Viewer Log: My Hero Academia ep 67

Let's meet Eri. By the end of this, you'll want to kill Overhaul for what he does to her. 

Last time on My Hero Academia, Izuku met with All Might’s former sidekick Sir Nighteye. The pro hero is unimpressed with Izuku Midoriya, despite their mutual love of All Might. But he is willing to deal. He challenges Izuku to take his stamp and stamp his contract for the Work Study himself to prove his worthiness. This is somewhat difficult, as Nighteye’s power lets him predict the future of a target for one. Izuku makes a valiant effort, but can’t get the stamp in the three minutes time limit. This isn’t completely on him, though, as it is revealed that leaping around all the All Might memorabilia in Nighteye’s office is what screwed up his timing. Nighteye agrees to take him, but Izuku believes that it’s a convoluted attempted to convince Izuku that Mirio Togeta is more worthy of One For All than he is, and surrender the power to Togeta. On his first patrol with Togeta, Izuku runs into a little girl with a horn named Eri, and her germophobic father, Kai Chiski aka Overhaul. This can’t be good. Let’s get to it.

 

Deku and Lemillion, what a pair. 

We begin a few minutes before with Izuku and Togeta on their patrol. It’s revealed that Sir Nighteye and Bubble Girl are doing the actual surveillance of the Shia Hassaikai base, Mirio is going to focus on showing Izuku the basics of patrol. The boys also exchange hero names, Deku formally shakes hand with Lemillion. The name is based on Togeta’s desire to save a million people… not sure why he needed the French Le with it, but there you go. It’s just after this that little Eri ran into Izuku and her Padre Chiski walked up. The dude wears a plague doctor mask out in public? Like… why not just go with a surgical mask when you’re not actively plotting villainy? Whatever. Overhaul tries to act like he’s a attentive dad following after a willful daughter, but obviously Izuku is immediately wary of him. Togeta, without missing much of a beat, pulls Izuku’s mask up to hide his face and tries to keep Overhaul talking, to pump him for information.

Anyone who willingly follows this guy into a dark
alley is just asking for trouble.

 

Overhaul starts closing up almost immediately, though, and insists he and his daughter head home. Izuku almost gets up to leave, but Eri grabs more tightly onto him and begs him not to go. Izuku notes to Overhaul that she’s shaking, he says that she’s reacting to being scolded. Izuku notes that she’s got bandages all over her limbs, Overhaul says she’s always playing rough. The two heroes-in-training are in a pickle. Togeta wants to leave, because he knows Overhaul is going to close up and will be less likely to leave his compound and mess up. Izuku, on the other hand, thinks they need to stay, because if they leave now it’ll tip off Overhaul there’s something up as heroes wouldn’t just walk away from a child in that state. Overhaul claims that he’ll tell them what Eri’s issue is, but they should discuss it in the alley, as it’s a private family matter. They go to follow… oh jeeze. As they walk, Overhaul talks about the woes of raising a willful child. He goes to take off one of his gloves and looks directly at Eri as he says it. She freaks out, leaping from Izuku’s arms and follows pops. Izuku wants to follow, but Togeta advises they call up Sir Nighteye and trade info.

 

Back at the base, Overhaul orders that a chemical bath be made up for himself and his minion bring Eri to the lab. He also brutally murders the subordinate who let Eri slip away. IN FRONT OF THE SCARED CHILD! Jackass.

 

So... is the rash from being outside, or from possibly
getting subordinate blood on him?

The heroes meet up. Izuku and Togeta apologize for messing up with Overhaul, but Sir Nighteye says it’s his fault for not using his Foresight on them earlier in the day. He explains why they’ve been looking into Overhaul. It was the incident last season when Twice walked on the horrible car wreck where they mutilated the criminals that stole a counter. As it turns out, when the cops arrived, everyone was fine… better even than they were before, as chronic issues like cavities and such were removed as well. The money seemingly burnt in the crash. It’s a very odd situation. They tell Nighteye about Eri’s bandaged wrapped arms and expresses his desire to save Eri. Sir Nighteye tells Izuku to not be arrogant and risk the operation by rushing in to save her. He is going to bring in other heroes to take care of the Hassaikai.

 

In the compound, Eri is brought down into a secret laboratory. Overhaul tells her that he can’t have her running off like that, as she is the corner stone of his plans. That’s not creepy at all… Before they can do something horrible to the child, Overhaul is informed Shigaraki is calling. That can’t be good.

 

Back at UA, the students are getting into a routine. Bakugo and Todoroki are covered in bruises from their Provisional License make up class. Uraraka, Kirishima, and Tsu are out for their work studies. And Izuku is feeling melancholy for abandoning Eri. It affects his school work for the rest of the day. He decides that he needs advice for his mentor, so looks up All Might. Midnight tells him that he’s out jogging, and Izuku is able to find him along his route.

 

Even withered, All Might can strike a hell of a pose.

Izuku tells All Might that he learned all about Mirio Togeta and that he was going to succeed All Might. He wants to know why All Might chose him over Togeta and why All Might kept the info from him. All Might admits that it was because he thought the info wouldn’t help Izuku with his training, so he didn’t want to burden him unnecessarily. He gives Izuku the brief background of his time with Nighteye. Eleven years ago, the two started working together despite All Might’s long-standing rule about not taking sidekicks. They worked well together for five years, but things changed after All Might’s battle with All For One. From the look of things, Gran Torino was also injured during the fight as he too is in scrubs. Nighteye advised All Might to retire now, as a legend, and look for a successor. All Might isn’t willing to give up now, though, as in the time between his retirement and choosing a successor, people would get hurt, something he can’t abide by. Nighteye saw his future, tells him someone will fill the gap while he’s training his successor. But if he doesn’t stop, he’ll die a gruesome death facing off against a terrible villain. All Might takes a somewhat fatalistic approach to this, believing that because Nighteye’s visions have never been wrong, why fight it? All Might isn’t willing to stop, and he and Nighteye terminate their partnership. All Might admits that Nezu suggested Togeta to him, but he met Izuku before the meeting and the rest is history.

 

It’s at this moment that Izuku realized what should have been fairly obvious, that All Might is dying. What? In the first two episodes, he tells us that his respiratory system is shot and he doesn’t have a stomach. The fact he’s lived this long is a mother loving miracle.

 

He told Nighteye about his plan, which only made things worse between the two. Nighteye rejected his plan and began training a true successor in Mirio Togeta. Izuku asks how much time he has left. When Nighteye made the prediction, he had six or seven years. Izuku is freaked out to realize All Might is going to die this year or next, if the timeline follows. Izuku won’t accept it, says he needs All Might to survive long enough for Izuku to announce “I Am Here.”

 

All Might admits that he accepted his death when he first heard it. And that he assumed he was going to die when he fought AFO. But Izuku was there, and he realized that his student changed him. Izuku gave him the drive to keep going, and that he’ll keep leaving to see Izuku make his announcement. He’s so motivated he’s able to bulk up for a few seconds. Izuku refuse to let the prediction happen to him. He suggests that All Might make up with Nighteye and get him to see his future again. All Might isn’t certain it’ll work.

 

Oh, this can't possibly be good.

In a post credit scene, ugh, we see Shigaraki getting brought in to meet Overhaul. He agreed to join the yakuza, under the right conditions… that can’t possibly be good.

 

This was a solid continuation to last episode, and introduction to the center of the next arc. Eri, the sad little girl that is clearly being tortured by Chisaki for some nefarious purpose. I don’t like seeing kids in pain, hell, there’s an episode of another series, Fullmetal Alchemist (Brotherhood and Classic) that I refuse to watch because it involves a child being experimented on and turned into a monster. So, nothing really could have set me against Overhaul faster than seeing his daughter in such a state. And we got a fairly good view of the sort of person that Overhaul is beyond his child abuse. I mean, he violently executed a subordinate. Sure, the dude lost his precious Eri, but liquifying him seems a tad extreme. I also forgotten that Overhaul has a violent reaction to being exposed to dirt and germs. I mean, the skin rash he seemed to spontaneously develop was grotesque, and I see no other reason for it besides him going outside. I also liked the background on All Might and Nighteye. The fact that their schism occurred largely because Nighteye respected him so much that he could standby and watch him destroy himself. I think he probably took it too far with Togeta and potentially convincing Izuku to give up his powers, but his heart is in the right place. The next episode will feature one of Kirishima’s most badass moments to date, and I’m excited to talk about it, next year. Next time, we’ll be covering a few episodes of X-Men: Evolution. Have a goodnight, everybody.

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Twitter: @BasicsSuperhero

Viewer Log: My Hero Academia ep 66

If you thought Izuku Midoriya was the biggest All Might fanboy, allow me to introduce Mirai Sasaki aka Sir Nighteye.

Last time on My Hero Academia the Shigaraki and his crew met up with Overhaul, leader of the Shie Hassaikai. What Twice thought was going to be a recruitment meeting turned into a standoff, as Overhaul was more interested in folding the League of Villains into his Yakuza crew than joining up. Shigaraki took exception to this and tried to throw him out. Magne tried to follow orders, but she was brutally executed when Overhaul brushed against her arm. And Compress lost an arm trying to avenge her. Overhaul was able to leave thanks in part to the arrival of his bodyguards, but he left a card with the League in case they wanted to do business. With the heroes, Izuku and his crew got the go ahead to try to apply for Work Studies, provided they picked someone that the school gives approval to. He spoke with All Might about meeting with his former sidekick, Sir Nighteye, but the falling out the two had made All Might hesitant to approach him. Instead, they called up Mirio Togeta, Nighteye’s work study student and asked him to do it. Togeta enthusiastically agreed. Izuku and Togeta went to meet Nighteye at his agency, where Izuku was advised to make him laugh. Despite a no-nonsense persona, Nighteye is apparently a big believer in humor. Izuku tried to make the hero laugh with his disturbingly accurate All Might impression, but Nighteye seemed less than impressed. Let’s get to it, shall we?

 

We open with a quick summary of what a Work Study is by Izuku. Basically, it’s becoming a parttime sidekick. Like the internship, they work under an existing hero, but now are empowered to use their Quirks to save people and battle villains. So, it’s an Internship on hard mode.

 

Not sure who's more uncomfortable, young
Midoriya or me...

Picking up at Nighteye’s office, he’s most displeased with Izuku’s impression of All Might’s face…. Because he didn’t get the wrinkles of All Might’s face right. No seriously, Izuku didn’t make them the right angle or length for Nighteye’s taste. It’s only at this point that Izuku see’s all the All Might merch around the office, including a special 10^th anniversary poster, and concludes that Nighteye is a massive fan boy. It’s like looking into the future… unless Uraraka is in charge of office decorating. He tells Izuku to leave. Izuku, instead, explains that he was doing a very specific face, from the time All Might saved a kid who could turn other liquids into vinegar from drowning in the vinegar river he made. The stinging liquid in his eyes made him make a very distinctive face, I guess. Nighteye and Izuku spend a few minutes fanboying out about All Might. While this is happening, Togeta releases Bubble Girl from the tickle trap.

 

Nighteye and Izuku sit down to finally discuss the Work Study. Izuku brought along the contract that Nighteye needs to sign to accept Izuku as a student. We get a few more details about the Work Study, it’s a minimum four-month stint, paid, and Izuku needs to be prepared for his grades to suffer as the Work Study will cut into his school work. Izuku is ready for that, but Nighteye isn’t ready to stamp the paper work. No, he wants to hear Izuku could bring to the table, when his agency works fine with him, two side kicks and Togeta. He says that while incessantly tapping the desk, which would drive me bonkers. He wants to see Izuku’s skills and proposes a challenge. Izuku has 3 minutes to take Nighteye’s stamp and stamp the paperwork himself. In that time, Nighteye won’t fight back, only dodge, and Izuku shouldn’t worry about the room. He sends Togeta and Bubble Girl on a coffee break while they run this test. As they walk out, Bubble Girl asks if Togeta had to jump through these hoops to work for Nighteye, which Togeta says he didn’t as Nighteye sought him out specifically.

 

Yeah, I would not have guessed he's a big humor
guy either...

Now, this is a very difficult task, as proven when he dodges around Izuku’s charges and narrates the whole damn thing. It’s at this point where we learn that his power is called Foresight. If he touches someone and looks them in the eye, for one hour he can see their future. The activation requirement is a secret. So Izuku needs to somehow get around someone who can literally see his every move before he makes it. Tall order. Nighteye isn’t impressed with Izuku, he had high hopes for the kid but he clearly is only mediocre with his great power. He tells Izuku that he can’t acknowledge All Might’s choosing him, and that Togeta should have gotten the power.

 

Izuku, actually spurred on by these comments activates his full cowling and starts leaping around at high speed. He plans to leap around so fast that it won’t matter if Nighteye sees him coming. He declares he’ll make Nighteye acknowledge him. Izuku makes a grab for it, but is just a titch too slow. Nighteye noticed Izuku using Gran Torino’s style, but it’s a pale imitation of the original. Nighteye tells Izuku that in two minutes he’ll be slumped on the floor without the contract or seal. He’s noticed that Izuku is hesitant and fearful, two things that a Hero can’t be. Izuku, wanting to prove All Might right for choosing him, grabs a bookshelf and throws it, scattering books and papers. He wants to see if Nighteye just sees everything about Izuku or if he just see’s Izuku. He makes a grab, misses, and slams his face into a wall. Izuku slides to the floor, three minutes pass and Nighteye ends the contest. He chastises Izuku for putting all of his efforts into a single attack, exhausting himself and missing the target. Izuku then informs him that he didn’t miss because he was exhausted, but because he changed trajectory midflight to dodge the 10^th anniversary poster. Its at that moment that Nighteye looks around and notices that Izuku, despite the time constraint and Nighteye’s unnecessarily cruel smack talk, managed to dodge every single bit of All Might Memorabilia in the office. Togeta and Bubble Girl join them, and Nighteye says he’ll take Izuku.

 

Okay, so Sir Nighteye might not just be a 
super random name.

He pulls the whole “I said do x, but I didn’t say I wouldn’t take you if you failed,” excuse. In fact, he claims that he planned to take Izuku from the moment he heard from Togeta he’s coming. Izuku realizes that, even if that’s true, it’s not so much a vote of confidence. He thinks that Nighteye is taking him on specifically to work him with Mirio Togeta, see that Togeta is clearly superior to himself, and convince Izuku to hand off One for All to him. It’s a dastardly plan.

 

Back at the dorm, Izuku tells his classmates that he got the position. His classmates are impressed, you know, except Bakugo whom is angry and Todoroki whom says that they both need to work hard to keep up with the others. The other students are having issues finding Work Study’s, Uraraka and Tsu’s Internship mentors are too inexperienced to meet UA’s standards, and Kirishima’s mentor Fourth Kind doesn’t take Work Study students. Aizawa comes in and explains that it’s due in part to how much more responsibility the students are given. They’re at much greater risk, so a hero has to be pretty damned confident in their abilities. Nothing would kill a career quite like a dead seventeen-year-old Work Study student. He tells that Tokoyami that he got a request from Hawks, Japan’s #3 hero. He’s got big angel wings. He also tells Kirishima that Amajiki and Uraraka and Tsu that Hado want to speak with them respectively. Care to guess who is going to be important this arc? All three are too excited to wait and go to speak with them. 

 

The next day, Izuku starts his Work Study. His first mission is to patrol and survey the area with Togeta. The group explain that Nighteye has been monitoring the actions of Kai Chisaki aka Overhaul, the number two of the Shia Hassaikai. They don’t know what he’s doing, besides that he seems to be gathering the remnants of organized crime together and he made contact with Shigaraki.

 

Grab the girl and run. Grab the girl and run. 
Grab the girl and RUN!

In a post credit scene, Damn it Studio Bones, we’re shown a little girl with a horn running from Overhaul. She runs headlong into a hero inn green with bunny ears. The hero called Deku helps her up, noting that her arms are completely covered in bandages. Overhaul steps out of the shadows, and chastises the girl, Eri, for running off and bothering the heroes. Well... that’s a hell of a place to stop.

 

This was a solid introduction to Sir Nighteye. I read that while All Might was designed as a parody of US superhero comics, Sir Nighteye’s design is based off of Japanese stereotypes. He’s an uptight business man in a white suit, so I can kind of see it. I give Izuku credit for not giving up despite going up against a man who literally sees the future. I’m impressed with how quickly he’s grown from getting a handle on his powers last season. In a few in universe weeks, he’s been able to master leaping around at high speed and dodging in the air. If he had more time, I’m reasonably certain he could have gotten that damned seal. The fact he got the job because Nighteye wants to break him is pretty dark, not going to lie. But seems to be in character for this guy we’ve been told is both a massive fanboy but is also incredibly exacting. This is going to be a rough job for Izuku Midoriya me thinks. As I may have spoiled earlier, Kirishima, Tsu and Uraraka are going to important in this arc. One thing I’ve liked about this show is that they’ve done their best to highlight as many of the 1A students as they can. And sidelining Bakugo and Todoroki so that Kirishima and Tsu can get some more screen time is something I 100% approve of. Finally, if the post credit scene that involves a terrified little girl in a ragged dress and covered in bandages isn’t a solid indicator of what you should feel toward Overhaul, I can assure you you’re gonna hate this SOB by the end of this ride. And that’s all I have to say about that. Have a good night!

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Twitter: @BasicsSuperhero

Viewer Log: My Hero Academia ep 65

Heroes and Villains both make bad impressions. 

*Pics coming later, technical issues.

Last time on My Hero Academia, we had a filler episode of a reporter looking into All Might’s successor. Tokuda is his name, and in the end, while he does figure out the successor is Izuku, he promises to keep it under wraps. He just was looking into it for personal satisfaction, series summary reasons. Now that we’ve gotten the filler out of the way, let’s get into season 4 proper. Let’s get to it, shall we?

 

After a quick series summary… wait, why did we need another one? Oh well, best not overanalyze this. After the summary, we begin again with Izuku talking to Gran Torino. He suggests Izuku get All Might to introduce Izuku to his former sidekick, Sir Nighteye, when Gran Torino can’t mentor him himself.

 

As that’s going on, Twice of the League of Villains bring his prospective recruit, Overhaul, to meet with Shigaraki. This is where we learn he’s actually the #2 for the Shie Hassaikai, of Japan’s Yakuza. It’s the Japanese mafia. Mr. Compress explains that Yakuza and other organized crime organizations began to decline after heroes became a thing, and were all but made defunct with All Might’s arrival. The organizations that didn’t fall apart or arrested are now considered cheap muscle. The remnant of a bygone era, which Overhaul can’t really dispute those comments. Overhaul admits that he, like most criminals, is excited by All Might’s retirement, he personally is more interested in All For One’s arrest. One captured, one retired, Overhaul points out that effectively both law abiding citizens and criminals are now without leadership. He’s curious on who will take up AFO’s mantle as the emperor of the underworld. Shigaraki claims it’ll obviously be him, as he was AFO’s student and his League is blossoming with talent. But Overhaul disagrees.

 

Not gonna lie, I'm legit upset that Magne is dead.
But at least she was a SUPER memorable death.

He believes that, given the fact Shigaraki ended up losing talented villains like Stain, Muscular and Moonfish, and that he doesn’t really seem to have a plan beyond gathering power, he isn’t fit to rule. Overhaul claims that he has a plan, but needs money and the name recognition of the League of Villains to get his plan going. Shigaraki is pissed at Overhaul’s audacity and tells him to get out. Magne decides to take this as a personal order and uses her magnet on Overhaul. She explains that she’d spoken with a friend recently whom was impressed with her actions with the League and she’s not willing to give up her “freedom” from society to anyone. She draws him in to slam him with her magnet, but Overhaul gets a glove off and nicks her. And her entire upper body BURSTS into a rain of blood. Damn!

 

Compress rushes Overhaul next. Shigaraki tells him to back down, but Compress is kind of freaking out about watching a comrade die, and feels he needs to seal Overhaul before he can do more damage. Unfortunately, he’s hit with something, and afterwards his power doesn’t work right. This cost Compress an arm, so he’s at least better off than Magne. Shigaraki rushes passed the wounded Compress. He’s almost hit y something as well, but dodges. He almost gets a hand on Overhaul, but the villain calls in an unseen minion to block. Shigaraki obliterates the goon, just as Overhaul’s minions burst in, all of whom are wearing Plague Doctor masks. Twice claims that he wasn’t followed, but Shigaraki assumes that Overhaul’s goons include a tracker. Overhaul scolds them for their tardiness, and one of his goons also apologizes for missing the shot on Shigaraki. Overhaul, now flanked by goons, thinks that the two groups area bout even with a death each, and admits he owes Compress an arm. Twice and Toga want to keep fighting, but Shigaraki calls them off. Overhaul leaves them with a card and tells them to reach out after they’ve cooled off and changed their minds. Shigaraki isn’t likely to forget or forgive, me thinks.

 

The Plague Doctor masks are certainly odd,
but they do make your goons memorable.

Back at UA, Aizawa tells the class that at the meeting, he and the other teachers voted against expanding Work Study’s to first years. Bakugo is quite happy with this, as he’s clearly jealous. He obviously gets pissed when Aizawa admits that it was eventually decided that they would allow the Work Studies to move forward, as long as they’re with hero agencies with an impressive resume. The school realized that the public might object to what they might see to as coddling prospective heroes, so if they can’t protect the students, they’ll at least make sure they’re only serving under the best of the best. Ain’t that a kick in the head?

 

Izuku remembers his conversation with Gran Torino and goes to All Might to ask about being introduced to Nighteye. All Might, unfortunately can’t help him with this. Why? Three reasons. 1. He voted against Work Studies for First years. 2. He thinks Izuku needs to focus on improving his Shoot Style. And 3. He really, really, really doesn’t want to talk to Nighteye and hear “I Told You So’s,” from his former sidekick. Izuku is adamant about working with Nighteye though, as he thinks Nighteye will help him improve the most. Despite that, All Might can’t help him, but he knows someone who might.

 

Like, there is no denying that Togeta is much more
like All Might than Izuku is.

They meet with Togeta and ask him if he thinks Izuku will work well under Nighteye. Togeta asks Izuku what kind of hero he wants to be. After Izuku explains that he wants to be the strongest, best hero there is and to save everyone, Togeta does think he could work with Nighteye. So, Togeta agrees to introduce Izuku. As the two students celebrate, All Might thinks back to when interviewed Nezu for perspective successors. All Might admits to himself, that had he not met Izuku when he did, Togeta might have been his choice. Damn.

 

The weekend rolls around to UA. While most of his classmates are going to take it easy, Izuku runs off to meet Togeta and Bakugo and Todoroki are on their way to their remedial classes for their Provisional Hero Licenses.

 

Bubble Girl... fairly certain you can sue him for
something like this. Just sayin'.

Izuku and Togeta arrive at Sir Nighteye’s agency, which is about an hour away from UA by train. Togeta advices that he needs to get Nighteye to laugh. While the hero has a stern reputation, he believes in humor and thinks laughter is extremely important. They enter the agency. At the same time, Nighteye is getting a report about Overhaul from his sidekick Bubble Girl. She explains that while the warehouse was empty, they found evidence of a massive amount of blood being cleaned up and the massive hole in it makes it clear that something happened. Nighteye chastises her for not delivering her report with enough humor and will have to discipline her. Izuku and Togeta walk in as Bubble Girl is being tickle tortured in a tickle machine… I feel like this might be a violation of some kind of HR violation… but what are you going to do? Izuku tries to get Nighteye to laugh at his impressive All Might impression, but it doesn’t go over well. Togeta mentally laments the fact Izuku isn’t funny!

 

Okay, so this is a much better official start to season 4 than the previous filler episode. We got a proper introduction to Overhaul, and his Hassaikai. They’re a dangerous, powerful group, and will cause a lot of damage by the time they’re done. It’s a shame that Magne had to get obliterated to show how powerful Overhaul is. And also introduces a new mystery, what the Yakuza have made that seems to block powers. But we’ll get more into that later. Izuku also made progress with his work study. I thought it was quite funny that All Might’s biggest reason to not introduce Izuku to Nighteye was to avoid the I Told You so from his former sidekick. While Nighteye’s method of encouraging humor in his sidekick might seem… extreme, I do enjoy the juxtaposition of this super serious dude being hell bent on spreading laughs. Given his reaction to Izuku’s impression, though, I doubt this is going to be an easy first meeting for Izuku. But we’ll get into that next time. Have a good night, everybody. 

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Twitter: @BasicsSuperhero

Viewer Log: My Hero Academia ep 64

 So... guess not all Journalists are out for the big scoop.  

Last time on My Hero Academia, the student’s were introduced to UA’s Big Three, the top ranked seniors of their class. They are the anxious Tamaki Amajiki, the peppy but personal space violating Nejire Hado, and the muscular goof Mirio Togeta. Not being able to articulate what one learns from a work study on in words, Togeta challenges the whole class to a sparring match. While 1A, Izuku especially, puts up an excellent fight, Togeta ends up wiping the floor with them, using his Permeation Quirk to phase through the ground and attack them while making him self incapable of being hurt. Afterwards, he explains that the whole point of a Work Study is to help give them the skills to survive in the hero world on their own. He used it to give him power, as he put it. Togeta mentions to his fellows that he thinks his boss, Sir Nighteye would be interested in Izuku. And while that’s going on, we’re informed that the League of Villains has made contact with Overhaul, the leader of a group known as the Hassaikai. That can’t possibly be good… but we’re going to ignore that for now to do a filler episode recap. In case you’re wondering, yes, I was tempted to skip this, but that would throw off the episode count and my brain will not allow that to stand.

Does it count as heterocromia if he has different
colored pupils?

 

After a quick recap by Izuku about the basic premise of the show, world of heroes, student in training to be a hero, One for All, All Might, all that jazz, we’re shown the scene of All Might battling All for One. It’s revealed to be a video that a nameless reporter from the fictitious Juko News is watching, and getting all choked up about. His editor yells at him to get some work done. He starts writing a piece about the history of All Might, got started in America working with David Shield, Japan’s symbol of peace and so on, but get’s yelled at for just reciting fluff. Apparently, the paper is under additional pressure due to being one of the last to report on All Might’s fall… it’s a framing device just roll with it. They want new dirt, but All Might’s friends aren’t talking and the police are keeping any details on All For One under wraps. When things seem totally lost, their savior steps in, freelance journalist Taneo Tokuda.

 

He shows them the scene of All Might telling the cameraman ‘Now, it’s your turn.’ His editor and the others assumed that All Might meant it as a threat to criminals, but Tokuda doesn’t think so. He thinks that, given All Might just started working at a school, that he may have been referring to a successor that he intends to find, provided that Juko News can get him legally passed security. In exchange, they’ll get the exclusive. They’re willing to give it, and ask if he has any leads. He admits that he thought it might be Mirio Togeta, as he’s the star pupil of All Might’s former sidekick, but thinks that’s unlikely due to the two pro-heroes having had a very obvious falling out a few years prior. No, he thinks it’s a student from Class 1A, due to All Might showing them extra attention. Tokuda get’s his approval.

These two look like cousins, right?

 

At the 1A dorm, Aizawa tells his students that a reporter is coming in to interview them about life in the dorms and how they’re adjusting. He admits that it’s more or less a publicity stunt to alievate tensions in the public and with the student’s parents. Tokuda comes in, then, explaining he’s got full access to the students from 8am to 6pm. He just wants them to go about their day and he’ll ask questions when appropriate. Aizawa tells Iida to get him if there are any issues and then bids them ado.

 

Tokuda gets a bunch of pics of the kids during their school day, capping it off with a rollcall and a quick explanation of powers. I’ve gone over this a few times, so won’t waste space repeating all 20 students and their powers again. After the rollcall, Tokuda flashes back to when he got approval from his editor. He thinks that he can narrow it down from the 20 students if he focuses on what All Might would be looking for. He initially thought it was someone from the Sports Festival finalists, but Bakugo is too vocal about his desire to be better than All Might, Todoroki has his problematic pedigree, and the other top four students don’t “feel” right. No, he’s narrowed it down to one green haired lad.

Convenient store meat buns are like gas station
hotdogs, right?

 

We’re shown Izuku doing an evening workout when he ran into All Might. The former pro had had a doctors appointment, and then was more or less forced to take a bunch of meat buns from a convenience store worker who was a big fan. He brought them to share with class 1A… the favoritism really makes things obvious, All Might! Izuku compliments his mentor for being so selfless, with All Might telling him that its his turn now to be the hero. He walks off.

 

Tokuda joins Izuku and they start chatting while sharing buns. Tokuda admits that he was a big All Might fan, and actually owes the hero personally. 18 years ago, All Might saved his father from a bombing that occurred in an industrial zone. He’d been so shocked and thankful to see his father saved, Tokuda had activated his Quirk without thinking, which lead to an awesome picture that was run in all the papers and more or less got Tokuda into journalism. He admits that he was shocked to hear All Might had retired and that he was nervous about what happens next. Izuku notes that he’d been feeling something similar, given how blatant villain attacks have been getting. But, then Tokuda claims the world still has hope, in the next Symbol of Peace. He gives a quick blurb about his powers, Full Body Lens, that lets him manifest camera’s all over his body and he can print the photos. He reveals that all of his research thus far points to Izuku being the next symbol of peace. He mentions the sludge monster fight, how their powers are similar, and that he’d spoken with the Pussycats and Koda, the last of which is what made him sure. Izuku tries to deflect this line of questioning, but is really bad at it, so Tokuda now knows for sure.

 

Inside, Uraraka starts looking for Deku to join the class for Dinner, spots him speaking with Tokuda and starts trying to figure out what’s going on there.

 

I could see this as the cover of this dudes book in
fifteen years, and Izuku being incredibly embarrassed.

Tokuda tells Izuku not to worry, that he’s not writing an expose or anything, nor is he writing about dorm life. No, he came because he needed to know that “there’s still light in this world.” A light in the form of All Might’s successor, whom he found. He thanks Izuku for being that light, and offers him a handshake. Izuku goes for it, but Tokuda grabs him, and pulls him in for a selfie. He tells Izuku that he’ll cherish the photo, and keep it under wraps. At least until Izuku’s big debut, and then it’ll probably be included in the book he is intending to write about Izuku. “When the New Symbol of Peace Was Young.” I think it’s a bit wordy, maybe “New Symbol: Origin,” has a nicer ring to it.

 

Izuku was humbled by that little interaction. He goes inside for dinner, but is met by Uraraka. She was initially curious as to what that was, but is pretty easily distracted by the meat buns. Lesson for Izuku’s life going forward, Ochako Uraraka is easily distracted by food.

 

At the paper, Tokuda lies about not having found the new symbol, that his hunch had been off. As an apology, he offers them a candid pic of All Might eating a meat bun, which I guess means all is forgiven? The way they acted, he handed them a blank check, but it’s just one pic, right? Tokuda is hopeful that All Might made the right choice.

 

We’re then shown a quick cute scene of All Might sneezing, and then with a runny nose telling Aizawa that he’ll be all right. … If you don’t get that, it’s a reference to an old superstition in Japan. According to it, if you sneeze, it’s because someone is thinking/talking about you. And it’s just a cute moment to end on.

 

Okay, so that episode was… fine. I think the swim meet episode recap from last season worked a little better personally. It made the recap feel less blatant and gave all the kids something fun to do. This one was pretty much all recap with very little of the actual students. I did like Tokuda, though. His power was useful and interesting. I liked his little origin of having his father saved by All Might and how it seemed to propel his life into journalism, and that this whole journey was more for personal satisfaction than anything. I just wish it flowed a bit better, ya know? I could go on, but there really isn’t that much to talk about. It was a standard recap episode. Groundbreaking? Obviously not, but well told and it introduced a fairly interesting one-off character… thought Studio Bones should feel free to use him again in other filler material. Just saying.  Have a good night, everybody!

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Twitter: @BasicsSuperhero

Viewer Log: My Hero Academia ep 63

 I really can't think of a situation more bizarre than being gut punched by a buff Tin-Tin.

Hey everybody, I hope you’re having a nice Thanksgiving. Well, as nice as you can have in the middle of a global pandemic. Let’s see if I can’t brighten this last week of November with some ramblings on a popular Anime. Let’s get to it.

 

Last time on My Hero Academia, we got a little background on one of the most popular League of Villains members, Twice. He’s got standard cloning background story, he replicated himself and lived as a king for a little bit before his clones got fed up and tried to kill him. Watching himself kill himself about two dozen times obviously messed him up, and is the reason why he doesn’t clone himself anymore. He went for a walk on the town, notes how things are starting to crack with All Might gone, and spots a group of weirdos in Plague Doctor masks doing some murders and decides to try and recruit them for the League. Back at UA, Izuku suffered through three days of house arrest, still don’t get why they kept him from school, and then rejoined his class just as they’re introduced to the concept of Hero Work Studies. Rather than go into it himself, Aizawa brought in the three top seniors to discuss the program. These three, colloquially called the Big Three, consisting of a dower looking dark haired guy, a peppy looking bluenette I believe they’re called (shades of blue hair is weirdly prevalent in anime) girl, and enormous blonde guy that Izuku met briefly on the way to throwing out garbage. The plot thickens! Let’s get to it, shall we?

A stranger bunch I've yet to see...
Okay, not true, the Pussycats are stanger
but this is a close second.

 

We’re briefly reintroduced to the Big Three. The kids do the thing where they mutter about these three like they’ve been important this whole time. Imagine talking about the reputation of fellow classmates while they’re standing in front of you. Preposterous. Izuku notes that he does remember the big guy, Mirio Togeta, from the Sports Festival last year. He notes that Togeta didn’t do so hot, partially because his clothes kept falling off. How odd. Izuku also mentions that the other two didn’t do so hot either, and assumes they somehow improved immensely in the last year.

 

They begin introductions. The first kid to speak is Tamaki Amajiki, the dark haired, elven eared young man that was slouching since he walked in. He tries to talk, but the dude has a fear of public speaking, more general anxiety issues, or both. He tired to picture everyone with Potato heads to get through the speech, but it doesn’t help. Apparently seeing their clothes ruins his suspension of disbelief. I’m sure if you ask nicely, Amajiki, Hagakure would let you practice with her. Regardless, he gets discouraged, turns his back on the crowd and says he wants to go home. The girl tries to encourage him, but it doesn’t work. She introduces herself as Nejire Hado, and starts to talk about the Work Study program more, but gets distracted by asking weirdly probing questions to the 1A students. Like, why Shoji wears a mask, where Todoroki got his scar, and if Ashido’s horns will grow back if they broke off. Aizawa starts getting pissed at the unprofessionalism, so Togeta steps up and tries to pull them in with a call-and-response bit, but because he doesn’t do the “Plus Ultra” thing, it just confuses everyone. Not sure what else to do, Togeta challenges the entire class to a fight… because. Okay, it’s to show how much a Work Study can improve one’s combat skills, but he’s really vague about it.

 

Anyone else get the sense she's introduced him
a lot?

The class moves to one of the training halls. Amajiki, while clearly unsurprised, scolds his friend for going this route, and Hado advices he be careful to not hurt anyone, while playing with Ashido’s horns. Wouldn’t you know it, Ashido isn’t super thrilled to be poked like that. The class is overall pretty confident, as they’ve battled villains several times, but Togeta is pretty pumped regardless. Kirishima tries to lead off, but Izuku calls dibs, and steps to the head of the group. Aizawa notes from the sideline that Togeta is incredibly fast. It should be noted that Todoroki is abstaining from the fight, as he doesn’t have a PHL. Izuku does a quick stretch before getting into his charging stance. The fight is called and Izuku leads the charge. And Togeta partially loses his pants, distracting a fair chunk of the charging students. They focus on Jiro’s reaction for some reason, possibly because they think the punk looking girl freaking out at seeing a naked man is somehow funnier than anyone else’s. No idea. Izuku isn’t distracted, though, and he kicks at Togeta’s face. His foot passes through the big dude’s face, followed by the rest of him. He turns and compliment’s Izuku, and almost takes several attacks to his back, but they just pass through him, kicking up dust. Somehow, Togeta vanishes between when the dust kicks up and clears. He seems to just materialize behind Jiro, naked again, and knocks her out with blow to the stomach. He says he’s going to take out the ranged guys first. Some of the kids assume his Quirk must be pretty kick ass to move like that, but Amajiki notes that they should envy his skills, not his powers. He takes out all the ranged guys with a single blow each.

 

What would be weirder, if this made Izuku's foot
tingle, or that it didn't feel like anything?

After his first assault, it’s down to Izuku, Iida, Kirishima, Uraraka, Kota (talks to animals), Hagakure (invisible), Sato (super strength from eating sugar), and Ojiro (super big tail). Bet they’re missing Bakugo and Todoroki right about now… Amajiki keeps up with internal color commentary, thinking that if the students think he’s all power, then they’re pretty amateurish with their analytical skills. Thankfully, Izuku “Analytical” Midoriya is on the field. He is sure that despite Togeta’s speed and seemingly impermeability, they should be able to hit him just before he strikes. Working on the logic anything capable of dishing out damage has to be solid enough to receive some too. Togeta dives into the ground again. Izuku realizes how Togeta fights, turns and attacks as the big blonde appears behind him. Togeta is impressed with Izuku’s intelligence at predicting his movements… but I feel like it’s more pattern recognition than strictly intelligence. I mean, when you dive into the ground, appear behind someone and strike ten different people in the stomach, odds are good I can guess what you’ll try when attacking me. Just sayin’. Izuku tries to hit him, but Togeta is able to fake Izuku out and strike him hard in the side. Because Togeta is super helpful, he does compliment Izuku’s attempt to hit him, but explains that his entire fighting style is basically a counter-counter style.

 

Gonna just cross off Yoked Tin-Tin from the list of
things I never thought I'd see...

After Izuku is taken out, Togeta finished off last of the class in a few minutes. After the group recovers, they complain about their sore stomachs and how strong Togeta’s powers are. Between Hado and Togeta, we learn the specifics of his powers. His Quirk is called Permeation, and it allows him to phase through objects. What the students had thought was his warping was actually a weird side effect of his Quirk. Basically, he can drop through the ground, and if he turns off his Quirk while under, he’ll be forced back upward at high speed. Ashido whines that it’s like a buggy video game, to which Togeta agrees. He goes on to explain that his Quirk isn’t all that powerful in principle. When he switches on his Quirk, everything passes through him. He can’t breathe, because the air passes through his lungs. He can’t see or hear, because visual and auditory stimuli will just pass through him. Hell, if he didn’t switch his power back off, he could fall, blind, deaf, and suffocating, to the center of the earth. Even passing through a wall requires a multi-step process. 1. Turn his power on so it affects all but one leg. 2. Put his leg through hand solidify it. 3. Pull the majority of his body through. 4. Turn his power of for his remaining leg. And 5. Pull the rest of his leg through. He goes on to explain that the Work Study program is what helped him push his powers to the limit and up his speed at using his power. As a Work Study is more like working as a full-time sidekick than during their internship week. He “turned the training into power.” This freaks the kids out, but motivates them as well. As Todoroki watches, he resolves to get his PHL as quickly as possible, or believes he’ll be left behind.

 

The Big Three walk off. On the walk, Hado compliments Togeta for not seriously hurting anyone. Apparently, that’s impressive for him, even if he ended up streaking for most of the fight. She asks if anyone surprised him, and, shock of shocks, he’s mentions young Midoriya. He thinks that his Hero, Sir Nighteye, would love to meet him.

 

Back at the Dorm, Bakugo roars at the others to give him their garbage, and the girls of 1A talk about being excited for work studies, but will have to wait until Aizawa tells them that they got approval for work studies. Izuku is doing some exercises in his room, and remembers Aizawa explaining that the staff is still figuring out if first years will actually get to participate in a work study or not. Izuku decides to be proactive and calls up Grand Torino. Unfortunately, his internship mentor is working on something with the police and can’t take a student. He wonders why a “failure” like Izuku is being so proactive. Izuku remembers fighting and losing to Bakugo, and says that he needs to step up his game and be a hero. Torino tells him to talk to All Might, and suggests All Might just might introduce him to his former sidekick, Sir Nighteye.

 

We then cut over to the base of said former sidekick, Sir Nighteye. He’s a tall, lanky man in a white suit. One of his sidekicks comes into his office and informs him that Overhaul of the Shie Hassaikai has been seen moving with Twice of the League of Villains.

 

It's quite the group when the dude in the Plague
Doctor mask has one of the least bizarre fashion
senses.

We then cut again over to Twice leading this Overhaul to one of the League of Villain’s hideouts. Shock of shocks, the dude who wears a Plague Doctor mask is disgusted by the unhygienic area, but is introduced to Shigaraki. Oh, this can’t be good. Future Narrator Izuku pops in to muse that while he and his class have taken the next big step into being pro-heroes, the villains had taken their next big step as well. Cut to credits, and that’s the season, Lads, Lasses, individuals, and all that jazz.

 

So… while I don’t hate this episode, I’d say that this has been the weakest overall finale we’ve had thus far. Season one ended with Izuku and Class 1A facing off against Shigaraki and his Noumu, and season two ended with best frenemies Izuku and Bakugo being forced to work together for the first time and best their idol All Might. Ending on hinting on the next big villain, and a fairly one-sided fight against an entirely new character is… less than spectacular. That said, it wasn’t bad. Togeta, Hado and Amajiki are fun additions to the cast. Togeta is a fun compassionate brawler, Hado has great energy even if she doesn’t completely respect people personal space, and Amajiki’s comically intense anxiety is always good for a laugh. And, even though the fight wasn’t one of my personal favorites, it was a nice illustration of the skill difference between a senior UA student and a freshman. And the fact he beat all of them with an ability that isn’t usually billed as a combat power makes it all the more impressive. I just wish the fight wasn’t so lopsided that it was basically Togeta one shotting everyone. Just saying. And I should note that the problem isn’t the shows fault, persay, it’s just that the story itself didn’t really have a good breaking point after reaching the Provisional License Exam. That naturally flowed into Izuku and Bakugo’s show down, and that into setting up the Work Study’s and the intro to the new villain of the arc. They could have either ended before the exam, which would have left this season with significantly fewer episodes than last season, stop where they did, or bloat the season with the next arc. The Hassaikai arc, by the way, is currently the longest arc, at 40 chapters and 17 episodes. Though it will be dethroned by the time you read this by the Paranormal Liberation War Arc, currently ongoing. So, they went with the most attractive option. No shame there. While we’ve only seen enough of Overhaul to know he’s a snazzy dressing germaphobe with a possibly horrific power, but I can promise you he’s one of the most satisfying villains to hate in the whole series… at least thus far. But we’ll get more into that once we dive into the next season. Which we’ll start to cover for the other entries this month, then we’ll switch back to X-Men: Evolution for December. Have a good night everybody!

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