#ch ~430 I think

[gayandfullofdismay]

😭😭😭😭

[ahaha-ahahaha]

yesss absolute win for momo

she got the costume she deserves

[shiori8]

Power-Couple Uravity & Midoriya-Sensei

I know I'm incredibly late to the party but guess who's finally finished MHA and is all sorts of emo about all of these losers... 🥹

(In my head I imagine them posing like this for a magazine cover, but it's been a while since I did much drawing in general, so here's just a sloppy little piece to try and get somewhat back into the groove of things lol maybe I will come back to this idea one day ¯\_(ツ)_/¯)

[uozlulu]

Finished BnHA. Here's the TLDR; version of my reaction:

Yay: We didn't end up in a Boruto situation and it's nice to see everyone grown up living their best lives

Boo: Almost of the League died and there was no catharsis in the climax. It was a part-tragedy, part-business as usual kind of ending

It was nice to get imagery like Bakugou offering a hand to Midoriya at the end of the story, but we never really see outside of that grandmother character, people helping those who could end up villains. So, like Naruto, in some ways it feels like not much has changed in society, it's just the main character's position in it that changed.

If we do get a sequel where Midoriya is a teacher, etc...etc...I'd really like to see Horikoshi (and whoever is the equivalent of Toyotaro or Ikemoto and Kodachi will be) do something with the concept of reaching out to someone who could end up in another League of Villains and really show us if/how the society has changed after all that happened. Because I feel like reaching out to others is a legit theme of the manga and I feel like we just didn't get there in a satisfying way.

I'm not going to hold my breath about it, but that's where I'd like to see things go since we didn't get that kind of exploration with the League.

Anyway, it could have been worse, but man, I think it could have also been better.

[daetko]

ᐟᐟ☆ mha texts : texts with your boyfriend . . .

♯ characters included: kaminari, bakugo, todoroki, sero, midoriya, kirishima

⊱ cw: “y/n” usage, fluff, swearing, gn reader mostly (in kirishimas last one reader is referred to as 'girlfriend')

⊱ a/n: couldn't think of a proper prompt after ch 430 dropped i think it gave me brain damage,, if u have a specific prompt in mind my requests r open!

⊱ masterlist

an 2.0: bakugo denki midroiya n kirishima have one extra cause i could only think of them when i saw these lolol anyway next smau is the bakusquad texts one!!!

also reply/send an ask to be on the taglist!

[infamous-light]

Fragments of Us Ch. 3

Dom! Wanda Maximoff x Bratty! Gender Neutral Reader

Ch.1 Ch.2 Ch.3 Ch.4 Ch.5 Ch.6 Ch.7 Ch.8

AO3: Fragments of Us

Summary: Wanda decides to punish you for being bratty.

Chapters can be read independently. Requests for snippets about Wanda are welcome!

Word Count: 430

Warnings: Spanking, magical restraints

A dangerous glimmer flickered within Wanda’s eyes as she languidly crossed one leg over the other, the red satin robe riding up her thighs. Sitting poised on the edge of the bed, her gaze bore into you, its weight almost tangible as you stood before her.

“You’ve been such a naughty little brat.” Wanda said, her voice a low, menacing purr.

You swallowed hard, your heart pounding in your chest, but the playful spark of defiance in your eyes refused to waver. You knew exactly what you had done. Earlier, at the party, you had deliberately teased Wanda – standing a little too close to someone, letting your laughter stretch a beat too long, all while knowing it would stir that possessive side of her. Now, the repercussions of your little game were catching up to you.

“I have no idea what you’re talking about.” You replied, offering a mocking smile as you feigned innocence.

Wanda’s lips curled into a slow, knowing smirk. She recognized the provocation for exactly what it was. With a casual flick of her wrist, your legs buckled, the sharp pull of her magic forcing you to kneel before her. Then, a warm, crimson haze coiled around your wrists, binding them tightly behind your back. Wanda reached out, her fingers gripping your chin and tilting your face upward, forcing you to meet her gaze.

“You think you can just keep testing me, don’t you?” She asked, arching an eyebrow.

You met her gaze with a shit-eating grin, unapologetically challenging her. The corner of Wanda’s lips quirked.

Before you could respond, her magic enveloped you, lifting you effortlessly and positioning you across her lap. The sudden motion made you yelp, your pulse racing as you tried to wriggle away, but Wanda placed a firm hand between your shoulder blades, pressing you face-first into the mattress.

“Let’s see how long that bratty attitude lasts when you’re properly punished.” Wanda said with a cool, assured tone as she tugged your pants down halfway.

You opened your mouth to protest but your words were cut off when her hand connected sharply on your backside. A startled gasp escaped your lips, and before you could fully process the sting, Wanda delivered another harsh smack, then another, each one landing in quick succession. Heat bloomed across your ass and the defiance within you melted away, replaced by a soft, needy whimper.

Wanda's chuckle rumbled low, full of dark satisfaction.

“Now, are you going to behave?” She asked, her voice gentle yet commanding.

All you could do was nod, completely submitting to Wanda’s mercy.

[class1akids]

Was the ending of MhA as a whole well received by fans?

Which ending?

When the WSJ serialisation ended with Ch 430 back in August, there were split opinions:

Villain fans already lost hope for the series after 419, and 430 didn't improve their opinion.

Shipping community was split: BKDKs were happy, IzuOchas were disappointed

Deku fans - especially the dudebros for whom he was a power fantasy - were pissed because Deku didn't become the greatest hero, didn't get the girl, was not happy as a teacher and was given a pity suit by his childhood bully. Cue the endless Cuck memes.

IzuOchas and Ochako fans were disappointed since her character got no conclusion about her repressed feelings.

Shouto fans were torn as the one panel showing Shouto being the highest ranked Class A student and not being referred to as Endeavor's son was generally a "good ending" for him, but it happened so much on the margins and didn't really address anything about his family. Also we were left in the dark about Touya

Rest of the fandom was probably just disappointed that the timeskip had so little on the main cast, most of them not even getting speaking lines or the kind of things we wanted to see more of just weren't portrayed.

I think overall, people thought it was a "serviceable ending" but that it was really not great for the MC.

Then 431 hit 5 months later, in which I believe Horikoshi tried to fix the criticism over Deku's ending, but then ended up alienating other parts of fandom:

BKDKs - the biggest spenders of the franchise- absolutely crushed not just for IzuOcha becoming canon, but also because of the rejected Wonder Duo agency. Also Bakugou's low ranking and the lack of depiction of their special bond really rattled Bakugou fans whether they were shippers or not

It gave a bit of extra feel-good content for Shouto and it was nice, but it also confirmed Touya's off-screened death, which I think left Shouto fandom split. Not to mention, a significant part of Shouto-fandom was not wild about Shouto's post-time skip design

Deku fans - the dudebro portion - was happy that at least he got the girl. Others felt that his inner fire was gone. A lot of the Japanese fandom started to see him as a "middle aged salaryman" and "weekend hero" who didn't fulfil at all the promise he made in Ch 1.

I guess IzuOchas and Ochako fans were happy, since she was de facto the main character of this chapter and Hori put a lot of effort into beautifying and praising her.

TogaChakos were not happy though to have Toga be used to push forward a hetero couple.

Fans of other characters were just disappointed for the lack of focus (many people said that not having All Might in the last chapter was awful).

The worldbuilding is also not well-received. Having hero profession be a dying species is just not an interesting setting and contradicts almost everything that the series built before.

The initial sales numbers were great though. I think it's multiple factors:

The color art bonuses for the 3 overwhelmingly most popular characters created a huge secondary market for the illustrations. Fans and resellers both got multiple copies.

Japanese fans don't interact with spoilers and many of them went blind into the volume for the new content.

It's the final volume - so people will collect it anyways.

But the reprint - without the bonus and now the contents widely known - is not selling really. The volume sales plateaued after the initial excitement.

There is also a diminishing number of engagement across the official sites. Most Japanese fans will not complain openly, but will just leave quietly.

For example, the exhibition visual only got 140K lines on over 6M views, despite featuring multiple characters and having been retweeted by Horikoshi, with his over 3M follower account. In comparison, the initial visual with just Deku and Tomura that was released before Vol 42 had 178K likes.

The engagement numbers of both the anime and manga account on Twitter also went down, and a lot of merch is visibly not selling as well as in the past.

For example:

The Valentine's day BKDK stickers still haven't sold out.

The new Top10 fantasy art didn't sell out, not even for the main character, not even the fan service BKDK combo

Many fans are resentful that Uraraka was put in the center of the exhibition visual and of the Anime Japan as the face of the franchise instead of the MC which meant that MHA didn't make it onto the main visual this time.

People feel that the ending is there only to cater for Uraraka fans and nobody else and it makes people not look forward to the fanbook (including the new chapter) and the art exhibition so much.

It's also a bizarre choice by the anime / manga merch committee, considering she doesn't sell that well.

For example, her merch in the new blind merch Hero badges where 1 pull costs around 6.50 euros sells well below the base price, while Bakugou sells 4-5x the price.

or the swaddling charms sold as blind merch at 2 euros a try also selling Uraraka at a discount and often have to be bundled with popular characters to get rid of the merch

So I think the reception in fandom was definitely very mixed, and most importantly it alienated important parts of the fandom - the ones paying for merch and attending events - which for now looks like an overall reduction in interest and a decline of merch sales.

Making Uraraka the "main character of the epilogue" has created a situation where one of the worst sellers in terms of market value is now used as the face of the franchise both by the manga and anime and it's something that many fans who stuck around for 10 years supporting the manga are increasingly resentful about.

I think the dudebro community is overall positive and the animation fans will keep hyping the series, but they don't tend to be the ones paying for goods or legal content.

How it will impact the franchise on the long-term is hard to say. Vigilante on Twitter is not getting a lot of the engagement, but on YouTube, the trailer has good number of views and on Reddit there is excitement about it. If it gets a strong viewership, it may turn things around. But there is a lot of competition with new, fresh anime that are strong.

And I think a lot will also depend on what Horikoshi will do with the fanbook and the exhibition. Whether he will continue the trend of drawing what pleases him personally, or whether he will consider his fanbase and try to lure them back with content geared towards them.

[greenmidoriyass]

Chapter 431 is, realistically, not canon

I seriously hope it's collectively accepted among the bkdk community that chapter 431 ain't canon.

I'm (not) sorry but with all the evidence that we have, it only makes sense to exclude it from the canon events - as Horikoshi himself has said! Not in these exact terms, of course, but damn near closely.

In this post I'm referencing a wide variety of posts, mostly from Twitter, that I can't all link. I also won't be going into nearly as much detail as said posts did.

I did, however, find an amazing post on Tumblr that summarises it all brilliantly and includes most of the info. Link to the original post.

They worded it much better than I did. I wrote this in a rush and, quite frankly, pretty passionately. It's a little sad, and upsetting, seeing how many people are immensely disappointed with the MHA ending, which they consider ch. 431 to be part of. I'd be insanely upset if I did the same. I didn't include all of my thoughts and sentiments, lol, I think that'd be pretty hard.

Nevertheless, the fact that ch. 431 was even birthed is upsetting. Ch. 430, however, I think is amazing (I also very much find that it implies bkdk, but that's for another post).

Based on all the evidence we have, I think it's safe to say that with a probability of 99.9%, ch. 431 is simply not part of the story Horikoshi has written.

The line of events doesn't add up

I mean COME ON, in ch. 430 (literally ONE chapter before ch. 431) he depicts Katsuki in his costume extending his hand out to a teary-eyed and smiling Izuku, implying that they're going to work together as heroes.

And in ch. 431 he declines his offer? XD Brother you JUST said he accepted the offer, so gladly that he was crying, ONE chapter ago!

The characters don't add up

What's depicted in 431 isn't just characters changing - it's describing a set of characters in a very specific way in one chapter and describing them as the opposite the very next chapter. NOBODY changes that quickly, lol.

This is like, allegedly, being a calm and introverted person one day, and a loud and extroverted person the next day. It's saying you accepted a job offer one day and that you turned it down the next day. COME ON. Am I crazy?? These things are just physically impossible!

I'm, again, not sorry, but NOBODY changes that quickly! The characters are depicted as completely different people. I could go on and on about this (their ideals, their conceptions of love and friendship, their relationships and dynamic, the themes, etc.) but suffice to say that this line of events isn't PHYSICALLY possible. It can't even be called characters changing. It's simply not possible.

The same very coherent dynamics, ideals, perceptions, conceptions, relationships have been narrated for a whole 430 (four-hundred and thirty, i can't stress this enough. Let it sink in) chapters up until now, chapter 430 INCLUDED - and in ch. 431 they're completely different? Yeah, that logically does not make sense.

The art style inconsistencies

I mean, the art style is simply... Completely different. Not much to say about that. Plus, ch. 431 was made by Horikoshi's team. There are so many inconsistencies even in terms of scars and details in characters' bodies - those are simply mistakes. Mistakes that I don't believe Horikoshi would make in his 400+ chapter project's allegedly last chapter.

Horikoshi's note and Shonen Jump

Based on all I've said until now, it only makes sense for ch. 431 (and elements in the last five chapters) to be brought by something that's out of Horikoshi's control. I'm sorry, it just doesn't make sense otherwise.

Yes, I cannot know that for a fact - it's not like I know the author personally. This is, of course, a logical assumption.

With the director of Shonen Jump changing right about that time, the last five chapters being so butchered and rushed (think of the many plots and points left open or very quickly closed, which is completely unlike Horikoshi's work), the same thing happening with Jujutsu Kaisen, the sudden announcement of said five chapters being the last in the manga, the line of events and characters not adding up in a way that is physically impossible... It seems pretty clear to me.

Horikoshi's note

We also have Horikoshi's note between ch. 430 and 431, stating how the real last chapter is ch. 429 and ch. 430 is a curtain call. Aka, chapters up until ch. 430 are to be considered canon. In ch. 431 he "frees the characters from their dramas" and the camera man (he's always described himself as the camera man), aka, 'I didn't write this'.

And indeed he didn't, it seems. It certainly was not drawn by him. It's simply obvious.

It's counted as a "bonus", "extra-chapter", "side story".

I think it's pretty objective to say ch. 430 is the last canon chapter, with "canon" meaning "considered part of the story by the author; written and wanted by the author".

To summarise

With the insane amount of evidence that ch. 431 is not part of Horikoshi's story - the story he wanted, that he wrote - I'm definitely considering ch. 430 as the last canon chapter of My Hero Academia.

I sincerely hope that's a collectively shared conception. It can't get more obvious than this. It just doesn't make sense.

[honey--mustard]

Finding out that 431 was not drawn by horikoshi makes it make a lot more sense with the art style differences and just the overall mischaracterization of the characters. And I think let's a lot of people breathe because of the questionability of its canonicity.

He said that he considers 429 as the real ending and 430 as a curtain call. 431 is just an extra story and more of a what if story of after the ending.

So it's more like an OVA or filler episode if anything.

I don't think it really changes the fact that it is canon in the universe but not in the main story if that makes sense but i think he put this little note in there for us because he's letting us decide where MHA ended between these 3 chapters.

Idk if this makes sense at all but I've seen people fighting about this rn when I think it was really cut and dry what he meant with this little note. I actually don't even know why they would put this extra chapter in there considering how much dissatisfaction it has brought to everyone in the fandom.

Although considering that horikoshi clarified what he considers is the true ending I think he doesn't really even care about this extra chapter at all.

So I would take this chapter with a grain of salt. It's really up to you where the series ended in my opinion and I think that's what horikoshi is saying as well. For me the series ended at ch 430.

[randomprose]

*inspired by ch 430*

He Tian honest to god did not mean for it to happen. 

When Mo Guan Shan had slapped him when he woke up and saw He Tian hovering him, when He Tian saw just how tired he looked, he really did intended to go back to his room and let Mo Guan Shan sleep alone in peace. 

If anyone asks, He Tian genuinely did not mean to end up staying anyway.

He doesn’t know what kind of face he actually made, but it must’ve been pitiful enough for Mo Guan Shan to tug him back by the sleeve of his bathrobe. And He Tian was all too willing to be pulled and smashed down on the mattress, happy to share the same pillow with Mo Guan Shan’s arm curled around his back a warm welcomed weight.

(He Tian is quick to catch on that, in the future, all he’ll ever need to do is pout and adopt a kicked-puppy look to tug at the heartstrings of Guan Shan’s bleeding heart to make him yield to whatever he wants. Later, much to He Tian’s further delight, he will find out that this only works for him. He’s glad that the feeling is very much mutual.)

Mo Guan Shan retracts his arm and puts it under the covers after a while when he’s feeling cold. He Tian, already cozy enough in just his bathrobe and content enough to lie beside Mo Guan Shan like this, lets him and doesn’t bother going under the covers.

He Tian asks if he’s asleep and Mo Guan Shan doesn’t deign to answer it because it’s such a stupid question. 

How can he even think about sleeping when he’s too busy trying to stop his heart from jumping out of his ribcage all because He Tian is lying there beside him. It’s so fucking stupid, he knows, because it’s not like they haven’t shared a bed before, but this is just the effect He Tian has on him.

But He Tian must’ve thought he’s asleep because in the next beat, he says, “No matter where we go in the future, we have to be together, okay?”

And Mo Guan Shan is reminded of that time they stayed at the motel after He Tian got into a fight with his brother and got his finances cut off. 

“We are not allowed to renege.”

That’s what He Tian had said. And now he’s saying, ‘We have to go together.’

‘It’s like he’s saying good bye but at the same time he’s not,’ is what Mo Guan Shan thinks and his mind goes back to the words on a random page in He Tian’s notebook, written in black and still visible under the lighter blue ink used to scratch it out aggressively as if an unbidden thought he never meant to manifest beyond the dark recesses of his mind. 

‘Will he be sad if I leave?’

And Mo Guan Shan, against his better judgement and against the voice of reason and practicality he so clings to because he’s not sure how long this—whatever the hell this…thing between them is—is going to last, wants so desperately to answer: Yes, I will. I will be so fucking devastated. So, no, you’re damn right we’re not allowed to go back on each other, and, yes, wherever the hell we decide to go next, we have to go there together. 

But Mo Guan Shan may be young, yet he’s not such a naive little thing, and so he keeps his mouth shut and continues his pretense at sleep.

“We have to go together,” He Tian whispers more to himself as lets the words ground him. He says it with all the conviction he can muster. He says it like a promise. As if saying the words will speak the thing into reality. 

There’s no guarantee, but hell if He Tian isn’t gonna try his goddamn hardest to make it happen. 

But even if it doesn’t, even if He Tian fails to prevent or change the inevitable, even then he wants Mo Guan Shan to know that that’s what he wants and even if he leaves him behind, it is only because he didn’t have any other choice. 

He Tian reaches over with the ear piercer Mo Guan Shan gave him in a bid to make his promise tangible. 

A hole pierced through the ear—through skin, muscle, and bone—can be a permanent thing, right? Mo Guan Shan had been the one to offer and procure the piercer, He Tian agreed and is following through, and this is just another show of devotion, isn’t it? A seemingly simple innocuous ritual, but no more less sacred that will bind them together? This is just another type of forever.

He Tian is only sixteen—young, impulsive, and green—but he knows that whatever it is he feels for Mo Guan Shan now will not fade away.

Still, he hesitates.

Would Mo Guan Shan really want something permanent from He Tian? Something he would have and carry for the rest of his life? What if he wakes up one day and realize He Tian is no good after all? That he is rotten and a curse and everything his greedy little hands touch inevitably wither away and die?

A hole pierced through the ear—skin, muscle, and bone—can be a permanent thing. Everlasting. What if a day comes when Mo Guan Shan no longer sees it as a promise but a prison? A mark of ownership instead of devotion? A permanent scarring He Tian left him that will never heal and Mo Guan Shan will have to live with. Just like She Li did.

He Tian hesitates and Mo Guan Shan feels his hand hovering him and doesn’t understand what he’s waiting for. It was him who asked, it was him who bought and gave him the piercer, and he has just been waiting for He Tian this whole time.

Although he does find the usual brash and confident and arrogant He Tian hesitating…strangely endearing and so Mo Guan Shan takes pity on him and gives him the last push he needs. 

He opens his eyes and almost smiles when He Tian startles. 

“Wanna pierce my ear?” 

What are you waiting for?

Mo Guan Shan sees the look in He Tian’s eyes and understands. Somehow, lately, he’s been finding it easy to look at He Tian and just know. He tugs down at the hand hovering over his ear, feeling the rough texture of the bandage on He Tian’s pointer finger brush the shell of his ear and his thumb caress its lobe. He feels nothing but anticipation and a strange kind of calm, like the relief of a well earned surrender.

“Go ahead.”

I want this. Do it. I’m all yours.

[roninreverie]

For her Birthday! 🥳 Mt. Lady modelling her new post-war outfit!

In ch.430, you can see her neckline is different, gloves are shorter, waist point direction is opposite, and there is color on her hips now, so IDK what that means for her leg detailing, but I was speculating.

IDK why, but much like Best Jeanist, I think she could go a shade darker after the war. If she adopts a dark-blue outfit, then she would be blue/orange, Kamui would be blue/gold, and Edgeshot would be blue/red, and I just think that's nice for the Lurkers (or a Mt. Kamui duo-team if the Lurkers disbanded while Edgeshot recovers *cough-cough*).

I'd still be cool if she stayed purple. Just having fun with it. Guess we'll find out one day if the anime let's us see more!

All that said, there is a "Babe the Blue Ox" joke in here somewhere with this color and those horns...

And I'm sure Kamui's outfit changed too, but it is so small, I am not sure.

[cherryblossombombs]

Idk, as much as it also could've been that 431 was horikoshi's plan all along (because it just seems that not even SJ or officials want to acknowledge the chapter on twitter), there's still too many holes in it (in my opinion).

Like, he couldn't bother to stay true to his art style? There was quite a few art errors. 430 chapters of little or no errors just goes out the window by 1 chapter? Like he had ochako use all five of her fingers (for 430 chapters she always had one pinky out to prevent her quick from activating. so unless she suddenly now is able to control her quirk, idk).

He couldn't even bother to actually give them a romantic hand hold? (He's done gentle and la brava more justice than he did with iz///ch)

And he had to say at the end "oh 430 is the ending, 431 is just an extra where the camera's are off (he always called himself the cameraman).

Not to mention that after 431, he couldn't even bother to draw art of the supposed "true pairing" of the story lol.

And that's just from chapter 431, there are other instances from chapter 1 to 430 (and outside the series, such as interviews, extras, official art, etc.) that goes against the "I was a dudebro this whole time lol" theory. It may seem that no one was on board with this.

I honestly believe that someone higher up wanted 431. All this does is strengthen my theory that 431 wasn't supposed to exist, that horikoshi wasn't going to end the story by 430 (I think he still had more chapters in order to conclude the majority of the story) and that bkdk was going to get their handhold/agency (I think it was being approved by a lot of people in SJ, but something or someone stopped it at the last minute).

I just can't think that hori would allow himself to trash his whole theme and characters this badly within 1 chapter. He literally said back in August that 430 was the ending, then suddenly 2 months later 431 suddenly was in progress? No, I'm sorry. He must've gotten a call sometime in October where they wanted him to at least imply iz//ch to keep some type of shonen formula consistent.

Again, this is just me, you can mock or complain that my post is delulu and need to accept iz//ch is canon, but it doesn't convince me any less. Go argue with a wall.

[kibouhero]

A note about Ch. 431 and my Izuku muse

OOC: I'm not going to sugarcoat it. I hated the epilogue chapter. After I saw the leaks, it completely killed my drive to write Izuku and Katsuki. It feels like going through a divorce or something.

It has less to do with the lack of a certain ship being confirmed canon (while another WAY LESS developed ship was heavily implied) and more to do with the fact that Izuku felt out of character and crushed under the weight of his guilt for what happened during the war arcs. I refuse to believe that the Izuku from chapter 430 is the same Izuku in 431.

I don't know how he could not only still miscommunicate with Katsuki eight years later, but actually reject his offer to work with him at his agency. I get that he loves teaching, but it just feels like a giant slap to the face for readers who grew up reading this manga since the beginning. What the hell was the point of "save to win, win to save" and "the end and the beginning" if at the end of the series, Izuku declines his childhood dream to work alongside of Katsuki?

And I'm sorry but the whole "if you think everyone is special, then no one is special" pivot is such bullshit. Up until that specific chapter, it was clear that Katsuki was always seen as a special person to Izuku. This is Izuku "Kacchan and everyone else" Midoriya. Katsuki has always been the exception.

Seeing him forced towards Ochako (and her being literally shoved towards him from her clearly sapphic dead ex-love interest) just feels all types of ick to me. This is especially after Katsuki implies that Izuku views no one as special. So Ochako's suddenly the special one and Katsuki isn't? Out of literally nowhere...

So, given how much I feel this goes everything Izuku once stood for, my Izuku's going to be canon divergent from Chapter 431. As far as I'm concerned, the series ended with Chapter 430 and any post-canon threads I write with him will not reference 431.

[that-spider-fan-over-there]

BNHA 429: It's not really a win when the only comfort is that Izuku/Ochako didn't became canon during a breakdown.

Honestly I think this is the most confused I've been with this story, so this might be the most openly critical I've been. (I've rewritten this five times already, so if it looks all over the place, I apologize).

"Joki Joki" being Tenko was debunked, which. You know what. Fair. Creating a character that looks like him only for be someone else with a tragic backstory five chapters before the finale? That's kinda cruel.

Harsh backstory for a small-role guy, by the way. A mutant Quirk (that we'll probably know only from supplemental material, if at all) his family didn't have, mouth sewn shut, locked in a basement for years, family leaves him and (probably) a Decay Wave was his only escape? And they say the world of BNHA isn't a harsh one /hj

I'm glad they didn't pull a Teen Wolf (iykyk). Ochako thinks Himiko is dead, Izuku's a shoulder to cry on. For... *counting* 4 pages of holding it in, 2 of actually talking about it, all of the 8 being about Izuku being nice but hypocritical (emotional suppression my dear beloathed Ch. 430 I fear you-).

Izuku says she's "his hero"- it's true, he thinks all his friends are his heroes. But we're shown 2/4 times (Blackwhip and the mob, but not Tenko cornering him in the mall, or their first meeting?) which made me realize he's the only named character/hero she "saved". The "who saves the heroes" thing? Not like she helped other heroes, that plot went to- oh.

Also, the whole "putting others before yourself", the only example listed that comes close to this is her giving some of her Entrance Exam points to him. The others are just her being nice to him, repressing her feelings, Blackwhip was the only other moment that kinda counted. The only "other person" she put before herself? Himiko.

I'll believe Himiko's dead when I see it; blood transfusions don't kill the donator. They take a minimum of 4hrs max. They sent Spinner and Touya to a hospital, but not Himiko, who was unconsicous, winging a transfusion out? Yeah, that's bullshit, "hope for a sequel" is becoming more and more of a plea.

I wish I could say I liked the breakdown, but all I think is "Ochako's a character development tool, with redundant, pointless arcs, and all she got is doomed yuri, trauma and reassuring words from a LI".

I didn't see Izuku crying at first; removing "Joki Joki's" 2 pages, the "talk" took 8/15 pages, I kept wondering when did he ever relied on "her strength", it's not like he trusted her enough to talk about his feelings, secrets or anything.

Class A interrupting was funny, I'm with Katsuki: Does Izuku still have embers (he does). I'm sorry to Ochako, I just didn't care anymore. I knew he didn't tell anyone else, lol (<- I'm shaking him into opening up-). But if he wasn't willing to open up about that I wonder what else doesn't Class A know. Does Inko know her son's dreams are over again or…?

Uh. One For All, crystalization of power from everyone's hopes, LFtR vestige scene, remaining embers looking a bit stronger, "Control Your Heart" is still a thing, "holding someone's hand makes me feel at peace", we have that talk with Katsuki, rule of narrative means if he opens up there's a chance this story can end on a hopeful note, Izuku fans here's how we can still win- (I'm inhaling hopium, I know)

I'm confused Hawks isn't getting ditching the Hero Billboards, just expanding it for "ordinary people". Isn't that continuing part of the problem? Part of why Dabi was created, why many heroes don't care about being a hero? I get it's to inspire others to be everyday heroes, but this if backfires in-universe...

Aoyama's farewell party with Eri singing was as sidelined as the 3Baka (… actually no, 3Baka is still more sidelined sob) and it hurts, but hey. Monoma got a statue before Katsuki, I just know if he isn't traumatized about his corpse he will brag. (I'm trying to find positives in this chapter)

The last pages. I know it's symbolic. Society extending a hand, Izuku "inspired" them to move. It's what Izuku was talking about in Ch. 1, "saving people is the coolest thing a hero can do". It's even from his poem inspiration "Called useless by all/Neither praised/Nor a bother/Such is the person/I wish to be".

But it doesn't come just from Izuku fighting giving up OFA, but from him still failing Tenko, who was doomed from the start, the LoV never knew who he was before "Tomura" (so. Spinner how's the book working out-). And no one else wants to, look at Ch. 427.

If it was still an ambiguous "AFO searched for Tenko", fine Ig, but since Ch. 419, it's half "No one helped Tenko except AFO" and half "Tenko never had a chance to live". I'm not saying them hating Tenko isn't justified. Look at what they have to rebuild. But ditching the "Tenko's whole life was planned" part, they still don't know the LoV came to be because they thought a child looked scary. Jeez, no one knows they were victims of ostracism, abuse, manipulation. Why they turned out the way they did.

And it ends on Izuku and Ochako smiling with the "future where heroes can relax" line. It's adorable, but they're still dealing with the guilt of Tenko and Himiko being gone. But I guess it's fine because they're smiling now? Because people are now doing something? So the reward from almost dying is: Bystander syndrome is chipping away?

*sigh* I guess the TL;DR for my opinions are:

Joki Joki isn't Tenko but damn if he isn't a woobie,

If I don't see the corpse Himiko isn't dead, I refuse,

Somehow Ochako's breakdown was more about Izuku, and we still didn't get introspection, just because it's comforting words doesn't mean they don't feel hollow,

It sounds like I hate her: I don't hate Ochako, I just hate the way she's written in "Tell, Don't Show" for Izuku, even my opinions about the breakdown are more about "dude what are you talking about" rather than it being about her and her alone, so I can't take her as seriously,

I think I just became Katsuki ATP: yeah yeah she's crying but what about Izuku and OFA- oh it's mostly fine.

The fun bits were relegated to two pages and small panels but I like to think Monoma goes to Katsuki's room to brag about the statue, Eri deserved to have a full page to sing

Hawks, I fail to see the point of switching Hero Billboards to "Everyday Ladybug" Billboards,

Bystander Syndrome is one thing, how are they gonna prevent another instance of the LoV if they don't know it was discrimination that started it all or that Tenko was a walking Greek Tragedy?

Izuku and Ochako's smiles give "Aw, it's adorable. Oh it's traumatized" vibes.

Yeah no, I'm not buying it. If Edgeshot can still live, why can't Himiko or Tenko? Why does Izuku still have embers, if we have one chapter left? What is the reasoning for "twisting fate", "saving and winning", "perfect victory with zero casualties", "I wanna save that little boy" if it ends on standard shonen ending?

Hell, OFA had dead people communicating with our protagonist and antagonist, and is connected to the deuteragonist, and you're telling me it doesn't mean something good can happen to Tenko?

... God now I just hope the next one isn't a timeskip, just Izuku and Katsuki holding hands, talking and being honest to each other (especially Izuku because oh boi I have seen some Writing Critics and I can't say I disagree) (maybe we'll confirmation on what actually happened to Himiko and Tenko, what about OFA, but that only depends on the page count of the next one).

Once again, sorry if it's all over the place, this chapter just. It wasn't great, in my (overthinking) opinion. I'm still unconvinced Himiko and Tenko are dead dead, until the last page of BNHA, we now have BKDK talking left, so let's see what the next one will bring. And I'm not rewritting all of this, I'm tired XD

So, yeah, that's my thoughts! Thank you for reading!

[lvmimis]

ok sorry to make the jjk post about mha but i think that reblog highlighted my main issue with ch 431

ik the discourse around it has been beaten to death but i’ll keep it brief

to me, with the epilogue we get the fundamental sense that the main quartet have grown and healed but only shoto really seems to have made any positive movement while the remaining three (izuku, ochaco, katsuki) appear to have a sense of stagnation vs scrambling for the next step. it’s particularly odd given that there is a pretty modest time skip of eight years, which begs the question, how truly were you living emotionally/psychologically after everything that transpired? why is today the day you are being asked how you feel about herodom instead of it being an incremental question? why did you choose just today to choose to move on (as the most common positive interpretation implies)?

trauma and processing thereof are incremental and take time. what i think is so jarring about 431 and to an extent 430 as well is the apparent lack of processing vs over-processing that results in the feeling of the characters no longer being the same people they once were at heart. yes, they grew up but the story started off with innocence and hope. to take those things away and call them a casualty of adulthood is painful and dismissive to me.

yuuji’s final scene does that show of processing thereafter vaguely and succinctly and in an immediate fashion answers the question of ‘is our mc okay’ in a far more satisfying way. he carries scars but he is still the same person, because despite it all, he still likes the snow.

[class1akids]

Hi there, sorry if you have already discussed this. And if you have you can ignore this. But if not,, what was your opinion on the Yraraka and Toga climax? Do you think if went well until Toga died. So everything else was okay or no?

I personally didn't like it. It felt forced and unnatural, the yuri was way undercooked and looked like typical girl-on-girl p0rn addressed to straight men, and it was emotionally manipulative with the little kids images. It stole other characters' settings. All of it felt unearned and insincere.

In terms of messaging, it was also terrible. Toga walked out of the first war reeling from Twice's death, asking who do heroes save, scared of death, but also wanting to live.

Uraraka's "answer" is being reckless with the lives of others, "I can't forgive" but still focused on accepting Toga's smile, to which Toga suddenly forgets about Twice, and becomes suicidal. Which then is presented as a huge win and saving of hearts.

The entire scenario disregards every single other person who should matter to the conflict - Twice, the LoV, the civilian victims of Toga, the other heroes being threatened by her. Uraraka fails as a hero to strike balance between win and save and representing justice, and if Toga doesn't become suicidal, it could have turned into a major disaster. It presents a laughably simplistic answer to a very complex setting, retcons Toga's quirk (if someone likes your smile than craving blood turns into wanting to give blood, which means every kid with a problematic quirk is just not trying hard enough), shits on all the acceptance Toga experienced in the LoV, and then kills off Toga, so there are no messy threads in the end.

And to make things worse, 80% of the epilogue is about Uraraka going "ugguguggu", when her "pain" is not any more justified or important than what the other main characters (Deku, Bakugou, Shoto) are going through.

Tbh, the whole scenario reeks of Horikoshi being obsessed with Tg/Chk (the way he redesigns Ochako with more curves / face-lift and then spend 24/32 new pages pushing it into our faces) and/or the VAs (which is a gossip spreading on some Japanese sites) and wanting to force them into the end of the story.

430 had a ton of issues, but at least it ended the series on a double page that had the relevant characters and message to keep reaching out, which somewhat helped to lift the ending from the absurdly stupid granny redemption. The villain on the last page is the main villain of the series who is there to remind the heroes what is at stake and why they need to keep reaching out.

431 changed this and ended with the 3rd villain, the heroine and MC hooking up, a meaningless tagline, an unquotable line that has basically nothing to do with the main theme of the series.

I don't care about iz/ch, but it's unworthy for a hero comic ending. If Hori wanted to do the romance, he should have put it earlier and end with a message of friendship, heroism and reaching out to end on a high note for the maximum amount of readers. Not finishing with an unpopular and lackluster romance.