Nelliel Tu Odelschwanck

is the former Tres (three) Espada. She is also known as, and she is a small, good-natured, childlike Arrancar. She lives in the desert of Hueco Mundo with her adoptive brothers and former Fracción, Dondochakka Birstanne and Pesche Guatiche, and their pet, Bawabawa.

Appearance
Nelliel is a female Arrancar that has hazel eyes and short green hair. In her child form, her eyes are incredibly wide, the canines on her lower jaw are larger than usual, and the remains of her Hollow mask make up a cartoon-like skull which sits on the top of her head. A crack runs along the left side of the mask and four teeth on the left side of the skull are broken off. She has a large scar coming down from her forehead to her nose and a crimson line that stretches horizontally across her face below her eyes. Her clothing consists of a simple green gown with a hood which covers her entire body.

Her true form is that of a fully-grown curvaceous and well-endowed adult with long waving greenish-blue hair, retaining similar features to her child form, including the scar and the crimson line that runs across her face, but her bottom canines aren't quite as pronounced. Her gown is now torn into a skirt and a top, connected with a single strip across her abdomen. Her skull mask also differs slightly; its features appearing sharper and less cartoonish with a pair of curved horns, but still missing some of its teeth. A large "3" is tattooed on her back, indicating that she was the former 3rd Espada.

Personality
Nel's appearance is in stark contrast to her vocabulary, which contains a number of bizarre phrases and words one wouldn't expect such a small child to know, such as calling her uvula a "throat penis" and referring to herself as a masochist. Ichigo Kurosaki assumes her Hollow companions are responsible for this. During her group's super sentai intro she prefers the name "Thieves: Nel-Don-Pe." She also seems to speak with a lisp in her child form, frequently pronouncing "S"s as "T"s. Nel and her companions also represent oddities among Hollows; though most Hollows are evil, Nel actually fears Shinigami, assuming that they are, in fact, the evil ones.

Despite believing that Shinigami are evil, Nel develops an attachment to Ichigo and follows him into Las Noches. And when she returns to her physical form, despite growing up physically, she somehow retains her child-like affection over Ichigo, best-shown when she unexpectedly bear-hugged him after attacking Nnoitra without realizing that Ichigo was losing consciousness (although the anime's flashback of Nel's accident suggested that she was always somewhat childish outside of combat).

As Nelliel, she is much more mature, composed, logical, sophisticated, and intelligent than her child form. She is also relatively level-headed in terms of how to fight, stating that if one's excuse for a battle is to fight out of hatred, prejudice, or simple competition, as Nnoitra does, then it is merely instinctual and animalistic, and that it makes the challenger look "childish," "unworthy," and "not much of a warrior". Though Nelliel has proven during her last few minutes as a full-fledged Espada that it is 'acceptable' when it involves vengeance, she does not view even that as a reason to fight. Unlike many of the Arrancar, Nelliel is somewhat pacifistic, and according to her Fracción, has despised engaging in combat even when she was still among the upper ranks of the Espada, unless it involves self-defense and protecting those dear to her heart. It is for this reason that Pesche and Dondochakka decided to simply be content with her child form and banished themselves from Las Noches. She refuses to finish off weaker or injured opponents, and will stop fighting them once they've been disabled or incapacitated, a trait shared with Kenpachi Zaraki.

As witnessed during her numerous fights with Nnoitra, Nelliel's shown to be relatively calm and silent when fighting, preferring to speak only when spoken to, a rather uncommon trait among most Arrancar. She is even shown to enjoy reading, usually seen reading a book after her missions or after waiting for Nnoitra to wake up after their recent battle.

Nelliel's also shown to be a loyal, respectful, and trustworthy warrior, who will diligently follow the orders of her commander, provided said commander has proven his worth. She's also knowledgeable, analytical, easygoing, fairly compassionate (usually towards her friends), humorous in her own right, and exhibits a cheerful, energetic demeanor when off-duty.

The Thousand-Year Blood War arc
Seventeen months after Aizen's defeat, while Ichigo is patrolling Karakura Town, Nel falls out of the sky, surprising Ichigo. Before Ichigo can question Nel, she tells him that Hueco Mundo has been taken over. Shortly after, Pesche arrives, and they are taken to Ichigo's home, where he explains what happened in Hueco Mundo. Along with Ichigo, Orihime, Sado and Kisuke Urahara, Nel and Pesche travel to Hueco Mundo. Upon arriving, Nel is kept quiet by Ichigo as the enemy is close by. As the group notice all the bodies lying around, Ichigo stops Nel from looking at them.

As the group travels through Hueco Mundo, Nel suddenly senses Emilou Apacci, Franceska Mila Rose, and Cyan Sung-Sun fighting, and pops up from behind Ichigo, declaring this fact. When Ichigo asks why she's on his back, she replies she's going to protect his back, though with a mischievous gleam in her eyes, to which Ichigo just tells her to hold on tight so she won't get hurt. She explains to Ichigo who the are, calling them "three crazy monsters." Then Nel proceeds to say the enemy will probably be wiped out in a matter of seconds if they're fighting, and calls it terrible, covering Ichigo's eyes.

Soon after, Ichigo notices a massive explosion, prompting Nel to remind him that the Tres Bestias are devils and attempting to make Ichigo stay back while they fight, saying Ichigo would just get in the way and she wouldn't make fun of him. To this matter, Ichigo isn't pleased at all, and instead he continues on to the Jagdarmee of Hueco Mundo's base. After arriving at the camp, Nel is shocked by the defeat of Harribel's Fracción. When Ichigo begins to fight the Quincy, he leaves Nel to Orihime.

Several days later, as Grimmjow Jaegerjaquez is confronting Ichigo in the Soul King Palace, an adult Nelliel leaps over him and tackles Ichigo. Nelliel explains that Urahara made her an armband that allows her to transform into her adult form at will, though she is not sure that she can transform into her child form again. When Grimmjow berates her for being in the way, Nelliel tells him that she does not have to take orders from a lower-ranked Espada like him, prompting Grimmjow to challenge her to prove she deserves the rank of #3 more than he does. However, they are interrupted when a voice tells them to enter a nearby black box.

Nelliel accompanies Ichigo and his allies through Wahrwelt, and the group splits up to look for Grimmjow.

Child Form

 * Nel's saliva seems to possess some weak form of healing power. She activates it by reaching into her mouth and massaging her uvula, causing her to vomit. The vomit has a similar appearance to saliva, leading her to believe that it is.


 * A unique ability where Nel swallows an enemy's Cero and fires it back, with a force exceeding that of the original blast. This ability is indicated by the eyes on her skull mask glowing. Unlike in her original form, Nel does not mix the swallowed Cero with her own; instead, she simply sends it back. While her child form severely limits her Arrancar powers, she is still able to absorb and redirect a Cero blast from a Privaron Espada-class Arrancar in its released form, though the effort seems to tire her immediately.


 * She can accelerate her movements with what appears to be a rudimentary form of Sonído. When she uses this Sonído form, her mask's eyes glow.

Original Form
Master Swordsman: As a former Espada, Nelliel has a great deal of experience in fighting, showing hardly any effort in her advanced use of swordsmanship. Her body flows elegantly when engaging in combat, so finely tuned that she can stop her attacks at a moment's notice, and subsequently execute lethal attacks with absolute precision. She easily defeated Nnoitra, who is a highly proficient swordsman in his own right, several times.

Expert Hand-To-Hand Combatant: Even without the aid of her Zanpakutō, Nelliel has shown herself to be quite a skilled fighter. During her battle against Nnoitra, she was able to skillfully dodge and counter his attacks. She also used her swordsmanship in conjunction with her hand-to-hand combat skills.

Sonído Master: Her speed has greatly increased as well, fitting with her former position. She was able to repeatedly sneak up on and effortlessly avoid Nnoitra with her speed. She easily transported the badly hurt Ichigo to a safer place during one of Nnoitra's attacks.


 * She retains her attack absorption ability in her original form, but now performs it with greater ease. According to Nnoitra, Nelliel's specialty is to absorb an incoming Cero and fire one of her own while returning it, thus creating a potent Cero Doble. In her original form, the force(s) of the Cero Doble is augmented greatly, since she rebounds the attack while blending it with her own Cero, drastically increasing its power.

Hierro: Nelliel, while in her original form, Nel has Hierro befitting the strength of an Espada. It is strong enough to allow Nelliel to counter Nnoitra's blade with a kick and show no signs of injury.

Enhanced Strength: Her strength is greatly increased, fitting with her former position. With her great physical strength, Nelliel can fend off attacks from gigantic weapons like Nnoitra's, launch her opponent several meters away with a single punch, and effortlessly slice through the Hierro of an Espada-level Arrancar opponent with one swing of her Zanpakutō. She is also capable of stopping Nnoitra's Cero barehanded.

Immense Spiritual Power: As the former third Espada, Nelliel has a grand amount of spiritual energy, powerful enough for her Fracción to sense it from a large distance. Renji even stated that her spiritual power was close to Ichigo's, confusing the two for a moment.

High Intellect: While in her original form, she is shown to be quite intelligent. Having a great understanding of combat and its forms, and the methods behind an opponent's skill and intentions, she can discern personalities easily. She also has a philosophy on life that provides a code of honor, respect, and mercy. However, her childlike antics can sometimes block her intelligence. At one point, she latched onto Ichigo, who was clearly injured, to the point where he passed out, then latched onto him again.

Zanpakutō

 * Her Zanpakutō has a green sheath, a light green hilt, and a tsuba that resembles a pair of crescent moons joined together at the back.


 * Resurrección: Its release command is . Nel holds her Zanpakutō up in front of her horizontally and calls out its release command. The Zanpakutō glows as a hazy smoke emanates from it. She calls out the name of her Zanpakutō, and the glow intensifies into a huge burst of spiritual energy that covers the surrounding area. In her new form, Nel takes the form of a brownish-green ibex-like centaur, complete with a black horse's tail. Her Hollow mask's horns become longer and more curved, and also extend slightly, framing the sides of her face, particularly the cheeks. The crack on her mask also closes up, although the missing teeth remain. Her shoulders are covered by white spaulders that come across her shoulder blade to her neck. She has white elbow guards and white gauntlets. The parts of her arm that aren't covered by armor are covered by a black material, which also covers her hands. There is a white ring at the base of her tail. Gamuza itself transforms into a double-sided lance. She is one of the few Arrancar known to have a weapon after her release (the releases of most Arrancar de-materialize their weapons upon release). These features grant her the overall appearance of a medieval knight or jouster.


 * Resurrección Special Ability: The only attack she has used in this form so far is Lanzador Verde. The full extent of Gamuza's abilities are still unknown.


 * Enhanced Strength: While in her released form, her might increases further.


 * Enhanced Spiritual Power: While in her released state, her spiritual power increases significantly.


 * Nel throws her lance at her opponent with extreme speed. As it travels through the air, it begins to spin and build up spiritual energy. When it reaches its target, it acts as a drill, inflicting extreme piercing damage. The technique is powerful enough to push back Nnoitra and break his Zanpakutō, which he was using to block the attack.

Fracción
is a large, spotted, humanoid Arrancar with a tiki mask and compound eyes. He appears to speak with a Yakuza-style accent (Mafia in the Dubbed episodes)- often ending his sentences with "dont'cha know" ("know what I'm talkin' 'bout?" in the dubbed episodes) - and is fairly tame in comparison to other Hollows. Despite his menacing appearance, he is prone to tear-filled outbursts at the slightest provocation, usually when he's worried about something.

is a seemingly harmless, humanoid Arrancar whose mask resembles an insectoid head with a large pair of mandibles. He wears an eye patch and a loincloth. His Hollow hole is slightly lower than normal, positioned near his stomach instead of his chest. He and Dondochakka were once Nel Tu's Fracción, but had their masks forcibly removed by Nnoitra Gilga and Szayelaporro Granz, and were left for dead with Nel. After realizing that their master had reverted to a defenseless child, he and Dondochakka pledged to protect her. According to Pesche, they hid their true identities from Nel because they feared not doing so might cause her memories to come back. Neither of them wanted this, because Nelliel strongly disliked fighting, and in her child form, she would no longer have to fight. He and Dondochakka spent the following time traveling around Hueco Mundo, keeping Nel amused with games like eternal tag, while still training (probably without her knowledge) to better protect her.

is a giant, eel-like Hollow whose mask consists of a simple plate on his head with a pair of horns. He is a parasite that Dondochakka keeps inside him if not out, giving him a particular Fracción-state. He acts as both a pet and transportation for Pesche, Dondochakka, and Nel Tu. Bawabawa tends to get upset for not being included in the group's super sentai-styled introduction sequences.

Censorship
Due to censorship, Nel's clothes, in her adult form, were altered slightly between the manga and the anime. The manga clearly shows the lower curves of Nel's breasts while her top is extended in the anime so that the curves of her breasts were covered.

Appearances in Other Media
Nelliel is a playable character in a few of the newer Bleach games, first appearing in Bleach: Heat the Soul 4 in her child form. She also appears in Bleach: Heat the Soul 5 in her child and adult form, and Bleach: Versus Crusade in her adult and Resurrección forms; and Bleach: Heat the Soul 6 and 7 in her child, adult and Resurrección forms. She also has her own character album as part of the Bleach Beat Collection 3rd Session. The two vocal tracks are entitled Kokoro Oasis and Every Fight!.

Trivia

 * In the English version of the anime, Nelliel's child form doesn't speak with a lisp. She does, however, call Ichigo "Itsygo" at times.


 * In the Bleach Manga, Nel clearly has green hair but in the Anime, her hair is turquoise.

Quotes

 * (To Ichigo Kurosaki) "Yep! Nel's a serious maso-kiss, so it no fun if I don't cry a lil!"


 * (To Orihime Inoue) "Itsygo's out dere fightin' for you! Why're ya acting like yer afraid of Itysgo? Din't you say Itsygo's a nice person?! Well yer right! Nel tinks he's nice too! Itsygo's so nice, when he heard Ulquiorra say yer name, he charged right at 'im! Itsygo is a human! But den he became a Shinigami, an' even put on dat mask and used dat dangerous power! Dere's no way Itsygo isn't gettin' hurt! He's gotta be sufferin'! But Itsygo's usin' his powers and gettin' injured all cuz he's fightin' for you! What's-- What's gonna happen if ya don't cheer for Itsygo?!"


 * (To Nnoitra Gilga) "There was a time when we ceased to be Human and became beasts. And then in becoming Arrancar, we regained our capacity for reason. One who possesses reason should require a reason to fight."


 * (To Nnoitra Gilga) "You are a beast. I cannot accept you as a warrior. I have no desire to be burdened with the life of one who is no warrior."


 * (To Nnoitra Gilga) "Carrying a weapon on your shoulder is threatening behavior. If you truly wish to appear strong, hide your weapon as you walk."


 * (To Nnoitra Gilga) "This isn't a reason to fight! But you hurt people who were very dear to me! And you're going to pay for it!"

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