BnHA Ch.330 - Review, parallels & comparisons
This chapter opens like Squid Game, with Shigaraki playing tag while critically reflecting on his past … and Star just trying to kill him. MHA gives so much attention to hands that it’s interesting to see a clash of powerful quirks that require touch to activate. It also explains why AFO is giddy over Star’s quirk — if he gets it then anytime he touches someone to give or take a quirk, he could potentially activate a rule. And, if Star’s quirk could “bank” touches the way Ragdoll’s Search quirk can recall the last 100 people, AFO has even stronger remote rule, not just explosions.
There’s absolutely no subtlety here — as soon as Star confirms she’s engaging with Shigaraki/AFO, she’s smashing and going for the death blow. “I’ll make sure your remains make it back to your loved ones” is one of the darkest threats in the series, and it’s coming from *checks notes* the USA’s #1 hero. And damn is it disturbing to see the striped speech bubbles saying Shigaraki’s heart will stop. It’s like the cultural weight of the United States is wishing for his death (sort of like how criminal lawsuits in the US are styled as “US v. [name of individual]” or “People v. [name of individual]”).
In the midst of her effort to kill, Star loses her mask and smugly monologues about how All Might was the symbol of peace and inspired her to be 4 times as peace-y as him. I mean, it’s hard to beat 8 tufts — even Present Mic doesn’t use that much hair gel. And, as much as I like the Two Heroes reference, I’m also digging that Horikoshi wants to draw a lot of young All Might in these chapters. I hope this means we’ll soon see All Might reckoning with the violent parts of his legacy. (It’s an unpopular opinion, but he is the fulcrum or tipping point of the story. It IS all about All Might and what he represents, even if that was never his intention.)
But tufts and monster thighs do not a peacemaker, um, make. The contrast between “symbol of peace” and “no escape” reminded me of Shiggy’s USJ speech, where he lambasts All Might as a state sponsored tool for violence that only encourages more violence. At USJ, however, the facts were very different — it was Shigaraki who was the interloper, invading UA’s home turf and immediately threatening death to All Might and the kids. At USJ, the heroes were justified in doing what they needed to contain the villain threat (not kill; just contain). All Might took this into his Kamino fight with AFO, controlling his emotions and power enough to stop AFO without murdering him. After all, the last time he went for the kill he didn’t succeed AND he nearly killed himself in the process. All Might wasn’t going to survive taking the same approach a second time.
In Ch.330, Star is the invader and the first one to attack. She talks about Shigaraki as “a guy who came all this way to meet me” but she’s the one who came a long way to HIS country. Even if she’s trying to be All Might, she’s reminiscent of early Bakugo threatening to blow up Kurogiri or Earlyroki casually saying he could let villains freeze to death (but he won’t because that’s not heroic). That is, she acts like a student who hasn’t truly learned the important lessons yet.
Star’s other mistake also comes from USJ — she’s over reliant on her quirk, and it caused her to fall into AFO’s trap. AFO knew Star had to say his name for her quirk to activate, and he knew “Shigaraki” isn’t the right name for this new, transcendent being. He let her think she had the upper hand, touching Shigaraki while he was regenerating. Star may yet survive the explosion by creating another rule before her quirk is stolen, or if she’s caught mid-air by Endeavor, but her stunned “It didn’t work?!” left her very, very vulnerable to AFO!Shigaraki’s touch. Look how unhinged she looks in the final panel!!!
Of course, AFO didn’t just trap Star; he trapped Shiggy too. It turns out that Shigaraki at 100% isn’t just “fully powered” by AFO. At 100% they MERGE into a new being with a complete AFO quirk and liberated Decay. Now add in New Order and OFA??? Yep, this is the start of AFO controlling the singularity; the moment of no return when society changes forever. Those of you who are tech geeks may also recognize “the singularity” as the moment when computers, robots, and/or AI run society; when their intelligence exceeds all human intellect and understanding, effectively rendering humans extinct.
Shigaraki resists the only way he knows how — through hatred and anger, remembering his home as the root of his distress. Remembering how heroes destroy their families to save strangers.
Unfortunately, hatred gives AFO the upper hand. Fortunately, Shigaraki’s not at 100%, so there’s a chance for someone (or several someones) to reach him and help him heal. Maybe teach him the meaning of peace, so he has a bright future, and not just AFO’s “glorious” one.