Now, I’m not saying that My Hero Academia is the best shonen manga/anime in the history of the genre and demographic -- or if not that, then at least in recent years -- buuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuut…
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…I can’t think of a non-incriminating way to finish that sentence. So I’ll just embed a clip of All Might and leave it at that.
Well, no sense in beating around the bush. In case you missed the post I made a few days back: yeah, it’s high time for me to temporarily scale back with the blog. Don’t worry, I’m OK (relative to my existence and myriad degenerative variables). It just feels like the right time to shift a few paces to the right, and work on some other stuff I’ve been keen to dive headfirst into. It’s probably worth mentioning, though, that if my plans come to fruition (and they’ve already been dashed on multiple occasions thus far), then I’ll be resuming blog operations well after I have a new computer in tow. Or laptop. Probably laptop, but nothing’s set in stone yet.
I’ve…been putting off making a purchase for a while. Probably too long, all things considered. If my brother were to try using my PC at this very moment -- or even booted it up, for whatever reason -- it would be 5.38 seconds before he shredded me to death with a cheese grater. So I guess I need to make an upgrade, and sooner rather than later. On the plus side, that means I’ve got an excuse to get a solid gaming rig, meaning that I can write about more (and more recent) games via any Steam offerings. On the minus side, I’m not too keen on dropping the requisite amount of cash to make that happen. I mean, yeah, it’d put me in a better position for certain endeavors, but I’m a horrible miser. I cringe internally every time I buy a muffin.
Whatever the case, I’ve basically got the road map locked in my head. This will be the last post for a little bit, partially because I want to put some work in elsewhere. Partly because I want to be fully recharged for Smash Bros. Ultimate once it drops -- and when it does, posts will resume on Smash Ultimate once per week, every Thursday post-release throughout December. Barring any mishaps or impediments. Or certain doom. Then, through January, I’ll switch gears to Kingdom Hearts stuff. One post for each Thursday, leading up to a quick look at the full release of KHIII. Presumably. Again, barring certain doom.
There’s always the possibility that I’ll be struck with divine inspiration and come back to the blog for a Monday post; it’s happened before, given that the 47 Ronin adaptation from a few years back turned me into a cesspool of bile and rage-blood. For the most part, though, the plan is to make and keep things low-key until February. Or March. Probably the former, though I haven’t locked down a date. But by then KHIII will be in full swing, so that’ll probably demand a smorgasbord of posts.
I know I’ve said some unkind things about the franchise in the past, but trust me: I’m just one of many praying for the game’s success. Or quality, to be more precise. It’s Kingdom Hearts III; it’ll be a financial success just by virtue of A) the brand, and B) more than a decade’s worth of personal investment from fans who just want to see how the story will end. Or end-ish.
So if your eyeballs only just now started working, let me be clear: if all goes as planned, the next post on this blog will show up on December 13th, and will thus be the first of several Smash Ultimate posts. Again, the blog isn’t going anywhere just yet, but I am scaling the output back until February, meaning a post every Thursday from 12/13 onward. After that? Who knows? All I know is that I can’t let Cross-Up die until I gripe about what a crushing disappointment Gundam Build Divers is. That seems like a valid waste of your time and mine.
With all of that said? I can’t in good faith step away from the blog without getting in one more post on My Hero Academia. As of writing, I’m one episode away from wrapping up Season 3 -- and believe you me, I’ve enjoyed the ride every step of the way. Whereas something like Gundam Build Divers will make me put on my “anime was a mistake” face, MHA is basically here to remind me why I started liking anime in the first place. Shockingly, it has nothing to do with the sheer physical, mental, and emotional trauma Midoriya has to endure constantly.
On that note? I’d like to formally induct Midoriya into the Society of Pure Cinnamon Buns Whose Smiles Must be Protected -- alongside Yuya Sakaki from Yu-Gi-Oh ARC-V and Okuyasu Nijimura from JoJo Part 4. Also, let’s go ahead and throw Spider-Man in there as well. He fits.
Sure, MHA isn’t the be-all and end-all; there are some problems with it, and they might magnify going forward. And since the story’s still in the making, there’s always a real possibility that it’ll jump the shark harder than, say, Naruto or Bleach ever did. (*stares kunai at the end of the Pain arc*) But for right now, I can say that what it does -- and whatever it does -- it does shockingly well. I can’t think of a single character I don’t like. I’m intrigued by the progressive layers and depth added to the setting. The action beats are consistently impressive. The soundtrack is way too good for the show it’s built for -- and the show itself is top-notch. That’s the level it’s on right now.
It’s reached a point -- well in advance of this post -- where I’m on board with the cast even when they’re not throwing city-shattering punches. Like, there was one scene where Midoriya’s just chatting it up with Uraraka and Iida (the best character), and then I got this big grin on my face apropos of nothing. I was paying attention to the scene, but there was a part of me internally shouting “LOOK AT THESE FUCKING HEROES! THIS IS GREAT!” I’m on the hook, and it doesn’t matter how much blood is gushing from my cheek.
So here’s the question that needs answering: how do I top MHA?
I mean, it’s not like I’m about to make my own Jump manga. I’m not on the same playing field as creator Kohei Horikoshi. But I’ve made it no secret that I want to be a writer -- of novels, not just obscure, irreverent rambles on nerd ephemera -- which is largely why I’m entering hiatus mode. Creating content for Cross-Up is fine, but what I really want to do is, well, basically what MHA has already done. Introduce a slew of lovable heroes. Explore themes with jaw-dropping, show-stopping scenarios. Work that emotional torque so that people who read my wares will laugh, cry, or cheer. Not all at once, obviously.
There’s so much I want to do with my fiction, not just my babble about the fiction of others. I would have wanted to do all of that with or without MHA’s influence, of course; given that it only started in 2014, it’d be a pretty big time paradox if that served as my inspiration. But it is emblematic of my end goal, and my drive to become a writing hero. What that story does -- what any good piece of art should do, and what I want to do -- is use the power of the craft to connect with others. To touch the heart. To become more than just pages between covers, or data on a screen.
I’m absolutely going to write more about MHA at some point in the future, but at some point I won’t. At some point, I’ll have to focus more, if not singularly, on my writing. It feels like I’m close to a breakthrough, and the final push towards becoming a true, accredited novelist. I’ve felt that way plenty of times before, granted, but this time things might be different. Maybe that’s because I’m different now. Not just older or wiser [citation needed] or more skilled [citation double-needed], or left more cynical and skeptical in the wake of…well, let’s just say “the orange house” and leave it at that.
I’ve woken up. I can feel the passion inside me, in a way I haven’t before -- a spark inside that surges through me with each new idea, each new character crafted, each new chapter written, each new revision saved and archived. And, against all reason, it feels like I woke up to justice -- to my ideal vision of the world, and the effort I need to put in to make it go from a fairy tale to a reality. I want to do my part to change the world for the better. Maybe even save it entirely, in my own way. In a way that only an artist, and one whose creations can truly reach out to the hearts of others, can.
I want to do it. I want to go forward --because maybe someday, I won’t be just another hero. I’ll be the hero.
See you soon.
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