GentleBrava

GentleBrava is the het ship between Danjūrō Tobita and Manami Aiba from the My Hero Academia fandom.

Canon
Danjūrō and Manami are partners in crime who serve as two of the many antagonists of the series

They first appear during the U.A. School Festival arc. Danjūrō is robbing a store, with La Brava recording the whole robbery. Some Heroes try to stop him, but he easily defeats them after ordering La Brava to stop filming. Then they continue recording, with the heroes defeated on the ground and the store wiggling like jelly. Danjūrō is walking away without even taking his cash, revealing himself to the world to be Gentle, a fancy and lavish-style villain whose true goal is that his name goes down in history.

On top of a building, La Brava informs Gentle that their latest video is not getting a lot of views. Gentle sees that he will have to accomplish a lot more if he wants people to start taking notice of him. While pouring tea, Gentle tells La Brava that he is searching for something that will make him extraordinary.

Later at their home, Gentle asks La Brava if the video of the robbery has been uploaded, in which she says “yes”. In that video, Gentle explains to the viewers that he commits crimes for reasons such as attacking the J Store for hiding expiration dates of Fluffy Pudding that was about to expire even though there was evidence about the misgivings of the sales. Despite this, the pudding company selling the pudding feigned ignorance and tried to sidestep the matter. Gentle explains that he hands out punishments to those who do not act “gentleman-ly”, labeling himself as a modern-day gentleman thief.

After uploading the Store video, La Brava becomes infuriated that the video has not got any views. Gentle tries to downplay it, but La Brava is enraged because, despite the fact that he has been a villain in online videos for six years. She thinks that Stain’s biographical video stole the spotlight from them, as well as the prominence of the League of Villains. Gentle agrees with La Brava on the fact that violence can make a spectacle, pointing out the differences in style between them and him.

However, Gentle is not disparaged about the popularity of Stain and the League of Villains because the next project will surpass even theirs, which involves U.A. High School’s Culture Festival. As the school was fortified after being attacked and is the current symbol of the Heroes, Gentle believes that if he invades the festival, then he will become the center of attention.

During the following weeks, until the festival is celebrated, Gentle is seen working non-stop. As La Brava goes to fetch some tea, Gentle notes that dissatisfaction is growing towards Heroes nowadays because of their feeble-minded nature. Gentle praises U.A.’s preparations but criticizes their resourcefulness when faced with the unpredictable. La Brava wonders if Gentle will involve the U.A. students, he replies that simply invading U.A.’s school festival in and of itself is a wake-up call for them to grow stronger, which La Brava finds cool.

On his computer, Gentle decides to double-check the route they will take to get there. Gentle goes through a long spiel about the way to get to a lonesome house that is actually a café where he can enjoy 90-minutes of teatime, drinking “Imperial Golden Tips” tea. He vows that they will infiltrate the U.A.; to achieve this, they must rub with dirt and leaves to mark their scent and thus avoid being detected by Hound Dog, who will be responsible for patrolling the perimeter. And to surpass the U.A’.s Barrier, La Brava will use her hacking skills to infiltrate the internal network and disable the sensors.

Gentle praises La Brava for her excellent support, and thanks her for all the help she provided him from the day she arrived at his home. Their past is revealed, and it is shown that Danjuro realized that he was going to live a miserable life to the point of being old and pitiful, due to failing to become a hero after multiple failed attempts. Refusing to accept this fate is what resorted him into becoming a villain of the online world, gaining the alias of Gentle Criminal.

Manami, for her part, wrote a long love letter to a schoolmate she liked At the beginning of summer vacation in her first year of middle school. In return, he dismissed said letter and made fun of her with his friends, thinking of her as a stalker. Pained by the rejection and mockery, Manami stopped believing in anything and fell into a depressive state.

She became a reclusive adolescent with no goals or aspirations, gluing herself to her computer all day long, even contemplating suicide. One day while surfing the net, Manami came across one of Gentle Criminal’s videos about him changing the world’s deplorable state for the better that she managed to pull herself together.

Now considering Gentle as her light, and desired to meet him. Manami used her computer skills to find the place where he lived. She introduced herself to him as his greatest fan, eager to help him to achieve his dreams. She wanted to go out with him on their capers instead of staying back to do the hacking. Although at first, he liked the idea of having a fan, Danjuro did not want Manami to participate in his villain actions, since that would make her also be persecuted by the police as a villain. Still, after spending some time together, during which Manami always helped him with her computer skills. Danjuro began to appreciate her. When he realized her concerns about her dark eyeliners, he used a permanent marker to gives himself dark circles around his eyes so they could match hers. He accepted her for who she was, and decided to make her his sidekick, and gave her the villain name La Brava, which was one of the happiest days of her life.

Back in the present Gentle ensures that he will make the infiltration a success not only to secure the future of the world but as a response to her love. Crying tears of joy, La Brava hugs Gentle and proclaims her love for him, to which Gentle reiterates the same line of thought and vows to succeed in their act.

On the day of the attack, a disguised Gentle and La Brava run into Izuku Midoriya. Izuku apologizes while the disguised Gentle is more worried about losing the aftertaste of the tea he had just drunk. Gentle and La Brava attempt to leave wanting to avoid further contact. Hearing them talking about coffee, Izuku notes that the house was a coffee shop which grabs Gentle’s attention. Gentle is impressed that Izuku knows of the Golden Tips Imperial tea, and Izuku admits that a friend served some to their class.

Izuku finds the disguised man's voice familiar while Gentle praises Izuku’s friend but soon deduces that Izuku is from U.A. Suddenly, Izuku manages to figure out his identity. Gentle sees that it is too late to cover up since Izuku is not naïve, he turns around and takes his mask off asking who Izuku was referring to. Izuku tells Gentle that he saw his video; Gentle faces Izuku as he tells La Brava to turn the camera towards him. Izuku prepares himself and tells Gentle to leave U.A. alone.

Gentle praises Izuku for figuring out his identity while Izuku charges at Gentle but suddenly stops moving as he has run into an elastic sheet. Gentle reveals his Quirk’s abilities. Gentle uses Gently Rebound on Izuku which blasts him across the street, as he comments on his dislike for using violence to solve his problems. Gentle and La Brava attempt to make their escape but Izuku comes charging at them, culminating into a full-on brawl between Gentle and Midoriya as the two crash into a construction building.

Gentle’s jacket is caught on a construction beam, hanging him in mid-air. Danjuro tries to convince Izuku to allow him to infiltrate the festiv, as it is the only thing he wants to do and there will be no problem in it, assuring him that the alarms will not sound, but Izuku refutes his arguments, determined to prevent Gentle from continuing with his plan.

Aware that he will not be able to convince him, Gentle jumps into the air using an elastic trampoline, but Izuku charges at him until he starts bouncing around Izuku at great speed by turning the construction beams around him into elastic. Izuku fires another air pressure shoot, but Gentle’s Quirk causes the projectile to bounce and eventually impact Deku himself.

Gentle stops on a beam and tells his young adversary that he removed the bolts from the steel structure and its bound to collapse. Elasticity cannot be remotely deactivated and anything it affects gradually returns to normal. Izuku makes note of an old bystander who just happens to stand by the construction site because of the commotion that was causing their fight. As the Elasticity effects wear off, the structure collapses and Izuku swiftly catches the steel beam and barely holds it up, saving the bystander.

Izuku is angered because Gentle tried to harm a civilian, but Gentle explains that he was going to bounce the beam away from the civilian if Izuku did not move, but he counted on the U.A. student leaping into action. As the civilian runs away, Gentle makes a crane arm elastic, planning to use it as a slingshot to launch himself and La Brava towards the U.A., and tells Izuku to stay put while he finishes his plan before sending himself flying away. Using his enhanced strength, Izuku fires a long-range attack at Gentle and La Brava. Gentle dodges it and notes Izuku's tenacity.

Holding La Brava, Gentle uses his Elasticity Quirk to create invisible trampolines to control his fall and land safely in the forest area. Gentle and La Brava discuss her quirk until they are interrupted by Izuku appearing above them, ready to shoot another air blast, so he raises an elastic invisible barrier in front of him and La Brava. Using the same aerial trampolines Gentle created to gets behind him and Deku aims precisely to shoot at his barriers to ricochet his attack right at Gentle.

La Brava goes to help Gentle, but Izuku manages to pin them both down on the ground, ordering them to surrender. Looking at La Brava, she uses her Quirk Love. Gentle thanks her as she speaks of her love for him, which activates the Lover Mode that grants him power up to overthrow Izuku. Wanting to end the battle quickly while apologizing to Izuku, the powered-up Gentle delivers an enhanced karate chop to the back of Izuku's neck. However, Izuku manages to block his attack with his arm and prepares to fire a Delaware Smash Air Force at the powered up Gentle.

When they are knocked back by Izuku’s attack, Gentle refers to him as “incorrigible”. La Brava apologizes for her love not being enough but Gentle tells her nothing can prove that her feelings were not enough.

Izuku and Gentle clash with La Brava cheering Gentle on. Izuku is beginning to be overpowered by Gentle’s enhanced strength which Izuku assumes to be the work of La Brava's Quirk. Gentle asks Izuku why he aspires to become a Hero. Izuku answers that just like Gentle his dream is no longer his and will achieve his dream for the sake of those who believed in him, wanting to be the man who shows everyone a brighter future. Izuku’s response brings a smile to Gentle’s face.

As Gentle knocks back Izuku, La Brava takes the opportunity and brings out her computer and using special wireless technology plans to hack into U.A’s internal network to disarm its security. However, she is out of range and moves closer to U.A but is not able to proceed further as Hound Dog and several clones of Ectoplasm have caught a whiff of Izuku and Gentle’s battle.

La Brava returns to Gentle and sees that he has been defeated by Izuku as Gentle orders her to run away. Devastated, a crying and flabbergasted La Brava demands Izuku to let Gentle go and while hitting Izuku, lamenting that Gentle poured his heart and soul into their U.A. infiltration plan and that she is unable to live without him. Knowing that La Brava is fine with committing criminal acts as long as it is with him, Gentle realizes that if he allows La Brava to escape she will go on to committing an even worse crime.

Blaming himself for La Brava’s nature and knowing that she will be charged as being an accomplice, Gentle musters up the remaining strength given to him by La Brava’s Quirk and pushes Izuku off and into the air, using his Quirk to bounce Izuku away. Gentle hugs La Brava as he tells Izuku to fly away for the sake of La Brava’s bright future. Hound Dog and the Ectoplasm clones find Gentle and La Brava, as Gentle declares his surrender.

One of the Ectoplasm clones recognizes Gentle as a villain who is always quick to run away. Hound Dog grabs Gentle and demands the whereabouts of Gentle’s comrades, to which Gentle denies having any more comrades. Seeing him dirty and scratched Hound asks Gentle what happened, he replies that he just tripped and fell, but Dog doesn't buy it as he smells one of U.A.'s students.

As he is interrogated by Hound Dog, Gentle downplays La Brava’s role in his crimes and insists that he brainwashed her. La Brava knows that he is handing himself in for her sake and cries, thinking that she would never disobey him. When asked about his injuries, he claims he got them in a fall, and when confronted about Izuku’s scent on him, points Hound Dog in his direction. Gentle is glad that his last fight was with Izuku. Hound Dog questions to Izuku if they had a fight. Understanding that Gentle is trying to protect La Brava, Izuku replies that Gentle was trying to pull a prank on U.A and they got into a small dispute but that everything is fine now.

The teachers take them both to the police station. Later, during a police interview, a gorilla-looking investigator interrogates Tobita who states that he believes that Manami is brainwashed and will run tests on her. The investigator lumps Manami with Tobita’s crimes, but Tobita adamantly believes that Manami has nothing to do with his crimes, to which the investigator starts believing that there is a mutual love between the two instead of brainwashing. They are given the chance to reform, which Gentle accepts.

Fanon
GentleBrava is a rather small ship due to the characters’ lack of screen time. However, the ship gained some attention, due the confirmed mutual feelings between the two. The ship is often compared to Gelato from the RWBY fandom, likely due the similarities between both ships; for example, the “partners in crime” status. It currently has over 60 works on its AO3 tag.

Fandom
FAN FICTION

TUMBLR

Trivia

 * La Brava’s Quirk allows her to temporarily power up the object of her affections by declaring her love for them. When she did this to Gentle, Izuku noted that he became remarkably stronger.
 * The “GentleBrava” ship name comes from a combination of their villain names, Gentle Criminal and La Brava.