Some instances that I feel show how some messages MHA are detrimental, especially on how victims react to their abuser, can be gauged by responses that tend to be highly prevalent in the fandom.
(Definitely not every fan, but a great majority).
Endeavor is a great example. Whenever you post criticizing his approach to atonement (and ultimately criticizing Horikoshi’s writing), you get BOMBARDED by people either belittling you for not liking his character or essentially forcing you to like his character by frantically writing “at least he tried” arguments.
If I have the CHOICE whether to forgive his character or not, especially given he goes through an atonement arc and not a redemption arc, why is any form of criticism about his abusive behavior and essentially his abuse of power practically ignored by the story unacceptable?
The message was detrimental because people operate on the notion that for victims to be good people, they must forgive and even help their abusers. MHA presents people who choose not to forgive him as either a monster (Toya) or inconvenient (Natsuo). And if they are still unforgiving, they must admire the abuser for doing the bare minimum (taking responsibility; this is also about Natsuo).
Essentially, they are considered "imperfect victims" because they weren't merciful in their approach to their abuser.
The majority of the fandom tends to ignore the lack of actual consequences for Endeavor's actions because he vows to talk to Toya every day. Insisting that doing the bare minimum, which is recognizing his son's existence and suffering, became his "hell" is a wildly fucked up message, in my opinion.
It harps on the issue mentioned above that if a victim isn't receptive to forgiveness or doesn't act "demure," they are seen as an inconvenience—which is how the Todoroki family ultimately views Toya.
On a less critical note, I'll vent, so if you don't like this, just ignore it.
I'm so fucking tired of stories depicting imperfect victims as people who deserve death and torture. Plus, having to be on the brunt of so many people acting like you're morally fucked because you're not impressed with how a writer handled abuse. Horikoshi is not the first writer to try to atone a character who is an abuser (and he isn't the first to fail at that, either).
I'm not about to dick-ride every decision every author makes. Especially if the message convinces some audience members that victims are inherently broken if they can't bring themselves to forgive and/or admire someone who hurt them.
sometimes i think of endeavor kneeling at touya’s altar, wishing that touya was still there. the dead cannot speak. you can conveniently make up your own story to suit them, imagine that the deceased son you cast aside would surely want nothing more than to be with family again. it brings me some fierce joy that dabi’s return denies that feel-good narrative, denies the desires projected onto his memory, that dabi can name the truth of why he vanished, that he can say for certain it was endeavor himself that drove him from the family and killed him in all but body. he’s no longer the child with no autonomy, no longer the dead without voice, he’s seizing the narrative and flipping it on its head and it is a euphoric moment.
i think a lot of fic writers who are trying to stay in-character would benefit highly from figuring out some characters’ senses of humor and just… letting them be funny in different ways. ime i’m taken out of the story not during the serious and angsty moments, but most often when the writer inserts a line that they clearly think is funny but just reads so completely ooc for the specific character—polar opposite of the char’s usual word choice and humor, that it almost always immediately pings me as “something the author inserted because they personally think it’s funny.” more often than not i can probably tell when it’s actually the writer speaking, not the character, and it happens a looot with humor.
''we got along...*more than i thought* '' WHAT DOES THAT MEAN
HORIKOSHI EXPLAIN
'' *MORE THAN I THOUGHT* '' ???? WHAT DID YOU GUYS KISS OR SOME SHIT TELL ME
Actually the most implausible thing in Ch 303 is that footage of Hawks killing a man was leaked on national television for all to see, and yet when he approaches the Todorokis to help with stopping Touya, who is a member of the exact same organization as the man Hawks just killed, nobody… Thinks to view this skeptically or with outright fear of him pulling the exact same shit twice??
mhatwt will be on tumblrs ass and then write a whole analysis on how touya was to blame for rei pouring boiling water on shouto