Thematically related to the recent manga chapter 226, I’m talking about the way Deku has used his Quirk. (Yes, trust me, it’s relevant)



My Hero Academia manga spoilers are past the keep reading link.

One thing I’ve always wondered about is what happened to the topic of whether people are grossed out by the way Deku used his Quirk at the sports festival. Deku breaks bones in order to use his power on a regular basis through the series and one of his most dramatic cases of this was on live television. The way he used his Quirk is clearly not ‘normal,’ much like how Toga was also considered to not be normal by other people in her backstory shown in chapter 226 (with some caveats I will explain later).



I’ve always imagined most people aren’t saying it to his face for the sake of being polite, or perhaps due to this universe’s equivalent of ‘political correctness’. Yet it was one of the first things out of Mineta’s mouth next time they spoke… and Deku got no internship offers… NONE, despite his high placement in the tournament.

I mean, to be fair, the fact that someone would be willing to hurt themselves so much should be worrying. From our perspective, we as the audience to the anime/manga know Deku’s mental health has been shot since day one. Deku is desperate to prove himself and has been so friendship-starved that he’d do just about anything for someone he cares about.



But the public within the universe is not privy to all of the information we as viewers have, they can only speculate. As far as they know Deku was just born that way and that he’s “crazy” and/or self-sacrificial because of his Quirk.



On the other hand, some people might view him with sympathy because he’s just trying to make the best of a Quirk with many drawbacks, where he would not be able to succeed as a hero if he doesn’t use it. (As an added note, he was clearly avoiding the use of his quirk right up until his fight with Todoroki).



I imagine the reason why the public seemed supportive of him in the train scene was because they might have weak Quirks which made them unsuited for heroism, so perhaps Deku has a fan-base that admires him for trying to be a hero despite the drawbacks of his quirk (drawbacks that, according to Aizawa early in the series, should have made Deku unsuited for Hero work as well). Deku is the everyman’s hero.



So it’s not all doom and gloom or anything. This world is probably pretty multifaceted.



After this point, the only time any of this got alluded to again was briefly in Deku’s fight against Gentile. After they recognized him mid-fight they were like, oh sh*t, we gotta get involved with him? He’s the crazy kid who fought by destroying his hands!



I wonder if it will come up again. Aside from those two panels above It’s been brushed under the carpet for a while. In any case, it’s clear that the public has varying opinions on him.



I mean heck, the idea that quirks are personalities, another piece of world-building that’s been backed up in chapter 226 (and many previous chapters) could have some HELLA deep implications for Deku not only based on the Sports Festival shenanigans but simply based on the big reveal not too long ago that Deku is going to develop 6 new Quirks. People, characters within the manga’s universe are going to get SO confused.



Like, just, SO confused. Very much so.



The basis of what’s thought to, at least in part, determine a person’s personality or essence (although whether this belief is subconscious, political or both in this universe is not entirely clear) will be constantly in question with regards to Deku. That could be bad.



One of his Quirks is a creepy black vine thing too, and who knows what the other Quirks are that Deku might gain access to as they start showing up.



In any case Deku’s Quirk(s?) don’t seem free from stigma in the bnha society. Since being judged for one’s Quirk has been a recurring theme for other characters, I wonder how this will all effect Deku in the future. I also wonder if Toga or Shinsou will play a role whenever this happens?

