[kite2013]

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[coniferkrow5]

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[viria]

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[amiccino]

THE HYPOCRISY OF THE HERO (pt. 2)

07/24/2026

WORD COUNT: 1,004

A/N: for @megazardx2! sorry for taking so long, this was in my drafts for a while 🙃

SOURCE: My Hero Academia by Kohei Horikoshi

Horikoshi’s My Hero Academia utilizes the similarities and conflicts between the traditional “hero” and traditional “villain” to question the ethical boundaries of traditionally “moral” and "immoral.”

Many authors, including Horikoshi, communicate subtle messaging through the character design itself. In Horikoshi’s work specifically, it is the discrepancies between the human and unhuman appearances within the characters that communicate their role and how the viewers must perceive them. For example, Mineta is a discrepancy within the conventional designs in UA. His height is short, his philtrum is exaggerated, and his nose is drawn like a cartoon character. This comical design invites the viewer to mock him or laugh at him, so his perverted antics are not taken seriously as a moral stance within the anime. By extension, many of the villains are designed to be unhuman or uncanny, inviting the viewer to hold them in distaste and disagree with their deeds. One of the main villains, Stain, bores a rather offsetting appearance. An abnormally large smile splits his face at the bottom, a ruffled mask frames his bloodshot eyes along with his miniscule pupils, and his nose is absent from his face. Even the individual teeth in his smile are detailed, the haunting grin becoming the focal point. His form is meant for the viewer to fear and recognize with disgust, as his design is painfully unhuman. This uncanniness is transferred on to the main trio of villains, Shigaraki Tomura, Dabi, and Toga Himiko. Although their base appearance is fundamentally human, subtle details disturb the viewer. In earlier seasons, the viewers could not discern Shigaraki’s face, when faces are mainly used to initiate eye contact, communicate with, or simply perceive. Gradually, the viewers uncover their visual barrier and recognize his abnormally dry skin, colliding with his otherwise regular form. Dabi’s scarring and numerous stitches contribute artificiality to his natural and normal exterior. Even Toga’s defined eyebags and perpetual smile evoke a sense of unease, despite her ordinary figure. The throughline is that all three of them look off-human or humanoid, rather than completely different species. Compared to Stain, they are more alike to the main characters than to him looks-wise. This communicates a significant message; that villains are not just fought and wronged, but are supposed to be ostracized, feared, and written off as “less than,” unfamiliar, and malicious before they even utter their first word. Yet, there is even more differentiating nuance between the heroes. Stain’s design is the most outright unpleasant because of how much he directly contradicts hero society’s ideology. Stain is someone the viewer must definitely object to. However with the main villain trio, they are saddled with completely human emotions—such as resentment, fixation, and betrayal. Instead of assuming at first glance, Horikoshi utilizes the “almost human” appearance to force the viewer to question their imposed hideousness—the scars, smiles, stitches, and masks, confront their humanity, and then decide their maliciousness. 

Despite the obvious distinction between villains and the main cast, similarities between the villains and the heroes suggest a broader realization on the ethics of hero society. Although the villains’ designs were deliberately uncanny and unhuman, the same abnormalities could be found in the heroes. For example, All Might’s face is always mainly in shadow, his smile uncanny and perpetual during his performance as a hero. Yet, those facts are dismissed because of his strong build, iconic poses, and vibrant costume. While the villains are shown to be “less than human,” heroes are shown to be “more than human”—as idols, commercial opportunities, symbols, even gods. Through this visual storytelling, Horikoshi establishes the core tension of the anime—that heroes and villains are essentially the same, but the side of society they land on is what determines their morality. To contextualize, All Might, the other pro-heroes, and the UA students are all the “crops” of general society. They were raised immersed in it, abiding and enforcing the laws, institutions, and authorities regarding hero society, and were eventually rewarded by hero society. The villains and a selection of other criminals were the failed prototypes, the few duds that were consequences of the worst of hero society; as they suffered through the complacency, betrayal, and exploitation brought on from its commercialization. Rather, they are rewarded by the community of the villain coalition, and follow that corner of general society. Additionally, villains and heroes’ causes are similar but aid the version of society they occupy. The heroes’ cause is to ideally eradicate evil from plaguing the general populace, who participate in hero society, through targeting villains. The villains’ cause is to eradicate the glamorization or commercialization of hero society from plaguing more and more of the vulnerable through targeting the symbols, or heroes. Through the visual storytelling and the structural similarities, Horikoshi presents us the revolutionary question; who has the right to kill? 

Ironically, despite the fact that the two groups serve a similar purpose and a similar visual, the mantle of murder is rewarded to the heroes. The anime imparts to us the ridiculous criteria that hero society uses to grant young graduates the privilege to kill: the correct upbringing resulting in complete compliance with the H.P.S.C—Deku’s fixation on justice and the glamorized heroes, Bakugo’s need for victory and validation, or even Uraraka’s parental encouragement, to name a few examples—three years at a government sponsored school, and a piece of paper—also known as their hero license. Yet the authorities fail to account for the ones who were abused behind closed doors, those who were discriminated against due to their quirk or lack of one, or abandoned. The only metric is those who kill under state-sanctioned parameters and those who kill. Instead of preventing this polarization, preventing these outcomes, the objective is to abolish the outcomes. In retrospect, there were no preventative measures shown in the anime—other than the quirk counseling in Deku and Bakugo’s school days; neither were there negotiation measures. The only objective was to trim the failed prototypes from the general populace, ensuring economic prosperity, commercial opportunities, and short-term peace.

~ written by amishi (@amiccino)

[nolvini]

the gang's all here!

[captaincassied]

It's so funny to see someone point this out to him

[darkonekrisrewrite]

You reminded me of MHA so here's a take of mine

It is genuinely impressive how the more I learn about the more disturbing the world is, and how it either doesn't acknowledge the fucked up-ness or it flat out thinks it's a good thing

The moment the quirk singularity apocalypse was brought up, proven right more than a few times, and then the heroes just shrugged their shoulders and went "Eh, it'll be fine" right up to the end of the series and with no resolution...

MHA's world is doomed.

Like it's literally dead, in three to four generations or less.

And it's hilarious that the series puts such an emphasis on creating a better world for the "NEXT" generations while basically making sure that an inevitable apocalypse is gonna get dropped on their heads with no acknowledgement or preparation.

[arceus-insanity]

They are leaning heavily on the or less. They already can't handle the quirks being born in the current and Previous generations

The crazy part is just how much of it is literally not only ignoring the upcoming issue but actively deciding to not do anything about the 'issue' quirks now

Himiko was sent to Quirk Counseling, a fact both heroes and their fans ignore. She wasn't taught to live with her quirk, she was taught to suppress it, and punished by her parents anyway for it. She should have been taught how to manage it, given resources to safely drink blood. Both through old blood bank donations, and how to safely feed from others

Touya support gear. His pos father is literally the number 2 hero, and just couldn't be bothered to either A use a fraction of his sway and connections for Touya his supposedly loved child to be a hero. Or B not neglect his kid(s) and spend time with them outside of hero training.

Spinner and anyone else with a 'inhuman' quirk should not have to be some exemplary hero or even civilian to not be treated like shit by violent spoiled rotten 'innocent' civilians that attack strangers and literal children because they are horrible bigots that the heroes have decided matter more than their victims

[darkonekrisrewrite]

One thing that would be really engaging to see either in the series itself or the fandom, would be engaging with this idea:

You're not as nice as you thing you are

Especially as the ending reframes so many prior events for the worse.

Deku speech (read: punches) to Shigaraki was basically 'oh it was only one moment get over it and be convenient for me' but how is that actually different from how he fought Todoroki in the sports festival. He never did anything (like tell All Might) to deal with the actual abuse

When I joined the series and saw people saying he got handed the opportunity as he wasn't working on anything to become a hero on his own before meeting All Might, I thought that, that was unfair as most ways he could have worked towards it as a middle schooler, would require money and or parental permission. But in the timeskip he's scrawnier than when he was a teenager and when Bakugou gives him the suit he jumps at the opportunity. So he didn't bother to keep up his physique, move on, or do anything to achieve his dream anyways on his own.

Would he have bothered to save Eri if her abuser wasn't a villain? If Overhaul was a civilian or worse a hero or part of the commission. He didn't care when he found out about Lady Nagant being an Assassin for them, and Hawks openly admitting he was her replacement after it has become public knowledge that he murdered Twice. I already went over the start of the Todoroki situation.

Deku is supposed to be the ultimate hero the perfect example of what a hero should be in MHA, yet this is what he is? His heroism is this conditional, this limited. And very importantly he doesn't improve, he gets worse.

Without Overhaul being a villain and without him being a part of the Nighteye agency's mission, then definitely not.

Deku would have never saved Eri at all.

That's exactly right and it's crazy how little this is talked about and gets overlooked.

Deku let a little girl, visibly scared and wounded, go back to a man they knew was very dangerous.

Not just because they knew who he was as a Yakuza but also because they felt his killing intent themselves in person.

And he still let her go.

While it may be a big part of the story that Deku eventually went back and saved her, the unfortunate implications of the scene is that -

If Eri had been taken by Overhaul for any other reason, ones that didn't involve the prolonged extraction of her quirk, she could have been dead by the time the mission came around to stopping Overhaul and his gang.

And it is some pretty big uncomfortable questions -

If the information on the full extent of what Eri was going through was kept classified from Deku by those in charge of the mission, would he have ever gone out of his way to find out what became of that little girl?

Would he ever grapple with the truth, that the heroes in charge and the government is willing to let a child go back to a monster, risking very real threat of death, for the sake of the "greater good" and what that means for him working under them?

In the end, questions that were never answered.

Because no matter what bad hero society or other heroes do, Deku will NEVER truly go against them.

Nagant telling Deku she killed people, assassinated them before they'd committed any crimes and Deku just passing that info by, was just the final nails in the coffin of expecting actual push back against real corruption.

Something he would absolutely crush a villain for doing, he just let's go because a hero and his bosses did it.

Remember Lady Nagant was pardoned and eventually set completely free post time skip.

Without a trial, without public knowledge of her or her crimes on behalf of the government and without any care towards her victims and their families.

Apparently the tears and lives lost only count if they're made by villains.

He's a pawn.

Ultimately Deku is a tool of hero society incapable of finding any real fault in it or fighting against it.

[honeyxmonkey]

Okay, so this post always makes me giggle

But I was thinking just now...

Literally no one in the friend group aside from Aang knows Zuko was the Blue Spirit

So do you think... they're just hanging out in the palace post canon all piled up in one of the rooms reserved for when the royal family wants to chill—and Zuko is voicing his (extremely reasonable) upset about his father for one reason or another

And Sokka just says something like, "So are you gonna just leave him to rot in jail for the rest of his life, or are you gonna give him another punishment?"

And Zuko goes quiet. Thinking. Then he says, "Maybe I should send him on a quest to capture the Blue Spirit to regain his honor"

And Aang just fucking loses it

[world-beauty]

IC 342: The Hidden Galaxy

Credits: Arturas Medvedevas

[ladyluscinia]

Doffy no. Doffy you're buying into your jaded belief in the omnipresence of hierarchical systems again. Doffy you'll never do enough damage to the comfortable status quo of the elites to feed your revenge if you quietly believe that they cannot fall on a systemic level. Doffy this is not the attitude that will eventually burn Marie Geoise to the ground. Doffy. Doffy please. Doffy you haven't been a Dragon since the first time you realized they could bleed and you'll be constantly dissatisfied until you conceptualize that the World Government in it's full might and breadth can bleed too. Doffy you need to get angry.

[darklordofcutlets]

#he clings to his identity as a Celestial Dragon because it gives him a false sense of power on a scale that he thinks will keep untouchable#even though he's seen first hand that that's not true!#he wants to feel SAFE and he wants to feel SUPERIOR#and he thinks the power given to him by the World Government as a Warlord will give him that#if he TRULY wants to make Marie Geoise suffer he needs to recognize that he'll need to start by taking away the power keeping them safe#IE dismantling the Marines/the World Government#instead he's working for them

This is a great point - that Doffy wants to feel SAFE and SUPERIOR, and his position as a warlord and as Joker granted him that. He made himself indispencible for all great powers in the world - but didn't account for people like Luffy who actually don't care for the existing system.

But Doflamingo is also a smart man. He knows he is not strong enough to defeat an Emperor or an Admiral in a fight; he is not all-powerful and he is painfully aware of that. So I think his approach to revenge is more like "sit by the river and watch the body of your enemy float by".

[world-beauty]

Rosetta’s Comet in Gemini

Credits: CARA Project, CAST

[simandy]

Do you guys know what an Ipê is? You need to know what an Ipê is.

Now you know what an Ipê is. Come to Brazil we have colorful flower ball tree everywhere

[expressions-of-nature]

Chichibu Sky Poppies, Japan by ken_dc2

[red-the-raspberry]

"Pride is not the opposite of shame, but its source. True humility is the antidote to shame."

Ozai controlled both his children by infecting them with pride and shame to various degrees. Both Azula and Zuko were taught to believe they were strong, adult, entitled to violence and conquest. This made them better imperialist tools, but it also prevented them from recognizing their own abuse.

Instead, Azula saw herself as a smart and competent woman who could never be manipulated. Zuko saw himself as a man who let his father down and received a deserving punishment. In reality, they were both children.

Both of their mindsets were intensely self-centered. This is the commonality between pride and shame.

Seeing himself in the victims of the Fire Nation is what allows Zuko to begin to change. When he sees himself as a victim, it forces him to think with more humility. If he is a child who could be manipulated and mistreated, then maybe his own violent and abusive actions could be misguided, unjustified. Maybe the world extends beyond him.

Azula never has this moment. The tragedy of her character is that she never could, at least not the version we see in the show. Never in her life has Azula tasted humility. Ozai groomed her into pride, pride, nothing but pride, until it all comes crashing down into shame in her final moments onscreen.

[pillowbo]

The tragedy of Ashley is that she'll never actually believe someone when they say that she was already enough and that she doesn't need to go through all this crap to not be abandoned by her brother. It's sad for both of them, because it's exhausting to be around someone like that, so it's a self fulfilling prophecy. The inner turmoil with her is very well portrayed.

And for Andrew too. My goodness no matter how many reassurances he gives and no matter what he does to prove his loyalty, it's never good enough. It really just never ends with her. Ashley extended every effort to make them as emotionally and physically entangled as possible.

Andrew plays a part in enabling it, because neither of them were raised with a good influence, as they fell into this "coffin" of absolute codependence. This isn't an excuse, but it's an explanation. It's like a prison they both were trapped in from the start and then perpetuated themselves until it became inescapable. Not that they had much of a chance from the start. This story should be held up as an example of good characterization in writing classes. It's incredible.

[antianakin]

Focusing on how "the Jedi made mistakes/were flawed" is not actually as nuanced of a take as you think it is since it WILDLY misses the point of the destruction of the Jedi.

It doesn't matter if the Jedi made mistakes or were flawed. It truly truly doesn't, it's SO beyond the point of this narrative it's not even funny.

The POINT of the death of the Jedi is that you can do everything right and still lose. And even more so, you can be the most moral, compassionate, selfless person in the galaxy and it won't matter if everyone around you has decided to be selfless and greedy.

The point of the death of the Jedi is that they seem like this group that should be nearly impossible to take down, they're full of powerful people who can do powerful things, they've got laser swords and magic powers and can jump really far and run really fast, and they use all of this to do nothing but HELP PEOPLE all the time, and in the end they all die because no one around them wanted to do the same. Fascism is a group effort, it's not the work of one dude or even two. Yes, Palpatine comes in and abuses the system to do bad things, but his entire plan relies on THOUSANDS of people choosing to do bad things with him. Anakin, yes, but also the corporate alliance and Dooku and Jango and Grievous and Maul and the Geonosians and the Kaminoans and Tarkin and so so so many Senators (enough that a Delegation of 2000 feels like their efforts are likely a shot in the dark). The Jedi are doing EVERYTHING RIGHT, they're heroes who give their lives to save others, but they're surrounded by people who wouldn't do the same, and that's what kills them.

THAT'S the point. The Jedi being flawed completely bypasses that point entirely. Focusing on "mistakes" the Jedi might have made, or flaws they might have, means that you're now completely ignoring the entire message about how fighting BACK against fascism and evil is ALSO a group effort. The Jedi cannot do it alone, and if enough people are not standing up to darkness with them, IT IS GUARANTEED TO WIN. Even the most powerful, most selfless people in the world can't stand up against a galaxy full of people prepared to submit to their own fears.

Too many people gave in to darkness and by doing so, they lost the one thing truly standing between them and tyranny. The loss of the Jedi is SYMBOLIC of the consequences of giving into your fears. That's why the triumph OVER evil is represented by the RETURN OF THE JEDI. There is no real nuance to "but they were flawed, but the made mistakes, but they could have done this, but they could have NOT done that." Truly, there is not. Focusing on the Jedi's "flaws" or "mistakes" just means you're missing the actual point of the story and the Jedi's role in it.