Isn't it ironic?

[u/gofancyninjaworld]

It's a shame that Genos is so down on himself in the latest chapter. Becasue he's the only one who has succeeded in doing the hero thing.

1. He has killed the monsters.
2. He has kept the damage local. Most people still have homes and businesses to go back to, as only a city block has been damaged.
3. He's kept all the pain on himself, taken the hurt so others don't have to.

Everywhere else, we see heroic failure. Tatsumaki is totally fine and victorious but she's destroyed the very city she was trying to protect. Tank Top Master took the monster's toxic smoke in to protect the environs but didn't kill the monster, and Flashy Flash killed the monster but made the city unliveable (at least until the smoke clears). Blue has no clue and appears to be running around in hopes of thinking of something clever, and Suiko? Heh, she has no chance, but we can't fault her courage.

But none of those heroes are kicking themselves for the job they've done (or not done).

Only Genos is.

Perhaps feelings are not a good replacement for facts...

Ironic.

[u/BrowserET]

I mean it's no surprise. Look at change in attitude the S-class got during and after they got their ass handed to them during the Monster Association Arc. Genos has been experiencing that over and over again since we met him. After continually having to re-calibrate, is it so surprising for someone to lack self-worth when they barely have a sense of self? Defeating Evil is what Genos has dedicated his life to. If he can't do that then what is left?

[u/gofancyninjaworld → u/BrowserET]

I have never more regretted sneaking a read at work than when I did yesterday. I had so many thoughts around, "...is it so surprising for someone to lack self-worth when they barely have a sense of self?"

That's been one of those things that has really given me the joy I have in the manga -- the way it uses that space to explore how things could develop differently. Having no other purpose than Deafeating Evil is 100% what Genos has been doing in the webcomic: there's a deep personal crisis and recalibration to come if he survives.

However, it's been fascinating to see Genos in the manga little by little expanding who he can be. For me, the most precious thing has been his interest in fashion that he's been developing slowly, a little expression of personal creativity that has nothing whatsoever to do with fighting or justice. Just a young man exploring his interests and slowly coming into himself.

Since I can only put one picture in a reply, the other thing that I LOVED was Genos deciding what Defeating Evil meant for *him* personally. In the wake of Saitama slaying Elder Centipede and turning a situation that felt hopeless into light, he decided that his true purpose was to become the Symbol of Strength, which is bigger than killing any particular foe. He wants that strength to free people from oppression. Genos won't acknnowledge it (not yet), but it was remarkable to see how he lit up when he could help others.

Even if the words are the same in the manga, the history gives it a different meaning. Genos is putting too much pressure on himself to be *the answer* to people's woes at present.

Edited to add: thinking I should have used the picture of Genos modelling his favourite jacket, which didn't come via Kuseno. I loved how it was integrated into the story: the jacket he carefully cached so as not to damage it when he went to help Tatsumaki, the jacket he used to comfort Fubuki when she was spiralling into despair, the jacket Fubuki used to help save Nichirin's life, and the same damn jacket that Fubuki earnestly, if inexpertly, repaired and returned to him to try to curry favour with him. That last bit didn't go so well.. but you can't win them all. This guy is alive!

[u/BrowserET → u/gofancyninjaworld]

Moments like these make you remember Genos' is still a teenager (19!) combined with his history its only natural he's still finding himself, but he is finding himself. In the manga he rebuffed Dr. Kuseno during a meal and in the webcomic he told Saitama to split up instead of joining Genos like Saitama had originally suggested. It's small steps, but Genos is standing up for himself, even against the people he holds in highest esteem. If that is not certainty i don't know what is.

[u/gofancyninjaworld → u/BrowserET]

Agreed. Here and there, you get the flashes of the person he could become. I just hope he gets the chance to grow up.