There’s no question that Boku no Hero Academia is in full sprint mode now, and when this series gets like this there’s no stopping it until it gets where it needs to go.  Few shounen can do the momentum thing like BnHA – once the adrenaline rush kicks in you can only sit back and enjoy the ride.  As the students improve, so does the caliber of opposition – and each side is learning through experience that they have to take the other very seriously indeed.

I noted this last week, but in some sense I think Tokoyami’s Dark Shadow might be the most frightening power amongst all the students.  Kacchan is basically a berserker – erratic and sometimes terrifying, certainly, but easy to manipulate.  Deku has the sharpest brain of the bunch, and once he learns to master One For All he may be the strongest at Yuuei – but the damage he does will always be primarily to himself.  Todoroki is probably the strongest right now in terms of raw power, but his default mode is caution – deep-seated in his own self-doubts about who he is.

Tokoyami is altogether different.  He’s a good person who’s capable of unleashing a terrible beast which he can’t control.  His personality and his quirk are in direct opposition to each other, and his quirk is among the most powerful around.  That combination makes him a wild card in a way that’s more unsettling than Bakugo to me.  Look at what happens when Dark Shadow is unleashed in all its glory against villains against whom Bakugo and Todoroki – theoretically the two strongest students in 1-A – could barely hold their ground against.  That’s terrifying.

Of course, this encounter is also an example of why Deku is so formidable, because even when his body is incapacitated (thanks to himself) he can still turn the course of battles with his mind.  It’s his plan which allows Dark Shadow to win against the villains without taking out the good guys too, and allows Kacchan and Shouto to subdue it (Deku’s mind also comes up with the crucial winning strategy later in the episode).  Izuku is always thinking, even when he’s so wrecked he should be unconscious – and that may just be his greatest strength.  I don’t think there’s any question his strategic game is stronger than All Might’s – if he could even match his mentor in physical terms, he would indeed be the greatest hero of all time.

Indeed, this gathering of students (Kacchan, Tokoyami, Todoroki, Shouji and Midoriya’s brain) could probably stand their ground against even All Might, as Midoriya says.  And thus the plan to protect Kacchan (though he predictably hates the idea) until they can get back to camp is a good one – but in Compress (Mogami Tsuguo – also Nomu – delivering a very interesting, Miki Shinichirou-like performance) they’ve met their worst possible opponent under these circumstances.  Compress is all about stealth and style, and not remotely interested in showing what he can do in a fight.  And he picks off the stragglers in this group – Bakugo of course, but also Tokoyami (in a bit of improvization and seizing the moment).

The other character who makes quite an impression here is Toga, who made her fist appearance in the shopping mall abduction episode.  Toga is interesting, a villain who’s a kind of subversion of the anime high school girl trope.  She parrots all the otakubait catch phrases, dresses the part, but is a total psychopath in the process (whether Horikoshi-sensei is going farther with that metaphor is in the eyes of the beholder).  Her comments to Uraraka-san about both of them “having the same smell”, and how she can read Uraraka because both of them are “maidens” and in love are profoundly creepy, especially given Fukuen Misato’s brilliant performance (never mind the implications about the “in love” part).

I wouldn’t want to conclude without a mention of Aoyama, who’s in rather a pinch and deeply in panic mode when he’s stumbled upon by Dabi and Twice in the woods.  He’s in deep trouble, as are Momo and Class 1-B’s Awase Yosetsu – who really proves his worth in protecting Momo after she’s badly hurt in the fight with Nomu.  But the recall signal comes just in time, as the Vanguard Action Squad thinks their job is done – but Deku’s restless mind has other ideas.  He finds a way to combine Uraraka, Ysuyu and Shouji’s quirks to catch up to the fleeing Mr. Compress – and set up a battle royale in the forest with the fate of Kacchan and Tokoyami in the balance.