Ulquiorra Cifer

, originally romanized as Ulquiorra Schiffer or Shiffer, is Espada cuatro (4) in Aizen's army of Arrancar, and is one of the series' central antagonists. He is responsible for much of the conflict currently taking place in the show's continuity, as he is one of Ichigo's principal Arrancar rivals; the other differentially being Grimmjow Jaegerjaquez. In the most recent character popularity poll, he ranked 10th.

Appearance
Ulquiorra is a slender, yet fairly muscular, male Arrancar of average height with a melancholic appearance, fairly short, messy black hair, grayish skin, a black upper lip, and green eyes with slit-shaped pupils similar to a cat's. One of his bangs falls between his eyes, somewhat similar to Rukia Kuchiki, and he has distinctively thick eyebrows. He has teal lines that descend from his eyes, making it appear as if he is crying. His facial expression rarely changes, and he is almost always frowning. He wears typical Arrancar clothes: a white jacket, black sash, and a white hakama. However, his jacket seems to have longer coattails than others, and the collar is rather high.

Like most other Arrancar, he possesses remnants of his former life as a Hollow in his appearance. His Hollow hole is located on his sternum where a heart would normally be (though initially, the hole was located on the base of his throat; a change that was seen in both the manga and anime). The remainder of his Hollow mask lies on top of his head, forming a broken helmet. He is the fourth-ranked Espada, signified by the tattoo on the left side of his chest.

Personality
Ulquiorra is a very cold, callous, dispassionate figure, and is rather aloof, brooding, and indifferent, willing to harm both his comrades and enemies should they ever get in his way. He refers to anyone he does not find interesting as "trash" and treats them as expendable. Despite this, he is not particularly violent, unlike most of his Espada comrades, and will only fight when provoked or ordered to by Aizen.

Ulquiorra has a strange habit of killing victims he is particularly interested in by stabbing them with his bare hand in the same location as his hollow hole. Whether he is consciously aware of this habit or not is unknown. During a speech to Orihime, he claims he cannot believe in human emotions, which he refers to as the "heart", reasoning that if his eye cannot see them, then they do not exist. These words, and much of Ulquiorra's overall behavior, can lead one to assume that he is a firm believer in the concept of materialism, which also connects to his aspect of death as an Espada, nihilism. It would appear that as a result of his isolated life as a hollow, Ulquiorra does not understand feelings and emotions as well as empathetic characters like Orihime tend to. His overall behavior towards his allies and enemies, as well as his apparently self-inflicted habit of stabbing people in the chest, may symbolize that fact. In the last seconds of his life, he seemed to have finally found his own "heart" and understand feelings.

His cold demeanor allows him to stay completely calm and in control in most situations, and he is not easy surprised or caught off-guard. However, he does not seem to comprehend the human trait of fighting against all odds or the very concept of a human heart/emotions; during his latest battle with Ichigo, he completely overwhelms the Shinigami after releasing his Zanpakutō, yet Ichigo continues to fight on regardless. This briefly causes him to lose his cool, causing him to shout at Ichigo out of frustration that "to continue fighting is pointless". He then transforms into his Segunda Etapa form in an attempt to show him "true despair". He also seems to contradict himself, telling Ichigo that it's natural for humans to mimic hollow to become stronger, but they will never be the equal of hollows, though the Arrancar are doing much of the same by imitating Shinigami.

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

Ulquiorra seems to be demanding as well, such as when he came to Orihime's chamber and ordered her to eat a meal an Arrancar servant brought in, claiming that, for Aizen's benefit, it was her "duty" to stay alive. When Orihime hesitated, he threatened to force the food down her throat, or strap her to a table and feed her via an IV. This also implies that, while he prefers not to dirty his hands, Ulquiorra is fully capable of committing truly abhorrent and inhumane actions without feeling any shred of remorse or hesitation.

After Ichigo's hollow form overwhelms and strikes him down during his last battle, Ulquiorra still maintains his composure and calmly berates himself for being defeated by a "human-turned-hollow". Believing that he no longer has a purpose in life, now that he was quickly defeated by his opponent, he then demands that Ichigo kill him, and compliments Ichigo when he decides to use a point-blank Cero to kill his opponent, claiming that the lack of mercy was "rather Hollow-like". This is a marked departure from most of his fellow Arrancar, who mostly died cursing their enemies or with an abject fear of death.

Arrancar arc
Ulquiorra first appears alongside Yammy Riyalgo 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) to Karakura Town 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, which at the same time made it appear as she betrayed of her own free will.

Hueco Mundo arc
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 heavily wounded, suggesting to him that he retreat if able. After discovering that Grimmjow has taken Orihime, Ulquiorra tracks them down and engages in a short battle with Grimmjow, ending with him using a portable Negación field to temporarily trap Ulquiorra. He later escapes and is left in charge of Las Noches, and awaits the arrival of Ichigo Kurosaki.

While waiting, he questions Orihime if she feels any fear in knowing that she will die alone. She boldly answers no, and states she has confidence in her friends and Ichigo, and that she is not fearful because her heart is with them. Ulquiorra, unable to understand how she can harbor such feelings, presses her further. 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, prepared to fight. Ulquiorra unsheathes his sword to kill Ichigo, in order to protect Las Noches.

Fake Karakura Town arc
As their battle continues, Ulquiorra shoots his Cero at Ichigo, although he manages to withstand it. Ulquiorra then notes that Ichigo has gotten stronger, and asks him if it is because he has defeated Grimmjow, because he is trying to save Orihime, or because his friends are fighting down below them. Ulquiorra states that it doesn't matter either way because Orihime is already one of "us" and nothing can change that. Ichigo replies that it isn't up for Ulquiorra to decide. After saying that, Ulquiorra finishes with saying that it was Aizen's decision. As the two continued to fight, Ichigo gained the ability to to read Ulquiorra's movements, stating that either he was becoming more human in Ichigo's eyes or he himself (Ichigo) was becoming more Hollow. In response, Ulquiorra stepped up his tactics, but he was stopped by Orihime's shield. He then questions her why she did not protect Ichigo when he started fighting him to begin with. Then he is able to get the hang of Ichigo's Bankai as they continue fighting. When Ichigo was about to attack Loly and Menoly, who have grabbed Orihime while she stood back from the fight and threaten to pluck out her left eye if he advances on them, Ulquiorra intercepts Ichigo and misdirects his Getsuga Tenshō. However, he tells Loly not to get the wrong idea about his actions and that he isn't helping her. He then continues blocking Ichigo's way to Orihime while monitoring the situation behind him and tells Ichigo that he will have to kill him in order to fight anyone else. Then he notices Yammy coming through the doors that Loly and Menoly entered from. During the lull in the fighting his entrance creates, Yammy states that he's there to help him. Ulquiorra replies he didn't ask for his help, and he notices Yammy has recovered fully. Ulquiorra tells him his job is elsewhere, and then suggests he should go back to sleep or fight the other Captains that are nearby, but Yammy refuses. When questioned by Yammy about why the females are there, Ulquiorra simply tells him to ask them, turning around to engage Ichigo once more and block his path to Orihime.

When Yammy defeats Menoly and Loly, he asks Ulquiorra if he is allowed to kill Orihime next, but Uryū Ishida arrives and uses a special landmine developed by Mayuri Kurotsuchi to critically injure Yammy. After he falls to the bottom of Las Noches, Ichigo finally dons his Hollow mask and he proves to be completely resistant to Ulquiorra's attacks, even managing to begin cracking his blade. Ulquiorra heads to the top of the dome of Las Noches and Ichigo follows him. As Ichigo notices their location, Ulquiorra explains to him that there are two things forbidden within Las Noches: the first is using the Espada's Gran Rey Cero, and the second is any of the Espada of four or above releasing their Zanpakutō, as either has the potential power to destroy the fortress. He then proceeds to release his own Zanpakutō with the command "Bind," followed by "Murciélago."

After going into his released state, Ulquiorra warns Ichigo to stay focused and alert before using Sonído and attacking him with a spiked weapon. Ichigo defends himself with a Getsuga Tenshō reflexively, yet the upper-right portion of his mask is destroyed. Ulquiorra notices the reflex and says that if Ichigo had not done so, then his head would be lying at his feet. In his released form, Ulquiorra can easily keep up with Ichigo and goads him into using his Getsuga Tenshō. Angered, Ichigo releases the attack, but Ulquiorra is completely unharmed. The Cuatro Espada mentions that Ichigo's Getsuga Tenshō is similar to his Cero. When Ichigo disagrees, Ulquiorra notes that he hasn't yet seen it, and demonstrates the Espada's fully powered Cero Oscuras. The Black Cero critically injures Ichigo and completely destroys his mask. Ulquiorra tries to force Ichigo to give up, believing he's successfully proven himself to be vastly stronger. When Ichigo tries to use Getsuga in defiance, Ulquiorra loses his calm and slices him with his spiked weapon, saying it's useless for Ichigo to keep trying. Ichigo declares he always knew Ulquiorra was strong, but will still defeat him regardless. Hearing this, Ulquiorra decides to show Ichigo true despair by transforming into his second release form.

Ulquiorra explains to the stunned Ichigo that only he among the Espada has a second release form, which even Aizen hasn't witnessed. Ichigo still attempts to fight showing no fear, and tries to defend himself from attacks, but is overwhelmed by Ulquiorra's speed. Ulquiorra expresses his inability to understand Ichigo's resolve, believing it is a Human's "heart", which causes them pain and will result in their deaths. When Ichigo explains he has no choice but to win the fight, Ulquiorra calls him a fool. Orihime arrives to the top of the dome just in time to see Ulquiorra send a Black Cero through Ichigo's chest.

After dropping Ichigo's limp body, Orihime attempts to heal him, but Ulquiorra blocks her path, stating that her powers are not enough to bring Ichigo back to life. Uryū fires an arrow at him, but Ulquiorra easily deflects it with his wing. Even a volley of arrows proves ineffective, and Ulquiorra expresses that he believed Uryū to be the most calm of Ichigo's friends. Uryū states that he is calm, which is why he is able to fight him. As Orihime's attempt to heal Ichigo fails, Ulquiorra manages to sever Uryū's left hand. Despite this, Uryū tries to fight the Espada, but is quickly defeated. Orihime, not knowing what to do, begins to panic and screams for Ichigo to help. Ichigo's arm begins to move and his hair begins to grow longer.

Ichigo stands, appearing entirely different wearing a new Hollow mask with long horns. Shocked at his enemy's unexpected revival, and believing Ichigo to be dead, Ulquiorra demands to know who he is. Ichigo summons his sword to his hand without touching it and answers with a roar. Believing words are useless, Ulquiorra fires a Cero Oscuras. To his surprise, Ichigo fires a Cero powerful enough to counter it. Ulquiorra refuses to believe a human could release a Cero, especially one capable of blowing away his own. Ichigo appears behind him and effortlessly cuts off the Espada's left arm; coincidentally, it's the same arm that Ulquiorra took from Uryū. He quickly regenerates the arm, and states he is the only Arrancar capable of instantly regenerating any non-vital body part, as all others would rather have greater strength. He resorts to using Lanza del Relámpago, a powerful spear made of energy. Ulquiorra tells Ichigo to stay right where he is, because he doesn't want to risk using it at close range. The attack misses, creating a massive explosion in the desert and causing Ulquiorra to state to himself that it is a difficult technique to control. Once a second spear is prepared, Ichigo appears right beside him, startling Ulquiorra because he used the Hollow equivalent to Shunpo, Sonído. Ichigo throws the detached arm at him, but Ulquiorra slashes it away and thrusts the spear. Ichigo catches it with a single hand and breaks it. Ulquiorra is left dumbfounded, allowing Ichigo to slice him down the torso and slam him to the ground. Ulquiorra states he can't believe he was defeated by a human turned Hollow. Ichigo steps on Ulquiorra's head and begins charging a Cero. Ulquiorra comments on how Ichigo shows no mercy, something very Hollow-like, but because Ichigo has beaten him he has no reason to live. Ichigo releases the Cero, creating a vast and powerful explosion on the dome of Las Noches.

He barely survives, but his left arm, both legs and lower torso was blown away in the blast. Ichigo tosses his tattered body aside and prepares to impale his throat with his sword. Uryū stops him, stating Ichigo will no longer be human if he goes through with such a merciless finish. Ichigo stabs Uryū in retaliation, revealing that while he can no longer tell friend from foe, his only intention is to protect Orihime. Just as he is about to attack Uryū with a Cero, Ulquiorra, having partially regenerated, severs one of Ichigo's horns, causing his Cero to disperse skyward. The explosion shatters Ichigo's mask and he collapses to the ground. As his body and leg begins to regenerate, Ulquiorra thinks to himself that it is merely a front, as his internal organs were decimated from Ichigo's Cero and can't regenerate. Even so, he believes Ichigo is finally dead. However, the hole in his chest completely repairs itself and Ichigo awakes, shocking Ulquiorra with his ability to use high-speed regeneration. He removes Zangetsu from Uryū's chest and throws it to the newly-awoken Ichigo and demands for the fight to finish.

Ichigo refuses, stating his arm and leg should be cut off too for the fight to be fair, as it was his Inner Hollow who interfered. Ulquiorra prepares to cut off his arm and leg, but his body begins to dissolve into ash and he realizes he is finished. He tells Ichigo to kill him now, but Ichigo again refuses. Ulquiorra woefully exclaims Ichigo never does what he wants, and he admits that his interest in humans has increased. He takes one final glance at Orihime and asks her if she is frightened of him. With a saddened expression, she tells him she isn't afraid. In his final thoughts, Ulquiorra ponders what a heart is. The Cuatro Espada reaches out to Orihime with his hand, but before Orihime can grab hold of it his own hand begins to dissolve into ash. From her gesture he finally realizes what a heart is, believing that there in his disintegrated hand is a heart as he dies. Ulquiorra fades entirely into the wind.

Powers & Abilities
Master Swordsmanship Specialist: He appears to be highly skilled in swordsmanship, being able to fight on-par with Ichigo and even slice through his Getsuga Tenshō. Ulquiorra prefers to wield his sword with his right hand, leaving the other hand free though it usually remains in his pocket. He is quite adept at blocking while his offense is capable of great precision. He was able to fend off Ichigo using his Hollow mask-enhanced Bankai long enough to reach the top of Las Noches, though his Zanpakutō was nearly broken.

Master Hand-to-Hand Combatant: Ulquiorra has shown to rely mostly on hand-to-hand combat, rarely drawing his sword at all. Ichigo speculates that he only draws his sword against opponents he considers "worthy". Ulquiorra also seems to prefer applying an 'off-the-ground' method of combat, often being seen attacking opponents from aerial standpoints, such as when he attempted to use his Cero on an offending Grimmjow by attacking him from the air above his head, or when he jumped upwards with a Sonído in an attempt to catch Ichigo off guard during their most recent confrontation.

Sonído Master: One of Ulquiorra's more noticeable traits is his tremendously skillful speed. He has demonstrated the ability to catch up with Ichigo after kicking him from a tower in a few moments. He has also shown the ability to skillfully keep up with Ichigo's Bankai speed. In addition, his superior experience allows him to push Ichigo's reflexes to the limit.

Keen Intellect: In addition to his remarkable combat prowess, Ulquiorra is also gifted with great insight and understanding to situations at hand. His intelligence is such that even Aizen, a man arguably best-known for his intellect, has respect for as he sent Ulquiorra to investigate Ichigo's power and threat level. With his calm and collected nature, Ulquiorra has can be highly perceptive and analytical, allowing him to easily deduce the basic idea of his opponent's skills to figure out its strengths and weakness.

Cero: Ulquiorra has been shown using Cero from his fingers with very destructive power. His Cero can be charged and fired relatively fast and is a green color instead of red, which is the most common color of a Cero. He is shown able to fire it from either hand.

Bala: This technique hardens the user's spiritual pressure and fires it like a bullet from their fist. Ulquiorra has a red Bala, as seen in the kidnapping of Orihime.

''': refers to the hardened skin of the Arrancar, which is a result of their compressed spiritual power. While not openly stated, it has been seen repeatedly that Ulquiorra's skin is highly durable even by Arrancar standards. He can deflect attacks of similar power barehanded. He is able to fight Ichigo in his Hollow form without unsheathing his sword, rendering Ichigo defenseless with two attacks and not sustaining injuries of any kind. The best example of his Hierro's might was shown from his ability to take a direct slash from Ichigo's Tensa Zangetsu with only a minor cut on his chest, while his fellow Espada Yammy lost an arm from the said opponent. Also, in his released form, Ulquiorra's Hierro appears to be even stronger, as Ichigo's strongest attacks seem to have no effect on him.

Enhanced Pesquisa: The Arrancar ability to sense spiritual energy. While any Arrancar can learn it, Ulquiorra has shown impressive skill with it. From a single glance at his opponent, Ulquiorra can immediately determine how powerful his opponent is. He is also able to comprehend the flow and concentration of the person's energy as shown from his ability to instantly notice Ichigo's energy was fluctuating due to his inner Hollow.

Enhanced Strength: Ulquiorra has proven to be deceptively mighty for his build. He has shown the ability to physically discipline Yammy, an Espada known primarily for his strength, with no visible effort or upturn huge portions of rock floor with a single strike at the ground. He has also shown the ability to kick Ichigo a tremendous distance with one strong kick.


 * Garganta is how Arrancar move to and from Hueco Mundo. Ulquiorra has the ability to use the technique. It literally tears open the dimensional fabric separating the worlds, revealing a tunnel of whirling, torrential energy that must be focused and solidified to create a discernible pathway. In the video games, Ulquiorra uses this technique to generate make-shift vortexes to draw opponents in, as well as teleport from place to place.[[Image:Ulquiorra_using_garganta.jpg|thumb|Ulquiorra using Garganta]]


 * Garganta Broadcast: Ulquiorra has been shown able to create a visual broadcast, similar to a television screen, using individual Garganta portals. He does this in order to show the current predicament of Orihime's friends (Ichigo, Hitsugaya and Matsumoto) fighting their respective battles, stating he could kill them if she says anything other than "yes". It is unknown if he could create as many as desired, or if three broadcasts are his limit.

Enhanced Vision: According to Ulquiorra, his eyes have the power to see through any illusion or deception; to basically see and understand anything in his sight. He even goes as far as saying he can only not see what doesn't exist.


 * Instant Replay: Ulquiorra has the unusual ability to replay events he has seen to others by removing and crushing an 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. In manga after using this technique Ulquiorra keeps the empty eye cavity open, but In anime due to censorship Ulquiorra keeps his eye closed.

High-Speed Regeneration: Despite having great attack power and speed, Ulquiorra's greatest strength is his regenerative power. It is first witnessed after he removed and crushed one of his eyes, then he is seen with two eyes again in his next appearance, and Yammy comments on it to that effect. This is displayed once more in his battle against Ichigo's evolved Hollow form where he regenerates the arm that was torn off. Ulquiorra states that it is his greatest power, one which most Arrancar give up in return for greater strength. He explains that he can quickly regenerate any part of his body except for his brain and Internal organs. However, this power also requires that he had sufficient spiritual energy.

Immense Spiritual Power: His spiritual power is immensely high, comparing his own spiritual power to the likes of Ichigo. As he one of the top four Espada, he is forbidden to release his Zanpakutō within Las Noches. That is because they are too powerful and such a release would cause great damage to the fortress. During his first meeting with Ichigo, he compared his levels to that of Ichigo, a Shinigami with exceedingly high spiritual energy, and he comments that the Shinigami's energy at its peak is higher than his own but fluctuates.

Zanpakutō
. Ulquiorra's Zanpakutō takes the form of a standard sized katana with a green handle and sheath. The guard has two curved extensions from its long sides, with a line going through both sides to give it an eye-like appearance.


 * Resurrección: - Its release command is . Murciélago unleashes with a burst of spiritual energy that falls around Ulquiorra as black rain. In his released state, Ulquiorra becomes bat-like in appearance. He gains giant wings on his back, his hair becomes longer and wilder on the left side of his head, and the remains of his Hollow mask centers atop his head, with two large horns extending outward to the sides towards the front. The lines on his face become broader and more triangular and his fingernails lengthen. His Arrancar attire becomes more form fitting and closed at the top, becoming more like a robe towards the bottom. In this form, he uses an energy spear instead of a sword.


 * Resurrección Special Ability: He is shown to have the ability to create elongated spike-like javelins. His speed and endurance is greatly enhanced to the point that Ichigo's hollow mask-enhanced Bankai has difficulty keeping up, let alone damaging him. His Hierro has also vastly increased in strength to the point where a Getsuga Tenshō with Ichigo's mask activated has no effect at all. Ulquiorra also has the unique ability to enter a second released form, called Resurrección Segunda Etapa.


 * It is a black Cero, which Ulquiorra states to be similar to Ichigo's black Getsuga Tenshō. This Cero presumably can only be used while he is in his release state. Ulquiorra's Cero Oscuras is powerful enough to blast Ichigo's mask away and destroy a large part of the city-sized Las Noches' dome. Ulquiorra refers to it as "my Cero", so it may be exclusive to him.


 * Upon his transformation, Ulquiorra boasts that he is the only Arrancar among the Espada who has achieved a second Resurrección form, which supposedly has remained a secret from Aizen. Ulquiorra refers to his second state as "True Despair", both before and after its release, likely because the immensely dense spiritual pressure it releases instills despair upon those around him. While he retains his black wings, his long white coat is gone, revealing a more defined musculature with his chest bare and Hollow hole (which has become larger) dripping black, blood-like liquid. His waist becomes covered in something similar to black fur, which also covers his arms and legs. His fingers grow claw-like extensions and his feet become like talons. His irises of his eyes turn yellow while the sclera becomes green. The tear-like marks under his eyes increase and turn black. Ulquiorra's mask remains turn into two long horns, and the #4 Espada tattoo is no longer visible on his chest. He grows a very long and thin but powerful tail which is capable of being used as a weapon or to lift and strangle a victim.


 * Overwhelming Spiritual Power: Ulquiorra's already vast spiritual power is significantly increased furthermore upon entering his second stage. Even being within the vicinity of his release instills despair on those who can sense it. Uryū Ishida, a Quincy who is an expert at sensing reiatsu, noted that the density of Ulquiorra's spiritual power was so vast that it could hardly be identified as reiatsu. "It's like no spiritual energy I've ever felt before...It's not just bigger or stronger. It's too dense and heavy to even be called spiritual energy. It feels like there's an ocean above the sky..." It is likely the second release increases Ulquiorra's speed and strength.


 * Ulquiorra creates a javelin-like weapon using his spiritual power, which he can use as a projectile or as a physical weapon. When thrown, it produces an incredibly-destructive explosion on impact, which dwarfs the fortress of Las Noches in height. Ulquiorra prefers to not use the attack at close range, most likely because the resulting blast would damage himself as well as Las Noches. While he can use these spears in rapid succession, he has difficulty controlling their trajectory. Ulquiorra is also able to use this attack as a blade, which disintegrates material upon impact; as seen when he struck away his own amputated arm, that Hollow Ichigo had just thrown at him. The spear can also be quite effective at cutting, as seen when he used it to sever one of Hollow Ichigo's horns to prevent him from using a Cero on Uryū.

Sōsuke Aizen
He is quite loyal and obedient to Aizen, fulfilling all of his orders without question. However, it can be noted that he has occasionally been seen disobeying Aizen's orders in favor of his own, personal curiosities, such as when he purposely sought out Orihime Inoue to question her about human emotions. It was revealed that Ulquiorra had been keeping his Segunda Etapa a secret from Aizen, stating that, "Not even Aizen has seen me (Ulquiorra) like this". His belief that humans can never be the equals of hollows, even with hollow powers, seems to be at odds with Aizen's desire to obtain hollow powers to surpass the limits of his Shinigami abilities.

Ichigo Kurosaki
Initially, he referred to Ichigo as "trash" and considered him unworthy of being killed, mostly because he believed that his unstable spiritual pressure would eventually destroy him in the long run. The first time they fought in Hueco Mundo, Ulquiorra was able to provoke and in turn, defeat him at full power without even unsheathing his blade; he also impaled Ichigo's chest with his hand, leaving a hole resembling his own Hollow hole. Grimmjow stated he only does this to prey he finds particularly interesting. In their second fight, Ulquiorra acknowledged Ichigo as an opponent worthy of killing, finally unsheathing his blade. Later, when Yammy interrupts their fight, Ulquiorra repeatedly reminds Ichigo that if he wants to fight anybody else, he would have to kill him first. Presumably, Ulquiorra's ulterior motive was to draw out Ichigo's full potential, but this seems to have backfired on him.

Grimmjow Jaegerjaquez
It would appear that he is not on good terms with Grimmjow, having challenged Grimmjow's ideals several times. Ulquiorra makes small observations to insult Grimmjow some of which fly past Grimmjow. Grimmjow believes that he is stronger than Ulquiorra and is eager to prove this. He and Grimmjow have conflicting personalities, the probable cause of their bad relationship.

Orihime Inoue
He was placed in charge of abducting Orihime, and subsequently, taking care of her well-being until she was needed by Aizen for her powers. His relationship with her appears to be limited to the task of bringing her food and occasionally informing her of her friends' struggles throughout Las Noches. He refers to Orihime as, both in thought and conversation. It can be noted that Ulquiorra seems rather intrigued by the concept of the 'human heart', questioning her about how she is so easily able to wear her emotions on her sleeves. During their most recent fight, Ichigo mentions Ulquiorra may have 'become more human'. This could signify Orihime's empathic personality affecting Ulquiorra's own emotional capacity. This is further highlighted when, at the brink of death, he reaches out to Orihime and asks her if she's afraid of him. She responds in the negative, and reaches out to touch his hand just before he disintegrates into dust. Through his bond with Orihime, Ulquiorra finally realizes what a heart is, even refuting his earlier materialistic arguments by remarking that he has it in his hand.

Yammy Riyalgo
He treats Yammy as an inferior and seems to have the weaker Espada's respect. Because of this, their relationship seems to resemble that of an Espada and his Fracción. This is evident throughout their various conversations, which often consist of Ulquiorra ridiculing Yammy. At one point, Ulquiorra even resorted to using violence to get Yammy's attention. During Ulquiorra's second fight with Ichigo, Yammy attempts to help him, although Ulquiorra coldly refuses. He is stunned and disappointed when Ulquiorra dies, though more from surprise that he was beaten and annoyance that he didn't get to help in the fight rather than concern. Ironically, Yammy later tells Ichigo that Ulquiorra, along with the other Espada Ichigo had fought, was "trash" compared to his own released form.

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, Bleach: Heat the Soul 4, Bleach: Heat the Soul 5, and Bleach: Heat the Soul 6 installments of the Bleach: Heat the Soul series for the PlayStation Portable. However his skills are changed and related to minor Hollows, because the HTS franchise doesn't follow the manga, so Ulquiorra's Resurrección didn't make it in the latest game. He also appears in the Wii fighting game Bleach: Shattered Blade and is also playable in the recent Bleach: Versus Crusade which he remains unchanged from the prequel. He has a cameo and artwork in "Bleach: Dark Souls" and is featured in the Bleach DS game Bleach: The 3rd Phantom..

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 voted the 10th most popular character in a Bleach poll after receiving 3751 votes.


 * His theme song, as chosen by Tite Kubo, is "Moonshield," on the album "The Jester Race" by the group "In Flames."


 * Ulquiorra, along with fellow Espada Grimmjow Jaegerjaquez, was one of the first Arrancar featured in a video game before premiering in the English dubbed version of the anime. He is also portrayed with a different voice in the anime.


 * Ulquiorra's aspect of death is Nihilism.


 * Ulquiorra's first appearance in the manga was considerably different from his later appearances in the manga and the anime. He was depicted with thinner eyelashes, a lack of black borders on his coat, and a longer Hollow mask remnant with a notable crack and shorter hair. He was also more prone to making facial expressions, conflicting with his melancholy demeanor.


 * Ulquiorra appears to have dark-colored nails in the manga, but in the anime, they appear to be normal-colored.


 * He and Grimmjow are the only Arrancar so far to be featured in their released form on a Bleach manga volume cover.

Quotes

 * "Even if you rise up a thousand times, your side will never achieve victory."
 * (To Orihime) "You humans are always talking about hearts. It’s as if you have them in your hand. But my eye sees everything. Nothing can escape it. What it doesn’t see doesn’t exist. That’s how I’ve always fought. What is a heart? If I rip open your chest, will I find it there? If I crack open your skull, will I find it there?" 
 * (To Ichigo) "At the very least, I see you as someone who must be destroyed."
 * "That's right. Espadas above cuatro... are forbidden to unleash their power within the dome."
 * (To Ichigo after releasing) "Don't tremble. Don't break your stance. Stay aware of your surroundings. Don't let your guard down for an instant."
 * (To Ichigo before entering the Segunda Etapa) "If you don’t know, then I will show you. This is the true form of despair."
 * "No matter how much you look like an Hollow or how similar your moves are, the difference between us is like night and day. It's natural that Humans and Shinigami should imitate Hollows in order to grow more powerful. But Humans will never be the equals of Hollows."
 * "...If that's because of what you call a heart, then it is the heart that causes you Humans pain. It is because of your heart that you will die."
 * (To Uryū) "I'm shocked. Of all of Ichigo Kurosaki's friends, I thought you were the calm one."

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