Welcome to my blog, mostly just post bnha stuff, sometimes meta and sometimes art. My asks are open but I wonât always reply. I donât bite I promise :)
I can see why people might like erasermight (and no judgement if you do) but iâve always seen their relationship as aizawa genuinely finding all might fucking annoying and all might not getting the hint. No chemistry just pure animosity and obliviousness. Just two people that will never get along simply due to core differences in worldview and personality
My theory is that if Mineta was objectively attractive like Kaminari is, people wouldn't hate him nearly as much as they do. Like if he was 6ft and pretty to look at, people wouldn't find him so offensive, it's only because he's unattractive that he's so widely despised. He and Kaminari really aren't all that different from each other, he's only a little worse than Kaminari in the creep factor
I dont think its 100% the reason, both in the fandom or canon, but I agree that their characters would definitely be perceived differently if their appearances were swapped
Kaminari (at least it seems to me) has more development than Mineta in regards to his non-creepy personality traits, and seems to have stronger connections to other classmates. Mineta is also quite a bit more... aggressive? than Kaminari. Please correct me if Im wrong as I could be misremembering, but I dont believe Kaminari has ever grabbed/touched a girl without permission, where as Mineta has
I think regardless of what Mineta looked like, he would always have been perceived worse than Kaminari, but to your point I do wonder if he would have been less hated with a different design. I think that, whether it be because of appearance, personality, etc., Kaminari's more creepy moments are thrown under the rug compared to Mineta's. Fandoms do tend to glorify the negative traits of characters they love, and vilify the ones of those they hate
I know the common stance in the fandom is pro-Kaminari and anti-Mineta (hell Im even the same way), but if theres any Kaminari haters or Mineta fans out there who's opinion is influenced by this I'd be interested to hear about it!
This is definitely a main factor. Youâd be appalled to learn just how much a characterâs appearance affects the way theyâre perceived, regardless of whether theyâre good bad or inbetween. This phenomenon happens in real life too. I believe itâs called the halo effect, where an attractive appearance/personality can make someone more likable regardless of their actions. Ever notice how the fan favorites are almost always âattractiveâ or âcuteâ? So yeah, if mineta was pretty he would be more popular, but there will always be those who would see through it or not care.
Feeling a little insane how the new chapter recontextualises MHA's whole world set-up to match the tone of the series now VS how it was presented at the beginning.
Like start of MHA is very much a hero's story, typical shounen with a comic book flare. It leans hard into "anyone can be a hero" and the underdog tale that is Deku's story, a guy with no quirk in a world where superpowers are the norm. And the world building at this point matches this lighthearted tone perfectly. One day a glowing baby was discovered, and after that more and more people began to develop powers, or quirks, of their own. Short, sweet, and simple. Tells you all you need to know.
But the world has Vastly changed since ch1. Quirk discrimination has been established and deeply dug into. The ways people can be exploited and abused in this world where people are either heroes, villains, or civilians. Where being a hero is a job. Where having a quirk not deemed acceptable by society means you're subhuman.
And then we get All for One's background chapter. Where we find out the glowing baby wasn't the first quirk user at all. It wasn't Afo or Yoichi either. Their MOM had a quirk, thought to be just a tumor on her arm, that Afo then stole. It's highly likely other people had quirks too, they just either didn't realise it, kept it hidden, or it was explained away as some odd medical condition.
But the glowing baby was undeniably supernatural. There's no way you can explain a GLOWING BABY with scientific terms. Plus it was harmless, nothing dangerous or offputting. It's even depicted in a comedic manner in the first chapter. So it was held up as The First one.
I just- fuck the way this works perfectly into how the world of MHA looks now. The way it has always been like this, but the colourful veil of heroes fighting bad guys, this easy to accept narrative so long as you land on the Right side of the battle, hid it all. This fucking series man how is it real.
The way the world of bnha just slowly loses its beauty and allure the more youâre exposed to it, and the band-aid just being completely ripped off in this latest chapter⊠weâve had an unreliable narrator from the very beginning huh
Thinking again about how Aizawa saw the greatest tragedy of his life as a cautionary tale about hero work. Thinking about how losing Shirakumo propelled him to teaching in order to save Shirakumo in ways he hadnât been able to by teaching his students how to survive. Thinking about how in the end he always believed that death was the ultimate ending for anyone in herowork. Thinking about how this changes when he starts getting too invested in his class and has to believe that thereâs a bright future for them that doesnât end six feet under. Thinking about how he takes up Shinsou and suddenly the greatest tragedy of his life that turned into a cautionary tale has flipped once again and becomes a story about how his friend helped and inspired him to be a hero and how he wants to do the same for Shinsou. Thinking about how when he gets Eri suddenly death as his ultimate ending is no longer an option and now thereâs a future he needs to actively stay alive for and maybe love was the ultimate ending. Thinking about how Aizawaâs character arc is going from âpassive resignation to cruelties of lifeâ to âdesperately clinging onto hope and love despite his better judgements and the pains of his past.â
Why exactly do you not like class 1-B? Sorry if that sounds rude, just curious.
(plus it's always fun to read you ranting about MHA)
so, it's not that i particularly hate class 1b or anything. i even like some of their designs and i think their quirks are neat (shemage in particular is fabulous in both design and execution). it's just that, because the story is from izuku's perspective, we get to see very little of their personalities. what we do see of them is filtered through their interactions with class 1a, which means we really only ever get to see them as rivals and antagonists, albeit lower-stakes antagonists than usual. i would probably like them a lot more if we got to see more of them just hanging out as a class, rather than competing with class 1a. however, the only real glimpses we have of how they interact as a class is . . . how they treat monoma.
rant under the cut.
look, i just don't think class 1b is a very good environment for monoma, ok? class 1a would just be much better for him. i think he'd fit way better into the class dynamic and he'd be a lot more popular and well-liked. class 1b don't appreciate him, even though he spends all day every day hyping them up. and for what? to get karate chopped in the neck whenever he gets too enthusiastic? take a seat, kendo.
we already know that monoma was bullied in school for not having a "heroic quirk." the same is true of izuku and shinsou, so honestly this is probably a pretty common problem in the bnha world. if you're a kid that's being bullied, to the degree that you have any friends at all, your friends are probably other kids who are also being bullied. so how do you make friends with that kind of kid? you defend them. that is INSTANT clout on an elementary school playground. if a kid is getting picked on and you step up and say something about it, you and that kid are immediately besties. foolproof strategy, always works.
that probably worked pretty well for monoma through elementary school and middle school. he got very good at it. his prime directive for making friends became "defend your ingroup, attack your outgroup." i mean, kids can get bullied for a variety of nerdy interests, but one thing they all like is talking shit about the people who are mean to them. you will find no greater vitriol for supermodels than among the kids who get bullied for being fat. monoma learned that in order to make friends he needed to be the first person to stand up for others and the loudest person calling out injustice. that's just how it was.
unfortunately, that strategy doesn't work so well in hero school.
there's not a whole lot of bullying going on in a class made of people who want to be heroes (unless you're, like, bakugou or something), so there's not a lot of "ingroup vs outgroup" dynamics. there are cliques, but there isn't an "us vs them" mentality. not to mention, most of these kids weren't ever bullied, because they're strong and have good quirks. many of them were popular and never needed anyone to defend them because they were never under attack.
monoma's strategy no longer works, because no one needs him to fight for them.
UNLESS YOU'RE CLASS 1A!
class 1a are CONSTANTLY under attack! all the fucking time! their first day of school they weren't even allowed to go to orientation, they were immediately set the ridiculous task of figuring out how to use their quirks in brand new ways in a matter of minutes, and then told that the person who was slowest at it would get EXPELLED. it wasn't like "all of you need to reach this benchmark or you won't be able to handle the curriculum" it was literally "ONE OF YOU IS GOING HOME AND THERE'S NOTHING YOU CAN DO TO PREVENT IT, SO MAKE SURE IT ISN'T YOU!" and then, on their SECOND week of school, they get driven out to a remote facility and attacked by VILLAINS! they have to fight for their lives! they have to work together or get killed! SEVERAL OF THEM LITERALLY ALMOST DIE!
this is a class that needs monoma SO MUCH!!!
class 1a is constantly being torn down, by circumstances and by their own teacher, and they NEED a dedicated cheerleader! they need someone to hype them up! they need someone to say "i know this situation sucks but we're the best so we can do it!" they need someone to tell aizawa that he's being unreasonable, or failing that to tell the students that their teacher is wrong about them and they're not worthless or stupid or whatever else insulting things he calls them! they need someone to hype them up, to organize them against the enemy, to give an inspiring speech and get them all fired up! this isn't just artificial ingroup vs outgroup dynamic, this is a class that's constantly having to rally together to deal with clear and present danger! monoma would be GREAT at that!
and yet he gets stuck in class 1b, where all he gets for all his hype and enthusiasm is whacks to the neck and occasionally blows to the back of the head that DRAW FUCKING BLOOD.
anyway class 1b don't appreciate what they have and for that they deserve abject humiliation, thank you for coming to my TED talk.
I canât even imagine how different bnha would be if monoma was in class a. His standout personality and quick thinking would literally change the entire course of the story and iâm almost certain that he would be significantly more popular as a character than he is now. A wasted opportunity in my opinion.
Thoughts on how I write the Commission and their views on Quirkless heroes
I like writing the Commission as not actually caring if there's a Quirkless hero, because I view them as being more interested in having someone easy to manipulate, rather than even necessarily their Quirk. Let's look at for example the two heroes we know were Commission-controlled. And well, then at why they'd be fine with it.
Lady Nagant's Quirk would have some pretty negative connotations. We see her in the flashback where the Commission is making her the offer that her rifle arm is wrapped up. Japan has very stringent gun laws and her Quirk would have a negative association to it (versus the US for example, were it would have had a positive association since Second Amendment). That makes her easy to manipulate, because the Commission is making her an offer she didn't imagine possible; they're going to support her to be a hero. They're not going to treat her like just because her Quirk is literally a gun (note that with Snipe's Quirk he likely *could* use a different weapon than a gun, but if he's younger than Kain [very possible since she's in her late thirties] then the stigma isn't there quite as much for a gun user) she's a future villain or shouldn't be allowed near heroics. Instead they're going to support her, but there's just this one other thing they need her to do...
With Hawks he gets scooped up super young. Like I think we gloss over the fact sometimes he likely wasn't even ten when everything happened. He already had very heroic tendencies, but he was also the son of a villain. His mother and he after his father got arrested (and even honestly before) were extremely impoverished. They were in a garbage situation. Then the Commission comes knocking an offers them a way out, the funds to support themselves and all Hawks has to do is something he already wants to do; to become a hero. He's going to be Commission trained and controlled, but he's also going to get his dream. He's not going to be held back for being the son of a villain, his identity is as good as private, and he's going to be able to do what he's always wanted.
A Quirkless hero!Izuku (or even another person who wants to be a Quirkless hero) is someone who they would view as easy to manipulate. It's unlikely they'd have prior support, it's unlikely that they'd be able to get the sort of mentorship or access to training someone who had a Quirk could have. They could be viewed as being able to have good PR or make for a good story (look! Even if you're Quirkless you too can be a hero!). Yes Quirkless people are a steadily decreasing minority, but it also doesn't really effect the Commission's bread and circuses. If anything it allows for greater distraction, and may even give the Commission a PR boost (look at how supportive we are!).
So yeah, I know a lot of people go with the idea of the Commission being anti-Quirkless hero, but I'd actually argue for the reasons mentioned here that it's just as likely they'd be fine with it.
I'm sorry... They think what?? Katsuki engineered this situation where he'd have an audience because his apology was some kind of performance or something??? For what reason????
this absolutely sounds like an excuse theyâd make up too, âhis apology was a performance because he wants to be the center of attentionâ just like when they said he only saved Dekuâs life because he wanted to one-up him đđ
I swear, they act as if it's illegal for Katsuki to have genuine feelings. Like it's so wrong for this kid to actually feel remorse for his actions and recognize his faults.
It's not like he even tries to be in the spotlight all the time! He's just competitive when it calls for it. Like the Sports Festival, or some game at the School Festival. Other than that, Katsuki doesn't thrive to have attention on him at all times (unless you're Izuku Midoriya, but that's for another time đ).
I would actually argue that bakugou actively dislikes most forms of attention. He likes to be left alone most times and comes off as introverted or standoff-ish despite his many extroverted friends. He only cares about his goal and midoriya and gets upset when he believes he receives praise he doesnât deserve, such as when he won the sports festival. He used to egotistical, sure, but attention-seeking? how? If he was really attention seeking, he wouldâve reveled in that victory for weeks on end, no matter how he earned it.
Actually, now that I'm thinking about it. Yuuei may be the one school that gives their kids just a tad bit more free will.
Already talked about it in another post, but the dorm rooms are individually unique. Some even were decorated that would make you think "that cannot be allowed" like Koda having a pet or Aoyama's abundance of mirrors.
Then there's the uniform bit.
Some of the students don't wear the standard shoes like Midoriya and Todoroki. Some don't wear the ties or jackets. Some wear accessories and makeup and I don't think having dyed hair is even a concern given in-universe, it's very common for people to have outlandish hair colors and styles due to quirks.
Compare Yuuei to other schools and you'll see some differences.
Shiketsu students wear their hats with their hero costumes and Ketsubutsu students' looked very uniformed when they first appeared. Same shirt worn the same way and I don't recall anyone wearing their bottoms different from their peers. Even the anime-only schools had everyone dressed the same way. The Seijin (ninja) and Seiai (all girls) schools.
Visually, it supposed to help differentiate the schools for the Provisional License Exam arc, but let's think deeper than that.
Who is the principal of Yuuei? Nezu.
Why does that matter? His backstory! He was experimented on, caged. I doubt he would want anyone to feel that way, so while he does have rules, as long as the students follow those rules they are free to express themselves.
Donât forget about the absolutely gargantuan forest that the school is practically built into! there must be a ton of little nature spots that stressed out students use regularly. As far as I know, the only limit to where they can go on school grounds is curfew.
