Ok, so one thing that is so UNBELIEVABLY hard to do for people is to look at things from every angle. Including Endeavor’s. Which makes this episode SO much more complex than it seems. We have spent 3 seasons showing how Endeavor is a changed man truly trying his best to atone for his sins. And he works INCREDIBLY hard to be there for his family. But that is entirely season 4 and beyond. We have to do one of the hardest things and take a REALLY good long look at what Endeavor was prior to All-Might’s retirement. And see what he tried to do. When this started, it is as far from innocent as it gets. He approached a formerly prestigious family with his own wealth and status in exchange for a quirk marriage, which is an arranged marriage taken a step further for making very specific children. (Kinda like how a royal will only marry into other strong prestigious family’s to improve their blood line. Luckily that is waning a tad even if still frowned upon choosing an alternative for some reason.) Endeavor has already realized he on a personal level can’t surpass All-Might due to 2 things. Longevity and power. He can get CLOSE for one (He was wrong. He too had no clue All-Might was 60x stronger back then and that’s why he had no clue All-Might had gotten injured and couldn’t use all his power.) but can’t manage longevity because of something VERY relevant to this episode. His quirk recoil. So he sought a way to remove the one he THOUGHT was the only one he couldn’t resolve. And that’s why he went to Rei Himura. Touya and Fuyumi were born around the same time for the same reason. This was the passion project to surpass All-Might. But even though he didn’t get the half-cold half-hot quirk for them, he was happy with that regardless, because Touya’s fire was so strong Endeavor decided this was gonna be the child he wanted to train to be a hero, and he didn’t need to go for the quirk he thought was necessary. (In this era, there are shots of Endeavor training Touya, with both of them loving the time they spent together. This is likely the family at its healthiest back then bad motives or no. He likely told Touya, hey if I got this close to beating All-Might, with your fire naturally better than mine I think you can surpass him one day!) But that all went COMPLETELY out the window once the doctor gave him the worst news possible. Touya does indeed have greater fire, but with his ice resistance, that means his quirk recoil is WAYYYYYYYY worse than Endeavor’s. The very thing Endeavor had been obsessively been trying to temper in his own pursuit of surpassing All-Might. And with a doctor’s order no less to tell him he can’t be using such an unstable quirk…everything went completely downhill from there. (Side note, I’m pretty sure Fuyumi has Rei’s ice quirk and Endeavor’s fire resistance based on their early hair appearance being inverses.) Upon hearing the doctor’s orders, Endeavor starts to distance himself from Touya. He stopped training the kid, but Touya with the dream of being a hero better than All-Might continued to train. And THAT was the point literally EVERYTHING changed. Although Endeavor’s hero efforts never changed, his family efforts had become COMPLETELY different. Touya was burning himself EVERYDAY as he trained and Endeavor knew how much it hurt the poor kid. The harder Endeavor tried to surpass All-Might, the more he understood how much Touya was pushing himself AND hurting himself by proxy. So he thinks back to what started Touya’s efforts and tries his hardest to show Touya he can’t do what they originally believed. But he didn’t listen. And THAT is when Endeavor made his next big move. If you can’t see the balance needed to grow, I’ll have to show you someone who can. That’s when Natsuo and Shoto were born. (Natsuo got full ice with ice resistance, but physically looks the most like Endeavor.) And Touya understood one thing. He was being replaced. But he STILL didn’t give up. Instead of seeing Shoto as the knowledge he couldn’t create the balance Shoto would one day be able to, he took it as a challenge for ANOTHER thing to surpass. (You may notice that when Touya attacks Shoto, Endeavor stops him…with a burn on his arm. A fully trained Endeavor is having trouble withstanding Touya’s fire even WITH the heat resistance.) And it keeps going with Rei and Endeavor trying EVERYTHING to get him to stop. Endeavor distancing himself more out of fear if he gives Touya the same attention he wants, he will work even HARDER hurting himself even more. And keeps Shoto from the other kids in case the other kids or if Touya persists in perceiving him as a threat. All this time the home is getting more and more toxic. Touya is at the forefront of nearly every decision even if it ALWAYS ends up worse, Fuyumi and Natsuo are neglected, Shoto is being trained ALREADY at an age WAY too young, Rei and Endeavor can’t communicate at all and it turns from extreme verbal issues to borderline physical. (In the manga, Endeavor only strikes Rei once while training Shoto. They changed that in this episode.) Rei eventually breaks and is institutionalized from hurting Shoto. I seem to recall Endeavor saying it was moronic to hurt Shoto at such a crucial point. And considering Shoto’s age, I don’t think I can take that as the All-Might goal. So he must’ve been getting ready to give Touya a very blunt and visual lesson with Shoto around that point so that way Touya can see his recoil a bit better and treat it with the necessary care. Now I’ve spent this ENTIRE analysis justifying Endeavor’s thought process. Because each and every point leads to the next in what is honestly a logical train of thought. That being said, the emotional care for this situation is AWFUL and it’s why EVERY SINGLE STEP OF THIS ironically backfired. Endeavor has TERRIBLE emotional control. His control is preventing any and all vulnerability coming loose, so he shows sorrow, and much worse fear in its covered up state. And that emotion is anger. That’s the key to anger. Anger isn’t a raw emotion, it’s a mask covering one you don’t want to address or understand. But because Endeavor was trying so hard to not be afraid or sad it came off as the uncontrollable anger and for the kids he WASN’T paying attention to, cold indifference. But when you look at Endeavor’s face when he sees the Sekoto Peak fire, it’s ANYTHING but a lack of care. This is the very thing the doctor warned, and what Endeavor tried to prevent for TEN YEARS. I recall in season 5 he was on his knees apologizing to Natsuo saying he never meant to neglect Fuyumi and Natsuo. But he was so hyper focused on Touya and Shoto, specifically Touya if anything, that’s how it turned out. (This is going to be a 2 parter. There’s still a LOT left.)
Part 2: Now I can’t deny that this whole situation gets sadder and scarier every step of the way. And even despite all of this, his family stands there with their own guilts some justified, some not. I gave the very specific way of showing Endeavor’s thought process the way I did because they CAN all stand before him. And if anything, after about a decade of being institutionalized, Rei very well could have figured it all out through all the rotten emotions while reflecting. Hence the flower that just has to mean “Let’s start over.” None of them are turning their backs on what was done. None of them are justifying Endeavor because even WITH good intentions and a logical mindset, the emotional execution of the decisions ruined ALL OF THEM. It doesn’t change Shoto was burdened with a dream and lesson not his responsibility. It doesn’t change Natsuo and Fuyumi were neglected. It doesn’t change Touya turned into Dabi BECAUSE of these decisions. It doesn’t change Rei spent a DECADE in an institution from hysterical fear of Endeavor, which turned to fear of Touya, and finally Shoto breaking her mind and spirit. NONE of that changes. But the Endeavor from back then is not the Endeavor we look at now. And that changes EVERYTHING. Rei knows how hard Endeavor tried to see her over the past decade and how he wanted to make amends and appears to be receptive of them. She has acknowledged before she has no idea how his mind works but she knows he’s always thinking about his family and wants to confront his past. So this appears to be the next step to learn how her husband’s mind works. Natsuo even though he has the MOST resentment of Endeavor (not including Dabi who has very much so ostracized himself from the family to bring them to further ruin as a villain.) has at the VERY least shown cracks in his guard around the man. Even showing sadness when Endeavor decided to give the family a new home free of the painful memories of the past while staying there himself. Fuyumi has seen her family as an act and acknowledged all she did was keep up appearances like she was on a stage. But now she can’t walk away from it. She tried harder than ANYONE to keep everyone together. And she may be getting her wish. And Shoto underwent some INTENSE training as a child under Endeavor for these decisions but has acknowledged his teachings as beneficial now that he has accepted himself. And wants the whole family to face Touya. Which everyone agrees to help Endeavor put himself back together so that can happen. (And while Natsuo says just until Touya is stopped, I’m not going to lie I don’t believe him or at the very least I think that is him as an individual, not a statement for the family.) Then there’s the subject of Dabi himself. We are missing a few blanks, like how he survived, where he’s been over the last decade, and many other situations. But then there’s one detail throughout this episode that has HAUNTING implications. His hair. Initially this was just a fix from a continuity error in season 2, but they leaned into it so hard it’s much like the 2nd and 3rd holder of OFA before they got designed. (The silhouettes in OFA) It was simple at 1st but became INCREDIBLY complex once Horikoshi made his decision how to work with it. And ummm. Touya has a LARGE transformation in his hair the other 3 kids didn’t have. Even stopping on his hair being like Shoto’s for a few years. I’ve talked about DNA a number of times with the Todoroki drama and how Shoto’s quirk can be unshackled because it can’t work the way it’s currently shown in the show with quirks being DNA. Well this episode has me staring down the other siblings accounting for body development and their DNA. And if rules apply to one of them, chances are they can apply to ALL of them. And that has TERRIFYING implications I have to leave alone. There’s so much more science accounting I can bring up. But this is getting long enough as is. I know MANY people will feel otherwise but based on the story’s direction, it’s better to bring this up now. The Todoroki’s standing here to support Endeavor despite EVERYTHING and prepare to face Touya as a family implies that this family will be resolved without them falling apart. And considering what they’ve been through, that is a HECK of an accomplishment. (Unproven by this juncture if that is a reality.) Forgiveness for aggressors can ONLY ever come from their victims. And that applies to both nonfiction and fiction. We as an audience can’t make up these characters minds. And it goes without saying Horikoshi got some flack for pushing in this direction. Pretty much from the MOMENT the season 4 finale with Endeavor and the High End occurred. But I’m going to say it, I think this story truly took the time to approach the reasoning correctly for them to take such a direction. So I will defend the story decisions. Guess what?! I have to make a part 3 because THERES STILL MORE TO COVER. MY GOODNESS this episode is dense.
Part 3 (yes I’m still going and it’s lovely.) Ok, now I can FINALLY talk about other things than the Todoroki drama. Rei got on her knees in the same bow for Best Jeanist and Hawks as All-Might did to Inko when he pleaded with her to let him be Deku’s father figure in more official capacity. It’s seen as the highest respect in Japan and you can go your entire life without seeing someone do it. And Hawks and Best Jeanist freak out because they don’t want to lecture the family about their drama and more want to figure out what to do with it. So that is their current investigation and they know Dabi’s story isn’t done coming out yet with a decade long blank. Far more pressing though is THE most alarming moment of the entire war arc they need answers for. For them, they have no context. But a super villain that is the 2nd AFO rose with the purpose of destroying society in revenge for his past and society rejecting him when he needed help. And yet, when faced with the #1 hero who is both his biggest fight AND biggest opportunity to do damage out the gate, what does he do? He mutters something about OFA and proceeds to IGNORE the #1 hero to move the ENTIRE ground zero not to the evacuees, but very specifically one kid who had no reason to be on the battlefield. This kid out of NOWHERE makes a beeline across the battlefield and ground zero actively FOLLOWS HIM. That is UNHEARD OF for these top heroes and COMPLETELY nonsensical. When Endeavor gives it reflection, he realizes the timing of Shigaraki ignoring him and Deku making a run for it. Deku was his TARGET. This kid who has had ZERO connection but a few short encounters of Shigaraki just being chaotic boils down to this kid being the FIRST THING he goes after when he wakes up with COUNTLESS quirks. Why does he care? Deku’s a tough kid, but he’s not the strongest by any stretch for pros, even if he is UNREASONABLY strong for his age and FAST approaching their range. And now they have to talk to him because there is ZERO reason for him to run during their conversations except when One For All was mentioned. The press is already freaking out that One For All is some kind of terrifying connection to All For One. While the necessity for the heroes to know grows more important in these times, it is more important than EVER to hide OFA from the public. The entire war arc, every piece the villains had made and added to their arsenal was for the EXPRESS PURPOSE to face OFA. If it comes out, that means the blame for the war will fall on OFA. That means All-Might and Deku will likely be blamed for the war. (Because the press sucks in this universe.) In a few minutes of contemplation, the heroes have figured out more about OFA than the last 200 YEARS of it hiding. And the strangest thing is that it didn’t come from ANY of the assumed weak points in the hiding across this show. Bakugo didn’t spill the beans, Deku didn’t blow his cover, and his past as quirkless was never uncovered at any juncture in this show. NONE OF THOSE things occurred. What did it was Season 3. One of the most soul crushing moments in All-Might’s last stand. “I wasn’t sure until you and I exchanged blows tonight All-Might. But now I am. One For All no longer resides within you. What you are using is the lingering ghost fighting from going out. And even now it’s trying to rekindle itself to fulfill its duty. IZUKU MIDORIYA! HE is the boy you passed OFA on to! You have no control of him do you? Looks like you will die full of regrets All-Might! A failure as a mentor AND as a teacher!” While that moment is still full of nuance and we don’t know for certain what he saw in that moment, (did he see Deku with stockpile and All-Might without it? Did he see them BOTH with Stockpile and he knew All-Might’s wouldn’t last based on that moment? Either way I still standby my previous statements of OFA) and AFO while has seen OFA longer than anyone, is also the most confused by it. But that doesn’t mean he didn’t make the ABSOLUTE worst case scenario occur INSTANTANEOUSLY that has persisted since that occurred. Aside public opinion pressure getting piled on, there is NOTHING more terrifying than this man knowing who his true opponent is. Critical mass has been reached and perpetuated for a LONG TIME now that there are TWO AFO’s. AND BAKUGO STILL ISN’T HELPING. XD I have spoken at length about Bakugo and Deku REMAINING toxic but having this kid STILL deciding NOW is the time to go in and scream at his comatose teammate in the EXACT SAME WAY HE HAS SCREAMED AT HIM FOR 3 SEASONS is probably one of the biggest signs how little has changed. That is a HEARTBREAKING reality that even in this awful moment he can’t ease up. That’s not posturing. Even if it’s out of care for his teammate. I was VERY satisfied watching him get dragged away by Tsu, Sato, and Mineta. And Best Jeanist calling him his full hero name. Which I’m pretty sure he’s saying it like that on purpose so Bakugo knows to cut it down to just Dynamight eventually. What is a lot more sad is Iida and Uraraka who ARE actually loving and supportive for Deku can’t sit by him while he’s comatose which both CLEARLY want to do. Not that I don’t get that All-Might wants to try and sense the OFA conversation. Which IS necessary. And once again ringing my alarm bells that he thinks he CAN and maybe even succeeding to some level. Yet another hint that All-Might may not have lost OFA for good. Oh dear god that took 5 hours to write. Well it’s a good thing they didn’t imply that OFA analysis is needed next episode. Because that seems like the kind of thing I research in this show a lot. Well then. That’ll be fun. (Also make no mistake I truly have a blast writing these. The details of this show is insane and SO gratifying exploring.)
@@hkaayaakuu well I make videos, but I focus on Phoenix Wright for my channel. And I do plan on covering MHA one day, that’s not for a while. And people like my methods here so that’s what I do.
I jump back and forth between sub and dub rewatching these with reaction channels and man do I forget how solid they were on the dub, esp Dabi. In both Dabi's voice actor absolutely kills it.
Something that I always like to bring up is how fitting the title of “The wrong way to put out a fire” is. It’s honestly a perfect way of looking at what Endeavor did to Touya. Endeavor sparked the fire, and instead of giving it calm and gentle water or something to put it out, he basically poured gasoline and paint thinner on it, and then proceeded to ignore the fire and let it build, not realizing that he was not only the root of the problem but also the primary one making it worse. And by the time he did realize that, it was all just too little too late.
Yeah, let's beat the child who found out his existence was literally just so his dad could surpass someone else. And then found out his Dad essentially tossed him aside and kept chasing after that dream by using his children as tools. I'm sure that would go great for his already deteriorating mental state
@@alexinator-hh5fe mental state shmental state, there's no excuse for a kid to give shit to his parents and abuse them the way Toya did, there's a certain boundary that kids should get away with before the parents need to step in, I mean in what circumstance a kid can say to his own mother that she was sold by her own family before that same kid gets the punishment he deserves?
I think you are both right, there needs to be a balance of the two. This is from people who have 4 kids. The kid needed support but when the kid crosses the line they need to be taught boundaries. He wasn't given the support or boundaries, both of which are the parents fault.
@@KalElCanFly well the kid in this series needed an actual talk from his parents instead of the roundabout way Endeavor chose to do things as well but don't worry without spoiling too much he will get a chance to confront Dabi so be on the lookout for that.
Honestly, when this stuff was happening in the manga, there were some really yikes takes from people. People saying that Touya didn't have it so bad because Endeavor never abused him. Like, news flash, neglect is a form of abuse. Not just neglect, emotional trauma. It felt like people were trying to shift all of the blame away from Endeavor and onto the victim, Touya. Because there are so many ways Endeavor could've handled this differently. First, you should never try to live out your failures in life through your children. Side note, Endeavor seeking out Rei to create a powerful weapon is so yikes. It's not an act of love. It's an act of seeking power. Moving on though, once he found out Touya's quirk harmed his body when he went overboard, there are several things he could've done. A. Tell Touya that he'll love him regardless on if he can surpass All Might and that he loves him for who he is as a person and not his quirk B. Tell him that he can still be a great hero, just not the Number 1. And that he's fine with it because Touya tried his best C. Tell Touya that he can still be the Number One hero but only if he finds a way to stop or minimize the damage done to himself(like how the Nurse at UA told Izuku to find less self-destructive ways to use his power) D. Actually talk to Touya and stop expecting the problem to just go away, especially since he created it If all of that fails and he still decides to have more children, there's always one final option(hypothetical if Endeavor had treated Touya somewhat better) E. Stop training Shoto and Touya separately. Some heroes become partners to cover each other's weaknesses. He could show them both love and have Shoto cool off Touya when he begins to overheat and have Touya go for more powerful fire blasts that Shoto can't do. Raise them as sibling heroes But he didn't do that. He instead ignored most of his family. When he wasn't ignoring them, he was harshly training Shoto or yelling or hitting Rei. Touya saw that he was born and tossed aside for his father's ambition. He revealed that he'd been watching his family after he burned up too. And he likely saw that Endeavor didn't change even after his "death". Endeavor got worse. He was replaced in life. And his death didn't change anything. He probably questioned why he was born at all. Until there was nothing inside him but emptiness and hatred. This was the wrong way to put out a fire. And that's how Dabi was born.
This episode pretty much solidified my love for Natsu, Fuyumi, and Rei as characters. Despite how little screentime they get, they've pretty much proven how strong they are just by being here because they ultimately care for each other that much. Like I said before, the Todoroki family plotline is easily the most engaging side story in my hero. Minus Enji, I would also say it's the best-written.
Ok, so one thing that is so UNBELIEVABLY hard to do for people is to look at things from every angle. Including Endeavor’s. Which makes this episode SO much more complex than it seems. We have spent 3 seasons showing how Endeavor is a changed man truly trying his best to atone for his sins. And he works INCREDIBLY hard to be there for his family. But that is entirely season 4 and beyond. We have to do one of the hardest things and take a REALLY good long look at what Endeavor was prior to All-Might’s retirement. And see what he tried to do.
When this started, it is as far from innocent as it gets. He approached a formerly prestigious family with his own wealth and status in exchange for a quirk marriage, which is an arranged marriage taken a step further for making very specific children. (Kinda like how a royal will only marry into other strong prestigious family’s to improve their blood line. Luckily that is waning a tad even if still frowned upon choosing an alternative for some reason.) Endeavor has already realized he on a personal level can’t surpass All-Might due to 2 things. Longevity and power. He can get CLOSE for one (He was wrong. He too had no clue All-Might was 60x stronger back then and that’s why he had no clue All-Might had gotten injured and couldn’t use all his power.) but can’t manage longevity because of something VERY relevant to this episode. His quirk recoil. So he sought a way to remove the one he THOUGHT was the only one he couldn’t resolve. And that’s why he went to Rei Himura.
Touya and Fuyumi were born around the same time for the same reason. This was the passion project to surpass All-Might. But even though he didn’t get the half-cold half-hot quirk for them, he was happy with that regardless, because Touya’s fire was so strong Endeavor decided this was gonna be the child he wanted to train to be a hero, and he didn’t need to go for the quirk he thought was necessary. (In this era, there are shots of Endeavor training Touya, with both of them loving the time they spent together. This is likely the family at its healthiest back then bad motives or no. He likely told Touya, hey if I got this close to beating All-Might, with your fire naturally better than mine I think you can surpass him one day!) But that all went COMPLETELY out the window once the doctor gave him the worst news possible. Touya does indeed have greater fire, but with his ice resistance, that means his quirk recoil is WAYYYYYYYY worse than Endeavor’s. The very thing Endeavor had been obsessively been trying to temper in his own pursuit of surpassing All-Might. And with a doctor’s order no less to tell him he can’t be using such an unstable quirk…everything went completely downhill from there. (Side note, I’m pretty sure Fuyumi has Rei’s ice quirk and Endeavor’s fire resistance based on their early hair appearance being inverses.)
Upon hearing the doctor’s orders, Endeavor starts to distance himself from Touya. He stopped training the kid, but Touya with the dream of being a hero better than All-Might continued to train. And THAT was the point literally EVERYTHING changed. Although Endeavor’s hero efforts never changed, his family efforts had become COMPLETELY different. Touya was burning himself EVERYDAY as he trained and Endeavor knew how much it hurt the poor kid. The harder Endeavor tried to surpass All-Might, the more he understood how much Touya was pushing himself AND hurting himself by proxy. So he thinks back to what started Touya’s efforts and tries his hardest to show Touya he can’t do what they originally believed. But he didn’t listen. And THAT is when Endeavor made his next big move. If you can’t see the balance needed to grow, I’ll have to show you someone who can.
That’s when Natsuo and Shoto were born. (Natsuo got full ice with ice resistance, but physically looks the most like Endeavor.) And Touya understood one thing. He was being replaced. But he STILL didn’t give up. Instead of seeing Shoto as the knowledge he couldn’t create the balance Shoto would one day be able to, he took it as a challenge for ANOTHER thing to surpass. (You may notice that when Touya attacks Shoto, Endeavor stops him…with a burn on his arm. A fully trained Endeavor is having trouble withstanding Touya’s fire even WITH the heat resistance.) And it keeps going with Rei and Endeavor trying EVERYTHING to get him to stop. Endeavor distancing himself more out of fear if he gives Touya the same attention he wants, he will work even HARDER hurting himself even more. And keeps Shoto from the other kids in case the other kids or if Touya persists in perceiving him as a threat.
All this time the home is getting more and more toxic. Touya is at the forefront of nearly every decision even if it ALWAYS ends up worse, Fuyumi and Natsuo are neglected, Shoto is being trained ALREADY at an age WAY too young, Rei and Endeavor can’t communicate at all and it turns from extreme verbal issues to borderline physical. (In the manga, Endeavor only strikes Rei once while training Shoto. They changed that in this episode.) Rei eventually breaks and is institutionalized from hurting Shoto. I seem to recall Endeavor saying it was moronic to hurt Shoto at such a crucial point. And considering Shoto’s age, I don’t think I can take that as the All-Might goal. So he must’ve been getting ready to give Touya a very blunt and visual lesson with Shoto around that point so that way Touya can see his recoil a bit better and treat it with the necessary care.
Now I’ve spent this ENTIRE analysis justifying Endeavor’s thought process. Because each and every point leads to the next in what is honestly a logical train of thought. That being said, the emotional care for this situation is AWFUL and it’s why EVERY SINGLE STEP OF THIS ironically backfired. Endeavor has TERRIBLE emotional control. His control is preventing any and all vulnerability coming loose, so he shows sorrow, and much worse fear in its covered up state. And that emotion is anger. That’s the key to anger. Anger isn’t a raw emotion, it’s a mask covering one you don’t want to address or understand. But because Endeavor was trying so hard to not be afraid or sad it came off as the uncontrollable anger and for the kids he WASN’T paying attention to, cold indifference.
But when you look at Endeavor’s face when he sees the Sekoto Peak fire, it’s ANYTHING but a lack of care. This is the very thing the doctor warned, and what Endeavor tried to prevent for TEN YEARS. I recall in season 5 he was on his knees apologizing to Natsuo saying he never meant to neglect Fuyumi and Natsuo. But he was so hyper focused on Touya and Shoto, specifically Touya if anything, that’s how it turned out. (This is going to be a 2 parter. There’s still a LOT left.)
Part 2:
Now I can’t deny that this whole situation gets sadder and scarier every step of the way. And even despite all of this, his family stands there with their own guilts some justified, some not. I gave the very specific way of showing Endeavor’s thought process the way I did because they CAN all stand before him. And if anything, after about a decade of being institutionalized, Rei very well could have figured it all out through all the rotten emotions while reflecting. Hence the flower that just has to mean “Let’s start over.”
None of them are turning their backs on what was done. None of them are justifying Endeavor because even WITH good intentions and a logical mindset, the emotional execution of the decisions ruined ALL OF THEM. It doesn’t change Shoto was burdened with a dream and lesson not his responsibility. It doesn’t change Natsuo and Fuyumi were neglected. It doesn’t change Touya turned into Dabi BECAUSE of these decisions. It doesn’t change Rei spent a DECADE in an institution from hysterical fear of Endeavor, which turned to fear of Touya, and finally Shoto breaking her mind and spirit. NONE of that changes. But the Endeavor from back then is not the Endeavor we look at now. And that changes EVERYTHING.
Rei knows how hard Endeavor tried to see her over the past decade and how he wanted to make amends and appears to be receptive of them. She has acknowledged before she has no idea how his mind works but she knows he’s always thinking about his family and wants to confront his past. So this appears to be the next step to learn how her husband’s mind works.
Natsuo even though he has the MOST resentment of Endeavor (not including Dabi who has very much so ostracized himself from the family to bring them to further ruin as a villain.) has at the VERY least shown cracks in his guard around the man. Even showing sadness when Endeavor decided to give the family a new home free of the painful memories of the past while staying there himself.
Fuyumi has seen her family as an act and acknowledged all she did was keep up appearances like she was on a stage. But now she can’t walk away from it. She tried harder than ANYONE to keep everyone together. And she may be getting her wish.
And Shoto underwent some INTENSE training as a child under Endeavor for these decisions but has acknowledged his teachings as beneficial now that he has accepted himself. And wants the whole family to face Touya. Which everyone agrees to help Endeavor put himself back together so that can happen. (And while Natsuo says just until Touya is stopped, I’m not going to lie I don’t believe him or at the very least I think that is him as an individual, not a statement for the family.)
Then there’s the subject of Dabi himself. We are missing a few blanks, like how he survived, where he’s been over the last decade, and many other situations. But then there’s one detail throughout this episode that has HAUNTING implications. His hair. Initially this was just a fix from a continuity error in season 2, but they leaned into it so hard it’s much like the 2nd and 3rd holder of OFA before they got designed. (The silhouettes in OFA) It was simple at 1st but became INCREDIBLY complex once Horikoshi made his decision how to work with it. And ummm. Touya has a LARGE transformation in his hair the other 3 kids didn’t have. Even stopping on his hair being like Shoto’s for a few years. I’ve talked about DNA a number of times with the Todoroki drama and how Shoto’s quirk can be unshackled because it can’t work the way it’s currently shown in the show with quirks being DNA. Well this episode has me staring down the other siblings accounting for body development and their DNA. And if rules apply to one of them, chances are they can apply to ALL of them. And that has TERRIFYING implications I have to leave alone. There’s so much more science accounting I can bring up. But this is getting long enough as is.
I know MANY people will feel otherwise but based on the story’s direction, it’s better to bring this up now. The Todoroki’s standing here to support Endeavor despite EVERYTHING and prepare to face Touya as a family implies that this family will be resolved without them falling apart. And considering what they’ve been through, that is a HECK of an accomplishment. (Unproven by this juncture if that is a reality.) Forgiveness for aggressors can ONLY ever come from their victims. And that applies to both nonfiction and fiction. We as an audience can’t make up these characters minds. And it goes without saying Horikoshi got some flack for pushing in this direction. Pretty much from the MOMENT the season 4 finale with Endeavor and the High End occurred. But I’m going to say it, I think this story truly took the time to approach the reasoning correctly for them to take such a direction. So I will defend the story decisions.
Guess what?! I have to make a part 3 because THERES STILL MORE TO COVER. MY GOODNESS this episode is dense.
@@KalElCanFly you should delete this comment to avoid potential spamming just in case.
I was planning on it. Just sent you an email
Part 3 (yes I’m still going and it’s lovely.)
Ok, now I can FINALLY talk about other things than the Todoroki drama. Rei got on her knees in the same bow for Best Jeanist and Hawks as All-Might did to Inko when he pleaded with her to let him be Deku’s father figure in more official capacity. It’s seen as the highest respect in Japan and you can go your entire life without seeing someone do it. And Hawks and Best Jeanist freak out because they don’t want to lecture the family about their drama and more want to figure out what to do with it. So that is their current investigation and they know Dabi’s story isn’t done coming out yet with a decade long blank.
Far more pressing though is THE most alarming moment of the entire war arc they need answers for. For them, they have no context. But a super villain that is the 2nd AFO rose with the purpose of destroying society in revenge for his past and society rejecting him when he needed help. And yet, when faced with the #1 hero who is both his biggest fight AND biggest opportunity to do damage out the gate, what does he do? He mutters something about OFA and proceeds to IGNORE the #1 hero to move the ENTIRE ground zero not to the evacuees, but very specifically one kid who had no reason to be on the battlefield. This kid out of NOWHERE makes a beeline across the battlefield and ground zero actively FOLLOWS HIM. That is UNHEARD OF for these top heroes and COMPLETELY nonsensical.
When Endeavor gives it reflection, he realizes the timing of Shigaraki ignoring him and Deku making a run for it. Deku was his TARGET. This kid who has had ZERO connection but a few short encounters of Shigaraki just being chaotic boils down to this kid being the FIRST THING he goes after when he wakes up with COUNTLESS quirks. Why does he care? Deku’s a tough kid, but he’s not the strongest by any stretch for pros, even if he is UNREASONABLY strong for his age and FAST approaching their range. And now they have to talk to him because there is ZERO reason for him to run during their conversations except when One For All was mentioned. The press is already freaking out that One For All is some kind of terrifying connection to All For One.
While the necessity for the heroes to know grows more important in these times, it is more important than EVER to hide OFA from the public. The entire war arc, every piece the villains had made and added to their arsenal was for the EXPRESS PURPOSE to face OFA. If it comes out, that means the blame for the war will fall on OFA. That means All-Might and Deku will likely be blamed for the war. (Because the press sucks in this universe.)
In a few minutes of contemplation, the heroes have figured out more about OFA than the last 200 YEARS of it hiding. And the strangest thing is that it didn’t come from ANY of the assumed weak points in the hiding across this show. Bakugo didn’t spill the beans, Deku didn’t blow his cover, and his past as quirkless was never uncovered at any juncture in this show. NONE OF THOSE things occurred. What did it was Season 3. One of the most soul crushing moments in All-Might’s last stand. “I wasn’t sure until you and I exchanged blows tonight All-Might. But now I am. One For All no longer resides within you. What you are using is the lingering ghost fighting from going out. And even now it’s trying to rekindle itself to fulfill its duty. IZUKU MIDORIYA! HE is the boy you passed OFA on to! You have no control of him do you? Looks like you will die full of regrets All-Might! A failure as a mentor AND as a teacher!” While that moment is still full of nuance and we don’t know for certain what he saw in that moment, (did he see Deku with stockpile and All-Might without it? Did he see them BOTH with Stockpile and he knew All-Might’s wouldn’t last based on that moment? Either way I still standby my previous statements of OFA) and AFO while has seen OFA longer than anyone, is also the most confused by it. But that doesn’t mean he didn’t make the ABSOLUTE worst case scenario occur INSTANTANEOUSLY that has persisted since that occurred. Aside public opinion pressure getting piled on, there is NOTHING more terrifying than this man knowing who his true opponent is. Critical mass has been reached and perpetuated for a LONG TIME now that there are TWO AFO’s.
AND BAKUGO STILL ISN’T HELPING. XD I have spoken at length about Bakugo and Deku REMAINING toxic but having this kid STILL deciding NOW is the time to go in and scream at his comatose teammate in the EXACT SAME WAY HE HAS SCREAMED AT HIM FOR 3 SEASONS is probably one of the biggest signs how little has changed. That is a HEARTBREAKING reality that even in this awful moment he can’t ease up. That’s not posturing. Even if it’s out of care for his teammate. I was VERY satisfied watching him get dragged away by Tsu, Sato, and Mineta. And Best Jeanist calling him his full hero name. Which I’m pretty sure he’s saying it like that on purpose so Bakugo knows to cut it down to just Dynamight eventually.
What is a lot more sad is Iida and Uraraka who ARE actually loving and supportive for Deku can’t sit by him while he’s comatose which both CLEARLY want to do. Not that I don’t get that All-Might wants to try and sense the OFA conversation. Which IS necessary. And once again ringing my alarm bells that he thinks he CAN and maybe even succeeding to some level. Yet another hint that All-Might may not have lost OFA for good.
Oh dear god that took 5 hours to write. Well it’s a good thing they didn’t imply that OFA analysis is needed next episode. Because that seems like the kind of thing I research in this show a lot. Well then. That’ll be fun. (Also make no mistake I truly have a blast writing these. The details of this show is insane and SO gratifying exploring.)
Why have u been in comment section when u can make article blogs or RUclips videos
@@hkaayaakuu well I make videos, but I focus on Phoenix Wright for my channel. And I do plan on covering MHA one day, that’s not for a while. And people like my methods here so that’s what I do.
I jump back and forth between sub and dub rewatching these with reaction channels and man do I forget how solid they were on the dub, esp Dabi. In both Dabi's voice actor absolutely kills it.
Something that I always like to bring up is how fitting the title of “The wrong way to put out a fire” is. It’s honestly a perfect way of looking at what Endeavor did to Touya. Endeavor sparked the fire, and instead of giving it calm and gentle water or something to put it out, he basically poured gasoline and paint thinner on it, and then proceeded to ignore the fire and let it build, not realizing that he was not only the root of the problem but also the primary one making it worse.
And by the time he did realize that, it was all just too little too late.
8:40 i like he still loves shoto even when giving a beating
3:30 mrs kal el not paying attention
So good
8:01 sunnova gun. How can we not love dabi. Its a joke for all the damage loving weeabos in the world
08:01, a kid talking to his parents like that deserves an ass kicking.
Yeah, let's beat the child who found out his existence was literally just so his dad could surpass someone else. And then found out his Dad essentially tossed him aside and kept chasing after that dream by using his children as tools. I'm sure that would go great for his already deteriorating mental state
@@alexinator-hh5fe mental state shmental state, there's no excuse for a kid to give shit to his parents and abuse them the way Toya did, there's a certain boundary that kids should get away with before the parents need to step in, I mean in what circumstance a kid can say to his own mother that she was sold by her own family before that same kid gets the punishment he deserves?
I think you are both right, there needs to be a balance of the two. This is from people who have 4 kids. The kid needed support but when the kid crosses the line they need to be taught boundaries. He wasn't given the support or boundaries, both of which are the parents fault.
@@KalElCanFly well the kid in this series needed an actual talk from his parents instead of the roundabout way Endeavor chose to do things as well but don't worry without spoiling too much he will get a chance to confront Dabi so be on the lookout for that.
Let's be real, the only one who deserves an "ass-kicking" in this context is Endeavor. 😅 Like, Touya honestly has every right to be upset.
Honestly, when this stuff was happening in the manga, there were some really yikes takes from people. People saying that Touya didn't have it so bad because Endeavor never abused him. Like, news flash, neglect is a form of abuse. Not just neglect, emotional trauma. It felt like people were trying to shift all of the blame away from Endeavor and onto the victim, Touya. Because there are so many ways Endeavor could've handled this differently.
First, you should never try to live out your failures in life through your children. Side note, Endeavor seeking out Rei to create a powerful weapon is so yikes. It's not an act of love. It's an act of seeking power. Moving on though, once he found out Touya's quirk harmed his body when he went overboard, there are several things he could've done.
A. Tell Touya that he'll love him regardless on if he can surpass All Might and that he loves him for who he is as a person and not his quirk
B. Tell him that he can still be a great hero, just not the Number 1. And that he's fine with it because Touya tried his best
C. Tell Touya that he can still be the Number One hero but only if he finds a way to stop or minimize the damage done to himself(like how the Nurse at UA told Izuku to find less self-destructive ways to use his power)
D. Actually talk to Touya and stop expecting the problem to just go away, especially since he created it
If all of that fails and he still decides to have more children, there's always one final option(hypothetical if Endeavor had treated Touya somewhat better)
E. Stop training Shoto and Touya separately. Some heroes become partners to cover each other's weaknesses. He could show them both love and have Shoto cool off Touya when he begins to overheat and have Touya go for more powerful fire blasts that Shoto can't do. Raise them as sibling heroes
But he didn't do that. He instead ignored most of his family. When he wasn't ignoring them, he was harshly training Shoto or yelling or hitting Rei. Touya saw that he was born and tossed aside for his father's ambition. He revealed that he'd been watching his family after he burned up too. And he likely saw that Endeavor didn't change even after his "death". Endeavor got worse. He was replaced in life. And his death didn't change anything. He probably questioned why he was born at all. Until there was nothing inside him but emptiness and hatred. This was the wrong way to put out a fire. And that's how Dabi was born.
This episode pretty much solidified my love for Natsu, Fuyumi, and Rei as characters. Despite how little screentime they get, they've pretty much proven how strong they are just by being here because they ultimately care for each other that much. Like I said before, the Todoroki family plotline is easily the most engaging side story in my hero. Minus Enji, I would also say it's the best-written.
*This episode honestly made me feel bad for sticking up for Endeavor at one point.*
I am waiting for some outcomes for dabi soon.
Behold! Our number one hero! 😒
Keeping going my man l feel sad for kid dabi and his sister and his broken mom💔😢😭 he bad dad's to them