#like... cathartic-ly so much better than having to stew in it all.

[jamiethebee]

OK I LIED (or rather I couldn't stand the spoilers so I went to look up the last chapter early)

and I'm CRYING AND SOBBING and I've got a soaked kleenex next to me and asdfghj

Spoilers for the last chapter:

8 years later and Horikoshi ended the manga, exactly at the time frame that it took to make it (roughly 10 years for each). I'm absolutely sobbing. Am I still pessimistic? yea of course, but I'm so so happy with the ending. The looking back, the looking forward, seeing all of the characters aged as much as we have. It was a really good end to manga. Any specific grievances aside, it was a good last chapter. Uraraka's mention got me - I couldn't continue reading through the tears ahaha. i don't know how I feel about suddenly getting support items to jump back in - I rather liked that Izuku lived an average life, still a hero, just not a Hero (job). But being able to join the race with Bakugou again? To chase after his classmates? Sorry I'm sappy I'm also crying over that, it was really sweet. It doesn't help that the easiest way to get me to cry is with the passage of time. Also seeing Aizawa with short hair got me. I lost it at that, had to scroll back up to process and then scroll back down and then absolutely lose it sobbing. Actually just the thought of it has me crying again. I do have mixed feelings about Shoji's cameo. But overall good, I think? A little sad that the only villains we got to see the end of are La Brava and Gentle who only ever wanted to be a hero and couldn't be judged on the same level as the rest of the villains. I assume Touya died at most months after the battle - the doctor indicated that he wasn't able to live for long. And nothing about Spinner - who was perhaps the only villain to be comfortably assumed to be alive. Nothing about his story. And nothing about heroes reaching out to villains, to try to create a bridge or at least learn from them to help create a better world. But for a manga I started following for the heroes? A very very good ending. My tears have only just slowed down. (Still don't understand how Deku finished high school? Unless he switched into general studies? And Momo finally got a better hero costume) "This is the story of how we will continue to reach out" - sick as hell full page but.... how is doing a rescue mission any different than before? asdfghj anyway enough rambling! thank you horikoshi for all your work and taking us along on this journey, i hope you get to take a nice break.

(I need y'all to understand that I have two sides one is : wow what a nice story that I've followed through a lot of shit IRL and I'm happy with the overall conclusion as it follows the continued mood and and ambitions of the MC and two: I'm still letdown by the handling of aspects and the simplistic approach despite seeing that nuance can be handled in story. I know a lot of people want to be on only one side of this - and that's fine, but I've never been particularly good at that black and white approach to things)

Fully caught up on the manga (minus spoilers for the last chapter) and..... Ya know what maybe I am a villain stan because I just.... Don't trust that anything really changes in society. Everyone outside of heroes, when given speaking parts, seems to indicate that they'll step in or do something in order to protect themselves - not out of any sense of responsibility or community, but to safeguard their lives in case the other person ends up a villain. Or maybe I'm just pessimistic? But we've seen irl time and again that this ending attitude doesn't work. Doesn't have change. Certainly not long lasting change. I really really wanted to finish the series still liking Deku but throughout the fight, every cut back to someone other than Deku, talking about his heart and how good he was and how much he was doing to fight for the person - and the cut back is just "punch". He never responded to Shigaraki's words. He never engaged with the man himself. And at the end of the day, I feel more trust in Uraraka. More trust that she'll actually work on saving people's hearts. And she's back in construction work like her parents. And of course the camera dies and no one sees Toga's heart. Because how dare anyone think a villain could be a person (paraphrased that one interview guy).

I really really wanted to end this manga happy with it. I'm not stupid enough to conflate the reality of the story with fandom. I'm not. I really wanted to enjoy it for what it is. But when they directly ask "how do we fix villains being made" the answer is "you don't. We can't" and ???? That's supposed to be what the manga was working towards this whole time? I - .....