Bleach: Every type of Cero, explained

Cero attacks are a hallmark of Bleach. In Tite Kubo’s addictive franchise, Cero is a formidable technique used by Menos – entities that surpass the normal Hollows – as well as Arrancar – Hollows who have removed their masks to gain Shinigami-like powers – and Visored – Shinigami who have acquired Hollow powers – to injure their opponents.

In Bleach, Cero is shown to be a devastating energy blast that its users can fire at relatively high speed. To perform a Cero attack, the user must concentrate and charge their Reiryoku, i.e., their Spiritual Energy, before firing it in the form of a beam that is released from the mouth or, depending on the user, from their hands, fingers, and so on.

The more powerful a character is, the more powerful their Cero attack will be, and the harder it will be to dodge it. Cero may look like the straightforward energy blast-type attack common to most shonen series. Still, this technique has several versions, especially as some characters have developed with unique variations.

All the different Cero techniques in Bleach, explained in detail

1) Standard Cero

Shinji's Cero in the Bleach manga (Image via Shueisha)

The standard Cero is, depending on the user’s overall strength, an attack powerful enough to vaporize the target or inflict significant damage. For example, the leader of the Visored group, Shinji Hirako, was able to grievously injure Sexta Espada Grimmjow Jaegerjaquez with a devastating Cero blast.

On that occasion, Shinji focused his Reiryoku in a horizontal line before releasing a powerful crimson-colored Cero that struck Grimmjow from a long distance. Grimmjow could only minimize the damage from Shinji’s attack by hitting the latter’s Cero attack with his own.

Cero normally requires the user to take on a specific pose to gather and fire the concentrated Reiryoku at the target from the preferred body part, with Coyote Starrk being the only known exception.

The Primera Espada was able to release instantaneous Cero attacks without needing any pose or a prolonged charge time. He could thus fire a Cero without any warning, making it harder for his opponents to react. In addition to this, after performing Resurreción, Starrk could use his special guns to fire Cero blasts at will.

2) Customized Cero variants

Nelliel's Cero Doble in the Bleach manga (Image via Shueisha)

Several Bleach characters have come up with their own variation of Cero. For example, the former Tercera Espada Nelliel Tu Odelschwanck developed Cero Doble. This technique involved Nelliel swallowing an incoming Cero to absorb the blast, then returning it back to the enemy while attacking them with a Cero of her own.

Tesra Lindocruz, the loyal subordinate of the Quinta Espada Nnoitra Gilga, was able to fire a special Cero from the pupil of his eye as if it were a deathly glare. Charlotte Chuhlhourne used to fire a heart-shaped Cero that he himself called “Beautiful Charlotte Chuhlhourne’s Final Holy Wonderful Pretty Super Magnum Sexy Sexy Glamorous Cero”.

Despite the bombastic Arrancar’s bragging, this Cero wasn’t some kind of unique move but just a normal Cero with a particularly wide area of effect. As for Kaname Tosen, this Shinigami could use his Hollow powers to enter Resurreción and, while in that form, use a peculiar Cero.

Kaname Tosen's La Mirada in the Bleach manga (Image via Shueisha)

The attack would begin with two circular Cero charging in front of Suzumushi Hyakushiki: Grillar Grillo’s bug-like eyes, only for the two blasts to merge together in a single, highly concentrated one called "La Mirada."

Pesche Guatiche and Dondochakka Birstanne can use a surprisingly effective technique called Cero Sincrético. The two Arrancar charge their Cero simultaneously, generating a large sphere and combining their energy to fire a multicolored Cero. Despite Pesche and Dondochakka’s clumsiness, this move can be quite dangerous, as the likes of Octavo Espada Szayelaporro Granz admitted.

3) Gran Rey Cero

Grimmjow's Gran Rey Cero in the Bleach manga (Image via Shueisha)

The Espada of Sosuke Aizen’s Arrancar army can use Gran Rey Cero, an energy blast much larger, faster, and exceedingly more powerful than the normal Cero. This technique involves the Espada mixing their blood with their Cero to enhance it. It was stated that a Gran Rey Cero can affect the fabric of space as it travels to its intended target.

Aizen had forbidden the Espada from using their Gran Rey Cero inside Las Noches as they could otherwise cause great damage to the fortress. However, Grimmjow Jaegerjaquez still used this move during the fight against Bleach’s main protagonist, Ichigo Kurosaki.

Ichigo's Gran Rey Cero in the Bleach manga (Image via Shueisha)

Grimmjow’s normal Cero is already strong enough to kill a fellow Espada such as Antenor Luppi, incinerating half of the latter’s body, but like with the other Espada, the Gran Rey Cero takes the effectiveness of the technique to a whole new level. It’s no wonder that the Gran Rey Cero is known as “the ultimate Cero”.

Interestingly, Ichigo can use Gran Rey Cero, too. After unlocking his true Zanpakuto and learning how to merge all of his various powers, Ichigo can enter a form unofficially known as the “Horn of Salvation” to unleash a Getsuga Tensho combined with a Gran Rey Cero. The force of the resulting attack was openly acknowledged by Yhwach, the Quincy Emperor, who had gained the Almighty and absorbed both the Soul King and Mimihagi.

4) Cero Oscuras

Ulquiorra's Cero Oscuras in the Bleach manga (Image via Shueisha)

Cero Oscuras is another Espada-exclusive Cero variation. It can only be used by an Espada who is in their Resurreción, and it will be much stronger than a normal Cero from the same Espada. In addition to the increased range, force, and traveling speed, the Cero Oscuras are distinguished by an evident black coloration.

According to the Bleach databooks, an Espada’s Cero Oscuras is ten times stronger than the same Espada’s standard Cero. As a testament to the power of this technique, the Cuarto Espada Ulquiorra Cifer used his Cero Oscuras to overwhelm Ichigo Kurosaki, blowing up his Hollow mask and seriously injuring him as well as destroying a large part of Las Noches in the process.

5) Cero Metralleta

Starrk's Cero Metralleta in the Bleach manga (Image via Shueisha)

When in his Resurreción form, Coyote Starrk can use his guns to fire a tremendous barrage of Cero blasts all at once, covering a large area due to the sheer number of the energy beams. A true Cero specialist, Starrk can even change the direction of his blasts, making them even harder to dodge. This technique is called Cero Metralleta, one of Starrk’s most powerful moves.

Using it, Starrk was able to make things difficult for Shunsui Kyoraku, an incredibly strong and agile Shinigami who would later become the Gotei’s Captain Commander. Granted, at the time, Shunsui wasn’t using the real extent of his Shikai powers, which included techniques such as Kageokuri and Daruma-san ga Koronda.

Starrk could fire countless Cero blasts at once (Image via Shueisha)

The combination of these moves allowed Shunsui to dictate the pace of the battle with Lille Barro, even cornering the leader of Yhwach’s Schutzstaffel more than once. Even without activating his Vollstandig transformation, Lille is already far stronger than Starrk, yet Shunsui was able to fend him off when using his full power Shikai. With this in mind, Shunsui should be able to handle Starrk’s Cero Metralleta even better by using his best Shikai techniques.

Nevertheless, Starrk’s Cero Metralleta remains a fearsome asset, combining the spiritual energy of the Primera Espada with a fast-paced barrage of unpredictable blasts for a forceful attack that many Bleach characters wouldn’t be able to defend against.

Final thoughts

Segunda Etapa Ulquiorra using Cero in the Bleach anime (Image via Studio Pierrot)

Cero can be thought of as the Hollow version of Hado, the offensive Kido spells that certain Shinigami use to injure their opponents. Unfortunately, despite the potential ability to do so, no Espada ever actually used all three main variations – standard Cero, Gran Rey Cero, and Cero Oscuras.

Baraggan preferred to use his signature abilities, Senesciencia and Respira. As for Ulquiorra, he mostly relied on the Lanza del Relámpago after entering his Segunda Etapa transformation, which may suggest that this attack is even more destructive than his various Cero blasts.

Likewise, Starrk never used either Cero Oscuras or Gran Rey Cero, only employing normal Cero attacks and his signature Cero Metralleta before switching to his ghost-like wolves.

Full Hollow Ichigo's Cero in the Bleach anime (Image via Studio Pierrot)

The strongest Cero attacks in Bleach belong to the franchise’s main protagonist, Ichigo Kurosaki. When his inner Hollow took over his body and turned him into a full-fledged Vasto Lorde in berserk mode, Ichigo fired a Cero strong enough to completely overpower Ulquiorra even though the latter was in his Segunda Etapa state. The attack vaporized half of Ulquiorra’s body.

In Bleach TYBW, Ichigo reached an even higher level of might by successfully merging his Shinigami, Hollow, and Quincy powers, and there’s no doubt that his technique that combined Getsuga Tensho and Gran Rey Cero is the most powerful Cero attack that Tite Kubo has ever shown in Bleach.