Boku no Hero Academia Chapter 127 Review

This one is a bit late on my part, but it is better to start at some point rather than never.

The Fanboys Collide

The chapter begins with Mr. Sir evidently angry with Izuku for mimicking All Might's face in such a manner, all the while maintaining a stoic and serious expression.  He asks if Izuku is in shock having realized Mr. Sir was All Might's side-kick...before critiquing Izuku's All Might impression for not having those kinds of wrinkles, and gives precise measurements of All Might's wrinkles from his normal face to his Silver Age.  He even comments that merchandise is made in such a way so people can tell the difference.

Basically, despite his serious demeanor, Mr. Sir is a super-fan of All Might, as his office is filled to the brim with All Might related goods, including a super-rare tapestry of All Might.  To the point where Izuku even challenges his All Might Knowledge by referring to "The Vinegar Suicide Incident", where a middle-schooler able to alter the properties of water was saved from drowning in the river by All Might.  Apparently, the face All Might had on TV back then was the one Izuku chose for his impression, as the river had been altered into vinegar.  The two even begin finishing each other's sentences as they talk about the incident, with Izuku's innocent excitable fanboyism contrasting the super-serious nature of Mr. Sir, who had become All Might's sidekick before said incident.

Meanwhile, Mirio is undoing Bubble Girl from the tickle torture machine, and comments that Izuku made a good first impression, even if he couldn't make Mr. Sir laugh.

...Yes, the super-serious Mr. Sir tickle-tortures his employees.

Internship...Denied!

In regards to why Izuku is meeting Mr. Sir in the first place, when Izuku puts forward his application, Mr. Sir stamps the table instead, because Mr. Sir is in doubt about how Izuku can benefit him, how he can contribute to society, and how he can be of benefit to others.  While it seems unreasonable from the normal Shounen perspective (which Boku no Hero demonstrably does not have), it is perfectly reasonable in the world of Boku no Hero Academia.

In a world where superpowers are so public and abundant that businesses have been made on the concept of super-heroes, knowing how a prospective sidekick or intern will benefit society is a good way to maintain business.  But there are ulterior reasons for Mr. Sir to be so strict with Izuku...

Three Minutes of Foresight

Mr. Sir does give Izuku a test, however: take the stamp from him and stamp the paper in three minutes, and he'll take Izuku in.  It sounds easy, right?  ...Not according to Mirio after he and Bubble Girl are ushered out, who claims the feat will be all but impossible for Izuku because of Sir's Quirk.  We're talking about Mr. Permeable, the guy whom the principal of UA thought would be the ideal successor to All Might.  The guy who wiped the floor with all of Class A without breaking a sweat, and a top contender for Number One hero.

Sir tells Izuku that he won't lay a finger on him throughout the three minutes, and to attack him however he feels like attacking.  That would normally make things easier for Izuku...But it doesn't.  Even with Full Cowl One For All, Sir is able to see through everything that Izuku is planning.

Literally.  His Quirk is "Foresight".  Once he touches someone and locks gazes with them, he can see all actions they will take for one hour.

A power to see the future....YHWACH-SAMA, WHYYYY!!!!!

*exhale* Goddamn you, Kubo.

Personal grievances over Bleach's self-destruction aside, this is yet another very interesting Quirk we are seeing from Sir - and one that would make him quite effective as a Hero.  He just needs to come into contact with and lock gazes with a villain, and he basically has the fight on lock.

I know most Quirks are based on physical capabilities, but Quirks like these just seem to break that mold into pieces.  Granted, "One for All" and "All For One" did that plenty, but "Foresight" is in its own category.  Sir would be near-unbeatable if he had "One For All".  Speaking of which...

Who Should Inherit "One For All"

Sir is fully aware of the existence of "One For All", and believes that Mirio would have been a more worthy successor, and believes Izuku to be mediocre at best.  He's being surprisingly humble and condescending at the same time, because there are probably some who would think that a guy who can see the future would be more than ideal to bear the power of "One For All".

But "One For All" has always been about more than simply power.  One who possesses "One For All" must also possess strong ideals, and be judged worthy by the previous holder based on those ideals.  After all, you do not want a successor who will end up going off the deep end because they could not hold onto their ideals.

But even here, Sir has a point.  With All Might out of the picture, the villains have become more bold in their activities (refer to previous chapters in regards to the Eight Precepts of Death), and there needs to be someone able to deal with those shadows to rise up as the new "Symbol of Peace".  But right now, Sir does not see Izuku as being that Symbol, regardless of Sir's admiration of All Might, and believes that someone more worthy exist.

Determination

However, Izuku perseveres regardless, even considering his own questions about how Sir knows about "One For All".  I presume that he powers up "One For All" further, since he is determined to surpass Sir to such an extent that he cannot react, even if Sir can see the future.  After all, All Might entrusted Izuku with "One For All", and he won't be denied that, even by Sir.

This.  This proper determination is what I like to see in a protagonist.  Not something driven by the desire "to be the best", not something that is solely dependent on whether or not you have power to act as the source of your confidence (I'm looking at you, Ichigo), and not the typical Shounen hero banter, either.  This is what makes me like Izuku so much as a protagonist.  He is not perfect.  He is not some prodigy.  He is not someone innately born with potential, nor even the reincarnation of someone who was extraordinary in the past.

He was chosen by All Might to bear his power, and he had to earn it through months of hard work, and he is still working to adapt to and use "One For All" at full power, and issues have arisen when he pushed himself too much when using his power.

So I look forward to how Izuku will grow over the upcoming years of "Boku no Hero Academia", and I hope you join me on this journey.

Boku no Hero Academia - Beyond the Pages Introduction

I first began these blogs as a side-project for University.  Over time, I came to use Bleach - Beyond the Pages as a means to catalog all my reviews and old theories I made in regards to the story of Bleach.

...But now I must abandon that project, because the ending of the series proved itself to not have been worth all the time and effort I put into it over the years.  The author just could not deliver on the potential that his series once had, and instead went for an ending that, to be blunt, made everything that came before it seem meaningless.

Now that the reaction is out of the way, it is time to move on to something new.  And by new, I mean a new story by a new author that has so far shown genuine potential that can be fulfilled, rather than potential that will be left unfulfilled by an author who ended up being all show, no substance.  

In other words, Boku no Hero Academia.  It has been 120 chapters in as of my starting up this blog, so I have a lot to catch up on.  By a lot, I mean that I may decide to review all the chapters that have come out so far on a volume-by-volume basis, and then go back to standard reviews.  

This may not even be my only new blog.  It may very well be only the first.