journalxxx

[journalxxx]

Toshinori can't hear it through the heavy rain and the thick curtain of his despair, but Hercules' radio is most definitely playing Despacito in the background

The robot suit is very cool and all, but it opens more than a few logistical plotholes

(based on dialogue that @journalxxx dumped in my DMs)

#toshinori yagi #all might #my hero academia #boku no hero academia #hercules

[journalxxx]

Rereading the Black Hero Arc with the knowledge that 1) the suit was there all along and 2) Hercules is capable of speech and of somewhat indipendent planning and action is going to gift me the most hilarious bits of fridge logic, I can tell. Have just a couple of examples The 'over my dead body' moment, but framed from the goons' eyes so that you can see that, while Toshinori is busy shouting like a maniac in righteous anger, what they're actually terrified of is Hercules slowly producing a ballistic-looking missile from the roof and aiming it at them Toshinori, with his back still to the car, unaware of anything while the goons are running away: "Mph! At least I still have some intimidation in me." Hercules, retracting the unused missile: "Impressively done, sir. Shall I try to track down Midoriya's position while you suit up?" T: "Yes, if you- suit up? Why?" H: "You will reach him faster by flying in a straight line over the buildings rather than driving in a zigzag across ruined streets." T: "...But that would ruin the surprise of the suit. I'd rather drive there." H: "But it would be more helpful if you reached his position already in full battle gear, immediately ready to assist him against the assassin-" T: "Eeeeh, I'm sure he'll be fine. Come on, unstick yourself from that wall, we're driving."

or also

Toshinori, kneeling in the mud in front of the spilled bento, dramatically wailing at the sky, smashing his fist on the ground: "Curses! Curse my own weakness! He's left me behind! And I have no way of reaching him, now that he needs me the most! Oh, cruel fate! If only, IF ONLY, I had some way of possibly catching up to him! If only I had THE MEANS of possibly matching his speed, even partially, if only I had Ida's engines, or artificial thrusters, or ANY KIND OF TOOL that allowed me to close the gap between us even briefly, so that I could shout at him the things I need him to hear! Alas, I am stuck here, earthbound, powerless and useless-" Hercules in the background, to itself, the suitcase very visible on the passenger's seat from the open door: "...Should I remind him, or...?"

#my hero academia #boku no hero academia #toshinori yagi #all might #hercules

[journalxxx]

No matter how this fight will end, I will always privately cherish the image of the final confrontation between the Symbol of Peace and the Symbol of Fear ending, in some alternate universe, with bloodied, barely standing, armor-in-pieces, utterly deranged Toshinori beating the shit ouf of 4-year-old All For One with a lead pipe screaming to the high heavens "THIS IS HOW QUIRKLESS TRASH WINS A FIGHT, YOU PIECE OF FUCK"

#my hero academia #boku no hero academia #toshinori yagi #all might #all for one

[journalxxx]

Just so I know, am I the only one snorting to myself for how much an ungodly fusion between He-Man and Hisoka All For One looks like in this panel

#my hero academia #boku no hero academia #all for one #he man #hisoka

[journalxxx]

If there was ever evidence that this man has not once in his entire life suffered from a depressive mindset, this is it.

Canon vs. Fanon #3: All Might has depression/PTSD

Part 3 of comparing canon to fanon! This one’s long. Previous posts are about Quirklessness and Toshinori’s appearance. The appearance one is slightly relevant here. 

This one is… absolutely fascinating to me. This assertion is “unspoken canon” among a lot of All Might fans. It was for me, too, for a long while. There’s plenty of reason for him to have pretty severe mental health problems, considering everything he’s been through. I mean, just look at him. 

But… things didn’t quite add up for me. So this post examines what got me into this idea, then what made me decide that it, ultimately, didn’t really fit him the way I once thought it did.

Keep reading

#boku no hero academia #my hero academia #Toshinori Yagi #All Might

[journalxxx]

I have not read Vinland Saga, so I’m casually skipping that whole comparison, but there are a few things in this last reply of yours that I really cannot get behind and that seem to blissfully ignore the sheer selfishness of Toga’s behavior here, and chalking up way too much to society.

I was enjoying this latest chapter just fine right up until the point where Ochaco started talking about Toga’s smile, and there it kind of hopelessly lost me. I see the point that I think Horikoshi is trying to make - it makes 100% sense that Ochaco should try to reach out to Toga in every way possible, it’s in line with the concept of ‘hero’ that’s been building for the whole story: someone who tries to help everyone, always, with their entire self, even when there’s no hope of success in sight, it’s an emotional and moral imperative that trumps everything else, including logic and self-preservation. No perplexities with the direction this fight is taking. My problem is mostly with the execution of this concept here, as in with the... particular way that Ochaco chose to approach this conversation with Toga.

To explain what I mean, follow my comparison. Let’s pretend that Toga’s problem isn’t about craving blood, let’s pretend that it’s about craving sex, specifically homosexual sex. I think the comparison stands pretty well: sexual cravings have both a physical and psychological component (like Toga’s crave for blood), sex is largely spurred by and associated with positive feelings and love, its repression causes deep-rooted grief and psychological problems both in the short and in the long run, and homosexual urges in particular are often forbidden and labelled as disgusting and unnatural 'just because', simply as an emotional visceral response to diversity and for no logical reason. All this applies to Toga's blood-based quirk pretty well - not to mention that Toga often speaks and is drawn in rather suggestive ways, which I think reinforces the comparison in its own way. Anyway, after over a decade of repression, Toga finally decides to stand for the rightfulness of her urges, and she does so by forcefully and violently taking what she craves from other people: in other words, in my metaphorical setting, Toga becomes a homosexual rapist. 

Now you can probably glimpse where my confusion about the recent chapter comes from. Of all the possible approaches Ochaco could have taken to reach out to Toga, it seems... odd, to me, that her approach was "ACTUALLY I DON'T PITY YOU. I KIND OF ENVY YOU FOR HOW FREELY AND BOLDLY YOU LIVE YOUR SEXUALITY". Said to a rapist. It's. Bizarre. When you compliment someone for their guts and honesty and willingness to stick to their guns... you aren't usually doing it when this someone is using their guts to deliberately harm other people. You also, probably, would not offer to let the poor repressed rapist have sex with you for the rest of your life so they can satisfy their cravings. Especially because lots of rapists have much deeper psychological issues than 'I want more sex', it takes more than 'feeling really horny and unloved' for a person to decide to rape others. A certain blinding disregard for other people's dignity and autonomy, for example. 

Anyway, you said that "In a fair and equitable society, she SHOULD be able to have that feeling without discrimination." 

No. Nononono, absolutely not. I cannot disagree more. We're talking about blood here, man. Nobody, in a fair and equitable society, is entitled to get blood unless someone willingly gives it. If you have a poor sod next to you that's literally bleeding to death, and another sod right next to the first who's perfectly fine, not even in that context, to save a life, would you have the right to take the second person's blood against their will. Medically speaking, under no circumstance it is morally acceptable to force someone to harm themselves, not even for the sake of another, and drawing blood does count as 'harm', so much that in my country it isn't even legal to sell blood. Hospitals can't buy it. it's either donated for free, or not at all, it is forbidden by law. If you claim that Toga is entitled to have blood simply because she wants it and makes her feel loved, you may as well claim that incels are totally entitled to complain about women who don't give them sex, to call back to my earlier comparison. You cannot simply blame society for not catering to an individual's wishes when said wishes can't help but damage another, unless willingly granted. The freedom to seek love/satiate cravings goes hand in hand with the freedom to refuse to give them. Toga does not in the slightest take into account the other party's right not to cater to her tastes, and so don't you, for some reason. 

The only thing Toga was ever owed was for her needs to be examined objectively and rationally. They were not, but it seems immensely biased to build this whole narrative around her as a 'poor child only looking for love'. If she could get blood without killing she would, you say. Eh. I'm not so sure. With repression come vengefulness, anger, violence. There are ways to get blood without killing people, you know. I used to work in a private analysis lab. No particular security whatsoever, lots of blood vials left on the counters for any random thief to nab. There are hospitals, blood banks. All presumably much easier to bust than Tartarus. 

This last bit is pointless speculation though, and Toga didn't rob hospitals either because Horikoshi didn't think of that, or because she genuinely enjoys the violence, I don’t have enough elements to prefer one of these two explanations. My point is: Toga isn't owed blood. She's owed some decent medical and psychological evaluations, for sure, to understand exactly why she craves blood (is it a physical need? Psychological? Both? Can animal blood be enough, if emotional connection is given via other means? There are so many unknowns at play), and if this crave is proved to be intrinsic to her, then, if someone volunteers to donate it, she should have it. But never let it be said that the whims of one should cost another even a gram of their flesh.

For anyone really interested in how a mass murderer could possibly be redeemed or welcomed by “normal” society, especially a teenager like Himiko Toga, I am begging you to please read the seinen series Vinland Saga. Or watch the first 2 seasons of the anime, which are out in sub and dub. It’s a more mature story set in the Viking era during the reign of a young King Canute (or Cnut) the Great. It’s not just a gore fest — it’s about a kid who becomes a child solider and as a young adult has to find his way to atonement, friendship, and peace. (And my summary isn’t even beginning to do the series justice with its parallel treatment/foiling of Canute’s rise to power!)

For those who say nobody could love or want to reach a murderer, please read at least one interview with Sue Klebold, the mother of one of the Columbine shooters. It’s a harrowing perspective and a difficult read, and it will challenge your preconceptions about the topic. https://www.npr.org/2016/02/16/466618817/sue-klebold-mother-of-columbine-shooter-carries-him-everywhere-i-go-always

If nothing else, remember MHA is fiction.

#my hero academia #boku no hero academia #himiko toga

[journalxxx]

Actually, while we’re on the topic

these images are shockingly exploitable

(more kittens)

#my hero academia #boku no hero academia #Toshinori Yagi #All Might #izuku midoriya #deku

[journalxxx]

If Midnight overheard this, she’d lament the fact that the kitten happened to be male, because you can only get few rare chances in life to hear the Symbol of Peace utter the words “stroking my pussy”, and she just missed one.

these images are shockingly exploitable

(more kittens)

#boku no hero academia #my hero academia #Toshinori Yagi #All Might #shota aizawa #eraserhead #Midnight #nemuri kayama

[journalxxx]

When I say that I have no visualization skills whatsoever and I therefore deeply appreciate any and all inputs you have on the matter, this is not what I mean

Today on "Ideas that ran away from me beyond repair thanks to Haptronym's well-meaning curiosity and inputs", something that definitely never needed to exist and yet it somehow does: a Toshinori and Izuku-centric Evangelion AU.

This one comes with a few caveats: this thing completely lacks the complexity and the fascinating worldbuilding of the source setting, borrowing only a few technical setpieces here and there, and ends up being more of a generic Monster Of the Week kind of deal. Izuku and Toshinori's characterizations are also somewhat heavily revised to better fit the bleakness of Evangelion's mood. Last but not least, one notable element of the story is the unrequited crush Izuku eventually develops for his much older, much revered fellow pilot, so thread carefully if the topic bothers you.

WARNING: this doc is basically a largely unedited, non-spellchecked, non-in-chronological-order chat log. It is probably barely intellegible. Don’t expect fic-quality stuff or meaningful storytelling. Despite all this, hopefully this can still entertain for a few hours those 3 or 4 people on the entire planet who might find such a niche concept remotely interesting.

[journalxxx]

Today on "Ideas that ran away from me beyond repair thanks to Haptronym's well-meaning curiosity and inputs", something that definitely never needed to exist and yet it somehow does: a Toshinori and Izuku-centric Evangelion AU.

This one comes with a few caveats: this thing completely lacks the complexity and the fascinating worldbuilding of the source setting, borrowing only a few technical setpieces here and there, and ends up being more of a generic Monster Of the Week kind of deal. Izuku and Toshinori's characterizations are also somewhat heavily revised to better fit the bleakness of Evangelion's mood. Last but not least, one notable element of the story is the unrequited crush Izuku eventually develops for his much older, much revered fellow pilot, so tread carefully if the topic bothers you.

WARNING: this doc is basically a largely unedited, non-spellchecked, non-in-chronological-order chat log. It is probably barely intellegible. Don’t expect fic-quality stuff or meaningful storytelling. Despite all this, hopefully this can still entertain for a few hours those 3 or 4 people on the entire planet who might find such a niche concept remotely interesting.

#my hero academia #boku no hero academia #neon genesis evangelion #toshinori yagi #izuku midoriya #all might #deku

[journalxxx]

A normal, sane adult seeing a lone, partially undressed teenager howling at the high heavens from atop a mound of refuse on the morning of the very important school test said teenager has been stressing over for months, would have likely thought “...Oh. Oh dear. He’s having an emotional breakdown, isn’t he? I gotta help - get him down there, bring him home, speak to his mother-”

But All Might, Symbol of Peace, universal role model and inspiration of the masses, oozing common sense as much as a glacier oozes lava, goes “...Oh. Oh, THAT. THAT IS BADASS” and proceeds to force-feed him his bone-breaking hair within the next three minutes

The priorities this man has, I swear to God

I will always love that Midoriya just one early morning decided to climb up a huge pile of junk and scream to the top of his lungs JUST AS All Might came, as if one cue, to witness this and All Might's reaction was just "Oh my... GOODNESS!!" 🤣

That right there, is an iconic moment, I don't care what anyone says.

#boku no hero academia #my hero academia #Toshinori Yagi #All Might #izuku midoriya #deku

[journalxxx]

Props to Elecplant, who apparently was already a pro during All Might’s last year of college and is still in gainful hero employment some forty years later. Looks like he stuck with the exact same hero costume design for all this time too. Truly a man of habit.

#my hero academia #boku no hero academia #elecplant

[journalxxx]

Now you can put your fears about your future career to rest, Izuku. Even if you fail the UA admission test and can’t become a hero, Mr. Yagi can put a good word for you and introduce you to his organization as his kobun :)

This only makes sense if you've read my story (Izuku does not know who Toshinori really is). An alternate way chapter 10 could've gone.

#my hero academia #boku no hero academia #Toshinori Yagi #All Might #izuku midoriya #deku

[journalxxx]

In an alternate narrative branch where All Might and Stain stick together for more than five minutes, something like this happens: Stain gives Toshinori letter & knife like that, then fucks off. Cut to several hours later T: "......Hey, listen. About that... info... you gave me..." S: "..." T: "...I'm not sure... I understand..." S: "I told you, it's encrypted. I don't know what's in those things either." T: ".....Wait, what's encrypted?" S: "The files. Normal laptops can't open them. You'll need to run them through a specialist-" T: "Wait, what files? What are you talking about?" S: "The ones in the storage media." T: "..." S: "...In the knife." T: ".......What." S: "In the handle-" T: "You gave me a LETTER-" S: "YES, WITH THE KNIFE-" T: "HOW THE FUCK- YOU SAY YOU HAVE PRECIOUS INFO, YOU GIVE ME A LETTER, AND YOU EXPECT ME TO LOOK FOR THE INFO IN THE KNIFE?????" S: "FFFFFF- WHATEVER, CHECK THE KNIFE-" T: "I. THREW IT." S: "WHAT? WHERE? WHY???" T: "I THOUGHT IT WASN'T IMPORTANT, YOU GAVE ME THE GODDAMN LETTER-" S: "WHY WOULD YOU THROW AWAY A PERFECTLY GOOD WEAPON? AT LEAST KEEP IT FOR SELF-DEFENSE-" Cue twenty minutes of bickering while they rummage through a trash heap to find the damn knife

It didn't seem immediately obvious to me that the knife was supposed to be an integral part of Stain's intel.

#my hero academia #boku no hero academia #Toshinori Yagi #All Might #Stain #chizome akaguro

[journalxxx]

Just in case anyone might grow curious about the context of Haptronym’s splendid comics, here’s a link to a Google document containing all the brainstorming we’ve done so far on our very apocryphal version of the Fantasy AU. 

WARNING: this doc is basically a largely unedited, non-spellchecked, non-in-chronological-order chat log. It is probably barely intellegible. Don’t expect fic-quality stuff or meaningful storytelling. I would advise wading in only if REALLY interested in the concept, or unspeakably bored.

#my hero academia #boku no hero academia #mha fantasy au #Toshinori Yagi #All Might #izuku midoriya

[journalxxx]

One round of applause for another AU I managed to contaminate with another unnecessary OC with a terrible personality shoved in a central role because that’s all I’m capable of inventing, apparently

Thank God for the gorgeous art, at least 

Been playing around with MHA's fantasy AU (stealing the official designs and rebuilding the lore from scratch with 500% more All Might). The legendary sword One For All is very particular about who it allows to wield it. If it deems a person unworthy, it will become supernaturally heavy and impossible to lift. This also applies if it is offended, bored, or just in a bad mood that day.

Concept and some dialogue by @journalxxx

#my hero academia #boku no hero academia #mha fantasy au #Toshinori Yagi #All Might #izuku midoriya #katsuki bakugo

[journalxxx]

I gotta be honest, the more "dadmight" posts I read, the more it seems undistinguishable to me from the average shipping fixation, where people are so very eager to scream at "bad characterization" whenever their two favorite characters have an interaction that doesn't involve hugs, smooches and dramatic declarations of undying love. "They are not acting like I expect them to, therefore the creator must understand these characters less than I do" is quite a ballsy stance for me. Personally, when I look at original work, written by someone who is the sole creator of that universe and set of characters, I am extremely hesitant to call out bad characterization, especially if the story is still in an unfinished state. There are still things that need to happen, after all, and, you know, there's always the possibility of me having read something wrong in what was already written. So, since you mentioned loving chatting about your favorite character with fellow All Might fans, here I am, on this very spicy and salty rant, raising the point that no, I don't believe All Might's behavior in the Vigilante arc is a sign of bad characterization. If you are willing to at least consider the possibility that dadmight might not be the ultimate and true and only interpretation of Izuku's and All Might's relationship, that is.

First off, "All Might's failure to speak up". All Might is indeed a man with a strong will, and a strong interest and desire to help Izuku as much as he can in becoming a good hero, and in handling the dire situation he's going through. You ask yourself: "If he has no qualms with speaking up, why isn't he doing it now?" My answer is: "Has it occurred to you that he doesn't speak because there's nothing he feels he has to speak about?" The common dadmight interpretation is that he cares about Izuku above all. And I do mean, above all. His first and utmost priority at all times is supposed to be to keep him safe and happy, to make him feel loved and appreciated and all that, even at the cost of shielding him from harsh truths or dangers. Let me call this attitute "The Coddle & Cuddle interpretation". I have argued elsewhere that this is not the case for how he acts for most of the story. He cares about Izuku deeply, but his actions are often not dictated by this affection. For me, All Might's allegiance lies mostly in his concept of duty and heroism. It is, after all, what first made him choose Izuku as a successor and subsequently bond with him, seeing in the kid that same zealous desire to save, to do what was right, to help and protect whoever might be in need. Now, as hilarious as All Might's blatant lack of concern about bone breaking for a sizeable chunk of the series might be, that doesn't mean he's a senseless idiot. Avoiding unnecessary danger and hurt is basic common sense, which he definitely has - but here is the key concept: necessity. That of the hero is a dangerous and heavy profession, it involves bearing burdens and facing dangers that civilians cannot solve by themselves, it involves fighting, it involves incurring an unavoidable degree of damage. The occasions you cite where All Might takes a stance against Izuku doing something dangerous are all occasions where said danger is objectively unnecessary. Overdoing it with training is not only unnecessary but also damaging to the whole 'getting stronger' process, so of course he stops Izuku. It's just common sense. There's no need for Izuku to develop an exact carbon-copy version of All Might's own fighting style, so he nudges him towards a (very slightly) different approach to applying One For All to his attacks. A single internship during high school will have a very limited impact on Izuku's development as a budding hero, there's no urgency in doing internships now, there's no necessity to rush things when the first-year students will have two more years to gather experience on the field afterwards. There's indeed no need (or so he thinks) in sharing a heavy truth with his disciple, so he avoids doing that until Izuku corners him into a very uncomfortable conversation. But the current situation of the Vigilante Arc is radically different from all these situations. The status of Japan makes the Vigilante Arc a long, grueling, exceptional state of constant emergency. Shigaraki is healing, All For One is free, crime runs rampant, society is in shambles. And during a state of emergency, heroes must, as all first responders, respond. There is a serious necessity here, to act fast and firmly and respond despite the danger. 

Now, here's the tricky bit. Respond how? Izuku responds by heroing, acting as bait and patrolling the streets at the same time. All Might does try to put forward what would be the safest option for Izuku, but... I mean, look at those panels, he doesn't even try to convince Izuku. He gives up on that strategy the moment Izuku rejects it, and he is in fact very unsurprised of that fact, and instantly changes idea in order to work with Izuku's preferred solution in a way that lets him have a supportive role as, at least. Why? Easy. It has long since been established in the story that All Might and Izuku are very much alike, when it comes to their concept of a hero. All Might isn't surprised by Izuku's decision to leave UA because it is, very likely, the same thought process that All Might himself would have had if he were in Izuku's shoes. He saw it coming because he relates to it, plain and simple, because safety and happiness are all well and good, but when necessity arises, heroes must make sacrifices and face danger. He doesn't properly speak up here and try to dissuade Izuku because he himself agrees that this is the most heroic course of action, given the current dramatic circumstances. 

Now, what is All Might's role in this messy arrangements? As Hawks put it, to support Izuku as best as he can. The reason why dadmight fans are so disappointed with this arc is, I believe, because it fully displays that All Might's idea of 'support' is not Coddle & Cuddle. His best idea of support is practical help (cooking, escorting rescued people to shelter and so on) and knowledgeable advice. And this second part, here, the knowledgeable one, is where all goes to shit. 

The story spells out in no uncertain terms through Bakugo and through its very events that leaving these two alone unsupervised is unwise, to put it mildly, and that is because Izuku and Toshinori share many, many flaws, the exact same ones. And since everyone tends to be rather blind to one's own flaws, they fail to recognise them in each other as much as they fail to recognise them in themselves. All Might's role as Izuku's support here is largely to prevent him from overdoing it. Not shielding him from danger, not Coddling & Cuddling, but simply to make sure he doesn't drive himself past the brink before the big battle. That is the nature of most of the remarks he makes durig this arc: don't break your equipment, don't break your bones, eat, and such. It is all very functional and meant to keep Izuku going. And notice that I said "past the brink", not "to the brink". Because the tragic and meaningful part of all this is that, while it is All Might's job to stop Izuku from overdoing it in these circumstances, it is also undeniable that there isn't a character in the series who's less suitable than Toshinori at judging what "overdoing it" means.

Think back to their traning scenes during the School Festival (chapter 174, for reference). Izuku is training his new long range attack, and his finger gets hurt. All Might gives him ice, because that's common sense, which we already said he has. Izuku, smartly, asks if there's maybe some way to go about this training that doesn't involve mangling his fingers. All Might, with his characteristic, wholly charming and vaguely head-desk-inducing positivity and enthusiasm, answers that he doesn't know, but Izuku should just keep doing it, this exact thing that almost broke his finger, rinse and repeat.

Just keep going. 

This is such an inconsequential little scene, but it really gives you a measure of how this man reasons, even in regards to something a mundane as unusually violent finger flicking. This hurts, this is difficult, but well, a little pain is unavoidable during training, maybe even one or two broken bones too. Just gotta keep going, if it's a sensible and bearable amount. Necessity demands training for a hero, and needs must. 

The point is that All Might is a man used at giving 150% in everything he does. Mildly overdoing it is his normal. It stands only to reason that he might find it absolutely normal that Izuku should do as much as he can, should drive himself to the brink during difficult times such as those of the Vigilante Arc. All Might's job here is to monitor him so that he won't OVERoverdo it. Gauge when it's really getting too much, and pull him back before the kid crashes. Problems are: 1) All Might doesn't know what that limit is and 2) All Might holds Izuku to same set of very high standards he holds himself to. He doesn't know how much Izuku can bear. He says so himself to the two goons assaulting him, that Izuku has already born much bigger burdens than he himself ever did, and the current state of Japan is an unprecedented level of catastrophe that demands unprecedented efforts from every single hero and first responder. He knows Izuku is bearing a lot, but he's also operating under the assumption that Izuku, like everyone else, simply has to bear a lot, because that's a hero's lot, that is what necessity demands. 

You are right, we do see him thinking about Nighteye and realizing that the brink might be approaching. But notice how those are all half-formed thoughts. He is certainly considering the problem, but he isn't reaching a conclusion. This is not a stretch at all, it's very easily explained by the fact that he thinks Izuku is still managing well enough. He's keeping an eye on him, and not intervening yet, because he sees no need to intervene yet. 

The fact that you seem confused about All Might not, ehr, regularly checking in with Izuku's mental state, I think is also due to the fact that you are working mainly on a Coddle & Cuddle interpretation, according to which Izuku and All Might find it so easily and desirable to regularly confide all sorts of personal feelings and things to each other. Again, I've pointed out elsewhere that I see no such indication in canon. All Might is persistently reluctant to discuss personal stuff with Izuku, sometimes even to the kid’s detriment. It takes him one damn year to mention his past quirklessness to his previously quirkless protege. He doesn't talk about All For One until Torino urges him to. He doesn't talk about the prophecy until Izuku practically begs him to. He doesn't mention his concerns about the Fourth's death despite Bakugo questioning him on the matter. And now you might say "Oh, but those are all bad topics. He doesn't mention them because he doesn't want to worry Izuku. If it's about helping Izuku to process something difficult, then he would totally talk to him." No, not really. Remember that scene where Izuku offers his quirk to a now quirkless Mirio, because he thinks that Mirio might make better use of it? Remember how All Might was shown to have overheard that conversation? Remember how he never addresses it to Izuku, even though almost immediately afterwards we have the School Festival arc, where Izuku spontaneously seeks out All Might to ask about long-range attacks? Remember how that would have been the perfect moment and setting for All Might to bring it up and reassure him that he is indeed a good successor, if Coddle & Cuddle was his thing? Yeah. He doesn't. Izuku is left to ponder on his own insecurities despite All Might being well aware they existed since the Sports Festival, and persisted all the way to that point. Personally, instead of chalking it up to bad characterization, I find it more logical to take all these instances of a repetitively non-forthcoming behavior and simply deduce that... it is a character trait. All Might is not a man who is naturally prone to discussing personal, emotional topics. Full stop. Instead of chalking it up to bad characterization, I prefer to read it as Horikoshi simply having his character act in the exact same way he's acted throughout the entire story, in a consistently reserved and somewhat avoidant way. And upon seeing Izuku driving himself to the brink in the Vigilante Arc, well, what is there to say? It is a time of hardship and we do what we must, no point in commiserating about it. Let's just keep doing our best. Izuku gets shot? Harsh, but these are harsh times, nothing out of the ordinary with danger being a daily companion. The mansions blows up? Harsher still, but needs must, needs must, and the kid looks like he's still handling it decently, so no need to talk about anything just yet...  Oh, and let’s not forget one other instance of Toshinori most definitely Not Being there for Izuku emotionally when he had more urgent things to do, which is after Bakugo's kidnapped. His poor successor is bedridden and bloody devastated by what happened, and there's no visible indication that All Might even showed up at his bed to say hello (there’s no indication that he didn’t either, but well, he didn’t stick around long enough for anything he might have said to actually stick in Izuku’s feverish head). Why? Because he was busy taking care of things from a practical standpoint, as his custom, talking to Yaoyorozu about the tracking device, planning a counteroffensive and whatnot. And what happens then? Izuku can't bear the stress and drags himself and his friends into danger. A far from unfamiliar and inconsistent dynamic, this one, don’t you think?

The fact that he is later seen at Izuku’s bedside after the Paranormal Liberation Arc doesn’t necessarily imply a change in his character. Again, his priority lies in action and necessity and... in the extremely chaotic aftermath of the first war, having lost his quirk, being retired and uninvolved in the Hawks and Endeavor scandals, there is objectively nothing he can do, from a practical standpoint. He can offer information to his colleagues, which he does (without bothering to consult Izuku about it first, simply because it’s needed), he can hang around where his students are, he can... be there. Generically. But it’s clear that this state of inactivity doesn’t satisfy him, and he would be off in an instant to catch criminals himself, if he still had the ability to.

This is arguably a flagrant character flaw, in the sense that it ends up indirectly damaging the people who surround him. Again, I find it somewhat frustrating that dadmight fans, the people who claim to love Toshinori warts and all, that they love him exactly because he's not perfect, are the ones who often try their hardest to argue that such flaws do not exist at all. What they usually present as flaws are frankly non-existing ones, like "he does this mistake because he cares too much about Izuku", or try to reframe every questionable decision he ever made as a result of trauma/mental illness/whatever. There are plenty of instances in the story where All Might's behavior comes off as a touch too insensitive. Think of the rooftop scene (which fascinated me since I first read it because it shows All Might bringing forward a very sensible point and reply in a somewhat unpalatable manner), think of all the times he shows little to no sympathy for Izuku's overly emotional and crybaby-ish nature, think of his unwillingness to talk with Nighteye for Izuku's and his own sake - and not because he felt violated (what a loaded, overly-dramatic term, there), but, as Toshinori says himself twice "Because in the end it turned out exactly like he said it would", which is another way of saying "We had an argument, and it turned out he was right, and I'm mad about it", which is an outrageously immature touch to his characterization that I personally find delightful. Even the meeting after Kamino, that beautifully touching scene of him promising Izuku that he's going to be there for him still, despite everything, starts with a comedic Texas Smash to the face and a firm reproach. So here it is, one very clear flaw that persists across the series from start to finish, the flaw of being on average as emotionally forward and available as chopped liver, and instead you're calling it inconsistent writing. I can only disagree with this. And then, the bento scene. I loved that scene and still do, because... well, it just works. All Might's face upon being ditched is one of sheer, unguarded surprise, and this is also coherent. He misjudged. He should have seen the signs of Izuku's stress piling up beyond what he was capable of handling, he should have seen the brink approaching, that was exactly was he was there for, but he failed. He realizes he should have spoken up sooner, should have been (at long last) a bit more emotionally connected to the kid, maybe he would have seen those signs if he had... but Izuku is off before he has time to voice any of those thoughs. The flaw damaged, tragedy struck. What now? What now, indeed. The reunion between Izuku and All Might is a scene that I too expected to go very differently when I first read it - I expected All Might and Izuku to talk about what they learned abouth themselves and the concept of heroism, but none of that happened. There's no telling whether such a conversation will happen after the end of the of the war and the whole manga, but what we are given here can be easily read - again, if we don't desperately try to argue that Toshinori solely exists in order to want to Coddle & Cuddle Izuku in this blessed story - as the umpteenth confirmation of said trait as an integral part of his characterization. What we see in the Stain chapter is an All Might reproaching himself for failing at his one job, which was to support Midoriya. He should have kept a watchful eye, and he failed to see his breaking point coming. The emphasis of the encounter is again on his inability to do things, to make himself useful as was needed. Why doesn't he tell Izuku how he feels and to keep it easy when he next meets him, you ask? Because there's no more need to. Someone else did it, the UA kids. Taken as they are, the meaning that emerges from those two chapters is that All Might did indeed learn the value of not placing burdens entirely on himself, because his failure did not spell doom for his successor thanks to the other people around him picking up his slack. He failed, but the next torchbearers, the budding heroes who inherited his heroic spirit, did what needed to be done in his place. It is a form of relief, knowing that the weight of the world doesn't rest entirely on your shoulders, that other people can still do even if you can't. The point of this bit is not the heart-wrenching orchestration of a fatherly heart to heart between him and Izuku, their relationship is not the key point here, the lesson here is learning to share burdens, it's in one's legacy going beyond their individual failures, it's in the collective effort as opposed to the lone pillar. You are surprised that he didn't sit and have a chat with the kids and his beloved protege after this emotional ordeal. Again, this is consistent with his previous characterization. There is no urgency to speak about things that have already been conveyed by others right now, what's urgent right now is the still impending, potential end of modern civilization, and that's why he leaves. To do what has been his calling for his entire life, in the shape of being of practical help as much as he can. Coddling & Cuddling is neither a priority nor a keenly felt wish for All Might here, neither towards Izuku nor towards the other kids, as it never was. He briefly apologizes "for being of so little help", as in both for failing on his 'duty' of keeping an eye on Izuku and for his disappearance, and then matter-of-factly shifts the topic back to what's urgent. Personally, I am expecting to see some sort of discussion about... I don't know, stuff, between Izuku and All Might before the end of the comic, but now I am of the opinion that it wouldn't be out of character for either of them not to have one. This is an established trend between them by now. You might not like it, but you can't argue it's inconsistent. It's been happening over and over. I'm not sure why it seems so difficult to accept that a character can be kind-hearted, caring and overall a positive and encouraging force of goodness, while at the same time not being particularly forward about his feelings and thoughts. Of course he gets overwhelmed with emotion when tragedy strikes right before his eyes, when Aoyama is revealed to have been forced to play spy for All For One all along, or when Izuku rises to the hardship of leaving UA to keep others safe, or after the life-changing event that is Kamino. Of course sometimes he feels the urge to let these emotions show, and he doesn't even try particularly hard to repress them in such occasion. It's just that sharing, or even worse oversharing, is not his natural inclination. He says exactly what he needs to say, when he needs to say it, if he needs to say it, and right now the important stuff has all been said by his students. Nothing more to do here, and off he goes to do what he still can, entrusting Izuku's recovery to his students, who are evidently far better at this supporting thing than he is. Hey, at least now he's trusting someone else to do that thing he himself couldn't do before. I tentatively call that progress. 

And speaking of collectively sharing burdens. Star. Oh my God, Star. I have seen many of your posts dealing with Star, and I cannot for the life of me understand why you hate her that much. The story bashes us on the head with a whole spiel about how hero society got lazy and entrusted all the moral burdens to heroes, on how we all should do our part in holding up justice and take individual responsibility - and here you have a character who did exactly that, a character who was a victim saved by All Might and instead of looking the other way like apparently most civilians do, she went "No. I want to do my part too. I want to be for the world what he was for me, even more than that!", and you basically call her, in true Stain fashion, a fake. You seem confused that she considers All Might a mentor, which makes me question if you are purposefully misinterpreting the most basic things just to make a point. Of course she calls him a mentor, she's her whole inspiration, his 'spiritual guide', if you will. The whole bloody point of the Stain chapter is that All Might's influence is his real legacy, a legacy that hit the whole world and left a lasting impression in the heart of many. It is nothing short of ridiculous to act outraged because the story is implying she's a worthy successor of All Might, because, as I've already pointed out, the story bashes us in the head with the message that everyone should behave like All Might's successor. Remember the collective responsibility, the sharing burdens? Exactly that. It's ridiculous to act like Izuku and the 1A kids are the only ones morally entitled to lay a claim on his spiritual legacy, just because they happened to meet him, just because they happened to attend the fancy school he teaches in. The whole story is trying its hardest to tell you that everyone that has that spark of 'wanting to help' is a worthy successor to All Might, to the goodness and ideals he spread in the world. Star happens to be an especially brilliant example of that, the Number One of another nation inspired by the prime Number One. Her character is a natural extension of that theme of 'renewal of society' that it's been going on about for a while now, on how everyone should take inspiration and do their part, she embodies that perfectly, and that is why the story does spend some time expanding on her. And no, there's no "thematic questions of inspiration and imitation, and how there’s a difference between someone imitating their idol based on their own interpretation vs actually receiving mentorship from the human behind the idol" that's being lost in execution, because there simply isn't such a theme in the narration, especially since it outright contradicts the whole ‘everyone can be a hero’ thing. I have read your posts on the matter, and I still cannot understand where you got that from. There isn't a single instance of Star's behavior being presented as negative in the story. Not one. Whenever she's addressed, she's hailed as brave, capable, gutsy, stoic, unhesitant in her desire to help (agreeing to All Might's call for help even without her government's approval, which seems even more of a positive fact once we learn that said government was considering siding with All For One). The jet pilots respect her, All Might remarks on how her sacrifice earned them more time to prepare for the final assault. I'm gonna hazard a guess and say that I think the only reason you despise her so much is because she is guilty of the heinous crime of almost managing to kill All For One (or rather poor little innocent manipulated Shigaraki). Which is, incidentally, something All Might himself did too, yet I don't see anyone giving him flak for that (including All Might himself), and rightfully so. Not to mention that when All Might reduced All For One's head to a pulp, the situation wasn't even as dire as it is now. That we know of, five years ago Japan wasn't on the verge on collapsing, nor All For One was on verge of endangering the entire world, and yet he was forced to resort to that kind of violence. The villain Star is facing is apparently even more of a threat than All For One was in his prime, so I don't see what's so surprising about her deciding to resort to drastic measures. She knows nothing about Shigaraki, she doesn't even know that All For One is currently inhabiting his body, all she knows is that All Might himself begged other countries for help in the strongest terms, and what she finds upon reaching the Japanese shores is a uncommensurable threat. Let's not forget that, if she had really managed to nuke All For One out of existence, she'd have effectively taken out the single biggest threat to the whole world's stability. I would have called it a job well done, right there. She is certainly ruthless in her ways, but... I mean, we just saw Izuku punch a hole in Shigaraki's chest right after ascertaining that Shigaraki was indeed still there. When faced with unrestrained violence, there is little left to do but fight back, if only out of self-preservation. And anyway, there's no one in the story calling her out on her methods, a fairly obvious sign that nobody really has any issues about those, especially not All Might, having faced a similar threat before and having resorted to what he himself thought were murderous methods. 

In short, regarding Star, I really do think the story is sending a pretty clear message about her, and that message is that she is very much a positive character with its contribution to the biggest overarching message of the story. Same with Toshinori's very different behavior in regards to the expectation of dadmight fans. Whether that message personally makes you uncomfortable, well, is not a sign of poor execution. This isn't fanfiction. This is an original work, made by someone who created all these characters from scratch. Horikoshi knows them better than anyone, they're theirs. And while this doesn't automatically make him the best writer ever who never writes anything poorly (God knows there are things I dislike about how he handled certain topics and character), I would be very careful about ascribing all the stuff I don't like or care about to bad writing. The story is not over, and there's abundant internal coherence in the way he portrayed Izuku, Toshinori and Star: those two things alone are worthy of consideration.

Very spicy salty and lengthy rant incoming. This is part 1 of 2, focusing on All Might (with Izuku and Katsuki), while part 2 will focus more on Ochako and the 1A reunion. I’m trying to help myself feel better about how deeply I dislike the “Dark Deku” and Star & Stripe arcs because I need to excise the real-life anxiety I’m feeling over this coming up in the anime. IMO, these arcs did not age well at all, and are absolutely no better in light of the ~35 subsequent chapters. It’s just that the subsequent chapters feel more cohesive and well thought-out despite Horikoshi’s physical pain and burnout.

While I’m not emotional over fictional characters, it is true that these arcs have impacted the fandom; namely, many people who were fans of All Might, Aizawa, Midnight, Mic, and the overall UA vibe dropped out. I get that sense from some LOV fans too. Overall, it means far fewer fics and art pieces with my blorbos, and it’s also meant far less interaction with my blog. (I don’t give a damn about “engagement” or followers, but I like talking about my hyperfixation with others who share it!). Obviously the story has to change as the series end draws near, but spending SO much time with Endeavor, Hawks, and Jeanist has worn me out, even if I think Horikoshi is handling Endeavor’s character growth well. (FWIW, I’m utterly disinterested in “Hawks the Optimist” who inexplicably became the expert on how OFA works, and Jeanist is…well…you know…a male model.)

Aside from everyone’s basic rant about how Horikoshi introduced two hot middle-aged women only to more or less fridge them (after killing Midnight!), my real complaint in this post is that the Dark Deku & Star arcs made a complete mess of All Might’s character arc and in-universe relationships. Don’t get me wrong — Chapter 326 with Stain seemed like something Horikoshi had planned since the early days of the manga, and that one hit HARD. But the rest felt like an improvisation. It’s horribly inconsistent on (1) when All Might speaks up and when he can’t bring himself to talk, and (2) how his relationship with 1A is handled compared to Star.

When it comes to All Might’s failure to speak up, it feels like Horikoshi was nerfing All Might and reducing what we know the former No.1 is capable of doing. I mean, in Chapter TWO he stops Izuku from overdoing his training. After Kamino, All Might helps Izuku develop Shoot Style by telling Izuku point blank that he’s trying too hard to imitate his mentor. In the Overhaul/Nighteye arc, All Might refuses to support Izuku’s desire to take on a work study because he thinks it unnecessarily exposes Izuku to villain activity AND Izuku needs to strengthen his Shoot Style first. (The awkwardness with Nighteye is his third reason.) When Izuku persuades him about getting stronger under Nighteye’s guidance, All Might carefully asks himself if Izuku is being impatient just because Izuku is his successor before agreeing to let Mirio do the introduction. When Izuku confronts All Might over Nighteye’s prophecy, All Might makes SURE Izuku is ready to hear an uncomfortable truth and then proceeds to tell him everything. In the next arc, All Might encourages Izuku to use whatever support items he needs, even though All Might always chose to fight with just his body. All Might is protective of Katsuki and Shoto too — when they want to jump out of the taxi and fight the Cider House gang, he tries to get them to slow down and “assess the situation first.” In all these situations, All Might can’t physically stop his students (and is usually on the losing end of the argument, as happens with argumentative teenagers™️), but he uses his voice to speak up and make his opinion known.

At the beginning of Dark Deku, things are looking okay. All Might gives up on the secrecy that defined him early on and tells Hawks and Jeanist everything when he realizes secrets didn’t keep people safe. That’s good, I think, but he didn’t seem to consult Izuku about it. Based on context clues, and how All Might initially wanted Izuku to stay at UA (again, he spoke up!) I think his motivation was to recruit the pro heroes to protect Izuku at the hospital and at UA. It sort of makes sense he would move fast and wouldn’t ask Izuku’s permission to do that…but in front of Inko after Izuku wakes up, All Might DOES ask Izuku’s permission to tell her. A minor inconsistency, but all right. It’s made clear All Might is worried sick about Izuku, warning him not to go overboard (once more speaking up!). Hawks even picks up on All Might’s hesitation, telling him that Izuku has the right strategy and it’s on All Might to keep the kid propped up. All Might does not look pleased about this as he looks up in the sky towards Izuku.

In helping Izuku, All Might fends off assassins and talks about how Izuku’s idolization of him weighs on him. It’s not just that he promised Inko he would live and look out for Izuku; he’s acutely aware his boy is just like him in ways good and bad.

Yet when All Might sees Izuku struggle and he begins to see why Nighteye wanted him to retire, he can’t bring himself to talk to Izuku. Even though he understands Izuku’s feelings, he just can’t say a word. You would think seeing Izuku get shot, or barely escaping AFO’s mansion explosion, would prompt a conversation. But no, he says nothing. (Then again, nobody seems to remember Izuku was shot; no mention in the bath scene either.)

At the same time, we see Nighteye pop up in All Might’s thoughts, but we don’t see All Might struggling with telling Izuku what Nighteye told him (that is, we have no idea if All Might still feels violated in some way by Nighteye’s actions). We also don’t see All Might worrying about Izuku realizing the Symbol of Peace was just a human being. All Might isn’t trying to keep up Izuku’s hope by hiding the real burden of being the symbol (besides, didn’t he pull back that curtain in, oh, CHAPTER ONE???) We aren’t given any solid motivation or thematic through line — he simply procrastinated on what he knew he had to do for an unsatisfying hodgepodge of invasive thoughts. That is inconsistent with the All Might we know.

Before anyone comes at me, All Might not telling Izuku about Nighteye’s prophecy is very different. In that situation, All Might honestly did not think Izuku needed to know because knowing would put MORE pressure on Izuku than necessary. In Dark Deku, it’s the opposite, and All Might knows talking to Izuku could help relieve pressure.

I understand this is supposed to be All Might’s low point to lead into the Stain conversation. All Might is supposed to feel like “doing his best” didn’t prevent society’s downfall and didn’t stop his boy from repeating his mistakes. But…it feels like Horikoshi tied his tongue because that’s what needed to happen for plot reasons, and Horikoshi just wanted it to happen quickly. We still don’t have a good character reason why. Would it have been so unbelievable that Izuku, in his panicked state, brushes off All Might’s advice to rest? Or would that “break” Izuku’s idolization of All Might in a way that Horikoshi is still saving for the finale, where Izuku finally becomes his own hero without imitating All Might at all? I don’t have an answer, but it feels like we still could have had the same basic story beats without the bizarre characterization.

The strangeness of All Might staying quiet also makes Katsuki’s argument to Endeavor in Chapter 319 feel funny to me. Katsuki is spot on that Izuku doesn’t take himself into account and All Might does the same thing. While Katsuki understands far better than Izuku that All Might is human, Katsuki doesn’t consider how protective All Might can be of Izuku. Katsuki doesn’t see (or understand, perhaps?) how All Might doesn’t want anyone else to be a Symbol of Peace the same way he was. Maybe that’s part of Katsuki’s idolization issues? Post-362, with Katsuki seeing All Might’s vestige and showing him the trading card, I think Katsuki never let himself appreciate that he had the former #1 in his corner, or that a person can, in fact, use their willpower to become a symbol that inspires a nation. Not to sound like Prince Harry in “Spare,” but maybe there’s also a tinge of lingering resentment over feeling left behind? There’s just something about Katsuki screaming to Endeavor, of all people, that you can’t leave Izuku and All Might alone together when Endeavor knows Izuku has already ditched All Might AND Endeavor and Hawks have already realized they’re “too slow” compared to Izuku. Of course it’s Hawks — who was saying Izuku made the right choice like Second and, uh, AFO — to announce that Izuku left All Might. There’s also Shoto yelling about how Endeavor “let them operate together,” but it’s not like Endeavor has enough credibility to control either Izuku or All Might.

How does a #2 protect their #1 when they’re too slow? Can you ever “run alongside” someone whose power vastly outpaces yours, or is idolization all you can do? I think these are fascinating thematic questions, and Dark Deku makes a mess of them.

These problems compound in the reunion chapter, 327, which is really cute when it comes to the bath scene and the 1A kids, but is inexplicably confounding when it comes to All Might + the kids. Izuku clearly calls All Might multiple times to reconnect, but the man doesn’t pick up his phone. (I think we’re supposed to assume All Might is talking to Stain when Izuku calls, but…he couldn’t use the Hercules speech-to-text feature to tell the kid he’s driving over?) Then All Might just happens to show up at UA as Izuku talks about him, and gives Izuku a deep bow while saying sorry “for being of so little help.” He says nothing aloud about how he feels towards Izuku, and nothing aloud about being proud of 1A (though he basically thinks that in this chapter and again in 335). When Mina asks for an apology because he just disappeared post-war and left 1A with the Wild Wild Pussycats, he briefly says he’s sorry for any anxiety he caused, but quickly pivots to the need to prepare for “the battle that will decide it all.”

Like the Stain conversation, I understand that this is supposed to be All Might stepping up and figuring out his place in the world post-retirement. He’s realized he passed the torch to Izuku and 1A, but that doesn’t mean he’s useless. He wants to join the fight with the kids; to catch up and run alongside them. And to do that, he….ditches them to join Tsukauchi and Endeavor. I do appreciate that All Might is open with Tsukauchi (and Sansa!!!) about his OFA experience. But he basically disappears from UA for two days to deal with Star and TomurAFO before coming back in 335 and then seemingly disappearing again before joining the UA faculty to discuss the Aoyamas. (As pictured above, Ochako and Tenya, then Katsuki, all rightfully call out All Might’s “I am not here” act in 335.) Are you really telling me that the man who cries over Aoyama’s reveal isn’t emotionally attached to the class and wouldn’t, you know, BE HERE for them?

What makes All Might’s absence from 1A even more problematic is that now he’s…Star’s mentor??? See, All Might sends out the call for help from his international super friends and Star comes riding in acting like she’s his successor. Chapter 364 later reinforces this, with Agpar’s monologue about “children observing adults and adults supporting the children as they pass it forward” showing a Prime All Might reach out out his hand to Star. It’s stupid because All Might has a direct successor already, plus two students (Katsuki and Shoto) that are direct heirs to other parts of his legacy, and another group of students that he’s been hands-on teaching for the past year. But Horikoshi decides to ignore all that setup and focus on “All Might + Star” rather than have him spend more time with 1A. Once again, if the point is to introduce thematic questions of inspiration and imitation, and how there’s a difference between someone imitating their idol based on their own interpretation vs actually receiving mentorship from the human behind the idol, it’s utterly lost in the execution. I just can’t bring myself to see Star as anything other than an interloper. I’m glad her pilot bros stayed in Japan to help out, and her sacrifice was heroic I suppose, but it suffered the same flaw as All Might. She tried to take on TomurAFO alone, and the best she could do is slow him down temporarily.

That’s all I can manage for now! In part 2, I’ll take a closer look at Ochako and the chain that leads to Izuku’s retrieval and where we are now.

#my hero academia #toshinori yagi #All Might #izuku midoriya #deku #star and stripe #boku no hero academia