well off the top of my head, all his parallels to other characters maybe?? like hes obviously a parallel to aizawa since he has a quirk thats not super useful for combat without ingenuity (aizawas basically quirkless but somehow hes a fucking scarf ninja yo). also the whole headcanon that aizawa failed the entrance exam and got into the hero course through the sports festival like shinsou almost did.. and that ties into aizawas mentoring him cuz aizawa would have experience with transferring to the hero course and the stigma against their quirks..
and his parallels to deku too! being harassed when they were young for being born certain ways.. shinsou is what deku could have been had he tried applying for UA quirkless, since deku could definitely have gotten into the gen ed course with his brains. i just…. oof like shinsou as the protag would have been so interesting (i think this is also part of why people like making quirked!deku au’s, cuz like its interesting to play around with deku getting in without having the ultimate cheat code in one for all)
even parallels to characters like bakugou for having villainous quirks, since bakugou obviously comes across as a villainous person (explosion quirk?? scary as fuck costume?? (or at least edgy lol)) but since bakugou can destroy a ton of villains where shinsou can’t, hes never really questioned as being a hero by the story. a jerk person, sure, but not a villain. (spoilers for the manga beware) even the league of villains makes this mistake when kidnapping bakugou, since they think they can sway him to their side when he just wants to be a winner and destroy all the bad guys. i can only assume that shinsou has a similar kind of mindset, no matter how satisfying it would be to see him turn on those kids from his middle school that kept calling his quirk a “cool villain quirk”.
idk lol hes just such an interesting character and im really hoping his arc thats coming up soon deals with stuff like that
and hes a precious boy too.. just look at that face
Was saving this (still using this) theory for a fanfiction, but it serves as a good canon theory fodder too – and I’ve already lagged behind in updates and it’s not fair to hold the theory off too long. I am of the belief that there is more to Shinsou Hitoshi’s quirk – or, that it has been misdiagnosed. So, let’s go through this logically!
What We Know
Shinsou has a tired demeanor, which may or may not be related to his quirk. Hooded eyelids, eye-bags, mild slouch, some sluggishness … this could simply be a character design, but considering he’s one of the few with eye-bags, it’s more likely to be quirk-related.
He needs a verbal response to his own provocations for his quirk to function.
He can do it for a relatively extended period of time. At least for ten minutes at a time – enough to last the Calvary battle, and to multiple individuals – as seen in both the race and the Calvary battle:
He can manipulate one’s actions but not one’s words, and their actions are sluggish and fairly simple.
He also seems to have to keep his commands simple and short. It’s something relatively noticeable whenever he implements his quirk, this his commands are never extremely difficult to follow:
A punch or some external force can actively knock someone out of his quirks’ control. And, some people do remember what is going on while under the control, whereas others do not. For example, Ojirou did not remember until he was disturbed:
But it becomes clear that Izuku does remember what happened before an external force was used on him. Otherwise he would have no memory of the vision of previous OfA users. This could be the influence of OfA as a quirk itself, but it does not have to be.
What It Boils Down To
Shinsou has a tired demeanor, which may or may not be related to his quirk.
He needs a verbal response to his own provocations for his quirk to function.
He can manipulate one’s actions but not one’s words, and their actions are sluggish and fairly simple.
He can do it for a relatively extended period of time and for more than one command, but he has to keep his commands simple and short.
A punch or some external force can actively knock someone out of his quirks’ control.
Some people do remember what is going on while under the control.
What Makes Sense
That which is above does not add up to brainwashing. Brainwashing is, by definition:
“[to] make (someone) adopt radically different beliefs by using systematic and often forcible pressure”
Brainwashing would imply that the commands would have greater permanence or be effective beyond the immediate control. It comes with greater complexities, and longer-lasting effects.
Common steps in brainwashing, as noted by psychologist Robert Jay Lifton, include:
assault on identity
guilt
self-betrayal
breaking point
leniency
compulsion to confess
channeling of guilt
releasing of guilt
progress and harmony
final confession and rebirth
But Hitoshi has implemented none of these steps against any individuals: brainwashing is a more conscious ordeal than an unconscious one.
Logically, it means that his quirk is not brainwashing. Instead, it is closer to sleepwalking because of its unconscious and impermanent nature.
Or, at least, the ability to cause others to sleepwalk. So, let’s talk sleepwalking, which is by definition:
“walk around and sometimes perform other actions while asleep”
Hitoshi victims perform simple tasks while under his control, lacking verbal response and permanence in the thereafter of his control. The above shows Izuku walking because of a particular command, but the logic behind this is not not just because that the command was to turn around and walk out-of-bounds. It’s that everything Hitoshi does in utilizing his quirk matches the symptoms of sleepwalking, which include:
get out of bed and walk around
Hitoshi’s victims can walk around, though it is a slow crawl / mechanical set of movements.
have a glazed, glassy-eyed expression
Izuku is not the only character to have had the glossy-eyed look when under Shinsou Hitoshi’s control.
not respond or communicate with others
be difficult to wake up during an episode
be disoriented or confused for a short time after being awakened
not remembering the episode in the morning
The four points above explain the effects that all of his victims have had in some form or another. None of his victims have been able to communicate or easily wake themselves from an episode, and anyone who has sleepwalked usually needs a punch or hit of some kind to snap out of it. Sleepwalking (and its sibling, sleeptalking) is simple-task-based, and sleeptalking is rarely more than five words strung together. Hitoshi likely cannot give complex (or too many) commands to someone, and his victims likely cannot perform complex tasks. In essence, he is using sleeptalking to control someone’s sleepwalking, the “sleeptalking” being his quirks’ way of getting in control over someone’s actions.
Hitoshi loses all control and influence when the dreaming / sleepwalking ends; if it was brainwashing, Izuku would have continued to walk out-of-bounds even after regaining control.
Extremely few are able to remember what happens during sleepwalking, but active dreamers are more likely to remember sleepwalking. Considering Izuku’s imagination and innovative skills, I would not be surprised if he is an active-dreamer, in which he has some control over his dreams and sleepwalking decisions. This explains why he remembers it from the moment he went under, and remembers it even after coming out (the vision) while Ojirou could only remember what came after being bumped by another team (and not during). Also note the use of colors during the animated sequence, which tend to match the way our brains work during dreams and in storing memories: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jVSjXooP7D4
have problems functioning during the day because of disturbed sleep
have sleep terrors in addition to sleepwalking
These two points above are likely the blow-back Hitoshi faces for using his quirk: his tired demeanor, the eye-bags, and abrasive attitude are all good indications of poor sleeping habits. Sleepwalking also occurs during the REM sleep stages, which is the level of sleep needed to feel well-rested (and Hitoshi does not look well-rested): this may also explain his absurd time limits in controlling people, for at least ten minutes and on multiple individuals, because REM sleep cycles last for 90 – 100 minutes at a time. This could be the maximum he can do on any one individual at a time, or at least the maximum time he can divide up among those he does have under his control.
The Plot-Contributing Point of it Being Sleepwalking?
By and large psychological. If you believed your quirk was brainwashing for most of your life, you likely would not have tested it to any extent. Certainly not to an extent where you figure out the confines of your quirks’ abilities are closer to something else. It would provide immense relief for Shinsou Hitoshi to learn that his quirk isn’t as mind-altering as originally interpreted to be, and likely serve as an opening for him to become a better hero.
Further Evidence
Can I just add in the soundtrack from the anime for a passing moment? When I first heard this, my instinct wasn’t that it was brainwashing. The use of lullabies and scattered voices, creepy as they are, alludes to sleep-related themes.
i know the fire icon is for unpopular opinions, but my god do i love shinsou. he’s probably my favorite student. i think it’s definitely implied that aizawa’s training him and preparing to move him into the hero course because holy shit, that kid downright deserves the world and has a lot of potential to be a hero. i can’t wait to see more of him.
i hope u dont mind headcanons, but i hc that shinsou was brought up in the foster care system and passed from foster home to foster home to group home. a lot of people ended up being afraid of his quirk, especially since, like everyone else, he couldn’t control it as a kid. he was never nefarious with it, but accidentally used it when he wanted his caretakers to do innocuous things, like let him stay up later or give him snacks or let him go outside. still, though, it scared his caretakers so much that shinsou switched hands a lot.
i also headcanon that shinsou is a big fan of eraserhead. shinsou was probably like 5 or 6 when aizawa was first starting out his solo career and probably accidentally got caught on camera by forgetting to evade the media while doing a take-down. i’d imagine that seeing him on the news probably blew shinsou away, because he’d never seen a hero without a physical quirk before? and that was probably when he started idolizing aizawa. i’d imagine that when he got old enough, he probably found forums talking about underground heroes and followed eraser’s activities through that.
so finding out that aizawa was 1-A’s teacher nearly made him choke. he probably didn’t talk to aizawa right away and probably tried to–i don’t know- convince himself that eraser wasn’t actually this great, idol person, but then aizawa went and nearly killed himself at usj fighting for his students and shinsou went “oh no he is a really great hero/person”. and then aizawa approached him after the sports festival and shinsou nearly fainted talking to him.
like i said, i definitely think aizawa is training shinsou. going along with my headcanons, i also think that aizawa has become a sort of parental/adult figure to him because shinsou hasn’t really had anyone in his life ever pay attention to him like aizawa does.
sorry i turned this into headcanons but i love shinsou so much.
Ahhhhh, how to answer this? Well, with regards to spoilers, you should be okay as Shinsou doesn’t really show up outside of the Sports Festival arc (unless something’s happened in the recent chapters. I’ll admit, I’m a bit behind as well), and I’ll be using that as my basis for my explanation.
Now. I can’t speak for everyone, but for me, I love Shinsou because Shinsou is a symbol.
Shinsou, to me, has always been a person who lives in his head. He smiles when he doesn’t mean it, keeps his reactions subdued, and is always watching the world. He is bitter and he is proud. He is always thinking, constantly wrapped up in his thoughts, and it is only when he is forced to confront parts of himself that he doesn’t like (such as his pride), or faced with unfair odds, or struggles he has no means of competing against that these emotions bubble over and show.
This is what happens during the Sports festival arc. His frustrations, his anger, and jealousy–they all swirled up, amplified with the force of his adrenaline, and resulted in the outcome we saw.
He is sharp tongued and strategic. Smart, most certainly, and sort of listless with that intelligence. Sort of like Shikamaru from Naruto, if that gives you any idea of what I’m talking about there, though the comparison doesn’t really do it justice. He isn’t lazy, at least not mentally, but rather forcing himself down with his own doubts and the constraints thrown upon him by society. He is held down by labels, not unlike Izuku is, though his label is Villain rather that Quirkless, and it is simultaneously a heavier and lighter burden.
Mind control, Brainwashing… Those terms are terms he no doubt hates with a passion, and there is self depreciation there as well, because those are words he and others associate with himself. He hates himself for his abilities, and hates the world for making him feel that way and strives to prove them wrong.
It is this aspect, I think, that draws people to him the most. He is forced down with a burden that he never wanted, bullied (as we saw in the flashback) because of something he has no control over. He never asked to have a Brainwashing quirk, never wanted it, and yet is blamed for having it regardless. This is a struggle that is experienced by so, so many people. I’d compare it to discrimination in the real world, be it racial, sexual, gender discrimination or some other type of discrimination entirely. We didn’t ask to be born the way we are. We just are. And yet, people still push us down and expect horrible things regardless of that fact.
It’s one of the reasons people like Izuku as much as they do, as well. BNHA, at its core, is a story about a boy trying to succeed in a dream that he has always told was impossible. He has grown up his entire life being told that becoming a Hero is impossible because of his lack of quirk, only to finally get the chance to do just that.
The difference between Izuku and Shinsou is that Shinsou never had someone like All Might come around and tell him he could be a Hero. He never had some miracle quirk perfect for Heroism that could be passed to another person given to him, like a cheat code almost (though Izuku certainly earned it), that lets him bypass all the hate and pain and obstacles that are stacked up before him. And while Izuku still has to struggle to achieve anything, still has to work for it, he can see the end of the road. Shinsou can’t. There is no certainty in the future for him. There is no one to support him, unless something happened in the chapters I haven’t read yet. He’s entirely on his own, and floundering and he has no idea what to do. But he’s still trying. He still entered the sports festival. He still fought. He fought with everything he had, and while it turned out not to be enough, he made his stand.
He showed that he wasn’t going to take it. He wasn’t going to stand for being told “No,” and for being labeled as something that he is so clearly not. And that makes him a symbol. Not a symbol of peace, like All Might is, but a symbol for those who are oppressed, a symbol for those who are bullied, a symbol that it is okay to fight against what is not fair.
This is for that one Anon about their dream. His shirt does say “Best Ass”. Sorry about the quality, I wanted to get this done before my classes started. I might come back to it and make an actual drawing though.
Cheloneuniverse 