I think the biggest thing Iāve noticed with Tsuyu is that she regrets hard. When she regrets, it pains her. I think thatās shown in the line āI was really shocked. Shocked at how I tried to stop you. Shocked at how worthless I am. These nasty feelings started to well up in me.ā in the aftermath of Kamino
And thats a lot coming from someone who always seems so calm. To have her say her opinion, have somebody go against it and for her to immediately despair at how useless she is
Her character is kind of hard to explain (and of course, this is not confirmed, this is only from what Iāve gathered about her personality and how she acts). She seems like someone whoās used to making the right decisions because sheās learnt from the past how bad the wrong ones make her feel. This kind of brings in the question of āis she a perfectionist?ā which, no, I donāt think so. Not quite. She likes things to be done well but sheās self aware enough to know thereāll be another opportunity to do right, a learning experience in a way
(which is sort of a contrast to Momo, who struggled with confidence to the point where she couldnāt make a decision at all for fear of getting things wrong)
Thatās not to say that when the self doubt creeps in, it doesnāt effect her, though. Weāve already seen the aftermath of Kamino, how she seemed to get into her head about being happy with everyone
Thatās another thing, sheās honest too. Sheās the kind of character whoās aware of her wrongs and knows she can learn off of her mistakes, but also canāt help those negative feelings that creep in, and she can be upfront with how sheās feeling about that I think. Sheās not perfect by any means, and she knows that, but I think sheās so aware of what she earns and what she could lose that she gets in her own head about it
I think that this kind of regret, awareness and reflection of herself shows in the Joint Arc too, but as an improved version of how she showed herself after Kamino. These are moments that I noticed, anyway
Addressing that they werenāt prepared, showing that awareness
Awareness again, taking responsibility, confessing that it was down to her strategizing
I feel like thereās a bit of regret here, a bit of a willingness to get everything right. Sheās upfront and seems calm about it, and
Aizawa seems to reassure her about what she did well (sheās the only one out of her team that receives aĀ āthis is what you did wellā comment rather than aĀ āyou need to improve on thisā comment. maybe because she already knows what she needs improve on. the difference is noticeable anyway)
And then, again, chapters later, when the aftermath of Kamino is properly addressed
She specifically remembers that vulnerable moment, of all her regrets and horrible feelings, and says sheās not going to dwell on that anymore. She wonāt regret, she wonāt get into her head about nasty thoughts. Because she wants to be happy with her friends, no matter what. Again, you have self awareness and you have her improving from back then, knowing her mistakes and wanting to build off of them
The thing is with Tsuyu, between Lawful (not breaking the rules, not wanting to be put on the same level as villains) and Happiness (wanting to be with her friends, to be able to feel like she still has everything she loves), Happiness seems to trump Lawfulness. At least now anyway, unlike back before Kamino
I only say this because of what happened during the Rogue arc, where she expresses that she wants that unity, that togetherness with everyone
Now, she seems deadset on being with her friends no matter what
What could happen with Toga and such may reveal whether she STILL thinks in terms of righteous feelings (doing what is right) vs lawful act (doing what the law says is right), but I think overall sheās going to choose to side with her friends. Overall, trust in their instincts and keep a watchful eye on Toga
I think how she acted during the 1A vs Izuku battle kind of reveals that. She knows well enough that she doesnāt want to feel like she did after Kamino; regretful and useless, and has settled on being happy with everyone no matter what
Though, saying that, one thing that makes me question this line of thinking is⦠we still donāt know what she thinks about the rescue team going off on their own and ignoring her opinion. After all this time, we still donāt know whether she agrees or disagrees with what they did. Personally, at this point, I think sheās just happy that everyone after that battle was safe, but it still puts into question;
If someone needs to be saved and its necessary for the situation, is it right to still disobey the law/orders? Is it okay to go against the adults and act on your righteous feelings?
Tsuyu may want happiness, may want everyone to be together no matter what, but will that change with a villain on the line? Will she argue against saving? Will it purely be just because sheās worried about whether the villains could betray them or if they could disrupt that happiness she wants (as in, sheās not exactly against saving a villain but just weary of putting trust in one)?
Itās ambiguous as to whether sheāll agree to help or disagree with everything, but considering her willingness to be together with everyone and happy, I want to bet that sheāll either agree with Ocha and Izuku OR put her personal feelings of morality aside in order to keep her friends safe
After all, sheās been regarded asĀ āthe perfect pillar of emotional supportā. Maybe thatāll extend to this arc too
Thinking about it, maybe Tsuyu doesnāt necessarily have to agree with Izuku and Ochako, but just let them do their thing while she keeps them safe. Essentially being the Iida of the Kamino rescue squad, but for this current arc
If that came true, itād be real good development for her. It has the potential to bring things full circle for her character
Anyway. whatever happens, itāll be interesting to see what Hori can come up with