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surf rock posted:OK, updating my Class 1-A power-rankings now that I've finished season two. I've also incorporated any other students I remember. Didn't bother including comments for everyone this time. You missed a character from your rankings: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-R3Ydn3vL7w
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# ? Jan 1, 2021 19:19 |
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# ? Jun 6, 2024 11:52 |
surf rock posted:Comprehensive rankings Nice! Keep 'em coming. I'm pretty curious how things keep changing with Season 3!
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# ? Jan 1, 2021 19:25 |
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surf rock posted:25.) Katsuki Bakugo (Lord Explosion Murder) - Just obnoxious. Not even needed as a rival since Todoroki exists. I enjoy the show less every time he's on the screen, especially because Deku becomes a worse character every time he's around as well. It always felt to me like he wrote two drafts of the story: one where Bakugo is the jerk rival to mirror Endeavor; and another where Shoto is the main rival because he's Endeavor's son. And then rather than choose which he wanted, he stuck with both. surf rock posted:Last thing: is hugging not a thing in Japan? I feel like anime has like >1% of the hugging that would actually happen under these circumstances. Yeah, for me going to High School in America was all like "oh wow I get to hug girls sometimes" but anime seems to be stuck on "oh wow I get to
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# ? Jan 1, 2021 20:11 |
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multijoe posted:You missed a character from your rankings: I lost a lot of interest in Rick and Morty around the time of that season, but what an amazing Deku impression. 5/5 stars oh jay posted:Yeah, for me going to High School in America was all like "oh wow I get to hug girls sometimes" but anime seems to be stuck on "oh wow I get to Oh, there's also that, but I was mainly thinking of the various emotional breakdowns that people have, or especially Ida after his brother gets maimed.
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# ? Jan 1, 2021 21:12 |
I can't make some kind of sweeping general statement but hugging does seem on the rarer side in Japan. Of course not everywhere in the West is Glomp Central either.
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# ? Jan 1, 2021 21:18 |
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Bakugo doesn't really start to improve as a character until season 3, but I do like how both he and Deku innately understand that holding back and not fighting using your full strength is super disrespectful to the people you're competing with.
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# ? Jan 1, 2021 21:24 |
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I felt an extremely strong antipathy towards Bakugo for a long, long time. Like, 3 rewatches worth. But he's the most popular character in Japan and always has been and is near the top here, I think. I don't get it.
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# ? Jan 2, 2021 01:04 |
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He is less mopey than the others and makes things go boom
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# ? Jan 2, 2021 01:08 |
NikkolasKing posted:I felt an extremely strong antipathy towards Bakugo for a long, long time. Like, 3 rewatches worth. For many other people (yours truly being among them), this reads as 'wow, what a little poo poo' rather than 'what the gently caress, why isn't he in loving juvie'. I think most of it flows from there. I have heard that Horikoshi regrets having presented Bakugo in quite that way. e: Like to be clear I don't think anyone is saying this was good or laudable on Bakugo's part, it is a question of how bad that particular bon mot is read. For many people, justly, it is a near-terminal deal breaker for the character. Nessus fucked around with this message at 01:14 on Jan 2, 2021 |
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# ? Jan 2, 2021 01:11 |
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Yeah I've seen a lot of people say that until Bakugo apologizes sincerely for that specific instance, they can never forgive him. Meanwhile Deku really... doesn't seem to feel all that strongly about it. Deku didn't even seem all that bothered by it at the time. All he said was "Stupid. If I did do it, you'd get in trouble." To me personally, it was a lovely teenager thing to say but also I said a lot of lovely things as a teenager too (including a lot of homophobic poo poo that became very ironic now that I'm an adult queer) and at some point you have to remember Bakugo was 13 when he said it. I find Bakugo fascinating as a character but not really likeable until Season 3. He's my favorite character now but he definitely wasn't at the start, although the sports festival did a LOT to improve him for me - I'm a huge fan of his and Deku's belief that it's very disrespectful to hold back in a fight. I particularly liked that he stated up front that he was going to win, pissed off the crowd who would have all been righteously smug if he'd lost, then when he did win, he didn't even want it! Because Todoroki hadn't even tried, so the win wasn't worth anything. Also for what it's worth, Todoroki is definitely not Deku's rival. He sets himself up as one early on but it gets thrown out the window really fast after season 2. Bakugo is the rival character.
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# ? Jan 2, 2021 01:50 |
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Zzulu posted:He is less mopey than the others and makes things go boom The make-things-go-boom part is good; I like his quirk (although I think it's visually outclassed by Todoroki and Endeavor's fire powers). But he's like the most mopey and pissy person in the whole cast next to maybe Shigaraki. Deku was in the running with him in season one, but Bakugo has been so horrifically one-note through the first two seasons it's insane; I can count the number of exceptions on one hand with fingers to spare. That said, I'm encouraged to hear that that changes in season three, but so far he's been the most tedious rival for a protagonist I can remember. I'll stop complaining about him now; I've just really come around on this show after not enjoying it much at first and this character (along with Grape Juice) are basically the only things I don't like about it at this point.
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# ? Jan 2, 2021 01:54 |
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The thing with Bakugou is also not the last time Horikoshi seems to go a bit too far on something for what he plans afterwards and almost instantly regrets it.
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# ? Jan 2, 2021 03:21 |
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Waffleman_ posted:The thing with Bakugou is also not the last time Horikoshi seems to go a bit too far on something for what he plans afterwards and almost instantly regrets it. I know one person thought this with Endeavor. He is absolutely at his far and away worst in his introduction and never that awful again. They figured Hori just made a mistake and regretted it at once.
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# ? Jan 2, 2021 03:30 |
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NikkolasKing posted:I know one person thought this with Endeavor. He is absolutely at his far and away worst in his introduction and never that awful again. They figured Hori just made a mistake and regretted it at once. The interesting thing with Endeavor is that, whenever we get flashbacks to Shoto specifically, he is that bad. It's more like "This is Endeavor at his absolute worst, this is the sin he needs to atone for" than it is with Bakugo, who's significantly less of an rear end in a top hat in flashbacks than in the first couple volumes.
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# ? Jan 2, 2021 03:39 |
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Well there's the thing where Shoto claims that his mom was basically purchased and forced into an arranged marriage and that never really comes up again or gets corroborated by anyone else.
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# ? Jan 2, 2021 04:42 |
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christmas boots posted:Well there's the thing where Shoto claims that his mom was basically purchased and forced into an arranged marriage and that never really comes up again or gets corroborated by anyone else. Shoto also thinks he's cursed to damage the hands of people he gets involved with.
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# ? Jan 2, 2021 04:58 |
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Onmi posted:Shoto also thinks he's cursed to damage the hands of people he gets involved with. I just figured out how they're going to defeat Shigaraki
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# ? Jan 2, 2021 05:26 |
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I mean, all Shoto has to do is give Shigaraki a poke, thereby setting him on fire - dude looks like he'd go up like chaff if he went near an open flame
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# ? Jan 2, 2021 05:42 |
Vinylshadow posted:I mean, all Shoto has to do is give Shigaraki a poke, thereby setting him on fire - dude looks like he'd go up like chaff if he went near an open flame Bakugo and Endeavor are interesting characters, like, in a literary sense even if they're not particularly likeable. They're honestly more nuanced than most comic book characters.
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# ? Jan 2, 2021 05:48 |
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surf rock posted:The make-things-go-boom part is good; I like his quirk (although I think it's visually outclassed by Todoroki and Endeavor's fire powers). But he's like the most mopey and pissy person in the whole cast next to maybe Shigaraki. Deku was in the running with him in season one, but Bakugo has been so horrifically one-note through the first two seasons it's insane; I can count the number of exceptions on one hand with fingers to spare. That said, I'm encouraged to hear that that changes in season three, but so far he's been the most tedious rival for a protagonist I can remember. You and me, surf rock, you and me. I know Bakugo is deliberately supposed to be so intensely provocative that it forces reactions from Deku that he wont otherwise get. That entire speech about giving it your all he gave to Shoto was something he got from fighting with Bakugo. But Bakugo is just so nasty and Deku is so cowed by it in the day-to-day that it's detrimental to both their characters. It does improve, but it's still the worst part of the show for me. Related to that, though, throwing Shoto in as a potential rival was actually pretty ingenious because it sets up a three-way competition between Deku, Shoto, and Bakugo that's a lot better than just a standard one-on-one. While Bakugo may be the main antagonist (that isn't an outright villain) having Shoto to contend with gives the Deku/Bakugo rivalry more room to breath. In general, the show really shines when it moves the spotlight and lets other characters have their moment of conflict or triumph.
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# ? Jan 2, 2021 09:49 |
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The Sports Festival was the first time I even slightly appreciated Bakugo in the series. During his fight with Uraraka, he basically has the entire stadium jeering him for being a bully when all he was doing was taking her seriously like she deserved. And you know what? His reaction was over the top but I completely get being angry at how he "won" against Todoroki who visibly held back in front of everyone. Like, I think people were less sympathetic to that because the audience understands that Shoto has some stuff to work through but Bakugo isn't really privy to that knowledge - all *he* knows is that the dude has a fire quirk that he never uses, except he just saw him use it when Deku pushed him hard enough. He's there to prove that he's the best and it's hard to definitively say he's the strongest one there when the guy who just imploded the stadium a short while ago kinda gives up. His dynamic with Deku early on is awful, and painted in the worst way by the first interaction we see between them in the series. I have no idea how or why he's been consistently popular, I would agree that by the end of season 2 he's still one of the worst characters in the show. I don't think we're supposed to like him at first, which also makes the way Deku handles him extremely frustrating or at least frustrating on Deku's behalf.
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# ? Jan 2, 2021 18:31 |
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The interaction between Deku and Bakugo at the start of the show is completely the opposite to how Deku behaves as a hero and I still cant tie the Hero Deku personality to the downtrodden scared of Bakugo even looking at him version. Its like they're different characters.
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# ? Jan 2, 2021 22:33 |
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serious gaylord posted:The interaction between Deku and Bakugo at the start of the show is completely the opposite to how Deku behaves as a hero and I still cant tie the Hero Deku personality to the downtrodden scared of Bakugo even looking at him version. Its like they're different characters. Ya one is a powerless dweeb bullied everyday and the other has the strongest quirk surrounded by people who support him. Deku getting OFA and seeing his classmates and teachers dunk on Bakugo let him be more comfortable with himself and actually do his dream. Kild fucked around with this message at 23:27 on Jan 2, 2021 |
# ? Jan 2, 2021 23:22 |
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The fact that Bakugo is a genuine bully who grows out of it is interesting in my opinion. Same with our main protagonist acting like someone who has been bullied for some time
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# ? Jan 2, 2021 23:49 |
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serious gaylord posted:The interaction between Deku and Bakugo at the start of the show is completely the opposite to how Deku behaves as a hero and I still cant tie the Hero Deku personality to the downtrodden scared of Bakugo even looking at him version. Its like they're different characters. I think becuase it's so personal to Deku he can't stand up to Bakugo. Hell, IIRC Deku considered Bakugo to be his friend when they were younger. It's not exactly uncommon for otherwise brave people to be afraid of there abuser. Also, in between Bakugo telling him to kill himself and the entrance exam deku spent the better part of a year training with his idol and king of hotshit mountain All Might. He basically is a different person. Could have been conveyed more clearly but the show really relies on its audience to be familiar with shounen tropes.
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# ? Jan 3, 2021 03:34 |
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Darkoni posted:I think becuase it's so personal to Deku he can't stand up to Bakugo. Hell, IIRC Deku considered Bakugo to be his friend when they were younger. It's not exactly uncommon for otherwise brave people to be afraid of there abuser. the dissonance is because midoriya doesn't think bakugo is his abuser, which makes it even messier because that's a common viewpoint for the abused. he gives bakugo a wide berth but still admires him for his overwhelming strength and drive, and as far as the story is concerned, that's the right viewpoint despite all its messy implications, because one of the mission statements of MHA is that the will to do good doesn't mean poo poo if you don't have the strength to back it up. bakugo's got the latter in spades but negative quantities of the former, and unfortunately the story's content to treat that as a punchline for the most part instead of a necessary part of his character development - and he does work on it, but never stops being aggressively unpleasant throughout, which isn't good enough for a lot of people who were turned off by him from the start todoroki meanwhile is a block of wood with a j-rocker haircut
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# ? Jan 3, 2021 03:51 |
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shoto is a paper cutout of a person for the majority of the scenes he has a speaking role in. when his family drama comes up it's interesting enough but whenever he exists outside of that context he's terminally boringOxxidation posted:one of the mission statements of MHA is that the will to do good doesn't mean poo poo if you don't have the strength to back it up. bakugo's got the latter in spades but negative quantities of the former i think what's interesting about bakugo is he has a large will to do good, he just expresses/understands it differently than everyone else does. his obsession with power ultimately stems from wanting to create the same dynamic all might had where once he's on the scene, everyone is immediately relieved and put at ease, because there's nothing on earth that can present a meaningful obstacle to his heroism. that his intense relationship with and lust for power is ultimately a positive one is really neat to me. usually that would be a character's fatal flaw but bakugo's flaw is everything except his need to be the most powerful person in the world.
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# ? Jan 3, 2021 13:56 |
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ninjewtsu posted:shoto is a paper cutout of a person for the majority of the scenes he has a speaking role in. when his family drama comes up it's interesting enough but whenever he exists outside of that context he's terminally boring Bakuga has a large will to attack bad guys, he doesn't give a single gently caress about helping people or "doing good". (Early) Bakugo's view of being a hero is just "I beat up the bad guys and everyone says I am the best"
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# ? Jan 3, 2021 14:11 |
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sure, but the show definitely goes to some lengths to show that it's very specifically bad guys that he wants to beat up, he's not the same as an adrenaline junkie and he wants everyone to say he's the best because if everyone says that then they'll believe that he'll win when he shows up to beat up the later bad guys. he's not interested in pulling people out of burning buildings but he does want to stop people from setting buildings on fire, and hopefully achieve the same thing all might did where way less people try to set buildings on fire out of fear that all might would come crashing down on them if they do. fundamentally he still wants to stop people from being hurt and that stems from the same hero worship of all might that deku had. he didn't learn the same lessons from all might that deku did but the ones that he did learn are still a good and positive influence on him, which is cool character writing
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# ? Jan 3, 2021 14:21 |
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actually i'm not sure that "he's not interested in pulling people out of burning buildings" is entirely accurate either, so much as he's not interested in being nice to the people whose lives he's saving
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# ? Jan 3, 2021 14:26 |
ninjewtsu posted:actually i'm not sure that "he's not interested in pulling people out of burning buildings" is entirely accurate either, so much as he's not interested in being nice to the people whose lives he's saving
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# ? Jan 3, 2021 14:43 |
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ninjewtsu posted:actually i'm not sure that "he's not interested in pulling people out of burning buildings" is entirely accurate either, so much as he's not interested in being nice to the people whose lives he's saving yeah the license exam scene was pretty telling re: bakugo's brain what he meant: "your injuries aren't severe enough to necessitate my personal attention, please get yourselves to a safe area and i'll deal with threats elsewhere" what he said: "gently caress you, gently caress this, gently caress off" and as the proctors correctly pointed out, being correct doesn't matter if you're such a caustic rear end in a top hat that you cause distress to the people you're trying to help
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# ? Jan 3, 2021 14:45 |
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It's like All Might said when Bakugo and Izuku fought him for their exam: about Deku: Envy. Hate. Competition. about Bakugo: Awe. Rejection. Pride. Then again, this person says the thoughts are reversed and when the screen/panel is on Deku, we get Bakugo's feelings for him and when it's on Bakugo, it's Deku's feelings about him https://kiraelric.tumblr.com/post/169385534788/hey-i-was-just-re-reading-some-of-ur-meta-and-i I mean...Envy, Hate and Competition describes how I see Izuku's feelings for Bakugo perfectly. He's jealous of Bakugo's natural talent and ability, he hates him for all he's done to him and he aspires only to compete with Bakugo and surpass him. And really, I don't see Deku as prideful at all. His most central character trait is his utter selflessness. Wheras Pride is most definitely Bakugo's defining characteristic. Awe and Rejection... I dunno. Some translate it as "Fear" which definitely fits him. The point is though, whatever the exact details, Bakugo and Deku have a relationship where they just go insane with each other. Bakugo is violent at the best of times but he turns it up to 11 when Izuku is around because of his fear and wounded ego. Whether or not Izuku hates Bakugo is another sticky issue I gather was added by the dub? That's what I read, anyway. I mean, hate is perfectly justified in his case. It does not have to manifest in a negative way - Deku is a very good person and so even hateful he wouldn't actually try to hurt or sabotage or even wish ill upon Bakugo. He would sit on thta hatred but it would exist. NikkolasKing fucked around with this message at 14:52 on Jan 3, 2021 |
# ? Jan 3, 2021 14:49 |
I figure "Rejection" there is a more abstract kind of thing... like he's calling bullshit on Deku's entire deal. Which is honestly kind of justified, looking at it from outside it does kind of seem like bullshit. It would be one thing for Bakugo to get outshone by Todoroki because Todoroki's legitimately Endeavor, But Better At It. Bakugo would hate that, but it wouldn't have the same kind of cosmic spite to it.
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# ? Jan 3, 2021 14:55 |
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Aw, I like the saga of Shoto: robot boy learning how to be human. He needs what Bakugo has in Kirishima, a friend who isn't intimidated by him or trying to directly compete so they can push him into acting like a person more often.
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# ? Jan 3, 2021 15:00 |
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Oxxidation posted:yeah the license exam scene was pretty telling re: bakugo's brain By the same token though, Deku also lost points on the licensing exam because he was trying to coddle a kid instead of being firm and in command of the situation in order to best help them. There's something to be said for kindness but in a crisis situation, what you really need is efficiency and confidence. Deku and Bakugo are on opposite ends of a spectrum where both extremes are actually pretty bad and they need to work their way towards the middle.
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# ? Jan 3, 2021 16:20 |
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CuwiKhons posted:By the same token though, Deku also lost points on the licensing exam because he was trying to coddle a kid instead of being firm and in command of the situation in order to best help them. There's something to be said for kindness but in a crisis situation, what you really need is efficiency and confidence. Deku and Bakugo are on opposite ends of a spectrum where both extremes are actually pretty bad and they need to work their way towards the middle. true and agreed. the problem there is that midoriya's the viewpoint character, so we see his growth towards the happy medium much more clearly, whereas bakugo's inner thoughts are left unspoken (when he's not being pushed out of the story entirely, like with the yakuza arc) and his frothing volcanic outbursts are mostly treated like a hilarious joke after the first season, so his progress is subtle at best
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# ? Jan 3, 2021 16:24 |
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Reminds me of that moment in their fight where Deku realizes that he channels Bakugo at times in battle
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# ? Jan 3, 2021 19:10 |
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Season 3 is in the books, and it's time for updated student power rankings! I added the new ones I remembered, which wasn't many. 1.) Ochaco Uraraka (Uravity) - Ochaco takes the top spot as the character with the most well-rounded personality. Great comedic chops, but still works in serious settings. Also, I think this was last season but I forgot to mention it: shout-out to the concept of the Gunhead guy being a martial arts teacher. 2.) Izuku Midoriya (Deku) - I greatly enjoyed soul-patch Deku. Also, I love that using his quirk now gives him Super Saiyan 2 lightning. 3.) Momo Yaoyorozu (Creati) 4.) Fumikage Tokoyami (Tsukuyomi) - REVELRY IN THE DARK 5.) Tenya Ida (Engenium) - Ida and Asui aren't dropping because they're getting worse; it's because other characters are getting better. 6.) Tsuyu Asui (Froppy) 7.) Shoto Todoroki (Shoto) - I see why people say he's boring, but I think he's a pretty realistic example of internal and external character conflict. I like him! He also has a cool sister, which makes him maybe the only hero with a sibling? 8.) Mirio Togata (Lemillion) 9.) Itsuka Kendo (Battle Fist) 10.) Mei Hatsume (?) 11.) Kyoka Jiro (Earphone Jack) 12.) Mina Ashido ( 13.) Hitoshi Shinso (?) 14.) Inasa Yoarashi (Gale Force) 15.) Nejire Hado (Nejire Chan) 16.) Eijiro Kirishima (Red Riot) - Deku leveraging Eijiro's actual friendship with Bakugo to make their rescue plan work was a great touch and serves as a tiebreaker with his rival. 17.) Tetsutetsu Tetsutetsu (Real Steel) 18.) Toru Hagakure (Invisible Girl) - Using her quirk to do a solar flare was so clever! 19.) Neito Monoma (?) 20.) Mashirao Ojiro (Tailman) - Felt pretty bad for this guy when his room got inspected; he was not having a fun time with it. 21.) Denki Kaminari (Chargebolt) 22.) Ibara Shiozaki (?) 23.) Katsuki Bakugo (Lord Explosion Murder) - Folks said Season 3 was Bakugo's time to shine. It was definitely his best season, culminating in an actual good episode for him near the end. I still enjoy his presence on-screen less than most of the cast. He's the new dividing line between characters I like versus characters I dislike. 24.) Mezo Shoji (Tentacole) 25.) Hanta Sero (Cellophane) 26.) Rikido Sato (Sugarman) - After three seasons I finally know who this is. 27.) Koji Koda (Anima) 28.) Tamaki Amajiki (Suneater) 29.) Yuga Aoyama (Can't Stop Twinkling) 30.) Minoru Mineta (Grape Juice) - Back to the bottom for the horny baby. Not much movement for the teachers this season, but there are some new additions: 1.) All Might - The best thing about All Might is his naming convention for attacks. 2.) Ms. Joke 3.) Midnight 4.) Ectoplasm - Actually a good teacher! A rarity at this school. 5.) Nezu 6.) Mr. Snipe 7.) Thirteen 8.) Cementoss 9.) Eraser Head 10.) Power Loader 11.) Present Mic 12.) Vlad King And power rankings for the intro/outro music... 1.) Season 1 intro 2.) Season 2 first outro 3.) Season 2 second intro 4.) Season 1 outro 5.) Season 3 second outro 6.) Season 2 second outro 7.) Season 2 first intro 8.) Season 3 first intro 9.) Second 3 second intro 10.) Season 3 first outro Finally, miscellaneous thoughts: - It feels like the intro/outro music gets worse every season. - I forgot to mention after the season one power rankings: I like that everybody in Class 1-A gets along, minus Bakugo. They have regular disagreements, which makes sense, but they're all good-natured kids. It reminds me of my high school experience a lot more than most media depictions of school. - In terms of fights, I think the show's high point so far is Deku vs. Shoto at the sports festival. Best mixture of story, visual effects, and gimmick. - Sometimes, I feel conflicted about the show's pacing. As someone who grew up with DBZ, the speed is usually refreshing, but I do feel like the peak moments of DBZ surpass the peak moments of MHA for me. I'm sure that that's partly the age at which I'm seeing these moments for the first time, but it feels like there's enough buildup in MHA to make the moments logical but often not emotional for me, if that makes sense. - Shout out to the mothers in the cast. Deku's mom has always been great, but Bakugo's mom is one of my new favorite characters. - In the provisional license exam, I thought that the placement of the targets on their bodies would be the key to at least one of the fights, but nope. Bold move by Ochaco to put one directly on her crotch, though, wtf - Somebody mentioned that there are OVAs/movies. Where are those in the show's timeline, and have any of them been dubbed?
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# ? Jan 4, 2021 03:56 |
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# ? Jun 6, 2024 11:52 |
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surf rock posted:- Somebody mentioned that there are OVAs/movies. Where are those in the show's timeline, and have any of them been dubbed? The first movie takes place just before Summer Camp and the second movie takes place post-season 4. They have both been dubbed. Not sure about the the OVAs, I'm pretty sure all of them take place pre-season 4 and I doubt any of them have anything story critical in them anyways.
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# ? Jan 4, 2021 04:01 |