#there's no way bkdks arc can be finished without a proper hand hold

[smallmightsupremacy]

okay but Izuku's arms are definitely coming back

[mysterylover123]

BNHA Rewatch: Episode 23 “Shoto Todoroki: Origin”

mysterylover123

This episode is not ok.

First. Frame. I am not ready.

We open up proper with Deku and Shoto sizing each other up in the ring. Shoto opens, same as always, with ice. Deku counters, same as always, with fingersnap. Not the Roy Mustang kind. Visually, I’ve noticed that aside from the blasts, this episode is made up almost entirely of uncomfortable close-ups.

“He’s prepared to counter me, even if it means destroying himself.” YES. (oh god the horror has only just begun)

Deku just keeps going...and going...

This part is so suspenseful. At any moment, for Deku, it’ll all be over. We’ve locked in a clear limit for how the fight can play out (and then we just throw that limit in the trash, because this is BNHA where rules are stupid).

Shoto in this scene is not looking at Midoriya. He’s thinking about his father. He thanks Midoriya for dragging things out to piss off Endeavor. He sounds condescending here - like he didn’t expect Deku to last even this long. This is a very badly influenced Shoto, one ‘drowning in resentment’, as he puts it later on.

This bit signals a sea change in the fight. Deku is aware that he’s outmatched, but then he notices Todoroki shaking. This isn’t just an opening to him, either, a chance to beat Todoroki. It’s a sign that he has, in fact, forced Shoto to start exhausting himself, but Shoto is stubbornly refusing to go all out still. And this means, to Deku, that Shoto doesn’t think he’s worth it. And that pisses him off.

yikes. 

This decision from Deku drops the jaw the first time around. He just...breaks his hand. He breaks it a second time. (and that’s just the beginning)

Deku is furious that Todoroki is disrespecting the efforts of all his friends and rivals (who we see in a montage). He is being disrespected himself too. Todoroki is holding back and Deku won’t let it happen. He won’t let Todoroki win without giving it his all. Only if Todoroki is willing to go as far as everyone else. 

Shoto assuming Deku was bribed by Endeavor to get him to use his fire side is...really sad.

For the record: I like Justin Briner just fine. He’s good. But...Daiki Yamashita is the superior Deku. I have different picks for faves in sub v Dub here, but between these two it’s no contest for me. Yamashita’s acting, especially in this ep, haunts me. This scene stands out a lot. Sinai...sinai...sinai...sinai...It’s like a madness mantra. Because Deku is crazy. Beyond crazy.

Aizawa does a small meta on Midoriya here, reasoning that he’s ‘just doing the best he can with what he has’. I’d say that’s part of it, but as we’ve already seen, there’s more going on here. Pride. Friendship. Absolute Insanity. Just to name a few.

“What’s driving him”? So so much. An internal drive to prove he can be useful for something. A desire to be just like all Might. Some pride and a need to win. A desire to help someone in pain no matter what. And a dash of madness.

ashkjhkjahrih Yep. What did I say. ABSOLUTELY FUCKING INSANE. ABSOLUTE MADMAN IS HIS NICKNAME FOR A REASON. NO SANE PERSON SHOULD WANT TO FUCK WITH HIM. HOW THE FUCK TO YOU BEAT SOMEONE WHO WILL DESTROY THEIR OWN BODY TO WIN A FREAKING EXHIBITION MATCH?!? 

“I want to be a smiling, cool hero”. This is, in so many reasons, why I think Midoriya is such a great character. What makes a great character, to me, is Motivation. 3 pieces of motive: What they want, why they want it, and how far they’ll go to get it. Want: To be the World’s Greatest Hero. Why: To save people and prove he’s worth something. How far: ALL THE WAY.

“If you become number one without using your full power, then I don’t think you’re serious about denying him everything.” OMG

no this fucking flashback “He’s only 5  years old” out of my way “ka-san?” those words have dug their way into my subconscious. the horror. shoto being denied the chance to be around his siblings. Shoto not getting a life. Endeavor’s abuse. Rei’s breaking voice. I can’t. I can’t I can’t

oh no oh no oh no

oh god this scene the music i can’t i can’t i can’t

I hate that I agree with Endeavor’s decision to put Rei in an institution. I hate seeing bb Shoto cry. the music. this scene its too good. the feelings are...every time...I just...

Daiki you need an acting oscar you nailed this. 

I’m shaking. Do you hear that music amping up in the background? That slowly building crescendo...it sounds familiar...

All Might you beautiful bastard you’ve done so much good Deku what have you done i’m smiling and what’s that sound? That beautiful song that goes with everything?

YOU SAY RUN! FULL VERSION. DRINK IT IN. ENJOY IT. BECAUSE IT TAKES A HIATUS FOR A WHILE AFTER THIS EP. MY GOD THIS MOMENT 

Endeavor: Anime’s most evil Soccer Mom.

“Why are you smiling?” Because he’s crazy, Shoto. You haven’t noticed this? “You must be crazy.” OK, he has noticed.

You’re a little unsettled yourself, I see. (I am convinced that all three of them have some kind of mental disorder. Midoriya, Bakugou, and Todoroki. They’re all crazy. In 3 very different ways.)

The Absolute Madman vs the BiFire-IceMan. this image haunts me. 

This episode’s animation is quite possibly the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen in anime. Or animation, for that matter. There’s something about the way BNHA is animated, the designs, the sakuga, that is...I don’t know how to describe it. “Midoriya, eregato.” You said it, Shoto.

Midoriya is knocked out of the tournament in the quarter-finals. This, my friends, is how you subvert expectations in a satisfying manner. Jaws have hit the floor.

So there are, essentially, 3 episodes in BNHA that I consider not just the best episodes of this series, but to be episodes that kind of transcend. Episodes that are so good, so powerful, so mind-blowing to behold for the first time, that everything else feels a little bit less by comparison. This is the first of those three. Episode 23. It’s one of the best episodes of the show. I’m tempted to call it the best. It’s so hard to watch. And so worth it to see. If you watch BNHA for no other purpose, at least try and get to this one.

BKDK CORNER:

(top half is Baku)

Baku: “Quirks are physical abilities. You can’t just fire off as many shots as you want.” Izuku: “It’s easy to forget that quirks are physical abilities.” 

Izuku: “Where are you looking?” Baku, 2 eps from now: “Where are you looking, half and half bastard?” 

Izuku:  His movements are...Baku: Slower. It’s called Finishing Each Other’s Sentences.

Midoriya is not only channelling Bakugou here in his desire to win against an opponent going all out, but also thinking of people like Kacchan, who go all out against opponents no matter who they are (re: Uraraka). And Deku has come to respect this. That, in part, motivates him here.

BEST GIRL OF THE EP: ICE MOM/REI TODOROKI!

RANKER: TOP DARKEST BNHA MOMENTS

5. The Camino Ward story

4. Midoriya’s self-muliation and quirkless past

3. That Last Effing Arc of the Manga. The MLA Arc. 

2. Todoroki’s Backstory

1. Chisaki’s Torture of Eri and the Internship Arc