"My Hero" gets back to the action this week with the kids trying to protect the civilians while simultaneously fending off Gang Orca. Prior to the exam, the Hero Public Safety Commission met to discuss details, and we learn that, as no one could hope to easily fill All Might's enormously charismatic shoes, they want the new heroes to learn how to form a cooperative unit. In the present, Gang Orca's attack begins, and Mera thinks about how the students are being graded on mistakes, partially by the H.U.C. and by members of the Safety Commission sitting in the bleachers. Shindo tells Midoriya to evacuate survivors and causes an earthquake that disables some of Orca's men, only for the big man himself to jump in and incapacitate Shindo with a single supersonic burst. He turns his attention to the others, but Todoroki stops him with an ice blast, and other students join Midoriya to help the survivors. Though Todoroki froze the grunts, Orca destroys his ice but Yoarashi joins the fight, knocking the villains back with a gust of wind. The proctors at first praise Todoroki and Yoarashi, two massive heavy hitters, for taking on the "villain," but the two become annoyed upon seeing each other. Todoroki suggests Yoarashi use his wind to evacuate victims, but the latter refuses and uses his power just as Todoroki uses his flames, ruining both attacks. With the boys bickering as Yoarashi thinks Todoroki's tactical switch was him trying to hog the glory, a grunt is able to land a hit on Todoroki with a cement gun. Orca himself is disappointed with the two, berating them for arguing during the middle of an attack. The two are able to dodge and block more cement, and Yoarashi rants that while he believes heroes are supposed to be passionate, Endeavor and Todoroki are filled with hate, which is shown in their eyes and makes them feel cold. Endeavor blew him off as a child when he asked for an autograph, and his dislike grew when Todoroki later brushed him aside at the entrance exams. Trying to focus, Todoroki realizes he does still have hate for his father, despite trying to move on. The higher ups are clearly disappointed in the boys as they continue butting heads. As they attack again, their attacks this time shoot toward Shindo. Midoriya is able to leap in at the last second and save him, angrily asking what they think they're doing. Yoarashi reminisces about never hating or fearing anything as a child until his encounter with Endeavor. At the U.A. exams, he wanted to put his hatred aside to befriend Todoroki and barely beat him in a race. Excited and extending his hand afterward, Yoarashi was shocked when Todoroki brushed him off just like Endeavor had done before. He says they both seem to look look with hatred at something ahead of them, rather than those around. Realizing he didn't recognize Yoarashi because he didn't bother to look at him after the race, Todoroki thinks he hasn't solved past problems because they're returning. Having closed in on Todoroki, Orca takes them down with sonic attacks, though the latter sustained less damage to due the distance. While the grunts run over to the evacuation efforts, Yoarashi realizes his hatred has made him the kind of hero he dislikes, and Todoroki understands it was his past mistakes that caused a current problem, and the two decide to fix their mistakes. Recovered, Shindo uses his quirk to stop the villains, explaining that his own ability's drawback made Orca's attack less effective. He had been planning a surprise attack, but Todoroki and Yoarashi running in ruined it, so he tells Midoriya to just focus on the evacuation efforts. Determined to get past his failed teamwork and become a hero, Todoroki launches a stream of fire just as Yoarashi sends out a gust of wind. The resulting combination traps Orca in a tornado of fire, and he thinks about how they won't fully make a comeback for their prior mistake, but the move is impressive. Knowing Orca is weak to heat, the grunts return but Todoroki holds them off with ice, as while immobilized he doesn't have to worry about being slowed down while using his quirks simultaneously.
As the others try to help and the evacuation continues, Mera's announcement of the soon end to the exam raises the stakes for the students. To announce how things go would give away the end, but there is plenty that happens in the episode worth talking about, namely Todoroki's realization. The two figuring out their own issues was a step forward in maturity for both, as each was at first only blaming the other when things went wrong. An aspect of this I thought was shown interestingly is that both immediately took a drop in critical thinking as a result of their problems. These two should be the perfect duo for a combination attack, because of the relationship between flame and wind. In Naruto, this was explained when Naruto was learning about his change in chakra nature with Kakashi. As the latter put it, his wind attribute was strong to lightning, which put him at a disadvantage against Sasuke, but it improves the fire he uses. Naruto, staying positive, realized it also was a plus in that when they work together, wind could support fire. In the same vein, Yoarashi's wind could easily be used to stoke Todoroki's flames, which in this case would be a checkmate against Orca used properly. With them thinking only of their grudges at first, however, Yoarashi only saw the flames as something that would make his wind rise, and Todoroki conversely saw the wind as something that would blow his flames away. They were the top two for the U.A. entrance exam, and obviously from how they're able to control and use their quirks, they're intelligent. Their own arguing countered this, however, leaving them only thinking of themselves and ruining their chances to stop Gang Orca immediately. Of course, Todoroki and Yoarashi had rather obvious realizations as a result of their poor actions: Todoroki still has a chip on his shoulder and Yoarashi allowed hatred to change who he was. A less obvious aspect, however, is that similar to how Yoarashi became what he hated, Todoroki also became like what he hated: his father. Endeavor may be the #2 hero, but fans know he was so obsessed with surpassing All Might that he abused his family on a quest to have a child who could be #1. Not only did he psychologically abuse his wife to the point she had a breakdown; she also in the process burned Todoroki. His past can come back to bite him in that even if he changes by doing good and be better for his family, they will forever carry the pain he inflicted on them, and it would likely be highly scandalous if the public ever found out what happened. Similarly, though Todoroki has tried to move on from his dad, succeeding in some ways, he's still too cold (pun intended) like his father. When necessary he can work with others, but he tends to go off on his own and doesn't open up to people much. While Midoriya's problem was throwing himself into danger too much in his desire to become a hero AND save people, Todoroki seems more focused specifically on becoming a hero. He somewhat struggles with the emotional aspect of that and connecting with people, even though his advice about Kota shows he understands people. Speaking of Midoriya, he shows a difference in character in the little time he has this episode, which further shows how he has grown. Before his desire to save people probably would have led him to have a narrow mind and throw himself into helping Todoroki and Yoarashi, putting himself at risk in the process. By helping with evacuations but also staying near, he is actually focusing on the more pressing matter while putting himself in a position to help if necessary. The few times he does jump in to help, he also does so in effective ways that help for sure without causing himself harm. With everyone learning from their mistakes and the exam finishing up, the preview sets us up for an interesting confrontation next episode.
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AuthorI love the entertainment side of things. Video games, tv shows, superheroes and movies are my passion and I'd love to get the news out for things I enjoy. My contact page has links to my social media, so if you enjoy what I have to say, likes, shares, comments, and follows are always greatly appreciated! Archives
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