OP2: Merry-Go-Round” by MAN WITH A MISSION

Before we dive into this very densely-packed episode of HeroAca, I should address what some manga readers commented on after Episode 13.  I wanted to wait until we could be certain what was happening, but this ep confirmed that the anime is switching the arc order – the first time it’s done so, which makes this very notable.  The “Meta Liberation Army” arc (also known as “My Villain Academia”) was supposed to be up next.  But the anime is going with the “Endeavor Agency” arc.  This amounts to a pretty big change, but it’s not something that’s happening by chance.

To be certain, the TV series is doing this because the upcoming My Hero Academia: World Heroes’ Mission film is set during the “Endeavor Agency” arc.  Naturally enough they wanted it to have aired at the time of release, since the movie will obviously refer to what happens in the next 4-5 (probably) eps.  I’m against this sort of change generally, but I get that.  And in theory this should kind of work – “Meta Liberation” is even teased quite a bit in this chapter.  But the concern for me is time – “Meta Liberation” needs 9-10 episodes minimum to do it justice, and “Endeavor Agency” will take us up through about Episode 18-19.  That’s a problem any way you slice it, and I’m not sure how Bones plans to address it.

So then – we’ve got some bridges to cross when we get to them, to be certain.  I think both these arcs are quite good in and of themselves, but the question will be how the anime can make them (and the one which follows) work in this sequence.  For now, we have the three main boys headed off to work with the Endeavor Agency – but not before Deku spends New Year’s Eve at home with his mom.  Seeing Inko is always a treat – she’s one of the best anime moms there is (I’d rank her right up there with Yoon).  And it’s never hard to see where Deku gets his crybaby tendencies from.  The apple didn’t fall far from the tree here, but there’s not a thing rotten about it.

As is so often the case in this phase of the manga, though, it’s really Hawks who seems to be the one at the heart of everything.  He’s been tasked with a terrible and dangerous job by the hero agency, but he’s damn good at it.  He has a poker face and stone cold grace under pressure, but the pressure does clearly have an impact on him.  The substance of his flashback interaction with Best Jeanist – who was reported missing in last week’s episode – in left vague, but it’s clearly unsettling.

Endeavor is mister charming, as usual.  He promptly declares to Bakugo and Izuku that he doesn’t want either of them there, and plans to ignore them during their work study.  But Kacchan naturally doesn’t give a flip, and Deku is too star-struck to take offense.  Am emergency on the way from  the station diverts Endeavor’s attention – a local nut job named Starservant is preaching apocalyptic visions, which he later ascribes to Endeavor as the source of the darkness he sees.  Hawks coincidentally (…) shows up and steals some thunder, giving Izuku another chance to go into fanboy mode.

Hawks is clearly trying to get a message to the #1 here, certain he’s being watched and listened to.  He peddles a book on Endeavor and even the boys – the handbook of the Paranormal Liberation Front – urging them to “read the highlighted passages at least”.  Despite Hawks’ skepticism about his speed on the uptake Endeavor does figure out something is wrong and get the coded message Hawks is trying to send him – though to be fair, I think it was pretty obvious from that stilted and unnatural conversation that something wasn’t right.

Man, there’s a lot to unpack here (not to mentioned a new OP and ED, which I rather liked).  I can’t go into the details here but there’s a kind of domino effect that worries me, because the order of these next two arcs has a direct impact on the one that comes after that (which was always going to be in Season 6).  This was a very strong episode on the whole, and this arc really should work fine – that’s not my concern.  But however it’s handled we’re headed for a very interesting and somewhat divisive phase of Boku no Hero Academia, and I’ll be fascinated to see how new viewers respond to it.

ED: “Uso ja Nai (嘘じゃない)” by Soushi Sakiyama