#yes this is the first time Toshi ever smiles like this at AfO

[blackberreh-art]

A smile like the sun

[greenhappyseed]

BnHA Ch.333: Review, parallels, and a grand unifying theory

The American was killed by the monster destroying Japan, but in death became a cannibal that will eat the monster from the inside out, eliminating the unnaturally trapped consciousness within the monster. That tracks.

The situation is indeed dire — this is the biggest challenge we’ve seen to AFO since All Might smashed AFO’s head in. He’s swearing and yelling, and I don’t think he’s ever lost his composure like that. I think it’s also the first time we’ve seen AFO lose control EXCEPT when it comes to OFA, which never behaved according to AFO’s will. And remember, he envisions a world where everyone is a tiny little bug united by his will. (Just pebbles in his path.) His for the taking or squishing, as he desires.

I’m really intrigued to see what AFO does from here, and would love to see some AFO/Yoichi backstory. AFO thinks about his brother the moment he’s stolen New Order and cleared the board, achieving everything needed to capture OFA. He’s gloating about successfully rewriting the ending of the comic JUST BEFORE Star’s vestige starts rampaging. In this case, I think AFO is remembering Yoichi as a child because he sees Yoichi and his ideals as childish and therefore weak. (In Kamino, he calls All Might a stubborn child right before unleashing the “oh yeah, Shigaraki is Nana’s grandchild” news.)

But the narrative in this chapter (and really throughout the whole story) tells us that being childlike and hopeful is good. Smiling teenage Toshi with child Star shows us that. How gorgeous and peaceful is this moment???

That leads to The Grand Theory.

This chapter ends on ANOTHER explosion. Boring, I know…..except this is the first time we get an actual explanation. Star’s vestige is acting against AFO’s will. Just like how Nagant’s change of heart went against AFO’s will. Here’s the theory: AFO can’t directly see/hear what’s happening in other people when he gives them his quirk. We thought he could spy from the inside, but not quite. He can sense and direct his will inside that quirk. If someone acts counter to his will, the quirk leaves the person and the person goes BOOM. Now, quirks are physical. There’s a spiritual component (vestiges) but they’re housed in a physical quirk, as Aizawa explained during the Overhaul arc.

And quirks generally run in families. So, if AFO was trading a lot of quirks right at the advent of quirks, then subsequent generations are also subject to his will, though probably to a lesser degree than their parents. Hello singularity threatening AFO’s new world order! And yes, if this is correct it means AFO achieving his goal also saves humanity from the singularity. Ofc, he’s saving them to be his plaything for eternity so it’s not like AFO is being kind.

The ONLY quirk that AFO passed on but can’t control is OFA, so it represents the ONLY threat. Mutations might be uncontrollable by AFO too. I don’t think it matters to AFO as long as the mutations are scattered and random…. AFO can’t reach the quirkless but he doesn’t care because (1) they’re going “extinct” and (2) there’s no power to compete with quirks. Unless there’s a “quirkless power” with no physical quirk for AFO to manipulate…and I think there is….

Finally, this chapter is NOT the first time AFO has “gambled” with Tomura, but it IS the first with a post-procedure AFO!Shig body. In case it’s not super obvious yet, AFO doesn’t give a shit about Tomura as a person.

AFO is scared this time because he doesn’t have backup copies of his quirk anymore. And he doesn’t have Dr. Ujiko to make more copies either. But do you know who is rapidly developing quirk manipulation technology?