Time for a Lille game! Sorry I had to…
Shunsui is finally getting an opportunity to show off his zanpakutou this arc and most likely will end up having to rely on his Bankai to defeat Lille Barro thanks to whatever power-up Yhwach bestowed upon them by sacrificing his less capable members. Whatever Shunsui’s Bankai is, it is going to be terrifyingly exciting to find out.
The expression of life through the freedom of choice
I guess that ominous feeling I had in the previous chapter was genuine, someone really did “die”…Nemu’s expression of love and gratitude through her disobedience towards Mayuri’s orders was a touching moment indeed, especially given the origins of her character and the development of her emotions and attachment towards Mayuri. Nemu may not have revealed much raw emotion in past but through this fight and her desire, beyond any order or programming, to protect Mayuri, Nemu conveyed exactly how human/alive she was.
Mayuri’s fatherly feelings for Nemu really does help deepen his character
For some reason I have this unnerving feeling that either Mayuri or Nemu is going to die soon while they try to save each other. With Nemu’s life threatened, Mayuri shifts his attention to her to try to warn her, which in turn opens him up to attack by Pernida. This spurs Nemu to force herself to protect Mayuri. With the two of them caring about each other and the way the fight is currently set-up, it feels almost likely that someone will die. Pernida has progressed/evolved to a state in which he has gained the reaction and nerve capability of someone as strong as Zaraki. At this level is seems Mayuri may need more than just himself and Nemu to combat Pernida.
Got to admit, this is a fantastic colour spread. Happy 14 Years Bleach!
I thought as much, Pernida was far from done, it had much more up its sleeve than it was revealing. Pernida referring to itself as a Quincy was expected due to Yhwach referring to the Soul King as his father and himself as the origins of the Quincy. With Pernida’s statement, it seems we have the confirmation needed to conclude that the Soul King was in fact a Quincy and ended up being used by the Shinigami to balance the worlds. With Pernida advancing/evolving with each attack, the notes about the Left Hand of the Soul King which Mayuri read in past also appeared to be confirmed as true – that the Left Arm of the Soul King governs “Progress”.
There really is no limits to what Mayuri wouldn’t do to satisfy his cravings…
Wow, I am stunned, I am honestly struggling to find words to comprehend exactly what happened. Did Pernida just snap off a finger to mutate another hand? Did Mayuri’s Bankai just give birth to another Bankai? Did Mayuri really redesign his Bankai into THAT? I knew Mayuri was twisted and psychotic but the guy seriously takes experimentation to a level even I wasn’t expecting from him. Just how far hasn’t he gone yet? And yeah, I don’t believe the fight is over just yet.
The schemes of the twisted…
Somehow this battle seems so fitting with two twisted existences beyond the boundaries of logic going at it. The Left Arm of the Soul King deluded by individuality and the insanity of the Gotei 13 known as Mayuri driven by the curiosity of his own delusion. With each unexpected development, each has a counter ready to get on the others nerves, and for Pernida, quite literally. The victor will definitely be the one who doesn’t run out of surprises first.
The Left Arm of the Soul King…the true form of Pernida
Well colour me surprised, even though I was wondering what happened with the Left Arm of the Soul King, I honestly did not expect Pernida’s true form to be that of the Left Arm. Mayuri was correct in questioning Juhabach’s intention with the Left Arm, why has Juhabach not done more with it? Why not absorb it with the rest of the Soul King? Another interesting possibility that now opens up with the Left Arm becoming relevant is what about the Soul King’s right and left legs? If the arms are relevant to the story, why not the legs? With the Left Arm ready to unleash on Mayuri, I can’t help but be excited about the resulting effects.
What else does the mysterious Sternritter have hidden beneath their twisted form?
The contrasting tactics of Zaraki and Mayuri against a mysterious foe with an unknown power really does create an interesting illustration of two captains personalities and the strengths the each possess. Zaraki via brute force and insane endurance and Mayuri through observation and the madness he possesses. One could argue that the two compliment each other and through Zaraki, Mayuri was able to deduce the enemy’s ability and possibly through Mayrui, Zaraki will have an opening to exploit to deal the finishing blow. Should be exciting to see what else Pernida has in store for the two captains and whether s/he can overcome the countermeasures Mayuri has for his/her ability.
His got the perfect thing for you…just hold still…
Thank goodness Mayuri showed up, whenever he appears, the content of the chapter immediately becomes significantly more entertaining, meaningful and enjoyable. The fact that Mayuri has handled several enemies standing against him, including zombified Gotei 13 Captains and Lieutenants serves to illustrate just how prepared and effective Mayuri is against the Sternritter. All those years of researching, studying and experimenting on Quincy, Hollow and his fellow Shinigami are all coming in use. With Mayuri now up against some more Sternritter, it should be interesting to see how he handles them as well.
I wonder what Mayuri has planned =/
I find it extremely amusing that a person already dead has ended up dealing with dead people turned undead. Whatever Mayuri has planned for Toushirou it is going to be sadistically awesome and satisfying, a shame the focus on his experiment had to cut to another scene featuring Byakuya. Hopefully Mayuri’s experiment isn’t pushed too far back while Byakuya and his newly attained powers are being highlighted.
12Dimension 