What They Say:
In the future, mankind is blessed with superhuman abilities called Quirks and in a response to the growing crime rate, superheroing becomes a viable profession. Izuku “Deku” Midoriya dreams of one day becoming a great hero like his idol All-Might, but he was born completely quirkless with no powers at all. However, when Deku ends up having a chance encounter with All-Might in the flesh, it changes his destiny forever.
The Review:
Content (warning as portions of this review may contain spoilers):
After two weeks of sideshow battles, it’s time to get down to the main event as Deku and Bakugo square off against All-Might. The issues between Deku and Bakugo run deep, and pitting the two of them up against their idol makes for a crazy way to tackle them. I’m not exactly sure if I can say if it was worth the extra bit of holdout we got, but if nothing else, it certainly delivers on one of the show’s strongest episodes in a while.
As the exam begins, Deku and Bakugo already find themselves off to a rough start as Bakugo wants to face All-Might head on, while Deku doesn’t think they stand a chance and would rather make for an escape. Bakugo’s utter refusal to listen to Deku’s input doesn’t help things, and the two of them quickly find themselves overwhelmed by All-Might’s power. However even with the battle going south, Bakugo still can’t bring himself to accept Deku, and eventually claims he’d rather lose than accept help from Deku. This earns him Deku’s wrath, though not because of how much Bakugo dislikes him, but because Bakugo’s strength has always been in his desire to win at all costs, and he can’t stand to see Bakugo acting so out of character. The two of them further vent their frustrations with each other’s tactics as Bakugo feels that Deku’s given up on the idea of fighting All-Might too quickly, and they’re eventually left with no choice but to compromise with a hit and run tactic. Unfortunately, it’s not quite enough to put All-Might down for good, and Bakugo tells Deku to head to the finish line without him, but Deku decides to take a final stand against All-Might, and stuns him long enough to carry Bakugo with him to the goal.
I was expecting this one to be a pretty strong episode and it certainly doesn’t disappoint. While Bakugo’s motivations have always been clear to the audience, it was nice to be able to go back and see that while Deku looked up to All-Might for his ability to save others, Bakugo admired how he never lost, and felt that was the kind of hero he should strive to be. Of course with Bakugo being well…Bakugo it’s clear that this point of admiration probably helped to escalate his attitude problems more than anything, but it’s still good to know that even he was a bright-eyed kid at one point, and it makes for a nice contrast between the two boys. It was also interesting to see just how much Deku admired that aspect of Bakugo’s pride, and it helps to play into his willingness to fight back against All-Might, since that was definitely a hurdle he was going to have to overcome at some point if he really wants to be All-Might’s successor. Much like with Todoroki’s compromise with Endeavor a few episodes back, it demonstrates that even some of the worst people can have admirable traits to be learned from, and while Bakugo’s not quite that far south yet, it’s a lesson I can at least sort of appreciate and I continue to be impressed by how well Hokoroshi’s made Bakugo’s character understandable without going out of his way to forcibly make him more likable.
Of course, while the emotional beats of Deku and Bakugo’s fight take center stage this week, the actual fight itself is nothing to snuff at. It’s a pretty intense episode, and the anime does an excellent job of demonstrating just how mighty All-Might actually is, as each of his attacks here have a visible amount of force behind them, and the extra emphasis on his bold line work gives him a stronger sense of presence. It not only looks great, but it also really helps to sell just how big the power gap is between him and the two boys, even without the characters having to explicitly say so (though this is shonen so of course they’ll do that regardless). I’d be lying if I said this felt like enough to make up for the last couple of episodes being a little on the weaker side, but I do think the anime’s decision to cover all of Deku and Bakugo’s fight all in one go as opposed to how the manga spliced it in between the other exam battles, was a smart one, and it certainly helped everything here to flow more smoothly than they otherwise would have. At any rate, I’m happy to be through this story arc, and as we head into the season finale, I’m hoping that it’ll be able to go out with one last bang.
In Summary:
The final exams arc draws to a close as Bakugo and Deku square off against All-Might. With Bakugo and Deku’s long-standing issues with each other having gone unresolved, the fight starts off about well as can be expected, but it provides an opportunity for both boys to develop as we delve deeper into Bakugo’s motivations, while Deku finds the courage he needs to face his idol. Their determination and eventual willingness to compromise leads them to victory, and while I still wish this arc had been a little shorter, it certainly proves to be a great enough battle to go out on. Next, we’re headed into the season finale, and with how strong this episode turned out, I’m hoping that last one will be just as strong.
Grade: A-
Streamed By: Funimation, VRV, Crunchyroll
