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My Hero Academia (Shonen Jump) move over pirates, ninjas, reapers, its Hero time

F

Frozenprince

Banned
Veelk said:
So lets talk about something I've been throwing around in my mind for a bit.

The world of MHA. MHA is very much a character driven story. The past is only relevant as far as characters go. Thus far, we haven't really stumbled on anything to the effect of "These are the ruins of a great battle between this one legendary hero of the past" or anything like that. The only significance of the past is personal stuff like All Might's mentor.

The only real piece of worldbuilding we got was at the very beginning of the first chapter, where the narration explained that, one day, a random miracle occurred and now everyone just got random powers, which can be anything from an extra appendage to things seem to defy the laws of physics.

Obviously, this set up is most influenced by the X-men. Random mutation spreads and everyone gets random powers. However, it removes all the social issues that the X-men assign to the mutations. The vast majority of the population has quirks. And despite there being some kind of genetic component to it, the vast heterogeneity of quirks mean that any sense of prejudice seems to have been effectively eliminated. Ashido and Tokoyami's unusual looks aren't remarked upon as unusual, and even Kouda, and Shouji who look more inhuman than most aren't treated any differently for it.

In a lot of ways, it feels like the promised land of equality that the X-men characters are always striving for, which is an interesting placement. Which isn't to say what X-men does isn't interesting, but it's somewhat refreshing to get an X-men story where all the social issues have actually been resolved by the time the characters arrive on the scene, leaving only personal drama to drive the narrative. The closest that it comes to a social change is the wide spread public perception of All Might being revealed as having lost his quirk, and even the narrative mostly centers around All Might himself and the main characters that looked up to him as opposed to the larger public sphere.

Still, given how skilled the author is at executing all other aspects of the story, it makes me curious to consider how he would handle larger world events in a different story.
Click to expand...


I personally expect a lengthy flashback arc at some point or a spin-off that goes into that "first generation" X-Men style, while they combat against A4O at the height of his powers.

Might just be me.
 
A

Aaronrules380

Member
I wonder how endeavor will react to Todoroki's failure? Especially since the number of people who passed the second test suggests that everyone else in the class might've passed
 
C

Cerium

Member
I would usually expect some kind of protracted flashback arc dealing with the origins of All For One and One For All. In this series, however, I'm not sure it's necessary and Horikoshi strikes me as a storyteller more interested in the present.
 
C

cntr

Banned
All for One is basically Magneto.

I'd be surprised if we didn't get a flashback for the first One for All user. Though with MHA pacing it'll be like 10 chapters.
 
N

Nightbird

Member
Veelk said:
tsKls9z.png


Continuing to be the scariest artist in shonen I see.
Click to expand...

so you haven't read "The promised Neverland" yet i see :p
 
C

caliph95

Member
cntr said:
All for One is basically Magneto.

I'd be surprised if we didn't get a flashback for the first One for All user. Though with MHA pacing it'll be like 10 chapters.
Click to expand...
He was Magneto at the beginning then just became straight up super villain.
 
V

Veelk

Banned
I think if there was something as serious as prejudice against powered individuals, it would somehow bleed through to present day, like people with certain quirks being particularly feared or something.

How is All for One Magneto though? Did I miss a part where he was persecuted or something? We know he wants to enact some kind of change, but other than that, I don't really remember much.

The introduction of Quirks to the world led to a period of societal collapse and an age of upheaval. During this time, a man (who would become Sensei) with an overwhelmingly powerful Quirk called All For One, arose in Japan and decided to take advantage of the chaos. He stole many Quirks, attaining immense power and influence. Using his incredible might, the man gathered and unified dozens of people under his command. He then manipulated the people he gathered like pawns to further his plans and eventually became Japan's ruler. It's suggested that he ruled from the shadows, as most of his actions in the present day are only known as rumors on the internet.
Click to expand...

Yeah, that doesn't sound anything like Magneto. Granted, I don't read a lot of X-men, but I usually define magneto as Minority Rage Incarnate, being the most extreme form of retribution of everything that has been done to the weak. That doesn't sound anything like All For One.
 
A

Aaronrules380

Member
Veelk said:
I think if there was something as serious as prejudice against powered individuals, it would somehow bleed through to present day, like people with certain quirks being particularly feared or something.

How is All for One Magneto though? Did I miss a part where he was persecuted or something? We know he wants to enact some kind of change, but other than that, I don't really remember much.
Click to expand...

I mean, I think this might be the case for certain types of quirks to an extent, like how people reacted to shinsou (mind control guy) and commented how his powers were something you'd expect from a villain
 
F

Frozenprince

Banned
Veelk said:
I think if there was something as serious as prejudice against powered individuals, it would somehow bleed through to present day, like people with certain quirks being particularly feared or something.

How is All for One Magneto though? Did I miss a part where he was persecuted or something? We know he wants to enact some kind of change, but other than that, I don't really remember much.
Click to expand...

I think his persecution was implied given that he was said to have "taken over" when the world was still tumultuous. But I may be mis-remembering.

I have faith in Horikoshi-Sensei being able to bring the world building in time. The pace is just so quick that it's been good as a character story so far, but I think the world will begin to expand and be expounded on. After all Shiketsu wasn't a known entity until like 8 chapters ago.

I just hope that it's not a cop-out that dances around the persecution many would face, I agree. I'd hazard a guess that there are still many enclaves that detest "non-human" or basically Morlock metahumans/quirks. It adds a dimension to the narrative that's lacking beyond, A4O is evil, stop him and his machinations.
 
C

cntr

Banned
He might be Magneto-like. He seems genuinely enraged that his allies were killed, he seems to have plans for Shigaraki over just using him as a pawn, and All Might brings up the idea that he gave a quirk to his brother out of kindness, hedging over bluntly describing him as evil.

It's just a theory, but I like the idea of All for One having started it all just to protect his brother and his friends, like he's doing with Shigaraki. Would explain why he's so goddamn angry about it.

also he floats around like magneto
 
V

Veelk

Banned
I need to go so I'll check back in here later, but I want to note that the only societal prejudices that do remain are ones that were there before quirks. Like sexism (most exemplified by the crowds reaction to Uraraka's fight). I'd also say racism, but there aren't any people of color that I can recall in the series. Which is wierd, because even if you want to make the "it's japan" argument, we see plenty of what appear to be natural blonds and redheads there, so, if their population diversified that way, no reason to think it wouldn't start to include PoC.

Edit: Uh....I was kinda wrong. There is one black person in MHA. And he's very, very black.

http://bokunoheroacademia.wikia.com/wiki/Shihai_Kuroiro

Is this racist? It feels racist. His superpower is being the ultimate blackface.
 
C

cntr

Banned
pfft, that's not genuine anime blackface, that's just an anime edgelord

I'd wait for when we get actual foreign heroes.
 
C

cntr

Banned
The hairy frog is also notable in possessing retractable "claws" (though unlike true claws, they are made of bone, not keratin), which it may project through the skin, apparently by intentionally breaking the bones of the toe.
Click to expand...
Yes, I like the direction Tsuyu is taking.

"These west African frogs have been known to spontaneously change sex from female to male." the doujins write themselves
 
P

Poodlestrike

Banned
Veelk said:
I need to go so I'll check back in here later, but I want to note that the only societal prejudices that do remain are ones that were there before quirks. Like sexism (most exemplified by the crowds reaction to Uraraka's fight). I'd also say racism, but there aren't any people of color that I can recall in the series. Which is wierd, because even if you want to make the "it's japan" argument, we see plenty of what appear to be natural blonds and redheads there, so, if their population diversified that way, no reason to think it wouldn't start to include PoC.

Edit: Uh....I was kinda wrong. There is one black person in MHA. And he's very, very black.

http://bokunoheroacademia.wikia.com/wiki/Shihai_Kuroiro

Is this racist? It feels racist. His superpower is being the ultimate blackface.
Click to expand...

I don't think so? It's like the WH40k Salamanders: literally black, not at all part of the blackface caricature. Admittedly, I'm not really qualified to make that call :p But it seems okay, at first blush.

Hopefully we'll get some black characters when we eventually see American or other foreign heroes.
 
S

SalvaPot

Member
Veelk said:
I need to go so I'll check back in here later, but I want to note that the only societal prejudices that do remain are ones that were there before quirks. Like sexism (most exemplified by the crowds reaction to Uraraka's fight). I'd also say racism, but there aren't any people of color that I can recall in the series. Which is wierd, because even if you want to make the "it's japan" argument, we see plenty of what appear to be natural blonds and redheads there, so, if their population diversified that way, no reason to think it wouldn't start to include PoC.

Edit: Uh....I was kinda wrong. There is one black person in MHA. And he's very, very black.

http://bokunoheroacademia.wikia.com/wiki/Shihai_Kuroiro

Is this racist? It feels racist. His superpower is being the ultimate blackface.
Click to expand...

His superpower is darkness, not blackface.
 
F

FlowersisBritish

fleurs n'est pas britannique
Literally dying at that frog girl art right there. I know it's not what this manga is about, but I want to slap every one of these dumb adolescent boys for not constantly asking her out.
 
C

Cerium

Member
You know it's a real credit to the depth of the supporting cast that I care more about Todoroki failing than I do about Midoriya passing.
 
B

BassForever

Member
I look forward to the chapter where todoroki and wind guy retake the test and tag team to stomp everyone kurapika style.

Edit: Killua style oops
 
L

Lunar15

Member
Veelk said:
So lets talk about something I've been throwing around in my mind for a bit.

The world of MHA. MHA is very much a character driven story. The past is only relevant as far as characters go. Thus far, we haven't really stumbled on anything to the effect of "These are the ruins of a great battle between this one legendary hero of the past" or anything like that. The only significance of the past is personal stuff like All Might's mentor.

The only real piece of worldbuilding we got was at the very beginning of the first chapter, where the narration explained that, one day, a random miracle occurred and now everyone just got random powers, which can be anything from an extra appendage to things seem to defy the laws of physics.

Obviously, this set up is most influenced by the X-men. Random mutation spreads and everyone gets random powers. However, it removes all the social issues that the X-men assign to the mutations. The vast majority of the population has quirks. And despite there being some kind of genetic component to it, the vast heterogeneity of quirks mean that any sense of prejudice seems to have been effectively eliminated. Ashido and Tokoyami's unusual looks aren't remarked upon as unusual, and even Kouda, and Shouji who look more inhuman than most aren't treated any differently for it.

In a lot of ways, it feels like the promised land of equality that the X-men characters are always striving for, which is an interesting placement. Which isn't to say what X-men does isn't interesting, but it's somewhat refreshing to get an X-men story where all the social issues have actually been resolved by the time the characters arrive on the scene, leaving only personal drama to drive the narrative. The closest that it comes to a social change is the wide spread public perception of All Might being revealed as having lost his quirk, and even the narrative mostly centers around All Might himself and the main characters that looked up to him as opposed to the larger public sphere.

Still, given how skilled the author is at executing all other aspects of the story, it makes me curious to consider how he would handle larger world events in a different story.
Click to expand...

The author is rolling out world-building very slowly. He's also playing a little fast and loose with it, but we cut slack because, like you said, the character focused stuff is really great.

It's obviously a world of contrivance, as there's so many weird issues with a world full of superheroes that are glossed over, but he's done a pretty good job of addressing them here and there.

As for the X-Men comparisons, MHA is like a reverse X-Men to me. We were introduced to a "Utopian" world of superheroes from the start, where everyone's a mutant and it's an accepted norm to have powers. As it's progressed, we've started to see the issues of that world, and there's a general sense of "the system that is in place can't remain much longer". The characters are becoming more aware of how the world works and why a lot of it doesn't make sense, it feels really realistic to how we all experience the world: first with fresh and idealistic eyes that slowly get more jaded as we start to see areas where problems might arise. It's been handled well, although it's really clear that the author is adding problems as he goes rather than having a grand plan for absolutely everything. He's also skimming some issues a bit quickly, but I've always had the sense that things will get brought up again.

Whereas X-Men could be argued as an allegory for minority rights movements, MHA feels to me as a criticism of capitalism/survival of the fittest mentality. The manga's still about "being the strongest", but you often get hints that it's rarely about "being the strongest", and more about actually doing what's right for the people. There's a push to focus on teams of heroes rather than holding one hero up on a pedestal (which was, in many ways, a bad thing because it created this false sense of security that allowed a lot of bad practices to continue existing). But we're seeing it through the eyes of people who want to "work through the system" to resolve these issues, rather than tearing it all down. And we even see people who want to tear it all down, but so far they've been shown as villains with sympathetic, yet unrealistic goals.

It's funny that you bring up X-Men, because I had the same feelings you did when I picked this up, and that's why I've really enjoyed it. I always loved X-Men and the idea of this group of mutants, but I actually prefer when you have a whole world where having superpowers is a relatively normal occurrence, rather than having to stay hidden. It's one of the things that really drew me to one piece early on, where, while devil's fruit users are rare, the world still accounts for them and there's no secret identities or mass incarceration of people with powers. Similar feelings with Avatar: The Last Airbender. I like seeing a world where powers are "relatively" mundane: they're part of the world and the world is built around them to some degree. MHA delivers this in spades.
 
A

ahdurian

Member
i was rewatching the episode of their first day tests, with all the Quirk-exercise/limit stuff
and I just realized that in the ball throw, Deku got higher than Bakugo...but 0.1

the fuck thats great
 
B

bigboss370

Member
how the heck did Mineta ever pass the entrance exam? Also, how was he not the lowest score on the first test/day of school? where is his potential? :/
 
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