English Dub Review: My Hero Academia “A Talk About Your Quirk”

Midoriya, we need to talk.

Overview (Spoilers Below)

The results of the provisional license exam are in! Everyone in Class 1-A managed to pass, with two exceptions: Todoroki and Bakugou didn’t make the cut. In addition, Yoarashi from Shiketsu High didn’t make it either. There’s still hope for these three, however, as they may take a three-month special course to earn their provisional licenses. But despite the failures of some, the other young heroes now carry the privilege and responsibility to act as heroes in times of emergency.

After the test, Midoriya tries to ask the Shiketsu students about how Camy was able to “Erase her presence”, but he soon finds out that the Shiketsu kids don’t know how to do that all. Turns out, the Camy he faced during the test was actually Himiko Toga, who can shape-shift into another by ingesting their blood.

Meanwhile, All Might meets with All For One in the high-security villain prison known as “Tartarus” to try and gain information about Tomura Shigaraki’s whereabouts. All For One isn’t having it, though, and just reiterates his delight in being the “Devil” of this world, basking in how the world is growing more unstable with All Might’s downfall.

That night, at the Class 1-A dorms, Midoriya is summoned by Bakugou to meet with him that night. After everyone goes to sleep, Midoriya follows Bakugou away from the dorms, who eventually leads him to Ground Beta, the arena where they first fought. At this fateful spot, Bakugou demands to know how Midoriya got his quirk, to confirm something he already knows, that Midoriya got his power from All Might. Midoriya doesn’t want to admit it, but Bakugou’s interrogation gets Midoriya to let the truth slip. With his suspicions validated, Bakugou tells Midoriya that they’re going to settle their feud; right here, right now.

Our Take:

My Hero Academia this week focuses on serving as a milestone for our characters and their progress so far. It’s an episode that doesn’t offer much in terms of flash or plot but is great for character development and internal conflict. More than ever, Class 1-A feels less like students and more like heroes, a growth that is cemented in Midoriya by him finally facing down Bakugou, the remnant of his past that has followed him since before he had his quirk.

With the provisional license exam arc coming to a close, its time for our cast of merry protagonists to start showing their stuff as actual heroes, and this episode delivers on that need in spades. The inspirational speech that the director of the exam gives is both a powerful checkpoint for how much Class 1-A has come and a statement of the challenges that are sure to come as the series progresses. His dialogue is expertly written, bringing with it a natural energy and sense of duty necessary to prevent a speech like this from becoming too sappy. The director, too, seems to have grown as a character. While initially, his role was to be a sloth-like comedic commentator, his true motivations are revealed as a critical, but a motivated civil servant. A charming evolution that serves as a nice little cherry to his inspirational scene.

This sequence of hope is followed by a tonal downturn in the sinister monologuing of All For One to All Might. All For One’s grim tone and calculated demeanor is chilling to the core and makes him feel more powerful inside of prison than when he was out of it. While powerless, its made clear to us that his place in Tartarus is exactly where he wants to be, delighting in how by exposing All Might’s weakness he’s served as the catalyst for new villains to arise and destroy the world. All For One is dripping with high-octane, concentrated evil, and the restraint this show has in keeping him in chains only serves to make his impact on the episode even stronger.

This brings us to the final sequence of the episode, the long-awaited confrontation between Midoriya and Bakugou. While the fight itself doesn’t begin in this episode, the tension between these two rival heroes is palpable. Midoriya is along for the ride, but it’s really Bakugou who steals the show. Surprisingly, his hot-headed self is rather observant, and its an interesting turn to see how he’s deduced the origin of Midoriya’s powers just by paying attention to what he and All Might have been doing. That deduction elevates his character from more than just an anger bomb to someone more well-rounded, which makes him more interesting as a whole.

The season is nearly over, and that makes an episode like this all that much more important. It scratches the itch of summing up all that we’ve seen this season and expertly reminds of the dire stakes that are sure to come for our heroes.