Warning! Spoilers ahead for My Hero Academia chapter 331!
The manga My Hero Academia is continuing to portray America's number-one hero Star and Stripe in a negative light by having her literally breaking Japanese law to defeat All For One while in Japan.
Chapter 331 introduces her latest sin after her last attempt to bring down All For One failed spectacularly. Star and Stripe gives the command to enact a special override order that will allow America to fire massive missiles at the villain All For One, the use of which is apparently illegal in Japan. Star and Stripe's reasoning is that since he has been able to survive against her quirk, which is the strongest power in the world, then he is no longer just a threat to Japan, but to the entire world. A commander named Ackbar, who appears to be her superior, is apparently displeased with her decision, and yet, he still follows through and allows the bombing of All For One to transpire, mentioning that he alerted Japan of what was about to happen in their airspace.
This is just the latest of Star and Stripe's many unflattering idiosyncrasies. Even though All Might inspired her to become a hero, Star and Stripe believes that she is a better defender of peace than him, an opinion that might be true but that she had the audacity to base her overall heroic aesthetic on to convey her superiority; Star and Strip outdoes All Might by stylizing her hair into eight tufts to surpass his two tufts. While petty indeed, the concept behind her very name evokes an air of disrespect as well. Star and Stripe is undoubtedly a play on the nickname for the flag of the United States. The fact that she chose to make her name singular as opposed to the plurality of the Stars and Stripes creates the impression that she believes herself lesser than or just one part of what makes America great. Comparing this with how she tries to outdo All Might makes it clear that she is willing to belittle a man who inspired her but she can't portray herself as better or equal to her country. Even Star and Stripe's quirk takes on the worst qualities of the United States, as it is easily comparable to imperialism.
This latest action serves as further proof that she doesn't respect the sovereignty of other nations and believes that she has the right to make decisions that concern others without their consent even when doing so breaks their very laws. She might justify her actions by claiming that what she's facing is not just Japan's problem, but the world's, but shouldn't she first check with the world to see if that's actually the case? Additionally, she never suggested alerting the Japanese government or military about her decision to break their own laws even though that would have been the polite option. This was something that Ackbar did of his own volition.
Star and Stripe isn't the only American to blame. In addition to My Hero Academia portraying the U.S. hero Captain Celebrity as a jock and playboy, even the level-headed Ackbar in this latest chapter is depicted negatively. He might have brought up revoking her hero license and admonished Star and Stripe for her behavior, but it appears as though he allows or puts up with her antics because it makes America shine. This is again just another example of how mangaka Kohei Horikoshi portrays America negatively throughout My Hero Academia: As a country that's only great because it's hasty, selfish, and doesn't abide by the rules.