Or just a bit of meta from the perspective of the original Japanese.
So, it’s already been established that Bakugo is a source of inspiration to Deku, with the latter explicitly acknowledging that his language becomes a lot more dirty and crass when he is fighting to win–like Bakugo’s.
One of jp fans pointed out that when bakugo said he gonna save, Hori used the word 助ける(tasukeru), while deku uses the word 救ける(tasukeru). Both words pronounce the same and both can mean “to save”, but the kanji part is different, the nuances are a little bit different
助ける(the word bakugo had used) more tend to the meaning"to support you, give you the strength/more strength, to lift-up you" while 救ける(the word deku uses)more tend to the meaning “to give relief/help to people who are suffering” i think both words fit bkg and dk very well
So for bakugo, to save is more tend to support you, giving you thr strength(imagine the image you got saved by your true friend), for deku, to save is to give relief to the people who are suffering(imagine the image being saved/salvation by Jesus or an Angel )
Happy birthday to this Queen who has become everything and more than her mother dreamed her to be… May this actual angel of the Todoroki family get that peaceful family dinner she worked so hard for some day!
Re: Endeavor's development- I think there's another sort of 'milestone' for him that's usually missed, and it's the confrontation with Deku at the sports festival. Deku tells him 'shoto isn't you', then 10 minutes later deku's got him using his fire. End tries to not learn from this, but shoto says the fix was that he 'forgot all about you'. Shoto agrees to intern, endeavor tries to pretend everything's fine, shoto blows him off to go after his friend. And catches the hero killer. (1/2)
So there were cracks in his worldview even then, I think, and Kamino kinda took a sledgehammer to the rest of it. But way later Endeavor ids deku as ‘the kid who said 'shoto isn’t you’’, so it clearly made an impact on him. (and it’s an instance where deku surpasses all might, since they both had confrontations with endeavor at the festival, but all might just got a very worrying 'i created my kid to beat you’ line and let it go, while deku made a change that might end up saving everyone)
It is an important moment. And I definitely agree that it shows very early on just how Deku will surpass All Might - with his personal investment even in his opponents’ well-being (and which I think basically sets up that he will try to save Tomura - another thing All Might failed to do).
I didn’t count the Endeavor-Deku confrontation, because I think at the time of the Sport Festival Endeavor didn’t really “change” from it. But indeed it is shown that it’s something that sticks with him and comes back later when his thinking changed enough that he could make sense of what Deku was saying (at the time he dismissed it, just like Touya is dismissing it now).
But also it is even more important as a moment that defines the baseline of Deku’s own dynamic with Endeavor. Endeavor at the Sport Festival treats Deku as just another tool - a good measurement of Shouto’s skills because of his All Might-like power. But Deku rejects this way of thinking and stands up to Endeavor. Deku and Shouto are not here to play out again the All Might - Endeavor rivalry. They are their own people, with their own goals.
In the Endeavor arc then they both remember their only interaction - Deku as a way to get a first feeling how Endeavor seems to be different now.
And from Endeavor’s part I think to show that he remembers Deku (so it was an interaction that stuck with him some way and he has given it some thought), but also that he’s not necessarily keen about having Deku on board in an internship where he really wants to focus on Shouto.
I think in a way it is there to appreciate the kind of relationship Deku and Endeavor build themselves through the internship - where Deku goes basically from being one of Endeavor’s firmest critics to someone who seems to genuinely appreciate not only his skills, but also Endeavor’s change and efforts and can find the words at the times when Endeavor hits rock bottom mentally.
From the key moment when he talks to Shouto about getting ready to be able to forgive at the end of the disastrous Todoroki dinner which Endeavor overhears.
To being the one to get Endeavor snap out of his shock.
In a way, I guess all this build-up serves the purpose for Endeavor to understand what Shouto sees in Deku (beyond his skill and power) and why he’s so loyal to him. But also for Endeavor to experience up-close the kind of mindset and mental strength that Deku has that will qualify him as the future greatest of hero society. That it is about more than just the quirk. And I guess he’ll also understand why Shouto is more interested in the mutual support and friendship aspect of his relationship with Midoriya than in the rivalry (which is there, but mostly as friendly, playful competition and not a blood sport).
It’s something Endeavor and All Might never forged - but I think during this internship, Endeavor certainly sees the strength that the Origin Trio has together and maybe recognizes it as a good thing for Shouto. Much more meaningful and important than who ranks where. And he’s also able to see Deku’s mindset and heart as an important glue in this formation.
I really liked your take on Dabi not having much of a sense of self and having his identity tied to Endeavor. I don't know if you've talked about it before, but why did Endeavor have a change of heart? I was once asked that and I was at a loss for words. Maybe because I dislike the guy, I missed some things. Would you say it was because he wanted to be number one so bad that he destroyed his family and when he got there, he realized it isn't what he expected? I actually wish we had seen some instrospection into that. Suddenly, Hawks was telling the readers how amazing he was and then Endeavor started acting less rough and I don't know, personally, it felt rushed and not Endeavor centric enough, but that seems to be the way Horikoshi does things as right now, we've focused more on how Endeavor's feeling and his own memories rather than Dabi's.
His change was gradual - it wasn’t a single lightbulb moment, but more like a series of them. We do get some internal monologue, but often many chapter later.
Obviously, the first big hit was the middle of the Kamino fight when All Might’s true form was revealed. This guy spent two decades of his life staring at an unscaleable peak, and suddenly when that peak disappeared, he was left there standing like a clown. Because he never won, and never will and yet, he still destroyed everything to get there.
Then once the battle is over and he realizes that suddenly he’s No. 1. not because he’s earned it but by default - he only feels frustrated. Because suddenly his life-goal disappeared like “poof” and now he can start to see the damage of his ambition caused.
He throws himself into work, solving cases more than ever, but he feels the pressure mounting, the shoes of All Might too big for him to fill. But the stubborn man he is, he keeps trying. Probably now that his big goal is gone, there is space in his heart for other things, and suddenly remembers having a family. So probably he googles like “how not to be a shithead dad” and shows up at Shouto’s remedial course to encourage his son after the failed licensing exam.
Except watching Shouto getting along with the kids, it probably hits him - all the lost time - his youngest son is almost a grown man and someone who found his own goals and way. He also has an important discussion with All Might where it seems like it’s the first time he asks himself the question, why did he want to be the strongest so badly? And he doesn’t really have a good answer to that, until his big lightbulb moment:
Which is explained later in Endeavor’s internal monologue:
She’s an extremely tactile person. She frequently touches Shouto and Natsuo and even holds Deku’s hand. Out of all the characters in bnha, she seems to do a lot of physical contact. Again this is an indication of her being raised in neglect as children who did not receive enough affection as a child, tend to be more affectionate/ love physical contact, in some cases :
( Also remember she’s a TODOROKI. SHE ALSO HAS THE OVERSHARING GENE IN HER. SHE CALLED THEM OVER FOR A FAMILY DINNER AND ALSO TALKED A LOT OF THE FAMILY TEA)
In fact Fuyumi also seems to be the most expressive Todoroki. She’s incredibly emotive. Her emotions are constantly broadcasted on her face and gestures, her hands are often raised, she sighs, smiles the most out of all her family members :
Another thing about Fuyumi is how she’s prone to panic, often shown to fret and sigh, mouth comically wide, sweat, and worry about her family.
Also she can tease! She teases that now that Natsuo has a girlfriend, he barely visits. Of course this could hint to her slightly clingy/possessive side as well.
Kids love her and she loves them. She’s an elementary school teacher and look at how her students greet her. He’s waving and she’s smiling back. Even Bakugo, who’s practically a kid himself, likes her. :
The Boku No Hero Academia TEAM UP MISSION manga Chapter 9 follows Bakugou, Todoroki, and Kirishima as they team up with Shiketsu’s Camie to act in a stage play at a theme park.
The chapter is really hilarious and lighthearted.
The title of the chapter is “That’s Totally Overdoing the Illusion!”
People are now calling Deku an abuse apologist. I can’t believe it. They aren’t safe and sound in a therapist’s room. They’re in the middle of a warzone and Dabi is highkey trying to murder one of his best friends while placing the blame on someone else. Eventhough Endeavor shares blame for how the shitshow turned out, Deku was completely in the right in telling this grown ass man that the accountability is his and his alone for his decisions to murder people. If I were Deku I wouldn’t have the patience either to uwu pat Dabi on the back and tell him it’s valid to go on a rampage to ruin his daddy.
People who call Deku that are lunatic, and I don’t even need to know what the translations say.
Deku, when he was still a little nobody finger-breaking kid, scared of Endeavor, stood up for Shouto, who wasn’t even his friend at that point. He alone did that, with nothing to gain for it - only because it was the right thing to do.
He acknowledged that he cannot understand Shouto’s situation, but still told him that the way he behaved was wrong. Was that abuse apology?? No, he helped to give Shouto a different perspective - a small push that ended up transformative for him. And it rippled through the entire family. Rei started to heal. Endeavor seeing how Shouto changed was inspired by that and tried to become better both as a hero and as a father.
Deku’s meddling in the Todoroki family is so important - he didn’t go and make a public broadcast, but he did a lot of good.
THIS! Deku’s involvement actually helped the Todoroki family, unlike Dabi’s who could possibly destroy any healing that’s happened. This Deku Antis seem to forget the moment above, where Deku stands up for Shoto. Also they seem to forget, Deku was invited to the Endeavor agency by Shoto himself
If Dabi ends up killing Endeavour, how do you think Fuyumi would react? Like I can imagine that could break the family. Just from my own life experienc. There are differences in how the Todokids experrrienced the abuse, what abuse they experienced and in what they wanted for the future. It‘ll be them who’d to weather the media and the public afterwards and the loss: of their privacy, of Endeavour and in so many ways Touya. And with Dabi’s death toll I don’t imagine many will be sympathic to it
I think the media circus is coming for all of them (especially Shouto) whether Endeavor lives or dies, sadly.
I expect some anger from Fuyumi; she worked so hard to keep things together, to get her mom back, to try to piece the family back together. She was left behind as oldest to take care of everything and as finally she was getting somewhere, it is all torn apart by Touya.
Yep I can definately see this as Fuyumi’s breaking point. While Touya left, she was the oldest, and everything fell onto her
