The Hollows are an essential group in Tite Kubo’s Bleach and they have played a vital role in the first half of the story. After Aizen’s downfall, their role has diminished, but they are still a vital element of the lore. Now, Hollows were initially introduced as mindless monsters and the enemies of the Shinigami, but we’ve seen a variety of different Hollows during the stories, some which have actually been mindless beastes, whereas others have been more intelligent and thus more dangerous. And while we know that more powerful Hollows can become Vasto Lordes, i.e., Arrancars, in this article, we have decided to bring you a list of the 10 strongest Hollows as they have appeared in the canon and non-canon stories of Bleach. They are, of course, going to be ranked by their power.
10. Shrieker
Shrieker was the fourth Hollow that Ichigo Kurosaki had faced since becoming a substitute Shinigami, and one of the few whose backstory was revealed. Regardless of the nature of the Hollow, Shrieker was a genuinely evil creature, originating from the soul of a serial killer and, curiously, still retaining memories of him from that time, something certainly rare.
For a simple Hollow, Shrieker was endowed with surprisingly high intelligence. Although he was driven to kill and devour as many souls as possible from both the living and the dead, his murderous instincts did not prevent him from employing feint and deception tactics in battle.
He was extremely manipulative and deceitful, as he demonstrates giving little Yūichi Shibata false hope by telling him that he will resurrect his mother if he does as he tells him. Compared to most of the normal Hollows Ichigo has faced throughout the series, Shrieker has been shown to be more reasoned and not as primal. In fact, rather than blindly attacking his target, he prefers to do it from a distance and avoiding taking damage.
9. Metastacia
Metastacia is a Hollow created several years ago by Sōsuke Aizen, when he was still the Captain of the Fifth Division of the Gotei 13. Metastacia was nothing more than one of Aizen’s multiple failed experiments, who was looking for a method to be able to cross the barrier that separated the powers of a Hollow from that of a Shinigami, but was still dangerous enough to cause the death of several Shinigami of the 13th Division, including Lieutenant Kaien Shiba.
Being a Hollow created by Aizen, he possesses unique special powers that make him an opponent to be reckoned with, with a level certainly above the average of the Hollows that have been seen throughout the series. Metastacia is able to possess whomever he wishes by transferring the tentacles of his spirit body into the body of his target, leaving behind an empty carcass.
The only character to have explicitly suffered from this power in the manga was Kaien Shiba, whose skin took on the same greenish hue as Metastacia’s arms, and whose face had the same orange markings present on the Hollow’s mask. According to Metastacia himself, it is an irreversible ability, since it is responsible for merging two different spiritual entities into one being.
After a short period of time, the Hollow will be able to devour the person it has possessed from within, and will revert to its previous appearance. If a Shinigami touches the tentacles on Metastacia’s back, their Zanpakutō will be immediately destroyed. This effect is limited to once per night, and is probably the only reason Metastacia was able to subjugate a Shinigami Lieutenant with ease.
Aizen created Metastacia in such a way that, once he died, he would be regenerated in the Hueco Mundo, where he could be conveniently analyzed by his forces. Thanks to this ability, Metastacia stayed alive for a while longer, although he would end up being devoured by Aaroniero Arruruerie.
8. Grand Fisher
Grand Fisher was a Hollow who had evaded the Shinigami for 54 years and asw responsible for the death of Ichigo’s mother, Masaki Kurosaki, albeit only because Yhwach had weakened her significantly. He is the strongest Hollow Ichigo faces before getting Zangetsu and not counting Menos Grande.
His code name comes from his way of hunting humans, first he can put his body inside the antenna he has and this same one can obtain a human body with which he can hunt people at his will, although the favorite food his are the women.
Grand Fisher possesses moderate spiritual strength, being enough to be able to stop an attack from Ichigo’s Zanpakutō with one hand, as well as being able to hurt Ichigo with relative ease. Grand Fisher has also been seen to possess great travel speed, as he demonstrated during his fight against Ichigo, where he was able to repeatedly dodge Ichigo’s attacks.
7. White
White was a Hollow of a predominantly black color that was the result of an experiment of Aizen and was made from the soul of a Shinigami. This Hollow appeared in the outskirts of Karakura Town on rainy nights to attack the Shinigami that were patrolling that area. White has shown that he possesses enormous spiritual power, so much so that Masaki and Ryuken managed to perceive his power even though they were far from the area where he was.
Despite being a Hollow, Isshin notes that he felt like he was fighting another Shinigami. His cero is generated between his two horns; he uses it to launch it at point blank range against a Shinigami, the power of it is such that after he makes an impact against the Shinigami, Ryuken and Masaki manage to perceive the attack.
White demonstraded proficienty in Sonido throughout his battle against Isshin. At one point in their fight, he manages to escape from Isshin to pounce on an approaching Shinigami. He was shown to be an expert fencer, as his forearms are like swords; he handled them with amazing agility as he easily blocked Isshin’s attacks and even forced Isshin to retreat and stay on the defensive due to the incessant and powerful attacks.
Despite losing an arm after Isshin’s attack, Isshin comments that he is still just as good even without an arm. If White is seriously injured, the matter in his Hollow hole expands, followed by a massive explosion, which can seriously injure a Captain. According to Kaname Tōsen, the use of this mechanism indicates that the Hollow has reached its end.
6. Runuganga
Runuganga is a massive Hollow, made entirely of sand and turned by Sōsuke Aizen into the guardian of the Hueco Mundo desert that surrounds his palace and fortress Las Noches. In the manga, it is the last obstacle that stands between Ichigo Kurosaki’s group and the place where her friend, Orihime Inoue, is being held captive, although in the anime his defeat leads to the fall of the group to the Forest of Menos, where they experience new and fight new enemies.
Runuganga acts under the orders of Aizen and is in charge of protecting Las Noches from the attack of intruders, by controlling and being able to move at great speed through the desert that surrounds the immense structure. Being made entirely of sand, he is immune to physical and Kidō attacks, as he can regenerate as many times as he wishes from any hit he takes without even taking the damage.
In addition, to attack, he himself uses the sand around him, forming tornadoes, huge quicksand holes or simply throwing huge amounts with the force of his fists. This fact turns Runuganga into a practically unstoppable and invulnerable adversary in a desert place like Hueco Mundo, since its only weakness are water and ise, in any of its possible forms (something that was soon demonstrated by Rukia Kuchiki, who, with the ice from her Shikai, was able to defeat him without much trouble). In the anime, it is also said that Runuganga has several different bodies and that killing one of them is not the same as killing him completely.
5. Battikaroa
Battikaroa is a huge Hollow made of sand, similar to Runuganga. He only appears in the anime. He battled Renji Abarai and Yasutora Sado as they defeated hordes of Hollows below the fifth tower of Las Noches. At the beginning of the battle, Renji tries to attack the central part of Battikaroa, but this doesn’t work as his sword is nearly swallowed by the Hollow. Sado helps Renji pull out the sword that was stuck in Battikaroa’s body.
Finally, he attempts to use La Muerte on the Hollow which causes a crack to rise to the location below the mask, but the Hollow hits Sado before the crack reaches the mask. Over time, Sado and Renji realize that Battikaroa’s weakness is his head and after many failed attempts to break the mask with the Death technique, Renji manages to use a Hikotsu Taiho blast that ends up defeating him.
4. Bawabawa
Bawabawa is a gigantic, worm-like Hollow. He is considered the pet of the group formed by the Arrancar Nell Tu, Pesche Guatiche and Dondochakka Birstanne, who soon join Ichigo Kurosaki and his companions on their journey to the Palace of Las Noches. In stark contrast to other Hollows that have appeared throughout the series, Bawabawa is not an aggressive creature or thirsty for souls to devour.
In fact, he is just a being just as sociable as his three companions throughout his eternal games in the Hueco Mundo. Also, he will cry and whine if he feels ignored by his friends. He genuinely adores Nell, Pesche, and Dondochakka, and if none of them remember him during the sentai-style group introduction, Bawabawa won’t stop whimpering until he gets some well-deserved comfort and affectionate pats and cuddles from him.
Like the “Three Brothers of the Desert” (one of the names by which Nell, Pesche and Dondochakka usually refer to themselves), Bawabawa is initially scared and somewhat cowed, although as soon as he gains confidence he becomes a travel companion not only friendly, but even affectionate. Like the three Arrancar, he is afraid of the Shinigami, but fearlessly obeys the orders assigned to him and shows no inconvenience in transporting several of these beings on him.
3. Hooleer
Hooleer was a large entity that seems to be in league with Sōsuke Aizen. His true nature remains unknown, but he appears to have a connection to Gillian-type Hollows, suggesting that he is in fact a Hollow. Hooleer’s breaths are powerful enough to put out the prison fire made by Genryūsai Shigekuni-Yamamoto’s Zanpakutō special ability, Jōkaku Enjō. Kaname Tōsen mentions that he “smells like death”.
He is shown to be able to expel numerous Gillian-type Hollows from his mouth. At first, she appears as a mass of black liquid, until the Gillians separate into their individual forms to fight on the battlefield. Summoning Kūmon is ann ability that is attributed to all Menos. He made use of this ability when traitorous Shinigami were preparing to leave Soul Society.
2. Ayon
Ayon is a creature created through the Quimera Parca technique, performed by Apacci, Mila Rose and Sung-Sun, at the cost of each sacrificing their respective left arms. Although the most widespread version of the name of this being is “Allon”, there are many other variants such as, for example, “Aion”, “Aeon” or “Eon”.
Ayon’s abilities have earned him the reputation of being an extremely strong monster. He has a titanic appearance, and his destructive personality and uncontrollable fury make Ayon an uncontrollable beast that even his own owners cannot control to make him obey or avoid unnecessary damage. Due to his appearance in the Battle of Karakura Town, we can affirm that Ayon is one of the most destructive enemies that the Shinigami of Soul Society have faced, since he is the only one who has been able to defeat, without any effort, four Lieutenants, requiring Yamamoto’s intervention to finish him off.
Although his level is not comparable to the ten Espada, the truth is that Ayon seems to be much stronger than an Arrancar member of a Fracciones, including his own creators. This physical strength is such that with his fists he has been able to tear flesh, break bones or break chains without any visible effort.
To this must be added a remarkable speed, with which he caught Matsumoto by surprise (although we do not know if it is a form of Sonedo or not). Ayon possesses an ability that is to increase the size of each of his body parts, to the point of becoming a beast the size of buildings and with overwhelming force. It also has such flexibility that it can turn its neck without any restriction and contort itself with impossible angles.
1. Ikomikidomoe
Ikomikidomoe was the name given by Ichibē Hyōsube to a powerful and ancient Adjucha who would be sealed within a Zanpakutō by Ōetsu Nimaiya. In a similar way, although not identical to the ability of the Espada Arruruerie, Ikomikidomoe has the potential to evolve power by consuming the power of other beings since Ikomikidomoe is able to accumulate all the Reiatsu of whoever he devours.
This ability allowed Ikomikidomoe to be able to rival Baraggan in the past even though Ikomikidomoe was an Adjuchas and Baraggan a Vasto Lorde. It is thanks to this ability to evolve by assimilating Reiatsu that Ikomikidomoe could be freed from Ichimonji’s curse since Ikomikidomoe would be able to assimilate some fragments of the Spirit King which were inside Hikone’s body.
Due to the large number of Souls that Ikomikidomoe devoured and assimilated during his life, Ikomikidomoe cannot be purified by a Zanpakutō like other Hollows, even after being defeated by Kenpachi Zaraki, Ikomikidomoe was still alive, it is due to this that at first Ichibē would order Ōetsu to seal Ikomikidomoe within a Zanpakutō.
