#idk this is all just guesswork & not my place to judge - criticism's another thing entirely

[alteredphoenix]

So the reason why BNHA was starting to dip in quality was because of that one editor that worked on a bunch of manga a’la Samurai 8 (which I haven’t read but some of its ideas are sort of being worked into Boruto, which explains why it’s veering more toward tech over ninja), Red Hood (which had an interesting premise but just took way too long to get the ball rolling after, like, Chapter 5, which culminated in it going fully meta by the end), Earthchild (which is the biggest tragedy out of this list because that went downhill after the first chapter), and Ayashimon (which I honestly don’t understand how it got popular as it did in the West, but you can only write so many fight scenes that can be boiled down to as ‘punch harder because I’m a manga protag’ before it gets old fast) that got quickly axed?

No wonder I was losing interest in this manga right after the Paranormal Liberation Front War Arc ended. Okay, the Villain Hunt Arc was decent - but that was the point where it should’ve gone down the darker route and lasted much longer than the Nagant fight (and we still don’t know why she broke Overhaul out of prison, but that’s either going to happen later on or probably ended up becoming an Aborted Arc). I think if I had to pinpoint the exact moment where my interest went from ‘I want to see what happens next’ to ‘okay quit dragging your feet and get the hell on, man’, it was during the Shigaraki/Star and Stripe mini-arc. Plus there were these...odd decisions to end some of these chapters on cliffhangers that should’ve, say, resulted in more danger for the cast than they should’ve been in instead of coming out of it unscathed without any explanation...? Like, the most notable case I can think of for me is the end of that one chapter more than halfway through the Villain Hunt Arc where Deku and the Pros go into that one mansion to square up against AFO, and I’m still trying to figure out what the actual fuck the point was for that random-ass explosion. Don’t even get me started on the current arc where it feels like the rest of the cast that aren’t Deku, Endeavor, Hawks (sort of, and I say this as a person that loves Hawks), Bakugou, and Shouto are...kind of Just There to make the scenery look pretty, if you catch my drift. We still haven’t seen Ochako and Toga trade blows yet nor learned who Deku’s father is (rather insignificant and nonexistent his presence actually is in the canon story, and that’s if you completely ignore the AFO Is Deku’s Father theories).

I’m not sure how much you can look at BNHA and say ‘this has all been planned out’ or ‘this is where I can tell it was planned and this is where I can tell either the author’s winging it or going by what his editor’s telling him to do’, but I can at least say it hasn’t been planned this far ahead to get to this point (I’m at least aware that the traitor and Dabi reveals were meant to happen much earlier than intended but the negative reaction toward the villains in Japan put a wrench in that). It’s kind of sad in a way that this is the conclusion I’ve come to as to why my interest has waned because for the longest while I thought this would be the shounen manga whose endgame wouldn’t go up in flames (and I’ve noticed it’s always a war arc that causes this to happen, and as much as I think the Kaguya twist would’ve worked a lot better if it’d been planned sooner and better I’ll forever blame Naruto for making me realize how much I utterly hate how drawn-out war arcs are in manga). I think the only shounen manga I’ve read so far that sticks its landing during and post-war arc is Rave Master - and that’s a manga that made Mashima Hiro sad (which is why Fairy Tail isn’t so heavy on the kill count)! But I also feel bad for the old editor, in a way, because I honestly think he’d work better as a trend-setter for a different profession that isn’t the manga industry; it’s pretty clear the guy’s just not cut out for it (because having that many axed manga under your belt in such a short amount of time should’ve been a cause for alarm instead of just keeping him on hoping he’ll get something right). So hopefully him getting “transferred” - which is a polite way in Japan to say “we canned your ass” - will lead him to opportunities that’ll allow him to grow into a skillset that’ll work for him that’ll benefit those around him rather than as a detriment.

I don’t know how much left there is to BNHA (and I’m beginning to wonder if it’s going to get that fabled sequel a’la BNHA Shippuden I’ve seen people talk about), but with this new editor I’m hoping the story will...I won’t say ‘course correct’ because I think it’s a bit too late in the game to be doing that, but maybe get things back on track and take some time - but not too much, that’s One Piece’s job because of how massive it is - to breathe. Like it doesn’t have to rush to get to the end, but there’s really not much left to the story other than the Ochako/Toga fight, the AFO fight, whatever Sero and Shinsou are going to do,  Deku’s involvement, that thing with Touya, whatever the 2nd OFA Holder’s deal is, and maybe the Nagant/Overhaul storyline getting picked back up.

I can’t say if the change in editors will be enough to renew my interest (I kind of think the damage has already been done), but fingers crossed BNHA won’t fumble on its way toward its ending. And I’m saying this as someone that’s in the WoW fandom and has heard (still hears) the griping and criticisms of its storyline on a daily basis for over a decade.

#bnha critical #armi rambles #i think this is also a case of me just being Really Fussy with what i read #where i can pinpoint moments where narrative shifts occur #i really do wish manga and anime had the chance to breathe #but sadly given how the industry works they're rarely allowed the opportunity to do so #also idk how true the rumors are that horikoshi-sensei's speedrunning bnha due to getting sick & tired of the fan backlash #or the rumors that he's getting tired of working on bnha in general #i don't like making presumptions but i honestly wouldn't be surprised if the 2nd statement's the reason why he's been flooring it as of late #looking at this now feels ironic b/c this is like his last chance to work at WSJ #so to see the story progress at the pace it's at now feels...disappointing to say the least #idk this is all just guesswork & not my place to judge - criticism's another thing entirely #and i am probably not alone in this regard #maybe someday i'll find a shounen manga like RM and enjoy it b/c i haven't been feeling it w/ the current line-up for a loooong time