#MHA 322

[bakuhatsufallinlove]

here’s the OTHER leaker translation I would explode out of existence

listen.

I know, okay?

I know everyone loves this. I know everyone lost their shit for it. But I hate it.

I will admit honestly that it is 70% abject fury over the misuse of one word. Another 20% is frustration over how the fandom reacted to the official translation with such vitriol and how the leaker fueled it with their smug comments. That final 10% amounts to what some might consider pedantic or nitpicky. But I don't care.

This translation sucks. It doesn't sound cool, it doesn't sound threatening, and the leaker's rookie mistakes ruin what makes this moment great for me.

Allow me to elaborate.

The emphasis is on the wrong part

I’ve talked about some of the pronoun differences in this line before, but did you know Katsuki also changes the particles every time?

‘Cause I sure don’t think the leaker noticed. Grammar particles are what determine the relationship between words in a sentence. They pack a lot of punch, denoting subject, object, indirect object, purpose, location, time, origin point, direction of movement, means or method—and a bunch more shit that can be hard to describe.

Word order and particles work together to direct our attention to specific parts of a sentence, emphasizing the importance of what is being said. They are some of the most difficult parts of Japanese for learners to grasp and use with the same ease that native speakers do. I’m acutely aware of this weakness, so I often pay particular attention to them. Let’s break down how each iteration shifts the meaning and emphasis of the base sentence.

First time

Chapter 322 おまえが拭えねぇもんは俺たちが拭う omae ga nuguenee mon wa oretachi ga nuguu

Katsuki uses ga with both the second person pronoun for Izuku and the first person plural pronoun for himself and Class 1-A. Ga emphasizes the word that comes directly before it, so this focuses not on the verb itself, but the persons doing the verb. Katsuki's first person plural pronoun oretachi of course means "we," but if you wanted to highlight his literal meaning, he's saying: "the things you cannot handle, me and the people with me will handle."

Second time

Chapter 323 てめーが拭えねーもんはこっちで拭う temee ga nuguenee mon wa kocchi de nuguu

Here, Katsuki retains ga for Izuku’s second person pronoun, but changes both his first person pronoun and its particle, giving us kocchi de. This shifts the implication of who is doing the act—the first time, Katsuki's "we" pronoun highlighted the classmates who accompanied him and acted with him to help save Izuku. But by the time he says this line again, a number of people outside their class have stepped forward to defend Izuku’s return to UA.

Unlike distinctly singular pronouns like ore, kocchi both refers to oneself and something greater than oneself. By switching to this, Katsuki expands that narrow “me and the people with me” into “our side,” presenting the people who support Izuku as a unified force.

You see, kocchi de subtly shifts the verb to being executed by subject(s) defined by a specific characteristic or condition.

Explanations of particle de from Mainichi Nonbiri. The heading and explanation read, "Subject: 'De' is used to denote the subject who deals with or engages in the action expressed by the predicate."

The first example uses jibun de (by oneself) to describe the conditions under which the listener is asked to execute the verb. The third uses gikai de (in the parliament or by the parliament, as a governing body representing many people) to explain the plurality and nature of the subject executing the verb.

The second example uses socchi de, which is the second person "you" version of kocchi, meaning your side. With this, you can see the purpose is to highlight division: "you did that over there on your side of things without any input from me."

Kocchi de as Katsuki uses it likewise creates "sides" by highlighting connection.

These details emphasize Izuku as the person who cannot handle these things and the relationship he has with the people supporting him, a collective Katsuki aligns himself with.

If we maintain this emphasis and the conditions in a literal way, we have: "The things you cannot handle, our side will handle for you."

Third time

Chapter 405 OFA(あいつ)に拭えねーもんはこっちで拭うってなあぁああ！！！ OFA (aitsu) ni nuguenee mon wa kocchi de nuguutte naaaa!!!

I want you to look really close at the particle ni.

Then look at the way the first word balloon ends with the particle wa.

And hear me when I say that this does not emphasize Izuku.

Ni is not a particle for emphasis. If Izuku's personal inability to handle AFO were being highlighted, Katsuki could have used には, which I talk about briefly in this post:

The combination of the two particles ni and wa are used to emphasize, compare, and contrast. This is extremely telling just on its own. Izuku is emphasizing the fact that, compared to everyone he could possibly tell, he cannot tell Katsuki this. He might be able to tell other people, but when it comes to Katsuki, he cannot. Ienai does not specify where the limitation stems from, but ni wa sure implies it.

If Katsuki wanted to disparage Izuku in comparison to himself, like "that guy obviously can't handle you, so I'll do it," he would have said something like this. He even could have slapped his own singular pronoun and ga in there (俺が拭う) to emphasize himself as an individual actor. But that's not what he did.

The particle wa tells us what the topic is. Neither Katsuki nor Izuku are the topic in any iteration of this line; they are subjects engaging with the verbs. The topic is "the things OFA (that guy) can't handle."

Now, because every other time Katsuki said this line had ga in it too, wa wasn't quite as strong as it is this third time. If ga emphasizes what comes before it, then wa emphasizes what comes after. It tells us, "this is the topic, now hold onto your seats."

Katsuki is emphasizing the predicate and the verb. What's gonna happen and how it's gonna happen.

He's saying, "our side is gonna fucking crush you."

The wa particle and the separate balloons build tension, suspense, and excitement—which the leaker instantly deflates. By front-loading Katsuki as both topic and subject ("I'm the guy"), the emphasis is no longer on the promise of destruction he will deliver on.

The emphasis is indisputably on the part after the balloon break, so the mention of Izuku ("when that nerd can't handle it all on his own") reads weirdly like an insult. Hell, most of the words the leaker uses are about Izuku's inability to handle the situation, which bloat the second half of the line and effectively kill the momentum.

Fumbling the flow of a line is a common mistake for amateur translators. Sometimes, it's hard to avoid because Japanese grammar is often the inverse of English grammar; maintaining the original order may render it awkward or even unintelligible.

But that is not the case here.

pikahlua's literal translation

There's no reason to reorder the clauses. You can spruce up the wording, but the lines are perfectly understandable and effective in this order even at their most literal.

The leaker chose to reorder the lines this way, and their translation is worse for it.

Viz Comparison

Official translation by Viz

After what I've said about particles, pacing, and emphasis, I think you can plainly see that the official translator understood these details and made his own choices to highlight them.

Any time you get text with furigana (explained here), you have to decide how to incorporate those dual pieces of information into the text. He could have translated this as "that guy couldn't keep you in the ground," but instead he prioritized the reference to OFA.

By doing this, Viz's translation avoids the implication of insult towards Izuku that the leaker falls prey to.

He also made the choice to translate kocchi as "we."

First, I’m bringing this post back around to remind people that kocchi is a pronoun of ambiguous plurality. This means that an interpretation of “we” is just as correct as an interpretation of “I.” Readers may interpret it differently, but on simply linguistic grounds, they are of equal validity. You will often see this kind of ambiguous language used in Japanese, even with characters that are forthright. The reason is one part cultural expectation that the listener will read between the lines, and one part a willingness to accept two things as simultaneously true. This exists and is frequently found in English as well, there just isn’t a direct parallel for kocchi itself.

A number of people were infuriated by this, because they felt some sort of bkdk moment was erased by Katsuki saying "we" rather than "I."

Yet it seemed like these same people were also mad one week prior when the leaker and the official translator worded Katsuki's rallying cry slightly differently.

Chapter 404. Leaker, left. Official, right.

The claim there was apparently that the official translator was ignoring Katsuki's character development.

And like, which is it, guys? Do you want him centering the collective or himself?

The fact is that the official translation's characterization of Katsuki in the final battle is internally consistent with itself, while the leaker's is all over the goddamn place. Let us never forget that the leaker was just straight up WRONG here while the official got it exactly right.

Chapter 408. Leaker, left. Official, right.

People were losing their shit that Viz made Katsuki "insult himself" and "expect failure" as though he's never used temee to refer to himself self-deprecatingly before.

And then the leaker just had to pretend that didn't happen in the next fucking chapter, while the official got to correctly reiterate their interpretation like they were taking a victory lap.

Chapter 409. Leaker, left. Official, right.

All of this makes it unbelievably rich for the leaker to go and say shit like this:

The leaker is an amateur translator. They spent ages stealing an artist's work and releasing it illegally for a profit with shoddy translations and misleading, even outright false "summaries."

Based on the nature of their translation mistakes, it is obvious to me that they are not fluent in Japanese, yet here they are bragging about their inability to understand how kocchi could mean "we."

Right before the line in question, Katsuki emphasizes himself as an individual in declaring himself to be the final boss.

Chapter 405 俺がラスボスだ AFO!! ore ga rasu bosu da AFO!!

And then, by using ってな, Katsuki is basically quoting himself.

"I said we were gonna handle what that guy couldn't, didn't I!?"

This suggests he is repeating the established meaning for emphasis, not changing it. If kocchi was plural when he said it in chapter 323, it's reasonable for it to still be plural here. Katsuki is not ignoring himself as an individual by doing this; he is rubbing it in AFO's face that neither he nor Izuku are solitary actors fighting this battle alone, they both belong to something greater than themselves.

I'm gonna step up on a soapbox for a bit.

I am kinda tired of people calling Japanese vague. I often see it used to imply Japanese is inherently hard to understand or that it doesn't have the capacity for specificity. Like any language, Japanese can be used to express specific, clear, and direct information. While it is true Japanese culture values indirectness as a way to maintain harmony, I would like to challenge the ethnocentricism I feel sometimes goes unaddressed in this topic.

Japanese is less tolerant of repetition and verbal excess than English is; information that has been established should only be repeated for a purpose. Japanese speakers expect their conversation partners to maintain awareness of context, social expectations, and specific interpersonal information to grasp the intended meaning of their words. Specificity is doled out when it is warranted or desired.

Specificity divides one thing from another, drawing lines in the sand and saying "this is this, and that is that." English often requires repetitive specificity to even be grammatically comprehensible. And while this might not be directly related, many English-speaking countries tend to have a more individualistic outlook on society than collectivist countries like Japan.

To me, "vague" often smacks of a value judgment: "there should be division here, and there isn't."

I said earlier that kocchi creates division by highlighting sides, us vs. them, but when people press on and ask, "but did he say we or I? which did he REALLY mean?" I just want to say that really? truly? he meant both. all of the above.

I think it is unproductive to think of Japanese as vague just because it doesn't exclude possibilities as often or as strongly as English does. I think it is a lot more useful and interesting to think of Japanese as expansive.

Why should there be division between Katsuki and the people fighting by his side? Why should he separate himself from the people who saved his life and risked their own in relentless pursuit of their common, heroic goal?

Why is it unacceptable to imagine an "I" belonging so sincerely and wholly to a "we" that their voices are one?

Katsuki's words reflect the fact that this fight being fought by a collective, a team.

In this context, OFA is a weapon in their arsenal, just as Katsuki himself is.

He is a force of nature, an agent of their willpower.

Chapter 404

He rode upon the winds of their prayers, ushered on by Izuku's hopes

and his own regrets,

to change the course of fate itself.

For much of the series, Katsuki is our beacon of individualism, of defiant refusal to bend to the will and expectations of others.

But Katsuki is also our image of victory. He shows us how to face our failures and change our hearts. He is our proof that rejecting others only hurts us in the end—his love for Izuku and Izuku's love for him is the story's greatest proof that as human beings, we are not better alone, we are better with each other. Other people change us, inspire us, and we do the same for them.

We need each other. We belong to each other.

It is in this final battle where Katsuki becomes his truest self, overcoming every obstacle in his path, making up for every painful regret in his heart, and utilizing every single thing in his grasp to save and win.

If Katsuki ever truly belonged to something bigger than himself, it is in this moment right here.

English divides the one from the many, and while that has its benefits, I think there is real, honest beauty to be found in a word that smooths those lines in the sand until there is no distinction at all.

That's who the fucking "we" is, rukasu.

Now onto my next gripe.

Katsuki is supposed to sound badass here

Frankly, the fan fury surrounding Viz's use of "we" completely overshadowed the fact that the phrase "One For All couldn't keep you in the ground" is fucking metal.

It rules. I'm fucking jealous I didn't write those words. It is such a good translation and it packs so much punch and I wouldn't have thought of it in a thousand years.

The official translator focuses his efforts on genre-specific tone translation, and sometimes he really nails it. I will freely admit that I find his style grating or overwrought at times, and indeed, one of his key weaknesses is that the flavor of comic-book dialogue he pulls from can sound one generation too old to be cool.

One of the most damning examples of this is him having Katsuki utter the word "bub"—

Chapter 406

—which I think no English-speaker under the age of 30 had actually heard before Deadpool & Wolverine came out.

Honestly, if you just read Wolverine comics from the 80s, 90s, and early 2000s, you can see the character archetype he leans into for Katsuki's dialogue. 405's tagged-on "—and then some!!" is straight out of American action movies.

But the main point here is that Katsuki is taunting AFO and threatening him. He blows up AFO's face, announces himself as the final boss, then vows to kick his ass to death on behalf of everyone. It's amazing.

The line sounds cool as fuck in Japanese. The "naaaa" flourish at the end is nearly untranslatable in any direct way that still captures the appeal and impact of it.

I tend to think of sentence enders like this as flavor text or tone tags. To properly convey them in English, you may have to add a bunch of words, and you have to choose them carefully.

All of this is to say, the official translation tries pretty hard to make Katsuki sound cool. Do they succeed? I think to an extent, they do.

I actually think it's possible the translator did recognize the callback, but wasn't satisfied with the effect of repeating it. You can see that "finish the job" is supposed to link Izuku's actions to theirs, while also sounding grandiose and final.

The Viz translator might've simply prioritized showcasing the cool-guy threat while maintaining the collectivist angle, rather than matching the callback word for word. I don't really think that's the best choice, but I can see why it might be made.

The leaker's translation doesn't make any real effort to up the ante. Maybe this line is cool to somebody, but it ain't me.

In fact, are we ever gonna acknowledge that the leaker's translation just scoops up most of its wording from the official release of chapters 322 and 323?

"I'm the guy who steps in when that nerd can't handle it all on his own!!"

The leaker was not responsible for these translations, but just look at how other people tried to grapple with Katsuki's metaphor.

In fact, the only person whose choice of words prophetically matched Viz was pikahlua, four days before the official release:

And even then, you can see that "step in when" is unique to Viz.

I'm not saying that similarities in translation are unacceptable or that directly referencing the official release is bad, but I do find it truly incredible they had the gall to shit-talk the official translator after cheating off his damn homework.

The leaker basically contributed six words: "I'm the guy who" and "that nerd." I personally disagree with "the guy who" as a translation addition, just because I think it too strongly isolates him in a way that using "I" and "I'm" by themselves do not, but it wouldn't have been terrible if they had also maintained the original clause order: "One For All couldn't handle you... but I'm the guy who—", something like that.

This brings us to my final gripe.

Katsuki did not say “that nerd.”

The leaker made that shit up, they inserted it for no reason and ignored the two pronouns the original text actually provides, OFA and aitsu (that guy).

In the manga, Katsuki has never called Izuku a nerd to villains, not once. It is rare for him to use it while speaking to someone other than Izuku, period. It’s an insulting pet name he uses towards Izuku or while muttering angrily to himself about Izuku.

To be clear, the narrator who uses "shitty nerd" is not Katsuki, they merely validate the accuracy of his nickname for Izuku. Yes, I just linked to my tag for the whole damn 348 chapter, because I've argued against this theory a lot, just read 'em all, it's a good time.

By my count, he only uses it once while talking to Todoroki in chapter 42 and once to Ochako in a 5-page bonus chapter for the first character guide, set shortly after chapter 65. Both take place very early in the series and both are examples of his intense grudge against Izuku.

Did you know that the last time Katsuki uses "nerd" towards Izuku directly is in chapter 320?

Who's ignoring Katsuki's character development again?

The fact is the word doesn't exist in 405's text, and there just isn't precedent for him to say it to All For One.

Trash-talk doesn’t work if your opponent has no clue what the hell you’re talking about. AFO would have no idea who “that nerd” is even supposed to be, because they were not already discussing Izuku, unlike both canon instances of Katsuki using it in conversation with others. The audibly-pronounced aitsu just means "that guy over there (physically near neither you nor me)" and you could argue that is unclear, too, but it's relatively neutral and context clues everyone in to the fact that he means Izuku, with whom he just did an explosive, flying duo move.

I think some bkdk fans were keen to see him use the tsundere insult we all love so much, but it just doesn't read right to me. Writing an insult towards Izuku into this kind of line, even an affectionate one, misdirects the aggression and fails to highlight how Katsuki makes a mockery of AFO during their fight.

I really do think it undercuts how, in his big moment of taunting the greatest villain in history, Katsuki brings up making good on a vow he made to Izuku.

And let's not forget that there is a definitive moment where Katsuki references his relationship with Izuku while taunting AFO:

Chapter 406

To roast the villain for his stupidity in misidentifying him, Katsuki loudly announces himself to be Bakugou no Kacchan.

Katsuki proudly identifies himself with the cutesy nickname his childhood friend has used for him their whole damn lives. That's a far cry from somebody who'd insult Izuku just to hype himself up.

So, no, I don't accept "that nerd." I think the leaker just added it to make their translation sound cooler, but they did so at the expense of Katsuki's character. It's tacky, cheap, and not based in any honest reading of the text.

Put the nickname in your fanworks however brings you joy. Really, go for it, I know I sure do!

But let's not pretend Katsuki said it here.

In conclusion

Katsuki's dialogue offers a unique array of challenges to translators. I would never argue that he is easy to translate, and so much of his characterization is expressed in the minutiae of what he says. Much of his dialogue contains layers of meaning, and any translator is going to have to make a call about how to interpret those layers and what to highlight.

I made this post to say my piece about a translation tons of English-speaking fans love. In the process of dissecting what frustrated me about it, I researched and studied and learned so much.

And to be honest with you, I don't know that I have a solution for this line. I thought of a ton of options:

One For All couldn't keep you in the ground... but we're here to step in and finish the job once and for all!!

I promised we'd step in when that guy couldn't handle it on his own... and I fucking meant it!!

After all, what One For All can't handle... he's got us here to handle for him!!

One For All couldn't stop you… so it's a good thing that guy's got us here to step in and finish the job!!

If the guy with One For All can't get it done alone... then we're here to take you down for him!!

Maybe One For All couldn't handle the job alone... but our side is still gonna kick your ass!!

Some of them are very fun, and each highlights a different set of priorities: collectivism, connection, coolness, intimidation, and so on.

But you could pick apart my words the same way I picked apart the leaker's and Viz's.

There will never be a one true translation. There can't be. For as many readers as there are, there are just as many interpretations to what Katsuki's words mean and what is important about them.

In every translation, you face loss—loss of information, loss of specificity, loss of ambiguity, loss of emotionality, loss of cultural meaning. Your job as a translator is to lose as little as possible, and to make sure you can stomach the things you do lose.

You also gain things in translation. New meanings, new layers, new cultural implications. By showing the audience what you see and choosing how you say it to them, you add something of yourself to the work. You can't not.

As a translator, I want to keep learning and trying and going beyond. I want to do right by the things I translate. I want to share the things I love with other people and figure out, as best I can, how to make them see what is beautiful about it.

Unlike Bakugou Katsuki, we translators can never achieve a perfect victory.

But it's always worth trying.

[bkdk-prophet]

“I don’t expect this to change a thing between us.” (MHA MANGA SPOILERS 322-423)

I think a lot about the fact that, in Katsuki’s apology, he says “I don’t expect this to change a thing between us.” indicating that he accepts the current state of their relationship, that his apology may not be left with a reply, and that he may be the only one who entertains the idea of deepening their bond of rivalry into friendship.

But regardless, he had to speak his truth, and in the future, live by his truth, which is to give Izuku his utmost support.

In the same manner, Izuku had also accepted the current state of their relationship before hearing Katsuki’s apology, judging by how he already felt blessed that he could have a “normal-ish” conversation with him.

And since the JT arc, knowing that Katsuki’s at the center of the “control your heart” issue, it probably solidified that that’s the extent of their bond to him, cause if he indulges in these feelings and make it stronger, being able to control his heart would be increasingly more difficult. So maybe he’d been starting to entertain the idea of being close friends with Katsuki again, but then blackwhip puts his heart on his sleeve, and so his deeper feelings and the yearning he felt for something more were locked away. Katsuki at that point also hadn’t explicitly shown any interest in deepening it anyway, just that he’s committing himself to their rivalry.

But then Katsuki does, throws him a curveball and sacrifices himself for him, then apologizes—calls him his first name “Izuku,” and implies that a “change” is possible between them. It's not expected, but the ball is now in Izuku’s court.

At the moment Izuku couldn’t respond properly since the conditions weren’t ideal. But even after that, when he had the time to broach the the subject to Katsuki, he chooses not to and put a tighter rope on his feelings. He had enough courage to thank his classmates generally, and and also thank Ochaco for her speech, but the apology wasn’t something he feels like he could talk about without revealing too much when he has to hold himself together for the next war. Like a talk could change something fundamental, and take away his attention from the war.

And also, when Katsuki almost makes the mistake of calling him “Deku,” Izuku jumps to say that he doesn’t have to call him that if he can’t, showcasing some of his reluctance to the change, clinging onto the past which at the moment was easier to digest. Katsuki responds to this by saying that he’s not forcing himself, as he will continue to act and speak his truth.

After his apology he makes good on that claim, where he initiates small talks with Izuku even when people surround and can see them, stays by his side as much as he can as a form of emotional support, and continue to be his primary partner in training. And all throughout the second war he commits to his truth even further, taking his self-introspections and sentimentality with pride, and because of it yearns even more intensely.

“So Izuku… can I still catch up with you?” he says as he yearns to be on equal footing with Izuku, in power, in heart, and in their relationship, “Gotta win right… Izuku?” he says as he yearns to be the hero Izuku had always believed him to be, someone who never loses, “That’s Kacchan Bakugou to you!” he says as he becomes the hero Izuku had always seen him as.

As their eyes meet when Katsuki revives, their feelings, as had been said, become one. The feelings of wanting to save All Might, the feelings of wanting to be near and beside each other, and the feelings of wanting to work together to win and save and again be on equal footing are communicated and united. Katsuki’s questions of “Can I catch up to you?” “Gotta win, right?” were answered, as Izuku has outstreched his hand to Katsuki once more and he’d taken it. It’s also the first and only time Izuku really calls for help during the final war, where he usually just lets others help him.

But now the question is if Katsuki’s outstretched hand is something Izuku will take, if Izuku will also speak his truth, as opposed to just showing and acting his truth. It was an invitation to meet in the middle. As Katsuki said “Don’t you dare let me surpass you!” an echo to “Surpass me, become the hero I’d always seen you as—Izuku who’s full of strength and of worth—just make sure to take my hand while you’re on it.

[mhacentral]

MHA Origin trio's Origins and Risings

Katsuki Bakugo Origin Ch 62 (note pic is from ch 65 but i felt it better suited his origin) - Bakugo's origin comes from him decalring to be the hero who wants to win no matter what

Katsuki Bakugo Rising Ch 285 - Save to Win.... Bakugo's Rising happens when his body moves on his own to selflessly save Midoriya

Shoto Todoroki Origin Ch 39 - Todoroki's origin is when he remembers his power is his own, and he should use his full powers to be the hero he wants to be

Shoto Todoroki Rising Ch 390 - (note pic is from volume where significant changes were made) - Todoroki's rising happens when he chooses to go past his limits with everything he has, using his Phosphor (the true combination of ice and fire) to save everyone, both his family and the people

Izuku Midoriya Origin Ch 1 - Midoriya's origin happens after saving Bakugo physically from harm from the sludge villain.... so most think. But that is not the true origin of his story.... his real origin comes from saving All Might by reinvigorating his spirit, and in turn, All Might tells him he can be a hero and thus grands him OFA

Izuku Midoriya Rising Ch 422 - Midoriya's rising comes from having finally accepted his weakness and that the kindness and help from others makes him stronger, something All MIght couldn't do an which ultimately makes Izuku Midoriya surpass All Might in this moment

[emeraldotter]

lop...

[everytsuyuasui]

Chapter 322 ~ Great Explosion Murder God Dynamite

[forwardrussialiveblog]

[cherryblossombombs]

I have an issue with the "the giga cover is likely fujobait" because I can't help but think:

if it was truly fujobait, why now?

Why try to get their attention if MHA is now in the 100M club? The series now so popular, hori/jump doesn't need queer shippers to increase its popularity.

Why try to get fujos and queer fans, if it's already popular in that group? Wasn't it apparently shown that MHA is more popular with women and LGBTQ+ fans?

Why try to get that audience when hori had the chance to do that back in 2016-2018 when Kr//bk was the popular gay ship? Wasn't there an interview where someone pretty much asked hori if he's for kr//bk, but instead of playing along, hori made it about bkdk (the ship that no one took seriously at the time) and said he saw the hand hold more about bkdk angst. Kr//bk was a popular ship, it had bones making official art of them. The smash parody manga had moments of it. Two heroes was their movie [I believe hori didn't really help in that movie. However, notice how in the second movie, (he was a part of that one), focused on bkdk (again, the ship no one took seriously)]. Hori had the ability to use that ship as bait, but he seemed to be the only one out of everyone else to not go for it. Instead he kept pushing for the ship that was thought to be too toxic to even become a platonic ship.

If horikoshi did not want bkdk to seen as romantic, why isn't he stopping jump for implying it? You really can't say that he has no ability to, the guy went to bones and told them the ending. Now, notice how bones suddenly stopped making iz//ch moments and added a bkdk moment in the recap episodes (something that they would never do 2 seasons prior). The assistant (whom hori is friends with) is a loud speaker of dkbk lol. Hori follows him on twitter, there's no way that hori hasn't seen his dkbk art once. Same for katsuki's JP VA (who is also a friend of Hori).

Why try to bait the audience when the manga is ending?

Idk, maybe there's a chance he is actually queerbaiting and make iz//ch canon, but again, after everything?

After the togachako arc? He had made ochako confess her crush on midoriya, only for seconds later to not only brush it off as unimportant (unimportant in the sense of it was more of way to relate to toga and speak with her, it wasn't really used as a "canon izu//ocha" moment), she tells toga that she could have ochako's blood for the rest of her life (and we know that's toga's love language of returning/accepting her feelings) and she told toga that she had the cutest smile in the whole world. Like, didn't hori say that toga was made for ochako's character? I feel like it wouldn't make sense for hori to do all of this, then have ochako end up with midoriya, it would feel like a middle finger to toga tbh.

After chapters 285, 322, 362, 367, 403, and 404? The apology? The "you're the closest one to midoriya izuku, therefore I need to kill you in order to make him go crazy". The heart shaped black whip after seeing bakugou's dying body? The "their feelings became one" double spread? this bullet point could be spread to about 2-3 document pages, but I'm just going to summarize for this post lol. But overall, these chapters (and a few more), show me (imo) that it the "fujobait" claim isn't really strong to use against bkdk.

Again, maybe this is queerbait, because I know that there are times where other media/anime have done simliar and still had the MC in a heterosexual relationship, and leave everyone dumbfounded lol. Once again, all I say to this is "let's see what happens."

P.S. Isn't this the same author who said that he thought that naruto was going to end at 698 (the implied SNS ending) lol? Idk if it's true, that's just something I've heard.

**************************

EDIT 11/29/24: WELP I GUESS I'M BOOBOO THE FOOL LOL

[midnightpink]

Do Not Distrub

read it here on ao3

Apply enough force, and something is bound to break.

by: surveycorpsjean

Words: 10,010, Chapters: 1/1, Language: English 

Collections: Mha fanfics I’ve read/reading, My Favorite Works, Kacchan/Deku Fics That Just Hit Different, GBFOAT: Greatest BakuDeku Fics Of All Time 💥🥦, Bnha Bookclub Discord Recs, I'm Gonna Rec It, Bakudeku fics that keep me going, my finished reads, Honestly every fanfic of Izuku I have ever read., bkdk yuh, My Fave BakuDeku, Best of BKDK, Izuku Angst (aka Give Izuku a Hug Challenge), Bug's Fav MHA Fics, bkdk the world, best of bkdk :’), Bakudeku gems, Stellar Fics: A Wonder Duo Collection ☆★, That good bkdk juice, dkbk fics i can't get enough, Ripon’s Fanfic Recs, Bnha books the gods approve of, Keep Your Eyes On Me, Legitimately The Best Works I've Ever Read, fics i wanna hold hands with, BNHA Fanfiction Archive, Almost every Bakugou fanfic I have read, bnha fics !!!, BKDK Because I Said So, Marmalade's MHA Mayhem ^_^, bkdk starter pack (the classics), bakudeku mothertruckers, Bkdk, Mekos Oneshot Favs!! ʕ ᵔᴥᵔ ʔ, lil’ bkdk box of skittles (+others), Help! I Have Fallen into BkDk Hell and I can't Get Out!, my top top bkdk/dkbk faves, i feel as though i have seen god, Chaos Finished fics I read and loved, stories that touched me, The Midoriya Izuku Archive, them tears™ (bnha edition), ★ my faves ★, thingsilike, The My Hero Archives, erase my memory so i can read these again for the first time,��Anjum's sfw dkbkdk recs, 🌌 The Witch's Library, Spud's reading list, bakudeku fics i liked (and some others), B is for Brilliant, 💛очень хорошо💛, BakuDeku Heaven, are we too young for this?

Fandom: 僕のヒーローアカデミア | Boku no Hero Academia | My Hero Academia

Rating: Teen And Up Audiences

Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply

Categories: M/M

Characters: Bakugou Katsuki, Midoriya Izuku, Class 1-A (My Hero Academia)

Relationship: Bakugou Katsuki/Midoriya Izuku

Additional Tags: Manga Spoilers, Getting Together, Confessions, Sharing a Bed, Hurt/Comfort, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Post Chapter 322, First Kiss, Fix-It of Sorts, post s6e23

[delawaredetroit]

was reading some of your analyses and imo pikahlua (bkgo positivity warning(?)) did a compelling write up on what the philosophies of saving vs winning embody within mha’s narrative! the way they delve into it links to the self-sacrifice vs self-preservation themes that you mentioned could've been established /post/743885232524197888

and after searching the phrase(s) win to save & save to win on their blog to see if there was anything else of interest, these other posts also came up as an amalgamation of various aspects of the concept as referenced in chp 322+285 /post/659102230778183680 and /post/658912695886790656

ik you’re not super into the whole WtS/StW thing, nor izk-bkgo’s rship (which is fair! still appreciate your dissection of the story even if i disagree with some stuff) but i do find these posts to be a nice bit of insight to possibly consider re: hrksh’s intentions, if you ever have the patience/energy to look over them. just wanted try sending this in since you’re on the dkvbk2 chapters currently, apologize if i’m overstepping anywhere

Uh, if you want me to read a specific post, perhaps use the full link next time. Luckily, pikahlua's blog is pretty organized and I think I found at least the chapter based posts you were trying to send. Also, it's fine, I don't need a trigger warning for anyone's opinion on a shounen manga.

I'm not convinced. Unless there is some sort of nuance in the Japanese where there was something less self aggrandizing in that winning concept, it really doesn't work. Coming up with a balance between Izuku and Bakugou's approaches makes sense. I can see that was the intention here. But victory has no moral weight; it is not the equal and opposite to saving in heroism. Self respect, self-preservation, self-confidence, etc. - any of those overexaggerated traits in Bakugou could be morally righteous in more moderate doses. Izuku could find some improvement in his heroism by incorporating any of these into himself.

Maybe I'm a bit spoiled by other series that handle this concept of two characters who represent opposite extreme ideals finding balance from each other with far more grace than BNHA.

[pikahlua]

[MASTERPOST] My Hero Academia Spoilers/Manga Translations Part 2

Continued from Part 1 here.

Ch. 369

Ch. 368

Ch. 367

Ch. 366

Ch. 365

Ch. 364

Ch. 363

Ch. 362

Ch. 361

Ch. 360

Ch. 359

Ch. 358

Ch. 357

Ch. 356

Ch. 355

Ch. 354

Ch. 353

Ch. 352 (full chapter)

Ch. 352

Ch. 351

Ch. 350

Ch. 349

Ch. 348 (clarification on Izuku’s response to Toga)

Ch. 348 (first three pages complete)

Ch. 348

Ch. 347

Ch. 346

Ch. 345

Ch. 344

Ch. 343 (full chapter)

Ch. 343

Ch. 342

Ch. 341 (first six pages)

Ch. 340

Ch. 338

Ch. 337

Ch. 336 Part 1

Ch. 336 Part 2

Ch. 336: The MHA 336 leak(???) translated

Ch. 335

Ch. 334

Ch. 333

Ch. 332

Ch. 330

Ch. 329

Ch. 327 (but only the first three pages)

Ch. 326

Ch. 325

Ch. 324

Ch. 322: What Katsuki needs to say

Ch. 322

Ch. 321

Ch. 320

Ch. 319

Ch. 318 Part 1

Ch. 318 Part 2

Ch. 318 Part 3

Ch. 310 Translation Notes

Ch. 302 Translation Notes

Ch. 290-291 Dabi’s broadcast translation

Ch. 284 Translation Notes

[barbiegirldream]

Now I do not always agree with your JJK posts but I have to admit your understanding of Bakugou surpasses that of most of the MHA fanbase. Guessing he would keep his arm, disagreeing with the message of the final translation and being correct that it was wrong. A great deal consideration for him and not even blinded by agenda

AWWWW tbc I am absolutely blinded by Bakugo agenda but so is Hori. We both understand Katsuki Bakugo got that fucking dog in him. And I really like seeing the story as a whole no agendas no shipping lens. (I see 30 year olds on the tl killing themselves over which of these teenagers will date and I???) And really it all comes down to understanding Bakugo is a simple character who tells you how it is. He wants absolute victory. He wants to have equal competitors. He wants to be the best of the best. He is a bit like high school Gojo actually just way angrier. And I was the only person seemingly not thinking with bkdk agenda cause I was like huh Bakugo already said all of that why are we running it back and then we weren't. So it was me really just being confused why the convo from 322 would happen again and most people prolly weren't thinking back like that

[epickiya722]

I was the anon on Pika's blog. Basically, from screenshots I've seen second hand, they had a post about the endeavor and dabi chapters, a third party made a snarky comment about it, and the official translator agreed with the third party and called the person an "asshole". The fan had previously made a lot of posts about Katsuki and BakuDeku interactions, which I assume the official translator had been linked too by other third parties and was frustrated with them and lashed out. Unfortunately, this gave dubebros (and the translator's friends in the industry) a license to harass this person, and they basically left the (English-speaking) fandom after 322 was published. The official translator also left twitter even before this, so I assume he also got a lot of harassment from the other side/maybe realized it wasn't a good idea to call out an individual fan on social media in a fandom like mha, but I don't think he ever apologized to the person he singled out either.

That's honestly very disgusting to basically "Oh, yeah, harass this person" all because "Oh, my ego has been hit" and anyone who actually went ahead and drove that person off their social media is just as bad and it's worse to not even apologize to the person.

It's just messed up.

[bakuhatsufallinlove]

Post Index: Meta & Translations

Note: This blog is mostly retired! Rather than writing meta, nowadays I translate bkdk doujinshi. This page will remain public as a monument to my hubris a catalogue of my work over the years.

~~~

Hello! I write about cultural and linguistic nuances in MHA, focusing predominantly on the character growth and relationship between Bakugou Katsuki and Midoriya Izuku.

I'm also part of a fan-translation subtitling project for the DVD releases of the Japanese musical stage adaption, My Hero Academia: The Ultra Stage, organized by dekusheroacademia. You can find more information about it on their blog!

My posts are tagged with chapter numbers like so: mha 1, mha 57, mha 322, etc.. Please feel free to search my blog this way and see if I have discussed a chapter you are curious about.

Posts are indexed chronologically by date with newer posts at the bottom. Bolded titles are what I consider my greatest hits.

Linguistics & Cultural Meta

The lyrics of "SKETCH" and how they interplay with Bakugou Katsuki: Rising

The special status of "childhood friends"

"Motto mo naka ga ii": The Language of Bonds in Japanese

Bullying in Japan and how Izuku sees Katsuki's behavior

Izuku and Katsuki talk about the bullying differently

"His weaknesses" or "My own weaknesses": Layers of meaning in Chapter 284's furigana

Katsuki's Danger Sense

"Deku is fine, Kacchan": Izuku is sincere and Katsuki is hilarious

Frame Narratives in Manga & Chapter 348

Omae: Complexity of Self-Expression and Intimacy with the Japanese “You”

"I know" or "We get it"? Katsuki's Intentions in Chapter 322

"We'll handle the things you can't" Plural, Singular, & Proximal Demonstrative Pronouns

Chapter 348’s “Shitty Nerd” Narrator Isn’t Omniscient (And It’s Not Bakugou Katsuki) (Follow-up to Frame Narratives in Manga)

Omae Part 2 Electric Boogaloo (aka "An Exhaustive Analysis of Bakugou Katsuki's Second-Person Pronoun Usage")

Monoma Neito: Douchebag Extraordinaire

Does Izuku Think His Feelings For Katsuki Are Gross? (or, DvK2's Endless Emporium of Nuance)

Bkdk in Japanese fandom

Who Wants To Talk About Japanese Orthography In Manga???

424: Katsuki's confession and Izuku's tenderness

Regarding the accuracy of the official translation

Implied romance in shounen manga

Stories are driven by what the characters need ("why didn't Izuku and Katsuki talk about [blank]?")

"Control your heart": A Misunderstood Narrative

leaker translations I would explode out of existence: 424

that bkdk car conversation is really fucking gay

leaker translations I would explode out of existence: 405

Translations

New Year's Bunny Izuku

"Go Beyond" (Deku's "heart" theme) [Ultra Stage]

Musical 4 Promotional Poster [Ultra Stage]

"I'm gonna be on top!" [Ultra Stage]

Volume 37's cover announcement and title

"Impatient Heart" (Deku's Kacchan song) [Ultra Stage]

U.A. High School Field Trip Around Japan: Day 1, Day 2, Day 3, Day 4, Day 5, Day 6, Day 7

"Notes On Heroes" [Ultra Stage]

"Evil is Infectious" [Ultra Stage]

My Hero Academia: Connect to the Day (You're Next movie tie-in special manga chapter, just the Kacchan bits)

Ichibankuji promotional video for the childhood bkdk figurines

Ultra Age Final Fanbook Bonus Extra (Pro Heroes Izuku & Katsuki)

Things I Made

Less Than Zero (bkdk amv)

"So it's true what they say about you..." (bkdk fanvid)

Koi Daro (Ultra Stage bkdk fanvid)

the two of us (bkdk amv)

bakuhatsu art tag

bakuhatsu fanfic wips

live like a liar (aka bkdk spies) (fanfic)

THE OFFICIAL POLICY OF THIS BLOG

[joelysmile]

I’ll protect you

[mamapyjama]

I’ve been rereading the current anime arc in the manga, and finally got to The Apology™️, and I wondered what words Katsuki used before translation.

Disclaimer: I’m sure others must have posted about this before but I couldn’t recall reading it myself. I do remember there was a lot of talk about the way he used “gomen” as the Japanese fandom were saying how cute and childlike it sounded, so I thought I’d see if there was anything else interesting there.

Oh, my sweet sweet baby boy…

So, just before he says ‘Sorry for everything’ (ima made gomen), he says:

言ってどうにかなるもんじゃねェけど

本音だ

出久

“Itte dōnika naru mon ja nē kedo… Honne da…Izuku”

Which in the English translation, gave us:

And “speak my truth” is lovely and all, but the word from the original that stuck out for me was ‘honne’.

I’m not sure how familiar most people are with honne–tatemae (I only know about it because I go way way too in-depth when researching for my fics lol), but it’s a concept that every Japanese person is deeply aware of, and underpins much of their society.

Here’s the Wikipedia intro:

Ohhh, that is some extra juicy context for Kacchan’s speech. Essentially, he is saying that everything up until now has been his tatemae, a public façade to protect his own position (strong, powerful hero etc), but that he can’t keep that up and he wants Izuku to see his honne, his true, private self.

Excuse me while I melt from the cuteness.

But WAIT! There’s more!

How much do you know about second-person pronouns in Japanese? (Nope, this isn’t about ‘kare’ again this time hehe).

You’ve probably noticed in the anime that Kacchan says “Temee” a lot, and you may have also noticed that it tends to get translated as cursing. So it actually just means ‘you,’ but like a really rude way of saying it, such that the only way of reflecting that in English is to replace ‘you’ with something like Bastard or Asshole.

Again, have an expert explain:

This and the below are from a very excellent article about second-person pronouns and how they are used for context and drama in anime specifically. I’d recommend reading it as the context is really interesting!

So although pronouns aren’t actually commonly used or necessary in much spoken Japanese, when they are used, it’s a deliberate way to tell you about the relationship dynamic between two characters.

But why, you may ask, am I talking about pronouns again?!

Because, dear friends, throughout the first half of his speech, Kacchan uses ‘temee’ as usual to describe his past with Izuku. I’ve highlighted it below, and pls also note the shaky speech bubble showing his nerves during the ‘honne’ section. 🥺

HOWEVER, straight after he says he wants Izuku to see his Honne, Katsuki switches pronouns from ‘Temee’ (v rude), to ‘Omae’ (very casual/familiar). Below is the page after the apology.

Considering we now know pronouns are not necessary to convey meaning, that’s a hell of a lot of omaes on one page!! Boy cannot get enough of saying it.

If you want more about the different pronouns, see below for a helpful table of common uses for both. And please indulge my shippy heart for highlighting the second usage (but, like ‘kare’, you never know)…

Katsuki is showing Izuku immediately and repeatedly that this is who he wants to be to him and how he wants the world to see them. His honne, his inner desire, is to be close to Izuku, to treat him as an equal.

He’s not just saying sorry, he’s showing that—at least from his perspective—things are going to be different from now on. But, like, also, that this was how he felt about him in private the whole time?! GAHHHH.

So there you go, the apology that was already a massive turning point in their story/relationship was actually even deeper and more beautiful than we all thought. Yet again, Japanese conveys nuance and intention far beyond what can be translated. 😭💕

[everytsuyuasui]

Chapter 322 ~ Great Explosion Murder God Dynamite