This episode of Boku no Hero Academia gives a pretty decent impression of how much of this season will go. It’s big, it’s fast, and it’s crowded. There aren’t a lot of lulls in the action (though there a few reflective pauses). There are also a lot of characters involved, so by nature it’s not a “star-focused” turn of the story. All Might has been more or less sidelined as a main character for a while, but the three unabashed leads have been barely on the periphery of events so far. Even Deku, who for the moment is limited to evac duties. Indeed Bakugo’s doorbell-ringing gag is the flashiest moment any of the main trio have had in the first two episodes.
In point of fact even #1 hero Endeavor – while certainly on the front lines – isn’t at the epicenter. That would be Mirko, who’s managed to corner the real Dr. Garaki (though she won’t be sure until she kicks him) in his nomu lab. Endeavor has his hands full with the waves of nomu foot soldiers who keep pouring out of the passageways, though Aizawa-sensei is extremely effective against them. Endeavor playfully (not a side of him we see like, ever) offers Eraser a sidekick position, which the latter unsurprisingly declines without preamble.
Garaki seems to have been genuinely surprised here, and is basically reduced to using the nomus as (in)human shields to abet his own escape. That includes the “high-ends” – the best of the best in the nomu line. They’re reanimated corpses like the rest of them, but because they have some will and retain a shadow of the personality of their human selves, Garaki has been very careful in choosing the raw materials. He’s also infused them with multiple quirks – though that’s gotten a lot harder since All For One has been taken offline as a nomu factory.
Meanwhile, the raid on the Paranormal Liberation Army’s secret mansion is hotting up too. And unlike at the hospital, there are students directly involved in combat here. That is, Kaminari and Tokoyomi. Why? Because their quirks are necessary – which the good guys know because of the information Hawks has been able to get to them. I’ve always considered Tokoyomi to be the stealth candidate for strongest quirk amongst 1-A, so I think he can handle himself. And indeed, it’s Denki who seems a lot more worried. He appaears very much what he actually is – a 16 year-old kid who’s not really prepared for this – more than a pro hero.
It’s Midnight who finds herself in the role of trying to get Kaminari through this – logically enough, as she is a teacher after all. Her advice is to focus on protecting whatever (whoever) is most important to him in that moment. And it’s hardly surprising that Denki’s mind goes straight to Jirou, as what’s been brewing between the two of them has been pretty obvious for a while. And the reason why he and he alone had to be in the vanguard soon enough becomes clear, along with the value of a good spy on the inside.
