I think I missed my chance to use the “Sad Man’s Requiem” title. Looking back, I could have replaced the title of the 375 review with the “Requiem;” it’s not like ANY of these Twice Clones were Best Girl Himiko chan trying to “recreate” Twice or anything like that. Missed my chance. Eh; I can go back and rename it at some point. Some point. Ah, but right now; we have a chapter to discuss. I choose this particular Title based on this underlying bit of lore about Quirks: Some choose the “Quirk Singularity” name- the series(at least the official) calls it Quirk Doomsday. Uraraka’s quirk just evolved- against the enemy who used her quirk to show off her own evolution. “It’s All Connected.” So I made the title to represent the both of them. Even though I feel like the featured is going to be another of my spare Himiko chan images. I really like Himiko Toga. Huh; I thought I had more to say here. Guess not. Just means we can get to the post quicker. My Hero Academia Chapter 393: “A Girl’s Ego.” Himiko chan is “Instinct-” Uraraka is “Ego.” 

Overview

Picking up from the Last Chapter: Twice asks Himiko chan to pick out her Villain Name, with the rest of the League noting that she and Tomura are the only one’s that haven’t chosen codenames yet. They recommend names like “Vampiress Carmilla” and “Lickitung(Official Release)/Pikachiu(“Chiu” being an Sucking/Kissing onomatopoeia used by Himiko chan) ,” but Dabi says that those are just crowd-pleasing references from before the Quirk Registration System was implemented. Tomura adds that there used to be no distinction between Heroes and Villains; one theory even states that alias’ were implemented to give names to unknown enemies. And some would adopt said names to hide their identities. It was a matter of “survival” as he puts it. And from there, the world became like something in a comic book. But he doesn’t need it. Same with Himiko chan: She just wants to Live as “Himiko Toga.” 

In the present; Himiko chan is telling Uraraka not to pity her “with her standards,” and is getting ready to stab her. But Uraraka manages to grab her and makes the 2 of them float, and yells “I’m Not Trying To Pity You!!-” blood gushing all the while. Himiko chan tells her that she’s just using pretty words to get her to let her guard down so she can get locked up- or killed like Jin. So if it’s not “Pity” she’s going for- it’s Uraraka letting her Ego get the better of her, thinking she’s “saving her.” So she creates a “Sad Man’s Legion” of clones of all the Heroes here, ready to unleash them on Uraraka- and every Hero left alive on the battlefield. 

The news crew in the sky reporting on these events watch in awe, remembering the “Quirk Doomsday Theory,” in which “Quirks grow stronger by the generations, becoming harder and harder to control.” They think this is what’s happening with Himiko chan; her quirk has become too strong for her own good, and has created the mass of Clones before them. Her transformation hits its time limit- she’s back to normal, and so are a lot of her clones. But there’s still a lot of them, so she sends a pillar of them at Uraraka, who dodges through a combination of her floating and her Gunhead Martial Arts. “All You Did Was Make us Float” they say; “It’s Not Like You Managed To Hurt Us!!” She responds “Zero Gravity….. ISN’T Meant For Hurting People.” And that reminds Himiko chan what Uraraka told her the day of Paranormal Liberation War, how she’d “never be happy dropping a person out of the sky.” Uraraka Continues, thinking about what Himiko chan said about her Ego: “Maybe That’s True!! I can’t pretend you haven’t Killed People on purpose!! But when I see your face…… I can’t help but wonder…… What Happened For you To Turn Out Like This?!!” She thinks back to their encounter during the initial event, and wonders what happened that made her look so sad. Himiko chan says that Uraraka was the sad one, but Urarka thinks they both were. 

Uraraka owns up to that, and continues to talk about the day they met; that she was only afraid of her because she didn’t understand her- or why she had such a “Genuine Smile” in the middle of a battle. And that reminds her of what Jin told her after she choose to forego the Hero name: “You’ll Live As ‘Himiko Toga?’ Then– Be Sure Kill As Many People As You Like So You Can Become Whoever You Like.” She just wants Uraraka to hurry up and die already. But Uraraka doesn’t want to run away anymore; she wants to see that “lovely smile” of hers again. Because no one should EVER hide their feelings. But that reminds Himiko chan of everything her parents told her growing up- about her “Deviant Smile.” Uraraka’s Quirk Evolution: She now makes bubbles out of her finger tips. And everything those bubbles touch starts floating. And those bubbles spread throughout the battlefield!!

Everyone around her starts floating. Giving her the clearest path to her goal: Himiko chan. She admits that she won’t overlook the crimes she’s committed, but- if she still, on ANY level, wants to talk to her- she’s willing to give Himiko chan her blood for the rest of her life. My Hero Academia Chapter 393 END!! Even sick as he is; this man still manages to deliver chapters like this. Wow. 

REVIEW

I don’t know how I feel about this series anymore. One week, I’m ready to write off the series- ready for it to be over with and done with and close the door on the story forever. And then……… I get chapters like THIS that send me down memory lane- back when I still loved this series- when I was still excited to speculate and talk about the story, or when I was still getting into it. I LOVED this story, guys. So when it……… when it came crashing down– started to alter from the story I fell for and stopped treating the Villains like they were……. CHARACTERS– it hurt. A LOT. And come the Bakugo thing– or really even before that with a waste of a Traitor plot– and I don’t really even think I want to look at this series again. But then you have this chapter; this was a NICE chapter. You’d expect the Todoroki Subplot- THE Secondary Plot in the story- to end better than this one seems to be; at least have better action than this. But I like the action more here; that, uh……. that “Living Bomb” thing……… not in love with that. Nor am I with Dabi’s survival. Because I don’t think it was ever building up to Dabi being saved by his family- if ANYTHING, I thought he was gonna take Endeavor out with him. 

But then we come up to the end and- as a……….. Charred, Frozen Corpse– he’s still……. Alive? Granted, there was more of him left than I thought there was from looking at chapter 387, but……….. Really? Death may not make a story better, but at this point I feel like there’s……… nothing that this family should be able to do to fix him. His brain is FRIED- his skin CHARRED beyond all belief- organs and stuff all shut down- all his burns flash frozen, which- I don’t know anything about that medical stuff, but– is probably a worse idea for preserving the body? He’s effectively what we saw at Sekoto Peak, except……… I don’t think there’s any saving him this time. And plus; Horikoshi seemed to be going for 3 different answers for the 3 main League Members: 

• Himiko chan was definitely going to be saved; that was just clear. 
• “Tenko” might- “Tomura” won’t. Their whole situation is kept a little bit vague, so they’ve always represented “Might.” 
• I didn’t think Dabi would be saved at all; it was really clear(at least to me) that he wanted nothing more in life than to ruin his family permanently. And what better way to do that than dangle the idea of “being saved” in front of them- only for his father to FAIL to save the same kid twice? 

To me, keeping Dabi’s survival here is the same as The Bakugo Thing; it showed Horikoshi had a lack of faith in his own writing. He had to Fight to make the League Of Villains arc; his editors told him it was a bad idea, but he did it anyway. Heck, back when it started; I was scared of what he was gonna do- more about how quick it would be and how much of it would just end up being “wasted potential,” or how it would hurt or hinder the progression of the League as characters. And for MONTHS on end- every single week- from chapter 220 to 240(a full 20 Chapters)- I was enthralled in what this man was able to do. It’s the arc that made me REALLY notice how Detailed and Beautiful his art style was. It was really that arc that made me love “My Hero.” And a lot of people over here in the west did, too. But not Japan. Low sales=Overhauling the story to adhere to Editor and Fan demand. And I think what he took from that experience- of having an arc that he wanted to make rejected by the masses- is that “No One Wants To See My Writing.” So on top of overhauling the story completely and shortening the story to cut out ANY of the development of the Villains- even bringing back this Megalomaniac who sounds like he’s got a point, but is really just the same old “I Wanna Take Over The World” Selfish, Senile Business Man- he decided that he’d just……….. write the “Heroes.” 

And the 2 times he was getting ready to write the story he wanted to- the end of the Todoroki Storyline and Bakugo’s Death- he copped out at the last minute. The key difference being that he copped with Dabi BEFORE he reached the point of no return; Bakugo’s heart exploded and his body was beat to sh!t from both and All Might level threat AND his own quirk. And there was NOTHING set up for Edgeshot to be able to- or even being the ONE- to do that. But that itself is not the problem I have. My problem is that- even having these doubts- he still drew the “build up” to that conclusion; he still drew everything leading to those moments- going out of his way to give Bakugo a 3 Chapter PUMMELING and boiling Dabi’s character down to……… exactly what everyone AGAINST the Touya Theory was afraid of– to build up to the exact conclusion he set out to. Then wussed out because of the Villain Aca failure. All I’m Saying is that if you don’t think that the storyline is a good idea- that the character’s end will make people upset at your story- Don’t Draw The Scene. Cut out Bakugo getting beaten to death; DON’T make Dabi a living Nuke of an Infernal from Fire Force; JUST DON’T. ‘Cause building up to it and drawing it and putting it out into the world, only to backtrack on the decision YOU put to paper with your pen- it…….. I can’t take you seriously anymore. Why SHOULD I? If you don’t trust you own writing, then I don’t see any reason to keep getting my hopes up. 

Then I See The Love He Puts Into His Manga.

Even when FLUID is coming out of his ears; even with Food Poisoning; even when people like ME come out like this and critique his manga in such a way; even after the failure of an Arc he wanted to make; even though I get this feeling after reading the end of the Todoroki storyline, and really haven’t felt the same level of “passion” from his art or in his writing of things like the Heteromorph racism stuff or really even the battle with Tomura– I find myself enthralled with this chapter. I love Himiko chan as a character- it the same way people do Power from Chainsaw Man. She’s…………. “Unique.” When she fought against Curious and told her that she wanted to be live a “Normal Life By Her Own Standards-” her standing up and telling the world “This Is Who I Am-” seeing her trying to reach out to people who didn’t understand her; trying to help them understand her and feeling rejected by them- as if the way she wanted to live was a Sin– It was………. Wonderful. Because she…….. she never failed to be herself at every chance she got. AH- THAT’S what I was supposed to take away from the last chapter!!

Himiko chan was always herself- never failing to wear her Trademark Adorable Smile– until…….. Izuku and Uraraka rejected her “love.” The smile died, and she became the Villain the world thought she was- rather than be herself. She put on a “Mask” of her own volition. Got it. 

And then you also have Uraraka getting her Evolution. It’s cool. Too late, but it’s a nice one. And fitting with her personality, too; she always struck me as that type of kid to get Super excited over bubbles. You guys remember Little Suzy Johnson from “Phineas And Ferb?” I’ll spare you the details, and simply tell you that- whenever it seemed like she was gonna get in trouble- she would say “Bubbles.” That’s the kind of thing I think Uraraka did as a kid…….. minus the trouble part. And she said she’d give Himiko chan her blood for the rest of their lives if they can talk about “love.” Eh; it’s not the WORST way this could have ended. Honestly, it’s probably the BEST course of action; Himiko chan gets a friend and someone who’s willing to give their blood to her- Uraraka gets to save someone- it’s………. Yeah, that works! And another Villain who succumbs to Singularity. That’s also a thing. Don’t know why just the Villains, though. 

Conclusion

Wow……….. I went from being over this series to loving it again to tearing it apart to praising it. What a h#lluva roller coaster this is turning into. But what can I say; the man can write a compelling story and a beautiful character! Seriously; what went through his mind when he made Himiko chan? I say all this- but I would never want to be with her. Don’t like pain- want my blood. Again- much like Power; she’s one of those characters you like watching, but would be an Actual F*cking NIGHTMARE to be social with. I’m sorry, Himiko chan, but, uh…….. No. Let me know what you guys think in the comments. ‘Til next time, kiddies!!