Split Screen: Evil for All

Thanks for tuning in to Split Screen! It’s your intro host Madelyn, and folks, I am in the middle of a very My Hero Academia heavy week. Usually, I watch just the one episode with Emma during our viewing party, maybe two if we’re trying to get ahead for some reason. This week, I’ve watched something like thirty with anime newbie Clickbait Boyfriend. If my analysis this week is extra strong, that’s why. If it’s extra weak, it’s because I didn’t want him to accidentally overhear spoilers. If it’s average…well, it probably is average. But all that time with Deku and friends only made me more excited to find out what’s next on Boys Over Flowers too! 

(New Split Screen reader? You can catch up on every episode here!)

Boys Over Flowers Episode 23 (up to minute 35)

M: This was the calm before the storm. 

E: Which is saying something considering Ga-eu’s dad got fired and Grandpa had another heart attack.

M: We did already know most of that was going to happen, so it was less shocking. 

E: We didn’t know Grandpa was gonna have a heart attack!

M: We’ve known that it’s been coming. 

E: But both these events are predictably brought on by the actions of Mama Gu, and I am predictably unimpressed with her villainy.

M: She hasn’t come after Jan-di’s family yet, she’s still got a ways to go. 

E: Speaking of unimpressed, I’m also unimpressed with Jun-pyo’s little deal with his mother that is so full of holes that it’s just a hole.

M: He’s so stupid! Doesn’t he know his mom? HIs mom who made his father make blackmail home videos? He should know this is a trap.

E: Especially once she asked him to confirm that she could only not go after Jan-di and specifically Jan-di. I feel like Jun-pyo should be past this point of fixation. Like, I don’t know, he should realize that Jan-di has people who care about her and about whom she cares about.

M: Think of Kang-san! Remember the pizza!

E: I mean, now that she’s seen the footage of them at the zoo, that child is dead. 

M: Nah, he’ll be forced into slavery at the Gu Mansion. 

E: Boys Over Flowers 2 where the kid is Jan-di and there are four rich girls.

M: I’d watch a gender-flipped Boys Over Flowers so hard. 

E: I’m trying to remember what else happened this episode, it’s mostly just heart-attack Grandpa for me. After he started flying all his death flags.

M: I do want to roast myself real quick for forgetting we ended at the zoo last time, and freaking out when the first shot was of an elephant. 

E: She was very shocked by the elephant.

M: As soon as Jan-di took that photo of Grandpa, I knew his days were numbered. 

E: That’s why you should never let anyone photograph you. Once there’s a record of your happiness, that’s the cue for life to come in.

M: I took photos of Clickbait Boyfriend in San Diego, and then he started spurting blood on the beach. Thanks, stingray.

E: He just became Bait Boyfriend.

M: No! I can’t wait to tell him that. Too bad he really can’t read Split Screen now that we’ve started watching My Hero Academia. 

E: He just has to read as you watch and it can be a lovely blast from the past for him.

M: The happy photo of doom has to be a trope. 

E: It does feel very familiar. 

M: I can’t believe Grandpa casually dropped that Jan-di’s fish curry tasted like his daughter’s. 

E: Every scene this episode was just me shouting “Grandpa, no!” in various tones of voice.

M: It’s your For Real video, but with a different catchphrase.

E: I’m glad I can be known for the catchphrase, “Grandpa, no!”

M: Honestly, that would have been a solid second choice for Champ McDude’s name. 

E: That’s what you can name him when you get the expanded edition.

M: It’s going to metaphorically break Grandpa’s heart when Jan-di elopes with Jun-pyo, huh?

E: As long as it does not literally break it. Again.

M: Can you believe that the potter girl found billboards that would say “I love you Yi-jung” in a certain light? How would you stumble across that?

E: I mean, it’s very fitting with this sort of “fate” theme that’s going on with Yi-jung. Or the “missed your moment” theme. Like it’s such a transient event and such a stroke of luck that she would ever notice it.

M: You’re absolutely right that they are wasting Yi-jung. 

E: Yi-jung and his story has the best starting base of almost any plot line (or at least side-plot line) that this show has introduced. It is really trying to tie in to some decent themes, and it feels like it could have had a decent message, but it’s so all over the place. It’s almost like it’s just too big of a story to fit into the sidelines, so they end up skipping stuff or lingering too long on stuff in order to fit it into the rest of the episode. The pacing’s all weird.

M: I don’t understand why they’ve spent the last few episodes on pottery lady. We had a clear wrap-up point when she said the wind had passed and Yi-jung saw her with his brother. 

E: Yeah, I feel like that’s when they should have stepped forward to tie this closer to his issues with his father and his developing relationship with Ga-eul.

M: Maybe they had to stall so that his complete meltdown wasn’t happening concurrently with the wedding?

E: Yeah, I think they just had a certain amount of time for it each episode and the amount of story just wasn’t lining up right with everything else.

M: Do you think Yi-jung is close enough to Jan-di to endure Mama Gu’s wrath?

E: Probably not? I could see it still happening, but I don’t think it would be just him. If she included him, she would also include Woo-bin.

M: Which would be a big mistake. 

E: Nobody messes with Crime Manager Jung.

M: I’m waiting for Yi-jung’s family to come back into the picture. Time is ticking. 

E: Yeah, it’s a bit of a shame how this story is ending up. Because I really thought it was promising at the beginning with talking about the idea of “there’s a moment and when you lose it, it’s gone” versus “there’s many moments you can find for yourself.” Like that’s a refreshing viewpoint on love. But they’ve stuck in one place for too long on it.

M: Ga-eul deserves so much better. 

E: I feel like we’ve said that for the majority of our blog posts now. Either that or just professing our love for Ga-eul.

M: Queen Ga-eul deserves nothing less. 

E: Anyway, Jan-di also knows now that it’s “her fault” that these things are happening to people she cares about, so she seems to be removing herself from the equation. I’m not 100% sure what her endgame plan is here though.

M: Yeah, I’m not sure if she’s hoping that Jun-pyo will run away with her or if she’s just going off the grid by herself. 

E: Either way, she’s leaving not-so-coma man behind.

M: He twitched!

E: Every time they zoomed in on his face, I really thought he was just gonna wake up.

M: Who is he? I just have to know. 

E: He’s Jun-pyo’s dad. I’m like 200% certain now. 

M: No. No way. 

E: Call a plantain, a plantain.

M: I’m just stupefied by the possibility. He’s been conscious the whole time, so he loves Jan-di, and they have a big wedding. And the kid is freed from servitude. 

E: It’s gonna take a lot of work to make that ending work for me, and I’m not sure this show has it in it.

M: I either want them to find some kind of character-motivated way for everyone to man up like the Maid Mistress said and seize their own fate, or I want it to go as big and ridiculous as possible, so this would certainly support one of those. 

E: Romance tracker?

M: I’m not sure how we’re going to get to the happy ending from here. 

E: Deus ex coma dad.

M: It seems like the only way right now. I kept waiting for an opportunity for Jan-di to prove herself to Mama Gu, and now it seems like it’s way too late. 

E: I wouldn’t want her to have to prove herself to Mama Gu anyway. I just despise Mama Gu. I have no respect for her at all. And having Jan-di “prove herself” to somebody who is so petty and comically evil towards her children would just be unsatisfying.

M: You’re right, especially at this point. I just thought somewhere along the line, after Jan-di foiled her twentieth kidnapping attempt, Mama Gu would gain some grudging respect for her. But since that hasn’t happened, I don’t know how we tie everything up. Is Jun-pyo even good at running this business? Unclear. 

E: I feel like they’ve mentioned that it’s doing well? But like, we’ve never seen him business-ing either.

M: I would like to see him being competent at this. It’s been a long time since Jun-pyo has seemed good at anything. 

E: Well, he’s good at kidnapping.

M: Word. That’s Manager Jung though. 

E: I need Manager Jung to make his move.

M: Remember like twenty years ago when there was a little hint that Jan-di’s dad wasn’t her dad? Did I make that up?

E: I honestly don’t remember, but I don’t not believe you either.

M: I wonder if the coma guy is Jan-di’s real dad, and he’s filthy rich.

E: As long as he buys Kang-san all the pizza he wants.

M: Non-romantic predictions? 

E: Jun-pyo finally throws that glass of wine on his mother. That’s not actually going to happen, but I wish it would.

M: I think that Yi-jung is going to become the world’s first foot potter. 

E: I forgot about you saying that, that’s so disturbing.

M: That’s what everyone says about visionaries. You just don’t see the future.

E: I see the future, and it is dark and full of foot potters.

M: The Footure.

My Hero Academia S3E9: “All for One”

E: So, some things went down this episode. 

M: Literally buildings. 

E: I’m kind of worried about saying too much here, so I want you to lead the conversation a bit more than usual.

M: You think you’re going to spoil me?

E: Or just lead you down certain thought paths that could be perceived as spoilery, I guess. I just want to know what stuff stood out to you in particular. I might do this more from now on, ask you to pick more topics.

M: First of all, I called that Deku and Co. were at All for One’s hideout, not Shigaraki’s, so points for me. 

E: Yeah, I was very impressed that you caught on that fast. I feel like I only really got it when they saw all the Nomu in the building.

M: Once I saw the troops rolling into the bar, I knew. No way would they let All Might catch these kids on a secret mission, even though I literally predicted that last time. I was totally wrong. What a fool. No points for me. 

E: Past Madelyn is just so dumb compared to Present Madelyn. Present Mic Madelyn. 

M: That’s my disguise for the infiltration. I don’t understand why Bakugo didn’t blast his way out as soon as he was free. 

E: Well, he seemed to be concerned about Kurogiri being there. Like, say he blasts in one direction, then Kurogiri makes a warp that sends him right into Mr. Compress. Then he’s out.

M: Why didn’t Kurogiri do that right away once he broke out?

E: Well, he’s not the boss. Or even the secondary boss. Gotta wait for orders.

M: Why isn’t he the secondary boss?

E: Well, he wasn’t found alone and bleeding on the street as a child by a psychopath. Probably.

M: That’s how I get all of my promotions too. 

E: It’s just an interesting parallel already to All-Might and Deku, right? A kid, left alone by society, and the person who chose them and gave them hope that they could be something else.

M: I definitely see that. I look forward to finding out that Shigaraki accidentally graveled his parents or something next episode. 

E: It also comes back to that bystander society that was touched upon in the season 2 finale. In a world with all these heroes, nobody feels any obligation to be the one to help others because it’s literally somebody else’s job. Which also calls to mind Stain, right? Helping others has been commercialized.

M: Man, I miss Stain. He deserved more of an arc. 

E: Well, if you think about it, that mini-arc is still very much driving the plot. 

M: True, but Stain was cool. 

E: Madelyn is just Spinner and Toga in one body. 

M: You mean Lizard Cloud Strife and Dark Misty?

E: Yup. That’s who I mean.

M: Call them by their real names, Emma. 

E: We found out some of their real names this episode too.

M: Deadpool 2 had a silly sounding last name, no surprise. 

E: While apparently the police did enough research to find out like two-thirds of their names, they’re missing a few pivotal players for one reason or another. Inb4, Madleyn says, “that corrupt cop!”

M: He’s protecting them. He knew about the Nomus! He has a warp quirk that he isn’t telling anyone about!

E: Poor Tsukauchi.

M: I’m surprised that they didn’t bring Eraser Head.

E: They mentioned that they didn’t want to bring anyone away from UA in order to avoid raising suspicions. If Eraser Head hadn’t been at the press conference, they might have thought: “well, where is he?”

M: The press conference didn’t seem totally concurrent though.

E: I think the issue is the anime has this continuity error where Shigaraki turns off the TV like three times but never seems to turn it back on. But it’s supposed to be happening live, I think.

M: I just think that if there was the possibility of facing One for All, is there anyone you’d want to be there more than Aizawa? Can’t believe I just said that. 

E: I wonder if his Erasure quirk would affect all One for All’s quirks or just the quirk-stealing quirk. Quirk quirk quirk.

M: But if he froze the quirk stealing quirk (we’re really going for the SEO here, huh?), wouldn’t that cause him to lose all the other ones too?

E: I dunno, and that’s probably why the writer needed him not to be there.

M: I mean, he was going to be in the wrong place probably anyway, but I’m gonna need this to be addressed at some point during this arc. 

E: So, teensy tiny localization corner this week. So Edgeshot, newly introduced pro hero, decides to announce the heroes’ arrival by knocking on the door with pizza. And later, when he phases through the door, he just says in the dub “Look at all the other people here, villains” or something like that. But in the sub, which I enjoy, he says “we’re not the only people here from the Pizza-la Camino store.” Which is just a much better line, objectively.

M: Who on the localization team was responsible for editing that out?

E: I don’t know, but I honestly consider it the most heinous script change.

M: That’s an understatement.

E: I also want to mention, and I’ve brought up this tendency before, but the dub also avoids the repeating lines. When Shigaraki is going off on his little tirade after the flashback with All for One, he just says “Unsatisfying” like three times repeated in the sub instead of a bunch of different things. Which I personally feel is scarier and feels a little more like he’s slipping back to his emotional ways after showing off his relatively calmer demeanor in the early part of the episode. But that’s just personal preference.

M: Now that we know who Shigaraki’s “father” is, it raises the important question: where is Deku’s dad?

E: I don’t know. He’s somewhere. Or maybe he’s dead. I dunno.

M: Or maybe he really is All-Might’s secret love child. 

E: Apparently Deku’s dad could breathe fire. So that doesn’t seem to fit.

M: So he’s one of Endeavor’s failed experiments?

E: Oh damn. That’s a good theory. Honestly. (EDITOR EMMA glances at another Todoroki theory and decides not to mention it).

M: Uncle Todoroki. 

E: The other thing, and you mentioned it sounded like One-Winged Angel, but I really, really like One for All’s theme music with the singing.

M: It’s freaky! 

E: Like, it just cues so nicely too? I really got shivers the first time I watched the Shigaraki flashback with that track playing. It’s very good, and it’s used well. I always feel like this show has really good music, but they don’t always know when to play it. But they hit the mark on this one.

M: Wow are you talking about My Hero Academia or Boys Over Flowers?

E: We’ve finally found something these shows have in common.

M: So, am I wrong, or did we find out that All for One can’t hold powers of his own anymore?

E: I think he was saying that he lost a lot of Quirks and power in his last fight with All Might, and that he’s given a lot to Nomu. But he very clearly has some Quirks based on that explosion and how he was floating at the end.

M: Okay, cool. Because I thought that would explain the Nomus, like he was going to be weak but he could still transfer power to them. But glad to hear we’ve got a real villain now just a shell. 

E: And so we leave the episode off with the kids in even more immediate mortal peril and no idea where Bakugo is. Good progress heroes.

M: I really thought he was going to get warped to where Team Incognito is, and so it would at least not totally be for naught that they were there. 

E: Well, I do think that Team Incognito is still about thirty seconds behind what’s happening at the hideout since we haven’t seen All for One send any Nomu over yet. So who knows!

M: Nomus? Nomi? Nomu singular and plural?

E: I think Deku says “Are those all Nomu?” so I guess singular and plural.

M: Like moose, got it. 

E: Nomu are just like moose in every way.

M: Things are about to get dark, huh?

E: I don’t know nothing.

M: I mean, we just saw Best Jeanist get ripped to shreds. 

E: So it’s a happy time for you.

M: I mean, RIP, but also like, good riddance. Ever since he made Bakugo slick his hair, he was dead to me. Faded out. 

E: Are you ready for the next episode title, because I don’t think I can take more of this.

M: What are you gonna do, sue me?

E: Sew you?

M: Good one, but I was trying to gently remind you about Lawsuit Watch. 

E: I mean, it’s My Hero. 

M: There’s nothing to discuss. 

E: I guess Ga-eul’s dad could have a possible grounds for unlawful termination, but he did resign rather than get fired, so maybe not.

M: Justice for Ga-eul’s dad. He too deserves better.

E: Now are you ready?

M: You better believe it!

E: Okay, My Hero Academia season 3 episode 10 is called “Symbol of Peace”

M: I hate these titles that are just catchphrases from the show. 

E: Hmmm.

M: Okay, fine, prediction one: once it gets out that five kids were at the site of All for One’s reappearance, UA is shut down (like Hogwarts almost was with the dementors) and Nezu is forced to step down (but not like Dumbledore in Book Three, for justified reasons here). 

E:

M: Prediction two:…oh man, how are they going to escape? Kirishima is probably going to do something dumb, playing the Bakugo role here, that draws One for All’s attention. 

E:

M: Prediction three: I want to find a way to get Deku and All Might together so they can Symbol of Peace it up, but I don’t think that’s gonna happen, at least next episode. Maybe it’s time for All Might to completely drain his powers. Or get exposed. Something big is going to happen there. Like exposed as Small Might, to be clear. 

E: ( ͡ಠ ʖ̯ ͡ಠ)

M: I didn’t even mention Mineta.

E: And yet he came. Oh god wait.

M: I’m not gonna touch that one. 

E:

M: Prediction four: Team Incognito does make it out alive, but not before one of them loses their quirk, probably Momo, since this show is mean to girls. Except, her quirk is too powerful, I take it back. Then they take advantage of all those mental health services Nezu shouted out. 

E:

M: Prediction five:…this is super hard because I feel like we’re about to kick off a really big new chapter. 

E: Okay, prompt, what’s happening with Bakugo?

M: He’s in the Astral Plane. Professor X finds him and he’s a great X-Man. Crazy how this is part of the Marvel Extended Universe.

E:

–

Thanks for tuning your channels to Split Screen! As always, if you want to catch up with us, we’re watching My Hero Academia on Hulu or Funimation and Boys Over Flowers on Netflix.

Next time! Besides the Uraraka vs Bakugo episode in season 2, only two other episodes of MHA made Emma cry. They’re the next two episodes. Let’s have fun. And in Boys Over Flowers, Jan-di’s about to elope with or without Jun-pyo. Which one could it be? We’ll find out!