Tag: dabi

Do you think Endeavor’s redemption gets more spotlight than how his victims deal with the abuse?

In the recent arcs, on and off, yes. The majority of the Pro-Hero Arc, the Remedial Hero License Exam, etc–Endeavor is kind of the main character and hero of this, and we see his pain and suffering that led to him lashing out, which is fine if you’re going to redeem a character (it’s actually necessary if that’s the goal).

But when we get the other family members, we focus on how Rei feels about Endeavor, not about how Rei feels about herself. Her thoughts are filtered through a lens of Endeavor-focus, which is kind of squicky because the point of abuse is that people make it all about themselves and punish other people for their pain. Fuyumi and Rei are framed as being in the right with Natsuo in the wrong through the fight with Endeavor, because we’re encouraged to root for Endeavor in the fight against the Noumu. Because we’re rooting for him in another part of the chapter, it makes little sense to imply that the author intends for us to root for Natsuo’s dislike of him in the other pages of the chapter.

Until 192, wherein the framing is really, really good, showing the complicated reality of coping with abuse and how everyone copes in different ways, and that’s not necessarily wrong. (The only one I’d say is coping in a maladaptive way is actually Touya/Dabi.) And then it swings back to showing Todoroki’s pain and anguish in the current arc, which is good except when you’ve just been building up a character for redemption in the same chapter it feels a bit whiplashy.

So I do think Horikoshi is trying, but it’s a difficult topic to write about and it’s not perfect, and sometimes he’s succeeding and sometimes he’s struggling or even just–not succeeding at being sensitive. I can critique that aspect of the story while still admitting the Todoroki family drama is my favorite part of the story, I was super excited for each chapter of the Pro-hero Arc, and at this point I’m very interested to see how Endeavor’s redemption plays out, since it certainly ties into one of my favorite characters’ arcs (Dabi’s).

could you please do a meta that compare and contrast shoto and dabi there are so many simularitys to eachother if you think about it more about them there are simularietys that are strikeing

There are indeed. I highly, highly recommend @linkspooky‘s “How Dabi and Todoroki are Foils.” Idk if Tumblr links are still broken, but if they are, you can google for it! Link’s meta really covers the subject in depth, and I give it a standing ovation. 

Dabi is the only one I’m looking forward to this volume not endeavor the cover made me upset seeing him what I really want to see is dabi just dabi

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I do like the symbolism of the cover, even if Endeavor is triggering. Hawks and Endeavor share wings, like how Hawks helped Endeavor out. Endeavor’s left eye is covered by flames, symbolizing his scar but also how his focus on his quirk and pushing himself and pushing his quirk in his children has left him half blind. Hawks has his back turned, and in front of Hawks are blue-ish flames and darkness, which seems to be again symbolic of the panel in which Hawks walked towards the darkness, perhaps foreshadowing a future fall to villainy and of course, representing the deal we know he’s struck with Dabi. 

For Dabi it’s hard to say since we’ve only seen a fragment of it, but. His eye color and Endeavor’s are both prominent, even though Endeavor’s is like tiny. I can still clearly make out that it’s the same color.

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you know I’ve been thinking about something why is dabi who is willing to kill pro heros,killed back ally thugs and even injure ua students suddenly think about what snatch said? dabi answered snatches question with “I thought so hard i went crazy” could dabi be thinking about the families of the people he killed? or his own family who believed he was dead?

Entirely possible it’s both, or the latter entirely, but we’re meant to wonder as we’re waiting for confirmation. I wrote a few posts on the scene and what I thought it meant for Dani’s arc and likely redemption when the chapter first came out, if you want to search on my blog for it! (I can’t link rn alas).

can you do a post about overhaul and dabi i feel like there different but the same in many ways

Well, both of them have major problems with how hero society operates. The difference is that Chisaki is kind of “burn it all down” and thinks all quirks are awful inherently, whereas Dabi believes that heroes should actually be heroic in their personal lives as well as in their professional ones. Or, well, sort of. Because presuming Dabi is Touya, he’s a lot more personally motivated than he is ideologically. Chisaki, on the other hand, is pretty much purely ideological. Chisaki doesn’t care about other people, viewing them all as tools. Dabi does seem to have some kind of conscience. Ish. 

Overhaul can be seen kind of as a mirror of what the LoV could be if they really were committed to ideology and not just a group of broken people without any semblance of a leader. The LoV truly hated Overhaul once he killed Magne. And Overhaul’s inability to make connections eventually leads to his complete downfall. 

Speaking of revenge it can hurt people also can lead to emptiness in the end if completed if you choose revenge there’s no gurentee it can lead you astray can’t revenge be used for a greater purpose and deliver justice?

I genuinely don’t think it can be on a personal level, as far as the wounded is concerned. Anger can be used for justice, though, but I’m drawing a distinction between stopping someone and actively hurting them, I suppose.  Revenge I see as specifically seeking to make someone else suffer because they made you suffer. It’s not concerned with justice. Justice is making sure the person cannot hurt someone else ever again. I am very much in favor of justice, but I don’t think revenge has a place in it.

Like, look at Dabi from BNHA. His primary concern is not protecting his siblings or his mom or other people, it’s killing Endeavor. Dabi’s case is extremely sympathetic, and I’m not saying revenge isn’t a very human desire (it’s one I know well too lol), but that wounding someone else doesn’t make you feel better in the end and doesn’t make the world a better place. Kurapika in HxH isn’t seeking to focus on justice for his tribe; he’s seeking to make the Phantom Troupe suffer as he has suffered (look at how and why he killed Uvogin, what his last words were, and what conditions he put on Chrollo). Yut-Lung in Banana Fish isn’t looking to stop his brothers from hurting people as much as he likes to think he is: he’s looking to trap them in a neverending nightmare in which they are marionettes and he’s holding the strings… which is exactly what they did to him but without chemicals.

Can beauty come from vengeful tales? Oh hell yeah. There is a reason these three characters I cite are among my very favorites, as is Kylo Ren from Star Wars, Tenma in Monster, and on and on.

Hawks and touya I think are meant to foil each other. They were both trained/told from a young age that they would become heroes, with neither ever being treated as actual people. Their desires were chosen for them by others and while touya chose to become dabi, hawks kept on the same path as he was told to. Hawks is shown to always do as he’s told and we rarely see dabi agreeing to anything. (1/2)

And the whole icarus thing could be a reference to how dabi himself burned up, though it probably wasnt his fault, with the scars evident. Hawks might be the one to burn up next, since he’s flying so close to endeavor’s sun. Maybe their positions switch and dabi ends up having to save Hawks. (2/2)

Yeah, that’s a great point about how their childhoods foil each other!! Dabi was also eventually (presumably) cast aside for not having the right quirk for his body, and Hawks was chosen based on his quirk. Like you say they have both been defined by their abilities. 

I’m excited to see if their foiling will be explored more. Unfortunately, my current prediction is that while Dabi will move more towards the light and redeem himself, Hawks is going to get burned not literally, but by sinking further into actual villainy. I would love to see Dabi save him. We will see. 

could you do a post theaoryizeing dabi?

could you do a post thearizing toya i mean toya not dabi

Sorry Anon, I’m not sure what you mean. At this point I think it’s basically canon Touya is Dabi, and I’ve done a lot of posts on Dabi’s character and where I see him going in the future! Feel free to look through my tag. If you’re asking for a specific kind of analysis I haven’t done before, feel free to come back and specify! 

Do you think there is any chance of Rei serving a role in bringing back Dabi/Touya? (Not in a bad way, but BNHA is a very hopeful manga so I doubt Dabi/Touya will get a short stick especially if the idea that Endeavor caused him to become the way he is. So that’s why I’m assuming there will be some kind of saving/redemption)

I agree about a Dabi redemption! As for Rei, I hope so. I do think they should reconcile at some point. I would love to see her play a large role in it but her willingness to forgive Endeavor might be a current obstacle and we don’t know what her relationship was like with Touya before… but I would think her willingness to forgive Endeavor means that she will also and perhaps way more eagerly forgive Touya and still love him despite his villainous deeds, which like. He needs.