Boku no Hero Academia Manga – 323 & 324

Mass confusion spoon fed to the blind serves now to define our cold society.

Well, NERV HQ is in a run for its money because Principal Nedzu is not here to joke. Not only do sections of buildings from U.A.’s new barrier go underground, they’re also able to travel through hundreds of tunnels, in different directions and can even be manually controlled. Like Kaminari pointed out “it’s like we’re living in a giant robot anime!!” Nedzu’s devil fruit, the chie-chie no mi OP-IQ quirk is probably one of my favorites (and also one of my top three quirks I wish I had), thanks to his own intuitive initiative, this humongous self-funded school renovation is his ultimate response to Shigaraki’s decaying quirk.
Considering his past as a test-guinea-pig at the hands of humans, Principal Nedzu’s faith in humanity is quite symbolic. Even though society still lacks understanding and tolerance, even though it seems like they’re always just one step away from progress, the fact his hopes still rest with the human race (and his students) is another drop of foreshadowing of Sir Nighteye’s will and legacy of a bright future.

The bitterness of men who fear the way of human progress.

In my previous post I spoke about Uraraka’s possible role as the Mother Archetype and her childhood memories that lay behind her real motivation for becoming a hero: people’s smiles at the face of heroism. So in case you missed that, here’s a link to that post. It was pretty cool to have Horikoshi address that through an actual flashback in the beginning of the chapter. Out of all characters, Uraraka is the one who’s always been intentionally portrayed as the most ‘likable’–you guys remember the sports festival, in her fight against Katsuki, when Mic even mentions he’ll be rooting for her because of that charisma? So it felt befitting that she’d be the one to address the frightened and reactive citizens. Not because she’s a powerhouse of confidence or a hero icon, but because she’s very human. She doesn’t have any big words to offer, she doesn’t make any grandiose promises, her speech is actually quite simple, but it reaches people (citizens and heroes alike).

From which we’ll rise over love, over hate, from this iron sky that’s fast becoming our minds, over fear and into freedom.

But then an interesting thing happens, mid-speech the image of a pained Toga pops in her mind. Because alas, it’s not only citizens and heroes who are suffering. Villains are suffering too. We previously spoke about how, historically, the potentially dangerous or undesirable aspects of individuality have been purged through ostracism, humiliation, fear, and punishment. And how that creates tension between society and the individual. This ought not to be forgotten, since it appears that the society Horikoshi’s trying to build is not one where villains will be simply defeated, these pained voices will be heard and perhaps even be given the chance to redeem themselves and heal. It certainly feels that way, with how deep we’ve delved into the villains’ perspectives and their–mostly childhood–traumas, which led them towards the path of villainy (Tenko, Himiko, Touya, Spinner).
The chapter closes with a beautiful scene of little Kota-kun and giant-fox lady rushing to a crying Izuku who’s fallen to his knees, finally admitting to himself how much he needs their support so they can thrive on their quest. That’s the story of how they became the greatest heroes. On a super side note I have no idea if anyone’s gonna read: I usually share some cheesy lyrics underneath the chapter images (last week was a bunch of John Mayer), but this week I went with Paolo Nutini’s Iron Sky, if you’ve never heard it before, I can’t recommend it enough, it’s an incredible song.