Let’s have an exercise in futility: ranking the Espada. There have been many number theories and mathematical sequences generated in order to create a logical order to the ranking of the Espada but so far none have been correct. Because I’m bored, let’s talk about what you think the ranking of the Espada might be. There might be spoilers below so don’t click if you’re not caught up with the manga. I have included a picture of the infamous tea party table seating for reference (click for bigger).
Here’s my personal prediction on the ranking:
1. Ulquiorra
2. Nnoitra
3. Stark
4. Old Espada
5. Halibel
6. Grimmjow
7. Zommari
8. Szayelaporro
9. Aaroniero
10. Yammy
Bolded names are the confirmed rankings by manga. All the rest are based on gut feeling with no complicated number sequences or formulas, except for Noitora – I think he is #2 based on what he told Telsa. He thinks he’s the strongest Espada but yet he’s not recognised as the strongest, so this probably means he’s #2. And I think Ulquiorra is #1 because he’s so damn intelligent and analytical, and he is Aizen’s pet as well.
This is the current actual rankings as revealed by the manga, together with my new predictions:
1. Stark
2. Halibel
3. Old Espada
4. Ulquiorra
5. Nnoitra
6. Grimmjow
7. Zommari
8. Szayelaporro
9. Aaroniero
10. Yammy
So let me hear all your theories and predictions on the rankings of the Espada!
1940 Comments
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When I saw the title, I thought you were going to talk about Granado Espada… LOL
I like the pink haired guy who is that?and he’s quit handsome too!
but I guess I have to search all those characters,their not familiar to me!
Cheryl: Haha I thought that the picture might have hinted otherwise
na2niet: He is Zaelapollo Grantz, the Octava Espada.
Ehh, you must explain your gut feeling! =p
I would rank the old man higher, they’re always the ones with the most power.
Still I agree with Ulq being the first ranked. His character is the most developed so far and there has to be a reason behind that. To be Aizen’s pet is not easy, you need some kind of standard at least hahaha!
On another note. Have you seen the Ulq/Aizen fics floating around? =p
Well I already explained Ulquiorra and Noitora so I won’t go through them again. In anime cliche, the bored guy is usually one of the most powerful ones and there’s a certain parallel with Shunsui. I would have put him as #2 if not for Noitora’s words.
And also because of the old man power cliche, I made the old mustachio as #4 above the chick who is #5 because I think maybe the chick should be more powerful this time. I don’t like the look of the dark Espada so I just threw him into the remaining slot #7.
I don’t even want to think about the Ulq/Aizen yaoi fics but I’m sure there is lots of Ulq/Orihime h-doujins popping up around Japan already!
Eh, well, I use AnimeNano to check for new blog entries so XD
Oh no wonder
Well there’s always a chance that the anime cliche won’t prevail here.
“I don’t like the look of the dark Espada so I just threw him into the remaining slot #7.” –> You sound so biased here hahaha! What if KT throws us all in a loop and he is number 1? With the many twists, I wouldn’t be surprised if some random unknown espada is suddenly revealed to be number 1.
And I really don’t see the popularity of Ulq/Ori…its kinda disturbing. >
Rankings are always full of bias
And Kubo won’t throw us that kind of lame loop because his manga is all about the cool characters being the best
And that one looks the least cool, I would have put him at #10 if Yammy wasn’t there already!
Oh look 4 posts! I’m breaking my own record!
Anyway that’s true about the cool characters being at the top. But most charas in Bleach are cool anyway hahaha.
It’ll be super interesting to see whether your prediction comes true!
So really. Power rankings is equivalent to coolness rankings as well? XD
Yeah power = coolness! It’s always the small harmless dude that usually turns out to be the most dangerous one. The big bolstering fierce ones are usually the first to be beaten.
I hope at least my top 3 predictions are correct!
Yah look at Yammyyyyyyyyyyy. Not surprised he’s no 10 haha. Perhaps there’s a significance in why KT chose these 2 as the first one to come down to bug Ichigo and gang.
No 1 and No 10 together!
O yeah, I think your top 3 for the most part should be quite accurate. However Noitora could be over-estimating his own strength so he might not be no2.
Hahaha yah eh, I didn’t think of it that way – it’s the #1 and the #10 of the Espadas together! Well if Noitora is not #2 then Mr. Bored will be #2! That’s where I originally envisioned him to be.
I’m guessing we’ll probably find out #7 soon if Kubo decides to make Ishida meet the #7.
Yup, it makes sense to send your best guy down right? I guess if you reread the manga again, there will be clues here and there that will point out Ulq’s ranking.. I really do strongly think that he’s number 1, based on character development alone.
I want to see whether your ranking for no7 is correct. You and your biasedness. I will laugh if he’s any higher than what you gave him. =p
Yeah Aizen is always sending Ulquiorra to do this and to do that. He places a lot of trust in Ulquiorra and thus that’s why Ulquiorra is #1 since Aizen knows he’s got the power to accomplish all those tasks.
What is this anime/manga? I haven’t seen it…-_-;;;;
hooooooooly…nevermind! i found out! hahaha i’m such a dolthead……….
Holy o.o Nor broke her record? Lotsa comments xD
Anyway~ Haha jw, you explained to me your rankings before. I would go with your order, too. It makes a lot of sense, to be honest o_ob
Aww man it’s no fun if everyone keeps agreeing with my order
There’s no discussion that way lol
I think the rankings are probably like this (some changes):
1. Ulquiorra
2. Noitora
3. Hot Arrancar Girl
4. Bored guy with gloves
5. Black guy with earrings
6. Grimmjow
7. Old guy
8. Zaelapollo
9. Aroniro
10. Yammy
Hot Arrancar Girl is #3 because I love strong women in anime/manga and I think she could very well be close to being #1 but doesn’t care about it as much as Noitora to brag about it and doesn’t want to be a pet to Aizen like Ulquiorra.
Well my top 10 would look like this:
1. Ulquiorra(it seems that he feets 1 spot best, but there is one thing that doesn`t fit here, when he come with yammy to “real world” he says/think:”When his reiatsu is low. it`s inconsequential.But when it`s high, it`s greater than mine”.So basiclly that means Ichigo got “top” reiatsu stronger than Ulquiorra, and that`s smth strange when we consider what Capt Hitsugai said “Bluntly put, a Vaste Lorde`s battle abilities are evan greater than captain`s.” so we got here Ulquiorra rank 1(let asume that is the case) being strongest , but same time having weaker reiatsu than Ichigo? Smth is not right here anyway if you see my point.
2. Bored guy with gloves (“low talking” char are always strong xD)
3. Brooding chick(there is only 1 “female” so she gotta be stong xD)
4. Old moustachio man(like some1 said it already “old” guys are always strong
5. Noitora
6. Grimmjow
7. Stone-face dude with skull earrings(he looks preatty weak to me tbh so about this spot i`m like 90% sure
8. Zaelapollo
9. Aroniro
10. Yammy
P.S.
Note that all this is based on feeling, I don`t evan read manga(can`t force myself to start from begining and can`t just start now xD)
Leon: Hahaha I did think that the arrancar girl might be very powerful as well but I got a bias for the bored guy because he looks kinda cool and reminds me of Shunsui also
Flamehaze: Yeah everyone agrees that Ulquiorra is #1. The part where he says that Ichigo’s reiatsu peaks higher than him, I think he was referring to a full hollow Ichigo rather than a Vizard Ichigo. Or maybe he was referring to Ichigo being higher than him unreleased. I’m surprised you put Noitora so low though!
alkan: The way Noitora speaks about being number one, like you pointed out, suggests heavily that he must be number 2, or at the very least number 3. I can’t imagine him being any lower.
Leon: Yup I agree. Maybe we will get to see the bored Espada interact with Ishida or Ichigo in the manga soon so that we can have an idea of his strength.
i dont think Ulquiorra is the strongest, cuz one of the Espada said that no sword can cut through my skin after all i am the strongest Espada. I think it was the top left guy that said it.
I have a theory:
Based on the pattern of: Yami #10, Zaelapollo #8, Grimjow #6
If we continue with even numbers around the table we have: Bored guy w/ gloves #4
Brooding Chick #2
Then starting with Aroniro #9
Mustache guy #7
Stone face guy #5
Ulquiorra #3
Noitora #1
I know its a reach but that pattern fits, Ulquiorra I always thought would be at least in the top3 and Noitora claims to be the strongest and if the pattern holds true then he would be.
RJ: I think you’re referring to Grimmjow who isn’t the strongest Espada, he’s only #6.
scamps: Well that numbering theory certainly holds for the existing Espada. Only thin that stops Noitora from being #1 is that he says he’s not recognised as the strongest but he think he is. You can take it as the usual arrogance of bad guys. A few more Espada numbers might prove or disprove your theory.
According to the table:
back to front
9 – 10
3 – 4
7 – 8
1 – 2
5 – 6
That’s my prediction.
y: That makes Noitora #7 and Ulquiorra #5 which are both highly unlikely to me
I’d definitely rate Ulquiorra within the top 3!
this is just a guess off of my gut, but the one after is a pattern i looked at.
Gut order
1. sleep bored espada- he told Noitora to be quiet, and Noitora said nothing back
2. he isn’t afraid of anyone, but in one of the translations of the manga, he was worried about one person’s name that he almost slipped up with.
3. Ulquiorra- perfect for being used as a pet. 3 is not too high, which makes him useful for lower tasks, but at the same time, he has all others under him.
4. Dark skinned espada. from looking at the comments he makes, he’s not to egotistical. he gives straight answers. he’s about getting straight forward to get the task finished.
5. female espada. quiet and looks skillful, but sounded slightly worried when she heard about ichigo and his friends breaking in.
6. Grimmjow
7. old man- he could his number to throw you off. he sounds cocky, but this is just my gut feeling.
8. Zaera-Polo
9. Aaroneiro
10. Yammy
Pattern order- zig zag
10 yammy
9 aaroneiro
8 zaera-polo
7 noitora
6 grimmjow
5 ulquiorra
4 old man
3 girl
2 dark skinned espada
1 sleepy espada
oh snap! i just realized that my pattern theory is the same as alkanphel. btw, number 2 for my gut feeling order is Noitora. i forgot to put his name.
actually that’s not alkanphel, that’s someone else lol that’s someone name “y.”
alkanphel: I don’t see Ulquiorra top 3 and I definitely do not see Noitora in top 3.
Well, I think it can be said that Ulquiorra is definately in the top 5. After all, he is at least ranked higher than Grimmjow. Since he mentioned that Ichigo could at least equal him in power in hollow form, he may be number 5 (though he seems stronger than this, it wouldn’t really be a surprise if he was the 1st Espada. Not sure about the others. The tall dark Espada seems fairly intelligent and isn’t cocky at all, so I would assume that he’s in the top 5. Same goes for the girl; if she’s the only girl in the Espada, I would suspect her of being top 5 material. The quiet one is most definately top 5 material. Which leaves us with Noitora and the old Espada. I think one of them is the 7th Espada. On the one hand, Ishida may run into Noitora; if they fight (and Ishida has any chance of surviving) he would probably have to be lower than Grimmjow. Also, it’s possible that Ichigo will have a showdown with Grimmjow or Ulquiorra, so I don’t really think he will fight Noitora. On the other hand, Chad could always run into the Old Espada (who does happen to look a lot like Chad’s grandfather…). If this were true, he would have to be 7th Espada at the strongest for Chad to take him on. But aside from the 4 already revealed, Noitora, and the Old Espada, I’m pretty sure the others are all in the top 5.
Oh, and don’t forget that Ulquiorra (based on his mask shape) is almost definately a Vasto Lorde level Espada… definately an arguement for his top Espada ranking, as Aizen seems to have big plans for the Vasto Lordes. We don’t know anything about the Menos classes of the other Espada (excluding Yammy- Adjuchas, and Aaroneiro- Gillian) except that they are above Gillian, so for all we know there could be more Vasto Lordes around.
Here’s a guess about the rankings for the Espada (keep in mind 5 and 7 could alternate, depending on which Espada appears on the scene first).
1. Ulquiorra
2. Bored Espada
3. Large Dark Espada
4. Female Espada
5. Noitora
6. Grimmjow Jaggerjack
7. Old Espada
8. Zaero-Polo Grantz
9. Aaroneiro Arleri
10. Yammy
Here’s my ranking for the Espada (keep in mind that 5 and 7 can change, depending on which Espada appears on the scene first).
1. Ulquiorra
2. Bored Espada
3. Large Dark Espada
4. Female Espada
5. Noitora
6. Grimmjow Jaggerjack
7. Old Espada
8. Zaero-Polo Grantz
9. Aaroneiro Arleri
10. Yammy
Heres My Rank Yo!
1. Ulquiorra – coz when Grimmjow was talking shit about ichigo “What if he gets stronger some shit like that” Ulquiorra said hes gon kill him by himself and grimmjow didnt say nothing back “speechless”
2. Noitora – Tyring so hard to be the strongest, probly jealous of Ulquiorra
3. Bored Arrancar – no comment
4. Arrancar Girl – She looks hella strong too
5. Old Arrancar – He looks stronger than Grimmjow
6. Grimmjow -
7. Nigga Arrancar – ionno
8. Zaero Polo Grantz
9. Aaroneiro Arleri
10.Yammy
Ulquiorra is most likely the top Espada (as well as a Vasto Lorde level Espada). Considering Grimmjow was speechless at Ulquiorra’s comment about finishing off Ichigo, he must be incredibly powerful. The quiet, bored Espada also seems powerful. Now, correct me if I’m wrong, but I don’t think he spoke once at the meeting; this would make him the only member of the espada that hasn’t spoken yet. Also, I think everyone is underestimating the tall, dark Espada. For all we know, he could be the 1st Espada. Somehow, I suspect that he’s one of the top 5 (and he seems more observant and careful than some of the others, like Grimmjow and Noitora). Now, if Noitora happens to cross paths with Ichigo in the near future, Ichigo would be screwed if he was in the top 4 (if the same scenario was with Ishida and Noitora, 7th at the strongest for Ishida to win). I suspect that Noitora and the old Espada are the only real candidates for 7th place, but I could be wrong. Honestly, I suspect that Ulquiorra, the quiet Espada, the female Espada, and the tall dark Espada would be intelligent enough not to run out into battle carelessly. Yammy and Grimmjow would at least be able to better analyze the situation, though Grimmjow is extremely careless. Don’t forget that the old Espada does happen to look alot like Chad’s grandfather; I don’t really think it would be a surprise if this were the case (they already threw in the Aaroneiro-Kaien and Zaera-Polo/Il Forte Grantz connections). If this were true, and Chad had any chance of ever defeating him, he would have to be the 7th Espada. Then again, Noitora could be 7th too.
nice observation. i always suspected the sleepy, bored espada to be in the top because of the fact that, he was the only espada that didn’t talk at the meeting. the only thing he said was be quiet, and that he was still sleepy to Noitora. This was before the meeing, and Noitora didn’t say anything back to him. I like your point though how u were saying that other espadas are basically recklessly running out into fights. Specific arrancar like Ulquiorra, dark espada, and female are more observant. at first, i thought the “being to careful” was a sign of inferiorty, but it shows more that the character would not take their opponent lightly if they fought, which is dangerous. other espadas had at least made one comment of cockyness before they knew their opponents. Noitora keeps trying to prove himself. Zaera-Polo in the beginning thought it would be entertaining if they broke into their room. Old man arrancar called them weaklings. Grimmjow was holding his grudge. Aaroniro rushed out into a fight. The female seemed cautious by her responses to Noitora. I thought she would be weaker like i said, but this sign of cautiousness can be a sign of how serious she is. Ulquiorra is just waiting. the dark skinned espada seems straight forward, wants to get the job done. sleepy espada doesn’t give a shit about anything, so my guess for him is that he is number 1. lol
I’d also like to think that the bored Espada is at the top but I think it’s more likely to be Ulquiorra because of how much trust Aizen places in him.
I would definitely not be surprised if the old Espada is Chad’s grandfather, with all the connections suddenly popping up.
Spoilers for Chapter 269:
Well, now Aaroneiro is dead and we know the names of 2 more Espada. The female Espada is Halibell and the bored one is Stark. And it looks like an Ulquiorra vs. Ichigo battle is about to take place. Now if Ichigo has any chance of winning (and no one interferes with the fight) I would say that Ulquiorra would have to be the 5th Espada. Also, unless he intends to interupt this fight, Noitora is headed in Ishida’s direction. Noitora would be the 7th Espada for Ishida to have any chance of winning (though his zanpakuto does look extremely badass and powerful…). Stark, Halibell, the dark Espada, and the old Espada may be the top 4, though I still can’t shake the feeling that the old one is 7th. Infact, I’m expecting that Stark (in particular) and the dark Espada are the best candidates for 1st Espada. As cool as I think Ulquiorra is (and I’d really like him to be the 1st), he has already approached Ichigo; there is almost certainly going to be a battle (unless someone interferes), so 5th ranking at the strongest would be the only chance for Ichigo to win. It would make sense, since Ulquiorra did say Ichigo could at least equal him in power. I’m really interested by Stark though, somehow I think he’s very likely the 1st Espada. One thing to make note of: I don’t know how significant it is, but so far Noitora, Halibell, and Stark have been revealed to have servants (mini-espada?). Maybe significance of rank, maybe nothing, but I thought it was something to look out for.
I have a feeling that Ishida will encounter Stark instead of Noitora. Stark and Lilinet seem to be the reverse of Shunsui and Nanao in their personalities if you noticed. And all these Espada and their servants is too much like the captains and vice-captains.
The reason I think it’s Noitora is that he was heading for someone. Maybe he’ll interupt Ulquiorra’s fight. However, if he doesn’t, he’s headed in Ishida’s direction. What makes you think Ishida will run into Stark? Personally, I think Stark would be too lazy/tired to fight. Would be interesting; maybe it would have a similar outcome to the Chad/Shunsui fight earlier on. Honestly, right now, Stark doesn’t seem like that much of a bad guy. In fact, I’m hoping that he’s Espada number 1, which is why I’d like him to stay put and not get himself killed like Arroneiro did (and Zaero-Polo could). This Espada/servant thing is intriguing though. As far as I know, Ulquiorra, Grimmjow, Arroneiro, Zaero-Polo, and Yammy don’t seem to have them. Maybe it’s a hint of who the top 3 (or 4 if the dark Espada/old Espada has one) Espada are. Maybe I’m overanalyzing things, but with the probable Ulquiorra/Ichigo battle, I’m thinking Ulquiorra may not be as powerful as was originally let on.
I’m curions about what will happen with the shift of ranks though. Will Yammy become the 9th Espada? Will Wonderwice, or some other powerful arrancar make it to the ranks of the Espada? Will they carry on like nothing happened and just have 9 Espada (or 8 if Zaera-Polo gets himself killed too)?
Most of my thoughts are from a metaplot standpoint. The reason I think Noitora won’t meet Ishida is because the reiatsu he detected was probably Ichigo and also that we’ve seen him in ‘action’ already. Since everyone is/was in some sort of battle with an Espada except Ishida, he’s the next one to meet one of them.
The most likely one is Stark who has been highlighted in 269. I wouldn’t be surprised if the battle between them ended up like Chad vs Noitora. Since you think he is too lazy to fight, maybe Lilinet will fight in his place first but Ishida will overpower her and Stark will interfere.
I’m not thinking too much about the Ulquiorra/Ichigo battle because I think it will end up like Chad vs Noitora – overwhelming victory to Ulquiorra. I doubt Ulquiorra will even release to fight Ichigo.
Zaelapollo seems to have those 2 weird blobby servants called Lumina and Belona. Kinda fitting for a twisted arrancar like him.
It’s quite possible that Wonderwice will become #9 which is why he was introduced so long ago for no obvious reason…until now.
Chad retaliated after Tesla interfered in 263. Even though Noitora was on his way to find another power level, he could have possible decided to finish Chad off. they didn’t show wat happened. they cut to the next character. and if chad didn’t get knocked the hell out after Tesla’s interference, he may keep attacking because he’s already shown his persistence in all his fights. we’ve never seen him back down. he’s always fought until he had been beaten. the only time was when ichigo interfered, and he told him to leave. other than that, chad has fought all the way, and he’s still standing. there may be a continuation. i’m still keeping in mind though that it’s possible that Noitora will ignore chad and leave to run into ishida. for all we know, he may even find ichigo, and interrupt Ulquiorra.
as for ishida, i can see him running into the female, who is overlooking the building (plus he’s always fighting females lol), a slight chance of Stark (since Stark had his sleep “disturbed.”
Well I think that Chad is pretty much out for the count. The part where Chad owns Gantenbien then later gets owned by Noitora is a mirror of the SS part where he owns the 3rd seat and then Shunsui owns him back. In this case Chad was using his very last attack with his life essence in it but Telsa somehow negated the attack.
I can certainly see Ishida meeting Halibel since it’s his running gag to keep fighting the females lol!
makes sense. i can agree with that. he’s either fighting a female, or someone super demented. lol
Ishida’s probably going to fight Halibel. Noitora will probably interupt Ulquiorra’s fight with Ichigo. After all, unless Ulquiorra’s the 5th Espada, Ichigo has virtually no chance of survival. Plus, Noitora said he was headed for a powerful opponent. Looking at what we’ve seen of Zaera-Polo and Arroneiro’s zanpakuto’s, Noitora is way too strong to be the 7th Espada. I’d give that spot to the old Espada or Halibel. Also, I think Ishida will win his fight; after all, it wouldn’t make sense of all the main characters lost their battles. Seeing as Ulquiorra’s confronting Ichigo, Noitora’s probably headed in their direction, Zaera-Polo’s fighting Renji, Grimmjow and Yammy are nowhere to be seen, and Arroneiro’s dead, that just leaves the 4 that we haven’t really seen in action. Stark doesn’t seem to care much about the situation, and the only one that appears to be outside is Halibel. Also, I would expect that Yammy and Grimmjow (although very reckless) would be intelligent enough to lay low for awhile. At this point, everyone in Ichigo’s group (those that broke into Hueco Mundo) is strong enough to take out Yammy. Halibel vs. Ishida seems like the next big battle.
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