Power, Order, and Superheroism in Unordinary and Boku no Hero Academia

[feotakahari]

When I see Unordinary mentioned, people often say it’s “like Boku no Hero Academia.” I’ve been thinking about it more, and I’d say each one is the mirror universe to the other. Unordinary is a world where absolute power prevents heroes from existing, while Boku no Hero Academia is a world where absolute order stops heroes from being heroes.

Unordinary takes place in a world where superpowers are almost completely unregulated. If you have powers, they’re yours to use as you see fit, and if you don’t have powers, it sucks to be you.

This has long since devolved into a Hobbesian battle of all against all, with each person making life hell for the people weaker than them and having their life made hell by the people stronger than them. Compassion is seen as aberrant and immoral, since it gives weak people false hope that they might someday be treated as well as strong people. Apathy is even more aberrant, because if you’re strong enough to take power, you should be motivated to use it. The strong are trained from an early age that they should never show weakness, and the weak are trained that they should never attempt to be strong. And the so-called “cripples” who have no power at all? They’re just trained to stay out of the way.

But as one character points out, if the strong can do anything they want, then what happens if the strong want to protect others? If the truly powerful decided that everyone should be equal, it would be within their capabilities to force peace through superior firepower. The idea the story is building seems to be one of noblesse oblige–or, in more modern terms, “with great power comes great responsibility.”

Boku no Hero Academia takes place in a world where superpowers have been regulated into oblivion. If you’re a licensed superhero, you use your powers as an arm of law enforcement or disaster response. If you’re not a licensed superhero, it’s illegal to use your powers in public, even in self-defense. (The translation refers to superpowers as “quirks,” but they’re also called “individualities” sometimes, and I expect it’s intentional that in this society, you’re not allowed to publicly show your individuality.)

It turns out there’s a reason why traditional superheroes work outside the law to do what’s right. When heroes are a commodity, then the people who become successful heroes are the people who are the most marketable. If you look just right and can pose just so, then you can fight villains and sell merchandise at the same time. Conversely, if you’re poor, mentally ill, genderqueer, or just plain unlucky, you may find that becoming a supervillain is the only option you have. Both paths breed selfishness, either from having everything or from having nothing.

Boku no Hero Academia’s moral isn’t as clear as Unordinary’s, but it seems to be fumbling towards the idea of support groups. Tokoyami learns to better control his dangerous ability because he has teachers to guide him and push him. Todoroki is working through his self-hatred and survivor’s guilt with help from Deku and the others. Even Bakugou seems to be developing beyond his massive ego and growing into a potential hero. The villains are people who didn’t have support or lost their support, and they either support each other (The League of Villains) or fall into nihilism (The Eight Bullets.)

Between the two, I’d say Unordinary has a better idea of what it wants to express to the reader. But I give Boku no Hero Academiamore credit for tying in to real life. There’s a sense that many of the people who become supervillains in that world are the same people who, in our world, would be arrested for drug use or petty theft.

P.S. What if you don’t have innate power and don’t have social status? Then the manga for you is called Ratman. Have fun.

Comments

[lb_lee]

I totally hadn't thought about that interpretation of My Hero Academia, but now when I'm watching it with my friend, I'm totally going to be thinking about it!

[lb_lee]

Coming back to this post because I've mostly been watching My Hero Academia from a disability standpoint. (I am so here for you, degenerative-condition-All-Might-with-a-massive-spoons-allocation-problem.)

And I just realized that "legislated into ineffectiveness" is a pretty accurate description of the legal disability system, at least the ones I interact with. (I mean, the "you can't use your powers even in self-defense unless you're licensed" feels very similar to the, "you can't save money even to make yourself independent unless you are no longer disabled" to me.)

[feotakahari]

Huh. I never thought of it that way.