I actually think we can make a pretty good case for Toga being the best written female character in all of Boku no Hero Academia.
There are two other contenders–Inko and Nana–who could probably easily take the spot if not for their extenuating circumstances: Inko simply isn’t in the story enough to be a consistent source of emotional engagement, and we haven’t seen enough of Nana yet to get a real sense of the depth of her character. If Nana gets to be part of an extended series of flashbacks or becomes a vestige that Izuku can talk to, we might get enough of her to bump her to the top.
But right now, I can make a pretty convincing case for Toga.
all for one he has a hades motif Much like him, no one dares to speak his name, so they only refer to him as euphemisms, (in this case, “All For One” and “Sensei”), he is heavily associated with death, with Midoriya saying that being near him is like being near death and after arrested, he is now staying in a place called Tartarus.
Gigantomachia a reference To the Giants of greek Mythology. Similar to them he is a gigantic humanoid being and his name is the name given to the battle between the Giants and the Olympian gods
hawks to icarus
Icarus was a guy who grew cocky despite his father’s warnings and flew too high, resulting in his wings burning and him falling to his death. Hawks has wings, seems rather arrogant/brash, and ascended incredibly quickly in the hero rankings.
Hawks is now working with Endeavor who could easily represent the sun, and there’s reason to suspect Dabi, another fire user, will be involved in this arc.
There’s also that panel of him flying up with a bright light shining behind him, which others have already noted looks like a Icarus reference.
hawk is connected to Icarus. A young, arrogant and talented Teen Genius with large wings. This is lightly alluded to in a shot of him spreading his wings close to a light source,being that Icarus is better known for flying to close to the sun.
He also mentions that his flight is compromised the more feathers he uses, similar to how Icarus died when his when lost too many feathers and he plummeted to his death. Becomes less subtle when he sends his feathers to a grievously injured Endeavor while the latter is fighting High-End, giving him literally flaming wings.
. plus the whole line about hawks going too fast reminds me of icarus going too high hawks rose to great heights to quickly
hawks also mentions that his flight is compromised the more feathers he uses, similar to how Icarus died when his when lost too many feathers and he plummeted to his death.
I was worried since Hawks was introduced and pulled his stunt of flying up by the lights; a total Icarus move. The only confirmation I needed on him being screwed is if his wings were RED.
This is bad because I am an old enough US comic book reader to know of a character named Joshua Guthrie codename Icarus. (Marvel) Who lookie lookie- Had big red wings-
Lets just say that things did not go well for Mr.Guthrie. He lost his wings (cut off), his healing ability, was used by a ‘nice talking’ enemy and getting his friends/team slaughtered. All before getting killed himself.
I know how much our lovely BNHA creator loves US comics so I was worried when I remembered Mr.Guthrie.
so the most recent leaks for the kanji for touya are 燈矢 – light and arrow. considering horikoshis use of greek mythology in bnha this could be a reference to apollo, god of light, whose main weapon is, you guessed it, the bow and arrow.
apollo, also the god of the sun, drives the sun chariot across the sky everyday – therefore connecting him to hawks/icarus.
the apollo/touya theory could also hint at how old dabi is – he is the eldest son
and it may be because he’s fuyumi fraternal twin, who would be artemis in this metaphor. her hair’s even white/silver, which is associated with artemis and moonlight!
finally, interesting to note for those hoping for a dabi redemption arc – apollo is also the god of medicine and healing. fingers crossed!
As for the Artemis is Fuyumi part, from what I remember Artemis is (among other things) a goddess of the moon which only appears during the night the coldest part . of the day
Shi Hassaikai as a whole based off of a subversion of buddhism specifically its Eightfold Path, with Chisaki acting as a Buddha analog. and chisaki and the eight expendables are a corruption of the buddha and the eight precepts
the eight expendables
They seem to be themed after the Eight Precepts of Buddhism. Rappa’s bloodthirstiness is a violation of the first precept, which forbids causing harm and taking lives. (Subversion: Of the first precept of Buddhism’s Eightfold Path, “I will abstain from being harmful to living beings.” ) Setsuno, whose Quirk lets him teleport small objects into his hands, violates the second precept, which forbids theft and willfully misplacing items. (Subversion: Of Buddhism’s second precept of its Eightfold Path, “I will abstain from stealing”, as his Quirk allows him to steal anything. ) Rikiya Katsukame, whose Quirk is touch-activated and makes some creepy comments about Nejire, violates the third precept, which forbids sexual activity.
(subversion Of Buddhism’s seventh precept of its Eightfold Path,“I will abstain from listening or playing music, songs, wearing flowers, jewellery and other ornaments”, as his Quirk generates gemstones.) Shin Nemoto, whose uses his Quirk to force people to tell the truth so he can Break Them by Talking, violates the fourth precept, which forbids lies and harmful speech. (Subversion: Of the Fourth Precept of Buddhism’s Eightfold Path, “I will abstain from uttering lies"— his Quirk makes it nearly impossible to lie to him. ) Deidoro, the alcoholic, violates the fifth precept, which decrees abstinence from alcohol. (Subversion: Of the fifth Buddhist precept of the Eightfold Path, “I will refrain from intoxicating drinks and drugs which lead to carelessness”. ) Tabe, a glutton whose Quirk lets him eat anything, violates the sixth precept, which forbids eating outside the appointed times. (Subversion: Of Buddishm’s sixth precept of its eightfold path, “I will abstain from eating after noon time”, due to his Extreme Omnivore tendencies. ) Hojo, whose Quirk lets him generate crystals on his body, violates the seventh precept, which forbids wearing luxuries like cosmetics and jewelry. Tengai, whose Quirk generates an impenetrable shield, violates the eighth precept, which forbids resting in luxurious comfort. (Subversion: Of the Eighth Precept of Buddhism’s Eightfold Path, “I will refrain from lining or seating on high and luxurious places"— his Quirk creatse a near-indestructable barrier, somewhere where one can essentially take shelter during harsh circumstances. )
Meti『Not The Bad Guy』 goes into chisaki being a corruption of the buddha in his video the beauty of kai chisaki/overhaul the guy goes into it chisaki is a corruption of the buddha references at 10:20 to 14 :00 to and he also brings up the eight expendables reference to eight precepts as in which precept referenced by which member of the eight expendables though he doesn’t go into detail why and just flips through pages pointing out which character references which precept not going into detail starting around 9:30 but I went into detail about how each character references the eight precepts above , so just check out the vid for the part about how chisaki is a buddha analogy
ibara shiozaki is a reference to jesus her being a devout christian and Quirk is likely a reference to Jesus Christ and the ‘crown of thorns’ that was placed on his head. she even has a sort of crown of thorns This is also referenced in her hero name Maria, a reference to the latin name for the the Virgin Mary.
Her birthday is September 8, which is also the birthday of Virgin Mary.
Her Hero Costume consists of a plain white robe, which looks similar to the one worn by Jesus Christ.
and the name of her attacks
Via Dolorosa is the latin reference for the path by which jesus walked on his way to crucifixion.
plus there are her lines “Passing Judgement” “scheming sinners more religious allusions
and her referring to gevaudan as the beast of revelation/apocalpyse
I’m pretty sure there’s a panel of Aizawa somewhere with this exact same pose, maybe it’s even from the same angle. But I can’t remember where I saw it
Aizawa stans, please lend me a hand here
I think I found it (?)
the pose is not 100% the same but you can tell that Aizawa was definitely behind his training, and this wasn’t just Shinsou blindly imitating his style
Also, this is from a different camera angle but it’s still the same move Shinsou uses above:
Still, I like how Horikoshi made it clear that Shinsou is pretty much still a newbie to fighting, because take a look at this:
Pro hero Aizawa: falls into a crouch in front of the target, uses his surprise to wrap his bandages around him, moves fast in the corner of the target’s vision to divert and dodge the possible counterattack and use the thus gained leverage to leave him dangling like mistletoe;
meanwhile, Shinsou, still a rookie who lacks experience in the battlefield and at hand to hand combat:
frontal attack in full display of his targets, tries to be fast and smooth, fails, panics
then the second time around, having learned from his previous mistake:
Attacks from advantage, covert position; uses a less direct approach, but this time exploits his surroundings to carry out he brunt of his offense from a blind spot, panics slightly less but still ends up having to be saved by Tsuyu
Basically, he’s trying his best to use the moves Aizawa taught him but his approach falls short of the actual, fast-paced rhythm of a real fight, and has yet to get on par with the hero course in terms of experience
he’s not dead weight as they introduced him, but he is behind. Which is why this is bullshit imho:
quit that lone wolf attitude, buddy. I’m saying it for your own good
In a sense, you could even compare the present Shinsou with the “Earlyroki” from above. So overconfident in his ability to pull through on his own that he failed to realize his own limits when faced with an opponent who knew how to best neutralize him
I’ve been seeing some posts lately that include analysis of the Summer Camp Arc, but I think many of them don’t break down the villains’ plans accurately. Some have pointed out that the attack led directly to Kamino and made the League of Villains suffer long-term consequences, which is true, but I’m going to take the short-term view here and say that the Vanguard Action Squad accomplished their mission splendidly. Most of the more critical posts are written with the benefit of hindsight, and from the standpoint of observers without trying to dissect whether the VAS actually had a plan at all, which isn’t exactly fair if we want to give credit where it’s due. So let’s just even the score here a bit. Whether or not you think the LOV lost the war in Kamino, they very much won the battle in the summer camp. Even Deku concedes this in his outro: “We utterly lost.”
(Note: Some of the posts I’ve seen trying to break down the Summer Camp Arc are character-centric, but my intention here isn’t to dispute characterization; rather, I want to offer an alternate interpretation to these events so that if you’re going to include this arc in your character analysis, you can do it fairly. It is an option to take the attack as the face-value mess it was, and judge it by assuming all elements should have been predictable, but I personally find it more interesting to reverse-engineer strategies that aren’t outright stated to the reader, which is what this post is about. Obviously, this information isn’t canon and it’s my own conjecture based on studying the villains’ movements in the arc.)
So, that said… Stepping back from looking at the long-term results, what were the villains’ actual goals and strategy, and what did they accomplish?
I’ve been seeing some posts lately that include analysis of the Summer Camp Arc, but I think many of them don’t break down the villains’ plans accurately. Some have pointed out that the attack led directly to Kamino and made the League of Villains suffer long-term consequences, which is true, but I’m going to take the short-term view here and say that the Vanguard Action Squad accomplished their mission splendidly. Most of the more critical posts are written with the benefit of hindsight, and from the standpoint of observers without trying to dissect whether the VAS actually had a plan at all, which isn’t exactly fair if we want to give credit where it’s due. So let’s just even the score here a bit. Whether or not you think the LOV lost the war in Kamino, they very much won the battle in the summer camp. Even Deku concedes this in his outro: “We utterly lost.”
(Note: Some of the posts I’ve seen trying to break down the Summer Camp Arc are character-centric, but my intention here isn’t to dispute characterization; rather, I want to offer an alternate interpretation to these events so that if you’re going to include this arc in your character analysis, you can do it fairly. It is an option to take the attack as the face-value mess it was, and judge it by assuming all elements should have been predictable, but I personally find it more interesting to reverse-engineer strategies that aren’t outright stated to the reader, which is what this post is about. Obviously, this information isn’t canon and it’s my own conjecture based on studying the villains’ movements in the arc.)
So, that said… Stepping back from looking at the long-term results, what were the villains’ actual goals and strategy, and what did they accomplish?
the thing is, Izuku and Bakugou had an absolutely terrible relationship. this was the whole reason they were grouped together in the second exam.
until recently, they couldn’t even be alone together without something bad happening. and a major point of conflict in their relationship is that many of their issues stem from each other.
Bakugou has a lot of self doubt and self confidence issues that stem from Izuku. since they were kids, he’s been scared. he’s scared because he thought Izuku, despite being quirkless and weak, might actually… be hiding something. some potential. despite the fact that there’s no way he could’ve, but the idea itself scared him.
he thought that Izuku looked down on him. Bakugou was always told how amazing he was, but here’s this quirkless, weak kid, trying to offer him help, as if he was weak, as if he needed it…. it seriously fucked with Bakugou’s self-confidence, and it fuled his inferiority complex.
he was always the strong one. always the talented one. always the amazing one.
and that’s why he began bullying Izuku. but no matter how hard he pushed or shoved or yelled, Izuku would always get right back up and follow him around.
and Izuku had absolutely no idea that Bakugou felt this way. he had no idea that Bakugou feared him, or thought Izuku was looking down on him. neither made an effort to talk it out. Bakugou never told Izuku about this, and Izuku didn’t know, and never bothered to ask why, exactly, his former friend decided to start bullying him.
yeah, Bakugou h as always been a little rough around the edges. but after that moment where Izuku offered his hand, Bakugou’s attitude became terrible towards him.
and Izuku. Izuku looks up to Bakugou a lot, because Bakugou never gives up. but Bakugou did hurt and bully and abuse him for years, and it’s caused a lot of problems in his own self confidence.
whenever he has to work with Bakugou, everything Izuku feels negative about in reference to himself bubbles back up, and he becomes nervous and insecure and frustrated. this is a far cry from the more confident Izuku who’s slowly maturing and growing in strength, in both mind and body, that we’ve seen more of as the series goes on.
all of these issues came about because they had complete fundamental misunderstandings of each other. neither bothered to sit down and talk, and this went on for a full 10+ years, and it was seriously detrimental to the both of them.
so i think that, when the characters say that they want Izuku and Bakugou to be friends, they mean more that they just want Izuku and Bakugou to have a better overall relationship. both characters would be much, much better off mentally and emotionally if they had a better relationship, especially since every bad thing in their relationship was a result of misunderstandings.
they could honestly have a good–maybe not a friendship, but a good relationship–if their history wasn’t so clouded with misunderstandings and the resulting conflict.
again, they don’t necessarily need to be friends, but so many of their personal issues come directly from their negative relationship. so much of their problems stem from the fact that they’ve misunderstood each other for over a decade, and have made no attempts to fix it, or sit down and clear the air.
and no one in their life ever tried to help them, either.
their homeroom teacher is still in that classroom, and yet he allowed this blatant bullying to occur, right in front of him. even the adults in their lives turned a blind eye to what was happening. no one ever stopped to think that this wasn’t right, this shouldn’t be happening, i need to stop this.
all of Bakugou’s friends and peers encouraged his horrible actions towards Izuku, and no one ever defended Izuku. no one ever tried to be the middle-man or tried to help.
no one bothered to think about what was wrong with this picture, or what they could do to fix it.
this is probably the first time in either character’s lives that someone actually intervened and stopped Bakugou from bullying or hurting Izuku.
UA is the first time they’ve ever been in neutral territory. and while their relationship there isn’t as bad as it was before, people who’ve never met them until now are able to see exactly what kind of relationship they had. people who aren’t picking sides, who can see both sides of the conflict, who can see exactly what this is doing to the both of them, and realize that it isn’t good.
please note: what Bakugou did to Izuku is horrible, and Izuku absolutely did not deserve it. Bakugou needs to apologize to Izuku for all those years of bulling and abuse.
but they both have issues that come from their horrible relationship, and they would be so much better off if they had just talked it through and fixed it. which means, Bakugou would be in a much healthier place mentally and emotionally, and given time, he’ll finally be able to own up to what he did apologize of his own accord.
and honestly, Bakugou is no where near ready to apologize for his actions, because he has so many issues that he needs to work through. he’s got an inferiority complex, superiority complex, guilt, and so many other conflicting emotions.
but now that they’re finally working through them, Bakugou is finally on that path to reevaluating his actions and apologizing for what he did. it’ll take a long, long time, probably the entire length of the manga because things like this don’t just happen over night, but it’s a start.
a start that would never have happened near the beginning of the series.
look at the staggering difference there.
in the first panel, Bakugou is telling Izuku that he’s so worthless that he should just die and do the world some good.
in the second, he’s telling Izuku that he’s All Might’s successor, he can’t be losing, not even to Bakugou. he needs to get stronger and live up to the legacy All Might has laid out before them.
he’s supporting Izuku in his own way, and it’s thanks to the fact that there are now people in these kid’s lives who are seeing how messed up their relationship is. their teachers, their mentors, and their friends; they’re seeing it, and they’re all trying to actively fix it, because they know that it’s not healthy for either Izuku or Bakugou.
Uraraka: It’s like… you’re intimidating him because you’re scared and you want him to go away from you.
Uraraka: Since you’re childhood friends, and you’re in the same class, you should start being friends again.
people are finally NOTICING how detrimental this relationship is for them.
people are finally noticing, and trying to take action, and trying to help them. having this kind of relationship is only holding them back from their full potential, and it’s only causing them problems and suffering.
there is literally nothing to be gained and everything to lose with the relationship they had before.
one of the major points in the series is that adult characters need to be more responsible in how they care for and mentor the children in their lives, especially in reference to their mental health. they’re all only kids, and many of the problems in Izuku and Bakugou’s lives comes from the lack of responsible adult guidance. the lack of someone older and wiser being there to steer them in the right direction.
clearly, no one, adult or otherwise, bothered to help Izuku or Bakugou before UA.
but since they’ve been going to UA, they’ve been introduced to good people; teachers and friends and fellow students who can see their relationship for what it is and who want to help because they care, and because it’s the right thing to do, and because it’s better for them.
they don’t have to be friends. but the relationship they had for most of their lives was horrible, and it affected them both badly. by repairing Izuku and Bakugou’s relationship, they’ll be able to live healthier, more fulfilling lives without that weight holding them down anymore. they’ll be able to move on, and be happier, and won’t have to spend anymore time and energy focusing on such a negative relationship anymore.
“Unlike before, the two of them have become like proper rivals.”
and now, since they had their talk… since they finally bared their feelings, they’ll finally be able to have to have an better overall relationship.
finally, they’ll be able to build each other up, instead of tearing each other down, intentionally or otherwise.
they’re two halves of the same coin in regards to heroism; protecting and winning, winning and protecting. they can accomplish more together by having a positive relationship than they would otherwise. together, they’d accomplish more than if they continued as they were, fragmented and conflicted.
they’ll both grow up to become incredible heroes, who both win and protect. and they’ll do it without wasting time on conflict with each other.
they don’t need to be friends. hell, it’ll be a long time before their relationship is totally healthy. but for both of them, for Izuku and Bakugou, repairing their relationship will be the first step in becoming happier and healthier individuals, and i believe that’s the reason why so many people want them to be friends again.
they don’t need to be friends. i’m not even sure that they could ever be friends, with their history. but in the long run, repairing their relationship and clearing up misunderstandings will be beneficial for the both of them, and they’ll truly become forces to be reckoned with.
there’s ten years of abuse and bullying from Bakugou to Izuku, and i can’t see it ever becoming a healthy relationship in the long run, even if they do resolve their issues. that’s a lot of history, over half of their lives, and a lot of bad blood.
i can see them maybe becoming tentative friends in the future, only after they’ve resolved their issues with each other and Bakugou has sincerely apologized for everything he did to Izuku. but most of their personal issues stem from a misunderstanding of each other.
Izuku’s self confidence was was severely beaten down by Bakugou, and Bakugou’s inferiority complex has been fueled for 10 years by his misunderstanding and fear of Izuku’s intentions.
i just can’t see those lingering feelings ever fully disappearing, and i imagine being in a relationship would only bring those feelings back to the surface.
they’ve never been very good at communicating with each other (it took 10 years before they tried talking, and only because Bakugou was going through an emotional breakdown from his guilt over All Might retiring), and were barely friends as kids, when their relationship was arguably at it’s best. (and even back then, most of what Bakugou did was insult Izuku and show him up for fun. tho it only turned hostile after the incident where Izuku tried to help him)
they can push each other into becoming better heroes and people. Izuku admires Bakugou’s determination and that inspires him, and Bakugou refuses to lose or be left behind by Izuku. Izuku can learn more about winning from Bakugou, and Bakugou can learn more about saving people from Izuku. they’ve finally talked and resolved some of their issues, and have become proper rivals.
but that doesn’t mean their relationship is completely fine now.
plus, neither character has ever particularly liked the other very much. Izuku does admire Bakugou, but he feels a deep sense of antipathy towards him for everything Bakugou’s done to him (which, considering everything, is a very understandable response). Izuku is willing to put aside differences and work with him for the greater good, however. Izuku likes to avoid conflict unless he feels it’s necessary.
Izuku might have some lingering feelings of friendship from back when they were very, very young, but i think they’d be nostalgic, fleeting, and confusing at best. Bakugou never told Izuku why he started bullying him until 10 years later, after all, and that must’ve really confused Izuku.
most of the time tho he actively tries to avoid Bakugou unless the situation forces otherwise.
Bakugou, on the other hand, has never once shown anything but disdain for Izuku. the nicest he ever was was when they were kids, when Bakugou thoughtlessly and harshly mocked Izuku. (which is something that kids who aren’t taught better often tend to do. as in, they tend to say mean and thoughtless things without thinking about how their words affect others. Bakugou never learned how his actions affect others until UA.)
their relationship is getting better, slowly but surely, but i just can’t see them ever having a healthy romantic relationship. i can see them barely having a healthy friendship, and only after certain conditions are made (talking out their issues more and a heartfelt apology from Bakugou).
you can’t just erase 10 years of emotional and physical abuse and conditioning.
Why does Iida Tenya call Tsuyu “Tsuyu-chan-kun” does japanese do that??? Or???
-chan and -kun are both things you attach at the end of names depending on context of the relationship. -chan is used usually for girls and little kids. It has a bit of pet name kind of feeling, so it can be inappropriate or even derogatory depending on circumstance. (For example a male character referring to a female character with -chan right off the bat without permission could be seen as looking down on them, flirting in non-respectful way, infantalizing with cooing baby voice, etc.) It’s a very unusual character quirk of Tsuyu that she ASKS others to call her Tsuyu-chan, combination of her first name+chan. That’s an extremely informal and cutesy way to call her, and it’s no surprise that Midoriya repeatedly stuttered when he tried to call her that way.
-kun is usually thought as a thing for boys, and while it’s mostly true in informal conversations, it can be used for girls too but usually in formal, official setting, like teachers talking about female students or people talking about their workplace colleagues and juniors. It’s Iida’s character tick that he calls ALL his peers with -kun, boys and girls altogether. It’s viable as Japanese usage but is unusual, and nobody other than Iida does this in MHA.
Tsuyu-chan-kun is the result of Iida sticking to his usual speech habit of using -kun suffix to remain formal and professional and at the same time trying to respect Tsuyu’s wishes that she be called Tsuyu-chan.
Stressed, Depressed, and Story Obsessed 