#he sees people with no ultimate talent (including himself) as worthless

[anonzentimes]

Except it's not actually a hierarchy he's created in his head. The thing that so many fans fail to get is that what is truly terrifying about Nagito Komaeda is the fact that there are lots of Nagito Komaedas out there in the world of Danganronpa. People who's sense of self-worth has been royally fucked by the culture that Hope's Peak (and later the Future Foundation) helped foster. Nagito is simply the one who says the quiet stuff out loud. Like something that's really telling in hindsight is before Episode 4, Hajime never actually calls Nagito out on his talk of talentless people being worthless. Because as the climax of the game makes clear, Hajime is one of those many other Nagito Komaedas out there.

Honestly, great point anon thank you! While he undoubtedly does have a hierarchy in his head I actually did forget to mention in my ramble that this specific trait is mostly a learned thing from the world that they live in (never let me cook at 3am again smh). It's commonly accepted and believed in, Hajime is the biggest example that we see. The "objective" fact everyone accepts that the talented are better than the talentless. Hajime only cares when he learns he's "worthless," and it takes a toll on his personal self esteem.

Nagito believes his talent is worthless because it harms everyone around him and only benefits himself, and when there's no one to harm it goes after him, so he considers himself on the same level as someone who isn't an ultimate. Just combining this with his unhealthy coping mechanism and obsession with Hope and we get some of the most important traits of his character. His self esteem may come from growing up with terrible experiences and blaming himself, or that he's on the same level as someone who isn't an ultimate.

I do think that it's upsetting they play into how he thinks he's worthless by never caring to give him reciprocation or just not at all being bothered by his absence when he's suspended it just really sucks.

The closet thing he gets to reciprocation is Chisa which her caring about him shocks him, and Chiaki a little bit because she's trying to help the whole class and he's included. In Dr2 he is drawn to Hajime and he attempts to get his attention and approval pretty often, they enjoy each other's company at least before things get crazy and Hajime shows reciprocation. Nagito's more of an actual threat in Dr2 and I can understand more their fear and negligence, I still think tying him up and not letting him go anywhere is a horrible thing to do to anyone. I understand it more but It still feels upsetting.

I'm happy for Nagito that Hajime is in his life though, he seems to genuinely love him/care for him quite a lot. Hajime seems to care for him too, even when he's afraid and upset. It's not to the same degree as Nagito, mostly because of Nagito's threatening presence once he loses his filter, but Hajime does care for him and has enjoyed time with him. Their relationship can and has been healed after the killing game and he can actually have one of the healthier, if not healthiest, relationships in his life with Hajime.

(Also I say love because saying like doesn't feel right it doesn't express enough emotion and relationship as general relationship I don't care what you ship lmao)

I really do enjoy seeing fan works and such where his classmates, even if not the to the extent of Hajime's reciprocation, they genuinely care for him and treat him a lot better.

Anyways!! Just wanted to say with this reply some extra stuff I didn't before, some restatements, and the fact yup you're completely right!! Sorry I forgot to mention it in my original ramble post thanks so much anon! :)

#nagito komaeda #danganronpa #danganronpa komaeda #danganronpa nagito #sdr2 nagito #sdr2 komaeda #sdr2 #danganronpa goodbye despair #komaeda nagito #komahina #hinakoma

[danganronpasurvivoraskblog]

Hajime Hinata VS Izuku Midoriya [Danganronpa Survivor VS My Hero Academia]

Hifumi: Hajime Hinata, the Ultimate Hope from Hope's Peak Academy.

Leona: Izuku Midoriya, the Symbol of Hope from U.A Academy!

Uchui: The masses need a savior when the world is in danger. In a society that consistently held them back, these incredible heroes began life with nothing and developed the charm, fortitude, compassion, and drive to defend the people they care about.

Hifumi: However, which one of them will prevail when everything is on the line?

Leona: He's Hifumi, I'm Leona and THAT'S Uchui! 

Hifumi: And it's our job to analyze their weapons, talents and skills, to see who will win a DEATH BATTLE!

Leona: So we've decided to have Uchui come back for another major role in an episode, and in case you're wondering why...This. This is why.

Uchui: Yes. After all, I happen to have quite a unique attachment to our combatant today.

Leona: Everyone strap in, because we are about to talk about one of the most convoluted and batshit crazy backstories in all Danganronpa lore...and yes, I ACTUALLY mean that this time.

Hifumi: To start with, let's once again go over Hope's Peak Academy, since it actually plays a pretty heavy role in this story, even more so than compared to our other combatants. There are definitely a lot of talented people in our world who have extraordinary skills that make them appear superior to others. People swarm to these gifted individuals, referring to them as prodigies, savants, or even geniuses.

Leona: And Hope's Peak is a school that focuses on these people, giving them Ultimate titles. Like the 77th Class of Ultimate Students, which were freshmen around the same time this story starts. They included characters like the Ultimate Gamer, Gymnast, Team Manager, Mechanic, Photographer...even Princess and Yakuza!

Uchui: Hope's Peak Academy and it's staff did not care about who you were or where you were from. Be you a poor slum dweller with barely any cash or power to your name, or the heir to a powerful empire with a criminal underbelly, it didn't matter. So long as you were the most talented high schooler in your respective field, you could be invited to attend Hope's Peak's main course as an Ultimate.

Hifumi: Emphasis on the "invite" part. Unlike most Japanese high schools, Hope's Peak Academy does not have an entrance exam, at least it didn't at the time. Modern Hope's Peak under the guide of Makoto Naegi is different and more welcoming, but back in the old days, you had to actively be scouted by the academy itself in order for a chance to attend.

Uchui: There WAS, however, more to this. In the year that Class 77-B enrolled, the Reserve Course was launched by the Academy runners. It was designed for students without talent who could attend classes for a hefty fee. Reserve Course attendance was required, and students were treated like regular students, in contrast to Ultimate students who could choose to attend classes or not. Only three Reserve Course students are currently recognized by name, but the most significant by far...was Hajime Hinata.

Hifumi: Like many of his kind, Mr Hinata had always admired Hope's Peak Academy and hoped to attend since he was a young child. It was a lofty ambition of his, comparable to becoming a superhero or celebrity. Being a part of something greater than himself would allow him to overcome his self-consciousness and grow into a person he could be proud of. Being a talentless person, he thought his life was boring, and that he himself was worthless.

Leona: But thanks to the Reserve Course, Hajime got to attend his dream school, lived a happy life, and enjoyed his studies to the fullest, right? Right?

Uchui: Not by a LONG shot. Even as a Reserve student with no talent, Hajime continued to feel inadequate. He was so resentful of his own limitations that it drove him to want to enroll in the Main Course, not be some backup student. And frankly, the Academy itself and the twisted bastards that ran it, the Steering Committee, did NOT help with this. In fact, they only ADDED to the emotional damage!

Hifumi: In the eyes of the academy runners, having talent was the key to success in life; without it, one can only lead a life of mediocrity and meaninglessness. The Reserve Course Students were despised as merely affluent children who gained admission to the Academy of Hope by buying their way in. 

Leona: Oh...Well...That's ok! 'Cause he made a friend! A friend in the form of a really cute and chubby main-course student, Chiaki Nanami! The Ultimate Gamer! They met on the first day of school and met at the fountain to play video games together on a regular basis. She once consoled him after he was upset about not having a talent, telling him that there is more to life than that and that spending time with others is was important.

Uchui: While I can get behind that, and while Hajime was happy to have her company, his obsession with being something greater did not lessen. In fact, the longer he stayed at Hope's Peak, the worse things got, especially when one of his fellow Reserve Course students was murdered by another, and the academy not only refused to do anything about it, but they actively COVERED IT UP to avoid backlash from the public.

Hifumi: When he tried to confront the academy about it, he was swiftly...beaten to the curb. It was here that whatever self-confidence he once had left his body entirely. He wasn't even HUMAN in the eyes of his heroes, just a money-bank! At least...that's what he thought.

Uchui: Truth be told, Hajime had caught the interest of some...suspicious individuals working on an experiment with the Steering Committee...This was the Hope Cultivation Plan, otherwise known as the Izuru Kamukura Project.

Leona: With this being the last straw, Hajime signed up for the project, where he, a young skinny kid, received superpowers to become CAPTAIN AMERICAAAA-This is the wrong script, isn't it?

Hifumi: Well, it DOES share some similarities, but the actual outcome could not have been more drastically different. This is the part you should explain Mr Porosen, assuming you're alright with it...

Uchui: It's perfectly fine. It's why I came on the show today after all...Ahem...Truth be told, the original plan for the Izuru Kamukura Project was proposed by Ryuichi Kamukura, a descendent of Izuru Kamukura; the original founder of Hope's Peak...He's also...my Father...

Leona: If you think that's a yowch, it'll hurt more to know that in spite of Izuru reportedly being a rather humble man, his descendants were anything BUT! The family is basically the Danganronpa equivalent of Umbrella Corp. reputed for their secretly evil and ruthless nature, sacrificing anyone and anything in their quest to achieve perfection. The only exception, and the only one of them who actually had a fucking conscience, was Uchui here.

Uchui: And the Hope Cultivation Plan was supposed to be my father's pièce de résistance. The purpose of the experiment that my father designed, oversaw, and received funding for from The Steering Committee, was to produce artificial hope in talentless students and create the "Ultimate Hope," a student possessing every talent Hope's Peak Academy has ever studied. In actuality, my father implanted pieces of artificial talents into me, making me a test subject who first demonstrated that it was possible. Hope's Peak was sought after by him because he believed that high school age was the ideal age, since I was still a child and my body was not suitable for it. B-But this isn't about me! Since Hajime on the other hand, they deemed was the perfect candidate. 

Hifumi: As you may have surmised, in order to accomplish this goal, immoralities such as human experimentation were needed. For this reason, the Steering Committee concealed the project from everyone, including Principal Jin Kirigiri and the other Hope's Peak Faculty members. As a matter of fact, the Kamukura Project was primarily funded by the Reserve Course, with the majority of students' tuition fees going toward it, and the project had enough money to start the human testing phase before the freshman year of Class 77-B.

Uchui: And for better or worse, the experiment was a SUCCESS! Hajime took this offer because he was so desperate for talent, and in the end he acquired every talent known to man. And so the "Ultimate Hope" came into being—the one and only human being who is flawless and whose abundance of gifts is intended to give others hope.

Leona: Great! So now he can basically do everything! And it's not just a matter of being as great as every Ultimate Student! Hajime actually EXCEEDS all of them in their latent abilities by a MILE!

Uchui: Ultimate Hope is the most powerful talent that our universe has ever known from how it culminates every ability. It includes the powers of Ultimate Analyst, Ultimate Clairvoyant, Ultimate Imposter, Ultimate Lucky Student, Ultimate Martial Artist, Ultimate Secret Agent, Ultimate Soldier, Ultimate Assassin, Ultimate Neurologist, Ultimate Detective, Ultimate Team Manager, Ultimate Gymnast, Ultimate Photographer, Ultimate Cook, Ultimate Animator, Ultimate Programmer, Ultimate Mechanic, Ultimate Musician, Ultimate Pharmacist, Ultimate Gambler, Ultimate Confectioner, Ultimate Blacksmith, Ultimate Pyrotechnician, Ultimate Nurse, Ultimate-

Leona: Stop! STOP! STOOOP! Are you seriously listing EVERYTHING!?

Uchui: Uh...yeah? Is that not the idea?

Leona: We will literally be here FOREVER if you list of EVERY skill he has, you nerd!

Uchui: Oh...I...Sorry...I got a bit carried away there...As dastardly as the circumstances are, I cannot help but marvel at the results.

Hifumi: Well, we DO have to at least explain SOME of them, otherwise our audience won't have much to work with. Why don't we go over the one's that are most notable and important; i.e. the one's that would help him in combat? Then we can elaborate on them and explain feats.

Uchui: Oh, I see! Well in that case, let's start with some basic combative talents like Ultimate Soldier. Because of his talents, Hajime is above superhuman in terms of physical strength, reflexes, and speed. This gives him Mukuro Ikusaba's talent, but to a much larger extent, so he should be able to accomplish all of her achievements and feats as well. Speaking of Ms. Ikusaba, he actually launched her with a backhand move not long after he unlocked his abilities. He can effortlessly dodge bullets like her too.

Leona: That's right! Remember that super badass and almost unbeatable Ultimate Soldier that has incredible instincts that we talked about in Round 2? Hajime was standing RIGHT in front of her, hit her with an attack that she DIDN'T SEE COMING, and ONE-SHOT HER! Holy shit! Where was your Ultra Instinct THAT time Mukuro!?

Hifumi: Speaking of strong characters and matching feats, Mr. Hinata is knowledgeable about and skilled in every martial art, just like Mrs. Sakura Ogami, and he is swift and strong enough to defeat the Monokuma that Junko Enoshima was using in the first Killing Game, whereas SHE could match it.

Leona: With his talents, Hajime should realistically be able to do everything the likes that Genocide Jill, Akane Owari and Nekomaru Nidai; other powerful characters in the series, some of which we've already gone over!

Hifumi: Remember how, without using any climbing equipment, Ms. Owari climbed the Hope's Peak building with ease, detected the smell of cooking meat while on the roof, and survived the fall from the roof to the ground? He can do that too!

Uchui: Remember how Genocide Jill used a pair of scissors to cut through robots the size of small houses, leaped from the ground to a monorail several stories above, shattered glass windows without a running start, cut through a steel door, and deflected blows from a robot the size of a skyscraper? He can do that too!

Leona: Remember how Nekomaru took a shit so hard that it carved a hole through a forest and screamed so hard that he generated three explosions the size of Hope's Peak Academy? He can do that too!

Uchui: Uuuuh...Yes! Yes he can! As much as I loathe to be reminded of that...!

Hifumi: As with Ms. Komaru Naegi, who we've already mentioned has an excellent eye and accuracy, Mr. Hinata also possesses marksman abilities and ought to be the world's greatest marksman. More importantly, he should outclass Kiyoka Maki, the ACTUAL Ultimate Marksman, in terms of dexterity and proficiency with a gun.

Leona: But of course, there's more to fight than just being able to move and punch super fast and hard. You also have to consider skill, tactics, and of course, bullshit. And BOY does he have some BULL-SHIT!

Hifumi: Ironically what may be Izuru's two most useful abilities originally come from less-than-desirable people. His eventual arch-enemy, Junko Enoshima, and his arch-rival, Nagito Komaeda. These talents of course being Ultimate Analytical Prowess and Ultimate Lucky Student respectively.

Uchui: Hajime's analytical abilities are nearly unopposed, much like Junko's, possessing a startlingly high degree of accuracy and speed in his prediction abilities. Additionally, he has the ability to read people the moment he meets them. He also has the talent Ultimate Lie Detector and has stated himself that he can detect dishonesty in others, which renders any attempt to deceive him futile.

Hifumi: Furthermore, he's demonstrated an overabundance of good fortune with the Ultimate Lucky Student talent, to the extent that it can rival that of Nagito Komaeda. He is among the very few individuals who are shielded from Komaeda's extreme bad luck as a result. The best example of this is when Komaeda pointed a gun at Enoshima not long after their first meeting. When he attempts to fire the at the Ultimate Hope, Mr. Hinata's good fortune overrides Komaeda's, causing the gun to jam.

Leona: Ok, but...wait a second...I think I get how this hypothetically COULD be possible. I mean, for performance enhancing and combat powers, you can fiddle with his brain, fuck with his genes or mess with his muscles and skeletal structure. I GET that. But how in the ever-loving fuck do you gift somebody LUCK!? Luck isn't a substance! It's an immaterial thing that has no conclusive sway, so...how is he able to do this?

Uchui: Good question! NEXT QUESTION...!

Leona: Um...alrighty then! So, at the end of the day, Hajime got his wish and then some! He had gone from being a nobody to being the icon that Hope's Peak's morals were grounded on! A symbol of Hope for the future of all mankind! And he was loving every second of it!

Uchui: I'm sure he would...if he had been around to see it...

Leona: I really need to stop jinxing myself...Ok, what happened this time?

Hifumi: Truth be told, a lot of the feats that we've just listed were, technically, not achieved by Mr. Hinata himself. As it turns out, the Steering Committee and the Cultivation Team, as they did VERY OFTEN, DECIEVED Mr. Hinata. In addition to being endowed with an abundance of abilities and boundless potential for greatness, he was also lobotomized in order to eliminate any memories, personality, or other emotional functions that might have impeded the development of talent. Not that they told HIM that.

Leona: Those dirty...FUCKING...BASTARDS!

Uchui: Quite right. Hajime was used as a lab rat by the very people he spent his whole life looking up to, who took advantage of his talent and feelings of admiration for hope. They eliminated every sense, feeling, thought, and pastime that would have impeded the development of talent. His memories of the past, including those of his best friend Chiaki, were all pushed deep into the back of his mind by force. The academy changed Hajime into an entirely different person whose specialty is talent itself by directly interfering with his brain. He was supposed to be the result of all the research done by the faculty at Hope's Peak Academy, a genius among geniuses with a variety of skills. He became an empty shell of a human stuffed with nothing but talent...He became...Izuru Kamukura...!

Leona: He became your granddad?

Uchui: No, he was named after my granddad, silly! Ryuichi wanted to make sure that our "family legacy" was recognized as such, so he and the Hope's Peak Steering Committee named him after the academy founder.

Leona: Ugh this is all...so fucked! How can this get any worse?

Hifumi: Well, three words...Junko...! Fucking...! Enoshima...!

Leona: UUUUUUUUUGH GAAAWWWD! What did she do THIS time!?

Uchui: At first, it seemed as though she was trying to kill him because he was the Ultimate Hope, but Junko's true goal was to attack him knowing she couldn't win in order to demonstrate Despair's unpredictable nature, peaking what little curiosity Izuru had. By forcing him to witness the student council members' mutual murder and many other forms of humanity at their worst, Junko coerced Izuru into leading the Remnants of Despair—a group made up of Chiaki's brainwashed classmates—and causing the Tragedy. Izuru changed his title from "Ultimate Hope" to "Ultimate Despair" after siding with Despair and leading to the total destruction of Hope's Peak and the world.

Leona: On the one hand...this guy is one of the main reasons why the Tragedy happened...But on the other, SWEET TASTY KARMA for the fuckboys at Hope's Peak! It's so REFRESHING MMM!

Hifumi: That's...weirdly psychotic of you...But I suppose it makes sense?

Leona: Ok, but to be fair, putting my lust for vengeance aside, this doesn't sound great...The Ultimate Hope is evil and Hajime is dead! ...OR IS HE!? Later on down the line, Izuru Kamukura got confronted by the Future Foundation and he and his cronies in the Remnants of Despair were placed in the Neo World Program, a program designed to undo Junko's brainwashing after her death.

Hifumi: Following Izuru's entry into the Neo World Program, Hajime's memories were recovered and his former personality was recreated using historical data, essentially resurrecting Hajime from his near-total erasure.

Leona: Awesome! Hajime's alive again, he and his friends are getting...questionable therapy, Junko's dead and everything's back to normal! ...I just did it again, didn't I?

Hifumi: It turns out that Izuru predicted in advance, likely using his analyst and clairvoyance talents, that the Future Foundation would attempt to go this route. He even knew in advance that Hajime would be brought back through these means. However, following Junko's passing, Kamukura devised a scheme to use the Neo World Program to enable Alter Ego Junko to take control of their bodies, with the help of the other Remnants of Despair. Junko's AI infiltrated the program and kickstarted the Jabberwock Island Killing Game!

Leona: Oh GREAAAAT! How the hell does the Future Foundation even contend with that!? The most powerful, intelligent and unstoppable person completely destroyed their master plan, and now nothing is going to stop them! ...Did I just jinx it again?

Uchui: In a positive spin this time, yes! It turns out that in spite of being responsible for Junko's presence in the program, Izuru's intentions DIDN'T align with hers. At least...not completely...

Leona: How so?

Uchui: Well, one interesting thing that many people forget about Izuru Kamukura is that in spite of his unmatched prowess of predictions and insight, he doesn't know EVERYTHING. In fact, Junko was actually able to surprise him by showing him the unpredictability of Despair during the slaughter of the student council. Izuru almost got shot in the face and didn't see it coming due to Despair's unpredictability. However, at the same time, he found out that Hope could be equally as unpredictable...When Junko masterminded the death of Chiaki Nanami, Hajime's best friend, and the main catalyst in brainwashing her classmates.

Leona: Aw, she died!? How could they be so...*sniff*...HEARTLESS!?

Hifumi: That's Junko Enoshima for you...But the real surprise was that when Izuru witnessed Chiaki's final moments...he cried. Something that he never expected he could feel. And it was here that Izuru really figured out what needed to happen. What he needed to do.

Uchui: Ultimately unable to make up his mind between Hope and Despair, he had chosen to sit back and watch the other members of Ultimate Despair. This was to determine if it would be in his best interest to pursue Junko's Despair or Chiaki's Hope. His personal objective, which even Junko was unaware of, was to watch the conflict between hopelessness and optimism and ultimately decide which side to support by uploading the AI into the program and seeing how things played out. To which Hajime found his hope again through Chiaki's AI counterpart, and was able to retake control of his mind, body, and very being.

Leona: And...he ACTUALLY came back this time, right? Like ACTUALLY? I don't want to jinx it again.

Uchui: Yep, he came back as himself finally. However, even though Hajime returned, Izuru didn't exactly leave. It turns out that Izuru and Hajime's identities merged into one by the time they arrived to save the Future Foundation with the revived Remnants following the Final Killing Game, as he recalled his memories before the project. Additionally, Izuru continued to exist in Hajime's mind for a while as a ghostly illusion, resembling a second personality that lurked in the shadows.

Leona: But Hajime still came back, and he got to live a happy life fighting for the future he believed in with his friends on Jabberwock Island; and he lived out his days in peace...

Uchui: At least until he almost died and Izuru automatically took over his body again...

Leona: OH COME ON!

Hifumi: We will likely be here forever if we break down everything Mr. Hinata has accomplished or what he's been through, but we should definitely get to breaking down feats and general stats as we always do.

Uchui: We've already kind of broken down some powers and the things that Hajime is capable of, but let's talk about some feats. Let's start with general strength.

Leona: Hajizuru is stronger, faster, tougher and smarter than every other Danganronpa character, including people who can fight skyscraper sized robots, dodge machine gun bullets, elbow drop the floor to make it collapse and survive the fall with no injuries, hold onto a vehicle moving at escape velocity, survive a barrage of missile hitting them with no damage and survive the roof of a building falling on them with no permanent damage. That's pretty neat!

Uchui: Now might be a good time to mention that Hajime is actually one of three people (not including Makoto Naegi because his is different) that holds the title Ultimate Hope, and is the first of three who have received these powers; though the other two did so through Organization Zetsubou's Hope Serum, a concoction that gives them a pseudo-powerful version of Hajime's overpowered abilities. These two are Ayumu Fujimori, a young man in a similar shitty situation to a young Hajime, who he sensed a kindred spirit in, and Nagito Komaeda, Hajime's long running arch-rival, who gained the powers to be on equal footing with him...Which turned out to not have been the case at all.

Hifumi: During his fight with both Ultimate Hope's, Mr. Hinata seemed to be even with them, but as it turns out, once Kamukura took control of his body again, he revealed that Mr. Hinata had been holding back...MASSIVELY. And the following beatdown on Komaeda, he proved this.

Leona: Starting with Ayumu, even though he only had his powers for a few days, after being forced to watch Komaeda kill his closest companion...yeah things are really awkward between these three like that...purely out of rage, he let out a huge burst of energy that levelled a small town! So how does Hajime scale to that? Surprise! Turns out he's a NUKE waiting to happen!

Hifumi: To be more specific, after his fight with Komaeda in the city of Kyoto, when Kamukura took over, Chiaki Nanami stated that Izuru's natural potency has the potential to level ALL OF KYOTO, resulting in the destruction of many homes and facilities, and the potential deaths of tens of thousands. If we take this literally, it puts Mr. Hinata's natural power on the same level, if not slightly higher, as the Little Boy bomb that destroyed Hiroshima. That's about 15 Kilotons of TNT by the way.

Uchui: And he can recreate this explosion just...letting out all the power that's inside him! He doesn't even need to MOVE to do that! In that same fight against Nagito, his opponent tossed the top half of a skyscraper at him...And Izuru responded by COMPLETELY OBLITERATING the projectile and grinding it to dust...by simply FLICKING A PEBBLE AT IT. And in reality, we KNOW that Izuru is FAR stronger than this! He FAR surpasses some of the strongest feats of strength in Danganronpa, and right now, the most powerful calculable feat of strength Big Bang Monokuma's head being rocketed up so high, it blasted a hole through the clouds. This was briefly discussed in Komaru's episode, but scaling Hajime to that, it would increase his attack potency from 15 Kilotons to AT LEAST 173 Kilotons of TNT.

Hifumi: But by far his most potent feat is his latest and greatest. In the middle of a standoff with Matta Gyalusetsu, Izuru Kamukura, for the first time in his life, got MAD, and with it, kind of serious. And he pounded the ground so hard with his foot, that it sent a TREMOR ACROSS ALL OF JAPAN.

Uchui: With our current scaling, that bumps Izuru's raw strength aaaallll the way up! To absolutely IMPOSSIBLE levels at that!

Leona: Now I know what you're thinking. Something like that shouldn't be possible, right? And you're right! Anyway, aside from that, he also defeated a fleet of approximately 41 ships from the Future Foundation seemingly single-handedly, and then later in the same day took down 5 elite Future Foundation personnel single-handedly, apparently by himself and without sustaining any damage.

Hifumi: He is far superior to people like Sakura Ogami, Nekomaru Nidai, and Mukuro Ikusaba—whose destructive potential we have already spoken about at length—as the Ultimate Hope. Furthermore, Kamukura gave incredibly sloppy performances with little to no purpose for each of his shows of power. However, Mr. Hinata DOES possess that drive, so just think of the incredible feats of strength HE could accomplish with that ability!

Uchui: Hajime would have the ability to defeat armies and bring about the end of the world on his own if he didn't restrict himself to make sure he doesn't unintentionally cause wanton destruction or overwhelm his peers with his sheer power and talent.

Leona: But strength isn't everything. Let's talk speed!

Uchui: As we previously discussed, Hajime is significantly faster than Mukuro and was able to overwhelm her in their first meeting. In addition, he has avoided blasts from the FF Hacking Gun in the past and has managed to avoid a bullet that he was only just able to see coming, demonstrating that he is at least faster than light.

Hifumi: We can't exactly lock down an exact unit of Mr. Hinata's speed, but we know that it at least has to be above relativistic. Scaling him with his allies and creatures of his own caliber like the Monokuma's, we know he at least has to be Mach 23. However, we know that this is even higher, because Izuru has, on multiple occasions, moved so fast that it appears time is not moving around him, like he did when he shot Komaeda after their first meeting. This results in a speed that is just straight up incalculable, so we can only make estimations.

Leona: And, just for good measure, he possesses literally every talent known to man; and there are many talents that necessitate peak human reflexes and reaction time, as well as other brain-to-body reactions and coordination.

Uchui: Defense and durability is even harder to calculate, but he's been thrown through buildings and tossed around like a ragdoll with barely any scratches or signs of fatigue. But the BIG calculation that we can scale him to is the time that Akira Tsuchiya dropped an FF satellite on Jabberwock Island and completely DESTROYED it. Of which, Hajime was basically at the epicenter of.

Leona: Holy shit, WHAT!?

Hifumi: We don't know for sure just how big or how wide Jabberwock Island is, but assuming we take a look at the zoomed out map and scale 1 pixel to about...1 mile. That would make Jabberwock Island's full scale 828 miles wide and 408 miles tall, giving it a total area of 337,824 miles squared. And if we assume that the satellite is roughly medium sized, as it is depicted in the image of the chapter, that would put it's mass at about 2500kg maximum. Quantifiably, that would make the Jabberwock Island explosion tantamount to...21 Kilotons of TNT!

Leona: Holy...Fucking...Shit...

Uchui: This is all VERY subjective though. Without knowing the actual size of Jabberwock Island, force of the explosion, or what Hajime actually did to shield himself from the blast, since like I said, he can move faster than time permits, which would give him plenty of time to get to safety, we can't definitely say that this is his ACTUAL defensive ability. Hajime usually resorts to dodging attacks instead of tanking them, and even in situations where his speed and defensive talents don't work out, he can always fall back on his luck, which again, outlucks even Nagito Komaeda's.

Leona: But it is an INDESPUTABLE FACT that Hajime was ON THE ISLAND when it blew up. Besides, 21 Kilotons scales well with his Little Boy output equivalent. Really makes me wonder how someone this overpowered could ever hope to lose?

Hifumi: Well, it's not like Mr. Hinata doesn't have his limits. Though more motivated than Kamukura, he rarely ever has to push himself when it comes to fights, so when he DOES get caught of guard, he gets caught off-guard BADLY. Like he did against Fujimori and Komaeda when he first found out about their powers.

Leona: I guess in that regard, Hajime's greatest weakness may be his power itself. Not only does he have a shitload of baggage to carry as a result of his powers, but because almost nothing can threaten him, he is frequently vulnerable to being caught off guard and lacks a surefire solution to any opponents who may be stronger than him. But even so, can you BLAME him!? With his superhuman abilities and talents combined with his sheer prediction ability and intellect? How could you NOT get a little cocky like that.

Hifumi: I wouldn't say "cocky" Actually, in spite of how he's factually better than everyone, Mr.  Hinata has a tendency to hold back so that others can take the spotlight over him. In that regard, I don't think there's anyone more humble?

Uchui: That's why he's the Ultimate Hope. There is no title greater for someone like Hajime Hinata.

Leona: You know, sometimes I really do think we're living out a sci-fi drama every day of our lives guys. And it makes me laugh because I think the world of My Hero Academia is pretty normal by comparison.

Uchui: You probably don't realize how much you're exaggerating. The world of My Hero Academia, or Boku No Hero Academia (if you're annoying) is anything from normal, since 80% of humanity have developed supernatural abilities known as "Quirks". 

Hifumi: Formerly known as meta-abilities, Quirks are decided and gained by a person's genetic makeup, giving them superhuman abilities. They aren't just specific to each user either; they fall into several categories as well. Additionally, Quirk users can typically only develop one ability; as a result, they cannot naturally acquire any other powers besides the one they're born with.

Leona: And Heroes are people who have been granted permission to use their special abilities to defend the public against Villains who use their powers for evil, natural disasters, and other threats. Heroes are people who make their profession out of being heroic; the World Heroes Association overseeing all hero activity worldwide. That's right! Being a superhero is literally a way to make a living here!

Uchui: And it's because of the revolution of Quirks and the industry of heroes that places like U.A. High School, and many other schools like it, popped up. 

Hifumi: U.A. is regarded as Japan's best Hero Academy and is the top-ranked high school for heroics. Its teachers are free to conduct their classes in any way they see fit, and it does not follow conventional school procedures. In fact, All Might, the world's greatest pro hero, widely known as the Symbol of Peace, is just one of the many heroes that U.A. is known for having trained and produced.

Uchui: With his dramatic flair and charismatic smile, All Might naturally gained many fans who wanted to grow up to be like him one day: A hero who's presence could bring smiles to even the most tragic situations. One of those fans, arguably his all time biggest...Was Izuku Midoriya, AKA: Deku.

Leona: "Deku", by the way, is a pun on the Japanese word "Dekunobou", which means "good for nothing". A nickname "lovingly" given to him by his "best friend since childhood" Katsuki Bakugou.

Hifumi: And while not very nice, made sense as a nickname. Midoriya was originally born as one of the 20% of the population who did not possess a quirk, in spite of his parents both having one of their own. Because of this, he was initially tormented and bullied throughout much of his younger life.

Uchui: It struck particularly hard because Deku was such a huge fan of All Might and aspired to be just like him. Imagine being told that you are utterly incapable of becoming like your idol by almost everyone, including your own family, because you were born with a certain birth defect. I've been there, and trust me, that shit stings.

Leona: In spite of being a basic bitch, Deku didn't want to give up on his dreams. Even after that bitch Bakugou told him to swan dive off the school building's roof, Deku continued to reflect upon how he had come to his aspirations in the first place...WHOOPS, SLIME VILLAIN ATTACK WATCH OUT!

Uchui: While Deku very nearly lost his life, it all worked out in the end when he was saved from the slime villain by none other than All Might himself. Izuku asked if he could become a hero without having his own quirk when he had the opportunity to speak with him. All Might, however, went on to tell Deku that experts had to risk everything to save the day, so they couldn't honestly state whether or not a hero could exist without a quirk.

Leona: Damn...Even his idol is telling him to give up on his dreams...This kid's life sucks ass!

Hifumi: But the tides can change very quickly, and in this case the winds blew the other direction. Deku was thinking about giving up on his goals while strolling home when he approached the location of a villain attack. His body moved on its own when he realized Bakugou was the victim, possessed by the same villain who had attacked him earlier. Having looked at his old friend's pleading eyes, Deku rushed towards the villain, attempting to save Bakugou despite being Quirkless. Inspired by the boy's action, All Might appeared and stopped the Sludge Villain before he could harm Deku.

Leona: This was where the life of the Quirkless wimp that was Izuku Midoriya did a full 180. As it turns out, All Might's body was slowly decaying as a result of a grievous injury he suffered at the hands of his arch-nemesis, All Might needed someone that he could pass his legacy onto. Someone who could become the new Symbol of Peace after his time was up.

Hifumi: Moreover, All Might desired no ordinary person. There were a lot of people looking for fame and wealth in the hero world. To save someone, All Might desired a person whose body moved on its own. He chose to take on young Midoriya as a pupil after realizing that he possessed those qualities.

Leona: And surprise surprise, his legacy wasn't the only thing he was passing on. He ALSO gifted Deku his QUIRK. Wait, but I thought Quirks were genetic. How did All Might pass his quirk on? What's the story behind that?

Uchui: A long time ago, a villain by the name of All For One, a man with the ability to transfer other people's quirks to himself, forced his younger brother Youichi Shigaraki, who didn't seem to have any quirks at all, to have one; a Quirk that allowed him to accumulate power inside his body and increase his strength. But neither of them realized that Yoichi already possessed a Quirk; one where it's only ability was that it could be transferred to another individual through his DNA. A new, all-powerful Quirk was created when the transference quirk and the power stockpiling quirk united...The almighty One For All.

Hifumi: All Might himself was actually the 8th user of One For All, inheriting the power from his mentor, Nana Shimura. And once All Might transferred his power over, Deku became the 9th. Deku eventually enrolled in his dream school, UA High, and joined Class 1-A, the same as his now rival, Bakugou, thanks to All Might's support and extensive training. Along the way, he made some friends and partners for life, including Ochako Uraraka, Tsuyu Asui, and Tenya Iida.

Uchui: It feels good to see Izuku get this opportunity to fulfill his dream of becoming a hero after he was denied it for a full 14 years. It really makes you want to support him, doesn't it?

Leona: Yeah, for real! And when time came to establish his own mark as a hero, he turned the name Deku, a title that had only ever been used to make fun of him, into his own Hero name. Turns out "Deku" can ALSO be an abbreviation for "Dekiru", someone who can do anything. Ironic, right?

Hifumi: It's not all sunshine and rainbows of course. You have to be prepared to face off against a wide range of thugs and villains in order to be a hero. Some of these bad guys are capable of shattering buildings like they're made of twigs! Thankfully, it appears that Deku has far more potential with One For All than even All Might initially realized.

Uchui: All For One is unquestionably one of the most powerful quirks in the world of MHA, which is what allowed All Might to gain the prestige that he has. Deku was given the ability to control a vast reservoir of potent energy when he inherited it, and can stockpile that energy to gain  momentary superhuman strength at destructive levels, increased agility, increased hearing, and superhuman speed. In fact, when he first used this quirk, he was able to move faster than the human eye and defeat a massive villain bot with a single blow. However, One For All has a VERY notable drawback with it's use.

Leona: It FUCKING HURTS!

Hifumi: "Hurts" doesn't even BEGIN to describe it. A new user's body is not as naturally adapted to One For All's transfer as it would be if they had a Quirk from birth. For instance, it would be ineffective if a fire-breathing person burned their mouth while using their power. 

Leona: In addition, One For All is a lot to handle. If your body can't take the power, then you might as well kiss it goodbye! It's because of this, the successor must undergo intense and rigorous physical training to hone their body to make room for the quirk, which is why Deku had to buff himself up and go from lad to chad, just so he could contain it.

Uchui: Even then, it takes time for the new user to get used to One For All and figure out how to use it properly. It took Izuku ten months to prepare for the entrance exam of U.A. High, and, despite training his body to be a suitable vessel for the quirk, going anywhere above 20% of his max power can cause the recoil of his punch to shatter all the bones in his arm. The physical backlash at the time prevented Izuku from being able to fight properly or compete with his peers on an even playing field, and it even caused irreparable damage to his arms and hands. Of course, as things stand now, he's gotten leagues stronger and can handle the quirk more, but the weakness is evidently still there, since it happened to All Might at one point too.

Hifumi: The GOOD news is that Izuku happens to be VERY intelligent and observant. 

Leona: Yuh-huh! Deku's greatest asset prior to receiving his quirk was his vast knowledge of fundamental hero skills and tactics. He's been a Pro Hero nerd for years and is able to apply that knowledge during crisis situations in a practical manner. He even has a notebook studying people's quirks! 

Uchui: Thus, even with One For All's severe disadvantages, Izuku's cunning gives him ways to wield his power that are still useful in combat. He also has some basic knowledge of hand-to-hand combat and can still act instinctively based on his notes. Deku can even compete head-to-head with Katsuki Bakugou and Shoto Todoroki, two of Class 1-A's strongest students, by using those skills appropriately.

Leona: And one of the big ways he's learned to counter the weaknesses of his quirk is by using his big brain to develop new fighting styles and upgrades to his equipment. For example...Full Cowl!

Hifumi: Midoriya gained better control over his Quirk and was able to unlock this stage of his power thanks to his training with Gran Torino, one of All Might's old mentors. By allowing the power to flow through him rather than concentrate in one place, Midoriya is able to use a portion of the full power of One For All throughout his body.

Uchui: He gains incredible strength, speed, mobility, and agility when he uses this technique. Additionally, when he attacks, it keeps his bones from breaking. However, by dispersing the power throughout his body rather than concentrating it in one spot, Izuku spreads the power throughout his body, which lowers the damage of his attacks. This let's him use powerful punches like his signature Detroit Smash, and can even attack with pressurized air with his  Delaware Smash.

Leona: And yes, they're all named after American States. At this point in time, Deku is capable of bringing out about 30% of his maximum potential, 45% if he really wants to push it, without utterly destroying his body. Even then, 30% was combined with Melissa Shield's Full Gauntlet, which negated any disadvantages of using One For All at higher percentages. As a result, it is unknown how this state affects Deku's body under normal circumstances. Deku was able to easily blow away security bots with vast amounts of wind pressure created by the punch with 30%. Of course, if his back is against the wall, he can still access 100% of his power at the risk of breaking whichever body part he attacks with. 

Hifumi: When Midoriya reaches his maximum power, he can perform the 1,000,000% Delaware Detroit Smash, the strongest smash move in his repertoire. This move entails him using all of his energy to activate One For All at 100% before unleashing a full-swing attack on his opponent. Midoriya executes the move by first landing a full-handed Delaware Smash before unleashing a devastating Detroit Smash. In the pivotal moment of his fight with Muscular, he defeated the Villain by punching and propelling his enhanced opponent with enough force to leave an impact crater in solid rock with a single blow.

Leona: Furthermore, he possesses the renowned "United States Of The World Smash!" Izuku's rendition of All Might's "United States of Smash." Izuku starts this Ultimate Move by using Full Cowl at 100% to increase his power levels. Then, he launches a forceful barrage of punches. Subsequently, he maneuvers around his adversary, gaining speed and intensifying his lunge prior to unleashing a devastating kick. Originally, this was used to defeat Flect Turn.

Leona: Wait, we're counting the movies here!?

Uchui: Hell yeah we are! I mean, since we're counting Survivor, it's only fair we introduce Deku at his peak, right? Anyway, though Full Cowl was pretty revolutionary in terms of helping Deku grow with his quirk, it wasn't gonna be enough. Thanks to All Might's advice, Deku realized that he was trying too hard to imitate his hero, and so Full Cowl eventually evolved into a unique fighting style that Deku gained with the help of his friend Iida...Full Cowl SHOOT STYLE!

Leona: Because if punching with his arms was getting to be too much, why not just punch with your legs instead!?

Hifumi: Um...I'm fairly certain that is what we call..."kicking?

Leona: Hmph! I'm just quoting the show...

Uchui: Human leg muscles are inherently stronger than human arm muscles, and the Shoot Style fighting style takes advantage of this by emphasizing kicks. Izuku gains much more power and stability by focusing One for All: Full Cowl's effects on his torso and legs as opposed to his arms. Greatly aided by the distinctive Iron Soles that became a part of his outfit.

Hifumi: Originally designed by Mei Hatsume, Deku's Iron Armor Soles are fastened to his iconic red shoes. The impact strength of his kicks is increased when he kicks something because his soles absorb the impact and re-distribute the kinetic energy. 

Leona: Speaking of gear and best girl, she also invented Deku's Air Force Gloves, another vital tool on his hero costume. Remember how Uchui dropped that little tidbit of Deku being able to fire pressurized air by flicking his fingers? These gloves allow him to focus, build up and aim these pressurized bursts to deal devastating ranged attacks! Still though...

Hifumi: What?

Leona: I bet what a lot of people are thinking now is that in spite of it's sheer power, One For All seems a little bit of a one-trick pony, right? I mean, sure, it's strong, and he can break shit down with it, and launching bursts of air is cool and all, but...

Uchui: Well, prepare to be surprised. Remember how Hifumi said earlier that there's more potential in Deku than even All Might predicted? Well, it all started during a training match with Class 1-B, 1-A's rivals, when Deku's quirk went berserk, and started shooting black tendrils everywhere!

Leona: Black tendrils? What kind of power is that?

Uchui: As a matter of fact, it's a different quirk known as Blackwhip, which was originally possessed by Daigoro Banjo, the fifth user of One For All. With this quirk, the user can shoot dark energy tendrils that help with grappling from a distance and improve mobility. Izuku can use it to create incredibly powerful and long energy tendrils that he can use to tie up opponents and swing around the city, like Spider-Man, or, like Tsuyu, shoot one out of his mouth.

Leona: So he just straight up got ANOTHER quirk!? So he has two now!?

Hifumi: Actually, he has ALL of the previous users Quirks. Because One For All accumulates power, the Quirk Factors of all of its former users combined with its core have grown stronger over time. Even All Might was unaware of this, and Deku became the first person to be able to access the Quirks of earlier users.

Uchui: He has even more options in combat because he can utilize multiple of these integrated quirks at once. In addition to Blackwhip, there's Float, Gearshift, Fa Jin, Danger Sense, and Smokescreen.

Hifumi: Let's dissect these. The seventh user and All Might's late mentor, Nana Shimura, granted him the quirk Float. Due to this quirk, Midoriya is able to take flight and suspend himself in midair.

Uchui: The second user, Kudo's quirk is Gearshift. Izuku can alter the velocity and/or speed of any object he touches, including himself, thanks to this quirk. This enables him to significantly increase the impact force of his own blows and accelerate both his own and his target's velocities. Gearshift is now so strong that Deku only ever uses it as a last resort due to its unusual nature, which has developed over the years from being empowered within One For All.

Leona: Danger Sense is...It's literally Spider-Sense! It originally belonged to the fourth user, Hikage Shinomori, and it basically sends a sharp tingle through his head whenever he's about to be attacked. What, was Spider-Man one of the OFA users? I feel like Horikoshi might just be plucking powers from the web-slinger.

Hifumi: Not that outlandish. Kohei Horikoshi, My Hero's Mangaka, is famously a very big fan of Spider-Man. Deku's character writing is actually primarily based on Peter Parker himself. Even Blackwhip bares similarities to Spider-Man's web swinging.

Uchui: Bruce, the third user, gifts the Quirk Fa Jin. This Quirk enables Deku to accumulate and store kinetic energy through repetitive movement. He can then unleash this stored energy in the form of an explosive burst of speed and power. Combined with his other quirks, this can yield some deadly results.

Hifumi: Lastly, Smokescreen, the sixth user En's Quirk, is quite simple. This Quirk enables Deku to emit a dense cloud of purple smoke from his body. This smoke can cover a large area and impair people's vision.

Leona: And these quirks, once he mastered them at least, gave Deku WAY more combat options, and a new handful of Ultimate moves at his disposal! Like...OVERDURIVUUUU!

Hifumi: We already HAD the JoJo episode!

Uchui: This is obviously not some Hamon ability. Using Overdrive, Deku applies Gearshift and Fa Jin to himself, enhancing his strength and speed to overtake adversaries and launch devastating blows at them. In fact, the force he unleashes is characterized like One For All at 120%.

Leona: Talk about going Plus Ultra!

Uchui: He also possesses moves like Blackchain, which is a combination of Blackwhip and Fa Jin that launches and ensnares opponents far into the air. Additionally, there is Transmission, in which he charges at his opponent and hits them multiple times, increasing Gearshift's speed with each strike.

Leona: With all these powers at his disposal, Deku really had what it took to become Number 1 and carry on his retired mentor's legacy, and with him now on the field fighting villains, the world was a much safer place because of it...Is what I WOULD be saying, but I'm not about to jinx it again. 

Hifumi: The truth is that All Might was not the only person who was passing his legacy onto a protégé. All For One was secretly doing the same thing to Nana Shimura's secret grandchild, Tenko.

Leona: Tenko?

Hifumi: Not THAT Tenko! Taking on the name Tomura Shigaraki, he rose to prominence as the head of the League of Villains, and the Paranormal Liberation Front, with the ultimate objective of emerging as Japan's most formidable villain and obliterating any obstacle in his path.

Uchui: In many ways, Shigaraki's story parodied Deku's own. Both of them relied too much on their teachers at the beginning of their stories and lacked a clear conviction or path to their objectives. However, through One For All and All For One, they both acquired numerous powers and developed into each other's greatest adversaries as heroes and villains respectively.

Leona: But shit really hit the fan when they first unleashed these powers in a war that resulted in a lot of death, and hero society itself to fall apart at the seams. It became clear to Deku that even though All Might had only ever shown him love and encouragement, he was always under an unbearably intense amount of pressure. Especially since Shigaraki could track him and know his every move.

Hifumi: Midoriya became more aloof and cold toward people as a result of the trauma he had endured from the war, witnessing innumerable innocent people have their lives destroyed by the now broken status quo of Hero Society, having All For One and Shigaraki constantly target him because of his Quirk, and having to take on the duty of defending his friends. He grew more and more afraid of the harm he would do to people around him after All For One threatened to break him both mentally and physically, and thanks to his extreme stress and burden, he rushed into battles, leaving All Might, his classmates and the other Heroes behind so no one else would be harmed.

Leona: But...and trust me, I'm saying this from experience...running away from home leaving just a note NEVER goes down well.

Uchui: Izuki had become completely monstrous in his appearance by the time Class 1-A found him, covered in blood and filth from all the non-stop fighting he had put himself through. Thus came probably the hardest challenge he'd faced that entire night.

Hifumi: Even the classically trained bully Bakugou was determined to help his childhood friend, and his classmates weren't about to take no for an answer. They were even willing to use force to bring their friend home, but thankfully, everything turned out okay in the end.

Uchui: Izuku was able to be brought back to reality by Class 1-A, despite his best efforts to flee, and they informed him that although his decisions were sound, he was no longer able to manage things on his own. He knew that his friends would be there for him in times of need, and that the only way to defeat All Might was for everyone to work together to defend their school and the civilian population.

Leona: Friendship is magic baby!

Hifumi: We did My Little Pony already too! Stop making references to past episodes!

Leona: As we often do, let's end this by breaking down a few of Midoriya's feats, starting with strength. Now going by the original DB analysis brought up a rather notable one, so let's get that out of the way first and...why it's kinda bullshit, but also pretty impressive!

Uchui: Izuku's most powerful feat is when he passed the power of One For All to Bakugou in the second movie, and they combined their powers to split an absolutely huge cloud formation above them. We can calculate their dispersion over 63 trillion kilograms of water by sizing the island and comparing it to the clouds above. That is equivalent to the mass of 12,000 Great Pyramids of Giza, meaning that each blow would have needed almost 80 Teratons of TNT. However, we'll cover that in more detail in the post-analysis. It is somewhat complicated.

Leona: The power of One For All allows Deku to take down buildings just with his punches, launch himself hundreds of meters into the air, and tank point-blank explosions. Despite being inferior to both, he managed to send a Full-Power Muscular flying with a single blow and injure the Incomplete Shigaraki's stomach with a kick.

Uchui: And when combined with his other Quirks, these can be even stronger. The combined power of his Detroit Smash Quintuple and Fa Jin results in a release of energy that is at least five times more potent than usual. Deku can increase his power even further by using Gearshift to unleash his Overdrive technique, which was strong enough to punch a hole in Shigaraki's torso, who in his complete form is way stronger than All Might in his prime.

Hifumi: Now let's talk speed. The explosive detonation velocities table indicates that Bakugou can detonate explosives at velocities of Mach 20 or more, a speed that Deku has demonstrated he can at least avoid. On top of that, he reacted to Nine's attacks—another Villain with multiple quirks—and sidestepped a laser with a higher percentage of power. In addition, he has the ability to move and respond to Lady Nagant's bullets, which have a velocity of 5884420.20 m/s.

Uchui: And again, he managed to maintain a pace with Complete Shigaraki, whose velocity is comparable to Prime All Might, who is said to be able to travel more than 200 kilometers in an instant. And with Gear Shift, he quickly and easily defeated Shigaraki before he even realized what had happened.

Leona: Durability's nothing to scoff at either. Even though the recoil of One For All tears his body apart, Deku still keeps on fighting and throwing punches even when his bones are all cracked! And he's capable of taking brutal blows from the likes of Shigaraki and Overhaul at max power, both of whom can easily level a city block on their own.

Hifumi: His extraordinary endurance has only increased as he worked to finish One For All. He has demonstrated levels of stamina comparable to his mentor in his heyday, defeating villains and traveling the entire nation for several weeks, if not a month, without stopping while maintaining Full Cowl activated. These feats occurred following the events of the All-Out War.

Uchui: Even when exhausted to the point of collapse, he was still stronger than all of Class 1-A put together. His extreme pain tolerance has increased even more, to the point where multiple broken bones hardly seem to stop him from fighting. Additionally, he has survived the agony of bullet wounds for roughly a month.

Leona: Deku is an analytical wizard in his own right, since he is well-versed in Quirks and constantly assesses their advantages and disadvantages during combat. But even with all these crazy ass powers and abilities under his belt, Deku's true strength lies in  the teamwork between himself and his friends.

Uchui: And with their assistance, Deku will undoubtedly grow into the ray of hope he always imagined himself to be.

Hifumi: The Symbol of Hope...All For One...and One For All...

Hifumi: Alright, the combatants are set! Let's end this debate once and for all!

Leona & Uchui: IT'S TIME FOR A DEEAAATH BAAATTLLLLLLEEE!

Two lightning-fast individuals are seen flying across the screen and parkouring their way over the horizons of an uninhabited island archipelago in the middle of the ocean.

Hajime Hinata, the leader of the Remnants of Despair and the Ultimate Hope, is one of these individuals. The other is Izuku Midoriya, the head of Class 1-A and the Hero, Deku.

When they come into contact with the rocky, mountainous terrain of the archipelago, both heroes come to a grinding stop. As they take their positions on opposite hilltops, Hajime turns to look at Deku, his expression halfway between excited and stern.

Hajime: Alright. We should be far enough away from any civilization or infrastructure that we could risk damaging.

Deku: Yes! Thank you again for agreeing to let me spar with you! I hope to learn a lot!

Hajime: Don't get your hopes up. Really, I'm just a regular guy in the grand scheme of things...

Deku: I'm not sure I believe that! I think you'll make for a great opponent!

Deku drops into a fighting stance with a smile on his face.

Deku: You'd better not hold back! Because I know I won't!

Hajime: Heh...Whatever you say, kid...

As Hajime adopts a fighting stance of his own, Deku lunges forward to land a blow. Even though the punch is light, Hajime is pleasantly surprised to feel its sheer power as he catches it with his hands.

He acknowledges the strength of his opponent with a smile before snatching his arm, turning, and flinging him into the hills, where he crashes into the top of a crag. After that, he runs after Deku, creating a dust cloud in his wake.

Deku: Heh...!

Deku's Iron Soles grind him to a stop, but his smile stays broad even after he's sent flying. When he recovers, he sees Hajime flying in his direction, trying to hit him with a strong haymaker. Deku counters by activating Full Cowl at 8% and delivering his own haymaker back.

The mountainous terrain around them crumbles as their fists collide. At a breakneck pace, they continue punching without missing their target until the very last moment of their combination, when they land a blow so strong it knocks the other person flying backwards.

Deku: Delaware...SMASH!

Hajime: Think again...!

Deku, charging in to take up arms, launches a cloud of compressed air from a distance. In response to the attack, Hajime appears to catch and deflect the air.

Hajime: Funny...I know someone else who's used similar techniques before...Oh, that's right! ME! 

Hajime gestures with his fingers as though he is brandishing a gun at Deku. He launches his own pressurized air blasts at the rising Hero, surprising Deku, who is only able to avoid with the help of his Danger Sense.

Deku: Woah!? Delaware Smash Air Force!

Taken off guard, but thoroughly impressed, Deku ups the ante. He fires a burst of compressed air at his opponent using his special gloves. The blast has enough concussive force to completely shatter the ground beneath Hajime, even though he can see it coming from a mile away and easily avoids it.

Deku looks up in awe as Hajime perches atop another cliff. He looks back, also impressed.

Deku: Incredible! How about we take it up a notch!?

The Ultimate Hope is about to be struck by the Symbol of Peace, who cocks his fist back, but Hajime effortlessly deflects it with a casual wave of his hand.

The Hero launches another attack, taken aback by how easily his first one was parried. Hajime repays the favor by sending Deku hurtling over a different cliff, where he uses Blackwhip to stop himself.

Hajime: Fine by me...! I was beginning to get bored already!

Deku: You're...surprisingly fickle...AH-!?

Hajime: HYAAGH!

Deku: UUGH!

Without even a moment to think, Deku is met with an uppercut and a barrage of punches from the Ultimate Hope's fist. Hajime quickly brings Deku back down after sending him skyward by grabbing and pulling on his Blackwhip. He swings him around like a throwing hammer, and flings him across the mountain range, landing him on a different island with a forest landscape!

Deku crawls back to his feet, but Hajime moves like a bolt of lightning, and is already standing over him by the time he does.

Hajime: Disappointing...Excuse my rudeness...

Deku; Trust me...I'm just getting started...! FA JIN!

Hajime: Guh!?

Deku activates the third users' quirk and erupts with the kinetic energy stored up from his and Hajime's attacks, powerful enough to blast the Ultimate Hope back. Hajime stumbles through the forest, but Deku is fast to react, landing another blow before an uppercut launches the former Reserve Course student skyward!

Deku: One For All...! Full Cowl...! SHOOT STYLE!

The Hero outcast then leaps toward him and kicks Hajime back to the ground with a Manchester Smash while wearing Iron Soles. Even though the impact blows away several trees and craters the forest, Hajime gets up and gets ready to go again.

*CRUNCH!* 

Hajime: Hold THIS!

Hajime then lifts a big tree out of the ground, leap several feet into the air, and slams its trunk into Deku. With ease, the Symbol of Hope breaks the makeshift weapon and flies in Hajime's direction, grabbing him and sending the two of them plummeting back towards the earth.

Deku: Wyoming SMASH!

Deku uses another one of his trademark attacks, giving his opponent a powerful shockwave by spiking him on the head. Hajime is propelled downward, but he catches himself with a display of acrobatics and lands coolly, smirking and scratching his nose.

Deku: You're amazing...! It's like you're not even trying yet!

Hajime: I gotta admit, this is more than I was expecting...Still, hardly a challenge...

Deku only smirks in response to this taunt.

Deku: Then LET LOOSE! TEXAS SMASH!

*WHA-BOOOOM!*

As Hajime ducks under Deku's attack, the forest behind him is completely destroyed by a blast of wind pressure. Without breaking a sweat, he starts hitting Deku with a barrage of punches and kicks, repeatedly knocking All Might's student into a tree with enough force to uproot it. Then, in the middle of flying, Hajime grabs the tree, stops, and tosses it in Deku's direction. Deku is knocked backward by the tree, but he bounces back quickly.

Deku: Give me EVERYTHING YOU'VE GOT!

Hajime rushes after Deku as he falls back to the ground, and the battle rages throughout the forest. Following a brief exchange of blows, Hajime gains the upper hand and knocks Deku back with a forceful blow. Hajime then tries to follow through, but Deku stops him.

Deku: Go beyond! PLUS ULTRA!

Much like he once did to his rival Bakugou, Deku shoulder-throws Hajime, smacking him into the ground and sending him rolling through the trees. Hajime brushes off the pain, the dirt, and Deku's concerns.

Hajime: Give me something exciting to work with...and maybe I'll consider it...!

He is able to support his claim by leaping ahead and casually punching Deku all the way to the island's coast through the forest. The Hero prodigy's body crackles with energy as he builds even more power, and he floats in the air to avoid colliding with the ocean.

Deku: If you say so...! ONE FOR ALL! FULL COWL 45%

He barely avoids the next blow from Hajime and kicks him into the water, then reels back and uses Texas Smash once more. But the attack and the pressure it releases are FAR more powerful, to the point where it manages to smash into Hajime and split the coast of the ocean.

But shortly after the attack, Hajime leaps out of the water, blasts away the ocean surrounding him, and sprints back towards the island along the water.

They fight across the ocean, exchanging quick blows until they come into contact with yet another island, where they end up locking arms with one another. This island is more barren and flat, made of solid rock and stone with few mountains and cliffs. 

Hajime: Now THIS is more like it...! THINK FAST!

Admittedly having at least a little bit of fun, Hajime picks a pebble up with his foot kicks it into the air, and flicks it with his thumb. Midoriya barely manages to avoid the pebble's railgun-like blast, and he just stares in wonder at its power.

Deku: Fast? I can do that...! GEARSHIFT!

Deku uses Gearshift on himself to quickly outrun the Ultimate Hope and kick him in the stomach. He then uses Transmission to quickly take Hajime down a peg with a series of punches that are made more powerful and swift by Gearshift.

Hajime: Hah! Not bad! That one actually hurt a bit!

Deku: There's more where that came from! St. Louis Smash Air Force!

Hajime: Why do all these attacks...? Eh, whatever...! HRUUGH!

Now that he is farther away, Deku fires a powerful vertical roundhouse kick while arching his leg back and releasing a massive burst of compressed air. But Hajime's own supersonic air punch manages to dissolve it. Deku counterattacks by soaring into the air and parrying a second blow.

Deku: SMMMMMMMAAAAAAAAAAAAAASSSHH!!!

*WHOOOOOOMM!*

He strikes down towards Hajime with a powerful punch, launching multiple enormous flaming fists at him in an overwhelming display of force, similar to the attack that destroyed Overhaul.

Hajime: Hm...Hoo...RRRRRRRRRRRRRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAGGGGGHHHHHH!!!

*BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!!!*

As he sees the massive flaming fist hurtling towards him, Hajime clenches his fists, stiffens his body, and lets out all of his energy at once, accompanied by a supersonic scream! Deku's attack and the pressure from his body collide, causing a catastrophic nuclear explosion that engulfs the island, resulting in it's complete and total destruction!

There is a pause in the fight as the ocean collapses into the area where the island once was. A large burst of water rises up suddenly near the coast of another island, as Hajime leaps out and drops and rolls onto the sandy beach of the fourth island, gasping for air and pounding his chest to steady his breathing. Deku meanwhile, swings down with Blackwhip and lands on the sand, awkwardly chuckling.

Deku: Well...it's a good thing we decided to take the fight out here, right?

Hajime: Yeah...out here...Wait...Hang on a second...How did we even get out here without a boat?

Struggling to recall the circumstances, Hajime looks back towards the slowly filling crater. But then, he spots something...What appears to be a crack in reality with lines of code fraying off of it like strings.

Hajime: Oh...that's right...Now I remember...

He stands up with a smirk and dusts himself off.

Hajime: Hey, Deku? You wanted to see me go all out, right?

Deku: No! I want you to go BEYOND that! Surpass your limits! Plus Ultra!

Hajime laughs as Deku confidently thrusts a fist towards him. He then ducks down and clenches his own.

Hajime: Well, I can promise I'll try...! Let me show you how powerful I can be!

Red bio-electricity starts to radiate Hajime's body, and his red eye starts to glow, matching Deku's own green electric aura. 

Deku beams with anticipation but is instantly struck in the face with a blow so forceful that it tears apart reality once more. And then another, and another, and another, as Hajime, fighting with at least half his strength now to match Deku's, begins to destroy him with every move he can think of, slowly but surely shattering the digital world around them.

After dealing Deku a powerful blow, Hajime appears to teleport there as he moves so quickly. Deku is sent flying. He tries to strike back, but Hajime appears to pause his blow before launching another terrible strike that shatters the world even more.

Deku charges forward, his costume beginning to come apart from the constant attacks. He creates a Blackchain with Blackwhip, which Hajime collides with and is thrown back by. Then, in order to get some hits and knock Hajime into a canyon, he uses Gearshift and Fa Jin. Hajime retaliates, exchanging blows with Deku until the latter throws him into the air.

Hajime counterattacks, sending Midoriya back down to Earth with a devastating axe handle as Deku flies upwards to continue his attack. As Hajime dive bombs to pursue Deku after he lands in the canyon, he crashes into the earth, pushing pebbles out of the ground due to the pressure and aura surrounding him.

Deku then uses Air Force before smashing Hajime once more before the two engage in a fierce fight that ends in an explosion, further widening the fissure. Then they begin to trade blows, with Hajime coming out on top. He unleashes a lethal combo on him that includes some extremely powerful punches to his face that cause the surrounding area to collapse. Hajime then grabs Deku, leaps out of the canyon as everything comes crashing down, and tosses him into a rock formation. Deku is exhausted and drops out of One For All 45% as he faceplants into the ground.

Even under his mid-gauntlets, Deku's bones seem to be slightly fractured from the constant fighting. Hajime decides to talk to him now as he stands up gasping.

Hajime: Well? Is that "Plus Ultra" enough for you?

Deku: Amazing...! You're AMAZING! This has gotta be the most incredible superpower I've ever seen!

Hajime: O-Oh...um...thank...thank you...

Hajime becomes bashful in the wake of Deku's earnest enthusiasm and compliments, as the young Hero himself pulls a notebook and pen out of his tattered costume.

Deku: U-Um...I-If you don't mind, could you explain to me how your Quirk works? I'd like to take notes so I can apply your techniques in my future battles!

Hajime: Huh? Y-You're sure? Well...alright then.

The camera pans out and the fight awkwardly pauses as Hajime quickly explains the logistics of his Talent to Deku, and how Talents and Quirks are slightly different. Deku excitedly scribbles down notes next to a hastily drawn diagram of Hajime. By the time he's finished, he exhales an ecstatic breath, smiling like an innocent child.

Deku: Wow...! It's so...incredible...!

Hajime: Thank you...Still, I really hope it doesn't deter you from trying to reach the top or anything...

Deku: Haha...Of course not...

With a solemn smile, Deku pockets his notebook, straightens his posture, and furrows his brow at Hajime.

Deku: After all...I know just what I need to do to defeat you now...!

Hajime: Oh...?

Deku: One For All...ONE HUNDRED PERCENT!

Hajime: Guh!?

Deciding to risk it all out of nothing but respect for his opponent, Deku pushes past his limits, uses his Quirk at 100% of it's full power, and the sheer force of his presence blasts Hajime back!

Now emitting a green aura and crackling with lightning, Hajime can barely stand to look at Deku when suddenly, Deku stamps on the ground so hard, the ground beneath his feet erupts, throwing him up into the air!

*WHOOSH!* *BANG!*

Hajime: Gugh! GRAGH!

Deku: HUUUUAAAGH!

*WHAM!* *WHAM!* *WHAM!* *WHAM!**WHAM!* *WHAM!*

Deku: I want you to SMILE! 

Hajime: GRRGH!

Deku unleashes a multitude of punches that slowly but surely cause his own bones to break apart, and yet despite that, he doesn't even slightly relent! He gives everything he has into battling Hajime, beating him at 100%, and even adding the effects of Gearshift and Fa Jin on top of it, increasing his power even further beyond!

And yet, despite facing the brunt of the biggest thrashing he's faced in his life...Hajime grins ear to ear...

Hajime (internally): When was the last time...I felt this much pain?

Deku: UNITED STATES...!

Hajime (internally): My muscles are killing me...That punch hurt like hell...If I get hit with something stronger than that, it might kill me...! So why...?

Deku: OF THE WORLD...!

Hajime (internally): Why am I...so HAPPY right now...!?

Deku: SMAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAASSHHHHH!

Hajime breaks out of his bliss when Deku unleashes one of his best Ultimate Moves, with enough force that not one, but TWO of the archipelago islands are completely and utterly destroyed by it! Hajime however, withstands it, even though he suffers several broken ribs and torn muscles. Deku for his part is also gradually falling apart, but regardless...neither smiles are broken.

Hajime: LET'S GOOOOO!

Deku: YEAH!

Hajime also decides to put his full weight into the fight; his body glowing a white aura. To Hajime's delight, Deku manages to stay ahead of him despite him reaching his maximum and evade his blows, unleashing even more powerful counterattacks.

Hajime's aura only intensifies as he and 100% Deku trade blows all over the archipelago at blinding speeds, gradually tearing apart what's left of the islands. His clothes are torn, and he is now taking the fight more seriously.

Hajime finally hits Deku hard with a punch that hurts him a lot, but it doesn't upset him. Deku catches Hajime's fist and punches him to the side as he tries to follow up. To the point where their latent energies are released and begin to rip the world apart at the seams, Deku and Hajime throw as many attacks at each other as they can, repeatedly countering, blocking, and dodging each other's blows.

Hajime: Wait...that's right...! This is the digital world...! Then...Haha...I wonder how far I can take this...!?

Deku is surprised as Hajime suddenly leaps high up into the sky, silhouetted by the virtual sun. The Ultimate Hope looks beyond the endless horizon, and then up at the sky above him. The silhouette of his best friend, Chiaki Nanami, wearing her Hope's Peak uniform hovers in the air above him. She reaches out her hand, and Hajime takes it...

From Deku's perspective, Hajime's the scene is honestly, somewhat haunting. It appears as though Hajime's presence alone has the power to destroy the world as his body glows and his hair stands on end, causing the waves surrounding him to become restless and red lightning to strike everywhere. Eventually, his body flashes white, his hair turns whitish-gold, and both of his eyes turn a piercing red as he screams with will and power. But, Deku only notices Hajime's mouth when he looks down from above, ignoring every other feature on his face.

Hajime: YOU WANTED MY BEST?!?! HERE IT IS!!! 

Deku: Now THAT'S a smile...! ONE FOR ALL!!

Hajime: I'll never let myself be bored again...!

Deku: ONE MILLION PERCENT!

Hajime: I'll never let anyone CHOOSE AGAIN...!

Deku: DELAWARE...! 

Hajime: I am NOT Izuru Kamukura!

Deku: DETROIT!

Hajime: I AM HAJIME HINNAAATAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!

Deku: SMAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAASSSHHH!!!

Deku soars through the sky while Hajime soars back down! He unleashes the strongest SMASH he has while Hajime uses all of his strength-related abilities to deliver his devastating blow!

Both characters understand that they must go above and beyond PLUS ULTRA if they hope to succeed! So they both give it their all one last time, screaming as their fists finally make contact!

The impact alone proves to be so powerful that what remains of the archipelago is straight up DELETED! Despite Deku increasing the power of his attacks even further with his other quirks, Hajime is still able to endure it as he pushes forward! Neither of them want to let up, not necessarily out of a drive to win, but a desire to show their opponent the respect they well and truly deserve!

Their two unstoppable powerhouses collide in a way that destroys the digital world entirely, shrouding everything in darkness until reality cracks open and emits a brilliant white light...And at that point, the godly clash finally ends, and the game shuts down entirely...

...When Deku's arm finally gives way...

------------------------------------------------------------------

Deku: AGH!?

Deku suddenly lurches awake, looking around in a panic as he realizes he's not on the archipelago anymore. He sits in a round-shaped pod and looks down at his arms to see that they're still intact. He then looks above him to see the pod he's sitting in connected to a large computer in the center, with a bluescreen on the monitor.

Hajime: Heh...Chihiro's gonna kill me...

Deku looks up to see Hajime, now back to normal, leaning on his pod. They both look up towards the computer.

Hajime: It's called the Neo World Program. Future Foundation modified it so that we could use our full strength without the risk of causing any lasting damage or hurting anyone. 

Deku: Hahaha...You weren't kidding about being careful. I almost forgot I even got in this pod...Still, I guess this means I lost, huh?

Hajime: Well...

Hajime crosses his legs and sits comfortably.

Hajime: If you want me to be honest...You are the most powerful person I've ever had the pleasure of fighting...And that was the most fun I've had ever since I got these powers. Even if I'm "perfect," you're smart, strong...kind...and you're not done growing yet...

Deku: Meaning, what?

Hajime: I'm saying...I can't wait for the rematch...!

Hajime raises his hand for a fist bump...

Deku: Haha! Me neither!

...And Deku returns it...

Leona: And THERE WE HAVE IT! We have PEAKED PEOPLE!

Uchui: I have to agree! That was nothing if not glorious! Though I guess we're gonna have to use the backup simulator for the final battle...This one got totalled...

Hifumi: Given the vast array of skills and abilities that these two fighters have, there are a lot of ways that this fight could turn out. Factors such as the environment, circumstances, timing, and continuity have the potential to significantly alter the outcome of this battle. So let's analyze each category to take into account when it comes to Death Battles and determine our winner. Strength is the first and most evident.

Uchui: There is a fair bit to consider when scaling their individual powers here. First of all, while Deku at his maximum power, and Hajime/Izuru at theirs has done similar things, like the time Deku disintegrated a gigantic block of solid matter or destroyed an entire building with one of his strongest smashes, while Izuru disintegrated a skyscraper that Nagito Komaeda threw at him by using a pebble as a bullet. 

Leona: Let's start with Deku, whose most notable feat is actually the one that was calculated in his canonical Death Battle episode; parting the clouds with Bakugou. At the time, Death Battle calculated this feat would require a force of 80 Teratons of TNT. And we're willing to stick by them on that one. In contrast, Izuru struck the ground during his brief, but powerful clash with Matta Gyalusetsu so hard, it caused earthquakes across all of Japan! So how big a gap is that?

Hifumi: Calculating it from Deku's canon Death Battle episode, Deku VS Asta, Death Battle calculated that Asta could dish out a power equal to about 480 Teratons of TNT, because he scaled to an attack that could wipe out the Clover Kingdom, which is about half the size of Great Britain. Japan is approximately 1.6 times bigger than the entire united kingdom, so doubling up and scaling that calculated result from Death Battle's analysis, it puts Izuru on the level of 1536 Teratons, or 1.54 Petatons of TNT!

Leona: That's 15 Zeroes by the way! Basically, that would mean Izuru is about 19 times stronger than Deku, so he undoubtedly takes the win in terms of strength!

Uchui: Well...not EXACTLY...Unfortunately, it's near impossible to lock down just how powerful Hajime is as his maximum potential, since he rarely ever uses his full strength in a fight. Unlike Deku, who can be scaled to other One For All users like All Might, as well as his classmates like Bakugou, Hajime is above and beyond every powerful feat in Danganronpa, and can't even be properly scaled to the other two Ultimate Hope's. Plus, at the time of that cloud-splitting feat, Deku didn't have Fa Jin or Gearshift, so who knows how much power he would have on his own if he had applied those at the time?

Hifumi: Izuru confirmed that during his fight with Komaeda that Hajime was massively holding back the entire time they were fighting, and even Izuru seemed to merely be toying with him at first. While an exact unit hasn't been given, the fact that he was able to throw Komaeda around like a ragdoll and completely undermine him in spite of how he was able to defeat every other member of the Remnant's of Despair means it's far greater than that, and he must have been using NOTHING on Fujimori!

Uchui: Makes sense. They were fighting on a cruise liner filled with hostages and Hajime didn't want to hurt Ayumu either. So of course he was holding back. But even without a total number, Deku achieved that cloud feat with 100% of his power, AND coupled with Bakugou who was using the same thing. Using quirks like Gearshift and Fa Jin means Deku has likely gotten even stronger since then, being able to bring out 120% of his Quirk's full capability, and he's not done growing yet.

Leona: Even if Izuru is multiple times stronger, it probably won't be long before Deku finds a way to properly catch up with him. Our safest bet for this analysis is to say that they tie in strength.

Hifumi: In that case, we move onto speed. This stat on the other hand, is fairly clear cut. Deku would have a reaction time close to lightspeed if he could scale to Shigaraki. In addition, he has reacted to Lady Nagant's bullets caught them, and avoided lasers and if he applies Gearshift, he can accelerate even further.

Uchui: In contrast, Hajime is casually able to move so fast that it feels like the flow of time itself has stopped. And it's not that ridiculous in context. Characters like Mukuro Ikusaba and Sakura Ogami have done the same thing, even without Ultimate Hope powers; and Hajime is leagues beyond both of them.

Leona: For sure! Even without the whole time-stoppy BS, Izuru would just be leagues faster. Deku is able to respond to Bakugou's explosions of Nitroglycerin, but that Mach 20 is far less than Sakura Ogami's feat, which places her at Mach 26,475, which is easily Sub-Relativistic! In fact, it even beats the powerhouses like All For One and All Might! Izuru CLEANS in speed, and even with Deku's keen battle instincts and reactions, it's unlikely even Danger Sense would be enough to save him!

Uchui: Deku and Hajime do have very similar styles of fighting though, so they should both realistically know how to react to each other's attacks and abilities. The next thing to go over is durability. 

Hifumi: Both Hinata and Midoriya have taken the full brunt of some DEVASTATING attacks, especially Hinata's feat of surviving the nuclear explosion of Jabberwock Island. Deku surviving attacks from terrifying villains like Shigaraki, Overhaul and more also implies unbreakable defenses, and yet despite all of that, we still have to give this point to Mr. Hinata.

Leona: The reason being that while Deku has trained to suit himself for it, as things stand now, he can't even bare the brunt of his OWN ATTACKS! Every time he attacks with 100% of his max power, he ends up breaking his bones, almost to the point of destroying the use of his arms and legs entirely.

Uchui: Hajime on the other hand shares absolutely no such weakness. He's more than capable of unleashing the full capability of his talents with no serious drawbacks. In fact, his only weakness is his mentality, something that Hope's Peak knew would get in the way, thus removed upon Izuru's creation. All in all, Deku's most glaring weakness is the only thing that makes him lose this particular comparison, but removing it, they're actually dead even, just like strength.

Leona: The same cannot be said in terms of stamina, where Hajime just completely outclasses him. After the events of the All-Out War, Deku demonstrated that he is capable of taking down villains and touring the country for a few weeks, if not a month, without taking a break while keeping Full Cowl activated at all times. Despite being completely exhausted, he was able to repel Class 1-A's combined efforts, and while his broken bones are undeniably a weakness, they rarely ever significantly impair his fighting prowess.

Hifumi: On the other hand, with all of his athletic prowess, Mr. Hinata ought to be even more resilient than Genocide Jack, who, in contrast to her other half, never seems to tire and can take on a great deal of Monokumas with ease. In fact, even without his powers, Nekomaru Nidai mentioned that he had the makings of an athlete, despite his seemingly slender appearance. He is surprisingly muscular when he isn't wearing a shirt, and he's able to run a great distance around Jabberwock Island without seeming to get tired.

Leona: Now let's talk intelligence! This one's also pretty straightforward.

Uchui: Deku is unquestionably a GENIUS when it comes to both academics and combat. On top of studying famous heroes quirks and analyzing the strengths and weaknesses of people's powers his whole life, in his few months at U.A. High, he has fought several different villains, which has given him invaluable experience. His prognostication abilities are so advanced that, even in the dark and during torrential rain, he could discern Lady Nagant's movement patterns and pinpoint her location based only on the trajectory of her bullets. And despite only having used Fa Jin for a few minutes, he quickly became proficient with it in combat. He has also demonstrated the capacity to carry out several mental tasks concurrently, or multitasking, an ability that is thought to be beyond human capability.

Hifumi: But as impressive as all that is, it's NOTHING compared to Hajime Hinata. Mr. Hinata was a successful student in his own right even though he was enrolled in the Reserve Course. He demonstrated his skill as an amateur sleuth during the Neo World Program Killing Game by leading the charge to solve every murder case, even the ones that involved devious tactics and scant evidence, just as Makoto Naegi had done before him.

Leona: And that's not even mentioning the fatass Elephant in the Room that is the talent of Ultimate Analytical Prowess.

Uchui: Junko Enoshima's Ultimate Analytical Prowess talent bestowed upon her monstrous analytical abilities, rendering it remarkably effortless for her to forecast events and expeditiously acquire the proficiencies of other talent holders. For example, she was able to produce brainwashing videos by merely observing Ryota Mitarai at work, learned how to perform neurosurgery to lobotomize and/or erase others' memories by perusing Yasuke Matsuda's research, and acquire programming knowledge by looking at Chihiro Fujisaki's programs. And Hajime, having this talent, is just as capable of doing all that, if not moreso.

Leona: Deku may have more on-field combat experience, but with Ultimate Hope that just automatically gives you the power to do everything, who really needs all that crap? Hajime's uncanny ability to analyze even allows him to easily see through most of Deku's attacks, as well as easily identifying his weaknesses like his bone-breaking punches.

Hifumi: Which ultimately leads us with one more, glaringly obvious category to go into...Powers!

Leona: One For All, Gearshift, Fa Jin, Danger Sense, Float, Blackwhip, Smokescreen, all those United States of Smash attacks, Full Cowl, Shoot Style, Air Force...Deku's got so many awesome and powerful attacks, techniques, powers, gear and moves under his belt, it's honestly amazing to think he doesn't win with any of them!

Uchui: It doesn't matter. Deku may have a handful of superhuman attacks and feats, but he's facing an opponent who is essentially unstoppable and can do EVERYTHING! And not just on a human level! Something FAR ABOVE even that! Hajime was endowed with every human talent by the experiment that transformed him into Izuru Kamakura. Imagine battling an opponent who possesses almost any skill. Do you believe you could succeed?

Hifumi: That's not even taking into account the more ridiculous powers like Ultimate Luck, which is shown to make him virtually untouchable. Mr. Hinata has extraordinary luck, which allows him to quickly influence most situations to his advantage, particularly those involving conflict. For example, the gun was perfectly working moments before Komaeda tried to shoot Kamukura, but it jammed.

Uchui: Nagito and Hajime engaged in another battle in which the former used a ball to knock out all of the nuts and bolts that held up the building, bringing it to an entirely new level. However, Izuru was unharmed by pure luck. Additionally, he should have better luck than Makoto, who even people like Junko Enoshima find unpredictable due to his special luck pattern that enables him to survive near-death experiences.

Leona: And if JUNKO couldn't figure out how to work around Izuru's luck, then DEKU certainly couldn't!

Uchui: And again, Deku can't unleash his most powerful attacks without severely hurting himself in the process. And that concludes our discussion! Hajime gains the upper hand in power because he has an excessive number of counters and hacks, and in the end, he prevails!

Leona: Well, I think there's something else...If you really think about it, both Hajime and Deku's powers involve them using percentages of their full power. But the difference is that Deku multiplies his strength to get stronger, while Hajime DIVIDES his to get weaker, especially since there aren't many people in the world of Danganronpa who can actually touch him. At the end of the day, this fight isn't about who would win, but about finding someone who can bring out the best in each other, even if it's through bloody battling. And I think Deku had everything he needed to bring that excitement and joy back to Hajime's life. Saving him with a smile and bringing one back to his face.

Hifumi: In that regard...I suppose Midoriya DOES win.

Uchui: Well, if that's not the pinnacle of Death Battle, I don't know what is...

Uchui casually fist-bumps Leona.

Hifumi: Izuku Midoriya proved to be a worthy heir to the title of Symbol of Hope, as his cunning strategy and unwavering determination gave his opponent the fight of his life. However, Hajime Hinata's unmatched strength, immense abilities, and boundless potential proved to be too much for All Might's student to overcome.

Leona: Deku gave it his All, but he simply couldn't Hope to compete with Hajime, the pinnacle of humanity!

THE WINNER IS HAJIME HINATA!

#danganronpa survivor #danganronpa #hajime hinata #izuru kamukura #death battle #warriors of other worlds arc #Youtube

[iridescentsky29]

I’ve started watching the danganronpa despair arc and it’s made me realise more about how tragic Hajimes experience in hopes peak is.

He struggled with being able to accept the fact that he didn’t have anything considered a talent, and clearly hated the idea of being called a reserve student. In the first episode you meet Hajime in the anime you hear phrases from other people which sound as if they’re mocking Hajime for not having a talent. From this it may be implied that hajime has experienced bullying in his past, which then may explain why hajime moved from his previous high school to hopes peak (this is just a theory though). Hajime essentially sees himself as worthless which is really tragic and he clearly believes that the only way he’ll be happy is if he becomes an ultimate, which he doesn’t believe will ever happen to him.

We then move to offer that hopes peak gave hajime. Hajime was chosen by the hopes peak executives to go through the Kamakura project, where he would go through operations and tests to essentially make him talented at everything by enhancing his abilities, which would essentially allow him to become a main course student, an ultimate. At first he wasn’t too sure, he even had one of the teachers try to persuade him that it was a good thing and that it was in his best interests. The idea that he was having teachers try to convince him that it was a good thing feels very manipulative to me. They obviously knew that he hated the fact he was a reserve course student and they used that to his advantage. Hajime still doesn’t make a decision however later events cause him to decide.

When fuyuhikos sister then joins hajimes class she tells him she’s determined to join e main course just like fuyuhiko. She clearly feels worthless being in the reserve course and hajime clearly relates very heavily. This again shows that hajime is definitely struggling with accepting himself, and to have someone else be in a similar situation to him definitely seems to have an effect on him too.

When she then dies this then seems to make hajime even more determined to get into the main course. This is enhanced when another girl then mysteriously dies too just days afterwards, making hajime really concerned and wanting to know the truth behind their deaths. And because of this he takes up the offer of the kamakura project, not knowing it would completely change his life. All hajime was told was that his abilities would be enhanced though surgery, however what he wasn’t told was that he would have his memory completely wiped and would be given an entirely different personality, resulting in him not knowing anything about his past point, including anything about being a reserve student. Hajime was made into a completely different person, named izuru kamakura after the founder of the school, before being forced to go through multiple torturous experiments. This has to be one of the most tragic backstory’s I’ve ever seen, he wasn’t able to accept himself for who he was and was potentially bullied, he witnessed two girls die tragically which was then covered up by the school, was manipulated by his school which he really looked up to before being experimented on and being turned into a completely different person. This would then move on to him being a part of the biggest most awful most tragic event in human history, and I think that if hopes peak hadn’t of been so corrupt hajime wouldn’t have experienced this

#hajime hinata #hajime hinata spoilers #danganronpa spoilers #danganronpa #danganronpa 2 spoilers #danganronpa 2 #yes I just had massive rain rot over this #I had to rant about it somewhere ok😅 #spoiler demon but purple

[class1akids]

ive always been confused about something though. as absolutely horrible katsuki's behaviour was in chapter 1, is the core of his words ever really disproved by the series?

his delivery is atrocious and vile but like he's not wrong. a strong quirk will give you a huge advantage (and of course it depends on the person, someone like kaminari has a very strong quirk but didn't start out dedicated in improving it so he was wasting his potential, while someone like mirio has a very high risk high reward quirk that he made op solely due to to his perseverance. quirks can be used in creative ways. but they do need to have some sort of potential. look at ojiro, whose quirk is basically just an extra limb. it's cool and all, but when people around him can move faster than cars and float people to space and cause the earth to shatter from their heartbeat, it's pretty clear it won't let him keep up all that well) going on potential alone. it's not like katsuki relied solely on talent either, considering he studies hard enough to be a top three student in the best high school in japan and had at least some prior experience with fighting, + very fine control of his quirk. katsuki's mentality of talent + hard work = victory, is by itself, a very grounded and realistic worldview. in katsuki's eyes, izuku not only lacked a talent (re:quirk) but he wasn't working hard either. he was basically living in delusion. he wasn't even doing any type of physical training at all, despite knowing UA had a practical exam (he wasn't even giving himself a chance to pass that one).

(this strikes me as strange because you'd think someone logical like izuku would realise that he needed to train his body alongside his mind if he wanted a chance. maybe it circles back to the fact that izuku didn't just care about saving people, he cared about saving people in one very specific all might like way, and if he wasn't gonna have that very specific way, there was no use in doing anything at all. and that circles back to one of the biggest flaws of hero society i.e. that you can only be a hero in one very specific all might like way and anything lesser is worthless)

Self-sacrifice is a part of being a hero, but self sacrifice without power to back it up is just recklessness. And while Izuku's other middle school classmates are laughing at him, Katsuki takes him and only him very seriously and actively discourages him (in the worst way possible damnit katsuki i want to beat your ass so bad) from doing something he sees as reckless and delusional.

what i'm trying to say here is that, while izuku's powerlessness and delusion never ever made getting bullied his fault nor made him deserving of any of it, the fact that he was powerless and delusional is just that, a fact. it's the truth.

and then he didn't just get a simple flashy quirk, he got the flashiest of flashy quirks. so what's the message we are sending here with that particular, that you can live your dreams only if you get lucky enough and through a chain of coincidences the fairy comes to bestow upon you the exact magical talent you needed? that the world is unfair but if you become one of the blessed ones you can make it?

izuku's underdog status was converted to chosen one very early on in the series, but i do have trouble understanding what the overall lesson of his arc and the show is supposed to be, aside from power is what you make it.

I sympathize with a lot of the sentiments you expressed, and I also do feel like the messages in Deku’s arc are pretty confusing. 

I think overall the story seems to have this idea that ideals without power to back it up are not much, but power without ideals can spin out of control.

But at the same time, it also seems to suggest that an everyday person could have been a hero to someone like Tenko by simply reaching out with kindness, and that was the type of heroism that quirkless Izuku represented (but nobody, including himself didn’t hold in high enough regard, except All Might). 

The unfairness idea I think mimics the world. Deku being born powerless compared to Bakugou was unfair. Deku getting a power the frogleaps over everyone and makes people like Ojirou seem completely useless in comparison also seems unfair. But at the end of the day, the unfairness derives from the system that measures heroes my case resolution rate, and thus devalues heroes who “only” manage to save one person vs thousands, which comes down to measuring human life as a commodity. I think the point in Eri’s and Tenko’s arcs is to show that each life in its own way is an immeasurable potential. 

I think as long as the story concludes in a way that shows that the powerless, the students with weaker quirks, pedestrian heroes all have their valuable place, can all make an impact, it can still be satisfying. 

But what feels disingenuous to me at this point is for the narrative to still use Deku as the ultimate representative of the “powerless”. Because he’s not. We left that stage behind in Chapter 2 and his journey feels more like a “be careful what you wish for” and how a rosy dream can turn into a very dark burden. 

There have been many things I disliked about Deku’s arc lately - the multiple quirks, this last pivot to “he’s been the only possible choice ever because quirkless is the ultimate superpower”, etc. - because I feel like how the narrative tries to keep elevate him into some kind of ultimate savior messiah - which reinforces the first message about heroes being made from the meeting of ideals and power - while neglecting the second message about the importance and impact of everyday heroes. 

#c1a asks #bnha manga spoilers

[honhonluigi]

I was wondering, do you think Nagito sees himself as below talentless people? Or at least on the same level? I see lots of people characterize that he hates them and/or would treat them badly, but I just don't agree. I've been trying to study his character deeply and imo you're the person who writes him the best that I've seen so I wanted your opinion. Sorry if this is out of the blue or if you don't want to answer I understand.

I’m the person you think writes him the best? Thank you! That’s incredibly flattering. I try my absolute best to keep him in-character, and to keep his character aligned with the games and not just my own opinions. I study and analyze all of his actions very deeply, and weigh them against each. And to me, the answer is obvious. 

I don’t agree with that either. Nagito is not a prejudiced snob. (That’s Byakuya). He doesn’t hate talentless people. I absolutely believe that he sees himself as on the same level as them, or only very slightly above them, if anything. I don’t ever think Nagito would “hate all talentless people” or treat someone badly just because they were talentless, or make that kind of judgement against them. I talk about this a lot on Nagito’s blog, and I really hope that it comes through pretty clearly. I never want to portray Nagito as some kind of prejudiced asshole. 

Because he’s not. Canon clearly shows that he isn’t. All the evidence points to him not specifically always hating talentless people. Let’s examine it, the way I did when I came up with my conclusions:

First of all, we have a canon example of how he treats talentless people. It’s Hajime. (And I know Komahina/Nagito haters will immediately go “Yeah! See! He treated Hajime horribly because he was talentless!” Well, you’re a fucking idiot, and you’re completely wrong, but we’ll get to that in a second.)

Let’s look at chapter 1. Nagito is nothing but sweet and considerate to Hajime the entire time, despite Hajime “forgetting” his talent. He sits with Hajime while he’s unconscious on the beach before Nagito even has a chance to know that he has a talent or not. He shows him around. He acts like his best friend the entire time. Despite Hajime not having a talent. 

“But he thought Hajime had a talent then!” You may say. And to that: You’re wrong. Nagito specifically says in the first trial that “Hajime and I are on the same level, since he can’t remember his talent.” That’s why he thought he had a shot at being Hajime’s friend. This proves that 1) Nagito viewed Hajime as ‘talentless’ for as long as he didn’t have a talent, since Nagito definitely didn’t consider himself as “on the same level” as Ultimate Students. and 2) That Nagito saw Hajime as talentless and still treated him kindly. 

That sets the tone for the whole analysis. Nagito saw Hajime as pretty much talentless right up until he found the files in the Funhouse, and he still treated him well. 

Let’s look at chapters 2-4 (up until Gundham’s trial). Hajime is consistently awful to Nagito. Nagito does his best to still be nice to Hajime. Yes, they argue a lot, but that’s Hajime’s fault. Nagito just disagrees with him, or says something crazy about hope, and Hajime can’t handle it. He’s a hot-head. Nagito’s not being ‘deliberately antagonistic’ by just...not agreeing with Hajime. Let alone being cruel on purpose or fighting on purpose. Hajime’s hatred of him was entirely his own fault. The whole time, Nagito still acted nice to Hajime, talked to him, assisted in trials, and was kind. Even if he talked crazy about hope and dared to disagree with Hajime, that doesn’t count as “cruel treatment”. 

Alright, now we’ll get to the part that everyone misconceives as proof that Nagito hates all talentless people ever. And it’s so...so unbelievably stupid that it makes my brain hurt just to think about it. 

Let’s talk about the Funhouse. While they were starving to death, Nagito was nicer to Hajime than any other time since Ch 1. He only started being mean to Hajime after the investigation, when he went through the Final Dead Room. Why? Because he found Monokuma’s secret reward files. At least everyone can agree on that. 

But here most people stop and say “Nagito hated Hajime because he found out he was a Reserve Course Student, and what he says to him proves it!” That’s not true. Let’s really think about it. 

What was in the files in the first place? Monokuma admitted after Nagito’s death that what Nagito found showed to him that everyone in his class was in Despair. It had the information on the Despair personalities of all his classmates. Wait...Wait a second? Who was Hajime in Despair? Izuru motherfucking Kamukura, the Ultimate Hope. I don’t doubt that Nagito found out that Hajime was in the Reserve Course, but that wasn’t the only thing he saw. He saw Izuru Kamukura, the Ultimate Hope. And he only got angry with Hajime after finding out that he had a real talent. 

Why? Because the reason Nagito was angry has absolutely fucking nothing to do with Hajime’s talent (or lack of it). And what he says to Hajime proves it. He comes up to him angry and says things like “You think you can just become hope because you want to? That’s so selfish! You can’t just become hope just because you want it badly! A talentless person like you has no chance of that!” 

What Nagito said was aimed at Izuru Kamukura. He would’ve seen in the files that Izuru Kamukura was a leader of Despair. He would’ve seen that he was “The Ultimate Hope”. And he would’ve learned about Izuru’s part in bringing down Hope’s Peak (which in game canon is the Student Council Murders). Why do you think he was so bent out of shape about Hajime “trying to become hope”? In his eyes, he saw Hajime as some selfish Reserve Course Student who got jealous of Ultimates, who tried to just ‘become hope’ because he felt like it, and ended up destroying everything in the process. Including the school and students that Nagito idolized so much. If you replay the actual conversation, the focus of Nagito’s anger is not that Hajime is talentless, but that he tried to become the Ultimate Hope despite being talentless. He doesn’t go up to Hajime and say “ugh, you’re talentless, and I fucking hate you” he goes “why would you do something like that!? why would you try to become hope!? that’s selfish and irresponsible and you should’ve known that it would end in disaster!” 

The reason people get confused is because you hear that conversation before you find out what Izuru did. I was confused too. I was appalled at how Nagito was acting. But once I learned what he read in the files, it made so much sense to me. He was angry at Hajime “trying to become hope” not “being talentless”. 

And if you think that conversation was insulting...Yes, it was. Yes, in that moment, Nagito was trying to be mean to Hajime. Not because he hated him for being talentless, but because he was genuinely angry. Angry for what Izuru did, but also hurt and betrayed. Nagito probably felt very betrayed after learning that. 

He said the whole time that it was suspicious that Hajime didn’t remember his talent. Monokuma told them there was a traitor, “working with the enemy”. Nagito admitted that he suspected Hajime of being the traitor. What do you think he thought when he saw that ‘Hajime Hinata’ was actually Izuru Kamukura, Head of Despair? Especially when Hajime was the only one who didn’t remember his (very incriminating) talent, and the only calling himself by a different name? Nagito probably thought Hajime was the mastermind. That he knew everything. That he started everything. And he was probably horribly angry and hurt. That’s why he wanted to fight with Hajime. Not because he was talentless. 

If you think that’s just a bunch of speculation, then I have two very canon pieces of proof for it. Pieces of proof that don’t make sense if he just ‘hates Hajime because he hates all talentless people.’ 

After Nagito found the Despair files, he hated everyone. Yes, even his talented Ultimate Hope classmates. He was angry with every single person there. During Gundham’s trial, he did nothing but sass and insult them all. He even said “this is the best that Hope’s Peak has to offer? How disappointing. Some Symbols of Hope you are” or something to that exact affect. He was furious with everyone after what he found. Whether they had a talent or not. 

Secondly, Nagito started being nice to Hajime again after the Funhouse. Close to his death, he was talking as kindly to Hajime as he ever did. Try to spend free time with him and he said things like “oh, it’s so nice that you want to spend time with me, and I really wish I could, but--” After Nagito got over his anger, he went right back to treating Hajime as nice as he always did. Even though, by that point, he definitely knew that Hajime had no talent. The Funhouse conversation didn’t prove that he hated Hajime and all talentless people forever. He was just angry. He’s allowed to do that. 

But it goes beyond Hajime. He’s just an example of Nagito’s canonical interactions with a talentless person. 

Look at Nagito’s own words and actions. Obviously he doesn’t see himself as “as good” as Ultimate Students. He constantly calls himself worthless and horrible. And you know what else? Talentless. Nagito refers to himself as talentless. He sees himself as on the same level as them. 

After the first trial, his big speech makes it obvious. The whole trial, he talked about being used as a stepping stone for hope. About his only life’s purpose being to help hope, because it was the only use for a talentless person like himself. Then, after the trial, he goes out and makes a big speech saying “talentless people are worthless and have no purpose but to die for the sake of hope!” And people think he means Reserve Course Students??? Who the fuck would he be talking about if not himself? He had no idea there was anyone talentless on the island, and certainly not a talentless person involved in his murder plans. The only person like that who was involved was him. And he spoke about himself in that exact same way. “I have no purpose but to die for the sake of hope, because I’m a talentless person and my life is worthless” compare to “talentless people have worthless lives and exist for nothing but to die for hope”. Right after that trial. When he didn’t know there was anyone else talentless on the island. When everyone was asking him “why the hell would you do something like that!?” Who the fuck else would he be talking about? He was talking about himself. It was supposed to show how crazy he was about himself and the idea of hope, not about his prejudice towards...characters that weren’t even known yet? And that very much proves that he sees himself as on the same level as talentless people, not better than them. 

It’s also proved by his interactions with Hajime after the Funhouse. By this point, Nagito knows without a doubt that Hajime is talentless. And yet when you try to spend time with him, he still says things like “I can’t believe you want to spend time with a worthless person like me”. Despite talking to someone talentless, he’s still insecure. He still calls himself worthless. He doesn’t act snobby or lord himself over Hajime. He’s just as self-loathing as he always is. 

I could probably explain this better, but it’s 4 AM so. If something is unclear, ask. I will have proof. My proof is pretty indisputable. Otherwise I wouldn’t have formed this opinion. 

Anyway, Nagito doesn’t hate talentless people. He’s not a fucking snob. People who characterize him like that just want an excuse to hate him and see him as a bad person, because they don’t want to admit that they hate him because of how his mental disorder makes him act. And they need a “that’s problematic” reason to hate a character, because simply not enjoying a character isn’t a valid enough reason to have an opinion, apparently. That, or they just weren’t bothering to pay attention to him at all, and only remember the one Funhouse conversation. 

Nagito views himself as on the same level as talentless people. He doesn’t think he’s better than them, even if he doesn’t think that he’s worse. When he interacts with talentless people, he’s still just as humble and kind as he is to everyone else. Maybe he could stand up for himself better to talentless people, but that’s as far as I would take it. He doesn’t hate talentless people. That’s just dumb. 

#I stayed up way too late to answer this #but people's dumb uninformed opinions of this game #keep me up at night

[onewholivesinloops]

I'd like to add to your recent meta re: komaeda being hinata's doppelgänger. it annoys me that people still insist they're entirely different when it's plainly stated what's happening in game; monokuma outright calls hinata out for running away from things that he doesn't like facing. several times--in the main game, not the FTEs--hinata states almost exactly what's going on in komaeda's head before deciding he's overthinking and shaking it off. he's scared of seeing himself in komaeda.

Exactly! Komaeda points out towards the end of his last FTE--a little bit before the famous aborted love confession--that the reason Hinata can understand him better than anyone is due to the fact that they're so much alike; and that's something Komaeda has felt since the moment they met on the beach because Hinata never had a "special" aura about him, the kind that people with talent normally emit. Hinata himself even reluctantly admitted that that’s true in his mind but he got defense and denied being a “miserable bystander” like Komaeda, which is something anyone can tell isn't remotely true, at least by the end of the game. Hinata is so miserable and obsessed with the idea of talent society conditioned him into believing he needs to be remotely worthy, debatably even moreso than Komaeda, he had no qualms about going through with something as shady as the Izuru Kamukura project for a misguided notion of talent and hope. In fact, what Komaeda did in 2-5 with the desire to become ultimate hope in his heart parallels that, with the only difference being is that it took Komaeda until his worldview was wholly challenged to realize that, no, all along he didn't want to be just a stepping stone for others' hope, he wanted to be someone who can embody hope himself and feel accepted by those around him.

Of course this sentiment isn't exclusive to FTEs and we see it a lot throughout the main story (and that's one of my favorite aspects of Komaeda's FTEs, almost every bit of dialogue, however trivial it may seem, is reinforced by the main story or in some cases Island Mode, the latter of which might not be hard canon but it's definitely personality canon), especially during chapter 1 when Komaeda asked Hinata to be his investigative partner out of all the students ("Hmmm... you're easy to talk to, and I feel like you have a scent similar to mine. We both harbor special feelings toward Hope’s Peak Academy... Isn’t that right?") or when Hinata was angry with him in the post trial segment and Komaeda mistakenly thought Hinata hates him now ("That stings... I felt you and I were quite similar... you hold a special feeling toward Hope’s Peak Academy... just like me.) This was brought back in chapter 4 when Komaeda told Hinata that despite his beliefs he still cared for the latter, which leads me to my next point and it's that Komaeda, from the very beginning, saw Hinata for the person he truly is and fell in love with that. Meanwhile Komaeda truly believed that Hinata had to have a talent so it's not like he was being fake when he reassured Hinata that it must be an amazing one and he'll remember eventually, he just managed to convince himself of that so he was more or less in denial because all his life he's been absorbing the narrative that normal people are worthless and only symbols of hope are worthy of hope and his coping mechanism is built on that when he was head over heels for the antithesis of all that.

I have a lot of thoughts about Hinata and Komaeda in 2-5 but if i ramble about that then this post will never be over and I’m not sure I should’ve said this much, but I very much believe that the ending of SDR2 is symbolic of Hinata finally getting out of his comfort bubble and confronting everything he’s been so avoidant to face head-on (including the complicated feelings he has for Komaeda), but really it's super obvious that those two come in a set when even some of their sprites are alike, they're paired together in a lot of promotional material and it's only the two of them we see in chapter 0. I could go on about this but I wouldn’t be done for hours if I did.

#danganronpa #meta #ask #anon

[nagitoandkokichioneshots]

Boyfriend!Nagito analysis

Mod Mikan is bored with her head empty with nothing but Nagito (as always). I wanted to do a Nagito misconception post thingy, but I was like “Nahhhh~....” So I’ll just do a Boyfriend!Nagito analysis (which is also kinda a rant thingy, cause I was in the mood to rant a bit) :)

This isn’t even me simping, if Nagito was just a neutral character to me, I still think he’d be like this as a significant other 

I will use the “Five languages of Love” as my basis for this analysis: 

To summarize, the five love languages are loving words, physical affection, gifts, time spent together, and lending a helping hand. Here is why I personally believe Nagito would be fluent in all five of these acts. But first, some basic information about Nagito and his views on love: 

I get it. Nagito never had anyone that loved him, or anyone that he would love. No one was there to comfort him when he was going through so many hardships in his life, which made him develop a ‘cheerful, laid-back’ persona he can hide his true emotions behind. He thinks his problems are ‘too worthless’ for people to care about. He tells Hajime during his final FTE that his one true desire in life is to be loved. If you somehow managed to break that wall he puts between himself and others, and earn a place in his life as someone he can love, BAM! He would be the most devoted and faithful partner. He would try so hard to keep that one person that makes him feel like a real human being and like he’s worth expressing his real feelings. Even if it meant doing an ample amount of research, reading books, watching videos, anything for his love! Nagito is aware that people doesn’t like him and he believes he doesn’t deserve for his yearning for love to become a reality. But again, if you are successful in breaking that wall and convince him that you truly and deeply love him, he would do everything--and I mean A N Y T H I N G--in his power to make sure that you are aware he loves and cherishes you everyday 

Now let’s move onto Nagito and the love languages

Words of affirmation: This one is probably a given, but Nagito speaks very highly of the other ultimates and puts them on a pedestal. His way of praises and affectionate words may come off as intense and strong, but in his heart, he truly cares and love his classmates. He doesn’t spend much time with most of them, yes, but keep in mind that his man doesn’t have a most experience with social interactions and is afraid of scaring them off. It’s also canon that he keeps his distance from people he likes because he just wants to protect them from his luck hurting them. The only people he actually got to spend time and get to know was Hajime, Chiaki and occasionally Kazuichi. Nagito genuinely respects and appreciates the Ultimates. Yes, he confuses the ‘hope they embody’ with pure, platonic love, but it comes to show that he really does care for them. Everything he does is never for himself, rather for this classmates. While some people may argue that “He doesn’t really care for them as people, he just likes what they can offer due to their talent” I get some people that may think like this. If you haven’t watched the anime, I can kinda understand where you are coming from with this depiction. But you have to understand that Nagito believes he’s going absolute good for their ‘hope to shine brighter’. His actions aren’t purely to be a dick, he does this for them! 

Nagito’s obsession with hope is twisted, but not his definition of hope. Hope literally means a feeling of expectation and desire for a certain thing to happen. Synonyms include ambition, aspiration and dream. This means that Nagito will do anything for his classmates “Dreams to shine brighter”, telling them that he will do anything for them to achieve their goals. Why would someone that secretly doesn’t give two shits about his classmates go to the ends of the earths just for his classmates? I know, I know. His actions aren’t the best. They are harmful and dangerous--but he means well and his heart is in a good place. I will speak more of this in acts of service, but I will stick with his words of affirmation right now

Praises and compliments always leaves Nagito’s mouth, at least before chapter 4. He goes on about the Ultimates being ‘symbols of hope’ and will even talk bad about himself to make them feel better. While this isn’t the best way to show you love someone, is it wrong that he, in fact, does praise and compliments the Ultimates. He verbally shows his love and admiration through praise, and even compliments some of them as people. He calls Mahiru “High-spirited” Chiaki “Pretty perceptive” on their character relationship chart, hell! He even compliments Hajime on being ‘smart’ even when he found out he was talentless! Yes, people will argue and say he was being sarcastic, but just read his wiki page and it will say “He says that he genuinely and sincerely means everything he says” 

After all, he did get the lying despair disease in chapter 3, which was the opposite of his usually personality 

Physical Touch: Nagito is touch-starved af. He probably wasn’t close to his parents growing up and most likely received some sort of mental and emotional abuse as well. Mixed with his luck and non-existent self esteem, it would be no surprise if his parents blamed him for a lot of bad things that happened and easily pin it on ‘his luck’. He says that he was the closest to the family dog, which implies that he was assumably treated on the same level as the dog. If Nagito had a SO, it wouldn’t be just anyone. It would be someone that he already has a deep emotionally connection with. Someone who can he can human around, and not just hide behind a smile. As soon as he can call someone his significant other, he would latch onto them like a koala. He would most definitely enjoy cuddles, hand-holding, and wrapping his arm around them. He never had anyone to lean on or cry with, so he would be very hesitant displaying physical affection at first. It’s so new to him, but then again, you didn’t just accept his feelings for nothing! Nagito is no fool--he knows that you aren’t a liar when you say that you aren’t going to leave him. He’s also pretty observant, so if he sees you frowning or pouting because he backed out on holding/cuddling you, he’d would continue with the halted affection. He just doesn’t think he deserves it. He would ask his SO with E V E R Y T H I N G that involved physical touch, even if it was just hand-holding or hugging. Get prepared to be bombarded with questions starting with “Is it okay if I (insert physical affection) with you?”. But it’s only because he wants to do it, but thinks he doesn’t deserve to “taint someone as hopeful as you with his disgusting touch”. Keep in mind the reason why he asks over and over again is because he really wants to do it. Over time in the relationship, or even if you initiated some of it, Nagito would feel like he actually deserved the love and would never take any direct contact of admiration for granted. He’d smile and, if he was feeling unusually bold that day, would even start the kiss/hug (but would feel SUPER embarrassed and ashamed later) 

Baby steps, everyone. Baby steps 

Receiving gifts: This use to be something the majority of the fandom missed about Nagito, but now, I’m sure that everyone knows about this--Nagito is loaded. He has more money than the average person spends in their life, and can pull many more winning lottery tickets whenever he wants. This is certainly a given in the fandom, and something I do agree with in the fandom. Since Nagito’s low self-confidence and his severe inferiority complex would make him constantly believe he doesn’t deserve you, yet he doesn’t want to lose the one thing that he can be himself with. He loves you and he knows it’s selfish, but he wants to be with you forever. It would be no secret that he would use his money 99.9% of the time on you. Nagito has no desire to hold onto the money or to spend it on someone that doesn’t deserve it (himself). When you become the one person that he loves and values more than hope itself, you become that thing that he can spoil and spend his wealth on. After all, someone as hopeful as you deserves only the best! Praises wouldn’t just be the only thing that would spill outta him. Almost everyday, he would surprise you with gifts to the point where it wouldn’t be a surprise anymore. Nagito is also very keen and attentive, so whatever present he’ll get you, you will obviously love it. The way your eyes light up and smile when you see something you love. Or when your face twitches and you bite your lip, seeing something you hate: You wouldn’t even have to say anything for Nagito to notice. He’s just standing next to you, smiling--and planning on what to get you next

If he can get you everything you wanted.....you wouldn’t leave him....right? 

Quality Time: It’s canon that Nagito has been alone for the as long as he can remember. Not only does his lack of social interactions and being out of touch with even his own emotions prove this, but he was basically free to do whatever he wished since he had no family left after his parents passed. He had no friends, no acquaintances, and everyone still avoids him due to his creepiness. Even when he is trying to make friends, everyone still tends to dislike him, making him feel like no one loves him. Just imagine you’ve been all alone, not even one person has stuck by your side for several years

Now you have someone that claims they love you. Someone that assures and tells you that they will never leave you. Someone that is there to lift your self-confidence back on your feet and will always be there to reassure and praise you whenever you are feeling down about yourself

You never had anyone like this before. What is this feeling exactly? 

I do admit--Nagito would be really awkward at first. But time is key! I wholeheartedly believe that Nagito will eventually sink into the touch and affection that his SO provides for him. You are his whole world--the hope light of his life. I would even add that since his SO would already have an emotional bond with him, even prior to dating, they would be the ones that would ‘keep him sane’ and guide him in the right direction. Nagito would have already spent a huge chunk of his time with them, showing his more vulnerable side and true emotions towards them. He would absolutely enjoy their company and time, making him forget all about his once lonely life without them. Without you, he can never go back to the miserable once he once had even though he thinks he deserves it. He knows it’s selfish, but hey! Can a guy, even like him, be selfish once in a while

I actually have this headcanon that he’s very clingy and so emotionally dependent on you, that he asks his SO to move in with him at such an early age, even when they are in high school. Hey, it must get pretty boring in such a spacious, empty manor like his parents’ old one. Why dread coming home to the lonely, boring life he had without you, when he can look forward to seeing his angel of hope again?! 

Of course, with your parents’ permission and all, but I feel like Nagito’s SO’s parents would love him! 

Even if you aren’t that clingy or into PDA, Nagito will totally respect your boundaries and comfort. He prioritizes your needs before his own and will absolutely back off if you start to feel the slightest discomfort. You probably don’t even have to say anything, just one quick look at your face would do the trick. Nagito can read you like a fucking novel 

Acts of Service: It’s no secret that Nagito would go to the ends of the earths and do literally anything for his classmates. I mean, he built a bomb just so his classmates would get out of taking a test. Just imagine what he would do for his SO! No, I’m talking about killing anyone. He never kills anyone in the killing game, so I don’t think he would kill anyone for the sake of his SO. That’s probably one of the very, V E R Y few things he cannot do for his lover. But anything else, even something drastic as closing their school because of a test that was stressing them out or buying them a ‘private island in the middle of the Persian Gulf’ cause they wanted to spend winter break somewhere warm wouldn’t be a problem for him. Nagito doesn’t want his beloved hope to feel the despair he did, and he would do everything and anything in his, insane amount of, power to make sure that hope never runs out. Even if his methods are a bit...extreme, he does this because he loves you! Everything he does is solely for the ones he loves, never for himself 

Idk, maybe it’s just because I like crazy people, but I do think Nagito would literally do whatever he can think of for his SO

I said this before in my Nagito ‘unpopular opinion post’ but I’ll say it again: I see a lot of people headcanon Nagito as someone that would unintentionally and intentionally push his lover’s boundaries and limits to see them “overcome despair with hope” but I honestly wouldn’t see him doing that to his lover, at least not as much or extremely. If he would, he wouldn’t take it to the next level like he did in the killing game. Cause in Island Mode, even though he was waiting for despair to happen, he didn’t purposely inflict it. He rather wanted to spend time and have fun with Hajime. Also, I feel like his SO’s safety is his number one priority, since his luck could hurt them at any time. He would be extremely cautious if he wanted to cause ‘despair’ for their hope to ‘overcome’ it

I find many people exaggerating just how many ‘bad things’ Nagito did in the game. Yes, he does manipulate his classmate in killing him, but please exclude trial one if that is your only example! And exclude chapter 4 and 5, cause let’s face it: Learning that your idols, the ones who called ‘symbols of hope’ where actually apart of the worst terrorist group to walk this earth will make you even more batshit crazy

Nagito has been more helpful than even some of his classmates. He was the last one in chapter 2 to investigate, but at least he was more of use than Kazuichi! Nagito’s so smart and intelligent. He would plan everything out and make sure that the end result is all for his lover and nothing would get in the way of having their message heard, not his own wishes! This actually made me rethink about that famous bomb episode in the anime, and I know many people will argue that Nagito didn’t even think about the people that were in the building. But...what if he did? 

The ‘bad luck’ would be that the building would get destroyed. But the ‘good luck’ would be that no one would get hurt. Nagito probably relied on his luck to make sure no person got damaged, just the building. Yes, IT WAS STILL WRONG! But think twice before saying “Yeah, Yeah, Nagito is smart”--No. He’s fucking intelligent. He does more planning that you will ever know, and that is what makes me believe that he will do anything, even going to extremes, to fulfill his SO’s wishes. In fact, with time, I think his SO would guide his actions on the right path and make sure that he would carry out his intentions with the best actions to follow through with it. Nagito would be more calm and tamed with his SO, and wouldn’t have to rush into anything reckless or impulsive

Even in Island Mode, Nagito was more at peace without the killing game’s toxic and stressful atmosphere. Hell, he was even waiting for despair to come, but he never purposely caused it! Which is why I write in a non-despair AU. Cause I really can’t make Nagito ‘purposely’ cause despair, because while I was replaying the game, I thought to myself “Wow....the fandom needs to chill” cause he was actually one of the most helpful characters. Without him, most trials wouldn’t even have been solved! 

When I was first playing DRV2, I thought he was the ‘Kirigiri’ of the trials, not the antagonist! I know people would say “But he knew who was the blackened and didn’t even say anything” guys.......

Byakuya and Kyoko also knew in the first game, but left it up to Makoto’s ass to figure it out (I saw this meme on reddit, but Tumblr isn’t letting me link it) 

So there you go! I hope you lovelies enjoyed :)

#Mod Mikan's thoughts of the day #Mod Mikan speaks! #nagito komeada misconceptions #Mod Mikan rants #This should be a series #Mod Mikan analysis

[tsukumosanaappreciationblog]

Why SDR2 is the best Danganronpa Game

If you’re a Danganronpa fan you probably have personal favorites whether it be characters, class trails or the topic of this essay favorite games. Despite all of the games having the same formula they still have a distinct identity from each other which is commendable but alas that’s not what we will discuss. In this essay I will explain why Danganronpa 2:Goodbye Despair is the best Danganronpa game.

Let me discuss the setting of the game Jabberwock Island. Immediately the tropical island serves as a stark contrast to the two schools of the trilogy. This isn’t just for show either while the schools are claustrophobic Jabberwock Island feels like an open space which makes the world  more fun to move around in. Speaking of contrast in Danganronpa 2 each island does a good job of feeling distinct from one and another. When you get more floors to the school in the other game you do find interesting things. I especially like V3’s Talent Development Labs compared to the islands of SDR2 it’s no contest. The other games take place in a school and thus are limited to things that would logically be in a school were as you’re allowed much more freedom with the islands. From the bright and colorful amusement park of island four to the futuristic setting of island five there is no doubt that SDR2 has the most creative and diverse setting of any of the Danganronpa games.

Another thing that SDR2 executes well is feeling like a true expansion of the themes of DR1.Unlike V3 SDR2 plot is directly affected by the plot of DR1 without feeling like a rehash which can be difficult to pull off. I think the virtual world is an interesting concept that is executed quite well. Let’s use Chiaki as an example: the twist of her being an AI is foreshadowed with her direct similarities with Chihiro and Alter Ego. While not being overly obvious if you take a look at their designs they do share a lot in common. There designs both include a white button up shirt,similar bowties, an overcoat, a skirt with black stockings, along with similar shoes and haircuts. Once you spell it all out the design parallels become pretty obvious but they also share similar personality traits Chihiro they both share a love of gaming even though Chihiro isn’t as explicit about it. They also have a very sweet and well meaning personality along with a certain  degree of intelligence which in Chiaki’s case is very analytical in nature which reflects her nature as an AI. There’s also some information in her free time events that foreshadows her nature as an AI which furthers her alter ego parallels. During one of her free time events she didn’t know that cows made milk which is basic human information and in a later free time event the only genre of games she’s bad at is dating sims which directly involves human connection as it’s primary gameplay mechanic.

That’s enough about Chiaki for now let’s discuss another character that uses parallels to another character that uses character parallels to great effect Nagito Komeda. The Makoto parallels are pretty obvious but let's still go over them starting with his design and also the fact that Nagito Komeada is an anagram of Makoto Naegi. Both characters wear a hoodie,have a similar haircut including the patented anime protagonist ahoge and his generally unremarkable design makes the Makoto comparisons clear. Were the parallel really shine however is in personality. During the early game the Makoto parallels are effective are used to create a false sense of security. During the early game he spends a lot of time helping you out and general doesn't come off as a bad person even if he does come across as a bit odd. This makes him an effective wolf in sheep's clothing. Even after revealing his true nature the Makoto parallels only grow stronger. Let’s take a look at both of their talents and how they operate in the narrative. Despite having the same title of The Ultimate Lucky Student there talents operate very differently. Makoto’s luck while powerful in it’s own way primary is used to keep him alive with conscience that make sense due to his talent. On the flip side Komeada’s luck is truly supernatural and he relise on it for his plans to work like when he used the random raffle to get himself on cleaning duty. Even though his luck is powerful it does come at a price. During his free time events he is revealed to have a cycle of luck where bad luck is preceded by good luck and vice versa As an example Komeda has said that he was kidnapped and then immediately found a lottery ticket that was worth ten million dollars Komeda’s luck serves as a powerful force of nature that is even beyond his control which is a real interesting subversion of Makoto’s luck. Another parallel is Makoto’s humility versus Komeada’s self deprecation. They both stem from the fact that they don’t see themselves as having worthwhile talents. Makoto sees himself as mundane compared to the exceptional people at Hope’s Peak Academy but he learns to overcome that insecurity and recognize his own value. Komeada on the hand sees himself as inherently worthless because of his lackluster talent and is willing to sacrifice his own life for the sake of the other ultimates Despite him seeing himself as worthless that couldn’t be further from the truth in fact he’s one of the most intelligent characters in the series but he refuses to acknowledge himself because of the way he see himself as worthless. Another thing the two characters have in common is the desire for hope but there methods are very different. Komeada like the founders of Hope's Peak sees ultimates as the embodiments of hope and he wishes to sacrifice himself for them and is willing to become the adversity they overcome and is willing to kill just so that he can become an obstacle that hope overthrows. Makoto is comparatively simpler in this regard and only becomes a symbol of hope because of his undying optimism and becomes known as the Ultimate Hope because of the adversity he faced and his ability to inspire Komeda also tried to become the Ultimate Hope by killing all remnants of despair including himself.  This is a somewhat sound motivation however it ignores to hope of recovery and the ability to create their future. Speaking of hope for the future, let's talk about SDR2’s ending because it does a good job of thematically tying into Trigger Happy Havoc. It’s revealed that the world is a virtual world created by a The Future Foundation which was created by the survivors of DR1. The purpose of this world was to reform the sixteen students from the game which were revealed to be remnants of despair. This explains the nature of Monomi and the seeming peaceful beginning of the game however this turns into a killing game because of AI Junko. Let’s address the most common complaint about this finale which is that Junko was overused and this game should have had a new mastermind which is a fair complaint however if you consider the fact that SDR2 was created as a direct continuation of DR1 it works thematically for Junko to be the mastermind and it was a satisfying conclusion to finally kill Junko excluding the anime because the anime doesn't deserve rights. The Future Foundation also helps continue the story of DR1 due to the fact that we get to see these characters again in a way that furthers the plot. The new finales use’s characters from the previous game however it adds a different theme that feels natural with the theme of being able to change the future regardless of the past. This isn’t something that the survivors of the first game had to deal with because of the SDR2 survivors' unique situation of being remnants of despair. This while different is still a fundamentally optimistic theme so it feels thematically consistent with the themes of hope and despair from the first game

As I hope I’ve made clear that due to the thematic parallels of DR1,SDR2 is a true sequel that expands on the thematic elements of the first and becomes something greater than its predecessors.

#sdr2 #danganronpa #dr1 #danganronpa v3 #Nagito Komaeda #chiaki namani #makoto naegi #chihiro fujisaki #junko enoshima #long post #jabberwock island

[magioftheseas]

Lonely Existence

KamuKoma Week Day 7: komaeda's birthday!

Summary: Kamukura's sent to give Komaeda a birthday present and spends the day with him while everyone else is out.

Rating: G

Warnings: None, really. Aside from like...language? Thanks Matsuda.

Notes: Last fic for the week! Yeeeeeeeah, I did it! Of course I included more Matsuda. MatsuKamuKoma is love and life although it’s still largely KamuKoma focused, haha. This is bittersweet fluff, I suppose?

***Alternate Ao3 Link***

Commission? Donate?

It had been as uninteresting a day as any. He was content to do nothing about it, and indeed, because it was Sunday, he predicted such would be the case. However, that did not happen.

“Hey, Kayako. Get the hell up.” A few snaps overhead. “Up, up. I know you’re actually awake, you fucking brat.”

Despite the snarling, he’s of course unbothered. His eyes do open however it is leisurely and Matsuda’s scowl deepens as it looms over him. His face is pinched up in a special kind of annoyance. Ah.

“Something happened,” he said. “Inconvenient, I presume?”

“Stupid plane bullshit. I have to go pick up some ugly bitch before they call animal control.” Matsuda sighed heavily, raking his fingers through his hair. “Someone else would’ve done it, but she’s running late and she contacted me. I’m really not in a good mood right now. I have a favor that needs to be done.”

With that, he lightly smacks Kamukura’s forehead with a wrapped up book.

“This is for Komaeda Nagito in Class 77-B. Thankfully for you, he’s the only idiot in the class still on campus because the rest of them fucked off to some photogenic resort for someone else’s birthday. He was sick so he couldn’t go with. He’s probably depressed but is going to keep on smiling like a fucking idiot so make sure this gets to him?”

“You did not strike me as the type to prepare presents, Matsuda Yasuke,” Kamukura said lowly. “Is this retribution, then?”

“Yeah, it is. He bought me something I couldn’t find anywhere else.” Matsuda rolled his eyes. “Don’t make this fucking weird. It’s only courtesy to buy something for someone in return. I know you should have some basic idea of what that is.”

“...hmph.” He pushes himself up, but takes the gift anyway. “How boring. There is no value in celebrating a day merely for one birth of many.”

“If you’re jealous then I can have you registered for your own birthday.” A pause. “Or you can take Hinata’s. It’s not like he’s really using it anymore.”

“Such trifles do not concern me.”

“Of course they don’t. Well, either way, I expect you to deliver it. Or else I’ll draw on your face while you sleep.”

“...”

“And cut your hair too, while I’m at it.”

“Understood. It will be delivered immediately.”

“Awesome.” Matsuda seemed satisfied enough, turning on his heel to head out with a pop of some joints. He stopped for a moment. “I’m not going to be back until late tonight. The train ride to the airport is obnoxiously far and the flight is probably going to get delayed again, knowing what I’m dealing with. That’s not even accounting for the other bullshit I’ll definitely get saddled with along the way. Whatever. If you get lonely or something...”

Kamukura stared at him blankly.

“Well. You could do worse. Just saying. All the same. Ciao.”

With a wave of his hand, he stepped out. Kamukura finally scoffed.

--

Such trifles did not concern him in the slightest. But it was not often he left his room. It was even less so that Matsuda Yasuke requested his services. He often only ever did what the researchers told him to do, and whenever Matsuda Yasuke told him to do anything, it was often...less than menial. Always detached.

“Stand still.”

“Don’t whine so much.”

“Relax.”

“You will accomplish many wonderful things, Kamukura Izuru-kun,” the researchers would crow.

Komaeda Nagito hadn’t believed that at all. Not in the slightest.

“Hope can’t be born in a lab,” he would say, breathily and brimming with straining emotion. “Just what were they thinking?”

The answer had been obvious. Apparent. Boring. Komaeda Nagito had just gotten more irritated with him.

Komaeda Nagito...is irritable as Matsuda Yasuke. Around myself. And no one else.

It shouldn’t matter. He doesn’t care. It’s boring. Everything is boring.

“With an attitude like that, you really aren’t going to make any friends,” Matsuda had said once, tone dull and eyes on his manga instead of Kamukura.

Boring.

“You say that but it’s human nature to be social, y’know.”

So boring.

“You can’t seriously expect me to believe you’re not at least a little lonely.”

Boring, boring, boring.

Such concerns were mere trifles. And yet, the crinkling of wrapping under his tightening grip cuts through those thoughts as if they were nothing. Kamukura lightens it as to not damage the gift, and keeps his eyes straight ahead. He walks until he sees the fluttering of birds. His pace does not quicken. He maintains a leisure stride.

Komaeda Nagito is crouched low. He has a remaining, crumpled half of melon bread in one hand, and is spreading crumbs with the other. The birds pick at them. One has nested into his hair.

“You know,” Kamukura finds himself saying. “That provides very little nutritional value.”

“Good morning to you too, Kamukura-kun,” Komaeda replies, without even looking at him. “Out for a walk on this fine day? It’s good luck, isn’t it, to have such lovely weather.”

“No.”

“Well, alright.” Komaeda’s laugh is soft, strained at edges that would’ve been indiscernible to anything less than Kamukura Izuru’s sharp ears. “I mean, I think it is. And with the rest of my class gone, it’s quiet. Relaxed. Not that I prefer being without them, but... They can be noisy.”

“Mm.” It is mildly irritating how Komaeda Nagito is willfully oblivious to the gift in Kamukura’s hands. How it has yet to be acknowledged. Kamukura twitched a little before throwing all caution to the wind and thrusting it forward. “Matsuda Yasuke asked me to give this to you.”

The birds all flee, leaving a flurry of feathers. One even gets stick in Komaeda’s hair. Komaeda, who just blinks blearily at the gift, before nodding and taking it.

“Aha. Haha.” He doesn’t sound terribly enthused, shuffling it rather hurriedly into his bag. “Matsuda-kun...so kind. Please tell him I send my highest regards. He must be quite busy today.”

“Yes. He is.”

“I see.” Komaeda nods again. “Well, then, you can get going now, Kamukura-kun.”

He says nothing to that.

“I can’t imagine that my company is terribly stimulating, so I shall not bother you further.” Komaeda finally stands, brushing himself off. “If you won’t leave, I will. You can have this spot if you want it so badly.”

“I do not want anything.” The words slip before he can stop them. And for once, a twinge is in his features. Hm. “How are you?”

Komaeda still hasn’t picked the feather from his hair. He also still hasn’t looked at him directly.

“I don’t know why you would care.”

“Of course not,” he said. “But I still asked.”

Komaeda’s lips twist before pulling into a smile.

“Fine, of course. Nothing to concern your oh so talented self with. As I said before, the weather is lovely. Atmosphere serene. My classmates are surely enjoying themselves greatly without my worthless presence to dampen their high spirits. Why would I be anything less than fine?”

One reason is obvious.

“You’re lonely.”

“Eh?” Komaeda laughs, more taken aback then amused. “What was that?”

He reaches out and swiftly plucks out the feather.

“You are lonely,” he says simply. “That much is clear. Despite how often you allow yourself to be isolated, you are still plagued by feelings of lonesomeness. How boring. How predictable.”

Komaeda blinks, eyes darting between the feather twirling around between his fingers and Kamukura’s own unmoved and stoic gaze.

Komaeda’s smile twitches; there’s a forceful tug at its corners.

“I didn’t think you cared enough to comment.” His smile widens, but it doesn’t reach his eyes. “It’s human nature to get lonely. But it’s for the best. My feelings don’t matter as long as the others can shine. Nothing is more important nor as wonderful.”

“Those are quite the flimsy justifications,” he pointed out.

“Mm, I don’t expect someone like you to understand. Kamukura-kun is all cold logic and rationale.” That smile doesn’t drop even as those eyes narrow sharply. “You wouldn’t know the first thing about being human. I feel sorry for you.”

Sorry?

“It’s not like you asked to exist, after all, it was all that insolent reserve. You really are pitiful, Kamukura-kun. Nothing drives you at all.” Komaeda steps aside. “What are you even living for? I wonder if someone like you is dissatisfied even with existing. Well.” He paused. “It’s not like I’d understand how that would be like.”

Kamukura lets him brush past. But it is not long before he finds himself turning on his own heel and trailing after him. Komaeda doesn’t look back, which is expectable. He’s not the type to do so even when being followed.

Neither of them say anything.

--

“Do you understand your purpose?”

“...”

“You’re going to be the ultimate symbol of hope, Kamukura Izuru-kun!”

“Wrong. I am a tool for your disposal. A symbol of power and of influence. The product of a boastful legacy.”

“No, that’s not...”

“You cannot fool me.”

“...hah. I suppose I can’t.”

--

Komaeda Nagito busied himself with humble leisure activities. Walking, admiring the paintings and sculptures throughout campus, relaxing near the gardens, watching the frogs and turtles in the pond, checking out books at the library, sitting by the windows and listening to people practicing in the music room. It was much, as if Komaeda Nagito were restless, but nothing eventful occurred.

Even when Komaeda Nagito got himself coffee from the vending machine, there was a single can dispensed. Komaeda Nagito paused at this, and purchased another.

“Here,” he huffed, tossing it to Kamukura. “You must get thirsty, too.”

“I am as sustained the necessary amount,” was the reply. “This is unnecessary.”

“Aah, is that so?” Komaeda pops open the can, lashes lowering over his unimpressed stare. “Well, I suppose I shouldn’t have expected any different.”

He tilts his head back as he drinks. And he downs it quickly, Adam’s apple bobbling with each swallow.

Kamukura still opens and sips from his own can. It’s surprisingly bitter, and yet his expression gives nothing away. As per usual.

“You know,” Komaeda says. “Even though you have every talent, making the possibilities endless, it feels like even less happens when you’re around.” He chuckles, swirling around his drink. “Is that just your luck?”

“It could very well be, I suppose.”

How boring. Even though Komaeda Nagito’s life is plagued by extremities, they are circumvented by my presence alone. That really is so...

“Boring...”

“It is, but for someone like me you could call it a blessing,” Komaeda murmured. “To have a mundane day pass by, it’s akin to having a normal life, farcical and fleeting as it may be.”

“How dull it must be to long for normalcy,” Kamukura hummed. “You really are a boring person.”

“It was nice,” Komaeda said, firmer than before. “Even if it was because of you. Even if it’s you, I’m still...thankful, Kamukura-kun.”

He hmphed at that, but Komaeda kept talking.

“Living a normal life together really wouldn’t be so bad. Simply being allowed to exist without being excessively punished and rewarded for it—do you think that’s a privilege?”

“A privilege...” The thought does give him pause. He mulls it over, and then, he finds he has no answer. “What a thing to ask.”

“I guess it’s pretty strange to wonder, especially if you’re going to Hope’s Peak,” Komaeda laughed. “But when you weren’t talking, I almost could’ve pretended we were friends and that was even stranger...”

“...because you are lonely.”

“Perhaps. I don’t really want to think about it. My mind goes haywire easily.” He finishes up his coffee. “But, all the same, I don’t really feel lonely right now.”

“Because I am here.”

Komaeda just laughs.

“Perhaps, perhaps. Is it the same for you, Kamukura-kun?”

Is it?

He doesn’t think; the answer that forms is immediate.

“It is not.”

It is immediate—and distasteful.

“Aha, understandable.” Komaeda hurriedly looks away, and his ears are red. “Someone like me makes for poor company.”

“It is not because of you.” Kamukura frowns. “That much I am certain of.”

Komaeda laughs again, but this time the sound is strained. Anxious. It strikes an unpleasant cord.

“I think...” The words trail off into a hard swallow. “I’m going back to my dorm, to open Matsuda-kun’s present and take a look at it.”

Komaeda almost stumbles when he steps away, pausing only to toss his empty can. He glances over his shoulder, but it’s only slightly, only so that he can catch the smallest of glimpses of Kamukura in his glassy gaze. He gives a courteous wave and a barely perceptible smile.

“I’ll see you, Kamukura-kun. Perhaps.”

“Perhaps,” he merely echoed.

Komaeda practically scurried away after that. Kamukura sees him nearly stumble, but he does not fall. He watches until the other is gone. He waits until he can no longer hear that quickened heartbeat without focusing, and downs the rest of his coffee.

It really is bitter.

--

“You’re really miserable, huh? Well, it’s not any of my concern, but...”

“You are commenting, nonetheless.”

“Yeah. Suppose I am.” Matsuda rolled his eyes. “Maybe because it pisses me off a little.”

There’s nothing to say to that.

“Maybe you should just try and go out more often, it’s not like you’re unable to leave,” Matsuda huffs. “If you just did—anything—you’d be miles better than you are now.”

“There is no point in doing anything when the results yielded are predictable and boring.”

“Factually wrong, dumbass. You know that. So what the hell are you so stubborn about?”

He does not answer that either.

“Geez, if I didn’t know any better, I’d say that you just wanted to remain inhuman and miserable. Or maybe you’re afraid.”

“That is...” He stops himself. “False.”

“Huh.” Matsuda whistled. “All that talent—and you’d think you’d be a better fucking liar.”

--

He finds himself knocking on the door. The back of his fist strikes it thrice, all intervals in-between the same length. He’s aware that it’s fairly recent from the coat of paint. He would not be surprised if Komaeda Nagito had lost a door to bad luck.

“Mm? Coming.” It’s a soft and muffled call. It does not take long for the door to creak open, and though Komaeda Nagito appears with a smile, it falls in confusion. “Kamukura-kun? It’s...barely into sunset.”

“You were born around this time, correct?” he asks. Komaeda raises a brow.

“I wouldn’t...know if I was.”

“You were. So, then, take this. For your birth.” He holds out the small box, wrapped in a ribbon. “It is a cake. It should be suited to your tastes.”

Komaeda takes it, eyes wide.

“Aha... Haha... Um. Am I dreaming?”

“No. You are not.” He shakes his head. “It is most certainly not a dream.” He frowns. “Do you not want it?”

He can see how conflicted and how twisted Komaeda’s expression gets. How his eyes crinkle at the edges and are, albeit briefly, on the brink of tears. Tears that could have been either joy or grief. Komaeda’s emotions swung wildly, as one would expect from someone who lived so tumultuously.

And yet, this person was still standing, even as his knees quaked.

“You do not have to eat it right away,” Kamukura says, perhaps so that Komaeda perks rather than collapses. “However it will deteriorate in a matter of time. Please do enjoy it before then.”

“I... Mm.” Komaeda nodded quickly, lips pressed tightly together. “O-Okay. Thank you, Kamukura-kun.”

“It is nothing.” And yet, it felt so strangely significant. How strange. So strange. “I shall be seeing you.”

Komaeda tugs on his sleeve before he can turn. Kamukura stares, both at his trembling, pitiful grip, and the twitching, twisting expression. Slowly, it morphed from troubled to—something else.

“Thank you, Kamukura-kun.”

It wasn’t a smile. It wasn’t a frown either. All it was—was heartrendingly sincere.

“Thank you... Really.” He squeezes that small bit of fabric of Kamukura’s sleeve before pulling away. Just like that, he gives an easy smile that conveyed nothing at all. “I’ll be seeing you. Tell Matsuda-kun that the book was wonderful. Well. I’ll tell him that, too, next time I see him, haha.”

Kamukura only nods.

“See you.”

“See you!”

He leaves on that rather discordant note.

--

When he returns to his room, there is not much else to do besides sit there on the bed and mull.

Komaeda Nagito...really is...

His eyes fall shut as the thought itself trails off into nothing. Nothing but quiet. Time passes, and there’s a knock on the door.

It’s well past midnight. Without even waiting for an answer, Matsuda Yasuke pushes his way in, yawning inelegantly.

“Yoo... Letting you know I didn’t somehow die.”

“I would have been aware either way,” was the blank response. Under the dull light, Matsuda rubs his eyes blearily. Another yawn, and Matsuda nods a few times.

“Right, right... Of course... Jackass.” Matsuda grumbles, and he straightens up. “How was Komaeda?”

“He liked his gift. He had a satisfactory day.” It’s dully spoken, but the words are strangely weighted. “I suppose—even one who exists miserably can find happiness in living.”

“Yeah? That’s—wild to hear you say. Mm... Wonder if I’m dreaming... Maybe I really did die.”

In the blink of an eye, Kamukura stood up and steadied him, keeping him from swaying until he toppled over.

“You should rest as well. I suspect—Komaeda Nagito will be happier to see you in higher spirits, Matsuda Yasuke.”

“Dooon’t tell me what to do,” Matsuda slurred. “But fiiiiine. See if I ever check on you out of worry again. At least you were nice to the kid on his birthday. I gueeeeeess.”

He thinks about Komaeda Nagito and that worthless smile. But he also thinks about Komaeda Nagito and his innocent gaze.

“I suppose,” he echoed. “I suppose...”

Matsuda had already dozed off. Funny, that. Kamukura wondered if Komaeda Nagito was resting as well—if he was sleeping peacefully. If he was lonely.

I want to see him.

What a strange, unsettling thought that was.

That this person exists is—

Kamukura pauses, and shakes his head, helping Matsuda to bed.

I suppose it isn’t boring.

#KamuKoma #izuru kamukura #nagito komaeda #yasuke matsuda #kamukura izuru #Magi fics #MatsuKamu #but not really #MatsuKamuKoma #but also not really #KamuKomaWeek #Yaaaaaaay #another week doooooone #whoooooo #I did it

[umino-miyuki]

some thoughts on Miyuki and Choko from Happy, with comparisons to Monster because I still find it hilarious that they were running at the same time.

Umino Miyuki vs. Kenzo Tenma

I’ve always thought there were a lot of similarities between Miyuki and Tenma. black-haired protagonists who are constantly persecuted but persevere nonetheless. this post includes a chart drawn by Urasawa comparing his protagonists based on selfishness and innate genius. both Miyuki and Tenma are described as geniuses, though apparently Miyuki is even more naturally perfect at tennis than Tenma is at doctoring.

both characters suffer from “more talented younger sibling” issues, though looking at family relationships is where the comparisons between the two begin to fall apart a bit. according to Another Monster, Tenma was favored by his father over his older brother for his talent, while it seems like Miyuki’s brother simply felt insecure because of her skill. Miyuki’s parents are portrayed as 100% caring and supportive, while Tenma’s mother was harsh and critical and his father mercenary. 

Miyuki’s brother’s get rich quick schemes led to the death of her parents, causing her to blame herself and quit tennis. on the other hand, Tenma’s father pressured him into taking over his business, which would have been an insult to his brother. rather than follow through with this, Tenma chose to move to Germany and remain estranged from his family, despite his brother’s attempts to reconcile him with their father. 

this brings up an interesting difference between Tenma and Miyuki. both characters have magnetic personalities, influence those around them, and end up gathering somewhat of a following. however, Tenma leaves people behind--his family, Eva, Dieter, Nina, etc.--while Miyuki runs after people, no matter what they’ve done to her.

despite both of them preferring to carry their burdens alone, they end up inspiring altruism in others. but their actual goals are quite different, as Miyuki is specifically fighting for the sake of her family, while Tenma feels it’s his responsibility to kill Johan. this may be why Miyuki is ranked as far more selfless than Tenma. 

another difference is that I think Tenma is a lot more passive as a character than Miyuki. while they both suffer constantly, Tenma takes everything without protest, at least after a certain point. he’s described as a martyr several times, but I think of him more as an atoner--he feels as though everything that happens in the story is his fault, and thus the bad that comes to him is something he has to accept.

on the other hand, Miyuki stands up for herself just as much as she stands up for others. she argues with the ref when he makes a bad call, refuses to take insults, and never allows herself to be bought. in this way, she’s arguably more of an active protagonist than Tenma.

Ryugasaki Choko vs. Johan Liebert

then we have our manipulative blond antagonists. beyond those attributes, however, Choko and Johan don’t have too much in common.

while Johan was shaped by extreme deprivation, Choko’s villainy is rooted in privilege. both Johan and Choko may view others as worthless, but Choko goes a step further and views herself as superior, stemming from her wealthy upbringing. unlike Monster which focuses on how trauma can lead to violence and suffering, in Happy, the source of bad behavior is entitlement. Johan is a very complex case psychologically, but Choko is a textbook example of a narcissist. in her mind, she’s deserving of the best, and she’ll do whatever it takes to get her way.

Johan manipulates by understanding others, feeding on their needs, while Choko is adept at manipulating public image, boosting her own reputation and running smear campaigns against those she wants to destroy. both characters have a tendency to target specific victims, but in very different ways. Johan doesn’t hate Tenma or Nina--in fact, they’re some of the only people he seems to have positive feelings towards. on the other hand, Choko hates Miyuki from the very beginning. 

I’ve argued before that Johan doesn’t lack empathy at all, but in my opinion, Choko does. she can’t understand why people like Miyuki, and it drives her crazy. Johan understands altruism and helping behavior perfectly well, and can exploit it to his advantage, but Choko can only think of it as inexplicable and stupid. 

when Choko believes Miyuki prostituted herself to get money, she admits defeat, because doing anything for money is something she can understand. it’s only when Miyuki perseveres despite torment and fights for what she thinks is right that Choko is enraged. near the beginning of the story, Miyuki doesn’t recognize Choko, and Choko assumes she pretended not to know her as an insult--assigning Miyuki her own motives. in fact, almost all the things Choko spreads as rumors about Miyuki are things she herself did. 

this is standard behavior for narcissistic people. they believe themselves to be perfect, can’t understand those who are different from themselves, and therefore believe that difference is a sign of that something is wrong or lesser. further, narcissistic people have huge but unstable egos--they have to put others down in order to feel good about themselves and avoid facing their own flaws by projecting them on to others. in contrast, Johan totally lacks an ego, leaving him with nothing to do but act out the programming others put into him. 

beyond looking down on Miyuki for being poor, Choko is also motivated by jealousy, which brings us to her other main victim, Keiichiro. 

while Johan sees Nina as a reflection of himself, Choko views Keiichiro as property. she enjoys tormenting him almost as much as Miyuki, but for different reasons. she wants to stamp Miyuki into the ground, but with Keiichiro, she’s trying to control him. 

despite her mother’s wishes, Choko is interested in him as a romantic partner. she thinks she wants him because he’s rich and handsome, but as the story goes on, this motive is complicated. as villains, both Choko and Johan are set up as totally uncaring, but it’s ultimately revealed that both are capable of having attachments to others.

after Keiichiro fails to become a professional tennis player, Choko decides to dump him and look for other prospects, a very common behavior for narcissists known as “discarding.” however, she continues to manipulate him and attempt to get sole power over him. 

she isolates him from everyone and tells him that he’ll always have her, in a move common to abusive people. near the end of the story, his lack of reciprocation begins to bother her more and more, and she eventually realizes she’s actually in love with him. 

I find it interesting how Choko was totally unaware of her feelings, even though from the beginning, her hatred of Miyuki was rooted in the fact that Keiichiro cared about her--not just that she was getting in the way of a potentially lucrative relationship. unlike Tenma and Miyuki, who are fairly in touch with themselves, Johan and Choko are both lashing out without being aware of their own motivations. 

Story Trajectory

I find both Happy and Monster interesting for their hero/villain dynamics and for how they’re ultimately resolved. Johan is set up as a monster who has to be killed, and Choko is so utterly horrid that the reader is on the edge of their seat, waiting for her to face repercussions. in both cases, Urasawa subverts expectations by moving the goal away from punishing the villain. 

just as Johan ultimately moves on with his life, Choko decides to stop being a malignant narcissist. her character development is really interesting when considering what narcissistic people are like. most of the damage they do isn’t from their egos--it’s from the way they cover up their actions and true personalities. Choko being openly rude and petty is far less dangerous than when she spent all her time pretending to be something she wasn’t. 

in both stories, Urasawa gives both his heroes and villains arcs, and in fact, allows his villains to change more than his heroes. Johan and Choko try to change their protagonists, and so Tenma and Miyuki’s refusal to give up who they are is the point of their heroic journey. no matter what Johan tries, he can’t turn Tenma into a killer, and no matter what Miyuki goes through, she always finds a way to be happy. and their steadfastness is what sparks the change in the antagonists. 

Postscript: Umino Miyuki vs. Nina Fortner

Tenma is a character who doesn’t seem to care what happens to himself in the end, but Miyuki is someone who fights for her own happiness to the bitter end. in this way, she’s more similar to Nina Fortner than Tenma. in Another Monster, Lipsky describes Nina as someone who despite being hurt, “still believed in the possibility of happiness in her life. She never gave up; she kept seeking it. She really knew, instinctually, that her life had to have a happy ending.” this could just as easily have been said about Miyuki, and their character designs are almost exactly the same except for their hair. I just love how many crossovers there are between both works!

#btw ive been finished w my massive analysis for a while #and am stuck in the editing phase #kind of lost my passion bc i feel like it's dumb but you know #still love urasawa still wanna write so here

[murdocsagaypirate]

The Fall of 2D

A Character Essay

So.. this ended up being a nice long read.. but.. I think some of y’all might enjoy it. I just kind of got carried away. But I’m done~ Back to fanfiction~  I’ve done more thorough analyses of most of these songs that I touch on here in the past. If you go to my blog and type in the songs name in search you’ll find it ... unless I haven’t done it yet... and in that case go ahead and request it if you like.

Remember when you were a little kid and you would look at the clouds in the sky as the sunlight bounced off them? And something that simple would make you feel a part of everything, and all alone at the same time. And the feeling’s not something you can ever put into words, so you spend your whole life chasing it. Making music, taking pictures, painting, whatever. In the hope that other people will understand that sense or… feeling. As creative entities, we look for signs of life outside ourselves for a connection to alleviate the sense of solitude. That’s why we all do what we do. Whether we know it ourselves or not.

Phase 1: Someone Else’s Dream

2D never dreamed he’d be famous, or even successful, in any capacity. No one ever treated him like he possibly could be because he was disabled. He had chronic pain and hindered cognitive ability from childhood that shaped how others perceived him. His bright blue hair growing out of his damaged head made it so that everyone knew he was different- he was stupid. And that perception shaped him. It shaped him into someone with no big dreams, someone that tolerated being bullied, someone with poor self-efficacy and no sense of independence or developed sense of identity. He liked films and he liked music and it didn’t go much deeper than that. Not because he was stupid and shallow, as he’s clearly always been a very deep and creative thinker, but because no one ever gave him the options and opportunity to pursue something bigger. He says in the phase 5 football interview, “My mum and dad taught me not to aim too high.” No one ever believed in him.... 

Until Murdoc came along. 2D’s blue hair is directly associated to the event that handicapped him but to Murdoc it represented anything but a handicap- it gave 2D the unique looks that would make him a priceless asset in Murdoc’s pursuit of his personal dreams. For the first time in his life, Murdoc made 2D believe he was capable and valuable because he was talented and attractive. 2D didn’t need to be worshiped like Murdoc, he just needed to be worth something, and Murdoc gave him a way to do that. That’s what 2D means when he says that Murdoc “saved his life”, that’s a big reason WHY he idolized him in addition to the fact that 2D appreciates that Murdoc is genuinely talented and driven. 

I can’t impress this enough: 2D was only 19 years old. Old enough to know you’re expected to be an adult, to make something of yourself, but for many still not old enough to be one - especially for someone that grew up disabled, whose independence wasn’t fostered ... Make no mistake: 2D was vulnerable and Murdoc, who was 31, took advantage of him. This is a 2D analysis so I’m not going to go into why Murdoc did this, but at the end of the day, Murdoc was a fucking shitty shitty person and there no good excuse. 

Already by the time the first album came out, 2D had already figured out he’d been taken advantage of. That’s what New Genius (Brother) is about. It’s about Murdoc and the promises he made him about the path to success he was going to take him on, about the river they were going to ford together and how 2D felt betrayed. 

Besides what we learn in RoTO, there are some songs that you can’t totally parse out what lyrics on Gorillaz debut album belong to 2D and which belong to Murdoc besides simply what makes sense. It’s interesting though you can easily argue that there are shared sentiments in songs like Slow Country about working hard to succeed and being lonely. In RoTO a lyric for this song is included, “City life, leave my soul in deep water.” which mirror’s “The river ain’t deep.” in New Genius (Brother). Sound Check (Gravity) is a song he sang straight from his heart on a rooftop in Jamaica with Noodle, that repeats themes of feeling pressured and betrayed and the theme of a confusing and broken love which will reoccur, over and over. At that time (in Jamaica, no less) that love is actively breaking, not broken yet, but he doesn't know what to do. Latin Simone characterizes his depression and the realization that he’s just not happy on this path he’s started on, but there’s no escaping it now. Then you have a song like 12D3, that very directly characterizes him as a simple person that takes simple pleasure in music. There are various songs and lines on Self-titled that characterize drug dependency both for 2D and for Murdoc. Phase One, overall, sets us up with a picture of a 2D who is still enthusiastic about his future as a musician for no other reason than his passion for music, yet disillusionment is quickly setting in, both toward the lifestyle of fame and his idol and best friend. 

Phase 2: Feel Good?

This is where 2D starts talking about his never-ending quest to “find himself”. 2D never got to gain independence. He went straight from dependency on his parents to dependency on Murdoc, living at his mansion studio and literally letting him tie his shoes. His parents never fostered an ability to self-care or a sense of ambition, so Murdoc gifted him his ambition and without Murdoc, 2D doesn’t have his own sense of identity. 

So, of course, leaving Murdoc after phase 1, he went back to his parents, to work for his dad. He returned to his hometown, to a bunch of people that treated him like a worthless idiot. But now he’s famous. So now he’s surrounded by people that want to validate him... Which he fucking eats up, because it fills the hole left by his upbringing... Not to mention all the very fucking irresponsible sex. There is much that goes unstated about this phase of 2D’s life, it seems he chooses to paint it as wholly positive, yet we know the lasting consequences of it (child support for for several kids for the next 18 years) as well as the fact that he ultimately chose to leave it behind and return to Gorillaz and back into the same lifestyle that he hated and is only getting worse as Gorilaz’s popularity hits it major peak in 2005:

The Feel Good Inc music video give shit tons of insight into the characters and the lyrics. Notably, the way that 2D is placed at the center, on a throne, and how utterly miserable he is on that throne. It’s not JUST the debauchery he struggles with, but the position of stardom and idol worship he’s been thrust into. 

“Take it all in on your stride” run’s parallel to Latin Simone’s “Give up, if you want to survive.” He’s resigned to this path, never exhibited any desire to fight it really, because he’s never known another path. Without Gorillaz, he’s aimless. “Turn forever, hand in hand... It is ticking, falling down. Love forever, love has freely turned forever you and me. Windmill, windmill for the land. Is everybody in?” The windmill represents freedom, Noodle’s freedom contrasted with 2D’s imprisonment specifically, yet here he sings about it “falling”, foreshadowing El Manana. He talks about the utter destruction of hope happening to all of them. “Is everybody in?” 

Remember the theme of a “breaking love” I’d say would be returning over and over? 2D is trapped in the tower with Murdoc who watches him like some kind of predator throughout the video. Russel is there too, which characterizes him as lacking the freedom that Noodle has but coping through staying focused on drumming, making music. This person that 2D is turning with forever, falling, hand in hand is mainly Murdoc. 

While much of this album was written by Noodle, 2D has specifically talked about writing chorus of Feel Good Inc. And there are other songs on the album I’ll touch on that, although lore never specifically states, I can only assume are written by 2D by how well they fit into his character arc at this point in his life and make no sense in characterizing Noodle.  

O Green World continues with the themes of Feel Good Inc with the line “Hope, sex and drugs will rust into myself holy. It feels holy,” further characterizing the disturbing dichotomy of pleasurable addiction as a destructive force. Placing “hope” on the list of things that 2D clings to for comfort that destroy him is heartbreaking and we’ll watch how this “hope” becomes more and more painful to hold onto throughout the years. The larger focus of O Green World is the narrative about a failing relationship: the current state of his relationship with Murdoc. A desperation and confusion over a crumbling relationship is also explored in Every Planet We Reach is Dead. Lines like “For all the sacred selfless days, only left with heartache. I want to see you again. I love you... But what are we going to do?” paints the same picture 2D will eventually paint for us again in The Now Now. He will look back on this era of their relationship where he clung to hope that they’d be close, happy and healthy again. And yet... we know how that turned out...

Phase 3: Alone Together

I only really joined the band to make music, and now, I'm being held captive by a bastard bass player in an underwater submarine, being attacked by sodding pirates who are trying to take over this rotten piece of broken plastic in the ocean that Gorillaz call 'home'. All this, just to make a video. It's making me want to die!

So... this is a major phase for 2D, but of course, that fact is often overshadowed but what a big deal it was Murdoc. We have hours of podcast and a whole album to witness Murdoc’s deterioration and precious little to witness 2D’s, though there is certainly enough to analyze especially later in the phase. 

2D doesn’t seek attention like Murdoc does. He’s motivated by validation, sure, but not in the practically narcissistic way Murdoc is. 2D isn’t the one that is constantly engaging with fans, soaking up our attention and admiration. He wants to connect to people through music, not as a celebrity, just as a musician. He’s private, and that loss of privacy that comes with fame is probably yet another factor that caused him to hate it.

2D struggles with emotional isolation like Murdoc but in a completely different way. It’s not that he fears and avoids connection and vulnerability like Murdoc, in that quote I started this with he shows that he finds it to be something important and profound. It something he simply finds difficult for many reasons. One, his disability that clearly effects his communication skills. Then the inherent isolation that comes with stardom. And finally, an inability to connect with himself first and foremost, his undeveloped sense of personal identity comes back into play, that theme of struggling to “find himself”.

Little Pink Plastic Bag characterizes the isolating feeling of drifting through life without purpose. 2D has lost control of his life, knowing he was going to school before this phase might indicate he was beginning to find purpose but once again (and in a much more literal sense) he’s forced away from his own dreams to serve Murdoc’s. “What you want in life? Someone here'll gonna get past by” hearkens back to so many themes present in the first album. In New Genius (Brother) he sings, “People passing through me.” 2D still feels overlooked, underappreciated, so many years later. 

2D talks about Revolving Doors: “As I was walking through the doors of the hotel - the revolving doors - and the dislocation of being away, you know, out of sorts, away from home. and the image of this door permanently revolving, the endless repetition and the pointless rhythm of it all I guess struck like, a melancholic image within me. It paints a similar aimless image to pointlessness of plastic bag floating on the highway. Revolving Doors also pretty explicitly references drug use, specifically about buying drugs and getting shorted by the dealer. It’s not news, just notable that substance abuse is still very much present. Another major theme is 2D lamenting how much fame has changed him and his fear of what more is to come which come up again in Amarillo.

Amarillo is such a fucking beautiful song. “I got lost on the highway. But don't ask me where I've been. Or what I've done.” The trials of the last few years have changed 2D, he recognizes this and fills him with regret. And again, he expresses that utter lonely we’re familiar with by now. 

Finally, we have DoYaThing giving us incite at the very tail end of this phase of the state of 2D’s relationship with Murdoc, which has quite obviously suffered but enough time is past that they are ready to start healing again. The line “If you're thinking that I don't know what you're thinking, baby. You do more thinking and I'll go out and make it alright“ expresses a concept 2D explored a few times on Demon Days, “I know you now, I know you know me too.” in O Green World characterizes there relationship as legitimately intimate, they understand each other. This sort of relationship is suggested in interviews too, mostly Murdoc relying on 2D to help handle a crisis, while it doesn’t seem that Murdoc is emotionally equipped to return the favor, yet another way Murdoc contributes to 2D’s chronic loneliness. Despite how much 2D is struggling with at the end of phase 3 he still expends energy worrying about Murdoc. After their live recording of Detroit, 2D responds to Murdoc thanking him, presumably just for the fun of the moment, “I was just glad to help, really.”

DoYaThing expresses this dynamic of expending energy and getting little in return with frustration. Before, 2D was confused and hurt, now he’s angry and impatient. “Every time we try, we get nowhere“... “I've got no patience. Oh, it's all a part of the process. Nothing's new, it's true, cool, I admit. Shit, I guess you're right“ 2D is holding on but growing bitter... 

Phase 4: Gone Gone Gone

It’s obvious in this phase that his drug abuse is at an all-time high. The entire phase, songs, pictures, interviews, portrayed the band as going all out partying, which, of course, involved drugs. Recreational is one thing, but we know it’s more than recreational for 2D. Sleeping Power was the big 2D song of this phase. All the way back to Tomorrow Comes Today’s music video we see 2D’s drug abuse almost being portrayed as a fun aesthetic as brightly colored pain pills fly at the screen and now with Sleeping Power 2D is having a hell of a good time singing about a day he spent “gone”, completely strung out. He starts the video with the old “This is your brain on drugs” ad, which is practically become a joke in modern culture. and it’s an interesting contrast with the extremely emotional way Murdoc writes about his alcoholism in Plastic Beach, or the dark and completely unflattering way it’s portrayed in White Light.

There’s no denying 2D is depressed, but when it comes to his coping methods it seems he copes even further by making it a part of his identity. It’s not difficult to understand why he’d be so inclined to see his addiction as a positive thing, not only does it help his mood but it manages crippling chronic pain. No matter what though, addiction and substance abuse are never sustainable for mental health and 2D has struggled with this issue or a long.. long.. time. 

As for his relationship with Murdoc at this point, it remains in pieces. We see the bitterness 2D feels toward him throughout phase 4. We lose 2D’s voice on Humanz but find so much incite exploring his phase 4 room. Murdoc’s face is plastered on his wall vindictively covered in darts. And yet we find his poems promising, “Yes I am still with you.” and “I will stay. The storm abates. The levy holds.” He’s angry but still refuses to give up. Whether you want to interpret it romantically or not, he clearly still loves Murdoc and we see this even more in The Now Now... 

Phase 5: Reflection

On Plastic Beach, if 2D is trapped on an island of isolation then it’s only because Murdoc is the ship that stranded him there. In Magic City, if 2D is on the moon - shining brightly for everyone to see - it’s because Murdoc was the rocket ship that crash landed him on it. The Now Now is chalk full of callbacks and beautifully shows where 2D has come from and where he is now, especially in his relationship to Murdoc. “You put me up here in the penthouse.” Murdoc is the force that made him successful, the reason he’s famous. "I filled the canyons with my ego” The canyon, the hole in himself. We get a call back all the way to New Genius (Brother) as he changes the effect on the vocal’s to sound like some distance voice from the past of someone promising 2D ease of passage only to betray him by leading him to danger, “Let me take you this far. This crossing isn't much to me. There's lightning in the storm clouds. And I'll send you there to stay” and of course, that voice is Murdoc’s. 

Like he’s been for years, he’s trapped in this lifestyle. Looking all the way back to 5/4. He talks about the same debauchery and spoils of fame he feels trapped back in Feel Good Inc and calls them “magic”. It’s ironic but at the same time addresses the fact that he was promised they would be magic, promised they would feel good, only to feel betrayed when they weren’t. “Magic on me. Really got me down... Magic’s funny. Magic get me through.” The same magic that depressing him, he relies on to get through: drugs, sex, the validation of fame, you name it. It’s a common tale we see for celebrities time and time again. Trapped in this “Magic City”, he wants to make it “home”. He talks about making his journey home in Kansas as well... where exactly does 2D consider “home”? I wonder if even he knows. Our sense of home is so tied to our sense of security and identity, something 2D has always struggled with. On his quest “home”, by the end of the album the thing that he truly returns to.. is Murdoc. In Souk Eye he decides to come back for him... after all this... he’s still willing to give him yet another chance. Throughout the years he’s had one anchor and one anchor alone: Murdoc. So in the absence of this anchor, his sense-of-self changes dramatically as he tries to emulate the man that was once his idol. Of course, we see this play out in the lore... But... at this point (9/28/18) anything I say about 2D actions in this phase beyond the early characterization through the album is just speculation... So, back to the album...

There are few places where 2D talks about how much he’s sacrificed for Murdoc’s sake, how he’s stood by and suffered for him, even made music for him when he really just didn’t want to anymore. Idaho references this and the level of idolization he once felt for Murdoc so long ago, “Playing it all for gods Yesterday/Faraway” and the role of Murdoc in pressuring him, ““Ride on," said the king of cool. you've got nothing to lose“ and how his hope faded through the years, “Silver linings getting lost”. Fireflies again frames Murdoc’s role in driving him, “You were in the kind of game that put the force in me“ and overall speaks to his desperation to hold onto hope throughout the last 20 years. 

The lore supports these songs are about Murdoc in far more obvious ways then has ever been done. Between the Souk Eye visualizer and 2D’s journal, the depths for which he feels for him becomes undeniable. The deterioration we’ve witnessed has caused him so much pain and yet his love remains. “If loving you’s a felony now, then I’m a renegade.” 

2D’s story serves as a tragic retelling of the path that so many real-life famous musicians have taken. Being in the limelight is rarely something normal people are able to cope with, and clearly, 2D is no exception. It changed him, caused him to make decisions he hated. He never would have chosen this lifestyle without Murdoc pressuring him, and returns over and over even when he has the choice to stay away because it’s one of the few solid things he can grasp as part of his identity. Meanwhile, he’s bound to an individual that’s even more unhealthy then he is, enabling his isolation, denying him support, taking advantage of him from day one, manipulating his poor sense of self-worth. All of it crushed his once child-like spirit... only time will tell where he goes from here. Maybe one day he’ll finally see the end of his abuse, heal with the man he’s forgiven too many times, and find security in his own self-worth... 

Now if all that made you too sad here’s a video of 2D being absolutely adorably happy because he has the opportunity to connect with fans through sharing his passion for music. 

#character analysis #2d #i hope you cry

[sasukerevolution]

and no one will ever know

Characters: Neji Hyuuga, Tokuma Hyuuga (briefly), Hiashi Hyuuga (briefly), Hinata Hyuuga (briefly), Tenten (super briefly)

Notes: So this fic has been annoying me literally since I wrote it over a year ago because even though I think the ideas in it are good, I wrote it past midnight when I was supposed to be doing other things so it’s super rushed and badly written and I felt like that’s a shame since IMO it’s a good fic? So anyway I finally rewrote it, and I changed the title. This takes place before and during the Chuunin Exams.

Links: AO3 | FF |  My writing blog

“Did you hear?” Neji hears, the fifteenth loud, frantic whisper to cut through his thoughts this morning. “The heiress is going to be participating in the Chuunin Exams!”

Neji grits his teeth as a Hyuuga branch member approaches him, attempting to distract from his actions with the act of mopping like this isn’t the compound where everyone can see everything. Neji can’t remember this relative’s name, but it doesn’t matter here. The slightly older man bends his knees and puts his face close to Neji’s hair.

“I know you don’t like it, but…” the relative starts, pole of the mop pressing into Neji’s shoulder as Neji struggles to maintain a position that suggests the man is invisible to him. “No matter what happens, if you’re paired with the heiress, you must throw the match.” 

Neji keeps silent, refusing to spare any words or draw attention to himself for this person. He’d already tried that with other members of the branch house who’d felt the need to do this in the last few days, and it did nothing to stop more and more from coming to bestow their worthless advice upon him. 

After a few moments, the man finally pulls back, pushing his weight into wiping the wooden floor around Neji’s feet. Neji turns away, padding back to his original destination of the dojos. Although Neji’s eyes can’t see into the one reserved for the main branch, not even special protective jutsu could protect the main house’s privacy when the sliding door barrels into the wall at the end of its track, and Hiashi Hyuuga stamps out. Behind him, Hinata Hyuuga stands, shoulders rounded to huddle into herself. Her branch member sparring opponent heaves heavy breaths, but as far as Neji can tell without activating his Byakugan, bears no actual wounds. Hiashi passes by Neji, his hand twitching just barely as though about to curl into a fist. 

Neji was the only person on his team who was required to obtain a third signature on his forms to enter the exam. The others only needed Gai’s and their own, but Hiashi was the one to complete the form for Neji, moving the brush across the page without a word. Between all the racket his branch peers stir up over the Exams, Neji wonders if they know the clan head hasn’t spoken a word to him. 

She won’t make it to the final stage anyway, Neji thinks, the only time during the Exams where being paired with her against his own wishes would ever be a problem. She couldn’t even bring herself to land a hand on a sparring opponent while surrounded by observers with medical know-how, much less in a tournament where genin are encouraged to kill. For all Neji knows, she could forfeit or be disqualified tomorrow morning when they step foot into the building where the first test will occur, and even if she somehow does carry herself through or ride on the shoulders of her teammates into the final stage, the chances of she and Neji being paired up against one another are minuscule at best. Neji touches the door of his bedroom, then turns his head as a presence appears in his field of vision and then like a flash of lightning is at his side, a hand grasping firmly onto Neji’s arm.

“Wh—” Neji gasps, startled a step back as sharp fingernails dig into his skin, and he realizes the person holding him is Tokuma, another branch member about five or six years his senior. Neji’s heart races as he rolls his shoulders back, and regains his footing. 

“Listen,” Tokuma mutters gruffly, and Neji doesn’t need to face him to see his expression, teeth bared, eyes filled with such intensity for a moment it’s like he’s using the Byakugan. 

Neji’s lips thin. This again. 

“I’m only going to say this once.” The pain of his distant cousin’s fingernails is unbearable, but between the two of them Tokuma is stronger. “Do what you will if you’re up against her, but—”

Neji’s eyes widen. Tokuma pauses, and though they are alone in this part of the bedchambers, he drops his voice to a murmur so quiet Neji has to strain to hear. “But don’t seriously hurt her, and no matter what, you can’t kill her. Do you understand?”

Neji’s teeth clench, and he rips his arm out of Tokuma’s grasp, beads of blood forming a trail on his previously unmarred skin as he slams open the door. “Goodnight, Tokuma,” he snarls.

Tokuma stands, then slowly turns toward his own chambers. “Goodnight.”

Neji learns that Hinata’s team was one of the first to return from the Forest of Death from her teammate, boasting loudly amidst the overall fuss the survivors make as they pour into the meeting room. Perhaps it’s not so surprising, given that until now, all of the tests have been based on the premise of team participation, and the Aburame clan is renowned for their unique jutsu and prowess. Obviously, renown doesn’t always make rumours true about everyone in a clan, but the tall boy with the dark glasses seems competent enough to make Neji believe in the possibility. The Hokage gains control over the situation and Neji realizes that despite the noise most people in the room look worn out. After a long spiel that tells Neji far too many people in this room are naive for not having realized the Chuunin Exams are just one more way powerful people are exploiting them, it’s announced that before the tournaments there will be a preliminary stage with individual matches.

It’s either fortunate or unfortunate for the Main House that their heiress won’t even get a chance to fight in front of any significant figures. She hems and haws pathetically throughout every match, shivering like she’s cold in her enormous sweater and poking her fingers together. He doesn’t want to look at her, but his visual abilities keep him from being able to look away, and he sighs, staring at the fights happening below and thinking that it certainly is possible for a person to be born with too much talent.

Then his name appears on the screen.

And so does hers.

The mumbles are hushed at first, hushed like they are in the Hyuuga compound between branch members and with himself, but as the chatter spreads they quickly amalgamate into a chorus, loud and indistinguishable the way only voices in a crowd can be indistinguishable, when there are so many individuals talking at once that they all seem to speak as one. Neji descends the steps, and this is unfortunate, this is ridiculously unfortunate, Gaara of the Sand Village with all the rumours surrounding him standing with his face pallid on the balcony across the room, Sasuke Uchiha who won a match using a move he learned from Neji’s own teammate in five days recovering in the hospital to be ready in time for the tournament, Rock Lee behind him, prepared to advance, prepared to continue and to test his hand, and even Tenten who’s lost already had the chance to fight and lose on her own terms. Unfortunate doesn’t even begin to describe this, that Neji would be paired against the one person he can’t touch, to be paired against her before anyone else in this Village can even see how skilled he is, can see that his talent being so limited for the rest of his life is a waste— no, this is fate. Destiny ordained, from the moment of his father’s birth to Neji’s feet now walking into the battle area to meet his timid cousin. To forfeit the match here and now and perhaps take it as a gentle reminder that those with hubris can only be proven fools when faced with forces greater than they are.

And Hinata, Hinata who can see him anyway, Hinata who has no choice but to look at her cousin whether she wants to or not, can’t even meet his eyes for the audience’s sake.

At the front of the room, the Hokage stands, silent, indifferent to the nonchalance with which his Village’s computer has derailed the next half a year of Neji’s life. Silent… and with an intense gaze fixed on Neji, a patient and anxious gaze, waiting to see what he will do.

They want me to fight her, Neji realizes, fluorescent lights buzzing and flickering slightly overhead. The audience watches expectantly, and though this whole time Neji could see them, it is only now that with significance it occurs to him that he and Hinata are the only Hyuuga in the room. She, the heiress of the clan, and he, the most promising prodigy of their age. They want him to fight her, and they want him to hurt her, and on this stage— and perhaps for the only time in the rest of his life— he is being held to the rules of the Village, not the tyrannical rules of the Hyuuga.

Don’t seriously hurt her, and no matter what, you can’t kill her.

Neji rolls his shoulders back, then speaks in an even voice the only kindness he intends to afford his cousin; “You should forfeit now.”

The match ends with Hinata being carried out on a stretcher by the Leaf’s medical team. The entire fight is a blur, nearly every Jounin in the Leaf, including his own sensei who claims to disagree with Neji’s perspective about fixed destinies, stepping in at the last moment to protect Hinata from him. Even the “no-rules” preliminary matches are willing to make exceptions for the main house, it seems, but Neji was wrong to think this Village would ever support him.

When the rest of the fights are over, Neji doesn’t go home. He can’t, not yet, not with Hinata in the hospital because of him. He doesn’t know how bad the wounds he inflicted on her are, but according to Rock Lee the medical team doesn’t know how long she’ll have to be there. Ultimately, though, avoiding the compound is an exercise in futility. With over a hundred clan members in possession of the Byakugan, the Hyuuga hardly lack the resources to find him if they want to, and with the seal upon his forehead they wouldn’t even need to do that much.

He traces the circles through the Village, almost sluggish, until the moon has dominated the sky for several hours and he realizes he’ll have to collapse on a bench for the night if he doesn’t get to a bed and sleep. 

Nothing is waiting for him when he returns, and the next morning the branch house members refuse to speak with him. Tokuma is nowhere to be found, and the next afternoon when a meeting is called for all the clan’s council to attend, Neji knows with certainty that he did the wrong thing. 

For three days and two nights no one sees Neji’s uncle or his grandfather, the rooms locked, soundproofed, and invisible to branch house members’ Byakugan to ensure they have more privacy than anyone else in the entire ninja world could ever be afforded. At first, Neji can’t understand why the meeting is taking so long. The answer for how to punish him should be obvious; branch house Hyuuga are supposed to protect the main house members, not put them in comas. 

But, Neji thinks, sitting by his window watching the sun rise for his fourth morning without sleep since the meetings ended. I did graduate as the top rookie of my year.

“Everyone is talking about you,” Tenten enthuses. “I saw one of the feudal lords from the Land of Water coming into the Village, and I overheard him say he’s really excited to see you fight!”

So that’s what happened. If word got out that Neji was killed after injuring the heiress of the Hyuuga name, the clan’s reputation as a force not to be toiled with would be tainted. Everyone would know of her weakness and unsuitability to lead the most notorious clan still alive since the Warring Clans Era, and his death would raise questions and bring the clan into scrutiny. The last thing the Hyuuga or the Leaf Village elites would need is for the Hyuuga clan’s brutal practice to be made common knowledge. 

No, instead they will wait, wait until all the international guests had gone home and no one is paying attention anymore. They will wait until after the tournament is over, and then they will activate his seal, like he saw his uncle do to his father before him, for the crime of looking with “murderous intent” at his daughter— the same daughter that Neji very nearly killed. He has defied his destiny for the very last time.

Tenten doesn’t talk about what happened with Hinata. Gai might, if he weren’t so distracted visiting Rock Lee in the hospital. Neji can’t bring himself to deal with either of them now, and sparring in the dojos in the compound only reminds him that the people around him are plotting his fate. Left with no other choices when Tenten leaves earlier than him to go home, he practices with training dummies on the standard grounds, far below his skill level but preferable to anything else.

His opponent for his first fight will be Naruto Uzumaki, and though Neji has no concerns about being able to beat him, others whose strengths will actually be good measuring sticks for his own will be present also. It doesn’t matter anymore, but he still doesn’t want to lose his last battles in front of such a large crowd. Practicing on this dummy is almost useless for the real thing, though, because it has no chakra points to speak of. He hits it all the same, and the mark on his forehead feels like it’s burning, like his skull is ready to split anytime.

And no one will even know why, he thinks, rougher with the dummy than he would be even with a breathing human, since the Hyuuga fighting style has no cause for roughness. 

His hand stops, millimetres away from the straw, and he sees his fingers shake.

Unless I tell them.

One of the most highly anticipated events in the ninja world— no, this Chuunin Exams is even more highly anticipated than others have been in years, with the sole survivor of the Uchiha clan due to take part. The crowd is already enormous, the most infamous people in the ninja world taking up rooms in every inn in the Village Hidden in the Leaves. No doubt knowing the truth of how the main house has kept its secrets safe and its subordinates loyal would spark controversy with other Villages, and although many of the Leaf Village’s administration knows and doesn’t seem to care, the citizens of the Leaf and other clan heads surely would.

But besides that, it will mean that no matter what, the main house won’t be able to kill him without confirming to the entire ninja world everything he says. 

And perhaps then they’ll finally be sorry.

#Neji Hyuuga #Neji Hyuga #Hyuuga clan #fanfiction #my writing #ramblings

[mightygarchomp]

Why I Love Goro Akechi: A (Long) Character Analysis

(WARNING: SPOILERS FOR PERSONA 5 LEFT AND RIGHT.)

(ADDITIONAL WARNING: Due to how controversial Goro is as a character, I’m definitely gonna get people disagreeing with me, and that’s perfectly fine. Just don’t start tossing in death threats, kay? Kay.)

Goro Akechi. One of the most controversial characters I’ve ever seen in a video game. Opinions on him are widely varied; either you love the guy and feel sorry for what he’s gone through, you can sympathize with him but dislike the lengths he goes to, or you just plain hate the guy due to his actions.

Well, if you couldn’t tell from the title of this analysis, I’m in the first camp, and proud of it.

I accept the risk of an angry mob going for my head in saying that Goro may just be my favorite character in a video game. I love pretty much everything about him, and yet I’m actually legitimately angry at how Atlus treated the guy. Seriously, they had a goldmine here and they wasted it. But whatever, I’m not here to rant about how disappointing Persona 5’s endgame was (though if you REALLY want me to do that, let me know). I’m here to pick apart Goro Akechi. Just what made him into who he was? How did his newfound Persona powers affect the course of his life? And what lead to him pulling the ultimate sacrifice? I’ll be answering all these questions - and hopefully more - in this analysis on the dashing Crow.

Part 1: A Life Full Of Hatred - How Goro Became Who He Was

All of the Phantom Thieves have pretty terrible lives, don’t they? The death of Futaba’s mother gave her some pretty intense survivor’s guilt, Haru’s stuck in an arranged marriage with the worst fiance imaginable, et cetera. Well, I think very few people will argue with me when Goro has the worst of it - save perhaps Futaba, but she gets over her issues. That never truly happens to Goro, even in his final moments. And can you really blame him?

The basic gist of it is this: Goro was born as an illegitimate child who was abandoned by his dad before he was even born. His mother either died from childbirth or killed herself out of shame, which left Goro to be passed around from foster home to foster home by the court. Throughout his entire life he’s never really had anyone to call a friend due to being shunted around. And note that this is just what he tells you before you find out what he’s really up to. When you find out who that dad is, things get much worse.

Goro’s dad is none other than Masayoshi Shido, the main antagonist of the game and one of the most heartless characters I’ve ever seen in a video game. Of course, Goro resented Shido for abandoning him, but he couldn’t really do anything. I’m not completely sure how Goro managed to find out how Shido was his dad, but that’s less an issue with his character and more an issue with Persona 5’s writing, so we’ll skip over that.

A lot of people like to say Goro’s just a guy with daddy issues, but I’d like you guys to keep in mind that this takes place in Japan. If you live in America, then this probably isn’t as much of an issue, but in Japan, being a bastard child is a huge problem, to the point where you’re basically born an outcast. Japan has a family registration system called koseki, which - until 2013 - did nothing to protect against discrimination towards illegitimate children. And keep in mind that his foster homes were probably aware of this, so imagine all of the hatred and discrimination he went through.

Honestly, with this information, it’s no wonder he grew into the bitter, resentful person he was. Never being acknowledge by his father, having to put up with loads of abuse... his early childhood was a terrible mess, to the point where he seems to have little in the way of self-worth. He outright calls himself a “disgrace to the world”. It also puts his ultimate plan into perspective, considering this would destroy Shido’s reputation - and also any trust in government, which would throw society into chaos AND give him the revenge and closure he desired on all the adults who abused him.

Despite his princely detective mask and fame, he has some pretty deep-rooted issues to the point where he’s not only angry that the Phantom Thieves are “better than him” (as he perceives it) but also terrified. The few things he actually has in life - his fame and image - were at risk of being worthless, considering he perceived the Thieves as having things he didn’t despite him being much more successful than them. It shows that even with all this fame he’s not really that happy. And worst of all, he had no chance to change his terrible life.

Or did he?

Part 2: A Chance At Revenge - Goro’s Wild Card Abilities and His Father

Goro may have hit rock bottom, but he found hope when he gained the ability to use Personas - and also the possible power to get revenge on his father, who he was formerly powerless against. But he’s not just any Persona user; he’s a Wild Card. This wouldn’t be much of a big deal before Persona 3, considering from what I know everyone was a Wild Card, but after Persona 3? We never really got Wild Cards other than the protagonist, save maybe Adachi. And even then, Goro was the only one to actually use multiple Personas in battle. Or, well... two.

See, most people complain that Goro’s boss fight could have been a lot cooler, with him switching between Personas, but these people are missing the entire deal of the Wild Card. Goro was unable to fully utilize the power of the Wild Card because he had no bonds. Of course, you may wonder in that case... what’s the deal with his Personas? Which one is the original, and how did he get a second one? Well, my theory is that Loki is the original. It would make sense, given his whole deal of causing mental shutdowns and sending people berserk - the main thing he did with Loki.

Of course, in that case, how did he get Robin Hood? Well, my theory is that there is one bond he made: his bond with Joker. He’s legitimately regretful about the turn of events that leads to his boss fight, and wishes he could have met Joker beforehand. Morgana even points out that he’s happy when he’s with Joker. The other Thieves treat him with scorn initially, and by the time they start warming up to him, it’s not enough to get a true bond. But Joker was... well, depending on your choices, the nicest one to him. At the very least, he’s the one who interacts the most with Goro.

Of course, there’s probably going to be the inevitable argument of “you can still fuse Personas if you don’t have the Social Links yet”. However, one thing I’d like you guys to keep in mind is that we have no confirmation that Goro even got to see the Velvet Room. During his confrontation, his exact words are “Someone, be it god or demon, gave me a chance...” which implies that he has no idea how he got Persona powers. If he doesn’t have access to Igor and the Velvet Room assistants (notably, Caroline and Justine never mention him) then how’s he supposed to fuse new Personas? He had no one to guide him into believing he could negotiate with Shadows, either, unlike Joker. So it makes sense that the only Personas he have would be born from his own heart - one from his sheer hatred for the world and Yaldabaoth’s gift, and the other one being from his bond with Joker.

With that out of the way, let’s talk about Goro’s plans from there: he came to Shido as an unknown benefactor and offered him his services. Of course, seeing as Shido saw him as a useful pawn, he accepted, and the two entered a partnership. Goro was effectively Shido’s personal hitman - and this started two years prior to the events of the game. Basically, Goro became an assassin right out of middle school.

Of course, the biggest elephant in the room is... if Goro is so sympathetic, why did he murder so many people, including being responsible for Wakaba Isshiki and Kunikazu Okumura’s deaths? Well, the thing is... keep in mind Goro has gone through a lot. His dad was basically responsible for his terrible life, and since we can infer he was regularly abused at his households, he probably became pretty fixated on getting revenge. Imagine not getting closure for over a decade for someone who made your life a living hell. Goro is very determined to get revenge on his father, no matter the circumstances. He pretty much had to do exactly what Shido told him if he wanted to get revenge. Keep in mind Shido is willing to kill pretty much anybody who isn’t useful to him anymore. One wrong step and Goro would probably be a victim.

Furthermore, another thing to keep in mind is that throughout all his live, Goro has been severely affection starved. He’s had no friends or family that really loved him. At this point he’s willing to do anything to get acknowledgment from someone even if it’s just for his talents. By the time he found a real friend in Joker, he thought it was too late to really change. Goro outright admits he just wanted to be loved and acknowledged by someone, but due to his own narrow-minded views and the refusal to accept the fact that he wasted two years of his life murdering people and obeying the person he hates most for nothing, his ability to back out is long gone. In Goro’s life, anyone could die.

The most important thing, however, is that even with Persona powers, he’s just a kid going up against a powerful conspiracy. What could he do to escape the cycle of abusive homes? The only real option he could think of to take was revenge. And honestly, I can’t blame him. Even if he’s done some terrible things, he couldn’t really be a hero in the first place, considering he didn’t even know stealing hearts was possible until it was too late.

Luckily, he did see the light in the end... kind of.

Part 3: A Desire For Redemption - The Lead-Up To Goro’s Sacrifice

With my personal disdain for Persona 5’s endgame, I won’t deny that Goro’s redemption arc could have been handled far better. That said, there are clear signs of it. The big question for this section: What built up to Goro eventually sacrificing himself for the Phantom Thieves in a situation that he could’ve escaped from if he had done something as simple as move back a little?

Well, let’s start with the most important part: his friendship with Joker. As you find out in Shido’s cruise ship, despite being a traitor, Goro didn’t lie about his past to Joker - he just left out the more important parts. For a guy who’s perfectly willing to lie and seems heartless, that’s kind of odd, wouldn’t you think? Why would he spill such personal details? It’s obvious he holds Joker in high regard, which is made even more evident as you meet up with him more often and rank up his Confidant. In the final confrontation with him, before he starts to get more hostile, he laments that he couldn’t have met Joker earlier, before he deemed it too late to change.

This carries further through the dungeon he joins you in. Throughout the Palace, Goro is getting hazed by the other Thieves because they’re onto him. However, as the dungeon goes on they start to respect him more for his wit and assistance. Goro was probably feeling good about being admired by people who aren’t complete sociopaths like Shido, and he no doubt wanted to hold onto that feeling, but ultimately decided to go forward because he had sunk too much into his mission with Shido. How could I assume this? Well, after he kills Joker and talks to Shido about the deed, he manages to convince Shido not to have him off the other Thieves, AND also ignores Morgana’s existence and lies about it to Shido - the man he’s pretty much the obedient puppet of at this point. That speaks volumes.

So what happens when the Thieves manage to convince him that it’s not too late for his life to take a turn for a better? Well, one beating-the-crap session out of him later, they outright admit they admire his strength and wit, but also gently admonish him for his power being fueled by hate and anger. Then they give him the option to join them against Shido - for real. A part of me wonders what would have happened if he was able to say yes before Cognitive Goro showed up...

Regardless, this leads to Goro pulling the ultimate sacrifice: blocking himself off from the party and performing a mutual kill on his cognitive self. We’ve already established the lead-up to this, but one thing I noticed is that Goro had an easy escape route. If he just moved a little bit - or, hell, even dived - he could have ended up on the other side of the wall and Cognitive Goro would have been unable to stop him. Why didn’t he? Well...

The biggest reason is that even if Goro changes, as many fans like to point out, his crimes aren’t magically erased. Goro is well aware what he’s doing is wrong, even if he considers it his own twisted “justice” at the same time. Given his demeanor after he’s defeated and the fact that he didn’t reform due to how much he had put into this plan, it’s easy to say he probably doesn’t think he can atone for his crimes with any method other than, well, death.

The other reason is also interesting: Should Goro have escaped, that wouldn’t have helped with Cognitive Goro. He’d still be active and roaming the Palace and could kill the Thieves. Goro’s intelligent enough that he probably considered this and wanted to remove the Thieves’ biggest opponent for good - and the only way to do that was by sacrificing himself.

Or, y’know, he just didn’t have enough energy to move out of the way in time.

Part 4: Closing Thoughts + Should Goro Turn Out To Be Alive?

This doesn’t really relate to his character, but I figured it’d be interesting to include. There are people who think Goro should either stay dead or turn out to be alive, but have to atone for his crimes. What do I think?

Well, this is down to some heavy personal preferences, but I think Goro should stay alive... but only because his redemption arc was pretty rushed due to the endgame’s rather poor writing. They could have done so much more with Goro, honestly, but his redemption arc just kinda happened - and what makes it worse is that he’s mentioned maybe three times max after his death.

The reason I think Goro should have survived his death is because he deserves so much more than what he got. His arc could’ve been absolutely wonderful with how complex a character he is. All he wanted was acknowledgment and love, and we can all relate to that, right? He may have committed some truly heinous crimes, but I think he would have turned out far differently with the right people around. Even if no one else will, I’ll stick up for him any day and give him the affection and respect he deserves.

Thanks for reading.

#persona 5 #goro akechi #character analysis #mightygarchomp #persona 5 spoilers #persona 5 akechi #pancakes #long post

[blackjacketmuses]

hc; komaeda 2

Personality 

At his core, Nagito Komaeda is a deeply depressed, pessimistic, and anxious person. From a very young age, disaster followed him around like a curse, always followed by good luck. However, the sheer amount of horrible things that happened, including the deaths of his parents and other traumatizing events -- for instance witnessing many deaths in front of him and many accidents, and losing much of his belongings several times over, as well as being diagnosed with two terminal illnesses -- caused him to sink into despair as a child, something he’s never been able to free himself from.

He sees himself as broken and worthless, completely ordinary and garbage and not worth bothering with due to the trail of disasters in his wake and how dull and boring his life is -- he is borderline suicidal, but has no real desire to act on it himself, instead simply feeling it best to let it happen on its own.

He is also incredibly paranoid and anxious about a great many things, disliking doing many things he sees or feels is ‘unsafe’ or has the possibility of such due to his luck cycles, believing that the more he risks in doing something and the more risky something is, the more likely it is to go wrong and cause disaster. He doesn’t express this often, but to most he comes off as very pessimistic, due to his worries about anything he does and how he constantly goes over what might go wrong. Because of this he also prefers sedentary or very ‘safe’ (sometimes childish) activities over anything else, and tends to dislike going outdoors much.

He also sees most people around him as even lower than him, as anyone who is able to be hurt or killed by trash like him must be even less than trash. It mainly functions as a coping mechanism so he doesn’t let himself grieve every death his luck causes.

However, a lot of the time when he sees someone as less than him -- people like him, dull and ordinary, a rather deadpan and sarcastic side comes out, and he’s rather rude and condescending. It doesn’t happen often and not to many people (as himself; as a Remnant he was rude to most people aside from himself and his classmates), but it’s also a good litmus of how he sees and treats himself.

However, due to the good things that always follow the bad things in his life, he developed an almost obsessive devotion to the concept of ‘hope’. To him, hope is the absolute good, and the only reason he is alive and has the will to live. The hope that something good will come after something bad is the only thing that keeps him functional and able to get up in the morning, and he is obsessed with the idea that even someone like him can be a stepping-stone to give someone else hope -- to him, that would be the only good thing someone like him could do, and it would make his otherwise worthless life have meaning.

Because of his devotion to hope, despite being mired in despair he acts otherwise, consistently wearing a smile and keeping a cheerful and friendly demeanor towards most people -- he refuses to outwardly give into despair no matter the circumstances, as he sees it as an insult to hope to do so.

He tends to come off as rather apathetically calm and strangely cheerful, even in bad situations, and doesn’t react to much, even situations where he should be outwardly scared or concerned. Due to his brain disease, he also has a very hard time reading situations and social cues, and misunderstands quite a lot as well as having a hard time reading sarcasm or his own insensitivity, only apologizing if he’s made to realize what he said was wrong (without really getting why). He’s honest to a fault most of the time, and says things without realizing how they come across, though he’s aware of this habit. In addition, he is very anxious in normal social situations due to inexperience, and the longer something goes on without anything bad happening, he tends to default to worrying about anything and everything that could go wrong, and the safety of any given activity is the first thing on his mind when an activity is chosen.

Despite this, however, he is very deeply lonely and paranoid, and terrified of his own bad luck. It is enough that good things come right after, and as time has gone on he’s come to believe in his sole talent to an only slightly less obsessive way, able to manipulate it enough in small ways that he can use it to his advantage. However, this is not enough to mitigate how deeply afraid of it he also is.

Because of his fear of it, he pushes people away and tries not to get close to anyone, not wanting anyone else to be hurt or killed just for being friends with someone worthless like him.

Ever since he heard of Hope’s Peak Academy, he idolized it -- as an academy said to cultivate the hope of the future in the form of the Ultimates, it seemed like both his paradise and his church, though he always figured he was too unworthy to be a part of it. He even thought this way when he first was accepted as the Lucky Student of his year, but eventually accepted -- he had just been diagnosed with his terminal illnesses, and wished for whatever he had left of life to be useful to the Ultimates and their hope. If he could just allow his worthless self to be a stepping-stone for them on their way to becoming the world’s hopes, then he’d die happy.

That’s a lie -- he didn’t want to die alone, and deep down he was hoping that somehow he could...no, he wasn’t worthy to be their friend, but if he could at least have someone think of him fondly in the end, it would be enough.

Thanks to Chisa Yukizome, he interacted with the rest of his class -- even so, he knew they didn’t like him. That was fine, because at the very least he was interacting with people on a daily basis, and it was...strangely comforting. He considered himself unworthy of their friendship anyway -- scum like him could never be worthy to be friends with shining beacons of hope like the Ultimates! -- but to spend time with them as their classmate was more than he could ever asked for. Unfortunately, this bit him in the ass when his purely well-intentioned attempt to postpone the practical test so the others could grieve Fuyuhiko’s sister got him suspended. He didn’t mind! It worked, after all, and thanks to his luck no one was hurt (though the suspension he supposed was his bad luck kicking in).

He wasn’t surprised when he found no one had missed him upon his return, but it made him happy to know at least Peko was willing to listen to his request (ostensibly because of what he’d tried to do for Fuyuhiko after Natsumi’s death) and that Chiaki seemed to appreciate and like him enough to try to stop him from killing Junko. Unfortunately, his happiness at Chiaki’s kindness towards him only seemed to -- in his opinion -- in part lead to her ensuing demise, which would have broken him to watch normally, and only made worse by the brainwashing layered upon it.

As one of the Remnants of Despair, his contradictory personality and beliefs were only made worse as he became more and more deeply unstable, believing that falling into despair was fine, because hope would win in the end, and willing to do horrible things to cause despair, because it would only make the hope that followed greater -- this was the core of his beliefs, after all, right, and the more despair he caused the greater the hope that it would spawn. This contradictory mindset bled into how he saw Junko herself, as he both hated her deeply and wished her dead -- even stealing her hand in the hopes of using that hatred and her power for himself -- but also obsessed over her as much as the others, willing to let her take over his body via the Neo World Program.

Deep down, he wishes for a world without talent, where they could all be normal and he would be able to be happy and hopeful without worrying and being afraid, but at the same time, he rejects this belief -- as the Ultimates and talents are the pinnacle of hope, how could he think the world would be better off without them?

#;hc: komaeda #(( tbfh this is what took me two hours last night ))

[kimmysfandomblog]

🔥 for the dr3 anime. Have at it. (Before I forget I just wanna say I agree 110% about your opinion on Ko's sexuality. Single-target sexuality, I think it's called?)

Thanks for the ask, Hyun :) Sorry I took so long, but I have a lot of feelings when I write about this subject ^^; I accidentally... wrote you an essay ;;;;;;;

(And also, thank you so much!!! I never knew that existed, but it sounds very much like how I headcanon Ko!)

Unpopular Opinion on DR3, huh? I feel like I am generally... aligned with how most of the fandom view DR3?  DR3 was written poorly, DR3 ruined some characters (specifically a certain girl I love), DR3 had a bad mastermind/main antagonist, DR3 retconned  things poorly, etc. Like, honestly, the only thing I can do is actually tell you something I like about DR3, lol.

I guess one unpopular opinion would be that DR3Z Episode 3 is still my favorite out of all of DR3 (Hope Side included)!

I think when someone refers to their favorite episode in DR3, it would be something like Hope Arc, maybe an episode of Future Arc (like in Episode 6 when we were super hype about possibly Kamukura being there instead of Hinata and all these boats coming on their way). While I was also super hype about that, and I may have watched Hope Arc 20x times that day because my boy Hajime Hinata is safe and Happy, I have to say, I just like DR3Z Episode 3 more. It wasn’t completely satisfying (I don’t know if any episode of DR3 can be said to be completely satisfying, especially once you’ve finished the series), but it made more of a lasting impact on me.

First of all, I think one of the things that made me attached to it is that this is a much more Hajime-centric episode. We start with Hinata’s POV, and it shifts only a few times to other perspectives (Like Fuyuhiko’s, or Sato’s). WHen I finally got to know and love th DR2 cast, I was prepared to be excited for DR3 and getting to know their pasts. I first saw the DR3 trailer not knowing what they were talking about until they released the game on team, so when I rewatched it in anticipation, I got excited! One of the things I definitely wanted was more of Hinata! He was, and remains, the best DR Protagonist! I kinda figured that we would get more of Izuru than of Hajime, but I wanted to at least get more out of his motivations, and, yeah, we kinda did! It wasn’t what I thought we would get, what with a few mentions of his parents, but not so much of what they were like, but parts of Episode two, and all of Episode three were made to explain it a bit. SOme stuff, we already know, or could guess, such as that Hinata was desperate for a talent, and that be acquiring a talent, he would get Hope (Or a meaning to his life).

However, we get some additional info. Firstly, in Episode two, it is mentioned that HPA is paying for his tuition, should he enter the Hope Cultivation Plan, implying his parents are not as rich as we thought (DR2 made it seem like they were, since his parents were mentioned in that sort of flashback sequence). That puts a lot of pressure on him... not to mention they give him some time to decide. By the start of Episode three, he mentions he only has a week left. Within that one week he has left, he is acquainted with both sides of the decision, represented by Chiaki, representing the Ideal solution, where he wouldn’t need the project to have Hope, and Natsumi, representing the, I guess you could say, “Logical” solution, as in that no one alive cares about anyone unless they have talent, and HPA is giving it to him with no monetary cost to him, or his parents.

Now, we know that Chiaki is technically right, that even without a talent, you can have hope, but the problem is that she doesn’t have that same perspective. She does have a talent, and those words she learned from Yukizome can only help her because they were meant to say that Talent shouldn’t restrict Chiaki from doing what she wants, just for the fun of it. Hinata, meanwhile, has much less freedom in this Talent-driven society he is stuck in. No one will acknowledge his existence without talent, and because of  that, he can’t do anything even if he wanted to. By the end of this episode, he sees this flaw because unlike Nanami, Natsumi has the same perspective he does. She dies and it looks like as if no one cares at all about her death.

Now to Natsumi, she is the character struggling with society’s rules that you have to have a Talent to mean something. Both of them actually believe in these rules, and they are both desperate to get into the Main Course, but for Natsumi, the need is greater. She has a brother and his bodyguard who are both acknowledged as Ultimates, yet though she probably spends time with them both, Natsumi was left out. She was deemed, by society’s leaders in HPA, that she wasn’t enough for them, so how could she be enough for her brother? She would do anything for the same opportunity Hinata got. Hinata, who had been stuck with Reserve Course students that were all trying to accept they were nothing more than Reserve Course students and would never move on to the Main Course, now has come across someone similar to him, who has also refused to give up on their dream of being acknowledged as something special.

Hajime feels like the Hope Cultivation Plan is his only chance to finally be happy and proud of himself, but at the same time, he is, by nature, skeptical that such a plan would. It’s too good to be true (and it was, of course). The episode starts off with him looking up the school’s website, which doesn’t give him any real results. He’s only got a week to decide left, and he’s not completely sure yet if this is the right way to go even if, in his head, he desperately wants this to be the solution. It would be easy, and would benefit him and his family. But, with that doubt he still has, he latches on to Nanami’s words that he won’t need talent to be happy. THese words sound right. They sound like this is something that exists. But, it isn’t proven. In fact, it is disproven by Natsumi, first by her denial of his words that Talent isn’t everything (because it is something to enough people for it to matter), and secondly, when Natsumi dies despite coming from an influential family, and when she dies, her death is covered up with lies and unsatisfactory answers. This girl who he only just came to know and kind of befriend is dead, and he could do nothing about her death. He even pieces together that Sato killed her by chance, and that there was something clearly wrong with Sato to begin with, but then she is dead. Two classmates, now dead, and both of them had their deaths covered up. Hajime is not dumb, he can put pieces together (He didn’t need as much help in the trials unless someone was withholding information (usually Komaeda)). He knows exactly who to ask, and would have investigated it, but is stopped by Juzo.

He of course doesn’t know Juzo is trying to make sure he doesn’t dig too deep and gets targeted by HPA for revealing too much, but Juzo really doesn’t know how to talk with anything other than physical language. As in beat up a 15-16-year-old kid into submission, but you know. Juzo is just one more reason on top  of Natsumi’s death that he accepts the plan. Juzo validated his thoughts that he, nor anyone that lacks talent, matters.

It’s really heartbreaking to see Hinata like that, however I suppose, in his own way, he thought of the project as his way of breaking the mould of normality he was stuck in. You know that he needs to become Izuru Kamukura, you know it has to happen, but it does crush me how he had to come to the “realization” he is worthless otherwise to do it, through two deaths and his own degradation by Juzo. (and being saved by Chisa... probably not what he wanted.)

I find it interesting that the person that represents accepting the Hope Cultivation Plan is Natsumi, because we know if Fuyuhiko had ever heard her speak the words she did to Hinata, he’d have denied it. He’d have said she deserved to be in his place, that she would have been the better clan leader, that even though she didn’t accept his role, he would always introduce her as is Ultimate Little Sister, and no old men and drunk scout can change that.

If Hinata could have known that by being such a supportive friend, his friends would value him more than just as someone who has an Ultimate Talent, or EVERY Ultimate Talent, and that he provides all the difference just by being himself, I don’t think he would have turned to the Hope Cultivation Project.

But that isn’t how things went. Hinata, had no proof that Talent was truly meaningless. Society kept on validating that Talent meant much more than someone not acknowledged to have any.

Oh... I got.... way off topic ^^;

Well, overall, this was an emotional episode. I get why people don’t like it much: They really rushed the Twilight Syndrome MurderCase, to the point of not even showing the events in the minigame. I also wished for more Natsumi and Hinata interaction, or have this episode split in two (and take place instead of Love SOup incident, please). I found Satos’ character to be ver much lacking as well, since they reduced her to some kind of yandere-like personality (although thinking back, was she like that in the Twilight Syndrome Murder Case?) However, for what we got? It’s still something that I really love! It gave us an insight into Hinata, and an awesome character to boot!

(I also kinda skipped over the Hinam bits, but the Fountain scene was pretty sad, even if I’m really ehh about the way Nanami sees he’s hurt and still offers him to play, and other weird things like that involving those two... Like I swear Nanami would be way more concerned about his wellbeing in DR2 and pick up on the obvious bad signs and act on them more)

#I wrote way too much I am so sorry #mehere #ask meme #long post #mediocre-h

[wazafam]

Stephen King's coming-of-age drama Stand By Me is a timeless tale of four friends, just as relevant today as it was on its initial release in 1986. The film is based off a novella by King called The Body, and was directed by Rob Reiner. It was received well by fans and had largely positive reviews, with critics praising the performances of the young stars. Reiner calls it the favorite of all his projects, and King loved the adaptation. But what would a 2021 version look like?

The story of the movie is told through the point of view of Gordie Lachance (Wil Wheaton), who, as an adult, reads in the newspaper that his childhood friend Chris (River Phoenix) has been killed. He begins to write a recollection of a childhood adventure with Chris and their friends Vern (Jerry O'Connell) and Teddy (Corey Feldman) in which they go on a quest to find the dead body of a teenager in their neighborhood who had gone missing. Some older teens led by the terrifying Ace Merrill (Kiefer Sutherland) also seek the body, wanting to claim the glory for locating the boy. Ace threatens, bullies, and belittles the younger boys, pushing them to their emotional limits. Gordie, who is mourning the death of his kind older brother Denny, finds the strength within to stand up to Ace, defending himself and his friends.

RELATED: Every George Romero & Stephen King Collaboration That Never Happened

The drama touched audiences and remains a fan favorite, retaining its legacy over thirty years after its debut. Much of the magic of the film was credited to the casting, about which Wheaton said, "Rob Reiner found four young boys who basically were the characters we played." Were the film to be remade today, it would be necessary to recapture the striking chemistry and lovely acting that made Stand By Me so special.

As the film's point of view character, the role of Gordie requires a lot of sensitivity and strength. Gordie is an imaginative, reflective boy who has lost the only family member who noticed and appreciated his talent for storytelling. At the tender age of 12, Gordie feels invisible in his own home, cast aside in favor of his athletic and charming older brother whose death has rocked his family. His father is not handling grief well, acting gruffly and dismissively toward Gordie, who just wants to be seen. Gordie feels like the shadow cast by his older brother will forever get in the way of his relationship with his parents. He seeks closeness with his friends, particularly Chris, who acts as his cheerleader, telling him that his parents simply don't know him, and that one day he'll be a great writer.

Wheaton's portrayal of Gordie was powerful and poignant, and it earned him a spot on VH1's "100 Greatest Kid Stars." The boy who replaces him would have to be a skilled actor and a bankable star, and Jacob Tremblay is both. At a young age, he has already garnered praise from critics for the dramatic heavy-hitter Room, and his performance in another King story, Doctor Sleep, was so effective that he disturbed all of his adult co-stars. Tremblay has shown enormous range and star power for one so young, and his winning relatability and potent depths would bring Gordie Lachance to a new generation.

As the naïve, silly comic of the group, Vern is often picked on but is resilient enough to brush right by the taunts. He is the one who introduces the idea of the trip to the group, asking them if they want to go see a dead body. He was under the porch digging for a jar of pennies he had lost when he overheard his brother talking to a friend about spotting the dead body of Ray Brower. Vern's desire to find the body coincides with his yearning to be a town hero instead of a "town loser." He is so often dismissed and ignored that he seems keen to prove himself. At first glance, Vern may seem a little slow and merely there to be a source of comedic relief, but he just like the other boys is facing an unfamiliar and yawning future, and he is trying to reinvent himself via an act of bravado.

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Stand By Me was O'Connell's very first film, and his breezy, natural skills are effortlessly presented. Similarly, Lonnie Chavis is relatively new on the scene but has already won audiences and adult co-stars over with his maturity and adaptability. A keen observer of life and the human condition, Chavis was able to dive into his roles with electric energy and a firm grasp on reality that won him a significant role on the hit show This Is Us. Chavis would be a fun, fresh face to experience on the silver screen.

Teddy is perhaps the most tortured and erratic of the group. He suffers from a frightening home life with a father who has PTSD and takes the worst of his episodes out on Teddy, including an incident wherein he held Teddy's ear to the stove until it almost burned off. Despite this, Teddy venerates his father, holding sacred the fact that he "stormed the beaches of Normandy" in World War II. Teddy is often given over to fits of rage and sorrow, attempting suicide by standing in front of a train and getting into a screaming match with the man who runs the local dump. Teddy, in a way, is a symbol of the aftereffects of war, something still very close to home at the close of the 1950s when the film takes place. The window of innocence seen in the '50s would soon give way to the turmoil of the '60s, something that these young men are about to face along with adulthood.

Feldman was already a rising star when he appeared in Stand By Me, and the film stood as a testament to his position as an up-and-comer. His turn as Teddy Duchamp was truly incredible, marking a high point in the actor's career. Another such up-and-comer is Dylan Gage, who broke the hearts of audiences with his sweet, plaintive, and effective portrayal of young gay teen Gabe on the comedy Pen15. Fans of the show were gobsmacked and undone by Gage's performance as the middle-schooler coming to grips with his sexuality, finding the earnest performance gracefully executed. Gabe was also a theater actor, playing a sort of Edward Albee-esque character onstage across lead actor Maya Erskine, showing off his comedic ability and wonderful range.

In the 1986 movie, the late River Phoenix played Chris Chambers. As the narrator, Gordie says of Chris, "He came from a bad family and everyone just knew he'd turn out bad...including Chris." Chris Chambers is the leader of the group and Gordie's best friend, but he has trouble seeing the light in himself as much as he sees it in other people. His father and brother are violent toward him, and he has become convinced that he is worthless and will never amount to anything. He struggles against the turmoil of lowered expectations, desiring to advance academically but not being permitted to due to a suspension from school and access to the economic security that his friend Gordie has. He tells Gordie that they are bound to go separate ways because Gordie, unlike the rest, will have the opportunity to go to college, and he won't want to hang with losers like them. In the end, it is revealed that Chris pushed himself to graduate high school, attend college, and become a lawyer. He bravely tries to intervene in a bar fight where he is stabbed to death.

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Like Chris, Phoenix faced a difficult home life, sensitive emotionality, and a premature death. The talented young actor offered an abundance of heart and fire for one so young, and his performance in Stand By Me is one revered by fans. To replace him would be no easy task indeed, and that is why the role should be taken up by someone whose popularity and talent are pronounced. Noah Schnapp of Stranger Things has proven himself a valuable and enlightened actor whose star is beginning to shine.

Ace Merrill is not only a terrifying bully in Stephen King's Castle Rock, but a kind of symbol of childhood trauma and death. His palpable presence onscreen casts a pall over the film, acting as a dark and heavy cloud that disrupts the sunny bubble of childhood that the four young boys wish to hold on to. A notable turning point for Gordie occurs when the boy aims a gun at Ace, confronting his newfound comprehension of death and the unknowable consequences of the future all at once.

Sutherland was chilling as Merrill, his presence onscreen almost Shakespearean as he stalked through the hamlet of Castle Rock, Oregon. His smooth, detached performance is icy and effective, convincing audiences that he might pose a deadly threat to the boys. To match such a profoundly unnerving performance would take experience and poise, both of which Asa Butterfield has in spades. The young star of Hugo and Sex Education has enough clout to carry the bully off with aplomb.

The older version of Gordie is not visible through much of the film, but his voice carries the story. He is the audience's lens through which these characters are seen and the mirror of adulthood that many viewers face. At the end of the film, his words, "I never had any friends later on like the ones I had when I was twelve. Jesus, does anyone?" reflect thoughts that many people have had. Richard Dreyfuss plays the role tenderly in the original, and a return of Sutherland would be a fun nod for fans of the original as well as an echo of what happens with adulthood. Sutherland and Tremblay also bear a passing resemblance, so he would fit the role nicely.

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Though the role of Gordie's older brother is a mere cameo, he is a weighty presence in the film. Much of Gordie's character hangs on the approval of his older brother, and the motivation to find the dead body leads Gordie to a profound understanding of death, life's ultimate conclusion. When he gazes upon the body of Ray Brower, he not only understands the finality of existence but the phenomenon that took his brother away from him. The actor who plays Denny Lachance has to sparkle. He is handsome, charismatic, and kind, and the original cameo by John Cusack was just the ticket. Movie star Tom Holland would be well suited to such a task. Universally adored, sweet, and bankable, the star of Spider-Man is the perfect choice to play Gordie's beloved older brother in a Stand By Me reboot.

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