In the fictional Bleach manga/anime universe, a is a type of monstrous lost soul who can harm both ghosts and humans. Many of the series' antagonists are hollows. Some hollows possess characteristics that are similar to those of a Soul Reaper (a death-related entity), these Hollows are called . One of the series' main storylines has Sousuke Aizen (the primary antagonist for the majority of the series) and his arrancar (particularly the ten strongest Espadas) as the force opposing the protagonists.
The creator of the series, Tite Kubo, used many Spanish motifs for the series' hollow-related elements. The fictional creatures have been praised by reviewers for the early hollows' strong emotional ties to their victims and the "interesting" concept of the arrancar. The visual appearance of the characters has also been commented on.
Overview of hollow
In the Bleach universe, a is a monstrous soul-eating spirit that results when a deceased soul is consumed by negative emotions or is forcibly converted by other hollows. All hollows have masks attached to their faces and a hollow hole somewhere on their bodies; they also have a tendency to attack those who were close to them in their human lives, which they superficially have no recollection of. Hollows possess individual reishi and intensify it through devouring any soul they come across. The 2018 film elaborates that the hollows had played a role in the concepts of the mythological creatures like Yokai.
An arrancar is a hollow which has gained Soul Reaper-like characteristics through the removal of its mask, thus resulting in an increased combat versatility and more humanoid appearance. The transformation of a hollow into an arrancar can occur either naturally or artificially, but there is little information on process that occurs. The arrancar affiliated with Aizen wear distinctive white uniforms. They retain the Mexican aesthetic borne by hollows, and according to Tite Kubo, many of them are named after real life architects and designers. The arrancars (except the ten Espadas) are given individual numbers which are based on the order of their birth (starting at the number 11); most arrancars are labeled as part of the .
Soul Reapers, including protagonist Ichigo Kurosaki, have two primary duties: Purify any hollows they encounter to protect other souls from being devoured, and perform the ritual to lay ghosts to rest before they become hollows. When either of these duties is fulfilled, the soul goes to the Soul Society to live as an ordinary human until eventually reincarnated back to earth.Bleach manga; chapter 1, page 21Bleach manga; chapter 6, page 14 But a hollow who committed grave sins in life is dragged into Hell for punishment.Bleach manga; chapter 12, page 10 Hollow intrusions into Ichigo's hometown are the driving plot force for Bleachs first arc, at the end of which Ichigo leaves earth for Soul Society in order to rescue one of his friends.
Arrancar are introduced into Bleach following Ichigo's return from Soul Society, serving as major antagonists until their collective defeat in the Fake Karakura Arc. Most of the arrancar antagonists served Sousuke Aizen, who used an item called the hōgyoku to artificially create more arrancar. While more conscious than their original hollow selves, some arrancars are either sadistic psychopaths or display honor or compassion which resulted in some befriending the heroes. The arrancar are first shown scouting Ichigo's hometown by ones and twos, which escalates into sorties, and eventually a battle on earth and in Hueco Mundo between the most powerful arrancar and Soul Reapers. Following Aizen's defeat, the arrancar survivors attempted to become their society before they conquered by the Quincy extremists known as the Wandenreich, with those captured either drafted as expandable foot soldiers or executed as monsters.
The Hollows and arrancar inhabit a dimension called , a vast barren desert with quartz "trees" which any hollow can access, leave and return to by tearing a hole in space called a Garganta. While in Hueco Mundo, most hollows can sate their hunger simply by breathing the reishi-rich air, and are threatened only by other hollows who have turned to cannibalism, conquest for power and sport, or both. Hueco Mundo is initially portrayed as impossible to access by non-hollows, but techniques for traveling there are eventually revealed, and Hueco Mundo was entered by outsiders, first by protagonist Ichigo Kurosaki and his allies, then later by Quincy conquerors. An enormous white domed palace called in Hueco Mundo, initially ruins, was used by Aizen to garrison his troops.
Powers and abilities of hollows Like all spirit beings, hollows are invisible to humans with no reishi. All hollows can use their reishi to increase their strength, speed, and regeneration. Furthermore, some hollows have evolved their own unique capabilities, which are all fueled by their reishi.
Hollows become stronger by eating other souls with the most successful who avoid being slain able to eventually evolve into formidable foes known as which are classified and divided into three succeeding stages. The first stage, the also called ,Bleach manga; chapter 284, page 05Bleach anime; episode 167 are the result of numerous hollows engaging in a cannibalistic feeding frenzy that merges them into mindless black conglomerate giants, regarded as foot soldiers by Soul Reapers. But a Gillian will sometimes develop a personality from one of the component Hollows, causing it to eventually shrink into the animalistic .Bleach anime; episode 115Bleach manga; chapter 197, page 16 An Adjuchas is normally compelled to feed on other hollows to prevent it from regressing back to a Gillian, though losing a chunk of itself to another Adjuchas would allow it to permanently remain in its form. The Adjuchas that succeed become the semi-humanoid , whose numbers are very few. While the first two stages demand the involvement of stronger Soul Reaper officers to dispatch them, Vasto Lordes pose an existential threat to the entire Soul Society.Bleach manga; chapter 197, page 17 All Menos are capable of using , a powerful blast of spirit energy depicted as a sphere or beam of colored light.
Arrancar possess many of the abilities of their original hollows selves, with the Menos-based arrancar possessing their own unique cero variations. The abilities arrancar have include: , which momentarily boosts their speed, a glowing colored projectile made of solidified reiatsu that is described as being weaker than cero but is twenty times faster, and a defensive technique which hardens their skin to the point that they can catch blades bare-handed. While possessing their like Soul Reapers, arrancar zanpakutōs are meant to contain their full power with some manifesting in other forms besides swords. When an arrancar uses to absorb its zanpakutō to use its full power, it transforms into a form reminiscent of its original hollow with all previous injuries healed.
Known Hollows
The majority of named hollows appearing in Bleach are monsters of the week used during Bleachs first arc. After Ichigo's return from Soul Society, the hollow-based characters known as arrancar are introduced, with the basic hollows having lesser roles and rarely used as villains except in the anime side-story episodes.
Fishbone D is a fish-like humanoid Hollow that Rukia Kuchiki was hunting before he attacked the Kurosaki Clinic, resulting in the events that set up the story premise by wounding Rukia who is forced to transfer her powers to Ichigo Kurosaki who kills the Hollow in her stead. Rukia was unable to accurately detect Fishbone D due to Ichigo's very high reishi.
A six-legged insect-like Hollow with a human-like mask who chased after a 5 year old ghost boy. Purified by Ichigo.
In life, was Orihime's older brother and guardian before he died three years before the events of the series. However, Sora remained in the Land of the Living and watched over Orihime as he eventually begins to feel lonely while resenting the friends she has made as she begins to pray less for him. This, along with being dragged to Hueco Mundo by a Hollow at the behest of Grand Fisher in the anime, causes Sora to transform into the Nāga-like Hollow Acidwire as he proceeds to attack Orihime's friends while separating her soul from her body. During the battle, Acidwire regains his humanity after his mask is shattered in battle with Ichigo, using the Soul Reaper's Zanpakutō to voluntarily purify himself before he could lose his mind again.
Shrieker is a frog/bat-like Hollow with the ability to summon numerous explosive minions. Shrieker was a serial killer in life who died when a boy Yūichi Shibata attempted to save his mother from the murderer. After becoming a Hollow, Shrieker gets revenge on Yūichi by placing his soul in a cockatiel and lying that he can revive the boy's mother if he evades him for three months. However, Shrieker only started the game to gain more victims for those Yūichi such as two Soul Reapers who tried to save the boy. Shrieker attacks Yasutora "Chad" Sado when he adopted Yūichi, leading to his death. But as Shrieker committed evil acts while human, he is dragged into Hell. In an episode a tie-in to the Bleach: Hell Verse, still possessing his Hollow powers, a vengeful Shrieker returns to the Land of the Living as a Sinner to attack Rukia. Though Shrieker is forced to escape back to hell after being defeated by Renji Abarai, it turned out Shriker was a pawn in Gunjō's experiment and was disposed of once he served his purpose.
Introduced as the first major antagonist in the series, Grand Fisher is a fur-covered hollow who gain notoriety for eluding the Soul Reapers for over 54 years and can have the anglerfish lure protruding from his forehead assume the form of a human girl or whoever he chooses after viewing his prey's memories. Years before the events of the series, Grand Fisher attempted to lure a nine-year Ichigo and ended up killing the boy's mother Masaki. Ichigo fights Grand Fisher on the anniversary of Masaki's death, defeating the Hollow but unable to prevent him from fleeing when his lure transforms into his mother. Grand Fisher then retreats to Hueco Mundo, allying himself with Aizen's faction with Aisslinger Wernarr causing his transition into an Arrancar. Once a complete Arrancar of unknown number rank, Grand Fisher attempted to hunt down Ichigo, only to end up chasing down Kon in Ichigo's body before being killed by Masaki's husband Isshin Kurosaki. Ichigo later learns that Grand Fisher was only able to kill Masaki as a result of her being affected by Yhwach's Auswählen.
A frog-faced Hollow that was created when the chain of a Jabakurei at the hospital was broken. Defeated by Ichigo Kurosaki.
A muscular bipedal Hollow with a Chinese guardian lion-like mask. Destroyed by Yasutora Sado's Fullbring attack.
An jellyfish-masked Hollow with twelve tentacles. Destroyed by Orihime Inoue's Koten Zanshun attack.
Metastacia is a quadrupedal hollow with many tentacles growing from his back, introduced in a flashback establishing Rukia Kuchiki's past. As one of Sousuke Aizen's creations, Metastacia specializes in hunting Soul Reapers as his tentacles have the ability to shatter Zanpakutō while he can merge into the body of a Soul Reaper, possessing the host permanently. When his lair in Soul Society is attacked by the Soul Reapers, Metastacia possesses Kaien Shiba after having assimilated his wife prior, forcing Rukia Kuchiki to defeat him by impaling Kaien's body. He is at that point believed dead, but it is later revealed that Metastacia survives long enough to return to Hueco Mundo, where Aaroniero Arruruerie devours him and indirectly gains Kaien's powers.
Bawabawa is an eel-like worm Hollow who acts as both pet and transportation for Nel Tu and her companions. He can be summond from within Dondochakka.