Her Name is Nel! The Appearance of the Strange Arrancar

 is the one hundred and forty-sixth episode of the Bleach anime.

Ichigo Kurosaki meets the good-natured Arrancar, Nel Tu.

Summary
With Nel Tu running from Pesche Guatiche, Dondochakka Birstanne, and Bawabawa, Ichigo Kurosaki suddenly appears and slams his sheathed Shikai, Zangetsu, into Dondochakka's face, sending the latter flying back, as Yasutora Sado leaps into the air with his Fullbring, Brazo Derecha de Gigante, forming and is joined by Uryū Ishida wielding his Heilig Bogen, Ginrei Kojaku, resulting in them crashing into a shocked Pesche and Bawabawa from above.

As Ichigo stands over Dondochakka, Sado holds Bawabawa aloft, and Uryū aims a Heilig Pfeil at Pesche, who complains about the tip poking into and burning his forehead, Nel pulls down her hood and begs Ichigo and his friends to stop picking on them, leading a stunned Ichigo to notice the mask covering her head and wonder if she is a Hollow. Shortly afterward, Nel, Dondochakka, Pesche, and Bawabawa bow and apologize for the misunderstanding, with Nel revealing they were playing endless tag because there is not much to do for fun in Hueco Mundo, though Ichigo points out how there were tears in her eyes despite this.

Nel confirms this and notes her masochistic nature means it not fun for her unless she is chased so much that she cries, leading Ichigo to angrily punch the back of Dondochokka's head and demand to know what they have been teaching Nel. At Uryū's questioning, Nel introduces herself as an Arrancar, to Ichigo's surprise, and Pesche and Dondochakka identify themselves as her older brothers prior to declaring Bawabawa is their pet, leading Ichigo to question if Arrancar can have families and pets. In turn, Nel calls him rude for assuming otherwise as Pesche and Dondochakka claim they decided to be Nel's older brothers after encountering her one day.

When Ichigo responds to Pesche and Dondochakka asserting that they did this because they were enamored by Nel's cuteness by bluntly stating that this does not make them a family, Nel, Pesche, and Dondochakka are left aghast by the implications of this, leading an unnerved Ichigo to concede that they are a family after all. Following this, Ichigo inquires about Nel, Pesche, and Dondochakka really being Arrancar, and when Nel reminds him of the cracked mask on her head, Ichigo clarifies that they are very different compared to the Arrancar he and his friends faced in the Human World, whom Nel informs him were actually Números.

Detailing how these are high-ranking Arrancar assigned a double-digit number who serve under the direct command of the Espada, making them expert fighters unlike herself, Pesche, and Dondochakka, who concur with this, Nel points out how Ichigo, Sado, and Uryū look even less like Arrancar than they do due to lacking masks and Ichigo wearing a black robe, which makes him look more like a Shinigami, but has a realization and begins trembling as she asks them about what they actually are, prompting Ichigo to identify himself as a Substitute Shinigami, Uryū to introduce himself as a Quincy, and Sado to note that he is just a Human.

Terrified by this, Nel, Pesche and Dondochakka frantically call them bad guys for being a Shinigami, Quincy, and Human, which leads Ichigo to question how she did not know what they were, and assumes that Ichigo is going to kill them, which Ichigo denies. After huddling with Pesche and Dondochakka, Nel asserts that they should exterminate the bad guys, though Pesche admits that he does not believe they can win here, and Dondochakka suggests that they invite Ichigo's group to a game of endless tag so they can defeat the latter while pretending that they are playing, which Nel concurs with as a good idea prior to grinning at an unnerved Ichigo.

As she turns to Ichigo, Nel tells him to play endless tag with them if he and his friends are not bad guys, to his confusion, before leaping at him, pulling Zangetsu off his back by the cloth wrapped around it, and running away with it while announcing that the game of eternal tag has begun and encouraging Ichigo to catch and punish her for this. An angered Ichigo begins running after Nel, only to be startled when Pesche and Dondochakka chase him in turn and promise to teach him a lesson. Watching this as Nel begins crying, Uryū observes that Ichigo got Zangetsu stolen fairly easily and Sado wonders if he wanted to play eternal tag.

Suddenly, Bawabawa bursts out of the sand behind Sado and Uryū, whom he begins pursuing after crashing down into them, leaving Sado and Uryū bewildered as they run behind Pesche and Dondochakka, who proclaim that the essence of eternal tag is more players making the game more fun, similar to janken, though Ichigo points out that the latter game does not necessarily follow this rule and complains about this not being fun. Upon seeing Nel trip over a tree root and fall onto the sand, Ichigo pulls her and Zangetsu off the sand and out of the way just before Pesche and Dondochakka trip over the same root and crash onto the ground.

With a surprised Sado and Uryū avoiding the root and springing off of Pesche and Dondochakka, Bawabawa rears up into the air and smashes down onto them, resulting in a massive cloud of sand filling the air while Ichigo emerges with Nel and observes that this was a close call. As Pesche and Dondochakka lie pinned underneath Bawabawa, Ichigo sets Nel down to begin dusting her off with his hands and inquires about whether she can stand up, and when Nel expresses disbelief at him saving her, Ichigo points out how she would have been crushed underneath Pesche and Dondochakka had he not and asks her if she is hurt, which a stunned Nel denies.

Smiling at this, Ichigo stands up and asserts that he, Sado, and Uryū have to get going prior to returning Zangetsu to his back and bidding her farewell while walking toward Sado and Uryū in the direction of Las Noches. However, Nel interrupts him by demanding to know if he is trying to run away after what he did to her and her friends, causing a startled Ichigo to sigh and explain that they are in too much of a hurry to stop and play with the Arrancar. In response, Nel begins crying loudly and claims that Ichigo should have killed her instead of toying with Nel's feelings, which leaves Ichigo confused about what is going on.

Suddenly, Runuganga promises to kill them instead, prompting Uryū to realize something is coming and assume a combat stance alongside Sado as Runuganga rises up from the sand in front of them. With a terrified Nel telling a bewildered Ichigo that this is the guardian of the white sand, Runuganga rebukes Nel, Pesche, and Dondochakka for helping the intruders he had just learned about and vows to turn them all into sand, but as Nel attempts to claim that this is not what it looks like, Ichigo tells her to move aside, notes that they cannot play around with him, and fires a Getsuga Tenshō at Runuganga, who is sliced vertically in half from the chest up.

Though Nel, Pesche, and Dondochakka accuse him of being a cheater for performing a surprise attack like this, Ichigo reminds them that he just save them and wonders where the surprise element was since he attacked Runuganga from the front. However, with Sado and Uryū warning Ichigo, Runuganga simply rejoins his split halves and proclaims that Ichigo attacking without warning or remorse is an even more heinous crime. Upon seeing Ichigo demand to know how Runuganga did this, Nel casually informs him that Runuganga is made of sand, prompting Ichigo to warn her that Runuganga is targeting her group as well and that they cannot just stand around.

When Runuganga throws a punch at him, Ichigo narrowly evades it by leaping aside just as it hits the sand, leading an annoyed Runuganga to swipe his hand across the desert and create a sandstorm that surges toward Ichigo, Sado, and Uryū, quickly pulling a screaming Nel into the air when she attempts to run away. After Ichigo grabs Nel's hand and pulls her back down to the ground, with the sandstorm dispersing shortly afterward, Runuganga promises to finish them all off at once and sweeps his arm through the air in front of him, resulting in three more sandstorms swirling up in front of him and moving toward Ichigo, Sado, Uryū, and Nel.

Though Ichigo disperses the middle sandstorm with another Getsuga Tenshō that destroys Runuganga's upper half, the latter quickly reforms from this and laughs while recreating the sandstorm and having all three move forward, forcing Ichigo and his friends to leap back. With Runuganga questioning if Ichigo believed he could win with such a weak attack, a cursing Ichigo is told by Sado and Uryū to wipe out Runuganga with a combined attack, which he agrees to. Ichigo, Sado, and Uryū proceed to fire a Getsuga Tenshō, Heilig Pfeil, and El Directo simultaneously at the three sandstorms, which are all dispersed.

Behind the sandstorm, a stunned Runuganga sees the three attacks hurtling toward him and groans in pain as they obliterate the upper half of his body, leaving the remainder to collapse into loose sand. Despite this, Ichigo, Sado, and Uryū are unsure of whether they actually killed Runuganga, and once Nel warns Ichigo that he is coming back, a massive antlion pit forms underneath Ichigo, Sado, Uryū, Nel, Pesche, Dondochakka, and Bawabawa, with Ichigo grabbing Nel's hand once again and telling her to not let go when she begins sinking into the sand. Nearby, Uryū notes that it seems impossible to escape and Sado admits there is no way to attack Runuganga.

Turned to by Ichigo for a weakness of Runuganga's, Nel is coerced when Ichigo points out how she is about to die and reveals that it is water, but Ichigo is left questioning where they will get that in a desert, with Nel affirming that this is why Runuganga is an invincible guardian. Rising up out of the sand again, a laughing Runuganga promises to swallow all of them with his mouth, which splits open to reach his chest and becomes lined with sharp fangs while he leans over to devour the group. Suddenly, Tsugi no mai, Hakuren sends a wave of icy air toward Runuganga and encases him in ice, causing him to fall over and shatter into dozens of pieces.

Shocked by this, Ichigo and his friends turn around to see Rukia Kuchiki and 6th Division Lieutenant Renji Abarai standing atop a nearby dune with desert cloaks over their shihakushō. Meanwhile, in the Seireitei, Captain-Commander Genryūsai Shigekuni Yamamoto, 6th Division Captain Byakuya Kuchiki, and 13th Division Captain Jūshirō Ukitake are informed by Riteitai of Rukia and Renji having disappeared from the barracks without any trace of their Reiatsu in the area. With the Onmitsukidō second squad patrol unit expanding its search to all of Soul Society, Yamamoto simply calls them foolish.

Back in Hueco Mundo, while Ichigo expresses disbelief at their arrival, Rukia and Renji leap off the dune to the sand near the edge of the pit, which Ichigo run over from as Nel Tu panics at the sight of more Shinigami. A smiling Ichigo runs over to Rukia and Renji while beginning to ask them why they are here, only to be interrupted when Rukia punches him upside the chin and tags in Renji, who punches a bewildered Ichigo in the side of the face, sending him crashing onto his back as Sado and Uryū express concern for him and Rukia demands to know why Ichigo left for Hueco Mundo instead of waiting for her and Renji to come back.

Ichigo admits that he was not sure if they were going to come back from Soul Society, but Rukia counters that they would have come no matter what it took and that this was their intention from the beginning before questioning if she and Renji are not Ichigo's friends whom he can trust. Surprised by this, Ichigo assures Rukia that they are and that she is right, leading a smiling Rukia to tell Ichigo to never make her ask that again, which Ichigo smiles at as he gets to his feet and wipes his face. Following this, Rukia turns her attention to a quaking Nel, Pesche, and Dondochakka, whom she wonders about the identifies of.

In response, Nel, Pesche, and Dondochakka introduce themselves and attempt to call their group by three different names simultaneously, to Ichigo's confusion, which causes them to argue among themselves about which name they should be using as a nonplussed Ichigo tells Rukia that this is what Hollows are like. When Bawabawa begins crying at this, Nel, Pesche, and Dondochakka realize that they have left him out and attempt to name their group once more, but do so in three different ways yet again, to Ichigo's exasperation. At Ichigo's behest, Rukia, Sado, Uryū, and Renji begin walking away from the pit and Nel's group toward Las Noches.

With Dondochakka wondering if this is alright, Nel calls out to Ichigo, who is irritated by her pronouncing his name incorrectly, and offers to guide the group to Las Noches. Shortly afterward, Bawabawa carries Ichigo, Rukia, Sado, Uryū, Renji, Nel, Pesche, and Dondochakka, with Nel sitting on Ichigo's lap and glaring at Rukia while the latter sits behind Ichigo and questions why she is doing this. Once Ichigo admits that he does not know, Nel demands to know what Rukia's relationship with Ichigo is, leaving Rukia bewildered as a grinning Renji comments on Ichigo's sudden popularity and an irritated Ichigo tells him to shut up.

Ichigo turns around and inquires about the cloaks Rukia and Renji are wearing and if they were on sale, prompting a slightly embarrassed Rukia to reveal that they were told to bring the cloaks due to the sandstorms in Hueco Mundo by Byakuya, leaving Ichigo, Sado, and Uryū completely shocked by the idea of Byakuya sending them to Hueco Mundo. Renji clarifies that Kisuke Urahara is the one who opened the Garganta for them prior to Rukia recounting Byakuya informing them that his orders were to bring them back and not to stop them from going again, which allowed them to do as they liked after coming back to Soul Society.

Though Ichigo is bemused by Byakuya mellowing out like this, Rukia adds that he wanted Ichigo to run around Hueco Mundo for a while and let the Arrancar deal with his nuisance, causing an aggravated Ichigo to punch Bawabawa's back in frustration. With Bawabawa writhing in pain at this and Uryū berating Ichigo for causing trouble as Nel begs him to pick on her instead, the group feels the surrounding area rumbling just before Runuganga rises up once more in front of Bawabawa.

Arrancar Encyclopedia
Gin Ichimaru announces that they will be discussing Arrancar transformations today and explains how Vasto Lordes are the only rank of Menos who will always become humanoid when they undergo Arrancarification, with many Adjuchas and Gillians being unable to take on a completely human form. When Nel Tu pops up next to him, Gin leans down and observes that she is completely humanoid, and when a flattered Nel acts embarrassed about him looking at her, Gin concludes that there are exceptions to this rule like her.

Events

 * Enter The Home of Hollows

Powers and Techniques Used
Zanpakutō Techniques:

Hollow Techniques:

Quincy Techniques:

Fullbring Techniques:

Zanpakutō released:

Shikai:

Spirit Weapons:

Fullbring:

Anime Notes
Removed Content= Added/Expanded Content= Censorship= Changes= Errors=
 * Ichigo Kurosaki questioning why Nel Tu is sitting on his lap.
 * Nel criticizing herself for not realizing Ichigo and his friends were not Arrancar since they want to go to Las Noches.
 * Ichigo turning to Yasutora Sado and Uryū Ishida for help against Runuganga, only for them to point out how they cannot actually damage the latter, as Nel tries to get Bawabawa to turn around.
 * Nel questioning where Ichigo is going when he runs over to Rukia Kuchiki and Renji Abarai.
 * Uryū telling Nel to stop calling Shinigami bad people.
 * Rukia telling Ichigo to get up so they can save Orihime Inoue.
 * Pesche Guatiche and Dondochakka Birstanne admitting that they are jealous of the Números serving under the Espada and concurring with Nel calling their group garbage bugs.
 * Pesche expressing shock at Uryū being a Quincy and Dondochakka expressing shock at Sado being a Human.
 * Nel berating Ichigo for not saying who he and his friends were earlier as Pesche and Dondochakka concur that this makes them bad people.
 * Pesche and Dondochakka agreeing that Ichigo is likely going to kill them.
 * Sado and Uryū being left confused and exasperated by the Arrancar assuming they are going to be killed.
 * Nel starting a game of eternal tag with Ichigo's group by stealing Zangetsu and running off with it, which results in everyone running after her until she trips over a tree branch, at which point Ichigo saves her from being crushed by Pesche and Dondochakka, proving that he is not going to kill the Arrancar, though Nel does not let him leave and admonishes him for playing with her feelings.
 * Ichigo, his friends, and the Arrancar all reacting to Runuganga making his presence known prior to his emergence.
 * Runuganga attacking Ichigo and summoning sandstorms that nearly suck up Nel, forcing Ichigo, Sado, and Uryū to disperse them all at once with simultaneous attacks that seemingly destroy Runuganga, only for the latter to survive.
 * Runuganga declaring that he will swallow up the invaders with his mouth and leaning over into the antlion pit to do so.
 * Ichigo confirming that he is not alright after Rukia and Renji punch him.
 * Ichigo attempting to begin walking to Las Noches with Rukia, Sado, Uryū, and Renji, only for Nel to stop him and declare that she will guide him to the palace.
 * Nel glaring jealously at Rukia over her relationship with Ichigo as Renji tells the latter that he is becoming popular.
 * Ichigo hitting Bawabawa in frustration, causing the latter to writhe in pain, just before Runuganga rises out of the sand in front of them.
 * Ichigo's face is much less bruised and bloodied after being punched by Rukia and Renji.
 * In the manga, everything from Nel discovering Ichigo is a Shinigami to the group's confrontation with Runuganga takes place with the group sitting or standing on Bawabawa's back; here, it instead takes place with the group standing on the sands of Hueco Mundo.
 * In the manga, Runuganga makes his presence known after emerging from the sand and by promising to kill the Arrancar if Ichigo will not; here, he instead does so prior to emerging from the sand and by promising to kill Ichigo and his friends.
 * In the manga, Runuganga names and identifies himself; here, Nel instead names and identifies Runuganga to Ichigo and his friends.
 * In the manga, Runuganga extends and widens his mouth immediately before forming the antlion pit; here, he instead does so afterward.
 * In the manga, Ichigo hears Rukia Kuchiki use Tsugi no mai, Hakuren and sees shards of ice floating past his face prior; here, he instead does not.
 * In the manga, Nel notices and is frightened by Rukia and Renji after they leap down from the sand dune; here, she instead does so before they leap down.
 * In the manga, Ichigo's discussion with Rukia about Nel's group occurs on Bawabawa's back as they are heading toward Las Noches and after Rukia reveals that Byakuya Kuchiki let her and Renji come to Hueco Mundo; here, it instead occurs while they are standing in the desert and before the latter conversation.
 * In the manga, Runuganga is killed by Tsugi no mai, Hakuren; here, he instead survives long enough to confront Ichigo's group once more.
 * In the recap section of the episode, the blue-tinted filter for the indoor hallway scenes of the underground building is missing from the shot of Ichigo, Sado, and Uryū breaking into Hueco Mundo.