Villains rule, heroes drool!
Creative Staff
Story/Art: Kohei Horikoshi
Translation: Caleb Cook
What They Say
Since the terrifying incident when Tomura’s Quirk manifested, only the greatest villain of them all, All For One, has been able to speak to the broken young boy’s heart. The consequences of that fateful meeting play out in the present as Tomura and Re-Destro, the leader of the Meta Liberation Army, battle for supremacy—and if it takes leveling a whole city to sort out who’s on top, so be it!
Content: (please note that content portions of a review may contain spoilers):
We start this time off right in the midst of Tomura’s origin story, and… man, it’s just amazingly done. The scene with his family’s fate in particular is just perfectly cruel and heartrending, and I’d frankly put it down as one of the best done moments in the whole of the series. And fortunately, the book doesn’t start slacking as we return to the present, as we rejoin the battle with the Meta Liberation Army. It’s so impactful that you really do feel it when Tomura’s finally acknowledged as All For One’s successor in the aftermath.
Sadly, though, we can’t keep having fun with the villains forever, and so we return to UA and the students. That starts off with, of all things… hero interview training. To be fair, rather than just being a boring slog it’s more a halfhearted joke bit. But I still can’t say, “Look, Deku gets really nervous and is bad at interviews!” is an exciting way to take us back to the main cast, and honestly it leaves me wishing we had just stayed with the bad guys instead. The cutesy Christmas chapter that follows with everybody celebrating fairs at least a bit better, but it still feels rather fillery, sadly.
Fortunately, though that doesn’t take all too long before we get into something with some meat on the bones: Deku, Bakugo, and Shoto all going for a work-study under Endeavor. It’ll remain to be seen how well that will all play out, but it at least shows potential and gets off to a decent start here with a nice little action sequence. More tantalizingly though, Hawks’ spying efforts show fruit, teasing some very exciting developments on the way. Will the heroes be prepared for the revitalized villains even with this forewarning, or will their foes prove too great overcome with their new strength?
In Summary
This volume’s sort of a funny case. You see, it’s certainly a very good book overall. The events with the villains at the start are utterly fantastic and up there with the best the series has ever been. On top of that, the teases of where things are heading from the end are intriguing and exciting, too. But in the middle, you get a bit where the focus is squarely back on the students, and… it’s meh. Not terribly bad, mind you, and certainly not enough to truly drag the volume down, but a real step down from everything else that’s been going on. And so, it really drills in the impression that frankly… the main cast and setting almost seems to be having a negative impact. Maybe as things heat up and the students get to mix more into the action rather than being stuck with school events that impression will change, but it’s certainly an odd feeling to have about a series. Still, at least for now, this book is a fun read that’s sure to satisfy, if nothing else.
Content Grade: A-
Art Grade: A-
Packaging Grade: B+
Text/Translation Grade: B+
Age Rating: 13+
Released By: Viz Media
Release Date: October 6th, 2020
MSRP: $9.99
