Remember that time Gandhi punched a man into the stratosphere? Or when Nelson Mandela dropped the atom bomb? While such events might make for a good game of Civilization VI, the societal and cultural implications would be rather bleak.
That’s the world of Boku no Hero Academia. A world where peace is assured, not by treaties and accords, but by the threat of overwhelming force. The threat of All Might bearing down upon you with all his might.
The surface level problem with this arrangement is not so much an issue for the majority of law-abiding citizens. At least, it wouldn’t be if not for the way this society pushes people toward villainy (which I wrote about here).
The deeper issue here, is the idolization of violence.
Pictured above are 4 of the top 10 ranked heroes in Japan. There are 2 others, but they don’t support my claim, and the remaining 4 are unknown.
All Might – OFA: punches so hard the sheer pressure changes the weather Endeavour – Hell Flame: kills it with fire Ryukyu – Dragon Form: claws, fangs, probably eats livestock whole Edgeshot – Foldabody: makes body thin as a razor, punches at speed of sound
Ignore the Shigarakis and All For Ones of the world, they are few and far between. Consider the more innocuous criminal, like a shoplifter. What strategies would any of these heroes employ in that case? Step 1, offer chance to surrender. Step 2, murder? These heroes do not have a non-lethal option.
And that’s a real problem. Not just for these heroes, but for the society that elevated them to the top 10, rankings which account for popularity more than anything else.
Every child dreams of being All Might. Everyone looks up to this incredible powerhouse. The term “Hero” was meant to mean “one who saves others,” but has twisted to mean only “one who fights villains.” This perverse understanding of what makes a hero pervades society at an institutional level.
Take it from Aizawa, the UA entrance exam is illogical and harmful, stemming from society’s fascination with brute strength. To get in to the UA Hero course, you need a combat-capable quirk. This system precludes people like Shinso or Aizawa from gaining admission, people who posses some of the greatest and most useful quirks any hero could ask for.
But the exam never asks, “What’s your true potential?” It begs but two simple questions, “How many villains can you beat up? How many people can you save (from villains)?” And the results end up looking like this:
That’s right, Lord Explosion Murder is the star of this year’s class. Bakugou’s quirk and personality are only useful for trying to kill things. Maybe he just needs a better role model. Who does he look up to? Oh, right, it’s All Might.
All Might is a defacto demi-god of this world. Outside of villainous circles, you won’t find anyone who doesn’t idolize him. But what good is that idolization? If someone like Bakugou genuinely believes himself to be following in All Might’s footsteps.
Well, maybe this is an isolated problem. All Might is UA’s celebrity alumni, of course they’ll try to keep up that image. But the other hero schools can’t all be like that, and the hero licensing program is bound to be–
Oh, nope. It’s all violence, all the time. Neat.
Granted, the provisional license exam does have a rescue phase, but almost everyone passed that. The part intended to cull 95% of the applicants is combat-based. Are there even enough villains in the world to justify being this focused on combat?
As tragic as it is, the elevation of violent heroes is only half the problem,
Because this is a zero-sum scenario: if brutality rises to the top, then utility is pushed to the bottom.
Non-violent heroes simply do not have a clear path to success. I’m using Shinso as an example again, because there are so few like him that manage to rise to the point of being mentioned in the story. The realm of heroism is all but institutionally sealed off for them.
Society wants heroes who fight villains. That is what their purpose has become. And anyone who can’t conform to that mold gets pushed out. Maybe Stain was on to something; heroes have deviated from their original purpose, they now exist only for the spectacle of the fight.
All Might’s position as the Symbol of Peace does not extol heroism, but rather violence in heroism’s name.
At first glance, the world of BnHA seems like it might be a fun place to live, but that’s because we’re viewing it from the perspective of the top 1%. For most people, the only difference between their world and the real one is that they are in constant danger.
Let’s review what we know about quirk law. Only licensed heroes are authorized to use quirks in public. You may use quirks privately, but they must be registered and there are myriad restrictions. You must obtain a license to use quirks for your job, also with various limitations.
On the surface, pretty commonsense. In practice, these laws target the lowest common denominator and thus punish everyone else. If you ever had a teacher who demanded silence from the class because one person misbehaved, it’s like that on a societal scale.
(excerpt from the spin off “BnHA Illegals”) This guy can move slightly faster than a brisk walking pace by holding 3 points of contact with the ground. He’s not allowed to do that. He becomes a vigilante hero, which is a crime.
The “Illegals” manga features several people who turned to the “crime” of vigilante heroism because of the draconian regulation of quirks. It’s on the level of thought-crime, guilty until proven innocent.
While licenses make sense in the real world with regards to vehicles and guns, it doesn’t make sense for quirks because A) nearly everyone has them, and B) it’s not a choice to obtain it.
(excerpt from chapter 85) Let’s talk about a case where these laws don’t just inconvenience an individual, but harm all of society. Momo has the quirk “creation” which is very tightly regulated for the sake of the economy. With a hero license she can create anything she needs for heroing, but anything else is (officially) off limits.
This is legislating to the worst case scenario, which, I contend, is a poor strategy in this world. It works from the assumption that she would use her quirk selfishly and excessively. If she created billions of dollars, she would ruin the economy and we would all suffer.
But what if she used her quirk selfishly and in moderation? She could make anything she needs for a modest life, or the money appropriate for a modest living, and it would have no impact on the economy. A good outcome for her and a neutral result for the rest of us. There’s no reason to prohibit this.
And, of course, the law doesn’t consider the best case scenario. What if she uses her quirk selflessly? What if, for example, every couple years she set aside a month to create smart phones for everyone in the world? Would that wreck the economy? One particular industry, sure. Would it benefit literally everyone but electronics CEOs? Would it save thousands of child laborers in sweatshops? YES! That’s a brilliant trade off! But, even if she applied for a business quirk license, I think she’d be denied for the potential disruption of the economy.
(Side note: It has been a topic of many forums whether Momo can make things as complex as a smartphone. I say yes. Recall in the School Trip Arc, she made a tracking device and matching GPS unit. It’s absolutely within her ability.)
Rapid fire round: what should these people do if society was more lenient? Shinso: suicide hotline operator. Todoroki: work inside a nuclear cooling tower, heat up water at the bottom, cool down steam at the top, infinite energy. Uraraka: construction worker work at NASA.
As civilians these quirks would be restricted. Even as heroes these quirks are going to waste from a utilitarian perspective. No one benefits from this arrangement. There is so much potential in the world, and its governments seem dedicated to squandering it.
This is a society that is oppressive to the majority. Quirks could fuel the next stage of human evolution, but laws keep society grounded in the stone age. How can anyone in that world (aside from the 1%ers in their ignorant bubble) not resent that? This is the philosophy that breeds villains, and I can’t help but agree with it.
disclaimer: i only just graduated high school so i’m pulling all of this out of my ass one semester of macroeconomics i took in senior year. feel free to add onto or correct any of this
edit: if anyone wants to use this for reference when writing boku no hero japan, feel free! i’d appreciate any credit, but it’s not necessary.
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what really got me thinking about the socioeconomic state of boku no hero japan was probably the difference between orudera junior high (bakugou and izuku’s school) vs. yuuei, both of which are in the same city, musutafu. orudera junior high gives off the feeling of a school that’s a bit run down; not terrible enough that it obstructs the kids’ education, but enough that you think the school probably can’t afford to keep it in good repair.
here’s a screenshot of bakugou and izuku’s classroom:
and then here’s izuku’s desk, which has details indicating that it’s in slight disrepair:
if you go back through the chapters and look at the setting at yuuei, it’s spic-n-span. just super clean and well-kept. it’s an entire world of difference… so already there is this huge disparity between the junior high school in izuku’s neighborhood, and yuuei, which is a 40 minute subway ride away (chapter 3).
makes sense that yuuei would be so nice and expensive if it’s the most prestigious hero academy in the country, right? but there’s more details too, like this brief exchange between bakugou & iida right at the very beginning:
bakugou’s resentful comment about iida being an “elite” really only makes sense to me in the context of economic disparity. let’s infer that soumei junior high is better funded, better equipped, better everything in general. of course bakugou will resent iida for that, especially coming from the more ill-maintained orudera junior high. the difference in their economic status is already apparent.
this isn’t even going into the difference between yaoyorozu’s incredibly rich status vs the rest of the class vs uraraka, who has decided to become a hero because she wants the financial security, and who also lives in an apartment by herself and skips meals to save on money. so even within the class itself there’s a huuuge difference in economic status.
you could just think of it as the individual circumstances of the characters, but i think it’s more of a systematic problem – see, again, the difference in infrastructure quality between the different schools (the public school is not doing so great but yuuei is doing fantastic). maybe the city is poor, or maybe all of its funds go towards repairing the constant property damage from villain attacks, or maybe there’s just some areas they don’t care to maintain. either way: just by traversing different parts of the city you’ll probably see big differences in how well the neighborhoods are kept.
and now, for a different question: if this is the golden age of peace, why are there still so many villain fights?
Like okay, he’s probably one of the more interesting characters in the whole series. his story arc has been beating him down and softening him up, making him much more hero-like. (If you want to read some really excellent meta on bakugo, i highly recommend checking out saisai-chan’s blog). that being said. THAT BEING SAID.
he has not as of yet shown ANY remorse for the way he treated izuku before high school. N O R E G R E T. he used to beat this kid up. he told izuku to JUMP OFF THE ROOF. and like. that shit is NOT okay, in any capacity. IT WAS ABUSE. And the fact that bakugo hasn’t acknowledged that what he did isn’t okay isn’t okay to me.
so UNTIL BAKUGO APOLOGIZES TO IZUKU, i’m just going to. continue to not like him.
Also, who the FUCK cares that Deku is written to still like bakugo? It’s JUST not realistic. He has no real autonomy, and any real person with functioning brain cells would fucking hate that dude for immediately, his first interaction we see him in, telling the main character who did NOTHING wrong except be born different to DIE.
I mean, the metaphor of Deku being born basically disabled is so hamfisted, but if it were explicit and not a fantasy world and he were actually disabled instead of fucking just being born without a super power, everyone would lose their collective SHIT over bakugo’s treatment of him.
His bullshit boils down to “BUT HE WAS BORN WITHOUT THIS AID THAT HELPS HIS DISABILITY NOT BE APPARENT,” like he’s mad that this kid that was born without the same abilities as him is a better person, and now has the means to kick his ass, on top of being better at the job they’re trying to do. He can die mad about it.
a while ago, i was looking something up and the first fill-in result was “bakugou x midoriya” and i literally screamed and closed the tab as a first reaction because NO
ok they can be rivals, they can even attempt to be friends only once bakugou gets his shit together and gives a sincere fucking long overdue apology, but i cannot stand the thought of them romantically together because bakugou has fucking tormented deku since he was 4 so now deku flinches if he’s even in the same room as him. he’s 14 now. that’s been exactly 10 years of bullying. he’s been bullied more than he hasn’t been bullied. bullying that went from just pointing out deku’s every flaw to straight up telling him to commit suicide and threatening to burn him with his quirk.
at this point in the anime, deku can’t even handle someone else purposefully making bakugou mad. see that face? that is ingrained fear and anxiety from a toxic relationship.
bakugou is my problematic fav, but i never forgive him for what he did and those two shouldn’t be anywhere near each other
Bakugo: “Fight me!”
Izuku: “No!”
Bakugo: “Then I’ll kill you for wimping out!”
Izuku: “Okay, okay, I’ll fight!”
Bakugo: “You dare to actually fight back? I’ll kill you!”
Izuku: “…I’m really confused right now.”
Bakugo: “Your confusion pisses me off! I’m gonna–!”
Izuku: “Yeah, I’m done here.”
Bakugo: “What? Hey! Come back! I need to fight someone or else my life is meaningless!”
Cheloneuniverse 