#izuku midoriya - criticism

[vivika-ka]

@achillesmonochrome putting the response to your comments here 🙏

Adding some additional thoughts/explanation here in response to the comments, since I think I probably didn’t express myself properly. That’s on me, of course.

Again, I understand that Izuku is coming from a place where he doesn’t know the full scope of the corruption and hypocrisy underlying the hero culture and is blinded by his obsession. Let me reiterate again that I’m not expecting him to immediately drop his dream and doubt every single aspect of it but to simply have a tiny bit of either doubt/disillusionment or at least anger at the #2 hero being what he is. He doesn’t care about it, though.

It is weird for his character to simply brush it off when he is established to be sensitive & empathetic. (What happened to the tiny Izuku defending other kids from bullies? Where is that righteousness and care?) Him brushing it off comes across as him discarding empathy because it gets in the way of rising to the top. And that’s…weird. We start with a character who is different from the other heroes, a character that understands the underdog and empathizes quickly with others.

I’m not saying Deku has to be perfect, but his actions contradict what he is set out to be. And if he is set out to just become a second All Might, accepting and conforming to their society’s flawed system, then yeah, I might just drop MHA.

If we consider the way their society classifies heroes, which is shown to matter to Izuku, Endeavor being #2 is huge. He isn’t just some man in Izuku’s eyes. Yet when he is confronted with Endeavor’s abusive ways, then Endeavor becomes some other hero? For Endeavor to be #2, he must be a good hero, right? Him being able to hide his abusive ways begs the question of how many heroes are supposedly good yet engaging in nefarious acts hidden from the public.

Yes, Izuku witnesses first hand his teachers saving him and his classmates during the USJ attack. He has witnessed countless other heroes saving civilians. How many times has society, Izuku included, witnessed Endeavor saving others? Did that stop him from being an abuser? What guarantees Endeavor, the #2 hero, is just an exception?

How is Izuku not questioning any of this? His age isn’t that low that he isn’t capable of comprehending these types of issues.

They could’ve spared 5 seconds to have him ask, “How is that man even a hero?” And perhaps be propelled to change that by reaffirming he and Shouto will eventually surpass Endeavor, since being at the top matters to Izuku.

But, as I said before, my main gripe is the direction of the scene as something inspiring. (The music swelling, most of all). Since this is clearly one of Izuku’s flaws surfacing to the viewer, why am I being expected to see it as an inspiration? To find it “cool” that he is too lost and desperate to conform to their society that he fails to act like an actual hero? It renders his character as insincere, and fails to compel me to root for him (the protagonist).

And it isn’t as though the direction hasn’t highlighted the flaws of other characters, mainly Katsuki but also Shouto, with proper music and “camera shots.” I don’t see why they can’t apply the same treatment to Izuku, regardless of him being the protagonist.

I suppose given the response I’m getting to this post, perhaps this is subjective. Also, I hope my tone isn’t coming off as confrontational! I’m legitimately just having a discussion & appreciate the insight!

There are some aspects of MHA that I find enjoyable and that possess great potential, especially when it comes to the apathy and entitlement of society being part of what fuels systemic discrimination and corruption.

However, I wish the author knew how to balance these major issues with the main characters’ goals and purpose.

I won’t be able to explain it in depth since I’m rushing to write this, but as I watched episode 19 (S2 EP 6), it’s kind of crazy that we get Shouto’s backstory and a major reveal that his father, the number 2 hero (an extremely influential and powerful figure in their society), is an abuser.

Yet Izuku doesn’t demonstrate the slightest bit of disillusionment to the fact that the hero culture he has been obsessed with since he was a baby is nothing but a sham that shields a man like Endeavor.

His response is to declare he wants to be like All Might, and essentially reignites his rivalry with Shouto. The scene is meant to be interpreted as inspiring and iconic. But I just find it a bit delusional…? If that makes sense.

Shouto: My father has committed a number of illegal acts and essentially manipulated my mother into having me. He project his failures on me and molded me into some child soldier to achieve his dreams. My mother hated and feared my father to the point of throwing boiling water at my face because I resemble my father.

Izuku: That’s scary, but since All Might isn’t like your father, I still want to be a hero.

Like???????

Shouto’s lack of disillusionment is also bewildering to me. You mean to tell me he grew up with a father like Endeavor and never questioned the validity of what it means to be a hero in their society?

I don’t know. I’m reluctant to keep watching. I feel like everything I’ve heard and seen about MHA has been super fanon oriented, because so far the canon story hasn’t been as good lol.

[nagitosstolenhand]

i don't like the growing opinion that people are being 'too hard' on deku for his failing to save shigaraki.

i've seen quite a few people complaining that a lot of the bnha-critical crowd are being too mean to deku for getting tomura killed, arguing that it isn't really his fault, and that hes a 16 year old child soldier who's been failed by almost every adult in his life, why should we be putting all of this on his shoulders? hes just a kid after all?

and the truth is, they're right. deku IS a 16 year old boy whos had the fate of the world thrust on his shoulders. but the story itself just plainly refuses to acknowledge this.

the narrative doesn't acknowledge how fucked up having a school that trains literal children how to be combo cop-celebrities is. it only tentatively acknowledges the fact that a universe having combo cop-celebrities is fucked up, and even then the only people who ever point this out are antagonists, who are portrayed and treated in-universe as untrustworthy. the narrative doesn't care how fucked up dekus circumstances are. the narrative treats deku like hes a fucking messiah here to touch the hearts of the evil depressed villains with his magical empathetic heart of gold before they get blown up or just sent to fucking superhell for daring to challenge the status quote.

deku isn't a person. he's barely even a fucking character at this point. he's a plot device, and a mouth piece for the objectively shitty themes bnha is trying to spout. the themes that tell you that if you're mistreated by society and want to do something about it, you're a villain. that disrupting the status quote and refusing to repent to some random teenage boy spouting empty platitudes at you means you deserve to get sent to fucking superhell. the themes that portray people fighting for civil change as mass murdering supervillains. the themes that look the audience dead in the eye and can call deku the greatest hero to ever live.

deku, who barely spared a second thought to lady nagant telling him the truth about the hero commission. who spouts meaningless platitudes about heroism and morality at nagant, and aoyama, and toga and shigaraki, when even the thought that he should question the world around him comes up. who's constantly talked about as this truly kind, empathetic person, but hasn't spared an empathetic thought to literally anyone who is classified as a villain. who listened to every authority figure around him except the ones who asked him to question his worldview. who saw la bravas tears, shigarakis various breakdowns, himikos plead for understanding, chisakis catatonic state, lady nagants truth, and barley batted a fucking eye. deku, who killed tomura shigaraki.

people don't criticize deku for failing shigaraki because they just hate deku. people criticize deku because of what he represents. because hes a mouthpiece for the atrocious morals and themes of this ideologically rotten manga. because any character he had was chopped up to bits in favor of the incomplete husk we have now. people criticize deku because hes the main character of my hero academia. theres nothing more damning then that.

[cryiling]

i see a lot of people headcanon that bakugo loves horror movies, meanwhile deku is a huge scaredycat/crybaby towards them. BUT actually i think it would be very funny if it was the other way around

SO. headcanoning that bakugo really fucking hates horror movies. NOT because he's. scared or anything what r u talking about. haha definitely not. but do not turn that shit on anywhere near him or he will fucking kill u

meanwhile deku USED to be afraid of horror movies. but then he decided that in order to get over his fear of them, he was gonna watch a bunch of behind the scenes for them to see how the movies were actually made and to be less scared when watching them. and then he became a HUGE horror movie nerd. he LOVES breaking down how the practical effects work and identifying them on screen when watching. jumpscares don't bother him anymore, he's too busy nerding out about the behind the scenes stuff and analyzing how all the different effects are working seamlessly together to make the horror movie effective

deku loves dragging bakugo to see new horror movies or forcing him to sit and watch them at home together, he's always really excited to analyze the effects and camerawork of the movies. bakugo only (barely) tolerates it because he just looks away during all the "scary" parts and concentrates on deku's mumbling to distract himself from the movie

deku: no kacchan it's actually so cool how they did this shot!! they only had one take so they had to position all the camera equipment perfectly and there's a whole bunch of hidden triggers and the visual perspective makes the intensity of the shot SO much more effective and blah blah blah-

bakugo, face buried in deku's shoulder and very much avoiding looking at the screen: turn this off immediately or i will explode ur face

[imustbeimaginary]

Alright, so. I've read a lot of fics where everybody (or at least everybody sensible) knows that Endeavor is a bad hero. They know he causes a lot of collateral damage or even just straight up kills people sometimes. Data proves how terrible he is.

But listen. I want you to consider the scenario where he's a Good Hero. (hear me out) -He's still a piece of steaming shit as a person. He beat his wife, abused AND neglected his children, and I think there were allusions to sexual abuse with Rei. He's irredeemable. But he's also just a good hero. He's competent at his job. He minimizes collateral damage. He has an impressively high success rate. He still can't bring himself to stoop so low as to be nice, but come on-Trump won the elections. A good PR team can perform miracles.

So I want you to just. consider the way Shouto has to bite down the urge to break down in hysterical laughter every time someone talks about How kind Endeavor is, to have donated so much to that charity for Abuse Victims and How he must be such a softie under all that gruff exterior. And consider the moment when he realised that he could put 0% effort into hiding everything and it wouldn't matter. People would rather press their hands against their ears and sing La La La.

Also consider the fact that Izuku's father had a Fire Quirk. And while Endeavor had nothing on All Might, maybe Izuku used to look up to him, maybe he thought he was cool. Consider the hit he takes when he realises the truth. (because of course he believes Todoroki. that's practically a no-brainer for him. it is earth-shattering for Shouto) Consider the way he will later break a nail- while clawing, ripping, tearing the posters off his wall.

just. consider that.

[ilovereadingandstuff]

I'm sorry but THIS IS SO TRUE!!

Izuku, darling, you're my favorite and all media basically and i love you so much...but this is true.

[jp---v]

Weird how the class could barely ever see each other when Midoriya was just a teacher, but as soon as he gets this suit and can be a hero again, all twenty-one of them are all conveniently in the same place to answer a single call about a road being blocked by a landslide.

Just saying... eight years.

[whateverthought]

I think, the craziest thing to me, about how people genuinely believe you can't be a Quirkless Pro-Hero in MHA/BNHA, is that having a Quirk doesn't mean you're invulnerable?

Eraserhead's Quirk only allows him to stop other people's powers, but the fighting? Thats him. The giant jump he does over the stairs? The way he throws people around with his capture weapon?

Endeavor makes hot flames, how did that help when Hood the Nomu bit through his arm? We see that his skin cuts like everyone else's, he gets his scar right before that. Hawks stabbing him in the back to make him go faster? Embedded enough to give him speed but not enough to pierce right through him? He goes toe to toe with the Nomu in the Stain Arc, that's all normal strength!

Stain's Paralysis doesn't make him faster, how was he dodging Iida's speed? How were his reflexes so good he moved past AfO Izuku's strikes?

Mandalay's telepathy, how did that help her agility? Sir Nighteye's Foresight, did it make him strong enough to throw those weights? Did Mirio's Permeation make him stronger even when he lost it and was still beating Overhaul's face in? Rock Lock's stop-motion? Ragdoll's Search?

How did Thirteen's Quirk help when almost murdered? Shouldn't she, as someone with a very strong ability just be faster? Bakugo's Explosion did jack when his heart exploded, right? Why wasn't his body just sturdier? Or do they have normal bodies, like a Quirkless person would have?

[v0id-clawz]

I don't think the mha fandom understands how truly mortifying the sludge guy scene with Izuku is tbh

Like. Izuku was 14. FOURTEEN, and nearly died ALONE

Sure, the scene with Bakugo was horrible for him, but there were a LOT of people there, he would've been on the news, he would've died a hero

Izuku didn't have that. He was alone, no one was there for him. Also, no one beside his mother really cared for him, given how he's treated in the episode, probably no one would've cared when he disappeared

Also, he might’ve not been on the news at all! The show has said that there's discrimination against those with different Quirks, so it might not have been just the class being jerks to Izuku

[donkeys-waffles]

Just as a warning to those that may be concerned, this is a Bakugo bashing post. If you love Bakugo as a character, then more power to you. He's my least favorite character across the board. And this is me venting my distaste for him, so be warned. Thank you :)

As I'm rewatching MHA, I've gotten to season 6 when Bakugo apologizes to Izuku. And there's something that really bothers me about it.

I feel like Bakugo had potential as a character. Like he really did, even though I don't like his character. I feel like there was potential for him to be an important figure in Izuku's development and growth. And the apology scene wasn't too bad for me. But I feel like it fell short in two major points.

Izuku rarely addresses and monologues about his own trauma/childhood. He expresses very little justified rage and the only real proof of the impact of his childhood lies within his body language and the subtext. His fear of Bakugo, borderline suicidal hero complex, every single scar on his body from overworking himself, constantly undervaluing himself and his efforts/improvements, and much more.

And the last point is Bakugo, I can understand wanting to keep core aspects of his character, but he has to change a little more to have it be considered character growth. The reason he bullied Izuku is because he felt that when Izuku reached out to him, Izuku viewed him as weak (delusional but go off. Literally harassed and assaulted someone for a decade because they tried to help you up when you fell.) His entire character arch was centered around the idea of not just winning, but also saving. He was supposed to understand the importance of both. But not only that, he was supposed understand and accept that help is needed, and you can't always win. I mean, if Izuku were to help him in a pinch now he needs to learn to set aside his arrogance, pride, and inferiority complex to accept help, and not explode into an overgrown toddler because he lost. With learning the importance of saving, he's supposed to not center his ENTIRE objective around strength and being the best all the time. And this could be done, while also still keeping his character true to himself. I always hear about his character development as a reason to like Bakugo, which... I don't completely agree. The only two changes are he doesn't physically attack people (Izuku) and doesn't call him Deku anymore, which GOOD I would hope that'd at least change. But his focus is still completely centered around winning. He says as much after the apology, in the baths, he's still fighting Izuku to become number 1. And that's not a bad thing entirely. I understand that's his character, what I want to see change is how he handles losing, how he handles not being the best and failing especially to Izuku. And what I get is an OVA with Bakugo having a temper tantrum because of a tie with Izuku, he used his quirk and was screaming about it too. It doesn't help that every chance he gets he talks about winning and out-besting Izuku in something, even with his fight with AFO he talks about it. Like he doesn't care that AFO is finally dead, and he saved the world, doesn't even offer a small sense of relief that he helped a lot of people, no, he beat Izuku and is clearly better and that's all that matters.

It's just, that entire mentality is what caused Izuku his problems, this mentality caused Bakugo to abuse him for a decade. I feel like the apology could've been done better, but it was just added to give Bakugo good boy points and then completely brushed aside. He's changed in some ways, but he hasn't changed enough to warrant forgiveness. Not when his competitiveness is still seen as somewhat mean spirited. Even when he found out about Izuku losing OFA, I just sat as he cried and thought "WOW, if I had my childhood bully that abused me for a decade for being quirkless, cried because I was quirkless again and couldn't compete with them anymore. I'd punch them so hard in the face." Like the audacity. Excuse me, I'm the one lying broken and battered in this hospital bed, with my dreams crushed again, and YOU'RE crying because you can't have an opponent for being the number 1 hero.

It's like Izuku is never seen as a person to Bakugo for most of the show, just something to kick aside, something to squash so he doesn't have to face his own inadequacy, and now just something to beat. Something with a power strong enough to rival the great Bakugo. And I feel like the narrative is trying to push that they were fighting for this dream together, since childhood up until this point in canon. That the bullying never happened, like that whole decade didn't exist. They do this through the scene of Bakugo crying and the All Might cards, but like how can you forget the last 5 seasons of the show and what 300+ chapters of Bakugo doing his upmost to crush Izuku under his boot. They most definitely DID NOT fight for that goal together their whole childhood, Bakugo has been crushing that boy's dreams of being a hero for years, instilling in him deep rooted self-hatred and a fat imposter syndrome.

[sapphic-agent]

Why I Hate Izuku Losing OFA

A lot of people defend this, saying everything's come around full circle. But in my opinion, him losing OFA was just a horrible decision.

I've already talked about how if Horikoshi was going to go the "he never needed a quirk to be a hero" route, he should have done that from the beginning. So I'm not going to go anymore into that. I also won't talk about how fucking stupid and contradictory the Iron-Man suit is. I also won't talk about how it's actually pretty fucked to take away the only power that the abused powerless kid ever had.

Why I hate this is because it's a conclusion to a non-existent arc.

Izuku, as a child, has been told all his life that he couldn't be a hero because of how he was born. And we almost never see him confront that or come to terms with it. We never get his feelings about his past or even reflection on why he was treated the way he was. He's never able to look upon the injustice, hypocrisy, and corruption of not only the society he lives in, the society that he himself is a victim of.

Izuku, for some odd reason, is never allowed to interact with the fact that he was quirkless.

All of his major feats were because of OFA. Not once did he get to beat a major villain without using his quirk. If Horikoshi had managed to have him beat Shigaraki without his quirk. Even though at this point Izuku had lost his quirk, he still used the last of it to defeat Tomura.

At the very end, Izuku still needed his quirk. Him being a hero without it means absolutely nothing

[bibibbon]

Someone, please save Izuku. FandomWire released an article about how Horikoshi enjoyed working on Bakugou more than Izuku. 🥲🥲🥲

The only way we can save izuku now is if the fanfic writers team up and give him justice (some are already doing so!!!!).

I tried to find the article and the best I have gotten is to this 👇

I haven't fully read it but from what I have read I have to agree. We see Izuku a lot in the manga but dam it's just like we see him. We don't get to actually see inside him or what he is thinking and all like we used to.

Izuku in the beginning Vs izuku in the end are two different characters and a lot of people have described Izuku in the beginning as Izuku and the character in the end as deku (the hollow shell of izuku).

Izuku in the beginning would shout and rebuttal if he heard what spinner called shoji (he literally got all twisted up when shinsou called ojiro a monkey) but in the end we get nothing.

Izuku in the beginning would shout and be able to have negative feelings about people like bakugo and enji but in the end he defends enjis actions Infront of touya and doesn't even get any intropsection towards bakugos horrible apology.

Izuku in the beginning would do anything he can to be useful and be a hero but Izuku in the end gives up and doesn't do anything until he is given the tools to do so 8 years later

Izuku in the beginning and end still worships heroes and hasn't developed a well rounded world view even with the sliver of foreshadowing that he would from the begining of "not all are created equal"

Izuku in the beginning cried and prayed to have a quirk but in the end when he loses his quirk he is simply indifferent and it's bakugo whose doing the crying instead.

Dam too many of my favourite characters are going through character assassinations first Izuku now five whose next ?!?!?!

[irontragedyreview]

Some fans are like: Izuku had a great ending and closed a circle with OFA and being quirkless.

Me: for at least 200 chapters we don't know what the main character thinks, Tomura and him rarely interact and their final confrontation is rushed and empty of content and above all things he actually didn't accept being quirkless again and moved on, he just had to adapt to a situation, Horikoshi didn't leave a single moment of introspection for his pain and yet there are people who insist that his ending is good and Horikoshi is actually a great writer.

[angy-grrr]

spoilers for chapter 429

idk if you guys remember but ochako does have parallels with All Might, specifically as the side who saves. It’s not that he feels the same for them both or something like that, they serve to represent the type of heroism he naturally goes to; his friend is not his love interest, from his perspective she’s out there having a crisis over not being able to save her, and Izuku reminds her that she is a hero bc she is his hero -she saved him multiple times, and she should be able to feel like a proper hero.

This conversation is not about the nature of their relationship, is about heroism; Izuku relates to a conflict between being a hero who saves and failing to save someone, and doesn’t want to see Ochako ending spiraling because she couldn’t also fulfill that role as expected. She’s his hero not because he loves her romantically -he’s a nerd I’m sure he would be way more nervous and blushing if he was confessing anything he thought was romantic- but because she’s able to go and do what All Might does to Izuku, save him physically and emotionally.

He knows she hides her feelings in order to not be a burden, yet he doesn’t talk about his own feelings outside of his guilt in heroics -what does he feel about losing OFA? About his own failures? About the people he personally lost? He can’t talk for others and claim Ochako is everyone’s hero, but he can speak for himself, and that’s his personal perspective -she is a hero to him, she’s his hero. And then the class appears to make sure she’s able to get support and understand she’s not alone, and she’s important to them too.

but Izuku doesn’t get support. Izuku cries a little and talks a little about himself, but he doesn’t get supported. If this was meant to be romantic, I don’t understand why he would hold back what’s inside of him.

the end of the chapter reveals that boy is going to be helped by that woman who regretfully ignored Tenko, and they both witness it and are happy about it while hearing izuku inspired that change, and iida wonders what’s up with them -this is the conclusion to their relationship. In their hearts these two are saviors who struggle to be heroes who save others, and they are happy there are appearing more people who want to be heroes like them. Heroes who save. Save like All Might.

That grandma for example, interpreting the narrative as what I think is intended, would be that boy’s All Might; she’s his hero.

Izuku and Ochako are heroes who save, and Deku is here to remind her at least she did save him many times, that she is still a hero because she is his hero. I don’t believe is meant to be interpreted as romantic, not that Izuku sees that phrase as it neither -after all, he said he does want to be like All Might and feels good to imitate him, but he doesn’t love him.

Ochako’s All Might hair moment, the parallels with Toshinori telling him he can be a hero, the trying to save from black suffocating quirks, the we can do it and do your best…

Do I need to remind you heroes arent a romantic thing for Izuku Midoriya?

[comradekiwi]

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[arceus-insanity]

With the Series Ending

I decided to do this solely based on canon, except for F which are so bad that they transcend the rule. I also put this in the lens of do I enjoy watching them, or do they infuriate me. Most of the ones in G are there because I can't tell who they are from the picture, or are so minor I don't get why they were on the list to begin with

Hawks was the hardest to place because as I've mentioned before I love villain fanon Hawks, and hate Canon for all the missed potential and the guy being shit.

Before the last arc, Deku would have been in C, and I felt most criticisms of him were undeserved. I still feel a lot of them are dumb, however, he's canonically a hypocritical, suck-up to labels, abuse apologist, idiot, etc. As much as it feels like character assassination it's canon, same with Shoji. I also just don't care to read fanfiction of him, and feel he takes a lot of roles where other characters would make more sense. If I'm not already following someone I'm not going to read fanfiction with him in it

Most of E I hate as much if not more than F but the fandom either doesn't write about, or treat them like the pieces of crap they are, looking at Mineta of course.

Fun fact Edgeshot is in E for bringing Bakugo back, and causing me both meta and dramatic issues for me. What the fuck was the point of killing Bakugo to immediately bring him back. How the fuck did Edgeshot know he could do this? How the fuck did he know how to do this? Why the fuck is he doing this for some random teenager he has never interacted with before, in the middle of a war? And now why the fuck does this fucker get to live, no one gave a single fuck about Edgeshot but he gets to live!

Centipeder would have been in E if not for the fact I know what my ringtone for him would be, Red Flags by Tom Cardy

Uraraka owes her rank in B for her arc with Toga, otherwise, she would have been in D. For the plot forgoing her original motivations so they could turn her into a generic love interest. Toga tried talking crushes with her 'twice' everything else regarding that shit, which started before they ever met, is on her

I actually love Endeavor fanfics as most of them either a treat his abuse for what it is, or b I view them as an own on canon Endeavor and his incredible laziness and selfishness. But Twitter exists and they flock to him and his bullshit so to F with him.

Speaking of Fs, Bakugo is a whiney spoiled rotten brat with a silver spoon shoved into his mouth since birth. I hope he never breeds. Damn near every shit thing that has happened to him, was either brought on by himself, literally applied to everyone, he literally doesn't care, and even with the two exceptions I'd give this, the Sludge guy, and being chained up at the sports fest (he should have been disqualified), do not justify his shit

Congrats to Dark Shadow and Tokoyami for being the only hero (student) to make it past B

Needless to say I love villains, Dabi is by far my favourite, followed by Himiko, they are way more engaging and convincing than the heroes. And by convincing I mean it actually feels like they are going to put in effort to make their goals happen, not just wish really hard. I truly wish we could have seen how Shigaraki's goals shifted during his reign over the PLF. We had already seen how he wanted the League to be happy and an exception to his goal of destruction

[jp---v]

Chapter 1 Midoriya(Post Sludge Villain) vs Chapter 430 Midoriya

Wanna talk about lack of character growth? How about regression? As a teacher, I'm pretty sure Midoriya could've used the UA facilities to stay fit. Instead, he's practically the same scrawny, quirkless boy who wants to be a hero he was at the start of the series.

His suit is loose on him. There's nothing filling it up. His muscle is gone.

He gave up.

Hero=Quirk

Nothing changed. All the fighting, the pain he went through, and it did nothing. Society as a whole is relying on heroes more than ever, despite leading a movement for acceptance of heteromorphs Shoji still hides his face with his mask, and you can't be a hero without a quirk.