Arrancar:
An arrancar (sometimes written allankar or arankaru) is a hollow that has removed its mask and gained shinigami powers. The name arrancar is a Spanish verb meaning "to remove" or "to rip off," a reference to an arrancar's removal of its hollow mask. In the manga, it is written as arankaru (破面, lit. rip mask) but has no native Japanese pronunciation, instead using the katakana for arankaru.
Few hollows have the potential to remove their masks normally, and even if they manage it the change is not significant. Sōsuke Aizen is able to artificially create arrancar with the Orb of Distortion, which also unlocks much more of their potential than a natural transformation would. The process of turning a hollow into an arrancar is called shinigamification (死神化, shinigami-ka?).[2]
Arrancar and ordinary hollows differ in two ways: the location of their holes and the near-total disappearance of their masks. When hollows become arrancar, the chances of them retaining a humanoid form increase with their intelligence; only vasto lorde-class arrancar will definitely assume a humanoid form. If powerful enough, an arrancar can seal his or her excess power into the form of a zanpakutō. Unlike with shinigami, this zanpakutō is by no means sentient. It is simply the hollow's true form sealed into a sword. Therefore, an arrancar's release of their zanpakutō is merely a temporary restoration of their former selves. An arrancar release is called resurrección (Spanish for "resurrection"). Arrancar do not have a known second release.
Those arrancar under Aizen's command also have a standard theme for their clothing. Their uniforms consist of a white jacket, black sash, white hakama, and black socks with white sandals; in essence, the uniforms are basically inverted shinigami uniforms.
Arrancar ranks:
The arrancar under Aizen's command are arranged into various ranks based on their strength. Not all of the existing arrancar are under Aizen's command, mostly through lack of interest on Aizen's part.
The Espada (十刃, Espada? lit. ten swords; sword in Spanish) are the top-ranked arrancar in Aizen's army. Each Espada member is chosen for their superior combat ability and then assigned a number from 1 to 10 that indicates their rank and relative power level, which is tattooed somewhere on their body (Grimmjow's is on his lower back, for instance). The Espada are given control over the Números. Espada are the most powerful fighters of the arrancar and their strength far surpasses the average Número, similar to the power gap between the captains and lieutenants in Gotei 13. As stated by Aaroniero Arleri, he is the only Espada to have been a gillian before becoming an arrancar. The Espada consist of nine males and one female.[3]
The Números (Spanish: numbers) are the combat specialists. They are assigned a two digit number at birth from 11 to 99 to indicate their age (Número 11 is the oldest, Número 99 is the youngest). The basic Número uniform consists of a white-collared jacket and robes held with a black sash. However, the uniform is customizable, giving each Número a sense of individuality. The fighting ability of Números is thought to be superior to all other arrancar, except for the Espada (current and former). The Fracción (Spanish: fraction) are a subsection of the Números that directly serve a specific Espada. The number of Fracción for any given Espada varies: Stark would seem to have just one, while Szayel Aporro has at least a dozen.
The Privaron (Spanish: deprived) are former Espada who have lost their rank and are assigned a three-digit number. Being former Espada, they are far stronger than the normal Números. They reside in Tres Cifras, which translates literally from Spanish as "three digits". As mentioned by Dordonii, these former "naturally created" Espada were rendered obsolete after Aizen began artificially creating arrancar to meet his own standards.[4]
The Exequias (Spanish: funeral) are arrancar that are part of the execution division, apparently charged with termination of intruders and rebels.[5]
Powers and abilities:
Like shinigami, hollows have a multitude of combat skills and abilities, most of which are usually unique to specific hollows. The more powerful hollows, however, have access to a range similar techniques of greater power or use than their own unique skills. Hollows usually acquire energy to power their abilities by devouring souls, but can also ingest energy from the air when in spiritual realms such as Hueco Mundo.[6]
* Cero (虚閃, lit. "hollow flash"; the pronunciation is Spanish for zero) are high-powered energy blasts that can be fired from the mouth or hand. Only menos, arrancar, and vizard have so far been shown to use cero attacks, and it appears that higher classes of hollow can use it more efficiently. It is unknown whether sufficiently strong regular hollows are capable of it, but Ichigo Kurosaki's inner hollow was able to use the attack when it fully took control of him during his training with the vizard.[7] A more powerful version of cero exists called gran rey cero (王虚の閃光, lit. "royal hollow flash"; the pronunciation is Spanish for great king zero). Only Espada are capable of using this version of the technique, which is accomplished by mixing blood into a regular cero.[8]
* Negación (反膜, lit. "counter membrane;" the pronunciation is Spanish for negation) fields are used to rescue fellow hollows. Only the gillian-class menos have shown the ability to use it. Negación fields surround a target in a square beam of light that isolates the target from the dimension they are currently in, making it impossible to harm them. The field then pulls the target towards the menos that created the field.[9] Espada have a special cube-shaped device called Caja Negación (Spanish for Negation Box) meant to simulate negación fields, which are used to punish their subordinates if necessary. The cube, when used on a subject, traps them in an alternate dimension from which there is no escape; however, it is only fully effective when used on those it was designed for. More powerful arrancar can escape given enough time.[10]
* Gonzui (魂吸, lit. "soul suck") is a technique used by Yammy to absorb the souls from a large number of living people. It is only effective on people with low spiritual power.[11]
* Pesquisa (探査回路, lit. "inquiry circuit;" the pronunciation is Spanish for inquiry) is the arrancar equivalent of the shinigami ability to sense spiritual pressure. It functions similar to sonar.[12]
* Hierro (鋼皮, lit. "steel skin;" the pronunciation is Spanish for iron) refers to the ultratough skin of the arrancar, which is a result of their compressed spiritual power.[13] While their skin is strong enough to block even released zanpakutō bare-handed, it is by no means impenetrable. Stronger arrancar have proportionally stronger skin.
* Sonido (響転, lit. "resounding revolution;" the pronunciation is Spanish for sound) is the arrancar equivalent of the shinigami flash steps; it allows the user to travel at incredibly high speeds for short distances.[14] Use of sonido is punctuated by a brief static sound, in contrast to the "swish" sound used for flash steps.
* Bala (虚弾, lit. "hollow bullet;" the pronunciation is Spanish for bullet) is a weaker but quicker alternative to the regular cero attack. The technique hardens the user's spiritual pressure and fires it at around twenty times the speed of a cero blast.[15]
* Garganta (黒腔, lit. "black cavity;" the pronunciation is Spanish for throat) is how arrancar move to and from Hueco Mundo. Kaname Tōsen has also demonstrated 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. When used, the technique opens the dimensional fabric like a door.[16]
