#bnha chapter 164

[makeste]

hey guys, so I’ve finished reading BnHA 342 which was a delight to read, but my reaction post is very, very long and will take some time to edit, so in the meantime I’ve decided to make a separate post just to talk about this one character interaction which I am absolutely obsessed with!

let’s see how long of an analysis I can make about this ONE, SINGLE JOKING REMARK THAT KACCHAN MADE COMPLETELY OFFHANDEDLY.

1. so first off, let’s just cut straight to the heart of the matter: this. is. friendship. no more denial. no more HAH, NO WAY, OF COURSE WE AREN’T FRIENDS NOW WALK BEHIND ME!!! the Kacchan who was too embarrassed and too chuuni to admit that he was friends with Shouto died at Jakku. and the Kacchan who’s been running the show ever since then is someone who openly worries about Shouto (asking about him immediately after waking up in the hospital), unabashedly provides him with emotional support (hand on the shoulder when class 1-A confronted Endeavor), and hangs out with him in his room because he doesn’t want Shouto to be going through all this shit alone.

2. speaking as someone whose own #1 love language is using humor to try and relax people and make them feel comfortable and safe and welcomed and at ease, the fact that Katsuki used a joke as his chosen method of support here brought me SO MUCH JOY I can barely even begin to express it. and it’s not even the first time he’s done this! never forget that one time after Kamino where class 1-A was all bummed after Aizawa told them off for coming to save him, and so he grabbed Kaminari and dragged him into the bushes and made him activate his derp mode in order to ease the tension! and also to distract them so he could quietly pay Kirishima back for the night vision goggles, because that is his OTHER love language (cold hard cash!! nah lol I’m referring to the act of physically, tangibly paying him back; showing his gratitude not just with words but with actions), but yeah. 

my point is, for someone who always seems to be so angry and serious, Kacchan has a sharp sense of humor that he apparently just keeps tucked away under wraps, and dusts off only for rare special occasions like these, and I absolutely LOVE it and I need it to happen WAY MORE OFTEN. there is a very real possibility of me making a compilation post of every single time Kacchan has made a joke and/or actually laughed about something, just because I’m that desperate to know more about this expertly dry wit of his now.

3. getting back to his friendship with Shouto, this next talking point is the one that’s already been done to death (because you know I went and looked up all those 342 tumblr reactions and metas after I read this chapter because I needed to soak up that analysis asap), but nonetheless this post would not be complete without it! so this is very obviously a commentary on the fact that Shouto’s favorite food is cold soba! a fact which is known to every single citizen of the world! in fact this joke even takes that last part into account, since it relies on that fact being common knowledge in order to stick the landing! in a way it’s partially a friendly little dig at Shouto for making his favorite food such an important part of his personality! like, “hmm, so what would be the worst case scenario for Touya. well obviously it would be him liking something other than soba, since we all know that’s a deal-breaker.” basically this joke derives a good 60% of its humor from the fact that Shouto just loves soba THAT damn much. and Kacchan is obviously WELL aware of this fact because, as we all know, he and Shouto are actually best friends.

4. quick side note, this is also a blink-and-you’ll-miss-it callback to chapter 164, which featured this hilarious interchange between Shouto and his OTHER best friend.

thus adding the additional meta layer that Shouto actually does canonically consider people who like udon to be FUNDAMENTALLY INCOMPATIBLE WITH HIM AS PEOPLE lmao. and Katsuki knows this because he was listening in on that whole conversation and bitching about the two of them being total weirdos! but ALSO he was apparently filing notes away in the back of his big hero brain because he loves Todo actually, so yeah. love it when a scene in a newer chapter retroactively makes a scene from an old chapter even better.

5. lest you worry that Kacchan is back to his OLD VILLAINOUS BULLYING WAYS by poking fun at poor sweet innocent Shouto here, let’s now talk about the ways in which this joke is also a sick burn on Touya! because that of course is the other 40% of the joke! if Shouto’s favorite food is soba, then OBVIOUSLY Touya’s favorite food is going to be the complete opposite of that, because Touya is the worst! just the absolute worst. man fuck that guy!

so there are a couple of additional layers to this part. the first is that Katsuki is very much aware of the delicate balance that needs to be struck here. because he genuinely, unironically DOES know Shouto pretty damn well by now, and so he understands how conflicted Shouto is about his brother. and because he’s a good friend, he’s supportive of Shouto’s desire to somehow redeem Touya if at all possible. and so instead of going all in on how Touya is a founding member of the final villains club WHO BRAGGED ABOUT KILLING THIRTY PEOPLE and who also KIDNAPPED HIM THAT ONE TIME, the worst thing that Kacchan accuses him of here is... having a different favorite food than Shouto. this is basically the gentlest, mildest “fuck that guy” that anyone could have possibly given here.

and then the second bonus layer is that Katsuki is very clearly taking Shouto’s side here. that’s the only possible way for this joke to land. the humor works because Katsuki takes the mundane accusation of liking hot udon, and twists it into a sick fucking burn, because ONLY AN UNHINGED LUNATIC WOULD DARE TO LIKE SUCH A COMPLETELY OPPOSITE FOOD FROM COLD SOBA, THE BELOVED FAVORITE FOOD OF TODOROKI SHOUTO. in other words, if you don’t like Todoroki Shouto’s favorite food, then FUCK YOU! Team Soba all the way! so yeah, it has that connotation too, which is actually very sweet.

6. last but not least, I just want to take a moment to gush about how this was all just perfectly executed and timed. Shouto sets him up for it, and Kacchan pounces on the opportunity without hesitation and delivers the perfect response, which immediately relieves some of the quiet tension in the room, and honest to god actually makes Shouto laugh.

sort of! that was a chuckle at least! it counts!! anyways the point is, Katsuki read the room perfectly and understood that Shouto was trying to lighten the mood and didn’t want to have a heavy conversation about all of his feelings right now (which is something that Katsuki understands very well), so he followed Shouto’s lead and met him at that level, while still managing to communicate (1) “I know how conflicted you are about all of this”, (2) “I’ve got your back”, and most importantly, (3) “we are friends, and I care about you and support you in all things, you big soba loving freak.” it’s affectionate, it’s heartwarming, and it’s genuinely funny as hell.

anyway so yeah, that’s my RIDICULOUSLY, UNJUSTIFIABLY LONG post about what has instantly become one of my all time favorite little throwaway BnHA moments, right up there with the legendary “hey Kacchan!” scene. Kacchan being friends with people. Shouto getting some much-deserved love. Iida and Kirishima being there too, and presumably smiling and taking notes and maybe one day they can tell their children about this. that’s what it’s all about folks.

[harunnn]

So chapter 164 amused me

[mochicentrals]

It’s too late she’s black now

[rizachan]

i am dYING

todoroki shouto is me when i'm given a question i have no idea how to answer so i give em some logical bullshit

like, he ignored the fact that he was called a literal piece of shit and even said how'd he help society as a, you know, piece of shit

as fertilizer

oh my goodness gracious child what in tarnation

this boy is too pure

[generalghosty]

All Might: Hey guys let’s try not to stand out too much

Present Mic:

Endeavor:

All Might:

[vakodraws]

I have a feeling this is gonna be the start of a great friendship ! MY BOYS EATING GOOD  Just a shitty little drawing i made in honour to that great chapter c:

[shoutingforbnha]

m y b a b i e s --

[baepsi]

a loud boy

[c-jay321]

bnha 164 because I really liked it!

TL;DR: There were a lot of mistranslations and errors in this new chapter

First off, Inasa and Shouto lol

I like the fact that he’s trying to get on Todoroki’s good side. he probably still feels bad for making him fail (even though it wasn’t entirely his fault). Plus Bakugou’s face:

Gosh darn it Hori, these kids are adorable XD

The fact that Bakugou’s terrible with kids makes this even funnier.

Shouto, the man with 5 peepees, Hilarious XDD 

I just loved these scenes lol.

Okay more important stuff:

My favorite part of this chapter was seeing All Might.

He’s basically saying: “I don’t want people to see this All Might”

We know that All Might still feels a little anxious when he’s in his true form in public. Which is why he didn’t want to stay to close so he wouldn’t ‘stand out’ because he didn’t want “Oh wow…that’s All Might?” reactions, which is totally understandable. It’s not like he’s embarrassed by his appearance but more like he’s afraid of people saying “Wow, we’ve really lost our pillar” or “What’s gonna happen to us now?” and all that. 

But then…

People still love him and it’s so sweeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeet. Although I wish we could see his expression.

It looks like Bakugou might have noticed Shouto’s discomfort with his dad being there and all. I don’t know what this could possibly lead to later on, but a small part of me is hoping the two  might have a decent conversation about Shouto’s past or something.

Okay so this page is not just for humor XD I can’t believe he called bakugou feces 

What he’s saying to them is actually really important. Orca knows the three of them are strong, but like the story’s said multiple times, to be a hero isn’t just about defeating villains and having brute strength, the heroes need to have a good heart too. This is something that they lack, well not Shouto and Inasa, but Bakugou. Shouto’s failed because he let his personal feelings cloud his mind, but Bakugou failed because he actually doesn’t have what it takes to be a true hero. 

Also, a small part of me wished Orca compared them two Izuku or something because I remember Orca indirectly praising Izuku during the exam. It would’ve been nice to see how Bakugou would react to that, especially since he’s softened up towards Izuku in a way. Would he have been extremely pissed? Or would he just throw in a “tch”

Probably not important but was it necessary for Inasa to have this line? I mean, isn’t this something Shouto should say? Well this chapter was badly translated so he could’ve said something completely different so I won’t dwell too mcuh on this.

And I’m gonna go ahead and guess that this current training is for the people  who failed the second stage of the exam, since Meat-Senpai is sitting on the sidelines.

Speaking of meat-senpai let’s talk about Camie. Did they…erase her elbow? 

Watch out guys, this is a big mistranslation (no one in Japan talks like this wtf). And I guess this Camie is the real deal. Her being absent makes more sense, and it turns out that they know Himiko was the one behind it, and if the U.A students gave a testimony about it…then does that mean they talked about her being naked too?? XD. Which is good, so it won’t build up some unnecessary suspense.

So my guess is that the league did something to knock her out, because she wasn’t kidnapped…but asleep?  Since she’s such an airhead she probably doesn’t even remember how she got attacked.

Mmmhmmm, yeah I can feel em. The haters XD

Alright, the last important thing, Endeavor!

This right here? Very important! The man is lowering his pride to ask his arch rival for advice, which I think is really sweet. 

Well it’s not exactly Endeavors fault that the crime rate has increased. Despite him being all harsh and edgy he still doesn’t have that intimidating aura All Might had back when he was still number 1. It’s not much but it feels like a bit of development to me.

Overall this chapter was just refreshing to read, because of all the humor thrown in it which is something I really missed in bnha.

[goldenchildkatsuki]

UA: Gang Orca are you willing to help out during the supplementary lessons for the previsonial liscense exam?

Gang Orca: Of course. I would be delighted to.

UA: Oh that's wonderful!

Gang Orca: imightyeetyourstudentsthough

UA: wait what?

Gang Orca: *grabs todoroki and throws him away*

Gang Orca: YA YEET

[solarwreathe]

Source

[rumimic]

Here we have a Griffindor, a Ravenclaw and a Hufflepuff in this exact order.

[superpokemondork]

RIP Kacchan  (or he’s gonna blow up all the kids)

[batskee]

I love how they just froze😂

[batbaffle]

Why is no one talking about this absolute gem??

[captainstevieart]

five peepee man.