My Hero Academia II - Harvey Birdman, Hero at Law

[FolhaS]

The problem I have with Gentle's character is that he only put his mind into perfectioning his quirk once he was rejected by the hero society.

There were better ways to make him fall from the "right" way than simply him being a slacker all his life until his pride got dragged through the mud.

I didn't get that feeling from his flashback, he looked motivated and enthusiastic so I don't think he was just playing video-games instead of practicing or something like that.

It's possible he just wasn't a gifted enough student and needed more time to perfect his quirk or a different teacher/method of teaching, better suited to him.
Society has expectations for people to reach a certain level of skill in a field of their choice by the time they're a certain age, like by the time they finish high school or college, but that doesn't work for everybody. Of course those who achieve that skill level when they're young will probably be the ones leading their field later on but by definition not everyone can be among the best.

[Count Mario]

Small clarification - he didn't save the guy. He interrupted the rescue (the one bouncing off his air trampoline in that panel is a winged hero) and the window cleaner ended up so badly hurt he needed 6 months to recover.
His crime, there, was obstructing public duties. Not illegal Quirk use.

...Oh. Thanks for the correction. That is... even worse lol.

[Purple Hermit]

...Oh. Thanks for the correction. That is... even worse lol.

Yeah Gentle basically is that sorta character where they're really really trying to help but they're really just getting in the way.

[Cyclone_Baroness]

Welp. Since Gentle is thrawted for now, unless Brava gets a sudden boost and they escape, hopefully we get to actually see the school festivities. Like one or two chapters at least just dedicated to it.

[glass]

This is probably a bit weird of a complaint but I wish the battles were better designed.The battles feel like a hybrid of Onepunchman fights mixed with Dragon Ball fights.

To explain it a bit better, I see OPM fights as usually being a struggle of idealogy rather than an actual combat display.The strength of enemies and their powers are usually completely arbitrary, and the best example of this is the main protagonist whos gimmick is always one shotting opponents regardless of their power or ability.Fights are displays of cool visuals and there's usually not much of a struggle,adaptation or a strategy component to them so the interactions of morality and worldview between the oponents is usually the most interesting aspect of the fight.This is also usually emphasized by having the opponents also be beings with an extreme fixation on one theme which works quite well with the monster theme.

Im not sure DB fights were the best comparison to make actually but ill try explain what I mean.In a DB fight there's usually a lot of back and forth between the main cast and the villains.There's never really much of a sense of deku ever really losing against someone and having to get stronger to beat them.The villains henchman never really manage to pose a threat to deku and have deku imporve from the fight so he can eventually beat the villain.It never really ever feels like the villains straight up beat deku or forced his back to the wall and require him to adapt and overcome the oppponents.

It ends up feeling like a really wierd hybrid where every fight deku has with an opponent also ends up being his last fight with them and theres not really that compelling of an ideological conflict between them.I dont know if i expressed this properly but I felt like writing this up after this last fight.Every time Gentle got stronger,Deku just got proportionally stronger and from a morality perspective deku winning against gentle doesn't really feel like satisfying either.

[desa]

After reading the chapter I think I can officially say I like La Brava but not Gentle. And it comes down to the kind of person they are. La Brava is a creep but at the same time you do get the feelings that all her actions comes from a deep need for apreciation and that she is one of those villain you have to take down but you feel bad for becasue it's their emotions that led them astray rather than be bad. She is a tragic while Gentle is just a guy obsess with fame.


This chapter I liked Gentle but it wasn't because of the person he is but rather becasue of how he tried to protect La Brava. I don't like him as a character but in Relation to La Brava. Still I am surprise I was actually into him after his petiness was revealed last chapter. But like I said it was more about seeing La Brava care rewarded than it was about him.

But I really don't see the point in introducing them this arc if they are not getting in the festival. I might have understand if the author still had that compulsive need to put battle somewhere but it seems like he overcame it with the kids and it would have been easy to have a battle game. So yeah I find their placement in this arc quite odd. Maybe it is important for them to be in jail now becasue they are escaping with Sylar next arc?

[Mr. Burns]

Without any more info, we can only assume the simplest answer (lacking smarts or laziness). And... neither of which makes me too sympathetic for him (maybe the former can if you execute it in a way where Gentle REALLY put all his effort and we saw more of how his parents were affected, like in the Simpsons episode Bart Gets an F).

This to the nth degree! I feel as though a flashback fleshing out exactly WHY Gentle was struggling in school would have done wonders for grounding his nebulous goal of fame. We see hints of discord in his home life--his mother was crying in his flashback after all--but are not given enough to really grasp the full extent of the situation. As you say Count Mario, this makes Gentle appear either lazy or stupid neither of which illicit sympathy by itself. I imagine treating Gentle like Rock Lee would have fixed a good deal of the problems that I have in his character. Changing from a, "he's just not very talented or he's just lazy", to a "he's not very talented, but by GOD he's trying". In my mind's eye, it wouldn't have taken much more panel time to even make that point clear, but instead we are treated to a situation that screams for nuance.

One thing that bothers me about this is that we see fame being a huge motivation for being a hero, and we see many different heroes pursuant their own selfish desires, a la Mineta and Mount Lady. Gentle is a reminder that heroes are so because of more than a desire for fame; there needs to be something more that drives them. Without context on why exactly Gentle fails it muddles the entire waters on the hero system. Mineta is somehow hero material, but Gentle is not? As it stands I'm unsure if Horikoshi is trying to widen the cracks in the hero system that we started to see with the introduction Shinso or not. When gentle was in school was also some years ago as well, and a lot can change in an educational system in 10+ years. We also don't know exactly WHICH classes he failed; he could be failing all his classes, or just those focused on heroism. If anyone actually knows please let me know.

Getting back to my main point, the relationship between Deku and Gentle is interesting because it explores the dynamic between having a great quirk but no aptitude and the opposite, with Gentle being an example of the former and Deku the later. There does seem to be some evidence that Gentle has poor quirk control in that he has no conscious control over deactivating his quirk--we don't really know if it is possible to gain complete control over one's quirk in this way so this is probably just me reading too much into a line of dialogue. Nevertheless, Gentle's ability never really expand out from bounce around or bounce the enemy around. It's fun to look at and a somewhat interesting use of his powers, but it is still surface level. Deku on the other hand, must continuously adapt to his ill-fiting quirk and find interesting ways to expand his repertoire of attacks (I may also be selling Gentle a tad short in this department, so please let me know if you think so). I find it somewhat ironic that the man with the power to imbue objects with elasticity would have such a rigid fighting style, but that may be me overselling my own analysis. It ultimately isn't the motivations that are the problem with Gentle, because many heroes get by on worse *cough* Mineta *cough*, but something else that he lacks. I'll stop here and let my thoughts gestate a bit more on the matter as I'm sure there is some overreaching on my part, haha.

Ah, but before I go, I did want to thank you guys for the warm welcome!

[MDL]

I'm hoping that because they're small time villains, they'll get off lightly.
Gentle also seems to think that La Brava's crimes are "lessened" if there's no evidence of Deku fighting them.
(Despite, y'know, all his scuffs and injuries lol)

[Long John Silvers Rayleigh]

Gentle seemed like a guy quite similar to deku without the support deku had. After he made a complete mess out of himself he decided he'd inspire people through whatever he could, like exposing stores that covered up expiration dates and other shady stuff. He's and end justify the means kind of guy but hes not willing to go anywhere near full akainu.

Also I predict something unexpect might interfere in this arc so either gentle and la brava arent taken into custody or something else impacts the festival. Idk thouh part of me was hoping things went swell, Class 1A deserves it

[Blissed]

Eh, kind of feeling unsatisfied here regarding how it seemingly ended. I'll wait to see the next chapter first I suppose.

[Nectar]

I'll admit comparing Luffy to Gentle wasn't fair. The One Piece world was built around Luffy. Like what others alluded to, Gentle didn't have time to win over most readers. Stuff like Gentle exposing multiple corrupt business should've got more focus. THEN, get into why he does it. Showing a few citizens actually cheering him on would been nice too, not enough to off-set his need for attention. He doesn't even have to know they exist, but show he's having a positive effect on the world. But, that would take more chapters to show.

Didn't realize it until now, but we don't even know Gentle's exact plan. How was he going to inspire the kids? A speech? A general butt kicking? More details on that would've helped.

I agree with Mr. Burns (Edit: I agree with lots of stuff he said, lol), I want more information after he "cracked". How did he become so competent? Did he just lack experience?

I see Deku in Gentle. I could see Deku becoming a tech'ed up vigilante if not for All Might. If Gentle had a mentor he'd a hero; If the guy had supporting parents he'd be a hero (Can you imagine Inko throwing a phone at Deku?). He's even smart like Deku, meticulously planning his crimes. That parallel could've been played up more too.

[Baldulf]

I'll admit comparing Luffy to Gentle wasn't fair. The One Piece world was built around Luffy. Like what others alluded to, Gentle didn't have time to win over most readers. Stuff like Gentle exposing multiple corrupt business should've got more focus. THEN, get into why he does it. Showing a few citizens actually cheering him on would been nice too, not enough to off-set his need for attention. He doesn't even have to know they exist, but show he's having a positive effect on the world. But, that would take more chapters to show.

Didn't realize it until now, but we don't even know Gentle's exact plan. How was he going to inspire the kids? A speech? A general butt kicking? More details on that would've helped.

I agree with Mr. Burns (Edit: I agree with lots of stuff he said, lol), I want more information after he "cracked". How did he become so competent? Did he just lack experience?

I see Deku in Gentle. I could see Deku becoming a tech'ed up vigilante if not for All Might. If Gentle had a mentor he'd a hero; If the guy had supporting parents he'd be a hero (Can you imagine Inko throwing a phone at Deku?). He's even smart like Deku, meticulously planning his crimes. That parallel could've been played up more too.

I think the point about Gentle is that he was irrelevant, he wasnt doing anything good for the world and no one cared about him. He only had airs of self importance but nothing more

If the author wanted us to think otherwise he didnt do a good job at it

[Black Leg]

^ This, I don't think Gentle actually believes what he's doing is going to inspire the kids. Claiming that robbing a convenience store was to expose unethical business practices just seemed like a half hearted cover for taking out his frustration with the hero society and his own failings.

It would be weird to see people cheering him on seeing as his videos are really unpopular as well. The only fan that needs to be shown is his only real fan La Brava, whom he inspired by becoming a new sauce of infatuation after the boy she liked didn't like her back. I think the duo are super charismatic but they're not good people at all, just frustrated and selfish.

[Kizuchan]

I really liked this week's episode. There was something strangely atmospheric about it I didn't get from the manga. The MHA anime always had solid lighting and background work, but it really shone here, I think. So maybe that has something to do with it.

[Cyclone_Baroness]

This episode was so fun. The animation seemed even more lively than usual. Also yay again for more extended scenes.

[Long John Silvers Rayleigh]

I really liked this week's episode. There was something strangely atmospheric about it I didn't get from the manga. The MHA anime always had solid lighting and background work, but it really shone here, I think. So maybe that has something to do with it.

I agree it feels a lot like an old fashioned summer camp

[Kizuchan]

It was also in general really well animated. Character animation tends to sort of be less noticable compared to big action scenes, but it is just as notable if it's good and this episode had quite a bit of it.

[auem]

Ain't liking this Lolita syndrome.....

[Nectar]

I think the point about Gentle is that he was irrelevant, he wasn't doing anything good for the world and no one cared about him. He only had airs of self importance but nothing more

If the author wanted us to think otherwise he didnt do a good job at it

^ This, I don't think Gentle actually believes what he's doing is going to inspire the kids. Claiming that robbing a convenience store was to expose unethical business practices just seemed like a half hearted cover for taking out his frustration with the hero society and his own failings.

It would be weird to see people cheering him on seeing as his videos are really unpopular as well. The only fan that needs to be shown is his only real fan La Brava, whom he inspired by becoming a new sauce of infatuation after the boy she liked didn't like her back. I think the duo are super charismatic but they're not good people at all, just frustrated and selfish.

If Gentle and La Brava really didn't give a crap, why bother exposing corrupt businesses? Why not break into a bank or rob a jewelry store? Gentle and La Brava have sense to know if they post stuff like that they'd be the Game Grumps of MHA World. I bet if they didn't edit out their hero fights they'd get tons of views, but they choose not to. They want to be famous but aren't willing to go the easy route. They have integrity.

[King Cannon]

If Gentle and La Brava really didn't give a crap, why bother exposing corrupt businesses? Why not break into a bank or rob a jewelry store? Gentle and La Brava have sense to know if they post stuff like that they'd be the Game Grumps of MHA World. I bet if they didn't edit out their hero fights they'd get tons of views, but they choose not to. They want to be famous but aren't willing to go the easy route. They have integrity.

The corruption he was exposing was in regards to extremely minor stuff like pudding expiration labels. Stuff barely worth cheering for. And I doubt he was actually doing anything to hurt that business.