The TodoFam in BNHA Vol. 3 Chap. 026 - Chase Down the Leader (立て追われる身 Tate Owareru Mi)
Release date: January 12, 2015 (WSJ Issue 8, 2015)
Let’s look at what the manga shows us first:
Todoroki Shōto ‘(Kōzoku ni michi tsukucchimau ga… ) Ushiro ki ni shi teru baai ja nē… !’ 轟焦凍「（後続に道作っちまうが…）後ろ気にしてる場合じゃねえ…！」 Todoroki Shōto “(I’ll make a road for those behind me but…) this is no time to worry about who’s behind me…!”
Observation notes:
This chapter covers the final part of the race, the one in which Midoriya too joins the battle for the first place. While I do hate the fact that they had the kids run through a minefield I do like the idea that Midoriya managed to win the race using his brain, even though this is clearly a Quirk competition. Of course the situation is as unreal as it can be, not only because explosions who sent Midoriya flying that much would have seriously injured everyone who happened to be caught in the blast, but because Shōto (and Bakugō) had an overwhelming advantage on him and Midoriya is also carrying with himself an armor plate who should have slowed him down and had to search for mines to create such a big explosion so, really, Shōto and Bakugō were ahead enough that they should have won. Still Shōto managed to keep his cool and to worry for what was really a source of troubles, Midoriya in front of him and I love how, despite being the one who is less used to explosions differently from Bakugō, he still managed to come second ahead of him and even seems less tired than him. Even though he didn’t manage to get first place Shōto showed himself to be a very strong adversary.
We then have Midnight telling us how only the first 42 can move to the next round.
42 isn’t a random number, class A and class B, together make 40 students and they should be the best the school has to offer so it would make sense they would all qualify. Two slots remain open for two students who want to try to move to the Hero course by winning the sport festival.
Midnight then introduces the next event, a ‘kibasen’ (騎馬戦 “cavalry battle”) in which each participant will have a headband with point values assigned according to how he placed in the obstacle course race.
By the way you might remember that when talking about chap. 22 I mentioned that nowadays sport festivals try not to include ‘kibasen’ (騎馬戦 “cavalry battle”) due to safety reasons or that, if they do include it they also use helmets, crash mats and strict spotters so guess what will be the second event? Yeah, a cavalry battle and in the explanation Midnight will make no mention of safety measures... and we will see in the next chapters none will be in place... which means the last will have 5 points and the first will have 10.000.000 points.
Cultural notes:
Kyōsō (競争 “competition”): in Japanese culture, it is a fundamental element in order to aims for ‘jiko no kōjō’ (自己の向上 “self-improvement”). Competitiveness is deeply ingrained in Japanese culture, partly due to a societal emphasis on achievement through hard work and a belief in the importance of status and credentials. Parents instill into their kids the idea they must keep working hard. The way they know their hard work is succeeding is by how many people they’re beating. Competition between students to enter high schools and universities is so high that kids sometimes spend a majority of their time studying in order to get on the right track for the right school. Sometimes students break down, burn out and drop out. Some face bullying for not getting into good schools. Some even withdraw from society, too taxed mentally to face the hurdles of life and education. The exams to get in the desired school are so hard that they have a word for it, ‘shiken jigoku’ (試験地獄 “exam hell”).
Sessatakuma (切磋琢磨 “to strive for mutual improvement” Lit. “To cut and polish hard stones and carve and polish jewels”): it signifies improving oneself by learning from others, a concept commonly expressed as friendly rivalry, mutual encouragement, or diligent application through study/work together. In manga/anime this idea can be brought to the extreme. While the first even was focused on individual competition, this second event mixes individual and group competition, better expressing the idea of striving for mutual improvement both through rivalry but also through mutual aid.
Retcon notes:
Similarly to what Horikoshi did with Chapter 18/19 the final scene of the chapter with Midnight explaining how the cavalry battle will take place is partially retconned/repeated/expanded in the next chapter. One might miss it because they are both two dialogue scenes if it wasn’t for Midnight repeating the rules, even if in an expanded way.
Sexism notes:
I have been unsure if to add this because Shōto likely didn't witness how Mineta managed to get there groping Yoyorozu, but I decided to include it because... everyone else in the arena likely did and they didn’t boo Mineta. The crowd is willing to boo Bakugō because he fights seriously again ‘a poor girl’ (Uraraka), but doesn't care Mineta takes advantage of Yaoyorozu to both complete the race and grope her, especially grope her and this tells us something about the society Shōto lives in, one that finds okay what Mineta did but not that one could fight seriously against a girl.
Teaching notes:
‘Taijin jirai’ (対人地雷) really means “anti-personnel mines” as the English translation says. Modern anti-personnel mines include small, low-yield blast mines, which blow off the ankles or shins of anyone who steps on them; and relatively large, fragmentation-type jumping mines, which, when activated by a trip wire or foot pressure, first launch a small amount of explosive into the air about 1-2 meters high, then explode, scattering steel balls and other explosives within, killing enemies within a radius of several dozen meters. This kind of mines are generally buried underground, but they can also be secured to a hidden location and, when activated by a trip wire or other means, scatter steel balls and other explosives horizontally in a fan pattern, killing or injuring. The 1997 Treaty banning anti-personnel landmines, also called the Ottawa Treaty, which was signed also by Japan, bans the use, possession, production, and transfer of mines, and provides for the destruction of stocks and assistance to victims. The Convention commits States Parties to destroy all anti-personnel landmines in their possession or control, “as soon as possible” but, in any case, no later than four years after entry-into-force of the Treaty for the concerned State. The only exception to this rule concerns mines that can be kept for training purposes relating to detection, clearance and destruction. These, in any case, must be kept in very low numbers.
Now, okay, the story insists that those mines aren’t that dangerous (even if they sent students and Midoriya flying but whatever, realism was clearly not what Horikoshi had in mind) but I still can’t see a good reason why a teacher would think that getting copies of banned mines with low explosive power to have students run through a minefield is a good training exercise beyond the Doylist fact that Midoriya needed something that would send him flying.
Also Midoriya deliberately caused another explosion very close to Shōto and Bakugō that sends him flying and that could have seriously injured them since it was powerful enough to send Midoriya flying but again, in this sport festival everything goes and Midoriya, Midoriya who threw away his chance to make points to save Uraraka, who will throw away his chance to win the sport festival to help Shōto, here doesn’t worry at all he could injury him and Bakugō in a way that Recovery Girl might not be able to fix. And really, great action scene but as far as teaching goes this is no good.
At least Aizawa is honest. When Present Mic remarks his class is amazing and asks what he is teaching them he said he did nothing and that his students got fired up on their own.
And then we have All Might’s speech.
ALL MIGHT ‘(Kimi no shindearou “‘hito o tasukeru’ HERO”… kono taiiku matsuri wa, rokotsu ni soko to sōhansuru ‘hoka o ke otoshite’ kisou ba… Ninki shōbai no men ga ōkī gendai HERO. ‘Tanin yori ue ni’ to iu donyokusa wa. Kimi dakara koso erandaga… kimi dakara koso no jakutenda to omotte ita. Chō kiyū datta na!! Gomen na! Nakimushi wa hayaku naoshita hau ga īkedo na!)’ 轟焦凍「(君の芯であろう『〝人を救ける〟ヒーロー』…この体育祭は、露骨にそこと相反する〝他を蹴落として〟競う場…人気商売の面が大きい現代ヒーロー。〝他人より上に〟という貪欲さは。君だからこそ選んだが…君だからこその弱点だと思っていた。超杞憂だったな！！ごめんな！泣き虫は早く治した方がいいけどな！)」 All Might “(Your core is that of a "hero ‘who can save people’"... but this sports festival is a blatant contradiction to that, a competition to “kick others down”... Modern heroes are largely a popularity business. They are greedy to be “above others”... I chose you because of how you are... but I thought it was also a weakness unique to you. I was worrying for no reason!! I'm sorry! You should get over your crybaby ways soon!)”
So basically this sport festival is a competiton that tests the students on their ability to kick others down in order to get to the top, with Heroes/scouts coming to choose who is the better one at kicking the others, instead than the one who is better at saving others. And All Might is happy because Midoriya too can kick down people, because if he weren’t capable to do this it would be a weakness. And the majority of people in Japan is interested in seeing how good are teenagers aiming to become Heroes at kicking everyone else down.
When you think at one Todoroki Enji and at how he aimed to be Number 1 and at what he was capable to do in attempt to get at the Number 1 spot remember how he went to a school who, less than a month after he started attending him, told him the most important thing, the thing for which he would be chosen by other Pro, was his willingness to kick other people down and become the Number 1 and how the whole society supported this kind of teaching. What was important wasn’t how many people he could save, not how well he could cooperate with others, but how good he was at kicking people down.
This is what the sport festival watched nationwide more than the olympiads teach now. Because sportmanship and team cooperations are an outdated concept.
Yeah, All Might says he also chose Midoriya because he has this drive to save but guess what? No one else will choose Midoriya impressed by how he was willing to throw his match to help Shōto. Yeah, his problems with his Quirk probably didn’t help but NO ONE felt like chosing him and helping him to overcome them (except All Might’s old mentor though I doubt Gran Torino would have done it if Midoriya hadn’t been All Might’s protégé).
I will save most of the discussion about the cavalry battle for the next chapter as the scene gets repeated and expanded there.
The only thing I want to discuss is this line that close the chapter.
MIDNIGHT ‘Jōi no yatsu hodo neraware chau──────────... gekokujō SURVAIVAL yo!!!’ ミッドナイト「上位の奴ほど狙われちゃう──────────...下克上サバイバルよ！！！」 Midnight “The higher up you are, the more likely you are to be targeted... It's a survival game of overthrowing the ruling class!!!”
So, in case you were thinking this exercise was to promote group spirit since well, the cavalry battle is played in teams, well, this is true only tangetially. The goal of the cavalry battle is still to promote an extreme competitivity in the students and see what they are willing to do to win since this sport festival is also an elimination game.
Now, regarding the anime version...
Episode 16 - In Their Own Quirky Ways (みんな個性的でいいね Minna Kosei-teki de Īne)
Added parts notes: The scenes again are expanded a bit, and we are even shown Shōto and Bakugō running after Midoriya. A weird addition is that we see that Shōto is using his ice when they are in the tunnel, supposedly to propel himself forward? I am not sure because he hadn’t done it before and, actually, his ice would be more useful to freeze Midoriya’s legs than anything else but whatever. The anime also shows a screen showing in replay the moments in which Midoriya surpasses Shōto and Bakugō. The images are exactly the same we saw on the anime only now they’re on screen. We however gets another image of Shōto before the episode ends.
Changed parts notes: Not really a relevant change but Shōto’s position in the manga when he created the ice path was better and felt more natural. In the manga Shōto sees Midoriya is about to cause another explosion while in the anime he just runs ahead.
