| kris | mha | bnha | main blog: i-could-bee-an-angel | I only post spoilers and tag them with bnha spoilers for manga | homophobes and transphobes dni |
My name is Kris! I post about Dan and Phil, cute animals, and queer stuff on here! This is my main account. My backup blog is @i-could-bee-an-angel-backup so do follow that just in case anything happens to this account!
I've got a ton of sideblogs, namely @shubh-mangal-zyada-saavdhan for desi stuff, @the-angel-of-bees for supernatural, @michellejones-parker for marvel (mcu and comics) @the-nox-artist for my art and photography, @just-mha-things for my hero academia, and @oddledoddle for dodie! I've got about 5000 more interests though, so I post about those on my main sometimes as well!
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I just finished the last 20 ish chapters of My Hero Academia and it fucked me up in a way I was not expecting.
There's been a character in mha that pops into my head probably every time I spend time thinking about the series. I don't even think she's named.
Her impact on the story shook me to my core, and it actually made me put down mha for several months. Not because it was bad, mind you. But because it horrified me.
I'm no stranger to tragic backstories, I've read One Piece after all. That series changed me fundamentally, just as this moment in MHA did.
Grandma.
How could she leave a child to wander the streets? Why couldn't she bring herself to help him?
It struck me in a way I couldn't articulate. I think I resented her. She probably could have stopped the war to come, or at least alleviated it.
I would think about this unnamed woman and wondered if she regretted her choices that day. Did she recognize the boy when she saw Shigaraki? Did she think to herself, "Could I have stopped all this?"
In chapter 427, I recognized her immediately. I hadn't seen her face in over 2 years, but I knew who she was. And I sneered at her. After all this time, my anger never waned.
She was older, her frailty grew over time. But she was unmistakable.
I stewed on this panel for a moment longer. Just as she probably did the day that she dismissed that little boy years ago.
Then, a child left the rubble of his torment.
This could be it. The past doesn't repeat itself, but it sure does rhyme. Have the people learned? Will they make the same mistakes that brought them here in the first place? A child not imbraced by the community will burn it down to feel its warmth and all that.
I wasn't left wondering for long.
I wept at these panels.
I hadn't known how much I needed these panels to exist. It cooled my simmering anger. It left me raw and exposed.
We all think we wouldn't make the same mistake. Surely we know better, right?
But we don't. We don't know if who we'll ignore walking down the street, desperate for help, brushed off by people assuming someone else will to the work.
This woman I've hated for so long changed. I wasn't there to witness it, but I got to witness the moment she decided to never repeat her mistakes.
I see myself in her. Maybe that's why I was so resentful. Knowing she can't correct the mistakes of her past, but able to accept she can learn from them.
I imagine one fateful day Aizawa looking in the mirror in the morning. His hair is knotted and he hasn't slept enough. Probably a headache incoming. He's too fucking old for this. He takes the scissors
(I don't know if he would regret it (it's only hair) but he will be convinced to grow it back)
the fact that throughout all 430 chapters of my hero academia horikoshi didn't show a single glimpse of deku's dad is the funniest thing he ever did. he was never important. we can make up whatever fate we want for him and nobody can refute it. i propose that he stepped on a landmine and exploded
I don't think people are really taking into account the baby Bakugou flashback. Because a couple of chapters ago we had the baby AFO flashback and I think it tells us a lot more about the people in this battle in that comparison
AFO was born into this world with no one to take care of him. His mother died in labour, no father there to help and his brother was born weak and fragile. Whereas Bakugou was born with love, both his parents alive and already in a position to take care of him
That's not me saying "AFO was born with no one to take care of him so of course he's the villain in this battle" and "Bakugou was born with love so of course he's the hero in this battle"
But throughout their lives, we're shown how one character has changed and the other hasn't. The circumstances of birth don't necessarily matter for how a person turns out
AFO was born without anyone to take care of him, and while Yoichi did care for him and tried to convince him to stop, hoping that he could become a kind person who wields a powerful quirk, AFO didn't change. His love for Yoichi was always something twisted, possessive. He never learnt to be better and frankly didn't want to. Of course part of that is due to the world he lived in at the time, a world that punished him for having powers, but even as society got better about quirks, he still didn't change. Even after he died and came back to life again, he still continued to do horrible things
Bakugou was born with love and care, but he was a bully. He hurt Izuku and pushed him away and told him to jump off a roof and couldn't stand to see Izuku progress despite it all, undeterred from his dreams with a new advantage. But the point is Bakugou did change. He took a good look at himself and decided he didn't want to be like that anymore. He recognized his own weaknesses and decided to get better, that meaning that he couldn't be the kind of person who always looked down on people anymore if he wanted to be an actual hero. We see evidence of this throughout the rest of bnha, with how he motivates Izuku as a rival and helps him train with One For All, how he pushes Izuku aside to sacrifice himself, but especially and most importantly so when he finally apologizes to Izuku. The courage he had to face the victim of his bullying and say he's sorry and explain why he did the things he did but emphasize it was wrong is something Early Bakugou would not have had or resolved to do
And though there's the connection with Izuku, there is also very noticeable development with how he treats others, shown in the A vs B joint training and the class band and many more. Even as he delivers the blow to AFO in the last page of 409, he does not take the credit for himself. "This is OUR story. I could have never done this on my own.", also something Early Bakugou would not have said, which shows how far he has come
The dedication he has to look at himself and actively improve how he looks at being a hero and a person to others is what makes him an admirable person
Point of this post being that whether they were loved from birth is not a necessary factor to look at in their roles, even when you compare both flashbacks. As you grow older, naturally, you change. Maybe you used to do bad things, unforgivable things. Maybe you were just trying to survive in your environment, or maybe you were wrestling with your own emotions regardless of your circumstances. Whether you acknowledge it or not, we as people are supposed to change at some point in our lives
AFO has not changed. Has had an incredibly long life enough to have that choice to stop doing bad things and hasn't. He is the villain of this battle. Not because of birth, not because of circumstances, but because he chooses to be
Bakugou has changed. He's 17 years old and has already reflected enough to know there's no excuse for his behaviour back then, has set himself and apologized roughly a year after being aware of that fact. He is the hero of this battle. Not because of birth, not because of circumstances, not just because he is the only one who can physically fight right now, but because he chooses to be. He chooses to be better than he was before
In conclusion, I believe showing AFO's birth and Bakugou's birth one after the other is an intentional contrast and what follows in their lives shows the differences in their characters to this point
I love how it went from Deku being like "This is the story of how I became the greatest hero" and it slowly turned into the story of how both of them became heroes together.
One other thing that also convinces me they'll become hero partners is Bakugo saying this-
"Izuku, I won't stand in your way anymore."
Back at the baths he told Deku he was still his rival, I feel as though this is his way of saying he doesn't want to compete against him anymore. (Obviously there would still be some competition that's just how they are.)
I will probably write a whole essay about this later but,,
The fact AFO is attacking Bakugou with the language Bakugou would use to demean people. The way that the downfall of AFO would be the very attributes that Bakugou had to relinquish in order to beat him. The way that he is not only fighting the big bad but is also fighting his past. The way he is again sacrificing his everything to win and for Midoriya. The way he is hearing that he is an extra, that he is a nobody, all of the things he has told everyone else, and has not only accepted it but is embracing it: He is here to support Midoriya, he is the one who needs to get out of Midoriya's way, he is not the main character of this story. And he has wholeheartedly embraced that.
He has not only taken the hand of others and realized he can't do it alone but has found the strength in doing so.
He has learned that the world doesn't revolve around him. He has learned that he needs to know when to get out of someone's way.
But not for AFO. Bakugou will still never back down from a fight. He still will not go down swinging. He will not move out of the way when it comes to an enemy.
But he has realized Midoriya isn't an enemy. Izuku never was.
