hawksent

The Kamino Arc really did rewire Shigaraki’s brain as to the role of the “Demon Lord” and the function of hero society from its symbol to the lines between heroes and villains.

Shigaraki did not in any way understand that All for One harmed him at this point. He did not want to be like All for One anymore because his defeat at Kamino destroyed Shigaraki’s image of him as an all-powerful demon lord. He interpreted the defeat as All for One not having sufficient power to achieve his goals, so Shigaraki sought to surpass him.

She's honestly one of the few LOV characters who has consistently had a relatively coherent systemic critique of hero society while actually believing in a future. It's actually not surprising she follows Stain even if she doesn't exactly share his ideology.

Shigaraki and Dabi's systemic critiques are muddled by the involvement of All for One and Endeavor in their stories. In that Shigaraki was groomed to see only the worst in everything and prevented by All for One from experiencing anything that wasn't misery. And Dabi in both what created him and his current goals are tied up too much in Endeavor specific neuroses. There are systemic critiques in there, but you have to pull back a few layers of scheming and circumstances that wouldn't apply to even most disenfranchised people in their society.

Toga doesn't have that problem. She was a "normal girl" from a "normal family". She (and Twice) are the examples of the psychological toll of their society's suppression of all quirks outside of heroics.

Due to the nature of Toga's quirk, she connects to people by drinking blood. This didn't inherently have to include violence. People routinely get small injuries in their day to day lives. Blood banks exist. Even the narrative directly acknowledges this - baby Toga didn't attack other children, she "kissed their booboos".

But because they live in a society based in suppression, she was treated poorly every time her quirk - her individuality - affected her relationships with people. And the fact that her parents, her quirk counselor are faceless - they could have been anyone. The reactions she received by those around her are typical of their society.

And kid Toga did her best to put on that faceless mask too, but it didn't fit right. In a moment of weakness - one bad day you could say - she attacked her crush after seeing him bleed in a fight. And she likely felt connected to another person for the first time in years. But Saito died. And then she was a villain. And thus the connection was established. She could only feel connected to people through violence - through causing harm to the people she wants connection with.

shoto was born to an abusive family where becoming who his father wanted him to be implied suffering and pain for himself and his loved ones aka his mother as well as isolation from his peers. so of course he would reject it entirely, of course he would grow up to search for another sense of purpose that was healthier and better.

natsuo was born to a neglectful family. he failed to meet his father's expectations before he was even aware of himself, so his father was largely absent from his life, and his mother was emotionally unavailable. he was basically raised by his siblings, and between touya pushing him to be angry at their father and family dynamic, and fuyumi pushing him to leave that burden to her and focus on himself, it's no wonder he could walk away from it all. he has no attachment to the "purpose" he was created for, so he can move past it and focus on creating his own.

Aw, I gotta say, I like this line a lot more than some of the fanlations and debates I’ve seen floating around. “I’m optimistic to a fault.” I think that does a good job describing Hawks’s attitude about his position in life, especially when it immediately follows the panel with him hugging his Endeavor doll as a kid.

Like, he knows that his optimism for the future and how things will turn out is excessively hopeful compared to how most people see things - especially people like the LoV and Lady Nagant, that are disenfranchised by society and the heroics business due to having experienced similar life difficulties to Hawks himself. Being taken advantage of by the HPSC or being left behind by heroes who overlook their struggles? Hawks has suffered both of these things, and he’s deliberately chosen to react to them with hope and optimism despite his harsh circumstances.

The framing makes it look like he’s including the fact that he looks up to Endeavor in that, actually. Like, he’s not blind, he’s aware of at least a large portion of what Endeavor’s done to his family by this point, and he’s a victim of child abuse himself. He has awareness of the seriousness of the situation…

And maybe it’s a fault that he was so optimistic as a kid that he looked up to Endeavor (not realizing in his naivete that he’s yet another abuser), and maybe it’s a fault that he continues to look up to the positive traits that Endeavor has now (despite the atrocious actions he’s committed), but the big point being made between Hawks and Lady Nagant is that his misguided optimism has gotten him to where he is today, and that’s not nothing. It’s important that he’s had that hope and optimism, because otherwise he would have become embittered and resentful and - well, like she’s saying, just another version of Lady Nagant, or the Shigaraki, or Dabi. Just another person taking out their misery on the rest of the world, perpetuating the cycle of personal abuse they experienced on a much grander scale.

It’s interesting to me that Dabi essentially makes the same mistake with Tokoyami that Hawks does with Twice.

Sure. Until a few months ago, I had only read bits and pieces. Now I've read up until Light Novel 5, so I've read all of them but the most recent one. They have a lot of interesting trivia, but instead I'll answer with what parts of the School Briefs light novels should have been in the main story.

LN 1

In general, the light novels make Izuku's interest in early heroes/hero history more obvious. It makes his choice to teach the subject later feel more natural. pgs. 30-31.

Shouto's scene with Rei before Parents' Day is important. It demonstrated how difficult it was for Shouto and Rei to repair their relationship. Their conversation is stilted and she only remembers what he liked as a small child. She can't be there for Parents' Day even though Shouto wishes she could come. Shouto spends pages telling his mother about his bestie Midoriya to fill the silence. pgs. 36-47.

Per Kaminari and Mineta, it's considered completely normal for quirks to go haywire when they first manifest. It adds to the worldbuilding, especially concerning Eri, Shigaraki, and Toga. pg. 143.

Ochako was one of the few students who lived alone from the beginning of the school year until the dorms. She rarely saw her parents because they couldn't afford to come see her. It adds more to Ochako's characterization and explains why she was so concerned with her parents' financial situation. Also, it adds to her parallel with Toga. Toga was kicked out of her home after her outburst at her middle school graduation, so both Ochako and Toga were made to live on their own at the same age, though under very different circumstances. pgs. 151-152.

Aizawa gave them an assignment to write about their gratitude to their parents. Shouto wrote his Parents' Day letter to Fuyumi. pg. 189.

LN 2

Izuku thinks Monoma is an impressive person because of how he is able to fearlessly approach Bakugou. The light novels in general do a much better job on giving Izuku the opportunity to think about the Bakugou situation. pgs. 173-178.

LN 4

The light novel is clearer on the public's response the the Shie Hassaikai raid. Izuku did not get credit because the public saw it as a failure that the League got away.

UA's different tracks have separate applications. Shinsou expected there would be problems with his attempt to get into the hero course, so he completed two applications for the hero course and general studies. pgs. 56-57.

The entire beauty pageant chapter should have been in the manga. It wasn't even about a beauty pageant as much as everyone having to drop everything before it started because Hatsume decided to cause chaos. The chapter had good Nejire characterization and would have been the better place to include her backstory, considering it should have been closer to the other members of The Big Three. It had Kendo agonizing about her gender identity and expression. It explained that the beef between Nejire and the Eyelashes gal from the support course mostly wasn't about who people thought was prettier. Nejire refuses to commission Eyelashes for her support needs because Nejire thinks she is too flashy, so Eyelashes has a bit of a chip on her shoulder about it. pgs. 147-185.

The thoughts of Izuku's friends about Izuku, particularly Shouto and Iida, are clearer in the light novels. They worry about him running off without his phone and wish he trusted them more. At the school festival, when Izuku ran off without telling anyone to make a candy apple, Shouto suggested GPS tracking him. pgs. 215-219.

LN 5

After the school festival but before Endeavor Agency Arc, Rei and Shouto share a meal for the first time since her hospitalization. This is important due to the symbolic meaning of meal scenes to the Hellish Todoroki Family subplot. Also, there was no soba, so Shouto and his mother eat Izuku and Iida's favorite foods in the hospital cafeteria, katsudon and beef stew. pgs. 126-127.

Natsuo also prays to Touya's shrine at New Years prior to the Endeavor Agency Arc. Given that like Fuyumi, he sees Touya's death as the tragedy of the Hellish Todoroki Family, it should have been included. pg. 132.

In general, the fifth light novel gives Natsuo's character a lot more room to breathe. Before Shouto's birth, he tried to get Enji's affection but never succeeded. Rei was Natsuo's support system until Shouto was born, but she became distant with him after Shouto's birth. While Touya resented Shouto for taking Enji's attention, Natsuo resented Shouto for taking Rei's support. Natsuo was close by enough to hear the screams from the kettle incident. Natsuo's experience from the kettle incident caused him to let go of his resentment towards Shouto. He still didn't approach Shouto after abandoning his resentment because he was ashamed and because he had some fear of Shouto's eyes that rejected everyone and everything. pgs. 131-140.

It doesn’t seem like Dabi was as all-knowing as he portrayed himself in this scene. Given this dialogue about typical heroes and his honestly surprised expressions in this chapter, it doesn’t appear that Dabi thought Hawks intentionally killing Twice was in the cards.

This means that the information Tomie gave Dabi was incomplete. All that is certain is that she gave away his name. Dabi could have figured out Hawks’ relation to Thief Takami on his own from there. If he didn’t think Hawks choosing to kill Twice was a possibility, then he didn’t know anything specific about Hawks and the HPSC. He comes across as unaware of the Hero Commission’s assassinations or special hero programs overall.

so from what you have noticed, what are the parallels that kuroboro and yoichi share?

Both Shirakumo and Yoichi are the “dead wives” haunting the narrative Eurydice style. Neither of them are fully alive or dead throughout most of the manga, and they exist in an uncomfortable purgatory where their living connections try to futilely pull them back into the land of the living. Although, they’re “dead” in opposite ways in that Yoichi’s body died and his vestige with a record of his will remained while Shirakumo’s body continued to exist while most of his will was overridden by the noumu programming.

More on the Orpheus and Eurydice reference, Yoichi died while being pulled along by Kudou through some kind of sewer/tunnel underground, and he fell to pieces when Kudou turned around to look at him. Orpheus failed to save Eurydice from the Underworld because he turned around and looked at her, and so she could not return to the living. Aizawa believed he heard Shirakumo cheering him on during the fight that had killed him, but he was dead when he finally looked back. Beyond the repeated looking back to find death, Eurydice kept calling out to Orpheus to look at her during their ascent from the Underworld. Aizawa believed Shirakumo was calling out to him to get him through a tight spot, but reality set in when he turned around.

What Happened: The original magazine version of chapter 259 revealed that All for One’s doctor’s name was Shiga Maruta 志賀 丸太. Maruta was the derogatory word used to describe the victims of the WWII human experimentation of Japan’s Unit 731, but Maruta was also the name of the project itself as it literally means log and part of the cover was a lumber mill. The Chinese government got involved making statements and censoring BNHA. Horikoshi and Shounen Jump released official statements claiming there was no connection to Unit 731 or other real events and it was a name chosen because it can also be read like round.

Due to the fact that writing about this requires discussion of Japan's WWII war crimes, I’ll leave my analysis of this controversy under the cut.

But tl;dr: Horikoshi and Shounen Jump most likely lied when they said there was no connection to Unit 731. However, there is reason to believe that Horikoshi may have only known about the name of the project rather than Maruta as a word to degrade victims, especially if his knowledge was solely based on Japanese sources. Unlike many popular manga from the past few years, BNHA doesn’t read like Japanese WWII apologia; the character he originally gave a name associated with Unit 731 is one of the most despicable characters in this manga. Horikoshi’s real sins here were cowardice and a lack of research before alluding to highly charged, sensitive topics.

Yes I know I just did the AFO/Asano Meta, but I feel like I need to do this too

To clarify: this is not me bashing on Bakugou. I want to like Bakugou. If you like Bakugou, you aren't wrong. You just deserve better for him.

Let's begin.

For at least a week now, I have had a picture open in a tab on my browser. This picture is something that I was beginning to think was made up by an Ao3 author because I had only ever seen one mention of it. And now that I've found it for myself, I found myself holding on to it and trying to figure out how to feel about it.

But now that's led to me finally having a way to verbalize the issues I have with how Bakugou has been written throughout the series.