My Hero Academia FINAL SEASON

Episodes 160-162

Wow, I can't believe we've approached the beginning of the end. After years of some incredible highs and occasional lows, we are at the final season of a shonen series that I would argue has defined this past generation. The manga is all done, and we are jumping right into the action. Like these first couple of episodes, I won't waste any time. I say that, but it's still really funny and distracting that the first episode of this season is basically, almost a shot-for-shot repeat of the second half of the last episode of last season. I knew there would be pacing issues getting into this season that basically starts right in the middle of a climax without any definitive stopping or starting point. But once I got past that awkwardness, the following episodes are much stronger, tying in a lot of the main themes and story beats that have been built up throughout the entire franchise.

All of the other League of Villains members have been taken care of; we are down to our final two bosses, Shigaraki and All for One. Deku is obviously supposed to be the one who takes down Shigaraki, and he is doing his best to restrain him, but these opening episodes are all about All for One, his relationship with All Might, and how this man's grandmaster plan is slowly falling apart. I love All for One's thought process in episode three, where he is internally monologuing about how everything always goes according to plan. He is a practical man who always picks the path that will get him the results that he needs, and he is so confident in himself and his abilities that he never feels like he is truly threatened. We know that's not true because he had been stopped previously, but that just shows how big this man's ego is. He is the mustache-twirling villain, he knows it, he's proud of it, and he feels entitled to victory.

But that's what makes his downfall feel more important. He doesn't see anybody else as genuine people or obstacles. He sees them as minor inconveniences that shouldn't distract him from his major goals. He sees pebbles that he can kick to the side, and yet here he is, battered, bruised, a third of his actual age, and he's wondering why all of this is happening to him. How can pebbles trip him up over and over and over again! His protégé wants nothing to do with him. All Might refuses to die, and now he's got this teenager throwing explosions in his face while looking eerily similar to the man who took his brother away from him. Nothing is going right for this man, and it is glorious to watch. We're setting up this man's true downfall, and I am going to eat that up with a spoon.

I'm not entirely sure about the explanation for Bakugo's incredible power-up right now. We all knew he wasn't going to die, although I am surprised Edgeshot isn't dead, and I can understand a little bit of frustration with the idea that everyone is still living despite being put in these certain death scenarios. I like that the show is lampshading the classic comic book trope of how mentors die when they pass the baton, but they're not talking about the classic comic trope of how no one ever dies! My Hero Academia is very much a throwback to classic Western cartoons, so it is funny that All Might gets to live and overcome the prophecy that his former sidekick saw, but he's being saved by a character who had his heart pierced and was miraculously brought back to life via his own ability. You could argue that this is one of the most clever things ever, or a bit of a copout. I don't mind because it looks amazing and thematically is all relevant.

I never thought that Bakugo would be the final opponent for All for One, but in a lot of ways, it makes sense because this is Bakugo's final step in his character arc. He has definitely mellowed out and has come to understand that there's more to being a hero than just winning, but we never resolved that guilt that he had from when All Might had to save him from All for One initially. Remember, Bakugo's kidnapping was arguably the inciting incident that caused All Might to lose his powers. All Might doesn't blame him, but Bakugo still does, so the fact that he was able to save his mentor similarly while also being the one to take down the biggest bad of the entire series feels very poignant. Next episode is going to get into the final trenches of backstory for All for One before we get into the true final act of this fight, and I am looking forward to seeing this chapter within the finale come to a close.

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