In the future, mankind is blessed with superhuman abilities called “Quirks” and in 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 some portions of this review may contain spoilers):
MHA is back after another two-week absence, and with a brand new opening song. It’s not a particularly big standout music-wise, but since I hated the previous one enough that I actively skipped it every week, I’m willing to take anything that’s a step up from that and this seems like one that may actually grow on me. Of course while that’s all well and good, we’re here to talk about the actual show as it begins to transition into yet another new story arc. Since it’s a transition episode, there isn’t really a ton going on here in terms of pure excitement, but what developments we do get are ones that will definitely be important in setting the stage for what’s to come.
With the events of the battle against AFO now behind them, and the kids having moved into their school dorms, the next goal for the gang is getting their provisional licenses so they can do proper hero work. Before any of that though, the kids end up in a special crash course with the goal of creating and perfecting their own individual special moves. This goes over pretty well for most of the class as several of the kids have had ideas on how to best use their quirks, but it’s a much higher hurdle for Deku, as he’s still having trouble just coming up with a way to avoid destroying his arms in every fight. All-Might sees him struggling and tries to give him some advice by telling Deku that he’s still trying too hard to imitate him. Being well…All-Might, this advice is handed over pretty awkwardly, but between that and his attempts at advising the other kids, we see that he trying to make a better effort at being an actual teacher and it’s a nice bit of character development, albiet not a major one.
While Deku tries to find the meaning behind All-Might’s words, in the meantime he goes with Ochako and Iida to get some upgrades done for their suits. This ends up reintroducing us to Hatsume, the crazy engineer girl who fought Iida during the UA Sports Festival at the beginning of last season. Though she struggles to remember having met Deku or even Iida for that matter, she does take a rather extreme interest in the idea of tinkering with their suits and tests out a variety of her new gadgets on them, much to their dismay. While that makes for quite a few good laughs, it also gives Deku a spark of inspiration, as her willingness to constantly try new things helps him to realize that he’s been stuck in a rut because All-Might built a reputation on fighting with his fists, and he subconsciously felt he needed to do the same. Instead, he decides to try using One-For-All in his own way and begins to focus on using his legs instead.
It’s a pretty simple solution to this dilemma given how long Deku’s been struggling with it, but it’s one that I feel ultimately works. Much like in real life, the answers to overcoming our biggest hurdles are often the things that are just outside of our usual way of thinking and timing this evolution for after All-Might’s fall from grace was probably a smart decision on Hokoroshi’s part. Now that All-Might’s status is gone, it’s more important than ever that Deku begins to make a name for himself and this is definitely a much needed step in getting there. Of course it’ll be a lot more fun to see that step in action, but thankfully we won’t have to wait long because it’s looking like the provisional exam will start next week, and Deku and the others will really have to put their skills to the test.
In Summary:
MHA returns from its two week break, and ready with a brand-new story arc. While there’s plenty to be excited about going forward, this episode is mainly just the buildup for that as Deku makes another attempt to tackle the issue of how not to destroy his arms while using One-For-All. Thankfully he finds some unexpected inspiration in Hatsume, and breaks free from imitating All-Might by opting to use his legs instead. While this isn’t quite as gigantic a development as some of the other stuff we’ve gotten in recent weeks, it is an important one as it’ll allow Deku to begin standing out as a hero in his own right, and that will certainly be significant in the battles to come.
Grade: B+
Streamed By: Funimation, Crunchyroll, VRV. Hulu
