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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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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Twitter: @BasicsSuperhero

Viewer Log: My Hero Academia ep 75

A monster takes it's true form. 

Last time on My Hero Academia, Mirio Togata caught up to Overhaul, Kurono, and Eri. He’s briefly held up by two more of the Eight Bullets, Nemoto (forces people to tell the truth) and Sakaki (messes with equilibrium) but he quickly dispatches them and faces off against Overhaul. He’s able to get Eri away from the two, but isn’t able to get away because Overhaul cuts off the exit and won’t give him the time to phase away with Eri. He’s able to hold them off for a while, but can’t put any of them down since he has to also protect Eri. Overhaul is super okay with hurting her because, one, even if she dies, he can restore her if he gets to her in time, and two, he’s actually not attached to her at all because she’s not his actual daughter. Finally, Nemoto gets one of the power-destroying bullets and shoots at Eri. Togata takes the hit rather than let it hit Eri. He loses his powers, but keeps fighting. He gets beaten half to hell, but Togeta keeps standing up. It looks like he’s about to die, but then Izuku shatters through the wall to save him. Enough recap, let’s get to it.

Overhaul's preference for long ranged shockwaves
really does highlight how much he doesn't like
being touched.

 

We open with the post credit scene from last episode, with Togata making what might be his last stand against Overhaul. At the last second, Izuku bursts through the wall to save him.

 

We jump back a few minutes to when Izuku and the others were in a separate hallway. They have Mimic locked down, but the halls are so twisted and distorted they don’t know for sure where to go. Nighteye believes Eri’s room is in a specific direction, so they try to go that way. The cops want Mimic to fix the halls, but they realize that he’s coming down from his enhancement drug and is back to just being able to manipulate a fridge in terms of mass. Plus, he seems to be having a nervous breakdown after hearing the Leaguers mock him while he was crashing. He just keeps screaming that he’ll kill them all. The cops think that Twice and Toga are the only ones here, which is at least not terrible news. Izuku remembers that Aizawa told him he’d be benched if the League showed up, but before they could discuss that, Rock Lock tells them to get moving. The heroes need to go after Overhaul and Eri, and the cops should try to track down the Leaguers. With his injury, he offers to look after Mimic. He gives them a speech about working too hard to give up now, and sends them on their way. Once alone with Mimic, we learn why Rock Lock has been a bit of a dick to the students. Turns out, he and his wife just had a baby and his paternal instincts were in overdrive. He didn’t want the students involved because he kept thinking about his own son and how worried he’d be if these kids got hurt. Does it excuse his behaviour? No, but it definitely informs it. Izuku told him that he’d definitely save Eri before running off, and he’s actually pretty confident that he will.

Yeah, this explains a lot of Rock Lock's actions.

 

Twice and Toga watch them go from a higher level. The decide to hang back and watch, hoping that the heroes and Overhaul will bloody each other and they’ll be able to take advantage. I think. Toga might just be into it because she’s got an unhealthy fixation on Izuku and on seeing him bleed.

 

We then get back to Izuku leaping through the wall to save Togata. He rushes forward the moment he’s inside and punches the smug git before he can do more than block. He’s thrown backward from the blow. Aizawa disables his powers as Nighteye runs over to Togata and Eri, he protected her the whole time. Nighteye grabs them both, hugging them to him as he tells Togata that he was amazing.

 

Izuku and Aizawa rush Overhaul, the two working in sync pretty well. Overhaul, knowing he’s outclassed right now, screams that it’s time for Kurono to get up. A long blade shoots out of Kurono’s hood, it slices Aizawa but he’s able to push Izuku out of the way in time. As Kurono gets up, he explains that anyone sliced by his “long hand” hair is slowed down immensely. Overhaul reveals to us, the reader, that he’d healed Kurono’s head injury earlier when Togata threw him at Overhaul, and is annoyed it took him so long to get back up. Aizawa is unable to move at any speed and can’t stop himself from blinking. His powers returned, Overhaul makes a spike wall that knocks everyone back. I should note that at this point, he’s broken out in hives all over his arms and forehead. He draws Nemoto over to him, and says that he knows Nemoto will “give his life” for the cause. He touches Nemoto and the two are engulfed in a blinking light.

 

Okay, kid gloves are coming off.

As Overhaul transforms, he gives credit where it is due and admits that Lemillion (Togata) was stronger than him and that he respects his perseverance. But now he’s going to kill them all. When the light dims, Overhaul has completely reworked his body, using his power to break down himself and Nemoto, and recombining them into a four-armed monstrosity. Well, that’s not good.  

 

Meanwhile, Aizawa and Kurono were knocked into a room farther underground. Kurono explains that he’d sliced Aizawa again with more of his hair to keep him from moving. His power is called Chronostasis, and as stated above, he uses his clock hand looking hair to slice people and slow their moments. He’s goes on to tell Aizawa that they’d researched his power while working on the Quirk destroying bullets and plan to use him to further their research. He tells Aizawa it’s over, using Eri as an example. Turns out, while she isn’t Overhaul’s daughter, she is the granddaughter of their boss. Overhaul respects the crap out of his boss, so if he’s willing to use the bosses granddaughter in ghoulish experiments, he’ll be willing to do anything to win.

And he regenerates, crap.

 

Izuku is freaked out by Overhaul’s transformation for just a second, but then gets to assessing. He notes that he can only see Nighteye, Togata and Eri, but doesn’t have time to be concerned with Aizawa’s absence. Overhaul takes a moment to confirm that he’s a bit of a germaphobe, so often lashes out when he’s dirtied by the filth of others, but it’s never gotten this bad before. He tells them that their meddling cost Togata his Quirk. That if they’d backed down sooner, he’d have let Togata keep his pathetic dreams. He grabs the cases of bullets and tries to rush Nighteye’s group, but Izuku hurls some debris at him to distract.

 

Overhaul shifts his attention back to Izuku. He notes that while the kid hits like a cannonball, he’s only got power and speed on his side. Which of course is a problem. When you have to close range fighter, the one that can disintegrate things with a touch has a significant advantage. Nighteye lobs some of his heavy seals at Overhaul, pushing him back from Izuku. He tells Izuku to leave this fight to him and to look after the others. When pressed by Nighteye, Overhaul admits Kurono has Eraser Head (Aizawa) and they plan to use him to perfect the bullets. Nighteye notes that Overhaul is obsessed with destroying Quirks, but the moment his own powers were threatened, he did everything to remove Aizawa from the gameboard. He’s a hypocrite, and, Nighteye asks, how afraid of Togata must he have been to use one of his precious Quirk destroying bullets to stop Togata. During this exchange, Nighteye destroys one of Overhaul’s hands, but he regenerates in a few seconds.

 

As they brawl, Nighteye remembers telling Togata about using his skills to predict movements, something he was already a master of, but Nighteye takes it a step further, using Foresight on Overhaul. As he dodges around Overhaul’s claws, he remembers his last conversation with All Might when he told his friend, mentor and partner that he’ll die if he keeps going down this path. Sometime later, he speaks with Gran Torino. He explains to the more senior hero that the reason he stopped using his power to view things farther into the future than a few hours or days is because nothing he does changes it. If he intervenes with the flow of his visions, they’ll always seem to self-correct and the end result happens anyway. He stops someone being hit by a car one day, but then the next day they’re hit by a car anyway, sort of thing. He’s scared that maybe something about his power locks people into the future that he sees, and worries that seeing All Might die forced him into that track of reality. He vowed to never look far into someone’s future ever again.

 

In the present, he’s hoping that one second glances into the future will help him stay ahead of Overhaul. It works, his film strip visions of the future (super cool visual by the way) letting him stay one step ahead until he sees something that shocks him. He freezes and we hear a stabbing sound.

 

Nighteye didn't see that one coming...
Or... maybe... he did but couldn't dodge?

Izuku tries to get the others through the wall and away. Togata is clearly barely able to stand, but he’s trying to keep going for Eri’s sake. She gets some of his blood on her hand and she wants them to just leave her. She remembers Overhaul telling her that she’s cursed and that everyone is going to die because of her. Izuku sees Nighteye taking spikes through his gut and arm. As he’s impaled, he begs his power to show him a future, any future where he and Izuku can get the others out safely… the strip ends as he passes out.

 

Izuku leaps at Overhaul, striking the villain with greater force than before. He mentally does the math and thinks he’s now able to use 20% of OFA, for short burst anyway. Izuku leaps up into the air, bounces off the ceiling and drops down to give Overhaul a 20% Manchester SMASH! Unfortunately, Overhaul dodges. He says Izuku is fast but his movements are easier to track than the other two. Izuku takes spike through his legs.

 

Togata tries to lead Eri to safety, but the blood loss, exhaustion and seeing his mentor skewered clearly has him on his last legs. He tells Eri to run and hide and that a hero would be along to save her. They’ve all worked so hard to save her, she just needs to last a little while longer.

 

Izuku won't let something simple like mere
puncture wounds to slow him down.

Izuku is hurt but alive. There was a third, bigger spike that was going to impale him but he was able to smash it to pieces. Making the two smaller spears in his leg a vast improvement. Izuku isn’t backing down, though. Getting sick of this, Overhaul manifests Nemoto’s mouth in the palm of his hand and uses his subordinates’ power to further verbally abuse Eri and make her say she’d rather go with him than see anyone else hurt. She begs Overhaul to just heal her would be rescuers and then they’ll go. Overhaul uses the emotionally abused, heartbroken and scared child’s submissive acceptance of her personal hell as proof they aren’t really heroes, that their “help” is cruel. Oh, and we get a miniflash back from her where we learn that she was routinely experimented on until her body gave out, only for Overhaul to reset her to normal so they can keep going. Yep, I could see that breaking a child’s spirit. Nighteye, meanwhile, came to and is having visions of the future. He is barely hanging on and thinks the whole situation is useless. According to his sight, he and Izuku will die, and Overhaul will get away with Eri. It’s all useless. Izuku, though, won’t give up. He pulls out the spikes, shattering them, vowing to never let Eri down again. He prepares for a final charge, just as the ceiling collapses and Ryukyu, (been spelling it wrong) Tsu and Uraraka come tumbling down with the big brute Katsukame. Guess hope isn’t lost yet.

 

Overall, this was a solid Izuku episode. I thought getting to see him get a slight power boost and it still not being enough to handle Overhaul in his enhanced form was a good character moment. He’s reaching a point where his issue isn’t power anymore, but skill and versatility. But more on that later. Overhaul going full psycho was a bit surprising but an interesting development. I think it was interesting that Nemoto claimed to be the closest to their boss, but it seems clear that Kurono get’s him more. He seems to understand that Overhaul is a bit unstable and that that someone willing to sacrifice the granddaughter of someone they respect is a scary attitude to have. Probably why he gets to live while Kurono is being used as a free powerup. The fact that Overhaul can use both of their abilities plus regenerate himself in this new form is god damned terrifying. I liked hearing Nighteye’s assessment of Overhaul, to hear that bit about how terrified Overhaul must have been to use up one of his few bullets to stop him was satisfying. Not enough to make up for taking Togata’s power, but satisfying nonetheless. It was heartbreaking to see Nighteye not only receive such grievous wounds but to hear him lose hope like he does, especially after he basically begs the universe and his Quirk to show him a happy ending. But, then to see Izuku’s stubborn faith rewarded by a wildcard like Izuku’s love in- I mean classmates and their mentor arriving all the sweeter. That and the line from Izuku about smashing fate even if it was set in stone is metal as hell. Anyway, yeah, it was a good episode. Next time, we get to see Izuku go all out. See you there. 

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Twitter: @BasicsSuperhero

Viewer Log: My Hero Academia ep 74

 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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