#when yoichi is talking about his brother and AFOs own memory plays at the same time so theyre side-by-side

[mishy-mashy]

The Resistance squatted in abandoned buildings. They were squatters.

Before I show the panels that show they used abandoned buildings, I just want to be logical about this for a moment.

It doesn't make much sense to assume these guys - looking around jump-into-university age (18-26) - could afford to make underground bunkers and metal-plated halls all across Japan, for their base. They wouldn't have the time, resources, or even support from others to make these places.

Where do they find the metal to hammer in? The posts? The knowledge of actually building tunnels or buildings from scratch without them falling apart?

Other than that, having a single stationary base (above-ground, for example), is not going to survive. All For One's supporters fight anyone who opposes him without him needing to say anything.

AFO rules Japan right now. Everyone is wary of each other. Look at how Bruce describes it as "the harshest era";

As All For One's supporters attack his opposers of their own will, and supporters don't even realize they're on his side, the Resistance has to constantly be on the move. They can't really trust anyone.

They can't have stationary bases, nor can they afford ANYTHING to make them. They would've been caught immediately trying to do a big project like that, especially if they needed supplies to do so from someone who likely works for AFO, even without knowing.

Japan was in economic and social turmoil. They can't trust the market to keep going and grocery stores to be open. Look at how Japan is with All For One and Tomura; people band together and stores are looted.

Money is obsolete. Society is divided between humans and "monsters" (Ability-users). You can't trust anyone because anyone could be his pawn. Time is running up as his control spreads everyday. Resources are being looted left and right. It's too dangerous to go outside alone. Even if you have a stun gun, what does that mean against Ability-users?

So what do they do with their limited resources? Trying to hide from the big guy? What "bases" do they have?

They hunker down in abandoned places that already exist and, again, are abandoned. No one's going to come looking for them in places that people have run from and left behind. Because these places are literally just that: places no one wants anymore.

You hide a tree in a forest. You don't make a big, special base somewhere that says "I am here!", and they don't have the resources or time to burrow underground or build that.

Hide in an abandoned building among many others. There's not many people in abandoned places, if they happen to be there at all. The Resistance isn't going to be found in the deserted buildings, but they still have to keep moving, because someone might be trailing them.

When they take Yoichi from the vault,

They're in a house. The couch is ripped, the mug is cracked, and so is the wall, with a questionable stain in the background. There are signs of fighting and abandonment, but it works.

Houses have food. Houses have clothes. Houses have beds. It's enough to sit in for a bit and heat up some water.

Not everyone packed their things and run. Some people just had to RUN. And when some places are full-on abandoned from an exodus, the Resistance is definitely gonna find some stuff there in the new "safe area".

Look below at where Kudo and Bruce hole up after Yoichi's death. No one's outside, there's a destroyed car, and there's some smoke further up the road.

The hospital/clinic room Bruce uses is ripped apart and unsanitary, but it's still the best they can do. I think that houses and a hospital would be their best bet for survival/using as a base; resources, lodging, and some sort of safety exist there. Especially in a hospital, which would have backup generators, a camera system, and even a PA system. Hospitals have to accommodate for lots of people (food, space, lodging), and have a lot of medical equipment they can use.

Basically what I'm saying is: the Resistance likely doesn't have a permanent base. They don't have the resources or enough safety to make their own. They squat in abandoned places and move constantly, because nowhere is safe, but they can't just waltz in public and declare where they are; they have to hide in plain sight while they bide their time. In the meantime, the places they use would have to be resourceful, or they're using what they have on their backs. The manga already shows them using a house and a hospital room.

#cuz im seeing people talk about how the Resistance definitely made big fortified bases above ground and underground #and had strongholds everywhere or in one place but #where do they get the budget and time to make them? #we clearly see them hunkering down in an abandoned hospital and yoichi in some guys house #when yoichi is talking about his brother and AFOs own memory plays at the same time so theyre side-by-side #yoichi looks like he got a bit of a trim methinks #anywhoo I think bruce has a medical education or something along those lines because he knows how to run a hospital computer #and blood tests enough to detect factors. thatd have to be something recently discovered or his own discovery #since abilities just started then #bnha #boku no hero academia #my hero academia #spoilers #bruce #kudo #yoichi shigaraki #the resistance #afo #ofa #all for one #one for all #one for all users #dude not to offend but bruce and kudo dont look older than 30. they look like theyre 27 at best #bruce looks older than kudo which is why my guess is 27 being the oldest but really #id put kudo at 24 at the oldest. they look young and wouldnt have the resources to make buildings #nevermind the education or money or anything #anyway thats just my age guess of them #i think theyre about - if not /the/ - the same age #people talking about their base makes me pause because i just think: what base? #edit: THE RESISTANCE IS NOT THEIR NAME. THEY HAVE NO NAME?

[codenamesazanka]

assorted 408 thoughts

When I first saw this sequence of panes, I thought, wildly and hopefully, that’s Shigaraki Tomura. That could be Shigaraki Tomura, someone who holds the quirk All For One and who, despite everything, is kind.

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It reminds to be seen if Shigaraki Tomura can be stopped. As Deku says himself in Chapter 406, he still haven't come up an answer yet.

Since his first appearances, Shigaraki Tomura is infamous for being childish, talking about fights and battles as if he was playing video games. He's matured since then and his game metaphors have lessen in quantity, but his enjoyment of video games is still significant to his character.

But Shigaraki Tomura is also the one who created the League of Villains, a haven for outcasts and misfits. Twice considers the League the only place he belongs. Toga found life easier to live while with Shigaraki and others. The League is home to it's members, because Shigaraki made it that way.

Part of that is because Shigaraki Tomura is considerate of his teammates feelings and desire. This is core to Shigaraki - even as a child, he went out of his way to befriend those left behind, to include the children no one else wanted to play with. Underneath the layers of bitterness and rage caused by society's rejection, Shigaraki is still someone who cares a lot:

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One thing I really like about the new chapter is that All For One kept Yoichi's severed hand.

Why? Who knows. All For One isn't allowed any real human emotions by the story. But still - All For One kept a severed hand, a memento of a lost one and whatever significance is embedded in that; it's evidence of what he's done - killed his brother - and a symbol of his new purpose - to hunt down the other remnant of Yoichi.

Years later, he would do the same for Shimura Tenko, when he gives the boy the hands of the slaughtered Shimura family. And he intends for them to have the same meanings and purposes - for Shimura Tenko to remember the massacre, and for that memory to spur him onward.

That AFO repeats this gruesome gesture with Tenko, essentially reproducing the same horror he experienced onto the boy who he intends to be his heir. This recontextualizes The Hands a bit - instead of just what seemed to be a sort of unique psychological torment imposed out of revenge against Shimura Nana's descendant, it's also AFO just raising Tomura after himself. It's still a incredibly fucked up cruelty, don't get me wrong, but now it feels less because specifically Shimura, and more because AFO wanted an successor that mirrors himself, down to the same traumatic trappings.

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But of course, Shigaraki Tomura still greatly resembles Yoichi.

Overall, this panel of Yoichi does closely resembles the panel of Shigaraki from Chapter 221. Just— everything from the angle of the face and the direction of their gaze, to the position of the hand.

But based on Yoichi’s expression - the eyes, the slight smile, the whole demeanor - my first thought went to Shigaraki in Chapter 148, when he was telling Toga and Twice that he believes in them.

This is Shigaraki, revealing his face to Toga and Twice, when in the previous panels, it had seemed like he was insensitively ordering them around, without consideration for their feelings, telling them to work with Overhaul who had just murdered their friend Magne. But once the hand comes off - voluntarily, for the first time, facing them straightforwardly - we see a look that convey a lot of things - Shigaraki's resolve in taking down Overhaul, his trust in Twice and Toga, his sincerity in what he's saying. It's Shigaraki with probably his kindest expression in the entire manga.

It parallels the context somewhat too - in Yoichi panels, it had look at first like he was despondent, sad and weak, lamenting that he dependent and was unable to do anything against the evil that was his brother. But instead, with the face reveal, we're seeing Yoichi's own indomitable will and kindness, so much that he still sees the hopeful possibilities of All For One's power.

Both are victims of All For One, but both have always kept their strong sense of self and core sense and desire for kindness and justice.

＊

If you ask me what AFO and OFA combined would look like, I have to say: Shigaraki Tomura.

#Shigaraki Tomura #Shigaraki Yoichi #Yoichi #All For One #One For All #bnha #mha #heroaca #nalslastworkingbraincell #don't mind me #i'm just back on my 'Shigaraki Tomura as best character ever' bullshit

[mamashenanigans]

408 Leaks Thoughts

Well, holy shit those leaks, amiright?

So, I’ve finally processed some of this. I will say that this is definitely a chapter that needs a strong translation done due to all the dialogue and exposition happening. Therefore, some of this may change once we start to get the fan translation on Friday then the official English one Sunday night.

Here we go…

+I’m going to say this right now: how Horikoshi has handled AFO’s backstory flashbacks is very strange and disjointed. We are presented with a flashback of him crying while getting ready to kill Kudo then one prior to the full backstory where he seems pretty upset(almost like he didn’t know) when Kudo tells him he killed Yoichi. Once we finally get to these leaks, there doesn’t seem to be a clear connection between those flashbacks and when Yoichi died.

It feels like Hori is expecting the readers to be incredibly good at understanding context clues, including imagery, and putting plot strings together without the extra exposition. That’s interesting considering the target audience’s age range.

+So, he did kill Yoichi and all that was left was his hand. This is where the “being able to read/see context clues in a comic” comes into play. AFO didn’t mean to outright kill Yoichi. The look on his face after the fact makes that pretty clear. Also, talking about how he named his brother Yoichi for first gift while this is happening drives that home. Kudo is crying while AFO seems completely numb like his brain shorted out.

+Then BAM, we’re taken to AFO’s office and WE DID IT FAM he kept the hand. All of the thoughts and dialogue for the next few pages needs a good translation because this is prior to him killing Kudo. AFO is confused as to why he can’t feel the Quirk he gave Yoichi and ponders how that can be possible. We then get Kudo and third, who is named Bruce for some reason, discussing how Kudo now has another Quirk within him. Both AFO and Kudo are figuring out at the same time that Yoichi must have passed on his Quirk, but AFO seems to take it as “he still exists”(rough translation). Interesting.

+There’s a page where Yoichi is cut in half by the paneling and it’s assumed that the one on the left is from AFO’s memory and he is talking straight to his brother, while the one on the right is Yoichi talking to Kudo and Bruce. It kinda presents a duality in Yoichi’s thoughts concerning his brother. There’s the rational, “hero” thoughts about how “He only sees people as toys” and the emotional, little brother thoughts of “You’re the only reason I’m alive.”

+Instead of getting a direct connection explaining why AFO had so much emotion being told he killed Yoichi after we saw that he killed him in front of his own eyes, there’s a double spread of AFO’s decades and decades of trying to get his brother back since he knows he still “exists” within OFA. A panel prior to all of this has Yoichi saying how his power could have done a lot of good. This double spread has a lot of small thoughts from AFO throughout. Rough translations talk about how he cried and another is about how he “only/just/simply wants Yoichi”. This is definitely something that needs a good translation.

+From what I can understand through all of this, AFO was either in super denial over accidentally killing Yoichi or he had compartmentalized his feelings over it so thoroughly that his emotions over the matter didn’t come out until Kudo plainly told him that he killed his brother. I think the fact that AFO blames Kudo for “everything” drives home that he can’t accept that he would have killed Yoichi.

+We find out that AFO’s body was in a morgue and Garaki stole it. So, like, what? AFO was brought back from death by Garaki? Is he, like, a Nomu? This is weird.

+AFO goes full Lovecraft on a double spread as his brother senses him using it. It’s his last ditch effort to ram through Bakugo and get to Tomura and Deku. All Might says how he’ll turn into a baby after using it. Bakugo is, unsurprisingly, overconfident.

I will say this: I still don’t think AFO was born evil in the purest sense of it. He was born with his Quirk activated and the intrinsic affect on his very nature and inclinations were already happening. Also, this isn’t entirely AFO narrating. This seems to be a combo between him thinking about his past and Horikoshi being an omniscient narrator.

Also, I really do think AFO and Yoichi are identical twins, especially with how much goes into stealing nutrients and that they can sense each other(classic literary thingy). From how AFO talks about it here(again rough translations), he assumed he had stolen any Quirk his brother may have had in the womb, so Yoichi’s can-hardly-work “giving” Quirk is what is leftover. With Yoichi stating that the power could have done a lot of good, it makes me wonder what could have been if they never split and were one person. The AFO Quirk would make a lot more sense since it seems Yoichi is like the part of the soul that was about “giving”/“good”. Two halves that would have worked incredibly well with such an awesome power if they were one person. However, I believe AFO has a need for them to be together in this way. Because, if he acquires OFA, he’ll have his brother literally a part of himself/inside him. Then Yoichi can really never leave him.

Would have liked a little explanation of why Yoichi was put in “the vault”. I’m assuming it’s because he wouldn’t bend to AFO’s will, but it seems like that was already a thing, sooo? Did he already try to run away? I dunno. I would have liked something more with that just like how I would have liked a more direct connection between AFO killing Yoichi and killing Kudo.

Horikoshi is definitely rushing to finish this manga and move on and how he’s handled these last two chapters is pretty indicative of that. Which is such a shame since it ended up producing a weak way to tell AFO’s story.

Anyway, no break next week, so either we switch back to Tomura and Deku or AFO is somehow stopped by Bakugo because I guess Bakugo is Goku now? I’d love to have more vestige Yoichi interacting or reacting to AFO. Disappointed we haven’t gotten more than the two panels of him sensing his brother’s Spirit Bomb.

#all for one #afo #yoichi shigaraki #my hero academia #boku no hero academia #bnha afo #bnha yoichi #bnha spoilers #mha408 #bnha 408 #mha 408 #chapter 408 #spoilers