Bleach: Nelliel’s Adult Form, Explained

Ichigo’s main ally in Hueco Mundo returns in Bleach Thousand-Year Blood War. The Arrancar child known as Nel Tu goes into the World of the Living to beg Ichigo for help to save Queen Harribel and her home in Part 1. Now, in part 3, she returns, but this time in her far more powerful adult form. This form of Nel is only seen two times in the Arrancar Arc, never reappearing as an ally to Ichigo and the Soul Society.

Now wearing a special bracelet made by Kisuke Urahara, Nel is fully able to choose which form she takes between her child and defenseless form and her incredibly powerful adult form. Here’s what you need to know about Nel’s two modes in Bleach Thousand-Year Blood War.

Nelliel Tu Odelschwank, Tres Espada

An Incredibly Powerful Arrancar

Nelliel was originally the Tres Espada (3rd), the third most powerful member of Sousuke Aizen’s Arrancar Army. This was Nelliel’s original form. She was an adult woman with long wavy green hair, a pink mark across her face and her Hollow mask had the shape of a ram. She was by far the strongest female warrior in the entirety of Hueco Mundo. This deeply angered her teammate Nnoitra Gilga, a man who was simultaneously incredibly insecure about his power. He needed to prove his might against his peers and also, most notably, extremely misogynistic. The idea of a woman being far, far more powerful than him made him sick.

Nnoitra repeatedly challenged Nelliel to fight to prove he was actually stronger than her, but every single time she would effortlessly defeat him and, much to his dismay, she would spare his life. Nnoitra sought to destroy all the enemies that he deemed inferior to him, but in the event of losing a fight, he wanted a warrior’s death and die before his body touched the ground. The fact that Nelliel was not only far stronger than him but also pitied him and spared his life sent him into uncontrollable jealous despair.

And so, Nnoitra requested the help of the Arrancar scientist, Szayel Aporro Granz. And devised a plot to strip Nelliel of her powers and position. Together they stripped the masks of her Fracción, Pesche, and Dondochakka. And then treacherously attacked Nelliel, breaking her mask. By doing this and using Szayel’s science, she was drained of a large portion of her spiritual pressure through the crack in her mask which turned her into an amnesiac child.

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Child Nel Tu and Her Adult Form

A Fallen and Noble Espada

After this event, Pesche and Dondochakka swore to protect their debilitated master with their lives. And so, they wandered around Hueco Mundo in peace. Until they met a Shinigami, Ichigo Kurosaki. Nel accompanied Ichigo during his battles in Las Noches, growing very attached to the boy. After Ichigo battled Sexta Espada (6th), Grimmjow Jaegerjaquez, he was viciously attacked by Nnoitra Gilga, who was now Quinta Espada (5th).

While Nnoitra and his Fracción, Tesla tortures Ichigo. Nel grew more desperate as she slowly regained her memories of Nnoitra. And right as Ichigo was about to be killed, she unconsciously activated her adult form. For a short time she regained the power she once had as an Espada, and effortlessly defeated Tesla and Nnoitra. Even going as far as using her Resurrección: Gamuza. But right as she was about to deal the killing blow, her transformation abruptly ended, reverting her back to her child form.

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Now in the Thousand-Year Blood War arc, during her time in Hueco Mundo along with Kisuke Urahara, Orihime, Chad, Grimmjow, Riruka, and Yukio. Kisuke developed a special device that allows her to freely switch between her two forms at will. Now she’s fully capable of fighting alongside Ichigo and his friends. By being able to enter her adult form, Nelliel can utilize the full extent of her powers. Now, Ichigo has two former Espada who have exponentially grown in power since he last met them as his allies in the battle against Soul King Yhwach.

Based on Tite Kubo’s battle shonen manga, Bleach centers around Ichigo, a high school student who is dragged into the world of Soul Reapers. The original anime ended in 2012, but it was revived in 2022.