You could pretty much tell from the murderer’s row of heavy hitters Bones slated to work on this episode (and the next one) of Boku no Hero Academia that they considered it a high priority. And no wonder – this is an absolute nexus point in the story, one of the most important arcs in the entire series. The moment in any shounen action fantasy when the top boss is revealed is a milestone, but it’s especially so with BnHA – the series has already hinted at the complicated and painful history involved enough to give this meeting an emotional charge.
Truthfully though, I think new viewers had the wrong idea to a degree. Because while this episode was certainly epic, even it was still basically a prequel – next week’s episode is the one that will stack up with the likes of Gon vs. Hisoka at Heaven’s Arena and Kenshin vs. Shishio if Bones does their job right. Great battles are one thing, but the best shounen make sure that what really packs the weight is not the blows, but the story behind the characters exchanging them. It’s Hunter X Hunter I’ve most often compared Boku no Hero to, but this arc often reminds me of how reminiscent the story can be of Rurouni Kenshin at times, too.
Make no mistake, All For One certainly makes a grand entrance. It’s not every man who can make the likes of Deku literally lose the ability to move from pure fear, or stop one of All Might’s statehood smashes with his bare hands. But All For One is not every man, not by any stretch of the imagination. He has the ability to use the quirks of others, though the exact rules aren’t clear (say this for Togashi, he likes playing fair with the audience – he made sure we knew exactly how Chrollo’s ability worked). And what’s more, he really seems to enjoy it. He also has the power to forcefully activate the quirks of others without actually taking possession of them – which comes in very handy for him more than once in this episode.
Even without factoring in All Might’s ticking clock (at this point we have no idea whether the enemy is aware of it), he’s fighting at a definite disadvantage here. Bakugo’s presence forces him to hold back, but All For One is under no such constraints. And indeed, as All For One notes, this is the handicap heroes are perpetually wrestling with. Deku is well aware of the problem this poses for Toshinori, and assumes Bakugo is too – but awareness is not the same as a solution. How does Deku rescue Kacchan without violating the strict code against his fighting – not to mention making things even harder for All Might by revealing his presence?
I actually think Izuku is quite different from All Might in many ways, as indeed all of the holders of One For All are quite distinct. That said though. the inability to stand aside and do nothing while others suffer -even when that’s the wiser course of action – seems to be something that ties them together inexorably. Gran Torino responds to Deku’s appearance by wryly noting that he’s becoming more like Toshinori all the time – and he “means that in the bad way”. But the one thing Izuku always has in his arsenal is his mind – it, not One For All, is his greatest weapon in times of crisis.
Deku does indeed cook up a successful plan to rescue Kacchan – relying on Kirishima, Todoroki and Iida’s quirks and his intimate knowledge of what Kacchan’s vanity will and won’t allow him to do – and manages to do so without firing a shot. As bleak as the path he’s following seems to be, Deku’s mind and his absence of foolish pride seem to offer a ray of hope – he’s a different sort of hero. But that hasn’t stopped him from taking a terrible beating in life already, and he’s barely finished his first year of high school.
All For One, too, seems to know when to keep his pride in check. In the wake of having Bakugo snatched from his grasp he decides to expediently remove his troops from the scene, reasoning that there’s more to be lost than gained by continuing the struggle. But he stays behind to face All Might – and Gran Torino, too, as he arrives on the scene late. This is truly a moment flush with significance, and One For All’s pointed mention of a name we haven’t heard before only adds to the gravity of the situation. Neither side seems interested in avoiding this confrontation any longer – though whether that’s a wise decision or not isn’t revealed just yet.
Sam
June 9, 2018 at 8:51 amYeah no doubt this is as good as any this season (and probably near the top in popularity, both West and in Japan, deservedly so). A good stuff.
(since it’s name dropped) I still don’t care for Kenshin Hokkaido arc, so no loss for me that Viz seemingly dropped it, ahem.
Anger is still quite strong on Nobuhiro in US – at least it seems that way to me -, so no surprise.
Kurik
June 9, 2018 at 2:13 pmMan what an episode! I had my Lupin, Megalo Box and Hero fix and I can safely say good anime is till alive and kicking. AFO looks like he is more powerful than the last time All Might fought him and yes All Might is less powerful now and less time to stay in form. I fear for what will happen to him next week.
leongsh
June 9, 2018 at 4:02 pmThey dropped a big bombshell. Shigaraki was called Shimura Tenko by All For One and he revealed the name of One For All predecessor of All Might, Shimura Nana. Shigaraki is highly likely the son of All Might’s predecessor. This is getting juicy. I don’t think anyone else knows about this except All For One.
The other interesting bit is that this may be the first time in this series they kill off a hero on-screen. Blue Jeanist looked to have a hole punched through his gut by All For One.
Looks like it actually could be All Might’s last major fight. We get shown that All Might is losing the One For All quirk by overextending what is left of the quirk in him. Gran Torinos shout out to All Might confirming what is happening. Can he hold it together to permanently take down All For One? Gonna be interesting how the fight plays out. This just solidifies my guess that this fight will end up in a defeat of All For One but at great cost. Most likely All Might losing the use of All For One. The other option of the death of All Might is highly unlikely in this series but hey, they did killl off Blue Jeanist in this episode. This brings back adult Midoriya calling it a major event in his narration a few episodes back. It may just happen.
leongsh
June 9, 2018 at 4:07 pmOops.. got mixed up here..
“Most likely All Might losing the use of All For One”
should be:
“Most likely All Might losing the use of
All For OneOne For All.”Guardian Enzo
June 9, 2018 at 4:07 pmI probably shouldn’t need to, but better safe than sorry – let me just remind anyone who’s read the manga not to comment on this kind of speculation. It’s interesting, but until something is 100% confirmed on-screen those in the know should please steer well clear!
Stöt
June 10, 2018 at 1:50 pmAw man, that’s some juicy info. And makes so much sense! Shigaraki keeps mentioning his father. And how much he hates All Might. It’s such an interesting dynamic. If One For All really withers you away when you choose a predecessor, how does that leave your family.. ah, so interesting!
Have to watch this ep a third time! “Shimura’s friend” e.g. took me a while to understand (he’s referring to Nana Shimura’s friend, Gran Torino. )
Yann
June 9, 2018 at 7:39 pmI think you reversed “One For All” in the last paragraph…
What an episode!! 😀
GC
June 9, 2018 at 8:39 pmThis villian is just too way overpowered. Its like he could take on all the heroes all by himself (including All Might). Reminds me of Aizen from Bleach or Madara from Naruto.
The wild guesser
June 9, 2018 at 9:42 pmSomething I really like about this show is the fact that even though it’s
The wild guesser
June 9, 2018 at 9:56 pmI accidentally hit “post”
Anyways, as I was saying, it’s been made painfully clear that All Might is bevoming weaker, but hints have also been dropped that All for One’s powers have also depleted (he mentioned in last episode that he can’t hold as many quirks as he once could). So although he’s supremely confident on the surface, he must be aware that he’s operating on borrowed time.
Another thing to note is the polar opposites that All for One and One for All (viva Dumas) are. One for All operates on an almost entirely emotional level, with All Might and Deku using their feelings of desperation to break past their current limits (vs. Nomu and Muscular respectively).
On the other hand, All for One can best be operated with a calculating mind rather than an emotional one, as the user must know how each of the quirks they’ve taken operates to make the best possible combination.
Whats truly fascinating about this fight is that unlike most shounen fight involving the “big bad”, this doesn’t feel as much like two overpowered characters facing off as much as a duel between two gristled veterans past their prime, the true definition of a “grudge match.”
Even All for One admits his mission, the rescuing of the League of Villains, is complete, and that he should retreat, but his pride won’t let him.
This episode is clearly an appetizer, and I feel the main course is still coming.
Bob
June 10, 2018 at 8:10 amGotta love how ostensible villain All For One sends his protegee and said protegee’s comrades away to safety with a caring goodbye to hold the line against the inexorable hero. The instances where villains care for each other are one of the many things that Horikoshi does well to distinguish his work among Shonen.
sweejen
June 10, 2018 at 4:38 pmYou’re right, this group of villains at least seems a lot like a good family. Supportive, comforting, tolerant of missteps–I could make a long list of the things these people do right for each other.
Guardian Enzo
June 10, 2018 at 8:04 pmYes, almost makes up for the kidnapping and murder of bystanders…
In all seriousness, I don’t know if you read Vigilantes, but even though Horikoshi doesn’t write it I get the sense it’s very consistent with his themes for BnHA. The lines between heroes and villains in this series are intentionally vague in many ways.
Yukie
June 11, 2018 at 9:18 amI was holding off on this episode, because I wanted to watch it together with the next one…But couldn’t resist the temptation (even though I’m a manga-reader). So here I am doing my post-episode ritual, coming to LiA (and pretty much agreeing with everything Guardian Enzo’s written about BnHA lol). With each episode I am again and again reminded of Horikoshi-sensei’s great writing and the greatness of studio Bones.
Surprisingly, I did find two off-moments in this episode (though I still loved it to bits), which is extremely rare, and they were both due to Okamoto Nobuhiko’s voice-acting. The first moment was when Deku flashbacks to Bakugou telling him not to come when Bakugou was being taken away…Okamoto’s voiced dipped too low and was too clear (I’m actually surprised they didn’t just replicate the original voice clip there). The second time was that moment after Bakugou grabs Kirishima’s hand, Okamoto’s voice was fine but did not match up with the animation (his mouth moved for a bit before his voice came out).
This probably all makes me sound very anal retentive, but both times kind of took me out of the moment. I’m not sure if Okamoto had a bad day in the studio or if it was a problem with the editing team. Anyways, just thought it was kind of rare.