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In a bizarre turn of events, a simple tweet aboutMy Hero Academiahas turned the world upside down. Parallels are often used as a tool in media to facilitate a connection between separate but similar events.
Now, which iconic anime movie is the tweet comparing to the protagonist, Deku (Izuku Midoriya), and his rival, Bakugo? If you guessedA Silent Voice,we will be surprised, but you’re not wrong. Let’s dive into what this means and how it has created an uproar amongst anime fans.
Do Deku and Bakugo MirrorA Silent Voice’sShoya and Shoko?
After processing what the X user (@b_luckyy7) posted, the perspective has some fruit. The most obvious parallel is that Bakugo bulliedDekuas a child after discovering that the latter shows no signs of a Quirk. On the other hand, Bakugo was considered a child prodigy for his Explosion Quirk. His ego was only fuelled by the constant praise around him, but as every classic bullying story goes, he has one insecurity: Deku. He was different and an easy target in his eyes.
He possessed something Bakugo was never taught: Kindness, and that threatened him. Bakugo’s ego had everything to gain by putting him down. Due to Bakugo’s popularity amongstMy Hero Academiafans, it’s often undermined how much Deku suffered. While fans believe homophobia is why the duo are considered “toxic”, it’s important to remember that the bullying Deku faced was more violent in comparison.
people downplay bakugo’s bullying like he wasn’t doing this to deku on the daily in middle schoolpic.twitter.com/9Xveb1g3j4
Similarly, inA Silent Voice, Shoya bullies Shoko, a deaf student, during their childhood. His reason was similar to Bakugo’s. Shoko was simply different and he craved to be the class clown. He wanted to “entertain” the class in hopes of gaining status.
taps signhttps://t.co/1Hc0Qi4Ugopic.twitter.com/EVVr6KGuci
This backfires for both of them. The two have to face their former victims during their high school years. Shoya puts in more effort to ask for forgiveness during high school whereasBakugoremains himself (for a while, that is). The former learns empathy a lot faster than the latter does. The main argument the replies in the original tweet have are that Bakugo never goes through repercussions or development. But is that a fact?
“The ending was basically him getting to do what he always wanted”: My Hero Academia Fans Can Hate Kohei Horikoshi for What He Did to Deku But it Isn’t Surprising if You Know the Full Story
Bakugo’s Journey is More Complicated and Needs Media Literacy
It’s true thatA Silent Voice’sShoya put in an immense amount of effort to beg for Shoko’s forgiveness, going so far as learning sign language. However, at the end of the day, kids are kids and their journeys will be different. WithMy Hero Academia, the world is much darker and complicated. Bakugo’s journey has created a discussion about teenage mental health. The young boy has had expectations no child or teenager should face. However, in the world of heroes and villains, there is only room for success.
Anyway Bakugou is trending so here’s my annual “I wrote about him and mental health back in 2018” post cuz I love him and his character development throughout the series 🥺🥺🥺https://t.co/tFYWwtmuUz
After being kidnapped by the League of Villains and All Might retires after giving everything to save Bakugo, he blames himself. His high school is full of failure and the hard-hitting reality of the hero industry. It’s the first time fans and even Deku have witnessed him pouring his heart out. We slowly see Bakugo become the person we know now: A real hero. His development is a lot slower, but it doesn’t mean it doesn’t exist.
Is It a Parallel or Just the Right Thing To Do?
The original tweet compares the sacrifices made by Shoya and Bakugo as a “parallel”. However, is the right word here a “parallel”? Shoko’s attempt near the movie is a hard-hitting reality. Shoya saved her, but accidentally fell into the river. These are events that would realistically happen, not to say that tears weren’t shed after Shoko begged for forgiveness from his mother.
a silent voice isn’t a romance, it’s a story about forgiveness, overcoming, and mental health—undermining it to just be a love story where the bully gets the girl, is an insult to it,, bc it’s truly a beautiful story that realistically depicts mental healthhttps://t.co/ckCeqg8O3v
“It’s a lot more than just a girl with a disability”: Fans Defend A Silent Voice as $31 Million Movie Faces Backlash for Poor Representation
Bakugo, on the other hand, has developed enough courage and empathy to take a life-ending injury for Deku.My Hero Academiais set in fiction where Quirks exist and can be deadly. Both Bakugo and Shoya exhibited acts of empathy and sacrifice, but only one knew the real risk. Nevertheless, it can be argued that both of them have had development. Not every anime fan believes it, but maybe approaching Bakugo’s journey with empathy will change your perspective.
My Hero AcademiaandA Silent Voiceare now available to watch on Crunchyroll.
Bidisha Mitra
Articles Published :802
Bidisha is an Anime Content Writer at FandomWire with over 700 published articles. With over 7 years of writing experience, she’s versatile and adept. When she’s not writing, she’s also a voice actor on the side.Bidisha is currently continuing to learn Japanese and gets more fluent everyday. Her expertise is One Piece, Bungo Stray Dogs, and Haikyuu, but has been watching anime for over a decade. She was previously a Content Writer reviewing the latest Kpop music.
