#my hero academia meta

[strawberryasbestos]

The quirk apprehension test was... weird? Right?

The more and more you go over the quirk apprehension test the more you notice how it... doesn't actually apprehend anyone's quirks. At all. Especially when compared to the Training Camp Arc that's specifically built around improving and, yknow, apprehending the strengths, weaknesses and limitations of everyone's individual quirks.

As one of the first high-stakes events at UA the quirk apprehension test isn't there to actually evaluate or rank the class' quirks, but to create a moment of tension and anxiety for Deku's future as a hero, and to highlight how much work he has ahead of him to keep pace with his classmates. Sure, okay, cool.

EXCEPT! THE! SCORES! MAKE! NO! SENSE!!!

( Yes okay I understand the point for the test wasn't to actually properly reflect the specific skill-sets of class 1-A, I know this. But. )

Not only does the test severely limit their ability to show off what their quirks can actually do, but for a lot of them they're just... totally incompatible. Sure, some of them have been training a long time before UA, so they should have high scores anyway, and yeah some of them have quirks that naturally lend themselves to getting high scores in these areas. Sure! But!

But.

Deku should not have been in 20th. At all. There's plenty of people who did little-to-no training before UA, have quirks that don't have the kind of physicality that's helpful in these circumstances, and in a lot of ways would actively hinder them!

For many, unless you choose to sabotage your competitors, which would get you a higher score by comparison but utterly wreck the idea of teamwork and untiy, their quirks are either totally irrelevant to the task or actively detrimental. I don't say this to shit on any of the characters, just to point out that:

1. The test set up is bogus (and I'm astounded that Aizawa would set up something that's so biased against non-physical quirks, when his own would be totally useless without choosing to sabotage others)

2. Deku was active, fit, in good shape, and more than capable of getting above-average scores on almost all categories without using OFA

3. Compared to some other members of the class who had either detrimental or non-physical quirks, and also did very little physical training, he SHOULD have ranked higher than 20th at the BARE MINIMUM

So, having spent a good while talking it over with @chilchucks-timbs we created an in depth chart ranking the 1A students in each of the 8 listed tests, using the (very VERY few) recorded canon scores and common sense and logic to fill in the gaps.

Below is a chart of the final scores:

Left: Our final top 20 ranking, with scores across all 8 tests tallied and organised lowest to highest (think golf rules)

Center: The same top 20, but this time colour matched to the canon rankings, and accompanied by averages

Right: The canon top 20, colour coded

We tallied the final marks only after going through each physical test one by one and debating the outcomes individually.

Below is a breakdown of each of the rankings for all 8 physical tests:

Most of our choices were based on 2 questions we applied to very category: who would be able to apply their quirk the best in this scenario, and who would perform/be hindered by their quirks the worst. Working from there, we filled in the blanks.

The biggest conclusions we drew are:

While he's shown to struggle with flexibility, Deku has proven over and over during his training montage that he's fit, active, strong, exercises to excess, and can certainly maintain a long distance run. Steadily ranking around the halfway mark of the class by topping those who can't apply their quirks to the task, combined with second place in the ball throw, there's no CHANCE he would end up in 20th place. Free my boy he did a good job he didn't deserve that.

Yaoyorozu really has the most versatile quirk that's applicable to ANY situation and she absolutely deserves to retain her 1st place position.

Asui achieving only 13th place in the canon ranking is baffling. BAFFLING. Her quirk is entirely physical and lends itself utterly to these speicifc types of tests. 13th??? THIRTEENTH??!??! When her entire quirk is hopping jumping moving??? Madness. Absolutely madness.

Bakugo maintains 3rd place either way because he really is That Bitch

Using Todoroki as an example, I think Horikoshi built his final ranking based on vibes and based on quirks. By looking at the canon ranking versus ours, I think it's quite clear that he rated them based on his own perception of their quirk strength as a whole within the context of the entire story - not how they would perform in this specific circumstance. Todoroki, who at this point, while highly trained, is still refusing to use his fire and can't actually use just his ice for very much of these tests. Side steps? Seated toe-touch?? What could ice from one half of his body POSSIBLY add to those scores? Enough to bring him to 2nd place? Not on your life

Iida stays in 4th place, all-rounder king and legend

Ashido is a similar case to Asui - how can someone with such a physically-focused quirk AND a canonically physical lifestyle rank in at 9th? Even then, her agility and speed can only take her so far HOW did she overtake Asui in the final canon ranking? How could acid possibly trump frog in jumping or side stepping?

Horikoshi has a very clear bias towards strength-type quirks that (excluding Asui) dominates among males students. Characters who are larger, stronger, an have bigger builds are ranking higher in these tests DESPITE the fact that, for a lot of them, they'd either be hindered (seated toe-touch if they're too stocky to have much flexibility, the long-distance run in their larger builds work against their stamina and endurance, etc.). Being strong doesn't make you fast, or agile, or flexible, and a lot of them shouldn't be as highly ranked as they are when other quirks are more applicable in those circumstances.

Sad to say but Koda is ranking 20th overall. Koda's quirk doesn't lend itself to ANY of these tests (unless he chose to summon animals to actively detract from his classmates scores to bring his own up by comparison) and his quirk has given him a stocky, heavy, inflexible build that would hinder him greatly in any of the tests that need speed, agility and flexibility. Despite doing well in some tests, overall his quirk wasn't able to help him AT ALL in any of these tests, and by comparison he's sunk to 20th in the end.

While there really aren't enough girls actually in the class (the first red flag) to be able to draw a clear conclusion on the final canon rankings having an extreme gender bias, I've still included a gendered breakdown because you can see just how clearly and aggressively Asui and Mina were nerfed for absolutely no logical reason.

Most of the tests' 20th place were between Koda and Mineta, based on how their physical builds would work against them in different tests (Koda would have more physical reach for jumping, running, etc. than Mineta's absurdly short build, and Koda's stockiness and inflexibility would hinder him). I know we all love to put Mineta in last place overall, but unfortunately he did absolutely kill the repeated side steps and there's no arguing with it, and despite coming in 20th more than anyone else, one 1st place score is enough to drag him out of 20th overall. (Which, again, further reinforces our argument that Deku never should have been in 20th place after managing to snag a 2nd place score in just one of these tests, even if he did perform poorly in all other physical tests. Which he didn't. At all.)

One last time, I'd really like to reiterate that these apprehension tests are straight up unfair to those without physical quirks. Koda, Jirou, Hakagure and Kaminari specifically cannot use their quirks to physically agment their own body or their movement in any way - even if they're incredibly valuable in the contexts of a physical fight, espionage, or search and rescue work. Jirou and Kaminari in particular likely did well at the entrance exam against robots, while Koda and Hakagure could do excellent work in the future as underground and search and rescue heroes. I simply cannot believe that Aizawa would use this as a useful measurement of these kids' quirks and abilities.

You cannot seriously try and convince me that DEKU has poorer running endurance, grip strength, etc. than his classmates that DON'T have physically augmented quirks, after spending months proving it to us through his intense training regimen. Mineta? Hakagure? Jirou? Kaminari? Aoyama?? You think he has a weaker grip strength than foppish waifish fancyboy Aoyama?? After dragging around piles of scrap by HAND?!? MADNESS. Madness. Even if he didn't score as well as we think he would, coming out on top of those guys (which he UNQUESTIONABLY would) combined with a 2nd place ball throw score he CAN'T place 20th overall. That's! That's not how numbers work! It just doesn't work like that!!!!

Someone could absolutely argue that Aizawa put the test together to see who puts in the physical effort to improve themselves outside of their quirk as well as being able to use it creatively - but honestly I don't buy it. At the end of the day, I know this was just a plot point to further Deku's motivation and contrast his own power level compared to his peers, and I know its not that serious, but we really enjoyed trying to fugure out how it would all shake out if the quirk apprehension tests were given some more realistic thoughts.

If you disagree with any of the rankings do feel free to comment, I think a lot of us probably have different ideas on how someone might creatively apply 1A's quirks in this scenario, and I'm hardly about to declare myself the final authority on the topic.

[scary-grace]

so BNHA world apparently has villain-specific hospitals, which is concerning to me on so many levels. Like:

a) the implication that serious injuries to villains by heroes happen regularly enough to require villain-specific hospitals

b) the fact that this is not a problem anyone appears to be concerned about (as in, no one is talking to heroes about excessive force, even in cases where the villain in question isn’t committing violent crimes)

c) the question of who is staffing these hospitals. hospital-level medical care requires expertise, and given the way BNHA world views villains, I’m not imagining that many medical professionals are lining up to treat the serious injuries that the heroes are inflicting

d) standard of care. who has oversight on the villain hospitals, and who has oversight on them? if the villains were receiving inferior or unethical treatment, would anybody give a shit? would anyone even know?

idk what the point of this was other than that I feel a fic coming on, but yikes.

[selenestarmoon]

I don't know about you, but if you look at it, AFO is the evil version of Laios.

Literally, AFO and Laios have the same wish: to become the ultimate monster/demon lord (in short, they wanted to become their OCs). The reason they both have that wish is because it's a power fantasy that allows them to escape the horrible things that happened to them.

Furthermore, Laios and AFO were very intelligent in the environments they were in because in said environments they fit the obsessions of both (Laios knows how to handle the dungeon because of his knowledge and obsession with monsters, AFO had knowledge of the quirks and the hero society because of his obsession with comics and the hero society works as a stereotypical comic world to the point of cataloging people according to the quirks they had, either cataloging them as heroic or villainous).

Also, AFO and Laios love their younger siblings (Yoichi and Falin), AFO and Laios love them so much that they can't stand it when someone hurts them and when they die AFO and Laios are obsessed with bringing them back somehow and they and their younger siblings were victims of discrimination and ostracism.

The difference is that AFO, in his eagerness to make his wish come true, has hurt countless people and wants to force everyone to love him and as punishment he never gets his wish and he fails to recove Yoichi, while Laios did achieve his wish and he does manage to recove his younger sister, but he didn't want to hurt anyone and he even managed to have friends who really love him.

[hero-nerd]

The Symbol of Peace: An Analysis of Masculinity in My Hero Academia

Izuku Midoriya runs through the city toward the site of a villain attack, excitement on his face as he knows what this means. He elbows his way to the front of the crowd and up to the very front line the heroes set up as they battle their foe, watching in awe and excitement as the heroes he looks up to are locked in battle.

This scene plays out in the beginning of the hit anime series My Hero Academia. Set in a fantastical version of Japan in which heroes are a part of every day society, the series follows the story of Izuku Midoriya, also known as Deku, as he strives to become a great hero using the power passed on to him by Japan’s number one hero, All Might. The first chapter of the manga series was published in Shonen Jump in 2014, and was adapted into an anime in 2016. Both the manga and anime are still in progress, and have a great level of popularity. According to Parrot Analytics, My Hero Academia is “ranked at the 99.9th percentile in the action genre, indicating that it enjoys exceptional demand compared to 99.9% of all action titles in the United States” (My Hero Academia YTV). Due to its outstanding popularity, I believe this is a relevant text to analyze.

From the very beginning scenes of the series, as Midoriya watches this battle unfold, the audience is shown what the image of a hero looks like. They are strong and powerful, with physiques that look like action figures. They are something for the ladies to swoon over. Notably, they are men. It is not until the very end of the fight we see our first female superhero, who is shown as “stealing the spotlight” from the men in her skintight suit, and immediately subject to objectification and sexualization by the media on the sidelines. To those who know comics and superheroes, these types of hegemonic masculine messages are to be expected. While these messages are seen as such a norm that it’s just a part of the superhero genre, there are real impacts to this. In a study conducted by Coyne et al. about the effects of superhero media on kids, research found that “early superhero exposure was indirectly associated with weaker egalitarian attitudes toward women and greater endorsement of the muscular ideal” (Coyne et al. 634). This shows that superheroes have a real impact and are worth studying. This analysis will look at masculinity in the world of My Hero Academia, as shown through the lens of All Might, the Symbol of Peace.

Who is the Symbol of Peace? All Might is one of the top heroes in the version of Japan this story takes place in, and has been for years by the time the series starts. He is rated the number one hero in the in-universe hero popularity polls, and has one of the greatest powers that citizens in that world have ever seen. As such an important cultural figure in this world of heroes, he is the ideal, the standard, the one everyone looks to when they want to see what it means to be a hero, and we know that what it means to be a hero in this world is to be masculine. That is why I have chosen All Might as the subject of this analysis, and to begin I would like to look at Kimmel’s tenants of masculinity. In his documentary Guyland, Kimmel breaks down four basic rules of masculinity: “No sissy stuff”, “be a big wheel”, “be a sturdy oak”, and “give ‘em hell” (Kimmel). Let’s explore what these mean, and how they are evident in the character of All Might.

When Kimmel says “no sissy stuff”, what he means is that there can be no sign of femininity or weakness. In societies where masculinity is seen as the ideal, femininity and weakness have become synonymous with each other when it comes to the measurement of masculinity. This is apparent in All Might’s appearance. He is the perfect picture of the classic superhero, with bulging muscles and a towering, hulking figure. When he speaks his booming voice resonates and shakes you to your core. It is not just his appearance that this is evident in, however. We can see this line of thinking, “no sissy stuff”, in the way All Might acts, especially toward the beginning of the series. In season one episode 3 “Roaring Muscles”, All Might passes on his power, known as a “quirk” in this world, to the protagonist Izuku Midoriya. As he does this, Midoriya’s eyes welled up with tears as the emotions of all of his dreams finally coming true overwhelm him, All Might says “Seriously! You gotta stop crying so much if you want my quirk” (My Hero Academia). This is a common theme, as Midoriya is very outwardly expressive with his emotions while All Might begins their mentorship with a much more hegemonic view of masculinity.

To “be a big wheel” means to have lots of money, power, and status. This is probably the tenet that All Might intentionally goes after the least, but that does not change the fact that he fully embodies it. As the number one hero in Japan he holds a very important status, and the Symbol of Peace is a name anyone in the world of the show knows. In season three episode 49 “One for All”, All Might is fighting against the main antagonist of the show in a large display that is being televised to all of Japan. He has lost the last of his power that allows him to stay in his superpowered form, but he continues to fight on despite this. His mentor urges him to stay strong, saying “No matter what you look like, you’re still everyone’s number-one hero!” This is just one of many illustrations of the status All Might holds in the eyes of the citizens of Japan.

Arguably the most prevalent of the four tenets in All Might’s story is “be a sturdy oak”. All Might specifically created the idea of the Symbol of Peace to be an unwavering force of help to those in need. This is evident even in his catchphrase. We see him use a variation over and over, a common theme throughout the series, going all the way back to his first appearance as a hero: “Fear not, citizens. Hope has arrived. Because I am here” (My Hero Academia season one episode one “Izuku Midoriya: Origin”). When Midoriya is talking about what he looks up to so much about All Might he says “There’s always a smile on his face, no matter how bad things get. Even when things seem impossible, he never gives up” (My Hero Academia season one episode one “Izuku Midoriya: Origin”).

The last of the tenets is “give ‘em hell”. This comes down to a reckless sense of daring, always throwing yourself in no matter the danger and being willing to do things no matter the risk. This is seen as bravery, the opposite of being a “sissy” as mentioned in the first tenet, even at the cost of the person performing these acts. We see this in All Might’s willingness to throw himself into any battle, no matter the cost to himself, and how he sees that as admirable. In his backstory preceding the events of the show, All Might was injured in a battle with All For One that left him only able to use his power for a finite amount of time each day. During the time All Might first meets Midoriya he has reached his limit on his power use for the day when a villain attacks a student. All Might is on the sidelines in his disguised form, watching this go down while cursing himself for not being able to help because of his limit. When he watches a powerless Midoriya rush in to help, All Might says “I have to do something, no matter the cost” before pushing past his limit to use his power. He tells Midoriya “Pros are always risking their lives, that’s the true test of a hero!” (My Hero Academia season one episode two “What It Takes To Be A Hero”). He uses his great power to blow the villain away with a single hit. After things have calmed down from this battle, All Might talks to Midoriya about this and what it means to be a hero. He tells Midoriya “There are stories about every hero, how they became great. Most have one thing in common. Their bodies moved before they had a chance to think” (My Hero Academia season one episode two “What It Takes To Be A Hero). This becomes a recurring line in the show when people talk about what it means to be a hero, and it truly highlights the reckless and daring action described by the tenet “give ‘em hell”.

These are only a handful of examples of how All Might embodies the tenets of masculinity in each and every episode. However, these tenets do not go without cost to All Might. We can see as his adherence to these tenets broaches the realm of toxic masculinity-”a particular version of masculinity that is unhealthy for the men and boys who conform to it, and harmful to those around them” (Flood).

In season four episode 67 “Fighting Fate” All Might tells his protege about that time from his past. His sidekick, a hero named Sir Nighteye with the power to see the future, warned All Might that if he were to keep fighting, he would die a horrible death at the hands of villains. All Might acknowledges this, but he presses forward despite the warnings in an attempt to uphold the Symbol of Peace. He says “For the sake of this world, I have to be able to say that I am still here” (My Hero Academia season four episode sixty-seven “Fighting Fate”). As he tries to uphold the tenets, particularly “be a sturdy oak” here, he only begins to break himself down and harm himself as he exacerbates his injuries and puts himself at risk again and again. This is often rewarded in the show, saying he is a good hero for doing these things.

This line of thinking gets passed down to his protege Midoriya as All Might trains him to become the next Symbol of Peace. Here we can see the effects of gender socialization on the story. As defined by Dipti, “Gender socialization is a process by which individuals develop, refine, and learn to ‘do’ gender through internalizing gender norms and roles as they interact with key agents of socialization” (Dipti 9). All Might passes down his ideas of masculinity, such as in the “no sissy stuff” point when he tells Midoriya he needs to stop crying so much. In season two episode 19 “The Boy Born With Everything”, Midoriya is competing in his school's sports tournament and is nervous for his upcoming battle. In his pep talk, All Might tells Midoriya “Whenever you’re scared or nervous about a fight, just try to deal with it by smiling!”, passing on the ideals of being a “sturdy oak” that never wavers even in the face of fear.

Midoriya internalizes these messages, and it all comes to a big culmination in season six. The main antagonist appears to be on the winning side, the world has fallen to ruins, and Midoriya is working as a vigilante trying to take on the world and save everyone himself. All Might was initially in contact with him during this, until Midoriya runs off leaving All Might behind to fight the main antagonist alone. In doing so, Midoriya embodies the traits of “be a sturdy oak” and “give ‘em hell'' by rushing off without regards to himself to take everything on his own, and makes sure there is no “sissy stuff” as he insists he is fine, shoving down any emotions and refusing to ask for help. These are all traits he learned from All Might, and in season six All Might has the realization that the messages he passed down to Midoriya were toxic. As Midoriya speeds away, too fast for All Might to catch up, All Might cries after him, saying “I get it! I know what a heavy burden this is to carry alone! Which is why I want to scream at you, ‘Don’t work too hard. It’s okay to take a break when you’re tired.’ Young man, I’m sorry” (My Hero Academia season six episode 135 “Friend”). Later that same season, Midoriya is confronted by his classmates and close friends in a stunning display of emotional vulnerability that warrants an analysis of its own beyond the scope of this paper. Toxic masculinity is broken down as the characters show that it is leaning on others and being vulnerable that shows true strength.

The vulnerability in this show was not lost on viewers. One article details the reaction audiences had to this scene on social media as people shared their thoughts and breaking down their own toxic masculinity. The article states “Many users openly expressed how much they sobbed wholeheartedly alongside Deku and the gang during this segment of the storyline, without a worry in the world about how ‘unmanly’ their confession may be perceived” (Chester-Londt). It is clear that audiences hold a place for this type of breakdown of toxic masculinity, even in superhero stories where that is perceived to be the default.

For a long time superhero stories have been a place of traditional, hegemonic masculine ideals, and My Hero Academia is no exception to that. The leading figure in the hero society, the Symbol of Peace, exhibits clear signs of all four tenets of masculinity talked about by Kimmel. He passes on these masculine ideals to his students, as evident through the character of Midoriya, and the strict adherence to these ideals proves to be quite toxic. What makes this series unique for a hero story, however, is the recognition of that toxic masculinity and a changing of messages saying it’s okay to rely on others, ask for help, and not always live up to unattainable ideals. We know from audience reactions that there is a want for these types of stories, and I hope to see more like it in hero media going forward.

Works Cited

Chester-Londt, Levana Jane. “My Hero Academia Is the Cure for Toxic Masculinity.” Game Rant, 1 Apr. 2023, gamerant.com/my-hero-academia-is-the-cure-for-toxic-masculinity/.

Coyne, Sarah, et al. “Making Men of Steel: Superhero Exposure and the Development of Hegemonic Masculinity in Children.” Sex Roles, vol. 86, no. 11/12, June 2022, pp. 634–47. EBSCOhost, https://doi-org.dmacc.idm.oclc.org/10.1007/s11199-022-01293-2.

Dipti. “Gender and Socialization.” International Journal of Recent Research Aspects, vol. 9, no. 2, June 2022, pp. 9–12. EBSCOhost, search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=asn&AN=158174861&site=ehost-live&scope=site.

Flood, Michael. “'Toxic Masculinity': What Does It Mean, Where Did It Come from – and Is the Term Useful or Harmful?” The Conversation, 21 Sept. 2022, https://theconversation.com/toxic-masculinity-what-does-it-mean-where-did-it-come-from-and-is-the-term-useful-or-harmful-189298.

Kimmel, Michael S., and Media Education Foundation. Guyland : Where Boys Become Men. Media Education Foundation, 2015, http://www.kanopystreaming.com/node/144408.

My Hero Academia, created by Kohei Horikoshi, Bones, June 2016.

“My Hero Academia (YTV): United States Daily TV Audience Insights for Smarter Content Decisions - Parrot Analytics.” Parrot Analytics, tv.parrotanalytics.com/US/my-hero-academia-ytv. Accessed 24 Apr. 2024.

I hope everyone enjoyed!! I have so much more to say about this topic that I didn’t get to due to the page restraints on the paper. This version already goes over the page limit and still manages to cut out about two thirds of my initial points. So if anyone wants to discuss further with me, please do!!!! I love talking about this stuff!!

And for those who asked to be tagged:

@steh-lar-uh-nuhs

@anna-pre

@0im-kinda-dumb0

@ghostspace37

[imaginarylungfish]

I've been thinking about Good vs Bad and how it is portrayed in the media I consume. I'm noticing the binary-ness of Good vs Bad in each story is different.

I will be talking about Death Note, Jujutsu Kaisen, and My Hero Academia. There are anime and manga spoilers. So, if you are not up to date with either, do not continue reading.

In Death Note, there is a pretty clear picture of Good vs Bad. Sure, we see the cliche of "the road to hell is paved with good intentions" through Light's character arc. But even though he started out with Good intentions (punish people who commit crimes), it clearly portrayed that he crosses the line after murdering people whose only crime was wanting to catch Kira. It becomes clear that Light slowly descends into Bad. And Bad has a clear definition: killing innocent people. And in the show as a whole, there are The Good Guys (L and the police) fighting against The Bad Guys (Kira). Viewers see the binary of Good vs Bad pretty clearly.

In Jujutsu Kaisen, I think the lines are more blurred but not totally unrecognizable. We see how Geto started out Good (ie. protect non-sorcerers) yet his morals slowly chipped away at him by the injustices of the jujutsu world. He became fed up with protecting non-sorcerers who never knew or appreciated the sacrifice he and his fellow jujutsu sorcerers made for them. Geto turned Bad even though he started out Good. (This doesn't mean continuing to love someone who is Bad is Bad too. Gojo still cared for and loved Geto through his defection and descent into Badness. But that is a post for another time.)

I mention Geto first instead of Yuji here when talking about JJK because most of the narrative revolves around the fact that Geto and Gojo were so close and Kenjaku could use Geto's body to enact his plan in Shibuya. Geto and Gojo are central to JJK. There isn't much story to tell if we leave those two out.

But if we return to our MC here, I think we still see a clear definition of Good vs Bad through Yuji even though his original worldview was less clear. At first, Yuji believes that he must save people equally--that everyone, no matter if Good or Bad, should receive a proper death. But slowly, he changes his mind. (If I recall correctly, I believe Megumi's opposing belief of saving people unequally as well as Nanami's wisdom influences Yuji's mindset change, but I can't remember exactly. What I'm trying to say is not dependent on what caused Yuji's mindset change though.) Yuji learns more nuance in his original worldview. He realizes he must choose between which people to save. I see this as creating a more binary idea of Good vs Bad because if you're going to save unequally, you're prioritizing some people over others. You must mentally label people as Worth Saving (Good) vs Not Worth Saving (less Good, and potentially therefore Bad).

Plus, the curses/curse users like Sukuna and Kenjaku are presented as fully Bad. We have not, at this time, seen any backstory as to why these curses/curse users became Bad. Therefore, we have no context and no reason to believe they toe the line at all. So, that's why I think JJK has a fairly clear Good vs Bad Guys trope (even if the lines were slightly blurred with Geto).

But in My Hero Academia, the lines are very much blurred. The villains are Bad because of their traumas. We are given reasons as to why Shigaraki, Touya, Toga, Spinner, etc. act the way they do. We are shown that the Bad Guys are that way because Bad was done to them. And I do think Horikoshi is not trying to give excuses, just explanations. Regardless, this poses the questions: who even is Bad? who even is Good?

Deku fights to save everyone, regardless of their Good or Bad label (just like Yuji's original mindset). This is clear as Deku plans on saving Shiggy even though people around him do not share his goal. So, even though this MHA universe has Good vs Bad (ie. Heroes vs Villains), we are presented with ways that question this worldview through our MC's perspective. Deku, I would venture to say, has a foggy definition of Good vs Bad. Therefore, MHA as a manga/anime has a foggy definition of these concepts too.

Alright, that's all I've got for now. I find it interesting which worldview each mangaka takes on to portray in their story. I'd love to hear any ideas in the comments about what anyone else thinks. Please just be nice about it! Thanks!

[arsonisticartichokes]

They're judging us chat 😔😔

(Textless version under read more!)

[fling-graysons]

I fucking love the different relationship Bakugou and Todoroki have with anger. On the one hand we have Todoroki who at the start of the story was closed off and the only emotion he clearly showed was anger. But having been a victim of his father's anger all his life he views the emotion negatively, so his bursts of anger are impulsive and fade quickly because of how much he associates it with the hurt his family has been through. And with his anger inevitably comes out all his frustration and hurt. It’s no coincidence that Midoriya first saw Todoroki’s hurt at the Sports Festival after he froze the whole stadium in a burst of anger directed at his father. But at the same time he uses the emotion as a weapon against his father, when the anger is projected towards and against Endeavor it becomes the only emotion Shouto allows himself to feel, canceling in a way the guilt he feels for being angry.

And then we have Bakugou who in a way uses his anger to show all his range of emotions. Every time he cries, he’s frustrated, there’s always a layer of anger under the surface, because feeling anger comforts him. For Bakugou anger is an overall positive emotion that helps him to understand and release all his other feelings. It's the emotion he processes best and the one that helps him process all his other emotions. His anger can be grounding, it can be the brust of energy he needs to keep going whether it's a fight or something else, it can be a force to fight against to discover his true feelings. It guides him, if he manages to control and own it. When he shows anger or is aggressive if we pay close enough attention we can see that it's protecting himself from letting others see what he's really feeling.

Bakugou uses anger to hide his true feelings from others. Todoroki uses anger to hide his true feelings from himself.

[scary-grace]

I’m sure somebody has written a meta about BNHA and The Ones Who Walk Away From Omelas (and in fact think I have read one). If anybody has it I would love to read it again!

[eclecticfurywhispers]

"He had about as much agency in becoming what he is as Kurogiri did. They were both children that AFO took in, experimented on their bodies unwillingly, and even groomed into becoming villains. However, rather than seeing Shigaraki as someone Shirakumo/Kurogiri cared for and attempted to save, he instead puts all the blame on what happened to Kurogiri on Shigaraki, and not even on AFO who is the one who's actually at fault."

I can see why Tomura told Aizawa he was no longer "cool". However I don't think any of the heroes outside of All Might and Gran Torino knew about Tomura's relationship to Nana. For example Hawks told Dabi that he didn't have any information regarding the latter nor Tomura's background.

Something I want to point out is the hypocrisy of how the hero’s view shigaraki verse kurogiri. After they realized he used to be Shirakumo the heros immediately wanted to save him. When the found out shigaraki used to be Tenko they insisted he was still a villain that needed to be taken down. Even though both characters are puppets for all for one and have arguablely no control over their actions. No one could remain good after what happened to either of them yet only one is viewed as being worth saving. I hope that’s brought up in the future.

That's acutally an intentionally written character flaw with AIzawa, that I'm wondering if it will get adddressed as the story continues. Basically what has been set up so far is that there are two Aizawas, Aizawa the solo hero who works at night time taking down villains efficiently as possible acting as a pseudo batman / the punisher type character, and the Aizawa who is in front of his students and his focused on protecting them.

Basically while most characters are either firmly on one side or the other of the Save / Win heroics dichotomy. Aizawa is someone who represents both at once, and is split down the middle. Which is why I say there are two Aizawas. There is the Aizawa who only thinks about saving / protecting his students. Then there is the Aizawa who has emerged ever since the Kurogiri revelation, who is obsessed with revenge. More under the cut.

1. Save the Cat

Reading vigilantes is necessary for understanding Aizawa because most of his backstory is squirreled away there, basically Aizawa's characterization has always been more than just "a good teacher to his students who's a little harsh / a trickster mentor" it's gotten a few mentions in the manga, but it's important to remember what type of hero he is. He's a person who works at night time, entirely solo, taking down villains through any methods possible. It's the exact opposite of the image he presents in front of the students. Aizawa's natural tendency is to want to protect / save others, but how he operates as a hero is very fight to win rather than fight to save, focused on taking down villains.

His backstory is where we see this inconsistency with his character emerge. His original motivation was incredibly similar to Shinso's, he wanted to become a hero who saves others, despite the insecurity his quirk gave him that left him feelings incredibly weak and unable to help anyone because he didn't have a quirk suited for hero work.

His entire backstory revolves around this idea of saving the cat. Aizawa outlines why he doesn't just run in and save him when he's talking to Koichi, saving the cat also means taking responsibility for the cat. Aizawa who is a fundamentally insecure person who never believes he's good enough is afraid to take that responsibility on his own.

He doesn't believe he's an especially good person and always sabotages himself, despite the fact that we know deep down Aizawa is a very responsible and caring person who nurtures and takes care of other,s the Aizawa he presents on the surface is a much coler, darker version of himself. Basically, more or less. Aizawa doesn't see himself as the hero. So he plays dark avenger rather than hero. He's not All Might and too insecure to be All Might, so he doesn't believe he is enough all on his own to save people. Which is why Shirakumo was someone so special to him, someone who would charge straight in and save people, without worrying about the consequences.

Basically the metaphor is, Aizawa has a reason for why he would leave that kitten all alone in the rain. Despite liking cats, and wanting to save it, he thinks about all the respsonsbility he would have to bear afterwards, and he doesn't think he's capable of housing or feeding a cat, and worrying about that he decides to leave the cat in the rain. However, Shirakumo just saves the cat first and foremost because that's the right thing to do.

Aizawa puts Shirakumo on a pedestal after this, believing that Shirakumo is the right type of hero and he's the wrong one, but it's more like Shirakumo had something Aizawa was missing. Shirakumo has the self confidence to just save the cat. Aizawa missing that self confidence worries too much to save the cat, but because SHirakumo doesn't think things through he needs someone like Aizawa to help him in the aftermath.

This is why the dream for the three of them was to start their own hero agency together, where they would make up for each other's strengths and weaknesses. Aizawa's fundamental insecurity is that he's not good enough to protect others because, so if he tries to do something bold or stick his neck out there to save someone he'll fail. However, there's actually nothing wrong with Aizawa having a support type quirk, or being more of a strategist and hanging back in combat if he relies on the support of others. The two other boys in the group who have much more offensive quirks than his could cover for his wekanesses. Then Aizawa would be able to be the hero he wanted to be, which like SHirakumo, is one who focuses on saving others rather than taking down villains.

However, Aizawa's trauma of losing Shirakumo hit him in that exact insecurity. In one moment he wasn't strong enough indiidually and because of that he lost SHirakumo. Not only that it was Shirakumo's quality of being willing to charge in and save anybody, much like Deku, which made him die suddenly in an accident because he wasn't watching out for himself. These two things confirm to Aizawa his worst insecurities, that he's not strong enough to protect people, and if he tries, he'll fail which is why it's better for him to work alone. It's at that point Aizawa goes from a hero who wanted to save others with Shirakumo and Present Mic, to a hero who is only focused on taking down villains all by himself. It's a trauma reaction to not being able to save the person he wanted to save the most.

However, the thing is Shirakumo comes back, and this time as a villain, after Aizawa has spent years pretending to be a punisher type hero when deep down we know he's not. We see both sides of Aizawa re-emerge, both the punisher type hero he pretends to be, and the more sentimental person who wants to save and take care of others he really is.

This is also where the "save the cat" metaphor emerges once more. What clues Aizawa in to the fact that Shirakumo is still in there is the way Kurogiri says that it's not a pain to take care of others, and that he can't abandon someone in need like SHigaraki.

However, Aizawa believes this to mean that Kurogiri is the cat. He's the one who needs saving in this scenario. Where it's actually the other way around. Shigaraki is the cat. He is as much of a victim of All for One's grooming and possession as Kurogiri is.

AHe had about as much agency in becoming what he is as Kurogiri did. They were both children that AFO took in, experimented on their bodies unwillingly, and even groomed into becoming villains. However, ratyher than seeing Shigaraki as someone Shirakumo/Kurogiri cared for and attempted to save, he instead puts all the blame on what happened to Kurogiri on Shigaraki, and not even on AFO who is the one who's actually at fault.

In that moment rather than being a hero who saves, he decides to be a hero who punishes evil. One last thing I'd like to point out why Aizawa's desire for revenge on Shigaraki is wrong is because one it's misdirected, he says specifically he wants revenge for Kurogiri who... Shigaraki had absolutely nothing to do with. So his desire to punish is immediately punishing the wrong person. Two, the chapter where AIzawa faces down SHigarki he's pictured with a grown up version of the cat he tried to save during his high school days. The cat he didn't save and left in the rain instead. Shigaraki is that cat. He wasn't saved by heroes and he was left alone, and grew up, and now Aizawa has a second chance to save him. However, in order to do so Aizawa needs to stop believing himself to be the punisher and remember who he really is, a hero who wants to save and protect children. A hero who wants to be strong enough to save a cat lost out in the rain, whatever the consequences may be afterwards.

[selenestarmoon]

I've been thinking about something and it's that both the Hero Society and All for One, the main villain and antagonist of My Hero Academia, see the world in the same way as the villains of Medaka Box.

In Medaka Box, its antagonists and even the main protagonist herself, Medaka, feel that they have to live only as roles in a story and they are defeated by Zenkichi, a normal boy, for the simple fact that he treats them as people and not by their roles or archetypes.

What I'm getting at with this is that Hero Society judges its citizens according to the quirk they are born with (they call those with a powerful or flashy quirk heroes, those with a nasty or dangerous quirk they call villains, and those who do not have quirks simply look down on them) and treat them under character archetypes (heroes are required to be perfect and save all the people on the planet at the expense of their physical and emotional health, those who have unpleasant quirks are treated as villains who must be stopped at all costs without being offered the opportunity to rehabilitate, being imprisoned without a trial at best and killed at worst and the quirkless simply treat them as extras who have no importance). It is thanks to this way of thinking that Hero Society has that Bakugo, Endeavor, Hawks and others acquire a quite toxic mentality and got away with their abuses and it is even thanks to the society that All Might believed he had to solve the problems. everyone's problems alone and the citizens became dependent on the heroes causing bystander syndrome and people like Tomura and the League were discriminated against for their gifts and no one did anything to help them or show them that there is another way to solve things without reaching to violence and quirkless people they treat them as useless all the time and mistreat them whenever they can.

On the other hand, AFO lives with the role of the main villain of a story (he wants to be the Ultimate Lord Demon) and wants others to live in that narrative. He sees the world from a story point of view and sees others by archetypes (he sees Tomura and the League in general as villains because of their powers, he sees any wielder of One for All as the main protagonist who is destined to face him, see anyone who isn't a villain or a One for All wielder as an extra).

The reason everyone in the League became violent is because everyone has dehumanized them by seeing them as villain archetypes and not broken people who urgently need help. Heroes are also dehumanized because they are seen as perfect beings who have to be powerful and do all the work, forgetting that they are humans who make mistakes, who need help and who cannot do everything alone. Quirkless are still people who can contribute in other ways and deserve to be treated with kindness and respect like anyone else.

For Hero Society to improve, everyone has to stop seeing people as character archetypes because of their quirks and see them as people and give them real support.

[empty-movement]

Prolific animator Yoshihiko Umakoshi (馬越嘉彦) is best known for his work in shonen anime like My Hero Academia, however he also worked on several episodes of Kunihiko Ikuhara's 2011 Mawaru Penguindrum. During this time, he gave us this Revolutionary Girl Utena piece, itself a bonus purchase privilege poster at Mandarake stores for the purchase of Monthly Anime Style (月刊アニメスタイ��) magazine, Vol 5.

It was first published as the full-color feature of the Hardcore of Utena's Supplement booklet in 2013. The Hardcore of Utena is a massive, two volume artbook released at Comiket 84, where you could receive this booklet with the purchase of the larger volumes. Mostly miscellaneous sketch art that features elsewhere, I nevertheless had it scanned already and felt like, hell, let's just finish it and get up there for you! So here are the scans of the 44 page booklet, or if you want the even larger versions, or a download of the lot, I also uploaded it to the Internet Archive! That's gonna be a pattern, y'all. ;)

[nagitosstolenhand]

i don't like the growing opinion that people are being 'too hard' on deku for his failing to save shigaraki.

i've seen quite a few people complaining that a lot of the bnha-critical crowd are being too mean to deku for getting tomura killed, arguing that it isn't really his fault, and that hes a 16 year old child soldier who's been failed by almost every adult in his life, why should we be putting all of this on his shoulders? hes just a kid after all?

and the truth is, they're right. deku IS a 16 year old boy whos had the fate of the world thrust on his shoulders. but the story itself just plainly refuses to acknowledge this.

the narrative doesn't acknowledge how fucked up having a school that trains literal children how to be combo cop-celebrities is. it only tentatively acknowledges the fact that a universe having combo cop-celebrities is fucked up, and even then the only people who ever point this out are antagonists, who are portrayed and treated in-universe as untrustworthy. the narrative doesn't care how fucked up dekus circumstances are. the narrative treats deku like hes a fucking messiah here to touch the hearts of the evil depressed villains with his magical empathetic heart of gold before they get blown up or just sent to fucking superhell for daring to challenge the status quote.

deku isn't a person. he's barely even a fucking character at this point. he's a plot device, and a mouth piece for the objectively shitty themes bnha is trying to spout. the themes that tell you that if you're mistreated by society and want to do something about it, you're a villain. that disrupting the status quote and refusing to repent to some random teenage boy spouting empty platitudes at you means you deserve to get sent to fucking superhell. the themes that portray people fighting for civil change as mass murdering supervillains. the themes that look the audience dead in the eye and can call deku the greatest hero to ever live.

deku, who barely spared a second thought to lady nagant telling him the truth about the hero commission. who spouts meaningless platitudes about heroism and morality at nagant, and aoyama, and toga and shigaraki, when even the thought that he should question the world around him comes up. who's constantly talked about as this truly kind, empathetic person, but hasn't spared an empathetic thought to literally anyone who is classified as a villain. who listened to every authority figure around him except the ones who asked him to question his worldview. who saw la bravas tears, shigarakis various breakdowns, himikos plead for understanding, chisakis catatonic state, lady nagants truth, and barley batted a fucking eye. deku, who killed tomura shigaraki.

people don't criticize deku for failing shigaraki because they just hate deku. people criticize deku because of what he represents. because hes a mouthpiece for the atrocious morals and themes of this ideologically rotten manga. because any character he had was chopped up to bits in favor of the incomplete husk we have now. people criticize deku because hes the main character of my hero academia. theres nothing more damning then that.

[arceus-insanity]

Even if it is an actual allergy, the fact that this has been a long term issue and he hasn't been given an allergy test to find out what is causing it and remove that speaks volumes.

I have an unknown allergy that causes me issues, but I've only had issues with it in a location I've only gone to twice with my grandma, and after the first time instead of going in I went around town, or stayed in the car.

Tenko lives in this, and it wouldn't surprise me if Kotaro was delaying making a doctor's appointment after all he's made it clear he doesn't care about his son's basic needs for safety the second it's inconvenient

Tenko Shimura's ‘allergies’ and the implications thereof

I think most people always agreed that Tenko's allergies were - in some form or another - emotion-based. Back in 235 we get the infamous "it only itches at home line" line.

It's also emphasized again later in the chapter when we see that the itching gets progressively worse after Kotaro yells at Tenko (meaning that it gets worse when Tenko is sad and/or in distress).

Back in the day, I saw a lot of people theorizing that the itch was a sign of Decay and that it was the early stages of the quirk manifesting within Tenko. But given what we know now, about AFO giving Tenko the quirk and especially when he gave Tenko the quirk, I don't think that this is the case.

We can pretty much pinpoint exactly when AFO gave Tenko the Decay quirk.

These two panels are from 235 and 419 - and I firmly believe that these panels take place only minutes apart from each other. This is also clearly the moment that AFO gave Decay over to Tenko, as shown by the small glow of his hand. Before this point Tenko Shimura was quirkless.

Tenko got his original quirk stolen from him when he was just a baby - meaning that during the time between being an infant and being 5-years-old, Tenko was officially quirkless. This makes a huge difference if we then look back at his allergies and why they appear.

This panel is from just before AFO takes Tenko's hand and gives him the Decay quirk. Look at his face. This boy already has irritated skin around his eyes (it looks like he's just been scratching at it too). With the knowledge that Tenko at this point in time still is quirkless, I think it's fair to say that the allergies are not an early symptom of Decay. It only itches at home. Because the itching is purely psychosomatic. Because it's a stress-response/anxiety-response to the environment this young boy is forced to come home to every single day.

This boy is 5. He's 5. It's not normal for a 5-year-old to think thoughts anywhere near "does my father hate me?"

Kotaro has already put a fear in this little boy, which doesn't stop or go away as soon as he's punishment does. The trauma in this boy is already so big that he thinks about these things in the moments when his dad isn't even actively scolding or punishing him.

It doesn't take a destructive quirk to cause a physical response like itching. All it takes is being constantly afraid of when you're going to be yelled at next, when you're going to be punished next, all by the hands of the parental figure you aren't sure even loves you at all.

It only itches at home. Especially when the four walls of your house are a prison.

[dolche-tejada]

You know, I think this ending would have been slightly less of a fucking disappointment if the heroes hadn't been so unfairly favored by Horikoshi compared to the villains. I mean, seriously

Deku destroys every bone in his body multiple times throughout the story and is warned that if he continues, he'll permanently lose the use of his limbs ? Everything's fine, his body's just got used to being reduced to a bloody pulp somehow so there's no consequences for him. In fact even when he literally loses his arms to Shigaraki, he gets them back two minutes later thanks to Eri because guess what ? Her horn still works even when cut off from her body. How convenient.

Gran Torino gets his ribcage obliterated by Shigaraki ? Don't worry guys, he'll survive that despite his old age and injuries, and this to have no particular role in the plot afterwards.

Bakugo dies heroically trying to buy time before Deku arrives ? Lmao, did you really believe it ?? No of course not, Edgeshot just uses his last-minute Deus Ex Machina to save his life at the cost of his own and- Oops nope he's fine too, my bad !

Hawks murders a criminal fleeing for his life in cold-blood ? The best Hori has to offer is him completely free and in charge of the HSPC.

And no, losing his quirk isn't a real consequence for him because not only it literally played a major part in saving the world with Vestige!Hawks raising an insurrection among AFO's quirks, but also because his quirk has always been the element through which people exploited him.

Endeavor abused his family for years and completely destroyed his eldest son ? No jail time and no media backlash for that, the only blame he received was due to the heroes' failure to stop the League during the Raid Arc.

And don't even get me started on this bs about facing hell or whatever for what he's done : He's literally free and wealthy ; he has Rei, Fuyumi, Shoto, his sidekicks and Hawks on his side ; and all the difficulties he's apparently going to suffer are off-screened.

Deku had to sacrifice OFA and his future hero career to save the world ? Guess what, Bakugo invested all his time and money to make him an Iron-Man suit and now he can still be a hero with everyone else.

There are plenty more examples of this but I think you get the idea. Now let's take a look at the villains' ending :

Toya is now a piece of charcoal kept artificially alive for the few years he has left, unable to move a finger, and whose few minutes a day during which he can stay awake will be spent talking to his father who abused him as a child.

Toga, a literal teenager, killed herself to save Ochako and because she knew it's still better than rotting at Tartarus her whole life.

And not only did she die but she did by bleding to death. Let me repeat for those who have trouble grasping what I've just said : In a manga where the heroes can survive having their heart blown to bits, being impaled Kakyoin-style or smashed against buildings like a fly on a windshield, one of the main antagonists died of a fucking hemorrhage…

As for Shigaraki, after learning that his very birth and all the tragedies of his life have been orchestrated by AFO, after all this development and narrative promises about him being saved in the end... Deku just kills him.

Because despite all his speeches about saving him, it seems like the best our MC could do was beating him both physically and mentally until he crumbles to dust…

Compress on his side is apparently locked up for life and kept alive by machines too.

A begging Kurogiri tried in a desperate attempt to save Shigaraki, only to be unceremoniously blown up by Bakugo and dying off-screen without anyone giving a shit, including Aizawa and Mic.

And Spinner will now spend the rest of his life struggling with the extra quirks inside him that affect his body and mind, while having to cope with the thought that his boyfriend best friend and companions have either died alone or are locked away for life in horrifying circumstances.

Clearly not the same as with the heroes...

Now don't get me wrong, even if they suffered just as much from the consequences of their actions or the plot as the League, this ending would still be a disaster in terms of writing but AT LEAST it wouldn't reek that much of hypocrisy.

[house-of-angst]

Y'all mind if I talk about Present Mic's quirk for a second? Great.

So, my partner and I have been having Erasermic brainrot lately, and while we were binging content with them, I became interested in Hizashi's voice quirk. I began searching stuff about how sound/volume works, and linking it to his canon stuff.

I'll just say, the info I found makes him a pretty scary guy. It's a shame he's so underused in both canon and fanon.

Frequency

First of all, I want to talk about something everyone knows about him: his quirk is potent enough to shatter glass. Now, when it comes to decibels, it's always important to consider the time and distance a certain note is held for, since these can impact the "hit" a certain sound wave can have when influenced by effects such as the air or vibrations.

(Please keep this in mind for the reminder of this post)

When it comes to glass, however, it breaks almost instantly under the pressure of his voice. Our most constant example of this is the man's poor lenses, but there is a scene I'd like to talk about the most, it being he one where he completely shatters Shigaraki's tank.

One might argue that the glass was already weakened from Mirko's kicks, but that's honestly part of something that makes this so impressive to me; Mirko's legs are strong enough to straight-up rip a high-end Nomu's head clean off, yet this tank was tough enough to withstand two attacks from her - including her ultimate move - before starting to leak; and the fact she was heavily injured doesn't fly here, as we very clearly could see she wasn't holding back one bit.

Now, let's get technical.

According to Google, a normal tone of voice would be around 50 decibels, while the required to shatter glass would be a minimum of 105. For comparison, that's roughly the same volume as a jackhammer. Now, you might be thinking, "Oh, that's not so bad! Some singers can do that!" and you'd be right, but there's also some other things to consider. Allow me to explain.

Some singers can reach a pitch that can make glass vibrate enough for it to break, but I've personally only heard of this happening if the person has their mouth close to a smaller, empty cup, and even then the volume would be distributed around. Hizashi, on the other hand, was standing several feet away from this reinforced tank and was able to shatter it immediately, using the directional speaker around his neck to aim the volume. This would naturally require for him to hit even higher decibels, specially when you take into consideration that one's frequency must match the glass' for it to vibrate, which drastically increases when it's dampened. (Read next topic for more info on this)

And then there's his glasses which, like I've stated before, are the most common thing he breaks with his voice. Obviously, this is not directed and it's not a total shatter, but there is something to be observed; say, did you know the necessary volume for lenses to crack, when not being directly aimed at, would be that of a nearby shot from a highcaliber gun? That's roughly 140-170 decibels.

Harm factor

Boy, oh boy! I'm betting most of you were looking for this part when you clicked the read more, right? Look no further, I've got you covered, you just better remember what I mentioned before about distance and duration.

Hizashi's parents were unfortunate enough to have a mutant child that was born with his quirk already active, and I'm willing to bet a newborn doesn't have the slightest bit of control over a power as destructive as a sonic-powered voice, which immediately resulted in everyone in the room bleeding from the ears.

Sound-related ear bleeding is most commonly associated with a ruptured eardrum, which can happen at around 150 decibels and is about the same as a jet engine taking off. While a baby most likely unleashed his maximum voice power on the first breath, I believe something like that would, thankfully, only develop fully after puberty, just like with non-powered people like us, since his quirk is a drastic intensification of a common function and not a new ability altogether.

With that being said... The Finals Exam.

In this, Hizashi was standing very far and, even with the directional speakers, there were many obstacles in the way that kept him from landing direct soundwaves on the students. Regardless, Jirou's ears bled in less than 30 minutes being exposed to this.

This could have happened due to the fact that she has a hearing quirk, which would make hers much more sensitive, but let's study this, shall we? We don't have the exacts of what happened there, but the students are visibly uncomfortable upon the first soundwave, which would suggest it was at about 120 decibels upon impact (with 85 already being enough to cause damage to your ears) and being emitted even higher by him, considering distance muffles volume. Still, I think all that would be nothing compared to the scream he let out after those bugs started crawling on him, with how unfiltered that was.

With Jirou, it comes to no surprise this volume at this distance and time almost rendered her deaf, and realistically would take several months of healing time. How much do you want to bet Hizashi got a solid scolding from Shouta? I mean, it was supposed to be a challenge, but homeboy came this close to breaking her quirk.

Another thing I want to point out is that his voice is powerful enough to actually fucking launch people, and this only happens due to an event called acoustic trauma, basically meaning Hizashi can surpass supersonic levels. Although, it's important to note that this effect is caused mostly due to pressure and not so much as sound, so while it's not freakishly loud (about the same as thunder), it can still cause hearing and psychological damage.

! WARNING !

The following part contains graphic mentions of injury, and death. Do not proceed if these are sensitive topics for you.

Now, we look at the disturbing side of Hizashi's quirk. Buckle in, because it's a wild ride.

Remember what I commented earlier, about him having to hit even higher frequencies to be able to shatter Shigaraki's tank? First of all, as the doctor was sent flying, this qualifies as supersonic, but that's not all. To shatter such a protected tank, with liquid inside increasing the density, he'd have to hit over 200 decibels; which is considered extremely dangerous and most definitely fatal, as the threshold of pain is of 115-140 - this can cause damage such as crushed ear bones, ruptured lungs, or embolism. For comparison, this would come close to standing right next to a Saturn V Moon Rocket during launch, and is no longer considered a "sound" due to the vacuum.

With that being said, the man came very close to dying by Hizashi's hands (voice?) twice. Not only was he so close during the lens incident, literally being inches away from his face and in risk of getting his eardrums ruptured already, but if Mic had decided to raise his voice even more during his rage, it'd be possible for the frequency to make the doctor's inner organs malfunction, or straight-up burst from the pressure.

But that's not the worst part.

After establishing that the lethal amount of over 200 decibels would be necessary to shatter the tank given the circumstances, if he exceeded 240 and the doctor happened to be in the way of this, it would be enough to cause his head to explode upon impact. That old man better be grateful that he was standing a feet few away, and that the supersonic blast blew him away a bit more, or it'd be an immediate game over.

With all this being said, how devastating would it be for this guy to scream his rage out?

(Please keep in mind that many of the extreme cases in this are actually impossible to happen in a real-life scenario and are purely speculation!)

[toshinorimight]

can we also talk about toshinori crushing the "the end" card with his hand?

this man was gonna make sure his boy became a hero no matter what. like i'm fully aware this was probably just a humorous way to show us that this was not the end of deku's story, but to me it's symbolic of how the all might we meet at the start of the manga and this all might are not the same.

at the start of it all, he tells izuku he cannot be a hero without a quirk. but now he's the one quite literally breaking his way through deku's acceptance of his "fate" of not being a hero to tell him that he CAN be a hero. he's the one to hand him the tools to become a hero without a quirk (with bakugo, the one who always told him he'd never be a hero, being the one who spearheaded the efforts to get them made).

he crushed his dreams of being a quirkless hero once, and now he's crushing the idea that he CAN'T be a quirkless hero.