#ask pika

[pikahlua]

In regards to your post on Izuku’s self sacrificial traits, how do you think the dark hero arc plays into this? I thought the point of it was to sort of pull his self sacrificial nature back a bit with the whole “you can’t do it on your own” and “don’t kill yourself for the cause” thing. They don’t have to be mutually exclusive, i get that “bakugou looks up to Deku’s self sacrificial nature as a positive trait he doesn’t have” and “Deku should rely on others and not hurt himself” can both coexist. But they also give mixed messages narratively. Is one not condemning it while the other puts it on a pedestal?

THANK YOU!!! For taking the bait.

I've been ranting about this theme a bit because, from what I can tell, it might be the biggest point MHA is trying to make to answer the question "What is a hero?" Because of MHA's length, the points of the argument have been rather spread out. I think people's understanding of the argument has been distorted by the length of time between the points. Overthinking is the enemy here.

But really, why are people coming away from MHA with the message "Heroes shouldn't sacrifice themselves"? The message is coming from somewhere. The problem is it's probably coming from a conflation of concepts. What is self-sacrifice? That's the question that gets at the root of the problem here.

In the west, "sacrifice" has negative connotations. "Something is lost." "Someone suffers for the sake of a goal." "Someone gives up something." The focus is entirely on the pain experienced by the one sacrificing.

But the point MHA is trying to make is that there's a difference between "suffering loss" and the sacrifices a true hero makes. Izuku isn't a remarkable hero because he's willing to destroy himself at the drop of a hat. The focus is not on his drastic behavior but on the recipients of his drastic behavior. The point is, sacrifice for the sake of sacrifice is meaningless, but sacrifice for the sake of others, well, now we're getting somewhere.

It's the "for the sake of others" part that matters here. Izuku is a hero because he cares for others, because he wants to save others, and what he's willing to sacrifice to accomplish that is merely the measure of his conviction, of his heart.

The quality of self-sacrifice is a core trait measured just to gain enrollment at UA, the most prestigious hero school in the country. Self-sacrifice is fundamental to being a hero. Do you really think the point of the MHA story is to demonstrate how self-sacrifice is a bad thing, that heroes shouldn't sacrifice themselves? Do you think the rest of Class 1-A wouldn't be willing to sacrifice themselves should the need arise so long as it's in order to save someone?

The difference between Izuku and the rest of the world, at least at the beginning, is that he is sensitive to calls for help. He is able to perceive those in trouble that others cannot perceive. Others get confused by the context or are not in a constant state of listening for cries for help. Others cannot always tell when is the right time to act or if acting is the correct choice. Izuku never wavers in the face of such questions. He always acts, because he cannot help but act. It is who he is. It's his nature to be this way. And this is the spirit that slowly influences his classmates and the rest of society, this is the spirit Katsuki fears and later comes to emulate, this is the ideal Izuku admires in his hero All Might for which he always strives.

Heroes want to save, but some of them just don't know how--and Izuku teaches them how. Izuku teaches them that, for true heroes, to save others is more important than anything else they could ever want. It is more important than their self-perceived weaknesses, than their egos, than their desires for vengeance, than their small-time dreams, no matter how noble or justified or important any of those things might be. To be called a hero, one must be prepared to risk it all.

These are the traits Hero Killer Stain wishes to promote in society. These are the qualities he exonerates from assassination. A person who lives for the sake of "service to others" is the sort of person who has more right than anyone to "cling desperately to life." Society needs such people, and for that very reason such people need to stay alive. This is the collectivist ideal. If everyone is concerned for the well-being of others, then everyone is looking out for everyone else. If you're ready to save others and risk yourself to do so, others will risk themselves to make sure you make it out alive too, and thus everyone is protected. If you do end up perishing due to self-sacrifice, it is a tragedy, not self-determination, but then your actions still protected the whole, and the whole will continue to protect everyone in it to the best of their abilities because your self-sacrifice was appreciated and the spirit of your goodness carries on in others.

But that's a whole lot of waxing poetic about self-sacrifice. I did acknowledge that people are picking up a critical message. Where then is the criticism?

It comes from Shouta Aizawa.

Aizawa is the major proponent of rationality in this case. Self-sacrifice = good is not the end of the philosophy. It is as you say, something must balance it out.

People often think Aizawa's philosophy boils down to "I don't want heroes to be self-sacrificial," but that's not actually what he's saying. Aizawa's philosophy is to make the distinction between self-sacrifice and self-destruction.

"Being self-sacrificing isn't the same...as being suicidal. Many kids confuse the two. So I'll give them what they want. A 'death,' so to speak."

The hallmark of heroic self-sacrifice is that it's done for the sake of others. Self-destruction is different; it is for the sake of the self. Some people would take the chance to mask their self-destruction as self-sacrifice by looking for a way to die while saving others. That's not the point of heroic self-sacrifice. Self-sacrifice is a last resort. You save a person in trouble because you care about preserving their well-being no matter the cost, but some sacrifices are not in balance. Say someone is trapped in a room and you want to get them out, and you have a battering ram and a bomb. Should you strap a bomb to your body and explode open that door to let the person out? Wouldn't that be a heroic sacrifice to save someone? No! It's certainly a sacrifice, but it's not a heroic one. You should act to preserve ALL well-being, including your own. Use the damn battering ram.

Consider the circumstances at play in the quirk assessment test. Izuku was ready to sacrifice his entire arm, his physical constitution, for the sake of demonstrating his power. What does Izuku incapacitating himself achieve were Aizawa to let him do so? It would merely be to prove his strength to someone. No one is at risk here. No one needs saving. Izuku has no person to receive the good will of his self-sacrifice.

"Whatever you were planning...it would have inconvenienced those around you."

"You're totally useless after saving just a single person."

Self-sacrifice is still a sacrifice, which means it has costs and consequences. Who loses because of self-sacrifice? Many people. The person who sacrifices themself loses their life or well-being, which, if others asking for help are worth saving because you believe all people are equal, then you are also worth saving and in just as much need of help. Additionally, your loved ones are harmed because they care about you. And the rest of society suffers because it was better for having you in it; you can no longer save anyone else. To save the most people possible, a hero should strive to survive. A hero should strive to win.

Taken all together, you get the philosophy that allows Katsuki's team to triumph during the Joint Training Arc, which was the entire point of this match. Note how all the above logic is summed up quite succinctly by the gremlin himself.

Katsuki is dedicated to winning the match and leads the charge, but that puts him at risk of being targeted. However, he's willing to be in that vulnerable state because he trusts others to save him. That's what empowers him to put himself on the line. His goal is a complete victory, which means that self-sacrifice is considered a loss. There are costs and consequences, and heroes should do their best to mitigate them. Katsuki is doing everything in his power to reduce the necessity of self-sacrifice, but not because he thinks self-sacrifice is bad. He thinks needless self-sacrifice is bad, and so he strives to eliminate the need for it.

But that means he does acknowledge that there are times self-sacrifice is necessary. He's grown up afraid of Izuku's heart because Izuku demonstrates how easily self-sacrifice comes to him, and that puts Katsuki on the spot. Katsuki doesn't know if he is capable of self-sacrifice. Because he's so competent and strong, he's never noticed a need for sacrifice in his life. He's never had to demonstrate self-sacrifice, and if that's such a fundamental part of being a hero, Katsuki doesn't know if he really is a hero at heart.

But as I mentioned above, the reason he never had a chance to display self-sacrifice as a trait is because he lacked the ability to tell when people need saving. He looks around and sees a bunch of people who are wasting their potential. He thinks some people who seem to ask for help are much more capable than they behave.

Note how Katsuki failed his hero license exam. If Katsuki had stuck around the triage center and fought Gang Orca when he showed up, Katsuki likely would have passed. But Katsuki decided to forego battle to run around and save people. And hilariously enough, the bystanders who dock Katsuki points point out that Katsuki correctly identified them as low-priority targets to save. He's pretty good at figuring out who DOESN'T need saving. They end up docking him points because of his inappropriate tone, which is possibly the funniest way they could have said "Well you're technically right but also holy crap you're bad at this."

And that's the point. Katsuki knows saving people is important, and he perceives Izuku is the absolute best at it. Katsuki is constantly looking for a way to compete with Izuku in this realm because he has to. Katsuki wants to be the best, and to do so he has to improve in this area. Izuku pisses him off because he is extremely adept at perceiving calls for help from those who truly need it, and Katsuki notices every time Izuku is faster on the uptake. It happens at the sports festival with Shouto, which is why Katsuki considers the sports festival a loss.

Katsuki does get better at this, and that's what allows him to eventually get his hero license. Think of his behavior during the school cultural festival, where he sees his classmates trying to appease their peers out of guilt. That's people pleasing. That's ego. Katsuki won't have any of it. From his perspective, if Class 1-A wants to make sure everyone has a good time, then everyone means everyone. Class 1-A has to enjoy the festival too, and the best way to do that is to throw a badass concert. By enjoying themselves and being proud of their well-earned accomplishments, by thriving, Class 1-A demonstrates to their peers how to best win against all those tragedies that tried to bring them down. Self-deprecation for the sake of appeasing others' ill will when that ill will is unjustified is just self-gratification. It's just a way to stop feeling guilty, but the only purpose that serves is to debase yourself. Class 1-A didn't do anything wrong to the other classes, so Class 1-A does not need to atone to them. Self-sacrifice in this case brings no benefit to anyone. Instead, the classes should all be thriving together.

All of these lessons converge in the Dark Deku arc. Others express worry for Izuku's behavior because they see him as engaging in self-destruction. They want him to rest, but Izuku perceives there are people in need of help, so he can't help but save them. And not everyone condemns Izuku's behavior.

Kudou encourages it.

The problem at play in this arc is the question of power. Izuku has power, which means he is capable of saving people. And many people are in need of saving. How many people can one finite Izuku save? That is the question he is set to answer. He is facing the same question as All Might, but All Might's example was to save people while he was losing One For All. All Might had a finite amount of power that he was going to lose in time, so he decided to spend that dwindling power on saving as many people as he could. That would be the more virtuous use of his finite power.

But All Might's flaw was in rejecting the help of others when others were capable of helping him. Izuku falls into the same trap. He thinks he has to save people alone because he's the only one capable of it.

This is Kudou's spoken caveat. "Inaction is not an option," so yes Izuku needs to be acting in this moment. "That said...if there's anything that could bolster Izuku Midoriya now, it would be..."

The answer is not merely "friends." We are given the answer that Izuku needs friends at first, but this is a special type of friend. Izuku needs friends who "share his resolve," who "can match his pace...and keep running alongside him." Izuku needs comrades (nakama)! He needs friends who want to save just as much as he does. He needs friends who are just as capable as he is. That's why Class 1-A has to first demonstrate their capabilities to Izuku so that he can be convinced.

Katsuki doesn't criticize Izuku's ideals either. In fact, he openly praises them.

All Katsuki is saying here is "You're doing the right thing. Saving people, even at cost to yourself, is the right thing. We want to help. We can help. Don't reject us.

"Don't pay a price when you don't have to."

tl;dr

In a collectivist society, the ideal is that everyone looks out for each other, thus is everyone protected.

Self-sacrifice has costs to the self, to one's loved ones, and to society. The price paid must be worth the good achieved.

The virtue in self-sacrifice is that it is done when necessary for the sake of others. Anything less is self-destruction, which is harmful to society.

Heroes have a duty both to be prepared to self-sacrifice and to mitigate the need for self-sacrifice.

Rejecting the help of others who are capable of helping is to reject the collectivist ideal.

Izuku's self-sacrifice is virtuous BECAUSE IT IS FOR OTHERS' SAKES. Izuku's self-destruction and rejection of help from others are what the story criticizes.

Izuku Midoriya's nature represents the ideal of self-sacrifice because of his innate desire to save others, and Katsuki Bakugou recognizes that trait as core to being a hero and thus admires Izuku for it--but he's also afraid he doesn't have that trait for a large chunk of the story. Izuku's journey to accepting the help of others, Katsuki's journey to discovering his self-sacrificing spirit, and their mutual admiration of each other all provide the perspective for the audience to understand this ideal: heroes are those who live in service of others.

#ask pika #anon ask #my hero academia manga spoilers #final showdown spoilers #meta #the meta to end all metas #izuku midoriya #katsuki bakugou #shouta aizawa #all might #toshinori yagi #hero killer stain #chizome akaguro #thank you for attending my TED talk

[pikablob]

Random hot take/s on FNAF mayhaps? <3

I've already been clear about how I don't get the dislike for Gregory after Security Breach, so instead I'll say something else; I don't want the SB cast to have any big twists about their identities. Stuff like Gregory or Vanessa being an Afton, Freddy having Michael's soul/memories, or Gregory being a robot for some reason??

Just for once, it would be nice if in this new era of the series, we actually got proper new characters stumbling into the mythos instead of retreading old ground. A beta tester who got sucked in because she just happened to play a cursed game and a homeless kid who may have noticed the disappearances or just have been looking for a place to sleep are both more interesting characters than "oh it's William's offspring/cousin/latest creation".

I think Freddy being Mike is the one I like the least (which is annoying as it's the one with the most potential evidence which is just more proof that bringing back the FNAF 6 location was a huge mistake IMO). I love him because he gained self-awareness, that's the whole point to me; he's a children's entertainer designed to make kids happy who becomes so determined to do that even when his world is falling apart that he adopts this sarcastic little runaway and grows himself a soul. That's more interesting to me than any of the old hidden lore stuff and it's such a shame if that's sullied with "actually he's just possessed too".

Name a fandom or franchise in an ask, and I’ll give you a random hot take I have for it

#ask pika #negative #fnaf #fnaf sb #fnaf security breach #five nights at freddy's #gregory fnaf #glamrock freddy #fnaf vanessa #friends #my partner whom i love <33 #bon bon <33

[wildflowers-of-trolberg]

Have you posted a picture of your Hilda corner or is it strictly your eyes only?

Behold the Hilda corner! The small bookshelf with all the plushies on it (and the Hilda figurine, although it’s hard to see her behind the plushies she is up there) is specifically for books the Hilda vibe (stuff like Aster & the Accidental Magic) while the larger one has about half my library of children’s books but also holds my signed copies of The Trolberg and Wilderness Stories - the extra stand on the end is currently a bit cramped but has an original-binding Hildafolk comic, the 2nd World Book Day comic, and sealed copies of Hilda’s World and Beasts and Spirits which came with special postcards.

#ask pika #hilda the series #hilda netflix #yes this is actually my room lol #I sleep next to this

[pikahlua]

Wait pika do you really mean don't ask you about predictions? Some of my favourite Tumblr posts of all time are your thoughts, theories and predictions! :((

Please sleep also, but when you can let us know what's going on in that head of yours. I'm desperate for someone with a brain cell to discuss this chapter! (Twitter is a cesspit)

I mean, you can ask lol. I just sometimes get these vague "any predictions?" asks and it's like, YES. YES I HAVE SOME. BUT IT'S FAR TOO MANY TO JUST LIST LIKE THAT, CAN YOU PLEASE BE MORE SPECIFIC?

Okay, I'll tell you about my thoughts.

This is a new frame of the scene in chapter 1. This perspective doesn't exist as a drawing in chapter 1, but we know pretty easily what this scene was about. Why is Horikoshi putting the scene here though? Why does this scene have the line "Let go of One For All"? Why not draw Kudou saying it, or Izuku's reaction to it? Is it because this is a memory of the scene where Izuku receives OFA, so giving OFA up is coming around full circle to this moment again?

I don't think so.

This is not the moment where All Might proclaims "you are worthy of inheriting my power" and Izuku looks up in shock. This is the moment where All Might says the words Izuku has longed to hear his whole life: "You can become a hero."

We're coming back to this moment now because the emphasis is on Izuku's upcoming choice. This is about the MEANING Izuku places in OFA. All Might told Izuku "you can't become a hero without a quirk," then shows up to tell Izuku he can become a hero...by giving him his quirk.

To Izuku, letting go of One For All is sacrificing his greatest dream. He believes by giving up One For All, he can no longer be a hero. Even though there have been moments where All Might let on that the reason Izuku deserves to have OFA is because he's already a hero, Izuku never seems to internalize that answer. He thinks his heroism is tied to being the bearer of One For All.

No one has ever told Izuku he can be a hero without a quirk.

I said before I had a big guess about why Katsuki's memory was wiped at the end of Heroes Rising. Notably, he is allowed to remember most of what happens. His memory cuts off from the moment Izuku passed One For All onto him. Do you remember what Katsuki said after he got OFA?

"This is the end of your dream then, too, huh?"

That's the last thing he ever says on the matter. Sure, it's the moment where Izuku answers with "It's okay if it's you" and all that, but Katsuki never responds to that. We don't know what he's thinking about this moment.

The only clue we have is the fact that he accepted the quirk from Izuku, and how he reacted to that. He seems quite upset by the prospect, but in the end he relents and accepts OFA willingly.

Perhaps the issue he is grappling with in his heart in these moments is not the fact that he has to inherit OFA but that Izuku has to lose it. Which means...the reason he loses his memory is because his reaction is important. It's a moment we will have in the manga, which makes it a spoiler.

We've never heard Katsuki tell Izuku what he thinks of quirklessness now. All he's ever told Izuku is that way back when, he thought it meant Izuku was supposed to be beneath him. He doesn't even tell Izuku why he felt like somehow Izuku was actually above him.

He's also only ever told Izuku his actions were correct ever since he received One For All, nothing about before.

I think Katsuki's reaction to Izuku losing OFA--which could come before the final battle or after--will have to be about his feelings regarding Izuku's quirklessness. I think Izuku is going to be incredibly hurt by losing One For All because he'll think he has lost his dream, and Katsuki is going to have to set him right, because only Katsuki knew who Izuku was before he had One For All. All Might is the only other person who had at best a glimpse of Izuku.

I think Katsuki has been coming to terms with just how special Izuku is, how heroic he always has been, and that he's the only one capable of acknowledging it in a way Izuku will be able to hear because he knew Izuku before he got One For All. I think he's been grappling with this possibility ever since DvK2.

And I think he grapples with it again in Katsuki Bakugou: Rising.

In the same way Izuku saw something great in Katsuki that he wanted to cling to so he could see what Katsuki would one day become, Katsuki has always seen something great in Izuku, which awed and scared him. Their greatest divide was in not knowing what greatness the other saw in them. Katsuki has to tell Izuku what Izuku is to him.

Katsuki has to tell Izuku the words he's always wanted to hear, that he can be a hero, quirk or no, that Izuku always has been a hero, more than anybody else. Katsuki knows the truth of it firsthand.

#anon ask #ask pika #my hero academia manga spoilers #final arc spoilers #my hero academia heroes rising spoilers #izuku midoriya #katsuki bakugou #meta #theory #bakudeku

[pikahlua]

#ask pika #anon ask #signed ask #haruwashere29 #my hero academia manga spoilers #final showdown spoilers #katsuki bakugou #look at him

[pikahlua]

i have a question about this chapter

in the beginning, bakugou says “i’m done messing around izuku(?)” but i’m confused on what it means. does this mean that he isn’t gonna treat him horribly anymore or he’s done messing around and he’s coming into his own (quirk/name/person)?

Didn't wanna answer until I published the translation.

もうおめーの邪魔はしねえ もうおめーのじゃまはしねえ mou omee no jama wa shinee I won't get in your way anymore.* (*Note: This is a sentence that could have many potential translations: "I won't get in your way anymore," "I won't hold you back anymore," "I won't be a hindrance to you anymore," etc.)

This is one of those "Katsuki Bakugou contains multitudes" lines where he means a lot of things at the same time.

The surface-level, pseudo-obvious meaning is that Katsuki won't be a jerk to Izuku--but that doesn't actually make sense, because he isn't a jerk to Izuku anymore. That shit is long over.

I think the key to understanding this line lies in chapter 406:

The major struggle Katsuki has had throughout this final arc is about his sense of inferiority compared to Izuku. Remember, he was revived at the time when he could save All Might from AFO and make up for his perceived weakness that caused All Might's downfall.

So in one sense, Katsuki is saying he's strong now. His lack of power will no longer be a burden. Now he can run alongside Izuku and match his pace and support him without Izuku ever having to worry.

But there is also some deeper meaning behind that sentiment, one that's had roots in Katsuki's journey through the entire story, since chapter 1.

It's Katsuki's relationship with victimhood.

From the beginning, the one insecurity within Katsuki that was so great he would actually kind of voice it aloud was his fear that he couldn't match up to Izuku and that Izuku looked down on him for it.

And this all ties back into his insecurities about his role in All Might's downfall. All of this was a major point of what "Deku vs Kacchan, Part 2" was all about.

It's something I dissected a long time ago here:

So it's not that Katsuki wants to protect Izuku; Katsuki doesn't want to be the reason for Izuku's downfall.

And here:

Katsuki lightens Izuku’s load by looking out for everyone else, and this is why Katsuki works so well as Izuku’s weakness. He’s become the cornerstone of Izuku’s house of cards. As much as he hates being a weakness, Katsuki can’t just make it stop by telling Izuku not to care. Izuku will keep on caring regardless. So instead Katsuki has to convince Izuku that Katsuki is stronger so Izuku will keep chasing after him. Izuku needs to believe Katsuki is stronger in order to get stronger himself. Katsuki needs Izuku to believe Katsuki can handle himself, that Izuku can trust him, so they can work as a team and compensate for each other’s weaknesses.

Katsuki acknowledges in his apology in chapter 322 that Izuku is on the right path, that all his moves since receiving OFA have been correct. Katsuki has been a roadblock hindering Izuku and holding him back--yes, often by rejecting him and competing maliciously with him, but also by being too weak to stand at Izuku's side. He was caught by the sludge villain, kidnapped by the League of Villains, lethally stabbed and later nearly killed by TomurAFO. He wasn't the strong hero like All Might that fought to win and save the day. He wasn't an equal partner.

What I read when Katsuki says he won't get in Izuku's way anymore is that he's done it, he's strong enough to stand at Izuku's side, he's strong enough to let Izuku do what he does best, he's strong enough to support Izuku as Izuku strives to achieve what only he can achieve. AND I read Katsuki saying "I am no longer that weak person, I am no longer a burden, I am no longer NOT a hero, no longer NOT the hero I needed to be."

"I won't be a weakness others can exploit to get to you anymore."

(And I read that he's ready to let Izuku be the main character.)

#ask pika #signed ask #bitchlessbkg #my hero academia manga spoilers #final arc spoilers #katsuki bakugou #meta

[pikahlua]

"A deuteragonist has a very different role in the MHA and that is a whole other post ."Can you please write this article? I am tired of Bakugo being constantly downplayed. There are very few people who understand his character and role in the story as well as you do.

Haha I mean hehe it's just hoho I never said fufu that Katsuki is the deuteragonist guffaw shucks haha I mean come on snort why are you putting words in my-

Katsuki Bakugou is the deuteragonist.

Katsuki Bakugou is the deuteragonist

Katsuki Bakugou is the deuteragonist

"Of course you would say that. You're a Katsuki Bakugou stan! You are invested in inflating his importance in the story because you love him." - some people, probably

No. If that were true, I would be arguing Katsuki Bakugou is the protagonist. But I'm not.

Because Katsuki Bakugou is the deuteragonist.

It's not that I love him and therefore assert that he's the deuteragonist. I love him because he's the deuteragonist (plus many other reasons). He is an archetypal familiar shounen hero made interesting in part by the fact that he is NOT the protagonist and deliberately written in the deuteragonist role/function, and I will go into visceral detail about this momentarily.

I promise you I don't go around in other fandoms arguing my favorite non-main character is the deuteragonist. I fully embrace whatever role it is they play in the story. YOU WILL SEE THE EVIDENCE OF THIS VERY SOON, FOR EVERY CHARACTER IN MHA.

What is a deuteragonist?

A deuteragonist is a story archetype. They are the second-most important character in a story (which is a vague as hell definition). They are often known as the "secondary main character."

That's it. Everything else one might say about a deuteragonist is just a sub-archetype.

A deuteragonist can be a sidekick, a love interest, a rival, an antagonist, or even a neutral party. They are often, not always, written as foil characters to the protagonist. They often, not always, provide a different and yet similar outlook to the protagonist's. Their utility in a story can be quite varied. Sometimes they support the protagonist, and sometimes they oppose the protagonist. Often, they are used to help the protagonist complete their character arc.

Sometimes, there can be more than one deuteragonist.

What the hell is a deuteragonist?

The problem is, the function of a deuteragonist can change just depending on the type of story we're talking about. A deuteragonist in an ancient Greek tragedy (theatre), where the term originally came from, won't necessarily function the same way as a deuteragonist in a 2-hour contemporary movie. Things get even more complicated when we're talking about a TV series, a book series, or a comic book series in which the cast becomes so large we're likely to see MULTIPLE deuteragonists.

My Hero Academia, like many long-running shounen manga, has an ensemble cast. Would you be surprised if I told you My Hero Academia not only has multiple deuteragonists, not only has multiple antagonists, but also has multiple protagonists? Because it does!

Sometimes people wanna divide MHA into three or four acts and make the claim that the deuteragonist changes from act to act. I say they aren't going far enough. MHA is divided into arcs, and each arc has its own protagonist and antagonist and sometimes even deuteragonist. This is a STAPLE of ensemble cast shounen manga, where often there will be so many characters they get grouped off into trios (or more) and one among them will be the group's designated protagonist.

Sure, in most MHA arcs, Izuku is the protagonist. But he's not always. Who is the protagonist of the Pro Hero (Endeavor vs Hood) arc? Who is the deuteragonist? It's not Izuku and Katsuki; it's Endeavor and Hawks! What about the protagonist in the My Villain Academia arc? Tomura. The Hero License Supplementary Course arc? Katsuki and Shouto (who can't seem to decide if they're co-protagonists or protagonist and deuteragonist and who is which). The Overhaul arc? Izuku is the protagonist and Mirio is the deuteragonist. Some arcs really play with these roles or make it unclear who is playing which role or if the role even exists.

What is a deuteragonist in My Hero Academia?

So if we have a bunch of protagonists, does that mean the most important one is the series' overarching protagonist and the one second in importance is the deuteragonist? It COULD be, but it's not necessarily true.

There aren't that many arcs where Izuku is not the protagonist. If we look at the number of arcs where someone else is the protagonist, following the above logic, we could end up with All Might or Endeavor as the deuteragonist. Maybe some people would earnestly make the argument Endeavor is the deuteragonist--I don't know, I haven't met those people I guess. The problem with this approach in my eyes is that it entirely discounts the deuteragonists of each arc. Would it not follow that the overarching deuteragonist is the character who has played the deuteragonist in the largest number of arcs? What if that character is different from the character who has played protagonist the second-most number of times? And this is to say nothing about if the protagonist or deuteragonist are the same as the antagonist in a given arc! It's difficult to weight any one character in this fashion particularly when you have an ensemble cast.

This is getting into the question of focus and screentime. How much should we weight this metric? Admittedly this one can also be complicated, especially when it comes to long stories with ensemble casts. The question is how much does screentime actually convey how much a character is the focus of a story, and does that necessarily translate to protagonist and deuteragonist? Because for many the question is: could the deuteragonist be an antagonist in MHA?

It just gets a little harder to argue someone besides Katuski Bakugou is the main deuteragonist the more Katsuki's screentime allocation looks something like this:

Okay, perhaps that exact size of gap is hyperbole. But there is a clear, measurable gap between Katsuki Bakugou and everyone else and I don't think anyone has ever disputed that. Please check out this post by @dekusheroacademia that has compiled some of these statistics (they also make some excellent points about evaluating the elements of a deuteragonist and how various characters fit or don't fit those characteristics).

Still, this is merely supporting evidence, not conclusive. I am well aware of the concept of a false protagonist, where someone appears to be the protagonist until later someone else is revealed to be the story's true protagonist. And while I've never seen a false deuteragonist where someone SEEMS to be the deuteragonist and is later revealed in a twist not to be (as opposed to the deuteragonist just merely changing NOT as a deliberate twist where expectations were set to be otherwise), that doesn't mean it can't happen.

Tangentially related, we could also potentially look at marketing as another piece of supporting evidence. It's not conclusive that just because Katsuki Bakugou is one of the most merchandised characters in the franchise that he is more important to the story than those who aren't, but it's still notable supporting evidence. After all, based on Horikoshi's marketing of his own story i.e. who he draws in which orientations on chapter and tankoban covers, or how he lists characters on character intro pages, we could easily come to the conclusion as casual readers that Izuku is the protagonist. There are many cases where one could conclude Katsuki is the deuteragonist based on such presentations alone. But again, I concede this is not conclusive.

So, if we set aside individual story arc roles, screentime, and marketing, what does that leave us with?

What is THE deuteragonist in My Hero Academia?

Even if we can determine Izuku Midoriya is THE protagonist of MHA based on things like the number of times he's protagonist in story arcs, his screentime, and marketing, I'll set those aside for the deuteragonist and see if there's something else that can help us here.

What element are we missing? The overall story.

Sure, we can break down the story into arcs and assign deuteragonists that way, but that's not getting us to THE deuteragonist. So let's start with the protagonist. How do we know Izuku Midoriya is the protagonist of MHA without considering the previous metrics? The way the story focuses on him. It is easy enough for anyone to recognize the characteristics of a protagonist in him from a functional perspective. He is a POV character. We hear his thoughts. He narrates the story. We see the story over the timeline of his character growth. His character arc coincides with the overall story themes.

I've talked many times about how My Hero Academia at its core is a story that explores the question: what is a hero? MANY characters explore this question, but the character who compiles these answers together and rounds them all out and grows and has his perspective change and exemplifies the moral is: Izuku Midoriya.

So let's go back to the functional elements of a deuteragonist. Remember those sub-archetypes? Well, in a shorter story with no ensemble cast, what do a sidekick, a love interest, a rival, an antagonist, and even a neutral party all have in common? They are defined by their relationship to the protagonist.

You see, in a story where all the characters interact with each other and converge on the major theme of the story, ALL characters are defined by their relationship to the protagonist. But in particular, the function of a deuteragonist is to supplement the story with what the protagonist needs FUNCTIONALLY. When is a sidekick the deuteragonist of a story? When the story focuses on the adventures of the protagonist and their sidekick. When is a love interest the deuteragonist of the story? When the story focuses on the developing relationship between the protagonist and the love interest (i.e. the romance genre). CAN a story with a love interest deuteragonist focus on their adventures and individual character development too? Yes, but sometimes the result is that the love interest is ALSO the sidekick...or the rival. When is the rival the deuteragonist? When the story focuses on the clash and growth between the rivals. When is the antagonist the deuteragonist? When the story focuses on the battle between them. NOTE that when I write this, I don't mean it focuses on the protagonist's adventure that culminates in them meeting the antagonist at the end for a battle. I am talking about when the BATTLE ITSELF is the main focus of the story. See stories like Silence of the Lambs or Death Note for a clearer example of what I mean, where the focus of each is on the psychological games the protagonist and antagonist play with each other. The point is, the story on a structural level, on a meta level, has to focus on these sorts of interactions to determine its deuteragonist.

Obviously this gets more complicated with a large story and an ensemble cast because you could have bits of the story where the structure changes and seems to focus on new things. That's why I pointed out that the more immediate protagonist and deuteragonist and antagonist often change in MHA depending on the story arc.

When I try to determine who is THE deuteragonist of the entire story, I have to look at the entire story. I have to ask myself what the story is about. So what is the story about? What is MHA about?

If you said MHA is about Izuku falling in love with Ochako, I'm sorry but you're wrong.

If you said MHA is about Izuku taking on All Might's mantle, I'm sorry but you're wrong.

If you said MHA is about Izuku defeating/saving Tomura, I'm sorry but you're wrong.

If you said MHA is about Izuku rekindling his friendship with Katsuki, I'm sorry but you're wrong.

MHA is about Izuku Midoriya (and most everyone else) learning what it means to be a hero.

It's in the fucking title. MY HERO ACADEMIA. The story is about Izuku's education (as it takes many forms) to learn what it means to be a hero.

So who is the deuteragonist in the story about Izuku Midoriya learning what it means to be a hero? The character who is second-most important in how Izuku Midoriya learns what it means to be a hero.

A lot of characters do teach Izuku Midoriya what it means to be a hero or at least some piece. But who is MOST IMPORTANT?

See, My Hero Academia is LONG. If we just focus on the parts of the story in which Izuku tries to learn from All Might or take on his mantle, we lose ARCS of the story. The same is true if we focus on his love life, or his rivalry with Katsuki, OR EVEN HIS BATTLE WITH TOMURA AND ALL FOR ONE. In the case of the latter, we're basically excluding HALF the story: the school arcs!

MHA is structured such that it alternates between what we colloquially refer to as "school arcs" and "villain arcs." And while exploring the question of "what is a villain?" is an important subset of the main theme, it is not the entire story. You can't just label all the school arcs as "filler" (because they're not) and chuck them out. Each story arc contributes to the lessons Izuku learns and the theme of the main story.

I can think of something every character teaches Izuku with respect to this theme. I can think of a lesson Izuku has taken away from every encounter and every story arc. But who ELSE is present in nearly every story arc? Who represents the foil to Izuku who allows us, the audience, to learn alongside them what it means to be a hero? Who learns the bits Izuku does not need to learn because he already exemplifies those answers in spades? Who represents the other half of the hero equation that Izuku is missing? Who has his own blanks filled in by Izuku himself? Who has played all the sub-archetypes of a deuteragonist for Izuku Midoriya, including antagonist, rival, sidekick, and even arguably love interest (replace with platonic interest for the rekindling friendship angle if you want so we don't have to go into that whole thing here please, I'm talking about the generic structural elements within a story more than anything)?

Izuku Midoriya cannot possibly have learned the fundamental lessons of what it means to be a hero without Katsuki Bakugou's character arc to supplement him. Katsuki Bakugou is an irremovable, integral player in demonstrating the theme of collectivism that informs the main story, not just for Izuku to learn it but for THE AUDIENCE to see it too. He is one half of "win to save, save to win." He is the standard shounen manga archetype who has to learn the value of teamwork/collectivism so that he can teach it to Izuku Midoriya and save him from himself. The story is structured in such a way that it resembles LESSONS for the characters to learn, and Katsuki's "education" in this respect is VITAL to the story, second in importance only to Izuku Midoriya's.

P.S. Is it actually taking away from Katsuki to call someone else THE deuteragonist?

Yes. I know some people don't want to have to say it that way, but it is. Based on a number of metrics, Katsuki Bakugou is most widely recognized as the deuteragonist. If there's a default answer to the question of who is the deuteragonist but you think the deuteragonist is someone else, then in order to be persuasive you must not only argue why you think your chosen character is the deuteragonist but why Katsuki Bakugou is NOT the deuteragonist. If you want to argue someone else is the deuteragonist, you are taking on that onus, that burden of proof. You have to disprove Katsuki Bakugou is the deuteragonist.

Are there other characters who fit the deuteragonist function at times? Yes! There are multiple deuteragonists! But if in spite of the multiple protagonists we're still able to call Izuku Midoriya THE protagonist of My Hero Academia, then we are absolutely able to call Katsuki Bakugou THE deuteragonist as well.

tl;dr MHA is about learning what it means to be a hero and Katsuki Bakugou's story is second-most important to that theme, which makes him the deuteragonist

#anon ask #ask pika #my hero academia manga spoilers #final showdown spoilers #katsuki bakugou #meta #deuteragonist #now just because i care does that mean i actually CARE? #no not really #think what you want you aren't doing anything to ME

[pikahlua]

i was wondering if you could go more in depth about monoma's way of taunting class 1a? i've seen the class 1b speech style but i was wondering if theres any cultural context that makes his manner especially strange, especially if he's using informal language with people he hasn't gotten close to. (i've seen some others mention that he talks in a very complex manner in japanese, as well as others saying that he speaks very intensity?) thank you!

I'm gonna be real, I don't know how to answer your question. To use informal speech with people you're not close to is pretty much definitionally disrespectful in Japanese, so it makes sense Monoma would do that. It's something I would also expect from another anime character like him. Perhaps this "complex manner/intensity" you're hearing about is a reference to how...dramatic and megalomaniacal he sounds? The dub isn't terrible at capture that vibe lol. In any case, there isn't anything that immediately sticks out about his manner of speech to me, but I haven't particularly paid close attention beyond what I've vaguely heard at times.

#anon ask #ask pika #neito monoma #anime only friendly #linguistics fun

[pikahlua]

Thoughts on the official translation of 405?

Yeah, thoughts abound.

1. Is the official translation of the final line in chapter 405 accurate? No.

2. Regardless, some people think it's inaccurate in really blatant ways that it actually is not. For example, some people think the official translation is changing some explicitly used pronouns around. If there's EVER anything about Japanese that isn't completely clear, it's what the pronouns should be--because the vast majority of them are implied.

3. Re: the "yeah yeah" line, I can conceive of a delivery of the line that does not sound disrespectful. That doesn't mean that's how the translator meant it, and this translator does have a habit of translating Katsuki's rude language with a certain *VIBE* that I don't always agree with--but that doesn't change the fact that Katsuki does speak very rudely and the translator clearly tries to capture that in the way they seem to think is best.

4. It's quite a leap to claim that this official translation is inaccurate due to deliberate malice, which I see a lot of people doing. From what I can tell, the translator just didn't realize the final line is a callback to chapter 322. Without that context, yeah, I can see how it'd be difficult to fully understand what's being said there, because enough of the words are vague or implied that it'd be confusing what Katsuki's talking about without that realization. Katsuki doesn't say "I (ore)" in the line, he says "kocchi (this/here)," which depending on the context can mean "I, we, us over here on this side (of the line, of the argument)." He also doesn't say "Izuku/Deku/that nerd" specifically, he says "aitsu (that guy over there)" with the kanji reading as "One For All." Without the context of chapter 322, it could easily read like "we'll wipe the floor with you where those One For All guys couldn't."

5. Building off #4, we need to be a little more self-aware as fans. When you are a big fan of something, you're gonna be more likely to remember specific lines and notice callbacks and be keyed into the little details. First of all, not everyone is capable of that, especially with respect to a long 405-chapter-and-counting manga. This line is referencing something that the translator hasn't necessarily seen in over two years. Should the translator have to comb back through the entire manga every week just to be safe? Is that really feasible? Of course I'd love for the official translation to be as accurate as possible, but when you're translating something on a weekly basis that isn't even finished yet, it's just a fact that there will be times you miss things. You don't always have the luxury of time to go back and check for things you've missed that need to be tied together. I've messed up lines in my translations before too. Please keep in mind this is the translator's JOB, not necessarily their PASSION. They're likely translating multiple projects at the same time for a meager paycheck. They've got a lot of stuff to remember from various projects at the same time, and they're gonna miss stuff on occasion. Did the translator "not care" in this case? I think it's far more likely the translator cares enough, but if they're not in the fandom they're not gonna care more than the fans nor should we expect them to.

The proper response is not to ATTACK THE TRANSLATOR'S LIVELIHOOD like I see MANY people doing, holy crap.

Translating is often a thankless job. No one writes Viz telling them how good of a job the translator is doing when they get 99% of the translations right. The most obsessive fans often jump on mistakes as if those mistakes are personal attacks. But we're complaining about 1 or 2 lines out of the whole chapter. The rest was pretty good. That's the case for most chapters. It's hard to justify claiming malice when the translator far more often than not gets it right. But goodness, attacking the translator is not going to endear you to anyone who matters. If the translation is something you truly care about and you want to foster nontoxic fandom spaces and have good relationships between the fandom and the producers, a more proper response would be something like:

"Hey Viz, I think the translator missed this key bit of context which could have helped him with this line's translation. I love Horikoshi's work and want the best for it, and I think the translator cares about doing a good job. Would you please let the translator know about this and have him look into it for the official print tankoban release in English?"

The more you alienate and dogpile the translator, the less they're gonna care about doing a good job.

#ask pika #anon ask #my hero academia manga spoilers #final showdown spoilers #linguistics fun

[pikahlua]

Would there ever be an All for One cover you think? I was surprised we have an All Might one as many seemed certain All for One would have one.

Man, I will never get over this fandom's blindness to the AFO meta. The whole schtick of All For One is that he WANTS to be the "main character" soooo badly that it motivates his villainy. The ultimate irony would be to deny him that, which is what Katsuki does in the end. To deny AFO a cover is perfect thematically. I LOVE this new cover because it is utterly perfect for this set of chapters. It highlights an important theme of the story--All Might's return as a hero, his ingenuity as learned from his student Izuku, and the hint of Katsuki's spirit cheering him on. The subtlety in how Katsuki is included is frankly GENIUS because it hints at Katsuki's importance without necessarily spoiling his resurrection--BUT IT ALSO TOTALLY SPOILS HIS RESURRECTION IF YOU LOOK CLOSELY ENOUGH BECAUSE OF THE COLORING. The red silhouette on the white background evokes the colors of the JAPANESE FLAG.

Remember the imagery of Katsuki's revival, of light cutting through the rain and the gloom and the darkness?

This is RISING SUN imagery. THE COVER INVOKES THE RED RISING SUN ON THE JAPANESE FLAG. IT'S FUCKING AMAZING.

For the love of meta, if you haven't read @siflshonen's Katsuki Bakugou presentation (AO3 version is best if working) particularly the sections about Japanese youth and delinquency and the role of western envy WHAT ARE YOU DOING? WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING? READ IT NOW!!!!!

I have a lot of feelings about this cover I'm so sorry

#ask pika #anon ask #my hero academia manga spoilers #final arc spoilers #volume 40 cover #meta

[pikahlua]

So many plotpoints I just don't understand in this arc. Why have bkg die? Why have him fight afo? Why have izuku lose his arms? What purpose has any of it served???? At all???????

Todorki and ochakos fights were handled so well and streamlined and benefited their characters and arcs but bkgs and dekus have been a mess all bcus hori is a coward who won't just let them fight together bcus ig save to win and win to save meant nothing at all

Why have bkg die?

I think it's pretty clear from the way that whole thing was framed that the purpose of Katsuki dying was symbolic. This is a staple of Japanese drama running all the way back to kabuki. It is a trope for a main character to die to shed their mortal incarnation and come back to life as their deified form. Katsuki's death runs perfectly parallel to Tomura's from the PLW arc right down to the part where they are both responsible for their own resurrections. It's probably one of the best cases I can think of where a character's death actually did further that same character's arc without fridging them for the sake of someone else.

Why have [Katsuki] fight AFO?

Because AFO was set up as a "what if" scenario or cautionary tale for Katsuki, the other side to his "villains and heroes are two sides of the same coin" storyline. AFO in his physical form has a different character arc and story utility from AFO the quirk vestige. He provided a lot of backstory that allows us to infer the subtlety of how Katsuki is likely some sort of reincarnation of Kudou, the mechanics of which we will never need to revisit because they're unimportant. It was about karma and personal growth. It was about showcasing how Katsuki is an heir to many legacies, All Might's included.

Why have Izuku lose his arms?

Again, it's symbolic. It's been foreshadowed pretty heavily that Izuku would risk losing his arms in reaching out to save someone. This was a demonstration of his willingness to take on that risk. It also provides a moment for Eri to get in on the "everyone contributes a little bit to the fight" action all the other characters have been allowed to have. We don't even know yet what state Izuku will actually be in when this is all over, so it'd be premature to jump to any major conclusions about all of this. The story may still have a lot to say about this.

What purpose has any of it served???? At all???????

To entertain me specifically.

Todorki and ochakos fights were handled so well and streamlined and benefited their characters and arcs but bkgs and dekus have been a mess all bcus hori is a coward who won't just let them fight together bcus ig save to win and win to save meant nothing at all

Bold of you to assume you've read the final chapter in the story yet.

#anon ask #ask pika #my hero academia manga spoilers #final arc spoilers #at this point i'm just gonna have to get snarky about all of these sorts of asks #if you guys won't stop to think about this story and find the answers to your questions yourself why is that my problem #you're entitled to your own opinion #but jeez #one sloppy chapter and you all go off the deep end with it i swear #as if every story out there doesn't have a bit of this going on #seriously #is this sort of reaction really merited just by the fact izuku's arms are being healed??? #if you need context just know i've been getting a ton of asks like this lately and i'm pretty sure they're not all from different people

[pikahlua]

Is the women Hawks has his arm around their (AFO and Yoichi) mom?

Hey anon how does it feel to be THE FUNNIEST PERSON ON THE PLANET OH MY GOD

#anon ask #ask pika #my hero academia manga spoilers #final arc spoilers #silly pika #LEGENDARY JOKE ANON #I AM DYING

[pikahlua]

Hey Pika, how would you interpret Kudo's opinion of Katsuki? Thinking of both chapter 412 and 413.

Funny you chose those chapters, because I'd say despite his mentioning of Katsuki, those chapters are really demonstrating what Kudou thinks of Izuku.

In those chapters, Kudou refers to Katsuki as someone who, on the surface, it seems Izuku should have hated but didn't. Then he uses Katsuki as a visualization example, and he has a good laugh about it at the same time. He certainly doesn't have a bad opinion of Katsuki.

I'd say the best hint at what Kudou thinks of Katsuki comes from chapter 318.

I think Kudou just thinks Katsuki is a capable person who is reliable for aiding Izuku in his goals. Comradery seems to rank really high on Kudou's list of traits that matter in this war--which is not surprising since he led a rebel faction.

To me, it's really telling that Kudou's plan to defeat Tomura is, in essence, the exact same plan Katsuki had to defeat AFO with the gross sweat-in-the-enemy's-mouth maneuver lol.

If they were to interact, my guess is that in a combat situation they'd get along really well lol.

#anon ask #ask pika #my hero academia manga spoilers #final arc spoilers

[pikahlua]

Hi! Your answer about heroism generally and Izuku saving Katsuki in ch.1 got me thinking. Izuku really does have heart of hero, he really wants to help people - that's for sure. But if it was just someone else and not Katsuki in ch.1 - Izuku definitely wouldn't rush to help. He even said something like "sorry poor guy I can't help you, but someone will do, I hope" before he saw it was Katsuki. So, it was kinda selfish moment for him, as I see it. So I wonder - can this exact moment be considered pure image of heroism on Izuku's behalf?

The original post, for reference.

"So I wonder - can this exact moment be considered pure image of heroism on Izuku's behalf?"

Yes it can, but it's because I disagree with your interpretation of the scene.

I am aware that there exists a certain subsection of the fandom who view the scene as you describe, and I have no problems with analyzing the question of what's going on in this scene or with crafting a what-if exploration of this scene in fanfic. That's fun shit. I just ultimately don't think that is what's going on here at all.

First, we have Izuku acknowledge that he's used to being a spectator. He's never run out to save anyone before.

This is an important acknowledgement because it sets up the general behavior of hero society bystanders. The same bystander from chapter 1 reappears in chapter 325 to explain it:

Chapter 1 then establishes for Izuku to know that the heroes aren't doing anything about the situation. Izuku is even made to empathize with the victim as he just experienced the same thing earlier that day:

Izuku ends up feeling responsible for the victim's pain, and he falls into the same mental trap the bystanders and even the heroes on the scene do: "We need someone with the right quirk."

"Someone will come to save you soon..." "A hero is bound to come..." Izuku knows the victim needs to be saved and acknowledges that no one currently there is doing anything to help the victim.

And then this happens.

There are many things here that could be triggering Izuku. One interpretation certainly could be that Izuku is prompted to act when he sees that the victim is Katsuki.

The problem with that is: we're actually told what triggers Izuku here.

There are multiple potential triggers. The victim being "Kacchan" is one of the possibilities. But the narrator ultimately tells us what was the factor that sprung Izuku into action "at that moment."

"You looked like you needed saving."

The thing that spurred Izuku to act was not seeing Katsuki; it was seeing Katsuki's face asking him for help.

Izuku knows there's a person suffering at the hands of a villain, a suffering Izuku is familiar with, a villain Izuku is responsible for helping escape All Might. Izuku is used to being a spectator who watches the heroes save the day, but there are no heroes here saving anyone. For the first time, he's at the scene of a villain attack, and the victim has to look around and ask someone, anyone for help. For the first time, the victim looks at Izuku and asks him for help.

"But if it was just someone else and not Katsuki in ch.1 - Izuku definitely wouldn't rush to help."

So I disagree with your above statement. I think if any other person would have looked to Izuku for help in that situation, Izuku would have rushed out to help. I don't think he's only a hero for Katsuki's sake.

However, I do believe there are other important reasons Katsuki is the victim here.

It demonstrates that any bad blood between Izuku and Katsuki is inconsequential to Izuku's impulse to save Katsuki. Izuku does care about Katsuki.

Likewise, the fact that their bad blood doesn't affect Izuku in this case does demonstrate Izuku's heroic qualities. His personal life does not get in the way of his heroism.

Most importantly, it shows that Katsuki admires Izuku.

I'm honestly not fond of the "(selfish) Izuku only saves Katsuki because he loves him, it's got nothing to do with his heroism" take because it betrays a bias. The notion that Izuku is selfish and cares only about Katsuki is a perspective that elevates Izuku's feelings at the expense of Katsuki's. This scene is not about how much Izuku cares about Katsuki; it's about Katsuki's feelings for Izuku.

For the entire chapter, most every character has made fun of Izuku for his dream of being a hero. They don't take him seriously. They think he's a joke.

Katsuki, consistently, does take Izuku's dream seriously. He sees Izuku as a legitimate threat.

We also learn later why Katsuki takes Izuku seriously. Despite Izuku's deficiencies, Katsuki has always seen something in Izuku that the rest of society misses. He sees the makings of a true hero, which causes Katsuki to doubt himself. He doubts whether or not he can measure up to Izuku in the same regard.

(He knows exactly what Izuku can do.)

Katsuki also ends up exposed and victimized by the way society is. Society sees people as just their quirks. That's how the heroes who fail to save him behave. That's even how the villain behaves.

Note that in this final picture, Katsuki looks away from the heroes to focus on Izuku.

On some level, Katsuki knows what real heroism is, which is what makes him so self-conscious and leads him to mistreat Izuku. When he is stuck and dying, none of the heroes even try to help him. Katsuki finds the one person in the area who would actually do something: Izuku. And so he pleads for Izuku's help with his eyes.

It's no mistake that All Might describes one of Katsuki's feelings towards Izuku as "awe."

He's just been terrible at expressing his awe because of his self-doubt.

Despite his rejection of Izuku, Katsuki is regularly shown to be in awe of him throughout high school. He's felt awe for Izuku ever since they were little kids. That's what makes him so uncomfortable. He really can't wrap his head around Izuku for most of their lives, which makes Katsuki himself feel inferior. But in chapter 1, in his moment of desperation, he looks to Izuku for help. He acknowledges Izuku's heroism only in his hour of need.

So when it comes to how I interpret chapter 1, I think the above distinctions are important to make. I don't mean to rain on any bakudeku parades. Seriously, if you like the other interpretation, you do you. But to me, THIS interpretation is the more bakudeku one. The reason Izuku's and Katsuki's destinies are so intertwined is because of their acknowledgement of each other's heroic traits, specifically the ones the other feels they are lacking. That's what makes them two halves of a whole. You can't erase Izuku's heroic traits, or else there is nothing for Katsuki to admire. There's no one otherwise who sticks out in the hero-corrupted society that Katsuki feels he can count on for help. Their deep relationship comes from their mutual admiration of each other. Chapter 1 is Izuku's heroic moment, and you have to have it preserved if you want Katsuki's feelings for Izuku to make sense.

That's my two cents.

#anon ask #ask pika #anime only friendly #izuku midoriya #katsuki bakugou #bakudeku

[pikahlua]

Oh my goodness gracious me, more todoroki drama! What are your thoughts on this chapter from your translations?

I'll forever be heartbroken at the panel of the happy family minus shoto.

I don't have a ton to say. We got like one flashback and 10 seconds of story. But I do think a lot of people are sleeping on what's happening in this chapter. It's a chapter about the Todoroki family, particularly those who are NOT Enji, Shouto, or Touya (well okay, maybe a bit about Touya, too). No, I don't mean that Enji or Shouto are being excluded as some sort of message. I mean that the other characters also need their moments to further their own arcs.

All the characters who expressed their regrets in the above scene are now showing up in chapter 388 to confront their demons (although I do think there is a translation or update issue regarding Rei's panel in this version of the page.) Note that Shouto had no regrets to express regarding Touya and was instead called "his family's hero" because of his desire to rescue all of them. Shouto has no place in this chapter specifically because it's about the family's regrets towards Touya.

So their actions in this chapter are meant to reflect each of their regrets.

Enji, who harmed his family, is now trying to protect them all and take all the damage unto himself.

Rei, who felt powerless in her situation and was repulsed by Enji and her children, takes responsibility and apologizes while actively pushing her way onto the battlefield to use her power to cool down Enji and Touya.

Fuyumi, who kept up appearances that things were fine even when she knew the family was falling apart, expresses her repressed thoughts and her desire for the family to actually be okay by begging for no one to leave (it's hard to capture the nuance of what she's saying literally in Japanese, something like "Don't not be here, don't go away.")

And Natsu, who regrets brushing off and not confronting Enji or Touya before it was too late, directly tells Touya to stop bothering everyone. (Now, the nuance here is probably dicier to explain, but essentially there is an implied note of selfishness being attached to Touya's actions, even if Touya's feelings are justified. This is a collectivist society sort of thing, but think back to when Katsuki mouths off to Fuyumi and Shouto for talking about sensitive subjects where those uninvolved can hear. Basically, Natsu is saying Touya should find a way to deal with his problems himself rather than making them problems for everyone else--and let's be real, Touya's currently threatening other people's lives because of his personal problems.)

The paradox is that Rei, Fuyumi, and Natsu are all expressing their honne, their true feelings. In Japan, to the rest of the world you are to present your tatemae, which is your polite mask or the character you are assigned to play in any situation (Fuyumi would have her teacher persona with her students, for instance). People are only supposed to express their honne to those very close to them, with the most common example being: their family. The Todoroki family has been forced to hide their true feelings over the years even from the rest of their family, and now they are finally getting to express everything they bottled up. So while it may feel like some of the things they say are cruel or selfish, this is actually meant to be a sign of love. They are in a situation where they feel comfortable enough with their family and even compelled by the dire circumstances to reveal their honne. Honne are SUPPOSED to be selfish and rude. To express one's honne is to express how close one is with the person who hears them. You can even see Dabi as Touya's tatemae, and the Touya we see in the panel at the end is his honne finally coming out.

And that's the crux of how I view this now infamous final panel. It's a reflection of the family coming together by expressing their regrets. It's a symbol of the people they could have been if only they could have dealt with these things in the first place. They are healing in this moment. They are healing as a family and as themselves. And now Shouto, who has already gone through that same process in the Sports Festival, is going to come in and be his family's hero once again.

#ask pika #anon ask #my hero academia manga spoilers #final showdown spoilers #endeavor #dabi #rei todoroki #fuyumi todoroki #natsuo todoroki #shouto todoroki

[pikahlua]

I’d listen to all your thoughts about it!

The gauntlet was named for Dynamight.

The gauntlet that represented how "crazy" All Might could be.

The craziness factor that convinced Nana Shimura All Might would be able to defeat AFO.

But now that "factor" is being used to heal.

And it's been passed to Katsuki...

Katsuki is crazy enough to defeat AFO.

#anon ask #ask pika #my hero academia manga spoilers #final showdown spoilers #all might #katsuki bakugou #in related news i guess i can't change the katsuki bakugou forecast just yet