After my unusually vicious article last week, you may be wondering why I watch Boku no Hero Academia at all. But while Mineta is just… really awful, in every sense of the word, he is an outlier. Most characters are entertaining, and some are even commendable.
So to balance the books a little, let me praise the characterisation of BnHA’s actual hero, Deku. And also Steven from Steven Universe. Him too.
I still love Boku no Hero Academia and still utterly despise its worst character.
Well, that’s less preamble than usual. Let’s keep this brief. The sooner I lay out this article, the sooner I can stop thinking about sexual harassment.
I often claim there’s no such thing as a bad trope. No matter how tiresome or problematic a concept is, there is – theoretically – a way to do it ‘right’. To either treat it as appropriately uncomfortable, or somehow execute it with a minimum of awkwardness.
That’s lip service, to an extent. There’s some tropes I struggle to see as redeemable. Some have become real pet peeves for me, like the Nice Guy, a man we’re supposed to root for as he ineffectually pursues a woman who may not be interested to begin with.
And that makes it all the more impressive that I, and thousands of other nominal adults, would die for Haida, the accountant who is also a hyena.
[This article contains spoilers for Star Wars: The Last Jedi, we guess.]
I hope you’re sitting down for this, dear reader. I’m about to hit you with quite the revelation: Star Wars fans are arguing online.
Yes, with Disney’s revival of the Skywalker saga, a new generation gets to live and breathe the quintessential Star Wars experience of bickering violently over nothing. Is the casting tokenistic? Will we tire of the planned barrage of yearly films? Is The Last Jedi the worst film ever made? Isn’t Oscar Isaac dreamy? This article isn’t about these questions, although here are the answers: No, Yes, How quickly we forget Phantom Menace! TLJ had flaws but admirable intentions and easily beats any of the prequels, and Heck Yes.
Instead, I’d like to discuss the modern fandom’s largest but most controversial ship: the belief, strongly held by many, that the sweaty desert girl totally has the hots for the lanky fascist with poor impulse control. Who tortured her one time.
