#and another deku is so smart ep

[chaisshitposts]

thanks for reminding me i can manifest them to be chill- i way too used to my strict parents lmao

THE JOJO REFERENCES GOES HARD FR

i haven't catched up with hxh manga but i did finish the anime and basically killua split up to protect alluka and gon wanted to meet his father so they technically couldn't stay together, there's a possibility that they won't appear in the manga again :((

don't blame me😭 the first thing i saw about kny was that episode and nezuko (there was so many nezuko edits oml), but first episode was like a 50/50 for me?? i'm pretty sure it's because i used to watch like really dark magical girls animes when i was younger and my cousins always made me watch the final destination series with them🧍🏻

OML TOJI I REMEMBER READING THE MANGA AND WANTING HIM AND MEGUMI TO MEET SDCNKSDJFBS and yuta is the literal definition of looking like a cinnamon roll but can actually kill you

I DON'T BLAME YOU ABOUT THE PROMISED NEVERLAND CUz Isabella's jumpscare in the first episode was😭😭🖐🏻 and yES PLS GIVE BUNGO STAY DOGS A CHANCE!

KATEKYO HITMAN REBORN?? I HAVEN'T WATCHED IT YET BUT MY COUSIN WATCHES IT A LOT

there's something so scrumptiously delicious about main characters who are weak but are actually strong and just humbles the people who underestimates them, like, sLAY

my sister recommended me mashle! it's on to watch list since i'm planning on binge watching animes in my waiting room and PLS TELL ME THAT ZOM 100 IS FINALLY COMPLETED, I'VE BEEN WANTING TO BINGE WATCH IT SINCE LIKE LAST LAST MONTH

i'm currently watching the apothecary diaries! It's so refreshing because the female lead is so smart and pragmatic, like she doesn't give a sht about the male lead and just loves medicine and poison tasting so much😫 the only thing i dislike is how she's being forced to be the male lead's partner but the plot is still good heheh

🐧anon

no problemo 🕵️ gotta help the homies out. everything in life is a jojo reference, even jesus.

oml nO wait I watched the whole HXH manga and know they split up I was just acting delusional 😭 and uGh I hope the manga gets finished one day... The creator has bad health-- wait a damn minute I can just manifest his health back wtf am I sayin' 🧐

PFFFTTT what a wild read— and oh god no don't even talk about final destination to me, I cannot drive on the freeway normally sometimes bc of that shit, everytime I see a truck with like oversized loads (especially the fuckers with the big ass steel poles on the back of them) I always get chills, even though I know nothing is gonna happen to me cause I said so 🧍

toji didn't even remember he had son.... deadbeat dad type beat. yuta and rika deserve better ngl

isabella and that other maid... they are nightmare fuel. and yes!!!!!! I will absolutely give it another chance for the adorable tiger boy with the fruity little haircut!!! bingeing anime in yer waitin' room??? bruh that's literally so big brain wtf I low-key wanna shift to all my favorite animes one of these days 🕵️ but I have this underlying worry about the version of myself being left behind to do my dirty work lmfao

also- katekyo hitman reborn! is super good, but I will say that I have been rewatchin' it for a sense of nostalgia on and off whenever I have time and god the first like--- 20 episodes are fuckin' cringe but the main character's awakenin' is satisfying 😭 he's like the og deku

I have no idea if all the eps have been posted for zom 100 !!!! I will check for you today if I remember--- I haven't had time to check after watching like the first three episodes on crunchyroll—

OooOo an anime with a strong female lead!?!?! I would absolutely eat that shit up oml gobble gobble gobble— ew that plot sounds cringey. man, I really want an anime with a stoic, underestimated female lead whos like majorly asexual... wait 🧍 hold on, I basically just described saiki k... I NEED A FULL THIRD SEASON OF THE DISASTROUS LIFE OF SAIKI K.

[mysterylover123]

BNHA Rewatch: Episode 48 “Symbol of Peace”

mysterylover123

In which Power of Friendship Saves the day, at least for a little while.

All Might is Mad. Capital M.

Endeavor is such a Tsundere. Damn my weakness for RivalShipping.

Best Jeanist: So Cool even AFO has to admit it.

Holy Crap. (Definitely Bakugou’s mentor there.)

OMFG ITS KACCHAN. How rough is mouth sludge transportation, bTW? Everyone looks traumatized afterwards.

“All for You Tomura” Hoo boy is that ironic.

What the hell does Tomura really want with Bakugo?

Iida and Momo save the day by stopping Bakugou’s dumbass boyfriend trio from running out and getting themselves killed.

This shot is so awesome!!!!!!

“You slowpoke!” wow AFO. I really like how AFO talks about his power combos, BTW. He’s so perfect. He sounds exactly like the kind of character he is, if that makes sense.

Ooh someone’s smart and putting all the pieces together.

“ALL MIGHT!!!!” Listen to that delivery! Someone’s concerned for someone else, he does have a heart!

AFO is so quick to deal with getting the league to safety. Sometimes I wish the good guys had a teleport like this.

Bakugou vs the Entire League. Guess who wins.

Now Deku is enacting one of his most brilliant schemes and reminding me why he’s #1 best Boy and smartest ever.

Everyone plays a part! Momo made the tracker, Todoroki the ramp, Deku and Iida the Momentum, Deku the plan, and Kiri the friendship power. Also Bakugou the jump.

BTW have I mentioned how sexy Todoroki is in that outfit?

Bakugou may not like it but he has to accept that he needs to be saved.

Ah the big KiriBaku moment. Doesn’t do anything as a ship for me, but I enjoy the friendship nonetheless.

AHHHH YAY THIS AWESOME SHOT THIS SHOT IS SO AMAZING I LOVE IT

That smile must be protected.

Mt. Lady in the clinch! You’re a real goddamn hero. Keep my Wonder Duo safe.

“Darn kids!”

Aw Tomura and Toga!

Damn MLA Arc Feels again.

 Dammit now I want to hug the villain. What the hell is with this series.

AFO’s personal venom against All Might is part of what makes me think the Dad-for-One theory could be true. Like…I dunno, it seems like such a strangely dedicated, highly personalized loathing.

All Might gives a big damn speech and a final strike…does this end his foe? As if! (holy crap next episode is THAT ONE).

Episode 48 is mostly an episode of exclamations. It’s exciting and dramatic and tense from start to finish, filled with clever strategies from both sides, a brilliant back and forth that all culminates in that wonderful rescue, and with the final battle between good and evil’s ultimate exemplars just revving up to go.

BKDK Corner

Deku in a state of panic, but when he hears Kacchan’s voice, suddenly he can focus. He’s brave.

Deku is so guilty about that incident, it’s a motivator for him as much as it is for Katsuki.

You gotta love that telepathy Deku and Kacchan have. Also, guess who’s been watching Kacchan from a distance as he makes friends since the start of school.

YAY HE SAVED HIM! Some day he will take your hand, Deku. Some Day.

BEST GIRL AWARD: Mt. Lady holding onto it from last ep

RANKER: Deku’s Smartest Moments and Schemes

5. Using Eri’s quirk to go at continual 100%

4. Strategy against Katsuki, Battle Trial Arc

3. The Bakugou rescue Plan Part 1 (Training Camp)

2. The Bakugou Rescue Plan

1. Stratagem to win the Obstacle Race

[riskeith]

good morning love! (or afternoon for you hehe)

deku vs kacchan part 2 is my favorite ep of the entire series actually. i’ve watch that ep so many times as well it’s just perfect. i got into them when i watched that episode actually! the voice acting god..... literally shivers. now that i think about it it might even be my favorite anime ep of all time help. i just love how bakugou lets it all out and we get to see that side of him.. the insecure scared child he tries to hide. god i could ramble about it forever idk just love it. OH YOU WATCHED THE MOVE RIGHT AFTER? a scene with bakugou and todoroki is guaranteed a good time.. and they work so well together. haha that’s such a nice coincidence tho their dynamic is great in that movie even if it’s mostly kiribaku sjsksjk. what do you think about kiribaku btw?

RIGHT!!! at least we have a couple days to decide hihi.... paimon no longer emergency snack.. only seelie. 🥴 oooh? what kind of thing have you envisioned? (if you wanna share ofc!)

i’ve seen so many people mention that!! like one of the worst parts of the game is that in the higher level you get the less there are to do.. ssjksjdk at some point all you can do is grind domains and try to level up shdkdfhdj

LEVEL 40 INTO A LEVEL 70+ FIGHT ok that’s honestly hilariously brave doesn’t she like die right away 😔 oh yeah you’ll be leveling up Again soon *praying for you*... can’t believe they don’t keep the easy bosses anymore sjdkfh that’s so rude. this game is just grind grind grind. WE NEED A BENNY STORY SO BADLY. like imagine a story with him wanting to seek out diluc because he wants to learn how to fight from a master or something like that. i saw it in a comic and i can’t stop thinking about it 😭 all of them deserve stories!!! there’s so many ways they could make it happen pls mihoyo... chongyun x xingqiu story... <333

shfkjdskdjhf nope right now i’m playing with noelle as my main damage dealer, traveller, lisa and barbara actually. so i think i have a pretty good balance atm.. 2 long range 2 short range-ish. i usually trade out barbara for another character if i have to tho, hehe. that’s only combat though ^ benny is with me when we explore. mood is me having a 5 star and not even using her... i still need to think of ways qiqi could fit into the group yk. is your group still looking the same as before? ooooh if you could rank the elements what would your ranking look like?

172!!!!! that’s a bit short though when you said tall i thought like... 190 or something sjksjdxk. wait how tall are You?

oh i just meant like... people bashing others for spending too much money on the game vs those that bash people for not spending money and complaining that they don’t get 5 star etc? idk yt comments can be so ugly though so it’s a good thing that you don’t read them sjdjdjdkd

that’s super smart!!! you just follow along the plan and delete when you come to the part. must feel so satisfying too i imagine. haha, what little notes i have i put in the notes app and just check up on when i need to. sometimes i even forget they’re there shdkdhsks. my notes are filled with half-assed dialogue or random one words notes that don’t make any sense to me anymore.. nskdhddjdj

you’re right!! so you write at night? sometimes i just open docs on my phone and write a bit before i sleep and when i wake up it’s either a grammatical mess or just... super bad hskshd the brain is simply too tired to create anything shakespeareian

nooo i’ll def check these out and let you know what i think. i’ve seen halsey being in pretty much every klance playlist on spotify so i imagine she portrays their vibes pretty nicely. doesn’t she have a song she sings about being blue and red or something... shdjfhdj such a bad description but i see it being used in edits a lot. also now that i think of it melanie has a song called pacify her that i really like!! do you like it?

THATS SO CUTE YOU ARE A CRYBABY. 🥺 same here tbh i actually like crying sometimes... sjskdjdjd like you said it just feels nice to get it all out. i cry to almost movie or series or book i read i’m a super emotional person but i also think it adds to the experience? you feel more immersed in it that way.

RIGHT??? ITS SO BEAUTIFUL!!! and it’s our boys 😭 and they’re cuddling 😭 under the sun 😭 ssjdjdhdjdj 😭

can’t wait to hear from you again <3 yours, ma <3

good night! more like ahhah

:o!! that’s so legendary of them wow.. <33 and yeah honestly the voice acting is phenomenal.. and all the implications behind the fight too? bakugou finally opening up? midoriya understanding that what he needs is to fight him? ugh. kiribaku is fine! fhdsjfks my brain is so full of todobaku that any other ship is really just... in the background hfskjfs but i can appreciate the relationship they have! with kiri being the only one bakugou has really acknowledged and seeing as being on the same level, that iconic hand clasp when bakugou was being rescued... i have a kiribaku fic in my drafts but idk if i can ever get to it ahha. you like them a lot right?

ikkk also i didn’t know we had to wait until the very end to buy? i have more than enough to buy it rn but when i clicked it said ‘must explore area 14 first’ and i was just... bruh. AHAHAH. okay so in my mind it’s like.. chongyun at a funky angle we’re kinda looking up at him and his body is like bent down towards us fhsdkjs idk how to describe it but i can picture it very well but i also cannot put it to paper/screen. and then his clothes are just black instead of white! HAHAH. tho i kinda wanna see if i can draw a xiao first to offer up to the gacha gods hfsdjkfs (and if i can i’ll do a version w a dark outfit too for u hehe)

legitttt im literally just logging in and grinding the talent domains every day fhsdkjfhskfhjd there are some artifacts i want as well but the domain is literally SO difficult for me fuck.

i just go in and use her skill then heal a bit and switch right away fhsdkjfsd it going alright! and then i go ham with my other 3 charas and switch back to her to heal again fhskfjd. OMGGG that’s so cute please... i miss diluc too... come back!! i wish we had a way to replay the old quests even if we get nothing out of them like i just wanna experience it again ya know.

oooo! that’s pretty nice. hfskjd you could switch barbara out for qiqi! since she’s a healer as well. omg wait you have lumine right? so your combat team has no males? legendary 😩 we love fighting queens! ya! traveller, chongyun, xiangling, fischl. and then i switch depending on the domain/boss i’m gonna fight. hmm elements I think would go: anemo, cryo, electro, pyro, hydro, geo, dendro? LMAO i reckon if i had diluc tho pyro would be higher... i also almost forgot to add geo to that list lmaooooooo oops, hbu??

I JUST SAW THE LINK.... AAAAAAAAAAAAH!!! the bestest boys look how cute they’re sjdkfjdjjdd i’m obsessed. the picture where benny has his back turned sjdudjdjddnd stop. 🥺 they’re so neat. 🥺 also NO ARE YOU SERIOUS? that’s so upsetting are you gonna try it out nonetheless or do you think it’s too risky?

they’re SO neat!!! and bennett facing the other way was so fhskjfd yeah cute <3333333 I KNOWWW IM SO SAD :((( and no...... im not gonna try 😭😭😭 i told my brother about it too and he asked how many rolls i was at and i said 70 and he was straight up ‘you can’t try then’ and i was like ‘i know 😔😔’. @ xiao... i am giving up xingqiu rate up for you 😤😤😤😤 ugh i hope i can still get xingqiu in xiao’s banner tho even tho the chances will be shit. are you gonna roll ganyu’s banner?

FHSKJFSD NOOOOOO don’t tell me 172 is average for you wtf... (apparently the average male height in japan is 160cm! for reference ahah) and i myself am. one hundred and. fifty something cm hfsdjfhskjdfhskdjfhw9uehdsifhwsdkjfhsdkfhsd 😔 big sighs lmaoooooooo. how tall are you? (im assuming much taller 😔😔😔😔😔)

ooh notes app? nice ahaha. fhdkjfhskfsk hdthat’s the mood tho! if i don’t have my laptop with me i’ll write out everything on notes first then transfer to my laptop~

AHAHAH yeahhh i think mostly i do? bc during school times i’ll only write after i’m done with my work which = night time. for a while Peak writing time for me was like 1am lmfao but i do that in a like half-asleep half-conscious state so when i come back the next day at a “normal” time i run into the same issue as you fshdfkjshfs

she does!!! it’s called colours 😩 but i think the one i related to voltron most is control! there was this really good shiro edit with that song i still remember it to this day <3 yeah i do!!! i like most of melanie’s songs actually ahahah. i think my favourite for a while was show and tell~

it totally does!! like it’s satisfying as well you know... like the characters have gone through so much and you experienced that with them so it’s natural to get emotional about it. that reminds me, what kind of books do/did you read? did you read all Those YA novels ahah talking about crying has reminded me how i cried reading those..

<333 i wanna be there with them 😩 actually no i want to BE them 😩😩😩

eager for your response <33 love, c.r.

[ladyloveandjustice]

My Hero Academia Episode 55- WE REALLY DON’T WANT YOU TO FORGET WHO THE MAIN CHARACTERS ARE

-Man, I really appreciate Ojou-sama antagonist hero’s style. She does seem to fit the trend of all the female hero opponents being weirdly sadistic where the male opponents are not, BUT SHE HAS A LESBIAN SQUAD, SO I GOTTA APPRECIATE HER. And at least she’s not sexually harrassing anyone.

-Momo finally gets some spotlight again! And shows off her penchant for leadership and strategy nicely! But she of course, has to think “what would Todoroki or Iida or Midoriya do???” WHAT WOULD ALL THESE DUDES WHO ARE CLEARLY INHERENTLY BETTER THAN ME DO I GUESS.  Like seriously, her inferiority complex with Todoroki was already established and I was fine with that, why are we adding Deku and Iida to the mix so suddenly? Momo has BARELY interacted with them. 

I mean she did go on the Bakugou Rescue squad with them but Iida wasn’t particularly helpful during that whole deal so I don’t know why she’s all impressed with him. Like, he’s book smart for sure but he certainly hasn’t distinguished himself as particularly good at strategy or anything. (honestly it would have been hilarious if she’d just gotten into the momentum of it and named the whole squad like “What would Todoroki or Iida or Midoriya or Kiri- okay never mind what Kirishima would do god what am I thinking")

Not only that, but WWMD (What Would Midoriya Do) is suddenly a factor in Soji’s thoughts for not particular reason too. Like this is something that annoys me about shonen that MHA avoided for a while- not EVERYONE has to be inspired by the main character, especially his PEERS. I know that’s Deku’s goal as proto All Might, but it doesn’t make sense his classmates would be taken with him to this degree YET, and them thinking of him here feels so superfluous. 

Momo’s internal crisis would have been much stronger if she didn’t flash back to Midoriya’s words- or maybe if she’d started thinking “What would Todoroki do” but then went “no, what would I do.” Because Todoroki is the one she’s ESTABLISHED as feeling inferior too- but also, he’s not actually a team player! Momo is and she’s a leader in a way he really isn’t, and that’s her strength! This is the perfect opportunity for her to realize that, rather than just finding another man to compare herself to.

-Anyway, that annoyance aside, the fight is still strong, and I like the Tsuyu/Jiro/Soji/Momo squad. Seeing them look out for each other was cute, and so was Tsuyu getting wrapped in a blankie. Momo sure had a mono-boob at points though.

-ANYWAY LET’S CHECK IN ON BAKUGOU AND KIRISHIMA I GUESS. The other person who is highest on the Bakugou tolerance scale, Denki, has joined them. Kirishima is still scolding Bakugou about Being Rude, I would have given up at this point, but this boy is clearly not a quitter. THAT’S WHY HE’S A HERO! speaking of which, Kirishima totally sacrifices himself to protect Bakugou, which apparently wasn’t in the manga, and it cracks me up that apparently the anime staff is as into this pairing as the fandom is. He gets...turned into a really gross blob? Bakugou’s all like “GONNA MURDER YOU” to the guy who did it, but that isn’t really a shippy thing because he’d have said the exact thing if the guy had simply approached and waved hello.

This guy is even more obnoxious than Bakugou and it is in those situations his obstinate shines because this exchange genuinely cracked me up-

Guy: so we, the distinguished and dignified heroes of this academy are far beyond the vulgar heroes of yours and we have a long tradition of-

Bakugou: wow i hate you

Denki: I don’t...i don’t understand what he’s saying?

Bakugou; he said he has small eyes

Guy: I DID NOT. THEY ARE LONG AND BEAUTIFUL

Denki: Bakugou please don’t antagonize the guy who can turn people into gross flesh blobs god why did i come with you

Bakugou: BEATS ME.

-JUST IN CASE WE’VE ALL FORGOTTEN WHO THE MAIN CHARACTERS ARE Aizawa gives this speech about how the class is great not because like. they’re cool kids with different strengths, no, it’s all down to the TWO KIDS who happen to be our main characters ~inspiring them~ and OKAY WE GET IT DEKU’S THE MAIN CHARACTER YOU DON’T NEED TO KEEP HITTING US OVER THE HEAD WITH IT WE G E T IT

but it’s downright nonsensical to say this about Bakugou  because while the episode has hit us over the head with how Deku’s inspired anyone who’s interacted with him for two seconds, we. uh. really haven’t gotten that for Bakugou? Like. I see no evidence he’s inspired anyone in the class other than Deku and possibly Kirishima? Well, maybe he inspired Ochaco to work harder since she couldn’t beat him??? ANYWAY THAT’S THREE PEOPLE. I DON’T REALLY GET WHY IT’S SUCH A BIG DEAL. Todoroki and Momo have roughly the same record. like i’m not a hater! but! you can’t just say “this kid has been important inspiration for this class” and give zero evidence for it beyond “well he’s a main character so.” 

oooooh well. At least we actually got to spend some time with supporting characters in this ep and meet a few interesting new folks. I liked it better than the two before it thanks to that.

[bizarre-dollhouse]

My Top 10 Favourite Anime (And Why You Should Watch Them)

This is normally something I would put on my main blog, but I wanted to celebrate a follower milestone and also I know this will reach a significantly wider audience on this blog.

Consider this both a list of recommendations and a *get to know me* thing, I guess.

Honourable Mentions:

Bakemonogatari: A really stylized show about a semi vampire helping people with their supernatural afflictions born from emotional issues. The subsequent seasons get a little questionable, but this is definitely a standalone story with great dialogue and visuals. (15 eps)

Shiki: Creepy story about a small town infested with vampires. Really brutal and sick, but it has fascinating themes. The pacing is a bit slow and it has a kind of bad scene towards the end, but the show is 100% worth it. (24 eps)

Cardcaptor Sakura: Because this is mostly aimed at younger viewers, I would only really recommend this show for either magical girl fans, or people who watched the extremely altered dub as a kid. That being said, its a cute, fun show about magic with a likeable cast and surprisingly creative and original ideas, especially towards the latter half. (70 eps)

Jojos Bizarre Adventure 4: Diamond is Unbreakable: Full disclosure, I have not seen the first 3 jojo series, but its not necessary to enjoy this show. This is a super creative and really fun series about superpowered badasses in a strange city fighting each other and trying to solve a murder mystery in the background. Weird, but in the best way. (39 eps)

Kuroshitsuji: Book of Circus: This should be higher on the list, but in truth I would recommend the manga way over the show. But, if you want to watch a supernatural horror/comedy without reading a 138+ chapter manga, OR you were a fan of the original Black Butler seasons and want to see something way better, give this a watch. (10 eps)

*drumroll*

10. Trigun

So Trigun takes place is this old west, yet mysterious science fiction-y world where, through a bunch of complicated scenarios, a pacifist is the most wanted criminal known to man. Due to his status as a “natural disaster,” two insurance workers are tasked with reining him in to save their business. It’s an incredibly charming series, and the protagonist is really likeable. It’s extremely creative, funny, and emotional near the end. I do have some problems with the ending because it almost seems like the final conflict just...solves itself, but that’s a nitpick. The first episode is basically a short film, so give that a watch and see how you feel. (26 eps)

9. Paranoia Agent

This was directed by the late and great Satoshi Kon and has his usual themes about the blurring between fiction, dreams, and reality. It’s about a string of mysterious assaults committed by a kid with a baseball bat, and how these assaults seem to solve the problems of the victims. It’s very arthouse and has a twist that makes me ball my eyes out even though it’s not sad it’s just...odd and overwhelming. It drags a bit near the middle, but if you like kind of surreal stuff that’s also just really good, you have to watch this show. (13 eps)

8. Baby Steps

The amazing thing about this show is that its premise is specifically designed to make me hate it. It’s about a nerdy teenager who starts to play a sport for the sole sake of getting fit and having a more well rounded life style, and also he has a crush on this really popular girl. That sounds fucking awful, but the main character is actually really likeable (he reminds me a lot of Deku from BNHA) and I swear to fucking god every time I thought this show was going to do something awful and cliched with its romantic comedy plot, it doesn’t. The beauty and the geek trope is still there, but all of the bullshit that comes with it is omitted in a way I feel was kind of self-aware. The sports aspect is really good too: it’s well paced and there’s lots of tension even though the show as a whole is really upbeat and pleasant. I had a blast watching it, and if you can make it past the fact that is has god awful animation, give it a watch.

7. Higurashi: When They Cry

Yet another great show with absolute garbage animation. Anyways, this show is about a group of teenagers in a small town who are unknowingly trapped in a time loop. In each loop there’s a bunch of new mysteries, as well as some extremely brutal murders and tortures experienced my the main cast. I’ve seen a number of Western shows (Orphan Black, BBC Sherlock, Lost, Supernatural, etc.) fall apart because the writers want a really clever and intricate mystery to play out, but they don’t want to actually put the time into crafting one, so it’s just a bunch of cliffhangers with no answers or pay off. THIS SHOW SUCCEEDS AT WHAT ALL OF THOSE OTHER SHOWS FAIL AT. While not all of the answers are great (the second season isn’t as good) the original author somehow made the world’s most ludicrously complicated mystery story work, with a lot of it relying on the audience to put all of the pieces together even when the characters can’t. Its very clever in doing that: it makes its audience feel smart. It also has themes that don’t really show up in other horror stories, even though they’re incredibly relevant to fear and violence. Great show, go watch it. (50 eps)

6. Fullmetal Alchemist Brotherhood

Everyone knows about this show, everyone says it’s great, and everyone’s right. If you’ve been living under a rock for ten years: the show is about two brothers who break an alchemy taboo, which destroys their bodies, They’re on the hunt for something to restore them to normal and along the way they meet like 8990354578579 characters with interesting stories. It’s tightly written and really gripping. It’s fun, but also really dramatic and emotional when it needs to be. My only problems with it are that the ending is reaaaallllly convoluted, and there’s a minor plot point earlier on that gets weirdly dropped, but everyone kinda forgets about those things because the show’s so good. Also the brotherly bond makes me cry. (64 eps)

5. FLCL

I honestly don’t even know where to start with this show because it has the unique property of being the only show I have ever seen that I have literally no problems with. Not even nitpicks. There is nothing wrong with this show; it’s perfect. The only reason it’s not number 1 is because some other shows have more ideas or more fleshed out characters. So this arthouse spastic comedy is about a boy who is disappointed with all of the adults in his life, then some chick hits him in the face with a guitar and giant robots from a secret facility start coming out of his head. It’s fucking wild and has like 30 different aesthetics and I love all of them. It’s the best looking show I’ve ever seen and one of the best directed. It feels like someone read a really weird poem and turned it into a 6 episode show. It’s funny, it’s emotional, it’s cartoony, it’s beautiful, it’s raunchy, it’s poetic, it’s silly, it’s creative, and it’s got strong themes. The wtf visuals, the nonsensical plot, and the amazing soundtrack make an aesthetic experience more than anything. (6 eps)

4. Princess Tutu

I already made a post about this show and why it’s good, which you can check out here, but the gist is it’s a meta fairytale about a duck that turns into a girl to help a storybook prince find his emotions. I used to love stories that were “twists on fairytales” or whatever, but after watching this show I realized that the genre is pretty derivative. This show is so amazing it honestly made me reevaluate an entire genre and come to the conclusion that this is the only member of that genre worth watching. It’s truly creative and well crafted with fantastic characters. (26 eps)

3. Hunter x Hunter (2011)

This show is basically a bunch of creative ideas, unique set pieces, and interesting characters stacked on top of each other in a trench coat disguised as a narrative. It’s about a perky shonen protagonist and a child assassin becoming friends while also trying to become hunters (a position involving vast wealth and adventure). It’s in a modern fantasy setting so literally anything can happen. In one arc they have to play life-or-death dodgeball against robots, and another is an insanely epic tale about the intense evil that people are capable of (feat. a 25 episode climax). I can’t even talk about all of the themes or ideas because there are just too many. Because of it’s wild, sprawling story, it has a lot of ass pulls and retcons, but in the grand scheme of things they don’t really matter. It’s long, but super easy to watch in huge chunks. (148 eps)

2. Neon Genesis Evangelion and The End of Evangelion

The most efficient way to describe this show is to say that it’s the most interesting show ever made. It’s about an apocalyptic future in which emotionally disturbed teenagers must pilot giant bio-machines to fight monsters which are referred to as angels. It’s got deep characters, a creative story, and is probably the most well directed show I’ve ever seen. The ending infamously fell apart due to production problems, so there’s a movie called The End of Evangelion to conclude the story. It’s a very disturbing arthouse movie, so watch out for that, but the show as a whole is moooosssstly more straightforward and fascinating, This is an absolute must watch. (26 eps and 1 movie)

1. Baccano!

Baccano! takes place in 1930s New York, and is about thieves, gangsters, criminals, terrorists, alchemists, and immortals interacting in this nonlinear comedy/action thrill ride. I felt like I was on a rollercoaster while watching this show. It’s the perfect blend of action, comedy, romance, drama, horror, and creative storytelling. It’s fantastic to rewatch since the first episodes barely make any sense without context (but are still an absolute joy to watch). It’s got great characters and it’s a great story. Go watch it. And then watch it again. (13 eps and 3 OVAs)

That’s it for this list! Check out my MAL page for more recommendations if you’re interested and have a great night! 

[thespacequail]

Jushinki Pandora (ep. 1)

Wow, just...I feel shocked.  I had super low expectations of this show when I heard about it.  I was expecting loads of pointless exposition, horrible CG animation, and really bad science.  I got only half of one of those things.  This review is gunna get real rambly, real fast, but if you liked shows like Attack on Titan, or Kabaneri of the Iron Fortress, give this show a try.

>Let me tell you about exposition for a few minutes, have you ever in real life had a conversation about how electricity has revolutionized how we communicate, or walked to the bus stop explaining to your friend how the internal combustion engine accelerated humanity out of the rural agricultural society of ages past into the urban metropolis we now call home?  No. Ok well, maybe once, as like a joke, or a thought experiment, or you just saw a show about it on the History channel.  Point is, most people don’t normally talk like that, they don’t discuss common knowledge for no reason, and yet this happens in so many shows and movies.  When that revelation was dropped on me, I was pissed because now I notice it everywhere, and honestly it is just lazy writing.  Characters don’t need to tell other characters that “In this world, magic is everything.” cause they live there so they should bloody know that!  It’s dialogue that only exists to catch the viewer up to speed, and that’s lazy writing.

>So what’s all that got to do with Last Hope? Everything.  Because Last Hope (so far) doesn’t do this.  The only time exposition is directly explained to the viewer is a short, narrated overview of the situation the world is in and generally how it happened.  It’s kinda like the bit in My Hero Academia where Deku explains quirks and Heroes to the audience, that part is key, it’s narration separate from the actual story that explicitly tells the audience “this is the one confusing thing that makes our world different, get it? Good, on with the show.”  Back to Last Hope, character’s don’t talk about how “BRAI have hunted humanity to near extinction so that’s why we live in this run down shack.” “Yes but I have developed these anti-BRAI bug zappers so we are safe here.”  Nah, fuck that, you know how they do that scene?  The main character literally stands around outside buck naked, we get a wide shot of their re-purposed airplane home, and though Leon (the MC) does talk about the BRAI repellent, they mention it the same way we would casually ask if someone brought a citronella candle to the picnic, after that he’s just talking to himself about making sure it doesn’t short circuit and fail, only to stub his toe on all the junk he has lying around cause he was absorbed in thought.  I just love this whole scene, from Leon listing off possible annoyances to him struggling to cook dinner, it does well to humanize him and Chloe in a humorous but believable way.  I also like how the military guy (whose name escapes me) refers to Leon as “that one guy” until the end where he calls him by his full name, followed by “the man who destroyed the world”.  Now I can hear you thinking “But isn’t that expository dialogue?  Everyone should know that already, that’s just a cheap cliffhanger for the audience.”  To which I say, is it common knowledge?  A man who was exiled from the city (which is another great thing Leon’s adopted sister didn’t exposite about to him [and the fact they left their relationship implied was SO good {I’m getting off track, where was I?}]), the reasoning for his exile wouldn’t necessarily be common knowledge to most people outside of the government. And, it’s not used as a title of exposition, but a term of resentment, the military guy is making it clear he knows who Leon is, and will not be taking things lightly when dealing with him.  This is good stuff.  I could go on but I have other stuff I want to talk about.  If you watch the episode with this in mind you’ll understand what I’m getting at.

>The science.  I love science.  I know a lot about it, so I was worried this show would just throw some science-y sounding words to seem smart to hand wave away what should just be magic.  But honestly, it holds water, it was relatively accurate.  The Quantum Generator?  That’s a real thing designed by Tesla, and yeah, maybe we could build a big one in a decade or two, I buy that.  Go look up a video on QEGs, and while you’re at it, look up quantum computers too, cause Leon’s Multidimensional Attack makes some sense too, sorta, we’re getting into magic territory, but it looked cool af, so I’m ok with it. The evolutionary field though? Looks like we’re playing fast and loose with the concept of mutations and evolution, but if I can accept X-Men mutants having basically magic powers for no reason, I can let this one slide too.  Hopefully the hand waving is kept to a bare minimum and the writers actually do their homework.

>Leon is great.  He’s a genius, but he’s not perfect.  He’s a klutz, he struggles with cooking because he over analyzes the process, and he’s a terrible pilot.  Let me say that again for the ones in the back, THE MAIN CHARACTER OF A MECH ANIME IS NOT A NATURAL THE FIRST TIME HE’S SHOWN PILOTING!  He flails around, unable to dodge slow hits, other characters comment about how he pilots like an amateur, the only reason he is able to defeat this giant enemy crab is cause if the hyperdrive, which I can only assume will be a consistent deus-ex-machina to save the day, I don’t mind this but  I really hope they show him learning over time how to be a better pilot because of this, struggling cause he over thinks it, but getting better as he comes to understand the “human element” his calculations lack.  Cheesy? kinda, but that’s ok if it’s done well.

>The 2D animation is really nice.  I like the look of the characters, locations like Leon’s home and the military command center feel right (lived in and familiar/oppressive and orderly respectively).  The CG though...ok, I get why it’s being used, it gives the BRAI an unnatural, otherworldly feel, and for the most part it works, but the 3D model quality looks kinda dated at times.  It’s not like, Berserk 2016 bad, but Pixar this certainly ain’t.  The transformer mechs are kinda cool, if not superfluous.  Why do they need to transform?  Why not have different classes of mechs?  Some that drive like tanks on steroids, ones that only fly and have to conserve power so they don’t just fall out of the sky, human shaped ones for melee combat or using massive cannons as if it were a rifle.  Why do they all have to have hands and turn into cars and motorcycles?  Just seems like a waste in this post-apocalyptic world where I can only assume resources are limited.  That being said there are some shots, like Leon in the hyperdrive mech facing off against the giant enemy crab, that look freaking amazing.  It can be done show, make it work.

Man I’ve been ranting for so long and I still have stuff I didn’t go into, like the one bounty hunter who keeps his cat in the cockpit with him, or the crab upgrading itself mid-fight even though it was already winning, GAH!  Go watch this show, it’s dumb fun that knows how to be smart and was made with a degree of care and detail usually only seen from big name studios/directors.

[natsspammityspamspamham]

Dino Watches Anime (Dec 31)

I haven’t done one of these in over a month, and I wanted to try to get this out before the year ends! It’s still 2019 here. Here are some anime I’ve been watching recently and what I thought of them.

Recently Completed

Dr Stone

This anime turned out so well!

I was hesitant at first. The character cast lacked a bit of diversity. I thought they were relying on the main character too much, but then I realized that that wasn’t necessarily a problem. Nobody will ever be as smart as this main character, and that’s okay. Everyone in this anime still plays a purpose, and even though that really showed more in the last episodes of the show, I think we’re in for a treat next season (that and I keep hearing that from my brother, thanks Kuya). The OPs and EDs were a lot of fun to listen to, the art was really good, the OST wasn’t the most memorable but I appreciated its service, and the casting was great! I don’t think I would stand for anyone else playing Senkuu at this point. Yuusuke Kobayashi has really proven how good of a seiyuu he is in recent years. He joined a little later in life and was more apparent in other types of work. Dr. Stone was a great anime, and even though it’s not even my favourite Shonen Jump series of this year (*cough* Kimetsu no Yaiba had a way stronger impact) it’s still worth the watch.

I rated this a 9/10 on MAL

Gamers!

You know how practically every romance anime has miscommunications which “add” to the plot? Now imagine that was an anime and that’s the only thing going on. That’s what “Gamers!” is, and it’s hilarious. I think I saw a YouTube comment that perfectly summed this up.

“This anime is great but it makes me want to bang my head against a wall”

It’s pretty much that! It’s hilarious in its writing, and even though it isn’t really about gaming, it showcases different types of gamers. We have a former gamer, a guy who’s terrible but plays to have fun, a hardcore gamer, an indie developer, and one person who doesn’t even like games! They make the cast really funny and inconvenient, and the seiyuu performances add to the hilarity. Seriously, this quickly became one of my favourite Toshiyuki Toyonaga roles. I think his best works come in the form of romances? Yuri on Ice, Zetsuen on Tempest, to a lesser extent Durarara, Gamers? It’s like he has experience with romance (he has a daughter and is married). Seriously, I almost want to make a post just dedicated to this anime. It has such a low rating on MAL because it is so cheesy, cliche, and it does sometimes drive you up the wall, but isn’t that all romance anime? I was okay watching socially inept people because I am socially inept.

Episode 2 came out of nowhere with it’s cliche yet fitting dialogue.

I rated this a 9/10 because I enjoyed it so much and it was the anime I needed at the time. I can definitely see why people wouldn’t watch it though.

Irozuku Sekai no Ashita kara

I went to the other side of the romance spectrum and went with a rom-drama instead of a rom-com like Gamers! And... I feel like I enjoyed Gamers! far more. Irozuku was a bit mean to colour-blind people if I’m completely honest. The characters were flat and uninteresting, but they began to get personality in... episode 8 or something? Also, being colour-blind isn’t as big of a deal as this anime makes it seem. They were so fast to say a girl was from the future but wanted to keep it a secret that she’s colour-blind? She also has no personality because she’s colour-blind? In fact, her personality is that she’s colour-blind? Did I mention she’s colour-blind? Anyway, the ending was conclusive but still left some unfinished ends. P.A. Works made this anime beautiful, I really like the OP and ED, but I ironically didn’t like the casting for this. I give praise to almost every anime for casting, but this anime couldn’t sell me on Kaori Ishihara (who is actually part of Magi which I keep commending for having one of my favourite casts) and Shoya Chiba (who was good in Dororo). The chemistry between the characters and cast didn’t work for me on this one which was sad because the ending would’ve made more of an impact if they’d gotten me more attached. The OST was also amazing so I thought I would add that. Besides that, it was a good premise (with pretty good execution), great art, an amazing OST, beautiful OPs and EDs, but subpar characters.

Asobi Asobase

At the time, Konomi Kohara, Hina Kino, and Rika Nagae didn’t really have that many roles outside of a few (well, Kohara had Tsuki ga Kirei but this really cemented her talent). This anime’s art style threw me in for a loop, and even though the humour didn’t always hit, this anime made me laugh at some points. It was vulgar, full of humour, and I’m really surprised Kino is still alive after screeching a lot. Seriously, that’s a lot. The ED is just them screeching too! Random appearances from big seiyuu are also present, and the animation by Lerche is all over the place. It sheds every essence of the innocence you thought it was going to have in ep 1 and keeps the pace going throughout.

I rated this anime a 7/10 because when humour doesn’t hit for me, it bores me.

Kobayashi-san Chi no Maid Dragon

I actually didn’t enjoy Dragon Maid as much as I thought I would. That’s partially because of Quetzalcoatl. I’m sorry, but everything else besides her and a few questionable things (especially the OVA) was alright. The animation was beautiful (KyoAni is soooo good, please do the second season!!!)

The OP and ED were really catchy. I don’t think those songs will be leaving my head anytime soon. At its core, this anime was still heartwarming. The romance between the main two is one-sided but sweet. Kanna is such a cute kid, and Fafnir and Takiya are also funny. I gave this anime a 7/10 because it was still solid, just overhyped. 

Africa no Salaryman

This is mostly the same from the last time I reviewed Salaryman so if you read my past one, just skip this.

The story for this anime is mediocre, the animation is really bad, the music is poor, and it was still a fun anime. It’s one of those terrible anime that you end up kind of liking. Have you ever wanted to see a mix of bad CG and limited 2D animation by a studio that has no other notable anime (besides a flop from 2018)? Have you ever wanted to hear the villains of BNHA (All For One, Overhaul, and Dabi) voicing weird safari animals with quirky side characters? Seriously, they took the money that they should’ve put into animation and hired a bunch of famous seiyuu who seem to be having fun. We have Eri Kitamura, Yui Ogura, Akio Otsuka, Kenjiro Tsuda, Hiro Shimono, Toshiyuki Toyonaga, Kengo Kawanishi, Akira Ishida, Hiroshi Kamiya, Tatsuhisa Suzuki, etc. It’s a lot of fun guessing them. Overall, this anime was pretty average. I wouldn’t recommend it unless they intended to watch the seiyuu (which is the only thing really going here)

And the ending itself wasn’t eventful either so I gave this anime a 5/10.

Ani ni Tsukeru Kusuri wa Nai! 3

This is mostly the same from the last time I reviewed this so if you read my past one, just skip this.

Another (slightly better animated) bad anime. It’s a collab between Japanese and Chinese studios (but is originally Chinese), but since Japanese dubbing is far more accessible, I went with that dub. Sora Amamiya, Yuuichi Nakamura, Kensho Ono, and Natsuki Hanae are part of the main cast here. Nothing is really notable besides the story. The sibling thing is kind of relatable. This anime ended recently, and it ended on a good note. The quality didn’t go down, and it kept more of the sibling and stupid antics from the first season. I liked that. I rated this a 7/10 because the art isn’t as clean as most anime, and some of the humour missed.

Bokutachi wa Benkyou ga Dekinai!

This is mostly the same from the last time I reviewed this so if you read my past one, just skip this.

However, I added some stuff regarding the ending of this season.

I will eventually stop wasting my time with these bad romance series, but *cough* I need to fill my depressive void with something, and somehow other’s awkward situations distract me from my own. I mean, this feels like an anime that was supposed to fill the void that Nisekoi left after finishing in Shonen Jump. Hopefully, this time he’ll end up with the right girl. As usual in a lot of harems, the main character has several bad choices. But the overall message and whatever’s left of the plot is really nice and entertaining. The characters are actually intriguing when the fanservice isn’t glaring in your face. I hated how they ended this season. I get they didn’t want to make another season, but stretching an anime-only ending? That just sucks. They were going so well until the last few minutes too. The school festival arc was really nice and sweet. Overall, I still liked the second season. Minus the ending, it was just as strong, if not stronger, than the first. Together with the school festival and Furuhashi’s development, I really enjoyed this. I rated this an 8/10 (but it’s a higher 8 and was only hurt by the ending)

Ore wo Suki nano wa Omae dake ka yo

This is mostly the same from the last time I reviewed this so if you read my past one, just skip this.

However, I added some stuff regarding the ending of this season.

Everyone in this anime is a scumbag in one way or another. Everyone has their bad sides, and unlike a lot of series, this anime isn’t afraid to put them front in centre. This contrasts nicely with Bokuben which is mentioned above. Both are centred around harems, but this one is everything turned on its head with vengeance. Protag? May have a Deku voice, but he’s a pervert that’s described for being “Jekyll and Mr Hyde” which I find interesting because he’s truly nice to his best friend and doesn’t want to betray him, but he also really, really, really likes girls and would want nothing more than to have several of them all to himself. Best friend? Jealous as heck and would probably stab him if things truly went south, but he’s also his wingman. Class president? Talks like a samurai sometimes when nervous and uses MC. Childhood best friend? Terrible liar and uses MC. Then there’s a whole bunch of other people who use everyone. The score is not that great. It’s better than silence, but it hasn’t really been anything above that. The OP is catchy, but I’m not sure if I like it? The ED is nice. The voice acting for this anime is PERFECT for the MC anyway. Daiki Yamashita is really good at acting like this animal of an MC. 

I didn’t really feel satisfied with the ending of this season. It wasn’t as funny, and they relied too much on the 4th wall to make the last episode funny. It lacked the hijinks and chaos of the first episodes, and even though it kept character development and stuff throughout, this is the one time I wanted them to end on a less obvious note. I rated it an 8/10

Enen no Shouboutai

Okay, so they began picking up their act within the last few episodes and it shows, but that doesn’t mean everything in-between was saved because it wasn’t. After episode 2, this show plummets and doesn’t pick up in quality until episode 19 or something. To me, that makes this show not worth it. I almost want to make a post about the rise, fall, and slight rise of this anime.

The animation production is amazing, the first OP and the EDs are awesome (couldn’t say that the second OP lived up but it wasn’t bad), the voice acting was alright at most points (can’t say I’m a fan of hearing Asta), but the story went off the rails and was executed poorly during the majority of the series.

I gave this a 6/10. Maaya Sakamoto’s character tried to save the day, but Maki also saved it the best she could.

Kono Oto Tomare! 2nd Season

This went so slow and the manga’s art is so beautiful that the anime looks like a sad outline, but I really liked this overall. Just for hearing their performance, it was all worth it. Trust me, the sound makes it worth it, but if you like visuals, read the manga. The voice acting is good for establishing what you can imagine the character voices add, but the art in the manga is too pretty to pass up.

Sankarea

I just finished this today! I originally dropped it because of its uncomfortable content but picked it back up because Maaya Uchida’s birthday just passed and I wanted a bit more horror before we roll on into 2020. Was this the way to do it? I mean, the horror is very light so that’s good. I can sleep at night. Quality-wise? Hmm... Along with the special episodes 13, 14, and 0! Honestly, these last two anime are ecchi. I don’t know how I got here.

The story is a pretty cool concept. Imagine the idea of a story surrounding a guy (zombie-obsessed or not) helping this girl fulfill her lifelong dreams of being normal even though she’s an undead zombie. Slowly as time passes, her flesh begins to rot so he realizes he has to work faster to complete her wishes to make her life seem “normal”. Taking her to the park, shopping, walking her to school, this seems like a good set-up! If only it went that way.

The story was okay, but I found this anime was going a bit on the ridiculous side. It got cartoony at times, and the characters were a bit cringy at times. Characters in this series ship this character with the MC who certainly isn’t keeping a zombie girl around for no reason. Well, anyway, this girl that the characters keep shipping him with... is his cousin. And Sanka Rea’s dad... is a very uncomfortable character as well. Overall, these two elements are actually what made this anime extremely uncomfortable at times.

I liked the art for this despite all the ecchi. I liked the quirky character designs of our main two characters. Some of the head tilts from Studio Deen almost felt Shaft-esque. It was not that bad!

Umm... I never actually paid attention to the OP, ED, or OST because I was too busy skipping the ecchi. Maaya Uchida was a really cute zombie that made me really like Rea more than I would towards regular zombies (except for maybe the ones from Zombieland Saga). Ryohei Kimura was a pretty good zombie otaku. That’s about it for this one. I gave it a 5/10.

Junketsu no Maria

Another ecchi anime! They didn’t even categorize it as such, but the site I watched it on did. Seriously, I don’t know how MAL didn’t process this as one. Anime that criticize wars and the Catholic church (even fictionally) make me feel a little uncomfortable, but I pushed through this one because... actually, I have no idea why. I was depressed that day and needed some picking up through cheesy predictable anime.

Umm... the art was alright, the music was alright, the story was a little cringy at times, and the characters were pretty flat. They gave too much time explaining how some of these characters were virgins to the point where it just got annoying. Kensho Ono and Hisako Kanemoto were good in this anime (despite playing flat characters), Sakurai plays another insane villain, Yoko Hikasa plays another seductive character, and Mikako Komatsu plays another “male” character. I gave this anime a 5/10. 

Dropped/On-Hold

Aku no Hana

WHERE DO I START WITH THIS ONE?! THIS ANIME WAS SCARY. THERE WERE NO DEMONS, NO SUPERNATURAL, ONLY HUMAN BEINGS. 

Fun fact: I did not read the synopsis before heading in. I saw the poster and thought, “wow cool! let’s try this! middle-schoolers! what’s the worst that can happen?”

Okay, so I had to remind myself every two minutes that these kids are MIDDLE-SCHOOLERS?! Middle-schoolers? Ugh, I don’t know why?! What’s going on here? I know this is supposed to be a psychological anime, and it does its job seriously well. I was scared. I was genuinely scared. Everything in this anime added to the scariness. Read the synopsis, come back, and realize that I’ve made a mistake. I watched 3 episodes. As a person on the asexual spectrum, I don’t know what this anime is trying to get at. The art adds to the psychological effect. The characters are really messed up. The OP and ED add to this insanity. Aku no Hana lives up to the name (Flowers of Evil). I felt so disgusted. This anime showed an ugly part of humanity that made me want to take a shower, and that’s very out of character. 

Just watch a trailer, the OP, and the ED. It gives me the creeps. 

Senjou no Valkyria

I didn’t find this interesting. Maybe I’ll pick it back up. The art seems pale and soulless. The voice acting wasn’t enough to draw me in, and the characters weren’t that great. Honestly, this is probably going to be better than Junketsu no Maria, but timing is important.

Seikai no Monshou

1999 art probably hurts this too, but the same reasoning as above. This anime seems genuinely interesting, but I think I started it at the wrong time. 

Watching

Hanasaku Iroha

Hmm... this anime annoys me, but I really want to finish it!!!

This anime is about a girl who learned that she can rely on no one from a young age. She starts doing household chores and cooking at age 4. At her last year of middle school, her mom runs with her fiance and leaves her behind to go live with her grandma, and her grandma doesn’t like her. Keep in mind, this grandma is her maternal one. That woman who just dropped her daughter to run away... is her daughter. Ms. Grandma believes her daughter is a failure and projects these views on her daughter because “she raised you”. She forces her own granddaughter to work for her inn with no special treatment. At every single turn, you get introduced to characters you’d rather not. Every character is an absolute ass to the main character, and she keeps chasing, but I would rather see her refuse? Characters are straight-up telling her to die, telling her that she’s not doing everything she can, and kidnapping her. Seriously, someone in this series kidnaps her, ties her up, and sexualizes her and her coworkers. How does the grandma react? She says that they must respect the customer’s orders. ARE YOU F-- this anime has a really high review on MAL so I want to believe there’s good coming but it’s really rough so far. 

Darker than Black: Kuro no Keiyakusha

This anime is looking up! It has an interesting concept, and the execution has been mediocre so far! The OST is cool, and the characters have interesting designs and powers. I don’t want to say too much on this because I want to wait till the end!

Boku no Hero Academia 4th Season

No words for this one. I’m just going to wait until the season is over. It’s been slow so far, but I have hope. 

[mysterylover123]

My Hero Academia Episode 82 “Prepping for the School Festival is the Funnest Part”

mysterylover123

Ooh, next season’s gonna give that name one hell of a meaning....

Gentle and LB, nice summary of who they are and what they’re up to.

I Agree, LB, the public’s taste in YouTube videos never ceases to amaze me.

Bakugou character development, yay!

The drumming shot from the trailer for S4 part 2. And yep, he’s still barefoot here.

Aw, someone’s got an insanely high empathy capacity that we never even realized he possesssed. 

Class A’s true cheerleader.

WOWSA, I thought that line was Iida’s in the manga.  They gave it to Todoroki here? (Making up for the omission of the flashback scene a few weeks back with extra TodoBaku feels, are we?)

Momo is adorable

I was wondering how they’d get around that copyright problem.

Hm, another added Bakugou pairing moment? ( I don’t think she says this in the manga). Interesting.

YAS JIROU SINGING HOW WE’VE WAITED FOR THIS DAY. Also, is it me or does it sound like she’s singing some OST in the soundtrack? What is this song, I must know?

Sad You Say Run returns.

I love the animation on this.

Deku stumps All Might by figuring something out too fast. He’s too smart.

And Eri’s tour begins!

So all in all, good episode. Not great, because it’s still mostly just setup and figuring things out and how they’ll go. I enjoy this arc, and this ep is more nice stuff. The real main showcase is arguably Bakugou’s little stunt, and as usual he never disappoints. Also Deku’s new power training and Jirou singing. It’s all kindsa fun, fanservice-y stuff and a real pleasure to watch. But nothing much more to say than that.

[mysterylover123]

BNHA Rewatch: Episode 34 “Gear up for Final Exams”

 mysterylover123

I always break this one out around Finals week.

Pictured: Deku and Kacchan in 10 years.  (Of course episode 34 opens with the Mineta bit).

Now to count down the Students in Class A from least to most smart:

20TH & 19TH: 

Kaminari is constantly frying his brain with his own quirk, and Mina is used to just kinda coasting on her quirk and athletic skills, so they’re both last.

18th

Aw poor Aoyama. Not exactly great at anything.

17th

I dunno why but I thought Sero would be higher.

16th

OMG Tooru is eating lunch with the Dekusquad! Is that where she falls? 

15th

Kirishima 15th, same # he placed in the 1st popularity poll oddly enough

14th

The biggest surprise of the bunch - introverted doesn’t =brilliant.

13th

I think I thought Ochaco would be higher on the list. She’s not dumb, per se, just middle of the road.

12th & 11th

I dunno i guess they’re supposed to be middle-of-the-road in everything.

10th

Congrats on the midway points Shoji!

9th

Why.

8th

Oji you do good. 

7th

Nice, Kyoka!

6th

Tsu did good too. I didn’t think she was dumb or anything, but she’s not geeky like Momo so it seems surprising. 

5th

The third smartest of the Big 3? Wow, Shoto. Always second best, aint’cha?

4th

My best boy is so smart and cute. 

3rd

The biggest surprise of the poll - at least, first time around. You assume Bakugo is dumb. He’s not.

2nd

Iida is Class rep, but still second in grades to...

1st

Best of the best! Momo Yaoyorozu I love you. 

Aw Shoto noticed she’s feeling down. Let the Todomomo/BKDK arc begin!

Ooh Uraraka looks really mad about Monoma being mean to Iida. (Or maybe it’s supposed to be Deku. I don’t care. Iichaco hc)

So if Monoma is Class 1B Bakugo, who is Kendo? Iida? Deku? Kirishima?

Kendo mentions an older classmate, and my HC is that it was Nejire. She hangs with Nejire in the Culture Fest Arc. I think they’re friends.

LOL This scene is like a rundown of all Bakugo’s most popular ships.

KACCHACO

Because Uraraka knows exactly what Bakugo is thinking.

TODOBAKU

Because Bakugo makes sure to challenge Todoroki too.

KIRIBAKU

Because Kiri talks about him like a spouse.

and of course, BAKUDEKU

PAY ATTENTION TO ME. (More in the corner)

“You’re getting worse than I thought” Gotta love that villain FauxShadowing. 

This is how y a do The Power of Friendship right, in my opinion.  

Now a rundown of my ships taking the exams/Studying!

Kamijiro!

Todomomo!

BKDK!  (Oh my god they’re the two halves of me taking a test)

Kirimina! 

We’re just missing Iidaraka

An approximation of my initial response to learning that the next arc would be about pairs of students fighting their teachers: YAAAAAAAAAAAAYYYYYY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

TODOMOMO VS AIZAWA?! I’M TOO BLESSED COULD IT POSSIBLY GET ANY BETTER

OH MY GOD

YES IT CAN

BAKUDEKU VS ALL MIGHT!!!!!!!!!!!

OMG BEST PREMISE EVER (Or so I thought at the time, not to know that it could be topped. That’s MHA, always topping itself). Can I also just say that the design of the Final Exam arc is brilliant. I noticed this a lot in comparing it with the PL Exam later on, but I personally think of it as Hori’s own License to Print Character Development, and I absolutely approve.

This is probably the arc that changed the most from adaptation in manga to anime - and although I adored this arc in the anime the first time I saw it, there are a few changes in it that I think are actually not for the better. That’s to say, they make for more entertaining television, but they also change the characters.

Firstly, changing it so the tests happen one after another, instead of simultaneously like the manga, means that the characters have different amounts of time to strategize ahead of time. This puts a certain light on the big character moments in the arc, particularly Momo, Shoto, Deku and Kacchan. 4 of the top 5 smartest kids in class, and they don’t even try and strategize beforehand? Made sense in the manga where they had no shot, but in the anime, not so much. 

Second, also, Uraraka isn’t really the type to do this, she’s too laid back and Type B, so the anime having her strategize with Deku...I guess it’s a way to throw in some ship tease, but other than that it does nothing for her character arc, or any of the other seemingly random characters they throw into the strategy room along with them. Basically, it’s anime filler, so I don’t really care about any of it except Deku’s observations, since those are from the manga (he observes the others after he and Kacchan pass).

For the record: Manga Order: Todoroki and Momo vs Aizawa, intercut with Midoriya and Bakugo vs All Might; Todomomo first, BKDK second. Deku then observes the other teams for a few chapters as they all pass, with Mineta being last. 

So Fight #1 in the anime: Kiri and Sato vs Cementoss. There’s this lady on Youtube who did these really great analyses of the first four fights of the FE arc (never got around to doing the rest) so I’ll put links to her (Excellent!) analyses of those four fights. LINK: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pUABh3SiaMs

I’ve noticed that Kirishima is often the first one thrown under the bus in school exercises. This, the Joint Training Arc, the training camp...maybe that’s where his insecurity issues stem from. And with a little tease of Tsuyu and Tokoyami vs Ectoplasm, we leave off.

So yeah, another episode I really enjoy. I gotta tell you guys, the Final Exam arc is definitely a favorite of mine. I actually like it even more in the manga than in the anime, for the reasons I’ve outlined above, but it’s still a blast and I was so happy to see it as the next arc. i wasn’t ready for a new villain-based arc yet, and the sheer premise of BKDK Vs All Might is so amazing, I’m hyped as hell just remembering Episode 37. Oh, speaking of...

BKDK CORNER

We focus in on Deku, contemplating his Great Destiny, as Mina and Kaminari talk about how complacent they are in their chances of success. Cue Kacchan, like an embodiment of Deku’s subconscious, telling them off.

I’ll stop the world and melt with you.

This line has a bunch of different translations, all basically meaning ‘I’ll beat you’. The Shippiest is the English Dub, where he says “I’ll show you how much better I am.” Which plays into his Notice Me Senpai hidden attitude towards Deku. I think it’s a mix of both “I want to beat you” and “I want to impress you”. Deku is quiet here. He’s very quiet about his feelings for Kacchan throughout all of Season 2, but he still quietly demonstrates the importance of that dynamic through his actions in the Sports Fest (inspired by Bakugo) and his Full Cowling (also inspired by Bakugo).

Aw they were already standing together.

I’ll talk more on the symbolism of BKDK fighting All Might in Episode 37, but oh man, this is the best. Like, THE BEST. I love this fight. To Sum: They both want to be All Might, each is half of the whole, and they both have to expel that perfect-imperfect image of him they have to make it. Also, I totally think Aizawa and All Might ship it. “I went with relationships” Yup. You sure did, Aizawa.

BEST GIRL OF THE EP: No new best girls this ep

RANKER: Final Exam Arc Fights

10: MINETA AND SERO  VS MIDNIGHT

This one is really dull because Midnight just doesn’t do very much to win the fight. You need the teacher putting up more of an effort!

9. URARAKA AND AOYAMA VS 13

They just...kinda fluked their way into winning.

8. SHOJI AND HAGAKURE VS SNIPE

Poor Snipe, There’s not a lot he can really do in this situation

7. KIRI AND SATO VS CEMENTOSS

Short and quick and to the point.

6. MINA AND KAMINARI VS NEZU

Poor dopes never stood a chance.

5. IIDA AND OJIRO VS POWER LOADER

Short but kinetic and exciting.

4. TSUYU AND TOKOYAMI VS ECTOPLASM

Some good strategy here and Tsuyu did really great.

3.  KODA AND JIROU VS PRESENT MIC

Jiro is underrated best girl. 

2. TODOROKI AND MOMO VS AIZAWA

A brilliant fight of strategy and character development.

1 BAKUGOU AND DEKU VS ALL MIGHT

How could it be anything else?

[mysterylover123]

BNHA Rewatch Episode 26 “Time to Pick some Names”

mysterylover123

We return to normal school stuff with a fun little episode, packed with some ominous foreshadowing.

Seeing Izuku getting hounded like this just makes me wonder what kinda attention the other kids get. Especially Bakugo.

This draft picks do make me wanna call bullshit a little though. Like, I get why Deku isn’t up there. But why is Kaminari, who got taken out in seconds, in 5th, and Ashido, who made it into the second round and has a very popular and easily demonstrative quirk and look, not up there at all?!

This episode is really shippy, you guys. Todomomo here. Look at how she looks at him. She likes him. Convince me otherwise.

Iidaraka making an appearance too! Aw, lookit her shaking him!

Why is Midnight the chooser of names, BTW? She appears to have bad taste in names, despite her own decent Hero name, so what gives her the right?

Baby Aizawa and Present Mic! Seriously, Mic should’ve been the one presiding over Hero Names! He gave Aizawa a great one and has one of his own! Seriously, it could’ve been perfect!

Aww someone’s nervous!  (edit: this screencap didn’t quite grab the right moment. Basically, Bakugou looks endearingly nervous in this shot.)

So my thoughts on the names:

Aoyama needs to change his. cantstoptwinkling is too long and unwieldy to be a Hero Name and it sounds ridiculous (he says it in English so I know it isn’t just some weird translation).

This was perfect. Screw you Midnight. Alien Queen should’ve been Ashido’s name.

This one’s nice. People do call her Froppy sometimes. I like too how this beat is played: The first two names make everyone nervous, and Tsu puts them at ease. That seems to be her role in Class 1-A: to help people deal with crisis situations and stress.

Red Riot is another winner. Being derived from another famous name is not a problem; it’s a comic book tradition. Though this does bring up that pesky Imitation theme once more. Kiri wants to be just like Crimson, and that concept gets explored in more depth in the Internship Arc. It makes me wonder if Kiri should switch names to symbolize throwing off that role, or if he should stick with it to symbolize the good Crimson brings to him.

Izuku himself notices the similarities between Kiri’s name and his own fixation with All Might for me so I don’t have to explain it.

Now we are met with the CUTEST FUCKING IMAGE EVER COMMITTED TO SCREEN OR PAPER. DEKU YOU ARE TOO PRECIOUS.

Now some snarky Kamijirou content! Someone’s a little bitter about Kaminari getting more draft picks than her, aren’t you? Actually, I feel like there are some similarities between Kamijirou and BKDK - both pairs argue a lot, yet seem to share an odd connection. The diff may be that while Jiro is more like Midoriya in terms of power and personality (she even takes obsessive notes like he does), she’s the one who antagonizes Kaminari. He’s more Kacchan-like, perhaps why he’s friends with the guy, more born-powerful and cocky, but he’s the one who gets messed with. I dunno, interesting connection. 

Probably the coolest sounding of the names that are just ‘my quirk’. Jiro can stick with this one.

Kinda generic but hey, it’s better than Jamming-yay.

Also kinda generic, maybe something that sounds cooler in Japanese, I’m guessing?

Not half bad, but it doesn’t really sound like a hero name.

This one’s a bit generic, but darn it all if it doesn’t sound like a name you’d find in superhero comics.

Ditto.

Triple ditto. Actually a name in Superhero comics. 

This one’s terrible. Mina deserved better.

Hmm...Momo...this isn’t terrible, per se, but I still think Yaoyorozu could have a cooler one.

LOL. Also sad: by rejecting his surname and choosing only his given name, Shoto makes a statement. An “I don’t want to be like my dad” statement.

Good I guess? I do kinda know about this one from reading Naruto. It’s a thing in Japanese that I will probably not get well as a dumb American.

Though to be a smart American for a second: Anima...it sounds like he’s talking about that Joseph Campbell theme on anima/animus, male/female, hero with a thousand faces (Just kidding, it’s short for Animal.)

HAHAHAHA OH KACCHAN YOU ECCENTRIC SHITHEAD. Actually, this one is a pretty clever play on his surname in the original Japanese, “Bakusatsuo”. Someone really likes playing on kanji meaning (Deku), doesn’t he? King Explosion Murder is too long and unwieldy, but I think just “King Explosion” or some similar pun could’ve actually worked fine. Just take out the murder part, dumbass.

My favorite one. Meaning: Her surname, her desire to support her parents. Instantly conveys who she is, what kind of hero she wants to be. Perfect.

OMG IIDA FEELS. This plays into his arc in the next story arc, actually. Iida feels he can’t take the name Ingenium until he has done with Tensei couldn’t: kill Stain. And that is why he’s so fixated on revenge. 

And finally DEKU. Which is, yeah, what we call him...it does sound a little odd as a superhero name, though. This is an Izuocha moment I actually, like, BTW. Just nice wholesome friendship. No weird obsessions or comparisons with serial killers. 

Speaking of Uraraka. The Gunhead Agency! You gotta love that Wonder Duo and how they influence people, huh? One fight with Bakugou and she’s all signed up to go be a DBZ fighter. Also, I can see why Kacchako fans are into that. One of Ochaco’s biggest character shifts, and he inspires it. I can dig.

The #1 hero everybody! Hori does try to give a plausible excuse for why All Might forgot to mention Gran among the People Who Know list...then doesn’t bother with it at all when Nighteye comes up. Ah well. I honestly kinda just want the List of People who Know to keep expanding to comedic levels. “Oh and this is my old exgirlfriend who also knows! And this villain! And this random guy! And maybe your mom!”

Speaking of moms, I’m sure Aizawa officially transforms into Class 1-A’s when he tells Ashido not to slur her words. 

The shipper in me wants to gush about how Izuku and Ochaco went to worry about Iida (Iidaraka!) but more sincerely, I want to quickly comment about how well BNHA handles the Power of Friendship. This trope can be so irritating when done poorly, but the friendship in Hero Aca is actually, in my opinion, really realistic. And the power of it is mainly showcased by how friends can simply support and be there for each other, rather than Friendship is the Allmighty Power of the Universe all Will Bow Down Before it. (And also it’s a thing villains can have! And a thing that can fall apart and be unpleasant!)

ANGRY IIDA!

So yeah I really enjoy this episode. It’s not especially deep or heartbreaking (ASIDE FROM TENSEI!!!!) but it’s an enjoyable watch. I’ve actually watched this one a lot because it’s light and fun and something of a one-off. I wouldn’t claim it’s the Best of HeroAca or anything, but It’s an enjoyable ride. Of course, can’t say I’m not more excited to get to next episode. As a big Deku fan(girl), I can tell you my reactions to that one will be something.

BKDK CORNER

Guess who gets paralleled with Izuku’s love interest once again? Seriously, there are a lot of odd, ongoing parallels between Bakugou and Uraraka with their relationships to Izuku, and I’m not sure why if not for subtext. (I want Bakugo’s Ultimate Hero Name to be a play on his first name too. So both members of Wonder Duo have First Name Puns). The OT3 is strong in this one.

My Deku sense is tingling.

BEST GIRL OF THE EPISODE: Iida Mom! (she only appeared last ep but sh)

RANKER: Class 1-A’s Hero Names

21. Pinky

20. Cantstoptwinkling

19. Creati

18. Tenya

17. Shoto

16. Cellophane

15. Deku

14. Bakusatsuo

13. Tentacole

12. Anima

11. Sugarman

10. Chargebolt

9. Invisible Girl

8. Tailman

7. Alien Queen

6. Earphone Jack

5. Tsukoyomi

4. Froppy

3. Red Riot

2. Ingenium 

1. Uravity! (Congratulations Ochaco, you were the MPV of this ep)

[mysterylover123]

BNHA Rewatch: Episode  63 “Unrivaled”

mysterylover123

aka the One with the Big 3.

So we open with Deku remembering Mirio stripping at the Sports Festival last year. Makes sense he wouldn’t remember his face from that.

Honestly, I like these three as characters fine enough, but I still have no idea why they’re considered the “Big 3”. Like, they’re all kinda powerful, but we haven’t been told what exactly makes them the so called top of the school; they didn’t perform that high in the Sports Fest. So I have no idea what that even means. (or how Deku Todoroki and Bakugou are eventually gonan get that title)

Apparently Horikoshi based Tamaki on his own feelings of nerves at a con. Aw. I also think he might be based on Proto-Deku Yamikumo and Mirio on Proto-Katsuki. So naturally that only makes him more adorable to me. 

Nejire is asking lots of questions that I want answers to. I mean, we already know about Todoroki’s scar, but the other stuff, yes. Please. 

I guess if Mirio and Tamaki are proto Katsuki and Izuku, Nejire must be Uraraka.  

 Um…ok? (It’s a good thing Katsuki didn’t attend this class session. The last thing he needs is yet another lecture on how Kamino doomed everyone and then getting beaten up by someone who absolutely knows he’s better than him. That one extra day saved him some humiliation). 

 Ooh and Kirishima is noticing Mina in pain. Next season will be KiriMina’s time. 

So my first impression of the Big 3, first time around, wasn’t so great, because I love Class 1-A and it made me mad that they were getting worfed for the sake of building up new characters as better. And Mirio being the “more worthy” inheritor of OFA, and therefore supposedly better than Deku, my fave, naturally made me annoyed with him. Now that I’m caught up of course I like them all, it just wasn’t for me a great introduction to their characters and this arc.  

Post DVK2 Deku is one energetic go-getter. I love it. 

I think Deku is starting to ask some real questions about his sexuality after this scene.  

I honestly still kinda think Class A is getting a little worf-ed here for the sake of making a strong impact. Why doesn’t Yaoyorozu try and do anything here? Like, Deku figures out Mirio’s got a phasing quirk and he’s 2 IQ stats lower than her. Couldn’t she work it out and make some anti-phaser device? Huh? Huh? 

Todoroki is totally just making an excuse not to have to get any more humiliated than he already is. He doesn’t need this shit right now. 

Deku is being smart and awesome as usual. He will never not be my fave. (BTW I’ve noticed: He’s draw a LOT sharper and older in both this ep and the S4 trailer than he was before. Post DVK2  Deku is already older than he was only a few episodes ago.) 

Why do you and Kaminari both go for Deku’s eyes, Mirio? Low blow!  

And that’s a wrap. All of Class 1-A taken out in an instant. 

Mirio is by far the most realistic phase-quirk user I’ve come across so far; the way they explore the consequences of that kind of power is really well done. 

I do understand the point he was trying to make here. I just wish it wasn’t so thoroughly at the expense of Class 1-A’s dignity. 

Nejire continues to ship MiriDeku a bit. 

HAha Kacchan collecting trash.

My bae can brood with the best of em. 

I want Deku to intern with Gran more in the future.

Sir! (Ooh boy. Me at chapter 127: Screw you you pretentious praying mantis Deku is the best and who are you to say otherwise. Me at chapter 161: No no no Sir you beautiful darling you can’t no!. Just a preview.) 

And Overhaul! 

So Next season.

OK so I’ll be honest…I like Part 1 (Season 1-3) of BNHA more than Part 2 (Season 4 onward). Oh sure, there’s still some great moments to come, and I’m sure Bones will do great by them. But…there’s kind of a line in the sand for me, between DVK2 and everything that comes afterwards. It feels like the series has been…kind of spinning its wheels for a while, and Ep63 is kind of the point where that starts. I like it, but it feels very much like it’s just where the Season ended, rather than a Season finale. And I’m not sure how fans are gonna react to S4′s material, after a year of waiting, since it’s so very...different, from what you’d expect.

Anyway, Season 3 is amazing. It’s not perfect, by any means, but it’s beautiful, people loved, it, and it has so many great episodes, that I think that despite the flaws and the filler, I can stop proclaim it the best season so far. Season 2 is more solid and consistent, Season 1 a little more fresh, but 3 has two of the series’ all-time peaks, and that can’t be overcome. I’m so glad I got to experience it again - the whole series, in fact. I love this show so very, very much. It’s been way too long since it was available, and I’m getting really excited for the premiere of Season 4. 

BKDK Corner: 

“You can’t go losing” Deku as always inspired by Kacchan. So many feels. Good feels. 

Sadly, there will not be enough of them in S4 to have a corner for each episode. This season covers the biggest BKDK drought in the manga, sadly. I’m gonna miss them. I guess that’s why Move 2 is apparently supposed to be a BKDK showcase. To compensate. Bones knows what the fanbase is really here for. DAT HANDHOLD.

Heads up, I don’t know when I’ll be able to post an Episode 64 recap for S4′s premiere, since I don’t know when it’ll be available in America, so just keep an eye open.

Best Girl of the Episode: Nejire! (For more info on her: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ydEIiS2ohRs ) 

RANKER: Season finales so far

3. In Each of our Hearts, Episode 13

2. Unrivaled, Episode 63

1. Encounter, Episode 38

[mysterylover123]

BNHA Rewatch: Episode 17 “Strategy, Strategy, Strategy”

mysterylover123

This visual is so great for conveying Midoriya’s POV and emotions, isn’t it? I feel like I don’t appreciate the great visual storytelling in BNHA enough, but I love how much Horikoshi can convey with a single image. This is also a good exemplar for the early parts of BNHA too. Everyone’s out to get Deku, no exceptions. Things have gotten chummier in recent years, and I’ll admit the socially-anxious part of me misses this early atmosphere a little. A little.

Deku’s newfound empathy for All Might’s situation here is interesting - part of him beginning to understand, really understand, his goals, and his mentor as more than just an idea. 

After some worldbuilding with the Security staff, we jump to the Cavalry Team selection to see that everyone wants on Team Bakugou. In hindsight, I kinda wonder why that is. I mean, he’s powerful, but so are a lot of people here, and everyone knows he’s hard to work with. Class A saw him blow off his only teammate from the past (Iida in the BTA.) So why do they wanna work with him here? Maybe for his point value?

And Kirishima coming over to tell Bakugou bluntly “You’re basically my second choice. Teammates?” Lol. Even Bakugou’s best friend only hangs with him when Todoroki isn’t available. (Also since I hardcore ship KiriMina, I headcanon he picked this team because Mina wanted in). 

Uraraka later on cites this decision as perhaps not her best move. She realizes that her instinct to team up with Midoriya is not out of a pure sense of friendship, but rather because she wants to rely on MIdoriya’s superior skills to get by, something that she realizes may stem from a lack of confidence in herself. As I’ve observed, this seems to be one of Uraraka’s consistent flaws. She tries to copy or siphon off of other people, rather than figuring out who she is on her own. (I wouldn’t have figured this out if Uraraka didn’t point it out herself, BTW). 

This twist absolutely floored me the first time around. I’m so used to the Hero’s BFF always following him blindly, like a golden retriever, that Iida defying this just...I never saw that coming. I do compare it to how, say, Ron in HP getting jealous of Harry is treated as him being petty and just having to get over it, while Iida’s jealousy of Deku just spurs him to be better, stronger. (And also inspires Uraraka to be the same herself. Iichaco ship still sailing!) 

Mei Hatsume! I love her. Absolutely one of my favorites in the series. She definitely has the potential to be a mainstay. The series often uses her as an exemplar of the virtues of pursuing your dream, with everything you’ve got, and examining both the faults and the virtues of that mindset. 

Seeing them talk about hero packs makes me ship them a little. At the very least, a BROTP who I’d like to see interact more. (Also, Ochaco’s jealousy sets me up for a very pleasant surprise later on this arc, and a less than pleasant surprise later on in the series). 

Tokoyami, the unexpected rider! Also, dayum, Deku looks fine in that headband. That Naruto look really suits him. He also goes barefoot a lot in the series, and has notably nice feet. There’s a lot of emphasis on them throughout the series, i’ve noticed, visually, probably cause of that whole Shoot Style switch.  

And now to Team Todoroki. Gotta say, this team is pretty OP. Creation, 1/2 cold 1/2 hot, electrification and Engine. I noticed last ep that Kaminari said he’s “bad at cavalry battles”, and he ends up on the #1 team. Aw! Also, Todoroki and Momo teamwork! Todomomo ship! and setting up Iida’s future relationships with Momo and Shoto too. Such a great crew! 

Everyone wants Deku. Also, they’re after his points. 

Deku fanboys a bit over Tokoyami here. He’s such a gushy sweetheart, so full of praise for everyone...why are you not real, Deku. Oh yeah and Tokoyami is cool and awesome and stuff. 

Another Ochaco is jealous of Mei moment. Sigh. She does have good reason to be tho, since Deku’s (spoken) gush is reserved for Everyone But Her. Seriously, Deku, keep up all your teammates’ morale! 

Sadly for Uraraka, she ends up being the one to mess up Deku’s strategy when she gets the moon shoe stuck on one of Mineta’s...things. I wonder if this was the part she felt kind of embarrassed about later on. 

Monoma is so dumb here. So smug about “Oh the Smartness of Me”. When he’s really an idiot for throwing the first round of a festival you’re supposed to show off in.  And provoking the most temperamental person around (though to be fair, he doesn’t know Bakugou.) 

This is the first of two times where Monoma brings up one of Bakugou’s Damseling incidents to provoke someone...Wonder Duo get really pissed off whenever someone pokes that button. Monoma, please tell me you’ve learned your lesson now, after both of them went nutso on you.

Todoroki vs Deku. To Be Continued!

So this is another episode I like. It’s good. it’s very suspenseful and tense the first time around, so full of strategy. Perhaps because of its structure, it’s a little less re-watchable than some others, since it’s all about the strategy, teamwork and suspense - things that don’t hit you as hard a second time as some of the more emotional episodes, or fight-centric ones. Still though, great ep.

BKDK CORNER

You wanna take MIDORIYA down, right? You know it, Kiri. Savvy boy, that Kirishima (I think he’s one of many in-universe characters who ships it. Alongside All Might, Uraraka and Koda’s Rabbit.)  Also, the Dub changed this line to “Let’s go into battle together”, which doesn’t fit Bakugou’s reaction. It seems like they maybe did it to better set up Kirishima and Bakugou’s friendship moment from Season 3. 

Bakugou and Deku notice the same thing about Tokoyami’s quirk at the same time. I can’t help but snicker about Monoma saying Bakugou is chasing a ‘dangling carrot’. My inner twelve year old coming out. 

Deku has pleanty of time to watch Bakugou’s confrontation with Monoma for someone in First Place trying to evade everyone. 

BEST GIRL OF THE EP: Itsuka Kendo! 

For more info on her: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C_Iyu30pkHY 

RANKER: Favorite Cavalry Battle Teams

5. Team Hagakure (Jirou, Koda, Sato &  Hagakure)

4. Team Kendo (Kendo, Setsuna, Komori, & Yanagi)

3. Team Bakugou (Bakugou, Ashido, Kirishima & Sero)

2. Team Midoriya (Midoriya, Uraraka, Hatsume & Tokoyami)

1. Team Todoroki (Todoroki, Momo, Iida & Kaminari)

[mysterylover123]

BNHA Rewatch Episode 21 “Battle On Challengers”

mysterylover123

Now let’s get through all the Beta matches in a single swoop. 

Kaminari vs Shiozaki! This starts the trend this episode of male participants either underestimating girls and getting their butt kicked, or fighting all out against them and winning. Setup for a certain famous scene in the next ep maybe?

Kamui Woods is impressed. (Please tell me Ibara interns with him!)

Izuku is muttering and taking notes. I love how his muttering just hits Bakugou in the side of the head and annoys everyone and creeps out Uraraka even a little. 

Deku reveals he’s been stalking Uraraka too. She fangirls over him for a minute, which would be charming if it didn’t remind me of future developments I find irritating. 

Iida vs Hatsume! I love the crap out of this fight. One of my favorite minor Sports Fest matchups. The way in which Hatsume completely subverts everything we think we’re gonna get from this match, turns it into an exhibition match for her items...it’s so perfect. 

Seeing them banter a bit kinda makes me ship Iida/Hatsume, since there is a lot of fun to be had with their contrasting personalities...

Only to be reminded of the One True Iida ship again. An interesting change from the manga here: Manga! Deku notices right away that Uraraka left her drink behind. Anime! Deku doesn’t until two matches later.

Mina vs Aoyama! Like before, the guy underestimating the girl gets him floored. (Iida underestimated Hatsume’s deviousness and it humiliated him; Kaminari underestimated Shiozaki and was instantly beaten). Aoyama assumes he’s more powerful, and drastically underestimates Mina. Hence she wins!

Now the devastating matchup of Momo vs Tokoyami. Basically, this works on 2 levels: One, in the pattern of not underestimating an opponent based on gender. Tokoyami and Bakugou don’t, and they win. 

Two, as a part of Momo’s character arc: Prior to this, Momo has always been the best of the best, the cream of the crop; excepting the Obstacle race, where Mineta slowed her down anyway, she came in first in everything. And this gave her a bit of an ego, and a slightly condescending attitude towards those not as smart as her. But this loss, and its subsequent consequences, humble her (too much, initially) and force her to confront her own flaws. Failure is, after all, the way in which we succeed.

Now to Iida and Uraraka in the prep room! I find them very shippable in this scene, because...well, it’s actually kinda rare to see Uraraka being open, and vulnerable, with anyone besides her parents, and later on her teachers. Around most of her peers, she just tries to keep up this veneer of being happy, chill and confident all the time, and usually avoids vulnerability or admitting to fear. But here, in this room with Iida, she admits to it. She’s scared. 

Here comes Deku to crash the party. I talked about Deku’s motives in this scene during my rather exhausive analysis of Izuocha, and I think Deku wants badly to pay Uraraka back for all the times she’s helped him (one of his core motivations in general). But she turns him down, denying him the chance to support her on even grounds the way she supports him. I think this bothers him a little - he’s noticeably less close to her after this arc ends. 

I have complicated feelings about this choice of Uraraka’s too. First time around, I was absolutely floored by this twist. I was rolling my eyes at her jealousy over Mei, her behavior this ep, and convinced the show was going for a potential romance arc, which I found a little irritating. But then this happened, and Uraraka turned into a surprising character, full of more depth and self-awareness than I expected. I think this was the point where I officially gave up on trying to predict the series, deciding that Horikoshi would just surprise me at every turn.

In hindsight, I think she could’ve still accepted some advice from Deku. After all, Midoriya accepted advice from Ojiro before he fought Shinso. It’s ok - hell, admirable - to learn as much about your opponent as you can. Still, Uraraka’s decision here bugs me a bit from a Romance-with-Deku angle, since she shuts him out of the role of supporter in her life and tries to go it alone, because - as she reveals in the next ep - of her desire to be just like him. Combined with how she frames her choice in the Cavalry battle here as a negative, and I have trouble viewing their relationship in a positive romantic light. It feels like the series is framing Uraraka’s feelings for Midoriya as a bad thing (I’ll touch on this again later) and making her lose herself in her desire to be like him. Which I find worrying from a romance POV. 

Uraraka describing them as “all being rivals” is another interesting “what a twist” moment to me, because its a good way to describe the early part of the series. Everyone is fighting everyone. Things are a little chummier now, and I’ll cop to missing that atmosphere of antagonism a little. (If I may get into some shipping positivity tho, I like how she mentions Iida challenging Deku as something that inspired her.) 

As our two contestants face each other in the ring, preparing for battle, we end on another brutal cliffhanger. 

I like this episode, but it does mostly feel like the waiting rom in between interesting parts. Like the stuff you have to get through to get to the big guns. I do love how it builds into the next ep, though. Every fight is mixed gender (cept Kiri vs Tetsu) and the ep lays out a clear thesis about not underestimating girls. Uraraka’s gonna win it on her own and the buildup to Ep22 is really great. 

BKDK CORNER:

Some progress. Bakugou doesn’t tell him to shut up here. He must be fairly used to Deku’s muttering by now. He’s the only one in the crowd it doesn’t phase. 

“I don’t think Bakugou would give his explosive all against a female opponent.” “No, he would....no one’s holding back here, Kacchan least of all.” Deku knows his Kacchan. (And respects the crap out of him for this tendency, despite how mean it is.) 

 BEST GIRL OF THE EPISODE: Yui Kodai 

For more info on her: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_cUHGKLWgfY 

RANKER: Best Sports Fest Matches

5. Iida vs Todoroki 

4. Deku vs Shinso  

3. Todoroki vs Bakugou

2. Uraraka vs Bakugou 

1. Midoriya vs Todoroki 

[mysterylover123]

BNHA Rewatch: Episode 16 “In their own quirky Ways”

mysterylover123

And now we’re back with an episode that contains one of my favorite moments in the series! Season 2, Episode 3.

Right off the bat, let’s meet the Kirishima=Tetsutetsu joke. If I may get analytical for a moment, an interesting aspect of this joke is that while their quirks (and birthdays) are identical, Kirishima and Tetsutetsu are actually not the same, in any more meaningful way: Kirishima is an easygoing, somewhat insecure kid very much like Izuku, while Tetsutetsu is a brash and energetic fighter who leaps into danger at the slightest opportunity. It’s just that society sees people=quirks, so they see Kirishima=Tetsutetsu.

Bakugou defies your expectations! And laughs on their graves! 

You say run! Drink! (Also, Deku wrecking a robot’s shit without using OFA. Why is he so badass and amazing? Of course, this is only a prelude...) 

Momo’s got a gun. Whole world’s come undone.

Enter Hatsume! Another favorite supporting character. Who doesn’t love Mei? (Shinso apparently is in that crowd, since he’s impressed with her here. Rereading this arc a while back made me consider shipping Hatsushin). 

"Your declaration of war was to the wrong person”. Damn, I do lowkey ship Todobaku pretty hard. Like, Bakugou is so obviously hung up on Todoroki being so strong and ignoring him, and Todoroki does genuinely care about him despite all the hissy fits Kacchan throws around him. If it weren’t for Shoto’s chemistry with Momo I’d suggest they just OT3 it up with Deku...ah well.

Speaking of our protagonist...HELL YEAH. ABSOLUTE MADMAN DEKU. GRABBING A MASSIVE WIN RIGHT HERE. NOT EVEN USING OFA. JUST ON HIS OWN BRILLIANCE. HE’S THE FUCKING BEST. This is such a !!!! moment for me, it’s so much of why I love Deku in one glorious scene. Smart, inventive, absolutely determined, and unstoppable. And also mildly insane. 

You know, Bakugou might have good reason to fear this guy surpassing him. Just saying.

Make no mistake about it, Izuku is on top. (and pulling his craziest murderface yet. I love how nutty he is in this arc. Like, something snapped, and our sweet hero just lost his mind for a day. Oh who are we kidding, he was never sane).

EFF YEAHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!

Stupid business course kids raining on my parade and pushing my button by calling Deku “plain” again. He is a beautiful snowflake you judgmental hags. (tho left boy looks like BoyJiro, so he’s got it going on).

Mineta does something to prove himself The Worst again and I’m not gonna post it. Eff you Mineta. 

Now to the results, on which I seriously call Hax. How the hell did Weld Guy Awase, Vine Hair Shiozaki and Has a Tail Ojiro get further than Uraraka, Hatsume and Ashido?!

And now to this cruel effing twist. Just when something goes right for Deku, something most go equally wrong. It’s like the Law of Equivalent Exchange. (Which is good from a narrative point of view, since if he was always winning too easily he’d be a Mary Sue/Gary Stu hero. And you don’t want that, that’s boring. Still though, sometimes I wish he could just be happy and win for once, no caveats attached.) 

So that’s Episode 16. It’s a step up from the beginning of Season 2, which is already more animated (hah) and dynamic than Season 2. This is getting into the Sports Fest proper, and it’s really well-structured as an episode on its own as well. I have a real soft spot for it, it’s a treat. 

BKDK Corner:

Bakugou is obsessed with Deku as usual. “the wrong person” hahaha

And what gets Deku his win and one of his coolest moments in the series? “Thanks for the idea, Kacchan!” I could meta about this, but the series meta’d about it for me: “If the two of you can honestly learn from each other...you can become the greatest heroes who both WIN and rescue.” Deku is learning from Kacchan already. And guess what? It helps him win.

Now kiss! 

(lol jk. There are better NowKiss moments with these two. The frame just looks funny.)

This scene brings up an interesting point to me; why is Kacchan the person who spurs on Deku’s character development and currently acts as his confidante/weird supporter? Why not someone nicer, more supportive, like Uraraka here? I think part of it is that Deku doesn’t respond well to praise and flattery. His immediate response to someone heaping him with praise is to disavow any credit for his successes, to distance himself from his accomplishments. Which could be why he gravitates towards gruff, compliments- witholding Kacchan so much. Bakugou doesn’t flatter him unduly, he pushes him to do better, and Deku just responds better to that than to flattery and open support. For whatever reason.

Best Girl of the ep: Ibara Shiozaki! (4th place in the Race)

Ranker: Top Craziest Things Deku has Ever done (so far)

5. Running at the gate to save Kacchan (saved by Bakugou.)

4. The move in this episode (exploding himself to win)

3. Breaking himself against Muscular (and running around after)

2. Breaking himself to save Todoroki over and over again

1. Infinite 100% Full Cowl

[mysterylover123]

BNHA Rewatch: Episode 29 “Hero Killer Stain vs UA Students”

mysterylover123

This is a great episode.

So imagine you’ve never heard of BNHA and only heard a synopsis of this episode. Notice how you can figure out a lot about Midoriya’s character, just by learning how he manages to find Iida? By observing what kind of person he is, utilizing his knowledge of the Hero Killer’s tendencies, and deducing via process of elimination where he is. You get it. Smart, a little reckless, observant and self-sacrificing. That, my friend, is good writing. 

Endeavor’s introduction here is so jarring the first time you see it. He’s introduced the same way Midoriya is introduced when he finds Iida and Stain later on - saving the day at the last minute, saying he’s got this, and that he’s here as a hero. It’s this eerie contrast to the Endeavor in the audience’s mind, the monster who seems to justify Stain’s philosophy with his douchebaggery. 

Tomura asking AFO for Nomu like a kid asking a parent for more toys lol.

“Ingenium is the name of a hero who will defeat you” Iida takes up his brother’s mantle...and is instantly defeated. For those playing the Major Theme Home game, this is the Imitation one. Blind Imitation in BNHA=Instant Death Ticket. And interestingly enough, Stain embodies this concept as well. Stain is someone who thinks everyone should imitate All Might’s style of heroism and nothing else. He enforces blind imitation. 

Yeesh. That looks painful.

So trying to piece together why Stain thought Tensei was a fake hero is odd, since he’s such a standup guy. Iida’s flashback has Tensei revealing that he feels dependent on his sidekicks, and perhaps that’s the idea here: just like Tensei, Iida needs Todoroki and Midoriya’s support, but one of the series’ components of a great hero (eg All Might) is someone who can stand on their own. At the same time, Stain is kinda, you know, wrong, so it’s possible the series is not refuting the power of friendship with this, but rather advocating for it.

Stain’s rebuke to Tenya also speaks about the other half of being a great hero - prioritizing rescue - that the series advocates. Iida is so fixated on killing Stain, he didn’t even notice that Stain was about to murder the pro-hero Native (presumably for being a fake hero who commits cultural appropriation), a mistake that Midoriya immediately counteracts when he arrives and notices Native, realizing he has to stick around to protect both Native and Iida. 

Speaking of...

Deku is so sugoi. Seriously this entrance is one of the most badass moments in the series to me. It’s like, boom, give Deku a couple days working on his quirk, and he goes from a shy kid who’s scared to use his powers to a tough, confident badass who just buzzes in, bouncing off the walls, and socks a professional villain in the face. 

OMG THIS OST. I don’t know what it’s called. Someone tell me what it’s called, this is one of my favorite OSTs in the series. 

Stain recognizes him. Villain Love at First Sight! (I’m kidding, but seriously, I like how Stain actually respects Midoriya. It’s totally in character and makes perfect sense. It’s probably my favorite thing about Stain, actually - the way he can spot a true hero-in-training when he sees one).

Deku’s on such a winning streak lately. Just...looking great, being great, doing great things. 

Stain’s eyes are, according to Deku ‘those of a fanatic’, compared to Tomura’s (there’s that Motivation theme again). Interestingly enough, Deku and Stain are both ‘fanatics’ about the same thing. Stain is a foil, an evil counterpart of Deku. The person he could’ve been if he allowed his idolization of All Might to take him too far. 

Iida tells Deku to basically leave him there to die. Deku’s response is so good that I just have to post it (the dub version here): “If you really believe that, then why are you trying to become a hero in the first place?...All Might was right, though. Meddling where you don’t need to is the essence of being a hero!”

I’m with you, Stain. I’m with you.

So we get this fight. While Deku’s taken out quickly, his strategy is still pretty cool. It’s so fun to watch him fight. Full Cowl is one of my favorite fight styles in anime. 

Deku does so amazing he’s so smart. Damn but Stain still gets him. Nonetheless, Stain isn’t about to kill his new Hero Crush, Symbol of Peace 2.0, so he leaves him struggling and goes to kill his Current Archnemesis, Ingenium 2.0. Only to be interrupted by...

SQUEEE!!!! Also, the Tododeku is strong with this one. Sending messages like this isn’t Deku’s style, Shoto says. Aw!

Deku gives us a friendly reminder that he’s Smart beyond Smart as he’s already put together the Hero Killer’s quirk and how it works. Marry me Deku. 

Ew Stain no licking Shoto that’s Deku’s job.

Iida is yelling about how Shoto needs to let him kill Stain. (I’m reminded of a scene from Angel: “He’s my lead, he’s my lead, what are we, on the schoolyard here?) Anyway, the animation on Shoto fighting here is jaw-dropping, seeing him swap between hot and cold...wow...

The nature of Stain’s quirk is just flat-out brilliant. He freezes people in place, reflecting his own mindset of how people can’t just change, how he refuses to accept Iida’s change. And according to Blood Type Personality theory, his quirk is most effective against the types of people he hates the most (B) and least against those he likes the most (O). O being closest type to his image of a perfect hero (BTW, Blood Type in Japanese dating culture also corresponds with romantic compatibility. For my main ship: O/A (Izuku/Katsuki) is considered an ideal match. Score!)

But speaking of ships, Tododeku negotiate how to work together to fight Stain and it’s super cute. Shoto then has a long flashback scored to another mindblowingly good OST about how Deku completely changed his life and made it so he could deal with his shit and talk to his mom and it’s so precious and sweet. (For the record, they’re both Type O.)

Also Shoto thinking about his trek to his old man’s internship is so well-timed for me today. SPOILERS Chapter 242 ends with him offering to let Wonder Duo intern with his dad and him. Holy Crap. They sure have come a long way.

OMG Sub and Dub this line is so good: “Set your eyes on what you want to become”/”Become the hero he wanted you to be!” I can’t decide which I like better. Todoroki you master of epic speeches you. 

I’d say this is the best of the Stain episodes. Overall, it’s just so strong. Great pacing, acting, animation, story, everything. The OST is incredible all the way through, the character development is just a joy to behold. Everything is all around amazing. Another really-high up there one. Season 2 is just a masterwork. 

BKDK Corner

Iida: His moves, like Bakugou’s! Everyone can see it. (Though as an aside - I think Deku  just might be faster). Also in the eternal home game of “Win and Rescue” heroes, Izuku is a true hero to Stain because he will put others first, but a true hero also needs to be able to win a fight on their own if they want to do so. Izuku isn’t quite there yet, but he’s taken an important first step. By learning from the Embodiment of Victory. 

Best Girl of the Ep: Unnamed blonde pro lady!

RANKER: Top 5 Favorite Midoriya Quotes

5.  “My body moved before I could think.” Episode 2/Chapter 1. 

4. “It’s your power, isn’t it?”Episode 23/Chapter 39

3. “To the same degree as all of your terrible traits, your sheer amazingness at everything you do was so brilliant to me, it was blinding.” Episode 61/Chapter 119

2. “Meddling where you don’t need to is the essence of being a hero.” Episode 29/Chapter 152

1. “A hero’s job is to risk his life, to turn his lip service into a reality!” Episode 42/Chapter 75.

[mysterylover123]

BNHA Rewatch Episode 20 “Victory or Defeat”

mysterylover123

The ep opens with our proper introduction to Shinso. In just a few sentences, his whole character unfolds before our eyes: unable to get into UA’s hero course due to the nature of  the power he was born with, a teenage boy with spiky hair who speaks angrily to someone ‘handed everything’…essentially, Shinso is the version of Deku that failed to get into UA, that never met All Might.  (At least, at this point in the story. Current! Shinso has his own All Might and his own place in the Hero Course, so he’s well on the track to becoming Deku 2.0).

For more info on The Beauty of Hitoshi Shinso: (not me fingerling, that’s the name of the video): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MUy5hBESRi4 

Aizawa’s right, the Entrance Exam is stupid. They need new rules. 

All Might=the audience right now.

You know, for a long time I felt it was OOC for someone as smart as Deku to respond to Shinso even though he knew it was going to get him hurt. But then some comments pointed out that defending people, even while knowing it’ll fuck him up, is kind of Deku’s thing. Just cause this instance doesn’t involve broken arms doesn’t make it any different. 

A part of me wonders if a) Horikoshi planned this the whole time, b) he did the expansion on OFA later to negate all the “Deku’s plot armor” complaints about this bit. Either one is plausible. 

I think both Bakugou and Shinso assume Deku was just fucking with Shinso the whole time he pretended to walk out of bounds. I mean, without knowing about OFA, what other explanation is there for them?

Shinso run. 

Something in my eye…this bit gets me kinda emotional. On the one side, there’s the tragedy of Shinso in this moment, as he yells in frustration at the system that’s screwed him over. On the other side, Midoriya contemplates that he’s been ‘blessed by the people in his life’, which gets me more than most other Shonen power of friendship speeches do. There there Deku.

SHINSO RUN!!!! 

Aw Shinso’s backstory. This series has such a gift for making its characters likable. Shinso became a fan-favorite with only a few minutes/pages of screen time. Now that’s talent.

Aw Shinso! (Bonus look for Ms Joke in the crowd!) 

ShinDeku begins!

Me first time around: So kinda like avatar. Manga-reader me now, thinking about that last arc: BWA HAHAHAAHAHA! “You did it with the power of will” Later on we learn this isn’t true. What’s interesting is that, first time around, Deku’s words seem like the audience’s attitude towards a lame plot contrivance...but second time around, knowing what we do now as manga readers, this is perfectly in character for both of them. 

Something kind of disturbing I’ve realized about Endeavor, now that I’m caught up, read the Pro-Hero and License exam retakes arcs, (and I’m sure this will piss people off) is that he actually loves his son. Like, in his own twisted AF way. But I mentally compare him with Fire Lord Ozai all the time, natch. Ozai only saw Zuko and Azula as extensions of himself. And Endeavor is set up that way, of course - to come across like that’s all he cares about. But then after reading the License Retake arc, where he acts like a Soccer Mom and tries to pat Shoto on the head in congratulations...yeah. He does care for his son, in a different way from Ozai’s abuse (significant difference: Ozai burned Zuko, Rei burned Shoto). He’s still a scumbag, of course. But hey, even the actual villains of HeroAca care about each other. It honestly just makes him even more terrifying.

Sero is pretty awesome here, coming up with the best possible strategy, striking at once and doing everything he can to win. Not half bad. 

MurderFaces: The Episode

Aren’t ya’ll glad Todoroki’s on our side?

“He seemed very sad to me” Tododeku feels incoming!

So that’s Episode 20. Another awesome one, this one easily a top 20 best contender in my opinion. Shinso’s backstory, OFA and Todoroki drama? That equals a major win. The whole ep is just so smooth and full of feels and character moments. We’re getting into the real meat of the Tournament arc here.

BKDK CORNER 

Remember when he did that to you, Kacchan? (Bakugou subconsciously thinks Deku is really cool, as stated in SMASH, and you can see that a bit here in how he assumes Deku planned this whole thing)

BEST GIRL OF THE EP: Setsuna Tokage 

RANKER:  Most One-Sided Fights in BNHA

5. Nezu vs Mina and Kaminari

4. Todoroki vs Sero

3. Full Power Dark Shadow vs Moonfish

2. Mirio vs Class 1-A

1. Full Power Deku vs Overhaul