Bleach 641 Review – Baby, Hold Your Hand 4 [When I Am Sleeping]

Bleach 641 Review – Baby, Hold Your Hand 4 [When I Am Sleeping]

Written by: ClayDragon

Handing Kurotsuchi a flesh supplement, Nemu explains that the main reason she followed him was to give him it (which raises the question of why she didn’t just give it to him sooner, but whatever). Upon injecting it into what’s left of his arm, a mass of flesh instantly sprouts from Kurotsuchi’s stump and expands until it reforms into the veiny shape of an arm. 

"I am in so much pain right now."

Fully healed, he realises that Nemu knew from the very beginning that he hadn’t taken any supplies with him (again, why?). As they prepare to fight Pernida together, Kurotsuchi admits that he finds the fact that Nemu has been observing him so closely to be rather unsettling. With this, he jumps off of the roof, activates his Hirenkyaku boots and flies towards the giant hand.

"Go go Gadget Boots!"

Before he can reach Pernida, it begins to fire arrows at him, followed closely by the other two hands. Kurotsuchi contacts Nemu and tells her his plan – namely, he will spread a highly-concentrated anaesthetic around the area in order to slow Pernida down. Once the arrows are rendered useless, Nemu is to inject them with a substance that will freeze the Quincy’s nerves completely. Upon contact with Pernida’s nerves, this substance will completely paralyze it, freezing the flow of blood inside the hand.

"Hey! What's this thing suddenly coming towards me very fast? Very very fast. So big and flat and round. It needs a big wide-sounding name like ow...ound...round...Ground! That's it! That's a good name! Ground! I wonder if it will be friends with me?"

Surprisingly, this plan seems to go off without a hitch, as Nemu reaches a downed arrow and injects the substance straight into it. After a second, the hand connected to the arrow begins to darken as the drug takes effect, and is almost immediately rendered motionless. The second hand suffers the same fate, and as the third and final hand begins to slow down, Kurotsuchi declares his victory. However, before the drug can flow any further into Pernida, it rips its own pinky finger off, rendering the drug pointless.

Did you seriously not see this coming, Kurotsuchi?

Suddenly, Pernida begins to speak in a manner similar to Kenpachi, and Kurotsuchi realises that it can evolve and adapt, taking information and abilities from anything that its nerves come into contact with.  With this new data, Kurotsuchi comes to the conclusion that, should Pernida have reached Kenpachi’s level, Nemu’s reflexes will not be enough to escape from it. As he orders Nemu to retreat, the hand behind him sheds a layer of its skin, thus healing from the poison.

"I may have made a slight mistake!"

As it turns out, Kurotsuchi should not have let his modified Bankai eat Pernida, as it has now absorbed the ability to shed its skin. As the hand lunges towards Kurotsuchi, Nemu looks on, and she leaps towards him in an attempt to save her father. Whether or not she’s actually successful remains to be seen.

Is... Is that emotion?

I’m going to be honest here, this fight is really disappointing me so far. Ever since the reveal that the thing behind Pernida’s hood was just a big hand, things have steadily gone downhill, and now we’re at the point where this entire chapter was pretty much filler. There were three hands at the start, and there were three hands at the end. Plot-wise, there was virtually no need for Kurotsuchi to poison the hands, as it’s been about as effective as a chocolate poker. 

Then why didn't you give it to him earlier? You had plenty of opportunities!

Also, why the hell did Kurotsuchi not prepare for this fight in the same way that he prepared for all his others? This is the guy who replaced all of his organs with fakes, keeps tags on every Captain’s Bankai, and is generally insanely well-prepared. So why did he just forget to take what should, for him, be basic stuff? Is there a reason behind this, or was Kubo just trying to give Nemu something to do? And if so, why does Nemu need to fight on Kurotsuchi’s orders? Instead of having her use Kurotsuchi’s drugs, why doesn’t Kubo actually show us Nemu’s Zanpakuto and have her fight on her own terms?

These things seem to change size every panel.

Similarly, if Kubo does indeed kill off Nemu in the next chapter (or in the future), I honestly don’t think I’ll be that disappointed. As a character, Nemu is only defined by her relationship with Kurotsuchi. We don’t know anything about her other than what her father has explained, and she has hardly ever been seen away from him. I get that Kurotsuchi pretty much made her to be like that, but it makes her very bland. She’s getting better, since she’s thinking on her own now and has some funny lines, but it’s still quite hard to actually care about her. 

"Oh god get it off get it off get it off!"

Finally, why are Ikkaku and Yumichika not doing anything during this fight? Sure, Ikkaku’s Zanpakuto wouldn’t be much use against Pernida, since cutting it would result in more hands spawning, but Yumichika can drain energy from his opponent without dealing any physical damage, so he should be able to fight alongside Kurotsuchi, or at least be his backup. Unless Kubo is actually planning to make Yumichika useful, it’s going to be pretty disappointing. Come to think of it, the same goes for Hanatarou… 

"Maybe your hearing is just too sensitive! Ever think of that?"

Chapter 641 Review – Baby, Hold Your Hand 4 [When I Am Sleeping]:

Good Things:      One or two funny moments.

                             

                             Nemu might get some development.

Bad Things:        This entire chapter was pretty much pointless.

                             Kurotsuchi’s intelligence has been called into question.

                                    

Manga Rating:   1.5/5

ClayDragon:









ClayDragon is currently studying Physics at university, and is constantly bewildered by it. The main method of contacting him is his Gmail account at claydragon.on@gmail.com. He has an ask.fm account at ask.fm/ClayDragon. When not playing games or reading, he can be found with his head in his hands whilst trying in vain to understand quantum physics. 42.