AnimeSuki Forums

Kanon · 2023-02-26, 18:10

The latest episode was everything I had hoped for. Been a while since the anime did such a good job. In fact, this whole "dark hero" arc has been great (it's pretty much the best arc of the manga too).

ChainLegacy · 2023-02-27, 19:36

This episode was a nice shot of idealism, which was the original pull of the series for me (prior to the Endeavor arc muscling its way in). I love Izuku’s evolution — from a boy who idolized heroes in a childish way, to a young man who perceives the nuance and confusion of a cynical world that lacks any true moral center, but rejects the call to cynicism all the same.

His ideals, while perhaps formed from an illogical or ignorant starting point/foundation, persevere for the better of those around him. In fact, he’s a case study for why someone like Nagant or Hawks is needed – you could call it propaganda or even brainwashing, but society probably is better off putting its best face forward, lest it collapse in on itself by being naively honest and shattering any illusions of betterment in the populace.

I can’t speak for anyone else, but this is the stuff that has kept me watching shounen battle anime for over 20 years now. My day to day life, as I’m sure is true for most of you, is filled with cynical “it is what it is” compromises in the face of a very flawed world that we feel powerless, within our limited lifespans and with our limited resources, to change. It’s one of the reasons I’m a little skeptical of the “subverting tropes/expectations” approach that’s so often lauded in modern fiction. We’ve been drawing strength from heroic stories since prehistory. The broader structure of a hero’s story doesn’t need subversion, at least for me.

GDB · 2023-03-11, 20:49

In general I felt like this arc was one of the lowest points in the manga, but the anime made it much better. Not sure if they just paced it better, or if being able to apply voices just made it hit better. This episode also got some really top notch animation, similar to what I recall Tokoroki vs Deku and Deku vs Overhaul getting.

Kanon · 2023-03-12, 07:34

For my part I thought it was one of the best arc of the manga, the last good one in fact (then again, there's only one left after that

). The anime really did it justice.

FlareKnight · 2023-03-13, 10:41

That was pretty satisfying. Really just layered heartfelt plea on top of the next. Mixing in the action of trying to stop him with the words going along with it. Making good use of the music as well to just pull the whole thing together. Even including some satisfying moments like Iida catching up and Bakugou saying things straight out. Certainly a solid time to settle that part of the past.

It did feel like they left Ochaco out of it (outside of being part of the booster maneuver) for a reason. And guess they are saving her big moment for helping stop the angry crowd. Would certainly be easy to let the angry mob kick a kid out to protect themselves. But will be nice to at least settle that down.

I'd say this current arc is probably one of the best the show has had in a while. After a series of mediocre seasons the show seems to be getting its feet under it again.

ChainLegacy · 2023-03-18, 17:34

Ochako really is in the running as one of my favorite characters. Who protects the strong, who shoulder so much burden? This simple concept is the cornerstone of her character, which the show is pretty on the nose about for us viewers. You could say that heroes are typically the ones who receive the most adulation, so what’s so special about her empathy, then? But I think we see in this episode the deeper layers here – she isn’t a fair weather fan, she’s specifically out to serve as the emotional backstop when failures occur, when times are tough, and when the strong inevitably succumb to their own humanity.

We love the idea of the stoic protector hero – but do these people really exist in the real world? If they do, I would speculate they’re under a lot of pain internally. The pain and suffering, however, would still exist, regardless of how well they may appear to handle it, because they’re still human. In the real world, you need an Ochako to keep you sane and on the right path. The unsung hero of empathy.

PS. Not to be pedantic, but I’m not so sure about the cost of UA’s defense system as a real estate developer by trade. I don’t speak Japanese, but Crunchyroll’s subtitle had Denki guessing the cost at a few hundred million. If that’s a few hundred million yen, it’s comically off base, but even if he meant a few hundred million USD, I don’t think that’s going to cover it. A system like that looks to be in the tens of billions of dollars in cost, depending on the square footage of excavated space that is fitted with their system. A regular old high rise can cost well north of $100 million to build if it is tall/large enough. Quirks probably can cut down on labor costs quite a bit, depending on how unionized or not the industry would be in a world like this (would regular joes still have bargaining power, or would construction companies be able to ignore them and field a small team with very specific quirks that suit the job?), but the bulk of your cost is going to be in materials. That’s one hell of an engineering project.

Kanon · 2023-03-18, 19:27

Quote:

Originally Posted by ChainLegacy

PS. Not to be pedantic, but I’m not so sure about the cost of UA’s defense system as a real estate developer by trade. I don’t speak Japanese, but Crunchyroll’s subtitle had Denki guessing the cost at a few hundred million. If that’s a few hundred million yen, it’s comically off base, but even if he meant a few hundred million USD, I don’t think that’s going to cover it. A system like that looks to be in the tens of billions of dollars in cost, depending on the square footage of excavated space that is fitted with their system. A regular old high rise can cost well north of $100 million to build if it is tall/large enough. Quirks probably can cut down on labor costs quite a bit, depending on how unionized or not the industry would be in a world like this (would regular joes still have bargaining power, or would construction companies be able to ignore them and field a small team with very specific quirks that suit the job?), but the bulk of your cost is going to be in materials. That’s one hell of an engineering project.

Denki was just throwing a random number and he said it had to be "way more" (and yes, he said a hundred million yen). The principal is filthy rich, to me the unrealistic part is how quickly they managed to build that, and without anyone noticing.

FlareKnight · 2023-03-19, 13:04

Huge props to Ochaco. Really has cemented herself as one of my favourites in the show for so many reasons. She's had a lot of great moments from her 1v1 against Bakugou to this one right here. It's a nice stance on her part that suits her character. Everyone looked at the heroes. Whether they idealized them, relied on them, or wanted to be them. But she had a different perspective. She enjoyed the smiles of the people and also understood that the people could save the heroes in turn.

It just also lined up with this current situation. Where the people could have destroyed themselves along with the heroes. So she stepped up, threw herself out there, and accomplished so much. Best girl is almost an understatement honestly.

The construction stuff is definitely a huge stretch. Even with "super powers" being an explanation that's tough to pull off. A major time skip would have done wonders. But is what it is. I'll take stretches that are mostly in the background so long as they don't dwell too long on them. The cost obviously isn't accurate. Denki's not an engineer. He has zero clue how much that would cost. Considering the Principal's genius I can actually believe that he has the ability to amass that kind of money. So at least that much is fine.

Anyways, really good episode. Ochaco saved the day big time.

Eater of All · 2023-03-19, 16:02

I think the description of "audience" for the citizens is very on point, unsurprisingly to real life as well. In peacetime people expect to be protected, to be coddled, to be serviced. Rescuing others is the policemen/firemen's job. Making sure the homeless/starving get food is the government's job. Not my problem. The reality is that everyone needs help, even the people helping others, or the people fighting for you. People in warzones probably know that the best - because the community literally cannot survive unless everyone gets off their audience seats and chip in what effort they can.

2023-02-26, 18:10	Link #81
Kanon Kana Hanazawa ♥ Join Date: Jun 2007 Location: France Age: 37	The latest episode was everything I had hoped for. Been a while since the anime did such a good job. In fact, this whole "dark hero" arc has been great (it's pretty much the best arc of the manga too). __________________

2023-03-12, 07:34	Link #84
Kanon Kana Hanazawa ♥ Join Date: Jun 2007 Location: France Age: 37	For my part I thought it was one of the best arc of the manga, the last good one in fact (then again, there's only one left after that ). The anime really did it justice. __________________

2023-03-13, 10:41	Link #85
FlareKnight User of the "Fast Draw" Join Date: Aug 2004 Location: Canada	That was pretty satisfying. Really just layered heartfelt plea on top of the next. Mixing in the action of trying to stop him with the words going along with it. Making good use of the music as well to just pull the whole thing together. Even including some satisfying moments like Iida catching up and Bakugou saying things straight out. Certainly a solid time to settle that part of the past. It did feel like they left Ochaco out of it (outside of being part of the booster maneuver) for a reason. And guess they are saving her big moment for helping stop the angry crowd. Would certainly be easy to let the angry mob kick a kid out to protect themselves. But will be nice to at least settle that down. I'd say this current arc is probably one of the best the show has had in a while. After a series of mediocre seasons the show seems to be getting its feet under it again. __________________ Anime-Evo

2023-03-19, 13:04	Link #88
FlareKnight User of the "Fast Draw" Join Date: Aug 2004 Location: Canada	Huge props to Ochaco. Really has cemented herself as one of my favourites in the show for so many reasons. She's had a lot of great moments from her 1v1 against Bakugou to this one right here. It's a nice stance on her part that suits her character. Everyone looked at the heroes. Whether they idealized them, relied on them, or wanted to be them. But she had a different perspective. She enjoyed the smiles of the people and also understood that the people could save the heroes in turn. It just also lined up with this current situation. Where the people could have destroyed themselves along with the heroes. So she stepped up, threw herself out there, and accomplished so much. Best girl is almost an understatement honestly. The construction stuff is definitely a huge stretch. Even with "super powers" being an explanation that's tough to pull off. A major time skip would have done wonders. But is what it is. I'll take stretches that are mostly in the background so long as they don't dwell too long on them. The cost obviously isn't accurate. Denki's not an engineer. He has zero clue how much that would cost. Considering the Principal's genius I can actually believe that he has the ability to amass that kind of money. So at least that much is fine. Anyways, really good episode. Ochaco saved the day big time. __________________ Anime-Evo

2023-03-19, 16:02	Link #89
Eater of All NOM Join Date: Jun 2008 Location: Outside the Asylum	I think the description of "audience" for the citizens is very on point, unsurprisingly to real life as well. In peacetime people expect to be protected, to be coddled, to be serviced. Rescuing others is the policemen/firemen's job. Making sure the homeless/starving get food is the government's job. Not my problem. The reality is that everyone needs help, even the people helping others, or the people fighting for you. People in warzones probably know that the best - because the community literally cannot survive unless everyone gets off their audience seats and chip in what effort they can. __________________

2023-02-27, 19:36	Link #82
ChainLegacy 廉頗 Join Date: Feb 2004 Location: Massachusetts Age: 34	This episode was a nice shot of idealism, which was the original pull of the series for me (prior to the Endeavor arc muscling its way in). I love Izuku’s evolution — from a boy who idolized heroes in a childish way, to a young man who perceives the nuance and confusion of a cynical world that lacks any true moral center, but rejects the call to cynicism all the same. His ideals, while perhaps formed from an illogical or ignorant starting point/foundation, persevere for the better of those around him. In fact, he’s a case study for why someone like Nagant or Hawks is needed – you could call it propaganda or even brainwashing, but society probably is better off putting its best face forward, lest it collapse in on itself by being naively honest and shattering any illusions of betterment in the populace. I can’t speak for anyone else, but this is the stuff that has kept me watching shounen battle anime for over 20 years now. My day to day life, as I’m sure is true for most of you, is filled with cynical “it is what it is” compromises in the face of a very flawed world that we feel powerless, within our limited lifespans and with our limited resources, to change. It’s one of the reasons I’m a little skeptical of the “subverting tropes/expectations” approach that’s so often lauded in modern fiction. We’ve been drawing strength from heroic stories since prehistory. The broader structure of a hero’s story doesn’t need subversion, at least for me.

2023-03-11, 20:49	Link #83
GDB Senior Member Join Date: Sep 2008 Age: 38	In general I felt like this arc was one of the lowest points in the manga, but the anime made it much better. Not sure if they just paced it better, or if being able to apply voices just made it hit better. This episode also got some really top notch animation, similar to what I recall Tokoroki vs Deku and Deku vs Overhaul getting.

2023-03-18, 17:34	Link #86
ChainLegacy 廉頗 Join Date: Feb 2004 Location: Massachusetts Age: 34	Ochako really is in the running as one of my favorite characters. Who protects the strong, who shoulder so much burden? This simple concept is the cornerstone of her character, which the show is pretty on the nose about for us viewers. You could say that heroes are typically the ones who receive the most adulation, so what’s so special about her empathy, then? But I think we see in this episode the deeper layers here – she isn’t a fair weather fan, she’s specifically out to serve as the emotional backstop when failures occur, when times are tough, and when the strong inevitably succumb to their own humanity. We love the idea of the stoic protector hero – but do these people really exist in the real world? If they do, I would speculate they’re under a lot of pain internally. The pain and suffering, however, would still exist, regardless of how well they may appear to handle it, because they’re still human. In the real world, you need an Ochako to keep you sane and on the right path. The unsung hero of empathy. PS. Not to be pedantic, but I’m not so sure about the cost of UA’s defense system as a real estate developer by trade. I don’t speak Japanese, but Crunchyroll’s subtitle had Denki guessing the cost at a few hundred million. If that’s a few hundred million yen, it’s comically off base, but even if he meant a few hundred million USD, I don’t think that’s going to cover it. A system like that looks to be in the tens of billions of dollars in cost, depending on the square footage of excavated space that is fitted with their system. A regular old high rise can cost well north of $100 million to build if it is tall/large enough. Quirks probably can cut down on labor costs quite a bit, depending on how unionized or not the industry would be in a world like this (would regular joes still have bargaining power, or would construction companies be able to ignore them and field a small team with very specific quirks that suit the job?), but the bulk of your cost is going to be in materials. That’s one hell of an engineering project.