Boku no Hero Academia – 56
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「RUSH!」 (Rasshu!)
“RUSH!”
I don’t expect much from Aoyama. I don’t think anyone does. He’s in 1-A, but barely. He’s in UA, but it seems like he’s barely there too. He’s usually a joke character, and nobodies favorite. So it was, when the story hinted at his motivation, I was curious. He’s one of, if not the, least developed members of 1-A. But I didn’t expect to tear up. I didn’t expect the silly boy who hides to tug at the ol’ heartstrings this much.
Yet he did. The attempted sacrifice was stirring, but even better was that I knew exactly what would happen after that. 10 more spots for 9 more UA students—and Camie, saw that one coming too. Sometimes, anticipating what will happen next is the very best thing. Sometimes, it’s good to have our faith rewarded. When Aoyama stood out, I knew the rest of 1-A would see it and would flock to his defense, and so they did. Our faith is rewarded. 1-A sticks together no matter what, and their friendship and mutual respect is a rock you can believe in. It’s like with All Might: All Might will always win, and 1-A will always protect one another. You can take those to the bank.
Ditto to Kaminari’s hero moment, and what he said about Kirishima and Bakugou as he did it. Katsuki is always the trickiest character, in less deft storytelling hands he would be the reprehensible bully who poisons the well of the class’s camaraderie. But he doesn’t, because he’s razor sharp, cool headed beneath the anger, and because he doesn’t care about looking cool. That’s the thing about Katsuki: he always wants to win, but he does not necessarily care about being cool, or even being the one to strike the critical blow. As long as he’s standing at the end and the other person isn’t, he will have won—and if that means turning into a meatball while Kaminari gets the hero moment, so be it. That’s one of the many reasons why Katsuki fits into the class, even if he’s still got some major anger issues to work through.
And him maybe sorta complimenting Deku? Whoa. Though his words about the power Izuku borrowed is yet another reminder that Katsuki is smart, Katsuki listens, and Katsuki never forgets. He already knows what’s up, and Deku’s secret is safe with him.
Next week, it’s rescue time! Which seems like bad news for Katsuki, but we’ll see how it goes. Can’t wait!
My SECOND novel, Freelance Heroics, is available now! (Now in print!) (Also available: Firesign #1 Wage Slave Rebellion.) Sign up for my email list for updates. At stephenwgee.com, the latest post: Risk Tolerance in the Creative Life.
Preview
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August 12, 2018 at 1:18 pmyoloalchemist
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I very much love how, most likely due to the crises 1-A has had so far, the combination of their quirks together yields tremendous results. This is a class that works best when they’re together, even if not all together at the same time. Some people might say the outcome was perhaps too convenient that all of the class managed to pass the first test, but I think it makes a lot of sense, since those crises involved defending themselves against their enemies by taking them down while also having to save each other, so in essence, this test replicated that the most. I think the other classes underestimated how much experience 1-A got from those life-and-death situations.
And hell yeah, Kaminari is really super now ya’ll!
August 12, 2018 at 3:22 pmCokebottle
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I disagree about Aoyoma’a presence, he’s alwaya been prominent in a weird way and has had more going for him than at least one half of the class, from the moment he crossed paths with Izuku and said Aeidu in the entrance exams, so it was only natural his seeming lack of skill set and perceived cowardice would get explored eventually, I mean it was already built on in the camp arc.
Also I would say he’s always had a lot of fans, maybe at points in an ironic way, but Horikoshi has always put a lot into him so he’s always sparkled, he just naturally wouldn’t be up there up there.
August 12, 2018 at 3:39 pmMeatball
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Any thoughts on Seiji Shishikura, he’s definitely one of my favorite characters after this episode/chapter (I think it’s worth reading the Viz translation chapter of this episode,for his dialogue), or on any of the other students I guess.
August 12, 2018 at 10:29 pmStilts
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No real big opinions on Shishikura, to be honest. Bakugou is right, he should talk less and focus on results more, and maybe he should focus on passing the damn test instead of trying to make some dumb point (also, his point would have been better made by disqualifying all those people instead of just holding them there), but hey. He was just a minor antagonist, and far less interesting to me than Yoarashi or Camie.
August 13, 2018 at 4:45 amMonimonika
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If Shishikura immediately passed the exam, he’d have to leave the area and not be able to disqualify even more examinees. I think his plan was to immobilize as many as he can before taking the targets he needed to pass at the last second.
August 13, 2018 at 6:40 amMeatball
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Gonna disagree about him “just” being a “minor antagonist,” he’s a student of Shiketsu High, a school considered as having equal standing to Yueii and I could easily see him having a continual role in the story if thw school returns post-this arc.
I think Horikoshi put a lot into him, from his design to dialogue, down to his characters pose (feet planted firmly in the middle of the road, a strong imposing stance).
I was intially put off by him because I generally dislike powers the more reality breaking they are, but it’s gruesomeness offsets his “dignity” well and Horikoshi mentioned on twitter this week that his name could also mean meat sausaage or butcher which also fits with the reality of his character well.
Maybe it’s because I have a thing for abrasive characters, which is Monoma is my favorite in B and bully Bakugou my favorite in A, but I took to him in a similar way.
I mean it’s just so insane and audacious for a student with his own world view on hero society/administration to go out of their way to put himself on level with them (incorrectly) and ignore the goal himself, it’s super stupid/unique so I’m equally super drawn to him.
Yes he’s flawed, but those flaws would be what draws fans like myself to him, it seems clear that he needs the self reflection he hoped Kaminari would practice (otherwise he wouldn’t have talked up hero work while taking an unnecessary step on Bakugou which caused pain) as he does this to cover insecurities (like the gag about him being insecure about his eyes).
If he shapes up I could definetly see him taking up an administrative role in the future of hero society.
(Also I loved him telling Inasa it was rude for him to join other people’s huddles and that the after credit scene showed him caring about Seiji, Inasa seems really cool too, I’ve loved all of his scenes and he seems to be the main other schools student from an exposure point so I hope my hype lives uo)
August 13, 2018 at 2:16 pmStilts
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He’s just a minor antagonist so far. He might be more later, but until then, he just doesn’t interest me that much. Seems fine, could be fun later, but that’s about it. Potentially like Monoma himself, who wasn’t much to speak of initially but adds a little more now, or he could rarely appear again. We’ll see.
August 13, 2018 at 5:54 amyoloalchemist
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I felt he was pretty annoying with all his talk and especially his quirk. I appreciated the moment Katsuki and co. finished him him off.
August 13, 2018 at 6:43 amMeatball
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The reality bending aspect of his quirk bothered me at first, but it has an aesthetic pleasure in my opinion and I really liked seeing it in combat.
August 13, 2018 at 2:45 pmMeatball
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I actually thought Monoma offered more intially but has lacked punch as of late, in his first appearances Horikoshi struck a good balance of his insecurity with his planning/combat skills/planning ability/assholeness, and I love comic relief characters so I appreciated that aspect of him, but this last time the gag has just gotten to old and I would like to see a return to his original range.
Anyways, my objection to above was more to your use of “just” to describe him or any character when I think any character has intrinsic value and that Seiji had enough put into him to not just be “just” and have others interested in him, it wasn’t an issue with how you feel about him, that’s perfectly cool.
August 12, 2018 at 4:30 pmjhpace1
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https://randomc.net/image/Boku%20no%20Hero%20Academia/Boku%20no%20Hero%20Academia%20-%2056%20-%2013.jpg
Don’t forget the safety, er, victory dance.
https://randomc.net/image/Boku%20no%20Hero%20Academia/Boku%20no%20Hero%20Academia%20-%2056%20-%2026.jpg
Keep going, Grape-kun! No one appreciates your sacrifice (pulling that many balls with “Grape Rush!” just about gave him major head trauma), I know.
August 13, 2018 at 4:11 pmLoliHat
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What’s going on with the students in 2-B?
August 14, 2018 at 5:11 amSv
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Hmmm… gotta rethink who is the spy.
August 14, 2018 at 12:06 pmPerson
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Is this all still filler? I’m finding these episodes very underwhelming. I did like the compliment from Bakugo though. That was a nice touch.
August 14, 2018 at 12:27 pmMeatball
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No, only the last episode was filler.
August 14, 2018 at 9:18 pmTFL
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Fun little detail which i really love, notice the way Kaminari is pointing his fingers when he fires his electricity? That’s fleming’s right hand rule. A physics technique used to figure put the direction of current created by generators
August 26, 2018 at 12:03 pmAshen-phoenix
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That is really fantastic!