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dekusleftsock · 2 years

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Izuku - the human hero

How perception controls the mind

(quick warning, I put this in a doc and its 15 pages without images. Be warned that it will take a solid amount of time reading. Get comfy)

How to be a hero

Before we get right into the thick of this, I wanted to explain what exactly makes someone a hero. For this, I'm gonna have to explain what makes cops inherently flawed. (This is also gonna get political, so if you like cops and don't wanna read about someone who does not like them, click off now. I'm not afraid to throw around the word "pig" for a non animal. You will be blocked if you try to argue with me. Also I am speaking about this as someone who lives in a major city in the US, so if you, again, try to argue with me, you. will. be. blocked. I don’t care about your liberal opinions)

Cops have three purposes, making people feel safer, making sure major events or protests don't go haywire, and keeping people in the prison system. (for economic benefits that those systems provide. Aka free labor) The thing that separates real life cops from heroes, are that heroes are legitimately needed as they do community service and deescalation along with taking care of villains. (even if they aren't trained on deescalation which I dislike. *cough cough* katsuki *cough cough*) Plus, they are given twice as much training as a cop is, as cops aren't trained on much compared to UA. They have to have a high school diploma, 21 weeks of cop school, and a few rigorous tests. (source)

But let's get back on track. So, heroes do five things as a part of their job. To make citizens feel safer, make sure protests/events don't go haywire, community service, deescalation, and stop villains from hurting people/property. They are put through three years of training at a hero school and pass their provisional licensing exam. It also seems like it's required to take work studies and class 1-A just took them really early. They're also highly regulated when it comes to use of their quirks and detaining villains.

But there's more to it than that. How well you did in your tests for UA is entirely dictated by the people around you. Well not entirely, but we're human. We thrive on other people's approval, because it's in our very nature. We need support, gear, and the right training to be able to do what we want to do in life.

Theoretical, quirkless heroes

As we've established, heroes need three things. They need gear, support, and training. Gear can be anything from a support item that allows their quirk to function (like aoyama's belly lazer) to the quirk itself, like in izuku's case. The thing that stops a quirkless hero is the fundamentals that they lack that the rest of the world already has... according to the able bodied people in hero society. Because, let's be honest here, there is more to getting into a hero school than getting a quirk.

Let's use Katsuki as an example. He had the perfect quirk, perfect financial background, friends, teachers, but no mentor. Though it seems more like Katsuki trained near constantly in order to become a hero. As best jeanist said, he DOES actually have the skills to become a full fledged sidekick already, he just lacks discipline. No mentor. That's what UA is for most people, the time in which they get a mentor. A quirk is not everything, because you need to have the smarts or the empathy for the people you're saving. That is what holds Katsuki back and pushes Izuku forward, empathy.

Empathy isn't really controllable though to some extent, especially if you don't have any to begin with. Katsuki and Izuku both have autism, but Izuku has hyper empathy and Katsuki has low empathy. That just means that Katsuki needs to learn the basic steps of SHOWING empathy as a hero to the people he is saving. Technically that just means he needs to learn how to mask better, but yeah, depending on the job masking can be so important. That's why we even have the innate ability as autistic people, for survival. We're allowed to use it in a way that is healthy to both us and others. But it's OUR choice, not anyone else's.

Getting back on track, most of the opportunities would have been taken away from Katsuki if he had a useless quirk and/or no quirk at all. THAT'S the true difference between Katsuki and Izuku.

If izuku the quirkless hero were to happen, then izuku would have needed unquestionable support from someone. That would have vastly changed his overall likelihood of getting into UA. Not only that but, as stated in the anime, quirkless people weren't even ALLOWED to go to UA up until Izuku's application year.

So the thing that stops a quirkless hero from becoming a reality is the perception of other people and the opportunities that they provide. Katsuki would have been phenomenal training for Izuku, maybe some sort of sponser for his support items, and the support from the people around him would have given Izuku the tools to succeed. But quirkless people aren't given that. THAT, my friends, is why the quirkless hero Izuku would have failed.

What is a quirk?

Quirks are a fickle thing because of how inconsistent they are. It makes understanding their impact so difficult. Before I explain how quirk discrimination works, I think it's important to properly define a quirk.

Let's group quirks into three groups: mutant, non mutant, and both. I think what defines a mutant quirk is anyone who has "physical characteristics". That can include anything from the change in hair color to being a pile of sludge. (like the sludge villain)

A non mutant quirk is anything that does NOT fit the original definition but is still a quirk. So pretty much anything non physical, like Uraraka's "zero gravity" or Aizawa's "erasure". Their physical appearance has no affect from the quirk they have.

And our third quirk type is never actually defined in the series even if it has the basis to be its own group. It could be anything from not affecting how their quirk works like Koda and how he seems to be "tree like", or be an ingrained part of their quirk as a whole. Like Tsuyu.

So that could mean that if mina didn't produce acid, then her quirk could have just been that she looks like an alien. This could be the same with kirishima's quirk because he has sharp teeth. That also makes you question that if part of inko's quirk is that she has green hair (a mutant quirk since it changes appearance), then izuku's quirk is actually that he has green hair. If ofa powers up any quirk it possesses, and it can't actually do anything to izuku's theoretical "quirk", then if the power was given to, lets say, Tsu, then her normal quirk would be unaffected. Maybe her poisonous mucus would be heightened, I could see that, but then wouldn't her "actual quirk" be that she produces mucus instead of just "frog"? Like mina's quirk, because the fact that she is pink seems to have nothing to do with her actual quirk.

Maybe the actual name of a quirk/how you define it is up to the person who owns it. Like quirks are up to the perception of yourself. Shigaraki's quirk is called "decay", but it could also very well be "disintegrate". In fact, that is MORE accurate to how his quirk works. But because he is a villain, he probably just named his quirk "decay" to seem more menacing.

So, quirks are up to perception, seems pretty similar to how heroes function right?

Disability

So, in a society that is even fundamentally discriminative, even towards people with quirks, where does that leave quirkless people?

We're gonna have to use our imagination a bit with how quirklessness is actually treated in MHA. (obligatory "hori why did you build up this plot line sm and then do close to nothing with it") There's few actual information we're given, and most of it is through a kid who was so discriminative because of his inferiority complex. So, let's make a list.

The most obvious one, but obviously being prone to bullying and teasing

Not being able to go to UA(?) up until izuku's application year

Less support from those around you (teachers, parents, other kids, or even heroes)

Doctors inherently see them as "underdeveloped" because they also don't have the "newer/more efficient" bodies that quirked people have (... tbh this just sounds like eugenics is openly accepted in the medical field in MHA so uh-)

Being quirkless is automatically seen as "weak" in mha, by both quirked and quirkless people

Most of this is about perception. And while systemic oppression is terrible to experience, perception can create a constant cycle of gas-lighting for the people who experience it. For example, while there are no direct laws that stop a trans person from getting medical care here in the US, (depending on the state) yet it's still extremely hard to get the resources. It IS a systemic problem in the way that capitalism is inherently set up to fail, but not a direct one. A person could say that a micro aggression from a white person to a POC is just because they're sensitive or looking into it too much. But god forbid it be actual oppression to touch someone's hair unasked for! Or ask someone where they're from even when they say the US! No, instead you're just "taking away from actual oppression" or "looking for things that aren't there". (as said in my bio I am white so feel free to critique this on anything I may have gotten wrong or you feel should not have been said)

For oppression to work, it must not be visible from the oppressors point of view. This will keep those who live in blissful ignorance from giving their support to a group that experiences it, while keeping white people from being uncomfortable.

From Izuku and possibly Inko's point of view, it may even be harder to get certain medical care. Technically it shouldn't even affect his schooling since use of quirks aren't even allowed in public unless you're a licensed hero, yet his teachers/students make it a point to make his life hell for his genetics.

MHA is inherently flawed due to eugenicists that were born as a result of heroes.

MHA is entirely about perception, from how heroes don't understand why capable citizens choose not to be heroes, to the villains who don't understand why those who were oppressed become heroes. Izuku was given ofa to be the dramatic irony of it all. The quirkless person has become a hero but at the cost of feeding into the environment that creates the very thing he fights.

Color theory/character design

One of the most important fundamentals of a visual story are the designs that the story chooses. And something I have always adored about mha specifically (especially in comparison to other anime and manga) is how strong the character designs are. Same face syndrome is almost non-existent in my hero, mainly because horikoshi knows EXACTLY how to make each character he designs distinct. (Same face syndrome is just when an artist draws characters with very similar faces for everyone. Studio ghibli often has this issue which is why they have characters that look the same from completely different movies) He also has a strong sense of color theory and knows EXACTLY how to make a character's colors tell more into their story than we think.

Take Nighteye. Weird choice of an example, I know, but he has one of the most intelligently well put together designs in the show.

This is the anime so please bear with the lanky hands problem. When you look at Nighteye you know EXACTLY WHAT his character will be like. He is a serious, well put together man, yet he has spots on his perfect and professional red tie. This shows his need for laughter in the heroic world, yet also shows his professionalism. He also wears a white suit, something that seems a bit odd for hero work since it would get dirty, but it also plays into his ideals for laughter and goofiness and hiding that behind a professional aura. Horikoshi knew EXACTLY what he was doing with every aspect of this design. Even down to the slight heel of his shoe, or the slight lankiness of his nature. When you look at Nighteye, you get a sense of professional intimidation and outright oddness.

And this isn't even covering the color theory aspect of his character. His hair is such a clever choice, using the yellow in his hair to both symbolize mirio and All Might, and making those aspects highlights. Because they are the highlights of his person. How he brings out the good in the characters around him. While also making his hair color an off, more swampy/murky green compared to Izuku's. Showing he is the shadow in his life at that point, while also being his parallel.

When you break down the fundamentals of a character design, you can start to make sense of who they are

Now that I've broken down a character design, you can see that the aspects of both Katsuki and Izuku's characters directly reflect their designs. I'm also going to say that I will only be commenting on hero costume design OR if their civilian clothes are consistent, like in small might's case. Civilian clothes aren't really made to do anything but make a joke or just be placeholders since it doesn't really matter. (like izuku's "sheets" t-shirt)

Izuku's design

We're gonna start with his color, of course; green. Green can mean a lot of things, from envy to new growth.

What makes the color green so special to Izuku's design is that it paints a picture of something so weak yet so strong. Something so alive, so human. There are a million and one things a color can mean, but what makes the color of a character so special is the consistency of that color. So while it does represent Izuku's rebirth into becoming someone strong;

"I'm the deku who always does his best" - coming soon for the psychoanalysis.

He is also weak. He is as strong as an oak tree, yet as weak as a daisy. And that's okay. That doesn't make him not a hero.

Green itself is also something nurturing, it's why he's so good with kids and, once again, the one with hyper empathy out of both of them. Deku and Kacchan. Midoriya and Bakugou. Izuku and Katsuki.

And on the flip side, Katsuki's color is so so SO fascinating from a color theory nerds perspective. His color is loud, outstanding, brash, strong, and most importantly, represents work. Hard, tedious, work. (I feel like I should also mention to give credit to where credit is due, most of color and general art imagery comes from paganistic religions throughout the world. So, it's important to remember the people that came up with the ideas we use and to respect everyone's beliefs. Because we sure as hell wouldn't have half of the culture we have today without those religions throughout history that may or may not be dead. A lot of it was lost with colonization, but they do still exist)

It's a color that exudes enthusiasm, creativity, success, and much much more. It can also be a color that represents impatience, dominance, and exhibitionism. It is a strong color, through and through, and it's the exact opposite to green.

The fact that orange and green are also secondary colors is important, showing the parallels between the two.

Why am I bringing this up? WHY is this so important? Well my friends, the answer is simple.

Izuku and Katsuki's colors are how they perceive themselves.

Izuku thinks he has two separate sides, even though they are one in the same. He is either the weak deku or the strong deku. The deku that always does his best. The deku too weak to stand out on his own. While Katsuki thinks of himself highly, he is either treated like a god or looked down on. He is always strong, always loud, always running ahead.

Even though neither of these perceptions are correct.

Izuku's bullying

Psychologically speaking, your childhood dictates a majority of your mental well being as an adult and how you react to a situation. It is the most influential part of a person's life. This can, of course, change as you gain more experience in life and possibly go through something traumatic whatever that may be. Your brain has some built in coping skills that we honestly have no clue why we do them?

As an example, my coping skills as a child became my imagination and escapism through shows or other media, while my sibling learned to disassociate from their emotions and childhood. Ultimately, even though I'm the younger out of the two of us, they don't remember our trauma but I do. And that's just, how it ended up working out. Some people try to take control of their trauma by writing about it, or by reading it. All three of these options have their good and bad sides. It just depends on the extremes of these coping skills.

Either way, because of how influential your childhood is, it's kind of important that your parents don't mess it up to the best of their abilities. This isn't always controllable though, which is why we're here, talking about Izuku's bullying.

Let's define what exactly Izuku went through. (obligatory tw for bullying/mentions of suicide)

Ah, the most memorable, the swan dive scene. I've talked about my thoughts on this scene multiple times, but to give a little rundown on my analysis here, this is supposed to be the worst thing Katsuki ever does. So, let's address a couple of things here.

Izuku is not sad, he's angry. They are both emotionally stunted in this scene, not even giving themselves the opportunity to process their emotions about this entire situation.

On one hand, the emotional part of this, both of them are actually having the same reaction. They are turning despair and insecurity into anger. The thing with anger is that it is a secondary emotion. They are just emotions that are born out of other feelings, so anger is super common because it feels better to be angry than it is to feel hurt.

I feel it is also important to address that every emotion is important to let yourself feel. Bottling up anything will end up making you explode later in the long run, and that includes anger. Secondary emotion =/= a bad emotion, it just means you should be aware of where the true feelings come from so that you can process it.

And on the other hand, the psychological part, Izuku's biggest concern is that Katsuki becomes a hero. Of course he does actually care about himself; no matter how many times people want to say that Izuku doesn't have a backbone, he does and he has since the first episode. The thing that stops him is Katsuki's threat. (Which, btw, was that a bait?? Was he even gonna do anything?????)

But I personally think the most interesting part about Izuku's bullying from Katsuki and his lackeys is this moment. It goes overlooked all the time, even though it's actually the most accurate descriptor of his bullying and also shows the moment Katsuki's reasons for bullying Izuku change. Before this, Katsuki put distance which turned into bullying because Izuku was weak and quirkless. He was better than him, why should he be around him? He was too clingy and kept on reaching out his hand. He was calling me weak.

But Katsuki knew how strong he was! That's why he put so much distance, he was looking down on Izuku for being stupid. Sure it affected his insecurities, but this panel right here? This was the first time he ever thought that Izuku's "thoughts" might actually be true. Which lead to rejection, bullying, and hate.

So now that we've established the actual bullying, how did this affect Izuku? Well, of course, it affected his self esteem. Izuku's self worth is basically on the ground or slightly raised throughout the manga. It was due to other people too, sure, like All Might, his mom, Iida, etc. but that doesn't change Katsuki's actions.

And this self esteem problem is so built into his very being that even when someone like Uraraka comes along, someone who helps him build his confidence, only ended up creating another version of himself he can compare to. Instead of being the weak deku Katsuki assigned him, he's now the deku that always does his best. And if he does anything that won't kill him or bring him close to death, he is the weak little deku again. He's everything Katsuki told him he was in middle school.

His perception of himself is so distorted, that he's only now picking up the pieces

This isn't Katsuki slander, Katsuki on his own has grown into a person who's assured of himself and others. He aims to be the light in Izuku's life and has atoned, apologized, and been forgiven. He had a phenomenal redemption arc and he constantly aims to fix this problem. But this isn't about his actions, this is about Izuku. So I expect 0% slander of Katsuki, All Might, or Inko.

The most ironic part about Katuski's death is that Izuku has been the one with death flags on him since the beginning. Death has always been an integral part of his character, and Katsuki's has always had the plot armor that he would let him stay alive. One of Izuku's first scenes is of Katsuki telling him to kill himself. We've already KNOWN deku's reaction to Katsuki's death. Izuku has always seen Katsuki in life or death situations, kidnapped, saw him get plunged through his body, but Katsuki? He barely saw it once.

No, scratch that, twice. His vigilante arc and his fight with shigaraki during the first war.

This is why Katsuki's "death" is so clever. Horikoshi AGAIN flipped it on its head. Deku is always the one in dangerous situations; he's downright suicidal when people are in danger. We've seen Izuku almost destroy all of Matsutafu over Katsuki being hurt. But we haven't seen Katsuki's reaction to Izuku's outbursts over him, nor have we seen the reaction to his possible demise.

Inko Midoriya - Izuku's first insecurity

Of all the people I've listed that have had an impact on Izuku, the first one to ever hurt him was inko. Inko may only have a few scenes, yet they are able to tell a much bigger story into who she is and how she is flawed. Everyone had their own major individual impact on him, so let's talk about why her impact is so unique.

Inko Midoriya, my my what an interesting woman you are. Something I actually adore about every parental figure in MHA is that none of them are perfect. They all have flaws, subtle or not. They are all good and bad even in the short time in which we see them. Endeavor, Rei, Inko, Mitsuki, Masaru; hell even whoever "Hisashi" is because while he supports them financially, he's never actually there. (if dad for one is confirmed canon which I think it most definitely will then I'll go into the reasons why he has "good" parental aspects in a different post)

Now, I can hear you asking the question, "well, what's wrong with Inko?" because inko is supposed to be this nice, nurturing woman that makes Izuku this little "momma's boy" archetype. And you're right! You could make the argument that Inko is possibly the best or one of the best parents in the series. But she is still that, a parent.

Parents are flawed, they're human. They are gonna mess up majorly in some way somehow and that's just how the world works. The best we can do is that, our best. We should always strive to change and grow as people in the moment, which is precisely what Inko does. She grew. Because her most major flaw was giving up on Izuku, she gave up on his dream. Quirkless heroes are possible, they always were, but perception and access to materials and knowledge is hard! And I'm not saying it's easy or anything, or even that Horikoshi should've taken that narrative. I actually love ofa and what it's done for Izuku's character.

What I am saying though is that Inko was the first person to not believe in him.

She was the first person he had to prove himself to, and only did so when he suddenly had a quirk and got into UA. She never stopped him, but she also never gave him her full moral support.

A major developmental impact parents have on children is how they choose when and how to support them. Even if you know your child can't be a mermaid, it's still extremely important that you assure them of their dreams. Not doing so can cause problems. This can include an immediate idea that you are not enough when you're older, general insecurity issues, and make you sensitive to rejection. It's setting them up for settling on something that they don't want to do which will make them unhappy adults, or just straight up stop them from taking the steps to do, well, anything.

Choosing whether to make your passions a career or not should be a choice you make on your own, not something that was shut down from you as a child. Izuku had no support, he is his only support. He even says so!

Because not even inko believed in him, and she was his only support system.

This is not Inko slander by the way! Because this is even an addressed problem in the series. She Apologizes to Izuku a little after he gets into UA if I remember correctly.

She did fail him, but that doesn't make her a bad person. It was bad and it just happened. There is no excuse, she just made up for her mistakes. Which is a continuous correlation throughout the series; no excuses or explanations. It just happened. And that's okay. She's a phenomenal parent and deserves to be praised for what she's done for him as his mother. She is amazing.

Uraraka - the hero for heroes

On the totally other side of the spectrum, I almost feel like Uraraka's looks are a visual representation of who Inko should've been. Because, like people have pointed out, Inko and Uraraka's looks are SO SIMILAR! Like it's almost uncanny. This isn't a Freud™ moment, (or at least I hope it's not) I think this is simple parallels.

Let's take a look at Uraraka so you get what I mean. (this is going to be very brief since I still wanna make a similar post about her, so yeah, this only covers her relationship to Izuku. Sorry lol) Right off the batt, she is his supporter. She supports his rivalry with Katsuki, fighting against a "bully" in her eyes. (I'll be covering this idea in her analysis btw) She even makes sure he has "good luck" by not letting him fall on his first day, TWICE! She is his first supporter and first friend in UA, a title he never had to earn by being "amazing". And at that moment she’s exactly who he needs. Someone who will build up his confidence in battle, saving, and general hero work.

Something I feel like people don’t understand is that Izuku needed Uraraka way more than she needed Izuku. And I don’t mean that in a way that he never actually did anything for her, rather that she made most of the conclusions about the flaws of society on her own. She came to the conclusion about toga without Izuku. Without anyone else directly telling her, OTHER THAN TOGA! She put together the pieces. She is neither the love interest nor Izuku's number one fan/supporter; she is her own independent person with her own flaws and ideas. She has her own goals, saving those who may not "look" or be "worthy" of needing saving. Like toga, like Izuku.

He was her inspiration, but she is now confident and smart enough to see Izuku's flaws and to believe in herself. Just as she was his main support to fall back on, and now he is able to confide in the people around him. He is confident enough to build a support system to help him.

Because men are not the inspiration for women to be strong, and women are not the support for their strength.

I think it's time to put away these very obvious patriarchal ideas. Building a new system throughout shonen to view women and queerness is important, because I'm tired of seeing men be inspirational and women be their support. Let's switch it up a bit, let women and men be friends; let them coexist without them being solely for the mc's arc. Let them be their own character.

Back to parallels with Inko, Uraraka was basically his sole support system along with Iida for a long time. Inko AND Uraraka being his only support was unhealthy in all aspects, you should never feel like you have to rely on one person to help you keep going. Izuku was still independent, but thank god for All Might and later on Katsuki for being his support in getting better.

All Might - "you can be a hero"

Now, I know that title is a little weird, but it's true! All Might was the first person to both believe in him and say he could be a hero.

I’ve seen a lot of slander on All Might and I feel like it’s a little unprompted? Like yes, crushing a kids dreams and leaving him on a rooftop and telling him to “knock until someone opened the door” isn’t like the BEST idea in the world. I get that. I understand it.

But at the same time, can you really BLAME HIM? In his mind, the only reason he is a hero is because of ofa. The reason why Katsuki and All Might are so similar has to do with the fact that they both define themselves by their quirk. A perfect example is when AM is talking to aizawa about losing his quirk.

It’s interesting seeing his thought process change and gain confidence in himself after talking to stain. All might had the same perception the rest of the world had, so of course he’s going to react the same way anyone else would.

All Might has not been quirkless for a long time

That has vastly changed his perception of both Izuku and himself. He saw ofa as apart of what made him great, not as an add on to an already great person.

Does this excuse his actions? NO! Of course it’s still BAD. I can admit that All Might supporters often excuse this behavior through ignorance. He’s still an adult and mentor and he’s had the time to learn, but there’s also an ignorant mentality from society as a whole.

And he had a point did he not? Being quirkless in hero work is still dangerous. Heroes are just glorified police. Hero work is not for quirkless people for a reason. That’s fine. I understand that. And like I said before, I don’t think horikoshi should’ve taken that rout of story telling! Ofa gives you more room to work with.

What I am talking about though, is how this mentality affects a child. Imagine being told as a kid, everyone BUT YOU, can have your dream? Everyone can be your idol, EXCEPT YOU. That’s traumatizing! It causes an inherent “otherness” in people.

Izuku still probably would’ve ended up a vigilante if he didn’t get a quirk and get into UA. Which is infinitely more dangerous than a hero because you can’t ask for backup or get immediate medical help in the field. Izuku needed to be a hero if he was going to be safe.

However, all might is the first person to EVER, give Izuku the confidence he needed. He told him what he needed to hear, told him he could be a hero. That he could fulfill his dream.

He made Izuku’s pipe dream a reality through training him and giving him his quirk. So yeah, I love all might, Izuku loves all might, he’s what Izuku needed most; a mentor and someone who believed in him.

The human hero - a psycho analysis

Wow we’re almost to the end! This bullet point was actually what started this entire analysis on Izuku. It was the first thing I wanted to make into a meta and then I just kept adding and going and.. now we’re here. It’s kind of bittersweet since this has become part of my routine, to get home from school and work on this ginormous essay for fun. But, here we are. Welcome to the end friends. I hope you enjoyed. Psycho analysis is something I hope I’m good at, but maybe I’m just pointing out the obvious lol.

I wanna start with his anger issues and where they come from. I’ve seen people time and time again say that it’s only Katsuki who has the anger issues, but I think you forget that this is an emotionally stunted boy in his teen years. It’s kind of hard NOT to have them at this stage in life. But where do they come from?

Ever heard of the term “emotionally immature”? It’s usually born out of a traumatic event of some kind. Generally, after getting to know someone you can make a rough estimate of when this person stunted in maturity.

Emotional immaturity is different from mental immaturity, and I need to get that out of the way. Mental maturity is simply just, how you respond to life based on your past experiences. Emotional maturity is your immediate response. Think of it like a conscious vs a subconscious response. And a lot of the time this is where anger issues stem from. Along with a lot of your own self doubt and insecurity.

It’s definitely important to analyze our emotions and it’s a skill people have to learn, but that doesn’t mean we shouldn’t sit in the actual feeling of that emotion. Coping skills are great but they’re there to be temporary solutions to the bigger issue at hand. You have to sit and work through your emotions like you were supposed to the first time and that fucking sucks. I know I try not to curse when I do these analysis’ but it really does! You literally feel like you’re going through it all over again sometimes, but it’s what you have to do so you can mature emotionally.

And did Izuku ever do this? No, he didn’t. He did hero analysis or something else with his time. He used his interests or hobbies as a way to escape his problems with his dad, the bullying, and then again when Katsuki got kidnapped or when Katsuki was stabbed by shigaraki. He never got the chance to sit down and just, write about it. Sit in it. Work through them.

Oh but I can hear you saying, “yeah but how does he have anger issues?” My friend, what do you think those tears are for? Because it’s not just sadness or happiness. He’s angry. He repeatedly gets angry.

He’s pissed! And for good reason! But he is not outwardly pissed. Because if he was for most of his life, he was bullied even more. Izuku is in the position of not having the power, ever. And that created issues. With control, identity, and regulating emotions. He’s supposed to have been able to outwardly share his emotions throughout childhood so he could regulate when he was in crisis, but he didn’t. He learned to regulate his actions and bottle everything up so that it could explode at a later time. But when he came to UA? Things were different.

He started to mature again, emotionally. He was allowed and given the space to go full anger issues mode, so now every time he gets fired up in battle and tries to act like Katsuki, he explodes. Bigger than Katsuki now, because he never regulated his emotions correctly. (See more in ochako and Katsuki’s post because I’ll be getting back to this later)

And, this is not me villainizing any of Izuku’s emotions or responses. Ofc you should never invalidate anyones emotions. Not only are they justified in a lot of scenes, but they’re also not necessarily his fault.

What I AM saying though, is that unless there is a bigger issue, people do not get that angry during a match. Not even Katsuki got that angry until todoroki literally gave up the battle by not giving it his all like Izuku did or what HE even did during their match.

He got SO upset when shinsou called ojirou a monkey that he almost threw the match.

People didn’t get that angry during a match! At all! Not Ochako, Tokoyami, todoroki, and or even KATSUKI BAKUGOU, MR. ANGER ISSUES, got that angry!

Frustration is very different from anger. Very, very different. I think the subtlety of Izuku and his character just adds to it, because you have to really look for it to get an accurate understanding of him and his character.

The perception of others changes you

It’s only human nature for the perception of others to affect you. It’s normal, expected even. We’re social creatures, we conform to societal standards.

But when those standards get too high, or they’re made to make you feel small, it only hurts other people. It only hurts Izuku and his mental well being.

Trauma changes you (haha see, we’re finally getting back to that image of deku hitting shigaraki that I said would be referenced here!!!) and in Izuku’s case, he learned that getting closer to Katsuki made him act and feel a certain way. Romantic feelings is my personal opinion, and whether he knows what those feelings are or aren’t is up to you.

I talked about this in an ask before, but Ochako creating a new meaning of the word "deku" for Izuku only created a person he could separate himself from. If he is not the deku that does his best, then he is the useless deku all over again. There is no in between for him. (once again more autistic coding with the black and white thinking that he has)

This is very subtle, and that’s purposeful. A conscious writing decision to make sure that you, the reader, would not know his inner thoughts and turmoil.

He’s both emotionally immature, and emotionally separated from his peers, all might, and his mom. He has put himself in the position of being alone because it is all he knows.

Finally - perception

So, why does horikoshi keep most of his character relatively secretive? What would be the point other than to just, reveal it? You’re given all the pieces to put everything together so what’s the point in not even saying anything.

One key factor: izu//ocha. I have to ask the question, if you were to create a story that was secretly a queer story in disguise so that it could break an industry in some way, how would you do it? Personally, I would keep the main character and their love interests thoughts relatively secretive, give the pretend love interest confirmed feelings to confuse the viewer, and make the main character say vague statements that seem romantic. I would also make the two seem plain and maybe a little unlikable in some way even though the story is supposed to be about the character and his relationship to other people.

Which is exactly what horikoshi has done. He has used the perception of the viewer to say a bigger statement about how the viewer consumes storytelling. This is called “readers perception”, it’s one of the key aspects of how you choose to write a story. If the viewer was given all the information at once, it would be a boring story. So as a writer you need to choose what, when, and how you will show the reader information.

Horikoshi has an amazing understanding of this. But it’s also a really common writing issue! Steven universe is too tied to its main character, completely keeping the viewers perception of the story in solely stevens perception. But mha is never TIED to a main character and can therefore switch everything up so that you and Izuku have a completely different set of information while still FOLLOWING him as the main character.

And we keep coming back to this same topic; perception. Is it really so hard to believe that My Hero Academia has always been about the perception of others? From insecurity, to pride, it has made it a point to never let the characters make a perception of their own. Of themselves. Something healthy to view and understand. To the point where it even uses the perception of the viewer against you. Against the characters. Against the real life consequences of the world. My Hero has always been a show about proving perceptions to be wrong.

Your perception about how a shonen should work will change as MHA uses its platform and ideas to make a new for the industry. Not only will it create a space for minorities in a place that has actively excluded them, but it will also drive away or even change the opinions of the already existing people in them.

Stay hopeful. Keep your indomitable human spirit thriving in all parts of your life.

(I’m for some reason attached to these notes of how I organized this so it’s staying lol)

How to be a hero

Theoretical, quirkless heroes

What is a quirk?

Disability

Color theory/character design (izuku vs katsuki)

Izuku's bullying

uraraka, all might, katsuki, inko

The human hero - a psychoanalysis

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bluejaybytes · 1 month

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💘🍛 I like both of these. What's most important to your oc (of choice but I'm thinking of Maggie), and what their usual dinner looks like <3

Hiiiiiiiii <3

💘 HEART WITH ARROW — what and/or who do(es) your oc consider the most important to them?

Maggie has sooo few people she's close with BUT the people she IS close with she is VERY close with, the three main ones would be her brother, Hawke, her Girl Best Friend (come to your own conclusions on this one, they'll never have an actual discussion about it), Jenna, and one of the ghosts that hangs around her, Opal. Hawke she was always fairly close with as a kid, while he never actually believed her when she would talk about the ghosts and their various shenanigans, he was always one of her strongest and most reliable supporters, and would claim to believe her. She knows now that he never actually believed her (She figured that out as a preteen), but she definitely appreciates the fact he was still always there for her and standing up for her when she'd get talked over by others. When she wakes back up after her murder, finding where he lives is one of her first priorities, because she's basically having like a million crises at once and figures he's the person she trusts must to be able to help her.

Paragraph break because I'm going on longer than anticipated WHOOPS. For Jenna, she's close with her for several reasons. The first part is... honestly just a bit of necessity. Maggie's lost and scared and has no idea what's going on, and Jenna's the first person to approach her and is someone willing to try and help her figure out what's going on, during a situation where anyone else would've just forced her to go to a hospital (Which... to be fair Jenna definitely should've suggested they go to some sort of medical help, given that she was passed out in the middle of a field and wakes up talking about being murdered). Outside of necessity, however, she and Jenna just like... basically instantly latch onto each other. They're frankly both a bit obsessive with each other because they both... really don't have anyone else? Once the plot ends and their lives calm down they'll get some other friends and their dynamic will become more sustainable longterm, but in the moment they've only got each other and GODDAMN do they have each other. Jenna's like 90% of the reason Maggie wants to actually take care of herself, because if she's not doing it, Jenna just does it for her, and she doesn't like feeling like a burden, even if Jenna's doing it willingly and without viewing as such. Their bond is so largely based on their willingness to support each other, so. yknow <3

For Opal, she's known Maggie since she was only a few months old! Ghosts took notice of Maggie's ability to see them LONG before Maggie would be learn this was Not normal, AKA, as a several month old baby, she'd track ghosts with her eyes and try and interact with them like any other person, which alerted the ghosts to the fact she could actually see them. This made her essentially a bit of a celebrity/VERY weird and kinda creepy to the ghosts, so word of the Magic Baby Who Can See Dead People spread, and tons of local ghosts would hang around just to see her themselves. Opal ALSO heard of her, and she just generally loves kids, so she went to go see baby Maggie, only to realize that oh man. This is going to be. a tough life for this kid. So she takes it upon herself to watch over her, and chases away other ghosts who bother her so that Maggie doesn't have to spend her entire life being harassed by ghosts. Their dynamic is a bit weird throughout Maggie's life, as Opal tends to be a bit overbearing, and also tends to talk over the living people Maggie's trying to talk/listen to, making it difficult for her to concentrate, but as frustrating as Maggie finds her to be, they still are very close, Opal's someone Maggie can be actually open with, and someone who is always trying to look out for her and protect her any way she can. Their dynamic gets WAY more strained after Maggie's death but this is already a VERY long ramble and that would involve a LOT more so I'll save that for another day

🍛 CURRY AND RICE — what does your oc's typical dinner look like? do they usually eat dinner?

Bad it looks bad.

Okay the actual answer is more nuanced <3 Prior to her murder, Maggie was still living at home (She was only 17 and had JUST graduated highschool, graduating a year early), so her typical dinner was just... whatever her mom made! Nothing too fancy, just pretty generic dinner items. Maggie's never really had much of an appetite, but also stayed up extremely late every night, so typically it'd be eating like half the normal portion of whatever dinner was -> stay up until 2am -> Get hungry and finish off the other half of dinner -> stay up until [god knows how late]. Her favorite meal is probably stew, though while she is an extremely picky eater, of the foods she's okay with she doesn't tend to have really any standout favorites.

Once she wakes back up after her murder and has to care for herself, her dinner is... crackers. As mentioned, she's an extremely picky eater, but she also has no skill in cooking and is also just deeply depressed, so she can't really give the effort to care about it enough to want to eat properly, so she just. doesn't! However, once Jenna starts hanging around more, specifically hanging around for long enough stretches of time to see Maggie's abysmal self care and eating habits, THEN Maggie's typical dinner stops being "crackers" and starts being whatever Jenna makes her. This is typically things like easier to prepare meals like mac n cheese, but Jenna always adds things to them that aren't included to make them nicer, so it's always more than just "box of kraft mac n cheese", its got some added vegetables and meat added in there to make it better!

Once Maggie actually starts trying to learn how to cook herself, her typical dinner consists of one single bite of whatever she tried and promptly failed to make, and then a plate of Whatever Jenna Made Instead. She's trying her best but oh boy. its not great.

#IM SORRY I WENT ON SO LONG.#also Maggie's favorite meal AFTER the plot is probably a nice salad #low effort + REALLY hard for her to fuck up + tastes good #as for Maggies dynamic with Opal post-murder... its. its something. its bad </3 #The start of Maggie's full blown breakdown is literally her snapping and tearing into Opal and essentially blaming her for her murder #This is. bad. Opal has already felt INSANELY guilty all of this time- she would leave Maggie alone at night-#-to try and help with Maggies insomnia by not keeping her up #-so she ABSOLUTELY feels responsible in part for Maggie's murder- that she could've been there and she could've warned Maggie-#-about the intruder. But like. It's not her fault. How could she have known? Maggie knows its not her fault #but she's extremely freaked out at that point and is having an intense breakdown and is lashing out at Opal because she just needs SOMEONE-#-to blame. She's dying and she doesnt know why and she needs to find someone to blame for it #anyways maggie please apologize to your ghost mom. (she does. she also gets to- for the first and only time- physically hold her hand)#(ghosts can physically interact with each other- and Maggies growing wounds are essentially her soul physically splitting-#-so its essentially this bittersweet moment of like. for the first time- shes able to reach out and hold Opals hand.#and its only because shes dying)#BUT THEN SHE DOESNT DIE. VITALLY IMPORTANT #my OCs #maggie

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