#opening arcs

[bokunoheroanalysisforthefuture]

Heck, I almost forgot!

A mystery to everyone, the author included. Nice heels, though. I wonder how many of those centimeters are from the shoes?

Also, pfft that his favorite thing is himself.

...huh, this is the first of the character sheets where the character isn’t facing forward. I suppose it DOES fit with his dramatic and showy nature, but still.

[bokunoheroanalysisforthefuture]

So between yesterday and today, the discord I’m in have been discussing Izuku’s over the shoulder throw and how he might have learned it, and have come to the conclusion that Izuku might have in fact gotten actual self-defense training before coming to UA. Like, actual classes and practice and everything, which if true, actually changes a LOT about how we can percieve Izuku’s childhood just from the implications that come from it.

The conversation started in relation to where Izuku learned his techniques, with the usual obvious theories:

Which lead into a brief realization:

Because honestly, in looking back at the panels, that technique he uses for the throw is too refined for someone who had to practice it alone or just via video, and while it’s possible he learned it from All Might, it really does seem like all of that training was just focused on strengthening the body and with few, if any, actual technique training sessions.

So I did sort of check to see whether I was right about it being a self-defense move and:

So it is! And, as I realized, there would be a good opportunity for him to get in that training in late elementary school - when he was getting beaten up defending other kids! Which would obviously stress and worry Inko, to the point where she might sign him up to take self-defense lessons in order to at least be able to protect himself.

As another reason this is plausible:

So basically not only would he have been allowed to / maybe even encouraged to take those classes from a young age, but Inko probably hoped that it would help him protect himself better and come home with fewer injuries, since he’d be able to disengage better, as well as redirect / minimize damage he takes. Another way we can see this probably applied is with his defensive leap:

I know that self-defense does have some lessons on how to land without injuring yourself/others, so that he came out of this without anything besides the damage to the hoodie can just be put to it being a shounen, BUT it could also be another point to him having training.

Of course, then we come to the issue of ‘if he had it, why didn’t he use it before now?’ which is fair! But the main thing to recall is that this is Izuku.

So basically, there’s a very good chance Izuku did, in fact, have a good grounding in self-defense techniques growing up, but he just didn’t apply them until UA because he never had the motivation to. Like, he definitely applied it in defense of others, but for himself, he either didn’t want to hurt the people hurting him or he didn’t have the confidence/faith in himself to want to fight back until he had All Might’s support and had gotten into UA and felt like he could do it.

This also means we can infer a few other things from Izuku’s childhood:

Just because he’s quirkless does not mean he was banned from this kind of training for being ‘too fragile’, which I know is something that’s been referenced in a lot of fics.

Inko did know about the bullying (probably hard for Izuku as a kid to hide the scrapes and bruises) and did do her best to get Izuku what he needed to protect himself. Izuku just chose not to apply it for... any of several possible reasons.

Izuku having actual training and the basics of how to move his body probably made it easier for him to pick up other techniques as he grew older and started trying to mimic hero techniques (Kamui Woods, Eraserhead, etc.) which points to him being a visual/somewhat kinesthetic learner.

So yeah, it’s nothing huge, but something I thought interesting enough to share here. I personally think it’s a neat little touch that never gets directly brought up but has some good evidence from just what we’re shown. What people choose to do with this knowledge is up to them!

[bokunoheroanalysisforthefuture]

Whoops, one last thing before I head out for now! There’s a little extra comic at the end of chapter 10 (or, well, posted seperately as chapter 10.005) that is just really fucking amusing.

I really don’t have anything to add here, because this is all just hilarious and adorable, and does explain where the characterization for her and her manager in BNHA Smash! comes from.

I love how the manager is basically the fandom voice of ‘why are you working in an urban area with your quirk??’ and her explanation is just... yeah. Another small highlight of the atmosphere of heroics in this day and age.

Also, I love the implications that All Might is the one who drew this comic. Like, not ACTUALLY, but that first panel just gives the rest of this a certain feel that’s hilarious. And him just having fun poking at his fellow heroes (and maybe himself) and like, digging a bit into the regular mishaps and shenanigans of hero life from the ‘inside’.

[bokunoheroanalysisforthefuture]

Chapter 6! And I’m at 70 followers already, which is hella hype, thank y’all for taking your time to read my rambling about all this stuff. Don’t feel shy to ask questions or whatever if you like; even if I can be a bit disjointed, it’s something fun to talk about, and as I get further in I can even get a better sense of how to answer them to the best of my knowledge.

Also, can I say I love this little intro profile to Izuku?

All the little tidbits about him are just so fitting! Though my one weird take on it is why it says his quirk is ‘TBD’... unless Hori was already planning for the developments to come from the Joint Training Arc and beyond. Or maybe just leaving himself room for those kinds of developments if he wasn’t quite set yet? 

Still, I think this was still the time period where Hori was thinking it was going to end after like, Kamino or something. With something like Two Heroes. 

Discord: It could have been a placeholder until Hori came up with a fake quirk name for Izuku to hide his quirk behind, aka Superpower. 

Anyways, without further delays, time to get into the chapter itself!

[No. 6 - What I Can Do For Now]

We dive right in with Ochako protesting how unfair this is. Aizawa notes that Japan is full of unfair things - natural disasters, highway pileups, rampaging villains. Heroes are the ones to correct that unfairness. UA is going to put them through the wringer for the next three years - as per the Plus Ultra motto.

(also, nice silhouettes of Midnight, Thirteen, and… I think Lunch Rush? The discord also suggested it might either be a proto-design for Vlad King, or just a background character who ended up scrapped/forgotten about.)

Aizawa calls them out to bring their best, saying that now it’s for real. Tenya thinks about it being a trial by fire, Katsuki thinks of his move as nothing, Ochako is shaking in determination, the rest of the class is focused, and Izuku is… still stressing. Also, these proto-designs:

I cannot even. Those horns. That HAIR. The lack of beak. It’s just so weird compared to their finalized designs. 

The first event gets off to a speedy start, Tenya zooming right through the 50-meter dash thanks to his Engine quirk. Aizawa thinks that that event was too suited to Tenya, and thinks about how he’ll handle the other events. Tsuyu wasn’t too slow, though, and the narrative doesn’t even try to introduce her quirk with how obvious it is - she’s a frog!

Ochako and Ojiro are shown next, and-

Ojiro, why the leaping? Someone suggested it might be a reference, but it could just be another early weird character thing being tried, I guess? I don’t even know, it’s just strange.

Next is Aoyama and Mina, with the latter with the curliest horns I cannot even. Aoyama also makes a move to show off his quirk, calling the others unimaginative as he rockets backwards along the track- and then falling flat before the goal and having to get back up on his feet to do so again, with Mina managing to pass ahead of him thanks to the acid under her feet. 

Aoyama is still sparkling as he explains how if he’d fired an instant earlier, his stomach would have exploded, which, fun! The rest of the class is like ‘what the fuck dude’, which is a mood. Aizawa thinks about how the kids are pushing their quirks to their limits and seeing how they’ve improved, he can guess what they can and can’t do, and how that will be linked to their creative use of their quirks. 

Meanwhile, Katsuki and Izuku are doing the sprint side by side, Katsuki taking on an absolutely feral expression as he uses his quirk to blast ahead, in the process starling and slowing down Izuku slightly.

Seriously, Katsuki’s faces are just. I can’t describe how much of a gremlin this child is. And this!

His thoughts immediately going back to Izuku right after determining how that use of his quirk worked for him. His being thoughtful about that force distribution suggests he didn’t use his quirk much practically before UA… which makes sense, producing explosions and then using it for movement purposes are two different things.

Also the bot giving Izuku a little ‘good job’ just touched my heart. Though it really sucks that Katsuki probably cost Izuku a few seconds with that move of his; luckily, Izuku still came in under his middle school record despite his setback, which is impressive! Aizawa isn’t impressed, though, and Izuku isn’t either, thinking about how even using his power once will wreck him, and how regulating it is easier said than done.

We descend into a short flashback, again to the beach, with Toshinori stating that the trick to regulation is sensation! With Izuku agreeing immediately, because he’s a fanboy. Toshinori notes that Izuku experienced 100% power, and Izuku notes that it really messed him up. Toshinori says that it should be easy, and asks how it felt. Because I can’t do this justice:

Izuku you little dumbass, I love you, but your ability to describe things leaves much to be desired.

In full seriousness, though, like, the kid might just be afraid of his own power, just from this moment right after the flashback:

But yeah, to catch up to this point, Toshinori tells Izuku to keep that image in his head for the last three weeks until school starts, and that control can’t be obtained overnight, but he believes Izuku can and will manage it! We get back to Izuku attempting the grip strength, thinking about not exploding the egg, and then he has that fun trauma flashback to the state of his body after the zero pointer, and is dismayed at his ‘lacking’ score of 56 kg - especially compared to Shouji’s score of 540 kg. 

WHAT IS THAT SERO DESIGN. What is that Mineta design????? Also why is THIS the first impression we get of Mineta. Him calling Shouji, or his quirk, or his strength, sexy,,, I think that’s just a case of weird translation, but still. 

Izuku is shown to come short in the next two events, getting more and more stressed as he fails to use his quirk at all. By the fifth event, Izuku is stressed about being out of options while watching Ochako literally get an infinity on the ball throw, because everyone else has at least one amazing record and the last events are ones he can’t use his quirk for in any meaningful way. 

He steps up to the circle, with Tenya noting that he’s not doing well, which in turn has Katsuki call out how he’s quirkless, so of course. Tenya is confused, asking whether Katsuki had heard about the entrance exam, which confuses Katsuki. Aizawa is already expecting Izuku’s next move, which is to charge up his whole arm and try to throw it as far as he can, while thinking about his mom and All Might and their support of him. 

We see Aizawa’s eyes snap open, flashing - and Izuku’s quirk fails, the ball barely hitting 46 meters. For a moment, Izuku is outright horrified:

God, poor kid. Izuku looks at his hands, swearing he was trying to use it, but Aizawa tells him that he erased Izuku’s quirk. In slightly more entertaining news:

Like a freaking schoolgirl. I can’t even, he cares about his kid so much. 

Aizawa explains how the entrance exam is ridiculous, and completely irrational if it lets ‘someone like you get in’. Which, fucking OUCH, I can’t imagine how much that had to hurt Izuku. Izuku, however, is more distracted with his realization that Aizawa is the pro hero Eraserhead, and how his quirk works… which is fucking impressive considering how much Aizawa would try to keep that information on the down low in order to maximize his effectiveness in taking out villains.

(Also, what a shot. Izuku’s imagination really is something.)

Wait, All Might, how did you get so close to the class so quickly, and how did no one notice you? Man be maxing stealth and speed somehow. Also, I love how the translation accidentally called Aizawa an ‘angler-type hero’, which I think was… not what was intended.

But yeah, most of the class hasn’t heard about the man, while All Might notes how Aizawa hates public appearances because it interferes with his work, and how he and Aizawa hardly see eye to eye.

Aizawa tells Izuku that he’s seen how the kid can’t control his quirk, and that he’d just be incapacitated again, before asking if he was hoping someone would step in to help afterwards. Izuku says it’;s not like that, while Aizawa’s scarf slips around him and drags him closer. Aizawa says that his plan would inconvenience others, then brings up All Might’s legendary rescue while also calling him hot blooded. 

Just, ouch, Izuku has to be feeling the pressure. I know he’s used to people doubting him, but this still can’t be fun so soon after he’s finally gotten himself some confidence in his right to be at UA. 

Aizawa finally closes his eyes and lets his power go, telling Izuku to give it another go, and to get this over with. Izuku is in a mental slump, muttering to himself about his options, while the class looks on. 

Aoyama what the fuck. Also Katsuki, you are about to be disappointed and blown away. Aizawa is curious as to how Izuku is going to fail out of his class while applying eye drops. Izuku’s muttering goes on as he thinks about how he can’t regulate OFA yet, and how everything is now hedging on this single throw, and how even All Might noted that it would take time to learn control. 

Izuku moves like he’s going to do a full power throw, and Aizawa is already declaring that Izuku has no chance. However, Izuku still isn’t pulling up OFA even as he moves through the motions of the throw, while thinking about how Aizawa is right; Aizawa realizes mid-sentence that something is different about this from Izuku’s last attempt. Even as the ball is just about to leave his hand, his quirk isn’t there, as he notes that he has to work harder than anyone else if he wants to get in. 

Toshinori is mentally cheering Izuku on, as Izuku mutters that he’ll give it his all in the smallest way - and pulls up OFA in just one finger at the last moment, sending the ball flying and his finger to the wringer. Katsuki is shocked, Aizawa is shocked as well, and Izuku’s finger is dripping blood. Aizawa realizes that Izuku didn’t use his full power, just concentrated it, while Izuku has Aizawa’ words echo in his head as he replies that he can still move. The last panel of the page has Aizawa looking like he’s close to laughing at how ridiculous the situation is.

And so ends chapter 6! Man, what a ride, and it’s not a shock that Izuku is still trying to be so cautious with his quirk at this point… in contrast with much, much later in the manga.

[bokunoheroanalysisforthefuture]

And today is the day we power through the rest of chapter 3! The last three pages have been living rent free in my head since I first saw them, and by god I’m gonna fucking ramble on those as much as my brain allows - but first I need to get there. Well, I know there are more fantastic Izuku faces along the way, so I suppose I can live.

[No. 3 - Entrance Exam]

God, that’s an actual small city, what the fuck UA, how do you afford this? Izuku is trembling from nerves (and exhaustion, you can still see the eyebags on him). A picture of the crowds around him:

So there’s Shouji and Aoyama, along with Uraraka, and we know Iida’s here too, so that’s a fourth of 1a in the same arena. We also have the featured extras (right to left): Beaker (The Muppets), High School PE Teacher, MSPA Reader (Homestuck), Big Meaty Elbones, The Pompadour to Pierce The Heavens, and Slenderkid.

(Yes, before you ask, I will be giving all the extras names in the spirit of Bakugou.)

But yeah, Izuku notes everyone’s confidence and the gear that goes with their quirks, and then he notices Ochako, who is getting herself into the zone. He tries to shakily make his way over to thank her, but Tenya comes in again and stops him, telling Izuku that she’s meditating and wondering if Izuku’s there to interfere, which of course freaks out Izuku. 

Engineer (TF2) recognizes him and calls him out:

Hello Aoyama, yes we see you looking at the camera, good to know that’s not an anime-only thing. And that looks like proto-Tokoyami, who does appear to be the actual one next time we see him, so that’s six members of 1a in one zone. But yeah, everyone considers themselves lucky, which seems a bit silly when he’s just one out of, what was the number again? 1550 students per cityscape? I suppose this is something future Izuku is narrating, so maybe that’s just how he felt about it. 

Anyways, the call to begin goes out, with everyone going ‘hmm?’ all at once in confusion. They all look up to the top of… what the fuck?

How fucking tall is that building?? When the cities are this big??

Is there an atmosphere up there? Is he halfway to low earth orbit? What the fuck UA. (Also poor Izuku, so many nerves.) 

By the time Izuku catches on and turns around, the rest of the crowds have already gone off, including Ochako, Tenya, Tokoyami, and the extras Pompadour, Dudley Dursley, High School PE Teacher, Knock-Off Pussycat, and Skull Mask. He panics and starts running after, telling himself to calm down, that it’s fine, that he’s meant to do this, even as the crowds get further ahead of him.

We then flash back to the beach, with this fantastic face:

Hahaha poor kid. Izuku mentions he doesn’t feel himself transforming, and All Might laughs and notes that it needs time to digest and that he’ll feel it in a few hours. Izuku is flailing with nerves as he walks off, thinking about getting home for a shower and breakfast; All Might calls out to him, telling him that he might be a proper vessel, but he was put together in a hurry, and hasn’t had time to get used to the power, so prepare for kickback. He says there’s no time for a detailed explanation, and so we then zone back into the present as his words echo in Izuku’s head, saying that when using OFA, to ‘clench your butt and let your heart cry out, saying…’

Before it’s cut off with a one pointer crashing out in front of Izuku, literally - you can see the wall debris flying away. 

Yeah, me too. The one-pointers are noted to be quirk but fragile while the robot that it’s target locked on him. Izuku sees it coming, but he can’t move and his body is shaking from the instinctive terror. He chastises himself, calling himself an idiot as he tears up-

And a laser slices through the bot, Aoyama giving the quick save. He thanks Izuku for the assist, but that he doubts they’ll meet again, giving Izuku a sparkly wink as he zooms off. Present Mic then announces six minutes left, and Izuku starts to panic and think about how bad the situation is. 

We see him take in the situation around him:

Yup, that’s definitely Tokoyami, and who might that dark-haired person be close to the middle?

Yup, a discord friend pointed out that that’s Kirishima! So that’s no less than seven members of class 1a in the same battle zone! And considering how Ashido and Kirishima were in the same school and her name comes before his, like Katsuki’s comes before Izuku, I wouldn’t be surprised to know she’s in Katsuki’s battlezone. 

(Imagine if all of 1a, sans the recommendation duo, were either in Katsuki or Izuku’s battle zones. The sheer odds of that happening…)

But yeah, Ochako is up to 28 points, Tenya to 45, and Eijirou to 32, all while Izuku realizes there are barely any enemies left. He’s freaking out, tearing up, and you can see just how fucking exhausted he is. 

We shift over to the ‘teacher commentary’, where we can see Midnight and Thirteen in the back, and then Vlad, Cementoss, and presumably other teachers in front of and to the sides of them. They note how a wide battlefield with limited time brings out the best in the applicants - intelligence gatherers (featuring Shouji), mobility experts (Tenya), decision makers (Aoyama), and natural born warriors (Katsuki). The abilities the students need to preserve peace are judged by their points.

They note that that year has a bumper crop, but that that’s not confirmed yet, as they push the big button labeled ‘Yaruki Switch’. Which unleashes massive, multistory robots into the battle centers (and where the fuck were they hiding???)

Yeah, me too, kids. Izuku thinks that that’s way too big to be a ‘gimmick’. It punches down into the street with a massive blow, sending wind and debris everywhere, and the other students run while Izuku is sitting there, frozen in terror. Tenya runs past him with barely a glance, while the teachers’ commentary continues - people show their true colors when faced with the zero pointer.

Izuku is in tears and yelling at himself as he picks himself up to run. He knows he has to get away while also getting points, but he’s still stuck at zero, and believes this’ll all be for nothing. 

And so we get to the pages that have taken rent-free residence in my head for days now:

God just. The composition, the entire change in his thought process and demeanor because someone was in danger, the fucking smashing blow and the power behind it, everyone else’s reactions to him oneshotting the monstrosity, and that ominous ending, with Toshinori grinning while the narrative notes that Izuku’s current score is zero.

I’m just going to paste in my gushing from discord, to be clear how I feel about all this:

And no, I’m not particularly ashamed of all the gushing or the images or how much I repeat myself. I’m still feeling a whole lotta things from these pages and like. Jesus fuck if I wasn’t already in this fandom, I would be now.

[bokunoheroanalysisforthefuture]

With the second half of chapter 11, I am ready for people thoughts / questions / comments on the opening arcs. Were there favorite parts of it? Parts you wish had had a little more to them? Who’s your favorite / least favorite of the characters as shown so far? Anything you found particularly interesting about certain scenes / panels / etc. that you want to share? Have at it! 

I’ll probably be doing some of that myself as I go back through for any little moments I liked, and sort of summarize my own thoughts on the opening arcs. Then, of course, we get to get into the USJ, and see some real action! <3

[No. 11 - Bakugou’s Starting Line]

We come back to the nurse’s office, where Toshinori is awkwardly hovering by Izuku’s bed while Recovery Girl tears into him for Izuku’s third time in her office despite the school year only just starting, and why he hasn’t prevented that damage from happening. Toshinori apologizes to her, and she tells him it’s not her he needs to apologize to. 

(Also, man he’s swimming in his hero costume - really gives a sense of the size difference between the two forms to be honest.)

She notes that Izuku’s come to her both that day and the day before completely fatigued, and that this sort of damage isn’t so easily healed. He’s on an IV drip and has gotten emergency first aid, but all that can be done now is wait for him to recover on his own. 

Which brings me back to chapter 4 with her managing to heal him while he’s completely unconscious and in way worse shape - I really do believe at this point that she CAN use her own stamina to help a patient in critical condition who doesn’t have the energy to heal themselves, but it’s not as effective and, well, drains HER to the point where she won’t be able to help others who might be in need. Ergo, in situations like this, she sticks to hoarding her stamina and letting kids heal their own reckless behavior. (She probably could do a lot more in her prime, but alas.)

She states that she knows Toshinori gave Izuku his power, but regardless of favoritism, Toshinori has to stop indulging Izuku. Toshinori scratches under his ear in embarrassment and says she’s right - he was sympathizing too much, so he hesitated. He then goes on to hesitantly ask her to keep it down while at least discussing One For All. 

She huffs and turns away, mocking him with his ‘natural born hero’ and ‘symbol of piece’ titles. He goes on to explain (for audience benefit alone tbh) that while the staff of UA know about his true form and injury, only Recovery Girl, the principal, an old friend of his (who will later be revealed as Detective Tsukauchi), and Izuku know about his quirk. To everyone else, it’s a secret.

(We know from later on that this isn’t quite true - there are a few others who know - but I suppose that this is the ring of people who he interacts with at this point in time, which is… really fucking depressing. 

Of course, Horikoshi might not have come up with either character beyond vague thoughts and outlines at this point, so I suppose he didn’t want to box himself in on a character design before he was sure they fit his needs. Gran probably was outlined vaguely at this point? But I think Nighteye might not have been created until around Kamino.)

Recovery Girl asks rhetorically whether that talk is just him resting on his laurels, then a bit more seriously asks whether it’s really that important that he be a natural born hero and the Symbol of Peace. We get another up-close shot of Toshinori’s intensity as he states that without him, superhuman society would fall to evil.

(A bit egotistical there, much? But I think it’s also a bit of the toxic mindset he’s had build up over the ages - that he’s alone in being able to hold things together, that there’s no one to fall back on, that he can’t afford to be ‘helped’ even as he keeps falling apart.)

Toshinori then goes on to explain that this is the responsibility that wielders of One For All must bear. Recovery Girl contemplates this quietly for a moment, then says that it’s then all the more important for Toshinori to learn how to guide Izuku properly. 

We transition to after school… which does end up leaving me to wonder whether I was off about heroics being the last class of the day, but at the same time, I don’t see how the teachers expect the kids to be able to focus on academics after two hours of heroics training, not to mention that the kids do need time to digest lunch, so,,, eh. I’m going to presume that here it’s more that with the battle trials ending a bit early, there was time afterwards for discussion before the school day ended.

Anyways, Izuku is just trudging back to class, still in his damaged costume and wearing a sling for his right arm. He’s slouched over, thinking about how Aizawa-sensei is ‘really gonna let him have it’ - which says a lot about his expectations for teachers at this point. He opens the door to the classroom, and is surprised when Kirishima notices him and announces his return, as well as welcomes him back. 

Izuku is quickly surrounded by several classmates (Kirishima, Mina, and Sato), all of whom are excited to talk to him, much to his confusion. Kirishima says that even without knowing what was being said, the battle was wild. Mina complements Izuku’s dodging (which makes sense now that I think about it - she does a lot of dance and incorporates it into her fighting, so she might have thought Izuku was similar? Maybe?) Sato says that everyone was pumped after the crazy first round.

Kirishima, Mina, Tsuyu, and Sato all then introduce themselves in order, with Kirishima saying that they were discussing battle training, Mina restating her admiration for Izuku’s dodging skills, Tsuyu that she just prefers to be called Tsuyu. Izuku is a bit overwhelmed. To the side, Tokoyami grumbles about them being noisy while sitting on the desk - much to Tenya’s concern as he demands Tokoyami get off of it. Someone else tells Tenya to not get bent out of shape. 

The true crack ship - KamiChako. Which is immediately ruined when Ochako makes her way over to Izuku, noticing and worrying over his arm and whether he’d gotten it healed. Izuku says it wasn’t quite healed, since he was so worn out, and then he apologizes and says he has something to do. That something being rushing after Katsuki.

(Literally, that boy walks in, looks around, sees Katsuki isn’t there, and immediately goes ‘sorry I have to go immediately’. Like, I know this is a shounen, but at the same time…)

Izuku catches up to Katsuki on the way to the gate out of the grounds, and is, uh...

Not looking that great, captain. Those bags under his eyes have really seen some cultivation in the time since the battle trial. 

Izuku’s internal thoughts note that where everyone else wanted to talk to him, Katsuki just clammed up and went home. Or maybe it’s Izuku’s memory of Toshinori recounting the aftermath of the class? But Toshinori left right at the end, so uh… I have no idea. 

Anyways, Izuku catches up and gets his attention, drawing Katsuki’s shadowed stare (it’s not quite a glare? So yeah.) Izuku is looking down a bit, narration noting that he hasn’t even told his mom his secret as he states that he can’t say much, but that Katsuki should know this. Izuku thinks about Katsuki’s comments during the battle trial about tricking him, and then…

Well that was a face adventure Katsuki went through. It’s a really good thing he was also too distracted by his own existential angst to really think about Izuku’s words.

But to dig more deeply into this, we can start from the top - literally. Starting at all that space at the top, and then the empty panel (asides from the two) where Izuku states he got his quirk from someone else. It really sort of gives a beat before such a weighty reveal, and more so how, in that moment, Izuku is only focused on Katsuki as he says it.

Izuku goes on to explain that he can’t say who it’s from, and that it’s a bit like a conversation out of a comic book, and that on top of that he can’t even really use it yet, so the borrowed power is pretty useless to him, which is why he tried to beat Katsuki without it… only to fail and be forced to rely on it. While this is happening, Katsuki’s expression goes from confusion/what the fuck towards outright pissed as Izuku rambles on, seemingly nonsensically from his point of view. Izuku states that he has a way to go, and then looks up and meets Katsuki’s gaze as he states that he’s going to make that power his own someday, and then overcome Katsuki with his own power. 

This seems to derail Katsuki’s anger for a moment back towards shock - possibly for the sheer boldness and earnestness of the statement. Izuku’s a bit embarrassed at his rambling reveal, thinking that he’d just meant to tell Katsuki he hadn’t been tricking him, but, well. 

Katsuki wobbles a bit in place, likely to keep himself from instinctively going after Izuku for being, well, Izuku. He repeats Izuku’s comment about borrowed power, then says he has no idea what Izuku’s talking about, but that Izuku is clearly determined to keep making a fool out of him. His anger boils back up as he grits out another swear, and then gets into how he lost to Izuku, and then if that weren’t enough, there was another student - Shouto - who he knows he can’t measure up to. He slaps a hand to his face, nails digging into his hair as he swears again and notes how ‘ponytail girl said it all’. He snaps his arms back down, swearing more, and demands a mostly rhetorical why from Izuku - likely in response to his fear of being able ot measure up to someone he had until then looked down on. Katsuki then declares through tears - and some repetition for emphasis - that from there on out he’s gonna beat everyone. 

He then spins back around and starts to walk off, rubbing at the tears while telling Izuku to enjoy his win, since it won’t happen ever again. Izuku holds himself firm a bit longer, then sighs and seems to lose whatever energy he’d dredged up for that conversation - methinks it’s also a bit exasperated with Katsuki? I mean, I have to admit trying to have a serious convo with the kid has to be a struggle sometimes.

Incredible. Thanks, All Might. And I can’t help but cackle at Izuku swaying in the wind created with All Might rushing right past him to get to Katsuki, as well as that ‘ow!’ from Katsuki. All Might is latched onto Katsuki’s shoulder as he kind of greets the kid, with Katsuki looking about five seconds from turning around and biting the man in the arm like a semi-feral cat.

All Might is wheezing a bit in holding this form while rushing to catch up, starting to offer some advice - that Katsuki’s self-respect is important, and that he definitely has the makings of a pro, just so long as he-

Katsuki cuts him off by telling him to get off, since he can’t walk. He then goes on to say that it’s without question that he’ll be a hero who surpasses even All Might. All Might is surprised at that rebound, taking his hand off while thinking that the usual egomaniac is back. All Might mutters about how being a teacher is tough while watching Katsuki stalk off.

Izuku’s narration notes that Katsuki’s fuse had been lit, but his own goals hadn’t changed - that he would keep chasing after him. While he’s staring dramatically after his childhood friend, All Might starts asking what he said to Katsuki.

We have a last transition to a few days later, the narration noting that the class learned an important lesson that All Might had warned them about - about how they should fear the cleverest of villains. The scene is set in a different area, with the frontmost building being a bar. Someone is shown reading a newspaper article about All Might teaching at UA, as well as his temporary leave from his hero agency. 

The person sets the newspaper down folded neatly, noting how All Might is a teacher now. The voice then goes a bit raspy (or maybe it’s a different speaker) as they wonder out loud about what would happen if villains killed the symbol of peace. 

Whoo boy, what a first introduction to the main antagonist of the series.

It seems like he has all five fingers on the newspaper in those panels? But it might just be the weird angle that keeps us from seeing how careful he is to not do so, which might have given away his quirk before it gets shown in the next arc. 

Also, hello misty character who definitely doesn’t have some deeper, tragic backstory we eventually learn about. 

About those hands… you know, I know what the ‘official’ story behind them ends up being, but like, they all look the same, so I wonder if those are just… random hands from his victims over the years. ...while the design is suitably disconcerning, it also makes sense that Hori would eventually chuck them aside thanks to how much extra drawing and detail they all need. 

Anyways, that closes out the chapter and the opening arcs, so again, open for any sort of thoughts/questions all of you have. I should have my own out in the next few days, I think.

[bokunoheroanalysisforthefuture]

Based on popular discord vote, let’s take our first look into one of the ongoing background stories / worldbuilding happening over the course of the series - the state of heroics. Sure, there’s not much to it now, but sine it becomes such a huge deal down the road and is kind of important for the story in general, I felt like having a baseline to work from and then expanding on it as the series does is a pretty smart idea.

So what is heroics? Heroics is shown to be a government position created in the aftermath of the rise of quirks, basically a legalization of the vigilantes who had been standing up against the heavy criminal activity of the early quirk era. Nowadays, heroes earn their pay depending on their performance, as well as gain fame and glory from the public.

A lot of heroes are, from the start, shown to have special moves with names that they call out, such as Kamui Wood’s ‘Preemptive Binding Lacquered Chain Prison’, Mt. Lady’s ‘Canyon Cannon’, and All Might’s ‘Detroit Smash’. These serve as both intimidation and identifiers, basically a way of finishing a fight while also looking good for the press and media. It’s basically just like American comic books about superheroes, only in Japan.

The crowds themselves love the spectacle, taking pictures and videos while watching villains get defeated by the pros. Even when in danger of injury from villains or the heroes’ efforts to subdue them, there seems to be no concern for actually being hurt. (Possibly a holdover from this being a shounen or leaning more heavily on playing the comic books straight.)

However, heroics isn’t all flash and fame. It’s a demanding game where only the most well-seen and active pros can keep their names up near the top, and weakness can leave them floundering. If a hero has to leave the public view, it could negatively affect their rating and people’s view of them - and the higher their rank, the worse the fall could be.

For the one who’s been at the top for decades, and is considered single-handedly responsible for lowering the crime rates to the single digits? 

Nothing will be allowed to keep him away, not even an injury that would have killed others and came close to killing him. Down a stomach, part of a lung, he still pushes himself to his limits, even as those limits dwindle to sever hours of hero work a day. Someone who has become so exhausted and cynical that his job is just going through the motions, because anything else would be worse. And revealing his weakness to the world? Completely unthinkable.

But something he does note, and something we see come up again and again in the future, is All Might’s statement - “A pro should always be ready to risk his life.” Not only a reference to his own injury, but likely to how heroes in general can’t afford to hold back. And how this point is punctuated?

Heroes, all holding back, because their quirks aren’t suited for the task. At the first sign of risk of failure, all of them end up capitulating and waiting for someone who is guaranteed to succeed in the task, even if it means leaving a civilian at risk of dying. Even the crowds watching on don’t seem to be concerned, more interested in where All Might is and when more heroes will show up to solve the problem.

The only person present who ends up following All Might’s creed, risking his life to save another? Izuku. And so in turn Izuku is rewarded by gaining One For All and, eventually, making his way into UA to learn how to become a hero.

And here we learn a bit more: the world is unfair, and heroes are the ones expected to correct that unfairness. And being an inconvenience to those around you is a dangerous flaw that can’t be tolerated.

I know that’s not exact, since it’s definitely a reference telling Izuku to not breaking himself so readily, but still. I can’t help but wonder how much of this ‘can’t rely on others to help you’ thing has seeped into the general heroic mindset at this point… especially as we get further in and begin deconstructing Japanese heroics. Certainly it indicates something about heroics culture - and Japan in general - that is… definitely less than ideal.

Overall, the general gist we get of hero society is that it’s as much, if not more public approval and showiness over taking out villains and giving back to the community. It also seems to be somewhat risk adverse - again tying into that risk of losing approval - but at the same time, it also seems to push people to do anything they can to keep going, even if they’re on the verge of breaking. And asking for or relying on others to help you? That also seems to be an issue many heroes of the modern era have, likely all stemming from Japanese views on self-reliance and work ethic. 

It’s not much, but it’s definitely a starting place to build on for later arcs, as we see more and more of the system at work - or not. Sorry if this feels a bit generic, but I did always intend to have this be in multiple parts so I can give each segment it’s own in-depth consideration without it taking seven million years. Look forward to part two, coming after the USJ (maybe). 

[bokunoheroanalysisforthefuture]

And so to properly finish off the chapter, the character sheet!

Despite what Hori claims, I do feel like we see a lot of the decisions Aizawa makes are less rational than he claims. I mean, there’s generally reasons to them, and his desicions are made based on what information he has, but like, his actions in this chapter are sort of... him already deciding he knows Izuku despite only having the entrance exam to go off of.

Plus, well, humans by their nature can’t make every decision be a rational one, so. I dunno, he just comes off as Plus Extra(tm).

Discord: