I had several ideas for the title of this post- all of which involved some type of “Dance.” The first title I came up with was a Demon Slayer reference; it was “Hinokami Kagura- Partner’s Dance: Todoroki Twist.” But that one was little too “wordy” when I put pen to paper(or more accurately; finger to key). And this chapter demanded a much more……….. “somber” tone. Because this- is the beginning of the End of the Todoroki Storyline. All 4 of the main players in this thread are coming together; the “Dance” Dabi wished to have with Endeavor back in the first war has started; we get a reveal of a distant relative of there’s, thus confirming another fan theory in terms of bloodlines; and we’re in like………. we gotta be close to the end at this point- if Horikoshi really plans to wrap this up this year. Then again, he’s been having some health problems lately; he’s been having breaks a lot more frequently. So that “This Year” might become “Early Next Year” if this keeps up. They should extend to him the same break Tabata got before beginning the Final Saga.
But yes; the second or 3rd most important storyline in the series is reaching its climax. Not much left now….. Let’s begin. My Hero Academia Chapter 387: “Congealing.” No clue what that’s in actual reference to, but let’s role with it.
Overview
Paranormal Liberation Front Lieutenant Geten reveals that he’s a descendant of The Himura Clan- a branch family of Rei’s!! He reveals to Mr Compress, who’s in the opposite cell from his, that Himura clan’s origins lie in Himura Village long ago. And even after the Agricultural Revolution(Emancipation Of Farming Land in 1947); the clan remained strong. Until the Era of Quirks started; their obsession with pedigree and the prejudice against Heteromorph’s forced the Himura clan to start inbreeding- marrying off members of branch families to distant relatives. Which causes their blood to run “thick.” But even after that, the clan began to dwindle. And when the main branch began selling off its children for marriage, the branch families became scattered, and Geten out on the streets. Where he would meet Re-Destro and the rest becomes history.
Geten then mentions how “Meta Abilities” began to grow in their strength and complexity as quirk factors mix- some individuals even having powers they were never aware of. He wonders what the world will come to when those individuals seek that power. But right now; they just gotta sit in cells ’til the war is over. So he might as well sit and listen to Mr Compress’ story. Too little too late for all THAT. But approximately 800 meters from Gunga: Dabi’s become a Giant Fireball. And Endeavor can’t do anything to stop it; All For One banged him up pretty bad, and there isn’t a whole bunch of time to lure Toya away before he bursts. And it’s not like Toya’s going to give him a whole bunch of time to think. Not that there’s a lot of “Toya” left up there to continue attacking.
He’s………… FRIED. It’s not even just the fact that he’s a burning to ASH in all that heat; his Mind is literally FRYING in there- he actually thinks he’s a kid again, asking Natsuo if he wants to “play!” He Is NOT There Anymore. And the heat coming off of him is burning even Endeavor. Seeing what Toya is reduced to, even Endeavor starts to wonder “How The H#ll Is This Thing Still ALIVE?” It’s not “kicking” because the legs have incinerated. He reaches for the Flaming X on his………. “chest-” his fingers burning off as he reaches in- and finds………. something…….. frightful. Because at the core of these flames lies REI’S ICE. This is something fundamentally different from a regular Quirk Awakening, or even “Hysterical Strength” that one gets when pushed to near-death; this is something that “blooms” at the end of ones life. So when he sees it, he realizes what he said before- about surviving to watch Toya- he can’t keep that promise. It’s time to begin their “Final Dance.”
Endeavor decides: He and Toya will Die On This Day- but no one else. Using Toya’s flames as propulsion, he sends himself and his son to the sky to reduce the damage more and more as they ascend higher and higher. It looks like it’s about that time, and Endeavor’s ready for the end. But Rei has something she wants to add to all of this- ascending right along with them trying to freeze the flames. After all; this is partially her fault. My Hero Academia Chapter 387 END!!! Live or Die- Their Story Ends Here. She can’t do it alone, though. Good thing the 4th one is coming to help her out. Huh; Double Entendre. Hey, I spelled that right on the first try………..
REVIEW
I can’t be the only one who’s a little confused with the dialogue being presented, right? The official release will probably clear this up a little(in which case; you’ll read the next little bit and then my interpretation of the official translation), but from what I’m understanding: This isn’t a Quirk Evolution like what Best Girl Himiko chan got against the Liberation Army b!tch, nor is it something he remembered he can do last minute like Twice and Tomura in the same arc. This is something new and something that you will only see at the end. “Hysterical Strength” is defined as “extreme physical strength by humans, beyond what is believed to be normal, usually occurring when people are in or perceive themselves to be in life-or-death situation.” But again; this is not that. I’m guessing…….. that this is more like……. the bodies way of trying to survive; Dabi…….. Touya……. has resigned himself to death. But the body doesn’t always listen to what we tell it to- as anyone who’s ever felt their hand give out and cracked their phone will tell you.
I don’t this is altogether different from an Evolution, but it’s not like this is coming off of something that always existed. Ya know what I mean? With Himiko chan; she can drink blood and transform into people. And she’s able to use the quirk of the person she’s copying the closer she is to them. She could already transform into them; getting to use their quirks was just…….. inevitable. It had a basis, at least. This didn’t. It’s something that his body- coming up to its last 10 minutes- found in itself to try and preserve itself. And I think Endeavor realized that that’s what this is. This is Dabi’s body trying to preserve itself. Perhaps when it’s time for him to burst, it’s not just gonna be a……… Flaming Blast, but……… something closer to Phosphor than anyone thought it would be.
I’m thinking that when Dabi blows, the resulting explosion will incinerate for sure- but then it all freeze over. Think what Shoto did to Dabi in chapter 352– that flame followed up almost instantaneously by the freeze. And at the epicenter/ ground 0/ origin point of the Explosion- what’s left of Dabi. Now, with where he’s at currently; you would think that coming to this far would result in death whether he exploded or not. But……… there might be something else this is building to. I’m sure all of us have come to the idea before; the idea that the true nature of Touya’s quirk- part of the reason why he’s made it this far- is because he’s a Phoenix. That when he’s finished with this self cremation, he’ll be “reborn” again. The ice can still tie into that. When he comes to the end of his life, the ice can act as some kind of chamber that Touya will come out of- born a new. Whether he has to grow up all over again- keeps his memories out not- Horikoshi can take it anyway he wants to. So I’m guessing “No Memories” and “Young Touya.”
I said in another post that my theory for how to deal with the Tomura/ Tenko situation is that Izuku will manage to reach Tenko- the little boy- and get him to take his hand, but “Tomura-” Tenko’s desire to destroy; the “Decay” quirk itself- will split from him, putting him in a body made from their singularity and try to destroy everything on its own. Izuku will end up dying from stopping Tomura, and give the Now-Quirkless Tenko the chance to become a hero by giving him “One For All” in the last few minutes of his life. That’s how I see it going. And at the rate everything is going, it’s looking like Izuku, All For One, All Might, and Edgeshot of all of them will be the only 4 that will die in this war. Bakugo is going to come out alive and the #1 Hero; Hawks will retire; Jeanist will keep going; Death Arms will come back; none of the kids will die; Himiko chan will probably spend the rest of her life in a cell, but she’s gonna make it; and then you have these 3. Endeavor, Rei, and Dabi. With Rei inserting herself in this fight, it’s clear that Endeavor will live. He’s going to retire after this, but he’ll live. And so will Rei. And if Horikoshi decides to go with this “Frozen Rebirth” idea- Touya’s gonna get a second chance. Happy Endings all around.
I know I harp on it a lot, but……. that Bakugo thing is literally where I lost all hope for the ending. I was willing to accept the abrupt, “Happy-Go-Lucky, Friends Til The End” ending to the Vigilante Deku stuff; the lackluster reveal of the UA Traitor; and I’ve even enjoyed bashing the let down of a Big Bad All For One. But there is no defending that. Bakugo is going to live, he’s going to end up with the only girl to have every made him laugh in Camie, he’s going to take Tenko under his wing and teach him how to use One For All, and he’s GOING to be the Number 1 Hero. If you put all that work in in killing him slowly during the fight with Tomura just to spit on us like that, then you better just make him the main character of the sequel series. I didn’t like that. I didn’t. So now, I’m just coming up with ideas for how these characters will survive. Tomura and Dabi are very similar characters:
- Daddy Issues that drove them to this life
- Self destructive quirks(Tomura’s “Decay” was starting to destroy himself come the end of the fight with the Liberation Army)
- Different name referring to them as they are now
- Storylines that imply redemption
If Horikoshi can take a path that leads to a happy ending- where both Tenko and Touya are given a second chance with people who know better now, and know what they need- I feel like he’ll take that chance. At least that’s how I feel now.
But to go back to Endeavor for a second; I brought up how he felt when he saw Rei’s ice coming from Dabi’s chest. In my mind, when he saw this, he began to think “……… He’s Gonna Survive This.” That’s what I think a lot of us where thinking when we finally saw the ice; it’s what I think Horikoshi was trying to convey. And when Enji saw the ice, he realized that- should Touya survive this- from what I’m interpreting- he realized: “This is never gonna stop.” If Touya survives this, then he’ll just keep attacking the family- taking out his rage against his father on Rei and Natuso and Fuyumi and Shoto. So long as Dabi lived- so long as he lived to watch over Touya. Whether he came to the “Frozen Phoenix” conclusion or not, he thought that Dabi would survive to seek revenge on him- dragging the family and other innocents into a feud between them. And when he realized that, he realized……… They can not live through this.
One of the things that people liked about the Todoroki storyline is that Endeavor wasn’t just gonna die; that Horikoshi wasn’t going to write the story in a way where he sacrifices himself and all would be forgiven. Endeavor didn’t want that kind of story, either; whether he retires here or not, he’s still going to atone for what he did to his family- be it with more Hero work or just helping out around Japan with Restorations. Having him just die like that saving them wouldn’t have resolved anything. But then he saw the ice. And when he realized what it meant, I think his plan………. was to detonate right along with Touya. I don’t think he knows precisely what it means(nor do we, but we have time to think of what it could mean- even if the theories end up being dead wrong), but he knew that Touya would live. And he was planning to live through this, too. So when it came down to the wire, and it looked like the end for him while Touya got to continue- he decided that they would both incinerate.
If he had put his all into his flames- sacrifice his body for “fuel” just as Touya is- I think he would have been able to counter’s Touya’s blast, burning that ice so that Touya couldn’t come back. I don’t know what that would have done to the Blast Radius, but that’s probably why he was taking this fight to the sky. Had Rei not gotten involved, then this would have been the end of it. But she is. So we have to figure out what she’s supposed to be doing here.
From what we understand, her ice is about as powerful as Endeavor’s flames; she’s as “cold” as he is “hot.” At least that’s what I’m getting from their flashback and what Geten is saying. So I suppose she’s planning to freeze the both of them and try to contain the damage. But she’s already getting burned up. And Dabi’s flames- stated to already be stronger than Endeavor’s off rip and have only gotten more intense- might be a little more than she can handle. Not, uh…….. Not entirely sure this is gonna work. But her ice plus Dabi’s should be able to prevent the explosion from killing all 3 of them. That’s probably where this is going.
And Geten is revealed to be a Himura. Which makes it suckish that he never got to interact with the Todoroki clan; he could condemn Endeavor for his “purchase” of Rei being what put him out on the streets, and that of course extends to his spawn- particularly the would-be Pro Hero Shoto. Oh well, doesn’t matter at this point; stuff like this getting revealed at this juncture is kind of just “Chekov’s Gun” at work- he’s wrapping up these little details. Wonder where in the next few chapters Compress’ deal is fully fleshed out. I’d say he won’t be involved in the war, but………. can’t just let them sit in a cell after this!!
Conclusion
…………… That sounds about right. I said like 5 different ways that Endeavor realized something when he saw the ice, but other than that- That’s pretty much what I wanted to say. Now I’m at the closing thoughts section and don’t really have anything to say. Except for something that Ajay brought up when we talked about the leaks for the last chapter(which got NO form of follow up this week): “For Someone Who Wants To End His Series; Horikoshi is Adding A Lot Of Sh!t Last Minute.” That’s what I was thinking after that, too. And it’s what I’m thinking here, too. Like, seriously; Compress and Geten talking about their life stories that you just know are going to be important in the next bit of chapters; Dabi getting THIS at 11:56; All For one and All Might’s Final Match- we still got a lot to do. But as the speed of the story post Paranormal Liberation War(though to be fair; he had a cr@p editor at that time) suggests, he kind of just wants the story to be over. Not like I blame him, looking at what’s happened………
Looking at the sour reception to the Villain Aca arc in Japan, the health issues he’s going through right now, and the sh!t editor breathing down his neck, and the choices he’s forced to make just because of Popularity Poll results; I think he’s over this “dream” of his. It went on a bit too long for him, and it became more like a Nightmare. At least that’s how it feels. That end of series post is gonna be bloated. Let me know what you guys think in the comments, and until next time, all- Have A Magical Day. Catch ya later!!
