#basically im saying dekus a good mc shut up

[kacchanrawr]

People are not Born Equal

The common argument I see Deku antis and MHA antis use is that Deku is a bad protagonist because he just got OFA out of nothing and he didn’t really work hard for it or anything. They say he’s supposed to be teaching us the value of hard work or the typical "hard work gets you anywhere" shit, and frankly it pisses me off.

In the first place, "hard work gets you anywhere" isn't even the main theme of MHA. The story reflects on our modern society, but that theme only really works in old fantasy worlds. Using Black Clover as a comparison, notice how 14-year-old Deku said he'd give up and face reality moments before All Might appeared and offered OFA to him, while 15-year-old Asta is still all 'never give up'? A teenager in a modern society is hit harder with realism than one in a world of magic. Even if they're essentially just 'powers' in our eyes, in their respective worlds, quirks are a part of a person's identity, while magic is a measure of their strength.

With realism in mind, it should be a given that hard work doesn't solve everything. In fact, one of the very first lines of the manga is "people are not born equal". In the world of MHA, people are born with quirks, some incredibly powerful, some that are hella useless, and some with none. They didn't work hard to earn them, but they worked hard to hone their powers. And even with the hard work of honing their powers, there's still gonna be a despairing difference between those who were born lucky, and those who were born unlucky but worked hard. But in Deku's case, he worked hard to earn his quirk, and continues to work hard in honing it.

Maybe as kids, we are shown stories (particularly children’s storybooks) with "anyone can get anywhere if they work hard" as it’s main themes. We are shown stories of people who started as underdogs, but because they worked hard, they become successful, powerful and they achieve their dreams. But really, outside of a story, how often does that really happen in real life? Very rarely, not just in real life, but even in other forms of media. If it were common, it wouldn’t be a story after all, right? Plenty of people work hard all the time, yet they never become successful and just stay stuck at one place. Not everyone can be a story protagonist. And maybe that's why Deku narrates MHA like he's telling a story. To the ordinary quirkless 14 year old kid, this would feel nothing more like a story.

That's not to say that perseverance and hard work aren’t important. They’re what give you, and plenty of other people the ticket or the chance to stand on the platform, but in the end, only a few people get to board the train to success. Working hard increases your probability of being able to board the train, but it's still a matter of luck. Luck and perseverance come hand in hand.

There's the luck to be born special, such that even if you were raised thinking you are ordinary and an underdog all your life, there is actually some kind of destiny waiting for you that you can achieve if you combine that luck with perseverance. Asta was lucky because he was kind of destined to get the anti-magic grimore, but he still worked hard to get far. Then there's the luck of pure chance. Deku was lucky to meet All Might and prove himself, but he also worked hard to get far.

Also, you know how when the main character is having an internal monologue and reminiscing their adventures, they usually talk about how far they've come and how hard they've worked for it, right? But with Deku, he just thought "I'm so blessed" The point is that he started out as completely ordinary, and was given the chance when he proved himself worthy in All Might's eyes. That's why there are so many times where Deku says "to live up to All Might's expectations"