BnHA: New Cover for Volume 4

The participants for the first year tournament

Of ALL the covers I've seen, this one is the best.

I honestly think Horikoshi-sensei's art is beautiful because not all characters look the same. It's rare to see a manga whose characters looks unique from other. This is the reason I enjoy reading this manga aside from the storyline. Each character has a specific design of their own, the eyes are not redundant. Look at the characters in this picture and tell me they don't exude individuality.

Anyway, the main cast are here with Midoriya my boy shown the largest. Uraraka immediately catches the eye because she has a whole body shot. I like how Kirishima is drawn here, it really gives the impression of being a laid-back person and at the same time looking approachable which is really in his nature. Bakugou looks like he's about to pick up a fight. No surprises there. Kaminari looks like the dude who always make fun of everyone. That's what he is. Sero is not smiling, maybe Kaminari said something offensive? Ashido and Mei looks like... Ashido and Mei. I haven't really observed their characteristics although Mei is an ambitious girl. Momo seems like she was about to tel something but then the camera clicked. Tokoyami looks badass, as ever and Iida's holding a bottle. I assume it contains orange juice? Todoroki - my personal favorite, looks like he doesn't want to be in the photo at, all. Well, didn't he say "we're not here to make friends" to Midoriya? He definitely give off that vibe.

Well, I noted Midoriya's hand has a green bandage and a glove to cover his wrecked hand (he got it when he used One For All during the fight with Todoroki). I think it looks cool. Like the mainstream MCs where they have this signature injury to always remind them of the time when they are too weak. Uraraka's sneakers are pink, really?! Are Bakugou's boots from his hero costume?

Among all of them, I like Kirishima's pose in this cover. If I am someone who's got no idea who he is, by looking at this photo, I'd say he's a friendly guy - which he's certainly is. The way he's drawn here captured that personality.

SPOILER: Chapter 44

The winner - Bakugou Katsuki, of the
Yuuei freshmen class.

This chapter has the right combination of drama and comedy. The flow of the story in this chapter is well done. Most importantly, there were no wasted panels.

There is a major revelation here but I won't tell.

Anyway, between the drama and the comedy part, I'd pick the comedy part as my personal favored aspect of this chapter.

From the beginning itself, I was laughing so hard. See that cover photo of Bakugou? That's about the overall reaction he has for his victory. He's so mad, well he's always mad at anyone and everything.

But this chapter, his anger was made fun of and it was hilarious!

I will have a lot to discuss after the translations come out. I haven't laughed this hard at a chapter of Boku no Hero Academia for a long time.

This chapter is an awesome breather after the disappointing result of the final match last week.

REVIEW: Chapter 43 (Todoroki vs. Bakugou)

I don't really know how to describe how I felt after reading the latest chapter. It was the chapter I was really looking forward to see since the battle is between Class 1As strongest students.

The first few panels where Todoroki created enormous ice and Bakugou blasted his way out of them was very predictable. As always, Todoroki was calm and Bakugou was very aggressive both in his attacks and the language he use.

Bakugou yelling at Todoroki to fight
with all he's got

Although Bakugou won, I don't feel any bitterness. I felt the win was undeserved even he said so. Another display of his selfishness, when Midoriya wanted Todoroki to use his fire his reason was because everyone was doing their best while Todoroki uses only half of his true power. Bakugou wanted Todoroki to give his all because he wanted the audience to see that he, Bakugou, defeated Todoroki while the latter unleashed his true power. Bakugou wanted a definite win, he wanted the people to not doubt his power, he wanted acknowledgment that he's strongest.

He's convinced he will win.

(See this selfishness is the reason I predict Bakugou will turn villain in the future. If not, he'll be just like Endeavor, masquerading a hero. Bitter and forever in Midoriya's shadow.)

Unfortunately, that did not happen. To his dismay, and mine.

I was anticipating an epic match. I can't even call that fight. What I saw was two people throwing grenades and ice buckets at each other. Todoroki obviously let Bakugou's howitzer attack to hit him. He purposely let himself be swept outside the ring.

Bakugou not expecting the outcome

Bakugou knew what he did that's why he immediately went to Todoroki to confront him. Todoroki was unconscious this time. Bakugou was at his limit, too. But Midnight intervened and put him  to sleep.

Fans won't be able to gloat over their Kacchan's victory with this kind of fight.

Let's wait when Bakugou wake up. He'll curse Todoroki for giving a lousy fight. He'll feel even worse because that's not a well-deserved win. He'll get mad at everyone because they know it's not a worthy victory. Some senior will put him to his proper place.

One thing's for sure, the mangaka feels its too early in the series to establish who's stronger between the two.

SPOILER: Chapter 43

I can't even describe how I feel after seeing the latest chapter. The excitement, the anticipation, the eagerness - extinguished.

I don't even want to put a single panel here because I'm just so disappointed. Why, Horikoshi, why?

My jaw literally dropped after seeing the last pages. I don't understand. Why, Todoroki, why?!

I knew I should've stayed away from the raws! Now I have to unhappily wait for the translated chapter to come out.

REVIEW : Chapter 42 (And Now, The Finals)

I like this colored page, the girls of 1A. Invisigirl
is of course, invisible.

Bakugou aggressively attacking Tokoyami amd Dark Shadow.
Dark Shadow is crying, how could you?!

The match between Bakugou and Tokoyami has been decided. I felt real bad that Dark Shadow has to endure the blasts. He can't use the full extent of his power because of the light coming from the explosions. Bakugou got a lucky match up since he knows about Dark Shadow's weakness. Bakugou is on the offensive throughout the fight. Meanwhile, Tokoyami is becoming weaker and Dark Shadow hasn't fully regained strength. Bakugou showed he really isn't just about brawl but also strategizes to defeat his opponent.

Bakugou pinning down Tokoyami and the latter surrenders.

I can't say that I did not expect Bakugou to lose but it never crossed my mind that Tokoyami will surrender.

Bakugou, I really don't like your attitude and how you insult people but I acknowledge the fact that you have full grasp of your quirk, you're powerful and I have a grudging respect towards you.

Iida's mom was about to tell Iida the news about his brother.

Iida's mom called but there was no confirmation that his brother is dead. It was revealed however, that Ingenium's name is Tensei. Really, Iida Tensei? It sounds so similar to Edo Tensei, I am starting to believe he will be resurrected.

Another dark character who wants to kill All Might is introduced.

The villain's name who attacked Ingenium is Hero Slayer or Stain. I prefer to call him Stain. It looks like Black Mist will recruit him. So Shigaraki Tomura wants All Might dead, Stain wants to kill All Might, they should be happy to join each other's company!

Back at Yuuei, even if Midoriya did not make it to the finals, his presence was felt through the scene of Bakugou and Todoroki in the waiting room. Both acknowledge Midoriya as a rival. Both were helped by him.

Todoroki talking about Midoriya

You see, Todoroki won't use his fire side as a form of renouncement of his father. He chose only to use his ice side which he inherited from his mother. During his battle against Midoriya, the latter pointed out that everyone in the competition is giving their all so what Todoroki was doing, is bullshit. Midoriya said that his power is his own. That's whenTodoroki used his fire side to win.

IGNORED

Bakugou on the other hand, bullied Midoriya since they were little. Midoriya still saved him during a villain attack despite being quirkless.

In a way, both were saved by Midoriya my boy.

Next chapter is what everyone's been waiting for.

BAKUGOU KATSUKI VS. TODOROKI SHOUTO!

This match is interesting because the result can be unpredictable. Bakugou had shown his prowess in handling his quirk. He's fast, he's strong (proof of this was when he smashed Fish Eyed kid from class B's barrier using raw power). He has proved he also applies strategy aside from being naturally skilled in combat.

The Icy Calmness against Evil Grin.

Todoroki on the other hand, is also very talented in battle and is highly calculating. He was trained by Endeavor, second top hero since he was a little kid. Let's not forget he has ice and fire as quirks. He had displayed what he can do with ice by creating a moutain of it during his fight with Sero. Can you imagine what he can do with his fire? I'm pretty sure he has full grasp of it because I think it is the quirk Endeavor really trained him to handle it well. His first impulse was to always use it but remembers to use ice instead.

I really can't predict who will win. Here's Todoroki with fire and ice, both powerful quirks. Here's Bakugou who can blast his way through anything.

Bakugou might blast away Todoroki's ice wall or anything  made of ice but Todoroki can also make the temperatures drop which will decrease Bakugou's chance of sweating.

I think the victor of this match will be decided by stamina. The person who reaches his limit first will lose.

Remember, Bakugou's matches made him use a lot of his power unlike Todoroki.

Personally, I am Team Todoroki.

SPOILER: Chapter 42

Finally, the raws are out!

The semi-finals is over. As expected, Bakugou won against Tokoyami which means the match everyone is anticipating will happen next chapter. I'm excited! Anyway, most readers predicted the final match-up between Todoroki and Bakugou.

The reveal of the villain who attacked Ingenium was not a disappointment. I expected to see a muscular dude similar with Noumu's appearance but he looks even better! Like a zombie samurai from Thriller Bark who has Daredevil pose in this panel.

Anyway, I seriously think his character design is amazing. I like his overall appearance. I spent a lot of time observing the tiny details, it made me wish I had the same art skills as the mangaka.

I hope his personality can equal his badass appearance. If his claim is true that All Might is the only one who can fight him, then this is one hell of a villain. Sorry, Endeavor.

Even the chapter isn't translated yet. it's entertaining.

BnHA: Favorite Characters

Boku no Hero Academia has a bunch of interesting and likeable characters. The mangaka, Horikoshi Kohei really put tons of effort to make characters stand on their own whether its about their quirk or personality or both. Every character is unique from their design, mannerisms and personality.

If I will enumerate all my favorite characters, I'd definitely mention most of them and explain why. However, that will be most unchallenging so I decided to choose the four characters I like the most. Choosing characters for only four slots proved to be so difficult.

Why four? Because top 5 is too mainstream.

Here it is, the Milo Mango: Top Four Favorite BnHA Characters

4. All Might - I always enjoy his over-the-top mannerisms when he's in buff form and spewing blood in his true form. He always have the most memorable lines.

3. Ochako Uraraka - she always have such a sunny disposition. Her reason for wanting to become a hero made me love her character. She also proved to be a capable fighter when she fought in the tournament during Yuuei's sports festival.

2. Izuku Midoriya - he's different from other MCs out there. He does not have a loud personality, he does not require huge amount of food, he does not have to be cute. He's actually smart and a nerdlord. Most important factor for me, he did not come from a legendary race/legendary place/legendary bloodline/legendary clan/legendary parents. His power was given to him because he deserved it not because he was fortunate to be born with it.

1. Aizawa-sensei - the moment he appeared in that sleeping bag drinking orange juice, I immediately liked the character. I won't even discuss how awesome he is as a hero. He's just cool.

Honorable Mentions:

Here is a list of characters I love but did not made it to the top four. In no particular order:

Iida Tenya - because of his unique way of delivering speech with added gesticulations. He's someone who looks serious but is really comical.

Kirishima Eijirou - everybody's friend. Definitely the nicest guy in the class.

Tetsutetsu Tetsutetsu - nuff said.

Fumikage Tokoyami - this guy deserves more screen time. I think his character design (falcon head) is unique. And he's got Dark Shadow, too.

Todoroki Shouto - born with ice and fire as quirks, he's also smart and obviously very powerful. Though his quiet demeanor is a bit generic type of character for me, his character design is not. Besides, who doesn't like the quiet-smart-badass character?

In terms of character design I'm going with only two:

Bakugou Katsuki - his appearance, his hero costume reflects his explosive personality, figuratively and literally speaking.

Shigaraki Tomura - never saw any character that resembles him. The hand in his face and those that support his seemingly fragile body. I mean, just look at him.

This list is subject to change.

Boku no Hero Academia: Summary

Finally summoned the courage to create my very own blog. I'm not an excellent writer. I made a blog to write about the things I am really passionate about. I'm also not a native English speaker so please forgive me if my composition is not grammatically correct. I will try my best to express my thoughts in the clearest way possible.

This blog was really created for my newest favorite manga, Boku no Hero Academia. I started reading it last November because I've read on some forums that it was the next big thing. Naruto was about to end or had ended that time (I can't really remember), so I decided to read it and see for myself if it was really good like what the forum people were telling. I was a bit skeptical since I don't really read a lot of mangas and the only storyline that I remained loyal to is One Piece. If you read One Piece, you definitely know what a good plot is. After reading a couple of chapters, I was hooked!

The story is like the Japanese version of X-Men. People were born with supernatural powers. Some use their powers or quirks as it is called in the manga, to help people. They are called Heroes. However, some use their quirks to do illegal things and they are branded as villains.

Becoming a hero is what the main character, Midoriya Izuku dreams of. He has an idol, All Might whom he admired since he was a boy. Unfortunately, Midoriya was born quirkless.

In his world, being powerless or "normal" is rare while having a quirk is common.

Regardless of not having a power of his own, Midoriya still dreams of becoming a hero like All Might.

After his chance encounter with All Might and disregarding his safety to save his childhood friend, Midoriya was given One For All, a power that was passed down from one bearer to the next where it is cultivated making it as a "sum convergence of peak strength of countless men." (All Might, chapter 2)

Thus, Midoriya Izuku, once quirkless is now the bearer of One For All enabling him to be admitted to the Heroics Department of the prestigious Yuuei High School where kids who wants to be heroes are trained.

There you have it, the summary of Boku no Hero Academia.

I really should've started this blog long ago now it's on chapter 40 and there is already a tournament arc! Anyway, I'll post my thoughts about the upcoming chapters, I'm sure I will be enjoying that! I'll also think about something to write about the characters since everyone in the manga are interesting and worth talking about.