Not “Only My Reading Of Canon Is Correct” Or “Interpretations Are Subjective And All Valid” But

always on thin ice

On Neglect, Love, and Todoroki Fuyumi

Let the records state that there is nobody in the BNHA manga who I love more than Fuyumi. This essay is for her, just as much as it is for me, because there’s a lot to be said with her - a lot to understand, a lot to interpret, and a lot to still learn.

Please be aware of the warnings in the tags and as follows: I will be touching on child abuse and neglect, and how growing up in these situations hurts. I will be using my own experience as a baseline to relate. I don’t go into detail a lot of detail, but these are still topics that came up. Arm yourself if you wish to continue.

And here we go.

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Trios that would have been more compelling and less obnoxious than the "Wonder Trio":

Izuku, Tenya, Ochako: This needs no explanation

Izuku, Tenya, Shouto: Again, this really needs no champion vouching for it. The Stain arc and the subsequent character work that came with it will never be matched by any other arc in MHA.

Izuku, Denki, Yuga: These three all have self-harming quirks that can be really dangerous and inconvenient during a battle. It was truly a lost opportunity to see these three bond over their issues. Making Izuku and Yuga being close friends right off the bat would've have been really beneficial in sowing the traitor plot point early on and would've have also been far more devastating for Izuku during the reveal. And honestly, Yuga being formerly quirkless and having a self-harming quirk is a much better narrative parallel than the "Save to Win and Win to Save" bullshit that we got. Denki and Yuga just seem like they'd have really good chemistry.

Izuku, Tenya, Momo: These 3 intelligent specimens would've have been extremely overpowered if Hori actually cared enough to develop them. Also, Momo would get to shine because her quirk is powerful as hell (I actually head canon that she has the strongest/most versatile quirk in 1A and maybe enough the BNHA verse as a whole) and it's a crime that her intelligence and OP quirk went underutilized. Also, Momo and Izuku helping each other through their lack of self confidence would have been really touching and maybe have Izuku reflect on his life and how he was treated pre OFA. Momo and Tenya also seemed really no nonsense in the beginning when she ruthlessly criticized Bakugou, so this could help Izuku cut Bakugou off much earlier and allow him to grow.

Izuku, Tsuyu, Mineta: Yes I know, I know. Mineta sucks. But even so, these three were super compelling and interesting to watch during the USJ arc. The ways in which they used their quirks to escape death has way more charm and personality in their hair follicles than post season 3 ShoBakuDeku have in their entire bodies. Also, since Tsuyu was one of the first to call Bakugou out, I feel like her bluntness would be a really good reality check for Izuku to realize that the way Bakugou (and Aizawa) treat him is not okay. Also, Mineta already idolizes Izuku (which is actually sort of sweet) so this could have been used to develop his character rather than the awful and repetitive perv shtick that we're unfortunately stuck with.

Izuku, Shoji, Tokoyami: Like with the above trio, their forest camp sequence in trying to escape dark shadow has more personality and authenticity in their hair follicles than anything having to do with the stupid wonder trio. After all, the whole thing started because of Tokoyami witnessing Shoji being harmed by moonfish, which feels really raw and touching. Shoji also carrying Izuku on his back is super cute. These three also could've been used to address quirk-based discrimination, which is basically that backbone of BNHA's premise (even if it is always glossed over). Tokoyami and Shoji would've had to be victims of heteromorph discrimination (I think it was even confirmed in later chapters) which could drawn the three to each other. No offense to Shouto (and full offense of Bakugo) the two of them could never really relate to Izuku's trauma especially since Bakugou is responsible for 85% of it. They're both rich, they were both born with extremely powerful quirks. While Shouto is tragic because he was abused, he also benefits from the system of powerful quirks being favored which makes the two of them privileged. I also feel like Shoji and Tokoyami finding out about OFA and Izuku's previous quirklessness would just strengthen their bond and would motivate them to help and protect Izuku in any way they can unlike Bakugou who was a total nuisance the entire time.

Izuku, Mei, Ochako: Again, like with the last two, their admittedly limited time on screen together has more charm and personality than the stupid Wonder Trio.

These are the ones that I could think of from the top of my head. Feel free to add anymore.

These are all so cool! I especially liked Izuku, Denki, and Yuga. I always thought Izuku and Denki should have had more interactions anyway. And of course I love Izuku's scenes with Yuga. This is definitely a more unique one.

I would add Izuku, Momo, and Shoto to the list because I love the thought of Izuku being super intimidated by them only to be like, "Oh, oh no they're just isolated rich kids who have never talked to another kid their age and they're mine now" and adopts them.

Also, Izuku, Fumikage, and Shoto. I feel like they're fun.

It's not an Izuku trio but I'd also love Ochako, Tsu, and Momo just because they're best girls

Shoutout to Nejire for being one of the only characters to acknowledge Izuku's feats during the Overhaul Arc.

The manga should have let them be friends. For as nerdy and neurodivergent coded as Izuku is portrayed in BNHA, the story sure goes out of its way to minimize his interaction with any weird girls

me whenever i see shigaraki: mr handman, man me a hand, make him the cutest, man car door hook hand door

This boy really needs to learn how to chill.

;3c

(p.s. the bracelets were what was inside the ring box)

First ape to go to the watering hole with a container and put some of the water in it so that they could drink more later without returning to the watering hole must have been lauded as a fucking genius.

u ever think abt how bnha has two characters who have been confirmed, canonly, to hurt children for their causes, and since one is a hero he gets to have a redemption arc but because the other is a villain, he has his arms mercilessly torn off and his whole life’s work stolen. i mean he deserves it lmao but it’s wildly a double standard in a rly meta way. like, sure, you could say the message is that “one is inherently a good person, thus he chooses to redeem himself, and that’s what makes him deserving of being a hero,” but that ultimately cannot be separated from the fact that he was introduced first and foremost as (1) a hero, and (2) a domestic abuser, and we can’t pretend that there is no personal code of ethics associated with being a hero in bnha that isn’t imposed by its own author. essentially what i’m saying is that there is a good moral judgment placed on being a hero and a bad moral judgment placed on being a villain by the narrative itself, and we can’t ignore that it influences the way these two stories are written. because heroes are good and there’s moral goodness associated with heroism, all faults of heroes no matter how heinous must be shown as worthy of redemption, because they deserve it by being heroes. it’s not because of who he is as a person that the narrative decides to give him this chance, it’s because of what his job is. villains, on the other hand, are forever tainted by their villainy and are not worthy of second chances, they should be immediately and soundly punished. and u kno what that just sounds super real for a sec🤔🤔

so few people understand the art of the pseudo nap

Kacchan doodles