#like at least Hori had him think about how he learned to be a hero from AM

[problemswithbooks]

I knew Stain was gonna die because he wasn’t a LoV villain but I'm still bummed.

Like he wanted to die, so he got what he wanted, but I sorta hoped it would be a bit more heroic, I guess. I mean, he honestly didn't do anything helpful except cheer on All Might and get killed. Just like with his past contribution, he could have been removed, and nothing changes.

I will forever be disappointed we never got tenya meeting him again or even thinking about him given this was supposed to be the villain redemption arc.

I also find it funny that so far, he's the only villain that has died trying to actually stop AfO/trying to do good. Like yes, Toga might have died saving Ochako, but it was from a wound she gave her. Meanwhile, Touya might have had his last breath, wishing his family was dead.

I'm just bummed it was so pointless and quickly moved on from. It wasn't even the end of the chapter. AfO turns him into juice, and that's the end of it--on to All Might, thinking of his other dead friends.

Which, yes All Might is far more important then Stain, but it does make it feel as if Hori just tossed him in so AfO got a kill and he tied up a lose end as fast as possible.

Given the past villain death scare chapters, I know hori can do touching ends. Like it would not have killed him to have a one panel flash back of Stain as a kid holding an All Might doll when he thinks about how he didn’t even have a high school education. It would have humanized him before becoming a blood splatter and renforced that villains used to be kids once.

Instead, we get panels of him sniffing blood on rocks. 😒

#bnha 401 #hero killer stain #akaguro chizome #bnha spoilers #bnha #like again knew he was most likely gonna kick the bucket #and it was always gonna kill me a little because hes my fav #but still i expected a bit more effort #like at least Hori had him think about how he learned to be a hero from AM #but its really shallow and a waste of a death the way its done #like stain was more integral to the plot then the dude saving bakugou #but he got a way more touching end #i swear if someone makes one of those is stain dead or alive blogs im going to lose it #bitch is super dead #even if we didn’t see the body #the fact its so quick and moved on from is all the proof u need #will he be alive in the au i have in my head? #yes very much #but canon wish hes mush now #and the sad thing is #no one will care #and its clear hori always just saw him as some crazy guy #only a little more sane then flesh eating body suit Moonfish #stain as a concept had great potential and now hes meat paste #waste of a character 😒

[sapphic-agent]

I thought of something that could add to the discussion around Izuku and Shigaraki. Back in the first war arc, Hawks made the morally gray decision to kill Twice before he could start multiplying and endanger the lives of every hero in the war. He didn’t seem to want to do it, but he did, because a lot more people would have died if he didn’t. Twice also wasn’t as malicious as Shigaraki and was portrayed as one of the more sympathetic League members.

Compare this to the current fight between Izuku and Shigaraki, where Izuku insists on saving him even when Shigaraki has been threatening to destroy everything, with the “sympathetic” part of him being buried underneath metaphorical rubble. There are parallels between the two, but I don’t know if Horikoshi intended there to be.

It adds to the problem of how Horikoshi never properly set up Izuku’s conflict of “saving” Shigaraki. It’s been mentioned by others how the relationship between Izuku and Shigaraki wasn’t expanded enough, but another way the conflict could’ve had more impact was through the reactions of other characters.

Hawks could have talked to Izuku about his decision, possibly pushing back against Izuku trying to save him and saying it’s “necessary” to kill Shigaraki because he’s too big a threat. And if he was written better as a more strict mentor, Aizawa could have been a character that pushed back against Izuku’s insistence towards saving Shigaraki, with possible parallels to Kurogiri/Oboro, while also pointing out the irrationality of (unintentionally) prioritizing one life over the millions of Japan (compared to his inconsistent logic in canon).

Seemingly the only significant pushback Izuku gets for his decision is from the vestiges who would probably be the only ones who would understand him when he talks about Shigaraki’s inner child. Instead we’ve got Izuku still insisting on saving Shigaraki, or the child inside of him, not only risking his life but also probably the entire country of Japan if he fails, and Horikoshi is forcing him down that path by making Shigaraki so overpowered that he can’t defeat him the normal way.

To add a question onto this, what do you think could have been done in the story to better set up Izuku’s decision to save Shigaraki, or at least what could’ve been done to make sure that Izuku didn’t come off as overly misguided in his decision?

Bestie, you hit the mark with this one.

I agree with basically everything here. Having Hawks talk to and relate to Izuku's situation (seriously, why is it so hard to get positive Hawks interaction) would have been perfect. Izuku learning that you can't save people who don't want to be saved would have been a crucial lesson as it goes against everything his built himself up to be.

There's saving people, and then there's the fucking mental torture Horikoshi's putting Izuku through for no goddamn reason.

There's actually a few things I think could have been done.

The mall scene should have been extended. I like it for what it is, but it really doesn't get into the difference in their ideals or what really sets them apart from each other. The parallels were all there, Hori just couldn't design to expand on them

Izuku should have been the one kidnapped, not Bakugou. Fucking Bakugou's kidnapping was so useless to the plot. All it proved was that Shigaraki can't recognize what makes a villain. Bakugou had everything handed to him his whole life, why would he compromise his secure future? Izuku would have had every reason to be a villain, but wanted to be a hero. This could have been the arc where the two of them learn to understand one another. Izuku sees the hurt kid and Shigaraki sees the battered hero

To expand off #2, I think it should have led to them both trying to "save" one another. Shigaraki wants Izuku to give into his hurt and anger, Izuku wants to give Shigaraki a chance at reformation. And that would make their final fight so much more interesting. They both think they're doing the other a favor when in reality Izuku doesn't want to hurt others and Shigaraki doesn't want to conform to society. And that ends up with one of them finishing things off for good

This Izuku vs Shigaraki fight should have had way more buildup. But that would mean properly developing Izuku and Horikoshi would rather die🤷🏾‍♀️

#mha critical #bnha critical #izuku deserves better #shigaraki deserves better

[doodlegirl1998]

In your opinion in regards to the Sports Festival, which arc would you say had the most disappointing/ abysmal conclusion or just ?

Looking back through them, in my opinion, I personally do think the Sports Festival takes the cake imo.

It started out strongly enough. Yes, so many readers have brought to attention the flaws the whole concept of the Sports Festival, but it also was a good starting point to introduce us more of Izuku’s classmates and flesh them out.

We see a setup for Todoroki and we get to know more about him and his story, as well as setting up for a rivalry between him and Midoriya.

We get to see more of Uraraka, such as what drives her (having a sustainable job to help her parents back), and showcasing it’s great to rely on friends, but sometimes there’s battles you’ll have to learn to fight on your own.

We are introduced to interesting characters like Kendo, Testsutestsu, Monoma, and the rest of 1-B.

We also see more moments of the rest of 1-A like Ashido, Yaoyorozu, Iida, Ojiro, and of course Tokoyami, who seems to be the new, mysterious powerhouse.

We also see Midoriya on his absolute A-Game, relying on his wits alone to get through the obstacle courses! This was peak Midoriya in my opinion. Not just in him being successful in the festival, but him being human to the other competitors, particularly with Shinsou and Todoroki.

SO many characters with great potential and plot points to consider, and it got me to thinking, “Who’s actually going to win this?”

Oh, and Bakugou is just acting like an absolute dip**** throughout the arc, but who cares about that, right?

Well, apparently HORIKOSHI cared.

Bakugou had no impactful or actual significance to the story, just kept insisting“I’m gonna win! I’m gonna win!” And all of a sudden he wins the entire thing. All the while being an asshole to everyone around him. So the childish idiot gets his way instead of letting other more interesting characters to shine and Bakugou instead learns something from LOSING to someone other than Deku.

And I recall the first I got finished watching the arc, I thought, “…really? That’s how we’re finishing this? All these characters to focus or benefit from being in the spotlight or at least winning the tournament, and Hori decides to reward HIM? That’s pathetic.”

Anyway, back to my question, do you have an arc where you felt like this the most?

Hi @khonaker 👋,

The most disappointing arc to me was of course the Izuku Solo arc concluding with 1A vs Izuku and Bakugou's apology.

The solo arc seemed to be taking a tonal shift, seemed to be perfect opportunity to focus on Izuku again, seemed to be building up AFO again as an actual threat via Nagant explosion and hinting at DFO in places ("It's your turn," and "This path you have chosen is a thorny one.")

Then 1A vs Izuku, Bkg's joke of an apology and taking him back to U.A crapped all over it. I feel like I haven't gotten as excited over MHA since. Most of the recent arcs are a bunch of empty hype then a huge let down.

I'd also like to give my opinion on the Sports Festival arc specifically since you mentioned this one.

I also found it a huge let down with how it concluded by the very notes of how Shoto's quirk works he should have been able to stomp Bkg with just his ice. ❄️ But I'm getting ahead of myself.

Like you mentioned it fleshed out Izuku's classmates well. It set up a rival class in Class 1B and introduced Shinsou (personally I'd change a few things about him such as have him train prior to Aizawa's mentorship, have him actually be bullied in his backstory and narrowly miss out on entering the hero course by a couple of points.)

I'd change a few things with the one on one battles too because I feel like the Sports Festival would work better with a few shake ups.

Round One

First, Bakugou vs Shinsou and have Shinsou win. This would be Bakugou's pride getting the best of him because he would refuse advice from an 'extra' like Ojiro and pay the price for it.

I'd have Aoyama vs Midoriya. With Midoriya winning. This is to hint at the traitor reveal earlier, to build their bond earlier with their similar self harming quirks.

I'd have Mina vs Momo, just because I feel like they'd be an interesting match up. Momo is versatile and intelligent and Mina is, quite frankly an under used powerhouse and has a quirk that would counter creation. I feel like Momo should win and show off her smarts by creating something to counter Mina's acid. Plus it would build their friendship earlier.

I'd keep Kiri vs Tetsutetsu as it was in canon just because I liked that battle and their friendship that came from it. 🤣

I'd have Tokoyami vs Ibraha and have Tokoyami win.

And I'd keep Mei vs Iida as canon because I found that fight funny.

Then Sero vs Uraraka because that could also link into her growth with wanting to learn to fight hand to hand through failing to win against a more nimble Sero and a poor quirk match up. So Sero would win this.

I'd have Kaminari vs Todoroki with Todoroki winning because I feel like they would be an interesting match up. And Todoroki could similarly stomp him with his ice just like he did with Sero.

Round Two

Shinsou vs Midoriya with Midoriya winning, like how Midoriya's canon first battle went but in round 2 this time so it's more realistic that Shinsou impressed Aizawa and Midoriya being BAMF more - yes please.

Momo vs Sero with Momo winning, I feel like Momo would have to make lots and quickly against someone like Sero who is able to quickly restrain her. It would make for a good battle.

Todoroki vs Iida like canon, Iida gets far into the battle but loses against Todoroki.

Tokoyami vs Kirishima with Tokoyami winning and Kirishima being manly about it. I can see Dark Shadow and Kiri getting along and this would be a good opportunity for them to meet.

Round 3

Midoriya vs Todoroki and the famous "It's your power" moment, I'd have happen here. Along with Midoriya losing, and Todoroki winning

Momo vs Tokoyami, here I would build the foundation for Momo's confidence issues despite her intelligence. I'd have the battle be harder than canon for Tokoyami, but have her make a 'flash bomb' then falter under the pressure of the crowds watching her (maybe insecurity about the amount of skin she had to show, discomfort from the crowds leers) which enables Tokoyami to take her out of the ring. Here Tokoyami would win.

Final round.

I'd have Tokoyami vs Todoroki. Here, this would make sense to have Todoroki lose to a powerhouse like Tokoyami with his weakness being light - not cold. Here it would be realistic that Todoroki's hesitancy to use his fire - to create that light that Tokoyami is weak to - would cost him the match. Plus Tokoyami and Dark I could see being much more concerned for Todoroki than Bakugou was when he passed out.

Therefore in this version of events, Tokoyami (and Dark Shadow) accepting the gold medal with pride, Todoroki being pensive with silver and re-evaulating himself (he can't win every battle with just his mum's ice) and Momo being third (Midoriya breaking himself too much to fight her for third place.)

Let me know what you think of my thoughts and shake up in pairings :)

#mha critical #bnha critical #Anti Shinsou Hitoshi #anti bakugou katsuki #Anti Bakugou

[anti-katsuki-lounge]

One of my biggest issues with Bakugo's prominence is how it comes at the expense of the rest of 1-A.

Like, in the Dark Deku arc, the story acts like all of 1-A are friends with Izuku, when really he's only close to like 4 of them (Iida, Uraraka, Todoroki, and (sadly) Bakugo). Everyone else is an acquaintance to him at best, which makes the arc feel a bit shallow.

And before that arc, as the series went on, most of the spotlight went only Izuku, Bakugo, and (mostly) Todoroki. The last two pretty much replaced Iida and Uraraka. Iida's relevance dropped after the Kamino arc. Uraraka, the most prominent female character, fell out of the spotlight for the most part until the Dark Deku arc. These two were set up to be Izuku's closest classmates, and they were replaced halfway through the series, with one of their replacement being Izuku's bully.

But at least those two got some relevance. The rest of 1-A rarely gets more than one moment in the limelight. After that, they get forgotten.

I've heard that Horikoshi laments that he can't give the rest of 1-A as much focus and development as he'd like, but that wouldn't be such a problem if he:

1. Gave the series more school moments. It’s called "My Hero Academia" but the characters are barely seen in class. People have said it before, but having more school moments would give us more opportunities to get to know the other students, maybe by having Izuku actually interact with them.

2. Stop forcing Bakugo into everything.

I always had a soft spot for characters that don't get a lot of spotlight (Toru is one of my favorites and I like 1-B a lot), but it really is a shame that the reason these characters don't get a lot of spotlight is because the author would rather focus on a character that is super unlikable.

All of this. Now I don’t think Hori has to go super in depth about every character but him stating how he wanted to write about the other characters but couldn’t is dumb. Unless there was some sort of time crunch people enforced on him, he could’ve made time to focus more on the school aspect rather than jump straight into the action. A lot of Shonen anime get crapped on for having too much filler but MHA faces the opposite problem in not having filler at all. Filler can be used to develop the relationships between characters or take some time to be lighthearted. Not all filler is useless junk. Had we had some filler, Koji and Mezou’s moment with the mutants could’ve had far more impact than it actually did. Same does with Midnight. We could’ve gotten small moments of background characters not only from the hero courses, but from the other courses as well. More could’ve been added to Hitoshi to not make him seem like a whiny bitch. We could see the extent of what Mai could build. We could learn a bit more about characters like Tooru and Minoru so they’re not reduced to being only gags. We could’ve spent some time with Yuuga so that his reveal would’ve hurt more. Hell, we could’ve spent more time with the villains. What the hell are Mr. Compress’s motives? Who is Spinner as a character other than being a follower?

So much could’ve been done but wasn’t. And that’s not even touching the idea of reducing Katsuki’s screen time. We could’ve used all that time for better things than watching Hori gush about him. A lot of missed opportunities.

#anti katsuki bakugou #anti bakugo katsuki #anti bakugo #anti bakugou #mha critical #anti bakugou katsuki #bnha critical

[amethystoceandespiser]

disapointment with izuku and katsuki's arc

taking in count how, even though we are told we are seeing or reading izuku's story, Bakugou ends up hijacking the narrative to make himself look good in comparison to Izuku. which is infuriating since both of them have concepts on their backstory that could make the story better. their dynamic since coming to U.A. didn't change from when they were in middle school and the narrative still tries to gaslight us that their interactions are signs of "friendship" when in reality is, has, and will be stocholm syndrome, since bakugou even when we are TOLD he changed, still demeans, insults, and has a lack of respect for Izuku as a human being that i worry for what kind of fuckery horikoshi went through in terms of relationships. the only way that the arc could have a vestige of quality would be if Izuku at the very least expresed that he resents Bakuhoe for his abuse, but hori turned his own MC into an enabler for his behaviour by trying to tell us supposedly why Izuku thinks Bakugou would be a good hero.

i mean, "bakugou's determination, "charisma", and quirk control make him hero material", no Izuku, you're listing the things you envy of him, not his "heroics qualities"

bakugou's apology? it didn't move me even a little bit, the timing for it was when Izuku was at his weakest and couldn't think straight to comprehend what the hell bakugou wanted to say, and it seems to only be there so that Izuku is shocked enough to let the last remains of adrenaline he has, fade away to pass out. the apology in and on itself was straight out excuses, excuses and more excuses that we are TOLD are what Bakugou tought about izuku, even when after hundreds of chapters of the manga we got jack shit of evidence to prove these claims.

the second fight they had? pure fan service for bakugou stans telling us that "he changed". yeah, he did, but not the ACTUAL issue that he has as a character. him calling himself weak after defeating Izuku actually defeats this claim of being weak making it worth less than shit. this could have been more gut wrenching and understandable (as awfully unnecesary as it is) if he lost to Izuku, that wasn't into the fight at all, it could have shown us izuku's strength, it could've been humiliating for katsuki, but at least this claim admitence of vulnerability could have been EARNED.

his kidnapping by the league of villains? it was only used as a plot device to tell us that bakugou wants to be the best like All might, instead of making him reflect that the villains not only choosed him for his power, he was chosen for his demeanor, behaviour, and personality being more benefitial as a villain than as a hero. he never reflects that they chose him because he's an straight out horrible person.

and one of the worst travesties of the narrative. ¿the final exams? ¿that pair up Bakugou and Izuku together because of their "rivalry"? i don't know what the hell aizawa smoked, but i need some of it to relax after having to deal with his BS reasoning.

i have two mayor problems with this particular issue:

by the context we are given by the teacher (what we are told), they are tested together because their rivalry could be dangerous if its left unatended like it was currently seen (something that should be aizawa's responsability to deal with). the problem rises when we take in count their behaviours (what we are shown) in which someone could see that the agression is completely one-sided from bakugou's side. meaning that if they're tested together, the over-all weight of the failure or success of the team is solely on Bakugou, since Izuku has no problem working with anyone since he can sinergize quite well with his skill set in analisys. this test is unfair for izuku since they are putting part of the blame of bakugou's shittiness on izuku, and these exams should show what they learned or how they react in situations outside their confort zones. my point is that it doesn't showcase anything that we haven't seen izuku acomplishing before, this test only favors bakugou.

another pair that was mismatched on this exam was shoto and momo against aizawa, since shoto's problem, while technically is an overeliance on his quirk, he's been using only half the incomplete version of it for a long time, meaning that pairing him up with aizawa is logically speaking, more counterproducent than needed

the way it should have been is: izuku and momo vs aizawa; shoto and katsuki vs All might.

for the former, izuku and momo share a similar trait at this time in canon that is self doubt of their own worth and capabilities, and with aizawa as an opponent, Izuku is reminded of his past as a quirkless individual, and can try to work around with momo about their issues regarding their positons in the hero course and how they use their quirks. izuku could acomplish passing the exam without using and start to heal from the malicious programing that make him believe his past as a quirkless has no value and can work on raising momo's self-steem and make them grow closer as friends. (also i think this is the perfect place for some Izumomo interactions)

for the latter, katsuki and shoto had the same problem that is pride on their quirks, and it has the upside of getting Katsuki the hell away from izuku's story, shoto wouldn't have the same patience izuku have towards bakugou's bullshit, and the possibility of them failing the exam despite being considered the strongest of class 1-a could be one of the biggest humble pies bakugou could recieve.

izuku and bakugou's arcs could work... as long as Izuku and him are separated. if the fics of Demonic Quirks for Dummies taughth me anything is, that with people that izuku could be open about his past as a bullyng and discrimination victim, and with a large distance away from katsuki, he can start to heal and start to see that his life has value and matters for the people that love him, not for having power, but because he is someone that affects those around him, making them wanting to be better versions of themselves, and that are willing to give the favour back. and actually having Katsuki reflect that he is a horrible person, while been humiliated for his shitty behaviour, makes their growth more palatable to enjoy.

#izuku deserves better #bakugou critical

[justatalkingface]

You seem to have a really good grasp of Bakugo's character, and his character flaws in the story. Although it's more of a theory than a criticism, I was wondering if I could run something by you, a thought I had that would make Bakugo's character make a little more sense.

What if all of the inconsistency in bakugo is intentional? Like what if the truth of Bakugo's goals and arc, and his decisions was all to get one thing? One For All

Because Bakugo knows OFA can be given, he partially knew because izuku told him, then (for some reason!) All might told him everything else confirming that. Though the second bnha movie is only kind of canonical, I always found it weird how bakugo didn't remember anything about getting OFA, and judging by the dialogue had no intention of even attempting to give it back to izuku.

Bakugo seems to learn these valuable lessons and then goes back to doing the exact same thing, like you said in your post, which makes it not feel genuine. So like, what if it isn't genuine? And he was only acting like he needed to so he could get things the way he wanted them to be?

Bakugo isn't stupid, he's actually very perspective, not overly intelligent but it seems like he's always been pretty good at strategy. So at least to me it doesn't seem like it'd be that big of a stretch to think that bakugo would be smart enough to tell people what they want to hear when it matters, with the kid at the gang orca test, then to all might and midoriya.

And while it might seem his 'sacrifice' for izuku might debunk this theory, it's also true that bakugo has always been willing to sacrifice his body to win, like he himself said in the fight with izuku against all might. What if that sacrifice wasn't for izuku in the first place, but One For All?

I can't account for how all the other characters constantly cover for/praise him but the hero's side has never been good at not doing that, when it's someone that the heroes need, endeavor is proof of that. Maybe that's intentional too?

I'd really like to know what you think about this theory, if you think it's just too crazy or if it might have some merit. Thanks!

...You know, I kind of hate that I can't dismiss this instantly. Like, part of me started nodding before I even finished reading.

Let's separate 'What Hori Is Showing Us' Bakugou from 'what the hell a realistic person could be like' Bakugou for the purposes of this, because barring some truly unexpected, mind screwing levels of a turns table move, I honestly doubt that Hori is going to make the fan favorite, *gasp*, look bad, but that actually... makes a lot of sense?

...If we ignore how literally everyone else falls over themselves to praise him, like you said.

So, on the face of it, the obvious problem is that Bakugou's sin is Pride as much as Wraith, and he's canonly so damn stubborn he's willing to accept an obvious loss just so he doesn't look bad... ignoring that losing because you're too proud makes you look bad, but whatever, Bakugou logic. So not only would he be too proud to 'demean' himself to even get the Quirk, he's also too proud to even want that outside assistance of someone else's Quirk, because, Ra Ra, Bakugou is the best, he'll do everything himself, what the fuck ever.

The thing is, with that very incident, and with others, Bakugou did learn things, he did get it forced through his thick skull that he's not the top dog (granted, he now thinks he's second, and deep down part of him might even admit he's third or fourth, depending on the status of AFO and/or Shigaraki, but, again, Bakugou Logic(TM)). Moreover, it's been pounded into his head that Deku, the helpless, worthless nerd who could never be his equal, never even hope to reach the bottom of his shoes, has gone zero to hero just with the power of this Quirk, and through that alone he's close to equalling him, if not surpassing him, something he'd only admit in the darkest corner of his heart (again, we're ignoring: all the work Izuku has done on and off screen to improve himself, his actual fucking name, and that later on Izuku's power levels just... go fucking nuts, because this is from Bakugou's limited, prejudiced perspective, and this would have to happened before the power ups started, back when Izuku with a Quirk for less than a year was just rivaling Bakugou, who had his most his life).

Beyond that, there's also the fact that he's been an enormous All Might fanboy right until he started talking to him about OFA (and presumably learning he's a Mere Mortal, not worth Bakugou's precious time/respect, and also I'm still convinced Hori hates All Might's guts and so loves to make him seem pathetic at every possible opportunity), and as one fic put it, getting All Might's Quirk, even more than its absurd raw power, is in fact the ultimate piece of All Might merch. Even if it wasn't something he could tell the public (and we all know he'd tell the public at some point), the sheer status of having One For All, All Might's Quirk, has to be heady for someone in MHA's society, where All Might is the closest thing to a living god.

So, even in the face of his overwhelming pride, this, for the power and/or the prestige of it, is something I could see him lower himself to act humbled for, for a time. And that's the only major objection, from a character perspective, I could see to this kind of theory.

In the actual execution of it there are, of course, problems, as you've pointed out, but let's put that aside for the moment to think about how it'd go:

Bakugou, at this point in time, would have been getting more and more uneasy that a stupid 'Deku' is actually being real competition, and fast growing one at that. He also probably noticed that All Might was spending extra time with Izuku, which would piss him off... and then Kamino happened.

In the midst of all that emotional turmoil he realizes that Izuku was chosen over him, and, through that, the implication that that Quirk can be given. And it bugs him, that someone this unworthy can have something so great, so beyond him, when there are others more deserving.

And maybe that's not the exact time he comes up with this plan, but the seed of it is born from his discontent and that knowledge, and at some point between then and the exam, the first major time since then he has a big heroic moment, or even as he takes the make up, he comes up with an idea, as audacious as it is 'brilliant': what if he makes Izuku give him the Quirk?

Because Bakugou is smart (high Int, anyways, even if Wis is clearly his dump stat), and he's got to be aware that Izuku is only a few steps above suicidal, between his non-existent self worth and how he treats his body. As is, one day he'll get himself killed, or crippled to a point where heroic work is no longer feasible. And if that happens?

One For All would have to go to someone else, or else it would die with him, and Izuku would never let that happen, never let that heroic legacy die with him, let down his beloved mentor, as long as there was another option. And who better than his childhood friend?

Of course, even if he's truly refusing to admit fault, he's aware that All Might chose Izuku over him (indirectly, since All Might barely knew he existed before UA, and there's no reason for him to be considered as a candidate, but Bakugou Logic(TM)), for some reason. He also knows that driving Izuku away means he's less likely to be there when Izuku inevitably falls in battle, and that probably he's going to have be around Izuku more, and that he'll probably be a better candidate, when that time comes, if he behaves like Izuku, the kid who got All Might's Quirk.... for some reason.

Because, yeah, even if, intellectually, he gets that Izuku has traits All Might sees as desirable, as heroic, if he actually got it, understood it on a deeper, more emotional level that this is what it means to be a hero, he'd change his behavior in real ways, not performative ones. This theory revolves around, among other things, Bakugou understanding heroism at a similar level to AFO, who can predict it, generally, understands that 'this is what a hero would do in that situation', but doesn't understand why they would do that, and instead thinks they're all morons who refuse to work for their own best interests.

It says a lot that I don't think it's a big reach that Bakugou's moral understanding of heroism isn't that far from AFO's.

And so he starts to act.... and that's the point where the plan falls apart.

Because Bakugou maybe be smart (or 'smart'), but for all his many, many flaws, he's generally brutally honest about what he's feeling, and so I don't think he'd be good at deception. Sure, he gets the dramatic moments where he's like, 'Yeah, I'm being so heroic saving Deku!' or something, but he can't contain his constant, festering disdain for everyone around him, Izuku especially.

And that leads to the flaws of this theory: first, like you're aware of, that people should notice this, how he's acting, his utterly transparent contempt, even though they never, ever do, and thus ruin everything for him. The second is I honestly don't think he's patient enough to not blow it, to not just angrily shout, 'Damn it, Deku, give me All Might's Quirk already!' at some point when he inevitably loses his shit over someone breathing in his general vicinity or something.

So, do I think this is going to be canon? Never. Like I said, this would make Bakugou look absolutely awful, and we all know Hori will never allow that.

At the same time, though, I think this theory (which I'm calling 'One For Bakugou' in my mind, because it sounds entirely selfish and thus fits this perfectly) is the best, and only, explanation I've ever heard (beyond being tsundere), to explain how he acts in the later half of the story.

#ask #bnha critical #mha critical #bakugou critical #crack theory time #i guess #i kinda hate that this makes sense #i'm dubbing this the 'one for bakugou' theory for the record #because this wasn't named and it fits too well #and it amuses me #one for bakugou

[class1akids]

as a katsuki stan who puts him first over ships i feel so seen by your takes even if you think they're negative. it's been a string of losses for us and the specifics of whatever vestige bs happens going forth will really make or break the series for me. (try as i might i care very little about most other characters) i don't know how people can theorize about him getting stuck in the vestige world forever or dying with his ultimate feat being boosting up deku a little while deku gets to be the greatest hero and not think it's a tragic fate for a seventeen year old with dreams that big. katsuki and izuku have had the same dream since the start of the series but since the sludge villain we've been seeing the (story) underdog role reversing until katsuki doesn't just end almost every arc on an emotional down, but until he loses physically now too apparently. time and time again he's just not given the same opportunities to keep fighting as deku, his plus ultra moments are for naught (would it have hurt to show shigaraki at least a little banged up from his moves?) and suddenly he's looking at deku for inspiration to win as if he hasn't always been the symbol of victory? even the rest of his arc with learning teamwork might be undermined by the possible vestige plan he didn't share with the class (also if they planned this it means deku agreed to let bakugou sacrifice himself which is not deku like AT ALL) and has already been undermined by no one being allowed to lift meaningful finger while he's brutalized. i dunno I'm just... i don't know how hk can pull off a meaningful conclusion that's good for HIS characters arc and not just him in relation to deku. the thought of him being the only classmate who dies while the rest of them get to grow old and be happy occasionally remembering to thank him cuz he gave deku his quirk that one time is just sickening

I'm trying to keep away from the doom and gloom, personally, but I don't think there are great ways to go from here. Options (now regardless of the specifics):

Option 1: Bakugou gives Deku rage-up and challenge of his beliefs about saving Tenko, does something in the Vestige world and is "revived" to fight in the real world relatively soon -> fandom will call it a cheap fakeout (and they wouldn't be wrong)

Option 2: Bakugou stays in the Vestige realm for the rest of the endgame. It means he's encroaching on Deku's distinct arc, Bakugou cannot interact meaningfully for the rest of the story with anyone else and Bakugou's own power will be meaningless to the endgame - only Deku can use it maybe -> shits on Bakugou's arc, fridges him for Deku's sake while his own contribution will be just ghostly assists.

Option 3: This was it. We said good-bye to Bakugou. Deku will be mad. Class A will be sad. Dudebros will be glad. -> One of the better MHA characters is thrown away in a frankly pathetic manner to prop up inferior characters.

I personally prefer it to be a fakeout, though I could see Hori going for option 2 and reviving Bakugou only at the very end - which I would hate a lot. Option 3 is clearly the worst (and least likely).

#c1a asks

[fluffykitteninabox]

Sorry If I'm rude.

¿Why do you think the narrative treats endeavor as a good person deep down?

In my opinion If that were true then I don't think hori would made Endeavor go to AFO instead of going with Shouto and Touya,drawing Endeavor as a demonic shadow that destroyed his family and also looks like some sort of demon that's not even human in Dabi's backstory and have both Shouto and AFO saying how Endeavor is fleeing from his responsability.

Hi anon 🌻🌻🌻

Don't worry, you're not being rude at all 😊

Thank you for the ask, have some sparkles ✨✨✨

I half agree with you in a way. I actually think Endeavor's characterisation is really contradictory throughout the manga.

A "complete monster" half the time and "just a flawed human" the other half. I think that's why the fandom is so divided about him. You either love him or hate him, there's no in between.

Warning: me rambling again sorry, possible spelling mistakes, me dunking on Hawks a little bit, excessive use of italics

As you said there's the parts where he's literally drawn to look like a demon which are mostly from Shouto and Touya's perspectives of their backstories.

But there's also parts like

The hospital scene where we see him crying

Him leaving food at Touya's shrine

Even comedic scenes like him constantly texting Shouto who's ignoring him

These are all scenes where we see him in a neutral/positive light.

In those scenes he's more the dad who's trying to reconnect with his children because he was absent during their childhood.

And If it were just that then I would love to see his redemption arc. But being an absent father is the least bad thing he did in this case.

When he's crying and saying he feels bad about what he did it feels hypocritical to me, but my understanding is that the scene is still trying to make us sympathise with him.

To me this reads as "the public is wrong to put that responsibility on Endeavor"

As if it isn't actually his responsibility to make the public feel safe not just as the current number one, but as a hero in general. Something which he failed to do.

The fact that people have lost faith in the hero system is first and foremost society's fault, but it only happened because Endeavor was exposed as the worst of what said hero system had to offer.

He represents the exact opposite of what a number one hero should be, so the public has every right to criticise him. He doesn't deserve his position and in my opinion he should have lost it right after the first war.

But instead we get this random doctor saying he's rooting for him. This line has no purpose. It's not there to show us there's still people willing to support Endeavor, because we're going to see that with actually relevant characters just a couple of chapters later.

Sure we get Natsuo and Rei basically telling him to stop whining because he's not the victim here but that doesn't change the fact that the scene of him crying is there to at the very least get us to pity him.

We get three panels of him apologising and wiping his tears. Plus a close up of him looking even more sad and pathetic and talking about how his heart can't handle the guilt he's feeling, while 4 of his victims are standing in the room listening to him.

Then Best abuse apologist Jeanist and Hawks Keigo victim blamer Takami walk in and declare they're going to provide their full support to Endeavor.

Because obviously that's the person who needs support the most right now am I right?!

The public giving him a chance to prove himself and Hawks immediately assuming that Enji must be different now and deciding to help him don't make sense to me. Because Enji only started changing a few months before this. He was still the "irredeemable monster" right up until Kamino basically. The public and Hawks don't know that either. Why couldn't Hawks just as easily assume the exact opposite? Why does the public give him the benefit of the doubt after what they just learned? Because he gave a speech in a fancy suit and bowed once?? We see one person criticising him heavily during the speech/broadcast but they are focusing on the wrong thing in my opinion.

The public is portrayed as asking Endeavor and the heroes in general to ignore the accusations and even lie and pretend said accusations aren't true, and focus on defeating the villains. That's not holding the heroes accountable for their actions, that's ignoring half of the problem.

So even if we see people being disappointed with Endeavor, it mostly has to do with his performance as a hero, and not the fact that he shouldn't be a hero in the first place. He gets criticised for the wrong reasons. So I don't count that as him getting a taste of karma. Dabi's dance had the potential to bring said karma, but in my opinion it didn't. Basically me being disappointed about how the story went.

And while yes, characters like AFO are calling him out on his hypocrisy (hate that I have to agree with that bastard!) but the way I see it, the narrative is still coddling him.

He is currently supposedly finally facing Touya, but Touya had to go there himself and force him to do that. But it's still framed as a good character development moment for him, even though he didn't actively make any decision.

Endeavor is a reaction type character when instead he should be an active character.

For his redemption to feel earned he needs to actively do things to make that happen. But instead he actually avoids making decisions until he's forced to. He says he wants to change but it looks more like he's waiting for the change to happen automatically somehow. His "redemption arc" starts with him trying to basically insert himself back into the family dynamic as if nothing ever happened and he hasn't been abusing and neglecting them for the past... more than a decade, until Natsuo calls him out on it. All of his development happens internally, we see his thought process in detail. The first active thing he does is making a new house for his family to live separately from him. Which is... fine, but throwing money at his problems isn't really a good solution

And he's currently only half being held accountable. Again he didn't lose his job over this somehow. The narrative focuses on how he's going to make it up to his family which he's not doing a good job at anyway, and there's no talk about how he really shouldn't have a position of power like the number one hero spot.

I'm not saying we shouldn't focus on his relationship with his family. Obviously the whole point of his character is that he focuses too little on his family and too much on heroics. But him still having his position as a hero after all of what happened seems wrong to me. There's two ways to fix this

He gets fired after the first war. The public demanding that a person like Endeavor shouldn't have a job as a hero makes more sense than them demanding he doubles down and focuses on being a hero. This decision is like chaining his character arc and dragging him backwards.

Or he quits being a hero at the end of the manga to focus on his family, which is what I'm hoping will happen. If he stays a hero at the end of the story I will consider this officially the most botched character arc I have ever witnessed ever! And that's saying something because Hawks exist!

The second option would make him a more active character like I said he should be, but at the end of the story that doesn't really matter.

I hope I explained it well

Basically I just think it's inconsistent writing and Horikoshi deciding midway through the story that he wants to redeem him, because with his early characterisation it's obvious that this wasn't planned.

#thank you again for the ask #have some sparkles ✨✨✨ #anti endeavor #tagging this just in case #the hawks slander is with affection #the bastard jeanist slander not so much #cute question mark anon

[autumn-foxfire]

I don't know what it is about the "Dabi could've been a Nomu" plot that ticks me off so much. Is it because I expected his backstory to take place fully within the Todoroki House without Ujiko butting in? Could be, because the second half was my OC's backstory I wrote a good four years before Dabi got it! Maybe part of it is how crazy it is that Dabi knows all this yet he still hangs around Ujiko, around the League knowing all their issues. About what AFO is to Shigaraki. It's like joining a group and knowing all their dirty little dark secrets and being 😐 about it all. All his secret agendas and knowing he's different from the rest of them yet mingling around with them and showing? Some kind of solidarity with the League at times, while also being cold to them is driving me up a wall. It's not like I demand he show a reaction to this or anything, like "oh that's wild, this isn't okay, you guys good?" in fact I love that the reaction he does have is (*Shigaraki having a therapy session in Ujiko's basement*) (Dabi's face: 😒 :/ can I go home now?) I mean, who knows. Maybe he's thinking something inside, I make faces like that too, but he just reminds me of those isekai reader-insert fics where the OC had read everything about the manga and is casually interacting with the big names like it's all chill and they're a super genius and everyone has no idea~ about them~ Something about that is frustrating to me. It's one thing if it's a fic, totally other for it to be a canon character, especially when that character is Dabi who we did not see this coming for. I wouldn't have cared had he not known and recognized Ujiko, but it's the self-awareness that ticks me off. You're a fictional character, not a puppet master.

You know what. This whole thing would've gone over way better if Hori had just given HINTS that Dabi knew more than he let on instead of dumping it IN THE FINAL FREAKING ARC. It would've gone even smoother if we knew more about Ujiko and AFO's involvement with orphanages and their whole manipulating children and pre and post Shigaraki replacements and Nomu scheme instead of whatever we got in Vigilantes and a single line in the databook! Me? Complaining about puppet master tendencies in characters as a Hawks stan? Who show their true colors later? Well we at least knew about it from the start. It's not that I dislike the character type, Dabi needed better set-up, he was sidelined the ENTIRE MANGA until the Touya reveal. I adore him as a villain, but my god do some of Hori's choices really- Welp...I didn't come here for it to end up a rant, oops. I just saw a twitter clip where Dabi talks about Machia's quirks being "energy boost when excited or agitated" and "can't feel pain." All so he can keep fighting on the battlefield and I think. Yo, that's Dabi......and all this suddenly spilled out. It's not like Ujiko subtly made them possible in him too, no? But that's the kind of thing they'd call being born a twisted seed, the thing that would've made Dabi a good Nomu because it's part of his personality, the tenacity that would mix well with AFO's boost quirks and his pain receptors burnt by his quirk, a useful circumstance. I am once again asking how he can stomach this, Touya WHAT HAPPENED. When Endeavor said to make friends, this is not what he meant. How did your personality change so drastically.

He's been wandering around on his own for so long, eventually learning to make use of everything around him, he too is a villain, one of them, he fits right in appearance-wise, his quirk is strong, it doesn't matter in which circles he hangs around, even if it's AFO's cave as Spinner lets himself be turned into a Nomu, everything will come to an end eventually...okay, I can understand that. Dabi may not have had his own "loyalty to Shigaraki" awakening during My Villain Academia, but somewhere along the line his "I need to kill Shouto and Endeavor, this is for myself" turned into, "I need to tarnish hero society along with them" and then to "I sympathize with the rest of these guys who are also hurting and want their big revenge, let's do it together, this is our war. It's not just "me" that resulted from this society, but "us" over many decades of the rot and oppression building up." And I just want to know when and why. That's what would make this so much easier to accept rather than it just being.

The only thing about Dabi that Hori ever gives us is him talking, and talking, and talking. Which is full of lies and contradiction and general villain philosophy in between his honest opinions. Not exactly easy to sort out. Just once, I would really like some inner monologue from him, a solid self-reflection chapter. Every character has gotten one, EXCEPT HIM. And his backstory? Never once given to us by him. His life as a child and his death was narrated by Enji and Rei. His survival and "self" as Dabi was shown through Ujiko's eyes. We get pieces of Touya's personal feelings, but nothing on the journey of the present Dabi as a person. Maybe because there was nothing much in-between with his single minded focus on watching Endeavor videos and training for eight years straight, but. Surely something since the start of canon until now? Everyone else had character development, was he just a character lying in wait?

At this point, I would call the Touya reveal out-dated. Something in him has changed, and knowing what we learned there is not enough to understand his feelings about everything else. And I don't think we're going to find out until Endeavor finally connects with his son, until Touya is saved, and has that moment of clarity and peace to reflect back on all his actions as Dabi and what he really thinks about all this now that it's not buried under several layers of the Dabi persona he twisted himself into until it genuinely became him because he saw no other ending for himself.

Then, maybe. I can finally understand how to write his character as a good balance between what traits of the old Touya he kept, what he suppressed, what he lies to himself about, what empathy he has or what he ignores for the sake of being who Dabi is. Hoping his resolution doesn't come out from nowhere either, and I hope it's once again rooted in his feelings towards his family. It's too troublesome to mix it with the League, and PLF, and angry civilians.

Honestly I think you summed up Dabi's writing in one line perfectly: it wasn't set up correctly.

Hori tried to drop bomb after bomb about him during the final arcs and it's all just fallen flat beyond his reveal of him being Touya as there was nothing there previously for him.

He kept him too mysterious and now that he's trying to sell us his backstory with AFO and Ujiko, we're calling bullshit because it feels extremely shoehorned in. He's also been trying to make him come across as somewhat sympathetic towards the LoVs but his previous actions contradict this behaviour and just leaves the audience even more confused about him.

Dabi is just there for me at this point, he's a plot device for Hori to use to try and insult Endeavor and hero society but it fails time and time again. I'm honestly not looking forward to Dabi's ending because I very much doubt we'll feel like he deserved it, whatever it may end up being.

#bnha manga spoilers #bnha dabi #thanks for the ask!! #dabi went from one of my favourite villains to him being someone I really don't enjoy because of how hori handled him #I hate it

[darkcircles4lyfe]

Rivals and Heroines: a lesson in expectation

I’ve thought for some time that Horikoshi is most likely knowingly taking advantage of the fact that most people see BNHA as predictably shounen, in more ways than one. Stories can receive a lot of recognition and acclaim for dismantling tropes outright, but what about a story that pretends to play along? Previously I've had a hard time presenting evidence for Horikoshi possibly having hidden motives, but now, after ch 348, I think I have a slam dunk. What used to be little more than my musing about what kind of writing I would love to see has become a subtext so obvious it’s basically just- textual. 

Now I can finally lay out how we expected these past few chapters were going to go, vs how they turned out: 

Toga + Uraraka + Izuku in a fight together looked at the very least like it would = Izuku finding out about Uraraka’s crush. Even I thought this. I called it “inevitable.” And whether folks wanted it to happen or not, that looked an awful lot like a setup for canonizing them as a couple. It would be pretty cliché and ill-timed, but what do you expect? Of course a shounen would do that. My optimistic prediction was that it would be an opportunity for Uraraka to dismiss the whole thing once and for all, but I knew what was far more likely: Toga acting as a catalyst for Izuku and Uraraka discovering they have feelings for each other, because Toga likes both of them too and of course she’s gonna gush about that and make them flustered. 

But let’s talk about that word, “likely.” Based on what? Not Horikoshi’s own pattern of writing, but of those around him. It’s “likely” because shounen media is always heteronormative, usually reducing female characters to their romantic potential, and generally prone to neglecting the overall narrative complexity of a romance subplot. He’s a boy. She’s a girl. Can Hori make it any more obvious? But if you consider Horikoshi as one individual storyteller, it all falls apart. Suddenly there is no basis for assuming anything. (I have talked about this aspect already so I’m just gonna link to that.) 

Now let’s talk about what actually happened. BECAUSE NONE OF THAT^ ACTUALLY WENT DOWN. Bless her, it was Tsuyu who really came through and personified how brutally our expectations were defied. She arrives at the last second just as Toga is about to reveal Uraraka’s crush, which obviously cannot be a coincidence. She’s all like nope! Now is not the time! Izuku doesn’t belong in this fight, and Uraraka can handle it herself. While technically this could just constitute a tease, like, “whoops! guess you’ll have to wait for the big reveal until later!” The dismissiveness of it reads a lot more final. This is self-awareness on Horikoshi’s part, showing us he’s conscious of the cliché. Through Tsuyu, he is telling us that it all ends here. No more coy blushy flirty immature shallow nonsense. No more stringing you along. No more red herring. Because it’s time to show you what’s really going on. This is the chapter that reframes everything. 

There’s a whole cyclone of ideas circulating in this chapter and all the other moments it harkens back to, spinning around each of these characters, who are learning from each other. These are the real reasons all of them had to collide in this moment together. They are as follows-

1. A lesson for Uraraka: villains are people worth saving

This idea was first mentioned by Toga, technically, as she wonders in the wake of Hawks killing Twice, whether any of the heroes think of villains as people. Izuku also independently arrives at the idea of saving Shigaraki. Uraraka has a less concrete inkling toward that conclusion, and it is ultimately Izuku’s perspective that gets her to realize she wants to save Toga, and that it’s a valid goal. 

2. A lesson for Toga: love is kind

A seed of this idea was most likely planted by Twice, because he cared for her and showed her kindness, and his death broke something in her. But the world has rejected her, so she rejects the world. Her parents never showed her love, so she had to define it for herself based on the desires of her quirk. If Uraraka can find out about how Toga is mourning Twice, she can use that knowledge as a tool for uncovering Toga’s desire to not only become like her loved ones, but to value their wellbeing. Toga also deep down wants someone to value her wellbeing, and to accept her. This could play out a number of ways, and tbh my prediction confidence on this front is not strong so I won’t dwell on it, but I did notice one thing: In the midst of Toga confessing to Izuku and asking him her question, Uraraka is panned over to two times: 

ya know, in a Realizing Things kinda way. The first is ambiguous, but in the second, she’s having a flashback to when Toga asked her that same question, noticing that when she and Toga had their confrontation during the first war, Toga approached her in the exact same way. It may seem obvious to us, but perhaps Uraraka here is realizing for the very first time that Toga had romantic feelings for her.

3. A lesson for Izuku: the depths of admiration

Up to this point, Toga’s idea of love has only been explained to Uraraka, because Toga says the two girls are alike in that their love for Izuku manifests in wanting to be like him. Now, Izuku is prompted to look inward and see if he can relate to admiring someone the way Toga does. In the moment, the first person he can think of whom he admires is All Might, but Toga wasn’t talking about that kind of admiration, she was talking about romance. Izuku is currently incapable of conceptualizing the depth of admiration beyond his fanboy comfort zone. 

Let’s get into the details of 348 here. Izuku says he “can’t imagine wanting to share the same heart and mind as (All Might).” What a romantic phrase, “share the same heart and mind.” He knows what Toga is talking about, but not who he would apply it to. He admires All Might, but not like that. This shortsightedness is also highlighted at the beginning of the chapter, where a narrator calls Izuku out for being, despite his heroic accomplishments, essentially still (as I heard JP twitter calling him) a virgin otaku (lol). He’s oblivious, awkward, inexperienced, and possibly in denial. The whole narration sounds affectionately chastising, wistful and almost nostalgic looking back from some hindsight. 

Now... the question on everyone’s mind: if this is a gag meant to point to how Izuku is oblivious of and/or awkward about Uraraka’s feelings (assuming that all of this was supposed to lead to them being a couple, as was our expectation), then why, oh why, was the phrase “kuso nado” (translated in officials as “damned nerd”), used by the narrator? That’s Katsuki’s phrase, obviously. So Katsuki is the one calling him oblivious to someone’s romantic feelings, almost as if this is something Katsuki already knows about him, from previous experience, and it is relevant to their own relationship? This is what I was talking about with speculation turning into blatant subtext. There really is no other explanation for this. It’s just. Right there.

So anyway, the whole All Might comment reiterates how Izuku is really out of touch with romantic feelings. Uraraka could relate to wanting to “share the same heart and mind” with someone, but Izuku says he can’t. And yet, that is not exactly the crux of the irony, or else Uraraka would have been the narrator at the start of the chapter, maybe referencing how she originally called him plain, not “damned nerd.” I swear, this is so cut and dry. Actually, when you think about it, Izuku’s obliviousness has never been a source of dramatic irony for Uraraka’s crush in the first place, like, ever. It’s never, “ooooo if only he knew~” it’s just, “ooooo you like him~” and that’s it. On the contrary, Izuku never knowing about her feelings can hardly be his fault considering Uraraka intentionally shoved down and ignored them.

(edit: turns out the “same heart and mind” line is a mistranslation ! luckily it doesn't really affect much)

 On the flips side, obliviousness and misunderstanding have always always ALWAYS been a part of Izuku and Katsuki’s relationship. Oh boy, let me count the ways. From when they were little kids and Izuku tried to help Katsuki up out of the river and Katsuki mistook it for being looked down on, to the bullying, to Izuku having to tell Katsuki about getting his quirk from someone else, to Izuku having no idea how All Might’s forced retirement was weighing on Katsuki, to Izuku being embarrassed to admit he saw Katsuki as his image of victory (*ahem* a level of admiration more personal than what he had for All Might!), to Izuku hiding the fact that emotions related to Katsuki triggered Black Whip, to Katsuki being unsettled by Izuku’s self-sacrifice, to Katsuki sacrificing himself, to Izuku running off to fight alone again anyway, to Izuku being shocked by Katsuki’s apology.... every. step. of. the. way. 

I feel like a broken record but seriously everything is all so obvious now. There is nothing tongue-in-cheek-shipping-brainrot about this. This isn’t rivals being accidentally homoerotic, or a female character being neglected by a misogynistic male author. I practically have no choice but to assume that Horikoshi has been planning a complete 180 fake-out and Izuku and Katsuki are about to be canon instead, or at least left open. I truly do believe now that this whole time, narratively speaking, Uraraka has been masquerading as the heroine/love interest, while Izuku and Katsuki have been playing rivals, all in service of Horikoshi leading us to expect this manga to turn out like any other shounen. But now he’s finally starting to show his hand. It’s like a trope-defying plot twist. I know a lot more of y’all can feel it now too. I bet even the homophobes are about to jump out in a big way, from the sudden insecurity. It’s. I’m. I dunno what to say, man. This is really wild and I can’t believe we’re here.

Folks, the end is nigh. I can’t wait.

...And that’s all the hyper-analyzing of quotes I got in me today, yep. No more. That’s definitely it. 

(major spoilers for Blue Flag/Ao no Flag under the cut)

pshh, crepes.

That’s not even a romantic trope, as far as I know. 

How do you even share a crepe, anyway? Like, you take a bite, and then they--

wait

b-but no, it’s not like there’s a shounen manga out there that made everyone think it was just a het romance with tragic one-sided gay pining form the main character’s childhood best friend--

but then it turns out the main character just needed to figure himself out as he grew up--

and then him and said childhood best friend end up MARRIED?? hah.. haha, what?

#not necessarily saying it’s hori is referencing blue flag but I’m not Not saying that #for once I don’t have much to say in the tags #here ya go #shrugs #long post #lin speaks #bnha 348 #bnha 349 #maybe #bakudeku #bkdk #dekubaku #dkbk #decchan #togachaco #bnha meta #mha

[pocketramblr]

Au where Fuyumi is a hero teacher at UA

Oh this works perfectly because,

1- I already hc that Fuyumi helped Shoto train his ice. I mean, you think Fireface taught him how to make guess glaciers inside that traditional little dojo? Nah. Fuyumi at least instructed him even if she didn't physically do it herself, and as I hc she has an ice quirk in a fire body, she also gave him tips on how to last longer making ice without balancing it with his fire, but because she wanted him to keep rebelling but because she knew she couldn't stop him and wanted him to at least get as hurt as little as possible. She doesn't want another dead brother. Here, Enji actually notices her help when she's like 16ish and realizes she's good at it, does some quick math, and realizes if she becomes a teacher and he gets her a hero liscence through his agency, she could get her first year as a hero teacher the same year that Shoto started high school. Perfect timing! He has never thought about how Rei timed things.

2- actually let's do a callback to the original plot detail that Hori was going to have Endeavor as a teacher at UA too- here Enji planned on getting a job when Shoto joined in order to keep focusing on him, but now that he has Fuyumi, Enji can keep focusing on his agency and case numbers to beat All Might.

3- Fuyumi didn't go through training as rigorous as Shoto's, but it was still intense because it's got to be good enough to get her a job at UA. Shoto is unhappy that another sibling got dragged into his misery, but feels guilty that he likes having some company and more closeness with a sibling for once. Natsuo is just furious and Fuyumi just tries to beg him to be quiet about his protesting, she wanted to be a teacher anyway, it's fine. Please, make dinner for her tonight, she's tired after training, but it's fine. Don't tell dad. She's fine. Go on, leave to your own university and dream, one of us should have full control of what we do, leave the home to her, it'll all be fine.

4- Nedzu hires Fuyumi as a freshman heroics teacher, to cover first aid and very basic combat. When Toshi informed Nedzu that his successor was actually going to be a freshman, not picking a senior, he asked to be moved to freshman heroics. Nedzu called Fuyumi and told her that she and All Might would alternate, sharing the freshman and the seniors. Fuyumi frantically goes through lesson plans to double what she had. It's a stressful month for her and Shoto is seriously considering using his fire because she keeps accidentally making the house super super cold.

5- Fuyumi's hiring at UA wasn't publicized bc attention was supposed to be on Shoto- and yes Enji was mad that All Might "stole" his idea- but became way more publicized at USJ, when she got called in to the USJ (even though it was supposed to be her planning period) to cover for All Might (even though she told him to rest more and not use his time after school!) and then villains attacked (and were, for the most part, completely encased in ice. Kurogiri isn't a very useful warper when the floating corpse and the metal collar on him is stuck blinded in an iceberg.)

+1- Fuyumi and All Might make a funny pair of teachers because one actually trained to be a teacher but has never actually been on hero patrol before, while the other has a lot of experience but doesn't know what a rubric is. Fuyumi tends to take lead on planning their lessons at first, and then Toshi offers input and asks questions and they tweak them together. As time goes on both learn a lot.

+2- Shoto asks Fuyumi if she noticed anything about All Might, and she hasn't even told her father about his skinny form and gets nervous because that's supposed to be a secret. Shoto takes her hesitation as proof- "I knew it! Midoriya is his secret lovechild!" To which Fuyumi sighs in relief and goes "oh yeah, that's all you were talking about? Yeah he keeps inviting Mido to the teachers longue for lunch and makes him personalized bentos for his training diet, he's totally his dad." But Shoto realizes Fuyumi must know another All Might secret and is not determined to find it. (He doesn't. But there are a lot of close saves because he sometimes eats lunch with Fuyumi too, though she encourages him to try and socialize and make more friends at school.)

#me 🤝 fuyumi (getting hired for a different job than what they applied/qualified for with older students than expected by the same school) #me 🤝 fuyumi (having to cover other people's classes on our off time on short notice) #me 🤝 fuyumi (not actually being sure if I'm making the lesson plans correctly but people with somehow less experience keep asking us how) #you can see i am really loving this idea shfjhgj oops #pocket talks to people #ask game #anon #long answer #hero teacher fuyumi au

[problemswithbooks]

Something I've noticed is that when people say "this character I hate has wasted potential" or "we were robbed", it generally means "Man, I wish this character had been written to be as nasty as I wanted them to be so I could hate on them more without being told I was wrong."

Take Hawks from My Hero. Most of the time when I see people lamenting his potential or saying he used to be so deep but now he's boring, they generally wanted one of two things. Either they felt he should have become disillusioned with Heroes and joined the LoV or be harshly punished by the narrative for killing Twice and had a huge break down that made him decide the villains were just poor misunderstood souls who needed hugs.

I've noticed the same thing with Alicent from HoTD. People who already hate her say that the writers could have given her more agency and depth if they'd just made her Cersei 2.0. She should have been a cunning villain that hated Rhaenyra from her introduction and spent the entire season finding ways to try and abuse her.

But generally, despite admitting that the characters don't live up to these expectations, they still criticize them for these flaws they think the authors should have given them. Alicent is still a horrible misogynist that spent years abusing Rhaenyra, who only wants her son on the throne because he has a dick. Hawks is still a cold blooded killer who is being punished by the narrative by some new thing every few chapters (loosing his wings, the first raid failing, Twice being cloned by Toga).

It really can't be both. It can't be that the authors failed to, or didn't portray these characters these ways, but also criticizing the characters for being these exact things. They either are or aren't. Or in the very least the author had to be trying to portray them that way and failed.

I understand being frustrated because a character didn't get written well. I certainly have issues with how Hori has written the LoV, but I don't say "Hori should have had them do X" but also "God it was awful when they did X". In fact most of my critisuims of the LoV is that they don't live up to how their fans view them. Dabi should have had more scenes where he cared about his family, Toga should have gotten a more in depth backstory where it showed just how awful people treated her due to her Quirk, Shigaraki should have a better goal then 'destroy everything I don't like'. I've never once said Hori made the LoV to sympathetic. The only thing I've criticized was his writing depending on sad backstories to much to make the audience feel bad for the LoV.

Are there missed opportunities with these characters? Sure.

It's clear that both Alicent and Hawks suffer from wishy-washy writing. Hori clearly wanted Hawks to be a more grey character but doesn't have a very good grasp on how to pull it off, so instead Hawks flip flops from heavily negative framing to highly positive. The HoTD writers wanted Alicent to be more sympathetic and have more than greed and misogyny driving her actions, but at the same time needed her to still be unlikable enough that neither side would look like the clear good guy/victim of the other. So, one episode she's being terrible to Rhaenyra and telling Aegon he'll be the next King, while the next she's shocked her father is planing to put Aegon on the throne.

Making Alicent a pure evil character whose only out for herself and power for her family or Hawks into a cold assassin who learns how evil the system is from the villains wouldn't necessarily make than better characters or the story better over all. It just would have made them more consistent. But so would having Alicent be entirely driven to put her son on the throne because she was sure her children would be killed otherwise or having conflicted feelings for Rhaenyra and Hawks sticking with the Heroes because despite how bad the HPSC was to him he still wants to save people as a Hero.

#bnha #bnha critical #HoTD #hotd critical #alicent hightower #Hawks #personal rant

[makeste]

I like Bakuguo but his attitude is starting to really piss me off. He's talking about Daku as if he's just ~crazy~ and as if he isn't partly to blame for Deku's toxic self-worth issues. It's infuriating to watch. If Bakuguo doesn’t admit out loud and in front of his friends that his bullying of Deku played a part in Deku's current destructive state and if he doesn’t verbally apologize and reaffirm Deku's worth then I can no longer like Bakuguo's character or Hori's writing.

tbh I don't really know why this is the discourse of choice for people all of a sudden, but this is already the second ask I've gotten about it, so I might as well address it lol.

I think fandom is conflating fanon!Deku and canon!Deku here again. fanon Deku is of course much more sensitive and woobified and has much shakier self-esteem. fanon Deku is the one that turns evil in so many AUs because of Kacchan's bullying. fanon Deku is the one that actually jumps off the roof in so many fics, as opposed to fishing his notebook back out of the pond a few minutes later grumbling about how Kacchan needs to think before he speaks or else he could land himself in serious shit one day if god forbid anyone actually does take his cruel words to heart.

and just to clarify before I get any further, I am not saying this to excuse Kacchan's actions in any way, because what he did was still completely terrible and unacceptable and WAY over the line, and what's more he knew it, too. the bullying was still shitty and horrible and awful, and definitely impacted Deku and made him miserable. I fully acknowledge that, and that Kacchan has a lot of atoning to do for it. this is not a "Kacchan did nothing wrong" post.

but that being said, I don't think canon Deku's reckless self-sacrificing nature actually has anything to do with the bullying. I think they're two completely separate things. canon Deku actually has pretty decent self-esteem in spite of everything Kacchan did to him. canon Deku doesn't think he is useless. canon Deku had a wholeass fight with Kacchan less than 10 chapters into the series in which he explicitly spelled it out for Kacchan that he had a lot of worth, and was going to prove it to him. canon Deku was persistent in wanting to become a hero and hoping and believing that he could find some way in spite of being quirkless. canon Deku never let go of that dream even when no one else supported it. I don't think he would have even given up on it after being told no by All Might, tbh -- we just never got to see how it would have played out because of everything that happened with the sludge monster shortly afterward. but he's not the type to ever give up on something that easily, and we've seen that. canon Deku never thought he was useless, but rather wanted to prove to everyone else that he wasn't.

the drive that Deku has to save and protect others even at the expense of his own safety is something entirely separate from that. he doesn't break his body for others simply because he has no self-esteem and thinks that his own life isn't important. he does it because he can't stand the thought of someone else getting hurt, and knowing that he could have done something to prevent it. it's as simple as that. like, Spider-Man has the whole "with great power comes great responsibility" thing, right? and he doesn't have low self-esteem; he simply believes that if he has the ability to help someone else, then he has a responsibility to help them. it's a personal creed. and Deku is based on Spider-Man. his philosophy is based on that philosophy, which was one of Horikoshi's core influences and is one of the core creeds in superhero fiction.

Deku is self-destructive not because he doesn't value himself, but because he is literally physically incapable of standing back and doing nothing if he knows that he can do something. he's the type of person who sees a car speeding towards someone and leaps in to push them out of the way. NOT because he wants to get himself fucking pancaked by a speeding car, but simply because he can't sit back and watch the other person get hurt without taking action. his body moves before he can think. and that's where the whole "doesn't take himself into account" thing comes in -- the fact that his thought process simply stops at "get them out of the way of the car", and never extends beyond that to "hey, and maybe I should try to find a way to do this that doesn't involve me getting hit in their place." to him, that's simply less important than the first priority, which is getting the other person out of the way.

and regarding that last part, while that may seem like a self-worth issue if he's prioritizing everyone else above himself, I think what it actually is just selflessness taken to extremes. like for instance, when a parent sacrifices themselves to save their child, them placing the child's life above their own isn't necessarily because they don't see themselves as having value. rather, it's that they love the child so much that they place their well-being even above their own. and that's what Deku is like as well. except that in his case he cares about EVERYONE, and so is willing to sacrifice himself for anyone. and that selflessness is his defining character trait, and simultaneously the most admirable and the most terrifying thing about him. it's both his greatest strength and his greatest weakness, which I think is fascinating to explore.

but anyway, so that's also why we never really see anyone thoroughly chewing him out for this behavior either. because the thing is, it is admirable how selfless he is. it's just that there's also a reason why most people are at least a little bit selfish. and that's because too much selflessness will ultimately and inevitably wind up getting you killed. at some point you either have to learn when to put the oxygen mask on yourself first, or else find yourself a loyal group of friends (or classmates) to watch your back, and make sure that mask gets on you when you need it. and maybe help you land the plane too while they're at it.

anyway so that was a lot of rambling, but basically it all boils down to three things:

when Deku berates himself for being useless (for instance at the end of the War arc), he's doing it out of frustration for not being able to push the others out of the way of the metaphorical car. that's the kind of uselessness he can't stand. the sitting-back-and-doing-nothing uselessness.

Kacchan's bullying was terrible, and it might have indeed played a part in Deku's choice of the word "useless" as a way of berating himself in these instances, but he is not the one who gave Deku this mindset of taking himself out of the equation. that's something that was already inherent to Deku from day one. (but that said, Kacchan has a lot of things to apologize to Deku for anyway, so if he wants to add this to the list I certainly won't stop him. he gets mad about Deku's suicidal attitude because it worries him, but that doesn't necessarily mean that he doesn't feel responsible for it. people underestimated his feelings of atonement before 284/285, and I think they're still underestimating him now.)

and lastly, one last important note, which is that Deku's current "saving" mindset isn't wrong, just as Kacchan's "winning" mindset was not wrong either. the lesson to be learned here is NOT that being selfless and wanting to save other people is bad. rather, it's the fact that he's trying to do it alone that's got him all fucked up right now. basically when you think about it, selflessness is really just selfishness on someone else's behalf. which means that in order for Deku to be saved, it isn't necessary for him to change his outlook or his selfless attitude, even if it is pretty crazy lol. rather, all he really needs is a good group of friends who are willing to act selfishly on his behalf in return. protecting each other through mutual selflessness lol. teamwork as self-preservation. hence why the U.A. kids are here now.

anyway so yeah, I think that's everything. sorry this got so long and out of control lol. this is just a very specific nuanced thing that's hard for me to express, but which I feel is very important when it comes to Deku's character. Kacchan didn't unleash Depressed Nomad Deku on the world (or at least not in this respect). but that being said, he and the others will hopefully be the ones to nudge him back on the right course again.

#bnha 319 #midoriya izuku #bakugou katsuki #bnha meta #deku meta #bnha #boku no hero academia #bnha spoilers #mha spoilers #bnha manga spoilers #makeste reads bnha #asks #anon asks #long post

[meeko-mar]

The more I think about it, the more I might be signing on to the theory that Izuku KNOWS his trigger is Kacchan, and he just hasn't admitted/confronted it yet...At least, that we have yet seen.

Hold my non-alcoholic beverage.

Once again, let's preface with the fact that we have SEEN with our own eyes, that Kacchan has been the trigger of two specific incidents, being Monoma insulting Kacchan and Izuku becoming angry enough to manifest Black Whip.

And second, Kacchan following him into danger, and then getting impaled and nearly dying to protect him, which then triggered possibly the most RAGE we have ever seen Izuku possess, AND the manifestation of Danger Sense, AND caused him to literally throw himself at AFO/Shigaraki which put him immediately under threat of having OFA stolen. Obviously, the vestiges protected the Quirk, but the fact still stands that the rage the a Izuku felt was enough to drive him LITERALLY into Shigaraki's hands, despite how very very dangerous that was. Izuku LOST HIMSELF so badly that he could have lost the entire war right there, if The Vestiges hadn't protected him and the Quirk.

The moment when All Might and Kacchan are trying to coach him and find the connection that brought about Black Whip. The mention of an external factor, and Izuku's avoidance of saying what that factor was(Kacchan being insulted, as we ALL know and explicitly saw), and arguably his words of "It's not something I can handle right now" seem a bit suspicious.

(NOTE: I've said before, that I had slight skepticism that this line about not being able to handle it and putting a lock on something, was meant to refer to the power he unlocked, however, watching season 5 has made me remember that, after the chaotic manifestation, and talking to Lariat, and realizing that Black Whip was part of his Quirk and therefore there to HELP him, and he had successfully used it without losing control because he ACCEPTED that it was a power that was there to help, not hurt him. I am not so sure that Izuku's "lock" is referring to the power anymore, but rather, his feelings for Kacchan.

But, I have new perspective that maybe, like others were pointing out, maybe it IS referring to the actual TRIGGER. IE, his feelings for Kacchan/his anger on his behalf.

I could be wrong, of course? But stay with me because this is a part of a larger context)

So, after the War arc, after Kacchan got gravely injured on his behalf, after hospitalization, we are given one thing before Izuku suddenly leaves. But it was KACCHAN's perspective, Kacchan waking up and being desperate to get to Izuku, and getting DENIED at the door. We are shown Kacchan's desperation to make sure Izuku's ok, but so far, even well after waking up, we are NOT SHOWN Izuku's worry over Kacchan's condition. We are suddenly FLUNG into a brand new world where Izuku is a drop-out "vigilante" working on the villain activity outside of school, cleaning up villains and questing to find out how villains come to be in their own minds.

We've seen him talk to his mom before he leaves. We've seen him talk to Gran Torino.

But we haven't seen him talk to ANY of his friends yet, ESPECIALLY KACCHAN. When there has been such a fantastic amount of tension placed on that particular relationship, after not only the sacrifice Kacchan made, but also, and particularly, the FOCUS that was placed on Kacchan trying to REACH HIM and FAILING.

We've all been forced to inhale a deep breath as Kacchan charged down that hallway yelling for Deku, and we are STILL HOLDING THAT BREATH. There is a huge, poignant LOOSE END there that is hanging over our head. We are still waiting for the payoff.

So like that scene, in theory, Izuku is still avoiding how he feels so strongly about Kacchan that he can be triggered into rage over him being hurt?

Actually, no, I think this sudden change to Izuku is very much him finally acknowledging it and acting on it.

The reason we have so much unresolved tension still hanging over Kacchan and Izuku's non-reunion, the reason Hori set up this big conflict that hasn't been resolved yet, why he showed us Kacchan trying to see Deku and not an ounce of Izuku wanting to see Kacchan before he leaves,

is that Izuku is actively trying to distance himself from Kacchan.

He did say that the reason he won't be returning to UA is of course because AFO could find him at any time and he would place everyone around him in danger.

But Kacchan? I think Izuku is still very much traumatized by the fact that he witnessed Kacchan taking a would-be fatal blow for him and falling out of the sky, drenched in blood.

I think he probably realizes that if Kacchan follows him into battle again, there's a real chance it could happen again... Or worse, AFO/Shigaraki, now knowing what a touchy button that is for Izuku, could actively target Kacchan on the battlefield, kill him, and/or use him against Izuku.

And Izuku is in the literary stage where the protagonist thinks that the love they have for someone else is a weak point and a danger/liability to those he loves, and so tries to shoulder all the burden themselves an shut the other out. He doesn't want his friends involved, he doesn't want Kacchan involved.

Because he knows that his love for Kacchan is his weakness. He's finally acknowledging that when Kacchan is hurt or slighted, he tends to lose himself. He loses control of his heart, and this is not something they can afford at this point in the game. Defeating AFO is now or never. (and he just desperately doesn't want Kacchan to be hurt for him anymore.)

He is going to have to learn, however, that, like Kacchan says to him, he can't keep playing the Hero on his own. And that their love can be their greatest strength, instead of a weakness.

So he's left, probably without a conversation with Kacchan. Hori is holding out on showing us this, building onto that tension, and I feel like he has some very significant pay off coming up. We haven't been shown any such conversation because he wants us to keep holding that breath for a little longer.

And if I'm right, it's gonna be dramatic when Izuku breaks down about this to Kacchan, finally. There was also some theories that Kacchan v. Deku 3 is going to follow the progression of their relationship and have this one center around Izuku's feelings being laid bare and Kacchan "accepting his feelings" as Izuku had done for him in KvD2, I think I'm a fan of this theory.

So yeah, Izuku knows that Kacchan is his trigger and purposely left without him for that reason.

That's basically my theory. Probably not the first one to think this, but I thought I'd write about it anyway. to get it outta my head, lmao.

Alsooo, yeah this is tagged for my Bakudeku peeps, and I use the word "love" in this, but you can read that as you will, either platonic or possibly romantic, not here to say this theory calls for canon romantic feelings between BKDK because that's not really my point, but at this point denying that they love each other in SOME capacity is being blind.

Ship or don't ship, but I legitimately think this is the psychology of Izuku's decision right now.

#bnha spoilers #bakudeku #Izuku Midoriya #Katsuki Bakugou #we have been left with this open end for so long #it can't not be intentional

[anti-katsuki-lounge]

This is about your 'Who's your least/favourite character and why' post. (P.S. this is a long one)

I'd have to say my least favorite is Uraraka. Now, I KNOW this is probably a common hot take, but she is just a COMPLETE and total waste of character and story-telling potential.

She seemed to have something going on there for a while, but a s many fans have pointed out, she kind of became a potato after the Sports Festival Arc. And that was a total shame because that arc opened up a bunch of cans of worms that could have been delved into. We got to see her interacting with her one of parents, we got to see her resourcefulness and her want to be independent. She tried her hardest and it wasn't enough, but you know what? She learned from it! She decided to focus on her lacking points (fighting) and it was nice to see her grow like that! She was also one of the few characters that wanted to be a rescue hero, so I was excited to see how her path to hero hood and her views on heroism differed from her classmates in that aspect. But nope! Hori threw all that out the window during their final exams, and let me clarify, I have no problem with romantic sub-plots. They can be interesting when it's NOT THE FOCUS.

Hori took a female character, made her seem like she was just going to be the bubbly love interest, turned her into a badass with her own goals and interesting characteristics, and then made her the bubbly love interest again. He had it going for awhile, but then he bombed! Uraraka has her moments where we see glimpses of her could-be self, but in the end she always comes back to Deku. She even promised to forget her crush for the sake of pursuing her dream during the licensing exam and SHE DIDN'T.

But okay, Deku left for awhile, Uraraka realized the kind of hero she wanted to be for the third time and I foolishly hoped this would be expanded upon more, her want to save heroes, but nope! She instead blames them for all the eff-up shit going down at the moment. Now, I'm not completely caught up with the manga at the moment, but from what I gather, she is still just Deku's love interest but is also used as a tool to further Toga now. I just, it baffles me. And like I said, I know I'm parroting a lot, but that is because it's true!

As for my favorite (and I know this will be predictable) it's Dabi. I'll get to the plot part of why I like him later. For now though, I'll say the real-world reason why I like him. As someone who has experienced abuse in multiple forms by multiple parents, I love the way he calls Endeavor out on it. He doesn't forgive him, he doesn't just forget about it. I have forgiven both my abusers, and while one was much worst than the other, I feel like I shouldn't have fully forgiven them. I want to call them out, I want to hate them, I want to stand way above them and laugh in their faces. I've never been assertive or great at expressing my feelings, but Dabi does. This is just my personal bias, on to the analysis.

For one thing, Dabi had a HUGE development from when we first saw him. Not just in his relationships, but his character as a whole. He was kind of flat in the beginning, a lone, smug villain who wanted to end hero society. And he stayed that way for awhile, but he started interacting with the other villains more. While I have no doubt his mind never drifted from his intention to use the league to get back at Endeavor, he seemed to think of them more as his team mates. And he obviously grew to care for them, he cried for Twice and attacked Hawks because he killed him (that was also because Hawks was a mole) and he burned Toga's house down for her, because he knew how hurt she was. Even with Hawks, he knew pretty much the whole time he was a double agent but he went out of the way to tell him more info then he needed too and they both seemed to spend more time together then what was necessary. He views Shigaraki as the leader and seems to have some (some) respect for him in that aspect.

We also get his backstory. We see how he came to be, we were let in on his motivations and that really helped him. Before he was just some joe who agreed with Stain but like Spinner, we saw why that was. And honestly, for someone who seemed to be so infatuated and agreeing with Stain, he hardly mentions Stain or his ideals, and you know, I kind of like that. He has moved on towards completely and realizing his own dreams instead of someone elses. His parts seemed to be well written and despite being a sociopath, he just seems so much more relatable and human compared to the 'good guys'. Hori has also spent more time flushing out character development for him instead of pointless fight scenes. At this point, I feel like Hori likes the villains more than the heroes.

This is just my opinion though! Thx for listening :)

With your points on Ochako, her character is something I wanna cover over on my other blog cause Hori’s done some great things with her and has dropped the ball in other areas.

With your points about Dabi, you actually bring up things I never considered. In terms of his relationship with his fellow villains, he’s definitely developed for the reasons you’ve mentioned.

#mha critical

[eri-cheri]

Now that we have reached the last chapter of the year. It is time to do a 2020 roll call of what I like to call, “State of the Shippers”:

1. IzuOcha. Status: Placated.

-IzuOcha’s could celebrate several cute tidbits throughout the year. Mini moments as they say.

Anime Highlights: The OVA’s came in clutch with moments for shippers all around and IzuOcha is no exception. We got a cute tidbit where Izuku and Ochako bumped into each other and were flustered.

Manga Highlights: Christmas kept on giving to this fandom as the AM doll Izuku gave Ochako made many appearances. A cute fist bump between the two was also exchanged and Mina was right there bouncing with y’all.

Heroes Rising: Izuku super man carried Ochako to safety. And was Angy she was injured. Fans could enjoy the small Lois Lane moment.

Troubling Signs?: Ochako said “I would like to be excluded from this narrative” when it comes to her feelings for Deku. She’s a hero damnit! So if they are in for something, probably won’t be while they are still in school.

II. DabiHawks. Status: Yikes.

- Dabi and Hawk’s very public breakup set this fandom in disarray but also kind of disayay?

Anime Highlights: None yet. This fandom was cruelly cock blocked by Bones. Sorry DabiHawks stans.

Manga Highlights: Where to begin, my goodness. With these fans, I guess the good and the bad is a plus in this homoerotic double agent relationship. We have the notion that Dabi may have known Hawks when they were kids, which may be a positive? Hori sure loves his childhood friends. Other than that. The GIRLS WERE FIGHTIN’. Hawks is now permanently scarred by Dabi and I don’t think it was kinky folks. Tokoyami inserted himself in the middle to White Knight Hawks, Dabi broke up with him via YT expose and overall, shippers could anguish in the absolute MESS that this ship endured this year. But I’m sure that’s part of the appeal. So...yay?

Heroes Rising: They were both in it.

Troubling Signs?: The entire relationship is a troubling sign which again, is part of the appeal. Maybe Hawks will cuddle up with Dabi’s father after the war. That’s troubling! Speaking of...

III. EndHawks. Status: Yearning and Burning.

-If there’s one thing Endeavor couldn’t stop worrying about, it was his hot (in more ways than one) new side piece who probably should have looked at the fine print when signing a contract to be a recurring guest star on “Keeping up with the Todoroki’s”.

Anime Highlights: A fateful meeting finally in high definition for all our eyes to see! Hawks’s unwavering support of his biggest hero was endearing to watch and their shenanigans together spurred the anime onlies to finally jump on the biggest May-December ship in the series.

Manga Highlights: Endeavor’s admiration and concern for Hawks seeped through the pages as we entered our most exciting arc in the manga yet. Fate split these two up yet entwined their downfall together. And that Fate’s name was Dabi...or should I say ⚫️⚫️⚫️⚫️⚫️ or should I just say Touya!

Heroes Rising: “Don’t bite my head off, Endeavor.” Geez, can you flirt a little less loud Hawks?

Troubling Signs?: They say never meet your heroes and Hawks is in for a rude awakening. We shall see just how deep his admiration runs or if Endeavor’s past will split our dynamic duo up for good.

IV: TodoDeku. Status: “Precious”

-Shoto’s “Midoriya is in Danger” radar was highlighted in both manga and anime. 4th User’s quirk, who?

Anime Highlights: “Midoriya hasn’t returned yet.” “Where’s Midoriya?” “Midoriya! Grab my hand!” “Have some of my Soba Midoriya.” Shoto gets it. His emotional support friend is a danger magnet. TodoDeku’s also enjoyed tiny tidbits in the OVA such as a hand grabbing scene. Gotta hold tight to those crumbs.

Manga Highlights: Two Words. “Precious Friend.” Deku comes in w/o arms or legs fighting for Shoto and Shoto’s honor. These two spent the entire year worried sick about each other, and going against all odds to save each other. Precious Friends indeed. TDDK fans ate.

Heroes Rising: Shoto kicks some dog ass and then faints thinking of Deku (and Bakugo but shh. Let the shippers rejoice.) On the bright side, we have a 3rd movie coming featuring “The Three Musketeers” so shippers of TdDk can HOLD TIGHT to what’s to come.

Troubling Signs?: Shoto still doesn’t know about OFA and he’s gonna have LOTS of questions after this arc. Will Deku finally tell him? If not, it could make or break the ship.

V. TodoBaku. Status: “Shining through the city with a little funk and soul.”

-Who knew the greatest comedy duo we needed was Shoto and his hot headed “friend” or not friend? It still remains unclear to Shoto. Regardless, these two had a fun year.

Anime Highlights: “I wanna see your cute face”, disco dancing, and more fun in the provisional license training. Plus the OVA added some cute moments between the two such as Bakugo staying behind to save Todoroki during a dangerous excercise and his adorable plan neatly animated for us. I’d say TodoBaku’s really were resurgent and energized this year!

Manga Highlights: Shoto, that is not how you properly Catch a Kacchan, I’m sorry. But at least you did it you mad lad. As with Deku, Shoto spent the year worried sick about Bakugo. While the anime let us have our fun, these two were suffering in the manga.

Heroes Rising: Again, Shoto put a dog down and then fainted with Bakugo on his mind (and Deku but we ignore that. Shush.) TodoBaku’s have the 3rd movie to look forward to which is bound to have some amazing content!

Troubling Signs?: They have a lot of trauma to deal with. And a lot of Deku to worry about. I also imagine Shoto will be hurt about being left out of the OFA secret. We shall see what 2021 has to offer.

VI. KiriMina. Status: Unbreakable.

-Changing your hairstyle to match the gal who inspired you in middle school? Sorry y’all but if Mina were a guy, I’d say that’s gay af.

Anime Highlights: We got that backstory Bois. Red Riot’s origin might as well make him be called Pink Riot. Again with Hori and the childhood friends though I wouldn’t exactly call them friends. They just went to the same middle school but Kirishima was highly influenced by Mina’s Chivalrous spirit! A ship is born!

Manga Highlights: The influence is mutual! Mina creates a move based on Kirishima’s unbreakable and we all let out a collective “awwww”. Also in the war arc, we got Kirishima making sure Mina’s chivalrous spirit shines through right into Gigantomachia’s mouth! KiriMina may just be the unsung MVP’s of this arc.

Heroes Rising: They were in it.

Troubling Signs?: I can’t think of a single one. KiriMina’s can enjoy a peaceful sailing.

VII: KiriBaku. Status: Crumb Collectors.

-2020 was an uneventful year for KiriBaku but Bones made sure there were crumbs aplenty! Thank God for OVA’s!

Anime Highlights: KiriBaku’s did thrive in one episode! Kirishima reflects on the sludge incident and evolves his quirk based on inspiring words from Bakugo! Hooray! KiriBaku’s can thrive in their blossoming friendship. The OVA also has Kirishima (and Kaminari but shh) once again following Bakugo’s lead when it comes to the training excercise. How can you not? He’s so manly!

Manga Highlights: Not gonna lie. There is nothing much here this year. I did find a teeny tiny flake in Aizawa’s flashback. Kirishima and Bakugo are sitting next to each other. Oh! And at the hot pot gathering, Bakugo sits next to Kirishima! Eat your crumbs KiriBaku’s! There’s always next year!

Heroes Rising: Kirishima hangs with a lazy Bakugo and delivers the most hilarious line in the whole movie. “Silly Bakugo, there won’t be villains here!” Hahah... Silly Bakugo. Oh you~ KiriBaku’s can inhale the fact that those two sure love to hover around each other!

Troubling Signs?: With great crumbs come little responsiblity. No trouble if there’s no content! 🤔

VIII: KamiJirou. Status: Singing their hearts out 🎶

-If there’s any ship that’s coming close to canonization, I think this is it, folks! “Think of the person most important to you!” Can’t argue with Midnight!

Anime Highlights: Kaminari does non stop encouraging of Jirou and her hobbies! He works super hard to learn guitar for her sake! We love a king who can encourage his queen!

Manga Highlights: Kaminari thinks of the most important person to him and surprise! It’s Jirou! All of the feels can commence.

Heroes Rising: They were in it!

Troubling Signs?: Kaminari does love his women. And men. Kaminari overall is a huge flirt. But Jirou appears to have his heart strings. ❤️

IX: BakuDeku. Status: Rising. 👑

-Alternative Statuses include Winning, Thriving, Soaring. It’s just been non stop content this year. 2020 is truly the year for BakuDeku. The shippers can rejoice.

Anime Highlights: Three words. Be. My. Cane. The OVA’s helped fan the flames of the BkDk hearts with a surprise! Deku tops! Not only that, we got a lovely shoulder tap of encouragement in the canon material. While in season 4, Deku’s primary focus was Eri. Bakugo and Deku still had their moments to be hella gay.

Manga Highlights: Where do I even begin? I guess we’ll just cut to the chase with Bakugo Katsuki: Rising. We finally saw Bakugo’s true feelings manifest for Deku and if getting stabbed for him isn’t the ultimate showing of love, then idk what is. BakuDeku’s rounded out the year with the Volume 29 cover AND the volume 29 cover drafts to eat at our heart strings. Overall, their relationship got the spotlight in the manga this year. And we’re bound to start 2021 with a dramatic confrontation. Hand holding seems to be the key with these two and it didn’t stop with Heroes Rising...speaking of.

Heroes Rising: The entire movie. Like....yeah. That’s it. [OP, your bias is showing. You have to be SPECIFIC.] {But random criticizer in my head, if I lay out the entire plot of the movie, my post will be too long} [OP....] UGHHHH Okay okay. The POPSICLE MELTING. THE HAND HOLDING. THE CHARACTER DESIGNS OF WHAT MIGHT AS WELL BE THEIR LOVE CHILDREN. Did I mention? “It’s fine if it’s you?” CAUSE YEAH. Oh and All Might randomly officiating their wedding in their heads like idk. Isn’t it just simpler if I say the whole movie??!

Troubling Signs?: Well these two’s relationship is extremely delicate and while it has non stop soared this year, Deku might not take too kindly to Bakugo almost dying for him. Will they stop pushing each other away? Time will tell.

That’s all for this year folks! Happy Shipping and good luck to everyone next year!

#my hero academia #bnha spoilers #bnha #mha #boku no hero academia #bakudeku #izuocha #tododeku #todobaku #DabiHawks #endhawks #KiriBaku #kamijirou #kirimina