My Hero Academia S304: “My Hero”
My Hero Academia is back, y’all! And we’re recapping this season episode by episode. Just be careful: spoilers and speculation below.
When My Hero Academia is at its best, our emotions run amok. Watching our favorite heroes, young and old, face villains exhilarates us, but the idea of losing a character brings dread. And this is shonen anime, so death is never off the table. “My Hero” is saturated with action and drama to the point where viewers’ feelings are pushed into overdrive.
After recapping Kota’s past and last week’s cliffhanger, “My Hero” cuts to the remedial classroom, which is suddenly hit by a message from Mandalay. (Ironically, the night’s lesson is how to behave in an emergency.). All over camp, the Vanguard Action Squad introduces itself and states its intentions: sure, they’ll take out a pro, but they’re really here for select students. Speaking of which, we see incredible reactions from the students. Kendo’s big fists and Yaoyorozu’s masks help Class B breathe safely in the gassed woods, and Tetsutetsu offered a season highlight of a speech on why he’s going to fight the villains. To balance out that hope, the villains had a few terrifying moments of their own: Dabi’s flames on Aizawa’s face, a severed hand in the forest, splatters of blood covering Ragdoll’s post. No one is messing around.
Where the episode comes to a head is the matter of Kota’s safety. Deku’s fight against Muscular has all the makings of a perfectly executed anime battle. Kota’s flashback hits at the right moment — when Muscular’s mask falls — and we both realize he’s up against the villain who killed his parents, the Water Hose Heroes. This guy ruined Kota’s life, and what’s worse, you can tell he enjoyed it. We’ve seen Deku act without hesitation before, but with no classmates or All Might to help him out, this is his most perilous sacrifice yet. His One For All quirk, attempted at 100%, barely fazes this guy, but in the end he’s able to rally, bust out a One For All at 1,000,00%, and—at great cost—defeat Muscular. It’s an emotional, nail-biting match, but he pulls it off regardless. What’s equally incredible is the effort Kota puts in to help Deku: a mere squirt of water distracted Muscular long enough to let Deku exponentially raise his power, giving us one of the best fights in the entire series.
The Verdict:
“My Hero’s” biggest strength is the sense of urgency it creates — the next few episodes are gonna be battle heavy, and we’re on the edge of our seats.
Rating: 9.2
“My Hero” is available to stream in Japanese and English on Funimation, Crunchyroll, VRV, and Hulu. Pretty soon, it’ll be on Toonami, too.
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