You know what’s even more important
in a Shonen series than training? Rival fights. There’s just something about
two characters that come from similar backgrounds, have similar training, and
have a complex history together having a no holds barred grudge match that just
gets the blood pumping. It’s a means of showing us how not only the hero has
developed, but also how some of their supporting cast has developed as well. Heck,
because of that, they might even be more important than fighting a series’ or
arcs’, major antagonist. They’ve been building to this Bakugo vs. Izuku from
the start. And it has all the hallmarks of a great fight. Bakugo’s unstoppable
force against Izuku’s immovable object. The talented Bakugo vs. the hard
working Izuku. Fury against Calm. Dark against light. I’ve run out of opposites
colliding. Oh, and Uraraka and Iida are their too, but their fight is less
important. Let’s get to it.
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| Wow, this is some real subtle imagery for Bakugo's state of mind. |
We open to a quick episode recap. It
can be summed up as Bakugo swearing to crush Izuku, and Izuku swearing to beat
him. And then Izuku flipping Bakugo and giving his “Deku is the name of a hero”
speech. After that, Izuku has a flashback. Specifically, he’s remembering his
and Bakugo’s sort of complex background together. In Pre-K, Bakugo was kind of
the neighborhood ringleader. The other kids, Izuku included, flocked behind him
and followed along with everything he said. He was brave, confident and all the
things that Izuku admired. We also learn that Bakugo didn’t shift into full on
jerk hole until after his Quirk manifested. Afterwards, the students and
teachers heaped praise onto the child, and probably helped set up his
superiority complex.
In the present, Izuku remembers his
little speech from the first episode, that “Not all men are created equal”
shpeel. Fitting, since he is now going up against the jerk hole that smacked
that lesson into him. Bakugo, meanwhile, seems to be losing whatever semblance
of sanity that he has. He’s basically saying ‘screw it’ to the test, so long as
he gets wipe the floor with Izuku’s face. Not sure if that’s a good or bad
thing. On the one hand, being angry means that he’s significantly more likely
to screw up. On the other, he WILL mess Izuku up if he catches our green hair
protagonist. Guess we’ll have to wait and see how it goes down. In the control
room, All Might re-explains the perimeters of the test. Namely, that the heroes
need to use ‘capture tape’ to tie up and disable the villains to win, and vice
versa for the baddies. And if they heroes run out of time, the villains win.
Izuku and Bakugo rush each other.
Izuku uses Bakugo’s fixation on him to give Uraraka a chance to slip passed and
find Iida and the dummy bomb. While Bakugo is clearly stronger, more savage,
and experienced with his powers, Izuku is more strategic. Having spent nearly
his entire life watching heroes, memorizing strategies, and fighting styles,
Izuku knows how Bakugo fights. His knowledge lets him keep the upper hand. But,
Bakugo is no slouch either. When he realizes Izuku is predicting his moves, he
tries to change up his fighting style, switching to kicks when punches fail. Izuku
then flees, trying to keep Bakugo at a distance while he formulates a plan.
After losing Bakugo, Izuku assesses
the situation. He’s actually pretty thankful, as Bakugo going rogue works out
in their favor, since the faster Iida is stuck looking after the bomb. And,
since Iida is so…ridged, odds of him abandoning the bomb are minimal. He plans
to either disable or escape Bakugo before meeting up with Uraraka to take on
Iida. Not the best strategy, but hey, got to work with what you have.
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| Why do I get the feeling Iida would really get into LARPing. |
While searching for Izuku, Bakugo
does some reminiscing of his own. Specifically, how he gave Izuku the most
unpleasant nickname of Deku. “Deku” being another way to read the characters
that make up Izuku’s name. Deku, in Japanese, can mean “the one who can’t
achieve/do anything.” It’s a rather long winded way to call him a loser, isn’t
it? His superiority complex over Izuku was pretty much solidified when it came
out that Izuku didn’t have powers. Obviously, how could a loser without powers
ever hold a candle to the amazing Bakugo? But then, something strange happened.
And by strange, I mean normal. Like, this could happen in the real world. While
leading his little crew on a bug hunt through the nearby woods, Bakugo slipped
off a log bridge into the river below. He was fine, but Izuku instantly ran
down to make sure he didn’t hit his head. This was probably the first sign of
Izuku’s ‘run head first into danger’ mentality. This small act of kindness
infuriated Bakugo. His thought process basically being “where does this loser
get off trying to help me!” or something like that. Katsuki Bakugo could
really, really use a therapist.
Meanwhile, Uraraka found Iida and
the dummy bomb. She witnesses Iida getting a little too wrapped up in the role
of villain, and laughs out loud at his super seriousness. This tip’s him off,
and causes him to start Monologuing. He’s really, really good at Monologuing.
Utilizing Iida’s monologuing, Uraraka contacts Izuku and lets her know that
she’s a floor above with the bomb. Izuku plans to take down Bakugo, just as
Bakugo corners him. Not good. Now that Izuku is in a corner, the pyro reveals
that his quirk is that his hand sweat works like nitroglycerine. And, that the
big grenade gauntlet’s he has with his costume are designed to soak up the
excess nitro-sweat. Why? He stockpiles the sweat, and is then able to release
it in one monster blast. All-Might tries to stop him, but Bakugo unleashes a
monster blast. He laughs maniacally as the fireball rockets toward Izuku. Izuku
barely dodges the fireball, which obliterates the wall behind him.
While Iida’s distracted by Bakugo’s
bomb-ugo (I regret nothing) shaking the building, Uraraka tries to use her
powers to float over and grab the bomb. But, Iida sees and uses his superspeed
to move the bomb away. He knows how Uraraka operates, and thanks to his speed,
he’ll be able to keep playing keep away with the bomb until time runs out. He
also removed any and all small objects from the room that Uraraka might have
used as projectiles if given the opportunity. So, the heroes are screwed unless
they can somehow stop Iida’s speed.
In the observatory, All Might notes
that Bakugo’s isn’t trying to kill Izuku. Well, not actively trying. By his
words and actions, it’s clear he’s looking just to humiliate Izuku, by any
means necessary. All Might is able to get through to Bakugo via the intercom
and stop him from using his other firebomb gauntlet. He gives the ultimatum
that if Bakugo uses the other blast, he’ll end the exam right there. Not the
most substantial threat, but it’s enough to get Bakugo to back down. All Might
realizes that, as a teacher, he should really stop this fight. Bakugo is
growing more unstable by the minute, and will probably do something he’ll
regret if the fight goes on too much long. But, he also knows that Izuku NEEDS
to fight and beat Bakugo, as part of his development. And that, honestly,
Bakugo needs the loss as much as Izuku needs the win, to also help his personal
growth. While All Might ponders, Izuku formulates a plan, and tells Uraraka to
make for the window in the room she’s in.
Bakugo starts laying the smack down
on Izuku. He shows off his speed, and his skills with his Quirk. Using his
powers to run at high speeds, and even change trajectory in the air to leap
around Izuku. Izuku, realizing he has to use his powers, makes for a window. He’s
REALLY apprehensive about using his powers, obviously, but he’s refusing to
lose this match. Good on you, Izuku. After getting into position, Izuku and
Bakugo charge at each other. Seeing that Izuku is going to use his power,
All-Might tries to stop them, but it’s too late. They collide. And Izuku
reveals his strategy.
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| Izuku is willing to take an explosion to the face to win. That takes commitment. |
At the last moment, Izuku threw up
his left arm to protect his face from Bakugo’s direct attack. Rather than
attack Bakugo, Izuku instead uses One For All to smash the ceiling above. The
powerful shockwave his superpowered punch unleashes pretty much turns the floor
above into powder. This gives Uraraka, who is now floating in mid-air, plenty
of ammo to use her zero-gravity powers. She distracts Iida with debris, leaps
over him, and grabs the weapon. Bakugo is infuriated to being beaten. Izuku
tries to explain again that he wasn’t tricking Bakugo for all those years, and
that he had refused to use his powers for so long during the fight because he
CAN’T control them. It obviously doesn’t work, as Bakugo seems incapable of
accepting all that has just happened. Izuku passes out as All-Might announces
the Hero team the winner.
This was a great episode, for a
number of reasons. We got an excellent battle between these lifelong
frien-enemies, where both parties were pushed to their limits to beat the other.
Izuku got to show off that beautiful brain of his at work as he figured out
counter strategies to Bakugo’s savage assaults, and to get to the bomb. Bakugo,
on the other hand, got to show off that he’s not just all power, no brains. He
adapted to his opponent, changing up his fighting style in the moment to best
counter Izuku’s experience against him. We also got some insight into why
Bakugo is such a dick to Izuku. I’m not going to say that being mean to someone
because they were nice to you makes a whole lot of sense, but it fits into
Bakugo’s character. He was Mr. Perfect, even at the age of four. He was
unstoppable, untouchable, with an amazing power and a great future ahead of
him. So where did this nobody, this Quirkless loser get off worrying about his
wellbeing and/or safety. Yeah, even spelling it out like that doesn’t make it
better. It was also nice to see All Might be divided on how to proceed.
Stopping the fight to keep Izuku healthy is the right thing to do. But, letting
the fight go on so Izuku can beat his lifelong rival is also good. Which good
is the best good? Thankfully, Izuku took the choice out of his hands. And,
finally, while their story wasn’t as important, Uraraka and Iida’s part was
really entertaining. Seeing Iida fling himself so perfectly and fully into
being a ‘villain’ is pretty hilarious. And Uraraka’s reaction to his 1940s
style villainy is also pretty fun. So yeah, all around a really good time. Next
time, we’ll take a short break from My Hero Academia, and focus on Guardians of the Galaxy: Vol 2.
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