Happy birthday, Shuichi! I'm gifting you the DSM-V today for the long awaited....
Spinner's dissociative disorder coding! 🔥🔥🔥🔥
Many of BNHA's villains are implied or headcanonned to have dissociative disorders, especially after the final war arc. I don't see anybody discussing Shuichi's though, which feels to me like a lot of wasted potential! He's had evidence of one far earlier than anybody else, and I'm excited to show you all the light.
Pre-Stain
While we don't see much of Shuichi's backstory on-screen, what we do see shows up as massive bright red flags.
To begin with, Shuichi has generational trauma, which scientifically increases the likelyhood of having traumagenic disorders such as dissociative disorders. Dr. Ujiko cites current canon to be in the fifth generation of quirks (chapter one), and we see in All for One's backstory (and are told through others) that quirkism has been a problem from the start. Shuichi's family, like every other heteromorph family we see, is said to all have reptilian quirks, which gives us some context for his upbringing and what he's likely pre-disposed to. The problems we see listed here draw parallels to real life issues we can compare the consequences of. Quirk counseling was understood by the fandom to be a problem before Horikoshi seemingly reworked for Ochako's ending (which was stupid but I digress...), and it is confirmed here. I find the easiest comparisons to draw being ABA, or Residential Schools, programs that rob children of their culture, identity, and/or natural state of existence. In a world where quirks (in literal Japanese, "individuality") are a core part of someone's being, forcing someone to go against their quirk to be "normal" presents a problem. There's also, of course, the more glaring parallels between Order 66/The Great Jedi Purge and minorities (especially racial minorities) having their very existence made illegal, such as Nazi Germany or America's Jim Crow laws.
There's also the additional factor of in-utero trauma affecting children, meaning any discrimination his mother faced in their conservative town while pregnant with him will make him even more prone to having a dissociative disorder. With the context of small towns like his being willing to spray people with pesticides or kill children for the sake of "purity", I can't imagine they'd been kind to a pregnant woman who is almost definitely going to have a kid with a mutation quirk.
With that out of the way, we can get into the nitty-gritty of it.
When Spinner looks back on his life, his childhood, or his person, the main word he uses is something along the lines of "nothing". While other characters talk about their pasts and relay feelings of hurt, anger, or rare moments of joy, Shuichi is completely seperated from anything he felt. He only refers to himself as having emotions once (describing Stain awakening something in him), right before calling himself a hollow cosplayer at Dabi's prompting. This is most clearly contrasted in the final war, where everyone around him (Shoji, his followers) are looking back on their lives under systemic oppression with heavily emotional language. Shuichi gets none of that until he is directed to express emotions several times. In his own thoughts, and when in his right mind, Shuichi describes himself as completely emotionless throughout canon, even when we see this to not be true as outsiders.
His time as a hikikomori also gives us some insight to his mental state, at least in the time leading up to canon. As the phenomenon is studied in Japan, it is almost always a result of anxiety, depression, trauma, or developmental disorders. Clearly trauma is a factor with Shuichi, considering his systemic oppression, but I would consider him as explicitly depressed too. We see his cripplingly low self-esteem multiple times when we get a glance into his head, the few shots of his room pre-canon look so cluttered it's probably a biohazard in development, he has very few interests, a very low connection to his feelings, and we see that he's at least passively suicidal (such as using his body and mind as a disposable weapon for the war, when he knew this was incurable at the time).
Additionally, he has very little sense of personal identity. Outside of Stain and Tomura, Shuichi has very few qualities about himself that are consistently true, especially that hold up between his two sort of "phases" we see him go through. He likes video games, he doesn't like being called a lizard, and... that's it. Everything else about him is reliant on outsiders.
His identity issues alone are enough for me to suspect a dissociative disorder in him, but the overlap of all this lines up very clearly with diagnostic criteria. Already, I'd say he qualifies for DDNOS or OSDD-1, which, I must say for my agenda, many people diagnosed with now fall under the criteria for DID per recent DSM-V updates.
Stain
I must reiterate for this section that I love Spinner very much. It's going to sound like I'm shit-talking him, but you must be brave. Take my hand. Follow me.
Shuichi is a massive hypocrite. In the span of two panels, he wishes for the futures promised by two characters who could not be more opposite (but more on Tomura in a bit). He says explicitly here that he feels nothing, wants nothing, is nothing, and operates on nothing but brief moments of feeling.
Upon introduction, Shuichi introduces himself as a disciple of Stain. Especially compared to Dabi and Himiko, also inspired by him, he goes particularly overboard. He even names himself after his goal, being... Stain's goal (Spinner: the one who will spin Stain's dream into reality). Despite this, he is the exact opposite of what Stain prioritizes. He bursts into a camp full of children (which Stain did not target until he got jumped in an alley by one), is willing to kill heroes indiscriminately (Stain had a "checking" process which I'll make another meta on since it's not common knowledge), gives Izuku a pass just because Stain said he was fine, and works under someone Stain explicitly hates. Stain wants to fix hero society, not tear it down, and he is repulsed by people who don't have a moral code of their own (see his fight with Tomura). Even further in, Shuichi cites Stain as a reason the League shouldn't kill cops pursuing them while driving a stolen truck and helping commit more indiscriminate violence.
Even his appearance is a big blaring alarm announcing that he is just a poor copy of Stain. He wears tacky polka-dots and a pair of goggles rather than putting in the effort to find a better match. His scarf and mask are missing the wear and tear of the experience Stain has under his belt, his decade+ of working at his morals. He's missing the detail of Stain's watch. He is physically less equipped than Stain is, wearing ordinary boots, kneepads, and fewer knives around his waist. He has to force his hair into place to mimick Stain's, where the original's is just his true state of being. His character design is a walking advertisement of how poor a disciple he is.
That is because, beneath what he says, Shuichi doesn't want to be a disciple of Stain. He wants to be Stain. (Pardon my use of Smash as evidence but c'monnnnn it's so easy)
At his core, Shuichi's character is existing as a blank slate, one he repeatedly writes over and over to suit his (or someone else's) whims. He wants to be someone, someone who feels something, who has something to stand for, who is respected by those around him, who has power. Stain was the first to awaken something inside of him, and so he chased it. With no prior criminal record, no conviction to take revenge on those who had wronged him, Shuichi threw away his entire life in pursuit of an identity. It's hard to say how major of a change this was since we don't really see him pre-Stain, but it's not much of a reach to think this was a far leap from the shut-in we see in flashbacks. We're even given the visual of Shuichi pasting Stain over himself, rewriting what he is to become what he wants to be.
(Pretend the gif is here I can't find the clip anywhere - Small break because I'm out of images blah)
Todoroki Enji’s birthday and zodiac sign: August 8, Leo
According to the profile shared at the end of chap 37 Enji is born on August 8.
In Japanese numerology the number 8 (八 hachi) is considered lucky and auspicious due to its shape, which widens at the bottom, symbolizing prosperity, growth, and expanding fortune. This concept is called suehirogari (末広がり), meaning "spreading out at the end". The number 8 is also associated with concepts like "countless" or "infinite," as seen in the phrase "eight million gods" (八百万の神 yaoyorozu no kami) to represent multitude. The number 8 is also featured in names of shrines and is believed to bring divine energy and spiritual power, offering blessings and protection. People often choose dates containing the number 8 for significant events such as wedding dates and grand openings. Even when giving gifts, monetary amounts or items in sets of eight are considered lucky.
This also means his zodiac sign is Leo (獅子宮 Shishikyū).
Zodiac symbol: ♌︎ Lion
House: 5
Duration: Around July 22/23 – August 22/23
First decan (the ruling planet is Sun): Around July 22/23 – July 30/August 1
Second decan (the ruling planet is Jupiter): Around August 1/2 – August 11/12
Third decan (the ruling planet is Mars): Around August 12/13 – August 22/23
Constellation: Leo (Latin for “Lion”)
Zodiac element: Fire
Polarity: Positive
Zodiac quality: Fixed
Sign ruler: Sun
Detriment: Saturn and Uranus
Exaltation: Pluto
Fall: Neptune
Northern Hemisphere Season: Summer
Southern Hemisphere Season: Winter
Opposite sign: Aquarius
Key Traits: Confident, charismatic, generous, creative, loyal, ambitious, passionate, natural leaders and a penchant for taking center stage.
Potential Challenges: Arrogant, stubborn, with a need for attention, sensitive to criticism, impulsive, jealous, lazy when not motivated.
Horoscope (according to zodiacsign.com)
(Pluto) – MARS – (Pluto) – MARS
Color: Flame
In One Word: Raw
Shape: Arrow
Strength: Strong
Weakness: Aggressive
Most Compatible With: Aquarius
A date such as the 8th of August reminds us of the warmth of the real world and has a great responsibility with all the strength it carries along. This is a date of grand moves and choices when a lot can be done with the right focus and a solid plan that a person will stick to. Everything new will be done with ease and people born on this date are typically well-grounded, focused on the real world and ready to act.
This entire planetary row speaks of one's connection to planet Earth and speaks of the importance of the material world in lives of individuals born on August 8th. They will be filled with energy that needs to be employed and if their instincts and physical needs aren’t met at the youngest age, they could feel frustrated or become aggressive as time goes by. The energy in their lives needs to circle and balance is to be found between things they give and things they receive. With solid boundaries and carefully planning, they can achieve anything they strive for.
The Sun and Venus make the second row of this date, pointing out the importance of inspiration and creativity in the material world. Their goal is the manifestation of love and a firm personality that will allow them to stand on their true identity without diminishing their personal value or self-respect. The potential to make something magnificent is grand here, but it comes with great responsibility.
Love and Emotions
Feelings are an important destination point of those born on the 8th of August, for they are to guide them before they put their head through the wall. Their relationships will usually be intense and passionate but need to support them on a deeply emotional plane so progress in all other areas of life can be made. We will often find them in solitude or bonds that don’t truly touch their heart as they grow older, if they don’t give in to deep self-reflection and find ways to balance out their intense energies.
Initiative won’t be their issue, except when they get tied in images of cocreation with the wrong partner. As they get closer to their center of personality and allow their entire world to reshape and change, they will find someone equal and stop taking over the roles of an aggressor or a victim. They need time and usually to spend some time alone to understand their true needs and sort their priorities out, before they rush to initiate a close and a healthy relationship with the one they love.
Purpose
Liberation is the focus point in lives of individuals born on August 8th, and their social circle will most likely drastically change throughout their lifetime. More than other Leos, they feel the need to remain the part of a known system and will encounter people who resemble them in strange ways, in their incredible authenticity that might be considered eccentric or hard to accept. They are to set free of the predestined and limitations in their attitude, in order to build their own individualism in unusual ways.
What They Excel In
A person born on August 8th excels in sports and all sorts of intense activities. Time teaches them that they are to create something beautiful to make their life meaningful and they might turn to creative or artistic work as they grow older. Their passions are powerful and guide the way towards outer recognition once they are recognized for who they are by themselves.
August 8th Birthday Gift
When you choose a birthday gift for someone born on the 8th of August, you are to consider their fiery nature first and think of something in sync with their passion. Although you can always give them a gift card from a local gym or organize training with them, it would be your best bet to go with something that sparks their positive emotions and creativity. Give them a toolkit for graphic drawing, a sewing machine, or something that will keep their focus and help them relax in their hectic everyday routines.
Positive Traits for August 8th Born
Innovative, strong and energetic, they are able to perform any task and position themselves in ways that allow victory in battles that are seen as too intense or hurtful for other people.
Negative Traits for August 8th Born
With frustration on their plate, they become too intense or aggressive and need to find ways to vent and let their anger out until it is productive and supportive of their true needs.
Healing Crystal
Goethite is a very good choice of crystal for Leos born on August 8th, giving them the ability to healthily connect to planet Earth and find resourceful grounding by dealing with residual emotions that hold them back. It is a stone that gets them in touch with benefits of changes in the natural flow of things, making them open for compassion and love and aiding emotional healing. It will bring peace into their heart and teach them how to embrace pain and negative emotions and transform them into light and joy as time goes by.
Sabian Symbol
The Sabian symbol for Leo representatives born on August 8th in a year preceding a leap year:
"A Pageant, with its Spectacular Floats, moves along a Street Crowd with Cheering People"
The Sabian symbol for Leo representatives born on August 8th in a leap year and two years following it:
"The Storm Ended, all Nature Rejoices in Brilliant Sunshine"
These two symbols speak of everything that needs to show for all the right reasons, to the outer world. Other people and our planet are to see the incredible inner light of individuals born on this date, after the storm has passed and they reached the end of the tunnel they were born into. These are symbols of positive outcomes and one's struggle to reach their own inner truth that will guide them to impress the world in all its natural glory.
Vigilantes -My Hero Academia Illegals- Vol 1 Chap 3
So as I was re-reading Vigilantes I’ve decided to write down my thoughts regarding it. No idea if I’ll do it for all the chapters of the story though.
Anyway for the sake of simplicity “Boku no HERO ACADEMIA” is shortened as BNHA and “VIGILANTE –Boku no HERO ACADEMIA ILLEGAL-” is shortened as VIG.
VOLUME 1
CHAPTER 3
So this new chapter was released on December 17, 2016 on Shōnen Jump+ and, as you can notice, the series basically departed from Shōnen Jump Giga where it was previously published.
I think it’s due to this that this chapter feels more like a re-introduction to the story than a new chapter.
In fact we start with Kouichi basically reintroducing Quirk society, Heroes and the idea of Vigilantes.
Haimawari Kōichi ‘Kore wa ore janai dareka ga itteta kotona ndakedo ‘sō “kosei” shakaitte no wa’ ‘“kosei” yokuatsu shakai’ de mo arunda sōda. Chō POWER chō SPEED hikari ya netsu ya shōgekiha sonota moromoro umare motta “kosei” (CHIKARA), son’na mono o onōno ga suki katte ni tsukattara yononaka wa dai konranda. Dakara minna “kosei” o osaete hodohodo ni FUTSŪ ni kurasu―― sore ga shakai no RULE. Yuiitsu no reigai wa HERO! ! Sugureta nōryoku to jinkaku o mitome rare yo no tame hitonotame zonbun ni “kosei” o hakki suru koto o yurusa reta sonzai! Shōnen wa mina HERO ni akogare HERO o mezasu sore ga RULE no moto de “kosei” o kaihō suru yuiitsu no hōhōdakara. ... Dakedo genjitsu ni wa dare mo HERO ni nareru wake janai. Sono kekka―― ikiba no na “kosei” wa tokitoshite RULE no soto ni mukau.’灰廻航一「これは俺じゃない誰かが言ってたことなんだけど「総〝個性〟社会」ってのは「〝個性〟抑圧社会」でもあるんだそうだ。超パワー超スピード光や熱や衝撃波その他もろもろ生まれ持った〝個性〟（チカラ）、そんなものを各々が好き勝手に使ったら世の中は大混乱だ。だからみんな〝個性〟を抑えてほどほどにフツーに暮らす――それが社会のルール。唯一の例外はヒーロー！！優れた能力と人格を認められ世のため人のため存分に〝個性〟を発揮することを許された存在！少年はみなヒーローに憧れヒーローを目指すそれがルールのもとで〝個性〟を解放する唯一の方法だから。...だけど現実には誰もヒーローになれるわけじゃない。その結果――行き場のな〝個性〟は時としてルールの外に向かう。」Haimawari Kōichi “This was said not by me but by someone else, but apparently a “an all-“Quirk” society” is also a “society of “Quirk” suppression.” If everyone were to use their innate “Quirk” (powers/abilities/strength)— super power, super speed, light, heat, shockwaves, and all sorts of other abilities— as they pleased, the world would descend into chaos. So everyone suppresses their Quirk and lives a normal life in moderation—that’s the rule of society. The only exception are Heroes! They are recognized for their superior abilities and character, and are allowed to fully utilize their Quirk for the good of the world and its people! Every boy longs to become a Hero and aims to be one because that’s the only way to “unleash their Quirk” under the rules... But in reality, not everyone can become a Hero so as a result— (people with) “Quirks” with nowhere to go sometimes venture outside the rules.”
For the things that get lost in translation we have one of the many cases in which kanji says something, in this case ‘kosei’ (個性 “Quirks”) but the reading says something different, in this case ‘CHIKARA’ (チカラ “powers/abilities/strength”), associating Quirks to special powers.
We continue with ‘Ikiba no na’ (行き場のな) which is likely a contraption of ‘Ikiba no na(i)’ (行き場のな（い）) means “nowhere to go”, but it can refer to a state where one’s heart and emotions are aimless and floating in mid-air, or a state where one has lost a physical place to stay or a sense of belonging.
And this introduction continues to point out how Kouichi isn’t exactly a supporter of this world as he remarks how HE wasn’t the one who said a Quirk society should be a society in which Quirks are suppressed. Kouichi do not agree with this rule, and the visual also kind of imply how we shouldn’t agree.
In fact it depicts people using their Quirks as happy and on a shiny background while people who suppress their Quirk look unhappy when not angry, covered in grey and, well, you get the feeling they are just an impersonal mass of people who conform to rules and become all the same.
It’s a subtle, visual criticizing of Japan’s conformity culture, which is deeply rooted in collectivism and the concept of ‘Wa’ (和), which translates to “social harmony” and “peaceful unity”. According to Japan culture placing the group’s needs above individual desires minimizes conflict and drives the nation's exceptional public cleanliness, low crime rates, and societal efficiency.
I guess that what VIG is trying to say is not that conformity culture is completely bad, but that it becomes bad when it ends up suppressing the individual’s personality/individuality to force them to conform, in fact ‘kosei’ (個性), generally translated as “Quirk” can also mean “personality”, “individuality”.
Kouichi goes on claiming how Heroes are the only exception to this rule, the ones who are so exceptional that they are allowed to use their Quirk but also… to manifest their personality.
This feels even more marked if we think at the Heroes’ costumes that markedly make them different and single them out but in a way that society accepts.
And here Kouichi says something that BNHA didn’t mention, his own personal belief on why kids wants to become Heroes. Not to save people or be cool or get rich but TO USE THEIR QUIRKS. Basically to express themselves, their own personality, their own individuality.
On the surface none of the kids in BNHA expresses such wish, so we could take this as something that regards just Kouichi, unless we remember this was the problem the members of the League had, that they were asked to suppress their own personality and conform to the situation they’re in… only the story touched this much, much later so again, VIG is the first to introduce the concept of how some people can’t just accept to conform, even if in a much tamer way than the Villains in BNHA do.
And again the visual helps us to get how the fact not everyone can be a Hero (and therefore not everyone can get to use his Quirk aka express himself) is represented negatively as we start with a bright panel of a young Kouichi and we continue with a panel that starts getting darker as Kouichi removes his hood and we continue with Kouichi walking toward that darkness, in a panel that has no more white, no more light.
And then Kouichi goes on pointing out how since not everyone can become a Hero others might try to find other ways to express themselves. Now you might say, Kouichi is referring to how he’ll become a Vigilante not a Villain… but being a Vigilante, as this chapter itself will remind us, is still not legal because remember? This series is actually called “VIGILANTE -Boku no HERO ACADEMIA ILLEGALS-” so the illegal part of being a Vigilante is RIGHT IN THE TITLE.
Vigilantism is a CRIME, though one that is handled rather lightly, we saw this in BNHA too when Midoriya and Co faced the Hero Killer.
Anyway, after this intro speech from Kouichi the story starts with two middle schoolers, Samazu Ichimoku and Namimaru Jūbee which are clearly based on two X-men, Cyclop and Wolverine, are having a fight with their Quirks in front of the station and so Kazuho warns Kouichi about it.
You might notice how this time we have middle schoolers while previously we had a cast of people who were past high school age (with the exception of Kazuho, yes, which was called a high schooler despite it’ll turn out she is actually a middle schooler, but whose age was unknown at the time). Including middle school boys or even elementary school boys is often used in manga to encourage a younger target to follow a story. VIG clearly started as aimed to an older audience but I think Shūeisha decided they could also tap into the BNHA audience and wanted younger characters to be included so that younger readers could feel drawn to the story.
Not too young hence not elementary school kids, but still they aimed to younger readers too.
Anyway Kouichi reaches Ichimoku and Jūbee and tell them to stop.
We can see he has upped his equipment so now he has better protection for when he fails to stop and crash into some trash. They are a courtesy of Knuckleduster because it turns out that, differently from what previously established, Slide and Glide, Kouichi’s Quirk, can go faster than a bike, it’s just Kouichi doesn’t use it to its full potential because since he has no brakes it would be too risky.
Honestly I smell retcon here, but it’s so smoothly handled I do not mind because this is the point with retcons, as long as you smoothly insert them in a way the reader might miss, they’re fine. It’s when they are OBVIOUS retcons like in BNHA that they become annoying.
Something worth mentioning is that Knuckleduster, who previously was all right with Kouichi being called ‘KOUICHI’ or ‘Shinsetsu MAN’ (親切マン “Nice Guy” lit. “Kind-Man”) now tells him he ha sto pick up another name… BECAUSE THE VILLAINS AREN’T GOING TO RESPECT “NICE GUY”.
Knuckleduster wants to teach Kouichi to become the sort of person that he is, one that deals with Villains using his fists… which is so NOT KOUICHI.
Kouichi is Nice Guy, in name and in actions, through him Kouichi was indeed expressing himself, his own personality, his own individuality.
But Kouichi plays along with Knuckleduster and does something similar to Midoriya, takes something that he previously view negatively, the fact that his Quirk made him crawl and tries to reframe it in a cooler way, basically deciding his new name will be ‘THE CRAWLER’ (ザ・クロウラー). He paints it so that it becomes his choice to crawl, aka to use his Quirk, and he probably chooses to give himself an English name because it sounds cooler, because Heroes have English names and he wants to make his choice to use his Quirk, even if it means he’ll crawl, something cool.
It is Kouichi’s attempt to be reborn into someone else, to rebrand himself and… as soon as he presents himself as ‘THE CRAWLER’ he discovers… it fails.
Ichimoku and Jūbee recognize him for ‘Shinsetsu MAN’ (親切マン “Nice Guy”), the guy who picks up the trash and… find what he does admirable.
Kouichi has a negative view of himself, and mind you, society helped him to shape it as such because he wasn’t one of those flashy Heroes, but he actually didn’t need to be one to do good, and people could see it. Even in chap 1 people showed they liked “Nice guy”.
On the other side when he tries to rebrand himself as ‘THE CRAWLER’… people can’t even understand how he is called, Ichimoku and Jūbee understanding that his name, instead than ‘THE CRAWLER’ (ザ・クロウラー) is ‘Kurō MAN’ (苦労マン “Hard-working man”).
Kouichi couldn’t be more distant from ‘THE CRAWLER’, the vigilante he and Knuckleduster envisioned than this, people do not even understand his name (as it’s a foreign world) and rename him with a Japanese word that sounds similar to it but that, in their opinion, is more fitting for Kouichi, “Hard-working Man”.
Of course, in order for the whole thing to work in English, ‘Kurō MAN’ (苦労マン “Hard-working man”) is changed into ‘The Cruller’. For who, same as me, is not English, a cruller is a deep-fried pastry often shaped like a twisted knot or a fluted ring… and yeah, it works in terms of similar sounding words but it completely loses the original Japanese meaning, which was indeed fitting for Kouichi.
Unless you try to stretch things assuming Cruller implies Kouichi is soft and delicate, there is no connection between it and Kouichi, Kouichi can be identified with someone who works hard, ‘Kurō MAN’ (苦労マン “Hard-working man”), but not with a Cruller.
The result is that Ichimoku and Jūbee fail to understand his new name and when he tells them no more fighting as violence never solved anything they end up attacking him.
And this is just Kouichi at his best, Knuckleduster wanted him to have a new name that would inspire respect, and not only Kouichi’s older name inspired MORE RESPECT than the new one, but Kouichi’s non violent approach doesn’t inspire violent people to listen to him, they feel like he doesn’t know his place, coming to tell them what they should do.
Knuckleduster comes and would like to solve things with violence only for Kouichi to stop him because Kouichi is just against it.
The difference between the two is jarring, Knuckleduster thinks using violence would be faster and refreshing and doesn’t see why he can’t do it and Kouichi just sits on the opposite spectrum and Knuckleduster doesn’t seem to understand Koichi’s point of view or why Kouichi wouldn’t embrace his own.
This exchange though doesn’t carry on the story but reintroduces the characters. As I said this chapter is more a re-introduction of the story, and we continue on this vein when Kazuho decides to take matters in her hands and join the two.
From the reaction of the boys, in case we hadn’t seen the previous chapters, we can figure she is an idol of some sort since they watch her videos and she gives them her autograph so in a way she is reintroduced too.
And then out of nowhere someone screams there’s a Villain.
Kouichi saves a baby who risked falling.
Knuckleduster attack the Villain and Kazuho basically explain the boys AND TO THE READER WHO MIGHT NOT HAVE READ THE PREVIOUS CHAPTERS, everything that was said previously about Trigger.
Meanwhile the Villain, Iwakō Akira, is defeated by Knuckleduster (okay, Kouichi tried to help but didn’t manage to accomplish much as fighting is not his thing), who knocked him down and punched him so bad his face is barely recognizable. Still Knuckleduster tells Kouichi to get his picture and ID and… aren’t you noticing how something is missing.
In the previous chapter they caught a drug dealer, Kugutsu Mario and while this should be a big deal… in this chapter there is no mention of it. It had no consequence whatsoever.
And this Villain too is a nobody with zero characterization. It only exist to hand Kazuho an excuse to explain Trigger in a way that can make interesting for the readers to re-read about it.
And LOL, Furuhashi even gets to make a bit of anti-drug propaganda by having Ichimoku and Jūbee say that drugs are bad, which makes sense if they want to include younger audience. Older audience doesn’t need for this to be spelled out but it wouldn’t hurt to spell it out for the younger audience.
We get another monologue by Kouichi, one that kind of ties in with the one at the start of the chapter.
Haimawari Kōichi ‘Shōnen wa mina HERO o mezasu dakedo genjitsu ni wa dare mo ga HERO ni nareru wake janai. Ikiba no nai “kosei” wa tokitoshite RULE-gai mukau. Aru mono wa nichijō no naka de chikara o bōhatsu sa se, aru mono wa wagami o kaibutsu ni kaete shimai, soshite mata aru mono wa ― HERO o katte ni hajimete shimattari suru.’灰廻航一「少年はみなヒーローを目指すだけど現実には誰もがヒーローになれるわけじゃない。行き場のない〝個性〟は時としてルール外向かう。ある者は日常の中で力を暴発させ、ある者は我が身を怪物に変えてしまい、そしてまたある者は―ヒーローを勝手に始めてしまったりする。」Haimawari Kōichi “Every boy dreams of becoming a hero, but in reality, not everyone can become a Hero. (people with) “Quirks” with nowhere to go sometimes head outside the rules. Some unleash their powers in everyday life, some transform themselves into monsters, and others—simply start their own heroic ways.”
It’s worth to mention Kouichi doesn’t use a lot the term Villains. Here for example he goes with ‘kaibutsu’ (怪物 “monsters”) while in the first chapter it was ‘YABAI yatsu’ (ヤバい奴 “bad/dangerous guy”). This is again fitting if we see VIG as discussing identities more than the legality of one committing a crime or not.
By the way, during the monologue we see MIDDLE SCHOOL Midoriya. My personal guess is that the authors of VIG were originally thinking their story would take place when Midoriya was in middle school, and only afterward they were told/decided that the story had to start when Midoriya was in Elementary school (it’ll be said in an author note that Midoriya is in elementary school).
The chapter could end here, with Ichimoku and Jūbee asking our Vigilantes who are they and Kouichi answering they are the mysterious new Heroes before leaving with the others but no, VIG now let the police have its own space.
Sansa and Tsukauchi, who came to arrest Iwakō Akira, discuss the case.
Now a bit of info from BNHA about how people are filed.
So in Chap 8 BNHA talked about a ‘kosei todoke’ (個性届 “Quirk report/notification/registration”) which Midoriya needed to obtain from city hall and submit to U.A. which clearly is meant to declare his Quirk but that can also be updated. Then in Chap 22 BNHA talked about the ‘kosei tōroku’ (個性登録 “Quirk registry”), as the police tried to figure out who Tomura and Kurogiri were by checking if their Quirks would appear on it.
This tells us that all the Quirks are registered and so are their owners.
Lastly, in chap 83 Tsukauchi claims they searched if Tōya’s physical description matched the one of a ‘Kako no hanzai-sha’ (過去の犯罪者 “past criminal”).
Now Sansa pulls out a new thing, the ‘teki (read: VILLAIN) LIST’ (敵（ヴィラン）リスト “opponent/enemy (read: villain) list”) on which they couldn’t find trace of Iwakō Akira.
Basically, according to VIG, there isn’t just a criminal list, for ‘hanzai-sha’ (犯罪者 “criminals”), no, there is a VILLAIN list, and while it’s true that the police do file criminals for criminal offenses, well, this means placing A LOT of emphasis on Quirk use as a crime, instead than on how Quirks are used to commit the crime.
I mean, Muscular uses his Quirk to murder people, while the most character like Gentle Criminal and Mr. Smiley use their Quirk for are to help them to escape after causing mild annoyance and then there was the huge Villain on chap 1 who was a mere purse snatcher and La Brava, who probably used her Quirk to help Gentle only once, against the fight with Midoriya, as normally her crime is hacking and this has nothing to do with her Quirk…
Yeah, they all are considered Villains but the idea that, to find into about a Villain that caused damage, you would have to look into a list that place together a guy who enjoy hurting and murdering with a guy who does graffiti on the walls and another who annoys corporations who, according to him are corrupt to track down a guy that felt public damage feels ridicule…
But okay, let’s blame this to how VIG might want to give us some background info instead than to a real police work and let’s go on. After all they likely have computers and computers do not really take long into checking lists and… and since they couldn’t find info about Iwakō Akira on the Villain list they are now searching him on the overly mentioned ‘kosei tōroku’ (個性登録 “Quirk registry”).
Basically yes, the Quirk registry is used to file all the people in Japan using their Quirks… still, at this point, I would have found more useful if the police were to check the Quirk registry from the start and then see if the name they would come up with would be listed as a Villain as well. I mean, they are always using computers to check so again, the time wouldn’t be wrong and honestly, since Knuckleduster beat him so hard his face was unrecognizable they were checking for his Quirk from the start.
Whatever.
Sansa goes and claims that since the suspect’s Quirk involves ‘Kōka’ (硬化 “Hardening”),’ Kairiki’ (怪力 “Superhuman strength”) and ‘Kyodai-ka’ (巨大化 “Gigantification”) it should be easy to track down as ‘fukugōteki “kosei”’ (複合的〝個性〟 “composite type ‘Quirk’”), aka quirks which are the result of a combination of both parents’ Quirks are easy to track down as they’re rare and… hum… I take problems with this.
Shōto’s Quirk belong to this type (so if Sansa’s words were true it would make Enji’s attempt to get a dual Quirk rather foolish)… but even if it is not specifically said we see other students in U.A. have Quirks that can be considered of this type, starting with Bakugō, whose Quirk is a combination of his parents’ Quirks.
True, it can be that composite Quirks are getting more common NOW, but weren’t in the past as the class A kids are likely a fifth generation Quirk owners (at least Midoriya is) while Iwakō might be a forth or a third and maybe Sansa refers to that type of combination but still I don’t think it’s a smart thing to have Sansa say so.
On the other side, differently from BNHA, VIG generally does not have composite Quirks so I guess it makes sense for the VIG universe.
Tsukauchi though says that they wouldn’t identify him (Iwakō) using the existing lists. In fact Tsukauchi has noticed Iwakō’s tongue and figured he had taken Trigger, or better that he has taken ‘kosei inshi yūhatsu busshitsu (IDIO TRIGGER)’ (個性因子誘発物質（イディオ・トリガー）lit. “individuality factor inducing substance (IDIO TRIGGER)”).
Yeah, this is the full name of the Trigger drug, used for the first time in this chapter, and I’ll stop for a moment on it.
If I do not remember wrong in the BNHA manga it is only called “Trigger” and only in the “World Heroes' Mission” they call it “Ideo Trigger” and calling it Ideo Trigger is, in a way, a pity, because the Japanese name is likely a wordplay implying that the drug triggers you into becoming an idiot (due to how it weakens the user’s rationality) and the word ‘ideo’ which is a prefix or combining form that means “idea” or “mental image” just doesn’t give you the same vibe.
Since Iwakō took Trigger, Tsukauchi states he is one of those ‘Toppatsusei teki (VILLAIN)’ (突発性敵（ヴィラン） “instant enemy (Villain)”). This basically make official this Japanese name for the instant Villains in place of the one Knuckleduster used in chap 2 ‘Sokuseki teki (VILLAIN)’ (即席敵（ヴィラン） “instant enemy (Villain)”). As in the same chapter Aizawa too used ‘Toppatsusei teki (VILLAIN)’ I do wonder if the name was retconned and Horikoshi had knuckleduster use ‘Sokuseki teki (VILLAIN)’ by mistake.
Anyway… Trigger was supposed to boost a person’s Quirk not to give a person new Quirks, but we see it actually does any sort of mess in VIG. Sometimes people turn into giants, sometimes their Quirk expand on their whole body, sometimes they get stronger, sometimes it makes their Heteromorph look even more Heteromorph-like giving them additional features… so I guess that’s why Tsukauchi thinks Iwakō’s three Quirks might be three due to it and it would be hard for them to figure which one is the original one.
However it really doesn’t feel like a big problem to me. Iwakō isn’t dead so they can just question him. If he is uncooperative they can detain him and wait for the bruises to disappear so that they can get a clear look to his face and for Trigger to lose its effect so they can figure out which is his original Quirk. Really, finding out who he is won’t be a problem (and, in fact, Iwakō will be cooperative).
Anyway, Tsukauchi, noticing how the instant Villain’s face is damaged, wonder which Hero di dit and claims they could get their license suspended for excessive use of force…
Tsukauchi Naomasa ‘Kajō kōdō de mentei ni naru zo.’
塚内直正「過剰行動で免停になるぞ。」Tsukauchi Naomasa “Their excessive actions/behavior could result in their license being suspended.” [Chap. 3]
… which would be nice if it wasn’t that we saw All Might in the first chapter break the teeth of a Villain and the whole thing was shrugged off. Coherency much?
Sansa replies people saw two “Heroes” dealing with the guy but…
Tamagawa Sansa ‘Kono chiiki e no hīrō no shutsudō wa no hōkoku sa rete imasen.’
玉川三茶「この地域へのヒーローの出動はの報告されていません。」
Tamagawa Sansa “No hero deployments have been reported in this area.” [Chap. 3]
Basically Sansa is implying Heroes should come here if dispatched which makes me wonder: we saw in BNHA Heroes patrolling areas and even jumping into action when it’s not their place to act because another Hero was fighting and we know Heroes have areas they supervise so… is the idea that no Hero was assigned to this area and that they would come here only if they were to be summoned?
This depicts Naruhata as a very bad area since it is not officially supervised by any Hero.
On the other side we stumble in a VIG problem as Tsukauchi and Sansa are here… but they are also the police officers assigned to the U.A. High area.
Naruhata is in the Tokyo area while U.A. is in the Shizuoka area. Yes, it is possible to assume Tsukauchi and Sansa were both conveniently transferred in another area, but this is clearly more due to how VIG wants to use characters the BNHA readers would know hence it uses Tsukauchi and Sansa.
Anyway as, due to what Sansa stated, Tsukauchi says the one dealing with the Villains might ‘Higōhō (ILLEGAL)’ HERO’ (非合法（イリーガルス）ヒーロー “Unlicensed (read: illegal) Hero”), in short ‘Jikei-dan (read: VIGILANTE)’ (自警団（ヴィジランテ） “self defense group (read: vigilante)”).
VIG seems to like to use kanji and then give them a completely different reading when they name things. We saw this with Trigger and we see this with Vigilantes. I guess the kanji are a convenient way to explain the meaning of the trendy English words they use to name things but still it’s a lot of ‘written like this, read like that’.
Still, Sansa thinks it’s fine they’re dealing with Vigilantes since in the end they defeated the Villain but Tsukauchi corrects him saying they have laws for a reason and so it doesn’t matter if you’re dealing with a Villain or not, taking the law into one’s hand is a crime.
Tsukauchi Naomasa ‘Hōritsu tte mono ga aru nda. Aite ga teki (VILLAIN)darouga nandarouga... Kojin ni yoru rinchi kōi wa hanzaida yo.’
塚内直正「法律ってものがあるんだ。相手が敵（ヴィラン）だろうがなんだろうが...個人による私刑行為は犯罪だよ。」Tsukauchi Naomasa “There are laws. No matter if the other person is an enemy (read: villain) or whatever... acts of vigilante justice by an individual are a crime.” [Chap. 3]
It’s interesting how VIG is also the first to introduce Tsukauchi’s obsession with sticking with law that will lead him to comment that “Aoyama turned his back to decent society” when the poor boy was blackmailed by AFO who threatened to kill him and his parents and didn’t decide to die with them.
We finish with a funny moment as Kasuho is at Kouichi’s home and is checking the net’s response to their action and informs Kouichi that everyone is talking about him calling Knuckleduster ‘Kaijin genkotsu jijiI’ (怪人ゲンコツジジイ “Mysterious/monster/freak clenched fists/knuckles old man/granpa”) and him ‘Kurō MAN’ (苦労マン “Hard-working man”), which cause Kouichi to protest loudly that his name is “THE CRAWLER”.
Really, it’s kind of fun because I think people are still admiring him and, in a way, naming him correctly as he is a hard-working guy, but to Kouichi, who wanted to sound cool and rebrand himself as “The Crawler”, can’t appreciate it.
The anime and its differences with the manga
the anime introduces earlier the flashback about Knuckleduster giving Kōichi gloves, though it cuts the part in which Kōichi explains he can go faster than a bike but it would be dangerous, but adds Knuckleduster giving him a body armor, which honestly works better because in the manga it wasn’t clear he also got it. On the opposite side the anime postpone Knuckleduster telling Kōichi he needs another name because Villains aren’t going to respect someone called Nice Guy. As for the rest it was more or less same as the manga so yeah, the changes aren’t a big deal.
The parents in our country also have risk of losing custody if their child iis unchecked, which is a rule Japan irl doesn't necessarily have, and it's understandable they don't honestly as Japan (as far as i know, please excuse my ignorance, if it's otherwise) is one of the safest country. But can we say the same for Mha's Japan? Where villainy is a rampant thing. Even though All Might's era provided bliss, Endeavor was still the number 2 hero, with villains holding grudge against him and such, someone as capable of Endeavor shouldnt count thr risk that his family might be targetted? Touya was kidnapped by All For One after all. Yes civilian kids might be as safe unchecked like real life Japan, but can we say the same for top hero's kids/families?
This makes me question, did touya ever feel anything about the fact that he, a hero's kid, who was supposed to be one of the most protected individual by default, was abducted and his own father couldn't protect him?
Yes, we can say the same for BNHA Japan. It it too children are allowed to go unchecked for a young age.
Think at how, at the very start of the story, we see 4 years old Midoriya and Bakugou being at a park without adult supervision (which also allow Bakugou and his friends to beat Midoriya black and blue without any adult getting in the way), think at how Kouta could wander alone at night with Mandalay admitting she didn't know where he always wandered to (what if he were to slip and break his neck?), think at how middle school Asui is left home alone with her elementary school siblings while her parents are away travelling (meaning also the siblings get home alone as they end school before her), think to how 5 years old Tenko used to go play out of the house alone and, even more, think at how he was left wandering on the streets when he was clearly distressed and in troubles because a Hero or the police would find him and help him, think at how Mahoro and Katsuma's father left them at home alone, think at how Rody and his siblings live alone without social services checking on them.
Actually BNHA is probably worse than real life Japan in leaving the children unsupervised...
I do not think that Hero kids are more protected than normal kids in BNHA, which is why Touya was free from age of 3 to go somewhere to train (possibly Sekoto Peak) even when he was forbidden to do so and no bodyguard stopped him.
He hopes his father will show up but clearly doesn't expect any other adult to do so in order to insure he is safe.
But yes, Enji should have protected him and Touya is clearly very upset Enji didn't show up on Sekoto Peak, even if at first he tried to excuse him saying it was probably because he was busy and then came to think it was because he didn't care.
But he surely didn't expect any special treatment and likely Japan didn't expect him to receive some.
We see how an Hero's first duty is to protect society and being a parent comes second.
I can’t quite grasp the tone of this ask, but I’m happy to elaborate. I see more similarities between BNHA and X-Men than other superhero media. Similarities include:
People are born with unique powers — quirks in BNHA, mutations in X-Men.
Society is structured around powers — the absence of them in BNHA, where the quirkless are a functionally unprotected and powerless minority, and the presence of them in X-Men, where mutants are legally unprotected and discriminated against.
Questions arise about what links, if any, powers have to morality — the way certain quirks are seen as automatically villainous in BNHA, the way the existence of mutations themselves are seen as dangerous even when they aren’t
Questions arise about the responsibility of those with powers to those who have lesser or no powers at all
The structure of the story — X-Men is originally built around a school for mutants, and BNHA is about a hero academy
X-Men and BNHA both allow for their villains to be complex and human, and sometimes to have wholly understandable motivations for their ultimately unjustifiable actions.
Based on all of those similarities, which I assumed were intentional due to Horikoshi’s consistent referencing of Western comics, I expected BNHA to handle the villains and the final act much differently than they actually did. While X-Men continues to address the complexity, BNHA ditched it in favor of a more sanitized and simplistic ending, more in line with the MCU* than with X-Men. Which I found disappointing for a whole host of reasons, not the least of which was that the villains were murdered and the conditions that led to the creation of the villains weren’t addressed or remedied**.
*before anybody goes bananas on me, I’m not saying that people who like the MCU are dumb or that engaging with the story is a waste of time. I’m just saying that The Avengers is not as complex of a story as X-Men First Class.
**I know Ochako reinvented quirk counseling. That might have helped Toga (and maybe Dabi) but it wouldn’t have saved Twice, Spinner, Magne, or Tomura, which means it’s ultimately insufficient. It wouldn’t be as frustrating if it wasn’t the ONLY thing that changed. And don’t get me started on the grandma thing.
My headcanon for bnha and how the earth is still kicking despite quirks appearing well into global warming starting (2000 - 2020s) is that a girl is born in Nigeria with a powerful prophetic quirk. But only for weather. Yk how computers struggle to come up with long term accurate models for weather(not climate) due to the small initial difference of conditions causing completely different results?
Kyauta's quirk does not suffer from that which is why it is so powerful. She can basically see weather on whatever day next week completely accurately wherever she is.
As a small kid it's great, always knowing and feeling the weather next day, telling her parents about it so they know.
Then in middle school another girl with a small ice quirk asks her how far she can see and they decide to check.
They find out she can see 5 years into the future. It's way too warm for the rainy season. She looks 10 years into the future and there is no rain. The climate has shifted too much. She looks 20 years into the future and it feels like she can't breathe.
Kyauta breaks down then and there. 20 years into the future she will not be able to breathe where she stands because it will be too hot. They learnt about climate change but surely they have more time.
They don't. Or at least whatever happens means they don't.
The girl next to her, with a weak ice quirk listens to her crying and then they walk home after classes, but they stop halfway through.
Safiya expels as much ice as she can being 11 and asks if it changes what happens 20 years later. It doesn't. But for some reason it does 5 years later. It's not as hot.
So they get Safiya's big brother the next day and together they make as much ice as they can. It doesn't change the weather in 5 years though.
What they don't know is that their teacher sees them and they know Kyauta crying was about the future so she pulls her aside and asks what she saw and what is she Safiya are doing.
They are changing the weather. It's important. Please you need to understand we will not be able to breathe.
The teacher listens.
The thing is, this is not a normal school. The very first quirk holders are now around 15 and these kids have been sent to a special schools just for kids like them.
The more important thing is that the world has not yet broken down. There have been now wars and war lords yet but everyone is looking and trying to come up how the fuck you regulate quirks internationally. Some scientists say that ethically, they should probably kill children born with quirks, cus we don't need another arms race but child soldier edition.
Not everyone holds this opinion though. Someone sees a flash of a brilliant future, and the teacher listens, and Kyauta stands before the government officials and explains.
They see the fire in her eyes born from fear and they sponsor the best education they can. She says no, she needs more, she needs to start now.
And so she goes, 11 year old surrounded by the best climatologists they could find and get here and they experiment with Safiya's and her brother's ice quirks. It's not enough. Of course it isn't. So they expand the search. They go around Africa and everywhere it's the same tragedy but also more kids with ice and water and cooling quirks.
Nigeria creates a taskforce and by this point the breakdown of international relations has already started so they just say fuck every one of you, and just allow any and all quirk usage. Some countries say fuck you back but others try to support them. More scientists, more analysis, 15 and 16 and 17 year olds with even the smallest of cooling quirks. 5 years it's hotter but not as hot as she saw when she was 11.
There are kids who can purify air, who can pull on even the tiniest of plastics, who can encourage growth the results of which can only be seen in a year. It's all so small and they themselves are small.
Infrastructure has started breaking down all over the world but they cannot allow more carbon emissions, so they start sending out sabotage parties and pray it does not trigger a war and no one notices. Either no one does notice or they have other fucking problems.
It's rotten work but in 10 years it's just as hot as it was 5 years ago, not hotter. The 10 year prognosis is bearable and god they are doing it. It lits a fire in the people. They can turn the wheel of fate this is not a story of apocalypse quite yet.
Safiya sends herself and her brother to the Antarctic to figure out if they can maybe get some of the reflectiveness and volume back. They cannot, but a 17 year old from Japan heard of them and hitched a ride to get to their base and he doesn't have an ice creation but ice manipulation quirk and maybe he can help. God please let him.
In the end they do turn the global warming back in 30 years. Most governments are holding on by a thread grasping at stability as the second generation of quirks grows up but at least they have time now.
Kyauta continues her work throughout. She scours every continent, updating the predictions every year, figuring out how to most effectively push back on it all. Where they can have wind manipulators try push back a tornado, or maybe stop a tsunami with water manipulators, while the ice creators fuck around in the arctic. They are the first organization to ever debut chains of warpers just to move people around more effectively.
All For One rising to his power in Japan makes sure to donate and assist them as much as he can.
Kyauta does not have any biological kids, but she dies surrounded by family nonetheless at 89 and promises them that the future has a gentle breeze at her back. The taskforce carries on without her, never disbanding, always monitoring the climate throughout the planet. Africa remained the most stable region through the dawn of quirks purely due to the quirk users having a purpose and the counties supporting it.
I think Horikoshi’s problem is that he really wanted to write the X-Men but chickened out and ended up with The Avengers.
A lot of what’s wrong with BNHA would be fixed if it was an X-Men-type story. You can still have the fun hero team-ups and the scary villains and the bullshit resurrections, but an X-Men story allows for conflict and complications in a way that The Avengers really doesn’t. X-Men allows its villains to be human. It allows the story to actually confront hard questions and doesn’t always give easy answers. And as a result, it’s much more interesting and enjoyable to read than “rotating cast of heroes punches rotating cast of villains.”
And set-up wise, BNHA seemed headed that way. Horikoshi gestured at some of this stuff early on, although it was subtle and easily missed by the section of the fandom that went to clown school instead of junior high. Some of the things I noticed were:
- Stain’s existence, while it’s meme-ed like crazy even in-universe, serves to advance a coherent, structural critique of BNHA’s society. Sure, we had Shigaraki yapping at USJ, but Stain makes a very clear point and he makes it well. The opening scene of BNHA turns heroism into a blood sport played by powerful, fame-hungry people who are tacitly above the law. Stain is an extremist. Stain is also not wrong.
- Midoriya’s questions about the limits of heroism. Shigaraki brings it up during the mall scene, and Midoriya’s clearly troubled about it. He mentions it to All Might, and rather than spouting the same kind of platitudes as usual, All Might admits the truth: He can’t save everyone. He’s only human. He can try to light the way for “all of them” (civilians, heroes, and villains), but essentially, he admits that Shigaraki’s right and acknowledges villains as being worthy of saving. (and then Tsukauchi pops up with “Shigaraki is probably just a sore loser.” Honestly, fuck that guy.)
- The students’ initial reactions to Bakugou’s behavior. In middle school, Bakugou has fans, if not friends, but when he gets to high school, the initial reaction to his behavior from his peers is a collective “eugh.” They find it off-putting and anti-heroic, and they aren’t shy about saying so, and they openly prefer Midoriya, who’s awkward but ultimately friendly and supportive. Bakugou has the makings of a hero who will succeed in BNHA’s world — and his classmates make it clear they don’t see him as heroic at all.
All three of these examples are Horikoshi challenging aspects of hero-media canon, particularly Avengers-era hero media. Heroes aren’t above critique, or at least, the narrative doesn’t actively smack down anyone who critiques them (yet). Heroes aren’t infallible. Power doesn’t equal heroism or goodness. Time and time again, we’re shown that one guy who’s super good at punching isn’t enough to solve society’s problems. And then we hit the back half of the story —
— where it turns out that in fact, one guy punching super hard IS enough to solve all the problems. Heroes are always right, and anyone who critiques them will get lectured and discredited. Villains aren’t salvageable, or even part of society in the first place. No complexity. No grappling with the issues the story initially raised. Just a nice, sanitized happy ending.
I take it back. BNHA didn’t get Avengered. It got Disneyfied.
you know one of the little mysteries i have been banging my head at is New Order as a Quirk. The problem is that it could be an incredible healing quirk. Just thinking about it - Cathleen could simply say something like "All Might regenerates his stomach if his heart beats" and poof. And they just wait until he regenerates his stomach and she lets go of the rule.
Why not? It is a reality bender. She used the heart stopping trick on Shigaraki and I assume it worked before on other targets, so the heart does not restart when the order is switched. Therefore the stomach would not unregenerate after the rule was lifted.
It's just confusing to me. Shigaraki and All For One having two literal identities in one body is clearly an edge case.
There are admittedly two ways that this could be explained: the limitation on "enhancing" other bodies is much heavier than on Cathleen herself.
The other is that the injury All Might got is somehow Quirk related. This comes from the way New Order could not resist Decay as a Quirk. Perhaps New Order can overcome physical properties but not Quirk Effects due to them being a part of the Magic system. To give another example if Cathleen touched a fire made from just a spark and some gas she could simply say the fire extinguishes itself. But if Dabi was generating it, she couldn't simply shut it down and would need to go around it.
The answer could be a combination of the two, but I do really like the second one because it could also be used on other healing quirks.
If you think about it - shouldn't there be a doctor whose quirk is regrowing organs? but what if there was, however whatever quirk was affecting All mIght's injury was preventing it from working?
