It has been widely accepted that Tite Kubo’s magnum opus, Bleach, is a legendary series, and it has inspired many other prominent mangas. However, even a genius like Kubo needs some kind of inspiration to base his work on, and while most of his manga was the work of his creative mind, one aspect of the series was almost adopted from Fullmetal Alchemist.
Many fans might not know this, but one of the most menacing groups of villains in Bleach, the Ten Espada, was originally going to be only seven because of the seven deadly sins, the same as the homunculus in Fullmetal Alchemist by Hiromu Arakawa. However, Kubo decided to change his mind and went on to create three additional characters.
He even changed the symbolic meaning behind the villains to make them represent something entirely different. This not only helped in making the narrative of Bleach better, but especially the Arrancar saga. It not only gave a new look to the Espada characters but also matched the number of Soul Reapers in Soul Society.
Tite Kubo Was Almost Going to Use Fullmetal Alchemist’s Key Element
According to CBR, when Kubo was creating Sosuke Aizen’s army, he made a last-minute change, which was quite big for the Bleach manga. Earlier, he was going to introduce only seven Espadas, each representing one of the seven deadly sins. However, Tite Kubo decided to remove the symbolic gesture of sin from the Espadas and introduce three more.
Later on, these Espadas were designed around the theme of death and its ten aspects. From rage to madness, every aspect of death became an integral part of Espada’s personality and their way of fighting. Also, at that time, there were only ten Soul Reapers in the Soul Society, which created a balance between good characters and villains.
The concept of the Seven Deadly Sins was quite common at the time, with Hiromu Arakawa’s Fullmetal Alchemist being the first to use it. The main antagonists of the series, Homunculus, were based on the concept of sins, and each member of Homunculus represented a particular sin.
The Espada was One of The Best Groups of Villains in Bleach
It is generally believed that Aizen was the one who created the group of Espada. However, the Arrancars had already formed a group before the arrival of Aizen to Hueco Mundo. He just gave them a reason and unlimited powers to fight, used them according to his own will, and even destroyed them if he needed to.
The Espada are given a number between 0 and 9, and the number represents their powers in terms of their spiritual energy. Although Aizen had other factions ready to wage war on the Soul Society, the Espada were the strongest among them. These Espada stayed in Las Noches in Hueco Mundo, where they also held their meetings.
Bleach has witnessed a lot of enemy groups trying to invade the Soul Society or wage war on the human world, but none of them compared to the strength and abilities of the Espada. The Espada had characters like Grimmjow, Ulquiorra, Yammy, etc. who are considered to be some of the strongest characters in the entire series.
You can watch Bleach on Hulu and Fullmetal Alchemist on Crunchyroll.
