Hangout Boku no Hero Academia Hangout Thread

[Cat Sidhe26]

 

[Neala897]

 

[Cat Sidhe26]

 

[avietar]

Incredible animation!

 

[Chocolatejr9]

My Hero Shippuden/Part 2 confirmed?

Eh, it was a safe bet.

 

[Cat Sidhe26]

 

[Franz]

My Hero Shippuden/Part 2 confirmed?

What ?

--- Double Post Merged, Mar 13, 2022, Original Post Date: Mar 13, 2022 ---

Eh, it was a safe bet.

I don't get it

 

[Neala897]

My Hero Shippuden/Part 2 confirmed?

That comment about future taken from obi of the second volume which went on sale on 2 of April last year so I doubt about that.

 

[Cat Sidhe26]

 

[JazzMazz]

Seems that the forest training arc was actually initially incredibly negatively recieved, which is funny to me, because it is one of the strongest stretches of the story.

 

[Neala897]

Seems that the forest training arc was actually initially incredibly negatively recieved, which is funny to me, because it is one of the strongest stretches of the story.

Its kinda messy if you ask me. Except for Muscular part. Now I get why. Probably.
Twitter reactions is hilarious. People kinda forgot Japan is main readership. The rest of the world option is secondary to say bluntly. And its clear from the comment itself that Kohei just come sone thing short. Didnt change initial plan. He probably was planning more student\villain battles.
All Jump mangakas do it most likely. Sorachi said he hurried to end Benizakura arc sooner since ratings wasnt that good at the time of writing. Which didnt stop it from becoming one of the most popular arcs in Gintama and having so many adaptations that fandom kinda sick of it.

 

[JazzMazz]

Its kinda messy if you ask me. Except for Muscular part. Now I get why. Probably.
Twitter reactions is hilarious. People kinda forgot Japan is main readership. The rest of the world option is secondary to say bluntly. And its clear from the comment itself that Kohei just come sone thing short. Didnt change initial plan. He probably was planning more student\villain battles.
All Jump mangakas do it most likely. Sorachi said he hurried to end Benizakura arc sooner since ratings wasnt that good at the time of writing. Which didnt stop it from becoming one of the most popular arcs in Gintama and having so many adaptations that fandom kinda sick of it.

I'm aware the student characters are pretty popular in Japan(my theory is that a lot of people in Japan probably see them as "comfort characters", who they enjoy for their superificial personalities but not particularly for depth).

Perhaps that explains why Hori decided not to really shake up the student characters that much after the war arc despite almost obviously setting up the conclusion of the war arc in a way that would allow him to explore the students characters experiences to their failures during the war arc. We never got that and as a result I feel like a lot of stuff with them going forward after the war did not land as well with a lot of the western fanbase.

Again, this is just my theory.

 

[Neala897]

I'm aware the student characters are pretty popular in Japan(my theory is that a lot of people in Japan probably see them as "comfort characters", who they enjoy for their superificial personalities but not particularly for depth).

Or they just better written. Not all of course but its not really a secret that until mva villains were weak spot of this manga. Its better now but still Kohei writing of hero side quite better if you ask me.

Perhaps that explains why Hori decided not to really shake up the student characters that much after the war arc despite almost obviously setting up the conclusion of the war arc in a way that would allow him to explore the students characters experiences to their failures during the war arc. We never got that and as a result I feel like a lot of stuff with them going forward after the war did not land as well with a lot of the western fanbase.

This is reccuring theme but again I dont quite get what western fandom actually wanted to get. The only concrete thing I can think of is funeral for fallen heroes. Which I strongly suspects hasnt happened yet.

 

[Cat Sidhe26]

 

[JazzMazz]

Or they just better written. Not all of course but its not really a secret that until mva villains were weak spot of this manga. Its better now but still Kohei writing of hero side quite better if you ask me.

No, I'm talking about characters like Sero, who is insanely popular in Japan for some reason.

What I'm saying is that a lot of the appeal of the student characters is that they are all quirky and generally cheery characters, which is what I think has endeared them to the Japanese reader base.

This is reccuring theme but again I dont quite get what western fandom actually wanted to get. The only concrete thing I can think of is funeral for fallen heroes. Which I strongly suspects hasnt happened yet.

Reflection on the war from characters directly affected? We go from characters being at the end of their emotional rope by the end of the war, being clearly tired and emotionally strained, to them being completely 100% fine when we see them go to rescue Deku again. A ton of characters had unique and defining moments in the war. Those are never brought up or alluded to.

This isn't something insane. This is just expecting the series to treat the supporting cast with as much tact as Hori treated them in the Overhaul arc. After the Overhaul arc, the characters were shown to be affected and reflective on the events. Hell, freaking JT had the characters be reflective on their own performances. Its kind of bizarre that after something as massive as the war, we haven't had moments of individual reflection on the events of the conflict when even minor arcs did that.

This again goes back to my point. If Hori had made the class be reflect on what they had just gone through, they would stop being comfort characters. They would lose the thing that made them liked. As such, I believe Hori decided just not to show that out of a belief that showing even the bubbly cheerful side characters from 1A being a bit aggrieved by the situation would not go over well with the readerbase. Also, it was just easier to do those things with Deku because Deku was the protagonist. The result is that a lot of 1A just don't feel like actual characters with any sort of depth to them, but incredibly superficial paper thin constructions with neat character designs.

 

[Neala897]

What I'm saying is that a lot of the appeal of the student characters is that they are all quirky and generally cheery characters, which is what I think has endeared them to the Japanese reader base.

Or maybe just because they are better written. Not all though but again hero side is better written.

Reflection on the war from characters directly affected? We go from characters being at the end of their emotional rope by the end of the war, being clearly tired and emotionally strained, to them being completely 100% fine when we see them go to rescue Deku again. A ton of characters had unique and defining moments in the war. Those are never brought up or alluded to.

And what form you think it should have taken? Two chapters of students sitting in the room and musing about a war? And they werent fine they just wasnt depressed mess some readers expected them to be.

This isn't something insane. This is just expecting the series to treat the supporting cast with as much tact as Hori treated them in the Overhaul arc. After the Overhaul arc, the characters were shown to be affected and reflective on the events. Hell, freaking JT had the characters be reflective on their own performances. Its kind of bizarre that after something as massive as the war, we haven't had moments of individual reflection on the events of the conflict when even minor arcs did that.

Neither Overhaul arc nor JT is generally loved arent them? And one of the reasons is exactly because some people didnt like so much focus on side characters.

This again goes back to my point. If Hori had made the class be reflect on what they had just gone through, they would stop being comfort characters. They would lose the thing that made them liked. As such, I believe Hori decided just not to show that out of a belief that showing even the bubbly cheerful side characters from 1A being a bit aggrieved by the situation would not go over well with the readerbase. Also, it was just easier to do those things with Deku because Deku was the protagonist. The result is that a lot of 1A just don't feel like actual characters with any sort of depth to them, but incredibly superficial paper thin constructions with neat character designs.

Its kinda feels like people who think like that havent read any other shonen manga. Its always actions over words. Again I get frustration on wanting more reflections from students but would it alter their actions? No, they still would do the same. And again they are preparing to be heroes. People shouldnt be too much surprised their level handling stress higher than simple people.

 

[JazzMazz]

And what form you think it should have taken? Two chapters of students sitting in the room and musing about a war? And they werent fine they just wasnt depressed mess some readers expected them to be.

...um, anything would have been nice. We went from some of the student characters being deeply effected by the events of the war to all them just being completely fine.

Readers believed that we were going to have the characters explore how they felt about those events in flashbacks, but they never happened, and as such, the characters feel more shallow because of it. It makes it feel like the events of the war were not important to the students on an individual level despite several events occurring that should have been spotlighted. Tons of students lost their mentors either to retirement or literally getting horrifically killed, but there isn't even a single dialogue box reflecting on that.

I'll use Momo as an example because she's the character I feel has been done the largest disservice.

After the war we see her crying over the body of Midnight with Mina and Kirishima, and we know that her mentor died congratulating her. When we see her in the hospital, its clear that she's exhausted and barely keeping it together herself based on the underlining under her eyes showing a lack of sleep and seeming on the verge of breaking down crying herself.

The next time we see her again, she is completely fine. There isn't any hint that the events of the war effected her personality or rationale, and there is zero reflection from her character on the events of the conflict.

Yes, you could say that Momo could still have flashbacks reflecting on this, but this leads to a larger point on my end. Exploring the side characters and having even one chapter focused on helping and supporting each other would have made their desire and unanimous agreement to save Deku all the more potent, since the characters themselves would understand the risks of Deku going out by himself without the support of others.

Instead, we got 1A acting like a hive mind that seemed scarecely effected or changed by the events of the war. Character wise, most of them seem totally unfazed as if nothing had happened, and as such, the message of "we need to get through this together" just feels hollow coming from these mostly hollow characters.

Neither Overhaul arc nor JT is generally loved arent them? And one of the reasons is exactly because some people didnt like so much focus on side characters.

JT sold well in Japan but recieved a lot of criticism in the West, but Overhaul is one of the most beloved arcs in the franchise(and this is coming from someone who doesn't really care for it overall). Overhaul is a literal fan favourite arc and for a long time was considered by huge sections of the Western fandom to be the best arc in the series.

And the reason people didn't like Overhaul wasn't the focus on side characters, it was that for a lot of people, the side villains were fairly uninteresting, and the conflict was resolved in an arguably very sillly way(and also that the female side characters didn't do anything).

Those are the typical criticisms of the Overhaul arc. Not that "the side characters did too much". If anything, thats the major point of praise for that arc.

Its kinda feels like people who think like that havent read any other shonen manga. Its always actions over words. Again I get frustration on wanting more reflections from students but would it alter their actions? No, they still would do the same. And again they are preparing to be heroes. People shouldnt be too much surprised their level handling stress higher than simple people.

Dude, I've read plenty of Shonen. In down time arcs, especially after a major event which dramatically effect the cast, there is usually lots of exposition where characters help each other work through or at least spotlight emotional insecurities or plot lines leading into the next conflict. Even a beta shonen written in the 90's like Dragon Quest Adventures of Dai, which is as formulaic as it gets, used its down time period before the final battle to either resolve internal character conflicts(eg, the protagonists self doubt after losing to the main bad guy), or spotlight future points of drama leading into the final battle(the main characters best friend realizing that he may not be able to fulfill his part of the heroes plan). MHA actually does this a bit as well, but the issue currently is that the MHA cast is really big, and has a lot of characters that it can potentially explore and flesh out. Horikoshi's solution to actually exploring and fleshing out his side characters following the events of the war, was just not to do it, and the story relevance of most of the characters of 1A suffer dramatically because of it.

The students reflecting on the events of the war wouldn't have altered their actions, but it would give them significantly more narrative weight, which is desperately needed for a cast as characters like 1A who will end up sharing the same goal. Without that reflection, most of 1A's gesture to reach out to Deku felt completely hollow.

Actions in the story are important, but what is just as important is what led up to those characters taking those actions, and thats what is unfortunately missing. The actions themselves don't have a lot of meaning unless there is justification behind why they were taken.

 

[Neala897]

...um, anything would have been nice. We went from some of the student characters being deeply effected by the events of the war to all them just being completely fine.

It wouldnt. Maybe one chapter but this is it. Can we please stop pretending that whole fandom actually would handle it and not complain about plot going nowhere? Because this is what happens everytime plot shows down. And again they werent fine as you say they just wasnt depressing mess some people expected them to be. Which totally in line with them being future heroes.

The students reflecting on the events of the war wouldn't have altered their actions, but it would give them significantly more narrative weight, which is desperately needed for a cast as characters like 1A who will end up sharing the same goal. Without that reflection, most of 1A's gesture to reach out to Deku felt completely hollow.

Because apparently their bond with Deku didnt existed prior war. Lets not pretend thier bond with Midnight is stronger than with Deku okay? Because this is straight up lie.
AGAIN I understand complain but people should consider how it can fit into whole plot so it wouldnt feel like we are just wasting time. Theres only two ways I can see it. First flashback after they found Deku could be a bit longer. Second funeral for fallen heroes. Which again I suspect simply hasnt happened yet.

 

[JazzMazz]

It wouldnt. Maybe one chapter but this is it. Can we please stop pretending that whole fandom actually would handle it and not complain about plot going nowhere? Because this is what happens everytime plot shows down. And again they werent fine as you say they just wasnt depressing mess some people expected them to be. Which totally in line with them being future heroes.

Nothing was shown to suggest that they weren't fine, and characters just generally "not being okay" doesn't make them more interesting if you don't actually explore the things on their mind.

The last few chapters in the lead up for the war did precisely the kind of stuff I wanted by highlighting character interactions and motivations. Aisawa talking to Aoyama is easily the best part of the traitor plot line, as it does a fantastic job at characterizing both Aoyama's internal conflict, as well as highlighting Aisawa's strengths as a character. We did not get this for most characters.

Instead we got rough shod "LETS BEAT AFO GUYS!" repeated ad nauseam without any further characterization or depth being provided.

Its a shame because Hori has done chapters that did a better job of hyping up 1A as capable. Compare chapter 335's "Zygotes", which is basically just meh exposition about "how they're really prepared to fight", which is incredibly drole, with something like chapter 256, where we actually see 1A in action, and specifically highlight how they have improved. The presentation was just not there, and the character moments were incredibly paper thin in 335.

Because apparently their bond with Deku didnt existed prior war. Lets not pretend thier bond with Midnight is stronger than with Deku okay? Because this is straight up lie.

Midnight was supposed to be THE BIGGEST CASUALTY OF THE ENTIRE WAR. She was the only "major" character who died, and even her best friends immediately moved on from her death. My issue is that they teased that characters may not be alright after what happened to Midnight, but then when we see them after that, they are completely fine and we never go into any depth that makes them more interesting, even though that would have been literally the perfect opportunity to do so.

AGAIN I understand complain but people should consider how it can fit into whole plot so it wouldnt feel like we are just wasting time. Theres only two ways I can see it. First flashback after they found Deku could be a bit longer. Second funeral for fallen heroes. Which again I suspect simply hasnt happened yet.

Yeah, I have, and I think it could have tied in absolutely perfectly fine with all the talk about UA being a place of nurturing. It would have been far more effective to show how the UA environment was actually beneficial for characters who were sufferring after the war like Deku before we had a huge arc dedicated to bringing Deku back to UA. That could have just been one or two chapters, and that would have been enough to make the "we need to bring Deku back to UA" plot line a lot more impactful.

Instead we skip every potentially interesting development for these characters and the author still expects us to care about them, when its clear he isn't actually invested with doing anything potentially interesting with them(except maybe via lazy "flashback storytelling").

And by flashback storytelling, I mean flashbacking to stuff that he easily could have just shown in regular continuity or should have shown way in advance.

 

[Cat Sidhe26]

--- Double Post Merged, May 1, 2022, Original Post Date: Apr 29, 2022 ---

--- Double Post Merged, May 2, 2022 ---