My Hero Academia

You're not the only one.

(I am sympathizing with those three as well, and believe it or not, I can actually understand Shigaraki's desire for complete destruction of everything, based on his background, I had that phase once too, but somewhat managed to get through it without harming a soul, mostly due to knowing in advance about the future of the earth is currently slipping down on and "Silent World" that will be its final result. No point in destroying anything since it's being destroyed anyway...)

Could the "forbidden taboo" perhaps be that we get to see a realistic "child abuse" in full, in the japanese society, which from what I've heard, very "hush-hush" about those topics and considers such things a "PRIVATE" affair only?

Or is it due to the MLA depicting "people of power" as villainous madmen out for their own agenda which sacrifices common folk as pawns, leaving some possible "underlying meaning" that some people might take the "wrong" way about the Japanese state of things in the current day and time?

I'm just guessing of course, nothing else, but since that tweet was so vague, it leaves plenty of room for speculations.

Actually isn’t there a certain a hypocrisy in calling out somethings story has bad when you made quite a bit of success off of Naruto?

LOV is relatable because IMO its members have very real problems - suppression of self by others, lack of direction in life, lack of help from outside, copious amounts of stress etc. - that could have driven them to inadequacy, crime or death in real life. The only two exceptions are Dabi (if he's not Touya) and Mr. Compress (who we've yet to get any backstory on).

Horikoshi went out of his way to showcase them as people who simply weren't lucky in life and could have very well been heroes if things turned out different.

Well, Persona 5 sold well despite its near-entire roster of villains being corrupt and despicable people of power. Maybe video games are just given a wider berth, dunno.

I'm fairly certain it's just irritation towards putting up with an entire volume's worth of villain centric chapters with no appearances from the more heroic main cast.

A Villain Episode is fine and all, but an entire volume+ of it is a bit much.

I've never been all that inclined to sympathize with villains regardless of whatever shit they went through in life. My ability to feel sympathy for them is shot since I've already seen them commit atrocity after atrocity.

Edited by M84 on Jul 16th 2019 at 2:21:32 AM

I like the "Dregs of society" aspect of the league and how their descent into villainy feels very grounded and not as over the top as most Shonen backstories tend to be.

That said, yes I can't really empathize since they're all sociopaths who kill without a second thought.

As mentioned, their "circumstances" are what make them relatable (Forced to suppress yourself in order to fit in, having bad luck and left at the bottom at the barrel, incapable to get out from the house and earn enough to live by yourself... This is basic stuff everyone can go through...)

How they handled it though...is less desirable.

(snapping into murderous impulses, self-mutilation, madness, despair, getting into the wrong crowds...)

Reading manga and stories where this happens, makes one forget how fortunate one was to not turn out like that (and that this actually happens on a everyday basis, everywhere, out there in the world beyond our sights.)

Shall we all take a moment to thank Horikoshi for reminding us all about what fortunate lives we are living, by showing us how it could have been worse?

I mean, gonna have to disagree with all of this hard. Like, I honestly think everyone point here is obviously wrong.

But anyway, I saw the tweet that started this conversation before, but I didn't understand the context of why people cared. The guy being the president of a game developing company makes more sense.

@Yakuza, while it's fair game to game to have characters that don't resonate with you, I think it's a different matter together to act as if he story is doing something wrong just because you (the general you) doesn't personally care for whoever. It's just setting yourself up for frustration that, IMO, will often be your own fault. Not to say that writers can't focus too much on certain characters to the detriment of the series (did someone mention Sasuke?), but saying that's happening with the League seems strange.

Regarding empathizing/sympathizing with the Villains, that just goes back to what was being said about Kotaro. It's possible to both understand/feel bad for where someone started and still disapprove of their actions/who they became. Again, that's obviously a personal thing whether a given character resonates with you or not, but I just don't think you can actually blame an author for trying to give nuances even to the villains.

Edited by LSBK on Jul 15th 2019 at 3:03:47 AM

No. Because not everyone who has a shitty life as bad as the ones in those stories or worse snap and become murdering assholes.

Meanwhile, plenty of people who are privileged and never really went through anything awful still become rapists and murderers.

Besides, I don't think the writer was trying to remind readers that some people are dealt a shitty hand in life. I really don't think he's so arrogant that he thinks we need him to remind us of this.

Also, are you seriously telling people here we should be grateful because, as shitty as our lives might be, they aren't as awful as the lives of fictional characters?

Edited by M84 on Jul 15th 2019 at 4:14:27 PM

What bothers people about the villains in this series is that they're way more human than most shonen villains. They're not crazy ideologues devoting their life to a horrible cause, or one-dimensional mannequins dedicated to evil, or even just well-intentioned misguided people. They are people who started out like any other, but faced relatable challenges that really happen to people in life, and they become terrorists and serial killers after snapping under the strain.

It's how real-life irredeemable people come about, and that's what makes one so uncomfortable: if Twice becomes a villain because of mental illness, then couldn't mental illness make you the same way? If Toga became a villain because she always had to suppress herself, then couldn't forcing your daughter to conform make her turn out the same way? It's the fact that it's so tangible even with the crazy powers that make it feel more taboo.

The story isn't saying that, though. Shouto was abused, and uses it to motivate himself to be a better hero. Deku was mocked and dismissed, and it only made him stronger. Shinsou was treated like an outcast, and he's pure face. But snapping is something that can happen.

Edited by IniuriaTalis on Jul 15th 2019 at 4:19:04 AM

Yeah, but that's what Titanjump is saying. That we should all be grateful that our lives aren't as shitty as the LOV's. Which can come off as kind of callous.

Edited by M84 on Jul 15th 2019 at 4:20:35 PM

I think it's kind of a paradox going on: people often complaining about wanting fictional characters to be more "realistic", but not all people can agree on what that means/how to do it.

So when I writer tries to make things "grounded" you inevitably have people complaining about how it's not tragic enough for story or how since worse things have happened to other people in the story someone going to crime is unrealistic. Because all people, in real life, react exactly the same to horrible situations, right?

Not to say you can't have any legitimate criticisms of how the villains (or any other characters) are written, but I think that describes a lot of the issues.

Edited by LSBK on Jul 15th 2019 at 3:25:32 AM

I don't mind if a villain is portrayed realistically or if their turn to villainy was ultimately kind of petty.

I do mind if the narrative is framed to try to make us feel sorry for them.

Didn't Orochimaru become a serial killing pseudo-sexual mad scientist just due to the relatively mundane cause of his parents dying when he was young?

Ugh, don't remind me.

You can still feel sorry for villains without excusing their heinous actions.

I tend to reserve my sympathy for their victims.

I mean, I don't even necessarily have an issue with that being Orochimaru's reasoning. Again, different people can react to things in widely different ways. Plus, according to Tsunade, Orochimaru was always off.

I don't think this story is condoning anything the League has done, it's just shedding on light and, yes, maybe wants you to sympathize with how they got there. Well, except for Mr. Compress because we still know basically nothing about him. Which I think is my biggest complaint about all of this, at this point, Compress feels extraneous.

I don't expect any of the League to actually get a "happy ending", though. They're all too far gone for that.

Edited by LSBK on Jul 15th 2019 at 3:33:56 AM

I think its pity one can feel, not sympathy.

Yeah, of all the villains only Spinner seems anywhere close to redeemable.

Either way, this does seem to be wrapping up soon, and I am happy about that. I've enjoyed this for the most part, but I do miss the protagonists. I'm curious if we're going to dive right back into something serious on their end, or have a bit of breather first.

I'm not actually sure if Spinner has even successfully killed anyone yet.

@LSBK: I never said it was wrong, but if a story focuses on a part that you don't care for and wish to move on from, then you are within your right as the reader to voice your displeasure.

Not everyone is going to enjoy the same thing. Just because this part of the story is "needed" doesn't mean you have to like it. And telling someone that its their fault for being able to enjoy the story isn't really helping.

I don't mind this part of the story, but I can see people's frustrations.

My point isn't that it's anyone's "fault" if they don't enjoy something, just that not acknowledging that sometimes stories will have parts, even necessary parts, you don't like is a thing that's going to happen is a bit on you.

I thought I was pretty good with the whole not begrudging personal taste.

Edited by LSBK on Jul 15th 2019 at 3:39:48 AM

I'm going to admit...I will be very glad for this arc to end. I've long since fallen into the Eight Deadly Words with this arc.

I feel like Hori is trying for a Hero's Journey type of deal, but with a villain instead.

A negative character arc so to speak, showing the Lo V descent into villainy. That's a good idea on paper.

I think the issues for people come from...this took way too long lol. Chapter 235 and we're only now fleshing out primary villainous group. So I think people's patience just wore thin.

Admittedly this chapter improves a bit by finally showing how Shigaraki ended up the way he did. He's still not all that compelling as the central antagonist, but actually showing his journey to how he ended up this way does wonders for actually making you a dynamic character.