(Part 1 : The Prototype/ Akatani Mikumo)

💚❤ What is in a Name?🧡🖤

-a useless dump of BNHA trivia on Names and speculations on the future plot based on them.

BEWARE- LONG-ASS POST AHEAD! MANGA SPOILERS AHEAD! BAT-SHIT CRAZY RANTING AHEAD!!!

(Part 1 : The Prototype/ Akatani Mikumo)

This is a post I have been meaning to make for months, but I had no outlet until recently where I joined both tumblr and ao3. It has always been fascinating to me how Horikoshi sensei names his characters. The amount of thought that has been poured into them is astounding.

Today, dear folks I will tell you the reason why I was crying and screaming for two hours straight after reading the BNHA chapter that introduced BlackWhip and ultimately convinced me to create a tumblr for my headcanons and start writing a fanfic based on it.

Today is where we discuss the gift of genius that is Horikoshi Kohei (and the ultimate TROLL that this shy motherfucker really is; move over Tite Kubo we have a new king in the game)

Now we know that the proto of Midoriya Izuku was this edgy kid with a bad haircut called Akatani Mikumo ( 海谷 美雲). His childhood friend Gougou Katsuki, later Bakugou Katsuki, named him ‘Yamikumo’ (闇雲)

Let’s talk about…

Akatani Mikumo

谷- spells as ‘tani’, meaning 'valley’ but it can also be read as 'Ya’. This explains the nickname 'Yamikumo’. This also comes in the 'ya’ of Midoriya

赤- spells as 'aka’; meaning red

海- spells as 'Mi’ meaning 'Sea’

雲- spells as 'Kumo’ meaning 'cloud’

'Red valley Sea Cloud’….. jesus christ on a tricycle… that’s a scenery in one frigging name 🤣

So basically Horikoshi changed the title from red to green (as midori means green, but you knew that) valley. And called him a beautiful lil scenery. Lol. ( He is beautiful, Horikoshi. So, so beautiful. )

anyway, moving on…

Let’s have a closer look at this little nickname which left me shooketh.

Yamikumo (闇雲)

闇- spells as 'yami’ meaning 'darkness.’

雲- same as before, means cloud

Now the name Yamikumo translates to 'dark cloud’, it literally means 'blindly’ or 'recklessly’ hinting that proto-Katsuki nicknamed him based on this exact trait of recklessness. Just as canon Katsuki named Izuku after his 'uselessness’

Side Point: This reminds me of the dark cloudy things we see in Izuku’s dream of OfA. (Quite a way to put that in, Horikoshi-sensei.)

“Well that’s pretty normal uptil now. We already know all this information. What’s the big issue here?”

Y-Yes, pl-please allow me t-to explain!

As with the meaning of 'Deku’ which has meanings beyond 'Dekiru’ (You can do it!) and 'Deku’ (useless, blockhead) ;and I will reveal in a shorter post later onwards.

The name Yamikumo too had a SECOND meaning.

Most Japanese people might be already familiar with these ulterior meanings of both nicknames but I have never seen a post on them so I just thought of putting up my own. (Fuck I am digressing again)

Okie, now back to NAME

’Yami’

Yami ('やみ) = dark

it is a straight forward, no-bullshit reference to the dark and edgy protagonist design. I believe Horikoshi called him 'Fiend Kid’ ?????? (Why give hime such a lame, try-hard edgy hero name, Horikoshi…just ….Why?). Obviously, Horikoshi meant our protagonist to have a darker past or cynical mannerisms as many of the blogs and fics portray.

But the problem I have here is with the name-

'Kumo’

It can mean several things depending on the different kanji/katakana/hiragana. But if you use good old Google translate (like moi did) you will arrive at THIS MEANING

くも- (hiragana) = Spider

クモ- (katakana) = Spider

a fucking 'SPIDER’ …

Now…many fans already know that Horikoshi sensei once said that Midoriya Izuku was based off Spiderman and it really shows in the chapters with his new quirk 'Black Whip’. What he should have also told us that he literally tried to name our protagonist with a name that has a double meaning of a fricking SPIDER.

This goddamn TROLL that Horikoshi Kohei is…ughh

((I screamed about this all night when I found, and went on a nerd-rage trying to explain this to my father, who btw, forgot for a minute that Japan is in the EAST. That is exactly how much people around me know about manga -that it’s from Japan and it comes from the East))**facepalms through the skull**

((CAN YOU IMAGINE MY PAIN?!))

Deku “デク”

Notice how Deku (デク) also has the 'ク’ katakana like in Kumo(クモ). It also means 'nine’. I find it really clever that this name both points to the number 9 as well as an insect with 8 legs (8 predecessors of OfA? hmm?)

So BASICALLYThe other meaning of 'Yamikumo’ can be ’Dark; Spider’

闇 の 蜘 蛛 - Spider of Darkness.

Now, NAME A FICTIONAL CHARACTER INSPIRED BY A DARK SPIDER POPULAR IN CONTEMPORARY CULTURE?

You know it, You have meme-d it, you drew and hit 'like’ on its fanart, wrote and read fanfics on it;

You made it the BNHA phenomena it became since the BlackWhip.

It’s none other than Spiderman’s-

“Venom”

It always puzzled me why Horikoshi-sensei didn’t use the name “Akatani Mikumo” instead of Midoriya Izuku. These are a few (Crack and Not-so-Crack) reasons I can think of-

The derivative nicknames impact the character. It doesn’t suit Deku’s (I can do it!!) lovely character over Yamikumo’s (Dark Cloud/Dark Spider) edgy one. But really this is a bullshit reason. The protag could have been edgy as hell and I would have still loved how awkward, self-sacrificing and dedicated he is. I am sure many will agree.

I understand that the friction between him and Katsuki over a nickname wouldn’t have happened if he chose the proto name. But Horikoshi could have shown that in a different way - like more instances of the bullying. Instead Horikoshi CHOSE to change the protag’s name COMPLETELY to connect Katsuki to the protag by a damned nickname one way or another. (Horikoshi was basically bro-shipping these two even before we started Bakudeku 🤣)

Totally Crack Reason: Horikoshi probably saw this horseshit with Venom memes coming even before he started the first chapter of the manga. Imagine the meme-flood if he had chosen the name Akatani Mikumo (Yamikumo). But he 'Nope’d his way out of it early. Two hundred chapters later, we finally catch up on a joke he ultimately decided not to play.

WHAT THE FUCK, Horikoshi-sensei?!

Headcanon Time:

Now this is my belief (and a headcanon I have already put use to) that Our dear Cinnamon Roll Deku - WILL be controlled by an external agent (AfO?! maybe?!!) just like the Symbiote or Venom did. And he will have to fight it off. I have another reason to believe this which will be discussed in “Part 2: Deku” of this useless rant.

It makes sense to me since Deku is, otherwise, a character at complete development. The author needs a perfect character to handle the dark influence of whatever is coming in future chapters to handle it well. If the protagonist were a character with lesser development, the manga would take an even darker road that the show originally didn’t pack for. It’s target audience might be diverse but its still mainstream anime and won’t include too many disturbing details.

Yes, it deals with Bullying, Abuse, Domestic Abuse, Kidnapping, Human trafficking, Human Experimentation, Drug Use and lots of dark stuff but it has never delved deeply into it. Never. We see the fights, maybe a disturbing shadow play of a gruesome act; we see the aftermath but we dont see it actually happening. And I think, we never will because the editors and show producers know what kind of direction they want with this.

Deku’s character provides perfect ground for a collision of wills that is staple in shonen genre and bring out the 'Good vs Evil’ trope to a unanimous conclusion ('unanimous’ depending on how well Horikoshi writes, many mangaka botch the ending with a fine-ass plot, but I have to trust him. we will see how it goes)

Another hint to the 'Deku goes Dark’ has to be in THIS panel.

Notice how he says “I wasn’t afraid of this new power then”

It means Deku wasn’t afraid at that point in time but it can mean that he might have been afraid later on.

So, maaaaaybe, there is a possibility of Deku going “Dark Side”!?!

V!Deku: “Hmm? Someone called?”

Me: shit, he hawt…but…

NO, NOT THAT DARK.

D: If you insult Kacchan one more time Monoma…I wIlL eNd YoU

Monoma: *gulps*

Yep, something like this.

Even if he does go Dark in the manga, I am sure it will be something like Ninetails Naruto v Pain, Ichigo v Ulquiorra, etc etc.

But still it is really exciting!

Needless to say, In the event that I am proven wrong and Deku doesn’t go berserk, I will be very VERY disappointed. Not that I want him to suffer, but him bashing Villains with SEVEN-fucking-quirks is gonna be a through and through Badass Arc. Can you imagine the Absolute Bad-ass BEAST he’d become with all those powerful quirks buzzing under his skin?

According to Horikoshi’s trolling-ass, that Beast is apparently the most adorable (yet disturbing) Moth I have ever seen:

(Another insect? Is this a coincidence or maybe a joke? My over-analyzing ass thinks -THE FUCK NOT)

But I CANNOT tell you how BADLY I want this shit canon.(No, Not Mothoriya. But the Beast-Deku knocking Villains with 7 quirks)

Just Imagine The Sheer Epicness

Am I exaggerating, reading too much into it, creating mountains out of mole hills? Maybe I am, maybe I am off my rocker, absolute bat-shit crazy (I most certainly am), but I can dream, can’t I? Horikoshi might never answer my prayers for a Deku going crazy with so much power in his hands, maybe he will. No one knows the future.

So for now, the only thing we can do is wait and watch…

Oh, And Thank You for Coming to My TED Talk.