Split Screen: Shot Through the Heart

Hello there, Split Screen readers! It’s your into blogger Madelyn here, cueing up some angst on this edition’s episodes. This time, Han-gyul comes this close to committing vehicular violence twice on Coffee Prince, and Lemillion is reduced to Lezero on My Hero Academia. Plus drumming! Let’s tune in.

(Want to catch up on all of Split Screen? You can find the entire series here!)

Coffee Prince Tenth Cup (up to minute 30)

M: Let’s start this blog off with several minutes of mournful stares filled with longing. 

E: No thank you, I’m terrible at eye contact.

M: I’m not sure how much eye contact was being made. Just a lot of PAIN. And LONGING. 

E: Ha-rim did not sign up to be everybody’s relationship counselor, but he’s gonna goshdarn do it.

M: Ha-rim is doing a lot of emotional labor right now, and I hope he knows that he can opt out if he doesn’t feel like he has enough to give right now. 

E: I mean, he’s not doing too great a job, he’s asking Eun-chan about her opinions on homosexuality in front of the customers.

M:

A template for Ha-rim. Unfortunately, Eun-chan doesn’t have anyone else to reach out to, nor does Min-yup. Hence, blanket statements about how gay is ok in front of customers. 

E: Min-yup is holding strong. His single “why” back to her was so good.

M: I can’t believe I’m rooting for the person ignoring texts. 

E: Listen, I love Eun-sae, she’s delightful, but also she had this coming.

M: He’s really kicking her when she’s down. Her sister has two older men of means fawning over her, and she just had her dreams of music stardom shot down. 

E: Oh, I hope Min-yup has her sing at the concert.

M: She’ll definitely be the most talented of that bunch. Maybe second to Sun-ki, but he’s really being held back by his bandmates.

E: They were getting there by the end, but their initial attempts were not even reminiscent of a song.

M: As Min-yup says, it relieves stress!

E: I’m sure it does, but also maybe someone needs to be on an instrument that isn’t a drum. Just one person.

M: We’ll see what the final show looks like next time. 

E: I can honestly say, I am extremely looking forward to it.

M: The entire rest of the episode was angst. 

E: It really was, the drumming relieved my stress. 

M: The Eun-chan/Han-gyul not-romance gets more ridiculous with every passing moment. Eun-sae is right, she needs to spill the beans. 

E: I do understand that that’s a scary prospect after lying for so long, but honestly, Eun-chan, could this situation get worse? I don’t think it could.

M: You already have this man crying with Ha-rim over his bisexuality. You’re already screaming at each other in a parking lot and trying to run each other over with vehicles. This is rock bottom. Of course it isn’t, we’ll see that later, probably. But this is pretty close.

E: Yeah, like, she clearly can’t be his friend right now, so that defense from her is falling apart as well.

M: I love that we’re going to revive the just friends dance with Han-sung. That’s going to go great. 

E: I love that the last line we saw in this half episode was Eun-chan’s mom telling the butcher man that she still wants him to be her little brother, not her lover.

M: Like mother, like daughter. I can’t wait for Han-gyul grandma to get involved in the older love triangle. There was tension with Mr. Hong. 

E: I still don’t fully buy that that’s romantic, but maybe I’m wrong.

M: It’s all romantic. 

E: Who is bathrobe man? Sorry, I just needed to ask again. Who is he?

M: I don’t know, but Han-gyul’s pure love for his mom feels ripe for the crushing. 

E: Where is Sun-ki’s child? I am very invested in these tiny weird subplots.

M: They aren’t tiny. They’re objectively way more important than one man struggling to come out.

E: Man, of course, he would come out to Ha-rim too, the one guy who does not know the truth. Because you know Min-yup and definitely Sun-ki would have just told him then. 

M: Min-yup might have refrained out of pure embarrassment. 

E: Min-yup would have cried.

M: I swear Ha-rim was tearing up. 

E: I really think the lighting was just hitting his eyes so the moisture in them was looking like tears. But maybe he’s just really there for his bro, you know? His normal bro, not his weird romantic bro.

M: Meanwhile, it looks like Yoo-joo is about ready to leave Han-sung for DK. 

E: Good for her. Honestly, this relationship just is not a good one for either of them. 

M: Alternately, she could go full Animal Crossing with Han-gyul and elope to a deserted island. Decisions, decisions. 

E: It is wedding season when we are writing this post. (EDITOR EMMA: Oh man, we were so young then)

M: Well, Romance Tracker? How long can we keep this charade up?

E: I bet his grandma is going to have another health scare, and that’ll bring Han-gyul and Eun-chan back together. And then the next episode, she’ll tell him. That’s my prediction.

M: Maybe Mr. Hong will just write it in shaving cream on the Coffee Prince bathroom mirror. 

E: What was that scene where he just shaving creamed the mirror? 

M: I think it was supposed to be something about his reflection and coming to terms with himself and all that, but the smear of shaving cream on his face was really funny. 

E: Well, any other predictions for next time?

M: I don’t think the health scare will come next time, because Grandma’s doing better, and we have a concert to throw. 

E: I thought it would happen right after the concert ends. 

M: Maybe. I do think Min-yup and Eun-sae are going to reunite at the concert, but he’s still going to play hard to get. 

E: What a legend.

My Hero Academia S4E11: “Lemillion”

M: RIP Lemillion.

E: He was fine.

M: Literally the only people to be seriously injured on this little villain field trip are the students. Who could have predicted it?

E: Hey, Rock Lock was stabbed, okay? (EDITOR EMMA: Also, Aizawa was stabbed too. Man, what an inferior version of Eri)

M: I did forget about Rock Lock. 

E: Fat Gum lost all his fat.

M: That doesn’t count. Again, the blood pressure relief balances it out. 

E: Anyway, did you not hate Overhaul yet? Here’s some casual transphobia for ya! 

M: That was just…it was slick. Slick writing. 

E: I guess so, but also like…this was the first episode where we learned a single thing about Overhaul really, and prior to this everything about him is just…like I said last time, comically evil. So, then when they try to throw any backstory on you, I am just primed to not care whatsoever.

M: I think my big problem with this arc is that they’ve saved too much of the exposition of what Overhaul is doing for way too late. How far are we from mid-season? Two, maybe three episodes? And we only now get an inkling that he thinks quirks are diseases?

E: He has mentioned “hero syndrome” before, and his whole aesthetic is plague doctor, but I absolutely agree with you. We can talk about the arc as a whole when it’s over, but if I was to make one edit to this existing material, I would have moved most of this information on Overhaul back to the episode where the heroes were talking about him and Eri. Like episode 6.

M: It’s been brawl after brawl, which is fine except that it just means I get to whine about the danger the students are in over and over again, and nothing really moves forward.

E: I enjoy the vignettes of this season in theory, but they do feel like they would work better if this was a larger story? Like if these fights were happening over the course of a longer war with Overhaul and his group, not all in one building infiltration.

M: I could go the other way and mash it all together. I feel like Red Riot and Suneater’s episodes could have been one cross-cutting episode and felt thematically okay. Just cut all the “We should go? Shouldn’t we go?” parts. 

E: Some background knowledge of this arc that I’ve picked up is that the author was having a bit of a slump (understandably, being a mangaka is hard). Chapters were a lot shorter than usual and sometimes were published with unfinished art. I do think it’s unfortunate that the adaptation doesn’t do much to fill in the gaps here, but they weren’t working with a ton in some cases.  Like, a lot of people complained about the still images of Mirio’s fight at the end there, but in the source material, it’s apparently just a black page that says “And then they fought for ten minutes.” So there wasn’t a lot to work with.

M: For me, it boils down to Overhaul being super boring as a villain relative to everyone we’ve seen so far. It’s hard to follow All For One, and obviously we’re big Stain fans here, but even Shigaraki was way more interesting at the beginning than Overhaul is. 

E: Yeah. I like a lot of things this arc enables. The character-focused battle-vignettes are a cool idea, I like the plot that this gives the League of Villains, but the central Overhaul plot doesn’t hold everything together like it should.

M: I’ve also lost track of how long this operation has taken. Every episode I’m like “where are the girls?” and I have to remind myself it’s probably only been half an hour. 

E: A lot of this stuff would be happening simultaneously.

M: Still, where are the freaking girls?

E: Yeah, that’s the other disappointing part.

M: They didn’t bring anyone with like a telecommunication quirk. I don’t mean like a cell phone, although that might have helped too. 

E: I think the Pussycats are on a hiatus right now, so they can’t grab the one who can send out messages.

M: Feels like there should be more than one hero in all of Japan with a similar quirk, but okay. 

E: True enough.

M: I can’t believe they took Mirio’s power away. And I can’t believe you gave away that Aizawa doesn’t give it back by staring at Eri for the rest of his life. 

E: I’m sorry! I really don’t think it would work that way though. I don’t think that Aizawa can necessarily erase the effects of a Quirk. Like, if someone got stabbed with someone shooting out razor arms, like, Aizawa erasing the razor arms wouldn’t make that person stop bleeding.

M: True. I need Confession Man to make Eri explain how her quirk works. In any case, Mirio will need some genetic therapy. Stem cells. Quirk cells. Maybe his dad’s blood will be able to reactivate his power, like a transfusion. 

E: Speaking of blood, you finally got your explanation on Toga’s power that you wanted.

M: I’ve been wondering for like a year now if she just has a Rolodex of faces, and I’m glad she doesn’t. 

E: I mean, one cup for one day is some good value though.

M: A cup of blood is a lot of blood. 

E: Is it? Do you think she leaves most of her victims with a lot of blood?

M: Deku and Uraraka seemed fine. 

E: True, she’s got like 30 seconds of Deku time.

M: Worth it for the hug from All Might.

E: Do you think that’s what she’ll use it on? Just a good All Might hug?

M: And an autograph, yeah. Worth it to get All Might’s blood and apologize to Night Eye on his behalf. 

E: This Toga is very altruistic. 

M: She just says what’s in other people’s hearts. Too bad Overhaul doesn’t have a heart. NO HEART. 

E: Overhaul is the Kuze of this anime.

M: Don’t tell me that. Kiryu had to fight Kuze no less than eight times in Yakuza 0. I can’t handle that much Overhaul. 

E: I meant it more in that he’s a big jerk and also kinda lame.

M: That I can get behind. 

E: Any other thoughts on this episode?

M: I can’t believe Mirio fell for the “you’re not a hero because your motives aren’t perfectly pure” taunt. 

E: I thought you liked Stain over there.

M: Yeah, but Stain was using that claim to reform society. Confess was just using it as a tactic. Feels like there should be a class on that at UA: How to Handle Basic Villain Shade. 

E: It’s a little more intense with this guy, because he’s actually bringing it out of you. Like he’s not just saying it, he’s making you say it.

M: Mirio should have dispersed his tongue cells. Although he could talk just fine with permeated lungs, so maybe not. 

E: It’s fine, don’t think about it. It’s for dramatic effect.

M: I love that Overhaul gave Eri her unicorn horn with his powers.

E: What was his rationale there in this theory of yours. Please share with the class, I dare you.

M: I won’t repeat what I said during the episode. He just thought it looked dope. 

E: Thank you, I like this explanation better.

M: I can’t believe everyone thought she was his daughter. Villains never lie!

E: That reveal was sort of underwhelming for me, just because…who cares? Who cares if she’s his biological daughter or not, she’s still under his “care.” He’s still abusing her.

M: Anyway, I do love the symmetry of quirkless Deku getting One-for-All to become a hero, and now the chosen one is quirkless but still a better hero. I don’t believe that, Mirio is kinda garbage, but the comparison stands.

E: I don’t know, would Deku jump in front of a quirk erasing bullet with All Might’s power? I think that’d make him hesitate.

M: I don’t think Mirio would have jumped in front of it if he knew what it was. It seems like that guy’s quirk was Super Bullet or something, because Mirio said “you really don’t want to get with that guy’s bullets, according to the briefing.”

E: My favorite villain: Super Bullet. He’s got a gun!

M: Imagine Present Mic saying that. 

E: Okay, Lawsuit Watch?

M: I mean, Mirio. 

E: I feel like Han-gyul and Eun-chan could sue each other either for always standing in front of their car or always being threatened with the car.

M: They’d both be too embarrassed to sue because they’d have to admit they were a. Gay or b. A Lady. 

E: Ha-rim deserves a lawsuit for his co-workers stressing him out.

M: I think that Mirio has the rare ability to actually sue UA, because there’s no way they have a clause in the waiver about losing your quirk. 

E: I wonder if this would be more suing Nighteye. Because the third-year internships feel a little more official.

M: Maybe both. 

E: Caffeine watch? Overhaul had those bloodshot espresso eyes.

M: Yeah, and that one villain was hitting the Irish Coffee hard. 

E: Remind me about Irish Coffee guy in like thirteen episodes.

M: Sure, in 2021. Is thirteen episodes from now even dubbed?

E: No, they’re up to 23, I think. (EDITOR EMMA: 24 and 25 were dubbed soon after we watched this one, I believe)

M: Like I said. 2021. 

E: Ready for the next episode title?

M: You better believe it. 

E: Season 4, Episode 12 is called “Unforeseen Hope”

M: Prediction one: the heroes manage to capture Confess. They have him use his powers on Night Eye, to make Night Eye confess that All Might is actually going to be fine. Because he can draw out truths even if the person doesn’t know themselves!

E:

M: Prediction two: Deku says “Smash” like seven times next episode. 

E:

M: Prediction three: Mirio begs Night Eye to touch him and see if he ever gets his quirk back. Night Eye won’t do it, but he says “I know you will.” 

E:  

M: Prediction four: Aizawa feels pretty game-breaking here. As soon as he can deal with Overhaul, it’s finished. Except there are still four quirk erasing bullets. I knew something was going to happen to Aizawa. He’s alone on the rock in the opener. He’s definitely getting shot. He’s an inferior Eri anyway. 

E:

M: Prediction five: The girls show up to save the day. Cue Girl Credit Music. Ahhh, ahhhh, AHHHHHH! Da da da! Da da da! Da da da! Whoawhoawhoawhoa!

E:

–

Hey there everyone! Emma here. Thanks for watching along with us! We’re watching the MHA dub on Funimation and Coffee Prince on Tubi if you want to catch up now.

This week, we’re going to direct you to the Black Lives Matter carrd and to this list of cancer research charities. 

Next time! Mirio finally stops running. Meanwhile, the coffee shop boys rehearse for their musical performance.

Previous – First – Next