I Wish We Had School Festivals

My Hero Academia, Season 4, Episode 18 Review/Recap

Ahh, the cultural festival, a staple of the Japanese educational system. It also happens to be among the things that I wish we did in the US. Every year, schools in Japan have open day festivals where people come to play games, eat, and have fun. And even though its a school dedicated to training heroes, U.A. High is no exception to this common trope of anime. That’s right: the next arc of My Hero Academia is a school festival!

Recap

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With the Fall semester now here, Mr. Aizawa informs Class 1-A that the time’s come for the annual school festival at U.A. , so they need to come up with an idea on what event to do. Aizawa says that if they don’t, they’ll be stuck in a lecture the whole time. After multiple ideas being thrown around, they ultimately decide on an idea: they’re going to do a concert, with Jiro leading their band for it.

Meanwhile, Midoriya and Togata are finally able to visit Eri in the hospital, but the former can’t help but notice how Overhaul’s influence still hangs over her. Thus, he’s resolved to help teach her how to smile again, and asks Mr. Aizawa to let her come to the school festival. Unknown to everyone at U.A., a new criminal has caught the police’s interest. Known as Gentle Criminal, he records himself committing crimes and then posts them online to gain attention. Right now, he’s planning something big for his next video.

Review

Well, I’d say that a villain posting videos of their crimes on social media is a first, but I’d be lying. In truth, I’ve seen supervillains in other media do that before, and some jerks in real life have done that, as well. That said, as someone who posts videos on YouTube to gain views and subscribers, I can weirdly relate to what this Gentle Criminal is doing. At the least, his video’s are good.

It’s actually not him that’s editing everything, though. He’s got an assistant named La Brava, who reminds me of a downplayed version of Harley Quinn; one without the tramuatic backstory. They’re both a big step down from Overhaul and All for One. However, after remembering the manga, I know that they’ve got some moderately interesting backstories.

The big draw of this episode, though, was about the legacy of Overhaul and the effect it’s had on Eri. When I heard her ask Midoriya and Togata how to smile, I felt my heart breaking in two. No child should ever have to grow up not knowing what it means to be happy or know what love is. Like Midoriya says, Eri hasn’t been fully saved yet, and he takes upon himself to do so. That’s why I’m invested in this school festival arc we’re headed into.

So, this U.A. school festival arc doesn’t have the action or the stakes of the fight against Overhaul. However, I still think that it’s worth paying attention to. It’s continuing the story that started Season 4, and will help Midoriya grow as a person and as a hero. That, and school festivals in anime tend to have a lot of shenanigans. Go Beyond, Plus Ultra!

I Give “School Festival” a 3.5/5. Soft Start to a Quiet Arc.

By the way, who else thought Jiro’s reaction to being asked to put on a concert cute?

A Quick Announcement

So apparently, the last few weeks have seen Kohei Horikoshi get a lot of flak. First, it’s revealed that a mad doctor in his manga has a name that, in Japanese, translates to something that references the horrorific experiments the Japanese performed on prisoners during World War II. Then, it’s revealed that Bakugo’s birthday is April 20th, the same day as a certain evil dictator. Needless to say, he’s got a lot of grief over this. Now this article from comicbook.com speculates if Horikoshi will pull the plug on his manga.

My advice: go to Twitter, go to Horikoshi’s account, and let him know that we support him. His series could become one of the best manga in history, and in this age where superheroes are in, My Hero Academia stands out like a shining star. Don’t let this gem of a series end like this.

That is all!

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