Bleach TYBW episode 36: Nemu's ultimate sacrifice ends Mayuri vs. Pernida while Bazz-B confronts Jugram
Bleach TYBW episode 36, titled Baby Hold Your Hand 2 [Never Ending My Dream] came out on December 7, 2024, on TV Tokyo and its affiliated networks in Japan. The episode witnessed Nemu's tragic fate, as she sacrificed herself to protect her master, Mayuri Kurotsuchi.
The latest episode ended the Mayuri vs. Pernida battle, which came at a huge cost. Besides that, Bleach TYBW episode 36 featured a post-credit scene, which teased Bazz-B's battle against Jugram Haschwalth.
Undoubtedly, Pierrot Films did a fascinating job of capturing Nemu and Mayuri's bond. The esteemed studio captured Tite Kubo's vision from the manga and portrayed them excellently in the anime.
Disclaimer: This article contains spoilers from Bleach TYBW episode 36.
Bleach TYBW episode 36: Nemu intervenes in the Mayuri vs. Pernida battle
Bleach TYBW episode 36 commences with the resumption of Mayuri's battle against Pernida. The 12th Division Captain asks his modified Zanpakuto how its stomach is doing. He is glad he made the last-minute adjustment to not modify his Bankai with teeth. Otherwise, he fears Pernida would have multiplied inside.
Just then, Ashisogi Jizo's avatar disfigures and it gets obliterated from the inside. Bleach TYBW episode 36 shows Pernida Parnkgjas emerging from Ashisogi Jizo with a Quincy bow and Arrow. The Soul King's Left Arm mimics Mayuri's laughter and reminds him he's a Quincy.
Mayuri says he hasn't forgotten. However, he wasn't expecting the Soul King's Left Arm to "shamelessly" claim itself to be a Quincy. Mayuri Kurotsuchi's words irk Pernida, who asks him how it's shameless to be a Quincy. Just then, Mayuri detects a change in Pernida's speech pattern. He wonders whether it's due to its evolution.
Yet, before he can think further, Pernida shoots arrows at Mayuri. The 12th Division Captain realizes the arrows have nerves attached to them. Mayuri cuts off his left arm as one of the arrows grazes past him. He tries to evade the others but observes a Holy Arrow (Heilig Pfeil) rebounding on the ground and changing its trajectory toward him.
Suddenly, Nemu leaps forward to snatch the Holy Arrow and cut off her own arm. Mayuri grabs Nemu and takes her to a safe place. He calls her a fool for interfering in the battle without his orders and reminds her how she would have turned into a meatball if she had fallen to the ground. While Nemu understands her mistake, she feels Mayuri needed a shield in the battle.
Mayuri then interrogates Nemu, asking her whether she learned to act of her own volition without her teaching. However, the 12th Division Lieutenant fails to answer Mayuri’s question. Just then in Bleach TYBW episode 36, Mayuri addresses Nemu as Nemuri Nanago.
The Soul Reaper thinks ever since Ichigo and his group showed up, he and Nemu have been to many battles, where he taught her many things. He asks Nemu whether he knows how much toll it will take on him to develop the “Next” Nemu.
When Nemu answers negatively, Mayuri lashes at her and orders her not to ever act on her own judgment. Following that, Bleach TYBW episode 36 shows a scene from the past, when Nemu laid her eyes on Mayuri for the first time.
Shortly after that, the episode returns to the battlefield. Mayuri enters in a combat with Pernida, who fires successive Holy Arrows at him. While dodging them, Mayuri contacts Nemu and mentions his next plan.
He plans on spraying a highly concentrated anesthetic over a wide area to neutralize the arrows. Meanwhile, he wants Nemu to inject a nerve coagulating directly into its nullified arrow.
According to Bleach TYBW episode 36, Mayuri plans to cogulate Pernida’s blood and stop its functions. Nemu carries out the plan as instructed. Yet suddenly, Mayuri realizes something is wrong. Pernida cuts off its finger which connects to the injected arrow. Its speech pattern also resembles Zaraki Kenpachi’s.
Mayuri Kurotsuchi finally realizes Pernida evolves taking information from the objects its nerves attach to. Since it has touched Zaraki’s hands, Mayuri realizes its nerve strength has become so strong that Nemu won’t be able to evade them.
Just then, Pernida emulates the Modified Konjiki Ashisogi Jizo’s ability to shed its skin to remove the coagulating agent’s effects. The 12th Division Captain realizes it’s the end. Meanwhile, Nemu witnesses the situation from the ground.
Bleach TYBW episode 36: Nemu's backstory and her shocking fate
Just then, Bleach TYBW episode 36 delves into a flashback, where Nemu as a child asks Akon why Mayuri doesn’t call her by her name, Nemuri Nanago. The scene transitions to another scene in the 12th Division’s lab. One of the researchers named Kuna accidentally pops up three glass jars, with a fetus-like object in them.
Akon reveals those are the relics, i.e., corpses from Mayuri Kurostuchi’s Artificial Soul Project: Nemuri. The 3rd Seat member mentions how the project’s initial experiments failed. However, each time, they managed to learn new data and incorporate them into the next. Mayuri even used the technology acquired from the fifth experiment to modify his Zanpakuto and become a Captain.
The sixth experiment in the Nemuri Project was two years old before its cell division stopped. Akon says that was the lifespan of an Artifical Soul’s cells. That’s why, Mayuri was overjoyed when the current Nemu, i.e., Nemuri Nanago, outlived her lifespan.
Bleach TYBW episode 36 then transitions to another scene, featuring child Nemu and Akon. Although the 3rd Seat Officer doesn’t know why Mayuri stopped calling Nemu by her real name, he speculates it’s probably because he’s embarrassed.
According to Bleach TYBW episode 36, creating an artificial soul out of nothing was Mayuri Kurostuchi’s dream. Hence, Nemuri’s growth and everyday activities filled him with immense pride and joy. Akon feels Mayuri would get embarrassed if Nemu learned it. That said, he reminds her that she’s Mayuri Kurotsuchi’s greatest creation.
Just then, the narrative for Bleach TYBW episode 36 returns to the present, and shows Nemu leaping in the air grabbing Mayuri, and bursting through Pernida’s hands. The impact blows apart Pernida.
The 12th Division Captain can hardly believe how strong Nemu has become. She reveals that she has increased her body’s speed movements at the cost of her decomposition rate. Mayuri fumes over Nemu’s choice, reminding her that her mission is to grow and evolve.
Nemu says she can demonstrate it the best way in combat. Just then in Bleach TYBW episode 36, Nemuri Nanago shaves 6% of her Konpaku Cells to deliver Gikon Jurichu, a highly concentrated attack, to obliterate Pernida. As Nemu falls from the sky, Pernida’s bits gain sentience.
Bleach TYBW episode 36 then witnesses a tragic scene, as Pernida’s nerves spread throughout Nemu’s body before shredding her to pieces. Mayuri observes the horrifying scene and is almost at his wit's end. Just then, Szayelaporro Grantz appears in his consciousness, as a figment of his imagination.
Szayelaporro reminds Mayuri about his resolve as a scientist and his own speech about “perfection.” The Espada feels Nemu wasn’t the “Perfect” being, hence she perished. Szayelaporro’s words clear the doubts Mayuri had in his mind, and he realizes Nemu had more room for growth. Meanwhile, Pernida devours Nemu’s remains to acquire her data.
The Left Arm is about to eat Nemu’s cerebrum, but Mayuri secures it quickly. Just then, Pernida senses something wrong in its body. Mayuri reveals it’s because it devoured Nemu’s pituitary gland. According to Bleach TYBW episode 36, Nemu’s pituitary gland has an accelerated regeneration formula, which if consumed without the cerebrum, can enforce self-destruction.
As Pernida self-destructs, Mayuri escapes from the scene, with Nemu’s brain in his hand. Yumichika and Ikkaku arrive at the scene and take Mayuri to a specific location. The 12th Division Captain points to two pods, where he has de-zombified Toshiro Hitsugaya and Rangiku Matsumoto, albeit at the cost of reduced lifespan. Toshiro wakes up and expresses his gratitude to Mayuri before leaving.
The 12th Division Captain asks Yumichika and Ikkaku to place him and Zaraki in the two empty pods. Prior to leaving them, Yumichika and Ikkaku bow before Mayuri and thank him from the bottom of their hearts. As the pod closes, Mayuri recalls the battle's outcome. He feels he has finally surpassed Kisuke Urahara, with an artificial soul that can evolve on its own.
Following that, Bleach TYBW episode 36 switches to Liltotto and Giselle, who infiltrate Yhwach's castle. As they face many guards, Giselle summons zombified Meninas, Candice, and Bambi to fight against them.
However, they soon realize the guards have strange eyes on their faces (they resemble Yhwach's post-Soul King absorption avatar). Elsewhere, Bazz B confronts Jugram, as he's prepared to take him down.
Conclusion
Bleach TYBW episode 36 was a beautiful exposition from Pierrot Films. The episode was marked with unbelievable production quality, doing justice to the iconic panels from Tite Kubo's manga.
Whether it's Nemu's death scene or Szayelaporro's speech in Mayuri's subconscious, the episode perfectly encapsulated the manga's essence to give fans a sensational experience.
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