Mezo Shoji: The Origin!! My Hero Academia Chapter 371 BREAKDOWN

I had to use f*cking FAN ART I GOOGLED form the Featured Image, guys. There were a LOT of good images that came out of this chapter, but I didn’t feel like any of them really…….. “Hit.” And I want all my featured images to “stand out” amongst the others- they’re the images that represent the post. They HAVE to hit. But the chapter itself– Pretty good. I don’t think I at any point planned to cover these chapters, but I thought “Meh, guess I’ll do it.” Because there’s a few things that I want to talk about. But really, I’m not all that invested at this point- especially since the most INTERESTING fight is underway at the UA Barrier. Then again, this is a rewind. Yeah. It also focuses on a character that………. I just don’t care about. We’ll get into that in a minute. My Hero Academia Chapter 371: “Together With Shoji.” Here goes nothin’………..

REVIEW

Chapter 370: We turn the clock back a little bit- to when Shoto “defeated” Dabi. On another battlefied; the Heroes are doing everything they can to keep Spinner and his army of Heteromorphs away from Central Hospital and Kurogiri. The Mutants starts to yell about the troubles they faced in other, smaller sections of Japan, where this kind of discrimination still exists. Mezo Shoji of Class 1A- a Heteromorph like the rest of them- has faced this discrimination first hand. But it doesn’t justify this attack on the hospital. The last time, the Heroes evacuated before anything else. But the Villains- the Liberation Front- aren’t thinking about that. 

Chapter 371: Shoji asks Spinner if he considered those innocent lives, but his mind is so mucked up by all the quirks in his system that even his internal thoughts aren’t even coherent speech. He simply responds “Dun Care.” Some Heteromorph speaker twists this into being “Casualties Are Inevitable.” But Shoji warns that this attack will set their kind back 30 years. But his mind keeps getting jumbled; he flashes back to when All For One gave him these quirks, with his thoughts saying “Seriously…… Can’t Care Anymore….. Not About Any of it………. Not Anymore…….” and he memory of Tomura telling him that he also plays “League Of Legends.” 

He activates “Scalemail-” a quirk that lets him grow scales with high levels of durability. He swings his sword at Shoji, managing to cut off a hand. Seeing his friend being pushed back like this, he remembers the story he was told prior to the war. Shoji’s parents were……. normal; he was born to human parents, which made him stick out like a sore thumb in a Village that valued “pure blood.” Whereas larger cities don’t seem to have this problem- smaller places aren’t as accepting. 

Thinking about it; Mineta once called him an “Octopus.” He apologizes, but Shoji doesn’t mind; he chose the name “Tentacole” because “Tako” means “Octopus,” and watches things like “Heroes Who Look Like Villains” rankings. But he still wears the masks to hide the scars he got- he doesn’t want people to think he’s looking for “revenge” or anything. He has several painful memories, but he instead chooses to focus on the one time when he was actually glad to have a body like his; the time when he saved a little girl from crashing waves in a storm. Hearing his story, the…….. “Simple Types” of Class 1A dive in for a “group hug.” He embraces them, and says that he’s doubtful that this problem will ever be solved in their lifetime. So he’ll become the “Coolest Hero The World’s Ever Seen,” and make more “good memories” to pass on to the next generations. 

Back in the present; Shoji continues to battle Spinner, admitting that he faced discrimination for the way he looked, and even admits that those who oppress them are in the wrong. But even so; there’s a better way to bring this prejudice to light. Spinner- becoming more and more feral- shouts “I DON CARE!! TEAR IT DOWN!!” The Speaker guy on top of the buildings is yelling that he’s still clinging to childish naivety, but Koda summons a flock of birds in his anger, warning this guy “not to mock Shoji.” Meanwhile; Shoji starts to bulk up to challenge the evolving Spinner. My Hero Academia Chapter 371 END!!! Things are happening, and it’s not as if I dislike it. Actually, I kind of want to see how it’s handled. I have 1 idea, but it’s a stretch. 

Analysis 

Ah………… Racism. It seems like any story that tackles this problem is doomed to fail; Ajay even manages to point out a bunch of problems in the Fishman racism plot in One Piece. And……with the, uh……. The “Climate” of America on that topic; this may end up being a “Make or Break” situation for the series- for Horikoshi, honestly. China didn’t take well to Ujiko’s original name “Maruta Shiga.” And from there, you had people looking in and finding that some characters share birthdays with some……. less than liked figures from history. If he messes this up- has a character say One Thing Wrong; make a decision that doesn’t agree with the Vocal Majority- it will not end well. I can’t say HOW he should handle it, but I’m sort of glad that he is. 

…………. How should I put this? I think that………. it makes sense that this would be a problem. Thinking about it; Humans in this story have evolved internally(the lack of a joint in the pinky toe), and aside from anime hair colors- it’s not like they look all that different from us in the real world. And then you have Tokoyami and the others…………. I think the “problem” is this situation is that their “Uncanny Valley” effect takes over a little too much. Ajay’s one of those types who looks into random sh!t on the internet, and he’s told me that Humans evolved to have this sense to differentiate regular old Homosapiens from the Neanderthals. It’s something that helps s see through things “pretending to be Human.” I think that may be what’s going on here. Are you following? 

I think that they’re reacting the same way Early man did to the Neanderthals: Violently. Is that what Horikoshi trying to say? No, probably not- he’s probably not even thinking about the Uncanny Valley. But it’s one way to interpret this situation. How you would go about solving this problem is a whole other matter, because it’s not as if we can just……. GET RID OF THE UNCANNY VALLEY EFFECT(At least As far as I know at the time of me writing this); I feel like that would cause some kind of “Dulled Sense Of Danger” or something. But no; I think this is very much referencing…….. THAT. In which case, I think Shoji’s right; no matter what Heteromorph’s like him do, there’s always gonna be an @$$hole or 2 out there that can talk people- young and old- into thinking how they do. It won’t be solved in the main series. And I don’t know where everyone stands on a spin off/ continuation after the series “Fall From Grace,” but it ain’t getting solved THERE either. 

The only thing that can be done- at least in the context of the story- is for the current generation to educate the next on not being prejudice. “Easier said than done,” but it’s the truth. Now that we’ve gotten through the sensitive stuff, we can get on with the STORY critical stuff. Spinner’s Mind? Or Koda’s new power which is probably the same ability as Aquaman? Eh, that one’s kind of simple. He can probably telepathically communicate with animals now. It was established in the My Villain Academia that intense moments can force quirks to “spontaneously evolve,” as we saw with Best Girl Himiko chan. That’s pretty simple. 

Spinner. “Body Bulk” explains the size, and now he’s built like a moving tank. He really is Machia 2.0. It actually kind of paints a picture as to how Machia became the way he did; he got pumped with too many…………. Quirks. YOOOOOOOOOO!!!! I just thought of something!! Izuku has trouble using multiple quirks at once; we saw him freeze up during his fight against Lady Nagant that part of having multiple quirks is that requires a lot of “processing power-” it requires more mental effort to use this “physical abilities” at once. Machia and Spinner have multiple quirks. “All For One” may let the man himself use multiple quirks efficiently, but characters such as the other 3 have to “work” to know how to handle it. Machia probably didn’t have that time, and neither did Spinner. So now his brain is beginning to……… “stall.” Like when too many devices are on the wifi!! That’s the key to victory; hit him while he’s “frozen.” 

…………… What else is there? I don’t know if Shoji’s quirk is “evolving” or he’s “awakening an oppressed ability.” Honestly, he probably just learned something offscreen during the preparation for the battle. If I were to throw out a suggestion, then I’d have to say that he’s learned to augment his muscles, yeah? He’s just gonna be “Muscular For The Heroes” out here. 

Conclusion 

I suppose that’s all that I wanted to say. I feel pretty good about saying that this time; I’m proud that I was able to come up with those theories on the spot. All in all, I suppose this wasn’t that bad a chapter. I don’t know how Horikoshi is planning to handle such a sensitive subject, but……. He HAS to have thought about this ahead of time, right? He had to have thought about this storyline before he even started writing the story, right? Plans haven’t “changed” during the course of the story, RIGHT?! Please tell me I’m right……. 

……….. That’s MY response when dumb@$$e$ come into my job asking where every f*cking thing is while I’m dealing with another customer. Let me know your own thoughts in the comments. And until the next post, boys and girls- Have A Magically Wonderful Day. By~~~e!!!