This is undeniably a pretty big moment for Boku no Hero Academia.  But it comes with an unusual mix of hype and trepidation, which I guess is understandable in the circumstances.  Much discussed, much deferred, and (apparently) much shortened, “My Villain Academia” is finally here.  And lest you think the anime was taking liberties with that OP change, Horikoshi did the same thing with the manga.  For the duration of this arc the series title effectively changed.

While not every manga reader loves the “Meta Liberation Army” arc (as it’s officially called) by any stretch, everyone does seem to have a strong opinion on it.  That would have made for a lively discussion of the adaptation even under normal circumstances, but these are nothing close to normal.  It gets dodgy where the subject of pacing is concerned, because talking about what’s in the manga and not the anime can be a spoiler if the anime adds it back in later.  I can only say that yes, the anime did cut out one significant plot element here, and while it’s one I actually could see being fed back in at a later point, it supports the assumption that the entire MVA arc is going to be condensed into six episodes.

It’s no secret that the villainry of BnHA is not a unified front.  These are folk that temperamentally despise authority to begin with, and since their main interest seems to be in acquiring power for themselves, that encourages rivalry.  All For One was the big dog of course, and his absence leaves as big a hole in villain society as All Might’s in mainstream society.  Arguably bigger in fact, as the hero world at least has someone in Endeavor that while hardly universally loved, was more or less indisputably the heir apparent.  That’s not true for the villains, though AFO obviously had someone in mind himself.

All For One’s ally and Nomu inventor Dr. Garaki (Daruma Ujiko at the moment) has a test for Shigaraki before he’s willing to lend his full support to the League of Villains.  He tells Shigaraki he must defeat Gigantomachia (who I want to say we haven’t seen since maybe Season 2), the fearsome giant agonizingly loyal to All For One.  Even within the league one can see the strain against authority as folks like Dabi, Toga, and Spinner pull in their own direction (and Twice pulls in two different ones).  But the join him for the battle (apart from Dabi), which rages over a matter of weeks with seemingly little progress.  But Shigaraki is tireless and relentless, and he sees the tide turning in his favor, however slowly.

It’s tempting to See Shigaraki as a sort of Endeavor-like figure in a way, actually.  He lacks the personal magnetism of the man he’s seeking to replace, the ability to inspire the fierceness of loyalty in people like Gigantomachia.  But what he does have is unbelievable drive – driven by the rage and hate which is at the center of his existence.   We get more background into his psyche than ever before, and it’s a dark ride, right down to the accoutrements to his costume.

The wild card played at this point is the Meta Liberation Army.  They’ve kidnapped Giran, the LoV broker and recruiter, and snipped off his fingers one by one.  Their leader is Re-Destro, played by the great Hirata Hiroaki.  For them the League is an annoyance, an obstacle in their path of overthrowing social order and establishing a world where quirks can be used freely.  Like Stain, this is based on ideology – it’s all couched in the veneer of individual freedom.  And like Stain, they have a magnetism to them.  The original leader (who bears an uncanny resemblance to the Dread Pirate Roberts) wrote a “Mein Kampf” style book espousing his philosophy while imprisoned, which became wildly popular.

Re-Destro claims he has 110,000 members in positions of authority, ready to put their plan into action.  And he calls Shigaraki out, using Giran as leverage – though Twice is the only one who seems persuaded. Shigaraki sees a way to use their challenge to his own advantage, luring Gigantomachia after him and setting the two off against each other while he watches from the wings.  There’s no room for the heroes in this dispute – it’s intramural, if you will – and the re-naming of the series is no joke.  Whatever else you think of it, “My Villain Academia” takes HeroAca deeper into the motivations of the other side than anything else in the series to this point, and that was something Horikoshi was in my view very wise to do.