This episode was everything that makes Boku no Hero Academia great summed up in 22 minutes, pretty much.  If you ever wanted to understand why BnHA is different from most takes on the superhero genre, Western and Japanese, you’d be hard-pressed to find a better illustration.  It does all the conventional things an action shounen has to do well brilliantly, but layers in so much that’s rare and distinctive on top of that.  This sort of ep is why Boku no Hero will go down as one of the tentpole series in shounen history.

If I was to try and encapsulate what sets BnHA apart in a single word (no mean feat), it might just be “consequences”.  Horikoshi-sensei gives himself no narrative free passes – when something happens in this series, it matters.  And we’re not only talking about people being hurt or dying, either – there’s more to it than that.  There are emotional consequences too  – and let’s not forget practical concerns.  Details are important in Boku no Hero, because in this series we don’t get a real-world scenario played as a fantasy – we get a fantasy world treated as if it were real, and subject to the same concerns as our own.

That’s why the League of Villains is so insidious, because they (especially their reclusive leader) understand that the best path to achieving what they want isn’t through ham-fisted physical confrontation.  Their goal is to undermine the public trust in the institutions of society – Yuuei, heroes in general, All Might in specific.  They’ve shrewdly taken the mantle of a villain who fought purely for idealistic reasons and captured the public’s imagination – Stain – and co-opted it for purely calculated and underhanded purposes.  And can anyone deny it’s working?  All Might’s presence papered over a lot of fissures in society, but before he rose to prominence carrying hero culture on his back, society was a violent, chaotic mess.

What really stings here is that an honest assessment, it seems to me, would say that a lot of what the League (and the press) is saying about Yuuei is on the money.  They’ve done a very, very poor job of managing things – the villains have been a step ahead of them at every turn.  Students have been put in danger during school activities time and time again, and forced to fight when they weren’t supposed to be an option to do so.  In the aftermath of the training camp debacle Present Mic finally says aloud what should have been obvious – there’s a traitor in their midst. The League is getting information it should not be able to have access to, and there has to be a reason for it. There are consequences to all this for Yuuei, and it goes beyond simple soul-searching.

There are plenty of consequences for the students (not to mention the missing Ragdoll) too, physical and otherwise.  Many are still hospitalized after having been overcome by the gas.  Izuku is unconscious for two days, his injuries are so severe.  And Bakugo is missing – his having been taken by the Vanguard another symbol of Yuuei’s failures.  It’s only through the heroic last-instant intervention of Aoyama (bravery isn’t not being afraid – it’s being afraid and doing your duty anyway) that Tokoyami has been snatched back from Compress’ clutches.  And if Bakugo could be turned, that would represent the ultimate P.R. coup for the League – and possibly the total demise of Yuuei as an institution.

The core of Boku no Hero Academia always boils down to Deku and All Might. For Deku, despite his having saved Kouta at great cost to himself, he can only focus on failure – the failure to save Kacchan despite having been able to “reach” him.  And it’s not to be overlooked that the first thing he saw when he regained consciousness was the apple his mother sliced up for him, along with a note to call her when he wakes up.  If this doesn’t get to you you must have a hard heart indeed – and one can only imagine the impact it has on Izuku.  He must surely know that what he’s doing is killing his mother – the mother who’s already sacrificed so much for his sake.  But how can he stop now, given the overpowering compulsion to save others that drives him?  Either way, the existential consequences could hardly be steeper.

And finally, we have All Might – who must live with the fact that he was absent when this disaster was taking place, and with the knowledge that his own body is breaking down and with it, his ability to save others.  The work of Tsukauchi-kun and Tamakawa and Momo’s quick thinking seem to have thrown Al Might a lifeline – a chance to counterattack – but Kirishima-kun has overheard Momo tell All Might of the tracking device she placed on the Nomu.  The students are by nature impatient, and the snatching of their comrade has made this more personal than ever for them.  But they’re in a terrible position, strong enough to feel they could make a difference but reckless enough to get themselves into terrible trouble in the attempt.  Iida is, as ever, the voice of the establishment – but will they listen?  Should they?  Whatever they decide, there will be consequences – and that’s why Boku no Hero Academia is the shounen masterpiece it is.