#please respect shounen characters and think about them as more than power levels

[bon-voyage-dear-friend]

This is going to be controversial, but it has to be said: Sanji doesn’t care about fighting.

Which is not to say he’s weak; after all he’s strong enough to be part of the monster trio, and being able to take on monsters of any types, however, unlike Luffy (literally ready to take on a God for the sake of his own amusement) and Zoro (which’s entire character arc revolves around the love of challenging enemies and becoming stronger with each battle), Sanji sees fighting as a tool, a mean to an end, something he does because he needs to (becoming strong enough to not die in the hand of stronger opponents, protect his friends ect.). 

Admittedly, he has the bad habit to use violence to solve some of his problems, but that’s caused more by his upbringing that anything else, otherwise, he is never seen being excited about taking on a challenge for the sake of challenging himself. Fighting is so secondary to his character, and his entire fighting style revolves around how fighting is secondary to him.

Is kinda tiring how so many seem to trash him for not fighting during Whole Cake Island, when his entire character arc during it was about; his lifelong passion for cooking, and how it has always been more important that learning how to fight (despite that being against his father wishes), how he get to solve the problem by doing what he genuinely passionate about, and how, by avoiding fighting any serious battle, it show that it doesn’t have to prove anything to his father. Thanks to that, we are spared a really annoying scene were we have Vinsmoke “abusive trash” Judge stating how Sanji managed to become stronger against all odds and all that bullshit, because Sanji doesn’t care about proving to his father that he got stronger since Judge approval is worthless to him and, again, Sanji doesn’t care about fighting.

Even more tiring is the entire “Zoro vs Sanji” annoying discourse, were everyone seem to take their petty rivalry way too seriously, revolving Sanji entire character around a comedy gag between the two, mostly there to showcase the ironic dislike for each other differences despite being so similar. Which brings me to my second controversial opinion; Zoro is stronger than Sanji.

Sorry, but I refuse to believe that someone that only uses kicks to fight, because he doesn’t want to damage his hands to not affect his cooking, is stronger, or even on pair (yes, I’m gonna say it) as someone who spends about 30% of his on screen time, training with inhuman amount of weights. Zoro entire deal is that he wants to become strong enough to take on the strongest swordsman in the world, and he trains everyday and takes on anytype of unlikely challenges justs to become stronger and stronger. There’s absolutely No Reason to think that Zoro is not stronger than Sanji.

But you know that fun thing about this fact; It. doesn’t. matter. It matters absolutely 0, because once again, SANJI DOESN’T CARE ABOUT FIGHTING. 

[shihalyfie]

Daisuke and Tagiru

Ever since Tagiru’s concept was announced, people have been comparing him to Daisuke, and, honestly, it’s hard not to -- in fact, considering that Xros Wars did certainly have some degree of trying to invoke stuff from older series, it’s very likely this is intentional! You have someone introduced as a junior to a prior protagonist, who wears goggles like him (and eventually inherits the senior’s pair), wears blue, has a blue dragon-like partner, is more hot-headed than said senior...

...and that is about where the similarities stop!

Still, I think such prominent base profile details practically beg one to make a comparison, so let’s dig in!

(Translations linked below are PositronCannon’s for 02, The Wild Bunch for Hunters, and L Subs for a Kizuna screenshot, unless otherwise stated.)

The junior-senior relationship

Both Daisuke and Tagiru look up to their seniors, and that’s probably the most well-known part about both of them, but I think the first major difference between the two is how they approach that admiration towards said seniors.

While Daisuke’s way of approaching Taichi can generally be observed through his tone and actions overall, the most clear representation is in 02 episode 8, where you get to see their relationship as soccer team junior and senior. The most consistent thing about this is that Daisuke is completely and utterly deferential to Taichi.

What does this mean? It means that, even when Daisuke is jokingly bragging about his skills, it only takes one criticism from Taichi to entirely shut him down. The degree to which Daisuke respects Taichi’s opinion and holds him in regard is in such high esteem that he completely defers to his judgment. He really, really thinks Taichi is that much cooler of an experienced person whose judgment takes priority over his own. Even in episode 39, when he makes his first major disagreement against Taichi -- that he wants to go help Ken in Tamachi instead of accompanying the others -- the way he phrases it is firm, but politely and respectfully, to the point it almost comes off like he’s asking for permission to go.

Tagiru, on the other hand...

...well, his first appearance in the series involves disregarding Taiki’s advice. And when it comes to his approach to Taiki...

...his goal is to outdo Taiki. He understands that Taiki is amazing, but he’s fixated on beating and surpassing him, seeing Taiki’s amazingness as more of a goal to reach.

In contrast, Daisuke’s approach to Taichi is completely on the other extreme.  While no part of 02-related canonical material ever explicitly covers whether Daisuke thinks he’d ever be able to be as good as Taichi, the implication is that Daisuke thinks Taichi is so amazing that the idea of surpassing him doesn’t even occur to him, or that he may not even think it’s possible at all. See Spring 2003:

All right! I’m finally a regular! A center-forward. Haah, I’m getting all pumped up! I’ll show ’em all my power! But… Taichi-san was already a regular in his fifth year. I heard he was big. Ahh, he was awesome!!

The one time he’s known to explicitly compare Taichi to himself...he just gushes about how Taichi was a regular earlier than he was. And then gushes about Taichi in general. So in other words, he treats the fact that he’s not as “good” as Taichi as...just a fact of life, because Taichi being that amazing is a fact of life to him.

Even all the way in 2010, Daisuke’s default reaction to Taichi is to gush about how amazing he is. He doesn’t even think of himself in the equation.

The goggles

Both of them are also known for having wearing goggles specifically because their seniors do, but the circumstances behind them are somewhat different.

Tagiru’s reasons for imitating Taiki are explicitly laid out in Hunters episode 1:

Tagiru basically sees Taiki as a “role model” -- he thinks Taiki is the model of the “superstar” level he wants to attain, and, eventually, surpass.

On the other hand, Daisuke’s circumstances and motive behind wearing the goggles were only implied in the series itself, but fully fleshed out in Spring 2003. In what’s implied to be a metaphorical conversation with his younger self, it’s said that the reason Daisuke started wearing goggles was because of “a person wearing goggles and riding something that looked like a huge dinosaur" -- Yagami Taichi, whom it seems Daisuke did not properly recognize as Taichi at the time -- during the 1999 Odaiba fog incident, when Vamdemon kidnapped everyone. Wanting “the strength to protect everyone”, Daisuke went home and picked up a pair of goggles, and has this to say about them:

...when I wear them, I guess it’s like, my feelings become stronger... ...Because I have these goggles. Even I didn’t know a lot from the start — well, I probably still don’t even now — but when I wear these, I kinda feel motivated… to do anything!

In other words, it’s likely Daisuke didn’t even realize “Taichi-senpai” was the person he was modeling himself after at the beginning -- it’s a bit unclear due to the circumstances of Spring 2003 being somewhat metaphorical, but either way it seems it had more to do with Taichi as “the hero who protected everyone” rather than simply his amazing soccer senior. Supporting this is Daisuke’s cameo appearance in the Adventure novels, which also has him express frustration at being powerless to protect his family.

(But of course, at whatever point Daisuke realized they were the same person, Taichi’s amazing soccer skills and leadership abilities must have certainly helped how much Daisuke adores him.)

Their general demeanor

Both Daisuke and Tagiru, on the surface, seem to track with the sort of “brash shounen hero” stereotype, but even their way of going about things differs greatly!

Despite Daisuke having a very “abrasive” surface demeanor -- he tends to get easily irritated at other people, and can sometimes come off as being pretty aggressive -- the truth is that he actually defers to others quite easily. This is especially in the case of the seniors or Hikari, but it extends to pretty much anyone -- the moment someone else puts their foot down, criticizes him, or takes a sufficiently large stand, he has a very strong tendency to back down. The fact that he’s so wishy-washy at the beginning of the series is a huge part of his character development, especially since the end of the Kaiser arc and the second half of the series are when he starts to make a serious stand about major things he cares about -- such as stopping more casualties at Chimeramon’s hands, or reaching out to Ken -- but he does still have some degree of deference to his friends’ opinions, and of course especially his seniors. At the very least, even if he gets argumentative, he’ll actually debate it out with them and try to make his case. In other words, Daisuke spends the course of 02 learning to be assertive, but he’s actually not as aggressive as his initial demeanor suggests.

In fact, Daisuke has often been described as being a lot like a puppy, which is something I find to be rather incredibly accurate -- he gets easily riled up or defensive, but in actuality is eager to please others and is otherwise not very threatening (especially if you give him attention).

For what it’s worth, as much as Daisuke seems to often have a lot of confidence (he does the usual shounen hero schtick of gloating about taking enemies down and all that), it’s very rare he actually talks about himself or shows any moments of pride or self-esteem. Even his joking that he might make the national soccer team was that -- a joke -- that he snapped out of the moment Taichi criticized him, and the same episode has him not even entertaining the illusion that they might win against the Tamachi team -- he’s just happy to play them at all. By the time of Kizuna, he’s rather grounded and realistic about his position and abilities in terms of how to approach his career aspirations -- overall he doesn’t actually seem to have a lot of self-awareness, positive or negative, and can be quite humble when it really comes down to it.

Considering that, it makes sense that Daisuke was able to settle for such a simple career aspiration (ramen making) -- he’s not that ambitious, and he doesn’t shoot very high. He’s happy with what he’s able to do, and while he of course wants to succeed in that and do his best, he's still satisfied with not aiming all that high.

Moreover, while he of course tends to be the one who wants to charge forward, it’s quite easy to hold him back if the others advise him that it’s a bad idea (see: 02 episode 7). During times he does put his foot down because he really, really believes it’s the only thing that can be done, Daisuke is actually forgiving of those who don’t want to charge in forward as easily as he does; in both episodes where he chooses to push on forward when the others are hesitant (02 episodes 20 and 48), he holds no ill will towards the others staying behind and simply informs everyone that he’ll go in alone if he has to. 

Tagiru, on the other hand, is actually as aggressive as his demeanor suggests -- he’s not nearly as deferential as Daisuke and doesn’t “deflate” as easily, is much more willing to argue with others (or disregard them and go off on his own if he sufficiently dislikes what they’re doing), and is rather generally brimming with pride and a lot of self-assuredness in being great and awesome. Unlike Daisuke, he is absolutely ambitious and wants to shoot for the highest thing he can possibly be -- hence why he wants to not just be like Taiki but surpass him, because he has the drive to push himself as far as possible.

Tagiru also has a tendency to try and “claim credit” for things (the basketball match in episode 1, the above scene in episode 14); most likely Daisuke wouldn’t even bother (except, perhaps, in the occasional moment of weakness when he’s trying to impress Hikari-chan). Moreover, Tagiru doesn’t need any permission to charge in whatsoever; he’ll do it if he wants to, regardless of what others tell him.

This also contributes to Tagiru being much less of a team player than Daisuke is -- making him excel much better in Hunters’ battle royale format in which his aggressiveness helped him compete in a game where everyone was playing for themselves. It’s likely he would have done very poorly in Daisuke’s situation, where team coordination and bonding was important to their adventure, and, conversely, Daisuke, who’s reliant on others and constantly deferential, would probably have performed very poorly in the Hunt.

V-mon and Gumdramon

Personality-wise, I think it’s generally understood that Daisuke and Tagiru’s actual partners have rather little similarity, and everything is mainly aesthetic (being blue dragon-like Digimon) -- V-mon is rather easygoing and friendly, whereas Gumdramon’s competitiveness and mischievousness matches Tagiru’s own. In general, though, I would also point out that this is reflective of the different ways Adventure/02 and Xros Wars approached Digimon partnership as well. In Adventure/02, Digimon partners were effectively part of the inner self, so V-mon was reflective of Daisuke actually being of a quite friendly and agreeable nature when it really came down to it and you got past his abrasive surface demeanor. As a result, Daisuke and V-mon were like-minded almost unconsciously, to the point of being in sync without even trying. (Not that they’d never got into an argument ever -- see The Door to Summer -- but their relationship was definitely more of a “natural clicking” sense.)

In contrast, Xros Wars very much treats Digimon and humans as individual entities in every respect, with “partners” really just being the Digimon each General/Hunter bonded the most with and has as their core battle partner, so there is much more of a significant level of choice between partners choosing each other in terms of whether their personalities click. (The fact that Taiki and Shoutmon were very disparate in temperament and motive was a big part of the first series of Xros Wars.) Nevertheless, Gumdramon and Tagiru are extremely like-minded -- both a little mischievous, and both very ambitious. Of course, both of them being rather aggressive did lead to some friction in episodes such as 7 and 17, but this led to them ultimately bonding more deeply by working through it.

Unlike V-mon, who had no real affiliation with Agumon, and unlike Tagiru, who can hardly be said to be all that deferential to Taiki, Gumdramon does seem to be significantly deferential to Shoutmon...although mainly out of intimidation more than anything.

Round-up

So, a tl;dr in closing:

Daisuke's relationship to Taichi is almost entirely deferential, and Daisuke holds him in such high esteem that he concentrates more on Taichi being amazing more than he ever factors himself into the equation; Tagiru sees Taiki more as a role model and someone to aspire to and eventually surpass

Daisuke’s reason for taking after Taichi with the goggles is out of a desire to protect others the way Taichi did; Tagiru wears the goggles explicitly to imitate Taiki as part of his goal to be a “superstar” and eventually surpass him

Daisuke is generally deferential to others, is somewhat lacking in ambition, and only really puts a firm foot down when it’s something he cares about; Tagiru is actually capable of being aggressive, does not necessarily defer to others, and has significant ambitions of pushing himself as high as possible

Daisuke’s relationship with V-mon is that of V-mon being reflective of Daisuke’s inner friendliness, and the two simply get along naturally in a friendly manner; Tagiru and Gumdramon had to more consciously form their partnership on being more like-minded, which meant that they had to overcome some obstacles in their relationship due to both of them being more on the aggressive side.

[animeloveworld]

A Review on Code Geass: Lelouch of the Rebellion

Note: This review is not mine.I have posted this review here because I feel it summarizes the anime Code Geass very well.

However I will be posting my reviews in the future once I get more experience.

This review is taken myanimelist from the reviewer kiriska.

Overall Rating 9

I was incredibly skeptical about Code Geass at first, but I'm very pleased to say that I was greatly surprised.

STORY - Before I saw this series, it was described to me on multiple occasions as "Death Note with mechas." After seeing it, however, I am inclined to disagree. The similarities between the two series are superficial at best, and though I can see why people would draw the comparison, I don't really think that dis/liking one means that you'll dis/like the other. But anyway, unlike Death Note, I wouldn't say that the story in Code Geass is particularly notable or unique. It's actually rather straightforward and even a little cliche, but that's exactly why this is such a well done series -- the barebones storyline is handled in a refreshing and new way that grabs the viewer's attention. There are enough twists and turns involved to keep you on the edge of your seat. The pacing is excellent and nothing feels rushed or drawn out. Indeed, the progression up to the conclusion is especially brilliant. (It's a cliffhanger "ending," but oh, it's just a fantastic cliffhanger.)

The series is also appealing in its uncanny ability to mix genres. Yes, this is a mecha series, but it really doesn't have to be. Yes, CLAMP did the character designs and there are some very shoujo elements (read: homolust), but there are very shounen rivalries and some pretty epic battle scenes too. Everybody wins! Additionally, because of the number of characters, the story allows for a number of small subplots. I was very happy with how this was handled in particular because all of the subplots relate and affect the main plot directly, whether by revealing some bit of information to both the characters and the viewer or by pushing forward interesting character development. Everything is well thought out and wonderfully executed, so despite the fact that "strong-willed person with plans to change the world receives mysterious power that helps facilitate his goals" isn't a very unique storyline... Code Geass makes it work.

Also. Code Geass utilizes the "best friends trying to kill each other" plotline, and I'm a sucker for that plotline.

CHARACTER - The characters in this series are rather varied. Some are very plain and one-dimensional, while others have an amazing complexity to them that makes them very life-like. I'll be honest. I've become somewhat infatuated with Lelouch as a character (and am rather biased as a result). To me, he is very much a human character -- he has emotions, opinions, a unique point of view, and some very serious flaws, all of which make him incredibly easy to relate to and to sympathize with. He is easily the most complex character in the series, and he feels real to me, even with his supernatural powers and his genius-level intellect. This ability to make the audience relate to him is also probably the series' greatest strength and the main reason why the story is able to remain relevant and interesting despite the fact that there aren't too many new ideas plotwise.

Suzaku would probably be second in line for complexity after Lelouch, though his sense of justice might be called cliche at first (along with Nunnally's and Euphemia's), and his hax-level physical prowess is somehow harder to accept than Lelouch's genius-level intelligence. It's harder to appreciate Suzaku's depth at first, partially because he is presented as Lelouch's main obstacle and the audience's sympathies are with Lelouch, but a great deal is revealed about his character throughout the course of the series, and he becomes an amazing foil to his rival. Their conflicting ideologies and philosophies are fascinating if you really look into it, and gay as it sounds, they really do compliment each other very well.

Much of the rest of the cast seems to fall into typical archetypes -- there's your adorable little sister, your mad scientist and his assistant, your cheerful schoolgirls, your best friend, your most loyal soldier, your second-in-command, your village idiot, your... really creepy lesbian girl? Despite the generic-sounding descriptions, most of the characters are actually pretty fun, or at the very least, interesting. C.C. provides snarky commentary. Shirley spreads innocent schoolgirl love. Nunnally is so moe you'll die. Jeremiah is a good butt of all jokes. Little bits of backstory are tossed in here and there to separate them from the crowd, but it's never enough to actually intrude, and the wide range of characters lets you settle into the world pretty well too; after all, what universe is complete without an animal mascot that shows up now and again?

ARTWORK & ANIMATION - I wasn't too impressed with CLAMP's character designs at first (noodleboys!), but as always seems to be the case, they gradually grew on me, and I remembered just how pretty X was. CLAMP just knows how to make everyone look amazingly sexy, male or female. I really loved how they did all of the facial expressions in the series though, especially for Lelouch. Seriously, that guy had some of the most awesome crazy expressions, some of the most amazingly touching sadface expressions, and of course, some of the most amusing WTF expressions. The mecha designs for the Knightmare Frames were also pretty awesome. I dig the whole rollar blade thing, and some of the technologies they come up with are neat, if a little over-the-top. The animation is fluid and smooth for the most part and very few things stood out as being bad.

MUSIC - Initially, I wasn't particularly fond of any of the OP/EDs for Code Geass except the first ending by ALI PROJECT because 1) they're awesome, and 2) Yuki Kajiura's style seemed to suit the series very well. The screaming violins both convey the high status of Britannia and the intensity of the emotions in the series. The rest of the themes seemed lackluster in comparison, but though I was never a huge fan of FLOW, "COLORS" kind of grew on me after a while. The final insert song, "Innocent Days" by Hitomi is pretty nice as well. Very thoughtful, very poignant, very fitting. The background music during the series was negligible for the most part; there is some pretty generic battle build-up type music and other appropriate, but rather typical, themes. Still, there's some neat classical/opera stuff, and the "All hail Brittania!" theme is definitely awesome.

VOICE ACTING - I've seen all of Code Geass subbed and most of it dubbed. Although I was incredibly turned off by Johnny Yong Bosch's role as Lelouch initially, it kind of grew on me, and now I think it fits well enough, though I do wish he'd change his voice a little more when Lelouch is Zero (make it a little deeper?). Suzaku's dub voice surprised me with how appropriate it was too. One of the things I really wish we could replicate in English though, is the subtle differences in manners between characters, between Lelouch and Suzaku at various stages of their lives, and between Lelouch and Zero. In Japanese, when Lelouch and Suzaku are children, they refer to themselves with "boku" and "ore" respectively. As teenagers, the pronouns are swapped, with Lelouch using "ore" (Zero uses "watashi") and Suzaku using "boku." Euphemia uses "watakushi." I'll skip the grammar lesson (go wiki "Japanese pronouns"), but suffice to say that these differences provide a lot of very interesting insight into each of the characters. It's really too bad English isn't nearly as interesting.

The rest of the voices in the dub are pretty average, perhaps the low end of average, with a stereotypically high-pitched girly voice for Nunnally that is amazingly annoying, and very forgettable voices for virtually all the female characters (Milly, Shirley, and Kallen all kind of sound the same). I was very impressed with Lloyd's dub voice though, even if nothing will ever amount to his amazing original voice, which is uh, amazing! Seriously. One of the most amusing voices I've ever heard. Jun Fukuyama's voice for Lelouch I found to be a bit too deep/old sounding initially, but that grew on me as well, and I really love the badassity of his voice for Zero. Suzaku's original voice sounds a little generic at first, but it grows with his character. There's a good bit of Engrish in the Japanese version as well, which is always fun. I don't think you can ever get tired of their "Yes, my lord(o)!" or their "All hail Britannia!"

Overall, I'd say the original is damn awesome, and the dub is pretty watchable -- always a plus, right?

OVERALL - I really love this series, and I definitely did not see that happening. Honestly, I found the first episode incredibly underwhelming: the opening sequence made it look like a series I wouldn't be interested in watching at all, and all of the expository really turned me off...but the second episode? That was so much more epic than I could have ever predicted, and I was pretty much won over after that. I'm just a sucker for chess analogies, I guess! Seriously though, good story, good characters, good animation, and good music! Mechas, politics, rivalry and comradery, strained friendships, love and hate, complex ideologies, and blowing shit up! What more could you want? :D

[chimerafeathers]

just wanted to write out a bunch of My Hero thoughts/opinions because idk anybody else who watches it (or who would want to), but i don't really want to get into deep enough into the fandom to see the #drama

so, a bunch of random shit in no particular order:

- this is more about my relationship with anime in general but.... i always feel like i need to put a disclaimer on My Anime Opinions because of the perviness and fanservice and sexualization. it’s frustrating because the “shounen” genre (and yeah i know it’s not exactly a genre. whatever) caters to my interests in so many other ways!!! big, flashy battles, cool powers and magic systems, huge emphasis on The Power of Friendship, cheesy humor, great animation, everything is all kinds of HYPE and EXCITEMENT and FUN....but since shows like this are targeted towards teenage boys and often made by horny men, there’s also Boobs and token pervert characters that serve as an excuse to show More Boobs or Fantasize About Boobs. and the women’s powers are either “look i’m a girl!!!” (there were a couple of women early on in hunter x hunter whose powers were....sewing and vacuuming?? seriously??? and then another one later on who was an older woman who chose to make herself look like a little girl as her superpower??) or “what’s a power-related excuse to make these costumes As Skimpy As Possible” (cough cough Momo and Hagakure cough cough) or even having NO excuse (what the fuck, Bubble Girl, i know it was a fan design contest thing but that never should have been accepted it makes no sense i--) and that’s. really damn tiring and annoying. mha hasn’t quite crossed the line for me yet overall -- meaning my disgust with grape trash and other gross tropes hasn’t outweighed my enjoyment of every other aspect of the story and characters, and i hope that never becomes the case. (i tried to watch 7 deadly sins on netflix and??? the main character gropes an unconscious woman in literally the first episode with no consequences???? no fucking thank you!!!!! i’m OUT)

- anyway if anybody reads this and has any show recs that hit that Good Shounen Hype vibe with good animation, fantasy/sci-fi/superpower elements, but minimal (or nonexistent??) Creep Vibes, please send them my way. i know there are a bunch of good slice-of-life or comedy or drama shows that have queer themes and sensitive storytelling but man.....if there’s no magic or dragons what’s even the POINT

- on a related note, god fucking bless every “AU - M!neta M!norou Doesn’t Exist” fic on ao3, and everyone who makes every member of class 1-a queer in some way or another, so i can get my cool powers and great characters and dramatic plots without the threat of disgust and frustration

- also i just read the School Briefs series and while there were entirely too many chapters/sections that focused on grape trash, it WAS mentioned that Tiger of the Wild Wild Pussycats is canonically a trans man (who hasn’t been killed off!), and Shinso Hitoshi became the only man at UA I respect with one line: “He’s gotta be expelled for sexual harassment one of these days, right?”

- seriously, if shinso’s transfer gets approved i would literally rather have grape trash expelled than whoever ends up being the traitor (if it’s a hero course student. i honestly don’t really care about traitor speculation/theories).

- and yes “only man i respect” includes aizawa and every other 1-a boy who just!! lets shit happen with barely a comment!!! again, bless every fic where grape trash gets expelled early on or at the training camp because Hey, What He Does Is Fucked Up Actually and maybe someone who consistently disrespects and violates his peers’ boundaries and privacy shouldn’t be accepted as a HERO without getting some behavioral therapy first???? same kinda goes for bakugo too though, they really need to address his anger issues and beef with mido beyond “let’s force them to team up in high-stress situations even though this boy basically tried to obliterate the other one on, like, the second day of class. they’ll probably work it out!!”

- and on the subject of bakugo! i really fucking can’t ship him romantically with mido as their history and relationship stands in canon. (this is not meant to shame anybody for shipping it, i just want to articulate why it’s a notp for me personally. expressing my opinions is the point of this list.) i can see the foundations -- mido obsessed with baku, baku constantly frustrated by yet aware of mido, both of them being drawn to each other and tangled up in each other’s ideas of what it means to be a hero. but. baku made mido’s entire childhood hell. rejected and abused him for something he couldn’t control, ostracized him from all of his peers, mocked his passions, crushed his dreams, told him to jump off a roof. of course mido still clung to him--baku’s strong and smart and talented, and he was the only friend mido ever had, the only friend he had left, the “hero” he could see in his own life.

but at UA he has other friends, other heroes, people who support him and believe in him. it’s his chance to step outside of baku’s shadow and see his own self worth. and it’s baku’s chance to see how wrong he was, and outgrow his anger and prejudice!! see others as his equals instead of his inferiors! but it’s gonna take years for that to happen for both of them, and while i can see them becoming partners and friends who can finally talk to each other on the same level, and work together better than anyone because they know each other so damn well after everything they went through....i think they need to do that healing and growth separately, for the most part.

and like...okay, disclaimer, i am fully asexual and aromantic, so while i love reading shippy fics, there are some things i just cannot fucking understand or relate to. the whole “sexual tension between people who hate each other but can’t stop thinking about each other” or “arguments turn into make-out sessions” thing is just beyond me. if i hate a person i Do Not Want to be around them! at all!! so the idea that baku treats mido like that BECAUSE he’s attracted to him?? incomprehensible.

and on mido’s end, no matter how much he respects or admires baku, or even if he was endlessly infatuated with/attracted to him when they were younger, why the FUCK would he want to stay with someone who made him feel like dirt for so long, when he’s finally surrounded by people who love him fully and unapologetically? i want him to have more self-respect than that. i honestly, truly want to see baku grow and develop to the extent that he and mido can stand on the same level as equals. i want to see mido unashamed and unafraid, i want baku to apologize and mean it, i want mido to forgive him, i want baku to become the kind of hero mido always believed he could be.

but to me, that depth and complexity of relationship (while very very very good!!) is NOT the same thing as a romance, and turning it into one feels wrong when the foundations of it are just....baku tormenting mido, while mido had nothing and no one else to turn to. (his mom is great, but a parent is not the same as a friend, and she was literally the only person in his life who cared about him while baku and his cronies were beating him up and ridiculing him in front of teachers who turned a blind eye.) if they had been equal rivals from the beginning, with mido able to hold his own physically, socially, and/or emotionally instead of being left bruised and battered in the dirt every time, then sure! rivals to lovers, have at it. but for me, there’s gotta be that give-and-take.

i haven’t read shippy fic for those two and i’m sure there’s a lot of great stuff!! i’ve read platonic bk//dk-centric fic by writers who DO ship them and write mostly shippy stuff, and their take on that relationship is great and engaging and everything. but i feel like, to me, even when the growth and development of their canon-based relationship is handled really well, it’d feel wrong to me as soon as it turned romantic.

- .....which is one of the reasons why todo//mido is my JAM. bonding over shared loneliness and trauma, respecting each other as rivals right from the beginning, the contrast of chatty and sunny mido with quiet and calm todo, hurt/comfort on both sides, navigating their relationships with the people who have hurt them so much in the past, the capacity to be gentle and tender with each other while remaining passionate and dedicated rivals, growing and healing together, that good good Pining because neither one of them believes that they deserve the other, all of it!!! now THAT i can relate to and understand and see as the basis for romance. mido changed todo’s whole damn worldview in ONE FIGHT after todo spilled his whole tragic backstory to mido in their second conversation.

even so (and again, this might be ace/aro me not relating) i kinda roll my eyes whenever a fic emphasizes how attractive they find each other right away (especially on todo’s end, when mido is consistently described as plain or unremarkable). worst offenders are when they ~just so happen~ to be EXACTLY each other’s “type.” like, alright, sure, i gUESS.

it’s just so much more interesting to me if attraction follows affection instead of the other way around? especially in the context of canon events. but whatever, love at first sight’s just not my thing. never has been. and i like the idea that even though the start of their friendship is so chaotic and rushed in some ways, it still takes them time to get to know each other and come to terms with their own feelings. (slow burn slow burn SLOW BURN)

- okay those are all my more sincere/serious opinions

- i know canon is like “stop being such a crybaby :/” but mido crying all the time is one of my favorite things about him and i hope it never goes away, at least not completely

- some fics have mido getting growth spurts and getting really tall, and it’s an anime trope that getting taller parallels character growth/maturity (like Ed growing up in FMA after being short and mad about it was one of his defining characteristics for so long) but again......i just want him to stay short....please let my boy stay a small overemotional nerd.... hori please i’m begging you

-  it’s hilarious to me that the “dabi is a todoroki” theory is present in almost every single damn fic where that character makes an appearance. personally i have no stake in the theory (wouldn’t be surprised if it’s true, wouldn’t be disappointed if it isn’t) but i feel like it’s never gonna die even after his identity is truly revealed

- apparently shinso/kami is a decently popular ship and i.....have no idea if those two have ever interacted at all?? did they talk to each other in the show or in the manga or some side story and i missed it? are they popular JUST because they parallel eraser//mic to some extent??? or is it purely a case of “those personalities would be fun together--SHIP TIME”?? idk i don’t get it but it’s funny

- back to School Briefs, there’s a neat Kendo-centric chapter during the school festival that ends up being an introspective on kendo’s relationship with her own gender and the idea of performing femininity for the beauty pageant and it kind of rules??

- there’s also an entire chapter from the pov of koda’s bunny during their first couple days in the dorms. apparently koda can’t understand animals, he can just control them by talking to them!

- in shinso’s chapter he overhears the dance squad talking about the sports festival and he hears mido talk about how useful and great shinso’s quirk will be for hero work and shinso’s like “!!! thank you???? finally???” and then resolves to get stronger and make it into the hero course before they meet again

- during the school festival when mido ran off to make eri’s candy apples, iida and todo were like “is he running into trouble again?? can he PLEASE tell us where he’s going? we would track his phone but he never brings it with him anyways!!! what are we supposed to do about him!!!!” and then they found out what he was doing and went “oh ;u;”

- School Briefs in general (minus grape trash sections) were exactly the kind of “slice of life but there are superpowers” fluffy nonsense i always crave, would recommend

- also hilarious: baby mido in fic (especially de-aging fic) is often either a) the Most Precious Sunshine Child in Existence, even villains can’t help but adore him, or b) the most obnoxious, borderline-creepy, whiny little brat in existence, No Wonder Baku Couldn’t Stand Him. i imagine the “reality” would fall somewhere in the middle and it’s always a little jarring when authors so solidly fall on one extreme or the other lmfao

- just bnha fanfic things: “is this an intentional use of All for One vs One for All or was it a typo/mistake on the author’s part??”

- that’s all i’ve got for now yall i love these characters

[undeadimpulsereviews]

Enen no Shouboutai/ Fire Brigade of Flames (Fire Force) Review

Some context; for this review I will be referring to the manga by it’s English name. I would like to go by the translated name of Fire Brigade of Flame, but Fire Force is shorter, and if I tried to shorten the former then I might start some confusion about whether I’m talking about the manga or one of the brigades. Also with me being in school, I’m starting to learn thing in my major and wish to try them here. The overall framework of the review will be a little different from the past. That’s not to say that I’ll be taking segments out and adding in new ones; though I will be spreading sections out more. When I make a point on something, instead of just continuing the long running paragraph; I’ll instead break the paragraph up into smaller ones. Other than that, you are all set to dive in.

Fight fire with fire; an expression used to this day by many. It’s meanings may vary depending on the person, but again it’s just an expression. Who ever heard of actually fighting fires with more fire? Though what if the fire was special? Maybe then it just might work.

Enen no Shouboutai, or Fire Force here in the states, is a shounen manga that goes a little more literal with the idea of fighting fire with fire. It’s the tale of one fire brigade of rookie fire fighters looking to uncover the inner workings of an ongoing epidemic. Fire Force began it’s run in September of 2015; it’s an ongoing manga with around ten volumes currently out in it’s place of origin. For us here there are only five volumes available physically, but you can read up to chapter eighty four online. Fire Force is currently being serialized in Shounen Weekly Magazine, and it’s the work of Ookubo Atsushi. You may know him as the man behind the famous manga series Soul Eater. Now for me I was a little skeptical going into the manga. Having knowledge of the mangaka’s work I wasn’t completely sold; what I mean by this is that I couldn’t get into Soul Eater. I don’t hate it, but it just didn’t really keep me invested when I tried it long ago. I was scared that Fire Force would provide the same feeling, but I wanted to give the manga it’s fair chance. I’m now currently caught up with the manga, and it definitely has kept me invested; however, the manga does get a little questionable at times. It’s good, but it’s not without some big flaws. Plus these flaws are in present in every part of this manga; it’s story, it’s characters, and it’s visual style all have moments I could do without. Though thru all this the manga stand strong for me; some of the problems are early in the manga and are remedied pretty early as well; while others are still constant issues that I wish were addressed. Yet I’m getting nowhere with all this, so let’s start from the beginning and see just was Fire Force has to offer.

Set in what seems to be present day; Japan, and possibly more of the world, has been struck with an epidemic. Cases of random human combustion are spreading like wildfire; it’s unknown as to why but no one is safe. Though the problem doesn’t end there; they aren’t just burning, but turning into demonic like entities that go on a rampage through the streets. Thus the Fire Brigades were formed; though these aren’t your average fire fighters. These men and women are trained for just this occasion, or were gifted abilities from the fire. The fire brigades are made up of three types of people; normal humans, second generation, and third generation. The humans are self explanatory, but the second and third gen are special. Second generation people can control the fires around them in a certain fashion; while third generation people have a sort of fire centered in their body that gives them extraordinary powers. Our hero, Shinra Kusakabe, is a third generation. It’s his first day on duty and he’s looking for answers. Though above all he wants to be a hero; a shining beacon to those afraid of the epidemic. Yet for reasons he’s seen as a demon, rather than a hero. Can Shinra pull through his ordeal and show the people he’s here to help, or will he forever be know as a demon?

After getting caught up with the manga, I have to say that I was pleased with a lot of what I read. The idea of the combustion epidemic was really interesting, and the uses of fire to form super powers was pretty cool. At times the explanation for how these certain abilities work seem a little far fetched; I’m no scientist, and I don’t know all the capabilities of fire. However, it’s clear that the mangaka is pushing the boundary of what is actually possible for these characters. For this I will sometimes give the manga a pass; the abilities thought up are pretty awesome regardless of the logic behind how they operate. Plus how is the mangaka going to create something, where one of the key ideas is fire, completely logical. 

As the story stand, there has been some good progression. We’ve been introduced to many different brigades; possible allies and enemies, and have come to uncover the mystery at a decent pace. Yet there are some things, and some people, that the manga has yet to introduce. We’ve seen some of this in passing, but haven’t been fully introduced. For example, the image below features the eight commanding officers for each brigade. Brigade one being on the far right and each number continuing down the line. Out of these eight commanders, five of them have seen their stories come into play. The commanding officers for brigade two, four, and six have not been fully implemented into the story. The only one out of those three that has had some sort of moment was number 2, but it was small and held no big significance to the overall story.

What scares me about this is that the manga seems like it’s reaching an ending point. Our heroes are steadily approaching what seems to be the main antagonist. Though it’s not the fact of the missing cast that I have a problem with, but the idea of the manga continue with how it currently is. Given the current events, if the manga does not end here I think there is a chance that the manga could struggle in it’s future. The best way I can describe it is with an example that I feel is similar. The series Rurouni Kenshin had plenty of arcs with it’s fair share of villains; however, I think many will agree that Makoto Shishio was one of, if not, the biggest antagonists of the series. For me Makoto’s arc seemed like a good place to end the story, it wrapped up a lot really well; while at the same time delved deeper into Kenshin’s past. Yet the manga didn’t end there and instead continued to a new arc with new enemies. This new band of enemies didn’t reach the level of Makoto in my opinion which kind of put a damper on the tail end of the manga. I feel that this is what’s happening with Fire Force as well. The confrontation currently happening in the manga is bringing parts of Shinra’s story to a close and many of the questions that appeared at the beginning of the manga are being answered. So if they continue past this it might be hard for the mangaka to excel past this point. Though this is all speculation and hypothetical fear at the moment. As the story stand right now it’s good; though there are some flaws to the story as well.

The story was one of the strongest things about the manga; each part has it’s ups and downs, but the story I believed had the least flaws. Though they also have one of the bigger ones. In total there were only really two things about the story that got me. It’s dialogue, and it’s originality. The dialogue is a minor problem that has been remedied over the course of the manga; while the manga’s originality is the bigger issue. Starting with the dialogue; at first the manga is pretty normal with it’s speech patterns. Though around one fourth through they start to introduce characters that have an annoying way of speaking.

The character above is one of two people that speak in this manner. For some reason the mangaka thought it was a good idea to have certain characters repeat a certain word. I want to say this was done for a laugh, but instead it just comes off as annoying. It’s needless repetition that doesn’t add anything to the scenario or the characters involved. Yet this is only a small issue, and that’s because it’s not frequent. The repetition happened a lot at the beginning of the manga, but this idea was quickly remedied. After the conclusion of the arc this picture is from, repetition hasn’t been a problem. Though that doesn’t meed we’re in the clear.

Now as the manga stands I find it to be a pretty original story; sure it’s another super hero like tale, but the uses of fire as a means for power is what sets this story apart. Though this latest confrontation has started to see a hit in originality. The ideas aren’t terrible, but when reading the current scene I felt a little disconnected. As I was reading this manga there were times that took me out of the manga, but the story was never really the problem until now. This is because I’m a fan of Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure. While reading the last few chapters I come to realize that I’m no longer reading Fire Force, but instead a retelling of the final fight in Stardust Crusaders. The fight in Fire Force is almost the same idea as the one in Stardust. The villain has an unknown power, you find out the power is unmatched (and also both Dio and the Fire Force villain have the same ability), and then the main character also inherits a power like that of the villains. Not to mention that both Shinra and Jotaro use their power in exceedingly better ways than their respective villain. The only reasons that this isn’t a carbon copy scene is due to the idea of how the powers operate, and the relationship between Shinra and his opponent. Now I can’t say that Jojo did this scene first, but it’s what comes to mind. I understand the limits that the manga presents given the logical leaps that are taken to explain a power, but you can’t tell me these scenes aren’t overly similar. It takes away from the story, and I can’t stay immersed when I have a constant image of another series playing in my head while reading this. Though this is the only scene I can really say was lacking in originality. 

The rest of the manga’s story is really well done, and I hope it follows that example as it moves forward. As I said before though, the story isn’t the only thing that needs some adjustments. The same can be said for the stories cast as well, or at least a couple of it’s members.

Fire Force has a very broad cast of characters; though as I said before a decent amount of the characters haven’t fully been introduced. The commanding officers from before aren’t the only people in the manga that haven’t seen their moment quite yet. Though for those who have, there has been a great amount of development done. Shinra is an amazing character main character; he’s misunderstood, but that’s not something that weighs him down.

Most of the time, Shinra is seen as a demon for the crazy smile he’s seen wearing sometimes. It tends to appear when events of disaster or misfortune are happening. A lot of people think that he gets a kick out of others in trouble; however, that’s not the case. It’ something Shinra has little control over; what seems like the workings of a mad man, is actually just a nervous reaction. Whenever Shinra is presented with a certain situation his mouth distorts to the face about due to being nothing more than nervous. Though instead of running away in fear, crying, or hiding from the problem; Shinra’s resolve is never shaken. Regardless of the scenario, no matter how futile his efforts may seem, he pushes forward with this big grin on his face. He has his cliche shounen hero moments, but at the same time there’s something about him that sets him apart from the others. There hasn’t been a moment where I’ve really disliked this character, and he’s not the only one. There are plenty of good and diverse characters throughout the manga. My all time favorites are the original officers in the 8th brigade.

The starting members of the Brigade give off a great first impression and they can be comedic when the time calls for it, and they don’t feel forced in their delivery (save for one joke that Maki repeats). My favorite would probably be Hinawa, but the one I think deserves the most recognition is Oubi. He is one of two people in the 8th squadron that can’t use an ability. He wasn’t born with the capability and so is just your average fire fighter. Though instead of sitting back behind the desk and giving orders, he’s always on the front lines fighting along side his team. He has special equipment to help him; though what really gets me is that each day he works his body for hours on end so he doesn’t fall behind.

Now as I said before there are some exceptions to this; not all of the cast is up to par. Just like the story there are two problems that need to be addressed; one of which is small and has seen so adjustments. Though there is one character that has no business being in this manga; they haven’t developed at all, and even though they are regarded as a main character, their sole purpose is for a joke that’s in poor taste. After Shinra, there are two other officers that join the 8th brigade. They both join for different reasons, but that’s beside the point. The first of the two is a character named Arthur

Arthur is a little bit of an oddball; he thinks that he is a knight, much like King Arthur. He was one of Shinra’s old classmates before they both joined the 8th. Arthur’s first impression is good; he comes off as a rival to Shinra, someone who might challenge our main character and help in his growth. Though as time goes on he goes from being an interesting character to a bad joke. For some reason the mangaka decided to make Arthur the stupid character, but his IQ is well below that of the average stupid character. Due to this there are scenes with Arthur that could be interesting or cool, but instead are given to Shinra because “Arthur was so stupid he got lost for weeks.” However, Arthur is the small problem in terms of the characters. In the recent chapters Arthur has trained and had his moment; he’s excelled and showed that he can be an enjoyable and interesting character. While I don’t think the stupid jokes will end, I do think Arthur will develop. It may be slow at first, but there is progress.

The big problem of the manga comes from one of it’s female characters; she started out in another brigade, but due to the events of a previous arc, she was placed in the 8th.

The character above is Tamaki; her ability is called Forked cat, or I believe it is, but we’ll get to that later. Tamaki starts in the 1st brigade, but later is transferred to the 8th. Upon her first reaction she isn’t given much; instead she has a slew of “unfortunate” occurrences . Three to be exact; her first scene is of her moving close to Shinra and Shinra’s hand somehow accidentally slipping into her bra. That followed by another occurrences with Arthur not a second later; and then another second later of her falling towards Shinra again and Shinra’s hands accidentally entering her pants. Already she’s not an interesting character; the only thing that caught my eye was her fire. It manifests on her in the shape of cat ears and a tail. What does the ability do? You got me; I’m caught up with the manga and I still have no clue what her ability is. Instead every scene involving her has been a random moment where she is unlucky. Though why is she unlucky? Well she has something called “Lucky Lewd Syndrome”. Apparently this is a common occurrence in the 1st brigade. Though in my eyes it’s a shameful, poorly done attempt at comedy. Once, maybe twice, would have been alright; however, this happens in every scene with her. The worst part is when she’s in her first “serious” fight. Instead of finally seeing her ability, she instead gets lucky and beats the guy with her “condition”. This is lazy; you give a character an ability and instead of fleshing it out you decide to utilize some terrible joke. You could take Tamaki out of the manga and it would be infinitely better. You’d lose nothing from her being gone; though it sucks, I really want to like Tamaki, but she’s become this boring character with nothing going for her.

Other than those two I can’t really complain about the characters; again, I’d like to see more from certain characters, but for now I’ll enjoy what I got. I can get past Arthur, but Tamaki may prove difficult. Plus with the story where it currently is, it’s hard to say where things will go. Now Ookubo has had some interesting visual style with his manga; the characters and their designs were pretty normal, but they stand apart from other shounen. What gets me about the visuals was never really the character design, but the world and things around our main cast. One example comes from his other work Soul Eater; The sun and moon in the soul eater series has always stood out in my mind when I see the visual style of Ookubo. Soul eater aside, you can definitely see the classic style of Ookubo present in this manga as well.

Upon when you first start Fire Force you are told of the epidemic currently taking effect. Immediately following this is a normal subway where people are living their normal everyday lives. Though a man on this train starts to show signs of burning, and before you know it he’s up in flames. Fast forward and the train has arrived at the station; the doors open up, and out comes one of the fabled flame humans.

The first one you see in the series is just a basic idea of the flame human, but as the story progresses you start to see more of them emerge and they get crazier. Horns growing from the head, charred bodies; some of them even show a more complete design to them. All of them however, have a certain suspense to them; it’s clear the danger they impose. They are a lot like zombies in a sense; they don’t have any really thought going thru their head and run more on impulse than anything. Though there are some who look and act more evolved than the basic ones. Fire Force really shines in it’s humanoid designs; the regular characters and the flame humans are all really well done, save for a few. I know I said before that the world is usually what Ookubo excels at, and I don’t go back on that; however, the world of Fire Force is pretty normal for what it’s selling.

Now there are a few characters that I feel are out of place, even with the style implemented. Here’s an example of one I feel fits really well, but at the same time is extremely apart from the rest of the cast.

This is Joker, right away he isn’t like the past characters we’ve seen. Yet he still is able to keep himself within the spectrum. His clothes and eyes are what set him apart in my opinion; though his facial features and overall stature is very similar to the rest of the cast. I feel Joker really work well in Ookubo’s style. Now the reason I show Joker is because there is another character that also is apart from the rest of the cast; however, this character feels more like something out of another manga, than something from Ookubo.

The character above is Jonah; he is one of the antagonist in the group Shinra is fighting. This serves as your introduction to the character in the manga, more or less. I don’t really know much about him; while he’s been appearing more in the manga his character hasn’t fully been fleshed out. Though these two frame in the manga came as a surprise to me because, throughout the entire manga the art has kept pretty current. Though Jonah appears and his face just keeps distorting. He feels so out of place in the manga; if the rest of the characters and designs were professionally made, Jonah would be a piece of fan art or art from the authors child. His facial features are drawn in a way that looks and feels weird. This is illustrated in the following frame when he proceeds to literally cut paper with his nose for no real reason. Though Jonah is the only problem I’ve had with the visuals so far. Other than him I can’t complain with what I’ve been given to look at. I really like Ookubo’s art style and look forward to see more of it.

Overall I give Enen no Shouboutai a 7 out of 10; it’s a good manga, but the flaws are to big to ignore. The reason it’s not lower is because Ookubo has worked hard at getting rid or working around some of my issues. Though that doesn’t fix everything, and the remaining issues are some of the worst. I really do like what I’ve read and plan to continue the series, but at the same time I’m scare where the manga may go. I recommend this, but at the same time I will say it’s not for everyone. There are a few groups of people that will not find this manga appealing. 

That will do it for this week (last week) Later in the week I’ll release the next video game review, but until then have a good day and I’ll see ya soon.

[multi-fandomtrashtm]

So I binged Boku no Hero Academia (SPOILERS BELOW)

So I binge watched and binge read this entire series up to date in about 4 days straight. And let me tell you; this is some good shit. 

It’s a very refreshing and welcome change of pace to a lot of other big shounen. 

To start off, the protagonist, Izuku, starts off as a average guy who wants to become a hero- typical underdog plot, it’s fine. You know what I really enjoy about him? Everything.

I like that right off the bat, he has to train like hell to even start to be able to use his powers. I like how his powers have logical limits. I like how he gets around his quirk’s double edged sword in the beginning with strategy. This is the only shounen lead I’ve seen use strategy constantly and doesn’t have a craving for fighting in some form. I like his design because he doesn’t just have black dots for eyes. I like that he isn’t crazy ripped. I like that he isn’t afraid to cry. I like that he’s both striving for the top and improving himself in just about every way, not just in power. 

The art in this series is great. Personally, I find it to be my aesthetic. I like how the women don’t have huge knockers, though this series certainly isn’t the first to not have it. 

I like how the quirks and designs are unique for each character (except one, but that’s an acceptable gag). Because of their personalities and appearances, I like all of the 1-A class. 

Except Bakugo. 

Holy shit, he was such a cunt. His irrational anger at pretty much everything and him pulling a Leeroy Jenkins was more than annoying. It really bothers me how he never, ever got payback for him bullying Deku for years. Every time he opened his mouth, I just felt so irritated because he would never chill out for even a second, it seemed like. Eventually, his dickishness did tone down a little and I could acknowledge him being smart. I’ll probably never outright like him, but I can tolerate him a lot better now. Bless Kirishima for giving this boy some much needed friendship. 

For story, I’ll just go by the arc. 

Entrance Exam Arc -  Battle Trial Arc

Kind of slow paced. The first time I watched the series, I didn’t get past this because things were just so slow. 

Anyway, just exposition, character introductions and reasons to hate Bakugo. 

Unforeseen Simulation Joint Arc

Very dramatic. I like the fights in this arc. Tomura genuinely creeped me out after I got past his weird design. And his quirk...ouch. Poor Aizawa. 

Sports Festival Arc

VERY good fights and even more characters. It was during this arc that I finally acknowledged Bakugo’s intelligence and started tolerating him. 

I respected Uraraka’s fight with him. It reminded me a lot of Sakura’s fight when she cut her hair. Both girls were seriously outclassed, but tried their damndest try to win through cleverness and strategy. Both still lost, though. I appreciated Urararaka’s endurance, attitude and strategy. I’m sure that it would’ve worked against someone else. Good try. 

Ok, Deku vs Shinso is the only instance of an asspull win thus far. What happened to make Deku break out of the brainwashing just didn’t make sense. I hoped that the author would explain it down the line with All for One, but nope. 

Todoroki’s subplot was interesting. First and foremost, his dad is a dick when it comes to being a father. Experimenting with your own kids to try and project your dream onto them? Stop. Just stop. If you can’t beat All Might with your own strength, then you’ve lost, it’s over. Also, don’t tell me that Todoroki isn’t almost an anime Zuko. Because he is.

I liked Deku giving him some spur of the moment therapy and it was nice to see Todoroki surpass his trauma, if even for a short bit. The art and animation for their fight was stunning. 

Bakugo vs Todoroki was certainly epic. I’m pretty sure that Todoroki could’ve won if he’d used both sides. But I understand him stopping at the last second. A motivational speech from Deku isn’t going to magically erase a lifetime of trauma, I’m afraid. 

Sidenote: I really like Hatsume. She reminds me of Iruma from Danganronpa V3 but less bitchy. 

Field Training Arc

Gran Torino is neat, but cliche. The badass grandpa mentor? He’s this exact trope. 

Stain and Tomura’s interaction was...okay? I guess? It was an interesting conflict in ideals. It also made me realize how much of a manchild Tomura is. 

Wasn’t expecting Iida to have a revenge arc going on. It gave character depth I just wasn’t expecting. Sad that he got stomped immediately. Didn’t expect Todoroki and Iida’s bond at all, either. It’s nice that he’s reaching out, I suppose. 

Stain’s quirk was oddly specific. Deku being un-paralyzed first because of his blood type made me want to call bullshit. But I just..can’t. We knew Deku’s blood type from his profile. We knew that Stain’s ability works with blood. It’s just crazy specific. Anyway, Stain’s death was disturbing. 

End of Term Test Arc

On some level, I knew that Deku and Bakugo would get paired up. Them being able to compromise on fighting and running was a surprise given how stubborn Bakugo is ;especially with Deku. It was nice that Deku went back for Bakugo when he literally got stomped. It’s amazing how he doesn’t hold a grudge against him. 

Wasn’t expecting Yaoyorozu to have a subplot about her lack of confidence, though I had noticed it earlier. Her and Todoroki’s teamwork was neat. I didn’t see him to be the type to give a motivational speech. 

School Trip Arc

Oh boy. When shit hit the fan in the woods, I could feel how scary that would’ve been. Here you are, in the middle of the night, in the woods, probably alone or with 1 other person, surrounded by a CLOUD OF POISON, all you can hear is explosions/screaming/silence and you know that you’re a sitting duck because you don’t know where anyone else is or how strong he enemies are. 

Deku’s fight against the guy that killed Kouta’s parents was a nice show of strength. Fukami’s raging dark shadow was a nice way to get rid of a villain. Overall, I liked it. Just 2 things: 1) Bakugo saying “Don’t come, Deku” was ominous. Nice. 2) I feel like Dabi may know Todoroki somehow. Not like “heard of”, but know him, even if Todoroki doesn’t know him. 

Hideout Raid Arc

Let me tell you; this arc was beautiful. Bless Kirishima and his friendship with Bakugo. Yes please. And the Pro Heroes charging in on the League of Villains was hype as fuck. Everything about that just made me hype in a way that I hadn’t been in months. 

The play on words with All for One blew my mind. “All for One” as in “all abilities for one person” = Stealing quirks so that belong to one person only. 

All Might vs All of One was...beautiful. His determination, the visuals of him cradling the last of his power just for this fight, everyone finding out his secret, everyone cheering him on anyway...Almost got a little emotional there. 

Deku’s mom was being logical in those last chapters. I’d be wary if my son’s school kept constantly being hunted down by just about everyone and he kept getting injured every time. But through the power of Kouta’s sweet letter and All Might begging (this was also nice), she caves. 

Hero License Exam Arc

Man, everyone in this is just interesting. Not much to say except the Shapeshifter using Uraraka’s appearance was smart, but not smart enough. 

The whole Rescue Maneuvers thing was very necessary. It’s cool if you’re strong, but if you don’t know how to actually save anyone, you’re not even a hero at that point. Case and Point- Bakugo. Sure he could see who should be prioritized, but I don’t think anyone would be comforted by the way he handles things. Also, it’s hilarious that there’s actually a job of being a Professional Victim. 

Internship Arc

Of course Bakugo wants a fight. Of course. A least he’s not doing it out of irrational anger this time. 

The big 3 are kind of hilarious. It’s Kaede, Sasuke and Vault Boy. Jokes aside, Nejire is the definition of Innocently Insensitive and Tamaki is kind of adorable. 

Nighteye is perfect. I love his dead serious attitude and love of humor. His process of hiring Deku was neat. It’s funny how they’re both huge nerds when it comes to All Might. Look at all that merch!

Eri is cute and I can already see the fandom calling her “an innocent, sweet cinnamon roll to be protected.” Overhaul is intimidating and he reminds me of Law from One Piece. With his ability he could literally annihilate you. Damn. 

Kirishima and Fat Gum’s alliance (even though Kirishima got stomped immediately) was sweet. More than that, I just like the fight itself and Rappa’s attitude. And Toga is joining the fray, well, this is going to be messy. 

 AND THAT’S ALL CHAPTER TILL NOW! 

Whew, that was a lot. 

That said, I really do like this series. It’s my new weekly read.