It's official, a new number 1 hero is chosen. And for his first mission, he faces off against a real beast.
Last time on My Hero Academia, the
big show finally began! After seeing Gentle Criminal and La Brava were
apprehended, doing his best to downplay their crimes in an attempt to keep the
book from being thrown at them, Izuku raced back and made it just in time for
the start of the show. Jiro sings her heart out, the band play their hearts
out, the Dancers shake their grove things, and the effects team blew peoples
minds. After, Izuku has a fun time with Eri, ending with giving the girl a
homemade Candied Apple, which she absolutely loved. Gentle Criminal and La Brava,
or Danjuro and Manami, were interviewed by police. Manami made it clear her
loyalty clear, and Danjuro was given some words of encouragement by an
understanding cop. As good an ending as these sorts of villains deserves. Enough
recap, lets get to it, shall we?
Guess we're getting more of Eri.
We open with Izuku telling us that this
is the first week of November. Much to Izuku’s shock, Eri is at UA, and it’s revealed
that Eri is going to be taken care of on UA campus. So… the school is adopting
her? I’m not sure if that works… Whatever, it’s fiction. Aizawa takes the
students outside to explain. They’ve found that Eri has no known family. Her
grandfather is in a coma, and her parents seemingly abandoned her. (Mom left
after Dad was accidentally rewind into nothing). She has nowhere to go, and
there is her power. They know that Eri’s powers are tied to her horn, and while
her horn had been reduced to basically a large bump, it’s starting to regrow.
The risk of her gaining so much power that it runs wild again kind of means it’d
be dangerous to be put into the foster system. They’re going to set up a room
for her in the teachers’ dorms, and Togata is going to be her de facto primary guardian
while he’s on an academic break from school. Amajiki points out that if Eri
gets her full strength back, she might be able to get his Quirk back. This seems
to be the first he’s even thought of that, and is excited by the prospect.
Togata is going to keep her occupied with some boardgames, Izuku wants to go
along but Aizawa sends them back to the dorm, as they’ll be having visitor
soon.
At the dorm, Tokoyami sneezes,
prompting some to think that he’s got fans gossiping about him. This is a Japanese
superstition, that if you sneeze, someone is talking about you behind your back.
Uraraka points out it’s possible, as he did intern under Hawks, a popular hero,
number 3 on the charts. He doesn’t think so, though, as he was kept too busy
for people to notice him. 1A’s guests arrive. The Wild, Wild Pussycats come in,
doing their usual entrance dance, civilian mode. The group isn’t staying long,
they just wanted to say hi them and class 1B, and for Tiger to apologize to
Bakugo for not protecting him. Bakugo claims he already forgotten about it. Izuku
spots Kota and excitedly greets the boy. Kota tries to play it aloof, but that’s
almost immediately ruined by Aunt Mandalay pointing out Kota’s shoes. They’re
child sized versions of Izuku’s, bright red, at Kota’s insistence. It’s so
cute.
Wild, Wild Pussycats, Civilian mode.
The main reason that the Pussycats
stopped by to let them know that the group is back in business. The kids question
if that means Ragdoll is back, but, no, the Pussycat’s locator is still Quirkless.
She’s going to work as support staff for her team from now on. They reveal that
OFA sent them a message from Tartarus Prison, offering clearly false remorse
and offering to return Ragdoll’s powers to her. While, obviously, Ragdoll would
love to get her powers back, the group decided that it’s better to not risk
giving OFA a chance to escape. The Pussycats chose to return today as the Hero
Billboard Chart announcement will be made soon. They’re currently ranked 411 in
Japan. Present Mic exposition takes over for a sec, explaining that a hero’s
rank is determined by the number of incidents resolved, their contributions to
society and by their general approval rating. They’re ranked twice yearly. The Wild,
Wild Pussycats dropped from rank 32. They’re actually quite happy with their
current placement, as they’ve been benched for three months. Still being in the
triple digits speaks volumes for their popularity. The kids all agree that it’s
going to be weird to see a Billboard chart without All Might.
We cut to the Billboard chart
presentation. This is apparently usually less of a spectacle, but they’re playing
it up for this reveal, given their circumstances. The top ten heroes are as
follows: 10. The Dragon Hero, Ryukyu; 9; The Equipped Hero, Yoroi Musha; 8.
Laundry Hero, Wash; 7. The Woods Hero, Kamui Woods; 6. The Shield Hero, Crust; 5.
The Rabbit Hero, Mirko; 4. The Ninja Hero, Edgeshot; 3. The Fiberous Hero, Best
Jeanist (isn’t present, still in recovering after Kamino); 2. The Wing Hero, Hawks;
and 1. The Flame Hero, Endeavor. Enji is sporting a fancy new armored costume
for the occasion. Oh, and we learn that Mt. Lady is currently ranked 23, and
that she’s super pissed she, specifically, and Deatharms, by association, weren’t
allowed to be on the stage with Kamui and Edgeshot as the four of them are a team.
She’s such a prima donna. Ha.
Hawks descends.
The Billboard Chart announcement is
normally not such a spectacle, but they turned it into more of a show to try to
drum up support for the new top ten. They turn the mic over to the heroes for a
soundbite. Ryukyu wishes she could turn down her spot, because she didn’t feel
she deserved the spot given the people she failed to save at Kamino Ward and
the Shie Hassaikai raid. Yorio, “The World has changed, but our objectives have
not. Wash, “Waaassh!” So eloquent. Kamui, “I’d like to honor every hero has
changed, but our objectives have not.” He’s also humbled to be on a team with Edgeshot.
Crust laments not being at Kamino Ward. Mirko threatens to send people flying
if they cross her. If you’re wondering about the moon on her costume, there’s a
Japanese legend about Rabbits making treats on the moon, so rabbits are often
associated with them. Hawks looks rather bored. Edgeshot isn’t concerned with
numbers, he doesn’t do it for the notoriety. Hawks, fed up with the soundbites
takes the mic and starts talking crap. He takes to the air to add emphasis. He points
out that, based on the numbers, Best Jeanist is #1 in popularity, he’s runner
up, Edgeshot is 3 and Endeavor is forth. He thinks that they need to give greater
emphasis to the approval ratings, to shake up the system, and encourage people
to speak their minds. We get the fun facts that Hawks (22) began his career by
starting a hero agency at 18 and cracked the Top Ten by the next Billboard
announcement, the first to do that before 20. Endeavor takes the mic. He remembers
asking All Might what it means to be a symbol before speaking. He says he’s not
one for speeches and tells everyone to “Just watch what I do.” The only one to
clap for him is Hawks.
 |
| Oh, hello, Hood. |
We then cut over to Dabi. The
burned young man opens the door to a bunker. Inside is a hulking Nomu with a
long neck. Dabi calls it High-End, and thinks that this beast will not
disappoint.
There's something familiar about that pink haired kid...
We then jump to Kyushu. We open
with a man in a trench coat plotting revenge on his company. He complains about
his life, how he’s been used by his company and such, classic “woe is me” type
stuff. He’s decided not to take it anymore, having read “Metahuman Liberation Warfront”
the biography of superhuman revolutionary Destro. He’s going to break it all
down. Shouting “Metahuman Liberation!” he drops his coat. Then we get the
Present Mic bio. This man is Teruo Hazukashi, age 31. His quirk is called
Shame, he get’s more powerful based on the level of shame he feels. What a lame
iteration of the Hulk. We don’t get to see him Hulk out, though, as Hawks
knocks him down and out with his feathers, not even looking at the guy. He and
Endeavor walk through downtown to go to lunch, Hawks saving and helping people
with his detachable, controllable feathers as they do. They’re stopped by a
crowd of Hawks fans for a few minutes. Endeavor hears a trio talk about how
their one weirdly familiar pink haired, scarfed friend is an Endeavor fan.
Endeavor goes up to talk and shake the kid’s hand, only for him to freak out and
leave in a huff, saying the REAL Endeavor would never try to do that. Apparently,
there are in fact people that like the Hatesink version of him. Endeavor is
visibly confused, as that tactic had worked on the Shiketsu kid. Yoarashi, feel
free to hate him again.
Hawks takes Endeavor to the top floor
of this hotel for lunch. He tells the big hero that he’d wanted to scout Shoto
after the Sports Festival, as having the #2 at the time’s son on his staff
would have been great for his brand, but is happy he ended up with Tokoyami instead,
since he, you know, passed the Provisional License Exam. Apparently failing once
is something of a black mark on a potential hero’s brand if not their career. Endeavor
wants to know why he’s here. And Hawks spills the beans. He’s been hearing rumors
about Nomu. Lots of Nomu. All over, from people that have no links to each
other or each other’s stories. He explains that a few dozen Nomu were seized from
AFO’s lab during the Kamino Ward incident, even using that acronym, and they
might have caught them, all but Hawks has his doubts.
The fact that this thing survived that shot is not encouraging.
Endeavor wants to know if Hawks has
any real evidence, or if he’s all rumors and talk. Hawks is all rumors and
talk. He believes that there might not actually be that many Nomu wandering
about, that someone might just be spreading rumors to keep people afraid and
talking. He mentions that flasher from earlier, and how he was inspired by the
reprinting of Destro’s book. Things like that sell better in a fearful world.
Endeavor demands he get to the point. And Hawks finally does. Basically, he just
wants Endeavor to be a good leader. To look into this Nomu thing, and if they
find nothing, tell the people so to calm their nerves, easy. He claims that he
wants to endeavor (not apologizing) to be Endeavor’s producer. And claims that he
wants to work toward a world where heroes have too much time on their hands. Their
talk is interrupted when they see something streaking across the sky toward
them. The High-End Nomu bursts in and… speaks?! Demanding to know who is
strongest. Endeavor puts Hawks on evacuation duty. He hits the beast with one
of his punches, Flashfire Fist, Jetburn! And knocks it from the building. He
leaps out after, flying on his fire power thrusters, promising to show the Nomu
who’s the strongest around here.
You know, with all the talk about
of All Might being the #1 ranked hero, and of hero ranks in general, it’s weird
that we’re only now just being informed how that system works. We’re almost 90
episodes into the anime and nearly 185 chapters into the manga before it comes
up. It’s super odd. I did like seeing the heroes that ended up on the chart. It’s
good to see some familiar faces, as well as some interesting new ones, like
Yorio and Crust. I have no idea what Wash’s whole deal is. Hawks makes a memorable
onscreen debut as well. He’s been mentioned several times before, but I believe
this is the first time we see more than a silhouette. He’s a slightly abrasive,
but incredibly charismatic hero. I like that he has the iconic bird wings, a
staple of the hero genre, but a unique twist on them. He might have wings like
Warren Worthington III aka Angel, but I’ve never seen one with feathers that he
could control remotely. I also kind of loved Endeavors first attempt at being
nicer blowing up so spectacularly. You can’t please everyone, I guess. Oh, and the
reason the kid is familiar is that he’s very much an homage to Natsu Dragneel,
one of the protagonists of the long running Fairy Tale series. Both are pink
haired young men with scarves, with a love of fire. Though, Natsu is the Fire
Dragon Slayer, so his love of fire is much more intense, assumedly. Oh, and
both guys are voiced by Todd Haberkorn. Just a fun easter egg. Oh, and High
End, damn, that guy is cool. A super Nomu, one with a very unique design,
including a sizeable hood over his head and exposed brain. And. It. Talks!
Considering that all other Nomu have been barely functional meat puppets that
fall into a trance when not given orders, make this thing all the scarier. If
The League of Villains has kept this beast waiting in storage for so long, Dabi
must really want Endeavor hurting if he finally let it out. Endeavor hit the monster
hard with his opening shot, but this fight is far from over. This will be a
hell of a first fight for the newly minted #1 hero. I can’t wait to talk about
it. I’ll start July finishing out this story, and My Hero Academia season 4,
and then go through Loki. It’ll be an exciting month. Have a good night,
everyone!
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Twitter: @BasicsSuperhero
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