This is a good time for manga readers to be exceedingly careful when talking about the HeroAca anime, but any time Todoroki is involved the Joint Training arc gets a little spike in intrigue.  Shouto’s family situation is one of the most interesting ongoing elements in the series, and the flashback sequences paired with Deku’s conversation with All Might lent a bit of much-needed weight to the story.  The first two battles have lacked that for the most part.

On paper, this is a matchup that would seem to strongly favor Class 1-A.  In Shouto and Tenya they have the 2nd and 3rd place finishers from the school festival tournament, and Shouto’s talent is generally acknowledged to be the strongest in the school in terms of applicable power.  In fact it’s clear Iida has been stewing a bit as the story has largely bypassed him, and even here he’s a bit overshadowed.  Ouji and Shoji may not be exceptionally strong on their own, but their abilities complement Todoroki and Iida’s well enough to make this is a formidable team.

Among their opponents is Tetsutestu, the obvious counterpoint to Eijiro.  And while he too is no genius, his basic idea to force 1-A into a direct confrontation makes sense for his side.  Aoi Yuki (doing double-duty, though there was no Froppy this week) is having a lot of fun as the foreign exchange student Tsunotori Pony, and even teammate “Mudman” Juuzo gets drawn into her random English.  Level-headed “Spiral” Ken rounds up the group, none of whom seem to present enough raw power to pose a real thread to the 1-A quartet.

That said, there are complicated psychological issues impacting Shouto every time he steps into battle, especially where use of his father’s side is concerned, and this match is no exception.  Whether he has a ruthless enough edge has always been an open question, and you certainly can’t blame him when you consider his background.  It’s easier – if just as painful – for Tenya to level up with his family’s help, but for Shouto that process is always a complicated one.