Many villains populate the story of Bleach, and during the Hueco Mundo story arc in particular, the main villains were the ten mighty Espadas, the top-ranked Arrancars who fight for their lord Sosuke Aizen. All ten of them are powerful fighters armed with special zanpakuto, but some of them are more useful to Aizen than others are.

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An Espada's usefulness is ranked not only by that Arrancar's power level or skills but also their loyalty to Aizen and their willingness to get the job done for Aizen's sake. A minion who refuses to follow orders isn't terribly useful, and neither is a lazy or cowardly one. Aizen's top ten followers vary greatly in how useful they are to him.

10 Yammy Llargo Makes Up His Own Rules

Yammy from Bleach looking upset.

The 10th Espada, Yammy Llargo, isn't terribly helpful for Aizen. It's true that in his sealed state, he ranks as the weakest Espada, but that's not the only strike against him. Yammy is a bratty and immature person who follows his own impulses and selfish desires, rather than following orders.

Yammy visited the world of the living twice and was badly injured for little to no gain each time. He attended the Espada meeting when summoned, but otherwise, Yammy is never seen following orders to accomplishing anything meaningful for Aizen. He just runs around, fighting whomever he wants to fight.

9 Nnoitora Gilga Believes He Owes Very Little To Aizen

nnoitora gilga bleach

The 5th Espada, Nnoitora Gilga, is quite powerful. The problem is that he has a terrible and immature attitude, and he is rather self-centered, too. Nnoitora yearns to become Hueco Mundo's strongest warrior, and he's willing to antagonize or even betray his fellows to eliminate the competition.

Nnoitora is responsible for Nelliel Tu Odelschwank's dismissal from the Espadas in the past, costing Aizen a fine warrior. Later, Nnoitora merely brushed off Aizen's orders and fought according to his own desires, like Yammy. He badly injured Ichigo before he lost his life to Captain Kenpachi Zaraki. At least he kept Kenpachi busy for a while.

8 Grimmjow Jeagerjaques Is In A Similar Position To Nnoitora's

Grimmjow unleashes his Resurrección: Pantera

Grimmjow Jaegerjaques, the 6th Espada, is a somewhat more honorable and charismatic version of Nnoitora, though is still little more than a selfish thug. Grimmjow is willing to betray the other Arrancars if it means getting what he wants: a chance to fight Ichigo Kurosaki to the death.

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Grimmjow is willing to openly question and defy orders if he doesn't like them, and Ulquiorra Schiffer thought poorly of him for it. It's true that Grimmjow is trying to kill Aizen's #1 enemy, Ichigo Kurosaki, but he is incredibly disobedient about it. In that sense, he's not very useful to Aizen.

7 Aaroniero Arurruerie Follows Orders, But He's Not Very Strong, Either

aaroniero bleach

The 9th Espada, Aaroniero Arurruerie, is arrogant and cruel, but at least he doesn't betray his fellow Espadas or disobey orders for selfish reasons. Aaroniero is a Gillian-class Menos who has eaten 33,650 Hollows and absorbed their spirit energy and abilities, making him a one-man army.

Aaroniero's sole fight was against Rukia Kuchiki, and he used the guise of Kaien Shiba to apply psychological pressure. He lost to Rukia in the end, but to his credit, he took Rukia out of the fight, which means he made a small contribution to Aizen's cause after all.

6 Coyote Starrk Is Powerful But Dodges Work

Espada Starrk (Bleach)

Despite his overwhelming power, the 1st Espada Coyote Starrk is only somewhat useful to Sosuke Aizen. Starrk can take on any Captain and stand a chance of winning, and he even took on several Visoreds in combat. But he would rather not fight at all.

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Starrk was introduced as a lazy Arrancar who just wants to nap, and he isn't exactly fanatical about Aizen's cause, either. He even tried to talk his way out of fighting Captain Shunsui Kyoraku, which isn't how most anime villains behave. Then again, Starrk captured Orihime Inoue and delivered her to Aizen when ordered to. That's something, at least.

5 Zommari Rureaux Is Absolutely Devoted To Aizen's Cause

zommari rureaux stare bleach

Unlike the apathetic Coyote Starrk, the 7th Espada, Zommari Rureaux is fanatically devoted to Aizen's cause, and he is determined to find salvation for all Hollows. Zommari hates Soul Reapers for slaying Hollows as self-appointed heroes of justice, and Zommari believes he can change that.

Zommari has a remarkable zanpakuto called Brujeria, which allows him to control his enemies' bodies. In theory, he could defeat any foe with this ability, but he lost to Captain Byakuya Kuchiki. Still, Zommari was a loyal Espada who followed orders, and that made him quite useful until his death.

4 Szayelaporro Grantz Can Research & Develop Any Spirit Weapon

szayelaporro grantz grin bleach

The 8th Espada, Szayelaporro Grantz, was the Arrancar version of Captain Mayuri Kurotsuchi, but even more arrogant. Szayelaporro is a scientist who can use spirit bugs to study his test subjects from afar and develop countermeasures for their abilities before fighting them. This alone makes him quite helpful for Aizen.

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According to Nel's fracciones, Szayelaporro is also a weapons expert, which is definitely something Aizen needs for his cause. Szayelaporro nearly killed Uryu and Renji before Mayuri showed up, which was a fine contribution to Aizen's team. This effort kept Renji and Uryu from getting anywhere near Orihime for a long time.

3 Barragan Luisenbarn Had Immense Power & Leadership Skills

barragan carrying arrogante bleach

Barragan Luisenbarn was the king of Hueco Mundo before he became the 2nd Espada under Aizen's command. Barragan has deeply resented Aizen for unseating him as king, but for now, he is willing to follow orders, and he has a squad of six fracciones to command in battle.

All this makes Barragan useful indeed for Aizen, and better yet, Barragan is an incredibly effective fighter, even if all his fracciones are killed off. His true form can rot and destroy anything that comes close, and in theory, this would allow Barragan to kill any foe for Aizen's sake.

2 Tier Halibel Was Powerful, Loyal, & Disciplined

Tier Halibel looking down seriously in Bleach.

Tier Halibel ranks as the 3rd Espada, and she is enormously useful to Aizen through sheer firepower alone. She was once a Vasto Lorde Hollow, meaning she can easily stand up to any Soul Reaper Captain and kill them for Aizen's sake. Halibel is also deeply loyal to Aizen, and will even scold other Espada for his sake.

That makes Halibel wonderfully useful, and she also has three minions to fight by her side. If need be, these three fracciones can form a Hollow named Ayon, a berserker who will take on any of Aizen's enemies without fear.

1 Ulquiorra Schiffer Is Aizen's Best Agent

Ulquiorra looks down

From the very start, the 4th Espada Ulquiorra Schiffer has been Aizen's #1 follower, even if he is not ranked first among the Espada. Ulquiorra is certainly powerful, though, and he can quickly dispatch any foe who stands in Aizen's way. He has actually killed Ichigo twice.

Ulquiorra is cold, ruthless, and disciplined, and of course, he is 100% loyal to his boss. Ulquiorra will execute any order without question, and Aizen trusts him with the most important and risky missions of all. Every anime archvillain needs an Ulquiorra of their own.

NEXT: Bleach: The Espada, Ranked by Likability