Nnoitra

Nnoitra (ノイトラ, Noitora^?) is a fictional character in the manga series Bleach created by Tite Kubo. He is the 5th Espada in Sōsuke Aizen's arrancar army.

Character outline

Nnoitra is the fifth Espada, signified by the "5" tattoo on his tongue, making him the fifth strongest arrancar in Aizen's army. He is an extremely tall and lanky arrancar, dwarfing Yasutora Sado by at least a foot (even when leaning over).^[1] He has long, black hair and almost always wears a huge smile on his face which reveals his upper teeth. He wears an eyepatch, three bracelets on each wrist, and his arrancar uniform includes an overblown, spoon-like hood. The remains of his hollow mask and hole are not visible.

Nnoitra seems rude and lecherous, accented by his snake-like eye and his nickname for Orihime Inoue, "pet-sama".^[2] In flashbacks to his time as the 8th Espada, he is shown to be a firm believer of male chauvinism as he constantly tried to set women who are deemed stronger than men, such as Nel Tu, to "more appropriate" inferior ranks. Though he initially appears to be very sadistic, he has no desire to kill those he sees as weaklings because it does not help prove that he is the strongest Espada.^[3]

History

In the past, Nnoitra was the 8th Espada,^[4] Embittered that Nel, a woman and the 3rd Espada, would be considered stronger than him, he would attack Nel only to be beaten and repelled constantly. To add insult to injury, she even goes so far to say that he isn't any better than an animal because he only fights to prove his strength and not for valid reasons like a rational being would. He later enlists the help of Szayel Aporro Grantz to mount a successful sneak attack on Nel, after which he tosses her into the desert so he'll have time to become stronger. Shocked seeing that Nel has reverted to a child, he later regrets that he won't be able to prove the validity of his chauvinistic ideas.

Synopsis

Nnoitra is first introduced during an Espada meeting and, following a conversation with 4th Espada Ulquiorra Schiffer regarding Orihime, actively pursues the intruders. Nnoitra tracks down Chad following his battle with Gantenbein, and easily defeats Chad.^[5] Unsatisfied, he heads for the next intruder.

Nnoitra then begins to hunt Ichigo Kurosaki, arriving shortly after his battle with Grimmjow, and takes the defeated Grimmjow's place. Due to Ichigo's weakened state and Nnoitra's higher rank, Ichigo is badly beaten, but his death is prevented by the awakening of Nel Tu. Nel proceeds to beat Nnoitra back, absorbing one of his cero blasts and returning it. She injures his right arm somewhat, though he manages to avoid the brunt of the attack. He boasts that she won't be able to beat him as easily as she thought, despite being two ranks higher because it has been years since she was an Espada. And the current Espada are stronger than they used to be. The two attack each other again, but Nel hesitates, like she did in their previous battles. Ultimately she relents and starts to release her zanpakuto, unsealing her true form in order to combat Nnoitra.^[6] Though she easily overcomes him after this, she suddenly reverts into a child before killing him, giving him the advantage once more.

Powers and abilities

Nnoitra's zanpakutō

Despite his fragile and thin appearance, Nnoitra is quite powerful, able to fend off the full power of Chad's attack arm without any sign of injury and cut through his defense arm in a single swing.^[7] He also fires cero blasts from the tip of his tongue, while other arrancar either use their full mouth or hands. When in combat Ichigo noted to himself that despite his body being thin and seemingly frail Nnoitra possesses formidable physical strength which is at odds with his scrawny appearance. Being the 5th Espada, Nnoitra is not the highest ranked, though his conversation with the arrancar Tesla shows that he thinks of himself as such and is constantly trying to prove it.

Zanpakutō

The name of Nnoitra's zanpakutō has not been revealed, but it takes the form of a giant scythe or axe-like weapon bearing two crescent moon blades fused together at their backs. A long chain attached to the hilt allows him to perform ranged attacks.^[8] Strangely, in flashbacks to his past battles with Nel, Nnoitra's zanpakutō only possesses one outward-facing crescent moon, as opposed to the two it features now.^[9]

References

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