Forum › Normality and Monsters discussion
Ya gotta give kudos, she really done cracked the code on that one.
Being a collection of bugs means that, yeah, Mr.N's weakness really is as simple as a bucket of water.
last edited at Jul 19, 2026 3:23PM
Girlfriends are taking him down! ^_^
Despite everything, I just thought, "I'm glad that I was born."
Itou pleaseee im gonna cry for the doomed worm yuri in the middle of our shounen battle scene ;-;
Ya gotta give kudos, she really done cracked the code on that one.
Being a collection of bugs means that, yeah, Mr.N's weakness really is as simple as a bucket of water.
If it has soap they'll have no choice but to melt and die like the wizards in the Enchanted Forest Chronicles.
I wonder if those bites are going to have long term consequences for the skin...
Also, incoming "I'm melting! Meeeeeeeelting! Ooooh, what a world!"
Return of the Lizard tag!
I love seeing the Lizard tag pop up; thats a good lizard
Some... years of dealing with insects myself make me hope that bucket is soapy water. My name may be associated with healing and protection, yeah, but quoting Alfred Pennywise, "sometimes one can be allowed a little pang of satisfaction".
At least we know Slenderman is in fact a man (albeit not a Slenderman):
https://dynasty-scans.com/chapters/normality_and_monsters_ch27#8
Since otherwise they'd be telling the truth about something.
Less jokingly, I feel their character resolution is somewhat disappointing. They were always a fan of BSing, but "Everything besides liking stories is a lie and I just want to implant ticks into people" feels like their character got flattened to end the story sooner. We had a lot more time for Itou and Takahashi to develop, but not much for the other monsters. It would have been nice to have more time to get a sense of their true personality and goals.
It's funny they picked Slenderman, though, which started as an internet meme. They really just picked a story they liked and went with that being their monster form. That was plausible given the setting, but there might not even be a real Slenderman in that world.
I don't know why but I don't like the "collection of bugs" reveal for Mr. N.
Like, just because something is made up of small things (and they're not THAT small, since they can be seen with the naked eye) doesn't mean it can turn into different colors/textures, move super fast, swap bodies instantly, or impersonate multiple humans perfectly. Is Mr. N even transforming? Or is it swapping skinsuits?
That being said, I know this is kind of unfair when I'm giving "huge worm can fit inside a high school girl skinsuit and take over her life" a free pass.
I think what it really comes down to, is it doesn't feel cool to me. So this is all just personal bias lol.
The plural of "octopus" is "octopodes". You may also opt for "octopuses", although that's the linguistic equivalent of wearing a baseball cap backwards.
The plural of "octopus" is "octopodes". You may also opt for "octopuses", although that's the linguistic equivalent of wearing a baseball cap backwards.
You're technically not wrong, but you're not really right either.
The plural of "octopus" is "octopodes". You may also opt for "octopuses", although that's the linguistic equivalent of wearing a baseball cap backwards.
You're technically not wrong, but you're not really right either.
Warning: Pedantry ahead.
With all due respect, "the word of greek origin has been used in (modern, scientific) latin and therefore should be treated as latin" as presented there is one heck of a take. The logical conclusion, since the supermajority of modern English vocabulary ended up there through either germanic (mostly Saxon and Frisian) or romance (French) influence, would be to apply those rules to basically the entire corpus, and ngl, I'd like to see people try.
(Fun fact: German is the only language I know that can have different plural forms with distinct meanings for the same noun, e.g. "Worte"/"Wörter" or "Jungs"/"Jungen". And yes, it is maddening.)
Fwiw every non-US dictionary out there (Oxford Learner's Dictionary, Collins Dictionary, Cambridge Dictionary, Chamber's Dictionary ) either makes no mention of "octopi" at all (as dictionaries are wont to do with non-existent forms) or deliberately go out of their way to mark it as US-only use. (Note that Macquarie's is paywalled so no aussie English for me.)
Oh, but before this seems to be just me dunking on yank-jank, even Merriam-Webster's editorial staff has agreed on this in the past, so take this however you wish.
Etymonline words it rather carefully as "it might be allowed to partake of Latin grammar in forming the plural" whilst championing. Also wiktionary uses this situation as literally the textbook example for hypercorrection ... which mustn't mean a thing since it is community sourced, but something to consider.
Anyway, pragmatically we have to consider the case here: it's not "octopus", but the compound noun "mimic octopus"; the etymology of "mimic" also ends up in Greek, but it'd be more proper to assume this is an English neologism, in which case one would simply go for "mimic octopuses" as comes natural whilst leaving "mimic octopodes" to insufferable snobs like me.
(Also, I'm not trying to impose any standards on the scanlators, I just go into excited golden retriever mode whenever I spot a mistake.)
^Note that I wasn't making the case for "octopi" (which still isn't really wrong) as much as against "octopodes", which is such a rare and different sounding version that none of the dictionaries you linked even mention it, other than wiktionary including every choice, including even more unusual ones. In any case, it's still technically not a mistake, even if "octopuses" (which you did show your distaste for as well) would be the most acceptable version for pretty much every dictionary.
I don't know why but I don't like the "collection of bugs" reveal for Mr. N.
Like, just because something is made up of small things (and they're not THAT small, since they can be seen with the naked eye) doesn't mean it can turn into different colors/textures, move super fast, swap bodies instantly, or impersonate multiple humans perfectly. Is Mr. N even transforming? Or is it swapping skinsuits?That being said, I know this is kind of unfair when I'm giving "huge worm can fit inside a high school girl skinsuit and take over her life" a free pass.
I think what it really comes down to, is it doesn't feel cool to me. So this is all just personal bias lol.
I think it could be good if we got more information about how it works, but it can be dissatisfying to have that dropped on us suddenly. We can assume that the individual bugs are also super powered monster bugs, at least relative to other bugs.
If they're very fast and strong bugs, they could, for instance, break off, set up a tea set using smaller groups, and then rejoin the main body.
Edit: I tried to look up what the strongest insect is. It appears to be the dung beetle, able to lift about 2/3 of an ounce or .04 pounds:
I think we can grant that a monster bug is at least this strong, even if it lacks the size and exoskeleton of the dung beetle. It is, after all, no ordinary bug. 100 monster bugs therefore can lift 4 pounds, enabling them to comfortably carry a filled teacup.
Meanwhile, the tiger beetle can run 5.6 mph:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tiger_beetle
I will suggest a monster bug can move at least this fast, regardless of its appearance. The monster bug will also need no time needed to accelerate or decelerate, ie, it can immediately go from stationary to 5.6mph and then immediately go back to stationary.
Therefore 1000 monster bugs can instantly prepare a tea set while appearing to teleport and shape shift.
last edited at Jul 21, 2026 9:56AM
Honestly Itou was brilliant for figuring that out. And it makes so much sense. It also explains how Mr.N was able to produce a new monster by "vomiting" into a victim's mouth. Those were the bugs entering her
I don't know why but I don't like the "collection of bugs" reveal for Mr. N.
Like, just because something is made up of small things (and they're not THAT small, since they can be seen with the naked eye) doesn't mean it can turn into different colors/textures, move super fast, swap bodies instantly, or impersonate multiple humans perfectly. Is Mr. N even transforming? Or is it swapping skinsuits?That being said, I know this is kind of unfair when I'm giving "huge worm can fit inside a high school girl skinsuit and take over her life" a free pass.
I think what it really comes down to, is it doesn't feel cool to me. So this is all just personal bias lol.
I think it could be good if we got more information about how it works, but it can be dissatisfying to have that dropped on us suddenly. We can assume that the individual bugs are also super powered monster bugs, at least relative to other bugs.
If they're very fast and strong bugs, they could, for instance, break off, set up a tea set using smaller groups, and then rejoin the main body.
Edit: I tried to look up what the strongest insect is. It appears to be the dung beetle, able to lift about 2/3 of an ounce or .04 pounds:
I think we can grant that a monster bug is at least this strong, even if it lacks the size and exoskeleton of the dung beetle. It is, after all, no ordinary bug. 100 monster bugs therefore can lift 4 pounds, enabling them to comfortably carry a filled teacup.
Meanwhile, the tiger beetle can run 5.6 mph:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tiger_beetle
I will suggest a monster bug can move at least this fast, regardless of its appearance. The monster bug will also need no time needed to accelerate or decelerate, ie, it can immediately go from stationary to 5.6mph and then immediately go back to stationary.
Therefore 1000 monster bugs can instantly prepare a tea set while appearing to teleport and shape shift.
I respect the research!
I think honestly, what it comes down to is a gut feeling of: I don't really like this. So everything following this is a justification of that feeling lmao.
a.) If Mr. N is a (basically nanomachine) shapeshifter, why does it need to pour bugs into Hiraizumi? It can just copy the girl's shape, right? Shapeshifter ≠ corpse puppeteer.
b.) If Mr. N is NOT a shapeshifter, but instead, a corpse puppeteer, how can it instantly swap bodies? It really is instant: one panel to the next. Plus, Mr. N's body was cremated, so it should no longer be usable.
c.) Too many superpowers: Mr. N can TELEPORT. Moving fast, sure. But it goes from the ground to the streetlamp in a blink (Ch. 16). Mr. N can stop Takahashi from transforming into a worm. Mr. N can puppet corpses. Mr. N can perfectly copy people's personalities. Mr. N can gain/lose mass with zero visual indicators. Mr. N's hive-components are super small and fast, but they're not INVISIBLE small, and using them as psychokinesis-substitutes (making lots of tea instantly) feels kind of, well. cheap.
Hmm. The more I think about it, it feels like the author is deliberately setting up false flags, and that makes the "hive-mind bug swarm" reveal feel unfair. Like signaling left, but driving right, and going "voila".
On a more positive note, seems like there's a bug-theme for the monsters and I am super onboard for that because bugs are basically superpowered aliens.
a.) If Mr. N is a (basically nanomachine) shapeshifter, why does it need to pour bugs into Hiraizumi? It can just copy the girl's shape, right? Shapeshifter ≠ corpse puppeteer.
I interpreted this as a single bug that will reproduce, consume the body, and form a new hive mind. If so, the original hive had already consumed its body. It also could have been multiple bugs implanted, akin to a hive split. Regardless, the new body had its own personality and was more naive, so it should be understood as a new hive and not the same consciousness.
Instead of a hive mind, there also could be a queen type bug commanding the other ones and this is what got implanted. The point here is that we can come up with lots of possible explanations, even if it was never clearly explained in the story. If we had had more chapters, we might have gotten more signaling and fewer unexplained details.
I think it would be more satisfying if the facade had gradually failed over time and we saw more inconsistencies in their act, instead of Itou's brain growing proportionally bigger to the speed with which the story needs to end and figuring everything out suddenly.
last edited at Jul 21, 2026 8:03PM
I do think the reveal was hastened due to the obvious axe, and that's a fair criticism, but there's a few points I'd like to clarify.
Like, just because something is made up of small things (and they're not THAT small, since they can be seen with the naked eye) doesn't mean it can turn into different colors/textures, move super fast, swap bodies instantly, or impersonate multiple humans perfectly. Is Mr. N even transforming? Or is it swapping skinsuits?
The idea is probably that the bugs can re-form themselves into whatever shape they wish, hence why Niehara can instantly transform.
Probably what happens is that the bugs all disperse so you can't see them, then re-gather at a different location, thus giving the illusion of teleportation.
Niehara does not swap bodies or impersonate multiple humans. It appears that Niehara basically created a brand-new monster to puppet Hiraizumi's corpse, but they are not the same being. Hence why Niehara calls the Hiraizumi monster "my subordinate," and why Itou was able to poison the latter to death (it's safe to say that the poison wouldn't have worked on a mass of bugs).
Mr. N can stop Takahashi from transforming into a worm.
Again, it's not fully explained, but it seems that by preventing Takahashi from moving by blanketing her with bugs, she can no longer transform.
Mr. N can gain/lose mass with zero visual indicators.
Again, presumably some percentage of the bugs just go away when this happens
The more I think about it, it feels like the author is deliberately setting up falsse flags, and that makes the "hive-mind bug swarm" reveal feel unfair. Like signaling left, but driving right, and going "voila".
Again, I agree the axe made the reveal overly hasty. But for what it's worth, someone here did guess it in advance. So it wasn't totally out of left field.
I think it would be more satisfying if the facade had gradually failed over time and we saw more inconsistencies in their act, instead of Itou's brain growing proportionally bigger to the speed with which the story needs to end and figuring everything out suddenly.
Haha Itou's power is just becoming super duper smart when she needs to be.
Imagining Itou so brainy, her brain out wrinkles Mojo Jojo's.
I do think the reveal was hastened due to the obvious axe, and that's a fair criticism, but there's a few points I'd like to clarify.
Like, just because something is made up of small things (and they're not THAT small, since they can be seen with the naked eye) doesn't mean it can turn into different colors/textures, move super fast, swap bodies instantly, or impersonate multiple humans perfectly. Is Mr. N even transforming? Or is it swapping skinsuits?
The idea is probably that the bugs can re-form themselves into whatever shape they wish, hence why Niehara can instantly transform.
Probably what happens is that the bugs all disperse so you can't see them, then re-gather at a different location, thus giving the illusion of teleportation.
Niehara does not swap bodies or impersonate multiple humans. It appears that Niehara basically created a brand-new monster to puppet Hiraizumi's corpse, but they are not the same being. Hence why Niehara calls the Hiraizumi monster "my subordinate," and why Itou was able to poison the latter to death (it's safe to say that the poison wouldn't have worked on a mass of bugs).
Mr. N can stop Takahashi from transforming into a worm.
Again, it's not fully explained, but it seems that by preventing Takahashi from moving by blanketing her with bugs, she can no longer transform.
Mr. N can gain/lose mass with zero visual indicators.
Again, presumably some percentage of the bugs just go away when this happens
The more I think about it, it feels like the author is deliberately setting up falsse flags, and that makes the "hive-mind bug swarm" reveal feel unfair. Like signaling left, but driving right, and going "voila".
Again, I agree the axe made the reveal overly hasty. But for what it's worth, someone here did guess it in advance. So it wasn't totally out of left field.
Responding to this in order:
1.) I can definitely see the bugs transforming but then it's like what the heck. Why does Mr. N even need to be a bug swarm in the first place? Seems a bit redundant, and too many powers.
2.) I just kind of don't like how there's NO indicator of this. While this can be conjectured, all we see in the actual manga is Panel 1 Mr. N here --> Panel 2 Mr. N there. No smoke trail or anything, until finally Ch. 27, when Mr. N dissipates to escape Itou's hold.
3.) Mr. N swaps between male teacher, gyaru, and classmate Ooki.
I'm not saying that Mr. N's true form wasn't sign-posted at all. Like you said, someone did predict it.
But I think it was signposted badly, and "bug swarm" is doing too much to explain too many different abilities, and Mr. N, imo, is a Swiss army knife with just too many functions. Which doesn't feel as cool. . .
If a villain can do everything, it no longer feels like anything.
Responding to this in order:
1.) I can definitely see the bugs transforming but then it's like what the heck. Why does Mr. N even need to be a bug swarm in the first place? Seems a bit redundant, and too many powers.
2.) I just kind of don't like how there's NO indicator of this. While this can be conjectured, all we see in the actual manga is Panel 1 Mr. N here --> Panel 2 Mr. N there. No smoke trail or anything, until finally Ch. 27, when Mr. N dissipates to escape Itou's hold.
3.) Mr. N swaps between male teacher, gyaru, and classmate Ooki.I'm not saying that Mr. N's true form wasn't sign-posted at all. Like you said, someone did predict it.
But I think it was signposted badly, and "bug swarm" is doing too much to explain too many different abilities, and Mr. N, imo, is a Swiss army knife with just too many functions. Which doesn't feel as cool. . .
If a villain can do everything, it no longer feels like anything.
1) The function of the bug swarm is to explain all their powers. It's not redundant because it's not a separate power, it's the one power that allows them to do all the others.
2) Again, I agree the manga could've foreshadowed it better. But there wouldn't be a smoke trail because "Mr. N" the human-shaped mass didn't move, it separated into all its constituent bug parts.
3) Ah, okay. But that's just a derivation of the bug swarm's ability to completely manipulate its own shape and texture. The bugs just arrange themselves in whatever shape they need to in order to become each person. I'm not going to claim it makes perfect sense but I think it's just plausible enough for suspension of disbelief.
As for Niehara being able to do everything, well, look forward to future chapters ;)
They were certainly trying to give the appearance of being able to do everything effortlessly, while expending a lot of effort to survive and while using tricks to make it seem like they could do more than they could.
It's similar to what a magician dose. They know some cool tricks, but it would be nowhere near as impressive if you knew what they were doing. If you then get rid of their setup and sabotage their tricks, they wouldn't look impressive at all.
"Can appear to do anything as long as long as it's not raining, ..." (add long list of situations where super bugs aren't useful).
Someone like Takahashi outclasses them quite a lot when it comes to power levels, which may be part of why they are so sneaky and deceptive.
last edited at Jul 22, 2026 9:32AM