Arrancar

An is a Hollow that has removed its mask and has gained Shinigami-like powers.

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

Arrancar are the result of Hollows removing their masks. However, an average Hollow removing their mask would not be a problem for the Gotei 13: to hold their own against the Gotei 13 the ones removing their masks would need to be Menos or stronger.

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

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

Arrancar and ordinary Hollows differ in several ways:


 * Humanoid Form: A Menos usually takes on a Human shape when it becomes an Arrancar. The only ones that will definitely get a 100% Humanoid form are Vasto Lorde-class Menos. For the remaining two levels, there are many who don't get a completely Humanoid form, despite becoming Arrancar. Therefore, the closer one looks to a Hollow, the lower its power of reasoning. All Arrancar retain a hole in them somewhere as well as fragments of their Hollow form (in the shape of protrusions and partial masks). Some Arrancar have claimed that they gave up their Human forms in order to obtain enormous power. While some Arrancar (e.g. Nnoitra Gilga and Tier Harribel) prefer to conceal the remnants of their past, others choose to hide their faces completely to escape unwanted attention. Most also have a colored marking of some sort on their face, although some only gain these markings upon the release of their Zanpakutō (Ex: Nnoitra, Szayelaporro, and Harribel). A few cases that include visible markings without the release of a Zanpakutō include Ulquiorra's tear marks, Sun-Sun's pink dots, the dashes under Grimmjow's eyes, the marking which runs across Nelliel's cheekbones and nose, and the marks on Yammy's cheek bones.


 * Physiology: Uryū Ishida theorized Arrancar share not only the powers of Shinigami, but also their anatomy. During his battle with Cirucci Sanderwicci he aimed for the area where the Chain of Fate would be located, and upon striking it Cirucci immediately lost not only her release form and mask fragment, but seemingly all traces of her former power.


 * Estigma: the pattern on an Arrancar's face. Potentially the remaining part of a mask. Unique to each individual. The pattern may appear when performing Resurrección for some Arrancar.


 * Hole: one of the most distinctive characteristics of an Arrancar is the hole in their body. It is said to represent the lack of souls that is difficult to fill.


 * Zanpakutō: The Arrancar seal the nuclei of their abilities within the form of a sword. It is entirely different from what Shinigami use. When they release their Zanpakutōs' seals, they unleash their true power and their true form. The combat efficiency of an Arrancar with a released Zanpakutō is increased several times over. Therefore, an Arrancar's release of their Zanpakutō is merely a temporary restoration to their former selves, granting them any powers their Hollow form possesses. The act of release is called Resurrección (Spanish for "Resurrection"), which is activated with a command phrase followed by the name of the sword. An Espada's Resurrección is claimed to be different from that of a normal Arrancar.

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

Personality Traits & Mindsets
While most of the Arrancar either develop or retain their own personality traits, the majority (not all) of Arrancar shown in the series appear to be similarly cold, cruel, ambitious, impatient, selfish, overconfident, ruthless, arrogant, impulsive, brutal, relentless, battle-hungry, overbearing, short-tempered, indifferent, and/or egotistical.

Not all Arrancar residing in Hueco Mundo are loyal to Aizen. They prefer not to interfere with his plans, presumably because of Aizen's immense amount of power and army of servants. It is for that reason many naturally evolved Arrancar felt it necessary to align themselves with him to obtain more power. While some Arrancar choose to follow Aizen in the hopes he will deliver them salvation, others ally with him purely out of respect. As Aisslinger Wernarr put it, Aizen is someone who is fearless, which creatures born out of fear and pain, such as Hollows, find admirable. Despite their pride, some Arrancar will side with a stronger force, such as the Vandenreich managed to recruit many Arrancar by force and even though being enslaved some Arrancar have shown to still be loyal to Sosuke Aizen.

Although Arrancar are Hollows who have gained Shinigami-like powers, most still refer to themselves as Hollows (such as Ulquiorra, Zommari, Grimmjow, etc.)  This is similar to how Ichigo Kurosaki still refers to himself as a Shinigami despite his steady evolution into a Visored.

Powers & Abilities
Like Shinigami, Arrancar have a multitude of combat skills and abilities, some of which are similar to those of the former, and some of which are variations on ordinary Hollow powers.


 * a technique of firing his hardened spiritual pressure against his enemies. Less powerful than a Cero, but it can be successively fired at 20 times the rate.


 * a powerful spiritual light fired by Menos Grandes and Arrancars.


 * A technique used by Espada-level Arrancar and sometimes others, to open a Garganta between the living world and Hueco Mundo.


 * An Arrancar's outer skin with high spiritual hardness that serves as armor.


 * An Arrancar ability to measure and locate spiritual pressure.


 * Releasing the core of an Arrancar's ability sealed in their Zanpakutō to regain the original powers of a Hollow. They often take on a form closer to a Hollow than a Human after performing Resurrección.


 * The Arrancar equivalent to a Shinigami's Shunpo.

Espada Equipment

 * A tool used by Espada to punish their subordinates. It traps its subject eternally in a closed dimension.

Trivia

 * In the English version, they do not refer to their ranks in Spanish numbers, but rather English numbers.