This was definitely one of those “I can’t believe that was 22 minutes” episodes. I don’t know that I’ll have all that much to say about it, as it pretty much spoke for itself. but I certainly couldn’t take my eyes off it. It seriously felt like eyecatch time when the end credits started rolling. Not a lot of action series can hang with Boku no Hero Academia when it really goes into hyperdrive, but the fact that it doesn’t do so all that often is crucial to why it’s so effective when it does.
It would be easy for it to get lost in the avalanche of action and sheer drama this week, but some of the subtler stuff going on with the villain side of the ledger was very interesting. The whole Kacchan thing, for starters – Shigaraki’s choice of words when he showed that picture, for example. Then we have evidence of a split within the ranks, as Spinner comes to Deku’s defense on the grounds that he’s “someone Stain thought was worth saving”. Stain is a useful symbolic tool for the League of Villains, no doubt, but the ideas he unleashed may not be so easy to control (or manipulate). He’s a fascinating creation, that’s for sure.
Meanwhile, it’s pretty much pure chaos on the ground on every front. Aizawa does battle with Dabi, desperate to get into the field (forest) to help his students. There he runs into Deku and is appropriately horrified at the state of him, but is unable to stop him from heading back into the fray after he deposits Kota in Aizawa’s care. Deku, meanwhile, races off to find Mandalay and give her two messages to disseminate to the students – first that they’re officially cleared to fight (I should hope so) and second. that Kacchan (though she has no idea who that is) has specifically been targeted.
Quirks are a big theme here – Kota’s water quirk, Mustard’s gas quirk, the various quirks of the Class B students. In chaos, what might be useful and what might not could surprise you. It’s nice to see a couple of Class B students get some actual glory, and their confrontation with Mustard is a damn good one. Tetsutetsu and Kendo each have their moment here – Kendo with her cleverness in figuring out Mustard’s quirk, and in her “lame” quirk coming in so useful (she can always be counted on when you need a hand) and Tetsutetsu just in terms of general GAR. Another interesting element here is Mustard using a gun – something we see very little of in BnHA, but which – when one thinks about it – could be damned effective against most quirks. Tetsutetsu just happens to be an exception…
Meanwhile, there’s Kacchan and Todoroki. Bakugo is, as you’d expect, pissed off to be singled out as someone who needs to be careful and avoid single combat because let’s face it, careless single combat is pretty much what defines him. And then we have Tokoyami, whose Dark Shadow must surely be in its element in these conditions. And that’s very much the problem – with this much darkness and this much stress around him, Tokoyami has less control over his dark side than ever. His quirk has always been one of the most interesting and unsettling in BnHA for me, and it’s circumstances like this that show off why that is.
So far, at least, the moment of reckoning hasn’t arrived for Izuku. But, as Eraserhead says, once his adrenaline wears off the horrific nature of those injuries will kick in. In fact, it’s only a timely intervention by Shouji which saves Deku from another attack from the invaders – and not only do they have the villains to contend with, but Dark Shadow too. It’s easy to criticize Izuku for continually doing stuff like this to himself but… What, exactly, could he have done differently if he wanted to save Kota? There are no easy answers to that question. And the fact that Horikoshi-sensei doesn’t try to deny that but rather, embraces it is one of the reasons why Boku no Hero Academia is one of the best takes on the superhero genre Japan has ever produced.
MFF
May 5, 2018 at 8:10 amI loved how Eraserhead in the chat with Kota emphasised the Thank you bit to Deku.
They all have their roles and Eraserhead as a teacher needs to play his role even if he wanted to praise Midoriya.
Kill City Thriller
May 5, 2018 at 8:29 amWhat could have Deku done differently to save Kota?
Well if One for All at 100% full power doesn’t work, then you just try One for All at 1,000,000% full power. If that doesn’t work, then try One for All 2,000,000% full power. I don’t see what is so hard about that. To save time Deku should just jump to using One for All at 5,000,000% full power right off the bat.
Lol. This is one of the major problem with manga and anime on display in spades in this episode. Everything will work out if you can just use more than 100% of your power. Meh….
DauntingOverlord
May 5, 2018 at 4:04 pmThat isn’t how One for All works dude. Deku didn’t use 1000% of his power. As is with a lot of Shonen, Deku’s power is fueled by his raw emotions, so that larger than 100% move is Deku psyching himself to throw everything he can at Muscular. Deku can’t just throw that power around nilly willy, he has to be in the right mindset, be at a certain breaking point, and when all hope is lost. If Deku could just use 1000% of his power, than it wouldn’t be 1000%.
Stefan
May 6, 2018 at 4:33 amWhat Daunting Overlord said is confirmed by the author. Midoriya psyched himself out, throwing absolutely everything in that throw. He didn’t go beyond 100%.
Stefan
May 6, 2018 at 4:37 amTo make it clearer, it’s similar to what All Might did in season 1 against Nomu. He removed all inhibitions and put everything into those punches with no restraint, the same as Midoriya against Muscular. It’s a desperate move which pushes one past their psychological limits in order to tap into every fiber of power the body has access to, indifferently of the consequences of this actions.
In other words, Midoriya almost destroyed his arm by removing his inhibitions and giving that punch all he has.
Guardian Enzo
May 6, 2018 at 4:48 amAnd All Might paid dearly for that move, I might add.
bennydelon
May 6, 2018 at 8:12 amIn addition to what all of you have said, there was a little bit of strategy in that attack.
If you pay attention to the scene Deku says Delaware+Detroit Smash.
Basically he used Delawere Smash (air pressure with his fingers) to destroy the muscles that were surrounding his arm, and after that he used Detroit Smash to hit Muscular.
That’s why it was so effective this time, Muscular didn’t had time to regenerate his muscles to protect himself.
Kill CIty Thriller
May 6, 2018 at 11:41 amOk Fan Boy. You can believe what you want. The subtitles plainly showed that Deku first used All for One at 100% full power. It explicitly said that. And it didn’t work. Then the subtitles explicitly said he used 1,000,000% full power. Simple as that.
Kaz
May 7, 2018 at 11:37 pmThe author already explained/confirmed that the 1 million percent is just Deku hyping himself up, but the truth is, it’s only 100% with no limits/to the max. He can’t really go above that. It’s like just shouting “I have the power of the whole universe” and then gives out a simple knockout punch. That’s all to it. Just 100% FULL raw power, no restraints, but shouting it as if it’s the most powerful punch ever, to boost himself up. And yes, we all can read subtitles. He said 1,000,000%. But kindly go back to all these comments that explained the reason why it was that. Simple as that.