I don't cry when watching Anime
My channel stands as a testament to my investment in the medium
But while "Clannard: After Story" and "Grave of the Fireflies" alisted tears from me
confirming I'm not a robot at least
nothing else had managed to.
this is why, it was so shocking when as I was
watching the ninth episode of boku no hero academia second season the tears
started welling up. How, How is it that this uncomplicated shonen series
deeply entrenched in the conventions of that genre.
With this very straightforward direct narrative and fairly simple characters resulted in
such a strong reaction from me. Well, you might think that extremely layered
characters grappling with heavy themes would be the best way to affect someone deeply.
In some cases, that simplicity and directness can actually be more poignant
In the case of Hero Aca, I think it's the combination of two simple elements that make it so emotionally resonant.
there's an unquenchable spirit of
optimism running throughout this series and that's especially interesting when
viewing it in comparison to its Western counterparts in the superhero genre.
The X-Men, the Justice League, the Avengers. In all of these superhero universes the
heroes are, sometimes literally, an alien presence. A set of individuals that exist
far removed from the normal person and who are often viewed very contentiously
because of that. One of the most central conflicts running throughout the story
of the Avengers film franchise, has been their fight for public perception.
Desperately combating the constant threat of being fearfully viewed as more of a danger than a protector.
Hell, the latest Avengers film was about an ideological battle
over how much the Avengers should be subject to the UN.
The amount of obedience they owed to society. Oh yeah and "The Incredibles" similarly
features this major conflict between heroes and the public's distrust of them.
You're welcome Jeff. Though this approach is not intrinsic to Western stories
about superheroes, if anything being more of a response to their original righteous portrayals.
This greater level of cynicism and moral ambiguity in superhero stories
seems to border on obligatory in a post Watchmen world at times.
Enter Hero Aca and it's presentation of a society where
superheroes are not just normal and viewed without the concerned uncertainty
of most of their Western counterparts. but one in which they are already neatly
integrated into the structure of their society. Over time we'll see individual
heroes who are not as unambiguously good.
And aspects of the system itself, like the vain appeals to popularity and status, will get criticized.
But that's not important
What's important is that the core concept of the hero
and the institution formed around that idea, continues to be confidently held up, as noble.
The villains of the series are not evil because they have issues with this social order.
They are in the wrong because instead of seeking to resolve them,
by reforming those shortcomings the series itself acknowledges do exist.
They decide to address those issues by dismantling the system entirely.
This basic belief in an ultimately worthwhile overarching institution is not exclusive
to Hero Aca either. Other pieces of contemporary Japanese superhero fiction
like one punch man, and its "Hero Association" expressed a similar set of values.
In his video on the series "mother's basement argued that it was
individualism driving the actions of the bulk of the Hero Aca's characters.
But while that is generally the case, most of those individualistic strivings are still made
within the existing hierarchical superstructure.
As we've gone over, its the villains who are the ones that act individualistically outside of that system.
Even within the system itself, some types of individual expression will be cast in a negative light.
As "pause and select" argues in his excellent video on the series
"All Might" or perhaps more accurately, the very title he represents
"the symbol of peace" is an institution unto itself and in seeking to unseat "All Might"
as the uncontestable number 1 Hero, by presenting a threat to that institution
Endeavour is in the wrong. This downplaying of total unrestrained
individualism in favor of coming together to maintain the social order
certainly makes sense in the context of these being Japanese stories. And allow for
that greater faith in and optimism towards heroism, that Hero Aca possesses.
Reading through interviews with the manga's creator Kohei Horikoshi you can
see his optimistic spirit on display. Recounting how after the swift
cancellation of his previous series have gotten depressed.
He ended up creating Hero Aca by pouring all of the happy things and events from his previous works into this one.
Beyond viewing the institution of heroism as a positive force
on a more individual level heroes are also seeing
through this optimistic lens. In the West's powers are often portrayed as
some kind of burden and/or are only gained as a result of some tragic circumstance.
Soon after gaining his powers spider-man has given a deeply
painful example of the responsibilities he has, now that he possesses those powers
Hulk's powers gained from mutations that occurred as a result of
exposure to radiation during a nuclear experiment gone wrong are a source of immense
amounts of distress and tribulation. Here powers are not some unnatural freak accident
but instead the norm. Something to look forward to.
far from being seen as a heavy burden, the possession of great strength is held up as an opportunity.
Both to help others and to gain personal success. Even one of
the more depressing aspects of this situation is given a positive spin.
Deku's circumstances are certainly tragic ones, and yet he is still given a chance to overcome that.
The quark one for all is the ultimate symbol of something you get
not from natural might, but through worthiness, through work ethic virtue and intrinsic heroism
it is the series's defiant response to the pessimistic
conclusion of Deku's mother that he will not be able to become a hero.
It shows that in the world of Hero Aca, you don't necessarily have to be powerful to do good.
the desire to do good, can itself lead to you becoming powerful.
That isn't to say that this society is totally without its issues. People like Hitoshi
demonstrate how by the very nature of this society quirks and quirk disparity
can encourage one to turn to villainy and unfairly screw them over in attempts to do good.
This also thoroughly proves my assertion that Hero Aca's outlook is
ultimately an optimistic one however. When Hitoshi's situation makes it clear
that the entrance exam is unfair, the characters recognize those shortcomings
and feel that reforms should be made to address them. And even in spite of the
obstacles in his way, Hitoshi's sincere and unwavering desire to be a hero
still gets recognized and manages to deeply impress everyone.
That is optimism. It isn't a state of existence where
everything is perfect and fair right now, it's a belief that with time, you can make things better.
The overarching optimistic outlook makes the world of
Hero Aca work so well and with the effects this optimism has on the characters
we get the second key to the show's ability to resonate effectively.
Sincerity. Because they exist within this optimistic society, the characters in
Hero Aca are empowered to believe in themselves and fully buy into their own kayfabe.
And kayfabe is a good word for it. It's a wrestling term that describes the
fiction being portrayed as reality. Randy Savage
may not actually be an insane evil maniac who's got a compulsion to
convince everyone that he is the creme of the World Wrestling Federation crop.
But by god he's going to put on a performance that will convince you, he is.
["But the creme, rises to the top, oh yeah"] wrestlers play a character that as the
audience we know on some level to be a character, but whose stories we buy into anyway.
Similarly, in the context of Hero Aca's world, these people are characters.
Part of being a hero is getting a costume designed to craft your aesthetic
and sell a persona, but for most of the cast those personas are also just their personalities.
Goofy absurd and cartoonish are all words I'd use to describe various members of the cast,
and yet all of them feel totally natural and believable as such
Aoyama truly believes he's some glorious gift to the world,
Mineta really does have these wild lustful tendencies
and Bakugo is absolutely the aggressive cocky and ill-tempered guy he's shown to be.
And the Animes presentation really goes all in on that showing. Especially in the second season,
who's improved production quality I've covered in a previous video.
Every character is unique and highly
expressive personality is given a chance to fully express itself
Ida's constant wild hand movements are their endearing us to his
self seriousness that it constantly undercuts with his own somewhat immature
excitability and over-eagerness. Present Mic's sense of showmanship is
sold to us through all of his dramatic gesturing. And of course Bakugou's
totally over-the-top attitude is conveyed fantastically by the dark ultra
thick lines he'll be rendered in and the menacing shadowy figures he'll appear as.
If you've been involved in the anime community for the past few weeks here,
you'll likely have noticed just how much genuine love and endearment these
characters have elicited and this is no accident. They are so incredibly
sincerely invested in what's going on, that for many viewers is impossible not
to start carrying alongside them. To feel a deep sense of almost parental pride
and our sweet good boys and girls when they succeed, and a real tangible
sympathy for them when they fall short.
This takes us at last to episode 9
and to those tears. From the start Uraraka is in an incredibly daunting situation.
Her own abilities are not especially well-suited for one-on-one combat
and she's up against perhaps the most ruthless opponent there is.
In spite of these odds stacked against her, she has to win, has to advance and continue to
show off her abilities to the present hero Scouts, in order to secure herself a
position after graduation and be able to support her parents like she's always
desperately wanted to. Even more pressingly than that however,
Uraraka absolutely has to try. In this world, driven by the belief that the power to
improve things always exists, with these characters who are similarly empowered
to have faith in their abilities to change things for the better,
Uraraka looks around her at people like Deku, and feels like she has fallen short
failed her responsibility, to fully take advantage of her opportunity to prove herself
in this optimistic world where everyone is given that chance, if they'll take it.
This gives her fight with Bakugo, a fascinating dynamic where every
fully committed effort, each and every inch of broken pavement she claws her body over
while her muscles cease up, and now, at their absolute limit begin to fail her
simultaneously represents a crushing failure and an incredibly powerful self validation.
She wants to win so badly, and is failing to do so in spite of trying so hard.
Being at a point where something is simply beyond your abilities to achieve,
absolutely, and no matter how hard you try,
is a tragic set of circumstances.
In this way the fact she's trying so hard is utterly crushing.
But at the same time it's an intensely visceral and poignant fuck yeah moment as well.
She is trying. She's trying more than anyone else ever has.
She failed but she has succeeded. Because it's only in failure that you can truly try as hard as possible.
I mean technically you could achieve victory through giving 100% of your effort
but just as a matter of statistical probability, that's extremely unlikely.
Maybe you'll need to give 99.9 % to be able to pass your opponent and cross that finish line first.
But if something would require the full 100 %, then it's only 0.1% away from requiring 100.1% of your ability
and thus being impossible. Her failure is utterly gut-wrenching and
yet it's also the thing that allowed for her euphoria inducing success and all of
these emotions are playing hacky sack with my heart at once and now you've
managed to get the tears flowing. Congratulations Hero Aca.
While Uraraka is the most standout example of this effect, it works in the favor of most of these
characters to one degree or another.
In the arm wrestling match immediately following this,
the sincerity and depth of feeling with which Kirishima says:
Is hilarious, adorable and something I buy into is a legitimately emotional moment all at once.
In a world where you can succeed, these characters who believe
in that fact are very easy to create emotionally gripping stakes for.
Kirishima and Metal-Kirishima are nearly identical, and so both have an intense desire to prove himself
by surpassing the other. Todoroki deeply resents his father's view of him
as a tool for propagating his legacy, and so makes the resolution that he WILL be number one
without using the powers his father gave him.
Edward and Alphonse's quest to regain their bodies,
wondering how to do so and if that possibility even truly exists, is an enthralling one
in its own right. But the simplicity I mentioned Hero Aca possessing can also work.
Giving every character a goal and a chance to achieve it and thus a reason
for us to immediately care. This world operates by the logic that everyone has
a chance to succeed as a core principle. So success and failure in all those goals carry a lot of weight.
I think this is a real magic to Hero Aca and its characters
that they managed to consistently hit the sweet spot of being endearing, entertaining and
investment inducing and that more than anything else,
it is this aspect of the series that will help it to continue its worldwide success.
Don't disregard this one just because it's yet another big shounen jump series.
It may be simple and silly but it's also something special
I've got an announcement to make here at the end. I will be taking on regular
editing work to cover my costs of living. I'm very grateful to be able to have my
part-time job of sorts here be in the same field I already work in, but the
increased workload may mean that my own video output, which has held steady with
over three months of if nothing else my consistent weekly Friday upload, might
have to finally slow. My supporters on patreon are instrumental to me being
able to continue doing this even in the part-time capacity that I'll not work on
it in so a massive thank you to them. If you'd like to help me towards being able
to live off of working on my own content full-time, you can head on over there to
join the likes of Sam loss a raptor isumi 69, Remy Goldschmidt, Georgie
Matthews, Culver James, Kamae, Chris Wagner teen show 37, pathways 97, capsize, only
cherry boy writer, car keys, Balkion Mickey stopwatch, Andrew ammos, Kieran
rice, Raymond Kiki, indigo, Lord liquid begin the second, otaku man boy, Shoko
Asahara, Trey Alan, JK and donut, thanks guys