Ulquiorra Cifer

is the 4th Espada in Sōsuke Aizen's army of Arrancar and is a major antagonist in Bleach.

Character outline
Ulquiorra is a male arrancar with a melancholic appearance and has green eyes with slit pupils. He has cyan lines descending from his eyes, making it appear as if he is crying, and is almost always frowning. He wears typical Arrancar clothes: a white jacket, black sash, and a white hakama. They are somewhat similar to what Ichigo's inner Hollow wears. However, his jacket seems to have longer coat-tails than others. Like most other Arrancar, he possesses remnants of his former life as a Hollow in his appearance. His hollow hole has moved; it is at the base of his throat as opposed to his chest. The remainder of his hollow mask lies on top of his head, forming a broken helmet, much like that of the example silhouette of a Vasto Lorde. His Espada number, four, signifying his rank amongst the Espada and level of power, is tattooed on the left side of his chest.

Ulquiorra is a very cold and callous figure, hitting his comrade Yammy in the stomach with his arm on one occasion in an effort to get his attention. He also deems anyone he does not find of particular interest to be "trash" and therefore expendable. As noted by Grimmjow Jeagerjaques, Ulquiorra has a habit of stabbing people in the same location as his hollow hole whenever he's particularly interested in a battle. Whether he is consciously aware of this habit or not is unknown. However, his speech to Orihime indicates he is, as he speaks of never seeing the "human heart (emotions)" that living humans possess and understand. He states that if his eye cannot see them, then they are not real. It would appear that as a result of his isolated life as a Hollow, Ulquiorra does not understand feelings and emotions as well as humans like Orihime does. Him stabbing people in the chest may symbolize that fact. It should also be noted that Ulquiorra's hollow hole seems to have moved since his first appearance, as it is now located somewhere near his sternum.

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

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

Synopsis
Ulquiorra first appears alongside Yammy when they arrive in Karakura Town to gain information on Ichigo Kurosaki. Ulquiorra retreats with Yammy once he finishes examining Ichigo's abilities, also taking note of Orihime Inoue's fate-manipulation powers. A month later, Ulquiorra sends a second group of Arrancar (not counting Grimmjow's rogue actions) consisting of several Espada, meant to distract the Shinigami while he captures Orihime. By threatening her friends lives, he convinces her to come peacefully, allowing her to say goodbye to one person beforehand.

Upon returning to Las Noches, Ulquiorra claims that he has trapped Orihime in a psychological prison from which her loyalty to Aizen is guaranteed, though this proves to be false when Orihime resolves to ruin Aizen's plans. Ulquiorra reappears to fight Ichigo, which ends in a sound victory for Ulquiorra. He leaves Ichigo alive but badly injured, suggesting to him that he should retreat if able. After discovering that Grimmjow has freed Orihime, Ulquiorra tracks them down and engages in a short battle with Grimmjow, ending with Grimmjow using a portable negación field to temporarily trap Ulquiorra. He then escapes and is left in charge of Las Noches and is currently awaiting the arrival of Ichigo Kurosaki. While waiting, he questions Orihime if she feels any fear in knowing that her friends will soon die. She boldly answers no, and states she has confidence in her friends and Ichigo. Ulquiorra then ridicules Orihime for having such feelings. He asks her what a heart is, and reaches out to touch the area above her heart, asking where he can find it. But just as he is about to further interrogate her, Ichigo breaks in and is ready to battle. Ulquiorra then unsheathes his sword to eradicate Ichigo in order to protect Las Noches.

Abilities
Ulquiorrra is the Cuatro Espada in Aizen's army, meaning Ulquiorra's abilities are fourth amongst all of the arrancar under Aizen's command. He can use both Cero and bala blasts, and can deflect attacks of similar power barehanded. He is able fight Ichigo in his hollow form without unsheating his sword, then rendering ichigo defenseless with 2 attacks and did not sustain any injury of any kind. He can also show images of what happening elsewhere and even open garganta to move to and from Hueco Mundo.

Instant Replay: Ulquiorra has the unusual ability to replay events he has seen to others by removing and crushing his left eye, which then turns into dust and flows around those Ulquiorra intends to use it on. The dust shows images of what Ulquiorra has seen during his missions. This eye apparently can regenerate, as Ulquiorra is seen with two eyes in his next appearance, and Yammy comments on it to that effect.

Zanpakutō
The name and released state of Ulquiorra's Zanpakutō have not been revealed, as he has never been shown using it, instead relying on his bare hands and steel skin. The handle is green and the guard has two curved extensions from its shorter sides, giving it an eye-like appearance. When Ichigo appears to confront him the second time, he is shown drawing his Zanpakutō, ready to duel.

Appearances in other media
Ulquiorra is the first arrancar to be featured in a Bleach video game, appearing in the Bleach: Heat the Soul 3 and Bleach: Heat the Soul 4 installments of the 'Bleach: Heat the Soul' series for the PlayStation Portable. He also appears in the Wii fighting game Bleach: Shattered Blade. He has a cameo and artwork in Bleach DS 2nd: Kokui Hirameku Requiem.

Ulquiorra has his own character album as part of the Bleach Beat Collection 3rd Session. The two vocal tracks are entitled CRUSH the "WORLD" DowN and Our World.

Trivia

 * He was recently voted the 10th most popular character in Bleach after receiving 3751 votes.