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Five Thoughts On My Hero Academia‘s “Bright Future”

By | January 19th, 2020
Posted in Television | % Comments

Welcome back to this week’s coverage of the greatest superhero anime there ever was! This week, the Shie Hassaikai arc starts winding down as we get some aftermath scenes and super touching character relationship moments. Watch out for big spoilers here and prepare your tissues.

1. The aftermath
The episode opens with a short recap of the ending of Izuku and Overhaul’s explosive battle, punctuated by the former’s massive punch landing square in the latter’s noggin. The show cuts to the opening, but we still linger on these immediate-post-battle moments after we come back, which I appreciate. There’s almost a white noise quality to how it all plays out, with Izuku struggling to balance his destructive powers with Eri’s rewind ability, leading to an explosion that paralyzes Izuku with Overhaul attempting a final attack before being promptly rewound by Eri.

Luckily, Eraser Head de-activates Eri’s powers in time before Izuku is in critical danger, highlighting the teacher-student bond that those two have together. This will especially be cemented later in the episode, but it’s nice to have it re-established early.

2. Clean-up crew
Afterward, we see Uraraka and Ryukyu climbing from the wreckage of the base and establishing everything is clear, with Uraraka getting her own special moment in capturing the defeated Overhaul with wonderful professional ability. Before too long, however, the show nicely reminds us of the damage taken against the heroes, with a touching montage of each injured crew-member being rescued and taken to medical attention. I especially love that MHA shows the police in an important role here, as they are part of the larger group that helps to get the heroes out of the situation.

We also see some of the loose Hassaikai arrested, including a scene from Overhaul’s second-in-charge, Chronostasis. It’s a great reminder of how Overhaul managed to inspire not just dread, but loyalty to those closest to him,

3. Deadly car chase
Remember how last week I thought that the League of Villains had been relegated to comic-relief status in this arc? Never have I been happier to so promptly be proven wrong! As the authorities are taking Overhaul and the other Hassaikai to a holding area, they are intercepted by the League in a car of their own, with Tomura crouching on the roof, leather coat flapping in the wind like a dang rockstar. The police have a hero of their own, however, with the valiant Sand Hero: Snatch serving as their bodyguard. We get a frenetic, Fast and Furious-style car chase with a super-powered element to make it even more fun, before the League sadly overpower our mustachioed hero.

Once the gang gets their hands on the defeated and injured Overhaul, they prove their worth as villains once again, with Tomura decaying the Hassaikai boss’s hands. In a moment of cruel irony, Tomura also uses Overhaul’s own erasure bullets against him, stripping him of the powers that made him so great.

4. Papa Eraser Head
We return back to the heroes for a moment, showing the police handling things to help out once again, and some general damage control overall. There’s a neat comment from Nejire Chan, who when talking to the authorities about the scene, points out how effective Izuku was in avoiding collateral damage when laying a beatdown on Overhaul. It’s a nice reminder to the audience that Izuku is slowly becoming more capable and more naturally suited to his hero position.

We also get a good moment between Izuku and Eraser Head, once again highlighting that unique bond of mutual respect they both have. Eraser Head notes about how they had to quarantine Eri but they are working on rehabilitating and adjusting her so that she’s no longer a physical threat and so that she can be given psychological attention. It’s a great show of the narrative leaving no threads untied in this specific arc.

5. A hero’s farewell
And then come the spoilers and the tears. Eraser Head and Izuku move to see Nighteye, who’s mortally wounded and doesn’t have much time left to live. However, the Nighteye we see here isn’t the same judgemental and begrudging fellow that we’re used to. Having the show set up how much Nighteye lived by his foresight, only to have his visions positively altered by Izuku’s actions does make for a believable personality shift. Nighteye, knowing that his visions can be changed with the right type of positive energy, knows now that his vision of All-Might’s death doesn’t have to be permanent, and thus he can pass away with no regrets.

There’s a touching reunion between him and All-Might, which definitely nudged the faucets in my eyes, but the floodgates really opened when Mirio appeared at the final minute. The episode ends beautifully with Nighteye predicting that Mirio will be the best of all the heroes, even without One For All, and that is a future that doesn’t need to be changed, before he passes away with a smile on his face. :'(((((((((((

That’s all for this week, and seemingly for the Shie Hassaikai arc! Don’t forget to comment with thoughts and tears of your own!


//TAGS | my hero academia

Rowan Grover

Rowan is from Sydney, Australia! Rowan writes about comics and reads the heck out of them, too. Talk to them on Twitter at @rowan_grover. You might just spur an insightful rant on what they're currently reading, but most likely, you'll just be interrupting a heated and intimate eating session.

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