At some point – regrettably – the My Hero Academia experience seemed to become synonymous with complaining. So far even this fanbase hasn’t complained much with the final season (they will) – not much to moan about apart from the recap. But for me, what I’m feeling is appreciation. Starting with Horikoshi of course, as I think in time HeroAca will be regarded as the greatest battle shounen of its generation. But also Bones, who so reliably deliver the goods that it’s easy to take it – and them – for granted. And it never should be.

When you see a major studio release tainted by embarrassing visuals, how can you not be grateful for Bones? To know that you can watch a big action sequence like this episode and series is full of, and not see goddam piss-poor CGI defining the experience? I know it’s not totally fair to compare battle shounen and dance as if they were identical challenges – but apples and oranges are both fruits. If you love a manga and see that Bones is going to be adapting it, how can you not be grateful? Hell, I’m even grateful to the production committee for realizing that BnHA was too precious not to entrust to someone like Bones – though to be fair, the manga was already a pretty huge hit before the anime was ever announced.

I confess I’d forgotten that All Might was an Anpanman fan in the manga. At the time I was surprised Jump got permission to use Anpanman, but I suppose this is good publicity for that franchise (which is so eponymous here that it hardly needs the help). It certainly fits All Might’s personality. As someone who’s always cared about the character, it  wasn’t easy watching him take the beating he took from AFO here. Hell, it hasn’t been easy watching him waste away for seasons, a shell of his former self, unable even to fight. The whole blaze of glory thing is nice, but it’s the “go out like” part that’s painful to see.

Stain’s arrival proved no surprise to All For One, who knew from the fact that he spurned him at Tartarus that he could be trouble. Stain is, by any measure, an evil person. By his own reckoning, he’s killed 40 heroes. The “conviction” that drove him to do it is twisted, wrong. But the genius of the character is that it’s so easy to understand what drove him to it, and why other similar figures find it so beguiling. For me Stain and Twice stand head and shoulders above all the villains in Boku no Hero Academia as characters, and almost all the heroes too.

Stain, of course, planned to save All Might – the one person he held worthy of his admiration – and then have All Might end him. It was a good plan, as “Bloodcurdle” is an equal opportunity quirk. But again, AFO was ready for it. Toshinori was genuinely aghast at Stain’s fate, even knowing as he does what the man was responsible for. As it, his sacrifice – and that of Hercules, who revived itself for one last stand – seems to have been in vain. All For One drags All Might’s seemingly lifeless body towards the Coffin in the Sky and his reunion with Shigaraki like a trophy.

Star and Stripe’s X-66 team follow suit, making what they probably knew would be a fruitless attack in an attempt to buy All Might just a bit more time. Toshinori’s own last-ditch plan to sacrifice himself fails too, as All For One always seems to be one step ahead. Shigaraki may be resisting him, but the demon lord doesn’t seem too worried about it. As for Izuku, the spectacle he sees horrifies him, mired as he is in a battle for survival with Shigaraki. Surely, you would think, Shigaraki could have taken advantage of this distraction and gained the upper hand. Yet he doesn’t – a fascinating turn of events to be sure.

All seems lost indeed, at least as for as Toshinori is concerned. But as wild cards go, they don’t get much wilder than Bakugo, based on what he looked like the last time we saw him. Is he in any condition to make a difference, either in Deku’s battle or All Might’s demise? It’s not like he’d return to the field at this point if he wasn’t going to be heavily involved. It’s triage for the heroes at this point, a winner-take-all game where every pitcher on the staff has to be available no matter what condition they’re in. “The End of an Era, And, The Beginning” is one of those seminal HeroAca moments – like “You’re next” – and Bones did it sweet justice. It felt fitting that it segued into the new ED, which is a full-on banger in its own right.

ED: “I” by BUMP OF CHICKEN