Chapter 191: UA Studio Promo Vid Project (2)
~Third POV~
[UA Highschool, Gym, Japan]
After Mina's turn was finished, next up were Uraraka and Asui as a pair. Their enthusiastic partner said excitedly, "My concept was a singing, dancing, pop-star hero duo! Cuteness equals justice!"
The video opened with the two girls practicing their moves in a dance studio. Ochaco says, "Geez, I sure hope we get to perform live at the Budokan someday."
Asui, on the screen, nods her head, agreeing as she says, "I'm sure we have what it takes."
Scene change. The duo was performing live at the Budokan arena, singing and dancing in cute, sparkly outfits, when out of nowhere, a villain appeared to ruin everyone's fun. The girls on the screen said heroically.
"He's taken our fans hostage!"
"It's up to us to protect them!"
The girls continued to sing as they unleashed a flurry of moves at the villain, like a pair of tag team wrestlers. As they do so, they perform a final double dropkick from the duo, bringing the villain down.
"We sing! We dance! We kick your butt! ♪"
"The world's full of our fans, so we protect the world! ♪"
"We'll always be close to your heart! I'm Chaco!"
"We hope you never frog-get about us! I'm Ribbity!"
At the finale, they both said in unison, "And we've been Chaco and Ribbity!"
After a final snappy wink from the duo, the screen faded to black. On the gymnasium stage, Uraraka and Asui revealed their cutesy pop-star outfits and struck a pair of awkward poses.
"Chaco and Ribbity, here for you!"
Oohs and ahhs emerged from the slightly impressed audience. Next, Ida was up as his partner explained cheerfully, "My concept was a Casanova hero who uses his mature appeal to defeat villains!"
The video opened in a dimly lit bar, with Ida, the bartender, mixing a cocktail. The bartender handing a customer the drink said calmly, "Here's your dry martini."
On the bottom of the screen, the words No real alcohol was used in this production appeared. A moment later, a villain bursts into the bar as Ida says calmly, "My, my. They say the customer's always right, but now I'm not so sure. Apologies, but there's no seat available for you at my bar, so please see yourself out."
The villain ignored the warning and charged forward, so Ida stepped forth with a cocktail in hand as he said cooly, "Rambunctious customers are doomed to take a snooze against my broad chest… Try my original cocktail—Liqueur du Tenya!"
Ida circled around the villains, got them in a nelson hold, and force-fed them the drink. Once again, no real alcohol was used in this production, but it showed up on the screen as Ida said, flashing a seductive, devil-may-care grin as the video ended, "Casanova Hero: Tenya will leave any villain with a hangover."
Ida unveiled his suave bartender costume atop the stage and said, "Take note, fellow students! The cocktails shown in this promotional video were not made with real alcohol! In Japan, one must be at least twenty years of age to imbibe legally!"
His partner got annoyed as Ida got off script and hissed at his partner, "Psst! This is where you were supposed to announce your hero name and all that!"
However, Ida protested defiantly as the two left the stage, "But I had to clarify that one vital point!"
When the two left the stage, Kendo and her partner stepped up. Her partner smiled as she said cheekily, "I'd rather not spoil my concept, so just watch and see! Enjoy!"
The video began with Kendo in a stiff school uniform and glasses, studying in a classroom. Then, it cut to her standing in a packed commuter train as she said, "Is this really all there is to life? Am I satisfied? Like hell I am!"
In the next scene, Kendo stood in front of a mirror, applying heavy black eye shadow and spiking her hair straight up with gel as she said, "You think you can hold me back, world? Just try it!"
Cut to a dingy live-music venue. Covered in enough wild makeup to render her unrecognizable, Kendo was shredding on an electric guitar. Then, as usual, a villain showed up as Kendo yelled, "How dare you mess with my festival of rage!"
Kendo leaped into the air and brought down the guitar on the villain, smashing the instrument to pieces. She tossed the neck of the guitar aside and proceeded to punch the villain with her giant fist, drenching herself in blood as she howled, "Deeeep red!"
She howled, ending the video with that bloodcurdling declaration. The Business Course Student said happily, "My concept was rebelling against society and, like, total destruction! But also, he fights for justice!"
Kendo flinched, having a hard time composing as she said with a strained smile, "I-I'm the Glam Death Rock Hero: Kendirao! Emphasis on mash!"
The two left the stage as Kendo thinks about her life choices. Kaminari took the stage next as his partner said with an excited grin, "I think you'll get what I was going for once you watch the clip!"
A lightning bolt flashed on the screen, revealing Kaminari in a suit of armor and a red cape. Boomed a typical movie-trailer narration voice said on the screen, "In a world … where the mighty Thunder God Thur has come from the cosmic beyond… Does he herald justice? Or evil?"
Staring down a villain, Kaminari hurled a giant hammer that boomeranged back into his hand as he said valiantly, "I have learned many things on this planet you call Earth. In fact, I think of it as a second home. The people of this world are now my people, under my protection!"
Kaminari rose into the air, wreathed by crackling electricity, and brought down a fearsome thunderbolt on the villain. Stirring music started up, and the camera swept around Kaminari as he stared off into the distance at nothing in particular.
Then, the Business Course student who'd produced the ad showed up in the scene dressed in black armor. The mysterious figure said arrogantly, "Did you think you'd triumph so easily, brother of mine?"
Kaminari's eyes widened as he pointed in a shocked tone, "I-it's you! Laki!"
The two squared off, accompanied by more narration as the words say, "Will the universe survive these brothers' fateful feud? Thunder God Hero: Thur! Coming soon to a hero agency near you!"
As the video ended, the voice of Ren in the audience said, "That's a total rip-off of, y'know…"
But Kaminari's partner looked awfully proud as he shamelessly said, "I'm a huge fan of Marvel's heroes! Anyway, thanks for watching!"
Kaminari shouted with a cheeky grin, "Thunder God Hero: Thur is on the scene!"
More murmurs from the crowd as Kirishima and his partner took the stage. Kirishima's Business Course student partner said before starting the video, "I think the coolest profession in the world is being a fisherman! Maybe you'll agree!"
It opened on a stormy sea, with Kirishima standing valiantly at the front of a fishing boat. He gasped as a gigantic villain resembling an aquatic umibozu yokai, a massive shadowy humanoid that destroyed ships, rose from the depths.
With a flick of his nose, Kirishima struck a pose, armed with nothing but a fishing pole he said, "This'll be one helluva catch!"
He cast his line at the villain, who bit down on the bait and hook. The reel spun like mad, and Kirishima struggled to pull the villain in, muttering, "Puttin' up a real fight, eh! But this villain won't be the one that got away!"
He put his back into it and hauled the villain out of the water yelling, "Landed me a real whopper, I did!"
The video ended with a grinning Kirishima slinging his latest catch over his back. Back in the real world, the Kirishima on the stage struck his angler pose and shouted, "The seas'll be safe so long as I'm around! I'm the Angler Hero: Fisher Man!"
Toga and her partner walked onto the stage next. Toga's partner, the Business Course student, explained, "Um, the power of words is unlimited, and I wanted to portray a hero who proves that."
The video began with Toga in a hip-hop outfit facing a villain wearing similar clothing. As the two stared each other down, a fresh beat started up as she rapped, "Yo, hear me out, villain. Quit this lootin' and killin'. 'Stead of stealing cash, maybe love would give you fulfillment? Dreams never come true for you and your crew? Try to make your folks proud, 'stead of sorry they had you. Give up on this life of crime, cuz regrets, they last a lifetime."
The villain began spitting back, returning with his own rap, "Shut your face, hero. My violent ways got me here. You only live once—what's there left to discuss?"
It was when Toga tried to rap back but messed up in her words, "I can't forget and forgive, but you only got one life to live… Erm, life to live…"
It was when the actor playing the villain said, "Oops, you messed up!"
Instead of resuming the rap, Toga remained silent and ran at the villain, grabbing him in a joint lock and grappling him to the floor as she said, "I'm the Hit-or-Miss Rapper Hero: Togi, and I'm here to say, villains causing trouble won't get their way!"
Just as Toga finished her words on the screen, the video ended with that final rhyme. The Business Course Student scratched the back of her head as she said nervously, "Well, I suppose the power of words can be limited. I went for a hero who portrays both sides of that coin."
Toga merely gave a V hand signal as she said cutely, "Thanks for watching!"
Toga was never particularly eloquent in the best of times, and it had taken a few hundred takes to get even a halfway decent version of the rap on video, causing her to cringe. As such, she'd decided not to do any live rapping on the stage.
Yui and her partner were up next. Her partner began to explain his video project in a calm tone, "My folks run a little bar that serves drinks and snacks, so I wanted to spin that concept into a hero."
The video opened on the exterior of a hole-in-the-wall bar called Shug. Inside, Yui stood behind the counter, dressed as a stereotypical middle-aged proprietress. Then, of course, a villain wielding a knife appeared as Yui said, "Really, honey? Do you actually wanna rob my little bar? Well, I gotta say, you haven't got a hint of talent for villainy at all. See, my place barely brings in enough cash to keep the lights on. Oh, hold on, now. Are you hungry? Why don't you put down that little pigsticker and have a seat?"
Yui placed an onigiri and a bowl of miso soup on the counter. Yui says calmly to the villain in a comforting tone, "Don't you worry about paying, shug. Lemme guess—you wandered in here because you haven't had a bite to eat in days. Aw, don't start blubbering on me now. Your soup will get all salty."
Next, she poured beers for the villain and himself. Once again, No real alcohol was used in this production appeared on the screen as she continued talking kindly, "That one's on me, honey. So, why don't you nurse that beer and tell this old lady your troubles? Oh, you don't say? Well, what's so wrong with that? Not every soul on our planet was meant to fit in with the rest of the crowd. Different strokes for different folks, as they say. If you ask me, everyone sticks out a bit around the edges in their own way, so don't let it get to you. Next time you feel like going nuts and burning everything all down, just pay me a visit. You'll always find an onigiri or two, plus this old broad who'll always lend you an ear."
The camera pans out from Yui's compassionate smile to show the exterior of the building again, and a narrator speaks, "She's the Run-Down Bar Hero: Rikimama, who pacifies villains with down-to-earth conversation. Which down-on-their-luck villain will find their way to her tonight?"
On the stage, Yui unveiled her bar-proprietress costume. Wielding an onigiri in one hand, she said cooly, "Got problems? Then come on down to my humble spot."
Class 1-A blinked, listening to Yui's video presentation. They all thought in unison in a surprised voice, 'Whoa… I've never heard her speak that much!'