bleach spotlight: Arrancar

year 14, month 8

Every respectable fan of Bleach is aware of what an Arrancar is. At their core, Arrancar are hollows that have somehow managed to remove their mask, thus gaining shinigami-like powers. This makes them fundamentally different from regular hollows and are usually highly intelligent, extremely powerful and dangerous, and also much more human in appearance. We know very well that in Bleach, bigger is usually NOT associated with stronger, and Arrancar compared to other powerful hollows such as gillians are an excellent example of that.

ARRANCAR CREATION IN THE BLEACH CANON

How does a hollow become an Arrancar in the Bleach canon? Well, Tite Kubo tells us that there were two ways, one way more successful than the other. Potentially, we know that every hollow has the ability to remove their mask, but when regular hollow do it it usually creates an incomplete and weaker arrancar, like the ones that attacked Ichigo at the beginning of the Arrancar arc.

So how were the very powerful Arrancar that we all love from the canon created? It required quite a lot of intervention from one of the best bad guys of the series: Sosuke Aizen. Indeed, the ex Gotei 13 captain turned traitor got his hands on the Hogyoku, a powerful artefact able to dissolve the boundaries between hollow and shinigami and able to materialize one’s deepest desires. The then used this artefact not on regular hollows, but on menos (gillian, adjuchas and even vasto lorde) and thus created the very complete, powerful and dangerous Arrancar that were protagonist of one of the biggest arcs in Bleach.

ARRANCAR POWERS

What distinguish an Arrancar from a very powerful hollow? Arrancar have of course special powers. For example, they are able to use their own version of flash steps, called sonido, which lets them challenge shinigami in speed. They can use Bala, which is a smaller version of cero, the main hollow power, and are in general faster, stronger, more intelligent and able of superior regeneration.

But of course, the main power that separates hollow and arrancar is Resurrección. When a hollow removes their mask becoming an arrancar, they gain a sword, that can be considered alike a zanpakuto. This is the source of their sealed power, and only by unsealing it, the arrancar can reveal their one true form. Unsealing their Resurrección will dramatically increase the arrancar power and physical appearance, something truly glorious to see… but often deadly.

ARRANCAR IN WORLD OF REAPERS

In World of Reapers, Arrancar work slightly different from canon, due to our different lore and world building. So, how do you make an arrancar character on WoR and what choices do you have?

First in character creation, you’ll have to choose your soul type. You can choose between human soul (meaning that you were a human who died and ended up in Soul Society), pure soul (you were born as a soul in Soul Society), or hollow soul (you were a hollow before reaching SS). Once you choose the soul type, you will have to do a sorting quiz. If you manage to get sorted in the Arrancar clan, congratulations, you are now an arrancar! You now have two choices, that can be unlocked by choosing an origin, that will explain to everyone how your power came to be:

1. If you choose human or pure soul, the way you have gained arrancar powers is unique to WoR, The hogyoku that is kept safe in the Soul Society will answer your desire for power and remake you into an Arrancar, congratulations! This can also happen because you come from an Arrancar lineage in the Soul Society, the choice is yours. In this case, you will choose the origin “East”.
2. If you choose the hollow soul, you get an extra choice: you can be a hollow that, while in Hueco Mundo, was able to remove their own mask, thus becoming a “natural arrancar”. You then get to choose how you ended up in Soul Society. In this case, you will choose the origin “Hueco Mundo”.

Whatever option you choose, you’ll still have all the arrancar powers available to you! After you join the Shin’O Academy, you’ll start to gradually unlock special powers. At year three, you’ll be able to use Bala, at year six you’ll unlock the Descorrer ability, at year seven you’ll be able to use cero and finally, once you graduate, you’ll unlock your very own Resurrección that you can create, unique to you, using your imagination. Creating your own unique power and using it in events and battles is one of the most fun parts in WoR!

If this is not enough for you, there are unique statuses that you could be able to win by joining competitions that are held during the year! Yes, by winning a status competition you can be able to claim the unique Adjuchas status or even the Vasto Lorde status, all coming with exciting buffs and special abilities.

So, what do you think about Arrancar, and would you want to be one? Let us know in the comments what your Resurrección would be!

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