OP2: “Make my story” by Lenny Code Fiction

If any series ever needed a break, I guess maybe it was Boku no Hero Academia.  There was a sort of emotional hangover from the plus-ultra, beyond epic conclusion of the Training Camp Arc.  Between the breather episode setting up the dorm living situation and the mid-cour break, it’s time to kick the story back into high gear again.  Of course, the manga didn’t have the luxury of a hiatus week – which makes it all the more sensible that Horikoshi-sensei chose to take the tension level down several notches within the story itself.

Now that the Yuuei brats have settled into life away from home, the matter at hand is the provisional licenses – a necessity whose relevance should be unquestioned after the events of the story in the last two major arcs.  To that end, Aizawa-sensei (who naturally ascends into the role of most critical adult in the story at times like these) asserts that it’s time for Class 1-A to work on their “signature moves” – a staple of any hero’s repertoire to say the least.  That means a trip to the “Toreiningu no Daidokoro Rando”, the unofficial name of Gym Gamma – a cement wonderland which Cementos has created to allow the students to test their mettle in customized spaces set up to challenge them individually.

Setting aside the whole “TDL” gag (frankly I’m surprised Shueisha didn’t get sued even for that, given who was involved) the point here is for the kids to figure out their go-to moves – ones they can rely on in any situation, and the enemy is helpless against even if they know they’re coming.  For some this is easier than others – for Bakugo this sort of thing always seems to come easily – but for Deku, a signature move is a particular problem at this stage of his development.  His signature move to this point has pretty much been destroying his arms – the “same thing, only more” isn’t going to cut it long-term.

Soon enough All Might arrives on scene, a copy of “Teaching For Dummies” tucked into his back pocket.  Such is the change that’s taken place in the story that it feels sort of tragic even to call Toshinori that now, but in a sense the pressure is off him – he no longer has to live the lie.  With a poignant “Hey” he offers up a bit of advice to Izuku first – “You’re still trying to copy me” – before doing so with the rest of the class in order to keep up appearances.  Clearly Toshinori has an idea of where his protege needs to go from here, but given that he’s no longer going to be able to physically shield him, it seems wrong to strategically do so either so he leaves it to Deku to try and puzzle it out himself.

The other side of the signature moves coin is tweaking the costumes in order to better “suit” those moves, and that means a return of Hatsume Mei, the mad-scientist first-year who made such an impact on the Sports Festival Arc.  It’s also the first extended appearance of Power Loader, Majima Higari (Kitazawa You) the man in charge of the Development Studio.  Deku, Iida and Ochako show up at the same time, each seeking improvements and each being traumatized by Hatsume in their own way.  But Deku receives a little more than a wardrobe upgrade, thanks to Iida’s request and his own limitless ingenuity.

There’s one final moment of real consequence here, and that’s when Kacchan blasts a boulder with his own new signature move.  All Might is in the path of the flying rubble, and here’s where it really hits home – he’s basically dependent on Izuku to intervene (which he does, showing the results of his brainstorming).  The man who’s dedicated his life to saving everyone who needs saving is now powerless even to save himself.  How the mighty have fallen – yet Toshinori’s might extends beyond his physical prowess, not just in the eyes of the boy who loves him like a father but to the world which came to depend on what he represented.  It’s a painful but necessary reminder of where All Might’s arc has gone, and that it’s far from over.

ED2: “Long Hope Philia <TV Limited.>” by Masaki Suda