#fuck u horikoshi

[sapphic-agent]

I'm not caught up with the newest chapters or the leaks, but I'd just like to look at this for a minute:

And people will try to tell me that Horikoshi doesn't favor Bakugou? Yeah, okay.

#anti bakugou katsuki #mha critical #bnha critical #mha leaks #mha spoilers #bakugou gets a victory while izuku loses his arms #fuck u horikoshi #this is fucking ridiculous #izuku deserves better #i need another mangaka to adopt him #give him to oda I'm begging #jfc i'll even take kishimoto at this point #keep him away from horikoshi #i think the worst thing about this is that mha will be praised for a good ending when it's one of the worst i've ever seen #all the potential it had in the beginning is dead #it used to be such a good story

[ofmermaidstories]

if i don’t get a copy of the GIGA jump spring issue i will actually **** myself. LOOK AT THEM!!!!!!!

#i am so fucking serious LMFAOOOOO #im gonna be SICK #HORIKOSHI HOW OCULD U DO TIS TO MEEE

[kurokoros]

I've been seeing the "endeavor is the best written character in BNHA" take for a while and regardless of if that's true or not (because that's an opinion, not a fact) do the people saying this not think it's questionable or off-putting that the "best" written character is a middle aged man discovering after over two decades that neglecting, abusing, and overall traumatizing his wife and children is BAD and he wants to be a better person now???

#i know i have mutuals that like endeavor. or at least want to fuck him. but come on guys pick a better dilf. have better taste #for the record I don't have an issue with the narrative putting a focus on endeavor #i just think the framing of that focus was garbage #using him as a narrative point to critique hero society and the HPSC was RIGHT THERE. IT WAS RIGHT THERE #ALSO. A L SO. i'm so tired of people being like 'hey this man makes me uncomfortable and I don't like him in the story' #and absolute clowns responding that ' yeah. but he's the best written character in the series!!!' #once again WHY has the abusive father been given the best writing in the series as opposed to literally any of the main characters? #horikoshi chose to minimize the ripple effect endeavor's behavior should have had on society in BNHA and shockingly that's not good writin #also because i know people like to whine about 'p u r i t a n i c a l' views. that is literally not the problem here #i'm not mad that endeavor exists as a character. I like the wrench he throws into the idealistic version of heroism presented early on #i'm mad that the societal issue of men using their wealth fame and power to abuse others is glossed over #in favor of a narrative arc about this dickhead feeling bad and wanting to do better #anti bnha #sort of #anti endeavor #absolutely #fandom.bnha

[inkykeiji]

after chapter 419 all i want to do is finish my flawless!tomura series, purely for my own comfort. i am so, so, so disappointed. like, beyond words disappointed. i can’t even adequately express it—it simply and completely transcends language.

#i’m trying not to be dramatic since the series isn’t over *yet* but #my heart is broken #what an absolutely awful thing to do #what a way to entirely ruin a fucking character #ugh ._. #horikoshi!!!!! i fought for u!!! i defended you!!!!!! #repeatedly asserted how incredible you were at creating characters!!! just to have you do THIS #oh i’m so upset #i’m so so so upset #now all i can hope for is that dabi gets a decent ending #i have completely lost hope that he’s going to get a GOOD ending #the ending his tragic story truly deserved #so please #just give him something mediocre #don’t ruin him too #me: i’m trying not to be dramatic #also me: proceeds to be extremely dramatic #clari chatters #bnha spoilers #bnha manga spoilers

[haunth0use]

Every time I remember that Bakugou got revived on Kirishima’s birthday the more insane it becomes. Like, you CANNOT tell me that wasn’t planned in some way and if that is the case?? That’s too fucking funny to me, I keep giggling about it. Krbks, we so won that day LMFAO.

#bnha manga spoilers #I lose my mind each time I think about it #AMD THE SHIT WITH STUPIDLY STRONG BEING BROUGHT UP AGAIN AND BKG APPLYING IT TO HIMSELF #Deku thinking about a moment he had with Uraraka a chapter later too aswell like… #Hori I’m watching u.. #Kirishima is literally the definition of strength in bkg’s eyes *SOBS ON THE FUCKING FLOOR* #it makes sense given Bkg’s whole thing with victory and Kiri’s quirk being built for that #mannnn Kirishima if only you knew how special you are to that boy ;-; #kiribaku #cas says shit #Just adding more tags rq cos I just remembered something #it probably means nothing but it’s kinda insane how Kiri a character that’s known to be a Crimson Riot fan #just so happens to have an Edgeshot backpack… #Y’know #the same hero that Sacrifices himself to save Bakugou?? #Horikoshi I am watching you with eyes so wide it fucking hurts

[shopcat]

people are mean asf to all might what did he ever do to you. he's just some guy ... i think he's funny ...

#🐾 #related but tbh i never got why people equated quirklessness with disability i frankly do not see it #like it just feels weird to be actually at least personally... like the whole point is their prejudice is steeped in ignorance #and prejudice against disability is due to infantilisation and dehumanisation #i mean i can see the comparison but it just makes it look like people with disabilities are you know Missing Something like quirkless #people are missing an ability. which doesn't seem fair #wlso becomes even more of a fractured sentiment when u realise how many stupid ass fucking quirks there are that aren't quote unquote hero #worthy. plus mutations. plus perceived Villainous quirks #like there's a whole range of societal prejudices here #and a whole range of perceived ''ability'' #i so do not seriously think fucking kohei horikoshi was setting out to make some sort of disability thinkpiece #😭😭 #also the entire thing becomes ridiculous and moot bc the whole point of the fucking story is deku GETS A QUIRK. and is ''fixed'' #like can we be serious. can we please be serious and just THINK #anyway. Sorry. i held that in for many years #<- all jnsopired by how people call all might ableist like okay well considering he's actually literallg chronically disabled #AND was once quirkless and is now once again essentially quirkless well i do not see it #i think he was just sort of a dick and made dumb decisions because if he made good decisions there um wouldn't be a plot #and also well yeah like i said. quirklessness is not a disability. in fact i think thinking so is the actual ableism. ironic

[killlerfang1]

I cant believe I binged read 20+ chapters of MHA just to experience the worst bury your gays trope of my life

#i have no one to blame but myself but FUCK #all the gay cartoons from the past decade have put me into a false sense of security and now im upset #and the worst part is that the whole chapter (seems) really well written #damn u horikoshi #bnha #mha #bnha 395 #bnha spoilers #bnha 395 spoilers #bnha manga spoilers #bnha leaks #my post

[seethinglikeme]

seeing ppl say that dabi’s an emotionless sociopath just bc he says he is is actually annoying af to me 😭 like r u rlly gonna say the guy who thought so hard abt the families of the ppl he’s killed he went crazy, went berserk when twice died, and literally burned himself to death BC he was so emotional that his father didn’t come to see his quirk’s development is unemotional just bc he says he is? cmon babes be for fucking real 😭

#and bc ik there r counterarguments to the examples i listed: #1) he said that out loud to himself while wiping blood away from his eye scar which is used to symbolise his tears since he cant cry #so no it’s not him lying or faking it or acting. it’s dabi thinking out loud and expressing his feelings #in a scene btw that wasn’t necessary to that arc’s plot or anything - horikoshi decided to put it in for a different reason then #(perhaps to show the audience that just bc dabi says he’s emotionless doesn’t actually mean he is. but what do i know) #2) yeah he said he’s upset abt twice’s death bc it affects him negatively. but that doesn’t make sense #why high-five him then? that wasn’t necessary - u can argue it boosts twice’s morale but to do what? escape from hawks & help the plf? #twice has plenty of motivation to do that - he already was! so why else? throwing a dog a bone? dabi’s not the type to do that and even if #he was that implies some sort of pity or fondness which also disproves the emotionless thing #not only that but his reaction when twice died was not a ‘fuck i just lost a useful tool for my plan’ #that was someone in the anger stage of grief and going mad w it #also we legit saw dabi’s touya reveal & it was obv not a plan he’d adjusted or created in the time btwn twice’s death and that moment #same 4 the video #and i mean we see dabi fight endeavor & shouto and he does all that alone - none of the plf help #if he doesn’t let the rest of the league help him then why woild twice have been the exception? and actually why would the guy who #told deku to stay out of the todoroki family’s business and didnt tell the league his identity til he revealed it to everyone want someone #else’s help?? #it doesn’t make sense - more likely that dabi was mourning a friend/ally and emotional enough and he came up w a shitty excuse bc of it #3) i mean it’s basically canon that he lost control of his flames BC he was so emotional #and there r plenty more examples i just chose those 3 bc they’re bigger ones #but burning down toga’s family home burning down the orphanage returning to the todoroki family home in the first place etc #trying to inflict as painful a death as he could on hawks etc #all displays of emotion and shit #and tbh i could prbly argue that his constant reiteration that he’s a sociopath who doesn’t feel anything is all bluster and bullshit to #make himself be thought of as worse than he is bc itd hurt enji’s rep even more #i have more to say but u get the picture #if i see one more piece of dabi hate calling him emotionless and sociopathic im going to start biting #todoroki touya #dabi #me

[mydeaddad]

#silence bottom #bnha 362 #horikoshi fr hates us #deserved 😔 #but u have to punish my BOY bc of it??????? #and the fact he had the stupid card on him.........vomit #fucking wish i hadnt had it spoiled FOUR WHOLE DAYS before the chapter dropped #people who post about the leaks deserve to burn in hell #like the worst circle of hell #i hate u all there is no reason just keep ur thiughts to urself

[sapphic-agent]

Like... there's a difference between making your main character suffer for story purposes. And whatever the fuck Hori is doing to Izuku.

It can't get more obvious that Hori hates his MC than this. When you have your main character struggling there has to be a point! Ciel from Black Butler is great example of this because he uses his suffering as fuel to keep going with his revenge on those that ruined his life.

But with Izuku... it's literally just misery for the sake of misery for no reason.

BESTIE I DIDN'T SEE THIS I'M SO SORRY

I totally agree. Gege might be evil, but he puts a lot of effort in Yuji. Him losing everyone he loves is a sick twist on his goal, to give people proper deaths. Him suffering is justified by the narrative and the themes that are being pushed.

Izuku's suffering is unnecessary (and so is Tomura's). Him wanting to save Tomura was for nothing because Horikoshi killed him off anyway. So what was his suffering for?

And then losing his arms? Losing OFA? There's no point to any of this? And it's even more sick because remember, this was a kid who was abused and discriminated against for being powerless. And the story is ending with the power the that he earned being stripped away from him? Losing both his arms?

I honestly don't know if it's better or worse if Eri somehow fixes him. Obviously, I don't want both his arms to be lost. But if Eri does fix him, then what was the point?

Horikoshi's writing is genuinely terrible. And it sucks because Izuku- the victim- is suffering for it more than Bakugou- his abuser

#mha critical #bnha critical #anti bakugou katsuki #ask #izuku deserves better #fuck u horikoshi #horikoshi critical

[kiisaes]

WHERE'S YOUR ANGER?

#i think deku deserves to go fucking ballistic in the manga rn #i get what horikoshi is doing with his character #and i like it #but. i also think he deserves to flip his shit every once in a while #anyway [smooches him on the forehead] u are so insane #bnha #mha #midoriya izuku #fan art #becki draws stuff n stuff #mha manga spoilers

[gasoliniko]

some of u act like d4bi is made of glass and its weird

#yall act like even barely using his fire will KILL him in those civilian aus #blue fire burns at a range of 2500-3000F #he canonically can burn ppl to ashes in seconds like i promise u just bc he has burns doesnt mean hes weak w no fire resistance #even horikoshi had to clarify that he had resistance but its only like half of what it needs to be #and dont even get me started on the skinny shit 😓😓 yall want him to be a skinny emo boy so bad for some reason. i blame ay3sh4 #nah but i saw some1 make an edit of that panel of him on the couch to make him skinnier and ppl were like omg why would u do that!! in qrts #as if thats not how a shit ton of his stans envision him 💀 #also. u guys act like hes always in constant pain when hes stated explicitly multiple times that he feels nothing #like bro 💀 be real #and also also. a LOT of ppl think hes weak mentally #unstable? probably. but not weak like yall make him #one of the biggest mischaracterizations i see of him is that hes sad. HES NOT SAD HES ANGRY FOR FUCKS SAKE 😭 #hes driven by rage. not by being sad or missing his family or wanting better for them or anything else #he literally wants to kill sh0t0 just to spite his dad. i promise u he does NOT gaf abt them 😭😭💀 #at least not as much as yall make him out to care #completely honestly i dont think what happens to him makes him all that sad. i rhink it just makes him mad 🙏🙏💥 #anyways. 🔥🔥🔥💥💥🔥🔥🏳️‍🌈🏳️‍🌈💥🌈🔥🏳️‍🌈💥🌈🔥🌈🏳️‍🌈💥🔥🏳️‍🌈🐠🐠🐠

[hiikacchan]

chapter 362 review (spoilers!)

I HAVE SO MANY THINGS TO SAY.

first you guys know it, from the leaks, katsuki is like.... dead?

just look at the fucking start of the chapter. that sounds like his last words. when i saw this i started to cry tbh

but yk i still had this hope that he wont die, that there will be a plot twist, etc. i was imagining bakugo still living but stopping to be a hero. (i feel so bad for best jeanist)

with hann (alone in winter) by g-idle, this chapter hits so different

HOW. WILL. IZUKU. REACT?

seems like he realized that no matter how hard he works, he will never "reach" izuku. LOOK AT THE PAIN IN HIS EYES 😭

then we see that part in the white space. he tells that he rlly wanted all might to sign his card.

so after this i didn't really understand, but it seems like shigarafo reached his heart somehow? with one of his arm or idk

at the end of the chapter, best jeanist says "his heart...!"

i litteraly cannot take this seriously. THIS IS NOT HAPPENING ndjfhjd

remember that leak? where we see katsuki on the ground?

it wasn't the full image lmao so i wasn't prepared for this 😭

no fucking way 💀 i don't want to believe that he's dead fr

but at the same time if shigarafo really DID HIT HIM IN THE HEART, should we hope anymore??? HORIKOSHI SRSLY WHAT R U DOING?

the last panel. pure pain.

what are your thoughts on this chapter? i will never heal from this

#katsuki bakugo #bakugo #kacchan #bnha #mha #boku no hero academia #anime icons #deku #izuku midoriya #katsuki #bnha 362 #mha 362 #manga #anime #manga chapter #manga spoilers #manga reader #I WANNA CRY SO BAD #kohei horikoshi #my hero imagines

[shibaraki]

hagakure completely fucking naked in the middle of an apocalyptic level battlefield right now. horikoshi I will personally escort u to hell

#HAGAKURE DO U HAVE UR TETANUS SHOT‼️ #bnha manga spoilers #priv

[chocmuffinsscones]

BKDK endgame theory

Another highly self-indulgent theory on how bkdk's gonna be endgame canonically

Disclaimer: Since I don't wanna jinx it or feel embarrassed for being so brazen about this mere silly thought of mine, I'll just keep this private until if things similar to what I've predicted became true. Otherwise, this will only be for my eyes alone. - edited 6 Nov 2023

Fuck all of that guess I'm just gonna put it out there and let y'all have fun as I embarrass myself. Just think it's all for lolz if none of these happen, at least I have fun writing to indulge my fantasy - edited 8 Nov 2023

So, what I think is that since hori's gonna keep giving us surprises and +u up his own game, my guess is that to clearly and subtly lock the pair without making it feel forced is to make bkdk make a promise to each other that hinted a lifelong warrant. Refer this to what toga said in her arc

It's not exactly a love confession, but what'll you feel if someone promise to dedicate their whole life in making you feel happiness, loved? I think that's love disguise in a glass case

So, how's this gonna parallel to our favourite dorks who're both so emotionally constipated and verbally poor at confessing?

Me thinks that, apparently when the boys were pushed to the extremes -- to the moment when there's literally no time affordable to think of anything else besides the most important thing they hold in their life, that the moment their body has to move on their own by instincts -- we'll finally get to see, bright as day, where their true feelings lay.

As far as we've seen, it has been clearly revealed (except for those who're illiterate or in a dilemma of spiralling denial) that on katsuki's side, Izuku's the one constantly haunting his head for the rest of his 10+ years. He'd jump into battle with him, rush in front of him to avert the blow, fight in pain to stay relevant in izuku's battle -- to the point of fighting to his death to protect his seniors and to yet remain as izuku's image of victory... all these, to atone his mistakes in mistreating Izuku.

Throughout his character growth, Katsuki had been to the extremes. What are the most extreme situations if not death itself?

After that, however, we see katsuki came back with his heart fully open (pun definitely not intended!), feelings more outwardly shown, saying thanks sincerely without hiding behind his explosive demeanor, smiling straightforwardly at his favourite idol AM 🥺

Katsuki had met his breaking point, met death itself, and came back a new man. A man who wanted to change before everything was too late. As soon as he woke up, he didn't waste time hesitating to allow further regrets, showing gratitude and humility whole-heartedly in any instant he should've done like any decent human being would.

Except, there's still one thing he hadn't yet achieve to reach a complete circle for his narrative.

Pre-war, Katsuki's biggest dread, the constant looming threat choking around his neck, was being unable to be honest and sincere to Izuku.

"But wait! He'd already stated his apology, he has no regrets left!"

Well, if you have that complain, you're not understanding katsuki well enough. Katsuki is a man of action more than his words. It's quite a common habit for Asians too to put more thoughts into action rather than just spewing beautiful words. And Katsuki, through and through, was an all-in-or-nothing kind of guy. He would never stop at just apologising. If his prior intention for reconciliation was to make himself feel better, then the integrity behind his actions and words was nullified, since that would undoubtedly negate the whole building up of his character's motivation. Moreover, it would become a huge flaw in horikoshi's writing as that would depict him in a "fake hero" spotlight as well as contradict the character's self incentive to be the bestest hero there is. I wouldn't bet hori would decide to ruin his writing like this. In fact, this is such a huge plot point for katsuki's character development that such a small blunder at this point would greatly affect the whole endgame story dynamic to his readers. Not that he'd care if he really did chose that path... I mean 🤷🏻‍♀️😬

Anyway, personality-wise, I'd say Katsuki would be the first person to hate that particular kind of people if he sees one. He'd definitely be disgusted of himself if he were one. That's why I wouldn't bet hori will make that blunder, because hori had been writing him as an incessantly growing character, relentlessly pushing his limits to be the best and always showed his results through visible actions.

So then, back to the point, what were left to do if he had already apologised? What more does he need to do then to further compensate?

:) As I've mentioned earlier, nothing beats the offer of a lifelong compensation, of devoting one's own time and energy willingly to the other as long as they need, or provide care and attention whenever they deserve.

"Wait. What does that even sound like tho? Doesn't that seem like a huge burden to bear??"

For Katsuki however, it's as per usual: all in or nothing!

A promise that hinted lifelong devotion though... That truly sounds like a heavy dedication to carry for the rest of one's life. Doesn't that kind of vow ring any bells? That's the only conclusion I could come to unfortunately. Because Katsuki is a perfectionist, he'll never aim at only atoning his mistakes for a "measly" 10-20 years.

But then, at what kind of situation he would promise a life-binding oath like that out of the ordinary?? Knowing our boys, there's no way they would open their ironclad mouths to say something as romantic as that out of the blue, right??

So here comes my prediction❗❗

📢 warning: take everything below with a grain of salt because at this point it's just me wildin' haha

Evidently, it's been awhile we're constantly warned about Izuku's lack-of-oxygen crisis. He was still fighting sAFO alone while Katsuki came back to focus on AFO himself.

There's a few ways things could go south from there. Afo could very well be dealt by Katsuki now with extra buffs(his new cluster moves), but Izuku was still in an unknown critical state. So while Katsuki busied himself distracting afo, Izuku could somehow got sucked into sAFO's vestige space in a moment's hesitation (or something happened that sucked him into vestige space). We might finally get our vestige space fight between Izuku and tenko & OFA vs AFO, or we could get a heartwarming talk no jutsu (as well as some sprinkle of action fights) between Izuku and Tenko. And all of these played out without the involvement of Katsuki -- as he's stuck in the physical world and is still dealing a rampaging afo. The dudebros would be happy about this. Finally they had a chance to laugh at us at being clowns for wanting katsuki's involvement in the vestige fight. But remember, hori is a troll through and through. He could troll us, he could troll the dudebros too. It's our temporary loss for not getting Katsuki fight beside izuku in afo vestige space, but we'll have something better later!

Because while all of those happen in the vestige space, apparently Tomura and Izuku's body will be out of it, falling to the ground and seemingly lifeless, out of consciousness to the eye of the people in the physical world.

I can imagine Katsuki having no time to spare while dealing with Afo as this happen. He's got to finish AFO first to get back to Izuku. And I promise you it'll not take too long for him to do that, 'cause it'll be a combo attack from IN and OUT as Izuku counter both Afo and tenko in the vestige space -- but it'll feel a bit longer in Izuku's pov as timeflow seems to be slightly different in there.

Anyhow, as Katsuki was done with afo, what do you think he'll react then when he reached a passed out Izuku? When he arrived to the scene of Izuku and Tenko on the ground, Izuku probably temporarily *not breathing* and motionless. *not breathing due to the setback of gearshift

Katsuki will be shocked and traumatized. After spilling his heart out to win AFO with/for izuku, how could he stand to win the battle if Izuku wasn't there to claim victory alongside him? He would hold Izuku's hand and kept calling out to him (maybe angrily or threatening but the words are sweet and all of it are very contrasting?👀), calling for his soul to come back. Surely he would start crying and confess all his regrets even more too. *reminder: these are only possible because all his walls were finally broken down after his revival, he's a changed man in and out.*

Then, even better! When the medic units and probably some other heroes arrived to the scene, Katsuki suddenly realised he could give Izuku cpr! He'll do it himself and think it'll work since he learnt it from emergency treating lessons, and he didn't want Izuku to leave his side but also didn't want to do nothing to help Izuku recover.

See? Plus Ultra. Katsuki giving Izuku cpr y'all. Bkdk won. All these too in front of some witnesses and recording cameras. :)

And, yeah, cuz hori is a troll, katsuki's kiss of life actually wasn't the *sole* reason Izuku came to (all for the ambiguity too, ya know ;) and besides, hori likes trolling Katsuki too, not allowing him to get what he wants)-- it was all Izuku's well-deserved victory on defeating afo and saving tenko from the vestige space that allowed him to return to his own body after the vestige world close up. In fact, Izuku didn't actually need it, he was merely away from his body to fight in the vestige space for a bit; if he won, he would eventually come back and wake up by himself, the problem of hypoxia naturally dissolved along with it.

In another words, the "kiss" was just a bonus. It's a heartfelt gift from hori-sensei to his bkdk/grateful manga readers. Because in the end of the day, it's the promise between Izuku and Katsuki that wrapped the deal of bkdk being endgame canonically. For Hori, it's a win-win situation; he could have fun building suspense over his readers, as well as finally letting his favourite boys earn their long overdue peace to be together. Also, completing both protagonist and deuteragonist narrative foil as save to win, win to save. AND not making the whole scene romantically charged, as the reason behind their actions aren't out of sexual desire nor sexual attraction, since tHis Is sTilL JusT a shOuNen mAnGa afterall. Just "bros" devoting their life to each other and occasionally hold hands to get comfortable of each other's touch because they're practicing their next combo move. 😀

#Oh yeah #have I also mention what the “bkdk platonic lifelong marriage proposal” is? #I'm still mulling over it but this is as close as what I could guess if it's from Katsuki: #As long as I'm around. don't think you can go die heroically as you wish you shitty Izuku - #Stay by my side and win to save. save to win. ya hear? #From here on out. we're gonna win this together. From here on out. you got that?! #Bakugou -down-bad-for-izuku-and-will-willingly-call-himself-kacchan-midoriya- Kacchan Katsuki #I'm seeing it really #I'm seeing the vision of bkdk canon with the recent bkdk feasts #Everything is so unreal I feel dumbstruck by hori's constant plus ultra-ness #bkdk brainrot prediction #bnha meta #bakugou katsuki #midoriya izuku #bkdk #muffinsscones silly stupid self indulgent hc theory #TAKE THESE WITH ALL THE SALTS YOU HAVE #also please ignore some grammar mistakes I can't stand this in my draft any longer #bnha bkdk meta prediction #bnha bkdk #kacchan bakugou

[phantomrose96]

Chrissy this is my prompt for u to write an essay about your grievances here. I love having my parade rained on, jokes on u

Haha, okay okay okay, so I guess it is list of grievances time.

I’m gonna put most of this under a Read More because like I said before, I’m not trying to make a spectacle out of complaining about people’s good time. So if you’re not looking for BNHA-salt this is easily skip-over-able.

I will start with one thing above the Read More—and I mean this with full compassion and sincerity—I think Horikoshi is burnt out. It feels like he doesn’t love the characters or the world anymore and he’s going through the motions to get this over with and I’m SURE the break-neck pace of the shonen manga industry holds a lot of blame. I’ve burnt out on my own stories over less. So I don’t fault Horikoshi for that part.

Okay, so salt time. It got pretty long.

I’m gonna start by elaborating on the first point, because its impact is extremely easy to feel on the story:

The love for the characters isn’t there anymore.

BNHA has always been a big-cast kinda show, and they managed this well in the early seasons. Even with 20 characters in Class 1-A, I can tell you specifics about pretty much everyone’s role during the Tournament Arc. They all felt distinct. They all had different motivations, tactics, attitudes hopes dreams everything. Iida’s “I’m actually going to go against you, Deku, because I can’t keep being the friend in your shadow” was so very distinct from Uraraka’s “I used my wit to concoct a plan against a brute-force blaster and nearly won, but the frustration is so hard to deal with” from Todoroki’s “I’m moving forward with cold and blind rage to defy my father” from Bakugou’s “I need an absolute first-place win or this is nothing” from Midoriya’s “I can’t use my quirk so I need to win with my tact” from Yaoyorozu’s “I buckled under pressure and the frustration is devastating” from even—fucking—Ojiro’s “I resign because I was possessed during this team win and I don’t honorably think I can continue.”

I could probably keep going for every student in Class 1-A but my point is how potently interesting and distinct each of them felt during this arc. Even ones who ended up with little screentime left their mark.

…And then I compare it to, say, the recent “Rescue Deku” arc and… it was just 20 people essentially in a line, one-by-one sounding off about what surface-deep reason they had for liking Deku and wanting him to come home while they all just trade off generic blows and… that’s that. Deku comes home and there’s no talk of it. No fanfare. No fallout. It happened and it’s done. We don’t care what the characters think. Onto the next.

And this was all following a LONG stint where the main characters hardly even appeared. Uraraka and Iida hardly exist anymore. Only Todoroki and Bakugou have managed to cling to relevance alongside Deku, and that’s probably a popularity poll thing. But EVEN then, Deku himself hardly appeared for a long time. And it felt painfully obvious how much Horikoshi was just tired of his cast, and desperately hopping to a new Favorite Character in a bid to keep his own interest alive.

For a while it was Hawks. Everything was Hawks. Then Endeavor for a while. Endeavor was Horikoshi’s new main character. Then Mirko. All things Mirko. Just hopping to brand new characters and tossing them aside when the flame died, all the while leaving the main cast to stagnate.

Now in the final arc we’ve got an ensemble of several-dozen characters haphazardly thrown around, here to say a few Epic Shonen Words and do an Epic Shonen Attack for 3 pages, fail, and then get tossed into the background again. They’re less characters and more just plot-moving-pieces. The lack of heart is palpable and an arc like Rogue Deku, which my angst-endeared ass should have been super easy to win over with, was extremely flat. Nothing more than a surface-deep exploration of what this means for Deku’s character, and I need to stress it was NOT like that at the beginning of the series! The beginning, up through at least the Kamino arc, had a LOT of love for all these characters. It made you root for them. It made you care. And those characters are all just shells of themselves now.

Which rolls into my next point: What character development?

Horikoshi was REALLY good at setting up both plot and character. The character introductions were strong. The early arcs were strong. You see Deku develop a lot in the very early chapters, going from easily cowed to holding his ground, going from quirkless, to a state of having a quirk but having to be smart and use it sparingly, to slowly getting control of it. And alongside the awe of larger-than-life All Might, it’s a development you really root for.

…And Horikoshi kind of flubs development after that.

I cannot tell you how current-arc Deku is that distinct from chapter-50 Deku. Same for most characters except maybe Bakugou, who’s had a decent character arc. But that should not be a stand-alone phenomenon.

If I think about something like Fullmetal Alchemist, the development Ed undergoes throughout the series is amazing. It happens slowly, but steadily. The lasting impacts of experiences change him. He matures. He learns. And Ed in the final episode is hardly recognizable as the pompous little shit from the beginning.

Deku has been… Deku. For a very long time now. All Might’s been shuffled off stage. Todoroki’s development I personally dislike for a reason I’ll get into later. The rest of Class 1-A has been tossed into the dumpster as previously stated.

And as for the PLOT…

God I’m so sorry, what plot? (And how you can’t have your cake and eat it too)

This one DEEPLY impacts my opinion of the series.

BNHA doesn’t know what its plot is.

BNHA had really good set up! A lot of opportunities of ways to push the plot along and explore a big and open world. There seemed to be a really good thread to focus on up through the Kamino arc, combining school concerns with real life threats, and then….. and then…….

It’s almost comical how BNHA sniffed at some fearsome, fascinating villains at the beginning of the series (Stain, particularly, comes to mind) only to settle on… a whiny brat with no goal, Shigaraki, as the main antagonist.

And this COULD have been done in a way I would have loved! If the framing of the story was just that—"hey yeah Shiggy is a whiny brat whose trauma made him violent, and he’s too dumb to realize he is PURELY being groomed by AFO to turn him into AFO’s new body.” If the framing had said “yes, Shigaraki is in fact stupid and has no point—(and that makes him sympathetic as a groomed victim of AFO’s who never knew any better!)”

But instead Horikoshi is trying SO hard to make it seem like the League of Villains has a point.

What is their point?

I shouldn’t ask that rhetorically, because that’s inviting fans to message me with their 18-paragraph, 95% fanon, “fixing canon while thinking they’re explaining canon” explanations about why all the LoV characters’ goals make perfect sense. And, look, I’m sorry, it’s not there. It’s just not.

Toga’s whole point is “I wish it was easier for me to kill people.” Shigaraki’s whole point is “I’m angry, I think killing All Might will make everything better.” Twice’s point is “I’m lonely.” Dabi’s the only one with a real point (but I’m ALSO quite angry about that, more on that later.)

And again! I feel like this was so CLOSE to being good—these are all random riffraff who came together as followers of Stain’s ideology. It makes a LOT of sense to end up with ragtag misfits, all with their own wildly different interpretations of a high-profile criminal’s ideaology, and if the LoV were JUST unsuspecting pawns in AFO’s game, I would have sympathy for them! Them and Shigaraki!

But instead, Horikoshi tries over and over again to be like “no the LoV TOTALLY have a point. They say Hero Society is corrupt and it totally is!”

…Except Horikoshi forgot the part where he was supposed to make Hero Society corrupt…

And look, if Horikoshi wanted a Bright and Shiny, All Heroes Are Good And Shining happy little comic world, I’d respect that. If he wanted to do a The Boys-style “Heroes are the corrupt underbelly of a society that worships them”, I’d respect that. But he tried to do both at the same time, in a floundering bid to grasp onto a plot, and it does not work.

You end up with this completely incoherent narrative where, when you look around, all the heroes are good and shiny. And then Horikoshi just says “oh um, no it’s corrupt.” And then throws in like, one random side character who goes “oh yeah I was a hero controlled by the Bad Hero Agency to do like, murders!” and then she goes away forever and we don’t talk about it anymore. And then Hawks kills a member of the LoV—a criminal organization with a massive body count—and they try the whole “SEE. Heroes are JUST AS BAD as the villains!” (Dabi is in the background incinerating people to death.)

Which speaking of, if Horikoshi wanted to show Hero Society is corrupt, heY YOU DO REMEMBER YOUR NUMBER 1 HERO IS A CHILD-ABUSER AND WIFE-BEATER. HORIKOSHI DO YOU REMEMBER? DO YOU? “Ah gee how will I show Hero Society is corrupt?” Endeavor is right there! “Guess I’ll invent a new character who shows up for one arc who was a corrupted hero or something” ENDEAVOR IS RIGHT THERE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I’m normal again.

Alright on to my next point.

FUCKING ENDEAVOR.

This part is going to be more on the subjective side because it’s just an arc and character handling I deeply hate. You can disagree with me or whatever but Endeavor stans I do not care why you like him.

HEY REMEMBER HOW THE (at the time) NUMBER 2 HERO BEAT HIS SON BLOODY SINCE THE TIME HE WAS 5 YEARS OLD IN ORDER TO TRAIN HIM TO BE STRONG ENOUGH TO SURPASS ALL MIGHT.

REMEMBER WHEN ENDEAVOR BEAT HIS WIFE SO MUCH SHE HAD A MENTAL BREAKDOWN AND POURED BOILING WATER ON HER SON’S FACE AND WAS SENT AWAY LEAVING HER CHILDREN SOLELY IN THE CARE OF THE MAN WHO RAMPANTLY ABUSED THEM.

REMEMBER WHEN HORIKOSHI MADE A CHARACTER SO *CARTOONISHLY* EVIL I WOULD TAKE MOVING ENTIRE MOUNTAINS TO REDEEM HIM?

Well he went through a wittle man-pain and he’s so sowwy :3. Do you fowgive him?

He got to become the Number 1 Hero but (gasp) it wasn’t everything he thought it would be so `(*>﹏<*)′ could you maybe be a wittle bit nicer to him?

Oh yeah and Endeavor’s big redemption moment? It’s when he almost dies fighting a high-powered Nomu terrorizing the city, or, as it’s known in the hero industry, FUCKING TUESDAY.

THAT WAS ALWAYS THE POINT. ENDEAVOR’S DAY JOB HAS ALWAYS BEEN RISKING LIFE AND LIMB TO PROTECT CIVILIANS. FIGHTING A HIGH POWERED BAD GUY IS *NOTHING NEW*. THAT WAS ALWAYS THE POINT. THAT SUCH A HEINOUS MONSTER WAS ALSO SOCIETY’S PROTECTOR.

But he got a wittle banged up in the fight so now his family has to be a wittle nicer to him. He has a scar now (*/ω＼*)

And at that point, Endeavor was Horikoshi’s new favorite character so he just had to feel a little guilty and then it was all good. He’s good. We’re all good with him.

And it would be one thing if Shouto was joining his father’s agency JUST for the stepping stone opportunity. I liked that during the Tournament Arc! When he tells Endeavor he just, in the moment, completely forgot about him. I loved that!! Disown your father and just USE him for your own career escalation, YES, use him and give him none of your love attention or honor I liked that a lot!

But instead it’s turned into actual forgiveness. And this is lauded as good.

Now, THE DABI REVEAL ARC.

The start of this arc was great. I loved the dramatc reveal. I loved Dabi blasting Endeavor’s dirty domestic-abuse laundry over the airwaves to the entire public.

SURE WOULD HAVE LIKED FOR ANY OF THAT TO MATTER. AT ALL. EVEN A LITTLE.

NOPE. The ONLY thing this does is spur the entire Todoroki family to rally around Endeavor and tell him how much it’s all their own faults too that this happened.

Natsuo, who would have been fucking FIVE YEARS OLD, when the stuff with Touya went down, tells Endeavor that this is partially his own fault too because if only he (Natsuo) had fought back against his dad’s rages and made his dad talk things out with Touya, maybe none of this would have happened.

FUCKING WHAT.

(And again, the narrative is endorsing this. This is supposed to be a HEART-WARMING scene of a family coming together.)

Fuyumi and Rei go on to explain why they were also responsible for Endeavor’s abuse (I could a little bit understand Rei taking some responsibility, as their mother) but also Rei was married off to Endeavor in a quirk-wedding girl was basically trafficked. And this arc also decides to show “oh um actually their courship was good :3 Endeavor was good and caring, actually :3 he just got a wittle evil later on (are you mad at him?) <:3?”

Okay, okay okay I should stop I just canNOT be charitable about this arc.

At this point in the series, the Dabi=Touya confirmation and the resolution of the Todoroki family stuff was the only main thing I was still hanging around for. And the Endeavor redemption shattered my faith in the series so soundly I have only been idly following along since then without any of my heart in it.

In Conclusion

It’s a series that had so much heart and so much untapped potential at the beginning. And then Horikoshi reached the end of his thread of planning, and discovered he did not know how to actually follow through on character arcs or plot, and has pittered around aimlessly letting characters decay, plot threads unravel, and his best bet at this point has been to cling to a throughline which just does not make any sense.

Now we’re near the end and the characters are shells of their former selves and we’re going through the motions of every Big Shonen Wow tropey ending and, really, Deku can land the final ending punch on TomurAFO (or whatever we’re calling AFO!Shiggy) and I will feel just. Nothing about it. Because it won’t feel like any kind of conclusion for the characters I actually cared about at the beginning.

#dont wanna tag this bc 'dont tag your shark hate with sharks' comic you know #so sorry for anyone relying on that for blackist just gotta skip this one #arcticfoxshitposting #nagitokomaeda-the69th