Izuku learns from his predecessors.
Last time on My Hero Academia,
we learned a bit more about the history of Toya Todoroki aka Dabi and his
family. In flashbacks from Enji and Rei’s perspective we saw how the Todoroki
family began as basically a business arrangement that began to deteriorate upon
the parents learning that their oldest inherited an unfortunate mix of their
powers. He got an upgraded form of his father’s fire but the cold resistance of
his mother, meaning using his powers cause him to burn himself repeatedly.
Desperate for a successor to surpass All Might and a way to tell his stubborn son
to give up his dream of being that successor, Enji insisted on having two more
children with his wife; Natsuo, who turned out to be another failure, and Shoto
his prize. Rather than deter their son, this just made him more desperate to
get daddy’s favor back. Enraged at Toya’s disobedience and his belief that Rei
was failing to look after the boy as is her duty, Enji began physically abusing
her which unfortunately led to her psychological break where she burned Shoto’s
face. Shortly after she was committed to the mental hospital, Toya was
seemingly killed in a forest fire after his powers raged out of control. Enji
admits he failed his son completely and utterly for his obsession, and Rei
takes some of the blame, as she was too afraid of her own child to try to save
him. The Todoroki family resolves to work together this one time to try to save
their long-lost son and brother from himself. Hawks and Best Jeanist arrive to
offer their support as well and ask if Endeavor knows anything about One-For-All.
Endeavor admits to hearing that from Izuku at one point and that his Work Study
student was certain Shigaraki was going to come after him. In Izuku’s room, we
see All Might sitting with him and the retired hero saying that he can ‘feel’
Izuku speaking with the previous wielders of One-For-All in the mindscape.
Enough recapping. Let’s get to it, shall we?
The episode begins with Izuku
wondering what happened to everyone after the fighting. He’s pulled deeper into
his mindscape, and we hear the fifth wielder, Daigoro Banjo saying that they
need to have a talk before he wakes up. Izuku opens his eyes to see eight
thrones before him, sixth of them occupied. There are seven physical people in
the room, two of them are standing and facing a wall, and the eight is the
indistinct spiritual essence of All Might. The first wielder, Shigaraki the
younger, tells Izuku that he knows the timing isn’t ideal, but they do need to
talk. Izuku has no mouth in this form, his body being mostly black energy. The other
wielders talk about fate, with Banjo insisting it’s bad luck this all happened.
Izuku marvels at seeing his predecessors in his dreams again.
Shigaraki the Younger tells Izuku
that before they could only speak to him briefly through the cracks in his consciousness,
but that isn’t needed anymore. He says that about four months ago, when Izuku
first manifested Black Whip, One-For-All’s power grew dramatically and a side
effect of that was 1. Izuku manifesting previous wielders powers, and 2. The vestiges
of the previous wielders grew enough so that they could speak to each other
within his mindscape. They gained even more independence after Shigaraki the
elder pulled Shigaraki the Younger and Nana Shimura into Izuku’s battle with
Shigaraki in the mindscape. Banjo assures him that while they’re in his head
the vestiges will give him plenty of space. Izuku tries to say something but is
lacking a mouth. He’s able to focus and ask the previous wielders what they
want. Banjo is impressed with almost being able to understand him. We’re introduced
to Hikage Shinomori, the fourth wielder and the owner of Danger Sense, who
offers to explain. He says that in the battle, Izuku tapped into his power
unintentionally, and how it was weird that Hikage didn’t sense Izuku was on the
cusp of using his power before. Banjo explains that Hikage was a bit of weirdo
and had decided to live in seclusion for most of his life like a hermit. Hikage
insisted that his era was the weird and he was the only normal person. They do
a slapstick routine where Banjo tries to touch Hikage but he’s able to dodge
away thanks to Danger Sense. As he does that, he asks Izuku if he knows how and
when he died. Izuku mutters that the notes said he died at age 40. Izuku remembered
that the notes had that bit scribbled out for some reason. Hikage says that they
recently discovered that he died of old age.
Obviously, that’s a weird way for a
forty-year-old to go out. Hikage explains that he and Banjo only recently found
out how they died. They say that Yagi’s Vestige, All Might, only just told them
how it happened. Hikage says that with this they theorize that a normal person
can’t use the power for very long. Hikage explained the he was the second
longest wielder of One-For-All, All Might held it the longest, and for the 18
years he had it he spent his days rigorously training his body to build up the
power as best he could. He did it to hide from All-For-One, he knew that he
wouldn’t be a match for the elder Shigaraki, so he built up the physical power
of the quirk to prepare it for the next user. Things got weird toward the end
of his life, where he started getting weird cracks all over his body. He has a
very prominent one going from his hairline over his left eye to his chin. He
thought he might have contracted a disease, but All Might disproved that idea. He
found Hikagi’s medical records, and they now have a new theory that housing
multiple Quirks in one body drastically shortens one’s lifespan. Izuku mutters
to them that that doesn’t make sense as All Might held an even more compounded
version of the power, for longer, and he’s still alive. Shigaraki the Younger
says that’s correct and why they needed to talk to him.
Shigaraki the Younger says that
they’ve had trouble puzzling this out as most of the wielders didn’t have the
power for very long. Most of them died shortly after receiving it, typically in
battle, so they just don’t have a big sample size for why All Might is
different. They asked what the intrinsic difference between Hikagi and Yagi
were. Izuku gets it immediately, that All Might (and himself) were Quirkless. Shigaraki
the younger nods, he says they received the information from the living All
Might through his Vestige. They have a hypothesis, one that was largely
confirmed by seeing Shigaraki the elder merging with Tomura in the mindscape,
that a bit of each of the previous wielders is permanently etched into One-For-All.
He likens it to an glass, when someone with a Quirk gets One-For-All, their
glass is already partially full of their own Quirk, so the glass overflows or
breaks. A Quirkless person who gets One-For-All essentially has an empty cup,
so they can take the power and use it indefinitely. That’s why All Might could
use his power for over 40 years. Shigaraki the younger says that it’s ironic
that the true potential of this Quirk that’s passed from person to person can
only reach its full potential in a Quirkless person.
Izuku realizes that now, since the
power has evolved and multiple Quirks are manifesting through it, that he won’t
be able to pass it on to another ‘normal’ person. Shigaraki says that he could
give it to another quirkless person, but those are pretty rare these days. He says
that this was only something they could have figured out with work, and if they’d
been able to speak to another previous wielder, maybe they could have prevented
some of the deaths. Banjo spells it out for Izuku, he for all intents and
purposes is the last wielder of One-For-All. Nana then pipes in and asks if he
can kill Tomura Shigaraki.
Izuku is baffled by this question. She
clarifies that this isn’t a request, but her attempt to gauge his resolve. They
felt Izuku’s emotions and know that when he saw Tomura wrestling for control of
his body that Izuku thought he wanted help. Banjo says that they saw that, and
the other wielders thought Tomura had the opposite mindset. That despite the
pain and anguish he felt that he wanted the power more. Shigaraki the younger
thinks that his brother’s plan was to possess Tomura completely, and through
him absorb One-For-All from Izuku. Banjo says that he and his immediate
successor En Tayutai, faced All-For-One one on one. They managed to keep the
power from All-For-One, saying that the only way to steal it is to come at it
with a passion that surpasses its incredible power. He thinks that Shigaraki
the elder is trying to use Tomura’s hatred s a booster to help him steal One-For-All.
Shigaraki the younger says that they think that One-For-All exists to destroy All-For-One.
They thought that All Might had succeeded years ago, but Shigaraki the elder is
tenacious. Nana tells Izuku that she knows it’s unfair to put this burden on
Izuku after telling him that he can’t give up the power, but they need him to
do this. Nana says that she abandoned her son, Tomura’s father, to fight All
For One, and this is the result. She knows it’s disgraceful to ask a teenager
to pick up this burden from her, but she also knows that if Shigaraki the elder
completes his goal, there will be no stopping him. She tells Izuku that some
people are beyond redemption, and that Tomura is one of them. She asks Izuku if
he has the resolve to kill him despite that look.
Izuku says that he ‘felt’ that
Tomura wanted help. He says that he felt a lost child crying out for help in
Tomura. He says that he has fought a lot of people over the last year, that he
was forced to because they won’t back down. He says that for most of them, he
never found out why they became villains, so he couldn’t help them navigate
their anger or hatred to try to stop them. He’s not sure if that knowledge
would have stopped them, but maybe it could have. He says that Tomura Shigaraki
caused a lot of pain, that he hurt people that Izuku cares about… but he truly
believes that One-For-All is a power that saves people, not hurts them. He
learned it from All Might, this cultivated power is meant to inspire people to
be better. As Izuku speaks he becomes more solid in the mindscape, and his
words cause All Might’s vestige to start crying. Izuku knows that he might have
to fight Tomura but he doesn’t want to go into it trying to kill him. Izuku
comes fully into the mindscape and transforms into his childhood self as he
proclaims that he wants to save that little kid. Tomura the Younger says that
that resolve is why they’ll follow Izuku’s lead. Nana admits that this is a
test, and she apologizes for putting him through it. Nana asks Izuku to tell
Gran Torino that she says hello. She believes they made a mistake, but she and
Gran Torino were still blessed with wonderful students. Shigaraki turns back to
the two Wielders facing the wall and says that they’ll have to help soon instead
of ignoring them.
Outside the mindscape, All Might is
sensing what is going on through his Vestige. He’s not getting a lot of
details, mostly impressions. He knows that Izuku is being told the previous wielders
stories and that he’s impressed them with his resolve. He’s interrupted by
Hawks and Jeanist coming in. Hawks asks if Izuku will recover. All Might says
that he will wake up soon and asks what he really wants. Hawks admits to having
heard about One-For-All through other heroes, and that it was clear as the
fighting went on that Shigaraki was specifically targeting Izuku, a mere
student. He wants the full picture, because from now on, they aren’t just
fighting villains but public sentiment. All Might agrees to tell them
everything in private.
Uraraka takes over narration,
saying that it’s now three days since the incident. She thinks that despite
reports, not everyone blames heroes for what is going on. She thinks that most people
want to believe in these folks that protect them. We come in during Endeavor’s
press conference, where he admits that Dabi is his son and apologizes to the
nation for what he’s done. He gives a full account of his family’s ugly
history. Some people think this’ll be the end of Endeavor, and some think he
shouldn’t admit to anything. Hawks admits to his history as well, as well as
owning killing Twice. One of the reporters admits to her mother being hurt in
the incident and asks if their ‘apology’ really means anything. Endeavor asks
if standing up here crying about it would help her mother, and the reporter
says no, but they could do something about the villains, be heroes. They agree
that that is what they should do, Endeavor saying that that is how he’ll try to
atone for his own sins. Jeanist asks for people’s understanding as they’ve got
fewer heroes in the field now than ever. He says that they’ve figured out a temporary
solution. The hero schools like UA have been designated as Emergency shelters
and they encourage anyone who feels unsafe to go to them until the crisis has
ended. He says that UA parents are already moving in and we’re shown Izuku and Bakugo’s
mothers bringing stuff into the building. One reporter asks if they really are
expected to leave their homes for an indefinite period. Endeavor slams his
hands on the desk, saying that they’re trying to help people, and tells them to
‘just watch him,’ for now. This seems to calm some, and anger others. Dabi, who’s
watching from the lair, thinks his father hasn’t had enough pain yet. Uraraka
says that when asked about All-For-One, Endeavor pretended to be unaware of it
to shield Izuku.
At class 1A’s dorm, all the
students received a letter from Izuku. He explained everything to them, about All-For-One,
One-For-All, and how the villains are after him. We see Uraraka’s version of
the letter, where he explains himself and why he’s leaving UA to protect them.
He thanks them and says goodbye. Uraraka calls him an idiot, and wonders if a
hero is someone that walks the most dangerous path, than who is going to go
after them when they’re in pain. She says that in April, Deku left their hero
academy. We cut to a few weeks later, where Izuku is decked out in a tattered,
aggressive version of his costume. He sees an explosion and says that it looks
like a huge villain. Text appears on screen and says that the final act has
begun.
Izuku ‘Deku’ Midoriya has entered
his vigilante era.
Well, that was an emotional rollercoaster.
It was interesting to finally see more of the previous One-For-All wielders.
Seeing these men and woman that cultivated this power and used it to try to
stop the great evil that is All-For-One really puts this whole struggle into a different
perspective. Instead of the struggle between All Might and All-For-One, a personal
grudge match between two individuals, it’s now a generational battle against a
demon lord. Which I think would make All-For-One giggle. I know that that has been
the story the whole time but seeing the people that fought the battle drives
that point home more than All Might just saying it. The reveal that One-For-All
shortens a Quirk-haver’s lifespan is a kick in the teeth. While it’s a twist,
it does fit with the lore that we’ve been given. It’s a pretty classic, great
power requires great sacrifice limit on the ability. Yes, One-For-All enhances
a wielder’s physical strength as well as making their quirk more potent, but
that much power in one person isn’t good for the body. It’s a point that has
been with us since Horikoshi started going into the Nomu. Those modified
corpses all have to go through extensive modifications to handle multiple Quirks,
so it stands to reason that every time you add more abilities to a person it
puts greater strain on the body. My going theory is that a person can handle
one, maybe two additional Quirks without much harm, but anything beyond three
total Quirks is where the stress starts building up. I’ll explain more in a few
more posts. Izuku resolving to at least try to save Tomura despite the seeming
objections of his predecessors. He has enough pragmatism to know that in all
likelihood Tomura will reject help, but he’s still optimistic enough to try. The
fact that Izuku has always wanted to save people first and foremost is
something I’ve always liked about him. Fighting has always been a means to an
end for him, not an end in itself. He’ll do everything he can to save even someone
that the rest of the world has given up on as irredeemable. I like that Izuku
took the time to write notes to each of his friends. The notes all look like
they were torn out of his precious notebook, showing how much his friends mean
to him if he sacrificed those pages. Is Izuku running from his friends, whom
are all heroes-in-training with skills comparable to or surpassing his own, the
dumbest version of ‘hero distances himself from his loved ones in order to
protect them” trope? Yes, yes, it is. But I do get him not wanting them to risk
their lives for him, because that’s just that kind of guy. His vigilante suit
looks sick. And that’s all I have to say about that. Happy New Year, all!
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Bluesky: @basicssuperhero.bsky.social
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