I quit My Hero Academia... now I'm BACK!

my hero Academia is one of my favorite animes ever is what I would have said if this was 2019 okay let me explain you see many moons ago I was actually a massive fan of my hero Academia I probably watched seasons 1 to3 a million times each and then season 4 came out and I just sort of stopped why well that's what I want to try to figure out I personally doubt that it was something as simple as I grew out of it mostly because I was 28 when I stopped watching not 12 and given that I am now 33 and thought a mustache was a good idea I can't exactly trust my own judgment either this therefore makes my hero Academia suddenly one of the strangest review series I have ever attempted because I've seen and adored the first 30% of the series that portions coverage will be more akin to my Ultimate Dragon Ball Z reviews where I passionately and comprehensively break down exactly why I think this story is so brilliant while also trying to iron out specifically how it functions whereas the latter 70% of the story will be entirely new to me entirely blind in the first half I will feel like an expert and as soon as I cross that threshold into the unknown suddenly this series will transform into a singular mission to discover why I stopped and in the process hopefully ReDiscover an old favorite I can read to completion oh yeah also I should mention this will be my very first time reading the manga also so I'm psyched to see what hidden surprises this has to offer in terms of bonus content not seen in the anime as well as optimized pacing but despite everything I've just said this series is going to require a superhuman effort to complete but hopefully one that will be worth it in the end I'm toyup Mark and this is my attempt at going plus Ultra for Koh Hoshi superpowered shown and Smash Hit This is my review for my hero Academia season [Music] while I can't recall why I stopped keeping up with my hero Academia I can however still viscerally feel why I fell in love with this story in the first place simply put because it felt real true to life now that might seem like a bold statement to assert at the Forefront of an academic analysis of a superhero themed traditional Shonen but believe it or not that statement Rings true no matter if the subject is Citizen Cane my neighbor todoro or indeed my hero Academia what bonds us everyone to these great stories often times isn't the Fantastical but rather a hidden element within that we recognize in ourselves sometimes this ingredient can feel empowering sometimes it can make us feel deeply uncomfortable but it's that ingredient that added relatability that transforms a collection of meaningless words into a story that moves Millions around the world the very first scene of any story is a uniquely important chance for any author to make a strong impression and establish the tone of their story they might open with an action set piece or more broadly try to shock the audience looking at you berserk whatever approach you choose to take the first scene should un some level be emblematic or representative of what your story will ultimately focus on or look like into the future with Attack on Titan the story kicks off not in the present but actually a scene slightly into the future of where the story starts proper with Aaron and the rest of humanity looking on in shock at the Colossal Titan learing over the incubating and protective walls of shikan sha the narration goes on to describe how Aaron feels like trapped livestock which succinctly describes the driving motivation of the entire story as well as introduces the forces that keep that goal Out Of Reach for Aaron it's a fascinating hook and tells us exactly what the story is about my hero Academia takes an entirely different approach but achieves the same result [Music] in the manga the opening scene is One Singular page and in the anime it occupies less than a minute of screen time but with it Hoshi emphasizes that while superpowers are going to be a component of this story they won't be the focus on this opening page midorya helplessly tries to defend a kid from figuratively and literally more powerful people than himself and alongside that visual horac Hoshi houses the text people are not born equal creating a somewhat cynical atmosphere but then we turn the page using that somber commentary Hoshi primes us and transitions perfectly to midor in the present day as he looks on wide-eyed at this amazing superhuman battle taking place with the text now reading but that was my first and last setback this page turn is my hero Academia to push through negativity and to never stop believing in your dreams this is the element of my hero Academia that feels personal and true to real life very little about the setting itself is realistic but what it has to say about the power of the human spirit is more powerful than any superpower it [Applause] depicts now that we've gotten the taste of who midorya is we then get introduced to one of the most important people in his life and this story katski bakugo the same Bully from the very first page now having grown up with a supposedly spectacular Quirk seemingly a shoe in for the most prestigious hero School in the country UA High School unlike the quirkless midorya in many ways bakugo represents everything our protagonist wishes he could be he's confident powerful and a natural when it comes to combat and fittingly his introduction Here Comes packaged alongside a reminder to midorya why why his dream is little more than a fantasy much like rival characters have shown in past and present katsky bakugo is an active inversion of the story's main character midorya everything from their design with bakugo's bright spiky hair contrasting harshly with midoriya's dark soft wavy locks to their respective Expressions to the foundations of how they view the world to bakugo being at the top of the class is of Paramount importance because he values strength Above All Else he wants to be the best and he doesn't want midorya to even think he can compete in any way because he is [Music] weak all might is this story's symbol for justice and piece he is the hero of this world and it's reflected in her introduction to him everything from what he says to how he's drawn is evocative of those old western style comic book superheroes full of vigor and Poise always powerful enough and ready to show up just in the nick of time to save the day horac Koshi loves to draw character pages between chapters here containing basic info like their birthdays Heights and some fun fact toids about them that aren't disclosed in the story it's just something to add flavor but what he does with all might here it's such a wonderfully fun and creative way of showing us that this character is larger than life and indeed the page he's drawn upon naturally then midorya is dumbfounded at the chance that's literally fallen out of the sky to meet his lifelong hero but what's fascinating about this world symbol for for heroism hoshi's designed is that he's just that a symbol faced with his childhood hero the one who inspired him to shoot for his dreams in the first place having been told he's too weak by his schoolmates having been given no encouragement by his doctors and after his own mother having given up hope for her own son midorya One Last Time gathers the courage to solemnly ask his Idol if he can truly become a hero even if if he doesn't have a quirk and to that all might says no however much like this story's first inspirational page turn following this Soul crushing Revelation from all might comes one of the most uplifting and inspirational scenes from this entire first season an aspect of what makes this story's opening function is the contrast it creates between midorya and pretty much everyone else while almost every single character in the story is more naturally gifted than midorya they particularly all might in this instance also lack something midorya has abundance of an endless passion and a clear sense of what is right and wrong and it's here with both Midori and all might having stumbled across this monster attacking bakugo we finally get to see midoriya's true power his heart midorya sucks physically but when it comes to passion and having a heart in the right place no other character in the story even remotely comes close all might is this universe's Superman a symbol that tells the world that no matter how horrible a situation is there is always hope and yet when faced with the attack on bakugo he just wastes Time Cursing his own lack of ability in the moment as he stands idly by this young kid in danger losing the battle for his life but midorya when faced with the circumstance he is no more equipped than any other onlooker to contend with he doesn't see this bully who has tormented him his entire life he doesn't even think to wait for another hero to step in instead his legs simply moved without thinking often times our real lives become complicated distracting us with the noise of our disappointments disappointments that make us always look inward at our shortcomings and failures but midorya is hoshi's wish for all of us to hold on to those ideals and never lose sight of what's really actually important and more than that that quality doesn't go unnoticed all might's ethical priorities and passion for the job are called into question only to then be reignited by midorya in perhaps the single best establishment of a main character I've ever seen these are the actions that make a hero a hero distilled once again so beautifully by Hoshi into a single succinct exchange time and again midorya has been reminded that he isn't good enough to be a hero that at Young ages Heroes that are meant to be heroes demonstrate signs of greatness and that he seemed to lack that but now walking home midorya dejected is confronted once again by all might who begins to say that very same thing he's always heard only this [Music] time it's at this moment I want to draw your attention to something I have purposely avoided pointing out something that has already been alluded to both in the manga and in the anime and that is that this entire story has already happened that what we are seeing through these text boxes are not current events but a retelling of a certain story from the point of view of the world's strongest hero and that hero is isuku midorya this is unquestionably a near perfect opening to The Story one I would dare venture to say couldn't be made better entirely emblematic of what is to come beautifully Illustrated powerfully expressed and profoundly emotional and to think we're only just getting started so we've explored what makes someone anyone a hero powers are not which is such a wonderfully inspirational note to conclude this introduction with comforting an evocative of the many superhero films produced in the west today like Captain America the First Avenger however I think the direction Hoshi took this series in comparison to Marvel's approach with Captain America strikes at the core of what sets this series series apart while I adore Steve Rogers story midorya doesn't simply get into a machine and come out the other end jacked to the nins instead he has to train intensely for 10 whole months yielding admittedly Stark but still modest results compared to Captain America and to where he needs to be in order to wield this power he's been given which brings me nicely to my next point I think this decision to have midori's Quirk be one that he inherits rather than be something he's born with or can call his own was an inspired Choice naturally it comes packaged with the standard learning to use your power stuff that all superhero movies do but what I found interesting was how this learning curve was approached in the story and how it almost ends up defining midoriya's character when Captain America emerged from that machine at first he's a little awkward but within minutes comes to grips and starts to feel one with his new power set when it comes to midorya however and his first use of his powers this isn't the case the entrance exams of my hero Academia are a Paramount importance for midorya to achieve his dreams but there's more writing on his success here too he's been given an incredible mantle to carry and with it comes certain expectations he doesn't just want to become a Great Hero he needs to carry on all might's Legacy and to do that he needs to pass this test at the very least one he clearly is not prepared for for Captain America's first first chase scene allowed him to demonstrate his physical prowess with confidence and Grace eventually midoriya's flaws are exposed like a nerve in this exam not the least of which being his lack of self-belief and confidence traits which led to others disregarding his presence early on like bakugo and eay and in him acre zero villain points by the time the clock runs out however that wasn't the only way one could gain points in this exam where Captain America successfully chased down an enemy midorya saved a young girl's life uraraka from an enemy everyone was told was worth zero points with dwindling seconds on the clock midorya sacrificed his remaining time and health to make sure this young girl was safe what I love about this is that yes it wraps up midoriya's entrance exam with a thematically appropriate twist that suits his character but it also exposes a growing sense of impostor Sy syndrome he needs to contend with constantly referring to All For One not as his power but instead a borrowed power we know this not to be true of course that midorya has in fact proven himself and earned the respect of all might and even during his entrance exam demonstrated that his selection was justified but there Still Remains one glaring issue his explosive Powers impact on his comparatively weak body [Music] oh hello attention so now that we're in school finally I want to take this as an opportunity to divide the remaining portion of this season and video into three distinct sections or rather events these three events are The Quirk assessment test battle training and finally the rescue training in addition to offering exposure to the secondary characters villains and the growing weight of responsibility midorya needs to shoulder all three of these upcoming scenarios serve unique purposes within the story first off The Quirk assessment tests there is a secret sauce to this story that makes my hero Academia so effective and successful in my view and that secret sauce I think is hoshi's application of internal conflict in opposition with external conflict now internal and external character conflicts might sound like a bunch of literary mumbo jumbo and it kind of is but in reality it's a very simple common and helpful concept to recognize extra conflict is the easiest of the two to understand this is the struggle that occurs between a given character and an external Force for the likes of Goku on Namek and Dragon Ball the external conflicts he needed to contend with were Frieza and the planet itself blowing up rip Goku JK not really internal conflict on the other hand is still simple but a little more abstract this is the struggle between a character's emotions values desires and traits that might stop them from achieving their goal to borrow an example once again from Dragon Ball when introduced Vegeta is a character that believes strength is by far the most important aspect in his life that is until something changes within him during the cell and Android arcs he no longer only cares about power whether he wishes to admit it or not he starts to care about his family this internal conflict within Vegeta manifests as harsh scrutiny directed towards his son however as the story progresses and the external conflict intensifies this internal conflict Vegeta's been trying to ignore suddenly and without warning explodes due to that intense external conflict in the case of Vegeta this results in a stunningly powerful and tragic marriage of these two areas within the story compounding and complimenting each other it's why the moment is awesome however during this assessment test Hoshi uses this approach to achieve a very different atmosphere again much like the prior example the external conflict is clear each stud has been tasked to use their Quirk to help them complete a list of physical challenges their performance in these challenges will earn them points and at the end whoever places last or doesn't show promise isawa says we be expelled thus ending midoriya's dream before it even began okay so why does this create external conflict well as we've seen midorya sucks he's a glass Cannon if he uses his Quirk even once his bones will stop doing what bones are supposed to do I've broken every single bone in my hand if he uses his powers he can't perform any other Challenge and if he doesn't use his powers he'll fail anyway all the while the others well they seem to be doing just fine 75.2 M that is just shy of seven American football fields and almost 3/4 of a colom okay so this cautious approach isn't going to work anymore his current scores are abysmal and much like the kaio-ken from Dragon Ball Z midorya has no other choice than to dig deep and to bet it all on one last full power hail marry thr the internal conflict of midorya is simple he desperately wishes to be the world's greatest hero and to make all might proud but after years of being made an example of being told he was less than and that he can't achieve anything he thinks of himself as a failure someone Unworthy of this quote borrowed power as he calls it and this is the first moment where the external world so perfectly targets midoriya's sense of inadequacy as isawa is the first character to reveal to midorya that he knows where that power really came from and through doing so raises a vital point if midorya wants to actually become a hero he can't rely on one strong punch that renders him a liability to those around him afterwards there won't always be nurses in the big bad World After All In other words words isawa in this moment draws her attention to midoriya's internal conflict I love this quote because it works on two levels as it stands it's undeniable that he's right he knows where this power came from he knows what all might season him to some extent but insists on this terminal flaw in his approach but there's more while isawa in one breath is hard on midorya simultaneously he's easier on him than midorya is on himself you'll notice that in that quote isawa specifically refers to this power one for all not as all might's or anyone else's but midori's own power specifically this is the payoff to this conflict within midoriya's mind at least for now he doesn't need to rely on natural ability like all the others he admires do instead he can find solutions to these possible problems using what makes him special his ability to think outside of the box his ability to strategize and leave everything he's got out there 75.3 m is the result 10 cm farther than bakugo throw he may have placed last overall still but as isawa said he's not entirely without promise this is an activity lesson Arc whatever you want to call it this section contends with and explores the complicated dynamic between midorya and bakugo like any great rivalry or foil from the annals of anime and manga past katsky bakugo is a deliberate and carefully measured distillation of everything midorya isn't where bakugo is confident and a natural athlete midorya is defined by his doubt and his lack of natural physical ability where bakugo was born with this impressive and flashy Quirk to show off to the world midorya was born with nothing and had to earn a power that he has to in some sense hide heck even the entrance exam points are inversions of each other that reflect bakugo and midoriya's differences bakugo who scored 77 points total all coming from villain defeats with zero saves while midorya as we know scored zero villain points but collected 60 save points the point the story has been driving home since it began has been that these two are Polar Opposites and now they have to fight but here's the thing what I just said about Hoshi depicting these two conflicting characters as total opposites doesn't paint the entire picture in fact you could say that the entire setup for this fight between bakugo and midorya has been a carefully curated misdirection from the very beginning Hoshi has been using madori to shine a light on this world's hero Society painting a wonderfully altruistic and optimistic sense in all of us that we have what it takes to be a hero however quite ingeniously I think while all of that was being shown to us because we've been following midoriya's character we've only really seen the world through his point of view and because of that what midorya sees as good we see as great and when something bad happens to him we really feel that also and while that approach served as a terrific vehicle to introduce this world to us and expand the scope of what a hero means in this story it simultaneously narrowed our point of view about who should be a hero in the society in other words Hoshi intentionally created a bias within us a bias that paints some as always correct and others as entirely wrong and that simply isn't true [Music] [Applause] for the first time in this story a different character takes Center Stage katsky bakugo a young man who has tormented midorya seemingly his entire life only we come to realize that that isn't entirely true or at least it hasn't always been the case I am a firm believer that we are a product of our environment that we carry with us the lessons mistakes and traumas of our past until one day we find out which which of these we carry more of like midorya bakugo was born a regular baby and as they grew up alongside each other bakugo developed a very special ability while midorya didn't and that alone is not what makes bakugo the way he is gifts alone are not what makes people who they are people are from as young as a toddler bakugo had been shown friendship and praise for being gifted the best his teachers his friends and everyone in his life have treated him as as if he was special because of these gifts and in a way that's not fair not for midorya any of the other children in the class and least of all bakuga when we're kids it's up to the adults in our lives to instill within us the principles and value systems that ultimately shape who we become value systems that determine how one feels happiness and if we're taught superiority is to be praised then naturally that must mean inferiority is to be looked down upon never in his entire life had anyone looked at him like that sympathetically concerned it's pathetic people that are amazing those who are the best gifted individuals who are supposed to be great Heroes don't need help least of all from someone weaker than anyone else they know bakugo's anger towards midorya isn't random he's not some two-dimensional bully archetype rooted in vapid and shallow reasonings like a vague annoyance over what he's wearing or how he looks or something it's an intense almost panicked reaction spurred on by what everyone has told them was important to his entire life and so if midor could do that with one finger that surely must mean that all through his life midorya has been going easy on and showing sympathy towards bakugo underestimating him thinking of him as lesser like he did to midorya the conclusion to this fight is spectacular but perhaps not for the reasons you might think in the anime the music the animation the Whirlwind of emotions it offers paints a triumphant moment but when I read the Manga I realized something without all of that flashy animation without that inspirational and triumphant backing track this scene is about complete and total failure not just for bakugo in that his team literally failed in what they set out to do but also as a personal failure for midorya as well as a professional failure for all might bakugo's internal conflict concerned his own ego with his desire to confirm and cement his status at Top This pecking order when it came to midorya whereas midoriya's struggle similarly was that of a kid suffering from guilt but one who too needed to prove himself against someone he admired like bakugo so due to taking his eye off the ball bakugo cost his team The Challenge and in the process failed to defeat midorya also all the while midorya while his team technically won he too failed to rise to that occasion and defeat bakugo and once again in the process destroyed his own body in both of their eyes this is nothing more than an abject and total failure and what's more is this battle shouldn't have even been allowed to escalate in the first place all might as the only teacher and tenur Pro Hero present despite what he was seeing allowed the fight to go on for far too long and not because he thought it was best for everyone involved but because he believed it was what midoria wanted following this defeat disillusioned and on the verge of a mental breakdown all might recognizes but doesn't give bakugo the guidance he clearly needs in that moment despite outwardly explaining to midorya that he can't show favoritism it's clear that at least in this situation he did whether it be due to subconscious favoritism midoriya's disproportionate access to all might or whether it simply be an unfortunate byproduct of his dwindling ability to sustain that superhuman form regardless of all that what bakugo will take away from this and it's honestly hard to blame him for it is simply a reinforcement of his own old toxic worldview that the very best get the chage and attention of all might and those who fail like him get ignored and forgotten by the time Al might does eventually get around to offering bakugo the guidance he knew he needed it was too little too late when midorya Reveals His power to bakugo and the shortcomings it has what I believe bakugo is actually hearing In This Moment is something akin to what midorya said in his own mind during their fight that if he were to have gone all out against bakugo he could have killed him in other words once again all bakugo hears is that he's not the best that he's less than after walsing through middle school as the unquestioned best and after setting the high score in the entrance exams since entering UA he has received nothing but constant reminder after reminder that he is not only not the best but he might not even come close however what it's difficult to conceive of a more humiliating and traumatic introduction to UA for bakugo are shortcomings are not what ultimately Define us it's how we react to and recover from the pressures and failures we experience that determines who we are while bakugo is incredibly flawed and misguided this section does a wonderful job in demonstrating that these flaws largely come from places he couldn't carry the entire blame for and more than that proves that while there is a great deal of difference between both midorya and himself the most important elements that make these characters who they are couldn't share more in common bakugo and midoriya's suffering and struggles aren't tied to who or what they are as people but rather are the catastrophic and irresponsible results yielded by the words that both boys have been fed across their entire lives midorya in that he was told he couldn't ever succeed and bakugo in being told he couldn't possibly fail like midorya bakugo has an untethered and Limitless determination to become a Great Hero and so while they are polar extremes certainly they are both very much two sides of the exact same coin oh I love this Arc I truly love love love this Ark it's music in manga form poetry in anime form all wrapped up in a simple failed class trip to Universal Studios Japan but what's interesting is is that at the beginning of this field trip outside of a teacher or two and a few students we didn't really have any idea what the other members of the class were like and yet by the end I was team kirishima and suu all the way in in other words this is very much class 1a's coming out party and more than that it too facilitates the chilling unveiling of perhaps this story's most important figure outside of midorya and so when this Arc began Hoshi had two problems to solve for problem one how do you make people care about such a long list of characters they don't even know and two how does one give all of these characters no one knows about a compelling role in this story all at once so how did he solve these problem problems well funnily enough had I rewatched the anime for this review the answers to these questions may very well have eluded me entirely thankfully I'm a nerdy manga boy and Hoshi is a giving God you see the character sketches that divide these chapters often come packaged with some useful insights into their original intended purposes frequently Hoshi will reveal significant changes he's made to their original design and purpose like bakugo who was originally planned as an upbeat but obnoxious genius he even Drew what his face would have looked like oh God kill it with fire thank Christ we didn't go that direction but as I contined to read these sheets I learned that there was far more going on Behind These designs than simple visual flare certain characters were designed to push the narrative for example with oo she looks as cheery and bubbly as she does because as Hoshi says he needed her to be cheery and outgoing enough to drive conversations with the comparatively quiet and subdued midorya and this is where characters like kirishima suyu and Kamari come into play as their roles with in this Arc reflect and as is pointed out in a number of their character sheets they were created to bridge the gaps between different groups of classmates in class 1a that otherwise would never have interacted suyu is a free thinker who speaks her mind all the while Kamari and kirishima have extroverted and Loud personalities that complement and draw in otherwise isolated characters in their group and while we do get a taste of what these more outgoing characters have to offer at the very beginning there's still more gas that can be thrown onto this proverbial [Music] fire look I'm not going to lie when I first saw this character emerge from this portal I was in shock without a single word this character changed the entire atmosphere of this once light-hearted series perspective is important to reaffirm in moments like this however when you're looking back on something that happened over 10 years ago prior to this moment everything that had happened in this series was relatively under control or under the supervision of the established Heroes events like the entrance exam The Quirk assessment test and even the battle train that got a little out of hand all of these events while they each possess compelling Stakes never veered into chaos or total loss of control like this what I love about this moment isn't what shigaraki does to sell the seriousness of the situation but rather what happens in response to his sudden arrival emerging from the warp gate a lesser writer would rely on shigaraki's own words to convey just how dangerous the situation has become like a classic villain announcing their arrival in some sort of boastful fashion but the trouble with that approach is we don't know who this character is or why we should care but if someone we do know someone who's normally extremely Cam and professional like isawa suddenly begins to back orders and jump into action well that would shake the on thought to be stable foundations of this established series there are moments when you're a kid when you realize that you're your parents cannot protect you from everything when you need to either sink or swim or rather in the case of shigaraki [Music] die the reason he's there is that he's after all might he wants to kill the symbol of peace but as a piece of mindless improvisation decides on the slaughter of this young group never have the stakes even approached this height but this is also the moment we realize what everyone is truly training for not to be better than each other not to defeat giant robots or past training sequences this is the end goal and they are far far stretch from reaching that goal and ironically enough this sudden dangerous Ambush only further drives home the lesson these kids need to take away about this Rescue Mission exactly that is not about defeating or incapacitating your opponent but rather prioritizing the safe And Timely Rescue of those who need it this is then reinforced by aizawa's reaction to defend and buy time this is reflected in 13's guardianship of the children and as kuriri the swirling Dark Cloud of warp gate approaches announcing to their faces that they are there to kill the symbol of peace midorya is entirely caught off guard did we just become best friends yep God I love these two but especially bakugo while midorya is caught lacking totally distracted by what he just said about all might these two were incredibly Vigilant but it didn't matter they missed the Mark if only barely and what happens next as a result is why I now am familiar with and love all the members not him of class 1 a I'm not going to go through each of these individual conflicts in tremendous detail but I do want to examine why these pairings work aside from one each of these groups possesses one of the three indiv idual Hoshi designed to bring people together suyu rescues midorya and creates space for him to think and actually problem solve for their current situation to be quite honest this might be some of midoriya's best examples of deductive reasoning with the help of suyu he accurately identifies what the villains know about them which is nothing what their plan of attack is and how best to escape while making use of everyone's power sets importantly not reducing himself to a liability afterwards which was important and sticking closely to the goal of the lesson coincidence dentally it's an incredibly tight scene and one of the most underrated in this section in my view then we get kaminari's group and wouldn't you know it he's the fuel for the fire here too on a narrative level this is the group that presents Hoshi with the most difficult task as we don't really know any of these characters while we have on some level being introduced to the likes of yaoya rosu it's only ever really been in the service of exposing the failings of other characters which while impressive isn't exactly something for us to sink our teeth into furthermore Kamari and Jiro have been given virtually zero dialogue up until now which is what makes it such an impressive scene to me because it held my attention surprisingly well within the span of only a single page turn Hoshi establishes the situation kari's personality type as well as his powers and their shortcomings which then creates the opportunity for the comparatively levelheaded Joo of Jiro and Yao yaru to take action and problem solve [Music] kaminari is the perfect foil for this Trio one who powerful but requires the confident and considerate guidance to actually make use of it it's such a phenomenally well-written sequence that allows all of these otherwise unknown characters to shine bright and as the situation worsens for the professional Heroes as they try to juggle everything by themselves we check in with our last group that boasts my favorite dynamic of them all in the context of this story kishima is the single most important character to bakugo and I dare to say even more important mechanically speaking than midorya since arriving at UA if you think about it compared to how he used to express himself in Middle School bakugo outside of a few aggressive seemingly mindless assertions hardly speaks at all anymore even on the bus ride to usj the LLY did say resulted in him being teased and bullied by the class he's not in a good spot but in this scene kirishima demonstrates His True Value as a character expressing his concern for others the responsibility that he feels they have to protect those that can't attack and that they should go back to 13 right now bakugo follows this with a typical bakugo response citing that koshima can go off and do what he likes he's going to go beat the crap out of the warp Guy this is where bakugo would usually stop talking but kirishima unlike all the others challenges him and allows us to hear bakugo's reasoning and this reasoning isn't spurred on by ego or rage or anything we've come to expect from bakugo but rather careful strategy with consideration taken into account for others already and none of this would have been apparent or possible to hear without kashima's involvement E's escape and ultimate rescue mission is not only the perfect role for someone with his Quirk position in the class and Sensibility but once again changes the dynamic of the entire Conflict by putting the villains for the first time on the back foot highlighting that you do not need to attack them in order to dissuade them despite being armed with this enormous hulking monster that easily overpowered and took out aawa once shigaraki learns of this impending rescue and influx of pro Heroes he says that they need to leave but not before killing a few kids K holy [ __ ] okay I love this damn character I didn't get the chance to talk about this when his power was initially revealed but holy [ __ ] [ __ ] do I love isawa the way his power set was revealed during The Quirk assessment the way he just used his power to cancel out the most dangerous villains attack and despite this Quirk not being suited to this situation when midorya expressed concern for him before he initially leftt into battle there was no hesitation but instead a parting quote that reflects exactly the lesson he wants midorya to learn quote no good hero is a onetick pony this quote goes hard as [ __ ] not only because it demonstrates that he is living his principles to midorya but also subtly highlights that he too like midorya found himself in the past with a quirk that on its own had a lot of drawbacks but he worked on them and now he's one of the best heroes the series has he's such a phenomenally understated character certainly up there as one of the best in this series which is high pre is given the company he shares I've often said that my hero Academia isn't a story that revolutionized the industry like Dragon Ball one piece or berserk even and honestly despite my praise for my hero Academia so far I do still stand by that assertion but more than that I think that's quite fitting for my hero Academia to be a story that has studied and learned from all the greats that came before it is nothing short of poetic in my opinion following all might's uplifting arrival I couldn't help but think that this reminds me so much of Goku's last minute return to save his friends on Earth towards the conclusion of the saan arc and at first it does feel very reminiscent of that all the pieces are there arriving too late to prevent the majority of the damage but just in time to save someone's life that is until the mood changes and then you realize it's actually the total opposite of that scene and I think that's intentional where Goku shows up and overwhelms his opponents with his abilities all might the hero who Dons a Big Bright Smile arrives for the very first time with a Grimace despite the action having not even begun he's already fighting with borrowed time in no fit state to clash with a formidable villain let alone several including this Savage Nomo in the manga there are panels prior to the fight even beginning where his body is visibly shaking shigaraki even recognizes that he's not as fast as he once was that he could be getting weaker his arrival is certainly a welcomed relief but it too comes with a healthy amount of tension and for me the greatest source of tension during this battle stems not just from the conflict taking place but additionally within midorya yet again while all the students gleefully look on in Blissful ignorance of what's taking place place theorya is the only one who knows the reality of the situation more than ever before all might is Faking It on the cusp of [Music] collapse I don't think I need to tell anyone that the fight itself is obviously a highlight for many and while great I think there's an understated quote from kirishima following its conclusion that speaks to not just this conflict but the Whirlwind of conflict within all might himself he says like straight out of the comics he just smashed his way past the absorption the ultimate Bruiser what I like about all might's makeup as a character is the fact that he's a walking contradiction he wants to be and appear like those Unstoppable Superman archetypes from the Golden Age of comics in the 30s but the trouble is he's in a far more evil and complicated world than that he feels a powerful pressure to be something that he's not in order to free the Public's Collective Minds from the worry these evildoers tried to instill once again in the case of all might porosi chooses to leverage the dynamic of internal and external conflict every inch of all might's design speaks to this conflict but perhaps none more so than his everpresent never changing expression the purpose of character design is to communicate without words something key to the personality it's trying to represent all might's inner struggle is that of being a sickly weak man trying to live up to his own lofty Legacy trying to hold it together only to at every turn fail time and time again fail at being a teacher struggle to Be an Effective mentor and now suddenly he begins to slip as a hero too all the while the external conflicts whether they be interpersonal professional or on the streets themselves place ever growing surges of pressure on his ever weakening shoulders but no matter what he refuses to yield he refuses to settle for anything other than the ideals he represents reassuring the world with a big friendly smile that everything is always going to be okay because he is here like all might his design seems like a contradiction to Common design practice on almost every level contradictions to design principles Hoshi himself implements and explicitly tells us he uses throughout these sheets he's provided take this character design for bakugo from the front of chapter 10 for example in these character design breakdowns he more often than not cites the eyes as the element that plays a key Express role his design of bakugo's eyes specifically say and I quote explosively angled at about 80° go for the full 90 kit this naturally tells you something about bakugo the same can be seen from ador's te pupils or Eda Stern Square shaped peepers both offer insight into the character and through looking at them tell us something about their personality in other words effective character design is a visual language but all might's designed for his eyes say nothing his face is is an unflinching almost unchanging mask that like a poker player refuses to show any other emotion refuses to let his guard down refuses to appear human and that's the point despite breaking this rule Hoshi communicates more about all might through his eyes than any other approach he could have ever applied hilariously it's the most complete marriage of both design and character that I've seen certainly in this series and perhaps in all of the manga I've read it's that conflict between all might's ideals versus what his body prevents him from doing that makes him such a compelling character and what fueled this incredible scene going through and studying this Series has opened my eyes to how much subtle Brilliance was behind this first segment of the story leading me to appreciate it more than I perhaps ever have in the past and my hope is that with my coverage of season 2 and Beyond and that will continue as always I've been totally not Mark I'll see you all in the next Arc and thank you so very much for watching [Music]

Channel: Totally Not Mark

Views: 107,215

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Id: g-RoamYUGWg

Length: 47min 50sec (2870 seconds)

Published: Sat Jul 13 2024