My Hero Academia 3: Villainous Interlude

[John Cribati]

Perhaps I'm growing soft in my old age.

Nowadays even characters in their early 20s activate my "This is a baby" response, so you can imagine how strong Eri hits all my latent paternal instincts.

[Traab]

So I just watched the music video of the mha song class 1a did. Was that what happened in cannon? Or was it just an animated music video? Im kinda hoping it was cannon because that was pretty awesome and seeing eri smile was great. It was Hero Too if you want to see what im talking about. Hmm, in hindsight it looks like this was what everyone was talking about, my bad but you guys keep everything, even the spoilers so vague its hard to tell sometimes.

[John Cribati]

So I just watched the music video of the mha song class 1a did. Was that what happened in cannon? Or was it just an animated music video? Im kinda hoping it was cannon because that was pretty awesome and seeing eri smile was great. It was Hero Too if you want to see what im talking about. Hmm, in hindsight it looks like this was what everyone was talking about, my bad but you guys keep everything, even the spoilers so vague its hard to tell sometimes.

Well in the manga it was a bunch of stills, but all that stuff that happened at the concert was present in some form.

[LaZodiac]

New chapter, while y'all appreciate the music concert.

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We get to see how villainous a hero can look, and Tokoyami gets to beat up Re:Destro which actually kinda rules. Decent chapter all around.

[Spacewolf]

New chapter, while y'all appreciate the music concert.

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We get to see how villainous a hero can look, and Tokoyami gets to beat up Re:Destro which actually kinda rules. Decent chapter all around.

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Hawks falls into the monologue trap which doesn't really suit him but otherwise good yea.

[LaZodiac]

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Hawks falls into the monologue trap which doesn't really suit him but otherwise good yea.

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I wouldn't necessarily say it's the monologue trap. He's legitimately trying to get Twice to stop fighting because, like Dabi said, his empathy IS getting to him. Hawks doesn't want to have to take the option of slicing Bubaigawar in half.

[Ramza00]

New chapter, while y'all appreciate the music concert.

Spoiler

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We get to see how villainous a hero can look, and Tokoyami gets to beat up Re:Destro which actually kinda rules. Decent chapter all around.

Does the Agent Smith thing where I mouth more!

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Hawks falls into the monologue trap which doesn't really suit him but otherwise good yea.

Spoiler: Monologues and the Incredibles

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Hawks is trying to do one last attempt at convincing his friend to choose a different path. And if his friend does not do so this monologue is his last words before Hawks executes him, it is Twice's funeral rites in Hawks mind and Hawks sees his duty as offering once last chance at mercy.

What is a hero? I guess the question is different to a Utilitarian vs a Deontologist who is obsessed with with Duty and Obligations.
https://www.vox.com/summer-movies/20...-moral-dilemma

Of course Twice response is that even Villains have duties to one another such as their friends.

[Traab]

I will say this, seeing eri smile was no going merry funeral but it still was a very well done emotion invoking bit of animation. And all i watched was the music video of it which skipped all the other stuff that took place (I saw a bit more in some youtube clips that brought in dialogue) MHA does a very good job of making you care about the characters and imo, the anime does an excellent job of animating the manga properly. The fight scenes are suitably epic, the dramatic moments are paced really well, and all the other scenes the characters display their emotions in a way that imo is very well done. You can see it as well as hear it and it all fits well. Now, I cant speak for its fidelity to the manga as i dont read it, so is it fairly strictly following things or does it take frequent liberties with manga events? Im talking stuff like luffy fighting kaido in manga versus anime.

[LaZodiac]

As someone who follows both, the only way the anime could be more accurate would be if the dance routine suddenly went into sketchy unfinished art (because Horikoshi was sick and couldn't finish the chapter perfectly at the time).

[Rater202]

Can I say that I like how MHA points out how unrealistic and unfeasible the "Badass Normal" superhero is?

I mean, it makes a point of showing that someone without powers can't keep up with people who do by training hard, using tools, and being creative becuase people with powers can do that too and that all professional heroes do that.

(Before anyone mentions Batman, Batman seemingly never runs out of money, has physical attributes well beyond what a normal human can achieve, more skills than the average human can master in a lifetime, once made a full recovery from injuries that would cripple a normal person, and doesn't need to sleep as long as he meditates for at least one your a night which also makes him immune to mind control. Also, he can astral project. Not only does he have superpowers, but he's also a low-level wizard.)

[Lemmy]

Can I say that I like how MHA points out how unrealistic and unfeasible the "Badass Normal" superhero is?

Well... To be fair it isn't much more unrealistic than any other manga nonsense out there.

Besides, in MHA, it seems Charles Atlas Super-Power is a thing (to some extent).

-

On an unrelated note... While the instrumental lines of the musical number aren't anything to write home about, the singing is really freaking good. I'm honestly impressed by Jirou's VA.

[Lord Raziere]

Can I say that I like how MHA points out how unrealistic and unfeasible the "Badass Normal" superhero is?

I mean, it makes a point of showing that someone without powers can't keep up with people who do by training hard, using tools, and being creative becuase people with powers can do that too and that all professional heroes do that.

Yes, it is quite horrifying and disheartening. Though Mirio holding off Overhaul without powers is a significant counter-example.

[Kantaki]

Can I say that I like how MHA points out how unrealistic and unfeasible the "Badass Normal" superhero is?

To a degree that's true.
On the other hand Aizawa works as a hero and his quirk is limited to disabling non-physical powers as long as he doesn't have to blink.

Also, Stain.
I mean his quirk is good, but he still needs to get his opponents blood, so until he wounds them he's basically quirkless.

[lord_khaine]

Can I say that I like how MHA points out how unrealistic and unfeasible the "Badass Normal" superhero is?

Yeah i think i have made that point a few times myself in regard to MHA

Batman meanwhile i can see as an exception to that general when he is written correctly.
In part because he is mostly stealth reliant. And in part because he there mostly work by providing target information to the actually bullet resistant heroes.

Besides, in MHA, it seems Charles Atlas Super-Power is a thing (to some extent).

Its most certainly a thing to a very wide extend.
The list of people who are super-human despite it not having anything to do with their quirk is to long to list.
But include examples of people like Bakugo, Todoriki, Aizawa, Stain, Endeavor. And well. List goes on.

But at the same time. It seems its something reserved for people with Quirks.
And they then get boosted toughness/speed/agility as a side thing.
The later mentioned Stain is a prime example.

To a degree that's true.
On the other hand Aizawa works as a hero and his quirk is limited to disabling non-physical powers as long as he doesn't have to blink.

Aizawa is a prime example of an extremely powerful quirk. Certainly A+ or S grade material.
The ability to neutralise a stronger quirk, then beat down the reliant user in hand-to-hand is priceless.
Of course Aizawa really works most effective in a team. So its kinda funny he is a loner.

[Kantaki]

Aizawa is a prime example of an extremely powerful quirk. Certainly A+ or S grade material.
The ability to neutralise a stronger quirk, then beat down the reliant user in hand-to-hand is priceless.
Of course Aizawa really works most effective in a team. So its kinda funny he is a loner.

Sure, as long as it works his quirk is really powerful, but even then it doesn't actually help him to take his opponents out.
Unlike Bakugo for example who can just explode his targets to death Aizawa has to fight like a normal.

Mind you, I'm not saying taking away the other guy's advantage isn't huge, but ultimately it doesn't win his fights, and there are some huge limitations, no matter how much he trains his quirk.

Which is exactly why he works alone.
The best strategy with a power like his are Batman style ambushes.
And he doesn't have to worry about friendly fire.

[Lemmy]

One could argue that, if anything, MHA makes the concept of "Badass Normal" much more plausible than most other super-powered action series around.

Think about it...

- Most quirks aren't all that powerful. Even the mightiest characters probably wouldn't even rank Top 10 in Marvel or DC.
- Many (most?) quirks also have a serious drawback or limitation of some kind.
- Quirks generally require training to be used effectively. And every moment praticing your quirk is a moment not studying tactics or martial arts.
- Charles Atlas Super-Power is a thing. There are many instances of characters performing humanly impossible feats without the aid od their powers. Including defeating super-powered foes. That is almost always portrayed as a result of their training and conviction, rather than their quirks.

Now... I'm not saying that a "badass normal" is or should be on equal footing with his superhuman peers (except perhaps in series where Charles Atlas Superpower is THE superpower of the series, like in Dragon Ball, where everyone is technically a "badass normal", even the ones with innate advantages)... Only that in some series (like MHA), the character concept is much more viable than it seems at first. Such a character could at very least stay relevant (both in and out of combat) throughout the whole series.

[Traab]

Further clarification request with eri and the school festival. At the end deku gave her a candy apple and the way it happened felt like it had some sort of special meaning. Did Eri at some point say something along the lines of having heard of candy apples and always wanting to try one or something to that effect? It kind of came across that way, like "Oh wow, I always thought they would be good but its even sweeter than I dreamed of while suffering through unendurable torment!"

[lord_khaine]

Sure, as long as it works his quirk is really powerful, but even then it doesn't actually help him to take his opponents out.
Unlike Bakugo for example who can just explode his targets to death Aizawa has to fight like a normal.

Mind you, I'm not saying taking away the other guy's advantage isn't huge, but ultimately it doesn't win his fights, and there are some huge limitations, no matter how much he trains his quirk.

That is actually my entire point of why Aizawa is so powerful.
Bakugo pits his prefered fighting style against your prefered style, letting the strongest win.
Aizawa pits his prefered way of fighting against a style of fighting your unlikely to be familiar with.

Which is exactly why he works alone.
The best strategy with a power like his are Batman style ambushes.
And he doesn't have to worry about friendly fire.

Aizawa so far seems to have 100% accuracy on his power. So friendly fire isnt an issue.
But no i think he works a lot better with a hero that has a effective move for knocking people out.

- Most quirks aren't all that powerful. Even the mightiest characters probably wouldn't even rank Top 10 in Marvel or DC.

This does not say much. Since top 10 marvel / DC litterally start surpassing surpass God.
(Frankling Richards dont need 6 days to make a single planet )

One could argue that, if anything, MHA makes the concept of "Badass Normal" much more plausible than most other super-powered action series around.

Think about it...

Else for the rest.. well..
I think to start with the serie asks for a large degree of suspending disbelief.
The majority of powers, while hugely powerful in scale, are indeed often limited by the user having a normal human body.
So a very large % of heroes and villains could be taken down by a twin with a taser.
Just a guy with a handgun is a massive challenge for Red Riot.

But all that is mostly ignored.
Instead the police is treated as mostly powerless. And heroes as the solution.

[Traab]

That is actually my entire point of why Aizawa is so powerful.
Bakugo pits his prefered fighting style against your prefered style, letting the strongest win.
Aizawa pits his prefered way of fighting against a style of fighting your unlikely to be familiar with.



Aizawa so far seems to have 100% accuracy on his power. So friendly fire isnt an issue.
But no i think he works a lot better with a hero that has a effective move for knocking people out.



This does not say much. Since top 10 marvel / DC litterally start surpassing surpass God.
(Frankling Richards dont need 6 days to make a single planet )



Else for the rest.. well..
I think to start with the serie asks for a large degree of suspending disbelief.
The majority of powers, while hugely powerful in scale, are indeed often limited by the user having a normal human body.
So a very large % of heroes and villains could be taken down by a twin with a taser.
Just a guy with a handgun is a massive challenge for Red Riot.

But all that is mostly ignored.
Instead the police is treated as mostly powerless. And heroes as the solution.

The police thing is really strange considering, you know, they should all have quirks too. I know not all quirks are easily made combat capable, but even so, you would think the police would be trained in the use of their quirks and while they may not be on par with the full fledged heroes, they should be able to handle most situations themselves. Remember the scene where the heroes rescued bakugo with that pizza trick? Every cop looked like a normal dude. Isnt that odd? Wait, they actually looked more like faceless stormtroopers in their riot gear, but even so, no cops stood out as physically different than a bog standard human.

[Rater202]

The police do have quirks but they're not allowed to use them. Even in an emergency: In Vigilantes a Cop who was forced to use their quirk in an emergency was chewed out and made to write a long letter of apology.

That would be why All-Might initially told Deku to become a cop or fireman: They're not allowed to use their quirks in the line of duty, so it's a way that he could have become a hero of a sort without his lack of a quirk being detrimental to him.

In MHA: The Heroes are the people who have powers that are useful in a fight or else have a lot of utility and then also go to great lengths to train their minds and bodies to be good in a fight without their powers and to get the most out of their already decent powers. Guy without powers can't compete.

[Kantaki]

The police thing is really strange considering, you know, they should all have quirks too. I know not all quirks are easily made combat capable, but even so, you would think the police would be trained in the use of their quirks and while they may not be on par with the full fledged heroes, they should be able to handle most situations themselves. Remember the scene where the heroes rescued bakugo with that pizza trick? Every cop looked like a normal dude. Isnt that odd? Wait, they actually looked more like faceless stormtroopers in their riot gear, but even so, no cops stood out as physically different than a bog standard human.

Didn't one of the higher ups have a dog head?
I think I remember a cat too.

Also, I think most cops who actually use their quirks are those with stuff like lie detection and stuff like that.
X-ray Vision and similar quirks are probably popular with law-enforcement and security too.
Quirks that are actually useful when investigating stuff.

[LaZodiac]

Further clarification request with eri and the school festival. At the end deku gave her a candy apple and the way it happened felt like it had some sort of special meaning. Did Eri at some point say something along the lines of having heard of candy apples and always wanting to try one or something to that effect? It kind of came across that way, like "Oh wow, I always thought they would be good but its even sweeter than I dreamed of while suffering through unendurable torment!"

Yes! In the hospital scene when Deku and Togata are meeting with Eri, she says her favorite fruit is apples. Togata mentions they have candied apples that are ten times as yummy. So it's a significant moment for her; her first time having something ten times as good as the best thing she's ever had.

[Rater202]

Eri's entire thing is that she's been abused, exploited, and isolated for her entire life and that she is very smol and adorable.

There's a part in the Manga where people are explaining the holidays to her and she doesn't quite understand.

Any experience that isn't pain or abuse, anything that can show her that what happened to her isn't normal and that she deserves to be happy, is going to be significant.

Giving a child who's only had very simple food, who the sweetest thing she's ever eaten is an apple so she loves apples, sweets for the first time, especially one that's based around the only pleasure she's probably ever had in her life before separating her from her abuser, is, of course, going to be a very important moment for her.

[Lemmy]

Since we're asking questions about characters... Why is Mirko's hero name "Mirko"?

Does "Mirko" mean something related to rabbits? Is it the name of the mythological "Rabbit on the Moon" or something?

[Lord Raziere]

Since we're asking questions about characters... Why is Mirko's hero name "Mirko"?

Does "Mirko" mean something related to rabbits? Is it the name of the mythological "Rabbit on the Moon" or something?

No, I looked it up, MHA's Mirko was inspired by the Mixed Martial Arts fighter of the same name.

[lord_khaine]

Does explain her attitude :D

[Lemmy]

No, I looked it up, MHA's Mirko was inspired by the Mixed Martial Arts fighter of the same name.

Really? Huh... Mirko "Cro Cop" Filipović was the first thing that came to my mind when I read Mirko's name, but I figured it couldn't have anything to do it, and it was just a coincidence... And since she hadn't had much spotlight time until recently, I never bothered to check.

I'm honestly surprised... Is that the in-universe explanation as well? Does that mean Filipović exist in MHA's world too?!

[Lord Raziere]

Really? Huh... Mirko "Cro Cop" Filipović was the first thing that came to my mind when I read Mirko's name, but I figured it couldn't have anything to do it, and it was just a coincidence... And since she hadn't had much spotlight time until recently, I never bothered to check.

I'm honestly surprised... Is that the in-universe explanation as well? Does that mean Filipović exist in MHA's world too?!

I dunno I just found this article that said it.

[Traab]

The police do have quirks but they're not allowed to use them. Even in an emergency: In Vigilantes a Cop who was forced to use their quirk in an emergency was chewed out and made to write a long letter of apology.

That would be why All-Might initially told Deku to become a cop or fireman: They're not allowed to use their quirks in the line of duty, so it's a way that he could have become a hero of a sort without his lack of a quirk being detrimental to him.

In MHA: The Heroes are the people who have powers that are useful in a fight or else have a lot of utility and then also go to great lengths to train their minds and bodies to be good in a fight without their powers and to get the most out of their already decent powers. Guy without powers can't compete.

Ok and I can get that this might be a rule but.... why? Why is it a rule that police, who have to be trained to do their job anyway, cant also be trained to use their quirk in a responsible manner while doing their job? Thats just freaking bizarre. Is it some hold over from the previous generations when quirks were still new and not everywhere and the laws havent changed to match the times there yet? Or is it just that if cops could use their quirks it would kinda obviate the need for hero agencies and thus shut down the entire freaking point of the show? That citizens cant use their quirks to harm others makes sense, that you need extensive training to be allowed to use it as a hero makes sense. That cops cant use them? No sense. There is literally zero reason why cops cant be trained to use their powers. There are already who knows how many schools dedicated to teaching people how to use their quirks to be heroes, setting up one to teach cops to use their quirks should be no different. Its honestly a bit of a plot hole. Yeah you can try to paper over it with justifications but its still a plot hole.

[lord_khaine]

I dont know if i would call it a plot hole.
But i certainly think its kinda dumb. To start with just that its seemingly only heroes who are allowed to do their quirk at all.
You honestly get just a little bit of sympathy for Re-Destro and his rebelion.

I have argued against free use of movement quirks before. And im still against that.

But i think it should be easier to get permission for using your quirk as part of your job.

And i certainly think policemen and firemen should be certified to use their quirk in a emergency.
For a start, policemen are allready, even in Japan, allowed to carry a gun.
Its exceptionally few quirks who gets much more deadly than that.