Lemillion is here to save the day.
Last time on My Hero Academia, the
League of Villains revealed themselves. Leaguers Twice and Toga were sent along
as a show of good faith from Shigaraki. Toga is able to take out Rock Lock, but
she’s interrupted by Izuku and Aizawa before she can finish him off. Nighteye and
the cops face off against Twice and a copy of the mad brawler Rappa, but Nighteye
takes out the copy with minimal effort. He also damages Twice’s mask, which cause
him to go into a panic attack, but Toga meets up with him and recovers his face
with a scarf to help him recenter himself. They then do their best to piss off
the Hassaikai member Mimic until he freaks out and drops everyone into a lower
area to crush them. Well, crap. Enough recap, let’s get to it.
Think Toga feels weird being the only one in the
room with an exposed mouth?
We open with Overhaul and his
assistant Kurono are in a lab together. They’re collecting their set of Quirk
cancelling bullets, the latest version that will permanently destroy people’s powers.
Overhaul claims that this is a cure and that they’ll finally be able to purge
the world of its disease. Kurono is
somewhat doubtful of this as he points out it took them five months to create
five bullets, but Overhaul isn’t worried. He’s confident an expanded production
line will let them mass produce these bullets easily.
We then cut back to when Toga and
Twice introduced themselves to the Shie Hassaikai. Both “apologize” for the bad
blood between their groups. Overhaul also apologizes for what happened with
Magna, claiming he didn’t want to kill “him.” This sets off both Leaguers as
they tell Overhaul Magna was a her. … Okay, they’re villains, but I will 100%
applaud trans allies when I see them. Overhaul brushes them off and asks that
they tell him what their powers are. They tell him to screw off, so Overhaul’s
aide Nemoto uses his power to force them to reveal their Quirks. Twice’s Quirk,
Double, lets him make copies of anything he’s able to picture in his mind. He
needs full measurements, weight and other details for his power to work, and he’s
only able to make two copies at any time and refuses to copy himself. These last
two restrictions are obviously self-imposed, as we saw in an earlier flashback
that he was able to make a lot more copies before his clones of himself
betrayed him. Toga finally explains her ability is called Transform. She drinks
the blood of her victim and it lets her take on their appearance. Drinking
about a cup of blood gives her the ability to shapeshift into that person for a
whole day, and she’s able to store multiple forms. She can also copy their
clothes, but because they materialize under her own, she often elects to streak
when going for that level of copy. Nemoto then asks if Shigaraki said anything about
betraying the Hassaikai, which they both deny. That’s enough for Overhaul to
give them entry level clearance. He tells them to stay in the underground
complex and they’ll talk about giving them expanded duties later before
leaving. Mimic then welcomes the two, sort of, by threatening them to do as
their told or he’ll kill them. In the present, having been disrespected by
these two long enough, he promises to crush them and the heroes all at once. Toga
and Twice both agree that Mimic is too powerful for them to defeat on their
own, so they’ll just let the heroes do it.
The most impressive use of a stamp, ever.
Back with Izuku, he and the heroes
are being surrounded by the warping rock of the underground bunker. They can
hear Mimic screaming, but the cave walls are too distorted for them to make heads
or tails of where he is. Toga keeps pushing Mimic’s buttons until his angry
scream is loud and distinct enough for Izuku to locate. He leaps at where he
heard the noise, shattering the concrete enough to reveal Mimic and for Aizawa
to block his powers. As the two fall, Izuku sees the Leaguers. Nighteye knocks
out Mimic with one of his heavy seals, and has Izuku catch him midfall.
What is it about organized crime that draws such
colorful characters?
Meanwhile, Mirio Togata has caught
up to Overhaul and his crew. Overhaul is admittedly impressed that Togata caught
up to them so fast, which Togata brushes off as he “took a short cut.” He
demands that Overhaul handover Eri and surrender. Overhaul isn’t impressed, and
tells Togata he’s no real hero and that he’s going to die down here. Togata tries
to rush at them, but immediately loses his balance and falls to the ground. We’re
then introduced to another member of the Eight Bullets, Deidoro Sakaki, whom is
hanging from the ceiling and drinking an absurd amount of sake. Togata tries to
get passed Sakaki, but is blocked by Nemoto, whom shoots at him with a
revolver. He uses his power to force Togata to tell them about his quirk, and
we’re then given their stats. Shin Nemoto’s quirk is Confession, he can force
people to tell him the truth, and can even occasionally force out truths the
victim isn’t conscience of. And Deidoro Sakaki has the quirk Sloshed, which
lets him distort peoples sense of equilibrium like they’re drunk. Nemoto is
revealed to be an even more frantic zealot for Overhaul, claiming he
understands his boss’s ambition more than anyone. He tries to use his quirk to
distract Togata in the hopes that that, plus Sakaki’s sloshed will make Togata
easy meat. He tells Togata that he’s only there to soothe his own guilt at
leaving Eri. Thinking he’d gotten into Togata’s head, he and Sakaki attack
together, shooting and throwing knives respectively.
Togata isn't smiling. You should be concerned by this.
But, to his shock, Togata is still
able to fight. He uses his ultimate move, Phantom Thread, to quickly serpentine
leap between walls before striking, knocking both men to the ground with a single
blow. Togata admits he’s weak, but is not going to stop until he saves Eri.
Why? Because that little girl willingly returned to her personal hell to
protect him and Izuku. She’s the bravest of them all, and he’s going to protect
her. He smacks the two of them again before launching at Overhaul again. He’s
only able to graze Overhaul’s face, but has the finesse to pass through Eri and
knock down Kurono. He grabs Eri as she falls. She tells him to run and leave
her, but Togata promises he won’t leave her again, and that he swears that he’s
“Going to be (her) hero.
Overhaul’s skin begins breaking out
in hives again, he’s clearly furious. He verbally abuses Eri, saying that all
the pain and suffering that she’s been through and will put Togata through is
all her fault. That she’s a worthless thing that only exists to spread misery.
Togata asks how the could possibly say that to his own daughter. Overhaul shrugs
and tells Togata simply, “I don’t have any children,” before hitting his hand
to the ground and forming spikes to skewer Togata. He’s able to phase around
them and keep Eri out of their reach. He’s shocked that Overhaul would risk
her, but he explains that with his Quirk, he’ll be able to restore Eri even if
she dies if he’s fast enough. It might lead to brain damage, but he’s not
concerned.
He creates more spikes and launches
them at Togata who dodges again. He asks the young hero what the plan is here,
as Togata can’t escape with Eri as he’d blocked the exits and he isn’t as fast
phasing with a person. In the underground, Overhaul is the only one who could heal
her if she’s hurt, so he doesn’t have a lot of options. Kurono gets up and
pulls a gun on Togata. He aims for the arm in front of Eri and fires. Togata is
able to spin in the air, using his cape to obstruct Kurono’s vision. Togata then
leaps from the ground, uppercutting Kurono. Turns out, he tore off his cape,
keeping Eri hidden and allowing him to dive under the ground for a counterattack.
Overhaul goes to attack Eri, assuming
Togata would get in the way and have to take the hit rather than risk her, but
Togata is too fast. He leaps over to Overhaul and phases through his hand to
punch him in the face. He tells them that heroes wear capes to help comfort those
who are suffering and he’s not going to let Eri suffer anymore.
The two villains try to stop him,
but Togata is too fast and too good at predicting their movements to give them
an opening. He keeps calling Overhaul “Chisaki” much to the villain’s annoyance
as he claims to have abandoned that name.
We get a quick flashback to Kai
Chisaki meeting his boss for the first time as a child, followed by a meeting years
later. The boss tells him that another Yakuza group had disbanded and their own
numbers are dwindling. Chisaki says they need to be more innovative and asks his
boss if he’d changed his mind on a project he’d proposed. The Boss isn’t interested,
as he feels the plan lacks humanity and that will lead them to oblivion.
Togata chooses to give up his dreams to live them
if only for just one more day.
In the present, Nemoto gets up. Overhaul
tosses him the case of Quirk destroying bullets. Nemoto is able to grab one and
load it. Nemoto remembered when Overhaul invited him to join the Yakuza, saying,
“It will be reassuring to have you with me.” This kind of explains his crazy devotion,
as he knew these were Overhaul’s “true feelings.” He aims and fires at Eri,
knowing that Togata won’t phase and risk Eri getting hit. Togata rushes to Eri,
smiling to reassure her even as he’s hit with the bullet and his powers get stripped
away.
We’re shown a brief history of
Mirio Togata. He was saved from drowning as a child and after swore to be a
hero that saves people. His father tells young Mirio that their power is
difficult to master and is the reason why the elder Togata gave up on going
pro. Mirio isn’t dissuaded, though, and his father tells him to just do his best.
Overhaul, whom is clearly freaking
out, screams that Quirks are a disease, that they make people think they’re
bigger than they are. He’s going to cure the world. He tells Togata is powerless
now and clearly thinks he’s no longer a threat. He’s then hit by Kurono’s body,
as Togata threw him at Overhaul and punches his forearm while he’s distracted.
The thing that Overhaul didn’t consider, Togata might have lost his powers, but
he still has all of his skill. Nemoto is shocked by this, as Sakaki’s quirk is
still active but Togata is able to fight like a champ. We see several flashes
of the fight as it continues. Togata is able to hold his own, but is hit
repeatedly by spikes. In the end, he’s able to hold his own, but the repeated
spike hits clearly weakening him. We end by hearing young Togata announcing
again that he’ll be a hero and save people.
Oh my goodness, he's done it.
Izuku "Deku" Midoriya has mastered the fight face.
In a post-credit scene, damn it,
Togata has spikes in his side and through his legs. Overhaul calls him a
filthy, infected thin. Togata isn’t going down, though, and his persistence is rewarded
when the wall nearby shatters and our green haired hero Izuku Midoriya rushes
in. Hell yes.
This was a great episode for
Togata. Up until know, we’ve gotten hints of his skill, and his empathy, but
this is the first time we’re shown his determination. He’s an expert combatant,
able to use his phasing with a moment’s notice to hit the villains and not risk
Eri. He’s incredibly fast, is able to react on instinct in seconds, and I
actually have very little doubt that he’d have been able to at least put Kurono
and Nemoto down for good if his powers weren’t disabled. In the next episode,
we’ll hear how long he was able to hold them off, both with and without his
power and it’s impressive. Seeing Overhaul start to have a break down was
really cathartic. He’s steps away from total victory, but is stopped by a
single high school senior that won’t let him run. The reveal that he isn’t
actually Eri’s father was… not shocking, exactly, but was a nice dramatic beat.
We get the full story soon, but the short version is that he is her guardian,
and she’s the granddaughter of his boss. It’s just that using her power to further
his goals mattered more than his duty as her guardian. While Overhaul is
clearly a psycho, we’re just seeing the tip of the iceberg here. Sidenote, I
think that Horikoshi is a big fan of the Fullmetal Alchemist series, as Overhaul’s
preferred strategy of attacking the ground and forming spikes is a favored
tactic of protagonist Edward Elric, as well as the series initial antagonist
Scar. The next fight is going to be a doozy, and I’m looking forward to
describing it. Have a good night, everyone.
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Twitter: @BasicsSuperhero
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