When the âSymbol of Peaceâ is a Warrior
Remember that time Gandhi punched a man into the stratosphere? Or when Nelson Mandela dropped the atom bomb? While such events might make for a good game of Civilization VI, the societal and cultural implications would be rather bleak.
Thatâs the world of Boku no Hero Academia. A world where peace is assured, not by treaties and accords, but by the threat of overwhelming force. The threat of All Might bearing down upon you with all his might.
The surface level problem with this arrangement is not so much an issue for the majority of law-abiding citizens. At least, it wouldnât be if not for the way this society pushes people toward villainy (which I wrote about here).
The deeper issue here, is the idolization of violence.
Pictured above are 4 of the top 10 ranked heroes in Japan. There are 2 others, but they donât support my claim, and the remaining 4 are unknown.
All Might - OFA: punches so hard the sheer pressure changes the weather
Endeavour - Hell Flame: kills it with fire
Ryukyu - Dragon Form: claws, fangs, probably eats livestock whole
Edgeshot - Foldabody: makes body thin as a razor, punches at speed of sound
Ignore the Shigarakis and All For Ones of the world, they are few and far between. Consider the more innocuous criminal, like a shoplifter. What strategies would any of these heroes employ in that case? Step 1, offer chance to surrender. Step 2, murder? These heroes do not have a non-lethal option.
And thatâs a real problem. Not just for these heroes, but for the society that elevated them to the top 10, rankings which account for popularity more than anything else.Â
Every child dreams of being All Might. Everyone looks up to this incredible powerhouse. The term âHeroâ was meant to mean âone who saves others,â but has twisted to mean only âone who fights villains.â This perverse understanding of what makes a hero pervades society at an institutional level.
Take it from Aizawa, the UA entrance exam is illogical and harmful, stemming from societyâs fascination with brute strength. To get in to the UA Hero course, you need a combat-capable quirk. This system precludes people like Shinso or Aizawa from gaining admission, people who posses some of the greatest and most useful quirks any hero could ask for.
But the exam never asks, âWhatâs your true potential?â It begs but two simple questions, âHow many villains can you beat up? How many people can you save (from villains)?â And the results end up looking like this:
Thatâs right, Lord Explosion Murder is the star of this yearâs class. Bakugouâs quirk and personality are only useful for trying to kill things. Maybe he just needs a better role model. Who does he look up to? Oh, right, itâs All Might.
All Might is a defacto demi-god of this world. Outside of villainous circles, you wonât find anyone who doesnât idolize him. But what good is that idolization? If someone like Bakugou genuinely believes himself to be following in All Mightâs footsteps.Â
Well, maybe this is an isolated problem. All Might is UAâs celebrity alumni, of course theyâll try to keep up that image. But the other hero schools canât all be like that, and the hero licensing program is bound to beâ
Oh, nope. Itâs all violence, all the time. Neat.
Granted, the provisional license exam does have a rescue phase, but almost everyone passed that. The part intended to cull 95% of the applicants is combat-based. Are there even enough villains in the world to justify being this focused on combat?
As tragic as it is, the elevation of violent heroes is only half the problem,
Because this is a zero-sum scenario: if brutality rises to the top, then utility is pushed to the bottom.Â
Non-violent heroes simply do not have a clear path to success. Iâm using Shinso as an example again, because there are so few like him that manage to rise to the point of being mentioned in the story. The realm of heroism is all but institutionally sealed off for them.Â
Society wants heroes who fight villains. That is what their purpose has become. And anyone who canât conform to that mold gets pushed out. Maybe Stain was on to something; heroes have deviated from their original purpose, they now exist only for the spectacle of the fight.
All Mightâs position as the Symbol of Peace does not extol heroism, but rather violence in heroismâs name.
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