took the words right out of my mouth there. only a handful of the Captain's have shown their strengths early on in the S.S arc. there's a lot of unaccountable variables to their fights. biggest ones we all know being Ukitake and Kyouraku. two who have been trained by old man Yama himself. i know the top 3 Espada should be pretty powerful as well, but they'd be in the same "unknown" boat as some of those Captains too.

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I don't get why you're suddenly trying to prove the SS's side's worth, I was merely replying to xtr3m3dude that the 'good' side was overpowered, and countered that with "you shouldn't underestimate Aizen's crew".

Aizen is fairly certain he won't even lift a finger, so I'm sure those Espada are strong enough to keep several (low-)Captains busy and/or he's expecting reinforcements or some plan to be activated.

I know completely well that their full potential has not been shown, even Toshiro might have completed his Bankai (referring to the Grimmjaw's Fraccion comment).

That being said, Nr. 1-4 are in a whole different level from all those other Espada. They're the presumable Vasto Lordes whose strength is equal to those of Captain, and that's only talking about when they're un-Arrancarfied. Being in the state they're in, their prowess must have exceeded the Shinigami boundaries and are certainly not a threat to be trifled with.

The Captains who previously fought with the lower-ranked Espada didn't defeat them with ease at all. It was just their cool-headed demeanor that made it seem as if they didn't have any problem with their opponent.

Byakuya Battle:

Clicky~: Had been pierced with two swords if it wasn't for the technique that he learned from Yoruichi. He used it reluctantly, meaning he had no choice.

Clicky~: Willingly cut off his leg tendons. (Who would do that, if there was no other way.)

Clicky~: "The way I am now... there is no guarantee that I can continue fighting without swallowing you up as well."

This indicates that he is forced to pull all the plugs out, meaning he has to take this battle seriously.

Clicky~: Slicing his left arm's tendons. You don't do that, if you have no other choice.

Conclusion: Forced to cut off his own leg and arm tendons, decreasing his speed and maneuvrability. Even using his Bankai... proves that it wasn't an easy battle.

And that was how it was for the two other battles too. Hell, the end result was that Zaraki was fighting there with his life hanging on a thread, but knowing his persona he just didn't care. And Mayuri even got his Bankai usurped and then consequently exploded (leaving him with no Bankai.)

Point is... those fights weren't really some 'walks through the park', and if you consider that Espadas Nr. 1-4 are really strong - since there's a huge gap between Nr. 4 and 5 - they shouldn't be trifled with, that's all I'm saying.

Also note that two of the Captains that fought were Zaraki and Byakuya - two opponents that Ichigo defeated before. Since he's going to fight against Ulquiorra it actually symbolizes his ascend to greater power.

Though if he's stronger in reality, that's to be considered. What we do know, is that Ichigo would beat those two again if there was something heavy and precious on the line for him.

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Ulquiorra's visage which seems to indicate that he is indeed an Arrancarfied Vasto Lorde, and the ones above him too (since they're stronger than him, after all).

Tl;dr?: Both sides are matched with eachother.

Last edited by Dr. Love at 8:46 am, Sep 15 2008

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Gillian, Adjuchas, and Vasto Lorde are all types of hollows that can turn into Arrancar.

You don't have to be a Vastro Lorde to gain shinigami powers becoming an Arrancar, any more than you have to be a Captain shinigami to become a Vaizard.

Basically Vastro Lorde were said to be the ones who resemble humans the most from any hollow. There is a good chance that most of the Espada are not Vastro Lorde, including Grimmjow and Nelliel (when they release their swords they become animal like).

This is especially true for Grimmjow as he was shown in a few flashback chapters eating other hollow and trying to evolve. It was never said that he did evolve into a Vastro Lorde. I would assume that a Vastro Lorde's released state would resemble that of a human and noot have animal features. Most likely Grimmjow was just an overly strong Adjuchas, just like that weird shape shifting Espada Rukia defeated was a Gillian.
http://www.onemanga.com/Bleach/267/07/
http://www.onemanga.com/Bleach/284/05/

Just though I would clear up some of the misconceptions about Hollow ranks.
Basically we've yet to see a confirmed Vastro Lorde. Toshiro said that a Vastro Lorde would have "more power than any captain" but I still think there is no chance of Ukitake, Shunsui and Yamamoto being defeated right after going Bankai for the first time. Plus Shinji and his Vaizards are probably stronger than Vastro Lorde Arrancar or at least on par with them.

Shinji beat the crap out of Grimmjow when he put his mask on, without even using Shikai. He fought on par with how Ichigo fought with his Bankai and his mask. Only reason Ichigo lost back then is because he couldn't retain his mask. It became clear a bit later on who was stronger when Ichigo, retaining his mask defeated the released Grimmjow.

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I don't see any misconception on my part.

And I'm fairly certain, it has been explicitly said in the manga, that Grimmjaw was an Adjuchas.

Though I don't recall the exact page.

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I think so too.

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I guess you can hi-jack someones idea, but you'll never understand their plan for its success.
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it was during his final fight with Ichigo, there was a whole chapter showing his past in a flashback. it was made clear during it.

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Ikkaku wont die he'll do a comeback with his bankai for sure.

He'll have to reveal it to everyone eventually. And let's hope eventually is now...or we'll be losing a baldy.

aw hopefully Ikkaku is alive as much as i want to see someone die. he's cool plus what will Yamichka do without him? they're always together (well most of the time) 69's dude's sword is cool btw.

Heal him on the spot, encourage him to show his bankai, idk just thinking out loud. I wonder when 69 will meet his role model, the old 69?

SPOILERS!!!





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Where'd you get this?


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