Cynical And Bitter But I've Been Wondering If The League Getting Such A Downer Ending Was Indeed The

Cynical and bitter but I've been wondering if the League getting such a downer ending was indeed the plan all along.

Originally, Horikoshi never wanted to do Villain profiles. He wanted the Villains to be scary. Maybe he always intended death to be the answer to them, even as he expanded on their backstories.

In an old interview from 2018, when asked if Shigaraki is a villain who should be saved, Horikoshi does answer 'yes', but then follow it up with: "I think that we have gotten to the point where Shigaraki can no longer turn back though."

Movie 2 ending - which Horikoshi said was the ending he originally planned - has Deku and Bakugou punching Nine (pseudo-Shigaraki) to death-as-they-know-it.

Once again, technically, Shigaraki's heart was saved. Deku smashed his hatred. Deku took Tenko's hands. Unfortunately Shigaraki didn't immediately convert to Heroism and still wanted to fight for the League - point where he didn't turn back - so Deku gave up trying to save him physically.

A few weeks before, I thought that Horikoshi just got tied and wrapped things up in the quickest and sadly weirdest way possible. I still am willing to allow that, but ever since Horikoshi started Act 3 three years ago, he never actually wrote Heroes giving the Villains' grievances any serious consideration until it comes out during the confrontation and the Heroes giving a few words towards it at best, and at worse, not even knowing the problem (quirk counseling, Tenko's Walk). He let Uraraka and Deku still adhere to insisting on practically dehumanizing their opponents/Villains the day before the final battle (probably so that when Uraraka and Deku realize they still can't ignore the pain they see in their Villains and finally reach out a bit, that's the height of compassion and heroism.)

Cynical And Bitter But I've Been Wondering If The League Getting Such A Downer Ending Was Indeed The

But really, sorry not sorry to sound like a broken record, Act 3 had Deku acting like a dipshit the entire time. He says he wants to save The Crying Child he saw inside Shigaraki's heart, and not necessarily Shigaraki the person, and never actually takes killing off the table. He only vaguely keeps up this idea. He never reveals this desire to anyone, never involves his friends or adults in this plan. He doesn't even have a concrete plan, and all he never did was just to keep punching Shigaraki to kingdom come. He never actually protested when Gran Torino told him he should kill Shigaraki, he never opposes the creation of a battlefield called "Sky Coffin", he does not speak up when the Heroes says they prefer the AFO persona to be in possession of Shigaraki. During their whole fight, Deku barely talks to the guy.

The best Deku ever does is to hold back on giving Shigaraki an annihilation blow until he could find out why The Crying Child was crying, which he does by literally smashing into Shigaraki's core to pry his trauma open. And even then, when Tenko is spilling out his guilt and grief that he killed his family, as well as his fears that his existence is cursed, all Deku has to say is "Well, holding hands feels nice, so I'm here." I get that's supposed to be like, Deku accepting Tenko despite Tenko having a deadly quirk and blood on his hands, but come on. As an act of Greatest Heroism that it's supposed to be, that's so... low bar, to put it mildly.

(Then when Shigaraki gets repossessed, Deku gives up any thinking on saving Shigaraki, and then readies up the annihilation punch. Volume release even expands on just how much power and preparation Deku is using to smash Shigaraki's body to pieces. There's no intent to figure out if Shigaraki is still there to bring back or minimize harm to Shigaraki's body so there's something left after AFO is gone. It's not an accident. Deku fully goes in for the kill.)

It all feels like truly saving Shigaraki - from possession, from AFO, from his distorted worldview, from a Hero System that hurt his friends, from his belief that the world isn't worth preserving - just wasn't a real goal for Deku. Never was, in Act 3. He wanted to understand The Crying Child and give some relief there, but that's it. Like exorcising an evil spirit and then forcing them to move on, never actually wanting the spirit to remain and continue existing - because there's no place for them in this world. (Which is why Deku also never has a vision for what comes after, for Shigaraki. Shouto wanted a meal with Dabi, Uraraka promised her blood to Toga, but Deku? Nothing.)

Overall, the ending actually does fit Deku's writing in the last act. He wants to save the ghost of The Crying Child but nothing else. He expands minimal effort in actually connecting with Shigaraki the adult man. He has no interest in addressing Shigaraki's grievances (nor in also saving the rest of League that Shigaraki is doing all this for) (and also it turns out Shigaraki's grievances aren't real because AFO made most of them up). His strategy is just to beat up Shigaraki until Shigaraki throws up his trauma.

Adding to that, Deku's last words to a dying Shigaraki is that he can't forgive him, so basically he's considering Shigaraki as having past the point of return - exactly as Horikoshi stated in his interview. There might be something to Deku regretfully telling All Might that he couldn't save Tenko's life, but when he follows it up with "Even after I smashed his hatred, he still wanted to stay the League's leader," that really can't be anything but Deku basically putting some of the blame on Shigaraki, for not ditching his friends (who, to Deku, apparently don't deserve to be saved alongside Shigaraki). Sticking with the League is being past the point of turning back... which is the same conclusion Hawks comes to with Twice, in Act 2 (...so it seems that's been there all along.)

The ending fits Deku's writing - and overall - in the last act (and even before that.) Deku's utter non-progress fits Shigaraki's conclusion. His half-hearted actions made sense and so of course led to his final battle of just giving Shigaraki a giant Smash (but with pity and some sympathy, because he's not an cold killer but a Hero who can even spare emotions towards a monster).

I really had toyed with the idea that maybe Horikoshi got tired and just ended it this sad way. Now I'm no longer so generous.

Tenko Shimura's ‘allergies’ and the implications thereof

I think most people always agreed that Tenko's allergies were - in some form or another - emotion-based.

Back in 235 we get the infamous "it only itches at home line" line.

Tenko Shimura's ‘allergies’ And The Implications Thereof

It's also emphasized again later in the chapter when we see that the itching gets progressively worse after Kotaro yells at Tenko (meaning that it gets worse when Tenko is sad and/or in distress).

Back in the day, I saw a lot of people theorizing that the itch was a sign of Decay and that it was the early stages of the quirk manifesting within Tenko. But given what we know now, about AFO giving Tenko the quirk and especially when he gave Tenko the quirk, I don't think that this is the case.

We can pretty much pinpoint exactly when AFO gave Tenko the Decay quirk.

These two panels are from 235 and 419 - and I firmly believe that these panels take place only minutes apart from each other. This is also clearly the moment that AFO gave Decay over to Tenko, as shown by the small glow of his hand.

Before this point Tenko Shimura was quirkless.

Tenko got his original quirk stolen from him when he was just a baby - meaning that during the time between being an infant and being 5-years-old, Tenko was officially quirkless.

This makes a huge difference if we then look back at his allergies and why they appear.

This panel is from just before AFO takes Tenko's hand and gives him the Decay quirk. Look at his face. This boy already has irritated skin around his eyes (it looks like he's just been scratching at it too).

With the knowledge that Tenko at this point in time still is quirkless, I think it's fair to say that the allergies are not an early symptom of Decay.

It only itches at home.

Because the itching is purely psychosomatic. Because it's a stress-response/anxiety-response to the environment this young boy is forced to come home to every single day.

This boy is 5. He's 5. It's not normal for a 5-year-old to think thoughts anywhere near "does my father hate me?"

Kotaro has already put a fear in this little boy, which doesn't stop or go away as soon as his punishment does. The trauma in this boy is already so big that he thinks about these things in the moments when his dad isn't even actively scolding or punishing him.

It doesn't take a destructive quirk to cause a physical response like itching. All it takes is being constantly afraid of when you're going to be yelled at next, when you're going to be punished next, all by the hands of the parental figure you aren't sure even loves you at all.

It only itches at home.

Especially when the four walls of your house are a prison.

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ghostcore3

6 months ago

shigaraki would butt himself in between any league member that sits next you. with QUICKNESS!

a few members notice this and sit next to you before he does to mess with him

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ghostcore3

7 months ago

stressed so i decided to draw fluff

Shigaraki’s Nihilism

Shigaraki Tomura’s mindset is a difficult one to understand. So much so, even in story both heroes and fellow villains alike reject his mindset as incomprehensible and unsympathetic. He comes off to them nothing more than a brat who wants attention and is throwing a tantrum, or just a villain who is as pure as a villain as one can get, one who only exists to destroy lacking a redeemable motive like stain.

However, the real reason Shigaraki is incomprehensible to characters in story, and even some members of the audience is because of his position as an outsider. All of the other characters in the story, inherently believe that society, their actions, their values all have meaning. Shigaraki is someone who positioned as the outsider to society, sees it all as meaningless and becomes in opposition to everything. Which is why Shigaraki finds sympathizers in his fellow outsiders, who cannot find the same meaning and place in society that everybody else does.

“Destroy Everything” may sound like a vague cliche of a villain goal, but it can be viewed as an extension of nihilism. Shigaraki rejects, recklessly so, all moral principles that Hero Society has told him should have meaning. He is the ultimate challenge to Hero Society’s hypocrisy. I will explain more under the cut.

Keep reading

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ghostcore3

8 months ago

Fanon vs. Canon Shigaraki

Belatedly:

This post gained a lot more traction than expected, so quick edit: the “canon” discussed below is only my personal interpretation of canon, and this post is definitely not intended to be a guide for characterizing Shigaraki in every fanfic! Please don’t use this meta to criticize anyone else’s writing, as that was not my intention. Everyone should feel free to create what they enjoy!

Look y’all, I ain’t one to judge, but I love canon-based fics and sometimes the massive gap between Shigaraki in fanon and Shigaraki in BNHA’s canon just has me going whaaa???

I mean, like…

Fanon Shigaraki: Abhors all human contact. Lurks in his bedroom 24/7. Never speaks to others except to bitch them out. A vampire who will combust upon setting foot outside his lair.

Canon Shigaraki: Seen alone in his bedroom a grand total of one (1) time in the series; the only other time his room is shown, the rest of the entire League is squeezed in there too. Never out of contact with his followers except Dabi who is the real antisocial bitch here. Longest he’s ever been drawn spending time by himself without another major character to keep him company? Two pages. Gets mad… GOES TO THE MALL.

Keep reading

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ghostcore3

1 month ago

tomura shigaraki finishes his food like a damn gremlin and then the moment you come to eat yours, he suddenly remembers he’s starving and shoves himself in, eating like he didn’t just devour an entire meal ten minutes ago. he doesn’t even want your food, he just wants to make it inconvenient for you, bite into it while staring dead in your face like

“what the fuck are you gonna do about it?”

it’s not hunger, it’s dominance. kurogiri’s in the back sighing like a tired single mother, scolding him for being a dick again, but tomura doesn’t give a shit. he chews slow just to piss you off.