Viewer Log: My Hero Academia ep 80

Not sure who has it worse, Bakugo and Todoroki working with kindergartners or Izuku dealing with weird Aoyama. 

Last time on My Hero Academia, Bakugo and Todoroki went to their remedial Provisional License class. There they met up with Yoarashi and the real Camie from Shiketsu high, along with Seiji Shishikura, who is just there to observe. The quartet were singled out by the teacher, Gang Orca, for a special assignment to work on their ability to connect with others. They have to connect with the hearts of some of the most monstrous of people, kindergartners. The kids in question are problem children that also possess powerful quirks, so they have their work cut out for them. Bakugo insists that they have a brawl to prove who’s strongest, and the kids are more than happy to oblige. Enough recap, let’s get to it.

This could either be a future Justice League or
Legion of Doom moment.

 

We open strongly with the grade schoolers attacking the students full force. One kid throws demon death balls, one throws dust, another swings a massive hammer, a fourth kid hits them with an electromagnetic wave, and the weirdest power of all, a kid with a cannon in his mouth. And that’s just naming a few. The size of the explosion the last kid makes surprises Present Mic, who notes that he was no where near as powerful as a child. Seiji explains that this is a known phenomenon. As Quirks mix with each generation, Quirks get more and more potent. This has lead some to believe in a theory called the Quirk Singularity Doomsday, that Quirks will eventually get too powerful for people’s bodies to handle. How ominous!

 

The teacher, Ikoma, gets up to try to stop her students, but Present Mic grabs her. He advices to let her stay back and let the students handle it. The other students of the remedial class ask Gang Orca if things will be okay. He takes personal offense to these questions and yells at them for thinking that he didn’t have this entire situation under control. He believes in these four, they might be failures but they can handle themselves.

 

Thankfully, when the dust clears, it’s revealed that the four hero students are seemingly unscathed. Not completely sure how that works, but whatever. Todoroki comments that he thinks that because the kids know that they’re hero students, they attacked with full force. This pisses off Bakugo, like most things do, and Yoarashi is sad because he just wants to be their friend. One of the other girls fires her “Queen Beam” at Todoroki which… turns him into a complimenting prince? Oh, wait, no, it was just Camie in disguise screwing with her. We finally learn that Camie’s Quirk is called Glamour, which lets her make illusions for a short period of time. Okay, I guess the Toga swap out can be forgiven if an aspect of their powers is that similar. I assume Toga used an excuse of being ill or her powers changing if anyone pointed out that Camie’s illusions don’t typically have a grey goo involved with them. For some reason, Bakugo is highly entertained by “Glamouoki” and can’t stop laughing about it. I’m with Todoroki, I don’t get why it’s funny.

 

I'm a grown ass man and I want to ride this slide.

The lead kid is from earlier is clearly upset by the older kids not taking them seriously. He swears that they, the kindergartners, will show that they’re more powerful than anyone. But then the students unleash their plan. Yoarashi unleashes a whirlwind that throws many of the little kids into the air, Camie creates an Aurora Borealis like illusion and Todoroki freezes the various kid’s attacks into the shape of a massive slide. Yoarashi puts them all atop it and the kids slide down, Camie and Todoroki using their powers to add to the effect. Todoroki explains that he can’t make complex designs with his ice just yet, but he used the kid’s tools and attacks as a frame for the slide, and compliments them all on their power.

 

We get a flashback to Bakugo explaining the plan. They need to show the kids how impressive they are, but also not humiliate the kids. Because losing to someone that they don’t respect will just make them feel like crap, which would be counterproductive. Weird how insightful Bakugo is being today… Yoarashi wants to set them on a better path, so they can avoid causing trouble like he did during the exam.

 

Seiji and Present Mic are both impressed with this strategy, which should get to the students and not wreck their self-esteem. Getting through to punk kids is something that is kinda hard to do, even if they are receptive to what you’re saying. Glad that they figured out a strategy that should be very beneficial for everyone involved.

 

Bakugo grabs the boss kid and tells him to get in there and have some fun. BK tries to fight off Bakugo, still believing that he’s superior to the older kids. Bakugo drops some knowledge on the kid, that always looking down on people it’ll be impossible for him to understand his own weaknesses. Bakugo talking from experience, eh? Bakugo has Yoarashi lift the BK up to ride the slide. Ms. Ikoma is shocked to see her kids have a complete turnaround like this. Present Mic advices her to keep this vibe going when she’s in charge again.

 

 All Might in the stands asks Endeavour why it’s so important to be the strongest. Endeavor can’t answer as he seems too enthralled by seeing Shoto using his flame side with a smile on his face to notice.

 

I feel like Present Mic is that guy who knows
everybody in his field.

After, Gang Orca congratulates them on completing their task despite their very vague instructions. Bakugo and Todoroki both are mentally quite pissed that the vague instructions were part of the test. He starts to compliment them all, but then starts yelling at them not to fail again. Present Mic explains that Gang Orca is actually a huge softie that loves kids, he’s just putting on a tough face for show. Ahhh.

 

After the fight, Yoarashi, Todoroki and Camie walk out and chat amicably, Bakugo does his best to walk ahead and ignore them. Yoarashi thinks that after all of that, he and Todoroki are destined to be friends, and Todoroki seems to be not upset by the idea. Camie says that Bakugo is okay when he doesn’t talk, so he should try shutting up more. Bakugo is angry (shrug). They run into Seiji and their teacher talking with All Might, Endeavor and Present Mic. Camie asks what they’re talking about, to which Seiji rather angrily announces is her. The teachers are beginning to work out the details of their schools working together more closely. Hopefully to decrease the chances of students getting kidnapped again, and in the hopes that they can start working together for joint training. Bakugo says that he’ll fight Seiji one on one and beat him.

 

Endeavor goes to talk to Shoto, but the youngest Todoroki isn’t interested in getting chummy with his pop. He slaps Endeavor’s hand away when he goes to ruffle Shoto’s hair. Endeavor, undaunted, tells his son that he’s vey proud of him, and that he swears to become someone that Shoto can be proud of too. That feels like a pretty tall order, given the years of emotional abuse, his wife being put into a psychiatric ward and his oldest son’s mysterious death, but what ya gonna do? Yoarashi punches himself in the face for some reason, and then goes over to the Todorokis. He tells Endeavor that he’ll be rooting for him.

 

All Might muses that progress is slow. Sometimes people come to a standstill, sometimes they have to look behind them, but step by step they keep moving forward.

 

The next few weeks pass in a blur for the students, and it’s now September. It’s weird that we’re still only in the like second quarter of their year, isn’t it? During that time, Izuku and the other students from the Shie Hassaikai raid attend Nighteye’s funeral. The kids talk with their hero mentors and it’s decided that they’re going to put their work studies on hold for a while. Centipeder is going to take over Nighteye’s agency and he and Bubble Girl are going to wait eagerly for Togata to return to active duty with them.

 

On a happier note, Eri has woken up. She’s still sickly and her power could still go out of control at any time. As such, they’re keeping her in isolation for a while longer. But they did discover that her power output is from the horn on her head. Releasing all of her power caused her horn to shrink to a little pump on her forehead.

 

Always ask before putting cheese in someone's mouth.

After all of that, the students get back into the grove of regular classwork. Izuku does his damnedest t make up for lost time during his math course with Ectoplasm. He tries to answer a question, but is off by a couple digits. Afterwards, Uraraka and Iida let him know that he’s impressed them with his renewed study fervor and suggest they get some lunch. Izuku barely gets out the sentiment that he’s hungry before Aoyama, this kid with the naval laser, sticks some cheese in his mouth. You really should ask before sticking fromage in people’s mouth. Everyone is kind of weirded out by this, for obvious reasons. He offers Izuku more cheese, but Izuku turns him down. Iida offers for Aoyama to join them for lunch, but Aoyama doesn’t eat at the cafeteria, Lunch Rush’s meals don’t agree with his stomach. They leave him to his rather fancy meal with… wine? Who allowed that?

Maybe it's because I've been listening to a true crime
podcast, but this has serious serial killer vibes.

 

Later that night, Izuku has someone sneaking around on his balcony. There’s some eerie music plays at its revealed to be Aoyama and he’s leaving something there. Izuku gets up, clearly disturbed and looks outside. On his balcony, written in cheese, is the message “Midoriya, I know.” Yeah, that’s really freaky.

 

Izuku runs to class the next day, as he didn’t get much sleep after that and is pretty weirded out. As he goes into the classroom, Aoyama winks at him and says surprise. Izuku thinks over the situation. He doesn’t know Aoyama very well, as he’s kind of a “free spirit” (weirdo) that doesn’t socialize much. He’s the guy that talks to just about everyone, but not about anything too deep.

 

After class, Kaminari shows some of the others that it’s been reported that the heroes Edgeshot (ninja who can flatten and stretch himself out), Mt. Lady (makes herself huge) and Kamui Woods (controls plants) are forming a team, supposedly called Team Lurkers. As they go to their next class, Ashido think they should all form a team when they’re pro. She suggest that Uraraka make her float so she can make acid rain. And that Sero could move her around with tape, and that Jiro, Koda and Shoji could be the scouts. Their team’s name? Team Rainy Day! I’m kinda into it. Mineta and Kaminari are kinda upset they aren’t included.

 

Everyone moves to the the gym for additional training. They’re supposed to either start working on a second ultimate move or prefect the two they already have until they’re flawless. Kirishima goes Unbreakable and swears to become a man that won’t flinch at someone like Rappa. He asks Bakugo, Sato, and Izuku hit him with everything they’ve got. Izuku turns him down to focus on solo training. Bakugo asks him if he’s made any progress, and when he says he hasn’t, is a dick. He tells Kirishima to let him use his Howitzer blast on him.

 

Weirdest bonding situation when one of the bondies
is suffering from serious indigestion.

Izuku thinks about how he’s pushed himself to 20% of One For All’s power, but he needs to hit 100% without anyone’s help if he’s going to be a real hero. He’s distracted by Aoyama being weird, showing him his new move, Naval Buffet Laser. It’s a focused laser cutter. Unfortunately, this laser attack gives him a stomach ache and he drops to his knees. Izuku, feeling bad for him, offers to take him to the infirmary to rest. Once it’s just the two of them, he asks about the balcony thing. Aoyama explains that he meant that he knows that Izuku’s body isn’t compatible with his power. Izuku kind of freaks out at this assessment, but Aoyama goes on to explain that he’s in the same boat. He’s had to wear his focusing belt since he was a child because otherwise the laser tends to leak out. His body can’t handle his power, and he remembers how Izuku used to hurt himself when using his power. He saw that Izuku had gotten more impatient to succeed since the work study, and wanted to encourage him. He loves cheese and surprises, so he thought the two together would encourage him. He’s a weirdo, but a nice weirdo. He advices that you can’t overcome the things that give you pain, you can’t twinkle! Izuku thanks him, but when he pats Aoyama on the back, it’s implied he craps himself. Oops. Afterwards, Izuku explains that this is how he and Aoyama became friends. How sweet.

 

Okay, so while this isn’t a bad episode, it definitely suffers from being two very different stories grafted together. I almost wish they’d done some filler in both episodes, extending the Remedial class arc into episode 80 and make Izuku and Aoyama’s side story be episode 81. I liked how Bakugo and Todoroki came together with Yoarashi and Camie to come up with a plan to beat but teach the kids they were put up against. It was pretty sweet. I also liked the bit between the Todorokis. As I said, Endeavor has a LOT to make up for, but his willingness to at least try makes it clear he’s not a complete hatesink. And while Aoyama’s stuff is a bit odd, it was a nice bit of world building. Aoyama confirms something that has been hinted at before, that sometimes Quirks and bodies don’t always work well together. Aoyama having intense indigestion due to his Quirk is actually one of the milder unfortunate mixes. Imagine, say, your main power is to generate intense flames, but, rather than having a resistance to extreme heat, your body has instead a resistance to extreme cold. That would be a real unfortunate combo, wouldn’t it? I liked that the two of them bonded and that Izuku has a better understanding of a fun but weird background character. Like I said, I think both of the stories told here are good and important, but mixing them together just felt a bit jarring. It’s a jagged edge instead of the slightly smoother edge of some of the earlier combined stories they’ve done. All I’m saying. Okay, after that last side story, we’ll move onto the next story arc, the UA School Festival Arc and the next villain, Gentle Criminal. I’ll see you then, have a good night. 

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Viewer Log: My Hero Academia ep 79

 The most terrifying job in the world, elementary school teacher. 

Last time on My Hero Academia, the heroes got a fairly sizeable win on the board. Gran Torino and detective Tsukauchi found and captured Kurogiri, the League of Villain’s preferred method of transport. But they also discovered that All For One has another incredibly powerful minion named Gigantomachia living in the mountains and it’s really just a matter of time before he causes more damage than just breaking the nearby mountain. Meanwhile, Izuku and his friends finished recovering from their injuries of the day before. Our green haired protagonist began to offer One For All to Togata, as he felt that the senior was more worthy of the power than him, but Togata turned it down flat. He’s more willing to believe that Eri or someone else could get him his power back than the “what if” scenario Izuku presented. And finally, Bakugo and Todoroki headed out to their second day of Provisional License Remedial lesson. Endeavor and All Might are also there, so this is going to get awkward fast. Let’s get to it, shall we?

 

They're as opposite as Izuku and Bakugo.

We open with Bakugo and Todoroki meeting up with the Shiketsu students Yoarashi (wind elementalist), Camie (real power unknown), and Seiji (can mold flesh into meatballs). They’re being watched on the cameras by Mr. Mera, the proctor from the Provisional License Exam, and Gang Orca, the #10 hero that looks like a giant whale. Short time later, Todoroki and Yoarashi meet up on their way to the testing field. Yoarashi seems to want to find commonalities between the two of them, but fails miserably. Todoroki likes cold soba, Yoarashi likes hot udon, two polar opposite of the Japanese diet. ... I assume. Bakugo sees them walk by and remarks that he’s, I assume he means Yoarashi, is ridiculous.

 

Uhm... I don't know what kind of eyes those are,
but that's not an Orca eye.

Mera addresses the students, and reveals he’s dealing with insomnia again. Dude really should consider changing careers if it’s disrupting sleep schedule this much, this often. Just saying. Anyway, he explains that they’re adding Camie to their course, upping the total number of students to 11. Endeavor, All Might, and Present Mic get to the stands and look for seats. All Might kind of wants to watch discretely, but Endeavor ruins that plan by yelling at Shoto that he shouldn’t have failed, but since he’s there he needs to blow the other students out of the water. The students are surprised and mildly excited to see All Might there, and surprised and apprehensive at Endeavor being there. Yoarashi remembers and is still clearly upset about that time Endeavor was mean to him when he tried to get an autograph as a child.

 

Whatever, Camie is brought in and she is speaking 100% differently than Toga did when she was playing her. Real Camie speaks like a stereotypical valley girl. Seiji in the stands points out that she’s got a bit of a flighty personality and that’s probably why The League of Villains targeted her specifically. We see a flashback of her just after she woke up from a FOUR. DAY. COMA. and found out that she failed the test she didn’t actually remember taking, and she acted like someone said they saw a lookalike of her at the mall. Weird. The teacher with Seiji points out that shouldn’t be hard on himself for not noticing Camie had been replaced, as no one else completely got what happened until after the reports from the Shie Hassaikai attack. I think actually everyone should feel bad they didn’t realize that Camie was replaced by someone that gave zero shits about pretending to be who she looked like. Just saying. The teacher think that Japan needs a new Symbol of Peace before things get more dangerous.

 

Gang Orca comes in, and he’s in general not impressed with the students. Seiji seems to agree that they aren’t worth much, as he ignores the fact that he failed the first test and thus is technically worse than everyone down there. Again, just saying. Gang Orca specifically targets Bakugo, Todoroki, and Yoarashi, saying that the three of them have a lot of combat potential but that’s about it. Cammie is also being lumped in with them… for some reason. He’s decided that these four need to work on a much more important muscle than their powers, the ability to connect with people. So, they’ll have to work with the most terrible, horrible, and dangerous group of people out there.

 

…

 

Kindergarteners!

 

That’s not a joke, I really think Kindergartners are scary. Because they are. The kids are all running around and screaming, much to their teacher’s, Ms. Ikoma, stress. The students quickly overwhelm the students. Bakugo does his usual thing and starts screaming at them, with a random boss kid pegging him as “the angry guy” within a few seconds. Todoroki gets called “Five Wieners,” for the little bell things on his uniform. Yoarashi initially ignores them as he glares at Endeavour, vowing to never become like him, before he remembers where he is and gets tackled by the students.

 

Hey, now, pinching butts is uncalled for.

Camie asks why she’s part of this group. Gang Orca says that they didn’t get a good assessment of her abilities, because, you know, she’d been replaced, and because they thought she wouldn’t be good at this test. She tries to prove that she’s good with kids by grabbing a student and hugging him to calm him down, which works, until a little girl pinches her butt and she and her friends agree that they should ignore the floozie that is trying to seduce the boy, Sho. … Why do they know those words? … No answer? Okay, fine.

 

Ms. Ikoma explains that her class is filled with problem children that won’t listen to her. Gang Orca tells her not to worry, as he’s pretty sure his trainees will win the kids over by the end of the day. The students not part of the kindergarten foursome will be doing practical exercises and regular training on the other half of the stadium.

 

In the stands, Present Mic’s face starts twitching, and he finally explodes. Metaphorically. Turns out, the MC in him can’t just sit and watch students doing training without color commentary. He runs over to the judges table, steals a mic and starts presenting said commentary. Got to applaud his passion. Once he’s gone, Endeavor and All Might start chatting. All Might isn’t sure what they have to talk about, as they have pretty much mutual animosity at this point, but Endeavor explains. In the last few months, crime has risen by 3% from the following year. Now, Endeavor has been working to keep up with that rise, but even he has to admit that the nebulous “thing” that All Might built up in his years as Symbol of Peace has started to erode. He asks the simple but complex question, what does it mean to be a symbol?

 

Bakugo really needs to set up an appointment
with counselor Hound Dog. Like, yesterday.

Things are not going well for the students. Case in point, Bakugo somehow got his gauntlets stolen by some of the kindergartners. And Camie is not mixing well with the young girls. It’s eerie how similar this is to spending time with actual small children… Present Mic interviews the teacher, who admits that her kids need sooo much help. Bakugo makes an angry face, as per usual, and gets the other three to follow him to formulate a plan. He realizes Ms. Ikoma failed as a leader for these kids and thus they don’t respect her and run amok. He believes that there is a “boss kid” amongst them, and, his plan is to find this kid, tie him to a pole and have the other kids throw rocks at them. This would prove that they’re more powerful than their boss kid. … Bakugo has issues, man. He leaps at the students and announces “Which ever one of you is the strongest, come fight me!” The kid from before, the obvious boss kid, mouth off some more to Bakugo whom for some reason doesn’t attack him. Ikoma asks if the kids will be okay, and Present Mic tells her not to worry.

 

Yoarashi tries to win the kids with kindness, asking who wants to be heroes, which are most of them, and use the logic that if they want to be heroes, then they shouldn’t cause trouble for their teachers. This argument works for a few minutes. While it does, Seiji mentions that he thinks Yoarashi has a way with kids and he might be able to handle this situation. But then one of the students point out that if that’s true, then Yoarashi probably can’t be a good hero, as he is making the teachers work harder than they should to help him. He freaks out and does that full body bow to ask for forgiveness.

 

Bakugo insists that a little violence is necessary for these kids. Todoroki tells him that he doesn’t think that’ll work, but Bakugo insists that this “was how (he) was raised and (he) turned out awesome!” Damn, Mitsuki Bakugo just got that much scarier.

 

Back in the stands, Endeavour explains that he trusted his legacy and dream of a Todoroki being the number one hero to Shoto. He explained that he made it to the #2 spot on Japan’s hero list by the time he was twenty and because he did that on his own merit, he knew he’d never reach the #1 spot. He knew that if he just wanted the title, he could be nicer and push up his popularity to get the job, but he didn’t really just want the title, he wanted to BE #1. All Might isn’t sure how to explain what the symbol is. He explains that he wanted to be a beacon of hope for the people as well as a warning for the criminal element. He gave up a lot to follow this path, even abandoning people important to him to walk the path. Yes, he thought of Nighteye as he said this. He mentions that a lot of folks can’t stop dwelling on the difference between them. And, at the end of the day, they are very different people and Endeavor should figure out what kind of symbol he wants to be and he should just do that. Endeavor gets distracted for a second by yelling at Shoto to beat everyone.

 

Todoroki walks up to the kids. The little girls make heart eyes at him, but decide to ignore him when Camie agrees that Shoto Todoroki is hot. He tries to “embrace his past” and use that to bond with the kids. He gives his whole backstory like he’s reading a DND character sheet and thus quickly loses the kids interest. He walks back to the others, dejected. Camie suggests that they just show off their powers to show the kids how cool they are. Bakugo is pissed because he says he was about to suggest that. They’re going to go all in with a demonstration of their skills.

 

Oh, I wonder who the boss kid could be.
It's certainly not this kid they keep focusing
on in an young man's suit.

The obvious boss kid and the other students start showing off their powers, proving they aren’t impressed with the young heroes. Ikoma tells them not to hurt anyone, but doesn’t specify whom she refers. Seiji somehow got to the complete opposite side of the area to help Present Mic with the color commentary. He points out the lose-lose situation for the others, as there are two scenarios. They either A. go all out on the students and beat them, but killing the kid’s self-esteem which would be bad, or B. fight the kids with kid gloves, lose, boost their self-esteem too much which would be bad, too. Ikoma explains that her students are actually incredibly powerful and believe that their Quirks are stronger than professional heroes. Oh, and they probably won’t hold back. The episode closes on one of the kids throwing a demon ball thing at the screen. Damn.

 

I gotta give Gang Orca props for coming up with an unusual scenario for these four to work through. If you can win over the hearts and minds of the most unstable of human kind, small children, you can win over anyone. I liked seeing how each of their strategies fail, as they fit each of their personalities so well. Bakugo wants to rely on violence, but no one else does. Yoarashi tries to use intense passion, but that backfires when they poke apart his logic. Todoroki tries to be straightforward, but it’s too boring to keep their attention. Camie is an interesting addition to this group. It’s kind of weird that Horikoshi decided that she’d sound so different than Toga did while mimicking her. Like, Himiko Toga, an apparently skilled copycat just decided to not follow Camie’s speech patterns? It’s just a bit odd. I kind of thought it was hilarious that the five-year-old girls decided to use high school girl tactics on her. It just felt on brand.  I also liked the conversation that All Might and Endeavor have. The fact that Endeavor seems to be trying to grow into his new role does suggest that he isn’t a complete hatesink. Yes, he’s still a bad dad, a shit husband, and a massive jerk, but now that he’s effectively the most important hero in Japan, he’s trying to fit himself into the role. I got to give credit to people who want to be better, even if they were pretty terrible before. Growth is growth, regardless of who it happens to. Next time, the quartet will handle the students, and Izuku will have to deal with a weirder than normal Aoyama. Yeah, I should mention that this is kind of a plot lull, with a couple episodes fitting multiple unrelated stories being joined together. It’s kind of inevitable with longer stories like this. Have a goodnight, everybody. 

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Viewer Log: My Hero Academia ep 78

 The kids take one more day to recenter themselves, and Bakugo and Todoroki take center stage.

Last time on My Hero Academia, consequences for actions were had by all. Overhaul, the young head of the Shie Hassaikai, Eri’s guardian and all-around asshole got punished for his crimes. The punisher in this case being Tomura Shigaraki. He and Mr. Compress dismembered him, removing both his hands at the wrist and effectively taking his powers from him. He’s still technically got his quirk, but since it’s channeled through his hands, he kinda doesn’t anymore. The League also steals the Quirk destroying bullets for their own nefarious ends. On a significantly less karmically just note, Sir Nighteye succumbed to his injuries. The gaping wound in his stomach and loss of left arm proved too severe of injuries for surgery or Recovery Girl’s to mend, and Eri’s power was basically used up helping Izuku beat Overhaul. He was able to reconcile with All Might before he went, though, and gave both his students and sidekicks the advice to always keep smiling, to balance the terror in the world. He also gave Togata hope that he may regain his Quirk and will go on to be the finest hero in the world. Well, enough recap, lets get to it.

 

We open with the League of Villains attack, assault and theft of the property of Kai Chisaki aka Overhaul. Right up to the ominous statement that Shigaraki makes, “Next, it’s out turn” and Chisaki’s scream of horror as he realizes that he’s been so thoroughly defeated. Shit.

 

All For One kept this guy in RESERVE??

We then cut over to Gran Torino and Detective Tsukauchi, they’re leading a small squad of police up into the mountains. They’d gotten several tips that the shadowy metaphorical getaway driver of the League of Villains, Kurogiri, was spotted in the area. They think it MIGHT be a trap, as what teleporter would be stupid enough to be caught anywhere multiple times, but it’s too good an opportunity to miss even if it is. Capture Kurogiri, and the League will basically be stuck where ever they currently are. They get to the area and Gran Torino flies off to find him. He tracks the shadowy figure withing a few minutes, finding him just kinda walking around the woods. He tackles and pins Kurogiri to the ground as the police catch up. Kurogiri seems pretty nonplused about being caught. He really doesn’t have a face one can read, but he talks like he isn’t pinned under someone’s boot. Probably because, you know, he can teleport. Shockingly, he doesn’t try to warp away, but asks if they’d hear reports of a man with a wild appearance traversing the area. … Does Japan have Bigfeet? Bigfoots? I’m not sure what the plural is on that… whatever, said wild man walks up to them a moment later and it’s not a Japanese Sasquatch. Kurogiri has a brief flashback to All For One telling him that, if AFO is capture, Kurogiri will be the only one to watch over Shigaraki but advices that there is one other minion he can call upon for aide. This is that minion, Gigantomachia, a colossal monster of a man. He’s also, interestingly, the guy that scared Kirishima and Ashido’s classmates a year ago. How odd. He announces “Everything is for the glory of my Master!” before the screen cuts to black. Teases!

 

Back at the hospital, Izuku learns about the League of Villains attack on Overhaul’s transport caravan. They also confirm that Snatch was KIA. Izuku is visibly shaken by this, but Aizawa tells him to not feel responsible. Great, Aizawa, that’s exactly what a kid with Izuku’s level of guilt complex needs to hear to not feel guilty. Oy. He gives Izuku the goodish news that nearly all the students are heading back to the dorms today, sans Togata, whom the hospital wants to keep around for a bit for some additional tests. Izuku wants to stay and look after Eri, but Aizawa says that’s not a good idea. They need to trust the doctors to help her get a bit of control before he can see her. He’s clearly not happy but will listen. But he doesn’t want to leave before seeing Togata, so he runs up to his sempai (Japanese term for someone whom is more experienced than them, ie, older student, more senior coworker, etc). He goes to Togata’s room to see the large student doing leg work outs on his bed. He’s doing that one where he’s balancing on his shoulders while rotating his legs in the air. How Rock Lee of him. Togata seems oddly chipper about his situation. I mean, his mentor’s dead, his powers were taken from him, he’s still got a Tin-Tin face, life is not looking great. … I’m joking about the last one. He explains that while he knows he should feel mopey, he’s trying to live up to Sir Nighteye’s advice and try to be chipper. He’s planning on looking after Eri when she gets up and about.

 

Togeta, this is how you hurt yourself more!

Izuku remembers what Nighteye told him when they first met, where the veteran hero claimed he was a mediocre vessel and that Togata should have gotten the OFA instead of him. Izuku wonders if things would have gone different if Togata had gotten the power. He asks, Hypothetically, if Togata would take Izuku’s Quirk if he offered it, but Togata turns it down flat. He claims that he wouldn’t want to bum Izuku out by taking his ability, and he’s still hopeful about getting his power back. He believes that once Eri gets some control and experience that he’ll convince her to rewind him back to normal, and if that doesn’t work he’ll seek out other options. His hero dreams might be put on hold while he figures out how to get Permeation back, but he refuses to believe they’re truly dead. He’s putting all his faith in Nighteye’s prediction. Outside the room, All Might hears some of the exchange. I wonder what he’ll say? Later, that is.

 

Later, Kirishima and Izuku meet up outside the hospital on their way back to the dorms. They’re stopped by a pair of patrol cops that tell them that they need to come down to the station for an additional debrief. While they’re handling interviews and paperwork, we get a quick scene of Todoroki walking just ahead of Bakugo on their way to their remedial training lesson, and Bakugo, shockingly, being upset about it. Kid needs some anger management training.

 

That night, Izuku and Kirishima meet up with Uraraka and Tsu as they all make it back to the Dorm. The ladies were held up at Ryukyu’s office with a few forms as well. They look at the dorm for a second and Uraraka notes that it “Feels like we haven’t been here in a long time.” Which is true, while the events of the episode were like 2 hours tops, this was the longest arc by a wide margin for a while. It covers 40 chapters of the manga and 14 episodes. So, for the manga, they hadn’t been around the school much for about 9 months and the anime 3 months. That’s a LONG time to be away from school, guys.

 

Iida shakes you because he cares.

They go into the dorm and are greeted by their classmates. Just about everyone swarms them to see how they are, get some dirt and/or exclaim how nerve wracking the situation is. The exceptions being Bakugo, who’s sitting on the couch being mad as is his custom, and Todoroki who is outside on a call. Sato made them a cake. Iida tells everyone to calm down, back off and give the guys some breathing room. He advices that they can show support by talking to them later. Izuku tells him it’s fine to talk now, so Iida promptly grabs one of his best friends and shakes him repeatedly while proclaiming how worried he was about all this. Good for Iida, letting his feelings out a bit. And after Iida lets him go, Sato forces him to eat the cake. Feels like a lot to ask a fella, eating a cake while everyone watches… While Izuku is force fed, we go over to Uraraka and Tsu for a second. Ol’ Pink Cheeks is feeling pretty down herself. She remembers her and Tsu’s interview with Aizawa post fight, where she admits she is questioning her ability. Namely, she’s beating herself up for not getting Nighteye medical help faster. Aizawa tells her not to beat herself up about it, but to also seriously consider if this is what she wants to do. She resolves that she wants to save people, so this situation isn’t going to break her.

 

Kaminari, the lightning guy, goes over and teases “Kacchan” for sitting by himself and acting angry when he was clearly concerned for his classmates and was sitting up for them like everyone else. Bakugo gets angrier, stands up and says he’s going to bed. Todoroki comes in and says the same. Izuku, whom is brushing off cake crumbs, and everyone else think that’s a bit weird, but then remember that those two have remedial class tomorrow, so it’s not THAT weird. Everyone else goes to bed not long after, but Izuku, Kirishima, Uraraka and Tsu are all shown to be up and restless for most of the night. Izuku remembers the highlights of the arc, meeting Eri, joining with the heroes, Togata “I WILL be your hero,” “Even if the future is set in stone, I’ll smash it,” “remember to smile’ and all that. Izuku admits he didn’t get much sleep that night.

 

This meeting, while inevitable, goes way better 
than you'd think.

The next day, Bakugo and Todoroki go to their remedial lessons. They’re rather surprised to meet Present Mic and All Might waiting for them. They were expecting Aizawa, but they inform the boys that he’s busy at the hospital. Present Mic will be acting as their bodyguard for the day, in cause the League goes after them. And All Might is coming along… cuz. In a flashback, we learn that Gran Torino was able to capture Kurogiri. We see that he was forced to run from Gigantomachia, whom shattered the mountain side during the battle. He left bloodied while carrying Kurogiri and Tsukauchi. So, they took down a big trump card from the League of Villains, but learned about another. Win some, lose some.

 

The four head out to lesson, with All Might warning that this one will be a much harder bit of training than the classwork that they had yesterday. Present Mic and All Might go to watch from the stands. On the way, they meet Endeavour, whom admits that wants to have a chat with All Might. Present Mic bails because he 100% doesn’t want to deal with this.

 

Who's ready for a story with some of the most
fun side characters?

Todoroki walking with Bakugo to the training area. He remembers that he got a call from Endeavor the night before, with his dad floating the idea that of coming to watch his training. He hung up on Endeavor before he finished the thought. He kind of hopes that his dad doesn’t run into Endeavour, just like he hopes he doesn’t run into… of course the second he thinks about it Yoarashi runs up. He’s joined by Camie too, whom hits on Todoroki hard. Bakugo angrily points out that she wasn’t here before. Yoarashi mentions that she got permission to join them. They’re with Seiji Shishikura as well, the guy who can shapeshift people into meatballs, was allowed to watch. Mera and Gang Orca are watching them via camera. Mera asks if they should make todays training a little more interesting, and then the credits roll. TEASES!

 

Okay, so this episode was kind of the final wrap up of the Shie Hassaikai and prologue for Bakugo and Todoroki’s training day. I liked that we got a few minutes with Togata and see that he’s not giving up hope about his future or his status as a hero. Sure, he’s had a major setback, the most severe setback an eighteen-year-old high school senior who has spent most of his young life prepping for this career can have, but that’s no reason to mope. I mention that his training despite being injured reminds me of Rock Lee, and I think that parallel is pretty strong. Quick summary of Lee, he’s a major support character in the long running Naruto franchise. Unlike most of his peers, he’s unable to use the semi-magic ninjutsu or genjutsu arts, he relies total on taijutsu, ninja martial arts. Or, in more layman’s terms, he can only fight on a superhuman level. Early on in the series, he faces off against another ninja in an advancement test and actually comes close to beating him. The guy in question, Gaara, is emotionally unstable and Lee had injured him for the first time in his life, according to Gaara’s teammates whom are his older sister and brother. Gaara cripples Lee, shattering his right leg and arm. Lee also doesn’t give up hope at recovering, despite being told it’s hopeless and also does his best to keep on training in preparation for his return to the fight. And, mild spoilers, I can say both return to battle in a spectacular fashion. And I gotta give him props for having no hesitation when he turns down the very idea of Izuku giving him One For All. Sure, he doesn’t know that Izuku isn’t really being hypothetical, but the fact that he didn’t even let Izuku get the full thought out is a solid character moment for him. He’d rather focus on doing the impossible of reclaiming his own power than the impossible of taking Izuku’s from him. He’s a good guy, that Mirio Togata. I also liked hearing that Uraraka has some mixed feeling about how things went down. As far as love interests go, Uraraka is pretty high on the list of ones that get solid character development outside their potential relationship. After her fight with Bakugo in the tournament arc, we learned she’s a bit insecure about her ability to fight, so she went and worked her ass off with a combat hero to become a more competent fighter. Given that she currently is worried about her speed and ability to help injured people, I think we’re about to see her work her ass off to become a faster civilian evacuator. Or maybe work even harder at the fighting so she has a wide range of skills. It’s been a while since I read the manga, so I’m fuzzy on where this goes with her. The next episode or two is going to be totally on Bakugo and Totoroki’s training, and I’m glad they’re finally getting the spotlight again after being benched for a bit. Their training is going to be a bit bonkers, but they’re both going to be stronger for it. Oh, and we’ll be seeing a bit more of Endeavor here and we’ll learn how being given the spot of Number 1 hero has affected him. I’ll let you know right now, you’re not going to stop hating him, but I think you may hate him a little less after he’s spoken with All Might. 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 77

 Heroes win a war, but the villains win a battle that could change everything.

Last time on My Hero Academia Izuku faced off against Overhaul. The villain had proven too powerful for Izuku or Sir Nighteye to defeat, but was ultimately brought down by Eri. Seeing everyone fight so hard to save her helped give that little girl hope, which triggered her Quirk, Rewind, which separated Overhaul from his subordinate Nemoto, greatly weakening him. Izuku got her away for Overhaul, but the villain grabbed another subordinate and merged with him, becoming a colossal beast. And, Eri’s Rewind proved to be too potent for her to control and began to damage Izuku. Deciding to kill two birds with one stone, Izuku battled Overhaul with Eri on his back, hoping that breaking his body by using One For All at 100% would be enough to keep Eri’s power from destroying him, and that the power output would be enough to put Overhaul down. Izuku was able to do just that, pancaking the villain into the ground. Enough recap, let’s get to it.

 

We sure Izuku doesn't have a quirk for incredible
aim?

We open with the final few minutes of Izuku’s fight with Overhaul. I’m not sure this was said last time, but Izuku notes that Overhaul has to take a second to recover himself each time Izuku breaks one of his limbs. His solution, then, is to hit Overhaul so hard it overwhelms him and knocks him out in one shot. He does just that, slamming the behemoth into the ground.

 

We then cut over to Aizawa and Kurono in the most underground Hassaikai room. Kurono hears the rumbling and is surprised at the thought that maybe Overhaul lost the battle above. He plans on continuing their work regardless, and pulls a knife on the still slowed Aizawa. I assume they were going to experiment with the body, but I’m not certain. Doesn’t matter, though, because Kurono’s arm gets skewered by a swordfish bill, curtesy of Amajiki. He’s lugging the limp body of Togata as well, and has several cops as escort. He tells the villain to surrender and that he knows how Kurono’s power works, so there isn’t much use in resisting. Kurono complies. A moment later Tsu hops over and tells Amajiki about Izuku fighting with Overhaul.

 

Topside, Izuku has landed on the ground and Overhaul looks like he’s out cold. High fives all around… until Izuku starts seizing up again because Eri’s power is starting to overwhelm him. He drops to his knees and both of them look scared. The still conscious Overhaul remembers a conversation he’d had with the boss as a child, a time when he attacked another kid because said kid called the Yakuza “villains.” … kay. The boss basically tells him that he’s a loyal boy but he needs to do better. Upon awakening, Overhaul does the exact opposite and tries to crush Izuku and Eri. Which actually may have saved their lives. His oversized monster arm seems to absorb a good chunk of Eri’s energy, which separates Overhaul and Katsukame. As the now normal Overhaul flies backward, Uraraka leaps up and uses her Gunhead martial arts to get him on the ground. You go, girl. Ryukyu climbs out of the hole and ask Uraraka for an assessment. She explains that she got Nighteye to an ambulance but came back around to see the fight. She notes that things went well, all things considering, but something is clearly wrong with Izuku.

 

Eri’s power is going out of control, and is clearly destroying Izuku’s body. She can’t restrain her powers. She remembers all of Overhauls verbal abuse, which is clearly not helping the situation. She tries to stop, but can’t. Thankfully, Aizawa is awake, and has Tsu point his head towards them. He disables Eri’s power. She and Izuku drop, though he has enough freedom of movement to grab her head so it doesn’t hit the pavement. Good hero, Izuku.

 

Kirishima, the most physically hurt of the raid.

Ryukyu as the best hero standing coordinates the clean up effort. She orders the others around to retrain the Shie Hassaikai and to capture the League of Villains if they can. We get a quick summary of the arrests of the other Eight Bullets, and even find the comatose Boss. Everyone seems to have gotten out of alive, which seems insane, but can’t complain. Izuku hands over to the EMTs, telling them that Eri has a fever after using her powers. Izuku tries to talk Nighteye as he’s put into an ambulance. Nighteye doesn’t know how or why Izuku was able to change the future he foresaw, but believes that he somehow made his wish to see a future where they save Eri a reality. Izuku breaks him out of his thoughts by telling him that All Might has resolved to live, but he’s scared to meet with Nighteye, so that’s why he hasn’t said so to him. Nighteye needs to live so All Might can talk to him again. He doesn’t get a response from Nighteye before they load him into the car. Left with just Ryukyu for the moment, the Dragon hero thanks Izuku for all he did. This isn’t the time for celebrating, but she wanted him to know that his efforts made things a whole lot easier.

 

We then cut to the police transporting Overhaul and the 10 other Shie Hassaikai members to a prison hospital for treatment. Overhaul is completely restrained and they have his Quirk destroying bullets. Then the League of Villains attack. Shigaraki, whom is sitting atop the truck they’re using above Dabi and Compress, asks if the point of Shogi is to capture the king, to which Dabi confirms that’s a part of it but it’s not that simple. Weird that Dabi knows about Shogi… Anyway, Compress is on the phone with Toga, whom let them know about the results of the fight and where they were most likely going to send Overhaul. Spinner, who is driving the truck, wonders if attacking police really fits into Stain’s ideology for the perfect world, but Shigaraki basically tells him, “don’t worry about that.” Dabi opens up on the cops, trying to incinerate them, but his flame is blocked by a hero in the lead car, the Sand Hero Snatch.

BAD GUYS HAVE THE BULLETS!!!
This is SOOO bad.

 

Shigaraki tries to attack Snatch, but his powers don’t affect Sand, which Snatch uses to grab him. But then it’s revealed the attack was just to distract him long enough to throw a marble that expands into debris to crash the car. Dabi and Compress capture, possibly kill, Snatch in a marble as Shigaraki goes over to Overhaul. He decided that he’s not going to kill Overhaul, despite how much he hates the other villain, as he thought of something much worse. He steals the box of Quirk destroying bullets, Mr. Compress severs one of his arms a payback for the arm Overhaul destroyed, and Shigaraki disintegrates the other. Shigaraki laughs manically as he explains that he, in one fell swoop, stole everything of value from Overhaul and left him crippled and unable to do anything but watch from the sidelines. Overhaul breaks out in hives and screams when the reality sets in.

 

Does the bloody scream make this walk away creepier
or cooler?

Oh, I’m not sure if I or the show have explained this well yet, so here’s another quick bit of Quirk mechanics. A lot of powers only work through certain parts of the body. Overhaul is like Uraraka or Shigaraki, their hands are the trigger point for their power. In all three cases, it doesn’t matter if they touch something with any other point of their body, their powers are within their hands. Uraraka actually has even more stringent activation requirements, as she needs to touch something with these small pads on the tips of each of her fingers. So, yeah, Shigaraki crippled Overhaul and more or less rendered him powerless with that move. Dude is a sadist.

 

We learn that most of the heroes and police on the scene of the raid were drained by Katsukame, so the clean up was left mostly to heroes that weren’t part of the raid. One notes that somehow, impossibly, only three civilians were hurt despite the destruction, all with minor injuries. They note that this all did happen on a weekday, but that that is still a weirdly small number. Nejire, whom is still helping with cleanup, tells them that it was all thanks to Deku, as he kept Overhaul in the air, and did the crazy impossible calculating to aim Overhaul at the big hole in the center of the street when he sent him back to the ground.

 

Izuku was taken to the hospital, and we learn that he received only very minor injuries, obviously thanks to Eri’s rewind. Aizawa joins him and has Izuku follow him as he explains what happened to everyone.  Of the students, Kirishima was the most banged up, being encased in bandages currently, but expected to make a full recovery. Amajiki has a few cracked bones and other minor injuries but will be fine. Fatgum is in a similar boat. Rock Lock (hooray, they finally used his right name) didn’t have any vital organs damaged from his stabbing so he should be fine too. There’s a pretty sweet moment when his wife and son come into his room, grab onto him and she sobs tears of joy into his chest.

 

He goes on to explain that Eri’s still feverish, sleeping fitfully, and is currently being kept in quarantine for everyone’s safety. They need to make sure that there’s minimal contact with her until they figure out how her power works, given that if she were set off again, people would start getting de-aged to nothing around her again. The only off switch they have right now is Aizawa’s eyes, so he’ll be sticking around with her for a bit. Teaching her how to use her power is apparently going to be a difficult task, as she only seems to affect living things. Why is this important? Well, Aizawa was using it to explain to Izuku and us why they aren’t trying to use Eri to save Nighteye’s life.

 

In this case, I think we can all get behind this
spoiler.

Izuku is brought into an operating theater where Centipeder, Bubblegirl, All Might and a few others are waiting. The doctor explains that there’s too much damage for him to repair and he’s even too far gone for Recovery Girl’s talents. So… they’re there to say goodbye. All Might and Izuku go in to speak with him. Nighteye is weak but conscious. All Might apologizes for all that happened between them, but Nighteye says it’s not necessary. He just wanted All Might to keep living, to be happy, so he can let go of the past if All Might has decided to do just that. Nighteye has thought about how Izuku changed his vision, and has come to the conclusion that, maybe, all of the heroes and others working together, hoping and acting to make that future where they save Eri somehow culminated into Izuku in that moment and let him Smash the future, as he said before. I don’t know, sounds crazy to me, but the proof is in the pudding. Nighteye only has one regret… and he comes stumbling in a moment later. Mirio Togata begs his mentor to not give up, to keep on living. He’s not ready for him to go. Nighteye apologizes for failing Togata, but he doesn’t want to hear that, he wants Nighteye to live. Nighteye mentally apologizes to Togata for his initial thought process. When they first met, Nighteye only saw Togata as a potential vessel for OFA. A person that checks all the boxes for what an All Might successor to be. But, as they worked together, bonded, and all that, he realized that Mirio Togata was his pride and joy. He uses Foresight on Togata, and for the firsts time in years peeks into the far future. He says that Togata will be the finest hero the world has ever seen. He advises him, Izuku and his sidekicks to smile, as they need to balance out the sorrow in the world with joy and laughter. He passes with a smile on his face.

 

Well, that ending really kicks you in the teeth, don’t it? Now, did Overhaul definitely deserve to have his dreams crushed, his work stolen and his powers taken away? Yes, absolutely, but there was still something about that shriek of terror and the realization that he went from immensely powerful to someone less capable even than Izuku before the start of the series was chilling. I dream about superpowers constantly, and can say the thought of being given them only for them to be taken away would scare me to the bone. And, obviously, it’s extremely bad that Shigaraki now has multiple chances to destroy someone’s power and possibly be able to produce more if they can replicate Eri’s cells. Definitely a bad to worse situation. So… instant healing is always a tricky subject to add to a sci-fi fantasy series. While it does help to get a hero back in gear after a potentially life destroying injury, the second you can replicate the effect endlessly it kills all tension in any scene going forward. That said, I think they found a good means of limiting Eri so that she didn’t just instant heal Nighteye. Making it so that she couldn’t control her power is very believable given her age and seclusion, so it doesn’t take much hoop jumping to explain why she didn’t just fix Nighteye. They also establish in an episode or two that her power is based on stockpiling. That horn of hers gathers energy and that energy is burned when she uses rewind. She was able to heal Izuku so fast and efficiently because she had basically a two- or three-year stockpile to work with. She mostly burned through that, though, so Togata isn’t getting his power back anytime soon, either. (Don’t worry, Nighteye isn’t proven wrong with his prediction). And that leads us nicely into Nighteye’s passing. I do love that he got a chance to speak with All Might again and that they were able to part on much better terms this time around. And the fact that All Might had wanted to mend the bridge before but was too scared to at least made it seem like they weren’t just doing it because he was dying. I liked the speech that he gave just before he died. Despite being a stereotypical humorless looking Japanese Businessman, humor was important to Nighteye, something he learned from his old master, so the idea his last bit of wisdom was to smile to help others felt very right. And I really liked that he ended up breaking his rule to see Togata’s future. Let’s him die tragically, but also witness what his student will become. When Togata gets back on the hero horse, I’m sure he’ll be smiling all the wider because he thinks Sir Nighteye is glimpsing that moment. He’s a good kid. Well, with that, we’ve finished the Shie Hassaikai arc of My Hero Academia, one of the best arcs I’ve seen for this series and for anime overall. It had a lot of highs, no real lows, and a victory tempered by a tragic loss. Solid story telling right there. Next time, we’ll get into something a little more lighthearted and catch up with what Bakugo and Todoroki are doing in their remedial course work. Have a good night. 

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Twitter: @BasicsSuperhero

Viewer Log: My Hero Academia ep 76

One for All finally shines against the looming darkness that is Overhaul.

Last time on My Hero Academia the final battle against Overhaul began. The disturbed gangster was on the ropes initially, battling Izuku and Aizawa in tandem. But, he used his power to fuse his body with one of his subordinates ad after that was able to fend off Izuku and Nighteye on his own, grievously wounding the pro in the process. His other minion Kurono had separated Aizawa from the group as a bid to get more info on power cancelling Quirks. After seeing Nighteye take a blow that cost him his left arm and probably several feet of intestine, he charged the villain again, realizing he was now able to use 20% of his power in short bursts. Izuku refused to back down even when it became clear his 12% power spike wouldn’t be enough to save them. Thankfully, Tsu and Uraraka, along with their hero mentor Ryukyu and student mentor Nejire fell through the ceiling with their opponent, Katsukame, and threw things out of whack. Way to go ladies! Enough recap, let’s get to it.

 

You know, when I started this series, I didn't think
I'd see a pro wrestler fighting a dragon.
I'm not complaining, its just a bit of a left turn.

We flashback a few minutes to what team Ryukyu were up to while Izuku and the gang were being beaten to hell. Turns out, they’d defeated their opponent Katsukame relatively quickly and had just been seeing to him getting restrained. We also see a pair of familiar looking marbles roll through the scene, how odd… Ryukyu explained that his Quirk is Vitality Stealing, with a touch, he can drain the life energy from others, enhancing his body and causing him to grow in size. The group prepare to go inside and help, but Tsu and Uraraka are only able to take a step before dropping. Katsukame is somehow sucking the life from them without touching them. This impossibility is explained by him, telling us that he’d gotten a hit of power enhancing drugs from Mimic earlier and it is now just kicking in. He breaks free of his restraints and supersizes, rushing Ryukyu, the only nearby standing combatant. She’s able to shift to her dragon form just in time.

 

Like, bro, don't make this face at a seventeen year old
I can't even see your face and I know it's pervy.

Katsukame and Ryukyu brawl, I guess either Ryukyu is immune to the vitality drain or she’s just too beefy to drain. Nejire was able to stay out of the field and blast the brawler with her shockwaves. He notes that the enhancement has already run out, and tells Nejire that he’s going to get “handsy” with her. Bro, she’s 17. Enjoy the added charges, and the energy blasts she pummels you with.

 

Uraraka and Tsu are able to get up and see Izuku. He tells them that they’re in trouble in the underground and point to where they have to smash to get to them. I wonder how Izuku possibly got there? (shrug) The four women combine their powers to get the job done. Uraraka makes the tackled Katsukame weightless, Tsu uses her tongue and Ryukyu her wings to move him, and Nejire blasts him hard enough to smash through the pavement. They shout Plus Ultra as they drop.

 

As they drop, it is revealed that the Izuku up top is actually Toga in disguise. I guess she used that little bit of blood she stole from him at the training camp. She and Twice explain how they got up there to a copy of Mr. Compress. Twice cloned their ally and had him use his powers to turn them into marbles. He either left them with enough autonomy to move, or all his marbles are able to move, they don’t explain. Either way, they escaped through some pipes to the topside, and then used Toga to get the other heroes to backup Izuku. Why? So they can send the Compress Copy down in the confusion to steal Eri. It’s a… plan, I’ll give them that. They shove the copy down to do just that.

 

Uraraka gets sup and sees the grievously wounded Nighteye and then Izuku fighting. Everyone goes for Eri, but Overhaul makes a shockwave of spikes, knocking everyone back and grabbing Eri. He leaps skyward, intent on escape. Izuku leaps after them, the force of both men leaps causing rocks to scatter about. One such rock still had Togata’s cape attached to it. Eri and Overhaul see it, the elder being annoyed at the reminder of the hero and Eri being… confused by it. Not confused by seeing it, but by not getting why everyone is working so hard to save her. The six-year-old, yes, you read that number right, is so badly beaten down she can’t comprehend all of these people working so hard for her. As her eyes follow the cape, she remembers Togata’s promises to protect her and that he’ll be her hero, and her horn starts glowing.

 

We get a flashback to when Overhaul was first introduced to Eri. His boss explained that Eri is his daughter’s daughter. Eri’s mother had just abandoned her after Eri seemingly killed her father. She didn’t mean to at all, her power just manifested one day and her dad seemed to just vanish when he reached for her. The power is unlike any on either side of Eri’s family, making the boss think it’s a mutation, not an inheritance.

 

Quick recap for you, Quirks mostly works through genetic inheritance. We’ll use the Bakugo’s as an example. Masura Bakugo Quirk is Acid Sweat, he sweats an acidic substance from his hands that can combust and make small explosions. Mistuki Bakugo Quirk is Glycerin, her sweat basically just exfoliates and moisturizes her skin. Their son, Katsuki, received a combination of their powers, explosive sweat with additional glycerin to make the explosions even bigger than his father could. Most quirks work like that, with the children receiving either Quirk or a combined Quirk of their parent’s abilities. This can have some unfortunate results, but we’ll talk about that when we get to unfortunate tale of the eldest Todoroki, Toya. Eri is a rare but not unheard-of option, a mutation of power that is wholly unique to her.

Eri, that's not how parachuting works!
Izuku, jump faster!

 

Thinking that her power might work similarly to Chisaki’s, the boss asks the future Overhaul to look into her and help her with her power. He investigates her power and finds that it’s only like his in the vaguest sense, that she can erase somethings. We’re shown some lab mice that seem to get younger and younger until they vanish. Astonished, Chisaki begins experimenting on Eri specifically, cutting her skin and watching her regenerate. He realized that she’s not really healing per say, but rewinding things to before they were injured. We see this fully demonstrated as in the present, Eri reaches for Togata’s cape and, unwittingly, using her power to separate Overhaul and Nemoto, the latter of which falls to the earth from the platform they’re on. Eri holds tight to the cape. She see’s Izuku reaching up to her, trying to save her and finally starts to understand that these people won’t stop trying to help her until she’s safe. If she wants the killing to stop, she has to trust them and let them help her. She resolves to do so as she leaps for Izuku.

 

Izuku, a few moments before, sees her leap towards him. Some inspirational music plays as Izuku dodges around concrete and Nemoto’s possibly dead or at the very least soon to be incredibly broken body. He remembers failing to save Eri when they first met, and swears to not fail her again. The grab each other and he holds her tight, her horn glowing profusely.

 

Overhaul shrieks for Izuku to give Eri back and lunges at them. As he dives at them, Izuku remembers Togata asking him what kind of hero he wants to be. He wants to be a strong hero, one who will always win and save people. He kicks at Overhaul to prove this point, knocking the villain and most of the falling debris far back and launching them into the air. The rubble clatters to the ground, conveniently missing the heroes and partially burying Katsukame.

 

About a mile or so up, Izuku is shocked that his kick sent them up so high. He assumes that he somehow did something like All Might’s New Hampshire Smash, the force of his blow sending them up. That is shocking because that would mean he used 100% of OFA, which should be impossible because his legs still work. I should note that Izuku actually looks really cool with Togata’s cape flapping behind him, as Eri holds onto it and him.

 

While he’s pondering that, Uraraka see Overhaul stand up. The villain uses his power to restore himself. He’s furious that Eri somehow figure out how to use her power, despite him giving her no training or information. He calls her a “naughty girl,” and arrogantly proclaims that she belongs to him. Overhaul vaporizes Katsukame and uses his power to start fusing them together. He says he needs Eri to accomplish his boss’s fondest wish. I would assume the boss’s fondest wish would be that his granddaughter got live a healthy, happy life, but what do I know. I was just raised by a loving father who wants that for my elder sibling’s kids.

 

Nighteye is able to regain consciousness while Ryukyu debated on what to do next. He tells the mighty dragon not worry too much. His power already told him how this will play out. Izuku will fighting Overhaul, he’ll lose, he’ll die, and Overhaul will escape with Eri. So, no use worrying or overexerting herself. Uraraka, not being a fan of the thought of her friend and love interest dying before they can even go on first date (I might be projecting some thoughts onto her), wants to go save Izuku, but she’s still exhausted from the vitality drain. Above, Izuku is falling with Eri and doing his best to smile reassuringly at her. Nighteye remembers hearing Izuku swear to smash the future, even if it is set in stone and comes to a decision. He asks that Tsu get Togata, and the Uraraka and Ryukyu help him get topside. All the while, Overhaul is reconstructing himself into something massive.

 

This is some Attack on Titan stuff right here.

Izuku lands safely with Eri. Everything feels okay for a second Izuku saying his body felt hot than cold. He notes that his injuries are all healed, which is good, but then he starts seizing up, which is bad. Overhaul bursts upward then, in a new, super monster form, and explaining that he doesn’t know anything about Eri’s power. He explains that she doesn’t have any control of Rewind, beyond now being able to turn it on. Her power is so potent, he believes, that with proper control, Eri might be able to devolve a person into a monkey. She’s a cursed child, rewinding everything around her into nothing. Or so he says. Izuku has an idea, though. He uses Togata’s cape to make a sling for Eri and ties her to his back. If she’s constantly rewinding things back, he supposes, then the solution for both her and fighting Overhaul is simple. Izuku is going to beat that monster Overhaul with One For All, Full Cowling, 100%!! and hope that he can keep breaking his bone and tearing his muscle fast enough that Eri has to keep repairing those rather than de-age him back into haploid cells. That’s a biology reference for you. No worries, then, as Izuku is the master of using his own power to break his bones.

 

Overhaul, still feeling chatty, reveals that he’s quite proud that he was able to distill Eri’s power down to the ultimate form. That his bullets don’t just rewind flesh, they rewind cells back to a pre-Quirk state. That’s how they stripped Togata of his power, they rewound his cells to a pre-Quirk version. Not sure that sciences, but let’s roll with it. He sees Eri as bringing change, at being the thing he needs to cure the world of Quirks, and he’s not letting her get away. He lunges at Izuku, but at 100%, Izuku is easily able to dodge, get in close and kick the bastard. So hard, in fact, he launches them into the sky. And then he shoots up after them.

 

On the ground, Toga is impressed, and Twice is looking for the Compress Copy. Said copy is crushed under Ryukyu’s claw just before she uses her wing to send a weightless Uraraka and Nighteye skyward. She tells Uraraka to get Nighteye to an ambulance, ASAP.

 

Izuku has gone full Super Saiyan. If you're the villain
you should be concerned when the hero goes 
full Super Saiyan.

Izuku notes that Eri’s power seems to be getting stronger, their bodies sparking more. Overhaul meanwhile, flashbacks to his boss chastising him for nearly killing an opponent. Chisaki wasn’t too concerned, though, as he just saw it as protecting their terf and the yakuza’s dying image. Boss is annoyed by this attitude and by Chisaki getting them into the drug trade without his blessing. He says that Chisaki is a loyal man, but he always takes things too far.  

 

After, Chisaki is furious that the boss is holding onto obsolete ideals that won’t save the yakuza. Kurono, whom he’d been speaking with, shrugs and points out that returning to a point where the yakuza ruled the underworld does sound more dream than reality. This seems to set off a lightbulb in Chisaki’s head and he begins working. He redesigns himself into his current look, and explains his plan. Phase one is to research a way to remove quirks using Eri’s Rewind. While they work, they’ll release small batches of the incomplete product to whet the criminal worlds appetite for anti-hero products. Phase two, start selling the complete product at an absurdly high price. Phase three, use Eri to produce a drug that can restore Quirks and sell that to the heroes. They’ll control both sides of the market and rule again, as with Eri they have the only supply.

 

SHOCKINGLY, The boss is less than thrilled at the idea of, and I need to stress this again, Chisaki using HIS FIVE-YEAR-OLD GRANDDAUGHTER as a human GUINEA PIG!! He tells Chisaki that if he won’t stop this insanity, there won’t be a place for him in the Shie Hassaikai anymore. Clearly having gone a bit insane at this point, Overhaul attacks his boss, putting him in a coma and swearing that when he wakes the boss, he’ll thank Overhaul for all he’s done. Not sure that’ll happen, pal.

 

Rain! Of! PUNCHES!

In the present, Izuku and Overhaul brawl in the sky. Overhaul shrinks down his body and attacks Izuku with his thickened limbs, but 100% OFA is more than enough to hold him off. He keeps on screaming that Izuku isn’t a real hero, and asking why he’s trying so hard to save one kid. Izuku says that if he can’t save one little girl that needs him, how can he be a hero that saves everyone. He pummels Overhaul, shattering his limbs before smacking him one more time, pancaking him into the pavement.

 

Uraraka and Nighteye see the tail end of the fight. Nighteye is visibly shocked that his vision was proven wrong. He saw that Izuku would die and Overhaul would escape, by all previous visions, that has to happen. But there they are, seeing a victorious Izuku and a defeated Overhaul. He remembers Izuku’s promise to smash the future again, and smiles as the credit’s roll.

 

Okay, so a lot to unpack here. I loved seeing this dive into Overhaul’s psyche. Clearly, Kai Chisaki was unbalanced long before the events that lead him to becoming Overhaul, but I do love that his fall from grace in his organization came not from a power grab, but from an inherent misunderstanding of human nature and a voracious loyalty. Sure, a rational person could probably guess that even a crime boss would take serious issue with his grandchild being used in unethical experiments, even if that would make them fabulously wealthy, but to Chisaki’s damaged mind that doesn’t even compute. I liked the reveal of how Eri came into his care and how her power works. Sure, it might be a bit of an Ex-Machina that her power has all these different uses, but it works within the story. The bit where it was her memory of Togata’s words and seeing his cape that were the trigger to both weakening Overhaul and getting her to Izuku I think was very well done. Oh, and One For All 100% was glorious to watch on the screen. It has some things in common with the classic Kaioken/Super Saiyan transformation, the glowing aura, the hair change, the fact it breaks his body to use it, but with flairs all its own. Seeing Izuku take on this immense threat relatively easily was so damned cathartic. I’ve been waiting to see Izuku beat Overhaul into the ground and destroy that plague doctor mask all season. The fact doing so violated Nighteye’s vision will have lingering consequences, me thinks, but we’ll get into that later. Have a good night, everybody. 

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