Let's be honest....Deku is the main problem in BNHA

twoego said:
That's interesting and all, but what's with your profile? What are you doing with the "1" rating on Chihayafuru? Also, I do somewhat agree with the post.

ChainxBastard said:

'
We know that he is capable of injuring himself far too severely due to his martyr complex. He should have suffered a horrific injury that changed the trajectory of his career....forever.

But that NEVER happens. .

OneNaughtyBaby said:
This did happen in his fight against muscular. Recovery (or some other doctor I don't remember) told him another 1 or 2 more injuries like that and he would never use his arms again. That's why he started using his legs.

ChainxBastard said:


It should have happened before then or there should have been another circumstance where he had to desperately harm himself in order to save someone. My issue is that the author played it way too safe much like Kishimoto did with Naruto. There needs to be more real consequences.

ChainxBastard said:


It's not good that's why. Anyways off topic.

twoego said:
That's interesting and all, but what's with your profile? What are you doing with the "1" rating on Chihayafuru? Also, I do somewhat agree with the post.

ChainxBastard said:
Mirio was infinitely more interesting.

I have a horrific time getting invested in basic generic anime shows where the main character is a net negative in comparison to every other character in the show because the supporting cast constantly props up the generic hero as if he was the second reincarnation of Jesus.

He's a good kid, he's smart and he works hard. Don't get me wrong.

But he's also far too timid, mentally fragile, has low self-esteem, yet it is not explored enough to be shown as a detriment so that he looks like a more well rounded and organic character.

My biggest pet peeve is when a character's "flaws" are never shown as a true flaw in the purpose of the narrative.

Deku could have easily been in a situation where he freezes up due to "analysis paralysis" and suffers a major loss. We know he's prone to overthinking but that NEVER happens.
'
We know that he is capable of injuring himself far too severely due to his martyr complex. He should have suffered a horrific injury that changed the trajectory of his career....forever.

But that NEVER happens.

I could go on.

I hate it when main characters aren't called out for their BS. Look at all the better examples....

Gon, Edward Elric, hell even GOKU gets called out for his BS. When a main character doesn't get absolved of their flaws by virtue of the fact that they're a main character, then the supporting cast looks as dynamic and organic as the main character himself.

But in BNHA, it just doesn't happen. Deku is bland, and every character that supports him by virtue gets shown as bland as well because their praise has ZERO basis.

Deku is why I can not invest in this show.

JustOppais said:
Deku and Shigaraki is the main problem in mha.

Daniel_Naumov said:
A character cannot be a problem. Everything is the author's will, any flaw and any genius lies within the authors being. If Deku is a problem, which is a nice big controversy, then ultimate the whole story is flawed because the author could not do something to make Deku NOT a problem.
Conceptual mistake on the part of the thread host.

A_Pli said:

Deku doesn't get called out for his flaws? What show have you been watching. Aizawa calls out his destructive quirk usage and how his style makes him a liability in the 5th episode which prompted him to start using his fingers to limit damage.
Recovery girl basically tells him she won't heal his injuries anymore as it feels like encouraging his destructive behavior, which leads him to learning full cowling and even to add to the sports festival it was clearly mentioned how his reckless usage of his quirk turned off pros from offering him internships even though he did a lot of impressive things.
He basically loses his ability to properly use his arms after his fight against muscular which led to him adapting shoot style and even more to that he himself acknowledges during the licence exam arc that if he had been careful and not hurt himself fighting muscular, he could have done more to prevent bakugo's abduction which if hadn't happened, All might wouldn't have lost his power completely. And lastly this argument with Mirio, something that basically started because Nighteye pointed out how Mirio would have been a better successor, is something that gets addressed.
Also to add to his psyche, even that is addressed although not in a major way when he is shown to basically having a panic attack and nearly fainting over thinking about the Eri situation before Iida and Todoroki cheer him up by showing their support for him.
There are problems to Deku's character and to the way MHA is written as a whole but this isn't one of it. His flaws which is mainly his lack of self preservance and his over idolization of All might are actually addressed plenty of times in the show and are things he improves on.

Sakurai_Aoi said:
I...can see why you say that. I loved Deku the minute he was introduced. He's an adorable boy who I find to be so admirable because of his determination to be a hero. I can relate to his struggle and I love seeing him get a step closer to achieving his dream...and yet I can understand where you are coming from.

There are a lot of characters more interesting than Deku. I will admit that. Compared to them, Deku just seems like an average shounen anime protagonist. But Deku is NOT a problem. And, if he is, he's not that big of a problem. I mean...at least he has flaws. He's not exactly the blandest character ever. And I'm aware that you didn't say that...BUT his personality and the depth to which it was explored isn't much of an issue.

If anything, the biggest issue with MHA in the beginning was Shigaraki who, in all honesty, pales in comparison to Stain. From the moment he was introduced Stain had a reason for doing what he did. Shigaraki on the other hand didn't really have a reason. And he wasn't all that interesting either aside from his appearance.

Later, other villains are introduced. Shigaraki seems to have found himself and he now seems less...meh. But then you have Toga, a character who has very little to her. She's obsessed with blood and is extremely loony. That's pretty much it. I'm not up to date but, come on, this isn't complexity.

So, out of all the issues that MHA could possibly have (such as being easy to lump in with other shounen anime, being somewhat predictable, etc)...Deku is not one the major ones.

And as far as consequences...lots of anime do that. Matter of fact lots of shows and movies in general do that. They tend to protect their main characters. Deku has been in serious danger several times and he has been seriously injured. His dream of being a hero was on the line and even his life was at times. Just because it didn't happen before doesn't make the consequences any less "real". Sometimes, the bad things just happen sooner or later than we expect them. That's just how it is.

OneNaughtyBaby said:
But he did though. I'm not exactly sure what point you're trying to make on this part specifically. He was healed by recovery girl, and even eventually she said that she would stop healing him which gave him more incentive to learn to control his power. His repeated injuries, despite getting healed has led up to the permanent damage of his arms. That's why he has scars.

At the end of the day, it's a shounen. This is what the target audience wants to see In these kinds of anime. It's not just naruto or My hero.

ChainxBastard said:


1) Even his fingers should have been fucked to hell and back though.

2) His reckless behavior "turns off other pros" but nepotism still got him an internship with Gran Torino.

3) "Shoot Style" is a whole nother can of worms. The same logic that All For One could fuck up his arms should be applied to his legs even with his costume upgrade, and if not, then his power should be considerably reduced (which it was) but his entire fighting style should have changed to speed, agility, and being a more overall nuisance than to keep it destructive.

4) My main issue is that even his "flaws" are too safe"

Oh no Deku "wants to save people too much." Oh no Deku is "so reckless and headstrong because he....wants to save people so much." That's why his flaws in the service of the narrative never "stick" to your psyche like say, Bakugou's flaws. And even though I can not STAND Bakugou, I can see why he was ranked #1 in popularity. He is who he is, but his flaws bolster his character because he has REAL flaws that can be, and were, exploited.

ChainxBastard said:


It should have happened before then or there should have been another circumstance where he had to desperately harm himself in order to save someone. My issue is that the author played it way too safe much like Kishimoto did with Naruto. There needs to be more real consequences.

ChainxBastard said:


I think we both know what "real" consequences are. Even after Gon was healed he faced "real" consequences that wrote him off of his own show.

A "real" consequence isn't being healed AGAIN, being told to "stop that" AGAIN, and still walking away with being able to use your Quirk to an extent where you can fight off villains and almost beat the best fighter in your own class.

ChainxBastard said:
Mirio was infinitely more interesting.

I have a horrific time getting invested in basic generic anime shows where the main character is a net negative in comparison to every other character in the show because the supporting cast constantly props up the generic hero as if he was the second reincarnation of Jesus.

He's a good kid, he's smart and he works hard. Don't get me wrong.

But he's also far too timid, mentally fragile, has low self-esteem, yet it is not explored enough to be shown as a detriment so that he looks like a more well rounded and organic character.

My biggest pet peeve is when a character's "flaws" are never shown as a true flaw in the purpose of the narrative.

Deku could have easily been in a situation where he freezes up due to "analysis paralysis" and suffers a major loss. We know he's prone to overthinking but that NEVER happens.
'
We know that he is capable of injuring himself far too severely due to his martyr complex. He should have suffered a horrific injury that changed the trajectory of his career....forever.

But that NEVER happens.

I could go on.

I hate it when main characters aren't called out for their BS. Look at all the better examples....

Gon, Edward Elric, hell even GOKU gets called out for his BS. When a main character doesn't get absolved of their flaws by virtue of the fact that they're a main character, then the supporting cast looks as dynamic and organic as the main character himself.

But in BNHA, it just doesn't happen. Deku is bland, and every character that supports him by virtue gets shown as bland as well because their praise has ZERO basis.

Deku is why I can not invest in this show.

A_Pli said:

1. His fingers are f'd up. It's limiting his damage because unlike losing an entire arm you can actually function with a broken finger. That is the whole reasoning behind him using his fingers which was explained. And even then he learn full cowling pretty soon into the show before he does too much damage to himself.
2. How is this anyway related to his flaws not bring acknowledged. Gran Torino takes him in inorder to help with his flaws because he has experience training an OFA holder after seeing how reckless deku is something, he criticizes him for and helps overcome.
3. It is fully explained that the reason he is using his legs is because due to the over damage he sustained from using One for all to a limit he couldn't take he has damaged the ligaments in his arms which being something that your body cannot repair by themselves is not something you can fix using recovery girl due to which further using of his arms under such stress would basically lead to his arms losing function. Hence shoot style, it's not that his legs wouldn't be damaged by OFA, it's that his arms can't take more stress so he has to focus on Legs which don't have damaged ligaments.
4. I will give this to you as this is your opinion than something that is objective. For me this has never been a problem.
I can understand people not liking Deku. As I said his character isn't perfect but this is not something at least in my opinion that flaws his character. Him being overzealous for saving others is a very realistic flaw in my POV because as Overhaul mentions A lot of People feel it's better to hurt myself than to hurt others, and it fits into Deku's narrative because he grew up admiring all might for being someone who he felt always saved everyone something he has come to learn isn't true.

OneNaughtyBaby said:
Again, it's a shounen. That's how it works. If he suffered extensive permanent damage so early on then what would his role as a main character and the future #1 hero be? Your issue isn't with Midoriya, it's with the genre itself.

If Naruto didn't have the nine tailed fox he probably would have died a long time ago before he learned sage mode. Nearly every major in DBZ, the protagonists win through some random power up that's unlocked when they're about to lose. don't watch One Piece but doesn't Luffy also have some plot progress power called gears or something? In Blue Dragon (Watched it a long time ago so if I'm remembering correctly) the MC is probably the weakest character physically/mentally yet has the strongest dragon. The list goes on. And again, it's what the audience wants to see.

Shaboigon said:


Thank you. As with any show it has its demographic to keep in mind and the author wrote the story they wanted too. If you don't like it, fine, everyone has their own opinion but its a stretch to say its bad because its not my story. The show was written as such with certain things in mind, there are other shows that do it differently. Its just as easy to pick one of those other shows if you don't like the artificial risk/reward complex found in most mainstream shounen

ChainxBastard said:


1) I meant "can barely make a fist anymore" fucked up. But I admit that I'm being nitpicky right now about that.

2) Gran Torino took him under his wing due to nepotism. Let's just call a spade a spade. If it wasn't Deku it would have been whoever else got One For All instead.

3) I know why, which technically means that at one point or at SOME point even his legs should be fucked up beyond repair. It's really weird how they frame his One For All powers because he can't use too much strength or else he will harm himself but he also can't use too little or else the damage he causes wouldn't be significant yet at the same he can do enough damage to harm others pretty badly BUT not QUITE enough to knock out Bakugou.

4) I am not speaking from an "objective" point of view, I am speaking from the view of a writer. Although GOOD writing is subjective GOOD TECHNIQUE is less so. GOOD writing technique is giving a character flaws that realistically bring them down even during crucial moments. POOR writing technique is deciding to play it safe because you're too afraid to alienate your fan base.

Most writers would agree, and most viewers would agree, that Deku is a character that was written to be "safe." In terms of good writing that is actually a problem.

Mayuka said:
hi OP i'm reporting your account for false rating to skewer the scores! :) have a good day

looks like OP is a bot who gets pissed when his fave anime is beaten by chihayafuru :(

ChainxBastard said:

But he's also far too timid, mentally fragile, has low self-esteem, yet it is not explored enough to be shown as a detriment so that he looks like a more well rounded and organic character.

Mayuka said:
doesn't matter, still a bot account with the intention of messing with average scores. admins mentioned in other thread that this can be worthy of ban.

real account should actually reflect someone who is watching anime and keeping track of it. this account is obviously his side account or throwaway account to post controversial topics on MAL like this and lower the score of an anime that's beating his faves.

VortexOfLight said:


I have to agree with you on the matter that Deku's more social flaws don't get called out. However, I'm fairly confident that his demeanour and behaviour will be addressed a little into the future. We had a recent chapter in the manga (forgive me if I'm a little fuzzy on the details), where all the students were being assessed for their social skills (or something like that) by Midnight. It was mostly played for tropes, with Bakugo getting angry and Mineta being Mineta, but there were two standout moments for me: Deku was called out for his anxiety and lack of confidence, and Todoroki was singled out as plain and unexpressive.

Of course, this was played off, and hasn't been addressed since, but I'd like to think that it was only brought up because Horikoshi is aware of the flaws of his characters, and is looking to improve them. I dearly hope they are brought up later, since one thing the show did right for me in the first season is to show us why All Might is objectively the greatest hero. His willpower, his presence, and everything about how he carried himself (even when he was faking it) showed us exactly why he was considered the best. That said, Deku as he is right now can't hope to achieve that level of greatness by virtue of the power of his quirk alone. Looking at it from a sociological perspective, it just won't happen, since current Deku's social appeal and projection pales in comparison to All Might's.

Deku's weaknesses as a character, and as a prospective hero, have been touched on, which is why I feel the need to agree with your post. Counterintuitive, I know. I'm saying this because I feel that they didn't get enough attention over that short time period, and am greatly concerned that they will be sweeped under the carpet, which would make the whole matter a lot worse, since we were educated as to the nature of his flaws, but nothing was done about it, negating the fundamental shonen themes of growth and self-improvement. It just wouldn't make sense.

In conclusion, you're right, and Horikoshi seems to know it. Here's to hoping it's actually addressed, since while many people have come to accept series like Naruto and Bleach for what they are in spite of all their flaws, My Hero Academia still has a long way to go, and still has a chance to clear such things before passing the point of no return. If nothing else, it'll satisfy fans like us if it does.

Mayuka said:
So... talk to us about why you disliked Chihayafuru S3 if you're gonna pretend that you've watched it.

ChainxBastard said:


You're not derailing my thread. Sorry. PM me if you want me to send you a dissertation.

Mayuka said:
I apologize. I'm getting angry over nothing and obviously, this has no place in this BNHA thread anyway. MAL ratings shouldn't affect me that much to call people out for it. I can't prove if you're a bot or not in the end. It'll be up to the admins to see how to handle the score problem since there are over 1500+ accounts made in November just to downrate it.

ChainxBastard said:
They won't handle it. MAL is trash. They allow trolls to downvote episodes and spew nonsense and when you report them and call out the trolls you get "warned" for backseat modding. It's happened to me several times.

I've been accused of being a troll due to other scores when I typically put "1"'s as a place holder. AOT fanbase destroyed me because I gave Season 3 Part 2 a "1" after my initial watch through because I was going to watch it again later, which I did. And I planned to rewatch Chihayafuru S3 too.

ChainxBastard said:
Just go to Reddit if you want real discussion. You won't find that here.