Episode 005: The Daemon Deck of Darkness/The Shadow Duelist (Part 1)
In this post, I'm going to review and compare the subbed and dubbed versions of Yugioh GX episode 5. This episode starts to get into the supernatural side of the series, including some callbacks to the original DM series in the beginning to our first multi-episode plot.
Also in this review: I put on my educator hat and analyze Hayato Maeda because 4KIDS doesn't want to.
Episode Review
The opening with Asuka/Alexis laying a flower at the abandoned dorm is the same, aside from Alexis having a line where Asuka didn't. It's commonly said 4KIDS likes to fill silence so this isn't a huge surprise.
While telling a scary story, Syrus is much more panicky and caught up in his own story compared to Shou, who is focused on telling a scary story rather than getting scared himself.
Shou: …they say you'll get pulled right into the ocean!
Syrus: Help me! Not the water! Anything but the water!
In the next exchange Judai says he wants to check out the scary story creek and Shou expresses disbelief, while Jaden tells Syrus his story isn't scary because…water isn't scary, and Syrus is like "dirty swamp water is scary! …no you're right, that's not really scary." Which 1) ignores the actual sting to the scary story (getting pulled into the water by a mysterious hand, which probably wants to drown you) and 2) continues The Slander of Syrus Truesdale.
When it's Jaden's turn for a scary story, Judai just has a "here goes" line but Jaden says he wants a high-level card before drawing the 1-star. I think this is funnier than the previous joke, RIP Jaden. His story itself is only subtly different:
Judai: Oh, back when I was a kid…I'd get to hear my monsters' voices when night hit. Just like the fairies you'd see in fairy tales! I thought my monsters would leave their cards while I was asleep, maybe even having parties or something. So, I'd wake up each night and check my card case. …And I didn't see a thing!
Jaden: Well, it's more like a memory. Back when I was a little kid, I used to hear sounds. But I'd only hear 'em real late at night. I'd think I was dreaming, but then… They sounded like voices, but not ones I recognized. I would go to check it out, but every time I did…there was nothing. Nothing there at all, except my cards… And that's the end of the story!
I think there is a slight difference between these, in that Judai recognized that it was his deck monsters talking while Jaden leaves it to implication. I don't think it's a difference that matters in the long run, however.
Continuing The Slander of Syrus Truesdale, when Daitokuji/Banner draws the level 12 card Shou tells him to give it his best shot while Syrus tries to make his excuse to leave.
Banner is maybe a bit more atmospheric with his scary story, mentioning that the abandoned dorm is set at the edge of the forest (which is even true, checking a map of the island). Daitokuji says all the students in that dorm went missing, while Banner only says "several." I don't think this really matters in the long run given the only student from there we actually know is Fubuki and the rest are handled as a vague conceptual collective, I don't think it matters unless you want to write a dub-based fanfic about a student at the honors dorm who didn't disappear. Which is kind of compelling actually, but a niche use for the distinction as far as I know.
When Judai/Jaden expresses doubt about the Millennium Items' existence, Daitokuji/Banner's response is a bit different: Daitokuji shrugs and tells what is in retrospect a cover lie, while Banner is a bit more mysterious.
Daitokuji: The truth escapes even me, [meow]. That dorm had been made off-limits by the time I came to the academy, [meow].
Banner: Yes, that is what most people say. But I find that most stories…well, they generally have to come from somewhere.
Shou wonders if the abandoned dorm really exists on the island, while Syrus says he actually saw something that fit the description. In either case Judai/Jaden wants to check it out, to his friends' chagrin. Hayato says he's scared but wants to go while Chumley just goes along with it with a "Yeah, fun…" leaving his opinion more ambiguous.
When Chronos/Crowler plots, Crowler references the Millennium Items when Chronos doesn't but I don't think this matters besides a touch of fanservice.
In Titan's debut scene, he and his opponent talk much more where there isn't any dialogue in the sub. Sub Titan namedrops the Mind Crush, while dub Titan doesn't. I'm honestly surprised 4KIDS passed up that opportunity, especially after namedropping the Millennium Items just a scene ago.
Sub Titan mentions he's after his opponent's rare cards, while dub Titan is more generally ominous and namedrops the Shadow Realm. Sub Titan also gives his name, where his dub counterpart doesn't...and won't. I checked the scripts and the dub doesn't actually give his name until his return in episode 41! I guess they thought it was more mysterious?
The dub adds a bit of Banner's lecture (which Jaden and Syrus are sleeping through) where the sub just has silence in the lecture hall. I like this detail, although the actual lecture itself is…huh?
The philosophy of dueling went through a second renaissance with the rise of what some historians dub virtual dueling…
Let's break this down.
There's a whole field devoted to the philosophy of dueling, which is the least weird thing about this line actually
It went through at least two renaissances
There are historians covering either the history of dueling or the history of dueling philosophy, which - speaking as a grad student - is actually pretty believable
"Virtual dueling," whatever that means, got developed at some point. Are we talking about dueling AI? Kaiba did that in DM though. Are we talking about dueling people remotely, for example on the Internet or across some other kind of connection? Did we invent Zexal (AR) or Arc-V (Real Solid Vision) or VRAINS (VR) a decade in advance?
If so, how did that create a whole renaissance in the philosophy of dueling? Is this something Master Duel and Duel Links players can speak to?
This isn't a bit by the way. When I say I'm here to dive into lore implications I mean it. Ask me what I think about Crowler's PhD in dueling as a PhD student, I dare you.
Anyway! Crowler complains that Judai and Shou are sleeping through class (which, fair honestly) and then gloats with a SCHOOL JOKE!!! about his upcoming plan while Chronos just gloats straight.
Later that night sub Titan talks payment when he first meets Chronos, while dub Titan goes for atmosphere:
Sub!Titan: We will first discuss my fee. My fee is a flat rate, unrelated to any circumstances my client might have. That will be three month's of my client's salary,
Dub!Titan: My opponents call me many things. Most of which are hard to discern through their shrieks of sheer terror.
While Chronos questions Titan's efficacy, Crowler explains his request. And you know what? Credit to Crowler here. He wants Titan to scare Jaden into leaving the island, while Chronos straight up wants him to either vanish a kid or beat him into leaving (based on a line from next episode).
Sub Titan talks business as he does his ominous backwards float, while dub Titan deals in more ominousness. Dub Titan in general has more spooky and embellished dialogue compared to sub Titan.
Cut to the boys in the forest, and here's part of why I think they really did Hayato dirty. In the sub Hayato talks about his school problems and games of darkness, while in the dub they talk about the scary stories from last night and argue.
Judai: Still, I didn't think you'd tag along, Hayato! Hell, you always think showing up to class is a pain.
Hayato: It's not that I hate staying home or studying, y'know. I just…
Judai: Just what?
Hayato: I don't like getting lectured only on winning duels…
Shou: Is there a way to study dueling besides how to win?
Hayato: Uh…there has to be! Like the Games of Darkness, for one.
Judai: The Games of Darkness, huh?
Jaden: I mean, you could look at it as being lost…or you could say that we've found a couple places where it's not!
Chumley: Yeah, well we've been finding places for over an hour now, but then I guess it could be worse for Sy.
Jaden: Huh? For Sy?
Chumley: Yeah, we could be near a lake of dirty swamp water.
Syrus: Very funny, but you were the one who refused to bathe because you were scared of the bath water last night.
Chumley: Ha! Well, maybe if you cleaned it once in a while it wouldn't be so swampish!
Syrus: Maybe if you grew up and started to take showers!
I have a lot of thoughts about why this matters, but it's pretty lengthy so I'll save them for the Chumley Character Assassination section. The short version: this conversation says a lot about both Hayato and the school, actually, but once again the dub cut it for jokes. The dub conversation...well, it's funny, but it's just not as interesting to me. Also seriously, why are we ignoring the scare factor of getting drowned by an unknown force? It's not just about the swamp water!!!
Anyway. When Asuka/Alexis finds the three of them Alexis is…a little more insulting of the trio, compared to Asuka: "That's not very intelligent [to check out the abandoned dorm]." Given they're checking out the site of her brother's disappearance for kicks, honestly she deserves to be mean here LOL. When she mentions they could be expelled for coming here, Judai is unconcerned while Jaden goes for "so why are you here?" Asuka gets frustrated they aren't listening, whereas Alexis yells that she has her reasons. The rest of this scene is the same, up until the boys leave. Asuka doesn't have any lines when she encounters Titan, while Asuka has a line about Jaden and screams when she bumps into him.
After that, no significant changes until the trio finds Titan. As before, dub Titan is more theatric than his sub counterpart. Where sub Titan ominously welcomes Judai, dub Titan introduces himself as "Your worst nightmare come true." Sub Titan claims to be a guardian of the abandoned dorm who vanished the students as punishment, while dub Titan references having convinced "the others" (ambiguous, possibly intentionally so - we'll see next episode that he doesn't know jack about the abandoned dorm students so this is likely just referring to his past victims). They're both lies in the end, so whatever really.
There's a moment where Hayato just repeats a line as peanut gallery Chumley says he hopes Titan isn't challenging him. This is pretty mild as far as Chumley slander goes but I'm noting it anyway.
The dub has a minor quip when Jaden says to get his game on and Titan responds with "Shadow game, that is." There are some dialogue changes after this, but nothing I feel really impacts the overall meanings for a while until Titan starts threatening Hayato and Shou. Judai says he needs to win, while Jaden says to leave his friends out of this. Later Titan activates his roulette (called the Wheel of Fate in the dub, because we can't promote gambling to kids) and while Hayato and Shou have basic peanut gallery lines the dub adds a joke about Chumley's math grades.
I don't even have to try at this point, y'know?
Once he starts with the disappearing limb trick Sub Titan's dialogue has a power-of-suggestion feel that the dub doesn't have:
Sub Titan: Its thick fog surrounds you…its thick fog has you all in its heavy grasp…it must be suffocating…
Dub Titan: Of course not. As the shadow fog rolls past, you all will feel the darkness take you into its grip completely.
Given Titan is really pulling some hypnotism mirror scheme I think the sub version of the line makes more sense, but dub Titan is consistent with how he's wasted doing mercenary work instead of running a haunted house.
Judai's skepticism about Titan's shadowy illusions is changed to a joke:
Judai: I don't buy it! See, I've heard that you need a Millennium Item to even have a Game of Darkness! Do you have one?
Jaden: What? Give me a break! How bad can it be? So what? Back at our dorm, we got blackout curtains so that we can sleep in later. I'm not scared of the dark, it's great!
After Thunder Giant gets destroyed, Hayato has more duel analysis while Chumley is about half-half between that and other commentary. This includes the debut of "anti-licious."
Titan taunts Judai/Jaden, and roll To Be Continued...
And that's game! Gotcha!
Spoiler Zone
Honestly I wouldn't have even talked about the difference between the lines for Judai/Jaden's childhood flashback if I didn't suspect someone was going to ask "does the difference affect any foreshadowing for Yubel?" (There's multiple comments on the official Youtube version of episode 5 to the tune of "so about season 3," so it's just not my Yubel-loving ass either.) And although I tried to give the lines some extra thought for this reason...no, I don't think it does.
In both cases he heard the voices of his deck in the past, stopped at some point, and has recently begun to hear them again. In either case he sure didn't remember that one particular spirit, and although you could argue that baby Judai knew it was spirits he heard he also spends several episodes relearning they exist in early season 1 so he either forgot (for whatever reason) or that line is over-interpretation.
On "all" versus "several" of the abandoned dorm students missing: yes, I know I should have included Fujiwara in the known list of abandoned/honors dorm students. I chose to omit his name above and make a note here to avoid spoilers and because saying "and Fujiwara" doesn't affect the point.
The Character Assassination of Chumley Huffington
Hayato has something interesting going on in the sub version of this episode that the dub just drops. As I said in episode 2's review, Hayato pretty much represents an average Red dorm student and how the school's structure discourages those at the bottom. The dub skipped over this social commentary for Chumley being rude and a bedwetting joke, naturally.
In the sub, the forest conversation brings up one of the reason Hayato's considered an unsuccessful student by the school's standards: while Hayato likes dueling enough to attend DA, he doesn't like the pressure to win and so struggles with the implications of the DA curriculum. This isn't just a throwaway line that I'm overanalyzing like with the philosophy of dueling lecture; it's actually part of his Tag Force bio* and explicitly cited as the reason he performs poorly in school. This is a major point of his character:
Chumley is actually much softer than his name makes him out to be.
Personality-wise, he is simple and pure.
Chumley thinks that a duel should be about more than winning and losing. This philosophy may explain why he was held back a year at the rigid Duel Academy - which he feels he's not cut out for.
But this doesn't mean he's a bad duelist. On the contrary, his ability allows him to hear the duel spirit's voice.
Hayato does poorly in school because he's given up, and he's given up because school doesn't offer him a perspective on the world of Duel Monsters that works for him. And yes, mentioning games of darkness as a way of studying dueling without focusing on winning is a convenient reach, but "what can you do studying X besides the most traditional measure of success?" is also a real part of educational philosophy. Should everyone who goes to law school be expected to become a high-powered attorney? Should everyone who goes to med school be expected to cure cancer? Real life has a much wider breadth of application for even specific educational training, and the same is true for dueling.
Hayato's endgame - becoming a card designer, applying his love for dueling in a way that plays to his artistic talents - is a prime example of this breadth. The single episode mentioning the small number of non-duelist game design students is another one. Even Shou's arc about respectful dueling - itself at times opposed to the pressure to simply win - fits into this category. These possibilities exist at the fringes of DA, but they're not prioritized in traditional classes and traditional school culture and that sometimes causes significant friction.
This is true of real-world disciplines as well as the fictional world of dueling. I think this kind of thing is interesting enough that it's part of what I study in grad school, and in fact less than a week ago this was a topic of discussion in my research lab. A related topic was how focusing on performance and prestige leads school administration to cheat their own system and screw over those who fail their specific metrics, in fact, and we'll see that too happening in future episodes.
So yeah, it's very disappointing to me that the dub cuts the whole conversation about why Hayato doesn't attend class to have Chumley and Syrus argue about hygiene and swamp water. And then writes in more jokes about how Chumley doesn't shower and is bad at math, because of course they do.
One additional sidenote: the Tag Force bio also mentions that Hayato/Chumley is "softer than his name makes him out to be" (probably referencing the fact that his name contains the character for "falcon"), and that he's "simple and pure." The dub characterized him as more surly in episode 2 and it will continue with that in episode 7+ when they start giving him "Duh" as a new catchphrase, so keep this in mind when we get to episode 7.
* The Tag Force games' translation/localization process seems to be different from the 4KIDS anime dub despite sharing a credited translator. While I have yet to check out Tag Force myself the impression I've gotten from both friends' discussion and a check of the credits for each product are that Tag Force's translation/localization is more barebones compared to 4KIDS' (which is a heavier production in general), resulting in some characterization disparities even within English-language products.
Final Thoughts
This episode has probably been the closest between sub and dub so far. Aside from the forest conversation and what I mentioned about its implications for Hayato/Chumley section above, I think the two major changes to me are the decision to keep dunking on Syrus's scary story and Titan's character.
For the scary story, the fact that they harp on "ooh, Syrus is scared of swamp water" just feels weird because it's like saying The Tell-Tale Heart isn't scary if you put in earplugs and so Edgar Allan Poe is a wimp. That's completely missing the actual scare factor!!! Did the dub have to censor even the implications of drowning in a candlelight scary story or what?
As for Titan, I think the dialogue changes do change how you view his character: sub Titan is spooky, but he's very much a guy for hire and he wants to get paid. Dub Titan would do great running a haunted house. And next episode we find out he may in fact have, actually. More on that next week!
Hello, Phati Sari, In episodes 4 and 5 when ASR released the tapes, what was said by the TV commentator about Khushi falling in ASR’s arms? I’ve Googled but can find nothing about the dialogues. What was so damning to Khushi’s honor that led her to being banished to Delhi? Did Arnav comment on the tapes to the media when he released them? Thank you.
Hello!
Episode 4: While Bua-ji is watching TV
Today, take a (close) look at this single millionaire on ‘Who Wants to Be A Husband’. Without a care for social norms, this disgusting, shameless woman crossed all limits. She fell into a rich man’s arms from above, holding him, caressing him, clinging to him, and who knows what else she was doing ... Who is this girl? Is this her way of searching for a lover?
(The first part is a play on the show Who Wants to Be a Millionaire, because the word for husband is pati, and the word for millionaire is crore-pati. Some of the nuance is lost in English -- his choice of phrases such as clinging to him and the stress on lover makes the reporting both sensationalist and slimy. He’s insinuating that Khushi wants to sleep with Arnav for fame or money or might already be sleeping with him.)
Episode 4: While Khushi is watching outside the electronics store
Take a good look at this girl, at the innocence in her features. Look at how she traps Arnav Raizada in her claws with her virtuous manner and her killer eyes. And then she strikes, and it’s a life-changing strike (literally: she strikes to kill). Look at how this girl falls into his arms like a ripe mango ... like this. Take a good look at her, is this her way of trapping young, rich men in her claws? Pay attention: what was this girl trying to do by falling into Arnav Raizada’s arms like that? Will this girl do ... anything ... for a tiny bit of fame?
(The idea that this moment was life-changing is interesting -- because we know it was. The tone suggests this was a calculated move on Khushi’s part for fame -- repetitive use of claws for example -- and now he straight out muses whether she’s willing to sleep with Arnav for fame.)
Notably, as Khushi approaches the TVs, people are pointing and mumbling things like “It’s her, it’s the girl from the show, it’s definitely the same girl, it’s her, she fell into Raizada’s arms, she’s coming this way, she has absolutely no shame, what terribles times we’ve come to.” So it’s already changing the way people in her society view her.
The tapes were damning. They painted Khushi as a fame-seeking woman with little to no morality who would sleep with a rich man for a few seconds of fame. She was already on thin ice because she ran off on her sister’s wedding day -- if her plan had been successful, people would’ve assumed that she used her femininity and maybe even slept with the groom to get him to take back the dowry demand. People like that don’t just take back their demands because you talk to them, a fact that Khushi didn’t understand because was eighteen and unworldly and naively assumed everyone was pure-hearted like her.
The tapes build on that, essentially providing evidence that she’s a woman of loose character. Lucknow might be a large city but Khushi is from a small social circle. Her only future in that circle is to marry, and hopefully marry well. Working and studying further wasn’t on the cards -- she was next in line after Payal. Khushi had already spoiled her chances at a good alliance by running off on the day of her sister’s wedding, but now her reputation is in tatters. People are stopping her on the street and asking her to fall into their arms. They’re harassing her and loudly asking her to sleep with them. [Enter Shyam.]
So her family decided to send her to Delhi until it died down, hoping that (1) the news wouldn’t make it to Delhi and (2) if it did, Khushi wouldn’t be recognised on the streets. They intended to bring her back after a while and quietly marry her off. This is also a dimension of why Bua-ji becomes so pushy about Shyam.
Khushi’s honour and reputation wasn’t going to recover from the release of the tapes anytime soon. It was still a topic of discussion some months later (Episode 119) when Arnav and Lavanya’s engagement was announced.
The TodoFam in BNHA Vol. 1 Chap. 006 - What I Can Do for Now (今 僕に出来ることを Ima Boku ni Dekiru Koto o)
Release date: August 11, 2014 (WSJ Issue 37-38, 2014)
Let’s look at what the manga shows us first:
Observation notes:
The test continues and we only catch two glimpses of Shōto in his gym suit in which he doesn’t do anything noteworthy. Horikoshi is likely trying to save the revelation of Shōto’s power and abilities for a better moment.
Cultural notes:
Gakkensai (学研災 “Personal Accident Insurance for Students Pursuing Education and Research”): it is a supplemental insurance policy for students which protect them in case they get hurt and that covers physical injuries or accidents of sudden, unexpected, or external origin during educational and research activities. Illness is not covered by this policy except in the case where toxic substances are accidentally inhaled, absorbed, or consumed or you suffer a physical impediment as a result of sunstroke or heatstroke. The policy covers incidents occurring during educational and research activities, school commute, transit between school facilities, or during clinical training. While U.A. High has Recovery Girl that can fix most injuries, considering later it will be revealed she can fix everything and the dangers the training poses, this insurance policy should be really good. It is worth to note in Japan teachers and school are responsible if a student gets injured... however it can be really hard to have them take responsibility as they often try to turn the blame on the student who should have known better (basically Midoriya shouldn’t have used his Quirk and should have said he needed to go to the infirmary) and often, if someone tries to press charges, the most one can get out of it is an apology from a teacher.
Hobaku buki (捕縛武器 “capture weapon”): this is how is called Aizawa’s scarf, which is made of carbon fiber woven with a special alloy. The whole thing is basically a “cloth fu trope”, a trope that has a character uses a piece of stray cloth as a weapon but the idea of the stray cloth comes from the ‘tenne’ (天衣 “heavenly garment”), a floating strip of cloth draped around the shoulders and sometimes floating like some sort of holy halo of statuary of various Buddhist (or related) deities over the centuries, such as on Niō statues or, later, statues of Raijin and Fūjin, among others or supernatural beings such as youkai, demons, ascended humans, angels. In some myths this cloth gave who would wear it the ability to fly.
Hojōjutsu (捕縄術 “Rope grabbing”): a traditional Japanese martial art dedicated to restraining or immobilizing a person using rope in which the Japanese police is trained. It is generally performed differently from how Aizawa used his capture weapon but it could have still inspired the idea behind it.
Teaching notes:
The first thing Aizawa basically teaches his students is that the world is unfair and that their job as future Heroes is to overcome that unfairness.
Uraraka Ochako ‘Saikai josekitte…! Nyūgaku shonichi desu yo!? Iya, shonichi janakute mo… rifujin sugiru!!’
麗日お茶子「最下位除籍って…！入学初日ですよ！？いや、初日じゃなくても…理不尽すぎる！！」
Uraraka Ochako “Being expelled for being the lowest ranked student...! On the first day of school!? No, even if it wasn’t the first day... it’s just too unfair!!”
Aizawa Shōta ‘Shizen saigai… dai jiko… migattena teki (read: VILLAIN)-tachi… itsu doko kara kuru ka wakaranai yakusai. Nihon wa rifujin ni mamire teru. Sōiu rifujin (read: PINCH) o kutsugaeshite iku no ga HERO. Hōkago MAC de danshō shitakattanara o ainiku. Korekara sannenkan, U.A. wa zenryoku de kimi-tachi ni kunan o atae tsudzukeru. Sarani mukō e “Plus Ultra” sa. Zenryoku de norikoete koi.’
相澤消太「自然災害…大事故…身勝手な敵（ヴィラン）たち…いつどこから来るかわからない厄災。日本は理不尽にまみれてる。そういう理不尽（ピンチ）を覆していくのがヒーロー。放課後マックで談笑したかったならお生憎。これから三年間、雄英は全力で君たちに苦難を与え続ける。さらに向こうへ〝Plus Ultra〟さ。全力で乗り越えて来い。」
Aizawa Shōta “Natural disasters... major accidents... selfish villains... calamities that can strike at any time and from any direction. Japan is full of unreasonable/irrational/unjust things. Heroes are there to overcome such unreasonable/irrational/unjust things (pinches) If you were hoping to chat at Mc(Donald)’s after school, I’m sorry. For the next three years, U.A. will continue to give you hardships with all its might. Plus Ultra beyond. Do your best and overcome them.” [Chap. 6]
All Aizawa says doesn’t mean Heroes have to find a way to erase ‘rifujin’ (理不尽 “unreasonable/irrational/unfair things” so the world will stop being unfair, or, with a label that would be more fitting of Aizawa, irrational, just that when they are placed in an irrational, unfair situation they have to overcome it on their own. No one of the kids is encouraged to think to a solution to change the irrational/unfair rule Aizawa set, they are all encouraged to not end up in the last place so as not to be expelled. This will basically be one of the themes of BNHA, irrationality/unfairness doesn’t have to be erased but overcome through hard work. We will see who can’t do it will end up becoming a Villain.
It is an important thing because normally, we would expect Heroes in training to be taught they should try to make the world fair and just, while here they are just told to accept the world is unfair and unjust and that they still have to win despite it.
Aizawa Shōta ‘Mita toko… “kosei” o seigyo dekinai ndaro? Mata kōdō funō ni natte dareka ni tasukete morau tsumoridatta ka?’
相澤消太「見たとこ…〝個性〟を制御できないんだろ？また行動不能になって誰かに救けてもらうつもりだったか？」
Aizawa Shōta “From what I can see... you can't control your ‘Quirk’, right? Were you planning to become incapacitated again and have someone save you?”
Midoriya Izuku ‘So~tsu, sonna tsumori ja…!’
緑谷出久「そっ、そんなつもりじゃ…！」
Midoriya Izuku “I-I didn't mean it that way...!”
Aizawa Shōta ‘Dōiu tsumoride mo, mawari wa sō sezaru o enaku naru tte hanashida. Mukashi, atsukurushī HERO ga dai saigai kara hitori de sen'nin'ijō o sukuidasu to iu densetsu o tsukutta. Onaji ban'yū demo… omae no wa hitori o tasukete DEKUnobō ni naru dake. Midoriya Izuku, omae no “chikara” ja HERO ni hanarenai yo.’
相澤消太「どういうつもりでも、周りはそうせざるをえなくなるって話だ。昔、暑苦しいヒーローが大災害から一人で千人以上を救い出すという伝説を創った。同じ蛮勇でも…おまえのは一人を救けて木偶の坊になるだけ。緑谷出久、おまえの〝力〟じゃヒーローにはなれないよ。」
Aizawa Shōta “No matter what your intentions are, those around you will be forced to do the same. Long ago, a smug hero created a legend by single-handedly saving over a thousand people from a major disaster. Even if you have the same bravery... you'll only be able to save one person before you become a Deku, a puppet/good for nothing. Midoriya Izuku, your ‘power’ won't make you a hero.” [Chap. 6]
Aizawa’s lesson in pragmatism is important on one side, as Midoriya destroying himself each time he uses his Quirk isn’t something that can be accepted. The game is not worth the candle. On the other side there are some things to consider.
First of all Aizawa says the problem isn’t that Midoriya will be hurt, but that this will end up affecting the others around him, in fact he will accept Midoriya’s solution to reduce the damage he causes to himself because in this way he supposedly doesn’t bother others.
The second problem is that Midoriya isn’t doing this because he likes it but because he hadn’t found yet a way to control his power and it is actually fair not just because he just received it but also because technically he shouldn’t have used his Quirk before. Remember? Using Quirks is forbidden if you aren’t a Hero. Midoriya should learn to use his Quirk here, at the Hero school, not being told to figure out how to use his Quirk now that he is in a Hero school. U.A. will continue to pressure him into figuring a way to use his Quirk without really helping him to find one. If Midoriya were like Tōya, he would never find one because no amount of training or support items can help Tōya withstand his own fire (it goes mostly missed but Tōya’s clothes once he turns into a Villain are actually support items designated to witstand his Quirk and... they don’t really save him much from burning himself to a crisp). Fundamentally for the majority of time U.A. doesn’t teach the students how to overcome the obstacles, he just place in front of them an obstacle and tell them to figure out how to overcome them, which is a very slow and poor method of teaching.
Third, even though Midoriya’s finger is broken he is sent to the infirmary solely AFTER the test has ended. While Midoriya didn’t ask to stop and didn’t even dawn on him to do so after the test has ended and it can be argued it was done to teach him even minimizing the damage isn’t a good solution because he still ends up useless due to the pain (unless he had chosen to sacrifice another finger or something like that), it is also a form of torture when it should have been better to teach him if he gets injuried that bad, he has to go to the infirmary and therefore can’t take the rest of the test just the same. Aizawa was responsible for his students and the fact Recovery Girl can erase the damage is just a not good enough excuse.
Now, regarding the anime version...
Episode 5 - What I Can Do for Now (今 僕に出来ることを Ima Boku ni Dekiru Koto o)
Changed parts notes:
Same as with the previous part, differently from the manga the anime gifts us with plenty of glimpses of Shōto and even goes and change the visual of the two scenes in which he was shown in the manga to show him better. Probably the anime, despite leaving the focus on Midoriya and hiding Shōto’s power and abilities like the manga does, is pawing the way for the moment in which Shōto will have more role.
The TodoFam in BNHA Vol. 1 Chap. 005 - Smashing into Academia (はりさけろ入学 Harisakero Nyūgaku)
Release date: August 4, 2014 (WSJ Issue 36, 2014)
This is a peculiar chapter as, even though Shōto is present and taking part to what happens, somehow he is never shown, but I still considered worth analyzing it so here it is even though, of course, there are not pages with Shōto in it to look at.
Observation notes:
For contest, to help who has no idea what happened here since there is no visual, I will tell you that we are in U.A. HIGH SCHOOL (雄英高校 U.A. KŌKŌ) in the HERO COURSE (ヒーロー科 HERO-KA), in Class 1-A (1年A組 Ichi-nen A-gumi) and we can see it’s the first day of school. Class A Homeroom teacher, Aizawa Shōta, has them undergo a Kosei haaku TEST (個性把握テスト Quirk apprehension test) and the one who’ll place last will be expelled.
Cultural notes:
CLASS meibo (クラス名簿 “class roaster”): a list of the students assigned to a class. It usually compiles information such as the names, student numbers, and contact information of students enrolled in a particular school or class. Most class rosters are strictly organized by the Japanese syllabary (Aiueo), usually in a gender-neutral ordering that does not separate boys and girls. It is primarily used by teachers and administrators for the following purposes: recording daily attendance, tardiness, and early departures, recording test scores and creating seating charts. In the past, at the beginning of the new school year, they were also exposed on physical bulletin boards on the first day of the academic year so that students could discover in which class they would belong. This was expecially relevant in elementary and middle schools as there students would be shuffled between classes at the beginning of each new year in what is called CLASS gae (クラス替え “class shuffle”). When BNHA started though, due to how in 2003 the ‘Kojin jōhō hogo-hō’ (個人情報保護法 “Personal Information Protection Law”) was enacted, schools slowly started to mail the roasters to parents, so that private information wouldn’t be exposed and even obscuring fields were address and phones were. Still Midoriya should have known from it he’s with Bakugō and a Hero nerd like him would have also known he’s in the same class with Endeavor’s son instead he apparently has no idea who are his classmates.
Zasekihyō (座席表 “seating chart”): a diagram or list showing the seating arrangement in event venues such as theaters, airplanes, trains, conferences, and banquets. The main purpose of a seating chart is to help people find their assigned seats or available seats. In Japanese culture, ‘sekijun’ (席順 “seating order”) is very important in demonstrating respect and hierarchy as it reflects important etiquette in Japanese business and social situations based on rank, age, or other social status. In schools though, seats are assigned at the beginning of the year usually according to the students’ numbers, which are given according to the alphabetical order of their surnames (or, alternatively, according to their birthdays). The fact we don’t see the students seated at the correct spots likely means Horikoshi hadn’t decided on the full list of surnames yet. Interesting enough most schools change the seating arrangement each month, reassigning places either by lottery or by a teacher’s will so as to insure the students will manage to have interactions with all their classmates. This doesn’t happen in BNHA where the seating order remains always the same.
Tannin sensei (担任先生): It’s generally translated as “Homeroom teacher” but it actually means “teacher in charge (of the class)”. In fact they follow a class through its whole permanency at school and are responsible for every aspect of the student’s total education, working also as counselor and therapist for them, organizing school trips and experiences, informing them of school activities and school problems and even visiting their parents. Long story short they’re supposed to establish a strong bond with their students. By the way, among the duties of the homeroom teachers in charge of a third year middle school class there’s to hand out 'Shinro kibō no PRINT’ (進路希望のプリント “Career aspirations form”) in which the students are meant to write the high school at which they aspire to attend and therefore for which they aim to try the entrance text exam and he’s also expected to consuel them on which ones to choose if they’re unsure. So yeah, while when talking of the homeroom teacher we think at Aizawa, the teacher who gave Midoriya’s class the forms and to whom Midoriya and Bakugō reported after having been admitted to U.A. High is also a homeroom teacher.
Nyūgakushiki (入学式 “entrance ceremony”) or Shiki (式 “ceremony”): it is the ceremony that takes place on the first day of high school in Japanese schools, to welcome the students in the new school, a ceremony which is held after two other ceremonies for senior students and at which new students don’t take part. The ceremony usually consists of the Japanese national anthem, opening remarks by the ‘kōchō sensei’ (校長先生 “principal”), ‘Fuku kōchō sensei’ (副校長先生 “vice principal”), ‘PTA kaichō’ (PTA会長 “PTA president”) and other teachers. Sometimes the first-year students remain quiet and sometimes they are expected to reply to roll call, but this depends on the school. Then, there is usually a commemorative photograph taken followed by students being led to their classrooms by their new homeroom teachers. Here they will be given a ‘GUIDANCE’ (ガイダンス “guidance session”) in which they will be given information necessary for their student life. It is worth to mention the first day of school is often on Sunday and, after the guidance session, the first year students are free to go back at home.
Joseki shogun (除籍処分 “expulsion”): in Japan, an expulsion at school means “permanent expulsion”. High schools aren’t mandatory so while you can try applying to another high school they can refuse you on ground you were previously expelled by another school if the motive was serious enough. The causes for an expulsion are decided by the code of the school that’s made/approved by the principal. General causes of expulsions which can be found in the “Regulation for Enforcement of the School Education Act” are ‘displaying delinquent behavior’ (which usually includes also smoking and getting a part time job) and being found to have no prospects of improvement, ‘having lesser scholastic abilities and being found to have no prospects of completing their education’, ‘not attending regularly without legitimate grounds’, ‘having disrupted the order of the school, or have otherwise acted against their duty as students’. The principal is the one with the legal power to expel his students, but in fact, the draft of them will deliberate at all staff meetings at schools. Students can also be suspended and be forced to spend at home a certain amount of time. Now you can get why Eraser Head expelling the students would have been such a terrible thing.
In JELLY (inゼリー): a jelly drink sold by Morinaga (森永製菓). that allows for easy energy and nutritional intake. The full name should be ‘Weider in Jelly’ (ウイダー in ゼリー) and, more than juice it’s like crushed yogurt, and people say it does taste like yogurt too, specifically pineapple yogurt. It comes in a variety of varieties for different purposes, including energy, multivitamin, multimineral, and protein. Its main ingredients include glucose, fructose, maltodextrin, vitamins, minerals, protein (whey peptides, etc.), electrolytes (potassium chloride, calcium lactate, etc.), gelling agents (thickening polysaccharides), flavorings, and acidulants. It is used in a variety of situations, including pre- and post-exercise nutrition, satisfying hunger, and for growing children. This is likely what Aizawa is drinking even though the name on the pack had been changed so that instead of a big ‘In’, what we see is a big ‘On’.
Seifuku (制服 “school uniform”): the majority of Japan's junior high and high schools require students to wear school uniforms, the one for boys is called Gakuran (学蘭 “western style student uniform” Lit. “study Netherlands”) while the one for girls is called SAILOR fuku (セーラー服 “sailor outfit”). The standard ones would be the ones we saw Midoriya and Uraraka wear when they were in high school but we can see that U.A. high has boys wear white shirts with ties, blazers, and tailored trousers, while girls wear white shirts with ties, blazers and skirts. The gym clothes are unisex. This is apparently something that’s getting common in Japan even if the traditional Gakuran and Sailor Fuku are also still popular enough in high schools as well. By the way generally schools are very strict about appearance so Midoriya’s poorly tied tie would normally make him look bad... though U.A. High doesn’t seem to mind. Bakugō’s baggy pants would also be a cause of concern as this break of uniform regulation is typically associated with “bad boys” (this in manga can mean anything than ranges from them being rebellious to them joining a band to outright becoming delinquents). It seems that the style comes from construction workers, who wear them.
Taisō-fuku chaku (体操服着 “Gym clothes”): it refers to the uniforms Japanese students wear for gym. It is worth to mention in many manga/anime you might see how girls, during gym, wear bloomers (ブルマー), which were introduced in Japan as women’s clothing for physical education in 1903. However, after the 1964 Summer Olympics in Tokyo, in response to the styles worn by the foreign women athletes, a newer style of bloomers, pittari, which fit the body closer, similar to volleyball uniforms, became commonplace. Around the mid-1990s, however, schools and individuals began to choose sports shorts instead, citing modesty concerns as they exposed the groin and gave a full view of the body and were almost like underwear, which made girls very uncomfortable, never mentioning they became a sexual fetishism with people trying to take pictures of girls wearing them, or even breaking in schools trying to steal them. This leads to their disappearance around 1992. On another note, in 2019 in Nakano, Tokyo, girls have started to request schools to let them decide their uniform regardless of sex. This started with a sixth grader who did not want to wear skirts in junior high school and asked her female classmates for their opinions on uniforms. The responses showed that most of her classmates also wanted the freedom to choose their uniforms. The young student delivered the survey results to the mayor of Nakano, and all of the principals for the ward’s public junior high schools agreed on the proposal, allowing students to freely choose their uniforms. Over 400 schools adopted genderless uniforms for 2022’s fiscal year. There was a lot of support from female students for the adaptation of genderless uniforms and the implementation of slacks since it allowed for more comfort by keeping their legs warm and making it easier to ride their bicycles. The decision for genderless uniforms is also in consideration of sexual minority students. U.A. High also have gym genderless uniforms, which is one of the few not sexist choices in the manga.
Kyōin meibo (教員名簿 “teacher list”): What All Might is looking at is the teacher list. Each school has a binder in which they collect the data of all the teachers they have. The one in U.A. high has printed on it ‘secret’ because on it there are also reserved info. Japanese schools also have binders which collect their students’ data.
Tairyoku shindan TEST (体力診断テスト “physical fitness diagnostic test”): Japanese middle schools conduct an annual physical fitness test, mandated by the Japan Sports Agency, assessing 8 components: grip strength, sit-ups, trunk flexion, side step, 20-m shuttle run, 50-m run, standing long jump, and softball throw, with scores from 0-10 per event for a total out of 80, reflecting overall physical health and trends, with recent data showing declines linked to lifestyle factors like increased screen time and decreased exercise. Aizawa describes it saying it is a “kosei” kinshi no tairyoku TEST (〝個性〟禁止の体力テスト “A physical fitness test where "quirks" are prohibited”), in short he establishes that in the world of BNHA this test still exist and students in middle schools can not use their Quirks during it.
Places notes:
The chapter mentions two location:
ALL MIGHT no Jimusho (オールマイトの事務所（オールマイトのじむしょ）): “All Might’s agency”
For All Might’s agency Midoriya gives us the exact address, Tōkyō-to Minato-ku Roppongi 6-12- (東京都港区六本木 6-12- “Tokyo, Minato Ward, Roppongi 6-12-”). “Vigilantes” will add it is located in Might Tower (マイトタワー) a tall tower clearly owned by All Might considering its name.
Minato ward is known as one of Tokyo’s largest business areas, home to the headquarters of many large domestic companies, (Honda, Mitsubishi Motors Corporation, NEC, Nikon, SoftBank Group, Sony and Fujitsu), one of the wealthiest residential areas in Japan, and for its relatively high concentration of foreign expats due to the number of embassies and multinational corporations located in and around the area. Roppongi district is famous for the Roppongi HILLS (六本木ヒルズ) development area, an upscale commercial and residential complex, and night club scene. Several foreign embassies are located in or near Roppongi. Long story short, All Might’s agency is in a very upper class area.
In regard to Īda’s middle school it is worth to say differently from public middle schools, Japanese private middle schools can be named after various inspirations, including their founders, locations, noble goals (like harmony, wisdom...), Buddhist concepts, or even abstract ideas, often using auspicious kanji characters for positive meanings like "high" (taka) or "hill" (oka), similar to how English schools might be named for benefactors or local features but with more symbolic Japanese wordplay.
Shiritsu Sōmei Chūgakkō (私立聡明中学校 “Sōmei private middle school”) takes its name from Shu Mai (シュ・マーイ), a female Gossam who served as Presidente of the Commerce Guild during the final years of the Galactic Republic and was ultimately slaughtered on Mustafar by Darth Vader.
Why picking up someone who is a villain to name Īda’s middle school?
It seems originally Horikoshi considered a darker path for Īda, which was also why he gave him red eyes (red eyes are often used as a trope to point out characters who are or will turn out being evil or very violent) but the idea was soon scrapped and the most we have is the Stain arc. Still, the name for his middle school could have been a hint to this.
According to “Ultra Archive” Īda has birth in Tokyo so, very likely, his middle school was also there.
Retcon notes:
There’s actually no Shōto in chapter 5, not even a glimpse but there should be, and not only because he’s present when the facts in the chapter take place, but because the panels show the place where Shōto should sit in his class, but we can’t see him because Horikoshi isn’t showing the students seated on the right seats. This will be fixed in chap. 7.
It might not be a retcon but Midoriya in this chapter also says:
Midoriya Izuku ‘(Maitoshi 300 o koeru bairitsu no shōtai. Ippan nyūshi teiin 36-mei. 18-nin zutsude nanto 2 CLASS shikanai.)’
緑谷出久「(毎年300を超える倍率の正体。一般入試定員36名。18人ずつでなんと2クラスしかない。)」
Midoriya Izuku “(The truth behind the application rate is less than 1 in 300 every year. The general entrance exam admission quota is of 36 students. They’re divided into two classes with 18 students each.)” [Ep. 5]
In truth the students for each class are 20. Horikoshi, after receiving plenty of questions about it, claimed that count doesn’t include the 4 recommended students (2 for each class, which in class A would be Shōto and Yaoyorozu) and apologized for having been confusing. If he was just confusing or if he hadn’t planned yet for the class to be of 20 people and then retconned it, is up to everyone’s speculation.
Not quite a retcon but the first thing Aizawa has the students do is a test to basically judge their Quirks’ physical strength combined with their own... but then in chap 33 he will go and criticize how the entrance exam was completely irrational for being an exam that basically valued physical strength... which in truth wasn’t the case as the students would have gotten points for saving people too and that they could have done even without destroying the robots. On the opposite side in Aizawa’s test technically, if he had stuck to his own rules, there wasn’t a way to pass without physical strength.
We know Aizawa won’t stick to his own rules so maybe it is a moth point but I still found worth mentioning it.
Teaching notes:
So, like in each high school, the U.A. High students should attend to the over mentioned entrance ceremony and have a guidance session. Such things exist in U.A. High as well but Aizawa decides the students in his class don’t need them and will have a Quirk Apprehension Test. As All Might knows their program will be different, Aizawa clearly negotiated the change of schedule with the principal in advance.
Still the whole ‘for you that will be useless’, looks extremely bad as it is a rejection of a standard school practice WHICH HAS A USE and that other students will follow. It is not just the Hero course who doesn’t follow it, it is only Aizawa’s class.
I get the whole idea of ‘freestyle education’, but having Aizawa arbitrarily dismiss so rudely what the rest of U.A. and the other Japanese school approve as useful isn’t a good teaching, especially since it is not even explained to the students WHY it wouldn’t help them. The test could have waited a day, there was no rush.
Also the whole U.A. ‘freestyle education’ isn’t a really good system as a whole because it lacks of organization and blindly relies on the teachers to do good.
It feels more like Horikoshi is using it as an excuse to do what he wants in his story that as an effective, good teaching method he wanted U.A. High to use.
Timeline notes:
The table that follows is made to give you an idea of the characters’ age when the facts are taking place. On top of each character there is the date of his birthday, below there is the age they has. April is the month in which school starts, so in it you find in which class each character is.
Now, regarding the anime version...
Episode 5 - What I Can Do for Now (今 僕に出来ることを Ima Boku ni Dekiru Koto o)
Changed parts notes:
Differently from the manga the anime gifts us with plenty of glimpses of Shōto and also shows us where he would sit in the class.
We can see Shōto is in the seat number 15, in the last row and, next to him there are Yaoyorozu Momo (seat number 20) and Satō Rikidō (seat number 10), while in front of him there’s Tokoyami Fumikage (seat number 14).
The anime changed a bit Midoriya’s sentence so as to make it clearer and to include the fact there are also 4 recommended students.
Midoriya Izuku ‘(U.A.-kō HERO-ka e nyūgaku bairitsu ga maitoshi 300 o koeru wake. Suisen nyūgaku 4-mei o nozoku ippan nyūshi teiin 36-mei. 18-nin zutsude nanto 2 CLASS shikanai)’
緑谷出久「(雄英高ヒーロー科へ入学倍率が毎年300を超えるわけ。推薦入学4名を除く一般入試定員36名。18人ずつでなんと2クラスしかない。)」
Midoriya Izuku “(The acceptance rate for the Hero Course at U.A. High School is less than 1 in 300 every year. Excluding the 4 recommended students, the general entrance exam admission quota is of 36 students. They’re divided into two classes with 18 students each.)” [Ep. 5]
[FR] Jurassic World Evolution 🦖 Épisode 005 🦕 Bonjour à tous! Voici la vision de mon Park Jurassic World ou je vais créez de nouvelles espèces de dinosaures par bio-ingénierie et bâtir des attractions, des enclos et des centres de recherche.
