Baraggan Louisenbairn

is an Arrancar in Sōsuke Aizen's army and is the segunda (2nd) Espada.

Appearance
Barragan is an elderly Arrancar with a large white mustache and white hair. His Hollow hole is not visible but the remnants of his mask takes the form of a five pointed crown just above his forehead. His face is lined by large scars on the left side of his chin and across his right eye. Despite his aged appearance, Barragan is quite stocky and muscular, especially when compared to the other Espada, and when standing (albeit when an elderly person's slouch) is about as tall as General Yamamoto of the Gotei 13, making him the Espada's shortest member.

He wears a regal white leather coat with fur lining, short sleeves and three fur stripes running along the bottom. He also wears an armband on both his wrists and a belt which consists of three thick chains attached to a large metal disk with a sun emblem. His overall appearance is like that of a barbarian, more close to a Viking due to his zanpakutō's appearance and his scar, which is like the Viking god Odin, aside from the fact that Odin sacrificed his left eye not his right. Although Stark indirectly confirms his status as the second most powerful Espada, the location of his Espada tattoo is currently unknown.

Personality
Barragan Luisenbarn has a serious, cold, boastful, arrogant, overconfident, overly proud personality and he doesn't hesitate to impose his authority over others, as shown when he takes the role of leader from Aizen after the latter was 'decommissioned', even going as far as openly challenging two other powerful Espadas (including one higher in rank than himself) to disagree. Barragan refers to Aizen as "the Boss" and his opponents as "ants"; his Fracción, on the other hand, refer to him as "his majesty". Like a "king", he doesn't bring his Zanpakutō with himself - his Fracción take care of it, as well as of his throne. He's also able to analyze situations quickly and calmly, such as finding the four pillars making the fake Karakura Town.

Hueco Mundo arc
He first appears during Aizen's meeting with the Espada about Ichigo Kurosaki, Yasutora Sado and Uryu Ishida entering Hueco Mundo to save Orihime Inoue. He sits between Yammy Rialgo and Szayel Aporro Granz and complains about the intruders along with Aaroniero Arruruerie, Yammy, Szayel and Nnoitra Jiruga.

After Aaroniero is killed in battle by Rukia Kuchiki, he gives an angry remark about the deceased Espada for "dying such a pathetic death."

Fake Karakura Town arc


After Aizen travels to destroy Karakura Town he is met with resistance by the Gotei 13 Captains currently not in Hueco Mundo. Aizen then summons Barragan and his Fracción along with the other two strongest Espada and their Fracción to do battle with the Gotei 13. Once Aizen, Gin, and Tōsen are trapped in Yamamoto's Shikai, he himself decides to give all orders despite only being the Second Espada. His Fracción Choe Neng Poww, Ggio Vega and Avirama Redder, then pull out a throne for him to sit upon as he decisively finds the four pillars that are keeping the real Karakura Town in Soul Society. He then orders his Fracción Findor Carias to send Hollows to destroy them, but the Hollows however are killed by Ikkaku Madarame, Yumichika Ayasegawa, Izuru Kira, and Shūhei Hisagi who are protecting the pillars. In response, he then sends four members of his Fracción, Poww, Cuuhlhourne, Avirama, and Findor, to a different pillar stating that if they are going to guard them using ants he'll just have to send dragons to crush them.

In the ensuing battles, one by one, three of his Fracción are defeated and killed. His Fracción Poww is able to destroy one of the pillars after he defeated Ikkaku, but with the intervention of Captain Sajin Komamura he is also killed and the damage to the tower is temporarily repaired. Barragan, furious at having lost over half of his Fracción, prepares to take action himself but is persuaded otherwise by Ggio Vega, one of his two remaining Fracción, who pleads with him to leave the Shinigami to him and his other Fracción. Barragan agrees and gives them a pre-battle pep talk before they engage Soifon and Marechiyo Ōmaeda but ultimately both are also killed. He then rises from his throne, ready to engage both Soifon and Ōmaeda in battle.



During the battle, Soifon and Ōmaeda are seen worn out from their fight against Barragan. He comments on how even their combined efforts have failed to budge him. Ōmaeda believed they were having so much trouble because their limiters were still active, but Soifon tells him they are already at full strength. Disappointed, Barragan draws out his zanpakutō from his throne, a massive battle axe. Soifon tries to attack him, but before her kick connects his head, her leg is slowed down. Barragan grabs her foot and throws her away. As Soifon recovers from the throw, she tries to analyze just what Barragan's ability is. Seeing the confused look on Soifon, Barragan tells her that each of the Espadas has an aspects of death, and that his aspect is "time". He then demonstrates his powers by "aging" the bones in Soifon's left arm, breaking them in the process. He then releases his zanpakutō, intent on quickly finishing the battle.

Soifon is terrified upon seeing Barragan's new form, a skeletal king. As he walks, his presence affects the building he steps on, aging them and causing their structure to crumble. Barragan stretches his fleshless arm towards Soifon. She screams at Ōmaeda to retreat, as he is no match for this enemy. The Espada snarkily remarks she isn't much of a match for him either. He unleashes his attack at her, "Respira", a mist which decays anything it touches. Even as she is running away, Soifon's broken arm is touched by the mist and quickly begins to rot away to the bone. In a panic, she demands Ōmaeda to cut her affected arm off to stop the affliction from spreading further. After Ōmaeda severs her arm, Barragan taunts her, saying how comical it is that a Shinigami, a god of death, can also fear death. As Ōmaeda is still at a shock at how powerful Barragan is, Soifon suddenly gets his attention by telling him that she will need him to act as decoy. He tells his captain that it's impossible, but Barragan then rushes at him. Ōmaeda then runs for his life as Soifon waits for her plan to be executed. As the pursuit continues, Ōmaeda dodges yet another respira, albeit a slow one, and starts to scream. Soifon hears this and she activates her Bankai after coiling a building with cloth.

Powers & Abilities
Barragan is the segunda (second) Espada, making him the 2nd most powerful Arrancar in Sōsuke Aizen's Army.

Enhanced Strength: Despite his elderly appearance, Barragan has shown great physical strength from his ability to effortlessly crush his arm-rest made of bone and to wield his large Zanpakutō with great enough force to slice through a large building with extreme ease in a casual swing.

Garganta: Garganta is how Arrancar move to and from Hueco Mundo. Barragan 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. He is seen using one to travel to the fake Karakura Town.

Immense Spiritual Power: As a member of the Top four Espada, Barragan is forbidden to release his Zanpakutō inside Las Noches because such a release could destroy the entire fortress.

Sonído Master: Despite his old appearance, Barragan is able to keep up with and even deceive the likes of Soifon, one of the fastest of all Shinigami. His proficiency in Sonído is so great that he was able to get behind a surprised Soifon and lightly tap her shoulder, while the latter could only react with confusion at what just transpired. It is unknown whether this is tied to his time-manipulation ability.

Time Dilation Field: As the Espada who represents "aging", Barragan is able to dilate the time around him, thereby reducing the speed of any target that comes near him, making their efforts to attack useless as he has sufficient enough time to counter them. He used this aspect of the ability in his fight against Soifon and Ōmaeda, so that they were incapable of landing a hit on him. The ability also allows him to accelerate the age of whatever he touches, causing the appropriate damage that comes with aging. This portion of his ability was used to age Soifon's left arm to the point that its bones became brittle and broke.

Zanpakutō
. Barragan's zanpakutō takes the form of a large, double-headed battle axe that has a pendant in the middle of its focal point. Despite it being roughly the same size as he is, Barragan wields his zanpakutō with a single hand. During the battle at the Fake Karakura Town, he originally kept it hidden within his throne.


 * Resurrección: Arrogante's release phrase is . When releasing his zanpakutō, Barragan holds it out in front of him with its axe-head pointing downwards, and declares the release. The slit-eye pendant between the axe-blades then opens, and begins to release a black mist that completely envelopes Barragan. Afterwards, Barragan's body becomes draped in a black cloak, with a jet-black fur line around his neck, giving him a macabre, reaper-like appearance. Several lengths of chain dangle out of either of his sleeves. The pendant from his zanpakutō is now worn around his neck as an elegant necklace. The sandals of his uniform become white, pointed-toe boots. Barragan's entire body seems to become skeletal, with his head becoming a skull and his hands becoming nothing but bones. His crown-like mask fragments turn into a full, extravagantly decorated crown featuring a chain that runs downward on the left side. He still retains the scar present on his right eye from his previous form, visible now as an apparent crack in the same location.


 * Resurrección Special Ability: While in his Resurrección form, Barragan is able to age and deteriorate everything around him, even the very building he walks upon begins deteriorating from his mere presence.


 * Barragan unleashes a black, smoke-like miasma which radiates outward from him. The breath immediately ages and rots anything it comes into contact with. It can move fast enough to strike even Soifon while she was attempting to escape from it at full speed. The breath decays the skin on Soifon's left arm until only shredded clothes and her arm's skeleton are left behind. Even after escaping the attack, the deterioration continued until the afflicted area had been amputated. Another notable aspect of the ability is that Barragan can control it's speed, as he purposefully released a slower respira when chasing Ōmaeda.


 * Barragan wields the Resurreccion form of his double-bladed axe which he keeps hidden in his cloak. The axe now has a slimmer and darker look without the pendant at the center but the cutting force of a guillotine, which Barragan can effectively wield easier than before. This is the only Zanpaktou that remains in a form thats vaguely similar to its pre-released state. "Bleach Manga" - Chapter 360; Page 10 Barragan uses this technique in an attempt to finish Ōmaeda off.

Fracción
Barragan's Fracción consists of six male Arrancar. All but one of his Fracción take the form of animals when they release their Zanpakutō.


 * : is a large religious Arrancar sent to deal with Ikkaku Madarame. Poww surprisingly defeated Ikkaku and was able to land a powerful hit on Captain Sajin Komamura. He was soon crushed and killed under Sajin's Bankai.
 * : is an Arrancar that appears as if he dresses in drag and is a narcissist like his assigned opponent, Yumichika Ayasegawa. He is soon defeated by Yumichika.
 * : is a very out going Arrancar who screams that he is going to kill his opponent, while demanding his opponent do the same as a way to psyche each other out. He is sent to battle against, and ultimately beheaded by, Izuru Kira.
 * : appears to be the most composed member of Barragan's Fracción. He had an ability not seen before by most Arrancar, which was the ability to increase his power by tearing off a piece of his mask. He was shot and killed by Hisagi.
 * is the smallest member of Barragan's Fraccion. His attitude somewhat mirrors that of his adversary, Soifon, his opponent in the battle over the fake Karakura Town, but he is very sarcastic and enjoys taunting his opponents. He is later killed by Soifon, being stabbed through his right lung.
 * : is the last to be introduced. Facing Marechiyo Ōmaeda in battle, he relies more on his large size and power to win but is ironically killed not by his Shinigami opponent, but by a rock Ggio accidentally knocked at him upon releasing his Zanpakutō.

Quotes

 * "You don't understand and that's what death is. And from now until this battle is over, there will not be one single thing your mind can fathom."
 * "Rot, Arrogante!"
 * "If four ants are guarding the pillars, I'll send four dragons to crush them."
 * "Do not make me walk a road that is not soaked with the enemy's blood."
 * "How comical. It seems even 'Shinigami' fear death."
 * "Respira."

Trivia

 * He is named after Luis Barragan, a Mexican architect.
 * Barragan bears a number of similarities to the Babylon emperor Baligant. Baligant is referred to in the French poem, The Song of Roland. Both are kings (Barragan's Fracciòn refer to him as "his majesty" and "King"), both are proud and determined, they both sit on a throne pulled out from a white cloth by their servants (Barragan sits on a throne of bones pulled out of a cloth by his Fracción), both refer to their troops as "dragons", and both of these "dragons" lost in battle.
 * Curiously, Barragan and his Fracción's (except Poww) mask remnants are in the form of a helmet. Barragan's mask remnant adds to the idea of him being a "king".
 * Barragan's aspect of death is Aging.
 * Barragan's release form is similar to the Western personification of the Grim Reaper: a cloaked skeleton who's associated with death, especially with Barragan's aspect.