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daisymerollingg · 5 months ago

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Flashy flash (and sonic's) emotional depth

idk what to call this. It’s a character analysis ig?🤷 Anyway, I was thinking about this and wanted to talk about it. Excuse me if I sound stupid or something, I don't do this often. spoilers for the manga and webcomic (ninja arc) Long post ahead

I was thinking, as one does, about the ideal romantic partner for Flashy flash. This is all of course very fanon based because realistically most opm cast are not even semi-datable or fit to be in a healthy, fulfilling relationship (who cares about realistic here though, this is a fanfic blog), but it made me start wondering about Flashy flash's complexity and the possibly suppressed psychological affects the ninja village had/has on him, and how isolation, deprivation and abandonment at a young age probably affected him.

When Flashy flash is first introduced in the series, he shows few emotions/expressions, just the same stoic face with a fitting, confidently arrogant attitude. Even as the story progresses and we see him interact with other characters, such as fellow heroes and even Saitama, while, yes, there is a greater depth to his character now, he's still rather self-pretentious.

I'm not trying to say that there is nothing to him but his stuck-up-ness, but that the most we've seen of him thus far is him being, to simply put it, self-absorbed.

It's only in the Ninjas arc, where the fated reunion between him and Sonic finally occurs, that a more complex version of him is finally brought to light. In my perspective, at the very least.

in the webcomic, it’s revealed that Flashy flash wiped out his entire ninja class, including sonic, but instead of murdering him brutally head-on, he decided to poison him out of mercy. That obviously didn’t work.

his motive behind killing his class was to rid evil from this world, starting with his origins, or the origins of his darkness.

After that, he left the village and lived a life of honor and pride as a hero, and in doing so, removing himself from his past and (almost) completely forgetting about the village.

until he stood face-to-face with Sonic, his old comrade and his failed assassination , after 9 years.

flash forward a bit to the fight between empty void and Sonic + flashy flash. Flashy flash almost gets tricked by “god” via a vision of younger Sonic telling younger flash that they’re going to finally build the ideal ninja village they used to talk about.

Flashy flash’s swift willingness and lack of skepticism makes me believe that he had truly never removed himself from his past.

That all those years he ‘forgot’ about those precious memories, was just him suppressing his regret.

I don’t believe flash regretted wiping out his clan, but I do believe he always (in the far far farrr depths of his mind) longed for a different outcome, where he could’ve built that village with Sonic, and gave orphans the freedom to become strong on their own conditions and have their own goals and dreams. But that’s pretty telling from the vision the cube made for him.

Anyhow, his past never passed, it was just suppressed. He, as an individual now, is still shrouded by those hidden affects of his upbringing.

And it manifests in parts of his character, like his need to be recognized and in the spotlight (noting how irked he got when Saitama kept forgetting his name), his pride, and his drive for power (but that’s pretty lowkey).

That being said, he is emotionally unstable, but anyone can figure that much out.

Why can’t I confidently say the same things about Sonic, though? He was also brought up in the ninja village, alongside flashy flash no less.

While Flashy flash lacks emotional intelligence, Sonic excels in it to a surprising degree, considering his similarly dull past.

This can be seen in the ‘One punch man special 3: A ninja who’s too complicated’ where the viewer gets to witness a more meaningful side of Sonic and his average daily life, as well as watching him form decent emotional bonds. Like with the tiny wild boar “Ino” and the hunter “Frank” in the forest.

On to my main point: in the OVA, he navigates his emotions regarding Saitama, including the fear he felt in regards of facing him again. While training, he recognizes these feelings and where they stem from, and works to improve not only his physical capabilities but also his mental clarity in order to overcome those fears and have the will power to face his destined nemesis once more. While it’s true that at first he was denying his fear, he still managed to accept and harness it by the end of his training.

And he successfully does. Even after being defeated time and time again by Saitama, he uses it as another lesson, a sign that he’s still capable of getting stronger.

that’s another thing, while Sonic accepted the fact the Saitama was stronger than him, and even way above his league, Flashy flash denied it despite witnessing Sai’s strength first hand and even experiencing the overwhelming fear of ‘death’.

I should preface this by saying that Sonic definitely isn’t crazy emotionally intelligent or anything, he’s still our insane, menacing and a little manic ninja. He’s definitely no where near ‘mentally/emotionally perfect’, but between the two, Sonic is significantly more stable than Flashy flash.

Why is that? Sonic moves on. He doesn’t forget or look away or ‘remove himself from his past’. He moves on. He’s always been future oriented, while allowing his past to exist and his present to shape him. Even as a child, that’s what grounded him in contrast with all the other ninjas there, including flashy flash. In a sense, Sonic, with his spirit, personality and ambitions, is the one that guided Flash into that ‘righteous’ mindset, the one that grounded him in that miserable place, too. if it wasn’t for Sonic, Flash would’ve ended up like any other ninja assassin: dull, boring and vacant inside.

Like he said, Sonic was born with a ‘powerful soul’, full of life and rejecting submission. His spirit and inwardly strength since birth had always been resilient. Perhaps that’s the difference between Flashy flash and Sonic,

But we also need to account for the fact that Flashy flash was abandoned and sold off to the village by his parents when he was 5, while Sonic was born there. It’s safe to say that Flash probably doesn’t remember anything from before he entered the village, however, that doesn’t mean it didn’t have some kind of influence on him,

I believe it was his personal experience from the outside before he was sent to the village that also helped in growing the “righteousness” mindset. Along with the fact that they both have their own different personality and mind, their goals could’ve also played a part in how they moved forward with their life. Flashy Flash wanted a fresh slate, to be born anew. A hero that eradicated evil. But if he came from that dreaded place, killed many in cold blood, isn’t he also considered an ‘evil’? Pretending that part of his life didn’t mean anything, or no longer existed all together, perhaps reassured him that he was the pure ‘good’. Maybe it was the only way he thought he could achieve his ambition.

With Sonic, I’d imagine after the massacre of his class and his escape, he was merely focused on survival. He simply didn’t care at the time. And even when he had the time to think about his goal, which I believe he still always planned to build that ideal village even if it was on his own, the whole goal revolves AROUND his past, his life since he was born trapped inside the ninja village. And besides, he truly just didn’t care for all that complicated stuff about erasing the past and whatnot. ‘What happened, happened 🤷’

Now onto the more hidden influences of the ninja village upbringing: Isolation and deprivation of parental affection

In the case of isolation, Flashy flash and Sonic interacted quite often so we’ll just cross that one out for now.

Deprivation of parental affection, or even any type of caregiver, is terrible for any child. And in Flashy Flash’s case, not only was he deprived of that approval and love for years, but he probably had something akin to it before being abandoned. Maybe he didn’t too, and whoever was taking care of him at that time wasn’t kind, but that sense of abandonment and being carelessly tossed into an environment predictably ten times worse than whatever he lived in before then, intensified any sense of deprivation originally brought on by the absence of parental involvement. This could be the reason why he wants and/or needs to be popular and well known, and dislikes being overshadowed by others.

but frankly, that’s a pretty weak point, i feel like I’m just yapping here.

After all this blabbering, I’m finally going back to the whole point of this analysis, or rather the reason that made me start thinking about this topic: ‘a romantic partner’.

If, by some miracle, Flashy Flash managed to land himself in a romantic relationship with someone, how would that play out? the simple answer to this is: not well. Definitely not well. Of course, he’s going to act drastically different from his exterior persona with said significant other, and I believe the way he would act is a problem all by itself.

Going back to my ‘deprivation of parental affection’ point from earlier, he would seek out that attention, love and security in his partner, which in of itself isn’t bad, its the intensity of it that would point to a clear instability in him. I think he would seek validation and attention constantly, to an overbearing extent, if I may. Always calling and texting his partner, getting agitated when they don’t respond at least within 30 minutes, even if they’re busy.

For all his devotion to his work as a hero, his partner would consume a big portion of his thoughts, perhaps even when he’s on missions. And he’d assume his significant other should be as reliant on their relationship as he is. His interactions with them even through the phone would possibly determine his overall mood for that day. That’s far from how any sort of healthy relationship should work.

Aside from all of this, as I mentioned in the beginning of the post, Flashy flash is still self-absorbed. He’d want to be above his partner in many aspects, especially strength and intelligence. He would want to feel superior in a relationship. Overall, his mindset in a relationship would likely be very unhealthy. He’d probably think that his partner is lucky to have him, even if he feels grateful for having them, he would expect them to be grateful for him by ten folds. Not because he’s the ideal romantic partner (from everyones point of view except his), but because he’s the embodiment of perfection. He’s clean, handsome, powerful, rich, smart, devoted. Who would want anything else? He can’t differentiate between those attributes and what it takes for you to be a good spouse.

This point is demonstrated by his acute possessiveness and well-veiled but intense jealousy. If his partner planned to go out with some friends while he so happened to be free at that time, he wouldn’t understand why they wouldn’t bail on their friends to hangout with him instead; his utterly glorious and charming self, their enchanting partner who’s better than everyone else.

I’m assuming this would lead to many arguments. In his head, he would criticize all their friends or colleagues, mentally comparing them to him.

He would grow obsessively attached to his partner. He would constantly yearn for all their love, attention and praise. Subconsciously, his mind is trying to use his partner to fill in the missing gaps left by his childhood, while also accounting for his need for support as an adult. All things considered, he needs way too much. He also tries to give way too much, which for some people could be overwhelming.

With all those issues and toxicity in the relationship, naturally the partner would eventually try to breakup with flashy flash. This is where I believe his abandonment issues would finally show. He wouldn’t accept the breakup, and would deny or try to excuse their reasoning. If that doesn’t work, he’d start growing desperate.

He’s revolved his life and schedule around this person ever since their relationship started, every waking step he takes he’s thinking about them in any sense, they’d seen so much vulnerability and need in him, how could they just leave? He’d grow proper desperate, doing anything, even if it may be seen as pathetic (which is surprising coming from someone who cares a lot about how he’s perceived), to get them to stay.

‘He would never do that, that is so out of character for him.’, and I agree, it IS out of character of him, but I think people tend to underestimate the sheer intensity of limerence and attachment when someone hasn’t received that crucial part of development growing up. Think about it, he had probably been deprived of that sense of safety and gentleness for around 20-25 years of his life, and when he finally gets it and is intoxicated by it, his entire existence is coiled around it. Wouldn’t losing that shred of touch he needed for years send him into mental distress?

that being said, you don’t need to take anything I say seriously, I’m mostly just overthinking and spilling my maladaptive daydreaming thoughts into this post.

IN CONLUSION:

Flashy flash is still held up by his past (to an extent)

Flashy Flash would probably have preoccupied anxious attachment style

He needs some intense therapy

THEN AGAIN, this whole post could just be a huge miss on my part 💥

exhales deeply. Siri, play ‘Crack baby' by mitski. *takes in a big puff from my hookah* Man.

#one punch man #opm #Flashy flash #speed of sound sonic #character analysis #speed o sound sonic #speed o’ sound sonic #opm sonic #sighhhh #flashy flash x reader #(?)#ig?#overthinking #Opm meta #Meta #one punch man meta #opm manga #opm webcomic

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gofancyninjaworld · 1 month ago

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An actual case of retconning in One-Punch Man

Wind up

The One-Punch Man manga series has seen several rewrites of chapters and parts of arcs, and several fans have taken to calling the revised chapters 'retcons'. That this isn't correct is something that has been getting on my nerves forever, but I've ignored it for two reasons. One, damn, but I do have more to do in life than carp on terminology in online fandom, and two, I've not minded the irony that One-Punch Man isn't big on retconning. However, in the most recent webcomic chapter, 152, there is a bona fide example of retconning, and so I've got to say something.

First, Let's Define Terms

First thing, what *is* retconning? It's short for 'retroactive continuity': when something that should have been established earlier in the story is written in and explained as if it was always there. If you want more on that, you can waste a few hours on TV Tropes. It's often used as a pejorative, especially with regard to mainstream Western comic book writers, where discontinuities, reboots, and retcons are common as the long-in-the-tooth properties pass from one writer to the next. However, it's rather stupid to use words wrongly as it deprives us of the ability to accurately describe and analyse what we see. It's additionally stupid because retconning is a tool, and it can be used well, even though it's easier to remember examples of poor use.

Specifics

As I've said, ONE hasn't been big on retconning. Notably, he's been happy to let the OPM manga and webcomic develop their own continuities. For example, it would have been easy for him to introduce Suiryu in the webcomic by having him recall having met Saitama and been inspired to become a hero: that would have been a retcon as we never saw the two meet earlier in the webcomic, but no. He started Suiryu as the unreformed guy he started out as and let him develop his own way.

So what's different here? Well, *nowhere* in the webcomic have Ryumon and Metal Bat had any interaction. They were introduced to each other in chapter 125, and that was it. Nowhere in the webcomic do we see Ryumon questioning his role in society, mentioning Metal Bat, or even watching Metal Bat in action from afar. However, in chapter 152, he reveals that he's been an admirer of heroes from childhood, admires Metal Bat, has been talking to Metal Bat, and has changed his MO as well as that of his group. THAT. IS. RETCONNING. 100%.

So, is it BAD? FUCK NO. IT'S A GREAT EXAMPLE. Let us dig into why it's so good. The cure for retconning is rewriting, as happens in the manga. It doesn't always pay to do so: sometimes you can't or won't go back. And you have to consider carefully whether it's worth tearing up a partially-written work to establish a new fact. In this instance, it's definitely not worth it: the FACT that Ryumon is an ally to Metal Bat is much more important than whatever PROCESS he went through to become one.

The story *needs* someone like Ryumon to act as an ally: the way the webcomic is set up, Metal Bat left on his own tod to join the Neo Heroes, so there's no one back at the Hero Association to support him. The other pro-heroes who joined with him are all either too isolated or too miserable to be of use -- yes, the selfishness of the heroes in the wc is coming back to bite them. And with his sister being held hostage, merely breaking out without an ally able to move freely within the Neo Heroes to look out for Zenko's safety would have doomed her. The story needed a 'lucky' break like this, or it'd be hopeless.

Is Ryumon the right character to use? Oh yes indeedy. First, as a stock character, we, the audience, like the idea of a gangster with a heart of gold, someone who may exist outside the law but still has a clear sense of right and wrong and who has standards about who may and may not be targeted. We're prepared to accept Ryumon in a way that we would not have been able to accept Zaedats having a change of heart (well, if he still had a heart to change... poor bastard). Second, Ryumon hasn't kicked any puppies; we haven't seen him do anything horrific. He may not have done much that is good, and it's clear that he'd been happy to regard the eventual culling of pro-heroes as no bad thing, but he doesn't come across as the sort of guy who'd applaud a completely subjugated world. It's right that he rebels.

He may be no devil, but he's no angel either: the pro-heroes being a rival gang whose demise is no bad thing is his view. Note, however, that he does want to be respectable.

His rough speech and his desire for respectability make it believable that he'd get along with Metal Bat, and so we're ready to buy that he'd be influenced by the young hero to actually be heroic rather than just mime being one. Along those lines, ONE established in the wc that as the various Neo Heroes came into contact with the various pro-heroes -- Webigaza with Child Emperor, Raiden with Puri Puri Prisoner -- they have not been able to avoid being impressed and moved by their examples and testimonies.

Given all of these factors (the right character, a process we've accepted for other characters, and a strong in-story need for the character to take action), Ryumon's heel-face turn fits in beautifully, and that's how a retcon is supposed to work.

This is very unlikely to happen in the manga for three reasons. Reason 1 (the most important): ONE knows where he wants to go with the character so he can just get on and write an organic story. It is also the case that many of the pro-heroes we're following into the Neo Heroes are doing so with a plan and are working together, rather than the scattershot individualism of the wc: they have more resources. Reason 2: as a paid-for work, ONE isn't going to expect us to be happy with after-the-fact handwaving. That's why he's willing to spend months rewriting if need be. Reason 3: Ryumon in the manga has much dirtier hands than his webcomic equivalent, having organised hero betting and planning worse. We are going to have to see him change. And with him already butting heads with Metal Bat, there is plenty of scope for just that to happen. Not too easily, I hope! :D

Not only is he no angel, but he's still actively criminal.

We don't need the webcomic to know that this is going to be interesting, but now we can look forward to this being INTERESTING.

Call to action

Please, for fuck's sake, can we use the right words? The no longer canon chapters are SCRAPPED or REDACTED. Their replacements are REVISIONS. Otherwise, we're just babbling nonsense.

#One Punch Man #OPM manga #OPM webcomic #writing tools #retroactive continuity #Ryumon #Metal Bat #yes retconning is often done badly but that's no reason to use it as an insult #when it's used well -- as it is here -- it feels natural #please use the right terms

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