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!
1943 Comments
Yeah, and if that’s not enough, Halibel’s still waiting on the sidelines. I think it’s possible that a weaker Espada took Grimmjow out, but it looks like he’s confirmed in the top 5. Halibel’s also in the top 5, judging by her reaction to 2 opponents at 6th Espada level fighting evenly; if she’s not phased at all, it’s likely she’s in the top 3. That means, only Stark, the dark guy, and the old guy could possibly be 7th. I’m going to have to go with the old guy as 7th. Noitora may be 5th; He might be powerful, but remember that Ulquiorra thinks he’s an idiot. Anyone could’ve taken Grimmjow out at that point, so we don’t know just how powerful Noitora is.
Remember the Ulquiorra fight; Ichigo barely scratched him, and was almost fatally wounded. Now, Noitora doesn’t really seem like a nice person, and probably doesn’t have any morals; Noitora will do whatever it takes to become the strongest Espada. That means, since he deemed Ichigo worthy, he’s out to kill Ichigo. If Ichigo couldn’t harm Ulquiorra, and Noitora’s stronger than that, Ichigo’s going to need some serious backup right now if he wants to survive. But, if Noitora’s the 5th Espada, Ichigo could at least hold his own until Noitora released. I’m hoping that if the fight isn’t interrupted, that it’ll at least be an interesting one; hopefully we’ll learn his and Halibel’s ranks, as well as see some more of Stark and the 2 unnamed Espada. I’ve got to say that if Noitora isn’t the top Espada, then it’s very unlikely he’ll reveal his rank himself. More than likely Nell will reveal Noitora’s rank.
Also, what’s up with Zaera-Polo? He’s spent months changing his clothes, hopefully we’ll get a conclusion for that fight. Maybe Ishida and Renji already figured out how to escape that room and are attempting to rescue Chad and Rukia. Assuming Noitora is 5th, maybe there’s time to take out Noitora and Zaera-Polo before the HM arc ends. That would leave 6 remaining Espada and Wonderwice as a possible future Espada.
Ranking 1
1)Old Espada
2)Stark
3)Dark Espada
4)Ulquiorra(!)
5)Halibel
6)Grimmjow(!)
7)Noitora
8)Zaeruaporro(!)
9)Aaroniero(!)
10)Yammy(!)
Those with (!) are already confirmed by the manga/anime. I placed the old espada and the dark skinned man in the top 3 because first of there is a big reason why their names are not revealed, second old people should NEVER be underestimated if people already forgotten about the 1st division captain. It is also obvious that Stark and Halibel is of higher rank than Noitora, simply because Stark already looks like he is top espada and Halibel seems to be smarter than Noitora. Many people are also thinking that Noitora is the second strongest simply because he manages to beat Chad, Renji is the one who helped train Chad and yet he along with Ishida is already close to being beaten.
Ranking 2
1)Halibel
2)Noitora
3)Stark
4)Ulquiorra(!)
5)Old Espada
6)Grimmjow(!)
7)Dark Espada
8)Zaeruaporro(!)
9)Aaroniero
10)Yammy(!)
It is already believed that Halibel is in fact of higher rank than Noitora simply because she seems to piss Noitora off. And maybe Noitora was also able to beat Chad easily because he IS one of the top espada. So if those are true then it should lead Halibel on top, Noitora on 2nd and Stark, being the top looking espada would be in third, if not then it would be:
1)Stark 2)Halibel 3)Noitora
There are also some captain/espada twins:
Yamamoto = Old Espada(Looks like or might just be Chads grandfather)
Soifong = Halibel
Kenpachi = Noitora
Ky
I don’t think their similarities to the captains really matters that much. I can understand the 5 you listed (you forgot one, Ulquiorra = Byakuya), but that doesn’t mean that the old guy will be the top Espada simply because Yamamoto is in charge of the captains. Don’t forget, there’s a reason why Yamamoto is in charge; Yamamoto is powerful and intelligent, the old Espada on the other hand is extremely arrogant (calling the intruders weak, calling Arroniero a fool) and hasn’t said or done anything that convinces me he’s any tougher than 7th Espada. When Kubo shows a picture of him with the weakest 3 Espada complaining and underestimating the intruders, he appears weak; or at least, that appears to be what Kubo was hinting at. This is why I believe the old guy is the weakest of the unrevealed Espada. Not to mention, if he turns out to be Chad’s grandfather, he would have to be one of the weaker ones if they plan on having a final showdown. I don’t think the resemblance to Yamamoto is a validation to make him the 1st Espada; that would be far too predictable and very disappointing.
Out of the remaining 4, Stark seems to have the most potential, by far. Also, he is the only arrancar so far that doesn’t have a mask fragment attached to his face; maybe there’s a reason for that. At the Espada meeting, Kubo first showed a panel with the weakest 4 acting like fools. I believe the second panel was of Espada 2-5 being more serious (except Noitora); we already knew Grimmjow’s rank, and Stark was just too lazy to even speak at the meeting, except to shut Noitora up before it even began. Logically, I’d have to say that Stark, the dark guy, Halibel, and Ulquiorra are the top 4, seeing as they’re the only ones that seem to have common sense (not to mention, they seem like the most intelligent of the group). Noitora seems tough, but his erratic behavior, as well as his desperation to prove he’s the best, would make him a terrible leader.
I would have to agree that Noitora and Halibel are in the top 5 after seeing the summary of the latest chapter. But then again I always expected Noitora to be either number 2 or 3. I also thought that Halibel would probably be number 5.
On the wikipedia it says the following:
Ulquiorra(4th espada)
Grimmjow(6th espada)
Szayel Aporro Grantz(8th espada)
Aaroniero Arleri(9th espada)
Yammy(10 espada)
So we can take out the idea of Ulquiorra as being #1 or #5.
Wikipedia doesn’t tell any other ranks though, srry.
Good debate! Here’s my take on it:
1. Stark (I initially thought he might be lower, bt some of the arguments here have changed my mind. I definitely think he’s #1 now)
2. Noitora (see below)
3. Halibel (Could be #2, but I’m kind of leaning toward her being weaker than Noitora because of how he talks to her)
4. Ulquiorra
5. Shaq (’cause it’s the only spot left for him)
6. Grimmjow
7. Grampa (as has been said, he’s basically an ass. Not top-ranked material.)
8-10 confirmed.
My theory is this:
Aizen wants an all vasto-lorde espada, but it isn’t always easy to demote people, especialy when they’ve got short fuzes and can cause a lot of havok when they get mad. Seeing as he’s a manipulator, he decides to use Ichigo & Co’s attack to eliminate the lower ranks. To do that, Gin starts secretly switching around the rooms so that the good guys end up fighting the weaker espada. Aizen orders all the espada to their rooms, because that way it’s easiest to just direct the invaders to the ones that he wants to eliminate. Afterward, he could claim that it was just an “unfortunate coincidence” that all the weaker espada got killed.
So why do the big guns come out?
Aizen still needs Orihime, so he sends his loyal minon Ulquiorra to make sure that Ichigo doesn’t save her. Ulquiorra defeats Ichigo, but doesn’t kill him, because he knows that Ichigo isn’t strong enough to challenge the top tier, but could still be useful in eliminating weaker opposition.
Grimmjow, being an ass (I don’t like him), screws up the plan though, so when Ulquiorra gets trapped, someone else has is dispatched to pick up where he left off–Halibel. It makes sense for Halibel to be stronger than Ulquiorra because obviously if #4 couldn’t cut it, someone weaker isn’t going to be able to either.
Meanwhile Noitora has gone out to fight against orders. I rank him higher than Ulquiorra and Halibel because of how he talks to them, and the fact that among guys as powerful as the espada, you’ve got to have something to back that sort of attitude up. Ulquiorra later refers to Noitora as an idiot though, because he knows that Noitora iis way too powerful for Ichigo & friends to handle; Noitora would just waste them all, which would screw up Aizen’s plan for eliminating the lower ranking espada.
My guess for what happens next is that Ulquiorra breaks free of the field that Grimmjow put him in, and he and Halibel step in to stop Noitora from doing much more. Either that or Tousen shows up to intervene in a similar way.
Any-who, that’s what I think is going on, even if most of it is just guesswork.
Amon: nice theory, it makes sense.
It’s all a game to Aizen; Ulquiorra even said that to Noitora. I don’t think Grimmjow really harmed Aizen’s plans though. I’m curious as to whether Halibel was ordered to intervene, or if she just came out of curiosity. One thing that’s odd is that the 7th Espada hasn’t reveled himself yet (I’m assuming it’s the old guy); I can understand Yammy being smart and laying low since he’s already fought the enemy, but Espada 9, 8, and 6 all went out of their way to pick fights, so where’s 7?
Now, correct me if I’m wrong, but have we actually learned about the circumstances surrounding the death of Chad’s grandfather yet? It’s hard to see in the manga, since we haven’t seen much of the old Espada yet, but when I looked at the most recent opening in the anime (and paused it to take a look at the picture of the old Espada), the resemblance was uncanny. Maybe we’ll learn how he actually died; maybe the beating he took for Chad left him with all those scars… It would be a very interesting plot development to say the least, and would certainly elevate him above his seemingly mediocre status. I think this arc is the perfect time for a reunion between him and Chad…
I’m suspecting Aizen’s trying to weed out the weaker Espada to make room for the Vasto Lordes; it’s probably for this reason that he hasn’t put Wonderwice in the Espada yet. Certain Espada like Ulquiorra definately know this, and the remaining 3 Vasto Lordes probably have it figured out too. The weaker ones are too foolish to see this, and Noitora is too self-absorbed to care; mark my words, this will be his fatal mistake, he’s not as tough as he thinks he is, and one of these days he’ll have his ass handed to him. Whether it’s by Ichigo, Zaraki, another Espada, or even Aizen himself has yet to be determined, but his overconfidence will be his downfall; that, I’m sure of.
i can see Noitora as an adjucha, and also being the previous numnber 1 espada. this means that when vasto lordes came into the espada, his rank had dropped. this would make him try to prove he is the strongest, even though he knows that naturally he couldn’t be. with my opinion as that, then my ranks would be as follows (assuming that those above him are vasto lordes)
1. Stark
2. dark skinned espada
3. Hari-bel
4. Ulquiorra
5. Noitora
6. Grimmjow
7. old espada
8. Szayelaporro
9. Aaroniero
10. Yammy
That would make sense. Noitora wouldn’t have seen the top 4 in action, so he would be oblivious to just how powerful they are. Since he has no way to gauge how tough they are, he still considers himself the strongest. To be honest though, Noitora seems like a coward. Sure, he’s probably strong, but if he really wanted to prove he was the strongest (like he constantly says he is), all he would have to do is kill Aizen and make the others follow him. It’s so obvious, but all he does is chase weaklings, and then complain when he finds out how weak they are. Clearly, he’s not nearly tough enough to take Aizen on, and he’s jealous of his superiors. He was angry with Halibel and Ulquiorra looking down on him (and later on, Ulquiorra referred to him as an idiot in front of Orihime), but was too afraid to talk back when Stark told him to shut up. Noitora is clearly too afraid to talk back to Aizen because of how powerful he is, so maybe it’s an indication that Stark is the strongest Espada; he took his chances talking back to Ulquiorra and Halibel who were closer to him in power, but he didn’t dare talk back to Stark. Stark’s name even means strong…
Noitora’s moping around (and his apparent inferiority complex, much like Grimmjow’s) is not characteristic of how the strongest arrancar in all of Hueco Mundo should act. Another thing: I noticed that some people think that the adjuchas release forms of the Espada will all be animal-like, since Grimmjow’s was. I don’t know if that’s really relevant, but if you want an arguement for Noitora as the 5th Espada, he does look kinda like a scorpion; especially in the most recent chapter, the way he throws and catches his scythe…
about the old espada, i think it would be very interesting to see if he was connected to chad like many people have thought. notice how we’ve never seen chad’s grandfather’s eyes, but since we’ve seen the espadas eyes, it’s not like we can tell that he is Chad’s grandfather. so it would be cool if he was, and they refer to a flashback where they show his eyes, and ur like “oh shit, it was him.” that’d be interesting. i would also place him as number 7 for this. so he can showdown with Chad at some point.
more off topic, but i have a feeling that at some point in the story, Chad is going to be one of the most important characters a lot later. since he came to hueco mundo, he’s felt more at home. his powers are hollow-like, right? so if his powers are hollow-like, and the power of his arms are from his grandfather, then his grandfather would have to be a hollow of some sort wouldn’t he? he’s also felt a stirring in his power ever since he’s been in Hueco Mundo. maybe his power is reacting to his “home” and his “grandfather.” i can see Chad as a full bodied hollow hybrid that would have to face ichigo one day or somethin. would be coo to see….neways ya…
7 fits old espada for sure to me, along with his attitude and his appearance with the weaker espada, unless it was to throw us off. the crown-shaped mask doesn’t mean much yet as of now.
Am I the only one starting to envision a “Luke… uh, I mean CHAD–I am your grandfather!” moment here? I’d be cool with that as long as it doesn’t go into the territory of “Join me on the dark side… it is your destiny!”
The Noitora being 5th but not knowing how overmatched he really is theory is pretty interesting. My money is still on him being 2 or 3, but that’s definitely got some merit to it too.
i have something similar: old espada finds out that a couple of other espada have been engaged in battles. so now, he walks outside out of curiosity to take a look at things not knowing he’s going towards chad. “Hehe. wat’s the big hype round here bout. they’re just a bunch of ki….huh?” Chad slowly lifts his head up to hit his chin on the ground looking up. “Abuelo?”….(cliffhanger)
Noitora’s back baby!!!!
Anyway forgetting about that, my ranks remain the same.
1st Espada- Stark
2nd Espada- Halibel
3rd Espada- Tall Spiky Guy
4th Espada- Ulquiorra
5th Espada- Noitora
6th Espada- Grimmjow Jeagerjaques
7th Espada- Oscar Joaquin De La Rosa?
8th Espada- Szayel Aporro Grantz
9th Espada- Aaroniero Arleri
10th Espada- Yammy
1. Noitora
2. Old Espada
3. Stark
4. Ulquiorra
5. Stone-face dude with skull earrings
6. Grimmjow
7. Halibel
8. Szayelaporro
9. Aaroniero
10. Yammy
To OrochiGab: Noitora will never be the first Espada….its obvious enough that he’s not the first espada from the way he b!tches abt how he has to prove that he deserves to be the strongest Espada and how he complains to Tesla abt how he should be the first Espada
well i have revised my post seeing how the manga has taken such a turn.
so here it is:
10.Yammy
9.Arroniero
8.Zaerapolo
7.^Shaq *bringin da POWER*
6.Grimmjow
5.Noitora
4.Ulqiorra
3.Stark
2.*^Halibel (*i think thats hot gurls name)
1.Old Guy (is he chads grandad i dunno)
^= These two ranks can be switched to achieve a new setup im not sure but i tink the big guy is 7th espada. if he is like yammy he is weak
Just because the dark guy is big doesn’t mean he’s like Yammy. Sure, he may be one of the largest Espada, but he seems really intelligent; in a way, he seems like a tougher, colder version of Ulquiorra. Think about it, if Ulquiorra is supposed to be the model of a Vasto Lorde, then wouldn’t it make sense for his superiors to be even more intelligent and analytical than him. The remaining 3 that fit this mold are Stark, Halibel, and the dark Espada; they are all quiet, think before they speak, and seem very intelligent from what we’ve seem of them so far.
Stark knew about Arroniero’s death without even being conscious and didn’t seem concerned at all when he woke up. His demeanor suggests that he already knows exactly what is happening; that Aizen plans on using the intruders to eliminate the weakest Espada to make room for more Vasto Lordes, which explains why he didn’t really want to interfere. Then again, Lillinet seemed pretty determined to see Stark do something about it, so maybe he’ll actually do something after all. Halibel acted like Ulquiorra when she observed Ichigo and Grimmjow fighting; she seems just as analytical as Ulquiorra, if not more so. Likewise, when the dark guy didn’t know who the fourth member of Ichigo’s team was, he was quick to ask who it was; Ulquiorra’s quick response seems to indicate he has respect for him, which leads me to think this unranked Espada is stronger than Ulquiorra.
Noitora and the old guy are the best candidates for 7th Espada. I’d have to say that Noitora is more likely to be the 5th Espada though, since he did seriously injure (perhaps even kill) Grimmjow in the most recent chapter. We still don’t know the old guy’s identity, but he does look alot like Chad’s grandfather. I particularly noticed this when seeing him in the most recent opening from the anime; it’s hard to get a real good look in the manga, since we don’t have any real good images of this Espada, but the picture in the opening (though only for a split second) really does look like Chad’s grandfather. I’m hoping this is true, as it would actually make this Espada interesting.
A lot of people seem to be missing the point when they rank the old guy as the top Espada; it’s either his resemblance to Yamamoto or his scars = experience. Personally I think the former is too predictable and boring, while the latter is incorrect. If he is Chad’s grandfather, then perhaps he got those before he died. Scars don’t indicate strength or experience among hollows, if he got these while he was an arrancar, that would simply mean that he got into a lot of dangerously close fights. That would mean that his opponents were closely ranked in strength, which in turn means that he is nothing special, just like the enemies he barely defeated. The stronger ones would be able to return from battle unscathed, but the fact that he didn’t indicates that he was weak, or that he got them before he became a hollow.
Like I’ve said time and time again, this is probaly the most accurate ranking!
1st Espada- Stark
2nd Espada- Halibel
3rd Espada- Tall Spiky Guy
4th Espada- Ulquiorra
5th Espada- Noitora
6th Espada- Grimmjow Jeagerjaques
7th Espada- Oscar Joaquin De La Rosa?
8th Espada- Szayel Aporro Grantz
9th Espada- Aaroniero Arleri
10th Espada- Yammy
My Reasons: #1, Stark is most likely the first Espada mainly because of the way he acts. Would a lower ranked Espada really ever act so lazy and tired? Of course not. Anyway, everything about him screams Espada 1.
Reason #2, Halibel has that feeling to her that makes it seem like shes extremely powerful, but not the top. She has that commanding presence to her. She also has a great resemblance to Soifon, even though that doesn’t mean shes 2, it still makes her a candidate.
Reason #3, The tall dark espada has a commanding presence to him too, and like Guest said up there, even though he’s big like Yammy doesn’t mean he’s weak.
Reason #4, Noitora is most likely the 5th Espada, he is certantly stronger than Grimmjow, because even though Grimmjow was weakened at the time, you still have to think that would a lower ranked Espada really be able to even scratch him? Of course not. Anyway, it seems like Noitora belongs there.
Reason #5, The Old Espada is the 7th because he has some wierd relation to Chad. There’s gonna be some loopy wierd battle, some “Huge” revelation and its probaly gonna turn out to be Chads Grandfather. Now when you think about it, Chad really isnt the strongest out of their group. So of course thet’re goin to have to make his Espada opponent weak, but not weak enough, just strong enough so they could have a battle that’ll last 4 manga chapters.
I’m right, you guys know it.
Official: I agree with you on the rankings. The only thing I’d argue is that Halibel and the dark guy are both interchangable. Think about it, assuming Noitora’s 5th. He had no problem insulting Ulquiorra and Halibel, yet was too afraid to respond to Stark. Now Noitora seems to be full of himself, but he knows when to back down. I can see Noitora standing up to his two immediate superiors (Ulquiorra and Halibel), but I’d imagine he’d have a harder time talking back to the top 2. He talked like he and Ulquiorra were closely ranked, and he seemed to resent Halibel even more.
Now, another theory is that Stark is so powerful that he has evolved beyond the point of having to wear a mask (meaning that his necklace fragment is not actually attached to his body); Stark could be so strong that not even the other Vasto Lordes combined could hold a candle to his power. This could explain why he’s comfortable sleeping all the time, since no one could possibly challenge him. This may also invalidate my claim that Noitora wouldn’t dare to insult the 2nd Espada, since 2, 3, and 4 are close enough in rank for him to feel safe talking back to.
Well, I’ve got to say that your arguments have won me over to hoping that Noitora is #5 and Halibel and Shaq are numbers 2-3. That said, I still have a gut feeling that Noitora is in the top 3 (his general jerkiness could, after all, be because he is indeed stronger than Halibel and/or the Dark espada).
But it would be cooler if Noitora were stuck at #5.
1.Ulquiorra
2.Stark
3.Noitora
4.Halibel
5.Szayel Aporro Grantz
6.Grimmjow Jeagerjaques
7.Old Guy
8.Aaroniero
9.Dark espada
10.Yammy
What the hell? We already know that Ulquiorra is 4, Szayel is 8, and Aaroniero is 9. Where the hell have you been?
i dont understand the latest bleach episode…i think it’s episode 136. Ulquiorra was taken down by arrancar who werent even espada level how the hell is that possible. i mean come on! Ulquiorra could block techniques comparable to cero barehanded! How could that be…he was able to fend of ichigo in his hollow without too much trouble
its a little off-topic but i just wanna know how could this happen?
I’m inclined to believe that Ulquiorra was made significantly weaker to show that these Arrancar are important and relatively strong, but since they’re not on his side anymore, this technically gives Ulquiorra a chance in the next episode or episodes to strike back with his full power. Perhaps he’ll be the one who ultimately finishes off Patras and will prove that he’s as strong as he should be. I agree with you though, it’s really lame how they let him get all slashed up.
Umm you can see the mark on the black dudes chest slightly covered by cloths. It looks like it could be a 3 or 7.
Concerning the new episode, I’m not really concerned with Ulquiorra losing to Patras. Personally, I just think Ulquiorra’s being a good actor. Notice how Aizen was sitting in the room right before Patras showed up. Aizen could have easily used his zanpakuto to fool Patras into thinking he wasn’t really there. I’m sure Aizen wanted Ulquiorra to throw the fight; either that, or Aizen’s illusions are powerful enough to make Patras think he was killing Ulquiorra. I’m almost positive that after Patras left, Ulquiorra got up unharmed and said something akin to “what shall I do now, Aizen-sama?” Now that Ulquiorra is in the real world, I hope this mini-arc ends with Ulquiorra killing Patras without even lifting a finger (similar to the way he effortlessly dismembered those two shinigami when he kidnapped Orihime).
On another note, it appears episode 138 is back to the real story! I don’t think it’s been confirmed yet, but I’m hoping it’s true. Can’t wait to see the Espada animated.
ya. i think that Ulquiorra really couldn’t have been really harmed by Patras. i think it was to throw us off and piss us off at the same time. then, in the next episode, hopefully we can relieve ourselves seeing how powerful Ulquiorra really is. it’s weird though.
btw, these filler arrancar are kinda wack. look at their released forms. how long did it take to come up with them? lol one of the guy’s faces looks like a previous filler arrancar face already used. it was the one that multiplies. i just can’t wait until they introduce the espadas in the anime. they better do them good, or it’ll be gay. they’re also softening up. the anime now is starting to get less bloodier than the soul society arc. i hope that when the hueco mundo arc comes, they don’t ruin it.
…omit the first “really” in my first sentence. *
Uh huh. So back on topic, i saw somewhere about the possibilty of the two circles on Halibel’s turtle-neck being the symbol that says she’s Espada 2. That’s also the same with the 3 symbols on Deadro’s (I just felt like giving the big guy a name cause i dont like typing “tall dark guy” over and over again)chin and side of his head.
sounds like something to take in. but at the same time, we HAVE witnessed the revealed espadas with an actual tatooed number. so i dunno, but it’d be coo to see different representations of the espadas.
i heard about that too. and i DID notice the dark espada with e markings on him on different parts of his face.
Concerning the anime, I hope the Espada turn out alright. Hopefully the next few epidodes will do the next arrancar attack justice; I shudder to think how they plan to cut down on the violence for Luppi’s death. The anime doesn’t usually disappoint me though, and I was alright with how Yammy smashing that arrancar’s head in (ep. 127) turned out, so hopefully they’ll pick up the pace after the next filler episode and bring back the blood.
Back on topic, we still haven’t seen Szayel’s hollow hole or Espada number yet, assuming he even has them. Maybe he was able to remove the hole. About the tattoo – maybe it’s on his leg. I did notice the 3 marks on the dark Espada, and the 2 circles on Halibel’s uniform, but I think it looks a bit too obvious. It could be right, but the reason I think the dark guy is stronger than Halibel is that he seems less interested in the intruders.
Stark seems to be the least concerned of the group, as he slept through Arroniero’s death, and the dark guy seemed comfortable meditating; Halibel and Ulquiorra both felt the need to either start or watch a fight. Notice, although Ichigo isn’t a threat to either of them yet, they both seem somewhat impressed by his power. Ulquiorra looked shocked and afraid when he first saw Ichigo’s transformation, while Halibel wondered how a human could be so powerful. I get the feeling that the top 2 aren’t impressed enough to make an appearance.
….. Damn that was pretty good. I never really thought about it like that. You’re right, the top two espada would really not be that impressed by the intruders. Also, we have to think about the fact that when Noitora asked Halibel if she was scared of Ichigo and the rest, she didn’t say anything. She obviously was threatened by their intrusion, possibly hinting that she might even be a lower level than Ulquiorra.
Guest: You do know that what rubbish happens in the anime has no relation to the manga at all. There’s been quite a few contradictions in the anime already but they just ignore it when the contradictions come to light.
I also don’t think the number of markings have anything to do with their rankings because none of those whom we have seen their ranks already have any similar number of markings.
will they have another arc after hueco mundo.
Akira: I’d imagine that the Winter War arc would follow the Hueco Mundo one. There’ll probably be stuff inbetween them though.
So, anyways, I was thinking about what Noitora’s rank may be, and I have a new theory. Aside from his seemingly high rank, Noitora’s demeanor seems very characteristic of the weaker Espada; Yammy hasn’t shown himself to be the brightest Espada, Arroniero and Zaera-Polo underestimated their opponents, and Grimmjow wanted to settle the score with Ichigo. I think Noitora fits 7th place well with his inferiority complex and delusion that he’s the strongest. The only thing that sets this off is that he does actually appear stronger than that. I was looking over some older chapters and stumbled upon something interesting; on the first page of chapter 254 there are silhouettes of 3 current Espada – notice, from closest to furthest away they are Noitora, Zaera-Polo, and Arroniero. Now, Szayel and Arroniero both turned out to be 8th and 9th, so maybe Kubo put that in as a hint to Noitora’s rank.
When I think about it, something made me wonder if Noitora was really half as tough as he thought he was from the very beginning. Even though Ulquiorra is 2 places above Grimmjow, he seemed afraid to fight him; even though he doesn’t agree with Grimmjow’s actions, he seems to respect him in some sense. Look at Ulquiorra’s face when he confronts Grimmjow before his imprisonment; he looks hurt, like he feels betrayed. With Noitora, Ulquiorra talked down to him, and even called him an idiot in front of Orihime. Now this may just be because Noitora has no morals, while he respects that Grimmjow has some sense of honor, but if Ulquiorra’s afraid to instigate a fight with the 6th Espada, then why would he talk down to someone even stronger than Grimmjow?
The old guy (Oscar Joaquin De La Rosa?) could also be 7th, but think about it; if he really is Chad’s grandfather, and this arc really is going to end soon, then they probably won’t have a final confrontation until the Winter War. Now, keep in mind that Aizen wants to get rid of the weaker Espada to make room for the Vasto Lordes. I understand that he has to be weak enough for Chad to fight, but if he was 7th, he would probably be removed before the Winter War even began. So, if he’s going to last until the war, he should be around 5th Espada level. Maybe I’m just overanalyzing everything, but I thought it deserved some discussion. Either way, I think Noitora and the old guy are the best candidates for 5th and 7th.
By the way: personally, I still think Noitora’s 5th, but if he did turn out to only be the 7th Espada, that would certainly be an interesting revelation. I’ve got to admit that he looks tougher than Grimmjow though. Either way, I’m curious what his real rank is going to be so we can finally put to rest the constant debate of just how tough Noitora really is.
this is the official ranking so far. i contacted kubo.
1.old guy
2.dark guy
3.Halibel
4.Ulquiorra
5.noitora
6.Grimmjow
7.stark
8.Szayel
9.Aaroneiro
10.Yammy
Yeah ok, watever. We all know thats just a freakin fan made list. #1, If it was really Kubo then he would have thought of something more clever and better than that and #2, I dont think Kubo would ever just give away his rankings to be posted on the internet, world wide to everyone. So nice try akira.
1 – Stark
2 – Noitora
3 – Halibel
4 – Ulquiorra
5 – Black guy with mohawk mask
6 – Grimmjow
7 – Old Guy
8 – Grantz
9 – Aaroneiro
10 – Yammy
and since Aaroneiro is out of the picture i think Wonderwise will join the espada
hmmmm. i still hold my ranking prediction, but i’m starting to question it. someone else brought up a point on a forum, and you can refer to this information. read page 1 of chapter 254. according to the picture and information, it seems that Noitora, Aaroniero, and what looks like Stark were part of the first generation of espada. this was before the Hougyoku was being used on hollows. this could mean that whoever was in this picture could have been demoted.
and i don’t know if this is similar, but it seems that in ch. 229, you see the same espada as in chapter 254 standing around Aizen while he is using the Hougyoku. to me, i just guess that they are witnessing the ability of it. Aaroniero is in the back. Noitora is in the front. Stark is there as well. makes me think that Luppi could have been a first generation espada as well, but he was probably bumped out. Hari-bel is there as well. with this, i’m taking a guess that since we all see Hari-bel, Stark, and Noitora as “looking powerful,” maybe they were the top 3 of the first generation.
these will be my 2 predictions if this all is true:
1. dark espada
2. Stark
3. Hari-bel
4. Ulquiorra
5. Noitora
6. Grimmjow
7. old espada
8. Szayelaporro
9. Aaroniero
10. Yammy
and
1. old espada (even though he was categorized with the weaker espada, maybe he was to trick us, and maybe he has the right to be so cocky)
2. dark espada
3. Stark
4. Ulquiorra
5. Hari-bel
6. Grimmjow
7. Noitora
8. Szayelaporro
9. Aaroniero
10. Yammy
Guest2: About page one in chapter 254 – I already brought it up myself right here about 8 posts ago (take a look at it). You were right about Noitora and Aaroniero being in the picture, but Stark is NOT the other Espada; it’s Szayel. My point when I brought it up was that in order from closest to furthest was Noitora, Szayel, and Aaroniero; so therefore, since Szayel and Aaroniero panned out to be the 8th and 9th, that Noitora may be 7th. I can tell you that it’s definately Szayel, not Stark. Your theory about those 3 being the top of the first generation is pretty good though.
New spoiler: it hasn’t been confirmed yet, but it looks like Noitora may be the 2nd Espada with his tattoo on his tongue. Guess I was really off on his ranking… Anyways, if that’s true, here’s a revised list:
1. Stark
2. Noitora
3. Halibel
4. Ulquiorra
5. Dark Espada
6. Grimmjow
7. Old Espada
8. Szayel Aporro
9. Aaroniero
10. Yammy
Now, some people are jumping to conclusions and assuming that Halibel’s #1, but as far as I’m concerned it’s all BS. Honestly, I’m getting really sick of all the Halibel fanboys. I mean, she’s a cool character and all, but I’d be SO disappointed if she turned out to be the top one. She’s not THAT tough. Remember that Halibel and Ulquiorra were impressed that Ichigo was so powerful for a human, while Noitora and Stark don’t seem to be impressed at all; Noitora only wants to be the strongest, while Stark is too lazy to care. This pisses Noitora off because the strongest Espada is a slacker, while he’s out trying to prove himself. Noitora isn’t really that impressed with Ichigo’s strength, he just wants the credit for taking him out. Stark, however, is so confident in his abiities that he can sleep peacefully knowing that no one can stand up to him.
Kubo stumped us again. he’s always doing that. if someone could just try to think like him. HE HAS TO BE READING OUR COMMENTS THEN CHANGING THE STORY! lol
i found another spoiler
the “2″ that we see, is a 5 in this one.
i found another spoiler
the “2″ that we see, is a 5 in this one. i’m not saying his rank isn’t 2, but i took a look at the 2, and it looks weird. the five is perfect looking.