#JUST THE WAY ITS HORI WHO DID IT AND HE STILL TAKES IT OUT ON IZUKU… thats just so like him 😂

[oshiawaseni]

Hori drew this sketch of Kacchan roughing up Izuku over Hori's cover art decision making in Volume 37 and I AM WEAK

Katsuki: "A scene like this never happened, right?" Izuku: "There were too many scenes he wanted to put on the cover, so it ended up being an illustration of what he imagined instead. (because he couldn't decide...)"

Kacchan knows this scene didn't happen in the manga, but he's not 100% sure because he was unconscious and he’s also really embarrassed by the drawing ^^; So out came his "Ya better tell ‘em that ya didn't actually do this!!” type attitude with Izuku HAHAHAH! He's too much! Tsundere Kacchan, my beloved! ❀• *₊°。ೋღ

[bibibbon]

MHA chapter 415 leaks

A lot of the problems I have with this chapter are already ones that I talked about in previous chapter posts which can be found here 👇

However I still wanna talk about things that I don't like in this chapter.

1) the memory sharing thing and how random it is. I stand by the point that this plot point came out of nowhere, is a speedy and cheap way to try and build up what little development izuku and shigarakis dynamic lacks. The memories that are being shared also seem very inconsistent like why did one memory trigger another? It makes no sense why Izuku's fight with todoroki would ultimately trigger the usj and why the fight itself would be triggered by a convo that stain and shigaraki have. In my opinion, this is also a very good way for hori to just show off how he has improved his own art and be like "oh look at how good my art is now" which kinda sucks because we don't get any story but just some cool looking manga chapters

2) power of rejection?!?! Seems like a fancy plot armour for izuku not to lose all of his quirks to me🤷‍♀️. The power of rejection just sounds like such a cliche way to be like oh izuku won't lose his quirk to plot armour because he physically cannot lose his quirks since shigaraki is rejecting them. Like seriously what is it with Izuku not being able to keep his powers and we are just having him HAVE TO PASS DOWN HIS QUIRK FOR NO REASON?!?!?! you already passed down the quirk that caused the most distress aka kudos so won't izuku suffer even more if he passed down blackwhip which is the quirk that is keeping him both alive and is giving him the ability to move like why would izuku the and transfer that?!?! Seems stupid to me 😭 and low-key further reinforces the idea that the power of rejection is (A) there a plot point introduced to make it so that izuku doesn't lose his quirks and (B) so horikoshi can still create intense looking manga pages that he won't be able to create if izuku can't use his quirks anymore.

3) The unnerving focus on the police officer who took Tenko home. This manga page low-key confirmed the one theory that was like the police officer is afo and that AFO gave tomura his quirk which if it is true just doesn't line up or make sense when it comes to canon. I see how this theory can help develop both the parallels further in fanon but in canon it just damages tomura's character and its like an excuse that we should pity shigaraki even more because this police guy who was supposed to help him was a villain who gave him a destructive quirk and made him go insane /cause his families deaths. This also takes away from the half baked plot point that the gene for quirks actually heavily influence behaviour but if this theory is true then shigaraki just wants destruction because he wants destruction 🤷‍♀️ nothing more and nothing less.

4) Eri becoming relevant to the plot now? I have already said this and I will say it again Eri's quirk is too narrative breaking and too powerful. You literally cannot have the plot go on since we discovered that Eri can legit just rewind people to a time they were at their prime like she did with mirio. This brings up the question as to why she didn't do this with aizawa or all might and therefore her quirk could be used to make the series and characters have no long lasting concequences. Also how are the heroes so irresponsible thaT THEY COULD LET A CHILD SIMPLY RUN INTO A DANGEROUS AND TERRIFYING BATTLE FIELD LIKE WHATS WRONG WITH YOU ECTOPLASM DO SOMETHING YOURE SUPPOSED TO PROTECT THE CHILD ARENT YOU?!?!?!!? also this is such a shame Eri could of actually been a very good character who symbolised the traumatic events that victims of hero society faced and how young children could be kidnapped and exploited for powerful quirks however instead of getting anything like that we just get Eri BECOMING A TOOL FOR THE HEROES WHICH IS SOMETHING THAT SHE WAS Traumatised TO DO DUE TO OVERHAUL MAKING HER A TOOL FOR HIM AND NOTHING ELSE?!?!? talk about double standards. This is also making the Eri will rewind shigaraki into Tenko theory much more plausible and I hate that theory for so many reasons. However, it's either this or the theory that she will have to separate Izuku and shigaraki BECAUSE FOR SOME forsaken REASON THOSE TWO ARE SOMEHOW MERGING AND BECOMING THE SAME PERSON LIKE THAT MAKES ANY SENSE

5) where did the damage that kudos quirk was supposed to do to shigaraki go? Is it me but I seriously don't see shigaraki getting any damaged or recoil from kudos quirk like I could see some of it from the last chapter where shigaraki was somewhat struggling but that's it nothing else. Shigaraki can now fight perfectly fine and isn't getting the recoil hit if a nuke something that izuku was suffering with the majority of the fight which just seems unfair at this point like?!?! Its also another example of how hori fails at show don't tell

Seriously I still don't like the leaks but at least we got my girl hatsume and la brava that's the only good thing I can think about when it comes to these leaks.

[sapphic-agent]

I read your analysis and anti bakugou posts and I want to say thank you!

Going to be kinda long so I’m sorry!

There is another fandom where there is character exactly like bakugou; angry, violent, egotistical and target his hate and aggression to one person only.

the character name is Jiāng cheng from the MDZS novel. But the narrative in the story doesn’t treat all the shit that jerk did as right, it the opposite. He seen as vile that nobody want to associate with (getting banned from all the match making places in the story even)

He never takes the spotlight of the two main nor he is redeemed characters instead seen as pathetic and arrogant jerk he is. The MC, Wei wuxian who was his adoptive brother (not really more like a servant that got treated like a dog) cut ties with him in the end.

He a well written and rounded character but the character personality is shit and I don’t really like him. And the narrative isn’t treating him any differently than being a piece of shit

Why I’m telling you this? Because I feel like if MHA have been written by someone who isn’t Hori bakugou would not have gotten away with the shit he did in the story.

beside the point of the way the narrative treat Jiang cheng, it’s the fandom. When I got into the MDZS fandom I was so disappointed to see bakugou stans 2.0 there but instead of bakugou it’s Jiang cheng.

Both bakugou and Jiang cheng get the same treatment in the fandom as “UWU needs to protect the angry violent person” and “it’s the MC fault our cute UWU baby didn’t do anything wrong” and lots of stuff that I bet you seen in the bnha fandom

It’s sad that even if the story shows that what Jiang cheng wasn’t right (unlike bakugou case where the story doesn’t make him have any consequences) people would outright be mean to other people just because they follow the canon prototype of the character in their fics (I seen it and it’s horrible)

And, in fics it’s seems that every time that Jiang cheng appears in the scene he makes everyone OOC (if the fic is sticking to canon personality). Makes them act like they won’t ever act; it’s the same thing with bakugou (in canon and fanon respectively sadly)

I love to call it the “black hole effect” when a certain character just make the scenes about them no matter the context, like a black hole.

Im sorry this is all over the place, im not really good with words and i used to be pretty active in both fandoms but now its really hard because bakugou and Jiang cheng stans are overall tiring to deal with and they seems to grow up in numbers everyday and yeah… 👍

Have a nice day and week!

Hi! I've never read it but it sounds interesting.

I always try to tell Bakugou stans, it's not the fact that Bakugou's an awful person. I don't care about that. Fictional characters aren't real and can be liked for whatever even if they're vile pieces of shit. It's okay to like a vile piece of shit.

What's not okay is creating that vile piece of shit and then brushing over and never calling out their horrible actions. What's not okay is everyone around them condoning their behavior. What's not okay is pandering to them over their victims. What's not okay is never making them face consequences for their actions. What's not okay is constantly putting them on a pedestal for doing the bare minimum.

Look at Vegeta (RIP Toriyama). Vegeta is always getting humbled and called out. He is never going to surpass Goku because never getting what he wants is part of his retribution. Considering his actions, he should be worse than Bakugou. But he's a way better character because of how the narrative and the other characters treat him.

(You can even compare specific instances. When Bakugou rushed ahead and attacked Kurogiri and got Thirteen seriously hurt, no one said a thing to him and he still won all his fights. He faced zero repercussions. When Vegeta let Cell absorb 18, he immediately got his ass kicked and had to get saved by Trunks and Krillin. Vegeta's actions always affect him terribly, Bakugou's actions always affect everyone else terribly while he gets off scott-free)

DBZ came out decades ago and it still created a better character arc than a 2010s-2020s manga. Horikoshi could have easily given Bakugou a proper redemption arc. He chose not to

[mikeellee]

Hi, on my phone @bibibbon we are talking about Shig's backstory and his cunt scenes and while I love it...the backstory adds nothing- also I have to say MVA doesnt feel it belongs to MHA you know?- it's eerie if you think how AM never mentions Nana.

Sure he said he has a master, he said her name to Izu. "She is pretty" (no hate to AM here but like yes she is pretty but Nana was just that?) And never again. He never ever mentions her again or in any way. "NANA SHIMURA THE HERO WHO DID X AND Y"

Its odd...its like she never matter, except she does. Its a paradox.

AM never tells to IZU HIS HEIR more about Nana or her quirk...hell sometimes I think he is ignorant about OFA.

Back to Shig's backstory. Nothing was hinted. Nothing. Nana's son is dead...AM doesnt even go visit his grave or smth...he is non existent in the story.

Shig killing his family by accident........look that was cartoonished stupid (there a expression in my language here but cant translate well) everyone died bc they dont know what to do?

(Does MHA has no safety for kids awakening quirks?)

Not blame the Shimuras or Shig here...I just think the death could have been different? I dont know...him killing the entire family seem pushing.

And Shig never reacts to that. Sure, maybe he blocked it. Ok, I can get behind that...but once he remember afo giving that awful name and the doctor gleefuly sharing HIS FAMILY'S HANDS....Shig doesnt even need to be redeem or be a hero to hate afo.

On that note...please lets talk about the hands(hori has a fetish) why afo did that? @doodlegirl1998 said once it was to traumarize Shig again, which yes he is evil and stupid ......but I think there a limit here. You want your minion to be traumatized and still be able to function...what afo did should have make Shig catatonic.

But Shig is fine...as much a crazy villain can. He even shows restraint on his quirk...and likes quirkless stuffs (only character in canon to react to Izu being quirkless) and has acess to information.

(Yes. Afo has cameras on the bar....but so what? He stares at Shig and does nothing. We have no evidence of him tampering the news for Shig to believe in his lies...it seems afo forget about Shig most of the times)

Shig's hate towards AM makes no sense either. At first I thought he hated him out of loyalty to afo...but even early on Shig knew afo doesnt care for him....

So ....

?????

Shig gain stuffs but he is punished too...severly. he gain an army out of nowhere (yes he fought Redestro but Redestro shouldnt give a fuck about him) and then is put on a tube to gain afo as if....this was the plan all along.

????

And afo takes his body bc....

?????

He wants to be sexy? I jk (not really) but really I dont get why afo did that. Doubt Hori does either.

And now there no afo to control his body...and Shig havent change a bit. Like wow. He is the same shig from day 1. He is more sexier now. Thats it.

[bkdk-art]

What works me up the most about the new intro is that it’s kind of starting a shipping-war when there isn’t supposed to be one!

Because the course of events is clear – Katsuki is the one to find Izuku first, Iida is the one reaching out his hand, Uraraka is the one to confront the crowd in front of UA. Period.

I would be really, really, really curious to hear the reasoning behind switching Uraraka into the first two events. Because to me only forced heteronormativity explains to why one would think, it’s okay to alter such relevant scenes, destroying character- and relationship-development with BOTH Katsuki and Iida, so I’m not just mad because I’m a bkdk-shipper but because this is just not the way its supposed to be. This is not the great story Hori-san wrote.

I know, the intro doesn’t necessarily mean, the episodes won’t be truthful to the manga but still. The implications are there, the damage is done.

Argh.

Gosh, the intro makes me genuinely sad.

~

Edit:

It's not just unfair to Katsuki and Iida but a) also to Uraraka because she's being reduced to merely Izuku's love interest (as many great analyses have pointed out) but it's b) also highly unfair to Izuku and I don't think we're talking about that enough.

Because framing Uraraka the way they did, also strips Izuku off his many important and deep connections with others and I hate so see that! Poor Izuku has been through enough and taking away all these people around him who care so deeply about him... what can I say?

He deserves better, Bones!

[tg-headcanons]

Heyo!! I recently watched tokyo ghoul pinto and wanted to know what you thought of it (if you've watched it)!

I DID AND I LOVE IT BUCKLE UP BECAUSE IM RANTING ABOUT HOW GOOD IT WAS

Tokyo ghoul pinto has it all. Ghouls doing average things, a glimpse into Shuu’s past, how humans view ghouls, HORI, and most of all, possibly the best and most important part of Shuu’s lore

So it comes as no surprise that I love Tsukiyama. He is my chew toy, my purse dog, a bug in a jar, my rotten soldier, my good time boy who I am putting in a dog crate and kicking down the stairs, because he is so interesting and bitchy. And in pinto I think we see the biggest, core arc of why Shuu is the way he is and what forces him to change

Shuu Tsukiyama has never faced consequences

We already know what he’s like. He’s grand, he’s fruity, he has access to social circles and hobbies that are both revolting to most and highly sought by few, but are, most importantly, a rich man’s game. Shuu may be a ghoul, but he has so much money and power that he’s never faced most of the struggles ghouls normally do. Sure he’s still as illegal to exist as the others, but no government agent is going to go after a family so well funded. When he hunts, it’s recreationally. When he’s at his lowest, he has a safety net. When he wants something, he gets it. He has all the time and resources in the world to devote to doing whatever he wants and what he wants is decadence that can not exist without harming people. Decadence that is generally understood to be sadistic and unnecessary, but he doesn’t view it that way because he simply doesn’t consider that there are consequences.

In the opening, we see him doing this. He attacks and kills a runner who he has apparently been tracking for a long time. He’s wearing nice clothes, he’s in a nice neighborhood where people with time feel safe out at night, and he’s doing this not out of hunger, but because he wants this specific meat that’s been toned to perfection. Much in the way someone would prefer a cut of veal over ground beef, he prefers a human body with the perfect taste

Here he’s caught by beloved ratgirl Hori, who gets a picture of him hunting. Now, any other ghoul would have killed her. It’s well established that when a ghoul is seen by a human, they need to kill that human because no matter who they are, it’s a risk to have someone know who they are. However Shuu doesn’t even seem to consider it. He doesn’t have that instinctive bolt of life or death terror like we see in touka or Hinami, because he isn’t like other ghouls. He has money and power and men like him don’t get investigated. So rather than immediately killing her, he treats her as he would a business acquaintance. He takes her out to eat, looks at her ID, and just… let’s her live. Of course he keeps tabs on her, but its very abnormal for a ghoul to let a human who has seen their face, let alone has photographic proof of what they are, just walk away

He trusts that he will see her at school. He trusts that she won’t report him. He thinks that this is a safe bet because, well, why wouldn’t he?

He does keep tabs on her, but he doesn’t even seem to realize how much power he has to do so. Shuu isn’t the one investigating her, his servants are. His servants watch her. Matsumae, his family’s personal school plant that his family can personally afford to train and hire, is the one who gets her information. She offers to kill her for him because this is such a routine, and is surprised when Shuu insists on handling it himself, citing his need to learn how to care for his own issues. This is a surprise because this hasn’t happened before. There’s been plenty of threats that have needed to be neutralized to keep him safe, but it’s not like the great and powerful Tsukiyama has ever had to do the work. Why would he? That’s what servants are for

He is solely at fault for being caught, but nothing bad is going to happen to him. He’s rich and he’s charismatic. Every girl in the school swoons over him because he’s beautiful and says the right words. Every jealous boy in school can’t touch him because can you imagine what his lawyers would do? Not a single person would dare speak badly about him because they know how powerful he is. The only time anyone ever tells him this is a bad idea is when he tells seemingly the only other ghoul student what’s going on. A girl who doesn’t have his money and power. And she tells him exactly what he’s doing

“I can’t believe you allowed this to happen, and yet at the same time I’m not surprised. This is just like you, or rather like your family. They’re so powerful they have influence over politics and business, as their distinguished son you get to live a charmed life. If you’d been brought up in a normal household, you wouldn’t dream of going into the world and making a spectacle of yourself. I’m amazed you’ve gone this long without getting found out”

And she’s right. She is issuing him the only warning that anyone has been willing to tell him. She tells him that the reason he’s alive, the way he lives, isn’t because he’s special, or clever, or beloved by all. It’s because his family is powerful and that’s it. It’s because his family has influence and money, enough to prevent people from looking too close, or digging too deep, or finding all the bodies in his wake. He is immensely privileged to be as cocky as he is and he needs to be careful

He is warned, but he doesn’t listen. Because in his mind, he is the main event, and it’s not only his right, but his duty, to put on a show

Shuu instead continues his game, because to him that’s all this is. To him, this is just a story, and he is the narrator. He invited Chie to the hospital to see the show he’s put on. He tells her about his observations with the aloof certainty only seen in particularly annoying grad students and men who don’t have people in their life kind enough to humble them before their inevitable social philosophy phase. He tells her about one particular interaction between a patient who is so rich that he gets away with all the harassment he wants, and the nurse who is trapped there by social necessities, but takes every opportunity she can to hurt the old man back. He sees this as a particularly human story that he is viewing from the outside, and takes it as an opportunity to show Chie how So Very Enlightened he is about how he sees it. He doesn’t once consider that he has something in common with that old man

Chie, ever the pawn in his game, goes along with it. She goes up with him to the old man’s hospital room. It’s opulent and nicer than anything she could afford, but inside there’s only rotten fruit and a dark, quiet place where the nurse can attack the old man where no one can see. Shuu narrates it like one would a nature documentary. Waxing poetic about how they’re both hiding their awful deeds and both victim and perpetrator, until he decides to step in.

He wants to show her that he is above them. That no matter who is in the right, or who they are, or how strong they are, he by right of power can do whatever he wants to them. He pins the nurse and makes her shut up, he rips the skin off of the old man’s leg and eats it, he makes quite a show of what he’s done and looks back at Chie for her reaction

And gets nothing

Pinto is a story about Shuu. This is what we see as an audience, it’s all from his perspective. This is what Shuu believes as part of the story, he too sees himself as the protagonist here. He’s always the protagonist, he’s always the coolest most interesting person in any room. Everyone loves him, everyone wants him and wants to be him. Shuu is gods specialist boy in every way so why, oh why, is Chie not impressed?

How dare Chie not be impressed?

This entire performance was for himself. She was a prop for him just as these other people were props for her, but he doesn’t seem to understand that. He’s enraged that all this time, no matter what he does, she’s just snapping pictures and listening, but not understanding that he is supposed to be better than her. Something she’s doing for herself. He yells at her, he threatens her, he even leans her out the window to show her that he is capable of killing her. He is asking her, demanding to know, who she thinks she is

She just takes a picture

He drops her, and only as he sees that she is continuing her work in the face of death does he save her. She’s happy to be alive, but even now, she doesn’t seem impressed with him. He makes a comment on keeping her like a pet because she’s amusing, but Chie refuses

Mind you, this entire time Chie has not been impressed. She does not idolize him. She does not hate him either. He simply isn’t important to her and it drives him insane. Shuu is so used to being the object of everyone’s adoration or hatred, he is used to people caring so much about what he does with no consequences when he does it, so when Hori, someone so below him doesn’t look up to him, he sort of loses it. He does everything he knows how from gracing her with his presence, to feeding her, to putting on a morbid show, and none of it works

And then she drops the bombshell that she has the picture of him eating ready to upload in the case of her death

For what is likely the first time ever, Shuu realizes he is in tangible danger. Everyone is a pawn in his game, but this time he’s not just an outside observer chuckling and commenting on how poorly everyone else is doing, he’s a player. He’s involved. He’s part of this story and not on his own terms. For the first time ever, someone is on his level and their world does not revolve around him. He is not the mastermind, he is no different than that old man waking up to someone who is ready to strike back at him, and now he’s painfully aware of just how capable he is of bruising

And he. Is. Afraid.

He plays it cool and quickly tries to get Chie to cancel it, and she does, but she also teases him. She toys with him in good fun but now, he’s in the place he wanted her to be in. He is as aware of her ability to kill him as he wanted her to be aware of his, and he is uncomfortable. His whole life he has gotten away with literal murder. His father sees no problem with it because he’s rich and sheltered too. His servants see no problem with it because the job pays and they care about him. His peers don’t even suspect it because he knows how to smile pretty and throw money around

But Chie never cared

This story is not about Shuu. This story is about Shuu and Chie, and he’s never had to share a title screen before. Chie had her own motives and desires that had nothing to do with him, only with her hobby and how she could better it. She was interested in him as a morbid curiosity and eventually a friend. She chose to be a part of his world not on his terms, but on her own. She was always capable of destroying him, but chose not to. Shuu was always capable of destroying her, and chose not too while not taking it very seriously, and didn’t realize until that decision that he didn’t really think much about had passed that he is in real, serous danger

Now, Shuu has two paths here. He could either kill hori like any other ghoul would, like his own servants usually do, or he can let her live as an equal, knowing everything she knows. And he lets her live. He lets her live because, in some small, almost unnoticeable way, he has grown. He sees her as her own person and, as much as it pains him, her life has value outside of him

They remain friends, friends who for the first time in Shuu’s life, are equals. Because for the first time in Shuu’s life, he is aware of what it means to have your fate in someone’s uncaring hands, and has to learn how to live with it. It is an amazing arc that continues in the main story, but I always come back to pinto to watch Shuu realize in real time that he is not untouchable, and one day someone will get the better of him

[justatalkingface]

The 'Great' MHA Read Along Gaiden, 1(?): Why in the hell I'm even doing this.

It occurs to me that people reading these posts may be wondering why in the fuck I'm doing this. Goood question! (and a perfectly understandable one at that.) And, rather than cluttering up a more 'normal' Read Along post with this, I decided to make this post, set up in a way you could only find it if you want to find it; I'm not going to force this grandstanding monologue on some poor, random sap.

So, again, why?

Well, in part? Some kind of sick curiosity, really, the same kind of curiosity that leads people to do all sorts of weird things; can I do this? What would it be like to do this? What will this become, if I do it to the very end? I wonder that, and so at least part of me wants to find out, simple as that. There's also some more honest curiosity, mixed with nostalgia, to re-read the earlier chapters again. But beyond that?

Well...

When I first started reading MHA, I fell in love: all these things I liked in a story, but it was different, new and interesting. The plot was promising, the characters were charismatic and felt real, a new and exotic take on a super powered world... I became a loyal reader from that first chapter.

Oh, the flaws were always there, of course, but some of them are problems that are there in retrospect, some of them I was just too blinded by the story to see... and some I saw, but I loved the story so much that I kept going anyways. Besides, if you stop reading something just because it has some flaws, you'll never read anything.

Still, I hoped and waited for it to improve. And I waited. And I waited. And I waited.

And I waited.

But not only did it not get better, it got worse instead, those flaws festering in the plot like infected wounds that had been left to rot. Izuku endlessly being ground in the dirt for no real reason, Bakugou being praised for treating people like shit, All Might being turned into a useless moron, Shoto's story being eaten alive by Endeavour's whitewashing, the inconsistent and often idiotic choices of villain characterization, All For One being turned into a joke... Nighteye.

And the more the story disappointed me, the more aware I became of its flaws, until we reached The War Arc, which, much like MHA itself, raised my hopes before dashing them into the ground. It was then I knew that things would never improve, and that things could only get worse from here; that arc left so many things so destroyed that there was no way for Hori to salvage them, even if he tried.

*Spoilers: he didn't!*

Still, by that point, I'd read what will probably turn out to be most of the story, and I was kind of commited; if I stopped here, it the curiosity would irk me, like an itch I couldn't scratch, until I found out, and giving up on MHA felt like giving up on all the parts I did like, all the interesting world building and characters that had ever been a part of this.

Plus, in all honesty, one chapter a week (which I've gotten far less regular about checking) isn't that big a burden, so I kept reading.

Still, as I kept going, and started looking for people who shared my opinions, and as I found fanfiction staying more and more with the troublesome portrayals canon gave us, rather than exploring what could have been, part of me was wondering: was all this there from the start? Was this ever as good as I thought it was? Or did it just get that bad over time?

And, well. I still want to know. Those questions still irk me. And, once this was brought up, the idea of it wouldn't leave me alone.

So, *shrug*, I'm finding out.

[the-nysh]

It annoys me, when I see people complain about bakugou and all might surviving. They claim its bad writing and go they both fullfilled their arcs they didnt need to live any longer. They also call bnha a mickey mouse manga, because there isnt more deaths.

Honestly same. But Hori has been very solid and upfront with his story's hopeful themes and messages, that I've actually been eating perfectly well in the manga lately! And it would've been a huge narrative waste (bc no they didn't, more deaths =/= 'good' writing; you don't just kill a character off once you run out of ideas for them; that's the easy way out, and I'm glad Hori decided Endeavor lives too for the harder route to give the family actual closure; have patience bc the story's not over yet, but yes pls work for it!) and against everything he's writing for if he actually did what those dudes want. Just for the edge. So I consider that a good thing, and I actually prefer how Hori (who's very genre savvy) trolls handles his tropes and subverts common expectations to write what he wants. (Even moreso than ONE sometimes esp during the manga's redrawn Garou arc, where Hori coincidentally used some of the exact same tropes, but by now I can conclude that Hori simply executed them stronger within his own sandbox, and absolutely more than Gege, whose style I just don't vibe with - but you know this already. :'D)

And you know what? You can safely ignore most of twitter's trashiest bnha takes anyway, because most of them aren't even fans who read the story at all - they either hate on it for clout (bc it's popular) or monetized engagement and often parrot misinformation off each other without actually legitimately taking a critical look at the work itself to decide for themselves. That, or they complain because the story is not going the way they want (expect) it to (meaning Hori is against writing just like the other common edgy 'kill em all' trends as seen in aot/jjk/csm - GOOD for him! cause bnha is not that kind of story!!! this should be obvious) and they're bitter/jealous that other fans are still having fun with it, etc. I've already seen it all. So if they're genuinely upset and not enjoying it anymore, then good riddance once they finally decide to leave/drop it, cause that means more food for us and perhaps the fandom itself will become that much more tolerable again. :P

[siflshonen]

I really liked your post on Toga and Uraraka! I can't help but feel that because of that double standard, Uraraka simply isn't a deep enough character to understand Toga. I'm just not sure how Hori is going to pull off her getting through to Toga in a way that won't be cringey. Toga has been through so much and she's right when she says Uraraka knows nothing about her. Uraraka is pretty thinly drawn, imo, like Star Man was the one who actually convinced the civilian public to let Deku rest at UA. Uraraka just lacks impact.

First, thanks for stopping by. Glad we can all come together and appreciate the The Togachako Thematic Concept.

Really, I think this all could be easily resolved if we just spent a bit more time with Ochako in the story. But alas! We have what we have, and that’s an optimistic shonen manga. So in many ways I absolutely believe that Ochako’s success will likely be cheesy, but in a way that’s full of sincerity… if perhaps a little less developed than it could have been. However! I do have faith in Horikoshi overall to handle these characters carefully and to likely tie together how the Togachako, ShigaDeku, Toshinori-Deku-(Baku?)-Shigaraki, and Todoroki family (and possibly the M*A*S*H setup between team Bakugo Open Jeart Surgery and All for One) situations are about someone of security and privilege endeavoring to see things from a new perspective for the benefit of another party, and how sometimes just the act of doing so consistently and with conviction can be enough - even imperfectly, such a thing can be enough.

Even if we do credit Star-head man for convincing the civilians at UA, he only spoke up because Uraraka encouraged him to do so. That first step is the hardest part, or whatever it is exactly the manga says. (But yes, her speech is really cheesy. On the one hand, it makes her braver for doing it, and on the other… well, I think it’s best to meet the story with an open heart. It would be nice to live in a world where a teen girl’s pure-hearted speech really did inspire mass action.)

TLDR; you may have a point - the story may not take the route of showing us Ochako’s internal world so we believe she can connect with Toga (though this is also something I would prefer) and more about watching her actions and conviction as an example. In some ways, I think watching her be a hero in a way that matters totally separate from Izuku is admirable and enjoyable on its own, so I don’t have it in me to be upset if that’s all we get from her on that front.

…but yeah, it sure would be cool if Ochako was allowed to get into the ugly and dark emotional pit with many of the other heroes we’ve seen and spent at least as much time with - Iida, Katsuki, Shoto and his family, Kirishima, Mina, Toshinori - and come out the other side still with the conviction to save. She sort of did when she watched Manual lose his resolve or when Nighteye died, but that’s more about her desire to not keep failing folks (and stop seeing them be miserable and stressed like her parents) than it is connecting with Toga specifically. Maybe it’ll come back into play…

[marunalu]

Remember how Hori made us think Hakagure was the traitor and he left it as a cliffhanger only for it to be revealed that Aoyama is the real traitor? What if he makes us initially believed All for One is Izukus dad only for something else to happen?

Honestly anon, you cant really compare this two situations with each other and I will explain why. First of, hori never hinted in any kind of way that hagakure is the traitor. She NEVER acted suspicious or weird around others. She always was a cheer- and joyful young teenage girl around everyone else. Never did or said something that could be considered sus. The ONLY reason why a lot of people suspected her to be the traitor is because of her QUIRK. She is invicible, that was the only reason why people thought she is the traitor. Compare that to aoyama: from his VERY FIRST introducion in the manga something about him seemed strange. Me and a few other people like @psychomurderz startet to believe that he is the traitor LONG before the reveal happend, because at one point the hints hori gave us were just to obvious. In fact a lot of people who were certain its hagakure said: "aoyama is just to obvious. There needs to be a twist, otherwise its just bad writing or boring." And what was the result? Exactly the most obvious choice was the right one.

If a chicken looks like a chicken, makes sounds like a chicken and walks like a chicken, you can be sure IT IS in fact a chicken and not a dog!

Hori planted the hints that aoyama is the real traitor already at THE VERY BEGINNING of his story, people just claimed there needs to be a twist for a twists sake. The moment hori making it look like as if hagakure is the traitor was not so much a cliffhanger but nothing more then a red herring. It would be foolish of us to think that hori isnt aware about what his readers think or what theorys they make up. He was simply teasing hagakure as the traitor without the story showing any hints or evidences for that, because he knew most people would eat it up and revealed the real traitor right in the next chapter. Personally (and I hope that doesnt sound arrogant) I KNEW it was a bluff! Maybe its because I have already read a lot of storys and was part of many fandoms and at one point you just get when an author is serious about something and when not. I knew hagakure was a red herring, I knew severus snape was in love with lily potter since reading book 3, I knew in yashahime it was adult rin inside the tree and not kagome and so many people called me delusional and crazy. Guess who had the last laugh in all these examples 😏😉

So you see, dfo has pretty much nothing to do with hagakures fake reveal, because there are tons of hints and evidences for dfo while there was NOTHING that backed up hagakure as the traitor, except that people found her quirk fitting for a villain (poor girl) and that aoyama was to obvious. Like I already said, sometimes the most obvious choice and easiest route is the right one. Really good authors dont do twists for the sake of it, they plant the seeds throu out the whole story for readers to pick them up. Subtle enough for readers to question it, but still with enough evidence for it not comming out of the blue and people realizing that something is going on with that specific character or that specific situation.

So dfo has way more in common with the aoyama traitor reveal (and interesting enough people claimed with both theorys its to obvious to be true), because hori planted the seeds for both theorys from the very beginning. Aoyama was portraied as sus from his very first appearance in the manga and chapter 1 gave us already the first dfo hint, with introducing us to izukus quirk doctor, who a little bit later is revealed as afos minion and most trusted follower. Hori wove a connection between izuku and afo by connecting them with the same doctor.

Also garaki doesnt take everyone as his patient. He is the best quirk doctor of whole japan and only takes patients with a lot of influence and money like the todorokis. Inko and izuku dont fit that image AT ALL, except if hisashi is someone way more then just a normal business man with a normal income. An other hint we already got very early is hisashis name. The meaning of hisashis name no matter with which kanjis you write it, all fit all for one so perfectly like a fist on the eye. Hori will NOT make his readers initially believe afo is izukus father with putting (espicially if we remember how many people still deny it or say its way to obvious) so much hints in the story since chapter 1 just to make a twist for a twists sake. He is a better author then that! And now in the latest chapter even hawks realizes that something weird is going on with afo and it has nothing to do with rewind. Hawks realizes that afo doesnt trust afomura around izuku and afos silence about that matter speaks volumes. He is not worried about being rewinded to nothing, he is not worried about afomura, he doesnt even trust him. Afo is in a hurry and worried, because of izuku. Because remember izuku was never supposed to be part of that battle.

[pikahlua]

As a fellow Bakugo fan I must ask, are you not even a little bit mad that Hori jobbed Bakugo (as well as others) so bad to make Deku look good? As a Bakugo fan who doesn't really like Deku, I'm considering droping the manga and I'm sad about it because I've been reading the manga for 3 years. I know that Bakugo will probably rise and do something but I still find the entire thing distasteful

Given how many asks I keep receiving to this effect, let me make this one thing perfectly, utterly, ear-ringingly clear.

[looks straight into the camera and leans in to place my lips directly on the microphone]

No. I ain’t even mad, bro.

1. I have not been holding back my disappointment or refraining from criticizing Horikoshi out of politeness. I genuinely enjoy what’s been going on with Katsuki in the manga 100% since the beginning of this arc. I don’t think anyone should or shouldn’t enjoy the arc just because they’re a fan of Katsuki. I don’t think it means anything about you as a Katsuki fan if you like or dislike it. The fact of the matter is, I am a giant Katsuki fan, and I like this arc--and it’s clearly because I see what’s going on in the manga differently from the people who don’t like it. It’s as simple as that.

2. The notion that Horikoshi “jobbed” Katsuki to “make Deku look good” is just, like, your opinion, man. I don’t see it. I see the heavy implication that we’re maybe supposed to think that for like a few chapters, but Horikoshi has signaled SO. FUCKING. LOUDLY. how this is a ploy that I can’t even be mad at how my ear drums are bleeding from the volume. I don’t know how many times I gotta say it: when a character SAYS THE TROPE OUT LOUD (e.g. AFO vs Jirou), you just know the trope’s about to be subverted. But to subvert the trope, you first must play with it.

3. Look, it’s easy to forget the big picture when you’re reading such short chapters like this with only one or two major plot beats per chapter each week. If you’re genuinely not enjoying the manga at this pace, I’d advise you to change it. Read a few chapters at a time. Don’t read weekly. I can only explain my own enjoyment by pointing out that I’ve very consistently followed along with the plot beats while demonstrating that I absolutely vibe with Horikoshi.

Remember that time I was the only one who realized THIS WAS LEADING TO SOME BAD SHIT?

That happened in chapter 344. February. Katsuki wouldn’t get bodied until chapter 362 in August. Did it seem like I was despairing over this premonition for half-a-year? (Well, I mean “despairing” in a bad way that implies I wasn’t enjoying myself.)

But this is what I mean when I say don’t take plot beats at face value, because we have to let the story resolve each situation at its own natural pace. Katsuki is supposed to look like he’s been “jobbed” for Izuku’s sake, and for that to affect us properly, we have to sit with it for a while.

The fact that the above interaction exists gives me all the comfort in the world that what you’re describing isn’t actually happening in earnest in the story. Horikoshi is well aware of what the fuck things look like. He’s reveling in the fact that you’re falling for it. With any luck, the resolution will be that much sweeter for you when he finally gets to it.

(Depicted above is Horikoshi lampshading the point even harder.)

If you don’t want to go through heartache to get to the sweet reward, if that’s not to your taste, then that’s cool. Do your thing. I’m gonna keep doing mine, and I’m having a blast with what we’ve got.

And what we’ve got is a plethora of Katsuki at every turn.

We keep joking about how I can make anything about Katsuki whether or not it’s merited, but at this point I’m convinced I’m supposed to be doing that. I haven’t written fusion theory yet because I’ve been so sleep deprived today, but chapter 369 really nailed home the fact that I’m supposed to be seeing all the characters in each other. AFO is Katsuki Bakugou. Katsuki Bakugou is Izuku Midoriya. Shouto and Iida are Izuku, and Dabi and Tomura are Katsuki, and everyone is All Might, and I could slot anyone’s names in any part of this formula and it will all work fine. The characters are converging on a singularity. So when I see any character do anything, including Izuku doing his thing right now, I am perfectly justified in seeing Katsuki Bakugou alive and well (although I do also get a certain smug satisfaction out of seeing his corpse on the ground like Horikoshi is winking at me each time he draws it).

(Like am I even supposed to be mad that he’s dead? When we’ve got so many other reanimated dead people walking around it might even be construed as a theme?)

Everything is Katsuki Bakugou and vice versa change my mind.

[kenmahive]

On Chainsaw Man, Fujimoto, and Female Characters

basically, what prompted this lengthy post is this tweet as well as this other tweet . i know the first one is clearly meant as a joke and the second one was made all in good faith too— but i have thoughts and i need to get them out or else my brain will explode.

csm is regarded as one of the rare series to have good representation for its female characters. the word good itself is extremely subjective and means differently for each person, but for majority of ppl in the anime community, csm’s representation of women is good in a sense that it subverts gender norms, places women either equally or even higher than men, grants them with actual personalities and character depth, and lets them have autonomy and agency.

this isn’t a surprise considering fujimoto has said, and i quote, “i want to put women on a higher pedestal than men.” we all know the infamous story of a woman flipping his bike and laughing at him when he was in college, how he liked it, and how it defined his tough and dominant taste in women. which certainly explains how his female characters are written.

fujimoto almost writes his female characters in the same light as he writes male characters. they’re all compelling in their own ways with their own set of flaws and motivstions. except for one thing: he writes with the male gaze, and his female characters are sexualized in a way that his male characters aren’t.

pointing back to one of the tweets i mentioned before. i think what prompted the tweet and the is fujimoto a misogynist discourse circulating currently is due to the weird fan service in the latest csm chapter where asa gets stripped down to her underwear— in the middle of a fight.

this unsurprisingly sparked debate, mostly with people arguing that if it was hori (mangaka of mha) the backlash would have already been immense but since it’s fujimoto, no one bats an eye. some people argue that it’s not weird, since asa being stripped to her underwear wasn’t framed in a sexualized lens, while others argue that fujimoto and hori are not comparable because fujimoto can actually write female characters unlike the latter who (in their words, i personally haven’t read/watched mha so i can’t say much) writes them one-dimensionally and can’t write women to save his life.

my two cents in this is a.) the fan service was weird, unnecessary, and was out of nowhere b.) it’s definitely not on the same degree of sexualization as to what ive seen hori did before and i can kind of get why some people said that it’s not framed sexually but i still see it as sexualization but more subtle c.) i think at the end of the day, fujimoto does end up getting away with things he shouldn’t be able to just because he writes women better.

i think my problem is rooted on the fact that fujimoto gets praised too much compared to what he actually deserves. with the amount and weight of praise that he gets for the writing of csm’s women, you would think that he’s this revolutionary writer who set the standard and is the epitome for how male mangakas should write women when no, his portrayal also has it’s own share of shortcomings and is subject to criticism.

it’s very easy to end up praising him with high regard because as mentioned, he does write women with depth, makes them compelling, makes them dominant and tough, and grants them agency. no woman in csm is a damsel in distress. and these qualities are extremely and unfortunately rare for women from other shonen stories. but a woman being able to take care of herself and having her own agency and personality shouldn’t be the only basis on how audiences should perceive well written female characters— because that’s the bare minimum. when one looks at a male character from a story and he’s able to take care of himself, has his own personality and goals, and he gets shit done, is he regarded with the same praise? no. because it’s the bare minimum and it’s the norm.

it should also be noted that a female character being strong doesn’t inherently equate to being well written but that’s a conversation for another day.

point is, the bar for male writers are in hell. fujimoto can write women better compared to other mangakas, but it’s not like he’s perfect. i don’t think he’s exactly a misogynist, but he’s certainly not a feminist either and his writing still has misogynistic undertones and tendencies because, once again, ~the male gaze~. i’m not implying that fujimoto shouldn’t be praised for his portrayal of women. i think he can, to a certain extent because he does write better compared to others, but it shouldn’t be on the same high regard that he can get away with his shortcomings.

i know some people might say that chainsaw man have always been written with the male gaze since the beginning, so if you can’t stand it, then don’t read the series. but i do like the series, and just because i like something doesn’t mean that i can’t criticize it and just because i criticize something doesn’t mean that ill drop it either. there’s no time limit on criticism either.

for the record, this post is by no means anti fujimoto. on the contrary, i like him and i think he’s a prolific writer, but like everybody and everything else, no one is above criticism. and i think the best way to move forward in things is to have nuanced and healthy conversations.

anyways im sleep deprived if i make any grammatical errors ill fix this later.

[problemswithbooks]

Gonna be honest. It doesn't even feel like the manga wants me to think Hawks made a bad choice. Even now. Its just feels like a cliffhanger about the destruction that would have happened back then if Hawks didn't make the hardest choice. And then the heroes would have been utterly crushed.

Oh, yeah, I can totally see this interpretation of those scenes with Hawks and AfO, but I think that shows the poor writing of the story in and of itself. There are stories where the point is that it can have multiple interpretations, but the way bnha is set up that doesn't feel like Hori's intention (and if it is, he's not doing a good job writing it that way).

Part of the reason I saw it as the more Hawks Critical way was because of how other fans were talking about it--clearly a lot of people see it as Hawks past coming back to bite him in the butt. All I saw were people cheering it on and happy that he was getting his punishment for killing Twice, and of course ignoring how poor the writing was for this set up.

Because, yes, your interpretation is more plausible given how Hori wrote past events. Hawks killing Twice didn't do anything but save a a lot of people during the first war. The villains might have still retreated but Twice would have continued to fight for his friends and given the lack of care any of the LoV show for Shigaraki's condition and still blindly follow AfO, it's easy to assume Twice would be 100% fine with taking orders for him. This would have lead to a Sad Man's Parade anyway, and perhaps and even worse one that included cloned nomu and AfO's.

If Hori wanted Hawks to be wrong and this be his comeuppance for his actions there were one of two things he should done to pull this off at least moderately well.

Have Hawks actually straight up murder Twice. For all that people say Hawks killed Twice on orders and acted due to giving into his brainwashing from the HPSC, that's just not true. Hori went out of his way to show that Hawks only killed Twice after he had lost most of his feathers to Dabi and Twice was escaping in order to use his Quirk. Hori even had Twice kill a Hero in order to save Toga, proving his intentions were violent. If he wanted Hawks to be wrong and following orders similar to how Nagant did, all he had to do was have Hawks stab Twice in the back without even a second thought, or trying to talk him down at all.

Show Twice being unsure/ concerned about the PLA's plans and the part they want him to play in it. Something that Hori absolutely refuses to let any of his villains have is doubt or remorse for their actions. If we'd been given a few panels of Hawks and Twice bonding where Jin voices that he has some reservations about the plan. He joined the LoV for the feeling of family and he still feels that, but with the added MLA members he's worried that things are changing. He wants his freinds to be happy but isn't sure if trusting the MLA is a good choice. Plus, he doesn;t trust the doctor and is worried for Shigaraki, who he thinks the doctor might be tricking or hurting in someway. At the end he just fiuguires he's not a smart guy and he should trust his freinds, but it's clear the idea of using his Quirk to possibly level Japan still weighs on him.

Either of these would have helped show Hawks as wrong. The first one has Hawks do something actually morally wrong. Even if Twice his fine with the plan as he is in canon and as seen by Deika he's still willing to level cities for the LoV, it'd still be wrong for Hawks to just stab him in the back without even trying to arrest or talk him down as he does in the manga.

The second has Hawks knowing Twice is having conflicted feelings, giving him something to try and change Twice's mind about using his Quirk, and bring in doubt that Twice would 100% act like he did in Deika City and help the PLF destroy all of Japan and kill innocents lives just because his friends say so. It also could be used to foreshadow AfO's take over of Shigaraki and how the LoV feel about it. It makes Hawks wrong for killing Twice because there's a chance he might not use his Quirk to deadly effect, yet Hawks kills him anyway. It also means that Sad Man's Parade being used against the Heroes is his fault because now Twice/Toga is using it for revenge. There was a chance Jin would have changed his mind, but Hawks betrayal makes sure Jin uses his Quirk for revenge.

Using both together would be even better.

But as it is Hawks wasn't wrong for taking out Twice, and if Hori plays it off as if he was, it's not going to work very well. He made the villains way to remorseless and over the top violent, showcasing multiple times how much Twice was willing to do for his friends. On top of that if Twice's Quirk does turn the tides, it only proves more how right Hawks was to kill him during that first war. Because it's 100% certain that Jin would have used his Quirk had he lived, that Heroes losing major ground to it or people getting killed by it, only shows how the first war would have been a loss had Twice lived.

[autumn-foxfire]

Can't believe that ppl are still coming out of the woodworks with their awful Hawks takes 😩 I thought we were past the "killing Twice was pointless" nonsense because... objectively, it wasn't. And if the narrative goes the way of Toga's Twice clones "saving lives" and proving Hawks wrong - that would be simply dishonest story telling because back then, Twice didn't wanna save lives but take them (lit. one of his last actions before dying). But seeing how bad Hori's writing for this entire final arc has been, I wouldn't even be surprised 😭

The whole "saving villains" narrative has been handled really badly and is very cringy. Is it the motif of the manga? Sure. Was it always going to end with saving the main trio? Probably. But the execution is so goddamn awful and unsatisfying, it's hard to take it seriously. The connection between the hero trio and their villain trio is like barest minimum (its development) and I can't believe ppl are actually enjoying such subpar writing... I should do it like you and drop this nonsense, lol.

I'm not surprised people are bringing up the Hawks/Twice fight as it caused so much drama in the fandom when it happened, especially with the side trying to prove that it was "meaningless" and proof of hero corruption that now they're clinging to hope that they can be somehow right <.<

But even if Hori did try to validate them, his writing certainly doesn't as he layed it on pretty thick how Twice was dangerous and how he had every intention in helping his friends murder people.

As for how Hori's handled the saving of villains, it's why I dropped the manga because of how terribly he's handled it. As you pointed out, he did nothing to establish a proper connection between his main trios on both sides, instead just relying on the heroes sense of justice to the point it's ruined their characters to have them reach out to villains who don't deserve it.

It's amazing how Hori's managed to ruin a redemption that everyone was expecting...

[mikeellee]

Hey, it's me again.

Man, I've seen protagonists and main characters get treated like dirt in movies, shows, comic books and video games, but Izuku is one of those characters that gets the worst of it because of rotten overrated side characters (in his case, it's Bakablow and his suck ups) and the amount of hate he gets from the writer. Trust me, i've seen characters treated THAT badly.

I'm sure glad I stick with fanfictions, at least Izuku gets more love from some authors.

Like, check out a fanfic called Izuku's Pet Noumu. It's a story where Izuku has a female childhood friend who was turned into a Noumu (not made of corpses), i won't spoil much but characters were a lot nicer to him, everyone loves him when and after the Sports festival started, thanks to a moment you're gonna love, Best part is that nobody sucks up to hori's gary stu, not even heroes and teachers. And Izuku gives himself a better name. Also 1-B students aren't treated like garbage! the story will feature characters from other series. But seriously, you're gonna love Izuku's friend, she helped him stand up for himself and grow as a person. and when they're reunited, she's flat out adorable, In every sense of the word and Terrifying to fight against.

Hi @mega321boom

So I think I heard of the fic but never read it. Why? Bc gone be honest with you...I was sick and tired of the trope "Izu is torned into a nomu but he wants to be a hero still" it alway give me a sour taste.

Yes, you said this fic is not like this as is someone else who is turned into a nomu. So ok may check out.

I often compare Izu with Natsu from Fairy Tail. Look Natsu is the typical shonen mc: he eats a lot, scream, likes a good fight, loves his friends and is on a big quest.

The thing here is....Natsu got better than Izu in every possible way.

Natsu has people who show genuine affection for him. Take this scene: in a flashback people of his guild found out he cant read...what you think everyone did? Of course ...help him learn.

He has friends.

Izu has none.

Also Natsu has a generic power that works well for the story...he can use fire. Thats it. And who is stronger here? Natsu.

Izu has a quirk that is suicidal (deliberated on Hori's part as chap 1 begins with suicide baiting for Izu ONLY) as well useless. It breaks his bones (it never break AM's bones or anyone else) and its boring...save from tentacles.

Izu has the worst and Hori and fandom are proud of ruining a good story for BK's sake. In a way its lile they never left chap 1...they live there. Bk still abuses Izu and Izu needs to accept as his reality.

Sorry a bit ranty. I just hate how Hori can't be professional with his own mc.

And I think the follow will happen

Izu will lose an arm

Izu will sacrifice his quirk

Izu will birth Baby Tenko from Shig.

And it will be Star's quirk who will save the day.

[tilbageidanmark]

Movies I watched this Week - #81

3 Holocaust films: 

🍿 Re-watch: Claude Lanzmann’s 9-hour-long documentary, Shoah. An unbearable testimony made more horrifying by Lanzmann’s editorial decisions: Not using any historical footage or music, slow camera panning of the quiet locations where the murders took place, uninterrupted static interviews without voice-over translations. An impossible cinematic feat exposing humanity’s nadir. (Photo of The man in the poster above). 

10/10.

🍿 Marcel Ophuls’s Oscar winner long documentary Hotel Terminus: The Life and Times of Klaus Barbie, about the infamous "Butcher of Lyon". He brutally and personally tortured and killed thousands while head of the Gestapo in Lyon. After the war he was protected for decades by the American intelligence community, in their “fight against communism”.

🍿 On the other hand, filmed fiction about the holocaust is always doomed to be terrible, including acclaimed dramas like the Schindler’s Lists and ‘Life is beautiful’s of the world. I was hoping that Amen would be better, because it was directed by Costa-Gavras. But it was the same staged and disingenuous Hollywood-style theatrics. Rolf Hochhuth’s play ‘The Deputy’, on which this atrocity was based was 'controversial’ because it showed how the Vatican knew about the Nazi executions but still did nothing. After watching ‘Shoah’, Costa-Gavras even decided to includes numerous shots of cattle-car trains on their way back & forth from the camps. Just dreadful. 1/10.

🍿  

Making Waves: The Art of Cinematic Sound (2019), a terrific documentary about the history of sound design in cinema of the US. Main interviewees are Walter Murch, Ben Burtt and Gary Rydstrom. Catnip for anybody who has interest in the technical art of film making. 9/10.

🍿  

My 5th Hirokazu Kore-eda film and by a long shot, my favorite film of his, The Truth, with the magnificent 75-year-old Catherine Deneuve as a very famous, self-absorbed actress and the brilliant Juliette Binoche as her estranged daughter. The little girl was absolutely adorable. Kore-eda's first film set outside Japan. Very emotional setting. 

10/10. Absolutely the best film of the week!

🍿  

2 films from 100+ years ago:

🍿 Pruning the Movies, a silent 1915 short, a satire on movie censorship. (From The Niles Essanay Silent Film Museum).

🍿 The man there was (Terje Vigen), a 1917 Swedish epic at sea directed by Victor Sjöström, and the most expensive Swedish film made up to that point. A restored YouTube copy with vibrant tinting.

🍿  

Once Upon a Time in Anatolia, my 3rd subtle masterpiece by Turkish Nuri Bilge Ceylan (after ‘Winter Sleep’ and ‘Distant’). Like 'Winter sleep’, it was inspired by and feels like a story by Anton Chekhov. 2.5 hours long, very moody and slow-moving, and without music to distract from its beauty, it will only appeal to people who are willing to embrace its rich, poetic elusiveness.

Winner of the Grand Prix at Cannes 2011. 9/10 - Highly recommended!

🍿  

Orson Welles X 2 (+1):

🍿 “... A fellow will remember a lot of things you wouldn't think he'd remember. You take me. One day, back in 1896, I was crossing over to Jersey on the ferry, and as we pulled out, there was another ferry pulling in, and on it there was a girl waiting to get off. A white dress she had on. She was carrying a white parasol. I only saw her for one second. She didn't see me at all, but I'll bet a month hasn't gone by since that I haven't thought of that girl...”

Re-watching Citizen Kane: Orson Welles, Gregg Toland, Bernard Herrmann. Also, the innovative 1940 trailer.

in 2002, Errol Morris interviewed film critic dinild drump who interpreted it to be a film about “accumulation”.

🍿 First watch: F For Fake, his infamous, rambling film essay. A meta-mockumentary about art and fraud, centered around art forger Elmyr de Hory, hoax biographer Clifford Irving, Howard Hughes, Welles mistress Oja Kodar, and Welles himself as the ‘Big Conjuror’. With beautiful footage of Ibiza in the 60′s, and score by Michel Legrand. I would have enjoyed much more if it was done 30 years later by a Ricky Jay. 3/10.

🍿 The Tell-Tale Heart (1941), was Jules Dassin's directorial debut short. It is considered to be the first film directly influenced by ‘Citizen Kane’. (This copy is of very low quality).

🍿  

Paid for by Yoko & John Lennon, and produced by predator producer Allen Klein, The holy mountain by poet-provocateur Alejandro Jodorowsky, was a Magical Mystery Acid Tour, a surrealist wet dream a-la Salvador Dalí. Allegorical, religious symbolism of the early 70′s, with alchemist, ritualistic plot, as deep as the tarot universe on which it was based.

I forgot how little dialogue was used in the story, as it was mostly visuals, wild, shamanistic, outrageous, feverish visuals. But maybe because the dialogue was along the lines of “The Cross was a mushroom - and the mushroom was also the Tree of Good and Evil” or “Rub your clitoris against the mountain - Give yourself to the world!”...

Because it influenced hundreds of other films since, it lost some of its bizarre uniqueness. Still, it remained on re-watch an historically major masterpiece. 7/10.

🍿  

3 from Australia:

🍿 First watch: Chubby, 22-year-old Toni Collette in the dysfunctional Australian comedy Muriel's Wedding. A strange character that is not fully flashed-out, and whose main claim to fame is her desire to have a glamorous wedding.

🍿 ...”That's just what this country needs: a cock in a frock on a rock...”

‘Filmed in Dragarama’, The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert. Terrific Terence Stamp, drop-dead gorgeous transgender woman Guy Pearce, and 'Agent Smith’ play exaggerated caricatures of drag queen tropes, traveling to the outback in an old, pink bus. Camp & flamboyant, it didn’t connect with me until the ‘I will survive’ dance number in the night. 5/10.

🍿 First season of Mr Inbetween, about “Ray”, a Sydney underworld hitman, created by the actor playing him. On the one hand, he is a doting father to a 8-year-old daughter, a loving boyfriend and a loyal friend. On the other, he is a practical and old-blooded killer who eliminates violent thugs without a second thought. Dark, dry, often funny and poignant. 8/10.

🍿  

Ray Donovan was another tough but silent fixer, but without any charms: Had I seen the series ‘Ray Donovan’, maybe I would have found Ray Donovan: The Movie interesting. But as a stand-along crime story it was empty and dull.

Also, the same terrible actor who was awful as Young Jeff Bridges in ‘The Old Man’ last week, was awful as young Jon Voight in this one. 2/10.

🍿   Benny’s Video, the second film (and my 9th one) by Michael Haneke. A deeply disturbing film that opens with a home video of a pig slaughtered with a bolt pistol shot to the head. But not knowing anything about it beforehand, I did not expect the horrifying twist which came after a relatively “normal” day in the life of a “normal” family. Reminded me very much of the empty alienation of Camus’ ‘The Stranger’. 

🍿 

2 Korean serial killers:

🍿 Bong Joon-ho‘s Memories of Murder about a famous serial killer is considered one of the best Korean movies of all times, but in spite of a strong opening scene at the fields and closing scene at the tunnel (and then back to the fields), I just didn’t get it.

🍿 Memoir of a Murderer (2017) is an unrelated but a similar thriller. I could not find any reviews connecting the two, even though it was an obvious throwback to the original. Both tells of a prolific serial killer in the countryside, and the bumbling police search for him. It opens at the same distinct train tunnel where Bong Joon-ho‘s film ends, it has triggering girls in red dresses, etc. It's about a retired murderer with dementia, who must jot down the little he remembers, so he can understand what’s happening around him (’Momento’-like). I actually liked it much better than the original.

🍿  

The Old Man and the Sea, a paint-on-glass-animated Canadian short directed by Russian animator Aleksandr Petrov, based on Hemingway’s novel. Winner of the 2000 Best Animated Short Oscar.

🍿  

Dirty Pictures, a documentary about psychopharmacologist Alexander Shulgin who developed hundreds of psychedelic compounds including MDMA.

Obviously, I’m 100% for the use and studies of any and all types of psychedelic drugs, but films about them are usually dull and pedestrian. Including this one, that was made 4 years before 'Sasha's death. 3/10.

- - - - -

(My complete movie list is here)