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bnhaobservation · 10 months ago

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Keeping up with the Todorokis or, just me observing the Todorokis: Volume 4

So this is nothing else but a collection of information, volume by volume, about what the Todorokis do in the story or which info are revealed about them and so on.

PREMISE

WHO ARE THE TODOROKIS STARRING IN THE VOLUME?

Todoroki Enji: Chap 28 to 31, 34

Todoroki Rei: Chap 31 (Flashback), 34 (mentioned)

Todoroki Shōto: Chap 27 to 32, 34 to 35

WHICH ARE THE CHAPTERS IN THE VOLUME AND ARE THE TODOROKIS SHOWN IN THEM?

027. Earth-Shatteringly Fateful Negotiations (天下分��目の交渉時間 Tenkawakeme no Kōshō Jikan) Shōto

028. Strats, Strats, Strats (策策策 Saku saku saku) Enji - Shōto

029. Unaware (知られてない Shiraretenai) Enji - Shōto

030. Cavalry-Match Finale (騎馬戦決着 Kibasen Ketchaku) Enji - Shōto

031. The Boy Born with Everything (全てを持って生まれた男の子 Subete wo Motte Umareta Otoko no Ko) Enji - Rei (Flashback) - Shōto

032. Smile, Prince of Nonsense Land! (笑え！ナンセンス界のプリンス Warae! NONSENSE-kai no PRINCE) Shōto

033. Shinsō’s Situation (心操くんの事情 Shinsō-kun no Jijō)

034. Victory or Defeat (勝ち負け Kachimake) Enji - Rei (mentioned) - Shōto

035. Battle On, Challengers! (奮え！チャレンジャー Furue! CHALLENGER) Shōto

ALL THIS IN WHICH ANIME EPISODES IS TRANSPOSED?

017. Strategy, Strategy, Strategy (策策策 Saku saku saku) Enji - Shōto

018. Cavalry Battle Finale (騎馬戦決着 Kibasen Ketchaku) Enji - Shōto

019. The Boy Born with Everything (全てを持って生まれた男の子 Subete wo Motte Umareta Otoko no Ko) Enji - Rei (Flashback) - Shōto

020. Victory or Defeat (勝ち負け Kachimake) Enji - Rei (mentioned) - Shōto

021. Battle on, Challengers! (奮え！チャレンジャー Furue! CHALLENGER) Shōto

WHAT HAPPENS IN THE VOLUME?

CONTINUING FROM PREVIOUS VOLUME

U.A. SPORT FESTIVAL ARC (Chap 12-21): After ending up second in the Obstacle Course Race, Shōto form a team for the Cavalry Battle choosing as his partners Īda Tenya, Yaoyorozu Momo and Kaminari Denki so as to obtain the most stable formation. Īda will take the lead so they can use his mobility and physicality for defense, Yaoyorozu will take the right and provide an insulator so as to shield them and supplement their movement while Kaminari will guard the left and keep away enemies with his electricity. Shōto will be the rider but, when asked if he’ll hold enemies off with his fire and ice he’ll reply:

‘Sentō ni oite netsu (read: hidari) ha zettai tsukawa nē’ 「戦闘に於いて熱（ひだり）は絶対使わねえ」 “In battle I absolutely won’t use the heat (read: [my] left).” [Chap 28]

This sentence is one of those case in which we see the author writing a kanji ‘netsu’ (熱 “heat”) but giving it a different reading and meaning ‘hidari’ (ひだり) “left”, the kanji telling us the real meaning of Shōto’s words (in fact he uses his left side to fight, just not the heat his left side can create).

As Shōto speaks, he watches his father who’s standing among the public so as to imply that’s in clear defiance to him and to remark they’ve a poor relation.

On a sidenote we can see that Endeavor’s Hero costume, which in chap 1 and 3 was the same and almost the same as the one of his prototype was changed in the chest area (even though the neck is still different) becoming closer to its final stage.

Now, although Shōto was second at the Obstacle Course Race and therefore gained for himself 205 point, the sum of the point of his team make them third with a total of 615 points (team Bakugō is second with 665 points).

Shōto is, of course, planning to target Team Midoriya, who’s in the first place. Once his team find face to face with Midoriya they use Kaminari to shock the other teams aiming at them and then Shōto freezes them and steals their headbands. Tokoyami, from Team Midoriya, tries attacking Team Todorokio but, on Shōto’s prompting, Yaoyorozu stops him. Then, for five minutes, Team Midoriya manages to evade Team Todoroki by keeping distance and positioning in such a way if Shōto were to use his left side to freeze them, he would also freeze Īda.

Endeavor also realizes Team Midoriya’s tactic though he expresses it in different ways in the manga and in the anime.

In the manga he says:

‘Tsukarete njanai ka... Aho’ 「突かれてんじゃないか…阿呆」 “I think you’ve been stabbed… fool.” [Chap 29]

Which likely means in this contest that Midoriya figured out his weak spot and is basically exploiting it as the reading ‘tsukarete’ can also mean he’s being “wearing out” (by the way ‘tsukarete’ has dots above it so as to underline it).

Endeavor here looks amused as he speaks, the corners of his lips up. Either he apprecciates Midoriya’s tactic or he hopes this will pressure Shōto enough to get a reaction out of him.

In the anime instead he goes for

‘Minukareten jane~e ka… Aho me’ 「見抜かれてんじゃねぇか…阿保め」 “I think he can see right through you… aren’t you being a fool?” [Ep 18]

...but he’s no more smiling which will combine with how later he’ll scold Shōto to give a general impression he’s disappointed of him.

Īda, to help his team, volunteers to move super fast even though this will then stall him, so as to give Shōto a chance to grab Midoriya’s headband. Īda’s plan succeed and Shōto grabs Midoriya’s headband so Team Midoriya now chases them in an attempt to recover it.

Midoriya attacks Shōto with such fierce determination it makes him shudder and pushes him to instinctively try to defend himself with his left side. Midoriya, with his Quirk, still manage to break his defence and steal one headband, thinking it was the one Shōto took from him. Shōto though, not only had hidden the value of the headbands but had switched them so that the one Midoriya stole is a rather low in points one. Shōto instead is still shocked he had subconsciously used his left side.

Midoriya attacks again but while he doesn’t manage to retrieve any headband, taking advantage of the fact Shōto is still shaken, Tokoyami use Dark Shadow to steal the one on Shōto’s head at the last moment.

Team Todorokio still manages to take first place, even though Shōto is clearly disappointed and, along with other three teams, his team will proceed to the final event.

Shōto is upside down because he was determinate not to use his left side but when push came to shove he ended up using it unwillingly, which angers him because he has done just like his old man expected.

‘Ikenē�� kore ja… oyaji no omou tōri janē ka…’ 「いけねえ…これじゃ…親父の思う通りじゃねえか…」 “This is wrong...this...isn’t it exactly what my old man is desiring...” [Chap 30]

During the one hour lunch break Shōto approaches Midoriya.

At the same time All Might approaches Endeavor, who was leaving the stands.

Let’s look at their dialogue first because it’s short and there are some points to ponder. Beware, it spans on two chapters so first we have:

‘Hisashiburi da na! Ocha shiyo ENDEAVOR!’ 「久し振りだな！お茶しよエンデヴァー! 」 “It’s been a while! Let’s have tea, Endeavor!

‘ALL MIGHT Might…’ 「オールマイト… 」 “All Might…” [Chap 30]

I want to point out how in this chapter, although it’s clear Endeavor isn’t happy to see All Might, the test has him just saying ‘All Might’. Why is this noteworthy?

Because, after this, although Endeavor will say “All Might” again, the text won’t use anymore just the katakana but ‘All Might’ will be just the reading given to these kanji 貴様, which are usually read ‘kisama’ and are a very rude way to say “you”, so rude in many cases, to drive home the point it’s a rude “you” it gets translated as “you, bastard”. And, in fact, in the following chapters Endeavor will call All Might just ‘kisama’ to his face. I speculate in this case we only have the katakana saying “All Might...” not because he’s being temporally mentally polite but because this is placed at the end of chap 30 and Horikoshi didn’t want to spoiler us how terrible is Enji’s relationship with All Might yet... even if the visual already implies he’s not particularly happy to see All Might.

So we move to the next chapter which continue this dialogue:

‘Chō hisashiburi! 10-Nen mae no taidan furi ka na! ? Mikaketakara aisatsu shi tokou to omotte ne.’ 「超久し振り！10年前の対談振りかな！？見かけたから挨拶しとこうと思ってね」 “It’s been a long time! It’s from the talk/conversation show from 10 years ago, right! ? I saw you and thought I’d say hello.” (1)

‘Sō ka. Nara mō sundarou. Sare. Cha nado jōdan ja nai… Benjo da. Usero!’ 「そうか。ならもう済んだろう。去れ。茶など冗談じゃない…便所だうせろ！」 “I see. Then you’re done. Go away. Don’t joke about us having tea... I’ll go to the restroom. Get lost!” [Chap 31]

At this Endeavor trieds to leave but All Might gets in his way and so the discussion continues.

‘Tsurenai koto iu na yo ̄!!’ 「つれないこと言うなよーー！！」 “Don’t say such cold things!”

‘Gutsu…’ 「ぐっ…」 “Gah…”

‘Kimi no musuko-san Shōto shōnen, chikara no hanbun mo tsukawazu subarashī seisekida. Kyōiku ga ī no kana?’ 「君の息子さん焦凍少年、力の半分も使わず素晴らしい成績だ。教育が良いのかな？」 “Your son, young Shōto, is getting a wonderful result without even using half of his power. I wonder if he’s getting a good training?’’ (2)

‘Nani ga ītai’ 「何が言いたい」 “What do you want to say?”

‘Iya MAJI de kikitakute sa. Jidai wo sodateru HOW TO tte no wo’ 「いやマジで聞きたくてさ。次代を育てるハウツーってのを」 “No, I seriously want to hear about it. How to raise the next generation.”

‘…? Kisama ni ore ga oshieru to omou ka? Aikawarazu sono akkerakan to shita taido ga shakunisawaru….’ 「……？貴様に俺が教えると思うか？相変わらずそのあっけらかんとした態度が癪に障る…」 “...? Do you think I’m going to teach you? As usual that careless attitude grates on my nerves...”

‘Gomen…’ 「ごめん…」 “Sorry…”

‘Kore dake oboe toke. ARE ha… izure kisama wo mo koeru HERO ni suru. Sō surubeku… tsukutta ko da’ 「これだけ覚えとけ。アレは…いずれ貴様をも越えるヒーローにする。そうするべく………つくった仔だ」 “Just remember this. That one we're talking about… I’ll make him a hero that will surpass you someday. In order to do that… I had/trained/created that child.” (3)

‘…Nani wo…’ 「………何を…」 “…What…”

‘Ima ha kudaran hankōki daga kanarazu koeru zo… koe saseru…!’ 「今は下らん反抗期だが必ず越えるぞ……越えさせる…！」 “Now he’s in a foolish rebellious age, but he’ll definitely surpass you...I’ll make him surpass you...!” (4) [Chap 31]

Okay, so this dialogue deserves some notes:

(1) Here in English manga there’s a slight mistranslation here as it says that the last time they spoke was 10 years ago. Actually 10 years ago they had a ‘taidan furi’ (対談振り) where ‘taidan’ (対談) means “a discussion between two people which is usually set up as a special occasion and whose topic is set in advance”... while ‘furi’ (振り) is “show”. So basically, 10 years ago they didn’t have a casual chat or one due to work or something but merely ended up together in some sort of talk show / combined interview and were made to talk. The anime makes it even more obvious because in it the sentence is:

‘10-Nen mae, media de taidan shite irai ka na! ?’ 「10年前、メディアで対談して以来かな！？」 “I think it’s been since we had a conversation with the media 10 years ago!?”

The mistake in the English translation gets even more misleading because 10 years ago is also the time in which Rei was hospitalized and Tōya died, so, since Rei’s hospitalization will come up short after in the story, one might think the two were connected and that Enji and All Might talked due to it... instead no, it was just due to them being in a talk show... which makes me wonder if Horikoshi changed his character as we saw Endeavor on TV in chap 1 as well, but later on, in chap 187, Natsuo will say he doesn’t appear on Talk shows.

Something else of note is that this also clashes with the continuity of “Vigilantes” as, in chap 122, All Might and Endeavor will cooperate to stop a Villain attack. Since “Vigilantes” takes place AFTER All Might and All for One’s big fight that injured both, it can’t be more than 6 years at the very best but, much likely, it’s less as this takes place at the end of “Vigilantes”. It’s true they didn’t really talk but still, they met. Though, of course, one can discharge the “Vigilantes” continuity as not canon compliant.

(2) While Endeavor is rude with All Might, All Might, to talk with him, uses a more polite ‘kimi’ (君) which is the “you” you use in a friendly way towards someone of equal or lower status... however, since it’s also often associated nowadays with the way older male supervisors address their subordinates, it could result in sounding condescending or snobbish. I’m pretty sure All Might is just trying to be friendly but polite, in fact when he refers to Enji’s son he calls him ‘kimi no musuko-san’ (君の息子さん) adding the ‘-san’ to ‘musuko’, even if, when he calls Shōto, he does in the same way he calls all the boys, using ‘Shōto shōnen’ (焦凍少年) where ‘shōnen‘ means “boy” but in the English manga is usually translated as “young”.

(3) So... Endeavor refers to Shōto as ‘アレ‘ (ARE) which in the past I saw creating a bit of a discussion as, according to some, it’s used just for things. However ‘アレ‘ can be used to refer to people that both you and the person(s) you are talking to know (have already met) but don't want to mention. It has an ‘you know who I mean’ feeling and it’s used to omit a detail, avoid repetition, or because you want to avoid direct mention (because it’s embarrassing, it’s something you shouldn’t talk about, can’t remember what it’s called or too lazy to try and mention it). The fact that it’s written in katakana instead than in hiragana (あれ can also be used) gives it a tone of mild condescension or an attempt at talking behind someone’s back. Long story short it’s possible to use it for people. In addition to this in the Japanese text there are dots over each character so as to underline them so picture him as underlining ‘are’ so I guess he’s just remarking how the person they’re talking about (aka Shōto) will surpass All Might. But there’s something else in that sentence that’s worth talking. Enji calls Shōto ‘ko’ which means “child” but the kanji he uses is not the usual one for “child” (子) but this one (仔) which means “young animal/cub” or “young plant/seedling”. I couldn’t find any source saying this could be an endearing way to refer to a human child and Enji’s expression doesn’t seem to imply he’s trying to be endearing... but my knowledge of Japanese isn’t good enough so I might be wrong. Still it can be that Enji is using such word because Horikoshi wants us to get the idea Enji is basically talking of how Shōto was breed and raised for the purpose of defeating All Might, as if he were some sort of racehorse.

Last but not least, Endeavor uses ‘tsukutta’ (つくった), which the English version translates as “(That’s the only reason) I created (that child)”. It’s not a wrong translation since Endeavor did a Quirk marriage to create Shōto’s Quirk, but ‘tsukutta’ can be translated as “(That’s the only reason) I trained (that child)” which would also fit as Endeavor and All Might are talking about how to raise the new generations and Endeavor trained Shōto and with a more general “(That’s the only reason) I had (that child)”. Do your pick.

(4) Endeavor doesn’t call Shōto a brat but says he’s in a “foolish rebellious age” (下らん反抗期 ‘kudaran hankōki’). Basically he sees Shōto as acting in such way just because he’s a teen and not because he has legitimate grievances.

Anyway, in the end Endeavor leaves.

And now back to Shōto and Midoriya we go. Narratively, their dialogue starts before the one between Enji and All Might, is interrupted by their dialogue and then continues.

Midoriya notices Shōto is different from Bakugō, giving off a colder sort of intimidation air.

Shōto explains Midoriya overwhelmed him to the point he ended up on breaking his own pledge.

‘Keosareta jibun (read: temē) seiyaku o yabutchimau hodo ni yo.’ 「気圧された自分（てめえ）誓約を破っちまう程によ」 “I felt pressured by your nature (read: you) so much that I broke my vow to a degree.” [Chap 31]

So, if Endeavor uses ‘kisama’ with All Might, Shōto here uses ‘temē’ (てめえ) with Midoriya, which is also a very rude way to say “you” used usually when the speaker is very angry and that’s often translated as “you, son of a bitch” (it’s worth to remember he used ‘omae’ (おまえ) which yes, means always “you” but it’s not rude, more like casual, when he challenged Midoriya, so here he’s trying to be more rude). Later though he’ll go back to ‘omae’ so we can guess here Shōto has just temporally lost it and is very upset.

The interesting part is that ‘temē’ is how we’re supposed to read ‘jibun’ (自分) which is a way to refer to oneself, used to refer to a person basic personality or nature, especially considered in terms of what that person is really like as a person. Basically here he’s already hinting than Midoriya is more than met the eye.

Anyway Midoriya understands when he says he broke his pledge he’s talking about how he didn’t use his left side, which would have been to his advantage to use.

Shōto goes on claiming no one else but him felt the pressure when Midoriya attacked him, the same pressure All Might gave off.

‘Īda mo Kaminari mo Yaoyorozu mo Tokoyami mo Uraraka mo… kanji tenakatta. Saigo no bamen ano ba de ore dake ga keosareta’ 「飯田も上鳴も八百万も常闇も麗日も…感じてなかった。最後の場面あの場で俺だけが気圧された」 “Īda, Kaminari, Yaoyorozu, Tokoyami, Uraraka... they didn’t feel it. In the final scene, I was the only one who felt pressured in that situation.” ‘Honki no ALL MIGHT wo midika de keiken shita ore dake.’ 「本気のオールマイトを身近で経験した俺だけ」 “I’m the only one who has experienced the real All Might up close.” [Chap 31]

Midoriya asks him what he’s meaning, so Shōto goes on.

‘Omae ni dōyō no nanika wo kanji tatte kotoda.NaA……’ 「おまえに同様の何かを感じたってことだ。なア……」 “It means I felt something similar in you. Hey...” ‘ALL MIGHT no kakushigo ka nanka ka?’ 「オールマイトの隠し子か何かか？」 “Are you All Might’s hidden child or something?” [Chap 31]

Figuring out this was what Shōto meant in the past, when he said All Might had his eyes on him, Midoriya denies it heatedly and messily.

‘……”Sonna n jyanakute”-tte iikata ha… Sukunakutomo nanikashira ienai tsunagari ga aru tte kotoda na’ 『……「そんなんじゃなくて」って言い方は少なくとも何かしら言えない繋がりがあるってことだな』 “... ‘It’s not like that,’ you said, this way of talking means… there is at least some kind of connection that you can’t say, that’s what it means.” ‘Ore no oyaji ha ENDEAVOR, shitterudaro. Mannen No. 2 no HERO da’ 「俺��親父はエンデヴァー知ってるだろ。万年No.2のヒーローだ」 “My father is Endeavor, as you know. He is the eternal No. 2 Hero.” ‘Omae ga No. 1 HERO no nanika wo motterunara ore ha…… naosara katanakya ikenē’ 「おまえがNo.1ヒーローの何かを持ってるなら俺は……尚更勝たなきゃいけねえ」 “If you have something/some connection with the No. 1 hero, I… have to win even more.” [Chap 31]

Here it’s actually the point in which the discussion switched back to All Might and Endeavor, but as we already covered that one, we move back to Shōto and Midoriya’s discussion.

‘Oyaji ha kiwamete jōshō shikō no tsuyoi yatsuda.’ 「親父は極めて上昇志向の強い奴だ」 “My father is a guy with an extremely strong desire to rise.” (1) ‘HERO to shite hachiku no ikioi de na wo hasetaga… soredakeni ikeru densetsu ALL MIGHT ga mezawari de shikatanakatta rashī’ 「ヒーローとして破竹の勢いで名を馳せたが…それだけに生ける伝説オールマイトが目障りで仕方なかったらしい」 “With irresistible impetus he made a name for himself as a hero, but... because of this he can’t help but find the the living legend, All Might, an eyesore.” (2) (3) ‘Jibun de ha ALL MIGHT wo koe rarenē oyaji ha tsugi no saku ni deta.’ 「自分ではオールマイトを超えられねえ親父は次の策に出た」 “Unable to surpass All Might on his own/by himself, my father came up with the next plan.” [Chap 31]

(1) ‘Jōshō shikō’ (上昇志向) can be translated with “desire for improvement (in social standing)”/”Desire to rise”/”ambition” which is the translation followed by the anime subbers, while the manga prefers to go for saying he only thinks of becoming stronger. Since they’re talking of how Enji is Number Two while All might is Number 1, desire to rise (in rank) seems to me a more fitting translation, though of course Enji thinks if he’ll rise in strength he’ll rise in rank so the manga translation kind of get the concept across as well.

(2) ‘Hachikunoikioi’ (破竹の勢い) literally means “with the force of a broken bamboo” and it’s a way to say to imply “great vigor/impetus/energy” that’s tied to how splitting bamboo goes all down the stick. I think the idea is that Shōto is also trying to deliver Enji gave it all to get to that place, that he was kind on an irresistible Tsunami, something against which others couldn’t oppose, as other translations can be “irresistible force” and “unopposed”.

(3) ‘Mezawari’ (目障り) literally means something that’s “an hindrance to the eye” therefore an “eyesore/unpleasant sight” but also something that’s “obstructing a view” so yes, it also implies All Might is in Enji’s path.

Midoriya interrupts Shōto to asks him why he’s telling him all that.

‘Kosei kon. Shitteru yo na.’ 「個性婚知ってるよな」 “Quirk marriage. Do you know about it?” ‘“Chōjō” ga okite kara dai ni ~ daisan sedai-kan de mondai ni natta yatsu…’ 「 “超常”が起きてから第二～第三世代間で問題になったやつ…」 “After the ‘paranormal’ happened, between the second and third generation they became a problem...” ‘Jishin no “kosei” wo yori kyōka shite tsuga seru tame dake ni haigūsha wo erabi…… kekkon wo shiiru. Rinri-kan no ketsuraku shita zenjidaiteki hassō’ 「自身の”個性”をより強化して継がせる為だけに配偶者を選び…… 結婚を強いる。倫理観の欠落した前時代的発想」 “In order to pass in inheritance a further strengthened version your ‘Quirk’ choose a spouse… and get her married to you by force. Old-fashioned way of thinking which lacks in ethics.” ‘Jisseki to kane dake ha aru otoko da… Oyaji ha haha no shinzoku wo marumekomi haha no “kosei” wo teniireta.’ 「実績と金だけはある男だ…親父は母の親族を丸め込み母の”個性”を手に入れた」 “He’s a man with archievents and money...My father persuaded my mother’s relatives and obtained my mother’s ‘Quirk’.” (1) ‘Ore wo ALL MIGHT ijō no HERO ni sodate ageru koto de jishin no yokkyū wo mitasōtte kotta’ 「俺をオールマイト以上のヒーローに育て上げることで自身の欲求を満たそうってこった」 “Through raising me to be a hero greater than All Might he wanted to fulfill his own desires.” [Chap 31]

(1) ‘Marumekomi’ (丸め込み) literally “rounding included” means “to talk someone into doing what you want”, “to persuade him” but also “to manipulate”, “to swindle”. I’ll say Shōto is giving a definitive negative connotation to how Enji managed to win Rei from his parents... even though the story later on will show Enji didn’t really have to put much effort into it. They were eager to sell Rei off to him. I find also interesting how Shōto refers to them as ‘haha no shinzoku’ (母の親族 “mother’s relatives”) were Tōya will talk of ‘obā-chan-tachi’ (おばあちゃん達 “Grandmother and the others”). We know Rei’s mother was still alive when Shōto was a kid but as he talks with them so distantly I wonder if this means differently from Tōya he wasn’t close to his maternal grandparents.

A break here to go back to how, so far, Shōto’s past matches with the one of his prototype. Shōto was planned to have birth due to Quirk marriage so that Enji could pass him a stronger version of his Quirk... but that’s all that was left from the original idea that also saw Shōto growing to hate Rei and seek for his father’s love by becoming more powerful than him.

Horikoshi basically reversed his original idea. So let’s continue and see how canon Shōto now is.

‘Uttōshī…! Sonna kuzu no dōgu ni ha naranē’ 「うっとうしい…！そんな屑の道具にはならねえ」 “That’s annoying...! I won’t become a tool for such a piece of trash.” (1) ‘Kioku no naka no haha ha itsumo naiteru… “Omae no hidarigawa ga minikui” to haha ha ore ni nieyu wo abiseta.’ 「記憶の中の母はいつも泣いてる…「おまえの左側が醜い」と母は俺に煮え湯を浴びせた」 “In my memories, my mother is always crying... ‘Your left side is ugly,’ my mother said, hurling boiling hot water to me.” (2) ‘Zatto hanashita ga ore ga omae ni tsukkakan no ha mikaesu tameda. KUSO oyaji no “kosei” nanza nakutatte… iya… tsukawazu “ichiban ni naru” koto de yatsu wo kanzen hitei suru’ 「ざっと話したが俺がおまえにつっかかんのは見返す為だ。クソ親父の”個性”なんざなくたって…いや…使わず”一番になる”ことで奴を完全否定する」 “To put it simply, the reason why I’m colliding with you is to triumph over him. Without using my shitty father’s ‘Quirk’... no... By “getting first place” without using it, I’ll completely repudiate him.” [Chap 31]

(1) ‘Kuzu’ (屑) means “waste/scrap/garbage”. Just by Shōto calling Enji this way and saying he won’t become his “tool” (道具 ‘Dōgu’) we clearly get he’s not really courting his affection as he was meant to do in the prototype version.

(2) ‘Minikui’ (醜い) means “ugly/unattractive/unsightly/unseemly”. We don’t have yet Shōto’s opinion on Rei, beyond that she kept on crying, nor any mention about Enji abusing her. There’s to wonder if the new plan was for both parents to hate him and then it was changed, though since he doesn’t seem to have problems using Rei’s Quirk, it might also be Horikoshi had decided already for her being loved by Shōto.

Going on with the story, Bakugō overheard their conversation. Midoriya realizes how different they are. Meanwhile Shōto starts to leave.

‘Ienēnara betsuni ī omae ga. ALL MIGHT no nandearō to. Ore ha migi dake de omae no ue ni iku. Jikan tora seta na’ 「言えねえなら別にいい。おまえがオールマイトの何であろうと俺は右だけでおまえの上に行く。時間とらせたな」 “If you can’t tell me it’s fine. No matter what you are to All Might I’ll win over you with my right hand only. Sorry for taking your time.” [Chap 31]

Midoriya thinks such a backstory would make Shōto the main character if they were in a comic book... and wonders what he can tell to him. Ultimately he stops Shōto and tells him that he had always been supported by others and that’s what also happened during the Cavalry Battle. That he wants to become All Might and therefore he won’t lose because that’s how he’ll repay the people who had helped him and therefore he’s going to beat Shōto.

Next up is the “one-on-one earnest/serious battles” (一対一のガチバトラ ‘Ichitaiichi no GACHI BATTLE’ where ‘GACHI’ is an abbreviation for the sumo term ‘GACHINKO’ (ガチンコ) which means a “serious fight”).

Before the fight Shōto spends some time alone, to prepare himself.

Midoriya is in the first match, against Shinsō Hitoshi. The one of the two who were to win would then fight with the winner of the second match. Midoriya comes out as the winner.

Shōto is in the second match, his first adversary is Sero Hanta.

As he’s moving toward the arena, so as to start his fight, he finds Endeavor, leaning against a wall, arms crossed, on his path. By now, Endeavor’s costume is the one which will stay as the definitive one until he’ll change it once he’ll become Number 1.

The two exchange a brief and unfriendly dialogue, with Endeavor scolding Shōto and Shōto remarking he’ll win his own way.

‘…Jamada’ 「………邪魔だ」 “…You’re in my way.”

‘Shūtai bakari da na Shōto’ 「醜態ばかりだな焦凍」 “That was a disgraceful behavior, Shōto.” (1) ‘Hidari no “chikara” wo tsukaeba, shōgaibutsukyōsō mo gibasen mo attō dekita HAZU daro’ 「左の”力”を使えば障害物競走も騎馬戦も圧倒出来たハズだろ」 “If you had used the ‘power’ of your left side, you would have surely been able to dominate both the obstacle course and the cavalry battle.” ‘Ii kagen kodomo jimita hankō wo yamero. Omae ni ha ALL MIGHT wo koeru to iu gimu ga arunda zo’ 「良い加減子どもじみた反抗をやめろ。おまえにはオールマイトを超えるという義務があるんだぞ」 “Quit your irresponsible childish rebellion. You have a duty that’s called ‘surpass All Might’.”(2) ‘Wakatteru no ka? Nī-san-ra to ha chigau. Omae ha saikō kessaku nanda zo!’ 「わかってるのか？兄さんらとは違うお前は最高傑作なんだぞ！」 “Do you understand? You’re different from your older brother and your other siblings. You are (my) greatest masterpiece!” (3)

‘Sore shika ienē no ka, temeE ha… Okāsan no chikara dake de kachi agaru. Tatakai de temeE no chikara ha tsukawanē’ 「それしか言えねえのかてめェは…お母さんの力だけで勝ち上がる戦いでてめェの力は使わねぇ」 “That’s all you can say? You are... I will win with my mother’s power alone. In battle I won’t use your power.” (4)

‘Gakusei no uchi (read: ‘ima’) ha tsūyō shita to shite mo sugu genkai ga kuru zo’ 「学生のうち(いま)は通用したとしてもすぐ限界が来るぞ」　 “Among students (read: ‘now’) it might work, but you will soon reach your limit.” (5) [Chap 34]

(1) ‘Shūtai’ (醜態) means “shameful sight/disgraceful behavior” and it’s used for something that you feel bad just looking at it and it probably feels bad too.

(2) We can see to talk with Shōto Enji uses ‘omae’ (おまえ), the casual way of “you” which is much better than the ‘kisama’ he uses with All Might.

(3) Enji uses ‘Nī-san-ra’ (兄さんら) to talk about Shōto’s siblings. Literally it means “your older brother and the others” where ‘-ra’ is a very casual way to make a plural, and the fact he uses “your older brother and the others” implies Shōto is the younger among more children, the oldest being a male. Enji also calls Shōto ‘saikō kessaku’ (最高傑作) which is usually translated just “masterpiece” but actually means “greatest masterpiece”.

(4) If Enji uses ‘omae’ Shōto instead uses again ‘temē’ (てめえ) the very rude way to say “you” used usually when the speaker is very angry and that’s often translated as “you, son of a bitch”. Twice.

(5) We’ve a new case in which the kanji say something, in this case ‘Gakusei no uchi’ (学生のうち “among students”) but the reading says something else, in this case ‘ima’ (いま “now”) likely because Enji wants to imply that’s not ‘right now, against Sero,’ but it’s as long as he stays in high school.

What’s noteworthy about this dialogue?

In the next volume we’ll learn Enji forced Shōto to go through an hellish (read: abusive) training and beat Rei who tried to protect her child, leading her to madness. Here however, even though Shōto disappointed him and he’s extremely disrespectful and they’re alone he doesn’t threaten nor beat him. There’s to wonder if Horikoshi hadn’t yet planned that part of Enji and Shōto’s past, or if in original he planned for Enji to stop his physically abusive behavior sooner. Well, we’ll never know.

Back to the story Sero throws a surprise attack at Shōto and ties him with his tape but Shōto is still furious so answers to his attack with an overwhelming amount of ice that immobilizes Sero and destroys the tape he had used to tie Shōto. Shōto apologizes, admitting he went overboard because he was angry.

‘Sumanē… yari sugida. IRAtsuite da’ 「すまねえ…やりすぎだ。イラついてだ」 “Sorry… I went overboard. I was irritated.” [Chap 34]

Midoriya notices that, despite having just won, as Shōto desforst Seto, something about him seems really sad.

The battles continues, we can see Shōto seems to be watching the match that’s about to start between Uraraka Ochako and Bakugō Katsuki which is the final battle before the quarter finals will start.

MORE ABOUT THIS ARC IN THE NEXT VOLUME

WHAT DID WE LEARN ABOUT THE TODOROKIS’ PAST?

Shōto was born 15 years ago on January 11.

Enji and Rei had a Quirk marriage, Enji persuading Rei’s parents to let her marry him.

10 years ago Endeavor took part to a "conversation session" (対談振 ‘taidan fu’) with All Might and the media.

Shōto remembers Rei always crying and, one day, she lost it and threw boiling water at him, scarring him permanently.

When Shōto was young Rei was often crying. In the end she told him she couldn’t stand to his left side and threw scalding water at him, scarring his face.

KNOWN TODOROKIS TIMELINE UP UNTIL NOW

March: U.A. entrance test for recommended students.

April’s second week: Todoroki Shōto enters U.A. High school.

April: Quirk test. Todoroki Shōto places second.

April: Battle Trial: Todoroki Shōto, who is in Team B and paired up with Shōji Mezō play the role of the Heroes against Team I formed by Ojiro Mashirao and Hagakure Tōru and defeat them easily.

April: Rescue training. During it Villains lead by Shigaraki Tomura attack class A. Kurogiri causes Todoroki Shōto to end up in the landline zone where the boy defeats all the Villains who try to come at it and, once done, reaches All Might and helps him by freezing the Nomu against which All Might was fighting.

May (either the 3 or the 5 as sport festivals are usually held on a national holiday): U.A. Sport festival. Shōto takes part to it. Enji watches it.

HOW ARE THE TODOROKIS DRESSED?

Todoroki Enji is shown in his Hero costume.

Todoroki Rei is shown in jeans and T-shirt.

Todoroki Shōto is shown in his gym suit.

IS THERE MORE CONTENT ABOUT THE TODOROKIS?

Todoroki Shōto is among the students depicted on the cover.

Of course he’s also among the characters depicted among the ones starring in the volume.

The volume title “The Boy Born with Everything” (全てを持って生まれた男の子 Subete wo Motte Umareta Otoko no Ko) is a reference to him and he can be seen in a tiny image in the content page.