#see how ochako's whole face is shown?

[aimeramie]

I've seen discussions about why Ochako's face is covered on page 7 of chapter 394 when she says that she fell in love with Izuku, and I don't think it's because there should be any doubt about how she feels.

I think she is in love with Izuku, but her eyes are not shown because she is simply not declaring her love to the person she is in love with. She is talking to Toga right now, not Izuku. I think Ochako's full face will be shown when she finally tells Izuku how she feels about him.

( As the panel at the bottom of page 13, chapter 393 suggests she wants to do. )

Ochako is jealous of the smile Toga wears when she declares her love. I think we will see Ochako's smile when she ultimately does the same. When the time comes for Ochako to actually confess her love ( and she most likely will before the manga ends ), it is more satisfying if her whole face—smile and all—is shown to the person she is actually in love with, and that person is Izuku.

edit: I kind of went off in the tags. I am not going to move the tags into the actual post, so if you are interested in more thoughts ↓

[kate7h]

Deku to Ochako - (pics from ep 6 and chapter 342)

Some thoughts on Deku’s feelings for Ochako:

Deku has thought a lot of things about Ochako—that she’s cute, she’s bright, she’s cool, her hair is perfect, she’s always saving him, etc. We’ve seen these thoughts on and off throughout the whole story, but it is more in a grey area what his actual feelings are for her, as opposed to how hers are broadcasted. I do feel it’s a show-don’t-tell kind of writing, which I can respect. But I have a couple character theories of why Deku himself hasn’t enlightened us.

1st, and less likely: he’s not aware of his feelings for Ochako. I’m not sold on this because this kid is constantly thinking, observing, and using input from all around him the gauge how to act and what to do next. Plus he’s shown how unafraid he is of saying what’s what to whoever needs to hear it, and that’s including himself. There could be an argument made for him having a lower self-esteem that makes him feel unworthy of that kind of relationship, but I also feel like that might not be accurate to his character as well. His lack of self-esteem manifests in his extreme behavior and what he does in the name of being a hero—putting his life and body on the line as necessary. This feels more like a sense of duty rather than anything else.

2nd: Deku has liked her from the get-go, big ole crush, can barely speak to her without blushing his face off. Which makes sense—she’s the first girl to give him the time of day, first real friend, she’s adorable and bright and so on. He’s absolutely adored her from the start. BUT! He’s on a mission and has pretty much devoted his life to that duty—to become the world’s greatest hero, to save people with a smile, etc. etc. Also, he’s learned to revel in having close, caring friendships, something he’s never had before. In the beginning, he could barely speak to her, and now has no issue at all, and can speak his deeper thoughts to her without any of that. I don’t see that as a diminishing of feelings, but of maturing ones.

Basically, he did the same thing she did—put aside his crush for the time being to not only focus on this immense goal and burden, but also to help him be her friend, and not just a blushing mess every time she’s near. Her friendship matters so much to him, so he didn’t let himself linger on those feelings so that he could get around those to actually get to know her.

So when Ochako’s arc comes to its conclusion and she is finally able to be honest with him, as she’s shown she wants to be, I feel like Deku’s response will be such joy and gratitude, maybe surprise, but I doubt his own feelings will be confused.

(There is a lull in the middle of the series where Ochako and him don’t appear much together, which feels more like a writing issue than saying something about their relationship. Hori chose to focus on more popular characters as the story got more popular, it seems, and as a result, Ochako fell more to the sidelines than maybe originally intended—which is very unfortunate, but what’s done is done)

[villainsandvictimsalliance]

So my man what do you think of how bnha act 3 has treated the villains so far?

I think it's going exactly the way the story hinted it would. No surprises there.

In terms of narrative, people should give Horikoshi his flowers. MHA might not be as flashy as other mangas, but Horikoshi keeps it consistent and to the point. I'm glad that he doesn't sacrifice the writing of a plotline in order to create flashier or more action based fights. I'm also glad he's been with the villains' ideologies and their reasons to do what they do.

It's funny, the hero side might be the one who's more surprised with the current outcome of the final showdown. You have moments like Ochako risking it all for Toga, which is a dream come true for villain fans yet might be hard to process for other people. I'm personally satisfied with how the author treated the Enji and Dabi plotline, because in the end it was not Shoto who alone could do a miracle. A bit of a "family issues must be solved by the whole family" opinion, but I'm glad to see Rei, Natsuo and Fuyumi getting involved. They all had the spotlight in a heartwarming moment to stop and help Touya. They all took responsibility for their role in what happened to their family.

So far, so good.

To be honest, my perception is that Horikoshi has great respect for some of his villain characters. He has so far dedicated a lot of the story to Tomura alone, to his connection with Izuku. At least when it comes to the League, sacrifices are not simply plot twists, you know? They held meaning, they're respectful to the character.

I can't say the same for other antagonists and villains, tho. It's understandable, those secondary characters won't receive as much screen time and that's okay. It's just a bit sad to think that some of them have a lot of potential, but the story keeps them backstage. I certainly miss seeing some of the members of the Meta Liberation Army, for example. I loved the implications of corruption of power in the hero society. I miss Lady Nagant too, I can't wait to see her reaction to knowing that AFO is finally dead. Right now I wonder what the hell Horikoshi had planned for Hawks, lol. Every time I think his plotline is getting kickstarted, it runs for a second before stopping again. If he's there it's because there are unfinished businesses with him, maybe we will finally get a resolution on his connection with Toga and his past with Twice, but that's for later.

I have faith in Horikoshi, I guess. He has shown us that he does what the story demands and doesn't change the course of it for the public as much as other mangakas do. That is what movies are for.

I'm sure we'll see Spinner and Compress again, but most of all I'm curious worried about Kurogiri. I insist that the resolution between Kurogiri and Aizawa and Yamada will wreck me. In my wildest dreams I see Kurogiri begin for Tomura's life aka to save him, to give him a chance. I saw Aizawa's face when he heard Kurogiri talk about Tomura. He knew it was not only an order, but also a part of Oboro still alive. Oboro would do anything to help someone in danger, he'd pick any stray cat, give his life for anyone. I'm on the edge of my seat with that trio. Teachers on opposite sides of the war, once friends. Don't even get me going about Yamada and Kurogiri. Whenever I think of Mic and his role in that situation, it's pure torture.

If you ask me, I'm getting what I wanted. Act 3 has been great. It got a little boring for me when the whole focus was fighting AFO (I don't know why, maybe AFO is just not my favorite character to focus on). The rest? Amazing. Beautiful panels and drawing style, emotional instances that reveal the heart of the villains, their determination and dreams were respected, they got treated for once as real humans and not just villains... I'm behaving like a total kid with what is happening with Deku and Tomura in the 415 chapter.

Now, post-battle is another matter. We will cross that bridge when we get there, but they must be all alive and well or I'm ending what the League started and taking this whole world down with me (I'm not exaggerating at all haha why you ask?)

[itsnothingofinterest]

Listen, but out of the entire trio of villains and their heroes, only the child version of Shoto did not look at Touya. Where their child versions are together, Shoto is looking down instead of at Touya. This gives me the feeling that Touya hasn't and never had a hero (by analogy with Toga and Shigaraki - a hero who would see them as a human and a traumatized child and would like to help, not just stop or defeat).

I'm very interested to know your opinion. Do you think it matters that only the child version of Shoto doesn't look at Touya (out of the whole villain-his-hero trio)?

Hmm. There certainly is something to be said about how, even now, his family still aren’t properly looking at Dabi in this way or that. And how that may signify he’s still not properly saved; similar to how Toga was offered understanding but not relief of safety, so she wasn’t saved and felt it was better to die than face the heroes ideas' of justice.

This idea of not looking at their villain's true self is a problem faced specifically by the Todorokis tying to save Dabi. While Ochako largely understands why Toga’s done what she’s done and Deku…seems to want to learn what was already told to him; the Todorokis kind of demonstrated this bad habit of ignoring Touya’s wants and objections this whole arc. They finally addressed him; but with the exception of Rei, it was largely to tell him to cut it out & stop causing problems for others; maybe a pitiful ‘sorry’ that Endeavor couldn’t back up with actions. Shoto in particular felt to take a very business like approach to his brother; saying he understands his trauma but still considers him a murderer. There is a sense of wanting to save Touya; but unlike with Toga, it really felt like it took a major backseat to stopping/defeating him in this arc.

So I guess what I’m saying is; I totally see how this symbolism could be representative of the failings of the Todorokis in this arc. While I don’t think they’re unique in having an approach that was flawed at all (Some attempts were better than others but I wouldn’t say a single major villain has been saved yet); the continued lack of looking at Touya for Touya & for Touya's feelings might be the main flaw to the Todoroki's attempts. (Again; excluding Rei, who for her small roll did great.)

(Although the ironic thing is, everyone else in the family besides Shoto did get an imagine spot of looking at child Touya. Although he's weirdly tall and still in Dabi's jacket. Maybe the symbolism there is that they still see him mainly as a villain, with Touya's old childlike wants they can't see as equals? Thus Dabi's shown as a baby faced adult while they're still aged, as opposed to Deku & Ochako see themselves as children alongside their villains in their imagine spots. Like; they don't see his origins, they just see him as childish...maybe. I don't know I'm just throwing symbolism readings out there now.)

[class1akids]

Can I please know your thoughts on ch 406?

Spoilers under the cut:

Update on battlefields:

what is shown and what isn't shown is equally interesting. Takoba Arena is confirmed to be Gashly, and it looks like his quirk is to make a flood of scary babies or Chucky dolls? Only Ojirou is shown + Ryukyu who I was sure would be here. I hope we'll get a close-up, as it looks super-creepy. Sero is still nowhere to be seen though, even though we know he'll have a moment

Hagakure still seems to be visible. I wonder if Aoyama glitched her quirk for good or if she'll figure it out how to turn it on / off.

Gunga is not shown at all - I'm guessing because maybe some things are happening as we speak (notably Toga being saved).

Aizawa and Kurogiri reminder confirms that they will be back in play and if Warp Gate is back, others could be coming through.

Fight:

I didn't think Bakugou's revival would be 80% comic relief tbh, so I'm still recalibrating my brain. But I appreciate how goofy he looks trying to gain control over his quirk upgrade. 🤣 I generally appreciate if someone doesn't get something 100% on first try.

It's also confirmed that pre-upgrade Bakugou doesn't have the power of Endeavor or Dark Shadow - something for the power-scalers to play with. I expect he's gonna get past it though once he figures out how to get his sweat into one focus point?

AFO going again with the "I'm not gonna fight back" and "I'm gonna be a moron because he pisses me off" - ngl is getting really tiring and makes for a worse fight (especially knowing how Bakugou doesn't appreciate opponents not giving their all). I mean, at the moment it's more like a goofy weird game of tag rather than a fight. It feels like the AFO's regressing due to Rewind and Bakugou kind of returning to his child self - so it does have a schoolyard fight energy. I hope once Bakugou does his big boom, we can finally move on from AFO.

Deku activating his last gear shift for the third time is exactly like the PLF war, where he was constantly on his last 100% smash. These just don't do anything for me anymore as there is hardly any follow through. It's also a weird choice to have him activate it but not show what happens (considering how speedy it is) unless he activated it on Bakugou again? Not sure...

I think Deku will eventually go down due to abusing Gear Shift, but the question is how much of the fight with Shigaraki before will be shown. Once Deku is down from the blow-back, things will get desperate - Shigaraki is stronger than prime AFO, so it will take some effort to hold him back unless it's some self-destruct again - so I expect Aizawa and some reinforcements show up to hold back Shigaraki or counter Decay (sounds like a cool way to show off Ochako's awakening) while Deku is catching his breath

Shigaraki I guess is just chilling and not gonna do anything until it's his "scene". It's a bit lame that they have a 1000 quirks between them yet just make faces at each other. I feel like it would work better to see them in dynamic poses, etc.

The purpose of Bakugou being the 2nd's lookalike seems to be an excuse to make AFO even more moronic and have some flashbacks. I'm really curious how Yoichi died so I hope we get more on that.

I guess with Bakugou's parents shown, maybe the "ancestor"-theory is on the table too. Possibly Mitsuki will reveal she's from the Kudou clan? (This theory imho is not very impactful. It's about as important as the reveal that Rei and Geten are both Himuras. It's like a "cool - ok, then" kind of revelation).

Bakugou announcing himself as Kacchan looks like an obvious set-up for another joke about his hero name - where the whole world will know him as Kacchan rather than GEMGD, and Deku will also think it's his hero name.

That's it. It's a set-up chapter. It sets up some gigantic explosion from Bakugou. It sets up once again why AFO is not gonna do anything remotely intelligent. It sets up Deku going down. It sets up another hero name joke. Maybe it sets up more vestige history (I hope the punchline is at least something emotional in the end).

[prettyboykatsuki]

afflictions | u. ochako

♡ tags ; gn!reader, fluff, office relations, mentions of drinking, best friend bakugou (to ochako), from halloween that i just finished lol

♡ wc ; 1.3k

♡ a/n ; this is selfship content ngl. but its okay. ochako i want u sooo bad

♡ synopsis ; ochako has been avoiding her office crush post a halloween fiasco and it's starting to weigh on her conscience.

"You're way over thinking this, Uravity."

Bakugou casts Ochako a glance as she sighs over her cup of tea. He might be right, but for the minute it doesn't mean anything. She frowns, burying her face in her hands.

For the first time since highschool, Ochako Uraraka is head-over-heels pining. There's good news and bad news.

The good news is that the person she likes has a decently high chance of liking her back if the universe isn't just playing her like a fiddle. The bad news is that they work together, not even as Hero's. Ochako's in love with someone from the research department in the agency, a co-worker.

She can feel Bakugou's eyes boring lasers into her head but she can't help it. This whole situation has blown out of proportion and what was once a thirsty passing office crush is a full-blown romantic entanglement and Ochako is entirely too interested in seeing it through. That's why she can't keep her eyes off you, leaned on the side of a cubical, laughing at some joke that Kirishima is relaying to you.

She leans her palm against her cheek before dropping her head against the table.

"Bakugouuu," She whines, wanting to bury herself away "What do I do?"

"Stop being a little bitch and talk to them." He offers, without remorse. Ochako shoots him a glare.

"It's not that easy."

"Oh my god, Cheeks—yes, it fucking is. Are you an idiot? They make fucking heart eyes at you every time you talk to them. It's disgusting."

Ochako giggles.

"Wait, really?"

"Like I said, disgusting. Why the fuck would I lie to you? I'm not Denki, I don't give a fuck. I'm just not blind."

Ochako sighs. That's true.

It wasn't always this.. complicated. Maybe that's the word. At first, Ochako was just interested in your appearance. You looked more put-together than the rest of the people in your team and you had a sort of easy-goingness that she was naturally drawn to. She likes looking at you, soft features but sharp and bright eyes.

The first time you two spoke was out of necessity. You were gathering information on the effects of exposure to violence over time within a bunch of heroes and needed permission from a bunch of different people. You chose Ochako because of her unique position as a rescue hero.

And at first, your little meetings were all work related. Surveys and scans and whatever important stuff the job entailed. Ochako's fluttery feelings started surfacing half-way through then, when your jokes became more relaxed. Your demeanor changed. You were starting to be comfortable with her and she liked that.

She's always thought this but she's a little drawn to people who were a little mild. The attractive, smooth way you spoke stopped being a passing thought. Gentle, intelligent, not too familiar but open-minded.

The final nail in the coffin was at Sero's Halloween party where you'd shown up in a lazy werewolf costume with shitty clip-in ears and a leash around your neck - fake fangs getting in the way of your cup. Ochako went as red-riding hood, a coincidence. Maybe it was the alcohol or the comfortable environment.

She doesn't know. She does know that with a few shots in her, she was dragging you around by the collar of your shirt calling you her big bad wolf and you followed her every whim. Let her sit in your lap and even took her home when she got drunk - with a text the next morning reading "hope you slept well, red."

Ever since then, Ochako's been.. kind of avoiding you. She doesn't want to. She's just... too embarrassed to look you in the face. Given her drunkeness, she doesn't remember everything. How you reacted to her, mostly. What if you weren't into her?

It's assuring to hear Bakugou so confident about it but it doesn't ease her nerves all the way.

"You know that new intern that came in last week?"

Ochako hums absent-mindedly.

"She confessed to your little lovebird yesterday." Bakugou says with a sigh. Ochako nods at first before freezing, hand slamming on the counter.

"Wait are you serious?"

"Don't miss your chance, Cheeks." Bakugou says with a sigh.

She takes a minute to gear herself up before stepping out of the kitchen into the office. She catches your eye first, waving and you immediately seem surprised before relaxing into a smile.

Kirishima whispers something to you, seemingly, before you punch his arm and wave him goodbye. Once he leaves, Ochako walks over to you - stopping just in front of you. You give her a grin.

"Thought you ran away from me, Red."

Ocahko feels her stomach flutter with familiar nerves. She resents how good you are at making her flustered.

"I didn't run anywhere." She counters. You chuckle, leaning your head against the wall.

"Good to know. Thought for sure you were leaving me out to dry."

"I wasn't though," She whines, a little taken by your smile "I was just... y'know."

"Do I know?"

"Ugh, seriously. I was just embarrassed, okay? I wasn't gonna avoid you forever." She mumbles, arms crossed over her chest.

Your expression softens a little just for her, and if Ochako didn't see it with her own two eyes - she wouldn't be able to believe it. You smile a little more.

"Yeah? I'm relieved. Thought maybe I should've been a little more strict with you. Assumed I made you uncomfortable."

"Oh, god - not at all, I just couldn't... remember every single thing. I thought maybe you were mad."

"As if I'd ever be mad at you? C'mon now." And you're there again, charming the wits of off her "I had a good time. It was fun being bossed around by you. Maybe I should've applied for sidekick after all."

She covers her face in embarassment.

"You're the worst."

"Big bad wolves usually are."

"Oh my god, shut up. You're so awful!"

You put your hands up in self-defense and she's in a fit of giggles. Heart fluttering so hard she feels like a teenage girl again. She musters up some more courage and looks at you.

"I'm glad I didn't ruin your night."

"I'm glad I didn't ruin yours," You reply back, leaning in a little "Missed seein' your pretty smile."

"Jeez. No wonder all of interns are falling for you."

"Now where'd you hear that from?"

She scoffs a little, playful but sarcastic.

"I've got eyes everywhere, obviously. Do you talk to everyone like that or something? Those poor, naive girls. They don't even know what they're signing up for."

You huff some air through your nose, eyes lowered.

"And what would that be?"

"A wolf in sheeps clothing."

You laugh at her little joke.

"Have some faith me in, will you? I already turned her down."

"Really?"

She makes an attempt at masking her excitement but it's not with much effort. You nod, hands in your pockets.

"Yeah. Told her there was someone else I was interested in."

Ochako feels her heart pound.

"There is?"

"Sure is. Except, she's techincally my boss so I don't really know how I should go about telling her. Tough luck."

Holy shit. You mean her. You give her a coy smile, reaching a hand out to pat her head before you leave.

"I'll see you at lunch, Red."

"Y-yeah. See you,"

You crack one more smile before turning the other way, giving her a final wave before mozying off in the other direction. When she's sure your out of earshot, her knees nearly give in from what was basically a confession.

She turns her head back to the breakroom before running towards, stumbling back in to Bakugou over a cup of coffee. He gives her a bored stare.

"Holy SHIT,"

"Told you so,"

[khonaker]

Hi

I think ochako is one of the most under utilised and underrated characters. I'm not a fan of her character (no, i DONT hate her). She had so much of potential amd her fight with BK just proved she's more than a pretty face. I'm fully aware of the fact that this show is oversaturated with characters. But let's not forget that she is the main female lead of the show. My biggest issue with her is that she didn't get to do a god damn thing in the Stain arc. She joined the academy with the sole intention of making money, and that's exactly what Stain hates about the hero society. Their monetary outlook. She could have been a part of the arc, the build up was there. She could have shown Stain that yes, while there are heroes who are there solely for the financial gains, that doesn't make them bad people. She all she wanted was to help her family get out of the poor financial situation they were in. Instead, she gets the typical shonen lead heroine treatment- being the love interest and whose sole purpose in life is to be a satellite character to the male lead of the show.

All her effort in the UA sports festival to do her best against Bk, all the desires to make good income as a hero to help her family financially, devolved into a girl who becomes a blushing mess infront of her love interest.

They did her so dirty. She was one of the few female shonen characters who felt like she could be someone in life without having anything to do with matters of the heart.

Also, notice how it's other characters around her who enforce her this whole Deku crush on her. Mina, toga and Aoyama to name a few. These are the characters who constantly remind her of her feelings for deku, thus pushing her further and further away from the plot relevancy.

I find this very annoying and makes me sick to think that a girl with tremendous potential is now relegated to the role of a girl hopelessly in love.

One last question: So many people think she's a terrible person for wanting to make money. I'm like, what? Are you serious? (If you want me to give further explanations I will) but it's the most human and realistic thing to do when you're stuck in a financial rut.

Please let me know and thanks for reading my extremely long post

Cheers

Ooooooooooo Lordy.

(Cracks hands and neck)

First and foremost, I still love Ochako. But I can’t ignore what’s happened to her throughout the series.

Honestly, it’s been ages since I’ve had that exact thought about Ochako and Stain situation! While he had a valid point (that wasn’t further explored, HORIKOSHI) about there being heroes that didn’t have the EXACT same mentality as All Might, her duality of wanting to provide enough money to support her family all the while having the desire to save others for the sake of saving others would be honestly a culture shock to Stain. (Or he may go further into denial, it’s actually hard to say. Guy had a few screws loose.)

But it HONESTLY would have been interesting seeing these two interact! And not to replace anyone the Hosu trio! It honestly would have been cool seeing her trying to use her new Gunhead Martial Arts (though she probably would have been focused on saving Iida as Izuku and Shoto took on the role of the main fighters, but Stain could have also tried to go after them and Uraraka would attempt to hold her own against him.) And we would have had MOST of the Dekusquad there! (Asui had her own internship.) Hiw great would it have been seeing the Dekusquad fighting together! And Ochako going feral protecting Iida!

Yeah, she happened to be more focused only about her crush with Izuku as time went on, which made a lot of her early traits and accomplishments kinda fade away and be forgotten. But for the record, and I still stand by this. A girl having a crush on someone DOESN’T cheapen her in my opinion. It’s something that happens to many teenagers. And some of their interactions I think are handled well, like them talking about wanting to save their respective villains. But other times, yeah, it felt a bit excessive that Horikoshi had to stop and say, “Hey! Hey! Do you remember Ochako has a crush on Izuku?!?” I honestly was looking forward to seeing how she acted after she vowed to put her feelings aside during the provisional license exam. But…Hori just continued to drill it into our faces.

As for the biggest perpetrator of making Ochako only about Izuku, I lay on Toga’s feet. Mina, yeah, she brings up the crush as well, but it’s done more in good fun I feel. And I think Aoyama has done that once. (Now that I think about it, it’s kind of random how he suddenly knew about her crush. He never does it again.)

But Toga? Horikoshi could have used her for something else to make her relevant, but the ONLY thing she had connected to Ochako is their shared crush on Izuku. Others say theirs other themes between them, but I’m sorry. I don’t see it, or believe that it was handled effectively. Ochako had more than just a crush. Like you mentioned, her want to provide for her family. Her fighting spirit and prowess that she showed against Bakugou. She had things that could have been fleshed out more.

Toga was a wha-wha girl that embraced being a remorseless villain and happened to be crushing on the same guy Ochako was crushing on. That’s it. There’s nothing else really about Toga. And she became to Ochako what Bakugou became to Izuku: a detriment to her character and preventing her from becoming something MORE. (Sorry but not really if I sound cynical about Toga. I just got REALLY tired being demanded to care about her. Like some OTHER blonde.)

Speaking of which, your last question? I also never understood this. I get it for a quick joke and stuff like that. Hahaha. But when people were SERIOUS about holding that over Ochako’s head? I was like, “Did you not hear her entire motivation?!?” I was dumbfounded how people could possibly come to that conclusion.

I find it ESPECIALLY interesting NO ONE brings up that BAKUGOU also had the desire to be a hero for money,JUST TO BE RICH AND FAMOUS! But no, shit on Ochako for wanting to take care of her family! Filthy hypocrites. I honestly wish Horikoshi did a better job balancing both her looking out for heroes as well as wanting to have a good paying job for her family. I think both are completely character of her.

Anyways, you gave me a long post, I gave a long response. 😜 But honestly, thanks! I don’t honestly get these and I hope my answers or thoughts are interesting or understandable! Have a good one and thanks again!

@theuntamedangel

[autumn-foxfire]

1) That's my love language too! Dissing characters affectionately so I feel you XD 2) If we're talking about Hawks and broken dreams, what comes to mind is how emotional he got after Ochako's speech, thinking "if everyone were to think of each other even a little bit, if we could be united as one, I can see a future where heroes have free time on their hands, one so bright you can't help but grin" so after successfully ripping my heart out and smashing it on the pavement, because damn. That boy's eyes were literally twinkling with more emotion he's shown his whole life, it was overwhelming, I could already hear the rising inflection in his voice, like you're at a loss for breath, you can't look away. So awed. His dream was so impossible, but finally? An olive branch, the thought of possibility? I don't think Hawks thought he would live to see pay off, but he's getting a chance to see it blossom right in front of his eyes. Ever since he was Keigo, he's someone who looks like his tiny body would get knocked over from how painful yet relieving hope filling his heart would be, because when you're so down in the dumps, that "hope" is massive, it's smothering to be able to drag you out of the darkness. But now there's just a sea of pitch-black Twice clones descending on everyone, and Hawks' expression is the most twisted, pained and miserable one he's made to date. It really sucks how all that got sucked right out of him. Hawks is such a huge dreamer, it's been a reoccurring thing since he was introduced. We first hear his dream in PH arc, there's the two-page cherry blossom spread, "can I shine bright" the fantasy-aspect to his backstory, retreating into that dream world of heroes, the TV just like his moms coping mechanisms, until "fantasy became reality" the return of his dream but more flowery! Heck, even the "flying" teaching moment with Tokoyami is lowkey magically full of hope and dreams and freedom, of course with the subtle angst. Oh yeah, and the hopes carried in the second, "lets fly together!" with Twice. It's really surprising with everything else his character has been presented as, through his gloomy expressions, through other characters "idea" of him, through his pragmatism, but he's always been this person even if he doesn't often show it.

Aye! Good taste :p I say if you can't affectionately call out your favs for their dumbassery than do you really like them for their flaws and all.

Also, thank you for pain with this Hawks analysis T-T Hawks really is a dreamer and it hurts to see them crushed under the weight of reality. He had hoped that he could smile with them all again in April but he ended up having to mourn with them and now he has to face the fear of what he had tried to prevent in the previous war without anything he can do to stop it.

Hawks makes me hurt so much.

[pikahlua]

Been seeing a lot of tweet about how Izuku is avoiding Katsuki.

One led me to remember a certain post how Izuku is an unreliable narrator and after seeing chapter 342, it felt weird that there was a lot of panel without even a single narration. In chapters before the doom, Izuku would have some kind of narration like thoughts on what to come. He's not just probably avoiding Katsuki, but also himself. What do you think?

This may surprise everyone to know, but with chapter 342, the morning when class 1-A moves to Troy is the third morning Izuku has awoken at UA. It’s only the beginning of the third day since Katsuki’s apology.

Day 2 was Izuku learning of Star(s) and Stripe(s)’s death and then training outside with his classmates and then all the Aoyama shenanigans and then Mei repairing his equipment and then going out on patrol and then returning and talking with All Might about their action plan. That all happened in one day. I’m gonna go against the grain here and say Izuku isn’t avoiding anything on day 2--he’s just busy as fuck.

Day 1 is a mystery. We can probably assume Izuku took the time to rest. All we know about it for sure is this:

and maybe this:

and even then, there’s no way to know if this second panel set is referring to a conversation that occurred on day 1 or perhaps early on day 2.

There is a chance day 1 did contain some sort of reconciliation between Izuku and Katsuki that we’ll only become privy to via a flashback at a crucial moment à la chapter 284. But even if we say Izuku just slept all day, I would still feel comfortable saying this:

Izuku is not avoiding Katsuki.

This is not Izuku avoiding Katsuki. This is Izuku noticing his chance to thank Ochako and taking it.

This is not Katsuki being shunned by Izuku. This is Katsuki caring about Shouto and being a good friend.

There are even bigger hints in all these panels.

“Kacchan and the others even agreed to spar with me to help me complete One For All.”

This could be implying Izuku has updated his class on pretty much everything to do with One For All, including what he knows about the Second and Third and whatever else the vestiges all told him in his hospital coma dream.

“Sorry for making you all worry. I’m fine now.”

This could be implying Shouto just had a moment and we weren’t shown it, but his friends were there and followed him to his room as emotional support.

You brought up all the panels that lack narration like we’re used to, but there was narration. It just wasn’t clearly marked as narration.

And it wasn’t from Izuku.

This is our big hint about what the next panels are telling us. The next panels are showing us which characters are the “small number of people” who get to know the whole plan.

These are the major players.

The roles some of them have to play in the endgame are obvious. But there are definitely some faces here that are curious. Like, sure, we know Katsuki has a big role to play because of META, but...in-universe, what are they asking him to do? Why are they singling him out in the plan?

Ohhhh I’ve had such fun theorizing about that this past week.

But I digress. Now to address your other two major points:

1. Izuku the Unreliable Narrator

I do agree Izuku is an unreliable narrator (I mean, I wrote an article titled that), but be careful about what that means: he’s unreliable to us, the audience.

There are different types of unreliable narrators. Izuku never outright lies to us when he misleads us. He either shows us a limited perspective (his own perspective) or he leaves out key information either by speaking ambiguously or not mentioning important things. My go-to examples are:

Chapter 1: “I forgot to mention this, but...” and then he proceeds to tell us information that would have contextualized the whole story had he said it at the beginning of the chapter.

Chapter 9: “[Kacchan] wasn’t ‘bad’ or ‘good.’ Just full of confidence, and I admired him for that. But after his quirk manifested... he started down the path towards ‘bad.’” This primes us to expect Katsuki to defect and become a villain, which is why his rejection of Tomura at Kamino was so unexpected for many--and thus, epic.

Chapter 1: “...this is the story of how I became the greatest hero.” Horikoshi drops this at the end of the chapter so that we don’t get as suspicious of it as we would IF he had put it at the beginning of chapter like I mentioned in bullet-point #1. But who the hell gives away the ending in the first chapter? That should have been the largest warning sign that there was something about this line we were not understanding, which ultimately was revealed in chapter 324: the Japanese language can be ambiguous about plurality, which means Izuku’s chapter 1 narration actually is meant to be read as “...this is the story of how I became [a part of] the greatest heroes.”

So what’s happening in chapter 342 with all those silent panels? It’s very simple.

It’s serving the same purpose as this moment from FMA:

Horikoshi is showing us that the heroes have strategized, but he just won’t tell us what the strategy is yet. That’s for later. That’s for the big dramatic moments in the endgame fights/arc. That’s for when the heroes get to flip over the trap card and read the description to their opponents in a very smarmy voice.

It’s just a standard narrative device.

2. Avoidant Izuku

Now, let me be clear: just because I said Izuku isn’t actively avoiding Katsuki or anyone else right now doesn’t mean he has opened up.

Two days (or really just one day of rest) isn’t much time for Izuku to fully process all that has happened. I don’t think he’s avoiding thinking or talking about things actively, but it is in his character to bottle up his feelings on certain important topics.

I do think there are some things Izuku has not yet properly grappled with, and they are likely to come to a head mid-battle during the final arc (or crop up at the end if there’s an additional reckoning after the second war). I think it’d be a little excessive if Horikoshi showed Izuku trying to avoid those topics right now because it would feel like too much hubris for Izuku to carry with him into the war. MHA has always been very good about avoiding overly-contrived hubris. Izuku’s got just the right, tiny amount of fate-tempting naivety that results from his overarching character flaw since the beginning of the story, and that’s the kind of subtle storytelling I’m here for. He would have benefited from being more honest with himself about his feelings a long time ago, but that’s also a part of growing up.

And what is the shounen genre if it’s not chock-full of coming-of-age stories?

[aashi-heartfilia]

Hey there! First off, let me start off by saying I love your page and that some of my favorite all time characters are Lucy Heartfilia and Ochaco Uraraka, and I feel like they both suffer from the whole shonen troupe. More so Ochaco than Lucy. I’ve read through all your analysis and I think they are so spot on. And I’ve so enjoyed just chewing on our favorite girls, especially recently with S&S getting a volume cover and not Ochaco🙄, who’s the main girl of the series. Lol

When I was reading through your post on the issue with IzuOcha, I don’t think we’d gotten to the apology chapter yet, so I was wondering what your take on that was? And if you feel that opened up the vulnerability window with Deku that has always lacked with Ochaco? At least, in the manga of course!!

Once again, love your page and content and I wished there were more appreciators out there for our main girls!

Aww....thank you so much❤️

It brings me so much job to know first thing in the morning that people actually like my blog. I always try to be honest and write about my favourite underappreciated queens.

Lucy doesn't suffers from the same faith as Ochako because the writer himself knew what he was doing when developing Lucy. He created 'a girl of his dreams' and put so much focus on her development alone.

Ochako however, she gets plot points dedicated to her but either they're never expanded upon properly or they get sandwiched between other important moments of the story.

Eg, her take on 'Saving people' in the Overhaul arc. I still remember being mad and disappointed in that arc for doing Ochako so dirty.

After an arc going for 50+ chapters (overhaul) she gets a single page of development and even that felt empty and hollow because it just came out of nowhere.

She gives up her feelings for Deku in season 3 and starts focusing on hero work, doing internships etc. This was such a good opportunity to give her a new move!

She could have learned 'partial release'!

One of my nitpicks about Uraraka was also how even her quirk powers were never expanded upon properly. She just floats people and disarms them. It goes straight from 0 to 100. Imagine the wonders it would do if she could attach high powered rockets in her boots and use like 67% of her power.

It would annihilate her main weakness of puking and she can always work on increasing her weight limits.

And after giving her all when she wasn't able to save Nighteye she would feel guilty because she was just doing it as a job or maybe later give her some panels where she re thinks her ideals and what she wants to do in her life as a hero.

But no! Instead, her battle with the 8 bullets wasn't even shown on screen. I felt like I missed an episode or something because there is no way that the No10 Hero Ryukyu's battle wasn't even shown.

What's worse, it was never mentioned later other than a small flashback in season 5 and war arc.

Because we dive straight into the festival arc where Jirou replaced her as the main lead and did a pretty good job, NGL.

So yeah, it's like a culmination of plot points she gets but they're never expanded in depth or questions her ideals.

Though I would say Horikoshi actually fixed it one of the recent chapters where Uraraka goes over what she did wrong. It is one of my favourite Ochako panels so far because it really humanizes her so much, even more than Deku sometimes who's saving feels like more driven by his personal agenda rather than anything, lol.

She's just a normal girl from a poor background, wanting to support her parents and live a normal life. Gets thrown in a war where her entire worldview is questioned. For someone doing it just for money, her ideals gets questioned two times and a lot of people like to sleep on it like it never happened.

During the aftermath, it was Ochako who was running desperately to help people. Seeing people trapped and falling under the rubble. A shocking real life experience..where she even witnesses her fellow heroes giving up. Even if it was never said, her face is a visible representation of the said horror.

Will she still do it? Still be a Hero? Is the job worth it? Or is it even a job?

And she herself questions it again, not as a hero but as person asking that doesn't Toga deserves to smile too?

It is a direct parallel to what Toga says during the war arc.. doesn't she come in everyone too?

And yeah, I kind of like where her arc with Toga is going and I would love if it is done properly.. because it could be an arc that finally defines the hero she's gonna be.

Kind of like how Lucy got her moment in the Tartaros arc. One could argue that it's too late but I would say, better late than never!

I'm looking forward to some sort of awakening moment here because there is no way she could tackle Sad Girl's Parade or maybe I'm wrong like her Battle vs Bakugo that surpassed my expectations.

Horikoshi said that their is a scene he is itching to draw between Ochako and Toga, so I wonder if it will come sooner rather than later.

About IzuOcha:

I think it's fine. Personally, I'm more of a Kacchako or Uranium shipper but l like Green Tea as well. The thing that o don't like about Dekuraka is that despite Dekh being a major focus of Ochako's life the same cannot be said vice versa.

Deku likes Ochako. That's obvious. He thinks she's cute, strong, kind, good hair yada yada but he said it with a straight face like stating a fact of some sort which was hilarious considering how passionate he usually is when praising his other friends.

It felt more like 'yeah, you're good and we'll settle for world peace' and done.

Notice how most of the IzuOcha moments don't even involve Deku for the most part. It's just OCHAKO struggling to keep her feelings in check and do hero work which gets annoying after some time.

Like we don't have anyone teasing Deku for ya know. While the author leaves no chance to make Ochako's entire existence revolve around Deku for one reason or another.

Bakugo's arc is also based on that but at least his own independent arc gets much more development and recognition because despite his bullying Deku always looked upto him.

Bakugo for his credit shared his problems with Deku and they bonded up which is such a great development. Do you see Deku ever doing something solely for Ochako in season 3 or 4 or maybe 5?

Does he regrets hurting her for BlackWhip. He says a sorry and that's it. Even the real reason for that awakening was Bakugo.

So Deku's arc revolves more around Bakugo and Ochako sometimes just feels like an outside friend, a cherry girl of some sort.

So I kind of don't find myself fawning over it?

It is wierd for a ship that is developing since chapter 2 I guess?

Because for the most part, almost all emotional development and beats were given to BkDk and IzuOcha itself starts to feel very empty and shallow.

One could argue that it is one of the better developed romances than let's say Naruto or Bleach? But c'mon guys, even Hiro Mashima wrote a better plot for NALU than this!

You can't just say that good romances in shonen just does not exists. FT nails it when it comes to shipping developments and it feels very underappreciated in that regards.

Like for Natsu, Lucy will always be his priority and we know it. For Deku, Bakugo will always be his priority and we also know it and this is where the difference strikes in.

Ochako just doesn't have that much influence on Deku's life while Ochako's entire ideal system seems to be based on him.

I don't think we'll ever get an apology.

The closest we got was a Thank you on his part and that's that. Ochako's never gonna mention it. He'll never bring it up either. It was supposed to happen here but since it never happened, I guess it never will.

I'll be glad to be wrong though, if it ever gets addressed that is. Though I don't think that will ever happen because Deku leaving for everyone was considered very heroic even by Lord Explodey Kills himself.

But whatever, I was never a big fan. It was just acceptable to say that least..I mean, how do expect me to be more than Okay when Ochako was missing for the better part of Deku's struggles.

They don't have any real moments of vulnerability or growth that revolves around the other. And seriously, it's sickening because it's not like Horikoshi doesn't knows how to develop a relationship.

We have BkDk, KiriMina and even KamiJiro!

We have moments like these...and yet..

Do you ever see Deku getting worked up about Uraraka like this?

But then again, she has never been put into that much danger and that's the point! The author never bothered to put their relationship to a test.

Their story doesn't even coincides all that much for them to even have development revolving around the other which is also why some of the strongest IzuOcha moments come after the war arc.

So, yeah despite me being very acceptable of IzuOcha I think Ochako could have received way more development and maybe ships that were waaay better than whatever mess we have right now.

Uggh, this became a long post. Hope it answers your questions.

See ya!

[mettywiththenotes]

I know this is something of a "controversial" topic in MHA fandom, but I do like the female characters in MHA. I know they don't get as much time as the male characters, but we do have to remember that this is a Shounan Genre and it's a Manga written by a man. Even in Shounans written by women (Fullmetal Alchemist), men still get the spotlight and I feel like Horikoshi has done his best to break typical gender stereotypes for his female characters.

Yes, Momo is sexy and her costume is appalling. But she's intelligent and humble and she has a really cool arc where a male character has be subordinate to her. How often in Shounans do we see one of the main male protagonists taking orders from a lady?

Yes, Ochako is sometimes reduced to just her feelings for Izuku. But she's a bruiser, a fighter and her relationship with Himiko Toga is treated as being just as important as Shouto and Dabi's relationship and Izuku and Tomura's relationship.

Yes, Mei is kinda used for boob jokes sometimes. But she's an intelligent, dirty, resourceful mechanic who's allowed to be all those things and initially she was gonna be a man, so Horikoshi is trying to include more ladies in his work. Tsuyu and Toru also started as males.

MHA's female characters aren't perfect, but they're definitely better than most of the rest of the shit we see in the Shounan Genre like in shows such as Yu-Gi-Oh! and Dragon Ball. We have feral fighters like Miruko, cranky old ladies like Recovery Girl, heroic damsels like Eri. I for one think that we got lucky to have the ladies we do.

I agree with you!

I know a lot of people harp on about the female characters, sometimes I can see why, but personally I think the women are great! I'm sure there are better ways to treat them, but I don't think they're treated very badly

I've heard before that Shonen Jump has a thing about "being a manga for teenage boys so it has to feature stuff the 'typical teenage boy' would want to see". You know, like fanservice, or boys their age, love interest stuff where the guy gets the girl and so on and so forth

(I've also heard that Shonen Jump doesn't have a single female writer on their team precisely because of the "for teenage boys" thing, which is stupid imo)

But for what's there? For what we actually have?

For women who are shown to have their own minds, their own goals, their own successes and failures and learning experiences? I would say we have quite a bit going for us there

This fandom really likes to focus on the most negative things, for example, Ochako's crush on Izuku being seen as "love interest" stuff and that's the only purpose she serves

When, canonically, we have *looks at notes* Ochako wanting to see people happy, fighting for that happiness, she even has her own narrative ("Who protects the Heroes when they need protecting?"), she wants to save people NOT just because of Izuku's influence but also because she witnessed a man dying in her arms, felt the weight of that life and wanted to prevent that from ever happening again. You also have the whole thing about her being independent to a fault, financial trauma, wanting to give her parents a better life, and then the stuff with Toga, the Villain to her Hero, and she wants to understand her

Like. I'm not denying that she's a very likely love interest, but there's more to her than that stuff, you know? And it's shown very well that she is more than just a love interest, believe it or not

About the Momo thing, I'm sure there are like. quite a lot of instances of Shounen boys listening to girls, even if just once, (tho admittedly I am drawing a blank on naming anime/manga with those instances in), but I do think people forget about that arc quite a lot! It was a big battle in terms of character development for Momo and it's like people just forget about it. Actually, I feel like people forget about her confidence issues in general when they say stuff like "she's just a face and tits for the manga"

I agree about Mei too! She's allowed to be quirky and get dirty and be all over the place, and she's so intelligent too. And reckless! And that moment with her telling Izuku that Support students can be Heroes too was such a great moment for her, I'm really glad that role was given to her first out of anyone else. I'm pretty sure that's the FIRST instance of someone saying Support student/anybody else outside of the actual Heroes can be heroes too! And the fact that it started with her? *chefs kiss* love it

About the whole switching genders thing! Yeah! I like that Hori balanced it out more so it wasn't one-sided. People go on about the story feeling one-sided with girls vs boys and I guess I can see why in terms of class 1a, but it could have been much worse

And, may I mention, you even have complicated female characters, mothers, by the way, who are not all painted as innocent or nurturing or without fault, who are just as complex as the boys can be

Honestly I could go on and on about the female characters. I'm considering doing a bnha ask game of people sending me female characters to analyse just because I feel like people think there's nothing to them at all when... there is something there to talk about, actually 👀 which would just be something for fun btw. I would like to do it and see how much I can dig up!

Are there things that could be improved? Sure.

Do we wish there were female characters who had more focus than they get? Yes.

But is there nothing but fanservice, crushes and female character background decoration, like people seem to imply? No.

Just wanted to mention before I'm done: You also have a case of breaking gender stereotypes for the boys too. Satou, anyone? You know, the boy who bakes for fun? Who's a muscly strong guy and uses desserts to get strong, but also bakes because he can, for his classmates and for FUN?

Anyway yeah. Long answer short, I agree with you haha

[akasshis-wifey]

PART 1 PART 2 PART 3

AHHHHHH!!! OMG NEXT PART THINGS GET SPICY, THIS IS THE WARNING (plus ill add a warning next time part!!!)

Midoriya stood up, walking over to the bathroom. As he turned the shower on and undressed, he questioned his decision... Was he doing this to spite Uraraka or was it because he actually wanted to see you? He got in the shower and let the water run over his body. It washed away all his worries, and your smile shows up in his mind. His spirits weren't the only thing that raised when your face showed up in his mind; the way you walked away from their table that first night, the way your hips swayed... how nice you were to your waiters and chefs when they made mistakes. Ochako just didn't make him feel this way anymore. Finishing up his shower, he steps out, and looks down... how was he going to hide this? Izuku puts on his towel, when he hears the doorbell ring.

"oh damn... JUST A SECOND!!"

Izuku runs to the room and throws on some sweats, and run towards the door, flinging it open. Only to reveal you?!? What were you doing here.

"Y-Y/N what are you doing here?"

"I heard you were off today, and I wanted to stop by."

"Oh yeah, yeah, come in."

You walk into his home, and sit down at the couch.

You look up from the floor, and feel your cheeks turns a shade of red. You notice that he wasn't wearing a shirt, his chiseled abs standing like a statue in front of you. Until he sat next to you, and looked at you with the sweetest smile.

"Would you like some tea?"

Izuku asks, you make eye contact, and nod.

You and Izuku sat and talked for hours, every once in a while he would make a semi-flirty comment, In which you would both start blushing...

"So your telling me you captured a whole gang of villains on a hunch?!?"

"Yeah, and I can't believe that you started you restaurant off a hobbie."

"Yeah, yeah who would have known it would take off like this.."

"I'm trying to take something off too."

You both turn red, and his scattered freckles shown like stars on his face.

You stared into his forest green eyes and he sinked deep into yours...

You both leaned in... what was gonna happen.

[neonscandal]

Manga With Me: MHA Edition

⚠️ Spoiler Warning: covers chapters 1-50

Who doesn’t wish they could experience something again for the first time? Join me during my first MHA read through with reflections and head canons. If you’re interested in reading and following along, let me know, I love bouncing theories off of people. Be sure to drop your head canons below, too!

The story begins with a tale about a power balance between two friends. ✨ Deku’s relentless adoration and patience v Bakugo’s hubris and cruelty effectively provides the catalyst for Deku’s constant desire to catch up to and keep up with Bakugo. That and his hero fanboying pretty much leaves him no other desire than to be a hero. But the fact that Bakugo always treats Deku’s care and concern in the face of other people’s apathy or inability to act as an affront has always made me wonder what went through Bakugo’s head when he landed in that pond. Was it his first taste of fear?

Opening on Deku being powerless but heroic in the face of Bakugo’s tyranny is also something that will inevitably boomerang back later in the story. Bakugo, who aggressively bullied and inflicted violence on Deku over the course of several years, gets to be a hero just because he has a powerful quirk. Moreover, how can someone who is shown to earnestly WANT to be a hero be shown to be so cruel in the first place? Ultimately, when you have the strength of character to stand up to a bully aware of your powerlessness.. aren’t you already a hero? It kind of gives the vibe of “if you accepted this about yourself in the first place rather than seeking that validation externally, you’d have realized your strength sooner.” Kind of like the premise in “Penelope” with Christina Ricci.

The fact that Inko and All Might failed Deku as adults compounded by Bakugo’s swan dive suggestion was of course heartbreaking but also, I think, speaks to hero society as a whole. Even without aspirations of being a hero, being in that 20% of the quirkless population makes you an outcast in adolescence and has an added layer of fear at the hands of relatively OP (by normal/our standards) villains.

The below TikTok ultimately informs why I wanted to read the manga for critiques I missed during my MHA binge. So, kicking things off regarding the Sludge villain and how Kacchan was almost taken out in front of a live audience of heroes and civilians until a child rushed to his aid.. 👇🏾 just watch the whole thing because it’s great. It begs the question whether someone so foolhardily obsessed with Justice (as later pointed out by Gran Torino) was also a victim to public opinion and minding statistics. All Might is shackled with the crucible of being The Symbol of Peace but how much of that is pride and cowardice?

I’d seen the comparison before but I appreciate the softer bodies in the manga v the anime. A lot of people talk about the ableism of Inko and All Might telling Izuku he can’t be a hero without a quirk which is integral to the overall story and, not to co-opt that idea but, as we see PR factors into the overall success of heroes, I wonder if this was a deliberate choice of the mangaka.

Exploring the self-interests of the characters really provides depth to the characters of 1A. As with Ochako, you see that you can be altruistic in nature but still opportunistic and driven by money. I want to hear why more of them want to be heroes but, more specifically, Bakugo. Like, he’s the lowest hanging fruit considering he and Deku have had this shared passion for so long but why does Bakugo want to be a hero?

Momo deserves more delving into. Considering she’s the only other person in 1A on recommendation, where’s her backstory or peek into what got her in (aside from money)? Conversely, Iida is established early on to come from a big hero family like Todoroki but didn’t get in on recommendation. We find more about the Iida family during the Stain arc but, in particular, I always questioned that. Specifically because I think it’s funny to head cannon that Tenya is widely recognized as being unhinged, perhaps even by his own family. Almost like his commitment to law and justice is so extreme that it borders on lawlessness due to its extremism. For this, I also found it funny that, later, his internship was under Pro Hero Manual who the mangaka specified is by the book as well.

Deku sentimentally using his mother’s hero costume instead of opting for the practical protection and support equipment makes me want to face palm. Like, are you serious? I get that it can be indicative of his kindness, his affection, even. He is earnest and steadfast in honoring those that have helped him along the way but I think it also highlights his immaturity and ill-preparedness to grasp the weight of being a hero. That’s the point right? Children shouldn’t have to face their own mortality but, here they do and he has to do so in a onesie his mom happened to send along as an afterthought.

Did Recovery Girl purposely keep the scar on Midoriya’s right hand as a fucked up lesson before threatening to withhold care going forward? With Aizawa’s scar, I want to assume not, but even from the anime you know there tends to be a messed up sense of “lesson” and “justice” within hero society.

I love punctuating the moment Bakugo recognizes someone as his equal by him calling them by name. Especially Urararaka during the Sports Tournament. 🥺 I think this also shows how he chooses to alienate himself a lot in a culture where the use of names defines familiarity and closeness.

Re: Sports Fest, how prideful to broadcast student heroes quirks and subsequent weaknesses year over year for villains to exploit in the field or, in the case of 1A, immediately. Also, the no holds barred violence for sport with the justification that “we’re only violent against bad guys” really feeds into Shigaraki’s state sponsored violence ideology.

“Friendships born of worthy competition” - I loved these pairings the most: Bakugo and Uraraka, Deku and Todoroki, Kirishima and Tetsutetsu. I was intrigued by the fact that while most of 1A considers everything friendly competition (gauntlets are thrown but to better themselves re: Iida), Todoroki and Bakugo who have largely been standoffish and/or aggressors up until this point really only warm up socially as they are challenged and bested. I chalk it up to their respective upbringings which we know heavily emphasize strength over everything else.

Public opinion being the thin line that determines who is a hero vs a villain is also interesting as seen by the clear quirk bias against students like Shinso and, more poignantly, Bakugo’s fight with Uraraka which was misinterpreted by the crowd. Aizawa’s discerning commentary and recognition in that moment was critical to establishing clarity for Bakugo’s character but also furthering the fact that Aizawa really is our basis for honest neutrality. He doesn’t play into public opinion, deal with the press and is hardly recognized for his previous hero work. But he fairly, and to the best of his ability, tries to disillusion his students so they can better survive pro hero life. From the first chapter which is clearly Deku’s POV, we view the story through his lens which may not always be balanced or comprehensive so Aizawa provides a necessary benchmark for further insight and exposition. Even prepping Uraraka, Deku’s emphasis on Bakugo’s determination to crush her isn’t explained as explicitly as “he sees you as a worthy opponent” because it’s informed by his historical perspective of Bakugo, the complexity of which isn’t quite highlighted to the reader yet. Additionally, I like to think that Bakugo asking if Deku came up with her battle strategy was a way of acknowledging him as a worthy opponent as well.

DEKU’S WARNING

AIZAWA’S COMMENTARY

I loved the whole page, tbh

This also is highlighted with Quirk Marriages v Nomu. While the abuse of his children may not be common knowledge yet, how many hero colleagues were aware of Endeavor’s quirk marriage and subsequent attempts at forcibly breeding stronger progeny? Is it okay because of the lawless time period when it happened? Or maybe it’s just because he’s a hero and perceived to be virtuous vs the villainy of outcasts creating genetically modified organisms? It just seems like two sides of the same coin to me and power by any means always tends to be villainous in nature.

Best Jeanist drafting Bakugo simply to reject/humble him is so mean. Especially when you know how sensitive Bakugo really is. From the anime, I know he ultimately ends up taking it on the chin but still. I also wonder if Bakugo simply chose him because of his standing in the ranks or if there was another reason.

Iida going after Stain and realizing he doesn’t even register as a threat is so remarkable to me. Quirks really shape a person’s confidence and being groomed to be a hero from adolescence must really compound the feeling that you’re untouchable when you’re young. Sure you’ve had 10 years with your quirk, you might think you’re a master but UA teaches you everyday that you can be better. Yet Iida still thinks he can take down a villain that countless heroes died fighting with his sheer force of will. But in that moment, Stain shows him he’s just a kid in a costume.

See you after another 50 chapters!

[itsnothingofinterest]

Hey 👋, can I ask you how you feel about the recent episode of bnha? And specifically about the heroes?

It's pretty much exactly the same as in the manga, although for some reason danger sense wasn't in the anime, despite it being clearly shown on the page, that was weird, do you think?

It's meant to be so inspiring, the whole scene, but all it really says as a whole is that people should treat the heroes better and that the heroes will then 'bring everything back', both points being the exact opposite of what needs to happen in the setting/series, as if the heroes are the ones that need saving and didn't cause half the problems/threats they now face in the first place. There's zero accountability and awareness with their side, and they still want more, hawks is straight up delusional, saying that 'thinking about everybody' even though they're obviously not thinking about everybody.

The part when ochako is thinking about toga being the only thing that wasn't oblivious to the big picture. Do you feel similarly or differently?

Yup, same as ever for the heroes; we're waiting on any hero-driven societal progress and they're just worried about themselves and the status quo.

And yet you know, the funny thing is that the scene is probably the one piece of progress in the entire series that might (though that is a BIG might) prevent one type of villain from our League appearing in the inevitable next League made up of people Class 1A fails when they're pros.

See, one of the big things that led to Tenko becoming Tomura Shigaraki was everyone leaving everything to the heroes. And while this episodes' developments were more inspired by cutting the heroes some slack than reflecting on how impossible it is for the heroes to handle everything wrong in the world and how irresponsible it was for all parties to act like they could; the result is still this promise to reduce the citizens bystander attitude, that could see them helping the next Tenko...maybe. So the next League might (again, might) not have a Tomura.

It's just a shame that, like we said, this came about for the betterment of heroes rather than from any self-reflection on their villain-generating failures. This means atm we can't exactly expect any societal faults that benefit heroes, such as quirk profiling, letting heroes get away with murder or domestic abuse, Tartarus, or other forms of corruption in the industry, to get fixed or stop coming up.

Nor do we have reason to expect heroes to do anymore than they've been doing about issues that don't really affect them at all like hetemorphobia. Not to mention the issues in HeroAca taken from real life like the transphobia that inspired Magne or...just everything about Japan that led Twice to the streets and then the League. So already, if this is the final arc, I can already see Hero Society and the next gen heroes dealing more Togas, Dabis, Spinners, Twices, Compresses, Magnes, & Nagants. Very likely forming their own teams and re-destroying society within 20 years. Lather, rinse, repeat.

Hence why I keep hoping this arc in the manga isn't the final arc. The series clearly wants Deku & his class to inspired hope; so the fact they don't really leads me to believe they need more time in the character development oven.

So like I said, this thing with the citizens at UA is technically progress. But I wouldn't call it "inspiring" or "a step in the right direction," because that direction deadened after this one step. It's all business as usual otherwise unless things change in the heroes' mindset.

[sarahjtv]

BNHA Chapter 322 Spoiler Analysis: Bakugo’s Growth

Oh my god is this real life?  Am I reading Horikoshi’s AO3 fics?  I don’t drink or do drugs, so yesterday felt like a goddamn fever dream.  An incredible one at that.  Seriously, this might be one of my favorite chapters in the series for Bakugo’s moment alone.  I’m probably going to backtrack that later on if Horikoshi keeps this high quality up, but I’m cool with that.  This series has just been so damn good and it keeps getting better.  So, let’s go:

I’m going to get the smaller stuff out of the way first because I really want to focus on Bakugo’s apology this time because that’s the main course:

I love that Kirishima got something to do and say this chapter.  He was right there on the ground ready to catch Iida and Deku when they fell.  And he’s probably one of the more physically stronger kids in the class + his Hardening so Kirishima was a good choice to have on standby. Also, him realizing that Deku was the kid who tried to save Bakugo from the sludge villain at the beginning of the series was a good callback because Deku inadvertently inspired Kirishima to become the hero he is now.

Thirteen actually shows her face since her helmet was damaged in the war and WOW SHE’S PRETTY 😳 That was not on my bingo card, but I will take it happily!

Then there’s Ochako who grabs Deku’s hand to tell him it’s ok and that he doesn’t have to leave again after he, well, tries to leave again.  It’s really cute and feels like a resolution of some sorts of their feelings for each other.  Not a conclusion, but it feels like Horikoshi is wrapping things up.  I don’t know how deep Horikoshi’s going to go into Ochako and Deku romantically, but I like that it’s told subtlety.  And it looks like the next chapter will have Ochako do something cool, so I’m excited to see that.  

THAT UA BARRIER IS MASSIVE DEAR LORD!  And apparently it can do even more than that.  LIKE DOES IT HAVE GUNS TOO?  Hakgakure says it connects to Shiketsu too, so maybe we might see Inasa, Shishikura (Meatball boy), and Camie again.

Also, Hagakure and Aoyama didn’t do anything though during the VS. Deku fight, so take that as you will.

Also Bakugo’s suddenly not featured at the end of the chapter, which is weird.  

NOW BAKUGO OH MY GOD:

I really thought that we would have a Deku Vs. Kacchan Part 3 to be honest.  I really thought we would.  But no.  We got an honest-to-god heart-to-heart between these two boys.  And really, this is probably the best way to go about it.  Maybe we’ll get some D VS. K Prt. 3 one day because there might be more to be said, but if this is how their friendship is truly mended, I’m cool with a 2-parter.

So, Bakugo basically lays EVERYTHING out on the table.  How he’s felt like Deku’s always ahead of him, how frustrated he was, how scared he was, how insecure he was, and more beyond the surface.  Ultimately, he apologizes for everything.  He apologizes for over A DECADE of bullying.  He even bows to Deku.  He can barley look at Deku in the eye for the most part.  This is not the same Bakugo from the beginning of the series.  This is Katsuki Bakugo: a young man who took a long, harsh look in the mirror, learned from his flaws, decided to save the kid he bullied, and became a better person all because of it.

Bakugo also tells Deku that even though Deku did nothing wrong in going down this path, Deku needs him and his friends now.  Deku can’t do this on his own anymore.  Bakugo says him and the other will carry the burden with Deku.  Save to Win and Win to Save 😭.

What I find interesting here is that in this part of his speech, Bakugo says that he and everyone else will carry Deku’s burden with him “In order to surpass All Might”.  Bakugo’s ultimate goal has always been to surpass All Might and become the No. 1 Hero.  That’s been established from the very beginning.  And now, Bakugo will surpass All Might with his friends by his side.  That’s growth, my dudes 🧡

Visually, this whole thing is done so beautifully!  Just the way everyone is drawn and the expressions on the other student’s faces are really well done.  Everyone’s either in shock or in awe of what they’re hearing coming out of Bakugo’s mouth.  This is a side Bakugo hasn’t really shown anyone before (besides Deku, of course).  The reaction that spoke most to me is actually Shoto’s 💙.   He gets like 1 panel this chapter, but his face isn’t really in either shock or awe.  It’s kinda unreadable, but I think ultimately it’s like an “I get it” sort of expression.  Because Bakugo and Endeavor are so much alike.  Shoto knows what it’s like to have someone in their life trying to atone for their actions.  He gets it.  Maybe, one day, Endeavor and Shoto can get there too.

This might be my favorite part of the chapter: During Bakugo’s apology, Horikoshi draws Deku and Bakugo as heroes, then kids, then as middle schoolers, then in their UA uniforms, and finally back in their hero costumes.  Each time, Bakugo and Deku are framed face-to-face with Bakugo talking and Deku just staring in disbelief and awe like he’s trying to process what Bakugo’s saying.  It isn’t until the final one when Bakugo and Deku finally meet eye-to-eye and you can see some light come back to Deku’s eyes.  And finally Bakugo bows and apologize, even calling Izuku by name 😭💚🧡  It’s just so beautifully paneled and drawn.  In the span of a few pages, Horikoshi manages to take us through Bakugo and Deku’s childhoods of conflict and insecurity to their heroic selves in present day.  It’s like a quick recap of everything Bakugo and Deku have been through over the course of the series.  Because even though My Hero Academia is ultimately Deku’s story, it’s Bakugo’s story too (which a little Shoto on the side).  This feels like the culmination of their entire relationship and it’ll only get stronger from here too.

Lastly, as Deku is about to apologize for saying “You can’t keep up” because he realized his friends are actually ahead of him, he starts to pass out and BAKUGO RUNS UP TO CATCH HIM AS DEKU FALLS 🧡💚😭  WE DON’T EVEN SEE BAKUGO’S EYES HE JUST SAYS “WE KNOW” LIKE IS BAKUGO CRYING HORIKOSHI PLEASE!!!!!  BAKUDEKU’S HOW WE FEELING??? 💥🥦

But for real, this is as close to a hug between these two as we’re probably going to get.  There’s something so profound about this.  Bakugo has been trying to push Deku away since the beginning.  He even wanted to keep Deku at arm’s length so he can be protected even from Bakugo himself.  And how these two are together again.  No more pushing away.  

Honestly, I loved this chapter 10/10!  Peak character development, peak storytelling, peak fucking fiction!  It does feel like we’re coming to a conclusion soon with the series.  Ochako is accepting her feeling towards Deku more, Deku’s coming back to UA where the final battle will most likely take place, and Bakugo and Deku have mended their relationship as far as we know.  Again, I would like to see a Part 3 to their ongoing fights, but I’m cool if this is where their conflict ends.  It was really, really beautiful.  Horikoshi’s writing has been top-notch with Bakugo and Deku.  God, I’m truly going to miss this series when it’s done.

Me thoughtout the entiretly of Bakugo’s Apology:  

[jwxei]

˗ˏˋ achilles' heel - chapter two ˎˊ˗

// eyes red, vast and volcanic //

You wish you could say the same thing when you struck up conversation with him. To say he was anything but a brute was naive of you, and the nagging voice in your mind was lecturing you for thinking that way. To be honest, you weren't really sure what to do when he lashed out at you so suddenly. All you were trying to do was get to your seat, nothing else. But the hot headed autocrat had other plans.

Apparently you were in his way. And after he had stated that fact he went off on a mini speech about how great he was and how everyone else wasn't.

"Out of my way extras," he would harshly declare, "If you're going to act so useless, at least be stones I can step off to reach my victory."

To you, he just sounded like an egotistical boy who takes pleasure in pushing others around. But surprisingly no one seemed to question his actions. As absurd as he was, it really seemed to affect most people. You could see the glinting fear in their eyes when he crouched to meet their gaze. When he gave that jagged smirk, satisfied with the dominance created. But what ticked you off most was the way he looked down on others. How he held his head slightly higher than everyone else's and loved to poke holes into every mistake made. There was a clear difference between confidence and arrogance, and he was an excellent example of what not to become.

The odd thing was that people still tried to befriend him, despite his threatening attitude. You could see an eccentric haired red-head approach him everyday, constantly wearing the same carefree expression. Without fail, he would flash him a welcoming smile and make his way over. It irritated you, to say the least. You couldn't see why anyone would ever want to befriend someone who was plain crude. But then again, you weren't someone who would go out of their way to desperately make friends. You enrolled to U.A for one purpose only; it wasn't going to change anytime soon.

But still, you couldn't help but observe as the energetic boy beamed at the proud dictator, polar opposites at their best. You could swear you saw rays coming from his smile. And the bright radiance he gave made you feel safe, comforted and soothed. For a while, you would find yourself to bask in his joyful tendencies, the whole atmosphere lightening up when he walked into the room. It puzzled you as to why someone so pure and great as him would want to stoop down to someone which no respect for anyone else but himself.

Bakugo didn't seem to appreciate the hospitality shown to him, though. Whenever the lively boy (who you now came to know as Eijiro Kirishima) would try to spark a conversation, all he would do is yank his head the opposite direction. The only responses given were silent glares that bore through you, or rough grunts if he was in a good mood. Another admirable trait of Kirishima was that he never faltered. Even when Bakugo gave him the harshest of glares, which would strike fear into most, the red-head did not feel threatened.

He was praiseworthy, you could give him that. Although, it didn't mean that he could escape the insults Bakugo carelessly threw around. Kirishima had coined the name 'Shitty Hair' from him because of his bright red tufts that were styled into spikes that shot above. However he didn't seem to take the nickname too heavily. And he snapped back with an offhand comment about how their hairstyles were similar. It impressed you. How he could put up with Bakugo's stand-off attitude. But then again, you lacked something Kirishima seemed to have an abundance of; patience.

You remember the first time that it happened. The ticking torment that Bakugo first released upon you. All you were trying to do was get to your seat. You didn't want any unnecessary attention, and he was more than you had bargained for at U.A. As you weaved your way through the maze of pristine desks, a rough grip caught you off balance and nearly yanked you to the ground. You whipped your head in fury to see who it was, only to meet a pair of blazing red eyes. They glowered at your form, you gladly returning the favour. A gruff voice, one that sounded like coarse asphalt, spit at you.

"The hell is a weakling like you doing here?" An athletically built boy had both his feet crossed onto his desk. His forest green pants sagged and hung loosely around his waist, revealing a peek of his-. No. You scolded yourself and tugged your mind out of the gutter. The frustration that brimmed inside you was more overpowering. How dare this obnoxious man speak to you like you were some sort of lesser specimen? A sever urge to wreck this man's ego and put him in his place highly tempted you. But unlike him, you weren't looking for a fight.

You tugged away from his grip and gave him a bitter glance. His lips curled into a cruel smirk in response before running his hands through ash blond locks. You knew you hated him the minute he flashed you that smile. Indulging in the fantasy of humbling him helped satisfy your need to square him right in his cocky, perfect face. Taking a deep breath, you composed yourself and bluffed an unbothered attitude.

"That is none of your business." You replied through gritted teeth. "Now I suggest you go bother someone else before I report you for harassment." You tilted your head innocently, and cracked a forced grin at him. Bakugo's sneer disappeared from view and he scoffed coldly. He faced away before going back to his own business. Taking it as a success, you made your way back to your desk, plopping down to take you study materials out.

A bubbly brunette to your right whispered to a frog-like classmate. Their hushed conversation consisted of panicked murmurs and what sounded to be a frog-like noise. You fiddled with the stationary placed upon your desk, twirling the mechanical pencil between your fingers seamlessly. You could pick up on their little discussion if it proved necessary, but didn't bother to. The last thing you needed was another headache. After a few more minutes, the brown-haired girl seen speaking before tapped your shoulder.

"You're L/N Y/N right?" You looked up, taken aback by the sudden interaction. She looked at you with wide eyes the shades of dark honey. She was so close to your face that you could see the black lines that traced in and out of her iris. Her frame was small, but not frail, and she had her arms crossed behind her. The frog girl had now returned to her previous business. She appeared uninterested in the topic but occasionally glanced back ever now and then. You answered the girl before you.

"Uh, yeah. That's me!" A smile shone from your features, this time it came naturally. She exhaled out a little before rubbing her hands together. The odd thing was that her fingers never touched.

"Wow! Well I gotta give it to you for holding your ground against that hot head over there!" She pointed her thumb in Bakugo's direction. You noticed how her fingertips had a slightly darker shade that appeared in a circular pattern. The boy subject to the attention caught her pointing, and gave her a teething snarl. You sheepishly laughed and thanked her. She also giggled with a playful tone before leaning in to whisper in your ear. "To be honest I thought that you were gonna get blown to pieces! We all thought a villain was in the making. Anyways, I'm Ochako Uraraka. Nice to meet you."

You laughed along with her, but this time it was more forced. It's not like she was wrong; there were aspects of Bakugo that could be seen as villainous. But something about him being a villain didn't sit right with you. It did not make sense to even yourself, as to why you would think that. Perhaps you thought he had potential to be better. Yeah, you mocked your own thought. Like that would happen anytime soon.

You only proved yourself right as the days went by. The relentless blonde showed great interest in afflicting annoyance and pain into you. For weeks on end, he would belittle you with insults and comparisons. Sometimes he would even take your things and hide them in the smallest and inconvenient places. One time, he had taken your whole backpack and swung it to the top of a tree to hang there overnight. Explaining to Aizawa Sensei why you didn't have your school supplies with you the next day was a complete nightmare, him staring you down with bloodshot eyes the whole time.

Granted, there were some days where he completely ignored you. When you would make eye contact in the hallways, he would always shove his gaze somewhere else and stuff his hands in his pockets. You were thankful for these times, if you were being honest, but they only came once in a blue moon. It was insufferable; trying to predict how he would treat you was maddening and drove you up the wall. Your patience was thinning fast, and every mishap that involved him only boiled your fiery blood even more.

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