Just How "Weak” Is Dabi? (Or: Lots Of Thoughts On Marginalization In My Hero Academia)

Like Livestock: Endeavor’s Use of Language

I just wanted to share a post by a reddit user (u/sleepyfriend) about something that many people overlook as part of Endeavor’s earlier characterization because things get lost in translation into English:

In Endeavor’s conversation with All Might during the Sports Festival arc, the English translations had Endeavor refer to Shouto as “it” or “that” or whatever. Ever wonder how this was phrased in Japanese? ‘I will make that(“are” as opposed to “aitsu” or “anoko” you would expect for a child) into a hero that surpasses you. He’s an “offspring” I created for that purpose.’ The offspring bit is the part I want to focus. While the word usually used for a child is “ko(子)”, the one Endeavor uses here is “ko(仔)”. “Ko(仔)” is a word specifically reserved for animal offspring. It’s a blatant misuse of the word, clearly intended to tell us that this man views Shouto as a successful breeding project rather than a child. All Might would not have picked up on this though, since “ko(子)” and “ko(仔)” sounds exactly the same. Only the Japanese manga readers had the privilege of noticing this.

Between this and the way he refers to Shouto’s siblings, I want to point out that, not counting the post-Kamino manga, the Todoroki children have spent 15-22(or more??) years being regarded as mere tools for Enji’s ambition. He dehumanized them before they were even born. He refers to his ‘prized’ child in the same way a person would refer to their favorite milking cow. Just an ‘interesting’ fact about him that I think should be shared.

he knows overhaul he knows

All Might sketchbook entry

rehhehehe :3 I can’t stop. Don’t mind the random eraser bits

and you thought he couldnt get edgier, well have i got news for you

his internship with hawks really did him in because now hes birdier than ever. hence, feathers

instead of running around in a black bed sheet, he’s got a foldable cloak that can be unfurled to become a shadow-poncho, then re-furled with the pull of a drawstring. this allows him to not be bogged down by all that fabric unless dark shadow is vulnerable

armor along his forearms, cause everyone needs a lil armor. would also be useful for close combat techniques like shadow ankh

not pictured: fanny pack full of bread crumbs

just the purest heros being friends :^3

I feel like a thing I wish was more generally acknowledged across fandoms is that "I don't find this character sympathetic" and "This character was not intended to be sympathetic" are obviously connected but are, ultimately, two completely different statements that may not overlap at all.

Ultimately what you think about any given character is a completely subjective issue that has no right or wrong answer. The narrative may be trying to evoke sympathy for them, and you may just feel that it flat-out was not successful in doing that. You may look the author straight in the eye and say "Nope, I see what you're trying to do, but f*ck this guy actually, he's The Worst and that's all there is to it". And no one can tell you that you're wrong for doing so.

But when it comes to picking up on what the story is trying to do, whether you ultimately think it did a good job or not, I would argue there's at least some measure of objective reality. And I feel like people sometimes end up conflating them, so you end up with these posts like "I can't believe people sympathize with this character when the story clearly just wants you to hate them!" and it's like... yeah, I think people sympathize with this character because the story is very clearly and intentionally painting them as sympathetic. I could point you at a dozen different scenes that are clearly meant to evoke sympathy for This Character. You don't have to have found any of it compelling, but at a certain point recognizing it's there is a simple matter of reading comprehension.

League of Villains: this is Noumu. He’s gifted with more than one incredibly powerful quirk and is genetically engineered to be one of the strongest creatures in the world, capable of defeating even All Might

Class 1-a: this is our dad Aizawa we love him he’s fast

All Might : Have you ever wondered what would happen if my quirk... hypothetically speaking... could be, I don't know... transmitted?

Present Mic : Well, technically that would be live experimentation on a human subject. I would arrest the monster who did that on the spot.

All Might : !!!

Eraserhead : I mean, if the subject is consenting, I guess that would be okay? Unless it's an easily manipulable kid, of course. That's child grooming, and, man... I could easily MURDER someone who did that, can you imagine?

All Might : [nervous sweating]

BNHA au where Inko is a social worker and adopts Tomura Shigaraki before Izuku is born so Tomura ends up being Izuku’s super protective and slightly unstable big brother