How Rikiyaâs Introduction Changed The World Building Of BNHA, And The Insult Bones Turned It Into
Listen listen LISTEN Iâm mad about the scene with the LOV killing the racist cult and the hut scene being cut out, but personally, I already expected them to cut something important out (cuz its Bones and they do that anyway), and Iâm sad about Spinner and his narration and view being cut FOR SURE!
⌠But can we also talk about how they butchered Rikiya as well?
Like idk why this is bothering me, but for me, it was like SUPER suspenseful when he was first introduced. I was like âwho is this guy?? why is hori showing us him?? whats going on??â
And personally I just really really love how Rikiya was shown in his first scene, from his act to his true nature
Like first we are shown this guy in a commercial, he looks happy and heâs all dramatic, and youâre like âwow whoâs this guy?â (right)
Then we see him in his office with Miyashita (both panels on the left), and he seems quite humble! A good natured person! Goes along with his assistantâs jokes, laughs and is focused on his work! Nothing seems bad here!
Then we see him shift from his good-natured persona to âoh? why is he suddenly talking about a book? He looks quite seriousâ
He suggests the book to Miyashita, but his assistant doesnât agree with the book. No big deal, right? People have different opinions on stuff all the time. Surely, this good-natured humble Detnerat company guy will let this go with one of his jokey laughs?
But no. We get this panel
This fucking panel. He looks so tight-lipped, and it really shows here how much of a ânormalâ persona he was putting on. Oh the jokes and good-natured attitude may very well have been real! But as soon as the Meta Liberation was spoken badly about, you can see with the open space around Rikiya that he does not like to hear this
And then your heart drops when you get this reaction
These two panels are like. such a change in the demeanor weâve seen so far. Suddenly this guyâs had enough. Suddenly, heâs not the happy and energetic guy we saw before. No longer humble, no longer good-natured. He doesnât like what heâs heard
And he apologizes (right). At this point, we know this guy is super fishy now. His complete change in mood rings so many alarms, and you know something bad is about to happen. Itâs just the what and how, because weâve only just met this Detnerat guy, and we donât know what heâs capable of
He asks of any family. Anyone close to Miyashita. Youâre thinking âmaybe heâs trying to get his assistant to understandâŚ? maybe heâll relate his favourite book to something personal for Miyashita?â
But then. The top panel seals the deal. The dark background? The tension in the panel? The words âYouâve done great work, Miyashitaâ that sound so final, and how we canât see Rikiyaâs face? Miyashitaâs done for
And suddenly, he starts straight up choking him. Strangling him. Breaking him
Right there is where Rikiyaâs true demeanor shows. That he was looking for other members, that all he was thinking of was the Liberation army. And now youâre looking back on the other panels, because youâve realised.
He wasnât apologizing for no reason. He was apologizing for the act he was about to commit.
He wasnât asking about anyone close to Miyashita to make him relate. He was making sure nobody would go looking for him once he was dead.
And his angry expression? How Miyashita squirms and whines, but he just wonât let go? Itâs frightening. Itâs suspenseful. Personally, this terrified me. The sudden mood change, and the fact that this guy just straight up kills anyone who doesnât agree with him or opposes his army.
The sickening krunch, and the body falls. Not 5 minutes ago, this guy was being so humble and laughing at his assistants jokes. Now, 5 minutes later, the guy kills said assistant.
And it shows him crying. And why? We just saw this guy kill his assistant, and heâs crying??
âI wonât⌠forget youâ
It suggests that what Rikiya is doing, to him, is some kind of necessary evil. That he HAD to kill Miyashita for the good of the Liberation Army.
And that kind of twisted thought? That kind of no-restraint âif you donât agree with me, I wonât allow you to liveâ? And so quietly done?? In the space of, what, 3 minutes?? Thatâs such a good way to introduce a Villain character! Horiâs art and use of panel space for tension is SO GOOD. It just draws you in, makes you think about whatâs happening, makes you wonder who and why and for what reason, because once again, we donât know who this character is
And thatâs what terrifies you. The unknown of it all.
This manga, up until this point, was about Hero kids going to school, having shounen adventures and beating up the occasional villains, but this?
THIS is the game changer! This is the scene that changed the entire mood of the manga!
From here, we go into MVA, and then it fully changes, but do you know how terrifying and quick this scene was, so smoothly done in order to carry out the message âThings are changing, and fast. New dangerous people are coming up, and it wonât be pretty.â
And of course, weâve seen dark stuff before this point. The reveal of Eriâs skin cells in the bullets. Eri clearly being used for her quirk and Overhaul leading her to the operating room. Overhaul fusing himself with Nemoto. Enjiâs abrupt and bloody eye scar. Ragdoll being kidnapped and put with the Noumu. And so many more
But these were moments. Rikiyaâs scene was about a person. So efficient, so happy, so frighteningly willing to kill someone he was laughing with 5 minutes ago.
Even Overhaul didnât have this kind of lead-up. Heâs definitely a complex guy and we definitely see his moments of twisted logic throughout his arc, we saw the after effects of his quirk and his introduction, but Hori showed us directly that Overhaul was a bad guy. We didnât know that with Rikiya, not at first.
And the League arenât treated as seriously as MVA treats them before this chapter. Before that, we get the overall impression that they are all over the place and barely have a plan. We have All For One, who is very scary, but by this point, heâs in jail. Done for (or so we thought). We donât know what to expect from the League.
But then this guy comes in, and changes everything we know about the world of BNHA. We have the Heroes, the Good Guys. We have the Villains, the Bad Guys.
And then we have Rikiya, a CEO of his own company, starting off so positive in his first appearance, and then shattering that perspective so quickly, it gives you whiplash.
We think Rikiya is gonna be some kind of CEO whoâs a money grabbing scheme-artist, or something along those lines; someone pretty much harmless in terms of physical action. And then he kills Miyashita.
Not quite a Villain. Not a Hero. Not even a civilian. A Vigilante.
And the way that reveal is shown is fucking amazing.
Carrying on, we find out who Rikiya is, his name and what he stands for.
Rikiyaâs appearance here is so unassuming. So plain. But look at that dark look in his eye. Now knowing what he can do, we know how much trouble he is.
And we see this man in a frame. We learn of who this man is - Destro, who created the Liberation Army. The book that Rikiya talked about before was about Destro and his legacy, the very legacy that changed a part of Quirk History
Which, if I remember correctly, weâd heard a tiny snippet about before, but this being revealed so suddenly after what just happened just makes you interested to learn more
Youâre quite literally reading from the narratives history textbook, and you just want to keep turning the page
After that info, we are then slapped so hard by this reveal
BECAUSE?? NO HANG ON- WAIT A SEC- DESTRO?? HAD A CHILD?? AND WHO IS THAT CHILD, IS IT THIS GUY?? THE FUCKING CEO OF DETNERAT??
The League are apparently enemies to them, and the Liberation Army want them dead. The way he phrases it, itâs almost like a duty.
And then we see his sinister grin, and a mask of some kind. We know it has to be a quirk, but what is it? What could it be? What could make this guy even more powerful in terms of strength than he already is?
The mask suggests that here, his duty is almost equal to a HEROâS. That this is something good and necessary, and âonly he can carry out this justiceâ. This twisted thinking, comparing it to a duty that must be done, it sucks you in.
You know who this guy is now, you know somewhat of his goals, but youâre still wondering WHO IS HE. What is going to happen? What will happen to the League, and will this guy put the kiddos in danger?
And that isnât the case, the kids are never brought into the Liberation Armyâs narrative, but the fact that this whole chapter leaves you with more questions than answers, that means itâs good. It grips you, keeps you interested. The sudden change in mood brings with it a new sense of the story.
We assume the kids might be put in danger because itâs all weâve ever known of this story. We come to expect the kids to be involved.
But this isnât just about kids in hero school anymore. Not entirely anyway. This is about something bigger. This is about something more serious.
And to have this AMAZING scene and this AMAZING character introduction get reduced to this?
I gotta say, itâs an insult. Of course, these are the very scenes we see when the League finally talk to Rikiya, when it has already been well established that the story has changed, but to have Rikiyaâs introduction be cut out just like that? To skip straight to the confrontation and have THAT be his first appearance? How disappointing.
This doesnât have a game changer feeling. This just feels like a convenient enemy slotted into place for the League, so suddenly and recklessly.
At least the manga hyped him up. At least the manga had a lead up to who he was and his power.
Now itâs so sudden, thrown at you out of nowhere, it just feels dull.
If youâre an anime-only, youâre stuck thinking âHang on, what? Have these Liberation guys always been here?â
The answer is YES but Bones didnât give them the time of day to hype them up, especially for a world building device
Of course Iâm mad at how the League has been treated by Bones⌠but what about Rikiya?
