Boku no Hero Academia – 67
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「抗う運命」 (Aragau Unmei)
“Fighting Fate”
The philosophical argument of Deku vs Nighteye/Lemillion in regards to Eri (Kobayashi Seiran) is the heroic equivalent of undergrads debating kantianism vs utilitarianism, the former of which is an ethical theory I just learned about two minutes ago. To put it simply: Is it better to do what is right without regards to its efficacy in bringing about the most favorable result, or is it better to endeavor toward the most ethical consequence regardless of the methods? To put it even more simply: Should Deku have saved the girl even if it may have prevented the heroes from putting away the larger threat, or should he have played it cool like Lemillion?
I suspect many would side with Nighteye/Lemillion. In truth, I can’t reject one or the other. It’s in vogue to set aside one’s feelings and to slog through the mud if it means bringing about the greater good. I don’t hate that, especially if we’re talking about politics or war. Those are dirty endeavors. It’s harder to look into a scared girl’s face and act the idiot, to let her go back into a den of villains with the hope that you can extricate her later. I feel for Deku. No wonder he was in a slump. That’s deeply dissatisfying, even if it may have been the correct answer.
I think of what Nighteye said. “You’re not so special that you can save anyone you want whenever you want.” Sounds like a goal to work towards to me.
As for the second half of the episode, ever noticed that, anytime the sun is setting and Deku is having a conversation with All Might, it’s the best scene? Every. single. time. The epic scene in the second episode—you know the one—was that, and here we are again. That the relationship between Izuku and All Might urged him to rise, to fight, in the face of his fated demise is the stuff of storytelling gold, as warm and enriching as the light which wreathed the scene. And Izuku’s mother once again comes in as the stealth hero of the franchise, as it was her plea to All Might to live and protect and raise Izuku who likewise helped him to persevere in the face of All For One’s power. It’s a cliché to fight against fate, but I love it dearly. Even Nighteye understands. Just because it’s been seen doesn’t mean it will be so. Only death and taxes are inevitable, and even then we have some control over the dirty details. It’s a fight worth having.
And of course, we leave on a chilling note. The villains may be banding together. No good. Izuku is gonna need to tell the world, “I am here!” soon. Maybe not for All Might so much as all the victims who will suffer if he’s not ready in time.
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November 9, 2019 at 5:10 pmyoloalchemist
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How do I know that Horikoshi-sensei is a sadist? Even if there wasn’t an ensuing tragedy, he puts All Might and Deku in a world where their chronic hero syndrome gets shut down sometimes. And knowing what All Might went through because of that likely means Deku will go through even more adversities in the future. Not being allowed to save Eri feels merely like the start of that.
November 9, 2019 at 8:43 pmStilts
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To be fair, all storytellers are sadists.
November 10, 2019 at 8:44 amDrasca
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How else are you going to keep your readers engaged if you don’t torture the characters with conflict? Ok Ok, slice of life and purely environmental stories are a thing– but not for more action/drama driven stories.
November 10, 2019 at 1:00 pmyoloalchemist
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@Stilts and Drasca: IKR? I was speaking as a form of compliment more than anything, really. What’s good about all this drama is that it feels real and earned.
November 10, 2019 at 6:14 pmAshen-phoenix
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This whole thread is well-said.
November 9, 2019 at 7:07 pmstarss
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Great episode. While All Might dying is something we’ve known about since Episode 2, only now does Deku become aware of the consequences of the responsibilities put upon him when that happens, and he just out himself in more danger this day regarding it.
Eri has finally made her animated debut and mustprotecc.
November 9, 2019 at 8:58 pmsealouse
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That scene with Eri and Deku was probably one of the most intense ones in the entire series. It’s like he had to use his brain a lot more compared to his usual encounters with villains. At least he had help this time.
Also why doesn’t he wear his hood more? I don’t know if it really matters at this point, but you’d think he would want to keep his identity hidden.
November 10, 2019 at 12:10 amSkizzit
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I honestly usually forget that he even has a hood as part of his costume. Probably for the best that he rarely uses it as it is rather goofy looking. I know it is supposed to imitate All Might’s signature hair style but it just ends up making Deku look like some kind of bizarre rabbit.
I will say I do love the way Deku’s costume has evolved over the course of the series in completely logical ways by having Mei continue to create gear for him that helps him fight by increasing his damage output while also reducing the damage he does to himself.
The best redesign in the series though is Todoroki. That god the author realized early on that his initial costume was dumb as hell looking and ditched it real quick. I wouldn’t ever be able to take him seriously if he was still running around looking like half of a snowman.
November 9, 2019 at 10:55 pmLila
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https://randomc.net/image/Boku%20no%20Hero%20Academia/Boku%20no%20Hero%20Academia%20-%2067%20-%2015.jpg
Subtle…
November 10, 2019 at 12:12 amSkizzit
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Eri!!! So cute! Must protect at all costs.
November 10, 2019 at 8:43 amDrasca
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Pessimism is not a survival strategy. That drains will and hope. Ideally, you make the right call based on good judgement and improve judgement every time, but giving up means you lose. The hero inherently needs optimism, and needs to be smart about how he uses it or he’ll ultimately suffer a meaningless death.
All Might clearly chose the route of optimism. Despite embracing fatalism, he chose to believe and followed through on his beliefs. Both he and the world are happier for it. His side kick is clearly miserable.
I was a bit surprised Deku didn’t try to save the girl. In a more gritty story, he should also be suspicious of the girl. He did show a bit more smarts than typical shounen protagonists, by knowing how a hero should act and not give away knowledge. . . but he failed when taking the villain’s word and followed him into the alley. That was his chance for escape. . . that and when the girl immediately ran to him.
Coincidentally, saving the girl is saving the world. Just as in Star Trek, sometimes the needs of the one outweigh the needs of the many. That is something the Enterprise officers learned through the TMP series. . . and something the Emiya family line did too. We went from pure numbers (Kerry), to Miyuverse Shirou.
November 10, 2019 at 3:50 pmHanabira.Kage
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Neither Deku nor Mirio are stupid. Obviously they knew it was a trap, but they had to play along and wait for their moment to bail out.
November 11, 2019 at 6:39 pmDrasca
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You don’t have to be stupid to make stupid choices. Walking into the trap was one of them. Bailing out immediately without the girl (Mirio’s initial choice), immediately with the girl, and as the enemy turned his back, were the optimal choices here. Walking into trap instead of leaving was the literal idiotball choice.
November 10, 2019 at 1:31 pmDmonHiro
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Deku and Mirio fucked up. Because of their inexperience and immaturity they couldn’t see what they had to do. Mirio is the biggest offender though. At lease Deku realized what he was supposed to do, even though he didn’t do it. Neither of them had the confidence to say “Screw the plan, I’m doing what’s right!’”, which is exactly what any full fledged hero would have done, All Might being the first.
November 10, 2019 at 6:21 pmSkizzit
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Disagree. Blindly charging in without having any info at all is not a good plan. They had no idea what Overhaul is capable of, what his plan is/was, nor if he had any allies near by. Their mission was to gather info. Saving Eri at that point might have saved one little girl but they had no idea what other ramifications it could have had.
November 11, 2019 at 6:45 pmDrasca
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They weren’t without info. They evaluated the situation. It wouldn’t have been a blind charge. A risky one? Sure, but that’s a hero’s life.
I disagree with DmonHiro saying that’s what every hero would do, but I certainly agree that’s what All Might would’ve done.
They had a strong chance of getting away. The irony the episode presents is that their current thinking of being conservative was the wrong move, as the end demonstrates had they saved the girl, they would’ve prevented future loss. The intent of the episode I believe is for Deku to learn for himself to resent holding back when he shouldn’t in his heart, no matter what others say if he truly believes something is wrong in front of him
November 11, 2019 at 9:16 pmDmonHiro
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Out of all the top 10 heroes we know of at the time of this arc, all of them would have saved the girl regardless of the plan.
November 10, 2019 at 1:34 pmDmonHiro
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I hope the spoiler tag works. If not, delete this
[spoiler] Letting Eri go was the wrong decision and Nighteye’s plan is garbage. Had they saved Eri then, Overhaul would have been 100% done. Even sadder knowing that Deku and Mirio would have 100% beat Overhaul. [/spoiler]
The point of this arc is the exact opposite of Nighteye’s ideas: you must NEVER sacrifice an innocent for the greater good.
November 10, 2019 at 3:51 pmHanabira.Kage
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Do you seriously think he was alone? After a whole bunch of his subordinates crashed the League’s base when he was seemingly brought there alone?
November 10, 2019 at 3:55 pmDmonHiro
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He WAS alone. And even if he wasn’t, all Deku had to do was grab Eri and run while Mirio played interference if anyone tried catching up. This was the whole point of the start of the arc: they COULD’T have finished it right then and there but they didn’t have the confidence to do it. Not one bad thing would have happened if Deku and Mirio fought Overhaul there. In fact, four bad things would have been completely avoided.