Tiny Navajo Reads: Hench

Hey guys…I’m sorry I missed last week and didn’t let you know. I was just not having a good day and so it slipped my mind to write a review. But! I am back and I have a review for you for a book that caught my attention at my local library and sounded up my alley. So, here’s to Hench.

Hench by Natalie Zina Walschots

Hench by Natalie Zina Walschots

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Image a world where superheroes and supervillains really exist. Like, think through it all logistically. If these supers, of the hero and villain variety, turn into businesses, brands, something bigger than just the one person doing everything, then there has to be underlings. And not just cannon fodder thugs, but actual underlings, like secretaries, office assistants, people like that. In the world of Hench, these are usually people hired through temp agencies, or gig work. This is the world of our main character, Anna. She is bored but working, doing what she can to get the money she needs to survive, just like anyone else in the gig world. But things come crumbling to a halt when she is badly hurt and disabled when her boss is attacked by a superhero named SuperCollider. Ten guesses what he does.

As Anna is in the hospital recovering, she is kind of ambushed in her room by SuperCollider in a poor man’s disguise and some cops, asked about the incident that has left her feeling as though she jumped in front of a truck, and when asked how the villain hurt her, Anna states it wasn’t the villain, but SuperCollider, the hero standing right there in front of her in the stupid disguise. The cops then gaslight her, tell her it couldn’t have possibly been a hero that hurt her, and that they hope she recovers, feels better, and finds a better job. Then leave.

It is while she is recovering at a friend’s place that Anna does what she does best, when she’s not temping; data analysis. She starts to look in to all of the collateral damage that superheroes do, and finds actual numbers to back up her message that superheroes are actually causing more harm for society than good. This attracts the attention of the biggest supervillain of them all, Leviathan, who offers her a job doing exactly what she is doing now. Using data analysis to figure out what superheroes weaknesses are, how much damage they’re actually doing, and using that info to take them down. And this seems to be an offer that is hard to refuse.

This book pulled me in on that premise alone and then when I read the hospital scene, all I could think was, “That prick!” Stupid hero had the gall to show up in her hospital room, say it was a villain that hurt her, and then not even apologize when called out on that little lie. And I am all for woman’s wrongs, especially when it comes at the price of showing the world “good” mens’ rights. Or at least “good” superheroes’ rights. And I like that this book goes at it from the perspective of a henchmen, someone somewhat low on the chain, rather than from the supervillain’s perspective, when we seem to get a lot in books similar to this. And we see what data analysis can do when used to prove a point that no one really wants to acknowledge, but everyone can see. This truly is such a good book, and definitely one I think I’ll be rereading when I feel like I need to burn the world, but don’t actually want to go to jail for arson. What books help you release your anger/sadness/guilt? Or do you use another media?

Tiny Navajo Reads: My Hero Academia Vol. 24

My Hero Academia, Vol. 24 by Kohei Horikoshi

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The final volume that my library has right now, we are fully focused on the villains, both the League of Villains and the Meta Liberation Army, which is being lead by the CEO of a corporation that builds and supplies clothing for the Quirk user who differently sized or shaped than the average human in this world.

What would the world be like if 80 percent of the population manifested superpowers called “Quirks”? Heroes and villains would be battling it out everywhere! Being a hero would mean learning to use your power, but where would you go to study? The Hero Academy of course! But what would you do if you were one of the 20 percent who were born Quirkless?

A new player emerges in the underground world of villains in the form of the Meta Liberation Army. Led by the CEO of the Detnerat Corporation, the MLA is preparing for a new metahuman revolution. In their eyes, the League of Villains is an obstacle to be removed, but Tomura and his band of miscreants aren’t about to go down quietly. It’s army versus league in all-out war, and dominance must be established.

In this volume of My Hero Academia we get all the villains that we could ever want! We get more backstory to Shigaraki’s fall and then rise to villainy. We see that while these are the villains of the story, they are also humans and there is some sympathy to them.

We this the most sympathy cards thrown at Toga, the girl who can transform into another person just by ingesting their blood, and in Twice, our Quirk user who can create duplicates of just about anything, even himself and that has lead him to questioning as to whether he is the true Twice or not. I quite enjoyed Toga’s story, I loved learning a little bit more about her background, especially as she is a high school student, should could have ended up at U.A. with the others had things gone a little bit differently, but with her Quirk, the fact that she has to ingest blood from another for it to work, can drive a person to a more villainous standpoint.

We also see that Twice is working through some things, such as not duplicating himself any longer, as he was longer sure if he was the original Twice and thus not sure if he would vanish if he takes too many hits. To not be sure of who you are, or at least which of you would be the original, it can be terrifying! But I think that is something that I quite enjoy about this volume specifically, is that these villains are also working through things, they are also human, they are also growing.

Granted, none of this lets our sympathies grow much for them, it just makes them more human. And believe me, while I enjoy Toga’s story, I still think that she is quite the creepy chick who loves blood a bit too much and wants to essentially eat Deku….and Ochaco….just, that’s just too much.

What about you? Do you enjoy it when authors create a bit more humanity for the villains? Or do you want your villains to remain villains and stay as far away from humanity as possible? Comment below and let me know who your favourite villain is as well!

Tiny Navajo Reads: My Hero Academia Vol. 23

My Hero Academia, Vol. 23 by Kohei Horikoshi

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Vol. 23 of My Hero Academia sees the end of testing, focusing on Monoma and Shinso’s team vs. Deku’s team. We also get a bit of insight into the villains, which should be interesting.

Midoriya inherits the superpower of the world’s greatest hero, but greatness won’t come easy.

What would the world be like if 80 percent of the population manifested superpowers called “Quirks”? Heroes and villains would be battling it out everywhere! Being a hero would mean learning to use your power, but where would you go to study? The Hero Academy of course! But what would you do if you were one of the 20 percent who were born Quirkless?

The final match of the battle training between Class A and Class B continues. Zapped by Shinso’s mind control, Midoriya enters a fugue state where he meets one of the former users of One For All. What powerful Quirks have yet to be unlocked? Midoriya will surely need the full potential of One For All someday, but in the meantime, a new enemy—the Meta Liberation Army—begins to make its moves. 

I like that we split our attention between the end of testing, where we see that the vestiges of previous users of One for All tell him that their Quirks have also been developing, so expect some more power to start showing up as he continues to use One for All. Along with that, we truly see how much Shinso has grown, which has allowed him the opportunity to apply to transfer to the Hero Track at U.A. I think that something that I actually do like about U.A. is that there is a chance for other Quirk users who are in the regular core classes a chance to still become heroes through the Hero Track, even if they didn’t make it into the Hero track in the first place. They still have a fair chance.

We also see that there is a new set of villains approaching, the Meta Ability Revolution, which I’m not really sure what their deal is quite yet, hopefully the next volume will have a little more information about them. It’s also a check in with Shigaraki and the League of Villains. I am excited to learn a little more about the big bad of the series, as well as the little villains, because it interests me to see what people would do if they had Quirks that made them, not all powerful, but more powerful at the very least.

If you had a Quirk, what type of Quirk would you like? How would you use your Quirk? Comment below and let me know!

Tiny Navajo Reads: My Hero Academia Vol. 22

My Hero Academia, Vol. 22 by Kohei Horikoshi
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I read this the same day that I read My Hero Academia Vol. 21 and I was definitely glad to know that I had the next three books to continue reading.

Midoriya inherits the superpower of the world’s greatest hero, but greatness won’t come easy.

What would the world be like if 80 percent of the population manifested superpowers called “Quirks”? Heroes and villains would be battling it out everywhere! Being a hero would mean learning to use your power, but where would you go to study? The Hero Academy of course! But what would you do if you were one of the 20 percent who were born Quirkless?

In the third match of the joint battle training, the students of Class 1-A have their hands full dealing with the unexpected creativity of Class B’s Quirk use. These matches give everyone a chance to reflect on exactly where they all stand in comparison to each other and on the events in their lives that have brought them to this point. Then it’s time for Bakugo to show what he’s learned…

I think this is where we see the best of Bakugo yet, he has actually learned how to use teamwork! But one of the best things is that we get to see all of Class B’s Quirks and how everyone has grown and changed and advanced. The best clash of Class A vs. Class B is definitely Bakugo’s team vs. a set of Class B that we haven’t really gotten a good look at. It was definitely good to see what happens when you actually learn and put that knowledge to actual use. Just so good! Go My Hero!

Tiny Navajo Reads: My Hero Academia Vol. 21

My Hero Academia, Vol. 21 by Kohei Horikoshi

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*Published October 1, 2019*

Yep, I’m finally getting back into My Hero Academia and I can’t believe it took me a few months to get back to reading this series! I flippin’ love this series and I love all of it! So good!!!

Midoriya inherits the superpower of the world’s greatest hero, but greatness won’t come easy.

What would the world be like if 80 percent of the population manifested superpowers called “Quirks”? Heroes and villains would be battling it out everywhere! Being a hero would mean learning to use your power, but where would you go to study? The Hero Academy of course! But what would you do if you were one of the 20 percent who were born Quirkless?

Class 1-A’s joint battle training with Class B continues! Class 1-A get the first win in the best-of-five series of all-out Quirk battles, but after some feedback from the teachers, the students square off again for a second round, and real rivalries form.

We have three sets of stories here; the end of the fight between the weirdly intelligent Nomu against our new #1 hero, Endeavor, Deku unlocking more vestiges from All for One and the powers that belong to those vestiges, and the start of the testing phase to allow Shinso to transfer to the Hero track at U.A. I will say that I was most interested in the kids’ stories, about Deku and how much power he’ll be unlocking in All for One, and Shinso and how he’s going to start using his powers for heroic purposes. Those were in the interesting bits of story.

I liked that we get to see a little more about those who had All for One before Deku, that we see a “memory” of them and they explain how to use their power as it starts to manifest in All for One. Apparently All Might never got as far as Deku has in the realization of the past memories, but it shows that this power is meant for Deku, in my head. It means that Deku will be doing all that he can and more to make sure to use this power for the good of everyone.

I also like that we get an idea of how Shinso has been working to make his quirk a usable one for hero work; we see that he’s been working with Aizawa-sensei to not only get his capture fabric, but training in it as well. We see that that are ways to not only augment what you have, but change how your use your Quirk in order to make better use of it. This is what Shinso has been doing ever since the Sports Festival, to try and make sure that he can be a hero one day, on his own merit.

This is the stories that interest me most in My Hero Academia, the stories about those who struggle to reach their goal, because their goal is their shining light in a world they only see darkness in. What are your goals in life? What do you reach for when you need to reach for something?

Tiny Navajo Reads: My Hero Academia, Vol. 20

My Hero Academia, Vol. 20 by Kohei Horikoshi

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*Published August 6, 2019*

And here is the final volume for the Culture Festival arc, and the end of Deku and the Gentle Criminal’s fight. We also get to see Eri smile and actually feel free since she was rescued from Chisaki.

Midoriya inherits the superpower of the world’s greatest hero, but greatness won’t come easy.

What would the world be like if 80 percent of the population manifested superpowers called “Quirks”? Heroes and villains would be battling it out everywhere! Being a hero would mean learning to use your power, but where would you go to study? The Hero Academy of course! But what would you do if you were one of the 20 percent who were born Quirkless?

With All Might in retirement, Endeavor takes up the mantle of the number one hero, a position he’s coveted for years. But now that he has it, he’s not entirely comfortable with the responsibilities and risks that come with it—both heroes and villains are always gunning for number one. What does the future hold for Midoriya, and what do his dreams about One For All mean?

As we see the end of the school festival arc, we are able to get just a small glimpse into the lives of those people who tried to be heroes but just couldn’t make it, either their Quirk wasn’t enough, or they just couldn’t keep up with the school work needed. The is who the Gentle Criminal is, and while it does give some backstory to who he is and how he came to be, it does not excuse the fact that in this form of society, he was not a hero. He was a criminal, and the things he did were on a (small) criminal level. You may have a power, but it how you use that power that sets you up in society.

We also see the first ranking of all the professional heroes since All Might’s retirement. Endeavor now has the #1 spot, a spot he has always coveted, but it’s the way he gets it that seems to be throwing him off. As well as the fact that now that he’s the #1 hero, he is much more in the spotlight that he ever was before this. There’s also an introduction to a new hero that seems to be both extremely competent and laid back…it can be a VERY irritating combination, but we’ll have to see how things go as we continue on.

Overall, a good end and a good beginning to a new arc! I do hope that I come to enjoy this new hero, and I’m curious to see what Endeavor will do to prove that he deserves the position of #1 hero.

Tiny Navajo Reads: My Hero Academia, Vol. 19

My Hero Academia, Vol. 19 by Kohei Horikoshi

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*Published June 4, 2019*

This volume is more about snippets of school life and we seem to be going back to normal for a bit. There is a villain in the making, but we’re focusing more on the Cultural Festival at the school right now, rather than the villain.

Midoriya inherits the superpower of the world’s greatest hero, but greatness won’t come easy.

What would the world be like if 80 percent of the population manifested superpowers called “Quirks”? Heroes and villains would be battling it out everywhere! Being a hero would mean learning to use your power, but where would you go to study? The Hero Academy of course! But what would you do if you were one of the 20 percent who were born Quirkless?

In the wake of tragedy, Class 1-A prepares for the upcoming culture festival. While the students are busy planning for success, other forces are at work with their own agendas, and Midoriya, amid the preparations, continues to train with All Might. But when he runs into the failed hero Gentle Criminal, what lesson will he learn?

I like manga volumes when the main character can connect more with a character that you don’t normally think of. This one is Deku connecting more with Aoyama, the potential hero who shoots a laser from his stomach. Aoyama, we learn in this volume, has always had trouble with his Quirk; in his own words, his body wasn’t built to deal with his particular Quirk, so Aoyama has to work harder than anyone else in his family in order to control his Quirk. He recognizes that Deku has this same issue, which is true. Deku’s body wasn’t built for his Quirk, All for One. In recognizing this though, Aoyama does what he can to try to help Deku, in his very weird ways.

We also see the start of the planning of the Culture Festival for school, another S.L.E. (school like event). And this may be just me, but I’ve always wanted to do to a Japanese school festival, if just to see what they are actually like as I’ve only seen them portrayed in manga. Either way, it looks like it would be awesome, if only the Gentle Criminal doesn’t show up like he plans to. And he’s a very strange villain, if you can call him that.

Tiny Navajo Reads: My Hero Academia, Vol. 18

My Hero Academia, Vol. 18 by Kohei Horikoshi

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*Published April 2, 2019*

Here we have a combination of both intense and light, hard and soft. And we finally get the ending to the Chisaki arc!

Midoriya inherits the superpower of the world’s greatest hero, but greatness won’t come easy.

What would the world be like if 80 percent of the population manifested superpowers called “Quirks”? Heroes and villains would be battling it out everywhere! Being a hero would mean learning to use your power, but where would you go to study? The Hero Academy of course! But what would you do if you were one of the 20 percent who were born Quirkless?

Midoriya is in the fight of his life—an all-out battle with Overhaul, who has unleashed his terrifying power. Midoriya is matching it with his own power, pushing One For All to 100 percent. Only by relying on Eri’s restoration Quirk can he hope to take down Overhaul. If Midoriya manages to walk away from this fight, his life will never be the same again…

This is a good ending to the Chisaki volume, as we see the final fight between Chisaki and Deku with Eri’s help. It’s only by relying on this little girl’s unconscious control of her power to rewind someone that Deku is able to go full out, One for All at 100%, and use that power to take Chisaki down.

After Chisaki is taken down, we turn to somewhat lighter events with the make-up test for those students who failed the initial provisional licensing, with these students having to “cooperate to open up the kids’ heart.” I won’t say more other than this, as I truly love it all turns out, but I will say that our students do happen to pass this provisional licensing, even if this make-up test isn’t what any of them truly expected.

Tiny Navajo Reads: My Hero Academia, Vol. 17

My Hero Academia, Vol. 17 by Kohei Horikoshi

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*Published February 15, 2019*

Togata has quickly become one of my favourite heroes of this series, and this volume is why. His persistence and the mastery he has over his Quirk is awe-inspiring, especially for young heroes like Deku.

Midoriya inherits the superpower of the world’s greatest hero, but greatness won’t come easy.

What would the world be like if 80 percent of the population manifested superpowers called “Quirks”? Heroes and villains would be battling it out everywhere! Being a hero would mean learning to use your power, but where would you go to study? The Hero Academy of course! But what would you do if you were one of the 20 percent who were born Quirkless?

The raid on the Hassaikai gang is in full swing, and the heroes plunge into the darkness toward their ultimate confrontation. Lemillion engages Overhaul in an attempt to rescue Eri, and the battle reaches a new level of intensity. Midoriya is desperate to help his mentor, but what fate has Nighteye foreseen for them all in this clash? And does the key to Midoriya’s survival lie in Eri herself?

This is one of the most action packed volumes yet! We are focused mainly on Lemillion (Togata) as he has finally caught up with Overhaul and is fighting to not only rescue Eri, but to right his wrong on not rescuing her earlier. He is also fighting to prove that he can be the hero that society needs him to be, now that All Might has retired. But as the fight progresses, we can see that it’s getting hard for Togata to fight against three on his own when he also has to protect Eri. It’s in protecting Eri that tragedy strikes, and he is taken down. He’s not out by any means, but he is taken out of the fight.

We then have Deku show up and continue the fight, to rescue Eri and bring her to safety. And with Eri’s help, Deku is able to go 100% Full Cowling, keeping himself ready and able to fight against the Chisaki Chimera until the end. Only this isn’t the end! There’s a fricken’ cliffhanger!!!!! GAAHHHHHH!!!! Just make sure you have the next volume ready when you read this one!

Tiny Navajo Reads: My Hero Academia, Vol. 16

My Hero Academia, Vol. 16 by Kohei Horikoshi

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*Published December 4, 2018*

I love it when books can turn the focus away from their main characters for just a bit and we get a deeper look into the lives of others in the books. It’s a good way to give some context to the world these characters live it and what it means to them.

Midoriya inherits the superpower of the world’s greatest hero, but greatness won’t come easy.

What would the world be like if 80 percent of the population manifested superpowers called “Quirks”? Heroes and villains would be battling it out everywhere! Being a hero would mean learning to use your power, but where would you go to study? The Hero Academy of course! But what would you do if you were one of the 20 percent who were born Quirkless?

The Hassaikai crime gang, led by the young boss Chisaki, has been working on a plan to distribute a Quirk-destroying drug. The key to this evil scheme is the young girl Eri, held prisoner in Chisaki’s hideout. Nighteye asks other heroes to form a team to launch a rescue attempt—and the students of Class 1-A are going into the lion’s den with them! But Nighteye, who can see the future, refuses to look at the fates of anyone going on the mission…

I love learning more about Kirishima and Tamaki Amajiki, one of the Top Three at U.A. known as Suneater due to his Quirk. The reason for this is because both Kirishima and Amajiki are both interning under the same hero, thus making this a great volume in which we get to see them and how they work. We also get to see a little bit more into the meaning behind Kirishima’s hero name “Red Riot,” and exactly what it means to him to be a chivalrous hero, especially in a time where people sometimes only become heroes for the fame and money that come along with it.

I also like knowing a little bit more about one of the Top Three, a teen with low self-esteem in himself and his Quirk. Amajiki, one of the best students at the school with such control over his Quirk, has shown that he would be a great boon to society once he graduates. He doesn’t believe so though, and it’s only once he has to take on several villains at once that we fully see what it means to be one of the Top Three, even if you can’t see it yourself.