin Kurosagi seemed to be a captain level). Also, they seem to know a lot about Aizen, Arrancars and even Vaizards. Is there a possibility that this 2 are both Vaizards?
Qwerty: Who knows, anythings possible.
Alainium: The reason why I don’t think the old Espada is in the top 3 is his attitude. He was first seen with Szayel, Aaroniero and Yammy underestimating the intruders. He seems to have a bad personallity, just like the other non-Vasto Lorde Espada. It seems from what we know that the Vasto Lordes are very calm and analytical; look at Ulquiorra and Halibel.
Malachi: You were saying that the mask remains could give us a good idea of what each arrancar used to look like. Take a good look at the dark guy’s skull earing in chapter 269. Perhaps that’s what his real mask actually looked like. If so, looks like he’s probably a Vasto Lorde too. We can speculate about this endlessly - and it’s pretty obvious to me that the old guy’s the best candidate for 7th - but we’re not going to know the exact order of the top 3 until Kubo reveals it. Until then, my final guess is: 1. Stark, 2. Dark Espada, 3. Halibel, and 7. Old Espada.
reasons for my rankings
1. Stark- unimpressed, tired, bored, not wanting to be bothered, did not care to talk at the espada meeting, wasn’t shocked by aaroniero’s death
2. dark espada- gives reports, remains calm through everything, sophisticated, intelligent
3. Hari-bel- clever, quiet, cautious, slightly worried, possible replacement for Nel (previously the 3rd espada)
7. old espada- underestimated his opponents with espadas 8, 9, and 10, he’s arrogant, the only one to respond to aaroniero’s death
I think that maybe out of all the espada there is one other who is even stronger than all of them even so I think it will go like this
1.Stark(Mainly because he is silent and rude eg. Shunsui was one the first and one of the strongest captains along wqith ukitake)
2.Halibel(I think shes number 2 because she watches the fights between Ichigo and Grimjow and dosn’t seem worried)
3.Black guy(This guy because well he looks powerful and isn’t worried about the defeat of grimow and the 9th espada)
4.I still think its Ulquiorra because its not likely to send out the top 3 to do aizens work but to keep the 1st 3 for last
5.Nnoitra(It’s proven he is 5)
6.Grimmjow(We know he’s 6)
7.Old man(Well hes cocky and annoying so yeh)
8.Szayel(Well its proven hes
9.Forget his name(Well its proven)
10.Yammy(Proven)
Paulalankelly: Ulquiorra was already confirmed as 4th Espada in chapter 271, so you’re right there. As for the top 3, Halibel and the dark guy are interchangable, but I’d definately agree with Stark and the old guy as 1st and 7th, respectively.
Paulalankelly: Well it is possible that Aizen only managed to recruit 5 Vasto Lorde (Stark, Halibel, Nel,Black dude and Ulquiorra. However it is possible that some of them are not Vasto Lorde Arrancar)as compared to the double digit population of them residing below Hueco Mundo. Hence it is possible that there is a Vasto Lorde that is stronger than the existing ones in the Espada
I believe this to be one of the most logical of most of the opinions I have ever read or heard about…
1.Old Espada (Either this or the black espada, or Stark. This only seems reasonable, because in that picture of them at the table, Stark doesn’t look to happy. He seems to be bored and relaxed. Most likely not to be strong if Stark is so relaxed.) ~Vasto Lorde~
2.Black espada (Either this or the old espada, or the black espada.) ~Gillian~ (No doubt he isn’t, because he’s a “big tall black espada”.) xD
3.Halibel/Nel (Most likely to be the current number three, because someone had to of replaced Nel, so she has most of Nel’s features. I would not be surprised if she matched Nel’s strength. As well as that, she looks pretty strong too begin with.)/ (Proven.) ~Vasto Lorde~(Maybe, cause it is hard to tell. Aizen needed a replacement for Nel, so I highly doubt Halibel could be found as a Vasto Lorde.)/ ~Vasto Lorde~
4.Ulquiorra (Proven.) ~Vasto Lorde~
5.Nnoitora (Proven.)
6.Grimmjow (Proven.)
7.Stark (Either Stark or the black espada. There is no way the old espada cannot be of the top three espada, I mean look how serious and unrelaxed he is. He is also very musclular, as well as too be the oldest of them all. Therefore he probably has the most knowledge of them.)
8.Szayelaporro (Proven.)
9.Aaroniero (Proven.)
10.Yammy (Proven.)
If you disagree on these ideals, please post. And if you do not believe most of these are all ready proven, you should not be on reading these boards for it contains massive spoilers.
I would merely like to point out a few points about Stark. He has the attitude of a #1, since he doesn’t care, and all that. He respects his subordinate, and does not have a psychotic love of killing. However, there is one theory I just had. Stark means “strong” in German. In Bleach, affiliation is shown by language, no? Shinigami=Japanese, Hollows/Arrancar/Espada=Spanish, Quincy/Bounto=German. What if Stark is a Quincy? Think about it. He does not have a prominent weapon, but has a piece of jewelry. Actually, this is not as important as his name. A German name, coupled with the Quincy hatred of Hollows, could easily have led to him being devoured, arriving in Hueco Mundo with some measure of his Quincy powers intact (we know little to nothing about the base and source of Quincy powers, so perhaps they could work even if the user is no longer human). He would rise rapidly among the Hollows armed with this power, reaching Vasto Lorde status in time to become an Espada. Since the density of spirit particles would give him huge powers, he could easily attain the number 1 position. He loses all of his mask, perhaps because his familiarity with reiatsu as a Quincy allows for more efficient evolution or whatever. So, he doesn’t really care what happens, because his people are all dead. He is secure, possible with his mask fragment concealing a Quincy weapon. The only flaw I see with this is that he didn’t seem to care at all upon seeing Ishida.
Krysm: The way I see it, Stark is relaxed because he can afford to be relaxed. If he was weaker, he wouldn’t have the luxury to sleep all the time. Think about it; if Stark was weak, don’t you think one of the other Espada would have put him in his place for being so lazy? Remember the Espada meeting - Stark basically told Nnoitra to shut up right before the meeting, and Nnoitra didn’t even respond to him. The fact that Nnoitra talked back to Halibel, but refused to say anything to Stark seems to indicate that Stark is higher ranked than both Halibel and Nnoitra. Being relaxed is a good thing; if anything, it’s the weaker Espada that should be tense as they’re just cannon fodder that will soon be replaced by Vasto Lordes.
Regarding the old guy; I don’t see why so many people insist he’s number 1 solely on connections with Yamamoto or the age = experience argument. As far as we know, he was most likely initiated into the Espada around the same time as most of the others. Aizen kicked out all of the former Espada, so he can’t be that old. The appearance of an arrancar is based on the soul of the person that they once were; that means this particular Espada was an older man when he died - not that he aged after becoming an arrancar. Look at everything he’s said so far; he’s an overconfident fool. He was first seen along with the 3 weakest Espada criticizing the intruders, then later claiming that Aaroniero was pathetic. His behavior just doesn’t lead me to believe he’s in the top 3.
When Aizen informed the Espada who the intruders were, the following looked down on them (this is how it appears on the page - Aizen personally told them not to underestimate the intruders):
Old Espada (Unknown) | Aaroniero (9th)
Yammy (10th) | Szayelaporro (8th)
If you start at the bottom left with Yammy, cross over to Aaroniero, go down to Szayel, and then go to the upper left for the old guy, you have 10, 9, 8, and 7. As for Espada 6, we’ve known Grimmjow’s rank the longest; he doesn’t count right now. Next, we have 4 more Espada that are (for the most part) more cautious about the intruders. They’re not so quick to jump to conclusions, yet one of them still calls the intruders weak. They are as follows:
Ulquiorra (4th) | Dark Espada (Unknown)
Halibel (Unknown) | Nnoitra (5th)
Reverse the pattern found for the weakest 4, and start with Nnoitra as 5. So far it works. If this pattern were to continue, Halibel would be 3rd and the dark guy 2nd; Stark is too apathetic to care and thus number 1 by process of elimination. Well, this is my opinion; you’re free to disagree with it, but it seems pretty logical to me.
Stark: You know, the word stark also means strong in Swedish and English (in English it can also mean complete), so it’s not just a German concept. That’s quite an interesting theory you’ve got; I can’t say I agree with it, but anything’s possible.
I know, but since there is already a German affiliation in the series, it is a possibility. Plus, a Quincy Espada would be really cool
Krysm: Guest has already disputed this rather heavily as Stark being the most probable candidate for Primer Espada. Namely, simply because he is a slacker. The only reason why anyone would be a slacker in the Hollow world is if there is no chance of him getting eaten and no chance of anyone being able to challenge Stark eat him…therefore he is most probably a former Vasto Lorde since it is implied that most Vasto Lorde are so strong that there is no threat of being eaten and are strong enough to maintain their personalities
Also it is impossible for the Black guy to be a Gillian since Aaroniero himself had stated that he was the only Gillian within the Espada
Guest….i didn’t know that i wasn’t the only one who did the panel pattern. lol then reverse it on the second page. i did the same thing a while ago, and it seemed like it would fit. i hope it ends up correct. so far, things seem to be going along with it. when did you decide to do that?
oh and since i noticed that you and a couple of other people have the same ranking order that i do, i’ve had a back up sitting order, but never released it, cuz it’s redundant. the sitting was most likely random, but maybe it’s a coincidence that i saw this. if these are the missing slots
1. Stark
2. dark espada
3. Hari-bel
7. old espada
not only does the panel theory prove itself to be true, but then there is something weird i saw. it’s probably unecessary but here goes. (i thought it was pointless to release, but since Nnoitra came out correctly as 5, here it is)
sitting arrangement
9. Aaroniero 10. Yammy
3. Haribel 7. old espada
5. Nnoitra 8. Szayel Aporro
1. Stark 2. dark espada
4. Ulquiorra 6. Grimmjow
Ulquiorra’s rank:4 plus Stark’s rank:1 is equal to Nnoitra’s rank:5
other side
Grimmjow’s rank:6 plus dark espadas rank:2 is equal to Szayel Aporro’s rank:8
this means that Nnoitra’s rank:5 minus Hari-bel’s rank:3 is equal to the dark espada’s rank:2
same pattern opposite side
Szayel Aporro’s rank:8 minus old espada’s rank:7 is equal to Stark’s rank 1
9 10
3 7
5 8
= =
1 2
+ +
4 6
other part
9 10
3 7
- -
5 8
1==2
4 6
THIS IS OF COURSE MOST LIKELY POINTLESS, BUT I DID THIS A WHILE BACK WHEN MORE OF THE RANKS WEREN’T REVEALED YET. SO I THOUGHT I MIGHT AS WELL SHARE IT EVEN THOUGH IT SEEMS KINDA DUMB. LOL
Guest2: That’s interesting. Don’t know if it means anything, but it is interesting. I tried using the panel theory after Ulquiorra’s rank was revealed. I figured Nnoitra was either 3 or 5 since he and Ulquiorra seemed one rank apart from the way they spoke to each other; Ulquiorra seems like the type that would respect his superiors, so him calling Nnoitra stupid made me think Nnoitra was 5th. Also, since Nnoitra was fine talking back to Ulquiorra and Halibel, but refused to respond to Stark, I figured Stark was near the top. Stark and the dark guy seem the least concerned about the intruders, so the pattern works for now.
Do you guys think Nnoitra is going to release next manga episode??
Chapter* sorry
Neliel said she’d make it quick, so I don’t think Nnoitra has time to release.
noitora will release next chapter. is it just me or is orihime gettin on everybody nerves did you see the look she gave ichigo when nell tu hugged him she is really annoying and i think shes a desperate annoying little girl. and i think ulquiorra will break out of his prison in the next few chapters. ps does anyone think grimmjow is dead by now cuz of loss of blood he better not. and szaerra will die in next chapter or chapter after that.
Actually it is said that Nel Tu is the 3rd Espada.
No, she’s the FORMER third Espada.
Well Bleach is famous for the 6 litre blood rain so I doubt Grimmjow will die from something as trivial as blood loss. Anyway Nnoitra did go up in a big explosion before possibly cutting to a flashback sequence (or an implied one).
As to the Orihime thing, well she did confess her feelings to Ichigo (albeit while he was asleep) so it should be pretty reasonable if Orihime reacts that way to Nel’s hug.
Damn, Kubo’s realy beating around the bush here…. he should just show us Nnoitra’s transformation already and kill offf Szayel by the next chapter…
Aporros’ battle is real boring they need to hurry and end it. Do you think all the espada are going to have a flashback??
halibel is so cool and hot
About
3. Old Espada
Her name is ”Neriel” AKA ”Nel”
^o^
chapter 291/292
Nyuka: umm your post makes almost no sense lol..ps. I made a LONG comment pertaining to the last chapter and what not..but it didn’t go through so I’m mad hehee
I would like to point out that Grimmjow can’t die from blood loss any time soon because then that would mean that Chad and Rukia are long dead and I don’t think Kubo would let that happen without us knowing about it lol
Did you see the newest chapter 293? They showed Espada #3 (might be formerly)! She’s a girl with bigger boobs than orihime! i don’t know her name in English (i know it in Japanese)…SORRY!
Sarah: Her full name is Neriele Tu Oderschvank but we just call her Nel to make it easier and yes she is a former Trecer Espada though I think her Espada uniform looks surprisingly conservative (but come to think about it, we’ve only seen her as a toddler and a grown woman wearing nothing but a few strips of cloth covering the important bits)
this is so interesting damn i cant wait to see whos the rank 1
i bet its stark!! dammit kubo hurry and finish the damn manga already!!
I also hope Stark is the top one. Not just because of the obvious signs, but because he’s already my favorite Espada even with the minimal screen time he’s received so far. I could easily see this turning out just like the “Ulquiorra has to be No. 1″ scenario, but I feel it would be a grave mistake for Kubo to use anyone but Stark for 1st Espada; Stark has the perfect attitude for the top one.
Anyways, I don’t know if it’s just me, but I have a feeling that the 7th Espada is disposable. Everyone is anticipating who the strongest 3 are, but he left a much weaker one unranked. Seeing how pathetically Ishida and Renji are struggling to defeat the mere 8th Espada, I couldn’t see them or even a healed Chad or Rukia defeating No. 7. I’m having serious doubts if Espada 7 will even come into play at all. The point is, Kubo left No. 7 unranked for a reason; if things shape up like I think they will, we’ll find out who Espada 2 and 3 are next. That will increase the anticipation even more as the final two unranked Espada are the strongest and one of the weaker ones.
i agree Guest. i can see that whole thing happening. Kubo is just jerkin our chain. he playin around with us. i personally am happy with bleach, but even those who are disappointed with it want to know the ranks. it’s just too addicting, and kubo will probably keep doing it. it will suck if he leaves slot 7 empty to mess around with us, but it’s possible.
My hope is that Nnoitra and Szayel will die this arc. Don’t get me wrong; they’re both incredible chacters, it’s just that we need some more death in Bleach. It’s debatable whether the current 7th Espada will ever do anything of importance. If Kubo did infact create No. 7 for the sole purpose of masking who the top 3 are, then perhaps the old guy really is 7th and won’t actually do anything. We’ve already seen Ulquiorra, Nnoitra and Grimmjow in action; it would be a bit anti-climatic for a new enemy weaker than Grimmjow to step in at this point. If this is the case, then it seems that Kubo decided to give Halibel and Stark the minimal screen time they got in order to show off what the top 3 Espada are like. I wouldn’t be surprised at all if this arc ended with Nel and/or Wonderwice joining Aizen’s complete Espada.
i think 7 is a fake and maybe on of the 4 remanding espada with no positions may be illusions especially the old guy..
if you count yammy clock wise in the table thing it goes 10(Yammy), 8(Aporro), 6(Grimmjow), 4(Ulquiorra) now count Aaroniero(9) anti clockwise Nnoitra(5) hence Halibel might be(7) and Stark (3). well i dunno sound a bit retard guess i just have to wait …
1. *Old Man
2. *Dude with spikes
3. *Stark
4. Ulquiorra
5. Nnoitra
6. Grimmjow
7. *Halibel
8. Aporro
9. Aaroniero
10. Yammy
I dont understand why Yammy hasnt done anything yet. I mean he was so eager to fight ichigo now he stands back and lets the other epsada fight. I think Kubo is leaving him for a turn of events. Like his release will be stronger than the higher ranking espada. Not the top 3 of course.
Numero Tres: If you noticed, the only Espada that left their respective palaces to seek out the intruders were Ulquiorra, Nnoitra, Grimmjow, and Halibel (debatable). It appears that Gin was manipulating the hallways, so that explains why Rukia and Renji ended up in Aaroniero and Szayel’s chambers. While Aaroniero and Szayel are reckless, keep in mind that they never actually left their respective areas. This would explain why Yammy hasn’t done anything; it would also explain why No. 7 hasn’t appeared on the scene yet. As far as Yammy goes, I think with brute strength alone, he could keep up with Szayel and Aaroniero; the primary reason he’s ranked lower than those two is because he sucks at detecting reiatsu. Since Szayel and Aaroniero are more intelligent and better at detecting reiatsu, they were ranked higher. But you know - as dumb as Yammy may seem, he might actually realize that he stands no chance against the intruders, so that could be another reason why he doesn’t actively pursue the intruders.
nell is probably ichigos reincarnated mother. same characteristics.
According to the chapter 294 spoilers, it appears that Szayel somehow assisted Nnoitra in bringing Nel down; perhaps he performed some kind of crazy experiment to make Nnoitra stronger. Either way, I’m not surprised that Szayel was involved. I always had a feeling that Nnoitra and Szayel got along well. If you look at the Espada meeting, Nnoitra responds to Szayel’s comment about the intruders (how it would have been more entertaining if they just broke into the throne room) with a laugh and agrees with him.
The fact that Nnoitra and Szayel were working together years ago also supports my initial guess that Aaroniero, Szayel and Nnoitra are the oldest Espada by far. After all, those three were the ones that came to Dordonii’s mind when he was defeated; they were the first in the new generation of Hougyoku Espada. Also, about Aaroniero: I’m not the best person to ask about the Bleach timeline, but it appears Rukia killed Kaien approximately 50 years ago. When Metastacia returned to Hueco Mundo, Aaroniero immediately devoured it and absorbed all of it’s powers. This means that Aaroniero has been around in some form for over 50 years. Gaining Kaien’s power is what probably got him into the Espada, we just don’t know how long its been since he was initiated into the Espada.
It is confirmed that ulquiorra is #4. It came out in the manga when Ichigo accidentally slashed open Ulq’s shirt and the Nu,ber 4 tattoo appeared.
Yammy’s ten for sure. Grimmjaw is 6.
PS: I LOVE ULQUIORRA!
Hmm I have a feeling that Aaroniero was purely another experiment of Aizen’s. Namely its possible Aizen created Metastacia as a means of allowing Hollows to consume and absorb other Hollows and use their abilities, hence allowing Aaroniero to gain immense power (even though he’s stuck at Gillian). Its also entirely possible for Aaroniero to be among the top 5 if he ever became an Adjuchas or even a Vasto Lorde. Its pure speculation though
Ul is num 4 Noinotra is num 5 grrimmijow is num 6 dont know 7 and number 8 is the pink haired guy and num 9 is the guy with the mask on and num 10 is yammy num 1,2,3 i don’t know
this is what i think the order is:
1- Stark (always so bored, like nobody can match up to his power)
2- Old Espada (old guys are always strong. i mean, look at yamamoto)
3- Halibel (i heard the third espada is supposed to be a sexy girl)
4- Ulquiorra *confirmed*
5- Nointora (he talks big, but dosent look strong enough to be 1, 2, or 3)
6- Grimmjow *confirmed*
7- Black Espada (he looks like he could easily kick yammi’s ass)
8- Szayel (looks smart and could be a worthy opponent)
9- Arroniro (changing his appearance can get him an easy, but cheap win)
10- Yammi *confirmed*
Third Espada: Actually 5,8 and 9 have alrdy been confirmed to be those three…
Anyhow I noticed something odd about Nnoitra’s zanpakuto during the flashback…is it me or is it somehow missing a crescent? That means that Nnoitra’s zanpakuto somehow gained a crescent during the time gap between the time of the flashback and the present…
yeah, im a little slow when it comes to manga lol.
anyway about the third espada i was mistaken. it used to be nell. now i think it’s halibel (did any of you notice she looks like soi fong+yorouichi combined?)
also people keep calling nel “bell” for some reason.
ps: nel is sexier than oriheme
i even drew her as an espada (even though she’s not one anymore)
1- Stark (always so bored, like nobody can match up to his power)
2- Old Espada (old guys are always strong. i mean, look at yamamoto)
3- Halibel (i heard the third espada is supposed to be a sexy girl)
4- Ulquiorra *confirmed*
5- Nointora *confirmed*
6- Grimmjow *confirmed*
7- Black Espada (he looks like he could easily kick yammi’s ass)
8- Szayel *confirmed*
9- Arroniro *confirmed/deceased*
10- Yammi *confirmed*
only four people. it could be any combo.
If the old guy was no.1 he wud do a bad job because he worries to much and is grumpy
If stark was no.7 he wyd do a bad job becuz he’d get hammered cuz he dosnt train.
which means switch them and we have
stark no.1
Old dude no.7
Yeah, Stark is the coolest Espada by far, even with only 10 seconds of screen time. He seems really lazy and uninterested in the intruders, but he also seems to have a serious side, as shown when Lilinet asked him what he was going to do about Aaroniero’s death. If you use Ulquiorra as an example of what a Vasto Lorde should be, they should be calm and collected, and very analytical. While we haven’t seen enough of Stark or the dark guy to know how they think, Ulquiorra and Halibel seem very similar personality wise. The old guy sticks out like a sore thumb, since he complained along with the weakest Espada when the intruders entered Heuco Mundo.
Going by all the evidence in the story, the logical answer would be that the old Espada is 7th. I could easily be wrong, but this is the most logical way to look at it. My primary reason for choosing Stark for first, other than the fact that he’s my favorite Espada, is that he wasn’t wearing his mask in the chapter 270 picture of the Espada. I don’t think Kubo would carelessly leave something like that out, so maybe Stark is the first complete arrancar. Also, you can see the hilt of his zanpakuto on that picture.
Additionally, I’ve noticed that many people are now second guessing Halibel’s rank. Now that we’ve seen Nnoitra’s flashback, many people think that Nnoitra wasn’t angry enough with her at the Espada meeting for her to be ranked higher than him. But if you think about, Nnoitra isn’t a rational character, so there really isn’t any way to figure this out logically until Kubo reveals it himself. I admit it is possible for Halibel to be 7th, but she seems way too intelligent and analytical to be one of the weakest Espada.
in the lastest manga i seen Nnoitra is picking on Nel because she is a girl ranked higher than he is in the espada. so that would mean haibel may be 7th is nnoitra isnt picking on her. im still unsure about the first three!
I think Stork is first and maybe the skull-wearinng dark guy is second and Hali third, leaving the old guy 7th. I agree with the theory of how they should/do act and have to disagree with the theory involving Nnoitara, just slightly.
True enough, he doesn’t actually go forward and pick on Halibel, but if she is third, and knowing Nel was, I think there’s the profound difference that Halibel would most likely not leave Nnotiara such an opening for him to feel like he has the upper hand and thus isn’t going to throw himself into a bad situation. Halibel is obviously calm and fairly intellectual, so she’d give Nnoitara a hard time and would not be merciless (which is another thing for him to consider). But someone has mentioned him speaking bad (rudely) to her while saying nothing to Stork (or something like that) which could be his way of ‘rebelling’ against his ‘high ranked women’ complex. Also, Halibel is very unconcerned during Ichigo’s fight with Grimmjow (and after I would suppose), and if she were lower ranked, I’m suppose she would have been shown at least mildly disheveled.
Either way, I hope Kubo-sensei just tells us soon, and it’ll be interesting to see who’s where. I could see him doing something odd just to throw off everyone who tries to make any prediction, but we’ll just have to wait and see (unfortunately).
ulquiorra is 4th, noitora is 5th, grimmjow is 6th, zaelpollo is 7th or 8th, yammy is 10th
I believe it goes like this:
1 Stark
2 Halibel
3 Black Espada
4 Ulquiorra *confirmed*
5 Nnoitra *confirmed*
6 Grimmjow *confirmed*
7 Old Espada
8 Szayel *confirmed*
9 Arroniro *confirmed/deceased*
10 Yammi *confirmed*
The reason I believe this is simple. Stark is not concerned with anyone. He doesn’t worry about anyone matching his power or threatening his existence. Halibel is second. The reason Nnoitra doesn’t bitch at her or try to kill her is because he simply isn’t near or close to her level and knows he would only be killing himself. (Wouldn’t he also be mad if she was 7th? She is close to him in power if so… and would be dealt with probably.) The top 3 espada have MUCH more power then the others. The old espada has to be 7th because of how he pisses and whines so much. Thus leaving black espada as 3rd.
Also, old espada has one eye and a VICIOUS scar down his face. Why would he be #1? A one eyed old foggy that has had his arse kicked?
Good points, Ryan. Many people have tried to equate the old guys scars with battle experience; but if you look at it, why would one of the strongest Espada have been damaged so badly? If he was given that scar by another arrancar, that means that there are others more powerful than himself out there. He was also seen complaining with the weakest Espada at the meeting, so he should logically be 7th. Nothing’s conclusive with the top 3. They all seem to be very powerful, but we don’t have enough to judge which one is stronger than the others. One thing that annoyed me was that Kubo decided to reveal Stark’s name before the last two. I know Kubo isn’t introducing the Espada in order of rank, but I fear that decreases Stark’s chances of being No. 1. Still, I feel there’s enough evidence for Stark to be 1st. He shut Nnoitra up, which isn’t the easiest thing to do; the only people Nnoitra would not talk back to are stronger guys. Also, he’s not wearing his mask fragment in the chapter 270 picture of the Espada.
I would rank the dark guy above Halibel; look at him, he’s meditating. the only thing we’ve heard from him was his comment that the intruders were missing one person. Now I know it doesn’t take a genius to figure that out, but I believe Kubo put that in there to show he was observant. If he’s meditating, it obviously shows he’s very disciplined. I personally want Stark to be the top Espada, but this guy is the only acceptable alternative.
good points Guest. i’m guessing that the old espada is number 7 as well, but i just thought of something. what if he killed his way to become number 1, than that can throw things off. i mean, i would really like him to be 7, plus the evidence of him being arrogant and being grouped with the weaklings. but what would happen if there were stronger arrancar b4 him that he happened to defeat every time? that would be reasonable as well. he could have been an espada that has battled the most, which gives him such arrogance. he may have even fought arrancar just as strong as him that could have been defeated. i never really thought of it like this b4, but it’s probable. maybe he actually deserves the crown mask fragment. this is just a thought though. i hope he is 7th though because he doesn’t act like a top notch guy. but we’ll see though.
then*
They are evil… There is no point in being modest or acting like he is better. He is stronger and he knows it.
Well, anything is possible. I just don’t think Aizen would have to tell the strongest Espada to not underestimate the intruders. If Kubo WERE to do a complete repeat of the SS arc, with the remaining Espada ranked similarly in strength to their representative captains, the order would be: 1. Old Espada (Yamamoto), 2. Stark (Shunsui), 3. Dark Espada, and 7. Halibel (Soifon). We already have Ulquiorra (Byakuya), Nnoitra (Zaraki) and Szayel (Mayuri) ranked in that order, so it’s a possibility. Now, that doesn’t mean that the Espada are rip offs of the captains, some of them just have similarities. Either way, I’m sure whatever Kubo’s planning will turn out well.
wow. i had know idea that you matched the captains as close as i did with the espada. i made a picture showing alternates on a forum a while back. of course some didn’t look alike, but i used some characters as their alternate through personality or strong traits that they shared.
http://a580.ac-images.myspacecdn.com/images01/63/l_10144aeda704ca8f93f503ca9285da33.jpg
nell tu is goin to release and finally kill noitora yay. i hate noitora.
I think Nnoitra will release before he (hopefully) dies. Nnoitra is a really good villain, but this show needs some more blood. Kubo can start with killing Szayel off first. As for Nnoitra, keep in mind that he’s the one currently outpowering Nel. Once she releases, he’ll probably follow suit. From there, he can either be killed by Nel, or fall victim to another Espada (most likely Halibel). One thing that’s really bugging me is that Kubo still hasn’t revealed Nnoitra’s last name; I seriously hope he does before he gets rid of Nnoitra.
this is my prediction
I believe it goes like this:
1 Stark
2 Old Espada
3 Black Espada
4 Ulquiorra *confirmed*
5 Nnoitra *confirmed*
6 Grimmjow *confirmed*
7 Halibel
8 Szayel *confirmed*
9 Arroniro *confirmed/deceased*
10 Yammi *confirmed*
The reason why: Halibel can not be ranked higher than Nnoitora he was ranked 8 when he got rid of Nel, what makes you think him being 5 wont stop him from getting rid of Halibel… he also is sneaky around stronger people, if he as you saw with him and Ulquiorra early on.. and how he disregards the lesser numbers as he did w/ Szayel when he got rid of Nel.. now if he was not higher than Halibel he would have not aproched Grimjaw knowing she was watching… obvious disregard for ranking (cause she is less than him) he showed up to kill Grimjaw (also lesser than him)… His complex proves that Halibel is higher than him.. now i want stark to be number one cause that just makes sense.. and you have to have a strong black guy you just got to so that is why the dark one is 2nd and the old guy is third.. now it could be switched around between them but Halibel is definately 7th
Sorry he he Halibel is not higher than him, cause he does not even acknowlege her. and the fact that Nel is ranked thrid shut my predictions of Halibel being ranked higher it would make sens to have a High Ranking girl as an ally to the Hero… Hence Nel being number 3 so there fore that role of powerfull girl has already be taken… as far as 1-3 goes i would like stark then black guy then old guy lol
Well on the plus side…chapter 295 proves that Dondochakka and Pesshe are more than comedy relief for the Hueco Mundo and its really admirable how they desired to protect Nel even when they’ve lost their masks to Nnoitra
Well just because he doesn’t acknowledge Halibel doesn’t mean that she isn’t strong. Perhapes he has an inferiority complex against female arrancar who are stronger and ranked higher than him?
Noitora was number 8 when he went after Nel number 3.. dont you think being number 5 now he would allow another female to stand in his way of being number 1??
Erm… yo, Su-Kai… your reasoning doesn’t make any sense (and neither does your grammar). It is true in the flash back that he dislikes being inferior to a female in rank and that was the reason he attacked Neliel.
We cannot say for sure that he disregards lower ranks simply because of how he treated Szayel Aporro Grantz in the flash back. Szayel Aporro Grantz is able to make dolls (almost the same as voodoo dolls) of people and torture them. Who would want to be friendly with a person like that? Maybe that is why Noitora disrespected Szayel Aporro Grantz when he defeated Neliel.
And how do we know that Halibel isn’t higher than Noitora and that he’s not silently planning to take her out? We don’t!
Anyway, i think Halibel is number 2 (i may be wrong, NO ONE KNOWS). The reason i say she’s number 2 is because of the two stubs on her collar. Now you may say to yourself… “What do the stubs have to do with anything?!”
Well, pay close attention to the Espadas’ attire. There are hints about their rank given away by their appearances.
For example:
Ulquiorra has FOUR ridges on his remaining Hollow Mask and he’s #4.
Yammy has 10 teeth on his remaining Hollow Mask and he’s #10.
Grimmjow is the only Espada member whose uniform is open, revealing his “six”pack and he is #6.
Luppi, which was Grimmjow’s temporary replacement, had 3 diamond shaped tattoos over his left eye. Counting the tips, that would be six. And he was temporary #6.
Szayel Aporro Grantz has eight markings (total) above and below his left eye in his released form. Four markings up and four markings down. He is #8.
This of course does not work for everyone. There is no visible hint on Aaroniero Arleri (number 9) or Noitara (number 5) to indicate their ranks. But, it is obvious, that of the Espada members whose numbers have been revealed, those two have their numbers in odd places of their bodies anyway.
Now, continuing with attire observation, the Dark skin guy has three piercings below his lower lip, that could hint that he is #3.
As mentioned before, Halibel has two stubs on her collar which could hint that she is #2 (also, she carries her zanpakutō on her back in a very similar fashion to the way Soifon carries her zanpakutō. Note that Soifon is Shinigami Captain of the SECOND Division, a further hint of Halibel being #2).
Regarding Stark and the Old man, we haven’t seen much of them to observe their attire so either one of them could be #1 or #7. Something to note is that the Old Guy almost looks smiliar to Shigekuni Yamamoto-Genryūsai, who is Shinigami Commander-General of the FIRST Division (maybe because they’re they only old guys with lengthy beards). But it could be a hint that the Old Guy is Espada #1.
So my list would look something like this.
1. Stark (or Old Man)
2. Halibel
3. Dark Skin Male Espada
4. Ulquiorra *confirmed*
5. Noitora *confirmed*
6. Grimmjow *confirmed*
7. Stark (or Old Man)
8. Szayel Aporro Grantz *confirmed*
9. Aaroniero Arleri *confirmed*
10. Yammy *confirmed*
I could be wrong, but this is how i thought it out.
i just want to say WOW that theory on attire of yours is stretching quite a bit there buddy.. but i comend you for putting some kind of effort in it (i guess) lol..
i agree that he could secretly be planing on killing her.. but i disagree on how he treats Szayel… he states “you are not even an espada anymore” talking down to him because of how low of a class he is.. not how sadistic he is.. my grammar sucks cause i am not writing a english paper.. sorry
dont get me wrong i wouldn’t mind Halibel to be number 3 and the old guy number 7 but i just dont see it.. the hint is too obvious considering how Noitora’s personality has been thus far, he just does not like the women folk ahead of him (let alone anyone for that matter)
and i refuse to beleive no mater how much of a childs anime this is meant to be, that the writer is going to feed us the same crap as of soul society.. meaning Yamamoto is the strongest in soul Society so the old guy is the strongest in Hueco Mundo.. people seem to keep forgetting that we have Aizen Gin and Tousen if the number one espada is as strong as the number one espada.. what of those three?? and if you want to use the miror theory on Hueco Mundo along with Soul Society.. then i guess we can use that miror torwards the Vizards as well.. so what is the order in those 8 (9 w/ Ichigo)
curious to see what you come up with
any the case ill agree with you to a certain point lets asume Halibel is higher than Noitora which i doubt then my list would look like this
1. Stark
2. Black Guy
3. Old Man (or Halibel)
4. Ulquiorra *confirmed*
5. Noitora *confirmed*
6. Grimmjow *confirmed*
7. Halibel(or Old Man)
8. Szayel Aporro Grantz *confirmed*
9. Aaroniero Arleri *confirmed*
10. Yammy *confirmed*
this is what i think
1.old guy
2.stark
3.dark guy
4.Ulquiorra *confirmed*
5.Noitora *confirmed*
6.Grimmjow *confirmed*
7.halibel
8.Szayel Aporro Grantz *confirmed*
9.Aaroniero Arleri *confirmed*
10.Yammy *confirmed*
this is wat i think:
1) Stark $$$
Szayel $
2) Halibel $$$
3) Black dude
4) Ulquiorra $
5) Noitora *
6) Grimmjow :oD
7) Old man
9) Aaroniero *
10) Yammi *
key: $ = (confirmed and sexy) $$$ = (unconfirmed, but still sexy)
* = (confirmed but not sexy) :oD = (confirmed and is VERY SEXAY!)
if halibel was a high ranked espada, she would be owned by noitora like how he owned nel when she was 3rd espada
Actually Nnoitra would lose in a fair one on one match against Halibel (assuming that she is ranked as the 3rd Espada). The only reason Nel ended up in her current state was because Nnoitra and Szayel teamed up to take down her Fraccion, leaving her in a state of shock that put her at a disadvantage and hence would allow Nnoitra to attack her from behind.
In fact in Nnoitra’s first battle against Nel (when Nnoitra was the 8th Espada) he lost quite miserably implying the power gap that might still exist even up to the present.
hmmm….i’m starting to wonder if the old espada’s arrogance is to confuse us to make us think that he is stupid. i haven’t heard anything from him that sounds wise, but i keep thinking that he may be in the top. i’m starting to think that Nnoitra is not threatened by Hari-bel. yea, maybe she IS more powerful than him. but if nel was number 3, and Nnoitra was 8 b4, that’s a 5 rank difference, which means Nnoitra did not give a shit how high Nel was. what if hari-bel was number 1, then that makes a 4 rank difference right now. why would that make Nnoitra back down if he had already tried to take out someone that was 5 ranks higher, instead of 4 ranks higher. it’s weird. the only way is if the top 2 espada are much stronger than the rest, unless the old number 3 (Nel) was an adjuchas (assuming that Nnoitra is an adjuchas). then that can throw it all off.
well Halibel… thats the girl with the high coller right? she has to be number 7. why? heres my resoning, the reson why noitora attacked (and hated) nell, was in his own words, becouse “i couldent stand the thought of a woman being i higher rank than me” (my translation, i lived in Urawa for 12 years i think i can figure it out.) if halibel is ranked 3 or up then nitorra would be focused on her in the same way, to me the fact that he only mentions nell in his rant shows that Halibel is most likely not espada 1-3.
i realize this had been pointed out before but your response was somewhat, usaticfactory. you said that his hate from nell comes from the fact that she beat him in a fight, however its implied that Noitora only challinged her to that fight becouse he was angry that a woman was ranked higher then him. if halibel was higher then him she to would face the same persicution.
those are my thoughts thank you for listening, i hope you respond.
Esquire: You’ve got a point; that is a possibility. However, I think you’re overlooking the fact that maybe Halibel is too strong for Nnoitra to take down right now; for all we know, he could have already tried to kill her off. I think the only possibilities are either: 1. Halibel is weaker than Nnoitra - that’s why he talked back to her, or 2. Halibel is stronger than Nnoitra, but too powerful for him to take down (she doesn’t seem like the type that would have as many openings as Nel did). If she was more powerful, and Nnoitra could defeat her, he would have already done it by now.
umm..I’m sorry, did I miss something? where does it say that Noitora used to be the 8th Espada?
StarkFanForeva: It doesn’t actually say that anywhere, but if you look at Nnoitra’s tongue in the flashback, it’s there.
i dont really think being unable to beat her would stop him from trying he wasnt able to beat nell eather, thats why he got Szayel to help him knock her off. he then states that the only thing about nell that he will miss is the opertunity to fight her again. while i admit that there is a posibility that hes afraid to challenge her, his personality makes it unlikely. as for her being carefull so as to not get cought in a situation like nell was… well the wording she used (in the origenal japanese, in english it was harder to see) during the fight between Ichigo and Grimmjow, makes her seem rather arogent… so i dout that shes that carefull. sorry if i seem to just be beating my point to death. i would like it very much if you responded
my say is this:
1: stark
2: old guy
3: black guy (his beard looks like a 3 to me)
7: halibel
i think that noitora talked down to her ximply because she’s a girl. it dosen’t matter to him if she’s at a higher rank or not, i mean look at how he treated nel back when she was 3 and he was 8. he’s a fag that can’t stand the fact that a girl is stronger than him. even then, we don’t see yammy or arroneiro (or ulquiorra and grimmjow, provided halibel’s 1-3) freak out over the fact halibel is stronger then them.
ps: stark looks like he’s on drugs.
sk8r, are you arguing with me or agreing? for the life of me i cant tell. yes noitora is a shovonistic jerk, and i agree that he is probly just picking on hailbel becouse she is a girl. however he actuly says that the reson he HATES nell is becouse shes higher rank then him. while he is a jerk to hailbel he dosent seem to resent her at all. thats what i have to say.
sk8er: Actually I suppose that the reason why Aaroniero and Yammy didn’t react in the same way Nnoitra at the fact that a female is stronger than them could be because they simply don’t care or couldn’t be bothered by the politics between the Espada. Either that or they are intimidated by the rank difference or they actually experienced that power first hand. This might explain Aaroniero’s indifference to the other Espada (seeing as he was a former Gillian)
When attempting to analyze Nnoitra’s character, you need to keep in mind that he’s neither logical or consistent. Since Nel didn’t seem as cold or calculating as some of the other Espada, Nnoitra was able to enlist Szayel’s help to overcome her fatal flaw (being too kind); Halibel, on the other hand, doesn’t seem like the type that would expose weakness or give Nnoitra any opportunity to bring her down. Understand that there’s still much we don’t know about Nnoitra and Halibel, so for all we know, Nnoitra could have already tried to kill Halibel (possibly with Szayel’s help, yet again) and failed. Logically speaking, if Ulquiorra is to be used as the prototype for what a Vasto Lorde SHOULD be like (cold, calm, calculating, etc.), the Espada that resemble him closest would be Stark, Halibel and the dark guy. The old guy sticks out like a sore thumb with his arrogant comments. Going by this, the old guy SHOULD be 7th Espada, but you never know with the way Kubo writes the story.
If noitora is right when he said to Nell that the new espada are stronger then the old espada, that could mean that halibel is way stronger then noitora. Maybe he is afraid of her or maybe he’s afraid of aizen. But I think that halibel is one of the top three. Also stark is one of the three in my opinion. I would say
1 the dark guy
2 stark
3 halibel(she’s really hot)
7 old man
yeah, you’re right guest. if ulquiorra was (actually is) an example of a vasto lorde than that means the old espada is the 7th. by far what i’ve seen from stark if the top espada should be the coolest, calmest, smartset, then yeah. i’d have to choose him. or the black guy. i guess this is my list:
1- stark
2- halibel
3- black guy
4- old guy
yeah just_me, we all know halibel’s a hot chick. and kinda looks like a slut, exposing her boobs like that.
If you watch 143 & 144’s OP you’ll notice that the espada are sitting in the same order, only reversed. I wonder what that’s about? I also noticed that Grimmjaw stood next to Gin, while Ulquiorra stood beside Tousen…
I agree with the Old man being 7th, but I have a feeling that Halibel replaced Nell as 3rd, perfect future match up.
I’m actually very surprised that no one has discussed other important implications of the last few chapters. First of all, remember when we were trying to rationalize Noitora’s belief that he’s the strongest Espada? At the time, one of the more logical guesses was that Noitora was once the strongest Espada but was DEMOTED as Aizen began recruiting stronger Arrancar. This made plenty of sense because we’ve all (for the most part) concluded that Aizen is trying to gather an Espada made of all Vasto Lordes. However, the last few chapters throw that theory completely on its ear. Noitora wasn’t demoted but he’s actually been promoted. Which only leaves one to wonder, in the flashbacks, since Noitora was the EIGHTH Espada this means that there were, at that time, seven Arrancar who were more powerful than him. But now, there are only four Espada more powerful than him. Even if we were to assume that Nell and Halibel were in the Espada at the same time (which is possible but it seems more logical to assume that Halibel replaced Nell BUT again Kubo tends to enjoy defying logic from time to time lol) then what happened to two Espada who were more powerful than Noitora. I don’t know about the rest of you but I’m VERY confused. Also, Szayel lost his Espada rank for some reason and was somehow able to reenter the Espada. I wonder what he did to lose his Espada rank and how he was able to rejoin? I can’t wait to see Nell’s released form.
StarkFanForeva: About Nnoitra being promoted, it seems no one has taken notice of the fact that his zanpakuto actually looks different in the flashback than the present one. Note that in the flashback his zanpakuto only had one crescent whereas now it has TWO. This might imply that either something happened within that period of time he did something to gain a crescent of he became stronger which is reflected as that crescent
well, since i haven’t read many of those, i am just to the anime 144. didn’t even know how to buy/where to buy the manga.
so here is my prediction:
1st: old grandpa arrancar,
2nd: the guy with a jerky smile on his face,Nnoitra
3rd: Halibel(she’s so hot!)
4th: Ulquiorra,
5th: ‘will smith’ arrancar
6th Grimmjow(coolest of all)
7th: the idiot stark
8th: the masked idiot arrancar,
9th: Szayel
10th: Yammi
btw, why do Halibel sexy arrancar wears like that?
we already know what the ranks are for 4,5,6,8,9 and 10 /not including nell who is 3 but not in the espada anymore.
that just l