if it's ok... i have a small translation question. at the end of chapter 323 nedzu thinks that taking that one step will ensure that a hero surpassing all might can be born. ... is he really talking about only one hero here? thank you for making time for my ask.
I got so bored translating the spoilers for this chapter I gave up on like the fourth page (it’s so wordy and expository.) The chapter has very little by way of symbolism or meta, so I felt the text summaries of the chapters were sufficient.
Except for this one page you're asking about.
私は思う
わたしはおもう
watashi wa omou
“I think that”
この困難な一歩を道と成した時
このこんなんないっぽをみちとなしたとき
kono konnan na ippo wo michi to nashita toki
“at the time this difficult single step creates a path”
そこにオールマイトをも超える
そこに八木くんをもこえる
soko ni Yagi-kun wo mo koeru
“at that place, even surpassing Yagi-kun”
最高のヒーローが誕生するのだと
さいこうのヒーローがたんじょうするのだと
saikou no HIIROO ga tanjou suru no da to
“the ultimate hero will be born”
Your small question is about to get a big answer (although the direct answer to your question is in #5 of the list below).
The above ultra-literal translation is divided so that you can best see which part of the message is present in which speech bubble. However, if I were to rearrange this to make a bit more sense in English, this is what Nedzu is saying:
“What I think is that when this one, difficult step creates a path, there will be born the ultimate hero, surpassing even Yagi-kun.”
“difficult“ (困難 konnan) - This version of difficult contextually means distressing or harrowing, not technically complicated or hard to pull off.
“creates a path” (道と成した michi to nashita) - This phrase and the sentence in which it appears is evoking an image of a single footstep creating the first point at the beginning of a path or road. In other words, Nedzu believes this step is the way to achieve a result like the one he goes on to describe of creating the ultimate hero.
“born” (誕生する tanjou suru) - This word is practically identical in meaning to umareru (生まれる), also meaning “to be born.” Tanjou appears in the word tanjoubi meaning “birthday.” So while you may find definitions of tanjou suru that include “created, formed, emerged, come into being, etc.,” note that this word contextually refers to the birth of a living being.
It’s also probably worth noting that the kanji in Izuku’s name pronounced izu (出) has a meaning similar to “emerge,” although it’s typically meant as a reference to a physical location (like emerging from a building). The same kanji could also be used in reference to emerging from a cocoon, which I only mention because of all the butterfly imagery and symbolism evoked by Tomura Shigaraki.
“Yagi-kun” (オールマイト OORU MAITO vs. 八木くん Yagi-kun) - All Might’s katakana name appears in the sentence Nedzu speaks, but the furigana next to it, which are typically written to show how kanji are pronounced, is actually kanji and hiragana spelling “Yagi-kun.” In other words, All Might’s name appears in the sentence as if it were kanji, but the name Yagi-kun is what is actually spoken aloud by Nedzu. The implication is that, though Nedzu says “Yagi-kun,” the meaning of that name is “All Might.”
“ultimate hero” (最高のヒーロー saikou no HIIROO) - There is nothing about this word as written that implies it has to be read as singular or plural. English doesn’t allow for this translation easily, so a translator would be perfectly justified in writing it as “ultimate hero” or “ultimate heroes.” The takeaway is that, to a Japanese audience, it’s ambiguous as to whether or not this phrase refers to one person, a group of people, or even an entire country’s population.
So...which is it? “Hero” or “heroes”?
There have been multiple uses of this particular word for “hero” throughout the story that have been ambiguous about whether or not it’s meant as singular or plural. Off the top of my head, the most recent instance I can think of is when Yoichi Shigaraki turns to the Second and Third and says “my hero.” It’s not clear if he’s calling the Second “my hero” or if he’s actually saying “my heroes” in reference to both the Second and Third. From what we know about their backstory, it could go either way.
But even more importantly, we’ve heard the phrase “ultimate hero/saikou no HIIROO” before. Multiple times.
Yes, that’s right. “This is the story of how I became the greatest hero,” from chapter 1 uses “saikou no HIIROO” in Japanese. Izuku never says he becomes the #1 hero; he says he becomes the ultimate hero.
Chapter 2 uses the phrase again:
As you can see, Nedzu is addressing a long-running theme in the story, one that’s been present since the very beginning.
But don’t take these panels as proof that he means “ultimate hero” rather than “ultimate heroes.”
Because as I said, it’s a long-running theme. The phrase shows up at many points in the story, and it only needs to show up once as “ultimate heroes” to cast doubt on Nedzu’s meaning here.
And I think chapter 120 is the most important instance of that:
...especially given what we just got in chapter 322.
What is the “ultimate hero” that narrator Izuku claims to become? That Nedzu predicts here will surpass All Might?
The ultimate hero doesn’t have to be one person. It can be a team.
It can be a whole class of students, even.
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