Julith

I like the dynamic. I like how the shippers can universally agree in fanfic that gojo is a cocky pining idiot hoe who deserves all of the angst caused by an oblivious waaaaay-too-good-for-him utahime. 

even in canon, I like the dynamic in how she’s older and he’s younger, but he’s stronger and she’s (supposedly) weaker, and how he’s tol to her smol. everyone, and I mean everyone is weaker than you gojo, and yet for someone who ‘can’t be the type of person to be faithful to one woman’, he’s managed to consistently and in the words of one poster on this site, faithfully tease her for being ‘weak’ for over a decade. it’s like an inside joke between them. he just…he has so much ‘notice me senpai’ energy wow. 

and despite her being supposedly ‘weak’, she is (I think?) the first person he told her about his suspicions about a traitor. and for her part, for someone who supposedly hates his guts, she trusts him implicitly even if it means working in secret from the elders. wow, what is with the unconditional trust? I have a great need to know if there is something more to this.

she hates him ‘most of the time’ (so how does she feel about him the rest of the time??). 

in that iconic scene when they were younger, he catches her attention first, ‘you cryin’ utahime?’, and correct me if I’m misremembering, but when mei mei asks him if he’ll ask her if she was crying and she wouldn’t mind if he consoled her, and gojo just flippantly says you’re strong so you won’t cry, I may be reading too much into it (most definitely), but couldn’t that mean that if utahime ever cried, gojo would ‘console’ her??

(Note: this is a long-winded rant(?) about a genuinely minuscule thing that really is just an excuse to nerd out, so if you’re into that, too, keep reading! Otherwise, you might not be that impressed. )

Yup, still on the My Hero Academia bender. Followers may have picked up my obsession over this purple-haired character named Shinsou in particular, but let me tell you that this character has less than some 20 pages in the manga and less than 20 minutes of screen time in the anime and is already more nuanced, complex, and emotionally compelling in that time than most of the characters in the protagonist’s immediate circle.

There are character analyses out there that do a great job of explaining all those points (this is one of the best I’ve seen and you should probably read that first and come back: http://manipulatorshinsou.tumblr.com/post/166609989279/the-appeal-of-shinsou-hitoshi-analyses), but I want to point out a tiny detail that I feel like almost no one has explicitly brought up that says something so enormous about his character arc that, though redundant at this point, is such a small but lovingly crafted detail that it really encapsulates one of my favorite things about this series - subtle emotional storytelling.

Now, there’s mild spoilers for all this, but you REALLY should go watch/read this series at some point anyway. However, I wanted to point something out that’s unique to the anime adaptation. Though some details often get left out in the adaptation process or are edited to fit film storyboarding rather than comics, film has a distinct advantage over manga in two areas - color and space.

Now, the entire point of Shinsou and Midoriya’s duel in the Tournament Arc was to draw multiple direct parallels to each character and highlight the major and really only significant difference between them - luck. In the end, both must fight an uphill battle above and beyond what would be expected of them to achieve their dream; but unlike Midoriya, Shinsou loses and his dreams are dashed. He’s no longer just disillusioned with the popularity games of hero society - he becomes discouraged and disheartened completely from having every last effort and every last plan easily pushed aside from someone more fortunate than him despite his efforts to appear confident and intimidating and to put his rivals off-balance.

Midoriya knows exactly the kind of struggle Shinsou has been through, and half the battle was to keep himself from trying to comfort Shinsou, not just because of All Might’s secret, but because they were rivals fighting for their own individual dreams, and attempting to help him would have resulted in Midoriya losing the match and the tournament. He also knew that after the fact there was nothing he could have said to Shinsou that would have given him comfort. Despite every amazing effort, he would once again be put down - the loser who just has to deal with the cruel reality of life.

Okay, nerd analysis time!

MHA is amazing at being emotionally compelling. They hit just the right line of performance, framing, and music to make you feel exactly what it wants you to. The example in particular I want to bring up is this scene (that legit put my husband -who is very much a “manly man”- in tears when he watched it).

At this point, Midoriya is told by the person he looks up to and admires more than literally anyone else in the world that regardless of his past inability to even come close to reaching his goals he still had the power to become a hero because of something beside and far beyond just having a powerful quirk.

And Midoriya is broken and in tears.

The cherry blossoms are a detail unique to the anime regarding this scene (Chapter 1) and really serve to add to the drama of it - particularly because of the saturation of color and the cultural significance of the Japanese sakura: the beauty and fleeting nature of youth, the coming of spring, and renewal. The Japanese consider the falling of the cherry blossoms to be a reminder that “it’s time to pay attention to what’s happening right now!”

Midoriya has finally experienced his own blossoming as a hero. Based on the scene in this episode and the direction the petals are falling insinuate that this feeling is all around him. His hero is standing over him and telling him that he can become just as great as he is. Everything at that moment has come together to recognize his dream.

Fast forward to Shinsou’s flashback at the tournament:

Absolutely the cherry blossoms are there, and it’s even clear in the manga that there are cherry blossoms outside the class window. However, what happens in this scene is that Shinsou recollects a point in his life that he considers to be the epitome of his struggle.

“Whoa, Shinsou! That’s a really cool quirk! Just don’t use it on us and make us your slaves, okay?”

“Heh, everybody says that…” 

And the scene goes grey. This should have been his chance to break out and come closer to his dream, but that wasn’t the case. No color, no focus- just a blurred, painful memory to encapsulate the seemingly inescapable feeling of defeat as he lays on the ground, out of bounds, so close but yet so far once again…

And then-

~~~~~~

“You’re amazing, Shinsou!”

“You’re the shining star of General Studies!”

“His quirk is so powerful and can be so useful in capturing villains!”

“What a waste that he’s stuck in General Studies!”

“I wish I had a quirk like that!”

No “what a scary quirk” or “I hope he doesn’t use it for his own purposes”! Just:

“Look at what an amazing hero he could be!”

Did you see it?

There isn’t a cherry tree for miles around this arena. Everything for so long has been against him from the start. The fire inside him has all but been snuffed out yet again. This should be like every other disappointment he’s had to endure, and yet somehow it isn’t - against every odd.

He may have lost. He may have fallen short, but his real goal has been realized. He’s been seen. It’s time to pay attention to what’s happening right now.  Shinsou has blossomed.

It’s not as flashy or spectacular as Midoriya’s, but it’s just as significant. In fact, it’s exactly the same, regardless of how big it shows on the outside - Midoriya and Shinsou are the same, and they’ve both made it.

Again, this detail of the single petal falling isn’t in the manga (Chapter 34), but it was even more emotionally impactful to me than Midoriya’s awakening because I immediately saw the parallel. I feel that many did, too; but the choice to have the one fall into frame hit me where it counted. It almost wasn’t there, but it was!

Bnha x KnY

What would the characters’ breaths be?

Was saving this (still using this) theory for a fanfiction, but it serves as a good canon theory fodder too – and I’ve already lagged behind in updates and it’s not fair to hold the theory off too long. I am of the belief that there is more to Shinsou Hitoshi’s quirk - or, that it has been misdiagnosed. So, let’s go through this logically!

What We Know

Shinsou has a tired demeanor, which may or may not be related to his quirk. Hooded eyelids, eye-bags, mild slouch, some sluggishness … this could simply be a character design, but considering he’s one of the few with eye-bags, it’s more likely to be quirk-related.

He needs a verbal response to his own provocations for his quirk to function.

He can do it for a relatively extended period of time. At least for ten minutes at a time - enough to last the Calvary battle, and to multiple individuals - as seen in both the race and the Calvary battle:

He can manipulate one’s actions but not one’s words, and their actions are sluggish and fairly simple. He also seems to have to keep his commands simple and short. It’s something relatively noticeable whenever he implements his quirk, this his commands are never extremely difficult to follow:

A punch or some external force can actively knock someone out of his quirks’ control. And, some people do remember what is going on while under the control, whereas others do not. For example, Ojirou did not remember until he was disturbed:

But it becomes clear that Izuku does remember what happened before an external force was used on him. Otherwise he would have no memory of the vision of previous OfA users. This could be the influence of OfA as a quirk itself, but it does not have to be.

What It Boils Down To

Shinsou has a tired demeanor, which may or may not be related to his quirk.

He needs a verbal response to his own provocations for his quirk to function.

He can manipulate one’s actions but not one’s words, and their actions are sluggish and fairly simple.

He can do it for a relatively extended period of time and for more than one command, but he has to keep his commands simple and short.

A punch or some external force can actively knock someone out of his quirks’ control.

Some people do remember what is going on while under the control.

What Makes Sense

That which is above does not add up to brainwashing. Brainwashing is, by definition:

“[to] make (someone) adopt radically different beliefs by using systematic and often forcible pressure”

Brainwashing would imply that the commands would have greater permanence or be effective beyond the immediate control. It comes with greater complexities, and longer-lasting effects.

Common steps in brainwashing, as noted by psychologist Robert Jay Lifton, include:

assault on identity

guilt

self-betrayal

breaking point

leniency

compulsion to confess

channeling of guilt

releasing of guilt

progress and harmony

final confession and rebirth

But Hitoshi has implemented none of these steps against any individuals: brainwashing is a more conscious ordeal than an unconscious one.

Logically, it means that his quirk is not brainwashing. Instead, it is closer to sleepwalking because of its unconscious and impermanent nature.

Or, at least, the ability to cause others to sleepwalk. So, let’s talk sleepwalking, which is by definition:

“walk around and sometimes perform other actions while asleep”

Hitoshi victims perform simple tasks while under his control, lacking verbal response and permanence in the thereafter of his control. The above shows Izuku walking because of a particular command, but the logic behind this is not not just because that the command was to turn around and walk out-of-bounds. It’s that everything Hitoshi does in utilizing his quirk matches the symptoms of sleepwalking, which include:

get out of bed and walk around

Hitoshi’s victims can walk around, though it is a slow crawl / mechanical set of movements.

have a glazed, glassy-eyed expression

Izuku is not the only character to have had the glossy-eyed look when under Shinsou Hitoshi’s control.

not respond or communicate with others

be difficult to wake up during an episode

be disoriented or confused for a short time after being awakened

not remembering the episode in the morning

The four points above explain the effects that all of his victims have had in some form or another. None of his victims have been able to communicate or easily wake themselves from an episode, and anyone who has sleepwalked usually needs a punch or hit of some kind to snap out of it. Sleepwalking (and its sibling, sleeptalking) is simple-task-based, and sleeptalking is rarely more than five words strung together. Hitoshi likely cannot give complex (or too many) commands to someone, and his victims likely cannot perform complex tasks. In essence, he is using sleeptalking to control someone’s sleepwalking, the “sleeptalking” being his quirks’ way of getting in control over someone’s actions.

Hitoshi loses all control and influence when the dreaming / sleepwalking ends; if it was brainwashing, Izuku would have continued to walk out-of-bounds even after regaining control.

Extremely few are able to remember what happens during sleepwalking, but active dreamers are more likely to remember sleepwalking. Considering Izuku’s imagination and innovative skills, I would not be surprised if he is an active-dreamer, in which he has some control over his dreams and sleepwalking decisions. This explains why he remembers it from the moment he went under, and remembers it even after coming out (the vision) while Ojirou could only remember what came after being bumped by another team (and not during). Also note the use of colors during the animated sequence, which tend to match the way our brains work during dreams and in storing memories: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jVSjXooP7D4

have problems functioning during the day because of disturbed sleep

have sleep terrors in addition to sleepwalking

These two points above are likely the blow-back Hitoshi faces for using his quirk: his tired demeanor, the eye-bags, and abrasive attitude are all good indications of poor sleeping habits. Sleepwalking also occurs during the REM sleep stages, which is the level of sleep needed to feel well-rested (and Hitoshi does not look well-rested): this may also explain his absurd time limits in controlling people, for at least ten minutes and on multiple individuals, because REM sleep cycles last for 90 - 100 minutes at a time. This could be the maximum he can do on any one individual at a time, or at least the maximum time he can divide up among those he does have under his control.

The Plot-Contributing Point of it Being Sleepwalking?

By and large psychological. If you believed your quirk was brainwashing for most of your life, you likely would not have tested it to any extent. Certainly not to an extent where you figure out the confines of your quirks’ abilities are closer to something else. It would provide immense relief for Shinsou Hitoshi to learn that his quirk isn’t as mind-altering as originally interpreted to be, and likely serve as an opening for him to become a better hero.

Further Evidence

Can I just add in the soundtrack from the anime for a passing moment? When I first heard this, my instinct wasn’t that it was brainwashing. The use of lullabies and scattered voices, creepy as they are, alludes to sleep-related themes.

Okay……. I must warn you that this theory is kind of…. scary. BUT HEAR ME OUT!!

The official BNHA season 2 OST came out and I just had to look for Shinsou’s theme……….  And I found it. And let me tell you…………….. 

It’s creepy as hell.

I mean. There’s a constant humming in the background, some laughing and screaming sounds that seems to come from children?? And clock noises too….

Here is the song ( You can listen to it and come back or read this at the same time if you want ) :

 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZuTwBgKpUVQ&feature=youtu.be

I got curious and translated the title of the OST ‘’ Yonaka Ni Kiku To Kowai ‘’

And that’s when all the piece came together.

Yonaka Ni Kiku To Kowai means something like:

‘’ I am scared when I hear it in the middle of the night. ‘’

The ‘’ I ‘’ here…. Is Shinsou.

Shinsou is scared when he hears ‘’it’’ in the middle of the night… 

‘’ It ‘’ is all the noises you hear in the song. The laughing children, the whispers, the bloody screams… That’s what he hears everytime he tries to sleep. The voices from his past.. And because of them, he just cannot sleep. That’s where his bags comes from.

The humming in the background must be his mother’s lullaby. Because he wouldn’t be able to sleep at night, she would sing him to sleep. Her voice would cover the voices in his head….