#but seeing goketsu animated reminded me of what garou's gone thru this WHOLE time

[the-nysh]

To Stand and be Strong...

While Garou’s words vs actions may often be contradictory (for example, how he often ends up doing the opposite of what he says he’s gonna do, much to his chagrin when he can’t properly follow through with his monster plans), there’s one thing I can certainly applaud him for always adhering to no matter what, where he consistently pulls through practicing precisely what he preaches, and that’s his repeated, personal mantra to ‘stand up.’ To stand up and be strong.

All you have to do is be strong. If you can’t stand on your own, don’t expect someone to come and save you! It’s situations like this you need to be strong for!

The words he tells Tareo AND (with consistent parallels) later expects from the beaten S Class heroes to show him too:

BECAUSE…for this whole time, to even get himself this far, he’s pushed forward demanding those same expectations from himself.

Every time...no matter how tough it gets, how hard he’s beaten, or even despite suffering repeated lethal injuries, he still manages to stand up.

Bang (to Bomb): If you were to suffer such injury…would you still be able to stand?

Amazingly, he rises and does exactly what he says/tells others to do too, but by defiantly sticking to his guns (expecting the most from himself here) and absolutely refusing to back down or lose. During these moments he’s got no one but himself to rely on for a rousing pep talk (and it’s probably been this way for years ever since he strove on his own to become stronger ;.;). So whenever he’s pushed down, backed into a corner, or staggering on the verge of dying losing consciousness, he tells – no, forces himself to get back up again.  

Gyoro Gyoro: This determination of yours, where does it come from?

Demonstrating that kind of consistent resolve, dedication, endurance, and unwavering tenacity is certainly impressive. But most of all, it’s because the bigger reason he’s fighting for (which goes way beyond monsters) is too important for him to give up and die here.

So in the end...did I want to die like this? (No way!)

By continuing this way, he’s hardest on himself to keep going in these desperate moments, but that determination’s kept him on his feet despite every hardship endured. He can’t afford to end things here, so he pushes forward, mentally berating telling himself to be stronger each time, and resolves to stand up no matter what. Even if he can’t always follow through with his monster plans in comparison (cannot actually kill anyone except monsters as he claims), it’s this area instead where his consistency and grit really shine.

Additionally, this same mantra to ‘stand up’ was established in Goketsu vs Suiryu too...but with a huge glaring difference.

Goketsu: Stand up...and show some grit...within three seconds.

Suiryu: This is...inhumane! He truly is...a monster!

While this situation feels like a prelude of what to expect from Garou later, unlike what he does, Goketsu’s method is clinically cruel, cold-blooded torture. Designed to break his victim’s lingering spirit to resist. (Poor Suiryu...) Detached and heartless, beating them when they’re already down...just like what a monster would do. (And just as Suiryu puts it, he’s inhumane.) Perhaps there’s similar roots in their discipline as martial artists, but in contrast, Garou is definitely not like this (the biggest distinction: he’s not monstrous because his heart’s still human).

Jump forward to what Garou similarly demands from the S Class later in the webcomic, and his method to get them to stand is instead a test where he gives them ample time to rise to his challenge. (“If heroes have a reason for existing, now’s the time to show me.”) He’s goading and disciplining them to properly stand up and step forward with the same amount of determination (or greater, after all, they’re supposed to be heroes) that he’s required from himself this whole time. He wants to see what rouses their heroic spirit what they’ve got.

(^Just not...with that kind of determination. Heroes no, don’t fight like that.) Because surely, if he’s come this far, enduring the worst and forcing himself to stand up with a reason to keep on fighting, then those who call themselves heroes must also have what it takes to rise and match him with their own. Oh wait, but what if they can’t? All the more reason why he feels (his) ideal version of a hero needs to properly stand up and become stronger too.