Endeavorâs complexity and why it has become such an issue
As those who have decided to read this have likely already gathered. This is a bit of analyse on a character who has become quite controversial among the fan base of My Hero Academia. Endeavor is a character who is much more complex than you would imagine when he is first introduced. I want to get a little more into why this is and why it seems to be so upsetting to certain readers.
Upon his introduction Endeavor is shown as little more than a terrible husband and father. He neglected most of his children and put his youngest child through brutal training that would have been more in place in ancient Sparta rather than modern Japan. His wife suffered emotional, mental, physical abuse at his hands. These things are terrible and this is as far as many people who hate Endeavor get when examining him as a character. He is simply these past actions as far as they concerned.
Iâll say it again, Endeavorâs abuse of his family is awful but there are other aspects of this character that people simply refuse to acknowledge. We get a small glance at this long before we really get an in depth look at him. First and foremost is the objective fact that, despite what he has done to his family, is an empirically proven force for good in the world. He has as a Pro Hero with the highest tally of resolved cases in history. That means he has resolved more cases than even All Might.
Now I know what some people will think âHeâs a Pro Hero, of course he solves crimes and saves lives.â But that is kind of the point here. Enjiâs ambition, drive, pride, anger and âwin at all costsâ attitude could have, and perhaps should have, driven him to the life of villian. Without the restrictions of law his potential to overtake All Might would have the possibility to increase. He even acknowledges this himself when he is fighting High-End
So what kept him on the path of a hero? The answer is a combination of personal pride and the fact that he does, at his core, have some desire to good. This however is buried and covered up by rage and ambition and his single minded focus. Even his hero name is a nod to this obsession . His whole personality and life are based around surpassing All Might, but not just surpassing him he needs to do it legitimately.
This blind obsession turned him from man to monster. His treatment of his family was, in his mind, an acceptable price to pay for his ambition. His abuse is never seen to particularly hateful in nature. I will clarify what this means. Everything he did was a means to an end, we are not given the impression he enjoys what he does to his family but neither does care about the damage he has done. This in no way makes what he did any better, the abuse is just as bad as if he was doing it simply because he enjoy being cruel.
I will repeat myself, this in no way excuses what he did to his family, there is no good reason to EVER abuse anyone. But what this mean is that Enji, if granted clarity and a new perspective, he is more capable of personal growth than say characters like Ozai or Azula from Avatar: The Last Airbender who both seemed to actively delight in their torment of others.
We see this moment of clarity with retirement of All Might. After he rages and destroys his training room he is struck with an epiphany. When he finally obtains his lifeâs ambition, to surpass All Might, it is a bitter and hollow victory. He never cared about the title or prestige of being the number one hero, it was all about beating All Might. He was handed this win and this was the worst possible outcome for him. He is man who does not want anything handed to him and to have this just given to him was a wakeup call. He will never legitimately beat All Might and with that he realizes everything he put his family through simply was not worth it.
This change of heart begins to show almost immediately and we see it in several instances.
When he swallowed his pride and asked All Might for advice. This shows him changing from simply being a hero in title and profession to really trying to be a true hero.
He has made up his mind to try and be better and become a hero his son can be proud of.
He has been visiting his wife and he left the gift of a flower. I know people will say abusers will apologize and bring gifts to try and get back into their victims lives but this is different. Itâs not the gift itself that is important here but the fact that Enji remembers a specific detail mentioned only once over twenty years ago. But more than this show a genuine change as opposed to a superficial one for the public as no one, not even his children, knew he was making these visits. This was an act contrition.
Expanding on the previous point about visiting his wife. Rei knows heâs visiting and states she isnât ready to see him yet and he does not seem to press the issue. While there is no direct proof, it seems as though Enji has accepted this and not trying to force his presence on her. This is a big shift from his previous domineering and controlling nature.
When Natsuo, justifiably, shouts at him Enji calmly stands there and accepts his sonâs rage, because he knows heâs not wrong to be angry and to hate him.
This change is genuine and despite what some may think it is not an act. I pointed this out in another post in how Horikoshi has changed how he draws Endeavor. This change is indicative of a genuine shift in character. It is something artist do across media. The artist makes the choice to represent a character with a softer design to give the reader a visual indicator of this shift.
Now I will address why this has become such an issue with some in the fanbase. Endeavor has been shown to be more than simply an abuser and this complexity confuses some people. This is not to say that just because Endeavor is complex you must like him. Some people will simply just never like the character be it for his past, their personal life experiences, or any reason at all and that is perfectly fine.
The issue I take is when these individuals start to inflict their rage about the character redemption at others.
Redemption arcs are always among the most popular in any series for the simple reason that it shows someone can be better than what they were. They can be better than their past crimes. This is why Endeavor has seen an increase in popularity as of late. But this redemption has caused a very ugly side of the fandom to crop up.
I donât care when people post hate about Endeavor as a character. Heâs a fictional character and nothing any fan does will ever harm him, or really affect how the author decides to handle the character. But when this rage crosses over into the real world and becomes directed at real people I start to take issue. There is no good reason to attack people on a personal level because of a view on a fictional character.
So why do these people feel the need to attack others? Again this is not about people who simply hate/dislike the character. Those who post hate about Endeavor but donât insult/attack other fans have actually managed to garner respect from myself for not making it personal. But why are others not able keep themselves from attacking others?
The answer is could be a few things but the most likely is that they canât handle the character complexity. They are unwilling or unable to see the other sides of a character, be it emotionally or mentally. They want a simple villain and donât want the see the grey areas of the character. Endeavor has done terrible things but he has also done a great many good things. They have decided to hate this character regardless of what happens as he moves forward. To these people he will never be more than his past and donât care about his attempts to atone.
They will ignore that reconciliation is better than revenge. Forgiveness would help to heal the family. A better Endeavor is better for everyone in his life and they refuse to see that because of their feelings on the character.
theartofmadeline
origamiaround
gamechangershow
dailybridgerton
romaincrisis
blakekathryn
