#mha has been building itself up to be a ''when you save the world the world saves you back'' series in the endgame so....

[super-paper]

"When I was shouting from the top of that building, thoughts of Himiko Toga filled my head. I shouted at her about what I thought was right, but it twisted her face into the saddest expression I'd ever seen."

This one is mostly directed at the "Himiko *was* saved and dying is a fantastic way to end her arc because she's dying happy, fulfilled, and on her own terms" and "Hawks is too injured to help, there's no one else capable of helping, she's dead, get over it" crowd.

Himiko has the same laments as Touya-- "If only someone had loved me sooner, then maybe I would have been happy just being myself..." "If someone had reached out and given me love sooner, then maybe I could have finally given something back to the world....." It's an utterly dismal, depressing note to go out on.

Himiko isn't smiling happily in her dying dream-- she's wearing the same miserable, resigned smile she had when she let go of that last bit of hope that Ochako and Izuku would ever understand her. This time, she's smiling resignedly because she’s letting go of the life she thinks she’ll never have-- because she thinks it's too late and that the world will never be any easier for her to live in. In both scenes, Himiko is letting go of her hopes-- and in a series that's all about inspiring hope, this is something that needs to be challenged.

Ochako's goal started from wanting to alleviate her parent's burdens because they always wore tired, unhappy expressions-- that goal eventually grew into wanting a future where they can all smile together. And Himiko is explicitly tied to that goal.

I'm getting more and more convinced that Ochako's role as a "normal girl" who is able to inspire the civilians to see the heroes as human is what's also going to play a big part in getting them to see the villains as human. Ochako's heroism touched Himiko and made her heart lighter-- but it also touched the civilians, the media, and Keigo.

The phrase "the feelings of a single girl can change the world" has been repeated several times now throughout Ochako and Himiko's arcs during the final act. Ochako reaching out to Himiko and saving her, and Himiko attempting to sacrifice herself to save Ochako... both scenes are being broadcast to the world right now. Multiple civilians who got stranded within the vicinity of Gunga are currently watching the battles via livestream... while in possession of multiple high-speed transport vehicles. Basically, what I'm saying is: There are more people who are capable of reaching out and helping than this chapter leads us to believe, and that's relevant to Ochako's arc as someone who has connected the spirit of OFA to the people.

If "the feelings of one girl can change the world," now would be a good time for "the world" to respond to those feelings.

[toomanyplotbunnies-sendhelp]

Hello and welcome to Day 24 of "Let's Explore My Plot Bunnies"

Sorry if this is posted a bit late, I have been feeling bad in the last 2 days. Maybe I caught a cold? Who knows...

Either way, for today, I have a very old fic idea to talk about. This is once again a My Hero Academia plot bunny.

Before I get into the idea itself, I need to say this: I have been obsessed with music related anime and games for a long time. This only got worse when I got into K-pop during college because of my best friend. I was fully expecting, at one point or another, to have the idea I wanna talk about. What I did not expect is for one tiny idea to get so big in length inside my head. (I am sure I have over 30 chapters planned for this... and it's not even remotely close to finish)

With that being said, I present to you:

"V/H - Stepping into the Spotlight." - a MHA Idol AU

In this story, I want to make Izuku change his views a bit. In my eyes, Izuku's status as a Quirkless person led to his obsession with Pro-Heroes. And it got to the point where if he can't be a Pro-Hero, he might as well not exist. And this is baaaaad. Like bad bad. Especially for his mental health. The fact Izuku never had any other hobby than "hero analyzing" is also very tragic. He got to a point where he couldn't even ask himself a very important question: "Just because I don't physically save someone, does that mean I can't be called a hero?".

There are people all around the world struggling with something and feeling like they don't belong or that they don't need to exist. These people's mental health can benefit from small things like a song that makes them happy, a drawing they saw and adore, a book they started to read, video games that give them some hours of escaping realiy, hell - even just a "thank you for your help" or "good job with this" can help them somewhat. Personally, just having my friends around to talk with or fangirl about a song/book/anime/fanfic is just such a relief - they may not have had to physically save me from a villain's clutches, but they are no less than heroes in my eyes. They saved me from loneliness and from my own depression. Here, in this fic, I want to give Izuku something like this - friends that will save Izuku from himself - and help Izuku do the same to others.

How, you may ask? By giving Izuku the chance to meet someone who doesn't care about becoming a hero; what that someone wants is to create music that can save others and can touch someone's heart. And because of this meeting, Izuku rethinks his life until then and, later on, chooses to share that person's dream. In this fic, Izuku will realize that you don't have to physically save someone to become their hero.

On a different note, am I the only one who believes the whole "All Might leaves Izuku on the rooftop of a building" situation to be a plot hole? Like, Japan (as far as I know) is notorious for having their rooftops not available to the public. This usually means they are locked. So how the hell did Izuku get down? Like, how did he get down and not have the cops called on him? A child on a rooftop will raise red flags for everyone. I don't believe that would have happened without the police getting involved and Inko being called. (And All Might would also be in trouble because he left a kid on a freaking rooftop. Like, Toshinori why?)

So to combat that little plot hole, meet Miyuki Haruto, a 13 years old child and a resident of the building All Might leaves Izuku on the rooftop of. He has a bit of a bad habit: he secretly goes on the rooftop of the apartment building he lives in all the time, even though it is technically illegal. And this time, when he goes to the rooftop he end up hearing the last part of Izuku's conversation with All Might - when All Might tells Izuku to be "realistic" and "think of another job". Haruto is both pissed off at All Might for the words ("Couldn't you have chosen less harsh words when letting someone's dreams shatter?") and worried because: 1. Izuku is crying and 2. they are on a rooftop - a lot can happen on a rooftop.

Out of worry of Izuku jumping, he approaches and tries to give Izuku comfort the only way he knows how - humming a song while waiting for Izuku's tears to dry. After that, Haruto assures Izuku that if he doesn't want to, he does not need to explain anything and says that he is more concerned about Izuku than how he got there in the first place. Still worried, Haruto offers to walk Izuku home and Izuku, who, for the first time, is treated nicely by someone other than his mother, accepts.

On the way to Izuku's home, Haruto hears a bit more about Izuku - like how he is Quirkless (Haruto sees no problem with that and Izuku.exe has stopped working at that point), how he was attacked by a villain today (now it's Haruto.exe that stops working) and how Izuku is bullied at school. Of course, Izuku downplay all of these facts, but Haruto is not dumb; he knows deflection when he sees it. He just doesn't call Izuku out on that cause he doesn't want Izuku to be uncomfortable or, worse, panic. So what Haruto does is listen and give advice: "Why don't you tell your mother about the bullying? You mentioned she is really nice. Don't you think she will be sad if you choose to stay at that school and continue to be hurt like this?"

Before Izuku has the time to respond, they both hear the battle with the Sludge Villain that is trying to take over Bakugou's body. Instead of blindly rushing in, like in canon, Izuku has a panic attack here. Remember, Izuku had a very bad day, was attacked by the same villain just a while ago (so trauma) and is mentally drained from crying his eyes out. Haruto take him out of the public reach, and as All Might appears again and saves Bakugou and the day, Haruto is doing "The 5-4-3-2-1 Grounding Technique" to calm Izuku down.

After all this, they finally get to Izuku’s house safe and sound, even though Izuku is even more mentally and emotionally exhausted. Haruto just tells Izuku to think about telling his mother about what he is going through and what he feels. "It is worth a shot" is what Haruto says. Izuku, reluctantly, agrees and they part ways.

The next day, which is a Saturday, Izuku decides to take a leap of faith and talk with Inko. The talk ends with both of them in tears, and with Inko telling Izuku that he can move schools if he wants since his 2nd year of middle school just started. Izuku agrees and the following weeks are full of them making preparations to transfer Izuku somewhere else.

That somewhere else ends up being Kanamizawa Middle School - a school where using Quirks is forbidden (and enforced by the teachers), with a very good record when it comes to studies and this school also has a vocational studies program that students can choose to attend outside of the general school hours. All in all, Inko thinks (and prays) this school will be good for Izuku.

The transfer is successful, and in the 2nd month after the beginning of the school year, Izuku started attending Kanamizawa Middle School. Which turns out to be Miyuki Haruto's school as well.

Haruto, not only glad that Izuku actually listened to him and transfered but also excited to have him as his new classmate, is all about showing Izuku around the school - from the best places to study in peace to where you can get some awesome food. Haruto even ends up introducing Izuku to some other students - specifically one Manami Kyosuke, the resident cat dad of the school who knows and feeds all the stray cats around, including a very affectionate ginger cat named Pumpkin.

Things are going great for Izuku and his improving mental health now. His second year was way more peaceful than he expected, and he even made friends. In his 3rd year, Izuku is required to join one of the vocational courses - be it music, creative writing, painting, or sports - because he needs some credits in that department. Generally, all students do a vocational course in their 1st year there, and then they can choose whether they want to continue it or just focus on their studies.

Izuku, knowing Haruto and Kyosuke are in the music course, chooses to attend that class. And it turns out he has a pretty good voice for someone who never sang before. As the year passes, Izuku finds himself more and more fascinated by music, composition, and how easy it is to express his feelings with them. Izuku fully accepted that he can't become a hero now, but he finds himself drawn to the idea of singing on the stage with Haruto and Kyosuke. And this time around, while this dream is hard to achieve, it is not impossible for someone Quirkless like him.

And so Izuku trains to be accepted in the same high school as Haruto and Kyosuke, where all of them hope to make their dream of becoming idols true.

Some details I wanna add:

Haruto has a Quirk that let's him control small amounts of fire. He can't create the fire but he can control it if it is already there.

Kyosuke has a Quirk that let's him create ice around him in a circle and he should be able, by Izuku's understanding of his Quirk, to actually make the ice into different shapes around himself with enough control.

When the 3 go to high school, they basically enter a trainee idol program. The school trains them, and they can choose to start their idol work either after they graduate or during high school (mostly on the internet with a performance being scheduled depending on their sucess. Their high school basically has the role of an agency for the students. They can choose when they debut. Izuku, Kyosuke, and Haruto make their debut as a unit under the name 3M (because all of their last names start with M) during their 1st year.

Izuku works extra hard to catch up with the other two during middle school. It pays off since not only does he get accepted with Haruto and Kyosuke into the high school, but he is also able to keep up the two of them now.

During high school, 3M makes friends that they end up in an idol group with (the other characters' names are not fully made up in my brain yet). The group has 8 members in total, and their name is "V/H." The name is mostly a reference to the "Villains or Heroes, which are we?" idea. The idea stems from Izuku thinking that both sides can influence the public in their own way, but the public chooses which one is the "villain" of the story and which one is the "hero." So basically, they want the people to choose how they see them.

The whole fic idea started initially because I found out Diaki Yamashita (aka Izuku's VA) also voiced Sakuma Ritsu from the group Knights in Ensemble Stars. Now I can't unhear Izuku anytime I hear Ritsu singing. This also gave legitimacy to my "Izuku can sing" canon.

Because Izuku doesn't go to UA, Mirio gets One for All. But Izuku still saves Eri and Kota, tho differently from the canon. Izuku bumps into Eri after she runs away from Chiaki and brings her to a police station since he recognized the signs of an abused child. What Izuku doesn't know is that Eri heard his voice on a radio show and that his voice calms her down so much - for her, Izuku was her hero even before finding her. Meanwhile, for Kota, well... Sosaki Shino (aka Mandalay), though it will help Kota to have some fun experiences and brought him to a performance of 3M. Kota got lost and Izuku helped him, and, after finding out that Kota's parents died recently and how he feels about it all, Izuku gives Kota the same advice Haruto gave him before: "Talk with your aunt. Unless you tell her how you feel about everything, she will make assumptions about it. And the assumptions will start hurting you. So, trust me. Talking and letting your feelings out is the better option. Crying is not a weakness, nor is it something bad. Letting all the hurt out will definitely make you feel better - I experienced that myself." So, Izuku is again Kota's hero without the need to face Muscular.

It would be hilarious if after 3M or V/H debuts (1st or 2nd year of high school), Jiro and Denki start listening to their music. Jirou's bias is Haruto, while Denki's is Izuku. The two are absolutely in love with the group as a whole and with their biases. And after 1-A gets into the dorms, imagine these 2 introduce the rest of the class to their new boy group obsession. Katsuki's face once he sees Izuku on stage would be hilarious.

Speaking of dorms, from the very beginning of their 1st high school year, Izuku, Haruto, and Kyosuke (as well as the rest of the student body) are moved into dormitories Izuku and Haruto share a room, while Kyousuke is with another future member of V/H.

Izuku and Haruto have a duo unit as well named "Eclipse" - Haruto named this one cause he feels like Izuku is a little ray of sunshine while he is more akin to a moon.

Honestly, the songs that I can see the members of V/H singing are more K-pop oriented (like Stray Kids, TxT, Ateez, and so on) while 3M has a more 3Racha vibe to their songs (aka rap group - let's be fair, Izuku would be a good rapper), and Eclipse (and other units with the other members + solos) fall into the J-Pop category (songs from like Idolish7, Uta no Prince-sama, Ensemble Stars and other anime that have songs I like). This is just how I find myself thinking of the groups and units in this fic idea.

There will be other groups as well - both boy and girl groups. We are gonna have some be in Izuku’s year while others are older than them or (later on) younger than them.

I wanna put an emphasis on the fact that you don't need a Quirk to have a life. The media finding out about Izuku being Quirkless would be a good way to promote awareness towards Quirkless Discrimination and give other Quirkless kids some hope through Izuku.

Because of this, however, All Might's image might suffer - specifically, imagine All Might is asked what he thinks of someone being a Quirkless Hero on TV because the interviewer had Izuku and his group before on the show and she was curious about what would the No.1 Pro Hero think - afterall there are heroes that fight in hand-to-hand combat because their Quirks are not combat oriented, so it's like they fight quirkless). All Might (the stupid idiot) says the same thing he told Izuku - that it is not feasible and that people shouldn't encourage this. Cue to a lot of people (who pay attention to details of other Heroes), bringing up those with non-combative Quirks and starting to not like All Might as much. Then there is Aizawa and Nedzu who are both pissed off at All Might for saying this - not to mention Gran Torino who is like "Why in the world would YOU of ALL PEOPLE say this, you dumbass". Needless to say, All Might doesn't have the best time here.

One last little detail: Shigaraki Tomura ends up as a V/H fan. Having Tomura fanboying over a boy group (and some other groups from the same agency V/H is) is both reassuring and concerning to Kurogiri's Inner!Oboro because: 1. Tomura needs a hobby, and if said hobby is listening to music, then that is great, and 2. Inner!Oboro is very much concerned about the group members if Tomura ever meets them since Tomura can be a bit.... extreme, to say the least. Now, imagine that Tomura's new interest in music leads (someway) to him distrusting All For One, and he (and most of the other villains) change sides. Like, really, Tomura is smart. Give him some therapy in the form of music, and maybe, just maybe, we can have Tomura change sides before the war fully begins. All of this is possible because Haruto found Izuku on that rooftop.

P.S.: I have some art I made a long time ago of Izuku, Kyosuke, and Haruto - they are not the best but I tried. (And yes, I am also @ayameakuma on this, but I decided to open a new account, so I have one specifically for fanfic ideas)

And this is about it for this idea.

So, what do you think? Good? Bad? Let me know!

This was a blog that turned out longer than I thought it would be, and it is currently almost midnight where I live, so I am gonna go to sleep.

Hope you guys enjoyed this idea! Have a great day/night and take care!

See you tomorrow,

-TooManyPlotBunnies-Send Help

[jeeperso]

My Fated Academia

An MHA/FSN crossover fic experiment (experiment 1 of ???)

This is it, no going back. Not even dad can stop me now.

Ours is a superhuman society, where over 80% of the population has some sort of uncanny ability, or quirk. Because of this, things like streets looks like scenes from comic books. In this era of chaos and confusion, a new profession dominated our collective consciousness. It is a age of heroes.

And today, I start my journey to join their ranks.

It wasn't easy. Ever since I knew this was what I wanted, Dad's been dead set against it. But, since Big Sis is always proving it's better to ask forgiveness than seeking permission with him, I decided to try things her way for once. I applied in secret to UA, the single most prestigious Hero Academy here in Japan, and probably the world, and while dad thinks I'm helping Big Sis at her place for the day, I've snuck here to UA and already taken the written portion of the entrance exam. I'm pretty sure I did all right, unlike that green haired boy a row back. After the exam proctor, Present Mic (wait, like the radio DJ? Questions for later) told us what to expect on the practical, all he could do was quietly mumble to himself.

But then, A lot of us were like that. I don't think anybody expected to be fighting killer robots in a free for all. Poor guy probably has a quirk better suited to rescue work, like detecting body heat or telepathy.

"Hey, I know you" someone says, snapping me from thinking about that, and I look in her direction, and into big black and gold eyes, skin pink as bubblegum and a smile probably bright enough to guide ships in storms.

"No you don't," I retort, trying to back up, but we're all on a bus to our assigned test area, two to a seat, and so I just back up on the window.

"Yeah I do," she beams, "You work at the café I go to. Seriously, those crepes are the best, girl. and you totally rocked the maid cosplay last month."

"that was Big Sis's idea," I say quickly out of how embarrassing that stunt was, "well, she's more like my aunt, but don't say that around her."

"Oh I like you. come to think of it, I've only seen you at the café."

"Home-schooled," I tell her, and mercifully, the bus stops to let us out.

"Good luck out there," she says.

"You too," I respond, "and sorry about that."

She waves it off, but its the truth. However bubbly she is, She's here for the same reason I am, to be a hero, and she deserves respect and honor for her decision. All of us to as we finally assemble outside a gate marked Battle Center A. I barely have time to register the giant doors ahead of us, and the dismissive grunt of it by a blonde boy ahead of us, when they crack open, and Present Mic shouts that the exam's begun...

"DIE!"

And the blonde's battle cry almost drowns out the explosion that launches him into the mock city well ahead of the rest of us. Most of us are running in a second later, while those whose Quirks grant movement find their own ways. I'd like to count myself among the latter, but I couldn't exactly train my Quirk without tipping off Dad.

But limited to my own two feet, I make good time, leading from the front, what I have trained for so instinctive that I don't even register its activity until I've cut my second robot in half, all thanks to Big Sis' Kendo lessons. the pink girl from earlier gives me a cheer as she literally skates by on a glistening trail, and I return her salute when she throws what must be a stream of acid at one of her targets. In the distance, we hear more explosions. DIE!-Boy's streak is so good, some of us may be failing anyway with so few foes left for us. A fact that's clear once an explosion of ball lightning erupts from within a cluster of them. they collapse to reveal another blonde boy who flashes a double thumbs up of almost idiotic confidence

And that's when the earth shakes.

Even in a world of quirks and the superheroes that use them, the sight is almost impossible to comprehend as the final robot appears, so bulky that it seems as if one of the largest buildings about us has decided to take a walk, casually pushing its fellow towers aside like merely heavy curtains instead of countless tonnes of concrete.

Present Mic had warned us of this colossus, that for all its power and menace, its worth is zero points. A mere obstacle and waste of time, even if any of us had the power to fight it. Even Die-Boy must know this, for his explosions don't go off in its direction, and so many of us run.

But I don't. A hero does not abandon the field while the enemy is before them. If the others flee, then it is my duty to cover their retreat. I take a step forward, and a niggling thought pops in. not a memory, not even a dream, just a momentary sense that this is familiar, as if I'd faced a foe like this before, and I take both comfort and confidence.

Another step, and I see that even without that thought, I would do this anyway. the electric boy's smile is not mere confidence, but one of pure idiocy, still smiling, still flashing a double thumbs up, while his eyes are wide in hapless terror, just enough mind left to know he's in the monster's path.

I want to call out, tell Pinky to grab our brother-in-arms, but she's already halfway there, and still not enough time, even as it seems to grind to a halt on my third step. Like I said, I've not trained my quirk much, but I know what it can do, that it as if I could grab hold of the wind itself and use it as a weapon, and with some effort, even hurl blasts of it like in those old animes dad likes so much. but now, in this moment, in the space of time between eyeblinks, that explanation falls short, as I feel a weight in my hands so familiar and right, the faintly blue-white air between my grasping hands becoming shining gold, and I feel a wholeness I never knew I was lacking until now.

and the moment passes, the eye finishes blinking, and there is no golden light. I see Pinky grab the boy, register the gaping hole through the now collapsing robot, and Present Mic, now definitely the guy on the radio, shouting that we're out of time.

We've done it. we saved the day in the nick of time. Pass or fail, in this moment, I take comfort that I finally know what it means to be a hero.

Seiba Emiya. Hero. Has a nice ring to it, I think to myself as I feel my strength abandon me. as my body topples over I pass into welcoming darkness, at least until the familiar nightmare...

[dereksmcgrath]

In order to talk about this episode, we have to talk about how manga publishing and anime production does (and does not) work.

And before we can get into this episode, and its originating storyline that comes not only from the My Hero Academia manga but also its spinoff Vigilantes, I have to talk about three things:

The challenges of adapting more than one manga series.

An imaginary Vigilantes co-production (an “Imagine If,” to steal a phrase from a writer better than I) between Studio BONES and Studio Trigger.

But first, another franchise Studio BONES adapted the same year as MHA: Bungo Stray Dogs.

(Bear with me–this is all going somewhere.)

“More of a Hero Than Anyone,” My Hero Academia Episode 107 (Season 5, Episode 19)

An adaptation of Chapters 253, 254, and 255 of the manga, by Kohei Horikoshi, inspired by My Hero Academia: Vigilantes, Chapters 59 to 65 by Hideyuki Furuhashi and Betten Court. All translated by Caleb Cook with lettering by John Hunt and available from Viz.

My Hero Academia is available to stream on Crunchyroll and Funimation.

Spoilers up to the My Hero Academia Chapter 324, Vigilantes Chapter 108, and the film World Heroes’ Mission.

There are also spoilers for Bungo Stray Dogs and Gurren Lagann.

Created by writer Kakfa Asagiri and illustrator Sango Harukawa, with additional spinoffs illustrated by Kanai Neko, Ganjii, Oyoyo, and Shiwasu Hoshikawa, Bungo Stray Dogs is about a world where characters, who happen to have the names of real-life authors of Japanese and other literature, also happen to have superpowers based on the titles of works by those same famous authors. For example, Herman Melville can summon the giant battle fortress Moby-Dick, Nikolai Gogol can transport items through his overcoat, and Motojiro Kajii has the ability “Lemonade,” which prevents him from being harmed by bombs shaped like lemons.

(…Bungo Stray Dogs is weird. The first anime doesn’t even have dogs in it.)

Studio BONES premiered an animated adaptation of Bungo Stray Dogs in 2016, the same year the studio premiered the MHA anime. What makes Bungo unique compared to some other anime is that each season adapted from not only the manga but one of the franchise’s light novels as well. While some of the light novels take place concurrent to the manga, most take place in the past–which made Season 1 awkward, re-setting some events from the Azure Messenger Arc in the present and hampering some characterization for what was supposed to be the very first meeting of the characters Osamu Dazai and Doppo Kunikida.

The next light novels adapted for the Bungo anime all take place in the past, with Season 2 giving what I think is the best of the adaptations, The Dark Age, as we learn more about Dazai’s time with the Port Mafia and his relationship with fellow mafioso Sakunosuke Oda. This arc set a high standard that I don’t think the next light novel adaptations have reached, as it not only fleshes out the characters and builds the world, but it also has two important accomplishments. First, on its own, you could watch the entire four-episode arc as its own movie. While some details will gain more significance if you watched the first season, and will become more important as you watch the rest of the series or read the manga and light novels, by itself, The Dark Age is a thrilling narrative of intrigue, deception, betrayal, and heartache. Second, thematically, The Dark Age ties in very well to the rest of Season 2. Some of it is cheap shorthand: the Lupin Bar matchstick container becomes a visual indicator for Dazai helping Atsushi Nakajima save an ally when Dazai couldn’t. But even as cheap as that may seem, it enhances the overall season, giving Dazai more to do in a story where he is otherwise on the sidelines and playing everyone like chess pieces. Plus, you kind of needed to see The Dark Age to understand who Ango Sakaguchi is in Season 2 and why Dazai hates him.

Season 3 gave me high hopes for where the next light novel adaptation could go. This season focuses on a third party attempting to destroy Dazai and Atsushi’s organization, the Armed Detective Agency, along with the Port Mafia. When Agency founder Yukichi Fukuzawa is poisoned, we see the usually lighthearted and arrogant Ranpo Edogawa become momentarily silent and devastated by Fukuzawa’s hospital bed. I blame myself for reading theories online that this moment would lead the season to do a flashback arc to one of the light novels, one that shows the origins of the Agency, how Fukuzawa first met young Ranpo, and explains what that cat was doing all throughout The Dark Age and Season 3.

Instead, as soon as I started Season 3 and saw the premiere was beginning with a lengthy adaptation of a light novel centered around Dazai and his former Mafia teammate Chuuya Nakahara, my heart sank. Nothing about that story thematically tied into the overall season as well as would Ranpo and Fukuzawa’s light novel, a story that reveals how much Ranpo has lost in his life and why he clings onto Fukuzawa for approval and why the dissolution of the Agency would not only deprive him of family and friends but also the very meaning to his existence. That is a heavy story to tell, one that would make the audience better appreciate the lengths the Agency goes to for Fukuzawa. By comparison, there is next to nothing about Chuuya’s back story that accomplishes the same. If anything, all that light novel adaptation tells us is that Dazai and Chuuya’s partnership mirrors that of Atsushi and the Mafioso Ryunosuke Akutagawa–and that detail was already established well enough in Season 2, so we’re just retreading the same old material.

Adapting Chuuya’s story is like explaining Aizawa’s back story: as I’ll explain in the moment, all you really learn in either case is why Chuuya hates Dazai and why Aizawa is a lone wolf–and it’s the reasons you already see in the present day, Chuuya hates Dazai because he’s annoying, and Aizawa has always been a loner, end of discussion. The choice to give these two characters the spotlight doesn’t really do anything new for the audience. I’ll say more about Aizawa later, but for now, I’ll say, nothing against Chuuya as a character, but the decision to adapt his light novel seemed very much like a marketing strategy by manga/light novel publisher Kadokawa and Studio BONES: Dazai and Chuuya’s relationship is popular with fans, there’s a lot of back story to mine, and the light novel that gave us this anime adaptation already set up a sequel that itself could serve as a Season 4 adaptation or even a feature film.

(Honestly, that Chuuya sequel novel in Bungo is more entertaining: there’s a cyborg named Adam Frankenstein. Re-read that sentence: a cyborg named Adam Frankenstein, who treats Chuuya like a little kid, offering him candy because he read that young people like candy and the serotonin from sugar can help with dealing with times of stress. Chuuya’s babysitter is Frankenstein: it’s so absurd that it just works.)

So, why am I talking about Bungo Stray Dogs instead of the other anime Studio BONES makes, My Hero Academia? Because I’m seeing a set of mistakes and Band-Aids repeat themselves all over again.

I profess ignorance about how the anime industry works: there are better people than I who can speak to it. As far as I can gather, just by looking at the evidence in that industry, and the evidence of just about any industry, the goal is to make money. I don’t think the goal to make an anime is necessarily to get people to watch it, especially now that streaming makes the cost of entry very low or even free if you wait long enough for Crunchyroll and Funimation to put it up with commercials. I don’t think it’s to get you to buy the manga: even if you get hooked like I am to read ahead to see what happens next, why read something you just watched? Instead, I think the goal is to buy merchandise, like how musical groups have switched from record deals to selling individual songs online and getting merch sold at concerts (pre-COVID). The conundrum for the anime and manga industries are not dissimilar from those in comic book publishing in the United States: DC and Marvel can have all the crossover events in the comics that they want, but those don’t always get someone who to read a new series just because Spider-Man or Wolverine pop up in it. I have not looked at sales for Vigilantes, so I don’t know whether Aizawa, Midnight, and All Might popping up in there boosts its sales. Rather, the comics are testing grounds for what works. Marvel uses its comics to test what can work in films and streaming, where money now is, while maybe Vigilantes was testing the Oboro story to see if there was something there to put into the anime. Sure enough, the fan art out there for Oboro has increased since the episode, merchandise can’t be far behind.

But let’s move on to actually looking at the episode itself. “More of a Hero Than Anyone” centers on Aizawa and Present Mic being brought to the prison Tartarus to interrogate captured League of Villains member Kurogiri. As I have complained for most of this season, BONES has made confusing choices regarding which chapters of the MHA manga it is adapting first: this story comes from manga chapters that were the last before the big Pro Heroes vs Paranormal Liberation Front Arc, and we haven’t even gotten to the Meta Liberation Army Arc yet. True, this episode ends in a way to set all of that up, showing us Shigaraki getting his power boost, but it has been a befuddling choice of what to adapt first. Making matters more confusing is that, while this episode introduces Aizawa and Present Mic’s classmate Shirakumo, someone alluded to during Shinso’s arc this season, that story doesn’t really originate in the main manga: it started in an MHA spinoff.

The manga My Hero Academia: Vigilantes is to My Hero Academia like the Bungo Stray Dogs light novels are to its main manga: it is largely a prequel that fills in back story for major characters and some worldbuilding details while telling its own story with its own protagonist and plot. Chapters 59 to 65 are the first major departure for the series, as it shifts from the usual protagonist to a plot about Aizawa, showing his time as a UA student and setting up why he ended up returning to UA as a teacher.

The first time I read Aizawa’s arc in Vigilantes, I hated it: it is a cynical attempt at giving us an origin story to explain how Aizawa got to be the way he is–without actually showing us anything we could not have figured out ourselves. It tries to set up this idea that, if Shirakumo had not died, Aizawa would not have been the lone wolf.

That idea butts up against two details. First, we already see Aizawa keeps up the lone wolf appearance anyway in the present, so imagining an alternative timeline doesn’t make sense, especially when, in its own flashback arc, Aizawa was already a lone wolf–that was his entire dynamic with Mic, Skirakumo, even Midnight, so it’s less that Shirakumo’s death made him this way when he was always this way. Hell, this was a gag in the supplementary material of the manga that got adapted into the anime, when Mic had to come up with a Pro Hero name for Aizawa because he was that checked out–and, again, that was before Shirakumo died.

Second, we know Aizawa’s lone wolf persona is just that, a front he puts up that belies his pragmatic willingness to work with others. Just because he is annoyed by the antics of friends like mic and Skirakumo, just because he bristles at Midnight trying to rope him into teaching at UA throughout most of Vigilantes, and just because he is overly serious when dealing with his students or with newbie heroes like Vigilantes’s protagonist the Crawler, none of that ignores that, despite everything, Aizawa, maybe more than anyone else, fulfills the collaborative spirit of Pro Hero work that other characters do not.

Aizawa’s strengths as a teacher center around his understanding that people have to work together. That detail fails when remembering he is still the one who is not properly reprimanding Bakugo to stop being a bullying, violent dick to Izuku. (Seriously, this episode is yet another moment of him being awful: how many times in the anime alone has he kicked the shit out of Izuku for no reason, as if any reason would justify it?) But otherwise, Aizawa understands how to work with others, and that has set him apart for so long from other prominent Pro Heroes. All Might doesn’t really collaborate–he’s been trying to hold up the peace of the world on his own. Endeavor may run an agency with sidekicks that enhance his abilities, but as seen in the Endeavor Agency Arc he would rather rush ahead to save the day on his own, in this pathetic desire to catch up to All Might. Aizawa, though, knows his limitations and is willing to work with anyone else to help him achieve his goals, something we have seen him learn to embrace more and more, whether hanging back to be the face in front of the camera to distract the League while the other Heroes rescue Bakugo, or when he accepted Izuku joining on the Shie Hassaikai mission. And you can pick up on all of this from just reading the main manga–so why bother reading Vigilantes if all it’s going to tell you is,”Aizawa’s friend died and that’s why he’s sad”? Even little details get lost in the shuffle: while I should appreciate Aizawa bringing up the cat Oboro rescued, that’s such a big part of the Vigilantes plot that it feels like a nod to the story rather than getting fully into it. (Trivia: That cat, Sushi, is adopted by Midnight. Enjoy feeling awful that Sushi may have passed away by now or is going to be without an owner when Midnight dies.)

I had thought I could put that frustration with that Vigilantes arc behind me. Then the main manga revealed Shirakumo’s corpse was used to create Kurogiri–and I rage quitted. Okay, that’s exaggerating: I didn’t stop reading the manga, but I did take a long pause in keeping up on it, seeing as the next arc got to be so bloody and depressing that, on top of enough real-world concerns, that wasn’t the kind of escapist reading I was looking for. I needed some time to sit back and process how annoying this revelation was. That means, for all of Vigilantes, this detail, that Kurogiri was Shirakumo all along, was just waiting to be revealed. To again repeat the SpongeBob meme I used last week, this series used me for plot contrivances.

(Vigilantes also seems like one long troll. After the main manga shows the Hood Nomu used to be an underground fighter, he gets a backstory in Vigilantes. And Vigilantes give you the last bit of Midnight you’re going to get before she’s killed off–which, now that I think about it, makes her exclusion from this episode even worse: she was friends with Shirakumo, too, so bring her into this episode before we fridge her!)

It doesn’t help how ignorant I feel for not realizing this sooner: Skirakumo’s name and abilities are the white-and-black opposite of Kurogiri’s. The cover to a collected volume of Vigilantes made that all the clearer. But if that’s the case, why wasn’t this hinted at when Aizawa and Kurogiri first encountered each other way back in the USJ Arc? I know it’s a lot to expect the audience to track throughout the series, and I appreciate the story trying to explain that away by Aizawa asking the same question I have, before someone tells him that maybe Kurogiri’s reprogramming made Oboro’s personality disappear. But Horikoshi’s creation of Shirakumo seems more like a late addition rather than something always there since the earliest chapters. And that’s fine–it’s just disappointing compared to other comics creators like Oda who sets stuff up years in advance before payoff in One Piece. And it’s more disappointing it didn’t come up in the anime adaptation: I would have hoped, if Horikoshi had that idea so early, he would have told BONES so they could throw in a hint early in that fight. I don’t know, maybe Aizawa has a flashback to the last words Shirakumo told him and that motivates him to use his Quirk one last time to save Tsuyu and Izuku, or maybe Kurogiri pauses before Aizawa just long enough that you think that’s a weird choice, then upon rewatch now you realize, “Oh, shit, Kurogiri was remembering his classmate and trying to process that information!”

It doesn’t help that the Shirakumo story doesn’t feel like something Studio BONES should handle. Granted, that story is from Vigilantes, not the main manga, so I anticipated BONES would not adapt it here–even as I held out hope for an OVA or, as I hinted earlier, something akin to Bungo Stray Dogs: start the season with this three- to four-episode adaptation of Aizawa’s back story to introduce this season. I’ll say more about why placing that story at the beginning of the season in a moment, but there was another reason why I didn’t think this was a Studio BONES story: it always felt like a story suited for Trigger, the studio behind Kill La Kill, Little Witch Academia, and more, built by people from Gainax of Evangelion and Gurren Lagann fame.

The Shirakumo arc in the Vigilantes manga felt like a visual love letter by Shueisha to Trigger saying, “Please adapt this!” Betten Court’s illustrations for Vigilantes emphasize diagonals, even when adapting MHA characters originally designed by Horikoshi, as well as facial expressions with sharp lines rather than curves, all visually reminiscent of some Trigger and even Gainax anime. Characters’ facial expressions look more like Panty and Stocking than Studio BONES. Aizawa’s final fight in the arc is against a stories-tall behemoth with laser powers that, if not visually, then narratively invokes similar fights in Gurren Lagann, Gridman, and Evangelion. Speaking of Gurren Lagann, in this arc Midnight is sporting Kamina’s shades, and Skirakumo’s last words to Aizawa come through an intercom, after he supposedly died, similar to Kamina’s death. Also, Midnight is running around in a nudist beach outfit from Kill La Kill–so, yeah, the Trigger allusions are that in your face, in all senses of that phrase. Again, I’m not saying I personally would like Trigger to adapt MHA: it’d be different, they are not the first studio I would go with or one whose output I would like, given a lot I don’t like about their output, but when you look at the manga-based evidence, going in that direction makes sense.

I don’t know what plans Shueisha, Toho, and BONES had for this episode, but the style of it already feels so different and off-kilter anyway, due to Aizawa’s nostalgia, that I can’t help but think that someone at some point did have an idea to go with a different studio to animate it, or at least a different approach. I appreciate how much they changed Chapter 254’s opening, re-staging Oboro’s agency talk to be outdoors instead of a walk-and-talk scene as in the manga. Even if I can’t quite say the street walking and outdoor sitting under a bright sky is indicative of Trigger exactly–if anything, the fixation on centering the scenes Wes Anderson-style (the hallway walking in Tartarus, Aizawa and Mic and Oboro hanging out under the blue sky) looks more like something out of Shaft or BONES’s Bungo Stray Dogs–that difference tells me there was something more ambitious in mind than what we ultimately got. It’s the same when we get Kurogiri’s point of view as Aizawa and Present Mic get through to Oboro.

Imagine how gutsy it would be to start Season 5 with an entire Oboro flashback arc. Imagine moving forward in time to this moment of Aizawa and Present Mic interviewing Kurogiri, disorienting the audience asking why we’re skipping the Classes 1A and 1B fights, the League of Villains vs the Meta Liberation Army Arc, and the Endeavor Agency Arc, to show this moment that was supposed to come later. Imagine how gutsy it would be to start with Aizawa and Present Mic learning all of this at Tartarus, setting up the finale for this season, the Pro Heroes versus the Paranormal Liberation Front–then not actually showing that fight start until next season. Why do all of that? Because, if you’re going to delay the LOV vs MLA Arc for that long, you might as well start your season assuring the audience that, no, we have not forgotten the Villains, they will be relevant this season–because, since Aizawa and Present Mic’s high school years, they have been the Big Bads all along and were toying with these two for so long. Imagine how gutsy all of that would be.

Instead, all of that is reduced to just one episode. It’s all so cliche. Aizawa points out, towards the beginning, that this power of friendship trope won’t work–then it does work, negating the entire point of calling it cliche. (Well, it does work, for now: given often we’re told rather than shown how All For One is a chessmaster, it wouldn’t surprise me if he let Kurogiri spill the beans like this knowing it would help him break out of prison later when the Pro Heroes foolishly take on the PLF all at once with little back up plan.) If we had had the full story of Oboro, like did readers of Vigilantes, the slow revelation that Nomus are hardly puppets but, more than that, are reanimated Frankenstein’s monsters capable of agency and personalities, would make this hurt more. We would have seen Oboro, we would have been as horrified as Aizawa and Mic are to learn he was resurrected–but, instead, it is already upon our first meeting with Oboro that suddenly we learn he is also Kurogiri, and it’s just too fast.

How disappointing, but sadly realistic.

It feels like BONES has made a lot of safe choices this season, and while that helps sustain the studio during the unpredictable times of COVID and does what works already for MHA, it doesn’t feel very adventurous. It makes me wonder whether BONES should have put in that time improving Season 5 than trying to make another MHA film. I have not seen World Heroes’ Mission, and while I’ll reserve my review of it until I see it, and will limit as many spoilers as I can, based on just the plot summary I have read, I fail to see how putting in the budget on that film makes sense in terms of narratives, even as I understand how it makes sense in terms of increasing an audience and getting box office sales (in a pre-COVID model, of course).

But speaking of COVID, yeah, I do see why World Heroes’ Mission is necessary right now: it is a globe-trekking film, from what I read it includes beautiful scenery as characters travel vast distances–it is a film needed right now when many of us are still social distancing and still staying at home in the hope that our contributions limit the spread of this deadly virus. (Get vaccinated, mask up, stay at home when possible, and stop being a jerk, people.) Still, I can’t say I’m not disappointed that, with a season whose animation has depended a lot on flashbacks, even if that makes sense given how much ground to cover and how far along the story has come over more than 100 episodes, it is disappointing to not get something more stylistically out-there.

I’m also not saying it’s realistic that Trigger would ever animate this arc. I don’t even necessarily want them to: I find most of their productions to be so light on story while heavy on themes, message, and the animation that, while I appreciate people getting into how visually stunning the artwork is, I find the story so empty that I just can’t get into it. And I’m not expecting Shueisha, Toho, or Studio BONES to cut some kind of deal with Trigger to give them the rights to adapt part or all of Vigilantes: Trigger is animating Star Wars stuff next, that’s a wider market than My Hero Academia (regardless how many Star Wars references Horikoshi puts into his series).

I know I’m being very critical of the production choices behind the episode. Granted, the recap to the last episode was needless–and seems like it’s just there to remind us that we’re somehow supposed to see Aizawa, Mic, and Oboro as analogous to Izuku, Bakugo, and Todoroki–which does not work at all. And somehow BONES made the unfunny All Might part from the manga even longer and even less funny: we already got comedic relief off Iida to accent how much a contrast there is to the Aizawa stuff, and that has a more personal connection as he is Aizawa’s student, while All Might’s Dad Joke is as painful a pun as it looked to be for the students.

Otherwise, I thought the episode was good, just not meeting expectations I set that are not fair. Present Mic’s extended pause, then the long pause before Aizawa has to hold back from crying, when realizing Kurogiri’s concern for Shigaraki means he is indeed Oboro, is more powerful than it was in the manga. Aizawa letting loose the tears at the end while claiming he has dry eyes is very much Roy Mustang complaining about the rain. I do think the ambition for the storyboarding hints at something bigger they had planned, and largely the animation and tension, especially trying to reach Oboro, did work. Wrapping up this episode showing that Kurogiri was just the start of an experiment that would lead to Shigaraki’s transformation only creates a more foreboding tone.

Furthermore, the voice direction and acting in the English dub was very good. Ever since David Trosko replaced Sonny Strait as Present Mic, he has upheld all that works in the character, and while I feared that kind of loud acting would disrupt any pathos for this episode, it worked incredibly well, putting up so much bluster that shows how powerless he feels facing this madness and how this is as heartwrenching for him as it is for Aizawa. I especially appreciate, in the English dub, how much Oboro sounds like Izuku: while the series has never made Aizawa see a bit of Oboro in Izuku, that casting lends a new way of interpreting why Aizawa sticks with that masochist after everything he lost when Oboro died.

(You know that if things had worked out differently, Vic Mignogna would’ve ended up cast as Oboro, given his roles already as the dead friend of the hard-ass teacher in Naruto, and the presumed dead Sabo in One Piece, and his dynamic acting against Kurogiri’s Chuck Huber in other productions).

So that takes care of all the stuff about Aizawa: what about his students? I don’t just mean the class he failed–which, no, that detail doesn’t really work for me, that Aizawa failed a class as we were told upon his initial introduction, and now we reveal it was an empty threat since, while that is on their record, it was to reset matters with his class, not so they would take him seriously but so that they would value their lives. That’s not how that works. I don’t pretend that students, myself included, took our education so seriously that a failing grade or a career setup felt awful–but not the same kind of life-threatening that is literally dying. A poor mark on your report card does not typically result in that kind of same mortal fear, and I hate this story for trying to compare the two, especially when it positions teachers like us to have a fatal power we don’t have: we’re not the Grim Reaper, this isn’t Soul Eater, this is real freaking life. I can’t imagine any good teacher wanting that kind of power to think they are the difference between life and death. We don’t want our students to think these are mortal matters–especially right now, in this context, where I don’t think it’s at all appropriate to re-start in-person teaching and learning (without masks and without social distancing or remote learning opportunities) at a time when not enough of us are vaccinated and the threat of COVID remains too dangerous even when vaccinated. This takes me out of the story. Granted, it’s not the rest of this story is somehow like real life: this is a school where Nezu somehow has a ton of money, so applying real-world matters to a work of fiction is foolish. The only bar this story needs to clear is believability, and it’s not unbelievable that Nezu made that money and overlooked Aizawa’s behavior.

(It’s also why I wish Midnight was in this episode: she recruited Aizawa to UA as a teacher–it would be fascinating to hear her say she chose him for these reasons, that she knew the school needed a hard-ass like him.)

But like I said, I don’t just mean the class he failed: I mean his current students. Re-reading Chapter 253, I now understand why Iida doesn’t pop up in the third film: if he had his new desire to loosen up, then it would make a lot less sense seeing as he just came off a mission to save the world like Ochaco and his classmates did.

And that again leads to a paragraph of me repeating that I don’t give Ochaco enough attention. I promise, I will say more about where her character stands in this series at some point, if not when talking about Chapter 324 tomorrow. But even as this story keeps insisting she is important, it feels like it’s hanging her up like that All Might toy from Izuku. I appreciate putting in the budget to animate her dive-and-hide on Izuku’s gift, something not as obvious or visually impressive in the manga–but we couldn’t have put that budget into doing something more creative with the Aizawa story? Building her characterization around Izuku, at this point in the anime, remains frustrating–until the manga gives that a good payoff and seems to be sticking the landing on it. That’s one of the challenges of reviewing the manga as it goes on, and why reviewing the anime is in some ways easier: I can see where the pieces fit in and what is being set up. It doesn’t change that it’s annoying right now in this moment, but it fits in the overall scheme of her and Izuku’s story. But When it comes to how Toga is going to tie into this, I’m less convinced, but we’ll get to that in the next few episodes and in tomorrow’s manga review.

Oh, and Bakugo remains the worst. I’m so grateful he is tolerable in the manga right now, because the fact that he was getting away with this nonsense up to Chapter 253 is an indictment against teachers like Aizawa and All Might.

I apologize for how much this post seemed like a long college lecture (a college instructor leturing–shocking), or a Rachel Maddow monologue–only far less repetitive than Maddow’s condescending “I’m going to repeat the same point five times and treat you like you haven’t been paying attention”–and far less financially profitable. This is basically a joke I told a friend after posting last week’s review:

“Show me you’re an academic without telling me you’re an academic.”

“I wrote nine pages reviewing an episode without actually reviewing the episode."

[legedsrebornamyheroacademiastory]

MHA Legends Reborn Chapter 1

Chapter 1: The Plan

(Disclaimer I own nothing of MHA)

A few years back…

Someone was watching the battle between All Might and All For One.

All Might had just lost his muscle form and was close to being defeated.

"Did you really think you had a chance against me?" All for one asked, "You're weak, and I am stronger than you."

All Might knew that he was strong, but he still had to keep going, for the good of his people and friends.

He looked to Deku who had gotten his friends out of a scrape.

"So, you passed your quirk on to someone else believing someone will continue your legacy."

All for One charged at All Might.

"Well too bad you won't live long enough to see it happen!"

All Might got into a fighting stance.

He then charged up for a punch.

At the last second All Might regained his muscle form and pushed him back with a Texas Smash.

The kid was looking at All Might and was infuriated.

Inside his body, a quirk begun to manifest itself.

Now….

Students were watching a tribute video about the All Might

Some students had tears as they had admired him and his heroic deeds.

Mina and Kirishima appeared on the screen.

"Gone….. but never forgotten," Mina said, "This year was nothing short of historic moments."

"You said it sister," Kirishima said, "Stuff is like legit nuts."

"Almost a year ago this day, we had lost who would be considered to be the great hero, All Might, who gave his life to defeat All for One," Mina said, "He was a great champion who had always managed to save the day with a smile on his face."

Footage was shown of him fighting All For One.

"This year has been stressful, but the time has come for us to move on to a new phase."

"Well hopefully nothing crazy , cause is All Might's legacy even a thing anymore?" Kirishima said, "Does anybody here even have a plan!?"

Class had ended and Deku was talking with Iida.

"Alright, I got a plan," he said.

"Lay it on me Midoriya."

"So we have this trip around the world right?" Deku asked, "So on the plane I'm gonna sit next to her and bring a headphone adapter so we can listen to music or whatever."

"Alright," Iida said.

"And then when we get to Brooklyn, I'm gonna buy her a necklace and place this picture in it."

He showed it to Iida.

"And then our last trip is Detroit which happens to be Uraraka's birthday," Deku said, "And that night there's gonna be a big fireworks display, so I'm gonna bring her to the top of a building, give her the necklace and tell her how I feel."

"Don't forget the next step," Iida said, "Don't do any of that."

"Why not?"

Iida sighed.

"Listen Deku, I like your plan, its well thought out, with many good ideas… but…. A hero shouldn't overcomplicate his plan to stop a villain."

Deku scratched his head.

"Listen what I'm trying to say is…. You really ought to be yourself, and just tell her."

"I don't know how," Deku said, "I've never felt this way about anyone. She's encouraging, nice, professional and beautiful and….."

"I get it," Iida said.

"Speaking of Uraraka, where is she?" Deku asked.

Uraraka was outside.

"So Deku… we've been friends for a long time, and…" she said, "I'm just really happy that we're such great friends…. I just said friends twice."

She sighed.

"Deku the thing is… I've always admired how you…. ugh, why is this so hard."

She looked at the picture of Deku in his hero costume.

"Deku, I'm not really one to talk about feelings or come out with what I want to say but the thing is…. I just really… GAH!"

Amii appeared from nowhere.

"Confession practice?" She asked.

"No….. Yes," she said.

"I knew it," Amii said, "You do have a thing for Deku!"

Uraraka shushed her.

"What if someone heard that?" Uraraka said, "I don't want things going bad between us."

"Well, don't worry, I've has you covered honey," Amii said, "I got an idea for how this trip goes. First off, I think you should sit next to Deku and watch movies with him the entire trip. That's the only step I got so far, so I'll improvise during the trip."

"Listen…. Don't tell Mina," Uraraka said.

Mina arrived.

"Don't tell Mina what?" She asked, "You planning on confessing to Deku finally?"

"…..yeah."

"About time," Mina exclaimed, "Now come on, the cafeteria awaits."

In the cafeteria the gang was talking about the big trip.

Deku and Uraraka were right next to each other.

"So this trip should be awesome," he said.

"I know right," Uraraka said, "The chance to see other heroes in action across the globe. Pretty soon one of us will be out there too."

Momo noticed someone sitting by himself.

"Who's the new guy?"

"Whoever he is, he seems cute," Mina said.

Amii approached the new boy.

"You're not alone are you?" She asked.

The boy nodded.

"Well, why don't you join us," she said, "There's plenty to go around."

He nodded and came over to their table.

He was staring at a candy bar that Jiro had.

"So….. what are you called weirdo?" She asked.

"I am Beta," he said introducing himself.

Amii pulled our an extra candy bar.

"You want one?"

Beta sniffed it and then took a bite.

He then started to eat the rest of it.

"Well it looks like he likes it," Iida said chuckling.

Beta stopped.

"It seems I've forgotten my manners," Beta said, "Thank you very much. I am eternally grateful."

"Listen, there's no need to be so formal," Amii said, "Just try a thank you."

"A… thank you."

"Close enough."

Deku faced Uraraka.

"So listen Uraraka," Deku said, "I know your birthday is coming up."

"Yeah," Uraraka said, "Detroit is gonna be a great city to visit on my birthday."

"Well, is there anything special you…."

All Might approached them.

"Izuku, may I have a word with you in private?" He asked, "I'd like to do some training with you before the trip."

"Ok," he said, "I'll see you later Uraraka."

In an unknown area someone was putting on some kind of suit.

He had a lot of news articles about All For One and All Might.

One article had his grasp out of all of them; The one where he chose Deku to be his successor.

"For months I have been waiting for this day to happen," he said, "Once I find and eliminate All Might's successor, I shall be the one on top."

He clawed the article into pieces.

[recentanimenews]

It's Not About Being First! The Nature of Heroism in "My Hero Academia!"

The UA Sports Festival has finally come to a close with a disappointing result for Deku. His defeat may come as a shock, but the circumstances surrounding Deku's climactic battle with Todoroki serve to reinforce My Hero Academia's definition of heroism and the unique qualities that make Deku so special. The framework of their battle teases this out, occurring as part of a competition among aspiring heroes attempting to prove themselves. MHA's heroism is something that cannot be measured in any sort of structured challenge, however--it's a purely opportunistic quality. Heroism is the ability to recognize when someone is in need, the courage to meddle unasked to provide aid, and the selflessness to make personal sacrifices for the good of another.

    As the protagonist of MHA, Deku naturally embodies these ideals. Although typically one to overthink things, Deku’s response to seeing others in need is instinctual. He’s already moving before he’s even considered how, or if, he might be able to help and heedless of the danger it may pose to him. Most importantly, he possessed all these characteristics when he was utterly powerless. His personality is perfectly suited to the harsh demands of One For All, a power that demands sacrifice until it's mastered. It provides Deku with the means to make his altruistic intentions reality in exchange for pain and personal injury, a cost which he can accept without hesitation.

    Although the UA Sports Festival acts as an audition for heroes-in-training, heroism itself plays no part in the competition. Each of the events challenges the students' speed, power, strategic thinking, and teamwork, but none of those things necessarily test their spirit. The objective of the festival itself is essentially self-serving, allowing students the opportunity to put their powers on display and attract the attention of professional heroes and potential mentors to earn valuable opportunities as sidekicks and kickstart their careers. The reasons they have for wanting to be a hero and their willingness to endanger themselves for the sake of others are immaterial. Fundamentally, the festival is a measure of what they can do, not who they are.

    The stakes on the festival's outcome are higher for Deku than anyone else. Many of the UA students have compelling reasons for wanting to emerge first, but Deku’s explicit ambition is to become the greatest hero, the Symbol of Peace. In Deku’s case, it is also a responsibility that he has been shouldered with as the inheritor of One For All and the chosen successor to All Might’s legacy. He’s not only trying to attract the eye of a promising mentor, but making his public debut as the first step in building a legacy that will inspire an entire generation. Stumbling at this integral moment wouldn't just mean slowing down his career, but potentially wounding his reputation before he's even had a chance to build it.

    Heading into Deku’s match with Todoroki, we discover that they share a common childhood inspiration in All Might and the goal of becoming the number one hero, but Todoroki’s passion has been poisoned by Endeavor. Since his own wish and his father’s designs for him so closely align, its impossible for Todoroki to feel he is accomplishing his goal without also validating his father’s abuse. The only compromise he has been able to find is to reach the top while rejecting his father’s quirk but, in doing so, his goal is suborned by that of his father. All Might has become an object to surpass rather than a symbol to approach. His goal isn't to help others, but spite his father.

    Deku could intellectually grasp that Todoroki’s handicap is integral to his own success, but he knew that the reasons for the self-imposed limitation arose from tremendous grief. So, with the whole world as their audience, Deku did what came most naturally to him. Seeing someone in need of help, he moved before he could think. As easily as he broke his bones to save Ochako, Deku sabotaged his chances of victory to help Todoroki remember why he wanted to be a hero. He pleaded, taunted, and yelled at Todoroki until he finally reached him. Not with One For All, but with persistence and compassion, Deku dragged Todoroki away from his trouble past to exist only within the moment. Todoroki was able to forget his father, smile, and reach for his dream.

    After the festival, Todoroki, for the first time, went to visit his mother after the incident that scarred him. He renews his resolution, not to spite his father, but to save his mother from the same pain that he's been suffering. Although Todoroki isn’t out of the woods, his new starting line is based in altruism and love rather than resentment.

    The result for Deku is defeat, but losing is what makes his willingness to reach out meaningful. There were real consequences for saving Todoroki, both to his legacy and the scars that will mark his hand for the rest of his life. In that moment Deku truly was a hero, risking his dream of becoming like All Might to remind Todoroki of his same desire. Although a personal disappointment and a hard reminder that Deku would have to improve his mastery over One For All if he hopes to be a hero for any significant amount of time, the outcome reaffirms the very thing about Deku that made All Might choose him.

Becoming the Symbol of Peace doesn't mean being invincible--All Might's failing health is proof of that. Its true value is in allowing others to believe in an intrinsic good, live with a sense of security, and inspiring the capable to take up the mantle to defend that same peace and prosperity. Just as growing up witnessing All Might's heroics drove Deku to become a hero, a quirkless Deku was able to remind All Might of his own responsibilities as the Symbol of Peace. Now Deku may have provided Todoroki with the means to match his tremendous prowess with the same sense of heroism. Inspiration is more important than strength. That very distinction is why Endeavor was never able to surpass All Might, because being first was never the point.

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Peter Fobian is an Associate Features Editor for Crunchyroll and author of Monthly Mangaka Spotlight. You can follow him on Twitter @PeterFobian.

By: news+feed@crunchyroll.com