We’re back with more My Hero Academia coverage this week, and for those who have found Izuku a bit of a whiny mess this season, fear not! We focus on one of the best boys of class 1-A, Kirishima AKA Red Riot, as he works with his agency of choice and we get a little more development between Overhaul and the League of Villains. Read on as we recap this week’s episode!
1. Meteor Fafrotskies!
The episode opens with a huge, bombastic, big-budget showdown between some kaiju-esque villains and our fierce queens Froppy and Uravity. I love that we get such a good, simplistic and wholesome relationship between these two, especially considering a large number of bromances that take place in this series. Both of them have a genuine and human charm that separates them from the rest of 1-A, which also begs the question of why they never teamed up like this before! We do however get a neat combination super move, which is delightfully well thought out.
As it turns out, Nejire Hado of UA’s Big Three is one of their mentors in this situation, who proves to be a confident, powerful superhero with visually stunning electricity powers. Not only that, but the narrative ties their plot threads with Izuku’s as the head of the agency, the no. 9 hero Ryuku congratulates them and tells them they’d be helpful in Nighteye’s Shie Hassaikai investigations. Handy!
2. A sinister meeting
Speaking of, the narrative then cuts to a meeting between our two big bad forces, Tomura and Overhaul, regarding the former’s offer to team up the League of Villains with the Shie Hassaikai. Interestingly enough, Tomura has opted to travel alone, which is a bold move considering the formidable force of these superpowered Yakuza thugs. During the whole meeting, Overhaul has a calm, unnerving confidence that completely contrasts Tomura’s scattered, erratic aggression. Coupled with his mask and general composure, he’s proving to be quite the terrifying force as the first gangster-style supervillain for this show.
Tomura wants a couple of other conditions for their alliance, which leads to two of the thugs, Chronostasis and Mimic, to violently threaten him. However, Tomura proves how much he’s progressed as a villain here, as he regains his creepy composure and continues to discuss the conditions of his agreement. The show understands how to balance a cast of unique personalities, and this is evident with the antagonists as much as it is with the protagonists.
3. Best Boy and Shyest Boy
After this ‘black communion’, we finally get to the focus of the episode: our boy Eijiro Kirishima! He’s working under the professional hero Fat Gum, a delightful man of the people hero with a lot of cheer and goodwill. Turns out, Eijiro had begged the final member of the Big Three, Tamaki Amakiji AKA Suneater to get Fat Gum to hire him. It’s neat character development to see that this somewhat fringe character showing petty emotions and not simply being heroic.
Tamaki is the other surprise star of this episode due to his charming yet crippling lack of self-confidence. Fat Gum had hired him to help with this ‘weak heart’ of his, yet Tamaki is certain he’s trying to make fun of him somehow. We see him confident and powerful in action against some thugs, however, with his brilliant quirk Manifest, which allows him to emulate the powers of anything he has consumed recently. In this case, this means octopus tentacles, clam husks and chicken wings(?).
4. Drugs are bad, kids!
One of the thugs gets away, which Eijiro vehemently chases down even to the disapproval of Fat Gum. We see the earnestness of Eijiro shine through as he chases down this thug to prove himself, and to protect the general public. Even when he’s quickly disarmed the thug, he checks in on the thug’s personal wellbeing, saying that although he committed a crime, he understands that it can happen to the best of people (Eijiro is the best boy!!!!)
We see the thug lament how “shabby” it is to have a quirk where box-cutter length claws erupt from the sides of his forearms (debatable). Because of this, he’s driven to take an illegal quirk-boosting drug which works to terrifying effect. Blades shoot out of his body from any and every part, with one even protruding somehow bloodlessly from his eyeball? It’s a mixture of claustrophobic fear and classic slasher horror elements to ramp the tension up big-time.
Continued below5. Final Form
This situation causes Eijiro to reconsider his tactics quick-smart, especially as he soon finds out the thug’s new blades happen to smash through his armored skin. Eijiro harkens back to All Might telling him that instead of quick gimmicks, he needs to find a way to go all out with his power and become an unstoppable ‘bulldozer’. All the while, Eijiro is taunting the thug and copping all the damage so as to save the escaping citizens around him, making him so dang relatable and loveable even in the heat of battle.
This emotional and physical upheaval gives Eijiro the focus and motivation to undergo a physical transformation into a craggy, Thing-esque looking version of himself that not only looks top-notch but manages to block a full-frontal assault from the blades. We see Eijiro slowly bulldoze his way through the blades to finally deliver his Unbreakable-form super move: Red Gauntlet! We also find out that these drugs have leaked onto the market thanks to Overhaul’s scheming, showing his formidability as a newcomer villain, that he’s definitely a force to be reckoned with.
And that’s this week’s episode! One of the best animated and most cathartic transformations of the series thus far, showing how adept My Hero Academia is at developing and sustaining its interesting supporting cast. Tune in next week, and leave a comment below for discussion!
