Somnambulist was the Quirk used by Nemuri Kayama.
Description#
Somnambulist allowed the user to put targets to sleep by exuding a sleep-inducing aroma from their skin.
Somnambulist was described as being more effective on males than on females, which gave Nemuri an obvious advantage against men.[1] Regardless of that, anyone who breathed in enough of the aroma would fall into a deep slumber, making it difficult for opponents to confront Nemuri at close range.
In the anime, the mist that represented the Quirk's aroma took a lavender-purple color.
Weaknesses#
It was possible to avoid the effects of Somnambulist by simply not breathing in the aroma. This put Nemuri at a disadvantage against opponents who had their mouths covered by masks that could function as air filters. Alternatively, an opponent could cover their mouth with something to hold their breath, as demonstrated when Minoru Mineta avoided the Quirk's effects by covering his mouth with Hanta Sero's Tape.
Somnambulist's sleeping aroma was also less effective against women. Nemuri once activated her Quirk during a mixer event in a bar with low ventilation, putting all the men to sleep while the female patrons around her remained unaffected. However, she soon used it directly on Hina to render her unconscious, implying that a stronger potency of the Quirk was required for it to affect women.[2]
Usage#
Somnambulist made Nemuri an efficient referee for competitions, as she was able to prevent dangerous plays by just putting the violating contestants to sleep.
For legal reasons, Nemuri was forced to wear a bodysuit to counter her provocative costume, which could hinder the effectiveness of her Quirk, as she must rip it off first to release her aroma. She stated as much in an interview where she said she was trying different thin materials in her costume that she could tear away easily to release her fragrance.
Nemuri utilized a pair of hand fans in order to spread her aroma more easily, which allowed her to put more enemies to sleep from a safe distance while also being able to stay on the move.[3] She was able to release and aim her fragrance as well, but her support items were designed to pick up traces of her scent and allowed her to fling it in different directions, thus giving her Quirk more accuracy.[4]
Nemuri often used her Quirk to quickly put her enemies to sleep, which allowed them to be easily secured and captured. Her Quirk was also very useful against troublesome opponents, as it could serve to incapacitate Villains who couldn't be knocked out by brute force alone, such as Number 6 and Gigantomachia.[5][6]
Trivia#
- Somnambulist's Japanese name literally translates to "sleep fragrance".
- A somnambulist is the medical term for describing a sleepwalker.
- This Quirk worked similarly to Gas. Unlike Gas, however, Somnambulist didn't have toxic properties, had no direct effect on the user, and wasn't potent enough to put someone into a coma.
- Given that Hina was implied to have a crush on her female friend, Rin Yaritezawa, and was the only woman shown to fall asleep to Somnambulist's fragrance, it is possible that said fragrance is most potent on people who are attracted to women.