My Hero Academia Appreciation 2020

[Dark Soul # 7]

Don't know how many people here care but Shoto will be the next DLC character in the crossover brawler Jump Force. The game already includes Deku, All Might and Bakugo.

[Inversed]

Don't know how many people here care but Shoto will be the next DLC character in the crossover brawler Jump Force. The game already includes Deku, All Might and Bakugo.

Jump Force is a very.....weird game. If it just had a bit more polish it could've been so much better. It is cool to see Todoroki thrown in there.

I did still always get a kick at seeing the interactions with the MHA cast and the other SJ characters. Midoryia and Bakugo meeting Goku and Vegeta was a fun one, where Goku kept saying Bakugo was like a young Vegeta, and he's all "I don't see it."

[Inversed]

New chapter, and oh man, things are reallllly interesting now. (Also looks like there will be another week long break till the next chapter, which is understandable)

spoilers:

While Endeavor helps save Mirko, Eraserhead keeps his eyes on most of the Nomu, allowing Mic to make his way to the Doctor. Before he can wake Shigaraki, Mic unleashes his voice, completely destroying the container and the entire lab. After punching the Doctor in the face, they see that Shigaraki's heart has stopped, which the Doctor states he was put in a state of suspension to help ease the stabilization process. The rest of the Hospital team proceed to arrive and overwhelm the remaining High-Ends, as the Doctor cry's out that "this is the end!", with the final page of the knocked out Shigaraki and All For One's face in Tartarus. So yeah, alot to wonder about what's going on here. It's exciting because I really have no idea where they could go next. It feels like Shigaraki being completely out of commission seems like it'd be too easy, but I'm also not sure if he'd wake up/unleash while everyone is all in the same room together (they ain't gonna kill of ALL of them). But then again, there's still Dabi and the remaining League of Villains doing their thing at the PLF headquarters, and then of course the Evacuation team who still haven't shown up yet, so there's something still up their sleeve for the story. I think because we've been so focusing on the "most important" threats to worry about, Shigaraki, the High Ends, Twice, Gigantomachia, etc., it'll be exciting if there's some secret weapon we forgot or don't know about that could possibly turn the tables. Also if that final All For One panel is one of contemplation, or anticipation...

end of spoilers

[leokearon]

spoilers:

I seriously doubt Tomura is dead. Still great to see Present Mic getting some payback on the Doctor

end of spoilers

[Dark Soul # 7]

spoilers:

So yeah, alot to wonder about what's going on here. It's exciting because I really have no idea where they could go next. It feels like Shigaraki being completely out of commission seems like it'd be too easy, but I'm also not sure if he'd wake up/unleash while everyone is all in the same room together (they ain't gonna kill of ALL of them). But then again, there's still Dabi and the remaining League of Villains doing their thing at the PLF headquarters, and then of course the Evacuation team who still haven't shown up yet, so there's something still up their sleeve for the story. I think because we've been so focusing on the "most important" threats to worry about, Shigaraki, the High Ends, Twice, Gigantomachia, etc., it'll be exciting if there's some secret weapon we forgot or don't know about that could possibly turn the tables. Also if that final All For One panel is one of contemplation, or anticipation...

end of spoilers

spoilers:

This is definitely looking like a red herring of a chapter to me with the heroes overwhelming the doctor's operation. While the fight at the PLF HQ is still undergoing this whole thing looks way too neat to be the resolution of this arc. After all the build up Shigaraki obviously isn't permanently dead, and not unleash Gigantomachia in this particular moment in time would be a narrative waste I think. And of course, our main cast haven't gotten to play yet. But it's what exactly will turn the tied in the villains favour that's uncertain. As you say, so many of the most major threats have been dealt with or successfully kept out of play so far, and it's hard to think up anything or anyone that could provide enough power to change things so drastically. The most obvious answer is that Shigaraki wakes up and blasts everybody away with his newfound power, but there will probably be some kind of instability within him, whether that's mental or quirk-related we'll have to wait and see. However, until that turn comes I must say that it's been refreshing to see the pro-heroes mostly dominate a fight so much through careful planning, solid cooperation and everybody getting to be compotent in fairly spectacular ways. Villains not being omniscient and able to plan for every eventuality is a good cliché dodge and makes the story that much more interesting.

end of spoilers

[Inversed]

spoilers:

This is definitely looking like a red herring of a chapter to me with the heroes overwhelming the doctor's operation. While the fight at the PLF HQ is still undergoing this whole thing looks way too neat to be the resolution of this arc. After all the build up Shigaraki obviously isn't permanently dead, and not unleash Gigantomachia in this particular moment in time would be a narrative waste I think. And of course, our main cast haven't gotten to play yet. But it's what exactly will turn the tied in the villains favour that's uncertain. As you say, so many of the most major threats have been dealt with or successfully kept out of play so far, and it's hard to think up anything or anyone that could provide enough power to change things so drastically. The most obvious answer is that Shigaraki wakes up and blasts everybody away with his newfound power, but there will probably be some kind of instability within him, whether that's mental or quirk-related we'll have to wait and see. However, until that turn comes I must say that it's been refreshing to see the pro-heroes mostly dominate a fight so much through careful planning, solid cooperation and everybody getting to be compotent in fairly spectacular ways. Villains not being omniscient and able to plan for every eventuality is a good cliché dodge and makes the story that much more interesting.

end of spoilers

spoilers:

Yeah, it's obvious Shigaraki's not dead for reals, but this is a nice anxious twist for us to wonder when the shoe is gonna drop, after assuming that it would be as simple as him going ham on everyone once he's busted out of the cage. Thinking about it more, I'm actually starting to believe that my crack theory of "Dabi becomes the Big Bad of the second half" is more likely than initially proposed. Because when you look at how the story's been set up, since I'm pretty sure it's not going to end with Shigaraki winning, because that seems like far too much of a swerve for this series, and him losing but retreating would feel like a cop out at this point, so the most logical answer would be ending with him being defeated/arrested. Not to mention, his arc is mostly completed, with him creating his ideology, learning his backstory, and now obtaining All For One to destroy everything, so there isn't alot else to go from there. Meanwhile, everything about Dabi's arc is still a complete mystery, I have a feeling they won't go through everything about him within this one arc, and he's the one who could most easily slip away from all of this, so it's very possible he could end up re-emerging as the surprise "big threat."

end of spoilers

[Dark Soul # 7]

spoilers:

Yeah, it's obvious Shigaraki's not dead for reals, but this is a nice anxious twist for us to wonder when the shoe is gonna drop, after assuming that it would be as simple as him going ham on everyone once he's busted out of the cage. Thinking about it more, I'm actually starting to believe that my crack theory of "Dabi becomes the Big Bad of the second half" is more likely than initially proposed. Because when you look at how the story's been set up, since I'm pretty sure it's not going to end with Shigaraki winning, because that seems like far too much of a swerve for this series, and him losing but retreating would feel like a cop out at this point, so the most logical answer would be ending with him being defeated/arrested. Not to mention, his arc is mostly completed, with him creating his ideology, learning his backstory, and now obtaining All For One to destroy everything, so there isn't alot else to go from there. Meanwhile, everything about Dabi's arc is still a complete mystery, I have a feeling they won't go through everything about him within this one arc, and he's the one who could most easily slip away from all of this, so it's very possible he could end up re-emerging as the surprise "big threat."

end of spoilers

spoilers:

Dabi becoming the big bad for a while after all of this does sound intriguing. And I don't think it would be too difficult for him to drag along the other remaining League members. I can see him taking advantage of Toga's sorrow and grief about Twice's death and spin some yarn about how he really tried to save him. He can probably pressure Spinner into joining him by referencing Stain. And Mr. Compress just seems like the kind of guy that would follow a stronger person. They're all useful enough tools. I just hope that they don't lose everything they gained from the PLF, it would be something of a waste if they just end up dirt poor again. I'm wondering if the end boss of the arc is going to be Gigantomachia, somehow, while the others villains retreat. That could be an interesting almost insurmountable challenge for our main cast to face this early on in their careers. Especially if he gets to smack down some of the already exhausted Pro Heroes.

end of spoilers

[Inversed]

spoilers:

Dabi becoming the big bad for a while after all of this does sound intriguing. And I don't think it would be too difficult for him to drag along the other remaining League members. I can see him taking advantage of Toga's sorrow and grief about Twice's death and spin some yarn about how he really tried to save him. He can probably pressure Spinner into joining him by referencing Stain. And Mr. Compress just seems like the kind of guy that would follow a stronger person. They're all useful enough tools. I just hope that they don't lose everything they gained from the PLF, it would be something of a waste if they just end up dirt poor again. I'm wondering if the end boss of the arc is going to be Gigantomachia, somehow, while the others villains retreat. That could be an interesting almost insurmountable challenge for our main cast to face this early on in their careers. Especially if he gets to smack down some of the already exhausted Pro Heroes.

end of spoilers

spoilers:

I imagine if they do escape, they'd have some kind of resources left in reserve to use, though I do have a feeling this arc will end with the PLF going ka-put, every secret member is now known, their base destroyed, and pretty much all the Doctor's research is gone. Also in the back of my head, I've had this feeling that Toga and Spinner will have key roles to play down the line, due to their relationship with Midoryia. We know Toga "loves" and "wants" him for herself, so it's made me think about his live inadvertently saved from death because of her request. And then Spinner's already saved him once, because he respects him for getting Stain's approval, so I wonder how that will play between them in future encounter. Gigantomachia does seem like a very plausible possibility, especially since I'm unsure whether they're gonna do Midoryia Vs. Shigaraki now or save it for endgame. I could see him going on a rampage and ending up in the city, so that's how you have all the Evacuation students having to take on him, while the other teams of pros are busy.

end of spoilers

[Dark Soul # 7]

spoilers:

I imagine if they do escape, they'd have some kind of resources left in reserve to use, though I do have a feeling this arc will end with the PLF going ka-put, every secret member is now known, their base destroyed, and pretty much all the Doctor's research is gone. Also in the back of my head, I've had this feeling that Toga and Spinner will have key roles to play down the line, due to their relationship with Midoryia. We know Toga "loves" and "wants" him for herself, so it's made me think about his live inadvertently saved from death because of her request. And then Spinner's already saved him once, because he respects him for getting Stain's approval, so I wonder how that will play between them in future encounter. Gigantomachia does seem like a very plausible possibility, especially since I'm unsure whether they're gonna do Midoryia Vs. Shigaraki now or save it for endgame. I could see him going on a rampage and ending up in the city, so that's how you have all the Evacuation students having to take on him, while the other teams of pros are busy.

end of spoilers

spoilers:

It would be fun if Dabi and the other LoV members dragged along the leaders and other notable members of the former Liberation Army who now have to hide from society since they've been outed. And those members are ally super frustrated about it and the League members are all like "Aww, the poor super stars are ostracised from society. Let us play the world's smallest violin for your loss." Basically just dragging them along so that they get something from this whole thing. I think that a Deku vs. Shigaraki match is something we're going to have to wait for quite some time. They're both in a state of uncertainty at the moment with Deku needing to bring out all the quirks hidden within him and Shigaraki's condition needing to be stablised. When they've both reached a more realized point in their abilities is when we'll probably get to see them duke it out.

end of spoilers

[Inversed]

Ohhhhhhhhh man. Guess it's about time for things to go really down over here.

spoilers:

Mic takes the Doctor away while X-Less stays behind with Shigaraki. The Doctor explains to Mic about his Singularity thesis, which we learn he first proposed as a scholar 70 years ago, before supposedly dying. He says his quirk, Preservation, gives him twice the strength of others, at the cost of his athleticism (basically just longer lifespan). We also find out he gave All For One this power, which is how he's stayed alive all this time, and he's been using a duplicate of his quirk, as well as giving another duplicate to Shirakumo/Kurogiri. Meanwhile, Shigaraki is within his own vestige dreamworld, filled with buildings and hands, where he's confronted by images of his family, before being approached by a visage of All For One. We also find out from the Doctor that All For One has actually just been using a duplicate of AFO for a while now, and that the original is now within Shigaraki. As the family members try to hold him back, including Nana Shimura, he brushes them off and walks toward AFO. In the real world, electricity from the machine goes off, jump starting Shigaraki's heart, leading him to jolt up awake. And over at the Evacuation team, Midoryia hears a voice inside him saying, "He's coming"

end of spoilers

spoilers:

Sooooooo yeah. Not only is this an incredibly tense chapter, but we also get so much juicy information. Learning how the Doctor was dismissed as a quack for his Singularity theory, only later picked up by a "cult of weirdos", which led to him following alongside AFO, basically because they both had everything they needed to help each other. Shigaraki's inner power struggle in the crazy looking dream world was great, and pushing away his family because deep down he knows he's too far gone, and needs to stop holding onto his past to move forward. And now (thanks to probably Nana), Midoryia knows, so what does this mean? Will Midoryia do something to try and prepare or go towards him, or will Shigaraki immediately target him next? I'm curious to see what happens for the latter, since Midoryia's always been reactive to outside threats and never been at the centre, so what happens when he's suddenly the one being wanted. There is just one question I have, which I've had for a while. We of course know about all the replicated and duplicated quirks that went into the Nomu, but now we also know about the Doctor and AFO don't even have their own quirks, but COPYS of them. So, where did this extremely powerful Replication quirk come from? Is it just another one of AFO's quirks he picked up along the way, or something/someone else in play? Because with how useful and practically clean these copies of been, seems like it could also play a major factor down the line, maybe this is how people who lost their quirks get them back?

end of spoilers

[Guy1]

[leokearon]

spoilers:

A really good chapter. Well as suspected Tomura isn't dead and we get a very good mindscape. As for the Replication quirk, it is probably one All For One has had for a while. After all, it wouldn't make sense to give Nomu's powerful quirks which he wouldn't be able to get back.

end of spoilers

[Dark Soul # 7]

Huh, did not think that Gentle would be a good subject for a rap song. But they really made it work.

[Dark Soul # 7]

Wow, this chapter felt real good to read.

Because of all the impending dread.

Ohhhhhhhhh man. Guess it's about time for things to go really down over here.

spoilers:

Mic takes the Doctor away while X-Less stays behind with Shigaraki. The Doctor explains to Mic about his Singularity thesis, which we learn he first proposed as a scholar 70 years ago, before supposedly dying. He says his quirk, Preservation, gives him twice the strength of others, at the cost of his athleticism (basically just longer lifespan). We also find out he gave All For One this power, which is how he's stayed alive all this time, and he's been using a duplicate of his quirk, as well as giving another duplicate to Shirakumo/Kurogiri. Meanwhile, Shigaraki is within his own vestige dreamworld, filled with buildings and hands, where he's confronted by images of his family, before being approached by a visage of All For One. We also find out from the Doctor that All For One has actually just been using a duplicate of AFO for a while now, and that the original is now within Shigaraki. As the family members try to hold him back, including Nana Shimura, he brushes them off and walks toward AFO. In the real world, electricity from the machine goes off, jump starting Shigaraki's heart, leading him to jolt up awake. And over at the Evacuation team, Midoryia hears a voice inside him saying, "He's coming"

end of spoilers

A few notes from the official translation.
spoilers:

The official translation for the doctor's quirk is Life Force. He doesn't mention anything about giving a duplicate of Life Force to Kurogiri, but he does say that he really wanted to get his hands on Erasure. Which makes sense.

end of spoilers

spoilers:

Sooooooo yeah. Not only is this an incredibly tense chapter, but we also get so much juicy information. Learning how the Doctor was dismissed as a quack for his Singularity theory, only later picked up by a "cult of weirdos", which led to him following alongside AFO, basically because they both had everything they needed to help each other. Shigaraki's inner power struggle in the crazy looking dream world was great, and pushing away his family because deep down he knows he's too far gone, and needs to stop holding onto his past to move forward. And now (thanks to probably Nana), Midoryia knows, so what does this mean? Will Midoryia do something to try and prepare or go towards him, or will Shigaraki immediately target him next? I'm curious to see what happens for the latter, since Midoryia's always been reactive to outside threats and never been at the centre, so what happens when he's suddenly the one being wanted. There is just one question I have, which I've had for a while. We of course know about all the replicated and duplicated quirks that went into the Nomu, but now we also know about the Doctor and AFO don't even have their own quirks, but COPYS of them. So, where did this extremely powerful Replication quirk come from? Is it just another one of AFO's quirks he picked up along the way, or something/someone else in play? Because with how useful and practically clean these copies of been, seems like it could also play a major factor down the line, maybe this is how people who lost their quirks get them back?

end of spoilers

spoilers:

The relationship between AFO and the doctor is still fascinating to me. Rarely have I seen such a deep and genuine trust between two absolutely horrid characters. It's easy to imagine how they probably went from necessary business associates to trusted comrades, but I still kinda want to get more details of it. Shigaraki doesn't even hesitate. He's chosen a path now, quite a while ago actually, and he's sticking to it knowing fully well what he's leaving behind. Good for him. Horrible for all the people he's about to murder, but good for him. I was thinking that Izuku that Shigaraki is up and running due to the connection between the quirks they've been given. But Nana warning Izuku would be really cool. Hell, this might be what jump starts Float for him. Does Izuku know that Shigaraki is Nana's grandson? I don't think anybody's told him that particular info yet, and that'll be a very awkward conversation. I'm not sure how I want Izuku to act right now, because I want him to stay with his friends and team up (I really need my IzuOcha + Iida team-up Horikoshi!), but at the same time it makes sense for him to do something with whatever piece of knowledge he has about Shigaraki's actions. I've always assumed that the duplication process is a surgery done with bio material from the quirk user, and that it takes a lot of time. So like, you create a little Nomu whose only purpose is to house the duplicated quirk and then All For One moves the quirk from the tiny Nomu to the intended user. A fairly time consuming process which explains why it hasn't been used more often. So the idea of a replication quirk didn't even enter my mind. But that is a interesting/terrifying possibility, and if it turns out to be true it is one hell of a bread crumb just hanging out there. My big question is when AFO gave his quirk to Shigaraki. I mean, he's obviously had ample opportunity to do so, but it's quite a difficult quirk to just keep hidden from Shigaraki. Or maybe Decay was meant to keep it hidden from Shigaraki until he was ready, people rot away before AFO had any chance to activate. Then, the theory was that AFO gave Shigaraki Decay shortly before the big tragedy occurred, and we know that having two quirks is a difficult burden on the human body, especially a little kid like Tenko was at the time. So yeah, when did Shigaraki receive his masters quirk, I feel like knowing that would answer a lot of questions.

end of spoilers

[Inversed]

Hah, now that's some pretty good stuff! Very catchy too.

spoilers:

The official translation for the doctor's quirk is Life Force. He doesn't mention anything about giving a duplicate of Life Force to Kurogiri, but he does say that he really wanted to get his hands on Erasure. Which makes sense.

end of spoilers

spoilers:

Yeah, that was a weird difference I noticed from the initial translations to the official one, going from "I wanted to give him Preservation/Life Force back then" to "I wanted to get Erasure back then." Which I don't know if I'm looking at this the right way, but does this mean these guys were actually responsible for Shirokumo's death and were trying to kill Aizawa back then too? Because damn that's messed up.

end of spoilers

spoilers:

The relationship between AFO and the doctor is still fascinating to me. Rarely have I seen such a deep and genuine trust between two absolutely horrid characters. It's easy to imagine how they probably went from necessary business associates to trusted comrades, but I still kinda want to get more details of it. Shigaraki doesn't even hesitate. He's chosen a path now, quite a while ago actually, and he's sticking to it knowing fully well what he's leaving behind. Good for him. Horrible for all the people he's about to murder, but good for him. I was thinking that Izuku that Shigaraki is up and running due to the connection between the quirks they've been given. But Nana warning Izuku would be really cool. Hell, this might be what jump starts Float for him. Does Izuku know that Shigaraki is Nana's grandson? I don't think anybody's told him that particular info yet, and that'll be a very awkward conversation. I'm not sure how I want Izuku to act right now, because I want him to stay with his friends and team up (I really need my IzuOcha + Iida team-up Horikoshi!), but at the same time it makes sense for him to do something with whatever piece of knowledge he has about Shigaraki's actions. I've always assumed that the duplication process is a surgery done with bio material from the quirk user, and that it takes a lot of time. So like, you create a little Nomu whose only purpose is to house the duplicated quirk and then All For One moves the quirk from the tiny Nomu to the intended user. A fairly time consuming process which explains why it hasn't been used more often. So the idea of a replication quirk didn't even enter my mind. But that is a interesting/terrifying possibility, and if it turns out to be true it is one hell of a bread crumb just hanging out there. My big question is when AFO gave his quirk to Shigaraki. I mean, he's obviously had ample opportunity to do so, but it's quite a difficult quirk to just keep hidden from Shigaraki. Or maybe Decay was meant to keep it hidden from Shigaraki until he was ready, people rot away before AFO had any chance to activate. Then, the theory was that AFO gave Shigaraki Decay shortly before the big tragedy occurred, and we know that having two quirks is a difficult burden on the human body, especially a little kid like Tenko was at the time. So yeah, when did Shigaraki receive his masters quirk, I feel like knowing that would answer a lot of questions.

end of spoilers

spoilers:

I think it helps that both of them share very similar ideologies, regarding the fascination of quirks, and that both of their quirks benefitted the other. Doc's Life Force allowing AFO to live even longer than he already could, and AFO carrying a huge supply of quirks for the Doc to study. I like that AFO does really respect and treat the Doctor as an equal, since he knows how smart and useful he is, and he's not gonna treat him badly just because he's someone serving him. There was a theory I saw which stated that one of Shigaraki's hands, which we know are his family's, is actually Nana's too. And considering the rest of the family members in that vestige scene are each holding Tomoura in the same spots their hands used to be in the real world (like his dad's being the one on the face), and you have Nana suddenly there too, grabbing the back of his head, now I'm starting to believe that may definitively be true now. Only All Might, Gran Torino, and Tsukuchi know that Shigaraki is Nana's grandson, and since they don't really have a reason to tell him (just like they say to All Might, so as not to plant a seed of doubt that he could possibly be reasoned with), I feel like Nana herself is gonna be the one to tell Midoryia about this at some point, leading to whatever reaction he might receive. My belief is this won't lead him to change his approach and "save Shigaraki" since he doesn't have the connection like All Might did, I think it'll mainly extend to just more hatred towards AFO and how he shaped the boy. It feels to me like the first thing he would do is probably tell Bakugo, since he's right there and would probably want to know himself, and I also imagine if they do try to run after him somehow, Todoroki, Uraraka, and the others would follow along, since I don't see them being able to get away without the others knowing, and I don't see Midoryia sitting around waiting for Shigaraki to come to him (especially in a populated city). Shoto and Ochaco I'm safe in assuming will become major players in the fights, but I'm hoping more of the others join in to assist them too. That does make alot of sense. The ones like John and Mocha are the Nomu used to replicate quirks using the original DNA (which had AFO's Goo Warp and Twice's Duplication), and then the full body Nomus are deceased people with their original quirks in tack, plus all the new quirks added into them. I do think that sounds and works much better than there just being a replication quirk. It has to be one of two answers, either like you mentioned, Shigaraki has had AFO within him for a while now (at the very least since before the Hideout raid), and the Doctor's experiments just reawakened it, or the Doctor had the original quirk stored within his lab all this time and gave it to him during this process. I do think the former is probably the most likely, since the idea of Decay acting as a buffer, destroying his enemies before he even has the chance to attempt to take their powers, does make sense in hindsight. Even though I know how likely it probably will end up being, I personally would prefer if AFO wasn't responsible for Tomoura getting Decay, since I think it hits a bit harder as it all being a painful accident AFO took advantage of rather than as another piece of his master plan. Though I don't hate this theory as much as some others (because this one is the most plausible so I can at least cope with that)

end of spoilers