My Hero Academia Translation Hides a Big Shirakumo Throwback
My Hero Academia is entering its endgame, and the manga has been on fire since creator Kohei Horikoshi kicked off the final act. There is still a bit to go before Izuku's journey can wrap up, and some of those loose ends involve our favorite characters. Heroes and villains alike are on the list, so Kurogiri is included as you might have guessed. And thanks to a missed moment in the manga, the villain may be more like Shirakumo than we thought.
The whole thing came to light this week when Twitter user and fan-translator RukasuMHA brought up the scene. This week in the manga, fans were reunited with Kurogiri as he was pulled into a feud with Shigaraki and All For One. It was there the latter tried to make Kurogiri obey his call, but the warper aligned with Shigaraki instead.
Obviously, the wavering loyalty came as Kurogiri sees Shigaraki as a friend, but the character's concept of friendship began with another. After all, the warper started off as a hero student named Shirakumo who's life ended too soon. We know the boy was best friends with Aizawa and Yamada during their school days. So during his latest scene, fans should know the original Japanese text seems to reference Eraserhead.
Before calling Shigaraki a friend, Kurogiri is seen making a bunch of nonsense noises, but Rukasu was quick to note that one bit seems to reference 'Shota' Aizawa.
"It's not exactly the same because Shota's is written as ショ while what he's saying is シヨ. The second katakana is bigger than it should be, but I think it's because of his current "glitching" state and it's clearly supposed to evoke Aizawa's name. The French translation for example turned it into "sh...o...", which I think is the best possible decision. Each version on MangaPlus dealt with it in a different way, which goes to show just how difficult it is to translate something without having the full context," the fan writes.
As you can see, this tidbit has gone viral, and fans are already piecing out the info. After all, Shota defined friendship for Shirakumo in the way Shigaraki did for Kurogiri. Now, we are seeing just how much the villain's personality is being impacted by his meetings with Aizawa. And hopefully, this means Shirakumo will get some closure with his friends before My Hero Academia ends.
What do you think about this latest translation blip? Share your thoughts with us in the comments section below or hit me up on Twitter @MeganPetersCB.
