When the “Symbol of Peace” 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.
That’s 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 wouldn’t 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 don’t 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 that’s 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.
Every child dreams of being All Might. Everyone looks up to this incredible powerhouse. The term “Hero” was meant to mean “one who saves others,” but has twisted to mean only “one who fights villains.” 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 society’s 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, “What’s your true potential?” It begs but two simple questions, “How many villains can you beat up? How many people can you save (from villains)?” And the results end up looking like this:
That’s right, Lord Explosion Murder is the star of this year’s class. Bakugou’s 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, it’s All Might.
All Might is a defacto demi-god of this world. Outside of villainous circles, you won’t find anyone who doesn’t idolize him. But what good is that idolization? If someone like Bakugou genuinely believes himself to be following in All Might’s footsteps.
Well, maybe this is an isolated problem. All Might is UA’s celebrity alumni, of course they’ll try to keep up that image. But the other hero schools can’t all be like that, and the hero licensing program is bound to be–
Oh, nope. It’s 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.
Non-violent heroes simply do not have a clear path to success. I’m 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.
Society wants heroes who fight villains. That is what their purpose has become. And anyone who can’t 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 Might’s position as the Symbol of Peace does not extol heroism, but rather violence in heroism’s name.
Okay, but I feel like this sounds a bit too one-sided?
Like, I agree with a few points here, like the entrance exam being focused way too much on physical violence, and more importantly, violence against machines, which is something completely else than violence against humans. Of course Bakugou passes that exam, of course nobody would care if he destroyed all these machines, because they’re not alive, and violence against humans, even if they committed crimes, is something else entirely. You’d have to be much more careful.
And that’s the point where I can start disagreeing. Because the step 2) murder is bullshit. Just… are you listening to yourself? Episode 1 of bnha, All Might stops a simple shoplifter without even causing him physical harm (I think. Hard to tell if it hurt since he was slime but it didn’t do any permanent damage). There’s special tape to restrain villains. They get handed over to the police. And that’s… exactly how police operates in the real world. They should offer criminals to surrender, and if they don’t, they will use violence to restrain them. They get access to weapons the general public doesn’t have access to (idk about the us but where I live police gets guns while I wouldn’t), so they can overpower them and keep the public space peaceful. In a world where some shoplifters have ridiculously strong quirks, heroes with even more ridiculously strong quirks are needed. Yeah that’s gonna cause problems - with so many people in the police/hero association, there will be some unnecessary violence, always, but we don’t actually know the extent this goes to in bnha, because we only see the best heroes and a bunch of innoccent kids fight, but that doesn’t mean the rest of the world is much crueler. With how much scrutiny heroes are regarded and how much their careers depend on public image, it’s likely they are much more careful than real life police. Mount Lady keeps getting in trouble for property damage, you think she wouldn’t be for killing people carelessly?
Remember that All Might is popular with… just about everyone. If he murdered people left and right, even when still on his way to fame, he sure as fuck wouldn’t be. There’s strong regulations on heroes, so even Endeavour wouldn’t be able to kill people as much as he wants. Even Stain, who thinks heroes have strayed from their path, doesn’t think All Might has. His problem isn’t the violence, it’s the lack of self-sacrifice. Which is another topic altogether. No, All Might isn’t only popular for his violence. His first appearance, the one that captured Deku, was him saving a ridulous amount of people from a fire with a cause we don’t know about. Yeah sure, people think it’s cool that he can punch so hard it changes the weather (it is cool, come on), but literally the most important thing that made him so popular is that he always saves people with a smile on his face and reassures them everything will be fine.
And don’t forget that heroes that focus purely on rescue absolutely do exist. Like Thirteen. Or Recovery Girl. And people look up to them as well, like Uraraka, who aims to be a rescue hero as well, which is perfectly in line with her quirk. She’ll be able to rescue people when she’s a full on hero, both from natural disasters and those caused by villains. Plus there’s plenty of heroes who focus on restraining and pacifying, like number 4 hero Best Jeanist or Midnight.
I actually think the licensing exam having a violent fight as an exam is perfectly justified. Like… villains have quirks, even the small-time ones can turn out to be super strong, and society couldn’t afford to have their heroes (especially high school aged provisional heroes) die left and right just because someone’s quirk was unknown and they felt threatened and lashed out. Shinsou could have done great in that exam btw, because he can deal with human enemies. With his quirk, he would’ve probably been one of the first to pass. And only almost everyone passed the rescue exam. It wasn’t a formality. Bakugou didn’t fucking pass. Top of the class, super strong, super capable, and he didn’t pass. Because he’s too aggressive, and that’s a quality that heroes absolutely can’t have.
So while I don’t think everything’s perfectly fine as it is, it’s not nearly as bad as you make it out to be (much like the pushing people to being villains thing). I have my own problems with All Might as the Symbol of Peace, which I might talk about in another post and think they might be completely intentional, but his level of violence really isn’t one.
“ 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. “
Okay, one? Heroes don’t deal with simple shoplifters. Police do that. If a person uses superpowers to shoplift and in the process becomes a major threat to everybody around them, then they become a villain and heroes get called in, but for non-quirk related crimes a hero is considered to be an ordinary citizen. We’ve seen Erasorhead just walk away from quirkless petty criminals because it’s not his problem.
Two, the heroes in the setting, with the possible exception of Endeavor, are non-lethal to a fault. In the second Nomu attack, three high ranked heroes failed to stop a single monster because it was resistant to punching, and it was about to kill a child until it was stopped by Stain putting an ordinary knife in its exposed brain without using any quirk. If they had been willing to kill a monster to save a child, the incident would have ended in moments but instead it took a serial killer to deal with the situation.
Meanwhile, All-Might’s success has never been measured in villains defeated. His debut was a rescue, and he caught the public’s eye by simply carrying over a hundred people to safety. Endeavor made his name by stopping villains, and got popular enough for the number two slot because of it, but that’s exactly why he could never be the Symbol of Peace. When Endeavor shows up, you know that the situation is going to be resolved, somehow, probably painfully. But when All Might shows up, you know that you’re safe. It’s going to be okay now, because he is here and that means nobody is going to get hurt anymore.
But it’s true that a hero needs to learn how to fight. The lack of combat capability that Thirteen displays for example, is frequently shown as a major weakness and that firefighter guy whose name escapes me is almost useless in most of his appearances. Because even if all you want to do is disaster relief, there are enough villains in the world that a lot of your disasters are not going to be natural ones and you’ll eventually meet somebody who doesn’t want to allow the civilians to be saved. A hero needs to be able to fight, at least well enough to escape and bring backup (which is a valid victory condition in the exams so far), because helping people will lead to you being dragged into a fight you don’t want. And if you lose, that will only make things worse for all the people you tried to save. That’s why All Might is more of a deterrent to terrorists and such than anything else in the setting; when he comes in to help the people you tried to kill, there’s nothing you can do to prevent him from saving those people.
The problem with All Might as the Symbol of Peace is not that he makes a bad symbol. He’s perfect for the role. The problem is that any time your plan relies on a single person being invincible, it breaks down the moment he loses a single fight. Which is exactly the concept that the manga’s primary plotline is following.
The whole problem with OP’s argument is that it takes a less than surface level reading of BNHA and presents it as something its not. Their issue with violence and controlling your power is something that’s not only addressed, but specifically taught and encourage by the school.
Are we forgetting that Deku and Iida were on the edge of losing their entire potential to become heroes because of they went too far with Stain? Are we forgetting that the Final Exam for the students is to either retreat or immobilize the villain while causing the minimal amount of damage to the surrounding area as possible? Are we forgetting that even Endeavor who’s all about being the strongest of the strongest can and will control the heat of his flames so that they’re non-lethal because heroes don’t kill?
If OP got to the licensing exam on their own without just skipping ahead using Wikipedia or whatever, then they’re willfully misrepresenting BNHA in this. Some points like the non-violent quirks making it harder on students wanting to enter the Hero course are somewhat valid because that is a real issue in the universe… but is also addressed. BNHA is THE top of hero academies having to turn away a ton of heroes every year. Getting accepted at all is an amazing feat, even if you don’t get in the hero course. But what IF you don’t get in the hero course? Well, students with high grades and strong potential to becoming a hero can get transferred into the her course, even if their quirk isn’t the strongest. The Sports Festival for example is one method for students to beeline their way in and… honestly look at the final round. 7 out of the 16 finalists had strictly offense based quirks and that’s including the Crotch Laser. Tape, Creation, Engine Legs, Ultra Defense 1, Ultra Defense 2, Gravity, Brainwashing, Shadow Familiar, and freaking Zoom. Need I remind you that the girl whose quirk is literally just that her eyes can zoom in was going to be in the Top 8 students at UAHS, but chose to disqualify herself. The top 4, only 2 students had strictly offensive based quirks.
Long story short on All Might and why he’s the symbol of peace
He became so strong because of the power passed onto him by the previous wielders of One for All
He was chosen because he wanted to protect people
He’s so strong he can force villains into submission without using lethal force
Like a large man picking up a rowdy puppy he can stop them without even trying
He’s the ultimate peace keeper since nearly every villain he faced would use deadly force and anyone else but him would perish
In a world where people who would do evil are practically born with military grade weapons built into their bodies
He chooses to be the shield for the innocent
Gonna be honest and say that I stopped reading OPs post after it really started giving off vibes of someone who read just enough about the show/characters to make this argument, and not someone who actually read/watched the show.
I am glad I found this version of the post. I just want to summarize a very important scene that made All Might a favourite for me and it had nothing to do with his power and strength.
All Might knows he’s idolized and it’s killing him (metaphorically and literally!!) to be idolized by young kids who put their lives at risk to be like him. The first chance he gets, he tries to get Midoriya off of the path by just being honest with him about what “being a Hero” cost him.
In All Might’s first interaction with Midoriya, he sees just another fanboy with his head in the clouds wanting to be a hero. Because All Might doesn’t want to see a child die for what he perceives to be whimsy, he defiantly denies him that dream by being brutally honest that it would get him killed.
With his spirit nearly crushed, Midoriya begins to mentally attack himself for daring to believe he could ever be a hero like All Might, that even the best of the best thinks he’s ridiculous, only to come across Bakugou in a situation where he could die and heroes are literally talking to one another about how they don’t have the right powers to help him. For a moment, standing in the crowd, Midoriya is nearly vomiting with anxiety because he is blaming himself for All Might not having the strength left to save Bakugou… and then
His legs move without him thinking about it and he just runs in to try to save someone he cares about.
Not because of All Might. Not because of Heroes.
He tried what he could to save someone only because that person looked like they needed help.
That is what a Hero is.
And later on, when All Might meets up with him again, All Might even tells him this. That, while Midoriya acted on impulse to save someone, not being inspired by heroes, All Might acted because he was inspired by the heroism displayed by the SELFLESSNESS of Midoriya!
That’s what a Hero is.
Yes, many of them may come down to brute force, but it’s because it’s often needed to stop the greatest of threats. It’s never about murder, it’s about wanting to save people but trying also to stay alive to continue doing that. And sometimes you have to risk your life to save the lives of others.
And Izuku Midoriya, this poor scrap of a boy who tries his damndest and always feels like he falls short, who was bullied and mocked for his dreams, who never got the chance to show what he had, had his idol tell him that he, quirkless and timid HE!, was inspiring! That HE COULD and already showed signs of being a GREAT HERO!
I’ve always found All Might inspiring not because of the muscles but because he would give his life to save those less fortunate, that he doesn’t view what he has as fortune, but rather responsibility. In my opinion, it’s not his punch that truly makes him number one, it’s his faith and love in all of those around him that inspire him to do his best, like timid, quirkless little Midoriya.
All-Might is a good dude. He’s kinda dumb, but he’s really good. And considering he failed to kill AfO I would tend to assume he hasn’t actually killed anybody, not because he never would but because generally he doesn’t need to.
This criticism isn’t entirely wrong, but it’s focusing in a little hard on a limited facet of the situation, and blowing it out of proportion. The hero system is really corrupt and fucked-up, is the thing, and there are a lot of layers to it, some of which are getting explored by the text more than others. The way the system disincentivizes teamwork and incentivizes, well, Endeavor, by putting every hero at odds with one another and rewarding ‘cool’ physical-damage Quirks excessively is the main one that’s actually getting focus.
Also there’s been some ambivalent work done with what this set of expectations does to kids, considering not everyone can be heroes and in fact more heroes graduate than can actually be supported by the industry.
There’s also a sort of running joke about the ludicrous amount of unnecessary funding poured into aesthetic aspects of the industry.
The overall class implications, the function of the hero industry as a social control mechanism, the gender politics, the clear biases in policing…these have been touched on, but I don’t know if they’re going to be really addressed.
But this is not a healthy society with a fully functioning system, and that is entirely the point.
Look at the first, and as far as I’ve gotten only, normal-conditions hero fight we see in the series:
1) Kamui Woods, a popular up-and-comer with a really cool restraint-and-maneuver-and-damage-resistance Quirk, appears almost instantaneously after a guy tries to steal a purse, then panics and uses his ‘become huge and scary’ Quirk to try to get away, making this purse-snatching incident into hero business.
2) A crowd is attracted to this event, including Izuku, earnestly taking notes. The purse-snatcher is panicked and desperate and miserable and getting his ass completely kicked as a form of public entertainment.
3) Mount Lady makes her motherfucking debut by swooping in, kill-stealing this poor dumb schmuck from Kamui Woods, doing some property damage, sticking her giant butt out at the cameras, and making a sex joke to establish her brand.
4) Kamui Woods is bummed about this loss of points and popularity; Mount Lady leads bound purse-snatcher away with the support of a team of policemen and…dudes in bandanas?…while waving happily to cheering crowds and what seems to be three separate news crews.
The number of levels on which this scenario is bullshit beggar description. And it is 100% business as usual.
The lionization of violence is certainly part of the problem, but not quite in the way OP suggests. It’s not that pro heroes are murder-happy, though what kind of censure they’d receive for lethal (or crippling) violence is another point that hasn’t been covered to my knowledge and really should be. It’s the psychological and social implications of a justice system slaved to an entertainment industry that runs on righteous violence.
Stain has some valid criticisms, but he also constitutes a valid criticism in his person; he’s the product of a society that sees problems, human problems, as things you physically punish until they go away.
If you don’t have the state apparatus to lock people away with, that means killing. He’s not a repudiation of the system, not really. He’s its logical extreme.
And I have absolutely no doubt that those suit-dudes we keep seeing chewing over things like the reactions to the loss of the Symbol of Peace are very much aware that it’s not just the fear of the evil and the security of the people they have to worry about losing, now that they don’t have the smiling face of a good man who will never fail you standing before them. It’s trust. It’s complacency.
All-Might stopped villain rampages by being a threat, and as far as I can tell he did this as honorably as anyone being the face of state violence ever could. To an extent, this kind of thing really is necessary to maintain a civil society; people do shitty things sometimes and we need a system of countermeasures.
But the other thing he did was foster emotional dependence on him as the face of state violence. Which was probably key to this era of stability he created, just as much as the stemming of random acts of terror. The liberty/security tradeoff in building All-Might’s peace skewed very hard toward security. Implicitly, Quirk Japan is essentially a police state.
And the combination of Stain and Kamino mean that for the first time in almost two generations, people at large are starting to ask inconvenient questions.
I don’t know to what extent Horikoshi is going to stick his neck out and really overtly dig into the bread-and-circuses opiate of the masses scenario he’s set up, and the kind of rigidly stratified society it’s created, because most of that social commentary if made explicit would be, um. Controversial.
I don’t even know if he’s emotionally or conceptually equipped to discuss some of the implications he’s laid out. But it’s definitely, and rather unusually, there.
There are a lot of good (and a few mistepped) thoughts floating through here, and what I think, at the end of the day, is that one has to actively think about the implications of their worldbuilding and story-tropes, else they give messages they don’t intend, and showing beliefs they may or may not hold. And it’s going to be really easy to assume a writer holds those ideas and is simply giving them subconsciously, rather than having accidentally said something they didn’t mean.
