In literature, the sharing of a meal is meant to symbolize an act of community, an act of making peace, etc. Therefore, rejecting a meal and a meal scene that goes poorly highlight the discord and lack of community among the participants.
The sharing of a meal is a recurring concept in the Todoroki Family Subplot in particular. This scene from the Remedial Course Arc is the first time it appears.
This is not just a petty disagreement about favorite foods between Inasa and Shouto (it is also that). Their inability to "break bread" (noodles?)/make peace is demonstrated by their failure to even agree on the food to be eaten.
Previously on BnHA: The internship kids returned to the dorms and were greeted by their worried pals. Iida hemmed and hawed. Momo made some tea. Satou shoved an entire cake into Deku’s mouth. Ochako realized she wanted to save people in addition to earning money to ease her parents’ poverty. Sero and Kirishima showered Kirishima with affectionate concern. Bakugou quietly chilled on the couch pretending not to be worried. Kaminari slid over and called him “Kacchan” like the homeboy he is. It was all amazing. The next morning, Bakugou and Todoroki headed off to their provisional license course. All Might and Present Mic showed up to chaperone them, and we learned from All Might that Kurogiri was indeed captured by Gran Torino and Naomasa, but Giganto escaped after dealing some heavy damage. The group arrived at the training course location, and everyone’s windy fave Yoarashi greeted them along with Camie (the real one!) and fucking Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs (Seiji). Also Endeavor was there to watch. And he’s going to have a private chat with All Might. Should be lots of fun, this.
Today on BnHA: Our best boys Bakugou, Shouto and Inasa (and Camie) begin the day’s training course. Endeavor cheers Shouto on from the stands and everyone is like “...” but then they notice All Might sitting next to him and they’re like “OH FUCK YEAH, ALL MIGHT.” Gang Orca walks out onto the floor, compares all of the kids to fish feces, and fucking yeets my three faves across the room. He then informs them that they lack heart, and thus he is assigning them a special trial. Enter a group of about 25 screaming elementary schoolers, plus their harried teacher who is constantly on the verge of tears. Baku, Shouto, Camie and Inasa are told that they’ll be in charge of them, and that to pass this test they’ll need to cooperate and move the children’s hearts. This is, of course, a recipe for perfect chaos, and to make things even more entertaining, Mic decides to do play-by-play commentary. Meanwhile, a surprisingly subdued Endeavor asks All Might exactly what it means to be “the Symbol of Peace.”
(As always, all comments not marked with an ETA are my unspoiled reactions from my first readthrough of this chapter. I’ve read up through chapter 187 now, so any ETAs will reflect that.)
looks like the kids have changed into their hero costumes and are trudging towards wherever the course will be taking place
aww Inasa is aggressively trying to be friends
LIGHTEN UP GRUMPY GRUMP
also I’m kind of with Inasa on this one. sorry Shouto. I’ve only had cold soba noodles like once but I wasn’t that big a fan. but udon is the shit though
Shouto apparently feels very strongly about this
I honestly can’t tell if he’s just really particular about his food, or if he feels like Inasa is trying to sneak up a metaphor on him and he’s like NOPE, NOT HAPPENING. THIS ZARU SOBA IS NOT GIVING UDON THE TIME OF DAY
oh my god Inasa is literally saying “WE’RE GONNA BECOME BEST BUDS WHETHER YOU LIKE OR NOT”
did you hear that Shouto. WHETHER YOU LIKE IT OR NOT
that means it’s happening. because like. look at him. this big fluffy airbending teddy bear is not going to not let it happen
meanwhile Bakugou is watching and being creeped out. by their attempts at friendship? or something else?
MERAAAAAAAA
I’ve been having a bit of an insomniac phase myself. so I feel ya bro
also they’re in this gym that, surprisingly, actually looks like a normal gym?? although there’s a bunch of playground equipment in one corner which is odd
Mera says that so far they’ve been doing the training course with the ten of them, but today there will be an eleventh person joining them
so is that Camie then?
meanwhile All Might and Mic are entering the spectator area and looking for someplace to sit
Mic wants to sit near the front to see better, but All Might doesn’t want to stand out
well he is pretty famous. and not to mention that Endeavor’s still right there as well and I don’t know if they’ve had their chat yet orz
oh jesus
yep. wouldn’t want to distract anyone. definitely not looking to do that, nope
starting to see why Shouto was angsting so much over that text
so Endeavor is actually screaming encouragement at him, but in his obnoxious Endeavor way
I feel like. he’s actually trying. oddly enough. but he’s just. so terrible. in so many ways
oh snap I forgot all about this
yep. the guy that wouldn’t autograph your book and subsequently changed the course of your life by causing you to withdraw your application from U.A.
oh shit now All Might’s getting recognized too
I hope they cheer the fuck out of All Might and it’s like, who even fucking cares about Endeavor
:D
hee
that’s Bakugou’s dad, you know. ever since chapter 120. and Deku’s dad too, obviously. Shouto he can be your dad too if you want. plenty of All Might to go around, and it’s not like your old man is doing such a bang up job
Shouto is literally saying “hmph” and even Bakugou is staring at him like “what’s this guy’s problem”
Mera’s telling everyone to calm down and pay attention to him again lol
and now real!Camie is properly introducing herself
ahhhh
so that’s the cover story Shiketsu came up with? or is that a story they’re telling the other kids? or does Camie herself genuinely believe this and no one actually knows she was briefly abducted and replaced by Toga?
and um. just to make sure. this is the real Camie though... right?
she’s acting differently enough that I think it is
Seiji is sitting with a Shiketsu teacher in the stands and they’re discussing it!
he says she’s “a complete and utter fool” and the teacher is gently correcting him and saying she’s “just bubbly”
so they did figure it out!
Seiji seems to actually be beating himself up for not realizing that she’d been replaced
(ETA: yeah, so rereading this, I’m getting some definite shipping pings from them now. Seiji’s clearly guilt-stricken about what happened to her, and clearly worried about her still. he didn’t attend any of the previous training sessions, based on Bakugou’s reaction, but he came along to this one now solely because Camie was going. he’s not going to let anything happen to her again. Seiji is, in fact, just a big ol’ softie you guys.)
the teacher is saying they need to make up for the absence of the Symbol of Peace immediately
I guess with this being the first time Shiketsu has been targeted, they’re finally realizing how serious this is too. U.A.’s been mixed up in this for a while, so they already know
heyyyyyy!
LOOK WHO’S BACK
he’s talking some shit about them, oooh
I assume he’s purposely trying to rile them up for whatever reason. probably because at least several of them are only here in the first place because of their poor anger management
everyone is instantly sobering up
lol Seiji
lmao
wow Gang is really laying it into them
ben·thos /’benTHäs/ (noun): the flora and fauna found on the bottom, or in the bottom sediments, of a sea, lake, or other body of water
did you just call my son a sea sponge. did you just compare them to fish poop
...
his feet
he just. flung him
is it weird that I really want to make this into an icon
...
is the whole rest of the chapter going to be like this
THERE IS NO RIGHT ANSWER HUH
this is now my favorite chapter in the history of time. also this is one instance where I’m already sure it’s impossible for the manga to be outdone by the anime. because how could it be. visually this is flawless
oh wait? is that it? just those three? no one else needs extra guidance?
so they’ve already singled out these three in particular as being the ones with the most potential, huh. sorry, Rest of the Kids
he’s chewing out Bakugou for his behavior toward the rescuees, and the other two for their whole starting-a-ridiculous-fight-in-the-middle-of-a-disaster-rescue-scenario
he says the thing they lack most is “heart”, and that they can’t expect to be heroes without it
“do you think that everyone will willingly grasp your hand when you offer it to them?!” oooh I like that. basically these idiots need to learn to be more approachable
“survive this life or death battle” lol oh shit
based on the tone of this chapter so far, I can’t help but wonder if this is going to end up being something comedically tame after all of this dramatic buildup
oh my god. suddenly I’m thinking back to that playground equipment. don’t tell me...
OH MY GOD
TODDLERS
holy shit. I count at least 24 of these tykes. and it looks like at least some of them have already manifested their quirks too oh shit
oh my god
Katsuki please don’t murder the small muppet child. I believe in you. babysit the shit out of these brats. you can do it
why do I suddenly have the feeling that maybe the elementary school just needed a substitute really last-minute and so this somehow ended up happening
now the big bird kid who called the grenades lame is running away crying
Bakugou is being chewed out by the other children and desperately trying to do some crisis management that consists of yelling at the kid to “STOP CRYING DAMMIT”
who the fuck is this
does Monoma have a younger brother we don’t know about
meanwhile three other children have cornered Shouto and are grabbing something on his utility belt and shouting “IT’S A PEEPEE” repeatedly
on the plus side, I can already sense Endeavor’s fight or flight instincts kicking in, and with any luck he’ll be out of there before we even get started
Shouto is patiently explaining that the thing on his belt is not, in fact, a peepee
this approach is not really working out for him
meanwhile still more children have surrounded Inasa and are just. punching him. for absolutely no reason
but Inasa is just taking it, and looking up at Endeavor and thinking “I won’t become like him.” awww
and yet this is not really working out either
you know, I wouldn’t have expected this to be the case, but so far Bakugou is actually managing the best here
Camie’s there too, and she’s asking if she’s supposed to be part of this training as well and what’s up with that
Gang says she’s a special case since she didn’t participate in the real test
she’s exasperated, but says that she likes kids anyway so whatever
and there’s a panel that we’re just going to skip riiiiight on past, thank you very much
suffice to say, the female kindergartners are now ganging up on Camie out of jealousy that their popular male classmate appears to like her
also, forget what I said before about Bakugou faring the best so far
little Billy, that is not a toy. please put down the grenade
these kids make flashback!baby!Kacchan look like a perfect little angel. at least he was cute
Gang somehow has faith in them though
you guys. if Kacchan somehow manages to bond with a bunch of snot-nosed little brats and become their mama I will lose my shit. please please please
(ETA: arguably this is exactly what happened. what a fine arc)
the rest of the class is meanwhile being shuttled along to have some boring lecture
lol Bakugou is despairing loudly
THIS IS THE CHARACTER DEVELOPMENT YOU NEED, BUSTER. YOU SIT THERE AND YOU TAKE IT
and seriously though, wasn’t he always the leader of his little pack of brats even as a child? can’t he just somehow tap into that little brat energy and take command of this group of kids as well? he does have a weird sort of charisma, and always has. and he’s shown patience and leadership in the past at unexpected times. I really think he can do this if he just puts his mind to it
All Might, Mic, and Endeav are sitting in the spectator section in silence
Endeav and Mic are dotting up a storm lmao
oh my
ARE YOU GOING TO PROVIDE COMMENTARY
-- HE IS OMG
he says an event without commentary has no soul
brother I’m right there with ya. why do you think I even do this. we should go get kicked out of a movie theater together
All Might’s asking if they really need “soul”, and FUCKING DUH THEY DO, ALL MIGHT
oh shit he’s commandeered Mera’s microphone
I can’t believe this man is the fucking U.A. traitor. maybe. admittedly seeming less likely by the minute
anyways, now that Mic is gone, All Might is figuring he might as well get this awkward conversation over with
he says that he doesn’t really know what to say to Endeavor in his current state
Endeav is asking if All Might’s aware that over the past month the crime rate has risen by three percent
hmm. someone sucks at his current job of being number one, huh
oh no
is Endeavor
having character development
...
motherfuc...
shit
okay look. one, dude is basically a rapist, albeit in a manner that’s just barely society-approved. two, he beat his wife and child. and three, he then had his wife committed when she had a breakdown and never bothered to do anything to try to help her (and also, you know, he’s the one who caused said breakdown in the first place)
so just a reminder. that Endeavor. not a nice guy
...but. it’s a story. and if a character actually shows a desire and willingness to try and change... well. I’m not necessarily just going to dismiss it out of hand
but this motherfucker needs to show some remorse, though. otherwise, fuck that
so whatever, Endeavor. let’s see. I have a feeling this is going to be a long, arduous process, and it might not even pan out. but it’s interesting, at the very least. and so in that sense, I’m here for it. hell, I welcome it. after all, we sure as hell didn’t get too much complex character development in the previous arc, Nighteye aside. so this... this is good
BONUS:
lmaoooooo @ “likes beer” oh god. no salary in the world would ever be enough to compensate teachers for everything that they do and all the shit they have to put up with
the fact that she’s a newbie is apparent just at a glance. give her a year or two under her belt and I bet you anything her personality completely changes. teaching is basically baptism by fire. but she will eventually learn to improvise, adapt, and overcome. and she’ll probably be a lot more drunk too lmao
