English Dub Review: My Hero Academia “My Hero”

Midoriya shows us just what a true hero is really made of.

Overview (Spoilers Below)

The UA summer camp has been invaded by the League of Villains’ Vanguard Action Squad. This team of sinister villains has surrounded the young heroes and their teachers, putting everyone in a dire situation. While everyone tries to fight off the villains and get their bearings, the Class A remedial students are being escorted to their nighttime classes by Eraserhead.

Suddenly, Mandalay’s telepathic powers inform every one of the villains’ attack, which sends Eraserhead charging out of the classroom to go aid the rest of the students. His concern turns out to be his undoing, however, when one of the villains, “Dabi”, nails Eraserhead in the face with a powerful fire blast.

Mandalay and Tiger, meanwhile, face off against two villains, “Spinner” and “Big Sis Mac,” who explains that they are one of the new League of Villains recruits inspired by Stain’s example of killing heroes. This piece of intel reveals just how dangerous these two must be, putting our heroes on the defensive. but Midoriya isn’t one to stand by; he knows where Kota is, and he’s off to go find him.

In the outer areas of the woods, the Class B team for that nights scaring contest is rushing through the gas-covered forest with gas masks on that they got from Yaoyorozu. Initially, the team merely tries to get away from the danger like their teachers told them to, but Tetsutetsu isn’t having it. He makes an inspirational speech where he explains that Class A is actually doing better than them and its because they’ve been placed in real danger before. Tetsutetsu resolves him and his team to take this danger head on, and use the experience to becomes better heroes.

Things are looking bad for the heroes all around, but especially for Kota, who has the misfortune of running into a villain with the ability to exponentially enlarge his muscles, giving him super strength. This villain, we learn, is the man who killed Kota’s parents as well, a memory that fills Kota with sheer terror. This villain is just about killed Kota when Midoriya flies in to save the day while taking the hit for Kota. He realizes this enemy must be strong, but he holds true to his principles, stands strong, and pledges to save Kota.

Back down in the forest, Bakugou and Todoroki run across a bizarre villain, whose entire body is in a straightjacket, except for his mouth, with possibly cannibalistic tendencies. Meanwhile, the fight between Spinner, Mandalay, Tiger and Big Sis rages on, with the villains being evenly matched.

Upon Kota’s mountain cliff hideout, Midoriya starts going to to toe with this new villain, named Muscular. Midoriya is strong, but this villain’s incredible muscles are more than a match for him. He tries to fight back but gets kicked around like a ragdoll while Muscular eggs him on. The muscled menace is even resistant to Midoriya’s previously unstoppable smashes. But who should interrupt Midoriya’s beatdown than Kota, who appears to have had a change of heart? He throws rocks at Muscular, while yelling at him with tears in his eyes that his parents are dead because of his monstrosity. This display of courage touches Midoriya’s heart and gives him the strength to hit Muscular with a 100% smash.

The explosive punch appears powerful, but turns out to be ineffective, with Muscular’s…muscles able to negate most of the damage, Muscular steps up his game and begins his counterattack, continuing the first rate pummeling that was previously in progress. Midoriya’s injuries, and his fatigue after a long day of training make him think of running for help, but his heroic spirit forces him to stay with Kota.

With his broken arm, still injured from the last smash, Midoriya slams his punch into Muscular to give Kota a chance to escape. The villain’s power is too strong for Midoriya, but nonetheless, he doesn’t give in to his foe. Bones breaking and veins popping, Midoriya keeps pushing back against the attack. Kota can’t stand to stay silent and uses his water quirk to splash Muscular and distract him. this distraction gives Midoriya the opportunity to get to his feet and summon every ounce of strength he has. Using all the power One for All has to offer, he annihilates Muscular with one final smash. With this act of incredible heroism, Midoriya gains a new place in Kota’s eyes. The boy sees him as a true hero, his hero, just like his parents.

Our Take:

Episodes like this are the reason that I continue to watch anime. An action and emotion filled ride from start to finish, this is easily the best episode of the season so far. Great action, voice acting and powerful character moments light my spirit on fire and fill my eyes with tears. Seeing Midoriya come so far while pushing himself to his absolute limit is an intense and moving experience. One that touches me in my core. Can’t wait until next week, where I’ll be ready and waiting to indulge in the next chapter of this epic anime.