My Hero Interlude Ends With This Episode

My Hero Academia, Season 4, Episode 17 Review/Recap

Well, I think this may be my least favorite episode of the entire season of My Hero Academia. When we left off, Bakugo, Shoto, Camie, and Inasa had to rein in a bunch of problem elementary school students. When words failed to reach them, they resort to humanity’s other, time-honored solution: violence. Or so it looks like: in truth, they’re just trying to reach those kids hearts.

Recap

So, the quartet of heroes-in-training let the kids unleash their Quirks on them while the adults watch in shock. It’s then that the “Quirk Singularity Theory” gets brought up: it’s the idea that Quirks are growing stronger with each generation. In time, they’ll become so powerful, and people won’t be able to control them, hence why these grade-schoolers are so strong.

Fortunately, the young heroes prove that raw power isn’t enough; there’s also imagination. By combining their skills, the quartet’s able to put on a fantastic display of their abilities that wins the kids over. As for their leader, Bakugo lectures him on not acting like he’s better than everyone or else he’ll never learn. With their task complete, everyone returns to school.

Back at school, Midoriya ends up bonding with Aoyama over the fact that both have Quirks that can be harmful to their bodies. That’s about it.

Review

I am not sorry when I say this: I slept through the second half of the episode. I understand what the anime’s trying to do with Aoyama: like Midoriya, his Quirk can be a hindrance more than it can help. Thus, it’s natural for the two to bond over that. That said, I couldn’t get myself invested in that. On top of that, going from one story to the next in the middle of the episode felt a little sloppy, and even jarring. The fact that Sir Nighteye’s funeral is only shown onscreen for a few moments also felt like a disappointment. We saw that guy die and got broken up about it!

What I did enjoy, however, was the character development we see in our resident anti-heroes, Bakugo and Endeavor. Bakugo was an arrogant jerk when we first met him, but his time at U.A. gave him a lesson in humility. To hear him pass on what he’s learned shows how far he’s come in those past few months. Then, we see Endeavor own up to the fact that he’s been a bad dad to Shoto. Shoto doesn’t buy it, but I can tell that deep down, he’s happy to hear his dad say that.

There’s also the “Quirk Singularity” theory that got brought up, and I was intrigued. In Marvel and DC comics, I’ve seen beings with superpowers have children with powers of their own. Some of them, like Franklin Richards or Rachel Summers, can end up having god-like power. It’s a nice callback to Horikoshi’s inspiration, I think.

Beyond that, though, this episode was a snooze fest. Speaking of festivals, though, that’s going to be the focus of the next arc. From what I remember reading in the manga, it’s going to be a good one, too! Go Beyond, Plus Ultra!

I Give “Relief For License Trainees” a 2/5. Also did this kid copy the Destructo-Disc?

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