Szayelaporro Granz

is an Arrancar in Sōsuke Aizen's army and the Octava (eighth) Espada. He is the younger brother of Yylfordt Granz.

Appearance
Szayelaporro is a tall and thin male Arrancar. He has shoulder-length pink hair with bangs on the right side of his forehead, with two thin lines missing hair on the left side of his head and amber eyes. The remains of his Hollow mask take the form of rectangular-framed glasses, giving him a scholarly appearance. The placement of his Espada number tattoo is unknown. His Hollow hole is located on his glans. Even after having the entire upper half of his body exposed, no number tattoo can be seen.

His clothes differ from the original Arrancar uniform. Instead of a normal jacket, Szayelaporro wears a long shirt that covers his entire torso up to the top of his neck. He has three stripes on his uniform, each starting at his collar with two running to each side of his chest and one down the middle. He wears the regular pants with a slight length taken away. He also wears white gloves. His face is the only part of his body that is exposed in this uniform. After he changes his clothes, he sports a cape-like garment.

When he was demoted from the Espada sometime in the past, his appearance was slightly different. His hair was messier and all three lines on his uniform dropped to his right hip, instead of to the left, right and middle.

Personality
Szayelaporro is a meticulous intellectual, the "scientist" of the Espada. He is highly narcissistic and extremely flamboyant, tending to make lewd, disturbing comments about his opponents. Szayelaporro is quite sadistic, viewing others as little more than research material. He thinks poorly of non-Hollows, hoping Aizen will someday wipe all non-Hollows out of existence. He thinks of himself as an actor, treating his battles like theatrical performances, especially when toying with his victims.

Szayelaporro is rather cocky, as he has a tendency to laugh maniacally whenever he has the upper hand in a battle. In addition, he removed the seal on the powers of his opponents when he believed that they had no chance of winning. He also changed the appearance of his opponents' clones to better suit his idea of 'beauty', despite this action allowing his foes to easily distinguish the clones.

He seems to have had a less-than-positive relationship with his older brother, Yylfordt. While he did try to heal him after his battle with Renji, he refers to Yylfordt's death as Renji merely breaking a box of parasites, saying he would not be so childish as to be upset over that.

He boasts he is a "perfect being," since he can reproduce himself in another person's body and thus views himself as immortal.

History
Sometime in the past, Szayelaporro helped Nnoitra Gilga perform a sneak attack on Nelliel Tu Odelschwanck. In order to help him do this, Szayelaporro used a device that created an illusion of Nnoitra which distracted Nelliel's attention. By exploiting the opportunity, Nnoitra attacked Nelliel and she was hit from behind, causing a wound to her head and her mask to break on the front left side. The attack scarred her forehead and left her unconscious. He took her unconscious body and stated that she would probably call this an act of a beast, but it didn't matter any to him. He was approached from behind by Szayelaporro, who asked if there was anything else he could help him with, to which Nnoitra responded that his job was already over. Szayelaporro asked him if he needed to be so cold as they worked as partners, for that he should at least be allowed to admire their end. Nnoitra detailed that he doesn't remember being his partner and that they just happened to have the same motives. Nnoitra threw Nelliel off the side of Las Noches so that he could increase his power by the time she returned. Nnoitra told Szayelaporro they were going, but Szayelaporro told him that he would appreciate it if he lost the presumptuous tone. Nnoitra reminded him that he wasn't an Espada anymore. Szayelaporro stated that if not for the equipment that he prepared Nnoitra wouldn't even have had the chance to attack Nelliel and then asked if he should really be speaking to him that way. Nnoitra looked over the side of Las Noches at Nelliel and her Fracción's prone bodies and was surprised as she reverted into a child. Szayelaporro noted that he had not anticipated this and he had never seen anything like it before. He deduced that her Reiatsu was leaking out of the wound on her mask, causing her spiritual body to shrink as a result.

Inventions

 * Consumable Fracción: Before their transformation into Arrancar by Aizen, Szayelaporro modified all of his Fracción. They were modified to be regenerative medicine. If Szayelaporro devours them when he's injured, his wounds will heal. When Verona kept shouting Lumina's name in despair after seeing her get devoured, Szayelaporro angrily told him to be quiet as he'll simply make a new one later. It is unknown as to whether this means he is capable of reviving a consumed Fracción or that he simply meant a replacement.


 * Szayelaporro is known to use spirit-recording insects spread across the body of a test subject. Through use of these spirit bugs he was able to gain information on Renji's Bankai. This information is exceedingly detailed, from its form, abilities, and Reiatsu right down to the spirit particle composition. He then uses this information to his advantage. He also insinuates using the bugs to gain information and analyze Uryū's Quincy powers as well.


 * Unnamed Power Control Device: using the information that he received from the spirit-recording bugs he set up a mechanism in Las Noches that sealed Renji's Bankai in a large room. It also prevented a Seele Schneider from causing any injury, and turned off Uryū's ability to use his Quincy Bow. He shut it off after he changed his clothes.


 * Unnamed Illusion Device: Used during the fight between Nelliel and Nnoitra while Nel was still an Espada. It created an illusion of Nnoitra, tricking Nel and giving Nnoitra a chance to attack her.


 * Controlled Corridors: In order to keep Renji and Uryū, or any other opponent, from escaping, Szayelaporro designed his domain so that no matter how far someone runs he can transfix the halls so they end up back at the room they attempted to escape. In every wall lies a camera, and he can rearrange them as he sees fit.


 * Unnamed Garganta Device: Although he was not seen using this device, Mayuri Kurotsuchi discovers it among the many materials in his laboratory after his defeat. Mayuri stated that he was able to create a perfect Garganta portal when using it. This includes the ability to close it in mid-transfer and has so far been only used once - To open a portal to the Human World, with Ichigo Kurosaki and Retsu Unohana being the first test subjects.

Powers & Abilities
Master Scientist & Inventor: Szayelaporro is the top researcher and spiritual weapons development specialist of the Espada. Szayelaporro is a talented and intellectual scientist, and he is shown to be very sadistic. Szayelaporro has unique Fracción which he modified before having them turned into Arrancar. He told Renji, before their actual fight, to "try to keep all of his limbs intact," as he was going to study his body afterwards. Szayelaporro's intellect not only included science, but also invention, most notably having created a constantly shifting maze within his domain in Hueco Mundo, as well as a device that controls Reiatsu.


 * Advanced Trap Designer: While Dondochakka and Renji traveled the halls of Las Noches, they fell into a very large hole, which was actually a trap designed by Szayelaporro. He stated that out of all the traps he had laid out, this one was the most basic, implying there were far more advanced traps in wait. As the helpless intruder falls through the hole, they end up on a sort of cylindrical slide that leads into the Espada's room.


 * Investigative Immunization Expert: Szayelaporro has a variety of methods for analyzing an opponent's abilities, such as studying the damage done to their former opponents. Once having done so, Szayelaporro can nullify the effects of their abilities, making him virtually immune to their attacks. The most prominent use of this ability was when Dondochakka and Pesche revealed their most powerful technique, the Cero Sincrético, which Szayelaporro was able to easily disperse by analyzing its structure and Reiatsu.

Swordsman: Szayelaporro admits that even though he is an Espada, his combat ability is not very high at all. Despite this, he is skilled enough to effortlessly deflect Renji Abarai's Zabimaru in its Shikai form.

Sonído: Szayelaporro can use Sonído, as shown when he easily evaded one of Renji's attacks. He was also able to catch Uryū Ishida, using Hirenkyaku, off guard.

Enhanced Strength: Despite his slender appearance, Szayelaporro is deceptively strong, able to deflect Renji's Shikai attacks with a single hand.

Hierro: Like most other Arrancar, his body is protected with his spiritual pressure. He was able to effortlessly block Renji Abarai's Shikai with only the back of his wrist. He is capable of withstanding an explosion from Uryū's Sprenger technique directly after a point blank Kidō attack from Renji.

Great Spiritual Power: As the Octava Espada, Szayelaporro has a great level of spiritual power. His Reiatsu is pink.

Zanpakutō

 * When sealed, Fornicarás takes the form of a standard sized katana with a greyish-blue handle and grey sheath, and its tsuba is similar to the nucleus of an atom. Instead of directly wearing his sword at his waist, Szayelaporro has two frilly light-purple strings tied to his waist that holds Fornicarás at two points, letting Szayelaporro carry his sword at about thigh height.


 * Resurrección: Its release command is . Szayelaporro releases his Zanpakutō by calling out its command and then swallowing it, with a glow emitting from his mouth. His body then swells to enormous proportions and releases spiritual energy, which covers his immediate vicinity in a fine mist that slowly clears away as he transforms. In his released form, the lower half of his body becomes a multitude of purple tentacles reminiscent of a sea anemone. His feet extend from under the tentacles, which are then replaced by a layered dress-like garment. His upper torso becomes a segmented and form-fitting gray garment, with white sleeves extending from the elbow and down to a wide opening at the wrist that reveal a purple interior. Three small, dark purple extensions span upward from the elbow, while four long, dark purple strands that look like falling drops hang from the underside of the sleeve itself. His hands turn white, and his fingertips become slightly elongated and purple. His hair gains various purple drop-like strands as well. His Hollow mask takes the form of a headdress that forms a thin band across his forehead, as well as what appears to be half the bottom structure of his Hollow mask "glasses", which is attached on either side of his head by fan-like coverings. His left eye gains purple markings that take the shape of four lines on the top and bottom. He also grows four large, gray branch structures on his back, two on each side, which form a shape similar to the wings of a butterfly. Each branch has twelve equally-spaced red strands that resemble falling drops. These strands can expand out, becoming thicker until they look similar to feathers, giving them the appearance of actual wings like those of a bird. The branches can elongate at will.


 * He is capable of forming a protective shield by wrapping the wing-like appendages around himself and then engorging them to make them thicker, which he then forms into a ball. The branches can elongate at will. The ball is also strong enough to protect him from the force of a building collapsing and is capable of floating.


 * Resurrección Special Ability: Szayelaporro's released state grants him a number of different abilities.


 * Carbon-Copy: He can unleash a massive amount of black liquid from his back. When droplets of the liquid touch an opponent, a copy of them is created that uses their own individual abilities against them. Since he fires such a vast amount of the liquid upwards, it is nearly impossible for his opponents to dodge or evade the attack. Szayelaporro occasionally alters these clones' appearances to make them more aesthetically pleasing. For example, he changed Dondochakka's clones so that he did not have spots, and Pesche Guatiche's wore pants as opposed to a loincloth; he did not, however, change Renji's or Uryū's appearance. When they are defeated, the clones break apart and multiply, adding to their numbers. He can disperse the clones at will, and they seem to have no free will or thoughts of their own.


 * By grabbing an opponent with one of his "wings" and then spitting them out, one of the strands of his "wings" becomes engorged with purple liquid and then bursts open, creating a small doll that has the victim's likeness. Uryū Ishida was noticeably disoriented after the process, and Szayelaporro stated, "Thanks for the feast." Any damage done to the doll's internal organs, accessed by taking them apart and removing the organs (with no damage to the original), is done to the original, debilitating them from the inside. The doll's exterior has some effect on the victim, as seen when Uryū felt Szayelaporro scratch his doll's face. All the organs have their name written on them in Spanish. The only person able to overcome this ability was 12th Division Captain Mayuri Kurotsuchi, which he accomplished by replacing all of his organs with "dummies".


 * Possession: Should he be eaten, Szayelaporro can take control of the attacker's nervous system, allowing him to assume complete control of their body. Szayelaporro used this against Konjiki Ashisogi Jizō, forcing the Zanpakutō to attack its master. The effect of control acts as a form of will over that which is possessed. Once again, Mayuri was the only one to defeat this technique, as he prepared for such an event by creating a self-destruct sequence for his Bankai should it ever attack him.


 * Szayelaporro's final ability allows him to be reborn if he is injured beyond repair by "impregnating" an enemy. When he has physical contact with the victim, he can implant a portion of himself inside their body. He then "devours" his way out of their body by absorbing all the fluids and chemicals of the victim, like an insect leaving a cocoon or husk. This process is claimed to be fatal to the victim. He matures and develops his body back in a matter of seconds from a liquid-like casing coming from the victim's mouth. Szayelaporro takes great pride in this ability, comparing it to that of a phoenix, pretentiously proclaiming himself a "perfect being" because of it. It was used on Nemu Kurotsuchi, but despite Szayelaporro's remarks on killing the victim, she survived.

Fracción
In addition to the immunities gained from studying his opponents, Szayelaporro has his own Fracción. Among the Espada, he has by far the most. He has personally modified each of them so that he can heal his wounds by eating them. Those devoured can be recreated later. Most of them are incomplete Arrancar; they neither carry Zanpakutō nor do they appear entirely Human. The majority of them all wear a similar pattern of clothing to Szayelaporro's, sporting the three stripes that run down his chest on their person. Two large ones act as Szayelaporro's throne, but also have durable shells on their fronts that are unscathed by Uryū's arrows. Only three are named, those three main ones being:


 * & : Two short and obese Arrancar who first notify Szayelaporro of Aaroniero's death. Later, Szayelaporro ended up eating Lumina in order to heal his wounds.
 * A very large Arrancar that attacked Renji after Szayelaporro stated he was done fighting him. He was shortly after killed by Uryū.

Censorship


In the manga, Uryū shoots Szayelaporro with his Seele Schneider and pierces his throat. Yet, in the anime, Uryū's shot was through the stomach.

Also, while in the manga he literally "eats" his Fracción to heal his injuries, the anime portrayal displays this as converting the Fracción to a glowing purple energy orb to consume.

In addition, the way Szayelaporro's technique Gabriel was used in the manga has been seriously altered for the anime. Szayelaporro resurrected himself with Nemu’s body, using his Gabriel technique, but in the anime, it was completely redone so that it could be toned down. Instead of him laying his egg inside of her and emerging head first from her mouth, he is resurrected from an embryo that emerges from Nemu's mouth and develops into him. Also, Nemu does not end up looking as dried up or decrepit as she does in the manga.

Appearances in Other Media
Szayelaporro is a playable character in a few of the Bleach video games. He appears in Bleach: Heat the Soul 5, and Bleach: Versus Crusade with his release state. He also has his own character album as part of the Bleach Beat Collection 3rd Session. The two vocal tracks are entitled Pink and SCIENCE SHOW. These two songs are notable for their numerous English lyrics, particularly Pink, which is actually more English than Japanese. In the video games Bleach: Versus Crusade and Bleach: Heat the Soul 6 (only in his released form, when the player presses the jump button), he can shoot a pink Cero from his mouth.

4th Movie Tie-In
In Episode 299, a special episode designed to promote the 4th movie of Bleach, Bleach: The Hell Verse, Szayelaporro appears falling into Hell. He lands along with Aaroniero Arruruerie, saying he's surprised to see him. Szayelaporro notes the sturdiness of Aaroniero's tank. Aaroniero questions why he brought it up, saying that he wished it to crack. Szayelaporro states he meant nothing by it, meaning only that if it had cracked, he could study the liquid inside it. Aaroniero tells Szayelaporro that he's never liked him, and moves to attack him with Glotoneria. However, Szayelaporro yells at him to wait, and says that they should work together to figure out where they are. Aaroniero states he doesn't care about that, to which Szayelaporro reminds him of the difference in their ranks. Aaroniero states those ranks don't matter outside of Hueco Mundo.

A voice interrupts the two. A man is seen standing on a tall rock, and informs them that they are in Hell. Aaroniero demands he comes down and explain, but the man mocks him, and informs them they are both already dead. Aaroniero doesn't understand, but Szayelaporro remembers his death, and moves to attack the man, asking if there is a way to escape Hell and return to Hueco Mundo, to which he responds there isn't. Szayelaporro says he better not be hiding anything, threatening to torture him. The man introduces himself as Shuren, and says they must follow him in order to survive in Hell.

Three more beings appear behind Shuren. Szayelaporro asks what they are, and Shuren introduces them as Taikon, Gunjō, and Garogai, and orders them to attack the two Arrancar. Aaroniero releases his Resurrección and attacks. He tells his enemies not to underestimate the Espada and attacks Taikon. Szayelaporro also releases and attacks Shuren with a Gran Rey Cero. Shuren asks if he believes this attack is necessary to defeat him, but Szayelaporro says he doesn't mind incinerating Shuren. He adds that he is interested in the inhabitants of Hell, but he can examine Shuren's three comrades that are eaten by Aaroniero's Glotonería after he kills him. Shuren informs him that he too has judged him unnecessary.

Shuren and the three Togabito defeat both Aaroniero and Szayelaporro. Shuren notes that their power was not enough to open it, referring to the gates of Hell.

Trivia

 * Szayelaporro's aspect of death is Madness.
 * In both the anime and manga, when affected by the Superhuman Drug, he tried to reach out with his left hand, which was supposed to have been stabbed by Mayuri's Zanpakutō. It was later shown that his right hand was the one that was stabbed.
 * In the English localization of the Bleach manga and anime, Szayelaporro's Zanpakutō is renamed La Lujuriosa, which is Spanish for "The Lustful."
 * His Zanpakutō has had some changes while reproducing the same in the anime. While in the manga, the Zanpakutō has a grey sheath and a greyish-blue handle, in the anime it has tones of pink.
 * In the Bleach Popularity polls, Szayelaporro has been ranked 29th in the 4th Poll, while in the Zanpakutō poll, his Zanpakutō, Fornicarás, placed 23rd, tying with Hinamori Momo's Tobiume.

Quotes

 * (About Renji Abarai and Uryū Ishida) "First a Bankai user, then a Quincy! I have such good luck! If I were Yammy, I would probably be on the verge of shouting suerte!"


 * (To Renji Abarai and Uryū Ishida) "For inferior beings like you to irritate me to this extent and even force me to fight you at my full strength... Now, THAT is what I would call a 'bad joke'."


 * (To Renji Abarai and Uryū Ishida) "My, my. Just by teasing you a little, just by surprising you a little, you become blind to all but that which lies before your eyes. Everybody is the same in that respect. Just like children. Humans, Shinigami, and yes, even Quincy. They are all just as inferior. If you want to know what reason Aizen-sama could have for destroying you all... why, that 'inferiority' itself is your sin."


 * (To Mayuri Kurotsuchi regarding Gabriel) "Do you understand what I am telling you? Using this ability, I am able to impregnate myself into my enemies, and thus I can be ever reborn into a new body. Just as the Phoenix, the immortal bird, engulfs itself in flames once it reaches old age and is reborn, its life begun anew, from the midst of those flames. Do you realize now? Immortality. This is its most absolute form. One does not attempt to escape death, but accepts it as one's due, and allows life's cycle to continue, not allowing that death to bring an end to one's own existence. Eternally repeating that cycle of death and rebirth, an existence such as this... truly, mine is what may be called a 'perfect existence'! For one such as me, the concept of 'death' as an end to life simply holds no meaning. You may kill me, but in defiance of the finality of death, I will simply arise once more. Now do you understand? It is impossible for you to truly kill me. As such, you have no means to achieve victory in this battle."

Battles & Events

 * Mayuri Kurotsuchi vs. Szayelaporro Granz
 * Renji Abarai & Uryū Ishida vs. Szayelaporro Granz
 * Invasion of Hueco Mundo
 * Enter The Home of Hollows

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