Catch the F*ck Up: MHA Chapter 431

[00:00:00] Hey y'all, welcome to an episode of Catch the Fck Up that we didn't know we'd be recording. I'm Fern.

[00:00:07] I'm Nicole.

[00:00:09] And today we're looking at the quote unquote chapter of My Hero Academia 431. And I say chapter in quotes because the debate about how official this chapter is, is ongoing. And we have our own opinions, of course.

[00:00:29] Of course we do. Because we had to when the threat to Bakudeku is so imminent.

[00:00:37] Oh, Lord. Yeah. The chaos online was absolutely amazing.

[00:00:44] I loved the memes, especially all the ones about Shoto flipping the fuck out when he learned that Izuku and Katsuki weren't going to be at the same agency.

[00:00:54] Him going to the party thinking it's because they're launching the Dainadeku agency officially, and it not being that. And he's sad.

[00:01:05] He is so upset. He's more upset about that than he is about his parents.

[00:01:10] Oh yeah. Oh yeah.

[00:01:12] Who weren't included at all, by the way. And neither was Toshi, which I have feelings about, and Izawa. Izawa wasn't there. What the fuck?

[00:01:21] Yeah, yeah. We have a lot of feelings, but it's okay. So to give some context for the chapter, we're going to go into an afterword that was written by Horikoshi, which in the printed volume, volume 42, the final volume, this afterward appears before the bonus chapter.

[00:01:45] Yep. Yep. Uh-huh. Use your media literacy tools, folks.

[00:01:53] Yes. So this translation comes from at Puppy Ochaco on X. I saw a bunch of people say that it was a decent translation, and then some people really hated it, but other people really loved it. So I'm like, okay, it seems to be like floating in the middle.

[00:02:11] Yeah. Yeah.

[00:02:12] So their translation reads,

[00:02:14] The practical final battle concluded with chapter 429, and chapter 430 was like an epilogue or a bonus stage of sorts. If you've still read this far, I'm truly grateful.

[00:02:25] Manga is a medium where, unlike novels or other forms, visual images do most of the storytelling. However, for the series to succeed, the characters' internal systems, their emotional and psychological aspects, are just as important as their powers and battles.

[00:02:42] It's a medium where every action of the characters is tied to the development of their internal journey. So that's pretty spot on for how Horikoshi writes the way he approaches writing. That's very clear in his style.

[00:02:57] So it continues on,

[00:02:58] Keep going. You can do it.

[00:03:00] It's something all living beings express in one way or another. This story was about all those struggles.

[00:03:06] Even though I wrote it, this manga often demanded more than I could give.

[00:03:10] I had to push myself to my absolute limits to create something better than what I was capable of.

[00:03:15] I was constantly under pressure during the serialization, fighting my own self-consciousness.

[00:03:21] Every day felt like a battle where I questioned whether I could write something better than the day before.

[00:03:26] I had no idea if readers would continue to believe in and support me.

[00:03:30] I kept asking myself if I was doing enough.

[00:03:33] So he's Izuku.

[00:03:35] Uh-huh, uh-huh.

[00:03:37] Gee!

[00:03:38] Talking. Also, yeah, I bet he was under a lot of pressure during the serialization.

[00:03:43] That's why we kept telling you to take a nap, sir.

[00:03:46] Yeah, yeah. Clues all over the place.

[00:03:49] But every time I saw readers cheering for the characters I drew, I felt an overwhelming sense of relief and happiness.

[00:03:56] That trust gave me strength.

[00:03:58] You, the readers, are the ones who gave me this power.

[00:04:01] And because of that, I consider myself incredibly lucky to have had you as my supporters.

[00:04:06] Even though I might appear strong as a creator, in reality, I'm just as fragile and vulnerable as anyone else.

[00:04:12] I'm not someone who can do everything effortlessly.

[00:04:15] But because of you, I was able to move forward even when I thought I couldn't.

[00:04:19] After nearly a decade of My Hero Academia, it's become clear to me that this series has been like gasoline to my soul.

[00:04:26] It fueled me, challenged me, and helped me grow.

[00:04:29] I'm truly grateful to all of you for being part of this journey.

[00:04:32] With chapter 431, the story will conclude.

[00:04:35] The characters will be set free from their struggles, and their dramas will reach resolution.

[00:04:40] Thank you so much for everything.

[00:04:42] So, what does that mean?

[00:04:46] It was a very nice letter.

[00:04:49] Yes.

[00:04:50] It's nice.

[00:04:51] And then that last paragraph made more questions than answers.

[00:04:57] Yeah, and this is pretty typical.

[00:05:00] Nicole and I have experience in academic publishing.

[00:05:06] I think we've talked about this before.

[00:05:07] And we've worked with people all over the world, including East Asian countries like Japan.

[00:05:13] And there's a very specific tone that is culturally acceptable for professional communications, which is very polite.

[00:05:25] Right.

[00:05:26] And if you have critiques or complaints, you have to voice them in a very, very roundabout way.

[00:05:33] You have to say them so nicely.

[00:05:36] It's almost like you're not talking about them at all.

[00:05:39] Yes.

[00:05:40] Yes.

[00:05:41] So, you know, based on my experience, you know, reading emails and stuff from people in Japan, especially when they're really frustrated.

[00:05:49] This reads as frustrated to me.

[00:05:51] Yes, it does.

[00:05:52] I don't know if you caught that vibe.

[00:05:54] I tried to read it in a neutral tone, but yeah, it was really interesting.

[00:05:59] Personally, I think the meaning of the characters will be set free from their struggles and their dramas will reach resolution means we, the writers, will be set free from our contracts.

[00:06:11] Yes.

[00:06:11] Yes.

[00:06:12] And we can finally fucking walk away from this stupid fucking project and Shonen Jump and their horrible business practices.

[00:06:20] And we just, we need to get out.

[00:06:22] We need out.

[00:06:23] We're done.

[00:06:24] We're done.

[00:06:24] Yes.

[00:06:25] And unlike a lot of beloved properties, I feel like when it comes to manga, like you can't just say you're done.

[00:06:35] There are such ridiculous contracts and expectations.

[00:06:39] Yeah, not just with manga, but with any, honestly, any kind of creative publishing.

[00:06:45] The, I think people often forget how many other people are involved and all the decisions that have to be made and how much or little control the actual creator has.

[00:06:59] Especially when they get this big.

[00:07:01] Yeah, it's pretty, it, the news titans, the leash titans.

[00:07:07] Yes.

[00:07:07] Yes.

[00:07:08] Yep.

[00:07:09] Especially for a Shonen that is so overtly political and critical of the current environment.

[00:07:20] Uh-huh.

[00:07:20] Uh-huh.

[00:07:21] Yeah.

[00:07:21] Yeah.

[00:07:22] So, yeah, I bet he did struggle a lot.

[00:07:25] I bet he was under a lot of pressure all the time.

[00:07:28] Yeah.

[00:07:29] Yeah.

[00:07:31] Working for Shonen Jump was probably not a great experience, especially for that long.

[00:07:36] No.

[00:07:36] Gosh, no.

[00:07:38] Yeah.

[00:07:39] Yeah.

[00:07:39] Yeah.

[00:07:39] So, that's the context for this chapter.

[00:07:44] Yeah.

[00:07:45] It reads to me as, look, I already wrote the ending, but they made me write this.

[00:07:52] Just take it.

[00:07:53] I don't care anymore.

[00:07:54] Yeah.

[00:07:55] It's like, they made me write this.

[00:07:57] Yeah.

[00:07:57] They made me write this.

[00:07:59] I don't even think it's canon, but they made me do it.

[00:08:02] Mm-hmm.

[00:08:03] It's what I personally take from it.

[00:08:05] Yeah.

[00:08:05] They're like, this was my ticket to freedom.

[00:08:07] Sorry, not sorry.

[00:08:08] I took it.

[00:08:09] Yeah.

[00:08:09] Yeah.

[00:08:09] And if that's what it takes to release you, Horikoshi, go.

[00:08:14] Fly.

[00:08:15] Yeah.

[00:08:16] Yeah.

[00:08:20] Yeah.

[00:08:21] Yeah.

[00:08:21] Yeah.

[00:08:21] Yeah.

[00:08:21] Definitely take some time.

[00:08:23] Although, apparently, he's already starting on his new project, sir.

[00:08:26] I mean, we kind of knew that.

[00:08:29] Yeah.

[00:08:29] But also, go to sleep.

[00:08:32] You can take some time.

[00:08:33] Mm-hmm.

[00:08:33] As much as you want, sir.

[00:08:35] Yes.

[00:08:36] Yes.

[00:08:37] Absolutely.

[00:08:38] And hopefully, he will be able to.

[00:08:41] Mm-hmm.

[00:08:42] Hmm.

[00:08:42] Hopefully, with this chapter, yeah.

[00:08:45] Yeah.

[00:08:48] All right.

[00:08:49] So, do we want to get into it?

[00:08:50] Yeah.

[00:08:51] We can get into the chapter itself, and then I am personally looking forward to your soapbox rant time.

[00:08:58] Oh, I have so many comments.

[00:09:00] Y'all, there's so much government propaganda in this.

[00:09:02] It's really, really obvious.

[00:09:04] Yeah.

[00:09:05] But I will happily point it out for everyone.

[00:09:09] And to that end, Fern picks up on a lot of those types of things that I do not.

[00:09:16] My main takeaway from the chapter is that it is Ochako or Froppy writing erotic friend fiction,

[00:09:24] a la Bob's Burgers, Tina, specifically.

[00:09:26] Like, I, the, it.

[00:09:30] You know, it's really funny because Froppy, um, or Sue and Katsuki are, like, the only honest people in this chapter.

[00:09:38] So.

[00:09:38] Yeah.

[00:09:39] Yeah.

[00:09:40] Oh, man.

[00:09:41] Also, the translation we're using, um, I found on Tumblr, um, the username was, uh, a-k-w-y-l-d.

[00:09:56] So they posted all of the, um, scans and translations that Ever on X posted.

[00:10:05] Mm-hmm.

[00:10:06] Yeah.

[00:10:06] And I know that Ever is a very controversial figure in the fandom.

[00:10:11] And some people might question some of their translation choices.

[00:10:14] But, A, I couldn't find that many.

[00:10:18] Yeah.

[00:10:18] Because they all got taken down almost immediately.

[00:10:21] Mm-hmm.

[00:10:21] And, B, we needed something.

[00:10:23] Yeah.

[00:10:24] Like, we, we're not even sure if we're gonna get it, like, on the app in English before we get the volume translated over next year.

[00:10:33] Yeah.

[00:10:33] We may not.

[00:10:34] It, the impression I got is that Horikoshi's like, no, this is, like, a bonus content only.

[00:10:41] For the print version of the final volume.

[00:10:44] Yeah.

[00:10:45] Yeah.

[00:10:45] Like, I'm not fucking posting this on your app, you fuckers.

[00:10:48] You fucks.

[00:10:50] You made, you made me write something sort of straight.

[00:10:54] I'm not doing it.

[00:10:55] Uh, well, also, not just that, but there's also just, again, Horikoshi, he's like me.

[00:11:01] He loves a theme.

[00:11:02] He does.

[00:11:03] He loves exploring themes in all their iterations.

[00:11:06] That's one of the reasons why I enjoy his work so much is because that, that shit is my jam.

[00:11:12] Yep.

[00:11:13] And a lot of the implied messaging in this chapter goes directly against so many points that he has made.

[00:11:21] So I bet this was an incredibly frustrating chapter to write.

[00:11:24] Yeah.

[00:11:25] Yeah.

[00:11:25] Mm-hmm.

[00:11:26] Mm.

[00:11:27] All right.

[00:11:28] Well, to jump right in, um, the chapter opens with Ochako in a field looking up at a bunch of sparrows.

[00:11:36] Mm-hmm.

[00:11:37] So immediately gay.

[00:11:38] Oh.

[00:11:39] Oh, man.

[00:11:40] Because we know sparrows are Toga's symbol.

[00:11:43] Yes.

[00:11:44] Yes.

[00:11:44] And note the quality of the drawing in specific points in this chapter versus others.

[00:11:54] Mm-hmm.

[00:11:54] Right now we're in high quality.

[00:11:56] Yeah.

[00:11:57] Hmm.

[00:11:57] Gee.

[00:11:58] Like, yeah.

[00:11:58] So the chapter essentially opens with Toga in a dream and she sees Toga.

[00:12:04] Like, she knows that she, like, like, she's dreaming it as an adult.

[00:12:09] She's dreaming it as, like, it looks like she's fallen asleep in her office, but she dreams of Toga.

[00:12:15] Mm-hmm.

[00:12:16] And she's not surprised.

[00:12:18] Nope.

[00:12:18] Yep.

[00:12:19] And it's, we can tell it's kind of, like, an unexpected stress dream.

[00:12:23] Like, when we get to her waking up, quote unquote.

[00:12:27] I also have a theory that it's all a dream, but I digress.

[00:12:30] Mm-hmm.

[00:12:31] We see that she's, like, at her office.

[00:12:33] She's only just, like, taking her shoes off and falling asleep.

[00:12:35] Like, she's a little stressed.

[00:12:37] She's got stuff going on.

[00:12:38] Yeah.

[00:12:40] Overworked.

[00:12:40] Yep.

[00:12:41] Hmm.

[00:12:42] Um, and you get the-

[00:12:43] Not doing great.

[00:12:44] No.

[00:12:44] You get the name of the title, or the name of the chapter.

[00:12:47] It's number 431, More.

[00:12:49] That's it.

[00:12:50] Just More.

[00:12:51] Just More.

[00:12:52] Not an actual title like everything else.

[00:12:55] Hmm.

[00:12:55] Just More.

[00:12:57] All right.

[00:12:58] And then we essentially dive into a day at work with Ochako and her-

[00:13:04] It's not quite an agency.

[00:13:05] She's doing a lot of outreach with kids with, um, if we remember back to the actual ending,

[00:13:12] 430, she does a lot of work with kids and their quirk counseling.

[00:13:16] Mm-hmm.

[00:13:17] In honor of Toga.

[00:13:18] She's really, really trying to beef up the court counseling.

[00:13:22] Yep.

[00:13:22] Uh, to prevent another situation like Toga's from happening.

[00:13:26] Hmm.

[00:13:27] Yeah.

[00:13:28] You can see Ochako and Frappi in the background of this page, and they look a little-

[00:13:34] They're cute.

[00:13:35] They're so cute.

[00:13:36] Also, I know you're gonna hate it.

[00:13:39] I love Mirio's hair.

[00:13:41] I-

[00:13:42] I'm struggling-

[00:13:44] It's so him!

[00:13:44] It is so him.

[00:13:46] It is very him.

[00:13:46] It also looks like a dick.

[00:13:48] Um-

[00:13:48] It's so, like, gay pinup.

[00:13:51] Yes.

[00:13:52] Mm-hmm.

[00:13:53] Gay glamour.

[00:13:54] Yes.

[00:13:54] Mm-hmm.

[00:13:55] I feel like this is one of the things that Horikoshi was like, this is his hair.

[00:13:58] Yes.

[00:13:59] Yes.

[00:14:00] But essentially, Ochako has invited the elder big three to, like, be a part of her outreach.

[00:14:08] So we have Mirio, Nejere, and Tamaki, who has a new cape.

[00:14:14] I love it.

[00:14:14] I need it.

[00:14:15] I do love the cape.

[00:14:16] The cape is great.

[00:14:18] They've, like, they've essentially been invited to participate in this quirk counseling program

[00:14:22] that they're doing for the day.

[00:14:24] And they keep mentioning the day, um, which, like, I think the day is referencing, like,

[00:14:31] the last, like, the epilogues day.

[00:14:34] Like, that was one whole day, and, like, we kind of got- I don't know.

[00:14:38] Again, it's- it's hard to tell how canon this is, because it's hard to place somewhere.

[00:14:44] Yeah.

[00:14:45] Yeah.

[00:14:46] Agreed.

[00:14:46] Yes.

[00:14:47] Anyway.

[00:14:48] Since that day, right?

[00:14:49] What day?

[00:14:49] Yeah.

[00:14:50] What day?

[00:14:50] What- what are we- what- why?

[00:14:52] What do we- there are several days.

[00:14:54] We need to be specific.

[00:14:55] Mm-hmm.

[00:14:55] Um, but, yeah, essentially, they've invited those three to be part of the counseling.

[00:15:00] Um, we get a little flashback of Sweet Baby Hawks looking, um, a little loopy, a little

[00:15:07] bonkers.

[00:15:08] Mm-hmm.

[00:15:09] Um, yeah, he, uh, he's not aging well.

[00:15:11] No.

[00:15:12] He's- I feel like in this version of potential canon, he is not enjoying his job as much

[00:15:18] as he deserves.

[00:15:20] Um.

[00:15:20] Mm-hmm.

[00:15:21] Um, and basically Hawks is- has been helping Ochoco with getting all this court counseling

[00:15:28] and help for kids.

[00:15:30] Like, he's their go-between with the Ministry of Education.

[00:15:33] Yeah.

[00:15:33] Essentially.

[00:15:34] Mm-hmm.

[00:15:35] And then- oh, Hawks, we'll get to it.

[00:15:38] Um.

[00:15:38] We'll get to it, yeah.

[00:15:39] Yeah.

[00:15:40] So, they've invited the big three to this one school, and they're like, it seems like

[00:15:46] you do a lot of work, Ochoco.

[00:15:47] And she's like, yeah, but it's great.

[00:15:48] It's kids.

[00:15:49] It's wonderful.

[00:15:49] But, uh, um, and then Mirio does another butt joke, um, where he's essentially- it looks

[00:15:56] like he's just rapid fire moving his butt around a tree, and the kids have to, like,

[00:16:02] catch his butt with their quirks and, like, to pick a peach.

[00:16:06] Like, it's a peach butt joke.

[00:16:07] Yeah, they basically- it's target practice, but with his butt.

[00:16:10] Yeah.

[00:16:11] Because Mirio- because it's Mirio.

[00:16:12] But jokes are his thing.

[00:16:13] That is his thing.

[00:16:14] And he's a freaking weirdo.

[00:16:16] Ugh.

[00:16:17] Oh, we should point out that Mirio is actually currently ranked the number one hero.

[00:16:22] Yes.

[00:16:23] Yes.

[00:16:23] Um, Nedjere is number seven, queen.

[00:16:26] Mm-hmm.

[00:16:27] Sun Eater is not ranked, because he is still Facom's sidekick, Slay.

[00:16:32] Yep.

[00:16:32] I- that- that makes sense, actually.

[00:16:35] That's one thing that makes perfect sense.

[00:16:37] Yeah, I can see that.

[00:16:39] I can see that, absolutely.

[00:16:41] Yeah.

[00:16:42] And everyone's pissed that he's not in the rankings, because if he was, he'd be really

[00:16:46] high.

[00:16:46] He would.

[00:16:47] He would be really high up there.

[00:16:49] Um, Ochako is number 24.

[00:16:51] Um, I don't think they said, uh, Frappi's rank yet.

[00:16:54] We'll get to it.

[00:16:56] Um, and as they're doing it, there's this one really, like, nervous kid who actually,

[00:17:02] um, like, succeeds in shooting Mirio's butt.

[00:17:06] Mm-hmm.

[00:17:06] And he's, like-

[00:17:07] With a little help from Ochako.

[00:17:09] Mm-hmm.

[00:17:09] His name is Ushima, so, like, add him to the- to the spot kid as, like, the next generation,

[00:17:16] whatever.

[00:17:17] Mm-hmm.

[00:17:18] Um, and it's fun, it's happy, it's wonderful.

[00:17:20] And then the day ends, and Ochako and Frappi are taking the train home together.

[00:17:25] Yes.

[00:17:26] And Frappi is number 34.

[00:17:28] Rude.

[00:17:29] Yeah, I question both of those, but okay.

[00:17:31] Mm-hmm.

[00:17:31] Maybe they've both been, like, taking time off from-

[00:17:34] Yeah, and they're-

[00:17:36] Fighting to do the outreach program, so they've, like, dipped a little bit, but-

[00:17:40] Yeah, because the rankings don't, like, take outreach work into account, which is-

[00:17:46] Well, we don't know if they do or not.

[00:17:48] We have no idea what the new ranking system is.

[00:17:50] That's true, which is also interesting.

[00:17:53] Yes.

[00:17:56] All right, so Frappi knows what's going on, so she directly asks Ochako if Toga is showing

[00:18:01] up in her dreams again.

[00:18:02] Oh, wait, wait, wait, one quick second before we get to that.

[00:18:06] Um, Ochako does admit that she has a lot of work and responsibilities, but she likes seeing

[00:18:13] people happy, and she's doing what she loves, and she's hanging out with her friends, so

[00:18:18] she says, my me time is all the time.

[00:18:22] No.

[00:18:23] And Frappi's face is like, hmm.

[00:18:25] Frappi's like, mm, no, that's not a thing.

[00:18:29] Yep, yep, but yeah, put a pin in that.

[00:18:32] Yep.

[00:18:32] Mm-hmm.

[00:18:33] Um, so on the train, Frappi, like, gets right at it.

[00:18:37] She's like, mm, something's going on with you.

[00:18:39] Are you dreaming about your girlfriend Toga again?

[00:18:41] Mm-hmm.

[00:18:42] Um, yeah, and they, like, they talk about how I just dropped my phone.

[00:18:47] They talk about how it's happened before, and, like, she's gone to the doctor, and she

[00:18:53] knows it's probably because there's all this outside pressure on her, so, like, her subconscious

[00:18:59] is trying to, like, fix whatever it is, because that's what dreams are supposed to do.

[00:19:03] Mm-hmm.

[00:19:04] They're trying to be very logical about it.

[00:19:06] Yeah.

[00:19:06] Um, I do think it's interesting that she did actually go to the doctor for a mental health

[00:19:10] issue.

[00:19:11] Yeah.

[00:19:11] Um, they're like, we didn't find anything wrong.

[00:19:14] You're probably just tired, which, on the one hand, is a realistic representation of

[00:19:19] the healthcare system.

[00:19:20] Yeah.

[00:19:21] But at the same time, put a pin in that, too.

[00:19:24] Yeah.

[00:19:25] Yeah.

[00:19:25] It's gonna come back.

[00:19:26] Yeah.

[00:19:27] When I go on my rant.

[00:19:28] Yes.

[00:19:29] I can't wait for your rant, because, again, listeners, I have been taking in this, like,

[00:19:34] scandal, if that's what you want to call it, at a very surface level, because it, like,

[00:19:40] essentially, I feel like it's meant to, um, with so many other things, it's meant to, like,

[00:19:48] downplay Baku Deku very on purpose.

[00:19:51] Mm-hmm.

[00:19:51] It's like, it's, like, that is what I've been taking from it.

[00:19:55] One, because I'm tired.

[00:19:57] Two, because I haven't really had time to really dig into it.

[00:20:00] Oh, yeah.

[00:20:01] No, that's, that's essentially it.

[00:20:02] But it's, it's a little more far-reaching than that.

[00:20:04] Yeah.

[00:20:05] Yeah.

[00:20:05] So, I'm excited to hear all the stuff that I'm missing.

[00:20:09] You're, you're not missing.

[00:20:11] You're, you're getting to it.

[00:20:12] Yeah.

[00:20:13] Yeah.

[00:20:14] Mm-hmm.

[00:20:15] Um.

[00:20:15] You're getting to the core of it.

[00:20:16] Yeah.

[00:20:17] We do get a little interesting bit with this one page where Otaku is talking, and we see,

[00:20:22] like, the shadow of Toga behind her.

[00:20:24] Very interesting.

[00:20:25] Oh, that part is so good.

[00:20:27] Again, the art, the art, the art quality has shot back up.

[00:20:33] Mm-hmm.

[00:20:33] Yep.

[00:20:33] It was up, it went down a little bit, now it's back up.

[00:20:36] Yep.

[00:20:37] And as she's talking about that, she does mention how Otaku's blood saved her life, and

[00:20:42] she knows logically, from what she knows of Toga's quirk, that the blood itself should

[00:20:47] be, like, gone and worn off and just, like, replaced by her naturally occurring blood, because

[00:20:53] that's how blood works.

[00:20:53] You got old blood, you got new blood, blah, blah, blah.

[00:20:55] It's been eight years.

[00:20:56] It's gone.

[00:20:57] But she is pondering, like, if she still kind of lives with her, kind of like, one for

[00:21:02] all, how, like, there's some kind of specter situation going on.

[00:21:06] Mm-hmm.

[00:21:07] And it's left open-ended.

[00:21:08] And I like that part of-

[00:21:11] Yes.

[00:21:12] ...canon, like, that part of it being semi-canon.

[00:21:15] Like, somebody purposely put that in to leave a door open.

[00:21:18] Like, yes, that is what you're supposed to take from it.

[00:21:21] Yes.

[00:21:23] One hundred percent.

[00:21:24] Also, the panel of Sue leaning into Otaku is so lovely.

[00:21:31] So sweet.

[00:21:32] They're friends.

[00:21:32] They're besties.

[00:21:34] They're besties.

[00:21:34] There's so much emotion in just that one simple panel.

[00:21:38] Mm-hmm.

[00:21:39] Mm-hmm.

[00:21:39] They're besties, if not girlfriends.

[00:21:42] And with that, we switch to the boyfriends.

[00:21:45] Oh, boy.

[00:21:49] Oh, okay.

[00:21:50] So with that, we switch to another group of former 1A kids.

[00:21:56] We are now in Bakugou's car.

[00:21:59] He has a car now.

[00:22:01] He drives now.

[00:22:01] Slay.

[00:22:03] They're like actual adults.

[00:22:05] It's weird.

[00:22:05] I know.

[00:22:06] But they're, like, all essentially driving somewhere.

[00:22:10] And Bakugou is driving.

[00:22:11] Kirishima is in the front seat, passenger side, because they're still besties, of course.

[00:22:15] Oh, yeah.

[00:22:16] Oh, yeah.

[00:22:16] And then Izuku is in the background basically, like, getting a ride in the back seat, which

[00:22:22] is very squishy for some reason.

[00:22:24] Possibly comedic effect.

[00:22:25] I don't know.

[00:22:26] Mm-hmm.

[00:22:26] Yeah.

[00:22:27] Possibly comedic effect.

[00:22:28] I also have other theories.

[00:22:31] But also, Kasuki calls him Deku, which he hasn't, like, he's made a very strong commitment

[00:22:38] to calling him Izuku in casual situations when he's not actively using his hero name.

[00:22:44] Right.

[00:22:44] So.

[00:22:45] That's interesting.

[00:22:46] That's odd.

[00:22:47] That's a clue.

[00:22:51] Yeah.

[00:22:51] That's, um, there's quite a few, um, issues or mistakes in this chapter.

[00:22:56] Yeah.

[00:22:56] So that's one.

[00:22:58] Um, in the middle panel, Kirishima's hand has six fingers.

[00:23:02] Oh.

[00:23:03] Oh, it does.

[00:23:03] Or at least it looks like it has six fingers.

[00:23:05] Ew.

[00:23:06] And that is, again, Horikoshi is obsessed with hands.

[00:23:10] He would not make that mistake.

[00:23:12] He wouldn't make that mistake and he wouldn't let other people make that mistake.

[00:23:15] Yeah.

[00:23:16] Like, if he saw that, he'd be like, no, that looks too weird.

[00:23:18] Go back and change it.

[00:23:20] Yeah.

[00:23:31] And it's not even.

[00:23:31] The actual team behind the majority of MHA taking part.

[00:23:37] Yeah.

[00:23:37] Or, I mean, or it was, but they weren't putting their usual effort, level of effort in.

[00:23:42] Yep.

[00:23:43] Yep.

[00:23:43] Oh, Kirishima, they did you dirty.

[00:23:46] I didn't even notice the six fingers.

[00:23:47] Mm-hmm.

[00:23:48] Like, ugh.

[00:23:49] And basically, uh, Katsuki is pissed for some reason that he's giving Izuku a ride, which

[00:23:55] I feel like he wouldn't be pissed.

[00:23:58] Eh, you know him.

[00:23:59] He's always complaining about bullshit.

[00:24:01] I guess.

[00:24:02] Even when it's his idea to do something.

[00:24:05] Yeah, that's true.

[00:24:06] He's, that part to me seems normal.

[00:24:09] He would do that.

[00:24:10] Like, that's normal, but I, I don't know.

[00:24:12] Mm-hmm.

[00:24:12] They, they just seem very angy.

[00:24:16] Yeah.

[00:24:16] Before he has a right to be angry, which we're getting to.

[00:24:19] Um.

[00:24:20] Also, another thing I want to point out, the reason Izuku is getting picked up is because

[00:24:26] he wanted to work late.

[00:24:28] So, because he was finishing reports for the students.

[00:24:31] So, he's still in his, um, work clothes.

[00:24:34] He's the only one still in work clothes.

[00:24:37] Mm-hmm.

[00:24:37] Yep.

[00:24:38] And, and he's obviously still teaching, which is interesting.

[00:24:42] I could, that part I could see, but we'll get to it.

[00:24:45] Yeah.

[00:24:45] Yeah, me too.

[00:24:46] But we will get to it.

[00:24:47] Um, and they're like, and Kirishima asks about his students, um, and Izuku puts it together

[00:24:53] that Kirishima's looking for sidekicks and Kirishima is going solo officially.

[00:24:58] Mm-hmm.

[00:24:58] Um, he's, he's getting a lot of support from Fatgum, who is currently number 11.

[00:25:04] Yes.

[00:25:04] Hell yeah.

[00:25:06] Um, and he, he's patting Sun Eater on the head in that panel.

[00:25:10] Yeah.

[00:25:11] I didn't recognize it was Sun Eater because he got a haircut.

[00:25:13] Yeah.

[00:25:14] I hate the haircut.

[00:25:15] Sorry.

[00:25:15] Yep.

[00:25:15] No, it's, it's not good for him.

[00:25:17] He looks, he looks too normie.

[00:25:19] Yeah.

[00:25:20] I liked him better with the long hair.

[00:25:21] Yep.

[00:25:22] I like Kirishima's mullet though.

[00:25:24] Yeah.

[00:25:25] That's cute.

[00:25:25] I like that he kept the mullet.

[00:25:26] That's appropriate.

[00:25:27] Yeah.

[00:25:27] I wonder if that's a nod to all the fan art of him with just like extra long hair as

[00:25:32] an adult.

[00:25:33] I could totally see that.

[00:25:34] Yeah.

[00:25:35] Hopefully.

[00:25:36] Anyway.

[00:25:36] So, um, they continue and they get onto the topic of how Katsuki's had a lot of applications

[00:25:43] for folks to be his sidekicks.

[00:25:45] And he said no to all of them and they all cried as they left.

[00:25:49] So he's still-

[00:25:51] And Katsuki's like, shut up.

[00:25:53] We're not talking about that right now.

[00:25:56] I hate everyone.

[00:25:57] Um, both Izuku and Kirishima are roasting him.

[00:26:00] Yep.

[00:26:01] Yep.

[00:26:01] It's great.

[00:26:01] It's wonderful.

[00:26:02] Um, and we find out that Katsuki, well, we found out Kirishima's ranked number 12.

[00:26:08] Hell yeah.

[00:26:08] Uh, Katsuki started out at fourth place when he debuted, but he's since dropped to 15th

[00:26:14] place because he can't keep it together for like public interactions.

[00:26:19] Oh, I do kind of disagree with this whole idea that Katsuki wouldn't still be the most popular

[00:26:29] person ever purely because of his personality.

[00:26:31] Because clearly the fandom in Japan is obsessed with him.

[00:26:36] Obsessed.

[00:26:37] Like literally obsessed.

[00:26:39] Yeah.

[00:26:39] And we care about his rudeness, but of course they like government propaganda.

[00:26:44] So we have to make sure that we're teaching the children to be nice and polite.

[00:26:49] Um, also he's ranked the number one hero in the whole property from that final, final popularity

[00:26:56] poll.

[00:26:56] They just did IRL.

[00:26:58] Yeah.

[00:26:59] He would still be ranked pretty damn high if this was real.

[00:27:03] Oh yes, absolutely.

[00:27:06] So with that, we get to like the next page and Katsuki's like, he's talking about how if

[00:27:12] any of his sidekicks had like been talking about actually surpassing him and like wanting

[00:27:18] to be better than him, he would have accepted them right away.

[00:27:21] But apparently none of the applicants were interested in surpassing Dynamite.

[00:27:26] They were like, they wanted to work with him, which.

[00:27:28] Yeah.

[00:27:29] He's like, hint, hint, Izuku.

[00:27:31] Hint.

[00:27:31] I'm talking to you directly.

[00:27:32] Hint, hint.

[00:27:33] Yep.

[00:27:34] And Izuku is just squished in the backseat.

[00:27:36] And he's, he's not even listening.

[00:27:39] Supposedly.

[00:27:40] Even though Izuku hangs on to Katsuki's every fucking word.

[00:27:44] And he asks Izuku if he'll keep teaching, which Izuku says yes to, which is fine.

[00:27:49] We kind of expected that or that it might happen.

[00:27:52] And we do get a shot that Katsuki finally got his All Might card signed.

[00:27:58] Yeah.

[00:27:58] And the, the signature isn't correct.

[00:28:02] It's not?

[00:28:03] No, there's a, um, above the might next to the all, there's supposed to be like a little

[00:28:08] face that he draws that we've seen in literally every single one of his signatures before.

[00:28:13] And it's not there now.

[00:28:16] Interesting.

[00:28:17] Yeah.

[00:28:17] Very.

[00:28:18] So that's another mistake that no one bothered to correct.

[00:28:22] Mm-hmm.

[00:28:22] Mm-hmm.

[00:28:22] Because they don't give a shit about this chapter.

[00:28:25] Yep.

[00:28:25] Mm-hmm.

[00:28:26] Mm-hmm.

[00:28:26] Because it's not canon.

[00:28:27] Anyway, we'll get to it.

[00:28:29] Mm-hmm.

[00:28:30] Um, so you go to the next page and Izuku's like, I love the work that I'm doing.

[00:28:35] He loves being a teacher.

[00:28:36] Which, yes, agreed.

[00:28:37] Mm-hmm.

[00:28:38] And he's also...

[00:28:39] That makes sense.

[00:28:40] Yes.

[00:28:40] Rikoshi has been plugging that for a while, I think.

[00:28:42] Yes.

[00:28:42] Like, he likes being a teacher.

[00:28:44] And even before everything was, like, decided as of his quirk, he was really good with all

[00:28:49] the kids.

[00:28:50] Mm-hmm.

[00:28:50] Hints.

[00:28:50] Yeah.

[00:28:51] So that part does not surprise me.

[00:28:52] Yes.

[00:28:52] And he's also working as a hero with the alumni of Class 1A.

[00:28:58] Mm-hmm.

[00:28:58] So, like, he's doing both.

[00:28:59] He's doing great.

[00:29:01] And that is also typical Izuku, doing the most.

[00:29:04] Yeah.

[00:29:05] And then he says, it makes me so happy.

[00:29:08] So thank you both.

[00:29:10] Because, of course, it's Izuku.

[00:29:11] Mm-hmm.

[00:29:12] Mm-hmm.

[00:29:12] And then Bakugo's like, hmm, hmm, hmm, hmm.

[00:29:16] And then...

[00:29:17] What do I say?

[00:29:19] I don't know what to say.

[00:29:20] Yeah.

[00:29:23] Kirishima's like, he turned down your offer, bro.

[00:29:25] Which is like, I didn't see that as an offer.

[00:29:28] But I do see how Katsuki would see it as an offer.

[00:29:31] Because he's Katsuki.

[00:29:32] He's not good at being vulnerable.

[00:29:33] And Izuku...

[00:29:34] That was clearly him trying to hint.

[00:29:36] Yes.

[00:29:37] And Izuku, if he was really Izuku, would have picked up on that.

[00:29:41] I don't think so.

[00:29:42] Actually, I think that would have flown over his head.

[00:29:44] It might have.

[00:29:45] But then, once it was made clear...

[00:29:47] Yes.

[00:29:48] Yes, exactly.

[00:29:48] But we'll get to it.

[00:29:49] Yes.

[00:29:50] Anyway.

[00:29:51] So Kirishima even says,

[00:29:52] Maduro is a bit slow at these things.

[00:29:54] Which, yes, I am with you, Izuku.

[00:29:56] I don't know what's happening.

[00:29:58] Yeah.

[00:29:58] That's correct.

[00:29:59] So Kirishima is just like, oh my god, these two fucking idiots.

[00:30:03] I can't believe Katsuki just fumbled that so fucking hard.

[00:30:07] So hard.

[00:30:10] But anyway, Katsuki continues with some sort of line of thinking.

[00:30:15] And he tells Izuku that he's been thinking that...

[00:30:20] Wait, wait, wait.

[00:30:20] Hold on one second.

[00:30:21] Before that...

[00:30:22] Yeah.

[00:30:23] Izuku's only response to this is, sorry, but that won't happen.

[00:30:27] Yeah.

[00:30:28] And that part is wildly out of character.

[00:30:32] Wildly.

[00:30:32] Like, first of all...

[00:30:34] Even if it was a no.

[00:30:35] First of all, yeah, it would never be a no.

[00:30:37] Yeah.

[00:30:37] But also, if it was a no, he would give all his reasons.

[00:30:41] He would do it so apologetically.

[00:30:43] He would have a freaking long speech as to why he's not joining.

[00:30:48] Mm-hmm.

[00:30:49] Also, I feel like at some point he would maybe think about joining.

[00:30:53] Like, he doesn't even leave the possibility open.

[00:30:56] He didn't even ask why.

[00:30:57] And I think that would be Izuku's first question is like, wait, you want me to join?

[00:31:01] Like, what does that mean?

[00:31:03] I need to go analyze this.

[00:31:05] And then he starts muttering.

[00:31:06] And Katsuki's like, oh my god, just give me an answer.

[00:31:08] Yeah.

[00:31:08] Yeah.

[00:31:09] Yeah.

[00:31:10] So, like, none of his...

[00:31:12] It's not in character.

[00:31:14] No.

[00:31:14] At all.

[00:31:15] Not at all.

[00:31:15] That kind of just brush off?

[00:31:18] Mm-hmm.

[00:31:18] No.

[00:31:19] Not even remotely.

[00:31:20] And I did see some people being like, Izuku only said no because Katsuki's offer was for

[00:31:25] Izuku to be his sidekick.

[00:31:27] And I'm like, in what world when Katsuki asks Izuku to be his sidekick?

[00:31:31] No.

[00:31:32] That's very much not what he meant at all.

[00:31:35] As if they don't remember how gutted Katsuki was when he learned that One for All was fading

[00:31:43] back in the hospital.

[00:31:45] He's like, his literal dream was the two of them working together as heroes together.

[00:31:50] His dream was him chasing after Izuku for the rest of their lives.

[00:31:55] And...

[00:31:55] Like, he fully sees Izuku as, like, above him.

[00:31:59] Yeah.

[00:31:59] Still.

[00:32:00] Yeah.

[00:32:01] Oh.

[00:32:02] Anyway.

[00:32:03] Yeah.

[00:32:03] So that's dumb.

[00:32:04] Yeah.

[00:32:04] That's dumb.

[00:32:05] That's wrong.

[00:32:05] We'll get to it.

[00:32:06] Mm-hmm.

[00:32:07] But then on the next page, Katsuki's, like, trying to give him advice.

[00:32:12] He's like, you need to start thinking more highly of yourself because, like, you don't

[00:32:16] notice everything that's going on and around because you don't think highly enough of yourself.

[00:32:21] Mm-hmm.

[00:32:22] Mm-hmm.

[00:32:23] Mm-hmm.

[00:32:23] Mm-hmm.

[00:32:23] He's like, dude, how many times have I asked you out so far and you still haven't gotten

[00:32:27] the point?

[00:32:28] You still haven't gotten it.

[00:32:30] And I do love Izuku's response.

[00:32:33] He's like, you're one to talk.

[00:32:34] He's like, you do the same fucking thing.

[00:32:35] Yeah.

[00:32:36] Yeah.

[00:32:37] Mm-hmm.

[00:32:37] Yeah.

[00:32:39] Oh, these two gay men.

[00:32:43] Just such idiots about each other.

[00:32:46] You've had eight years and then another month if we are going to ascribe to any part of this

[00:32:52] being potentially canon.

[00:32:53] And you have not had a single conversation together.

[00:32:55] Also, wrong.

[00:32:57] Uh-huh.

[00:32:57] Uh-huh.

[00:32:58] That's why this is not canon.

[00:32:59] They've talked so much in the past eight years.

[00:33:02] Hello?

[00:33:03] Oh, my God.

[00:33:04] Ugh.

[00:33:05] But, yeah.

[00:33:07] This is only canon in the way that it is erotic friend fiction written by somebody who ships

[00:33:14] Otaku and Deku, which is probably the government.

[00:33:16] This is only canon in the sense that I am still convinced that Izuku and Katsuki don't get

[00:33:22] it together until, like, their 30s.

[00:33:24] Yeah.

[00:33:24] Yeah.

[00:33:25] Technically, their brains are still fucking developing as they're, like, what?

[00:33:29] 24, 25, if that.

[00:33:31] They're still dumb.

[00:33:32] But also, they're both just fucking stupid like that.

[00:33:34] And they always will be.

[00:33:35] That being said, they would be attached at the hip.

[00:33:38] Yeah.

[00:33:39] They would be basically married without realizing they're married.

[00:33:44] Yeah.

[00:33:44] Yeah.

[00:33:45] Exactly.

[00:33:46] Which is how it was left in chapter 430.

[00:33:48] Mm-hmm.

[00:33:49] Mm-hmm.

[00:33:50] Okay.

[00:33:50] All right.

[00:33:51] Moving along to the rest of the chapter, Izuku is still just, like, sinking back into the

[00:33:57] backseat for some sort of comedic effect or other effect.

[00:34:00] I don't know.

[00:34:01] And still has no idea what Katsuki is trying to say.

[00:34:04] Because he's stupid.

[00:34:06] Anyway.

[00:34:06] Yeah.

[00:34:06] Katsuki is trying so fucking hard to confess.

[00:34:09] He's trying to confess his love.

[00:34:11] He's trying to confess that he wants Izuku to be the head of his own agency.

[00:34:15] Uh-huh.

[00:34:16] And in the meantime, Izuku is being swallowed up by the seat as though he's being squished

[00:34:23] into a specific role.

[00:34:25] Hmm.

[00:34:26] As though everything that makes him him is getting squished out of him.

[00:34:30] Squished out of him by the government.

[00:34:32] Anyway.

[00:34:33] All right.

[00:34:34] So they get to where they were going, and it turns out it is a party at a very nice

[00:34:38] restaurant where they are celebrating Shoto, who has risen to number two on the billboards.

[00:34:45] Hell yeah.

[00:34:45] Makes sense.

[00:34:46] Yeah.

[00:34:46] That makes perfect sense.

[00:34:47] He's beautiful and super powerful, and he's got that weird autistic riz.

[00:34:53] Yep.

[00:34:53] And he looks so old in this page.

[00:34:58] Go back to being a baby.

[00:34:59] I know.

[00:35:00] He's not a baby anymore.

[00:35:01] He still looks exactly like his mom, though.

[00:35:03] Jesus.

[00:35:03] He does.

[00:35:04] Yeah.

[00:35:05] We learn he's number two.

[00:35:06] We also learn that he's the air conditioning hero, and he never gave himself a real hero

[00:35:12] name.

[00:35:13] I'm sorry.

[00:35:15] Oh, my God.

[00:35:16] What the fuck?

[00:35:17] Oh, Shoto.

[00:35:18] That's so him, though.

[00:35:19] I know.

[00:35:20] It is very him, and I can accept that that is him.

[00:35:23] Mm-hmm.

[00:35:23] But, like, you're not even going to try to make a hero name.

[00:35:27] You're just going to be Shoto.

[00:35:28] Yep.

[00:35:29] Like, he's Cher.

[00:35:30] Like, what the fuck?

[00:35:31] Yep.

[00:35:31] He is Cher.

[00:35:33] Ugh.

[00:35:34] All right.

[00:35:35] And then next to him is Sweet Denki, who also has a new hairstyle.

[00:35:40] Very nice.

[00:35:41] Let me reload my page, because it's being rude.

[00:35:44] We learn that Denki is number four at the HBJ.

[00:35:48] Number 44.

[00:35:49] Number 44.

[00:35:49] I can't read.

[00:35:51] He's number 44, which is also rude.

[00:35:53] Yeah, that also doesn't make sense.

[00:35:55] Yeah.

[00:35:56] Like, thank you when he does his shit together.

[00:35:58] He is terrifying.

[00:36:00] He's terrifying.

[00:36:01] All of Class 1A should be ranked 1 through 20, including, um, what's his butt?

[00:36:07] Shinso, while Mineta is dead last.

[00:36:10] But I digress.

[00:36:11] I really think that, like, well, we'll get to it, but there aren't any non-professional

[00:36:16] heroes in the rankings, which is odd to me.

[00:36:19] Because you would think that, like, at least some corporate CEOs who made some giant donation

[00:36:25] or something would make it on the list.

[00:36:26] But again, we don't know what the criteria is.

[00:36:30] Which is annoying.

[00:36:32] And they even mention it.

[00:36:33] Like, Ida actually says, like, the rankings keep getting more and more complex and fragmented.

[00:36:38] Like, stuff is...

[00:36:39] Yeah.

[00:36:40] Yeah.

[00:36:41] It's becoming more and more meaningless.

[00:36:44] And yet, we're still going to spend the entire chapter focusing on everyone's rank.

[00:36:48] Yep.

[00:36:49] All right.

[00:36:50] And then we go to Sero, who looks like...

[00:36:52] Who looks like Aizawa.

[00:36:54] I'm sorry.

[00:36:55] Quite a bit.

[00:36:56] Yeah.

[00:36:56] Quite a bit.

[00:36:56] He's got a...

[00:36:57] There's a...

[00:36:58] There's a strong whiff of Aizawa.

[00:37:01] Yep.

[00:37:02] He is ranked number 36.

[00:37:04] Rude.

[00:37:04] Should be higher.

[00:37:05] Mm-hmm.

[00:37:06] Um, and then we get to Ida, who is, again, Ingenium.

[00:37:10] He's number 13.

[00:37:11] Rude.

[00:37:12] Uh, we have Momo, Createy, number 19.

[00:37:15] Rude.

[00:37:15] Mm-hmm.

[00:37:16] Um, tentacle, Sweet Shoji, is number nine.

[00:37:19] Hell yeah.

[00:37:19] That's awesome.

[00:37:20] I am very happy about that.

[00:37:22] It should be higher, but it's also awesome.

[00:37:24] Mm-hmm.

[00:37:25] Oh, another, um, mistake.

[00:37:28] So, Shoto now has two smaller scars underneath his main scar, and those are missing in this

[00:37:33] chapter.

[00:37:34] Oh, yeah.

[00:37:35] Oh.

[00:37:35] But Shoji's scars are there.

[00:37:39] Mm-hmm.

[00:37:40] So, yeah, again, just another inconsistency.

[00:37:43] Another thing that got missed.

[00:37:45] I'm so angry.

[00:37:47] Ugh.

[00:37:47] Anyway.

[00:37:48] So, and then we find out Mineta is number 108.

[00:37:51] Good.

[00:37:53] Bitch.

[00:37:54] Bitch.

[00:37:55] Ugh.

[00:37:55] And then we find out Jiro is number 30.

[00:37:58] Rude.

[00:37:58] Um, but her hair is cute.

[00:38:00] Mm-hmm.

[00:38:00] Yeah, she looks great.

[00:38:01] We find out, we find out Mina is number 28.

[00:38:03] I'm sorry.

[00:38:05] Fucking rude.

[00:38:06] Mm-hmm.

[00:38:06] Mina also looks amazing.

[00:38:08] She also looks great.

[00:38:09] She's amazing.

[00:38:10] She's hot.

[00:38:10] She's slaying.

[00:38:12] Um, we find out Koda is not ranked because he is Shoji's sidekick.

[00:38:17] Hell yeah.

[00:38:18] They're married.

[00:38:19] They're married.

[00:38:19] Yes.

[00:38:20] Also, that makes sense.

[00:38:22] Koda is, he does not care about rankings.

[00:38:24] Yeah.

[00:38:25] And he's like, please just leave, no, I want to be a sidekick forever.

[00:38:28] Just like, leave me alone.

[00:38:29] It's like, please, please don't look at me.

[00:38:31] I'm going to work with Shoji and I will do all the behind the scenes stuff and pet my bunny.

[00:38:35] Leave me alone.

[00:38:36] Yep.

[00:38:37] And then we find out freaking Shinsa.

[00:38:40] Mm-hmm.

[00:38:40] We finally find out his hero name.

[00:38:42] We do.

[00:38:43] And it's Nighthide.

[00:38:43] It's Nighthide.

[00:38:44] It's good.

[00:38:45] It's a good name.

[00:38:46] Um, he's the hypnosis hero, obviously.

[00:38:49] His whole thing is brainwashing.

[00:38:51] And he looks like Aizawa and Shigi's love child.

[00:38:53] Yep.

[00:38:54] Yep.

[00:38:55] He does.

[00:38:56] I, I don't know.

[00:38:58] Like, I get it.

[00:38:58] I get it.

[00:38:59] He's finally just done with his hair.

[00:39:01] But like, he is out of the ranking, which is an interesting way of phrasing that he works

[00:39:07] as an underground hero.

[00:39:09] Like, Aizawa does.

[00:39:10] Well, you know, fan translation.

[00:39:12] Yeah.

[00:39:12] Yeah.

[00:39:12] And then we, uh, see invisible girl who is invisible for some reason instead of being

[00:39:19] visible.

[00:39:20] Who knows?

[00:39:20] Maybe it takes effort or something.

[00:39:22] Yeah, that's true.

[00:39:23] She's like, I'm, I'm here to relax and drink.

[00:39:25] I don't give a shit.

[00:39:26] She's like, I'm going to be invisible.

[00:39:27] And fuck you.

[00:39:28] She is ranked 39th.

[00:39:30] Rude.

[00:39:31] Mm-hmm.

[00:39:32] And then we, basically, we just continue the conversation.

[00:39:35] We get everyone's new rankings.

[00:39:36] Um, we find out Sato is a sidekick at Wash's agency, which is so out of nowhere, but also

[00:39:44] so perfect.

[00:39:45] Yeah, that's so wild.

[00:39:47] Poor Sato just got completely sidelined in the narrative.

[00:39:50] And then they almost forgot him in like the cover drawing.

[00:39:53] If you believe the conspiracy.

[00:39:57] Horikoshi was like, well, someone's face had to go there.

[00:40:01] Sure.

[00:40:03] Oh, man.

[00:40:03] We find out, um, Tailman Ojiro is number 32.

[00:40:07] Rude.

[00:40:08] Um, we find out Tsukuyomi is number 17.

[00:40:11] What?

[00:40:12] He should be, he should be top 10.

[00:40:14] So strong, but whatever.

[00:40:17] He's probably not good with the public, just like Bakugo.

[00:40:20] Could be, yeah.

[00:40:21] Um, and then Sweet Aoyama is there.

[00:40:24] Good.

[00:40:25] Um, he, he's, he's doing great.

[00:40:28] He's a professional hero as well, but he is a, he's a, he's a, he's a, he's a, he's a

[00:40:30] sidekick with Hagakure.

[00:40:32] I love that they're still working together.

[00:40:34] They are besties.

[00:40:36] They are besties.

[00:40:37] I love them.

[00:40:39] And then we move over to the pro heroes who are still in the top 10.

[00:40:44] Mirko is number six.

[00:40:45] Rude.

[00:40:46] Um, she should be number one instead of butt joke penis head.

[00:40:50] But I digress.

[00:40:51] Yeah.

[00:40:52] Agreed.

[00:40:52] And then we have best genus.

[00:40:55] He's still in the top 10.

[00:40:56] He's now number five.

[00:40:57] We have Orca gang, not Gong Orca.

[00:41:00] Fan translation.

[00:41:01] It's fine.

[00:41:03] Gong Orca.

[00:41:04] Get it right.

[00:41:05] Um, he's, he's number 21.

[00:41:08] Rude.

[00:41:09] Mm-hmm.

[00:41:09] Um, and your husband, Conway Woods, is number four.

[00:41:13] Mm.

[00:41:14] He looks so good.

[00:41:16] Thank you, whoever drew that.

[00:41:17] Goddamn.

[00:41:18] All right.

[00:41:19] And then, um, on the next page, I don't see where Mount Lady's number is, but Wash is

[00:41:26] number eight.

[00:41:26] So I feel like Mount Lady is number three, because I think that's the only number we don't

[00:41:31] have.

[00:41:31] I have no idea.

[00:41:33] But also, Mount Lady's scar is also missing.

[00:41:36] Yeah.

[00:41:37] She's got a scar across her eye and it's gone.

[00:41:39] And it's gone.

[00:41:40] Yep.

[00:41:40] Moving along, we have Ryukyu, who has fallen to number 42.

[00:41:45] Rude.

[00:41:45] That is so strange.

[00:41:46] Incorrect.

[00:41:46] No.

[00:41:47] She's a fucking dragon.

[00:41:48] Top 10.

[00:41:49] The rest of her career.

[00:41:51] Yeah.

[00:41:51] Um, how did Death Arms rank higher than her?

[00:41:54] Yeah.

[00:41:55] When he was a bitch and only came back when it, when literal people were dying in front

[00:42:00] of him.

[00:42:01] Like, come on.

[00:42:01] But also, he's just not as strong as her.

[00:42:03] That's so strange.

[00:42:04] Whatever.

[00:42:05] It's so weird.

[00:42:05] Anyway.

[00:42:06] None of this is correct.

[00:42:07] Correct.

[00:42:08] Yeah.

[00:42:08] That makes no sense.

[00:42:09] Including Present Mike's hair.

[00:42:11] Oh my God.

[00:42:12] It's so bad.

[00:42:13] What is that?

[00:42:15] Also, he's not eating enough.

[00:42:18] You can see his skull.

[00:42:20] Somebody get him a sandwich.

[00:42:24] Oh man.

[00:42:25] Yeah.

[00:42:26] All right.

[00:42:26] And then we see the kids from the other school.

[00:42:29] Um, what's his butt?

[00:42:32] Um, earthquake guy.

[00:42:34] Shindo.

[00:42:34] Shindo.

[00:42:34] Yeah.

[00:42:34] He's number 20.

[00:42:35] He's got new hair.

[00:42:36] Um, his other friends are there too.

[00:42:39] And then from class 1B, we have Monoma, number 10.

[00:42:43] Gay.

[00:42:43] Sway.

[00:42:44] I love whoever drew his design.

[00:42:48] I know it wasn't Horikoshi.

[00:42:49] Horikoshi is not capable of this.

[00:42:51] But that's phenomenal.

[00:42:53] He looks damn good.

[00:42:54] Yeah.

[00:42:54] He looks so good.

[00:42:55] I, peak character design.

[00:42:57] Peak.

[00:42:58] Yeah.

[00:42:58] And then Kendo is number 23.

[00:43:00] And then I think that's Mudman as number 14.

[00:43:04] Cause it looks like his costume.

[00:43:06] No clue.

[00:43:07] Sure.

[00:43:08] Um, Tetsu, Tetsu, Tetsu, Tetsu is number 28.

[00:43:11] Yeah.

[00:43:12] Um, the girl who could break herself up into a bunch of lizard parts is 22.

[00:43:17] I'm sorry.

[00:43:18] I never learned her name.

[00:43:19] Um, the kid who's named Manga, cause why not just name him Manga in the manga.

[00:43:24] He's number 33.

[00:43:26] Mm-hmm.

[00:43:27] Um, we find out Inasa has ditched his hat.

[00:43:31] Dumb move, personally.

[00:43:33] But whatever.

[00:43:33] Did he bleach his hair?

[00:43:34] Inasa is number 16.

[00:43:36] Yeah.

[00:43:37] Wrong.

[00:43:38] Incorrect.

[00:43:39] Mm-hmm.

[00:43:40] Um, Meatball Guy is number 41.

[00:43:43] Makes no sense.

[00:43:45] Yeah, no.

[00:43:46] Uh, Cammie looking slay, but she, it doesn't look like she has a ranking.

[00:43:51] Yeah.

[00:43:51] Or at least it's not translated.

[00:43:52] Yeah, that part isn't translated, so we don't know what that says.

[00:43:55] Oh, well.

[00:43:56] She should be number one.

[00:43:58] I'm just mad Mario is number one, even though that is the one thing that, like, makes the

[00:44:02] most sense.

[00:44:03] Yeah, yeah.

[00:44:04] That was, that was laid back in season four.

[00:44:08] So we're gonna have to just accept that one.

[00:44:10] Accept it for now.

[00:44:11] Yeah, that's fine.

[00:44:12] But yeah, we spend a hell of a lot of time looking at everyone's rankings for no reason.

[00:44:17] And then once we get back to the kids, they say, heroes won't be needed anymore.

[00:44:20] Mm-hmm.

[00:44:21] I'm sorry.

[00:44:23] And they're slowly heading towards extinction.

[00:44:26] What?

[00:44:27] Which, it hasn't been that long, so okay.

[00:44:29] It's been a month.

[00:44:32] I mean, I guess that's a good thing.

[00:44:34] Yeah, but it doesn't, it's, I don't, I don't like it.

[00:44:38] Again, it's just the way it's presented.

[00:44:40] Like, if it had been presented differently, it'd be much more believable.

[00:44:44] But because it's just some random throwaway line.

[00:44:46] Yeah.

[00:44:46] And also, even if there's not any villains that are, like, more villains to fight, even

[00:44:52] if villains are becoming a thing of the past, which does make sense thematically, we would

[00:44:56] still need heroes.

[00:44:57] Because people, like, always need saving.

[00:45:00] Even if it's not from a supervillain.

[00:45:02] Random crap happens all the time.

[00:45:04] Yeah.

[00:45:04] So we always need heroes.

[00:45:06] Yeah.

[00:45:06] And the gap that they fill that, you know, regular law enforcement doesn't is that they

[00:45:11] can interfere while an incident is happening instead of afterwards.

[00:45:16] Yeah.

[00:45:17] Exactly.

[00:45:17] Exactly.

[00:45:18] Whatever.

[00:45:19] Fine.

[00:45:19] We'll ignore it because we don't like it.

[00:45:21] Yeah.

[00:45:22] Like, just because, like, they don't need to be going extinct.

[00:45:25] It's just that their, their function is changing.

[00:45:28] Yeah.

[00:45:28] Their function needs to change.

[00:45:30] Less escalation, more de-escalation.

[00:45:32] Like, they should be de-escalation experts.

[00:45:34] Yeah.

[00:45:35] Which I feel like they are.

[00:45:36] That should be, like, their role.

[00:45:37] And that would make them more necessary than ever.

[00:45:41] Mm-hmm.

[00:45:41] Mm-hmm.

[00:45:42] All right.

[00:45:42] And then after that, we go to Shoto.

[00:45:45] And he basically kind of goes into what's going on internally with him.

[00:45:50] Mm-hmm.

[00:45:50] And how he's, like, he's struggling to, like, put his fate and what other people, like,

[00:45:57] say is his destiny and what his family.

[00:45:59] He's, like, struggling to put all of that together.

[00:46:01] And recently, he's come to a better understanding of all of that.

[00:46:05] Yeah.

[00:46:05] So he's in a good place.

[00:46:06] And it looks like people have been making comic books about his life.

[00:46:08] So that's awkward.

[00:46:09] So that's rude.

[00:46:11] Don't do that.

[00:46:13] I mean, maybe he signed off on it so people would understand better what happened.

[00:46:17] I guess.

[00:46:18] But, like, also, can we, can we not?

[00:46:21] Yeah.

[00:46:22] It also looks like a bunch of the drawings in those comic books are from older volumes

[00:46:27] of actual MHA, which is hilarious.

[00:46:29] Love that.

[00:46:30] Yeah.

[00:46:31] They definitely saved some time there.

[00:46:34] They're like, we're not drawing anything new.

[00:46:35] Just reuse some old material.

[00:46:37] Just reuse it.

[00:46:38] He is Japan's tragic child.

[00:46:41] We will use whatever we have already.

[00:46:44] Mm-hmm.

[00:46:45] Mm-hmm.

[00:46:45] Yeah.

[00:46:46] He's their Cinderella.

[00:46:47] So.

[00:46:48] Yep.

[00:46:49] Yep.

[00:46:50] Yeah.

[00:46:50] But, again, another sign that not a lot of effort was put into this chapter.

[00:46:54] Yeah.

[00:46:54] At all.

[00:46:55] Like, even Shoto's speech, like, he's, like, saying, like, he's rectified his destiny and

[00:47:01] his duty and his family.

[00:47:03] It feels, it's not sharp.

[00:47:05] It's not.

[00:47:06] It's just vague.

[00:47:07] Yeah.

[00:47:07] It's, like, it's not.

[00:47:09] It doesn't really say anything in particular.

[00:47:10] What we're used to from Horikoshi.

[00:47:12] Yeah.

[00:47:13] And, apparently, Horikoshi originally planned for Endeavor to, like, die.

[00:47:18] So, at some point, that got changed for some reason.

[00:47:22] Censorship.

[00:47:23] We also, Endeavor's not even mentioned.

[00:47:26] And, like, he was such a big part of Horikoshi's whole theme.

[00:47:31] And he's not even mentioned.

[00:47:32] Yep.

[00:47:35] And so, he sums up his very vague speech in a very Shoto way.

[00:47:40] Yes.

[00:47:41] He has taken up a new hobby.

[00:47:44] He is going to start making his own bowls and chopsticks.

[00:47:46] And that's adorable.

[00:47:48] Yes.

[00:47:48] I love that complete non-sequitur.

[00:47:51] That is, that part is very much in character.

[00:47:54] Yes.

[00:47:54] Him going on some, like, random mental journey and ending with,

[00:47:59] BT Doves, I have a new hobby.

[00:48:02] By the way, I like eating.

[00:48:04] So, I'm going to embrace that about myself.

[00:48:06] Yes.

[00:48:07] And Izuku and Kotsuki are like, wait, what?

[00:48:10] We weren't paying attention.

[00:48:11] When did we take this turn?

[00:48:12] Where am I?

[00:48:15] We do find out that Shoto prays at Toya's altar, which we can take to mean Toya has now

[00:48:21] passed.

[00:48:21] Yeah.

[00:48:22] We knew it was going to happen, but we had also hoped he would live a long, morphine-filled

[00:48:28] life.

[00:48:29] But, whatever.

[00:48:31] Recover or something, magically.

[00:48:34] But, yeah.

[00:48:35] Yep.

[00:48:35] And then Shoto's like, I have so much free time.

[00:48:39] I'm reading Parasite.

[00:48:40] Or somebody says, yeah, I bet you're reading Parasite, which is a reference that goes over

[00:48:44] my head because I've not read Parasite.

[00:48:47] I don't know what it's about.

[00:48:48] Maybe there's a whole slice of references we've been missing this whole time because none of

[00:48:53] us have read Parasite.

[00:48:54] I don't know.

[00:48:55] Yep.

[00:48:55] No clue.

[00:48:56] I know about the movie Parasite, which that would be a very interesting.

[00:49:01] I didn't know there was a movie.

[00:49:03] Oh, yeah.

[00:49:04] Yeah, and it's about how the 1% is evil.

[00:49:08] Oh!

[00:49:09] And parasitic on the rest of the population.

[00:49:12] Oh, is that the horror movie?

[00:49:15] Yes.

[00:49:15] Yes.

[00:49:16] I think they're talking about the manga Parasite.

[00:49:19] Oh, okay.

[00:49:20] Either way.

[00:49:21] Maybe it's just like a really, really long manga.

[00:49:23] It is.

[00:49:24] And the joke is that now he has time to read it.

[00:49:26] It is.

[00:49:26] It is quite long because at work, they like has a whole shelf.

[00:49:31] Anyway.

[00:49:31] All right.

[00:49:33] Everything was said and nothing was said is what we're saying.

[00:49:37] Mm-hmm.

[00:49:37] Yeah.

[00:49:38] And it's interesting that there's so much focus on free time.

[00:49:42] But then Ochako and Izuku are working such long hours.

[00:49:47] Yeah.

[00:49:48] So we'll get back to that.

[00:49:50] We do find out that Kuro Iro and Kinoko, the dark kid and the mushroom kid, they're dating.

[00:49:57] Yay!

[00:49:58] And we had a crush on her.

[00:49:59] The only approved ship I will allow.

[00:50:03] Aw, I think that's really cute, actually.

[00:50:06] It is.

[00:50:06] Because he had a crush on her back in school.

[00:50:08] Big time.

[00:50:09] It was so sweet.

[00:50:10] Oh, I love it.

[00:50:12] And then on the next page, Sarah was like, oh, by the way, speaking of those two, what about you two talking to Jiro and Denki?

[00:50:19] And they're both like, no.

[00:50:23] They're like, no.

[00:50:25] You've got it all wrong.

[00:50:26] Denki's just like, she's my neighbor.

[00:50:27] And it's great.

[00:50:28] It makes me think of school.

[00:50:29] Meanwhile, Jiro is leaning into Momo.

[00:50:32] Yeah, that's interesting.

[00:50:34] Like, is this a thou dost protest too much situation?

[00:50:38] Or is this Horikoshi being like, look, I'm getting one queer ship in.

[00:50:44] You can't stop me.

[00:50:48] But I do love that they're still close.

[00:50:51] Yeah.

[00:50:52] They're still a trio.

[00:50:52] And it's nice.

[00:50:54] And then with that, like, the voices begin to fade and Izuku starts reminiscing about Shiggy again.

[00:51:01] Mm-hmm.

[00:51:02] And as he's thinking about Shiggy, he looks over at Otako.

[00:51:06] Yeah.

[00:51:06] That's not what Shiggy meant.

[00:51:09] No.

[00:51:09] And also very much abrupt left turn.

[00:51:14] Yes.

[00:51:15] Um, why would you be thinking about the man you killed and immediately look over and say, oh, there's a pretty girl.

[00:51:23] That's not Izuku, first of all.

[00:51:26] Yeah.

[00:51:26] I think there's, like, they're, like, trying to imply, I think, that Izuku's like, oh, maybe I should take, like, some time for myself.

[00:51:35] Because now I've completed Shiggy's dream of kids actually getting help, which, no.

[00:51:42] No.

[00:51:43] No.

[00:51:45] It's like, one, Shiggy wouldn't give two shits if you were dating someone.

[00:51:49] He wants you to do your damn best as a hero, as a contributor to society.

[00:51:55] Yes.

[00:51:56] Yeah.

[00:51:57] They're implying that to do your best, you have to get together with a girl?

[00:52:02] No.

[00:52:02] No.

[00:52:03] Yeah.

[00:52:03] Yeah.

[00:52:04] That's not what Shiggy was talking about at all.

[00:52:07] Yeah.

[00:52:08] Very much, no.

[00:52:09] Also, how are you going to use him as the vehicle for this couple?

[00:52:13] That's so weird.

[00:52:15] It's so weird.

[00:52:16] So off-putting.

[00:52:18] And so just against what Shiggy stands for.

[00:52:20] He got reduced to a mechanic to launch a romantic relationship.

[00:52:28] A straight romantic relationship, also.

[00:52:30] Yes.

[00:52:31] Yes.

[00:52:32] 100%.

[00:52:32] Yeah.

[00:52:33] No.

[00:52:33] We'll get to it.

[00:52:33] We'll get to it.

[00:52:35] Listeners, no.

[00:52:37] No.

[00:52:38] But with that, they are interrupted by some...

[00:52:42] It says a criminal's quirk is wreaking havoc.

[00:52:44] Not a villain.

[00:52:45] Mm-hmm.

[00:52:45] So that's nice.

[00:52:46] But they're interrupted and they have to go do hero work.

[00:52:49] Yeah.

[00:52:49] I will say in the previous page, Ochako is drawn very beautifully.

[00:52:54] Oh, she's hot.

[00:52:54] She looks very pretty.

[00:52:55] She's hot.

[00:52:55] She's so cute.

[00:52:56] Yep.

[00:52:57] She doing good.

[00:52:58] And then the next page is all of them just launching into action from the restaurant.

[00:53:02] They're all dressed because they'll always have their uniforms because they never get a fucking day off.

[00:53:07] Mm-hmm.

[00:53:08] Yeah.

[00:53:09] And we get a glimpse of Izuku's suit, sort of.

[00:53:12] Not really.

[00:53:13] Yeah.

[00:53:13] So we never really get a full sense of what that looks like.

[00:53:17] Also, the way everyone's drawn is so strange.

[00:53:19] Especially Izuku.

[00:53:20] Izuku's face.

[00:53:21] Who is that?

[00:53:23] It looks more like the kid from Vigilantes than Izuku.

[00:53:27] Yeah.

[00:53:28] It just...

[00:53:29] The art style, again, it's...

[00:53:31] There's just weird inconsistencies everywhere.

[00:53:34] Yeah.

[00:53:35] None of these stances or positions are even close to anything from before.

[00:53:42] So yeah.

[00:53:43] Yeah.

[00:53:44] Everything's just odd.

[00:53:45] Yeah.

[00:53:47] So with that, it doesn't show a fight scene.

[00:53:50] It just showed that they immediately stopped the criminal and there were no casualties and it wasn't premeditated.

[00:53:57] It's called a sudden impulse, but he's taken away.

[00:54:00] There's no damages.

[00:54:01] Everything's great.

[00:54:02] And then everybody goes home.

[00:54:03] And Shoto says, by the way, I paid.

[00:54:06] Well, he's rich.

[00:54:07] Which is the one candid thing I still agree with.

[00:54:09] He pays for everything.

[00:54:15] It's just weird.

[00:54:21] It's just weird.

[00:54:24] It's just weird.

[00:54:36] It's just weird.

[00:54:38] down with the hill yeah yeah exactly he's like just no and of course you know it's like would

[00:54:43] you two just stop yeah quit flirting all right so with that they all split the bill it's very cute

[00:54:52] um we get mentioned that Edshot is coming back to Japan so Edshot's alive that's good

[00:54:58] maybe he's now fully regrown after eight years yeah yeah sure hope so also Izuku's chibi form

[00:55:06] we've never seen a style like that before that is he's whenever there's a smile from before it was

[00:55:14] always just the toga mask that was a smile that was the only time a smile was ever used like that

[00:55:20] yeah yeah it's very much mask looking and just odd yeah so that's weird yep also it makes it sound

[00:55:29] like Katsuki is gonna wait up for Izuku but then he says see you so I don't know if like

[00:55:37] they had to change something about the chapter and they just didn't bother changing that one line

[00:55:42] because again they don't fucking care yeah yeah it's it's a weird goodbye scene it's kind of it's

[00:55:47] disjointed yeah it's very disjointed and one line contradicts the next yep and somebody pointed out

[00:55:55] that whatever's happening here Bakugo was the wingman for Izuku and what he's about to do next

[00:56:02] and like where right yeah that wasn't explained like how does Katsuki know what Izuku's gonna do

[00:56:06] because they never mentioned it's like a whole thing was cut yeah um so that happened but that

[00:56:13] happened that squad is drunk and they want to ride home and that part's great that's correct

[00:56:17] they want to go home in that squishy back seat mm-hmm all right so with that we cut to

[00:56:23] who's on our way home alone oh wait wait hold on we missed something so um we do learn that Katsuki

[00:56:30] is sometimes a guest teacher for Izuku which is cute and Izuku wants Katsuki to come by because

[00:56:37] Aizawa is planning a class on communication so Izuku's like hey whatever the fuck was going on in that car

[00:56:44] we're gonna discuss that mm-hmm but then also there's several panels of Izuku very very slowly

[00:56:52] fading into the distance and the drawing wistful as hell yep and then there's that overlaid text

[00:57:00] giving special treatment to everyone means that no one is really special to you and it's so sad

[00:57:07] it's so sad Katsuki wants to be treated special by Izuku uh-huh in this horrible half-canon hell

[00:57:13] that I used the other day it's like Horikoshi's watching his preferred ending slip through his

[00:57:18] fingers yeah that's the uh that's what that is that's the vibe I get yeah from it yeah but it's

[00:57:26] okay Horikoshi we we don't think this is canon we understand what's going on yeah yeah but anyway

[00:57:31] publishing sucks and sometimes you just got to do what you got to do yep so next we go back to

[00:57:36] Ochako who's walking home alone thinking about all the work she has to do yep and the art style

[00:57:41] has once again dropped in quality yep which is odd considering this is the final few pages

[00:57:47] yeah it doesn't even look like her like I don't know what's going on here mm-hmm but but essentially

[00:57:53] what's going on here is she's walking home and then Izuku has caught up to her and we get a flash of

[00:57:58] toga um and she's like back at her dreamscape but she's also there and Izuku is trying to voice

[00:58:05] what was said to him by Katsuki to Ochako because in this weird hellscape of semi-canon

[00:58:13] Shiggy's ghost has told him to go go get laid by a by a girl like what yeah yeah it's strange

[00:58:20] like Shiggy fucking cares yeah he does not care at all in fact he would probably prefer that Izuku

[00:58:27] be significantly more miserable for many more years yep exactly does not like him yeah but we learned

[00:58:35] that Izuku wants to talk more he wants to spend more time with Ochako than they have been recently

[00:58:39] which is fair he misses his friend yes but then we go back to the dreamscape and toga bisexual queen

[00:58:46] that toga is she probably would honestly ship Izuku and Ochako from the afterlife yeah but I feel like

[00:58:53] but also I don't know it's I don't know if she would like push them together or if that's this version

[00:59:00] of Ochako projecting what toga might want for her so she doesn't feel guilty about leaving her behind

[00:59:06] this is just them doing what they had to do yeah but also toga again being used as a prop

[00:59:15] for a straight ship yeah no that's not fucking sucks that's not what was being said in all of the previous chapters

[00:59:25] they were specifically saying no this is not gonna happen and the final page has them like reaching out

[00:59:34] and like grabbing onto each other in a handshake but it's like upward instead of downward they're dabbing

[00:59:40] they're dabbing they're not holding hands like that is not how straight people hold hands that is not

[00:59:45] how romantic people hold each other's hands folks oh man like yeah that most you can take from that is

[00:59:53] toga is encouraging Ochako to spend more time with Izuku because they're lonely and overworked together

[00:59:59] like it it's not immediately clear that they are beginning a romantic relationship even though

[01:00:05] that's what the chapter is trying to say yeah that's clearly what the implication is but again

[01:00:11] it's being done in the most resentful way possible and it's being done so badly like this is fine

[01:00:17] we'll do it we'll do it hate it yep we're gonna do it and it's gonna look like we didn't do it so

[01:00:23] fuck you mm-hmm oh yeah but that's the end of the quote-unquote chapter um i hate it it is erotic

[01:00:33] friend fiction written by somebody in class 1a who wants Izuku and Ochako to get together because they

[01:00:39] themselves are blinder than Izuku and Katsuki and they don't realize that Izuku and Katsuki are married

[01:00:47] either oh boy yeah maybe it's freaking Mineta's fan fiction this this is Mineta's fan fiction oh my god

[01:00:56] you're so right oh bad boy but yeah so i know i've mentioned government propaganda a few times

[01:01:03] let's get into it please do educate me what the hell are they doing again they've clearly fulfilled

[01:01:09] certain requirements as resentfully as they can so we see Ochako working super hard never taking

[01:01:17] breaks falling asleep at her desk Izuku is implied to be doing something similarly where he doesn't

[01:01:22] even have time to get changed before he's off to meet his friends um and he has to get a ride from

[01:01:27] someone because he was working late so and then we see Ochako actually going to a doctor about an

[01:01:35] issue um and it not helping and instead the implication is like oh in order for this problem

[01:01:42] to be solved you need to figure out what Toga is telling you and Toga is telling her to go get laid

[01:01:48] yeah which is she first of all no but yeah the implication that we're getting is that society

[01:01:58] is quote-unquote returning to normal which is very much the like it's the antithesis of what Horikoshi

[01:02:08] yeah a very very conservative definition of normal where heroes are fading out of existence

[01:02:16] but in everyday life none of the underlying problems have been solved like people are still

[01:02:22] overworked people are still stressed out people still don't have good access to mental health care

[01:02:28] and then when they get it it doesn't work and they just blow it off and the only thing you really

[01:02:34] need in order to fix your problems is to be heterosexual is to be heterosexual and start dating

[01:02:42] and get married and have children to continue yes be a hard worker and make babies so we can have more

[01:02:49] hard workers and if you think this is a stretch you have not been paying attention to at all the

[01:02:55] significant issues that Japan has like they are one of the worst ranked countries in the world for

[01:03:02] gender equality yeah that is insane and granted America is not very high up on that list either

[01:03:08] god no oh god yeah and we also don't have work-life balance and you know Japan is very very very

[01:03:16] concerned about the plummeting number of babies being born and they have started circulating like

[01:03:23] ads and propaganda and like inserts into popular media about the importance of getting with someone

[01:03:31] and starting a family and having babies but also don't stop working yeah don't stop working

[01:03:37] but also make more baby gears for the machine of capitalism because there was this one point where

[01:03:44] this was a couple years ago this one guy was really really trying hard to get like some reforms passed

[01:03:49] that would like give people more time off more paid parental leave especially dads who literally

[01:03:54] never take it because if they do they get penalized they get yeah and uh making it easier for people to go to

[01:04:01] school and stuff and that's all just kind of like floundered yeah even though that would actually fix the

[01:04:06] problems like yeah again horikoshi he makes his themes really really clear he was very very clear about how

[01:04:14] people need to work less hard rely more on others get the support they need from institutions and

[01:04:22] and and like work to work to correct and be themselves yes and do all of that and that is

[01:04:30] going to essentially fix all the underlying problems that are caused yes by these are the underlying

[01:04:36] problems is that like like that's what's actually wrong with society and he's been using hero society

[01:04:42] as a metaphor for that and so to read this chapter that just kind of takes that all back

[01:04:47] yeah snatches it all back and is like no no no no you need to go work hard in a corporate office

[01:04:52] and get all sleep at your desk uh-huh and reconnect with the one male you sort of showed interest in

[01:05:01] back in high school when you were still deep in your comp het phase uh-huh yeah uh-huh and also also

[01:05:08] we're not saying that they are both not bisexual bisexual is very valid and their attraction to each

[01:05:12] other in high school was real yes but it's over they are both gay well also even if they had

[01:05:19] like you could write an izuoka ending that makes way more sense than this yes i could do it i might do

[01:05:24] it actually because i feel bad for the izuokas like this is what y'all got it sucks they don't even

[01:05:30] know it sucks because they're so happy izuoka shippers are pissed yeah because this is a bullshit

[01:05:36] chapter and it really reduced ochako's character yeah for real and toga's and toga yep

[01:05:42] and i know a lot of people are claiming like oh this is just a shipping thing it's just a shipping

[01:05:46] thing here's the thing when it comes to queer ships it's never just a shipping thing yeah it's about

[01:05:52] our right to exist our right to be acknowledged and to all the people going well then just read

[01:05:59] queer fiction separate but equal doesn't work for anyone never period that's not a thing it doesn't

[01:06:04] really exist like segregation is not the answer here yeah we deserve to be we deserve to see

[01:06:13] ourselves as often as straight people see themselves represented at least yes in every avenue and yeah

[01:06:21] japan you know they don't commit the same kind of hate crimes that america does there's not as much

[01:06:27] overt violence but queerness still isn't fully accepted especially in more rural areas yeah

[01:06:34] they're still not allowed to get married wait did that change recently or was that a different country

[01:06:39] that might have been i'm i'm not sure honestly someone just passed a marriage equality bill but

[01:06:44] i can't remember who it was oh yeah somebody was it ireland same protections you know you're not going

[01:06:51] to get the same kind of promotions at work that you would if you were in a heterosexual marriage

[01:06:58] i'm pretty sure if they can't get married adoption is probably a hell of a lot more complicated

[01:07:02] so they can't start families as easily like they the suppression is still there very much there and

[01:07:09] i've been reading a lot of comments from like queer japanese listeners or readers who are upset and

[01:07:17] they feel kind of betrayed and they also were like wow we thought we might finally get something close

[01:07:22] to queer representation in a popular shonen yeah and they were really looking forward to that because

[01:07:31] guess what sometimes 12 year olds are gay like yeah quite often they are gay actually that's a really

[01:07:39] formative time and you know the only time they ever see queer content it's segregated

[01:07:47] and fetishized and that's not healthy for them so no it's not just about shipping yeah like this

[01:07:54] this sucked this hurt for very very real reasons that if you're straight you quite simply do not

[01:08:00] understand yeah period like and that's why toga being used to prop up izu-ocha also hurt yeah because

[01:08:12] it's just another symptom of the same problem that horikoshi had been trying to avoid very clearly

[01:08:19] yeah he was specifically trying to avoid the like what stereotypical ending yeah because trying to

[01:08:27] avoid being pigeonholed yeah and like specifically avoiding the stereotypical ending is commentary in

[01:08:34] and of itself like no i'm not letting the two main heterosexual canon win essentially is what i would

[01:08:42] take from 430 being the canon ending and 431 being the shit ending like the fact that he did not ship

[01:08:50] the main two together is a statement in and of itself like no we're not gonna be he wanted

[01:08:56] izu-ocha to be canon he could have easily done it in 430 oh yeah he had the opportunity very easily

[01:09:01] and he would have done it so much better but also he didn't want to because that wasn't that wasn't

[01:09:06] his goal that wasn't the truth yeah it wasn't baku deku which is the truth yeah he's put way way more

[01:09:13] hours into that one way way more like even if you consider it like platonic that's clearly the main

[01:09:21] relationship dynamic that he wanted to examine yeah and all the intricacies of that and so again to

[01:09:26] see that brush to the wayside in this one so sadly that was also very jarring because those two and

[01:09:33] their connection and how they balance each other out again whether you consider it platonic or romantic

[01:09:38] that is half the point of the series yeah it's like the crux of the series along with all the social

[01:09:44] commentary yeah yeah and again i don't think it's any surprise that we saw something like this come out

[01:09:50] when this is probably the most overtly political shonen specifically that i can think of like

[01:09:58] don't get me wrong they all make you know statements yeah yeah but this one is this one was a very very

[01:10:05] direct critique of the current regime yeah yeah which has been in power for a very long time

[01:10:12] through suspicious means so yeah yeah yeah so yeah that's if you yeah basically if you were disappointed

[01:10:20] and you feel robbed by this chapter you're correct you're right like this was this was even if yeah it

[01:10:29] hurt even if it's meant to be canon which it's not um it it hurts it's bad like this is this is not what we

[01:10:37] come to this property for yeah and it's very clear that you know care the same level of care wasn't

[01:10:44] taken with this chapter which is why i had that suspicion that this was just something that they

[01:10:50] were just required to do and once they did this like their contract was over they were finished and

[01:10:55] they were like you know what we just we don't have the time or the energy to fight you on this we're just

[01:10:59] gonna give it to you and that really sucks and it does suck and maybe at one point there'll be a way

[01:11:07] to sort of retcon this um yeah well i think you know horikoshi having that afterward before the chapter

[01:11:15] yeah it's kind of him getting his final word in and kind of evening the score a little bit

[01:11:22] so i'm glad he was able to do that but again as someone who you know we're very familiar with the

[01:11:29] publishing world and sometimes people don't get to fulfill their creative vision the way they want

[01:11:35] and it blows it sucks yeah oh 2024 what you could have been oh man we could have had baku deku kiss

[01:11:45] in the epilogue instead of that well we knew that wasn't gonna happen i held out hope i feel like

[01:11:52] sorry i feel like that is there's a significantly better chance of that being fully canon than

[01:11:58] whatever the fuck we just read yeah that wasn't right no and there was several things wrong with it

[01:12:05] and if you don't agree you're straight and also homophobic so fuck you uh but yeah again it's

[01:12:13] probably it's horikoshi made it very clear that this is something we can disregard yeah he he's

[01:12:20] made it very clear that it's okay if we don't include this in the canon yeah yeah and that and

[01:12:25] that's probably all he can say honestly yes 100 he's probably like again japan not just you know

[01:12:33] cultural norms that he has to obey but also they're pretty litigious yeah it's like the contractual

[01:12:40] norms are i for sure holding him back because he he just needs he just wants to leave and he doesn't

[01:12:47] want to get wrapped up in some legal battle or libel lawsuit so he's just like and he wants to continue

[01:12:52] doing this sort of work as well i'm sure yeah yeah he has to not alienate himself from every other

[01:12:58] publishing company out there yeah and if he at some point if he wants to and if he's like biding his

[01:13:06] time until such hypothetical future point that this can be corrected that's fine too but also if

[01:13:12] he can't that's fine too because government sucks yep government sucks capitalism sucks everything's

[01:13:20] just controlled by out-of-touch shareholders yep who make all the decisions all the heteronormative

[01:13:27] patriarchal capitalistic shareholders run everything people to make more babies so they can make more money

[01:13:33] they can make more money yep it's like yeah we see you now fuck you um you're not going to take

[01:13:39] baku deku away from me and all the other themes that are equally important oh no and yeah we're gonna

[01:13:45] we're gonna keep doing things the way we've been doing them because and also i think we have plenty

[01:13:50] of textual evidence on our side yeah and also it's not explicit that they are now in a romantic

[01:13:56] relationship folks that's not something you can 100 concretely take away from this

[01:14:02] yeah and i think that is also a win even though it hurts agreed agreed agreed so yeah we we covered

[01:14:10] that we did it we just had to yeah it was just an important fandom moment yep an important property

[01:14:18] moment as well um i'm seeing i'm seeing horikoshi got a lot of hate that i don't currently i don't

[01:14:25] think he deserves because again i do think this was not what he would have preferred to write

[01:14:29] yeah his hands were tied like if you compare this with all of the rest of it it's it's the quality

[01:14:35] is quite different yeah it's it's not of a tier as well yeah it's it's not it's not his baby in the

[01:14:44] way that the other 430 chapters are so yep yeah yeah no no sending death threats no god no what are

[01:14:52] you doing and you know no committing suicide either oh no at the end of the day it's a story and i know

[01:14:59] you're really really disappointed and it feels like your heart is absolutely broken there will be more

[01:15:04] stories i promise yes and yes and we are with you don't don't go just because of propaganda no no

[01:15:12] don't do it we love you please stay yeah it's a-okay to express your disappointment like you are

[01:15:19] entitled to your opinion you are entitled to the right to express your opinion in a public space

[01:15:23] yep you're not entitled to threatening someone no no especially over what is essentially fiction so yeah

[01:15:30] yeah yeah like it's okay we're with you we're not gonna we're not gonna be we understand your

[01:15:36] anger yes we feel your expression needs to be rolled back a little bit a little bit um yeah it's

[01:15:43] okay it's okay we'll get through this i hate to be we're now the elders of the oh yeah it's so wild

[01:15:51] oh of the queer fandom rhetoric it's like it's okay we've been here we'll get through it again

[01:15:57] yeah y'all i used to be a harry potter nerd so yeah like so hardcore it was so bad

[01:16:05] we all were oh it's terrible but yeah you know even when something like that level of extreme i don't

[01:16:13] think this is that level of extreme god no like that happens you know you you live to read another

[01:16:18] day yep you'll find something else and again it everyone every story gets better you just you just

[01:16:25] can't give up on it and also we are going to continue saying that this is a gay property because it is

[01:16:29] oh yeah yeah no the queer themes throughout it are very clear very clear you can't erase that with one

[01:16:38] contractual contractually obligated propagandized ending uh-huh exactly exactly also it's weird that

[01:16:46] this is our 99th ctfu episode and i want to do a 100th so bad bad because maybe you know me and my

[01:16:54] thing about numbers but oh yeah it would be it would be so satisfying for there to be a 100th episode

[01:17:01] and it like reverses this or really just anything um but yeah i guess i mean we didn't know 431 was

[01:17:09] coming maybe there'll be something new we did not so yeah i don't know maybe i'll find like an

[01:17:15] incredibly contrived reason to put out one more episode i'm sure we will we still have so much

[01:17:21] happy yeah i mean we're only halfway through the regular episodes of the property oh yeah we'll find

[01:17:29] stuff we've still got four more seasons of regular episodes to go and they will continue to be gay

[01:17:34] mm-hmm oh yeah this is a queer mha podcast always literally

[01:17:42] all right anything else no i mean we could blab forever but i think we've said everything that

[01:17:48] was on our list yes very much so well thank y'all for listening um we probably won't be back with

[01:17:55] another ctfu episode or we might who knows but hope springs eternal we'll be back with regular episodes

[01:18:02] soon but in the meantime go beyond plus ultra catch the fuck up and ignore chapter 431 bye y'all

[01:18:11] bye y'all we love you bye