2001:4860:7:30E:0:0:0:FF 
Ulquiorra Cifer
| Ulquiorra Cifer | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Gender | Male |
| Height | 169 cm (5'6½") |
| Weight | 55 kg (121 lbs) |
| Resurrección | Murciélago |
| Release Command | Bind |
| Arrancar rank | No. 4 (Espada) |
| First Appearance | Manga: Chapter 190 Anime: Episode 113 |
Ulquiorra Cifer (originally romanized to Ulquiorra Schiffer) is the Cuatro Espada in Sosuke Aizen's army of Arrancars. He is the first Espada other than Yammy shown in Bleach, though he isn't revealed to be an Espada until later in the anime and manga. He made his first appearance in Karakura Town, where he and his partner Yammy were sent by Aizen on a reconnaissance mission. Although he has appeared in Karakura Town on more than one occasion and encountered several enemies, Ulquiorra has participated in very few battles, aiming only to finish his objective without engaging in unnecessary fights. However, there is some tension between him and Grimmjow Jaegerjaques, though it is mostly one-sided.
Appearance[edit]
Ulquiorra has a young but melancholic appearance, generally carrying a dejected expression on his face. He has short, wild hair, pale skin and green eyes with slit pupils. The remainder of his hollow mask is on the left side of his head which extends down to his shoulder, resembling a broken helmet with two horns protruding from it. His hollow hole is located in his neck, but was later on moved down to his sternum. He wears a white hakama and a black sash with a long-sleeved coat cut at the waist and extends down to his knees. Ulquiorra's tattoo of the number "4" is located on the left side of his chest, symbolizing his rank and power as the fourth Espada.
Personality[edit]
Ulquiorra's personality remains generally static since his first appearance in Karakura Town. He is impersonal, sardonic, and has a habit of criticizing others. He also tends to call anyone he is uninterested in "trash" and therefore disposable. However, Ulquiorra rarely engages in violence, and fights only if provoked or commanded by Aizen. As Grimmjow points out, Ulquiorra also has a habit of stabbing his enemies in the same location as his hollow hole if he expresses interest in them, though it is unknown whether or not he is consciously aware of it. Based on his actions, as well as his belief that anything his eye cannot see cannot be real (such as emotions or the "heart"), it can be inferred that Ulquiorra is a firm materialist. Nevertheless, having lived a secluded life as hollow, it can be concluded that Ulquiorra has never had an understanding of human emotions. His overall behavior towards his allies and enemies also attest to the aforementioned fact.
Ulquiorra is very intelligent, shrewd, and analytical, being able to sense Ichigo's spirit force wildly fluctuating when Ichigo's hollow began to emerge and noting that at its peak it was higher than his own. He also somewhat accurately theorized that Orihime's ability is temporal regression.
Plot Synopsis[edit]
Ulquiorra initially appears at the outskirts of Karakura Town with Yammy on a reconnaissance mission ordered by Aizen. Their objective was to find Ichigo and analyze his power and abilities to determine if he could potentially pose a serious threat to Aizen and his arrancar army. Sado and Orihime, who were nearest to them, confronted the arrancar duo first. Ulquiorra merely stood by and watched as Yammy fought Sado, Orihime, and eventually Ichigo who made a timely arrival. As Ulquiorra analyzed Ichigo during his fight with Yammy, he began to notice wild fluctuations in Ichigo's spirit force, noting that at its peak it was higher than his own. Later on, Urahara and Yoruichi intervened and rescued an incapacitated Ichigo, whose struggle with his inner hollow paralyzed him. Yammy was overpowered by Urahara and Yoruichi, but before Urahara could finish him Ulquiorra stepped in and stopped his attack. Ulquiorra then punched Yammy and retreated back to Hueco Mundo, stating that he had completed his objective and concluded that Ichigo is nothing more than trash and poses no danger to Aizen.
Upon his return to Las Noches, Ulquiorra reported to Aizen and his fellow arrancars of the events that occurred in the world of the living. In his report, Ulquiorra stated that Ichigo's powers were unstable, thus posing no threat to them. Grimmjow contended that Ichigo could overcome his weakness and become substantially more powerful. Nevertheless, Ulquiorra adhered to his argument, therefore prompting Aizen to cease the debate and give Ulquiorra permission to do as he wishes.
Following Grimmjow's invasion of Karakura Town, Ulquiorra is seen talking to Yammy, whose arm is being reattached. He scolds Yammy for having his arm amputated by Ichigo in their fight earlier, and stated that his status as an Espada could have been revoked like Grimmjow if his arm hadn't been recovered. Ulquiorra acts as the kidnapper in the next arrancar invasion of the human world. While Luppi, Grimmjow, Wonderweiss Margera, and Yammy distracted the soul reapers in Karakura Town, Ulquiorra pursued Orihime who was on her way to the human world from Soul Society. Confronting her inside the dangai, Ulquiorra manipulated Orihime into complying with his demands by threatening to have all of her friends fighting in Karakura Town killed. When she finally agreed, Ulquiorra gave Orihime a bracelet which allows only arrancars to sense her presence in addition to allowing her to pass through tangible objects. Afterwards, he explained that she has twelve hours to say goodbye to only one person of her choice, and then she was to go to an appointed location.
Ulquiorra is tasked with taking care of Orihime, which he does periodically. When Ichigo, Sado, Ishida, Rukia, and Renji invade Hueco Mundo in a rescue attempt, Ulquiorra often discourages Orihime by being cynical towards the aforementioned group's effort to rescue her. Eventually, Ulquiorra confronts Ichigo, who refuses to fight him because he's the only one who hasn't harmed any of his comrades. However, Ichigo hastily assaulted Ulquiorra when he confessed to kidnapping Orihime. Ichigo activated his bankai and donned his hollow mask, much to Ulquiorra's bewilderment, and fired multiple Getsuga Tenshou in an attempt to defeat Ulquiorra quickly before he reached his mask's limit. Though he managed to knock him back and tear his clothing, Ichigo's attack was ineffective against Ulquiorra, who retaliated with a cero and a hard blow which sent Ichigo flying. Refusing to give up, Ichigo attempted to stab Ulquiorra, confident that Ulquiorra was the top Espada and his defeat would end the whole war. To Ichigo's dismay, Ulquiorra revealed a number 4 tattoo on his chest and stated that he is the Cuatro Espada.
Abilities[edit]
See Hollows
- Memory Replay
By plucking out and crushing his left eye into dust, Ulquiorra can display an event he recently witnessed using the dust particles.
- Instant Regeneration
Ulquiorra is the only Espada to choose regeneration over strength when becoming an arrancar. In addition to instantly restoring himself to full health when entering resurrección mode, he is able to regenerate any of his limbs so long as his brain is intact. This is shown early on with his left eye, which he plucked out and crushed in order to display the events he witnessed in his first mission to Karakura Town to Aizen and twenty other arrancars. A more obvious demonstration of Ulquiorra's regenerative powers is a while later in his final fight against Ichigo, in which he ends up restoring his arm and later his leg. However, he is unable to repair damage sustained to his internal organs.
- Cero
Ulquiorra, like other hollows of his level, is able to use cero. However, his cero is green as opposed to the common red.
- Cero Oscuras
Ulquiorra is able to use cero oscuras, which is a much more powerful, black variant of the regular cero. Ulquiorra mentions that this cero is similar to Ichigo's black Getsuga Tenshō.
- Hierro
Given his status and power as the fourth Espada, Ulquiorra's hierro ("iron skin") is incredibly strong, capable of repelling most, if not all attacks from Ichigo's bankai.
Resurrección[edit]
Ulquiorra's resurrección is called Murciélago (Spanish for "bat," Japanese for "giant black-winged demon"). As mentioned by Ulquiorra himself, he and Espada above him are only allowed to release his power outside of Las Noches due to the tremendous amount of spiritual power that they produce. Upon his resurrection, Ulquiorra takes on a form similar to a bat, gaining a helmet-like appendage with two horns on his head replacing the fragment of his hollow mask in addition to two bat-like wings. Moreover, his hair becomes longer and wilder. While in this form, Ulquiorra's speed and power is increased drastically, and he is able to form a spear-like spiritual energy in his hand to attack his opponent with.
Resurrección Segunda Etapa[edit]
Unlike all other arrancar, Ulquiorra is able to enter what is called resurrección segunda etapa (Spanish for "resurrection second stage"). He mentioned that not even Aizen has knowledge of this ability. In this form, his appearance resembles that of a bat moreso than in his first release. He retains his wings from his initial release, but loses his clothing which is replaced with a black substance flowing out of his hollow hole that forms his body from the waist down and forearms along with a long tail. His hair becomes longer with two long horns protruding from his head replacing his previous appendage. His number 4 tattoo, which was located on the left side of his chest disappears.
In this second resurreccion, Ulquiorra releases a spirit force so powerful that Ishida describes it as "too dense and heavy to even be called spiritual energy." His speed also increases substantially, and he is able to overpower Ichigo's bankai and hollow mask with little effort. However, Ulquiorra's greatest strength is his ability to instantly regenerate his limbs, but not internal organs. While in this form, Ulquiorra is able to employ his strongest attack called Lanza del Relámpago (Spanish for "Spear of Lightning"). During the attack, he forms a spear-shaped stream of spirit force in his hands which he can use as either a melee weapon or projectile. This attack is considerably powerful and very destructive when thrown, which is why Ulquiorra initially had some difficulty controlling it. Similarly, he will refrain from throwing it if his opponent is within a certain range so as not to harm himself. Nevertheless, he can use the attack in quick succession.