Vigilante Justice Rises on the World of Heroes

My Hero Academia S6, Ep 16 Review

When I first saw the title for this week’s episode of My Hero Academia, I thought it would revolve around the Todoroki family in the aftermath of the war and Toya. However, the title’s a bit misleading, as they aren’t addressed directly until the second half of the episode. Instead, this episode mainly focuses on two things. Firstly, the continued loss of public faith in heroes and rise of the vigilante. Secondly, about the origin story of Hawks and how he became who he is today. Both, though, are equally sad to watch.

A Little Hatchling Yearning to Be a Hero

To call Hawks’ early life rough was an understatement. We already knew that his father was a criminal caught by Endeavor, but this episode hammers home how miserable his childhood was. His Dad was a small-time crook that hid out with his mom, and the three lived in total squalor. It wasn’t until his dad got arrested that Hawks realized that heroes really existed in this world, inspiring him to follow in their footsteps. 

Hawks might be one of my favorite characters among the pro-heroes due to his interesting backstory. Even though his life gave him no reason to continue doing so, he never gave up the optimism he had as a kid. It lets him see the best in others even when they don’t see it in themselves, like Endeavor, or people that others would see as plain evil, like Twice. When Hawks said he liked Twice and was a good person, he meant it. Which, I think, only makes his decision to kill Twice even sadder. Despite this, though, Hawks’ resolve to help those in need remains as strong as ever.

If only the same could be for the public and other heroes.

The Rise of Vigilantes in a Faithless World

Some people might think it would be awesome to live in a world where superheroes existed, but it wouldn’t. In The Boys, we see how letting people with powers but zero training and self-control prove disastrous for everyone. Similarly, My Hero Academia shows us why letting people with zero training go vigilante is a bad idea.

Yet that’s exactly what’s happening in the wake of the Paranormal Liberation War. With so many heroes resigning and the remainder stretched thin, the public can’t rely on the heroes for help anymore. Now they have to help themselves, forcing people to rethink what it means to be a hero. The scene of a now freed Stain looking at his weapon’s drives home how his ideals are now spreading. The “fake heroes” as he puts them, are being culled. 

The major flaw in society in My Hero Academia is that people let the title “hero” become a profession. That not everyone does it for selfless reasons like Deku and All Might. That said, letting people with zero training and access to high-tech support gear can make things worse. If I were the heroes, I would start teaching the vigilantes how to be heroes, though. It would be an easy way to shore up their numbers when they need it.

The Todoroki Family, At Last

The final portion of the episode is the one that addresses the title: the Todoroki family. Everyone in the family’s shaken up by the revelation that Toya’s not only alive, but is now the villain Dabi. All Endeavor can do is sit in his hospital bed and think about how badly he messed things up. We actually start to see him cry; we’ve never seen him cry like this.

As someone who reads the manga, I know there’s more to the story than what Dabi made things out to be. What happened to Dabi wasn’t Endeavor’s failure alone. The whole family ended up messing things up, and now they have a choice. They can either let this tear them apart for good, or try and work through everything together. Either way, next episode, we’re going to learn more about the Todoroki family’s past.

This was another banger episode that didn’t shy away from the dangers of untrained vigilante justice. However, I still think the title’s a bit misleading. But that won’t stop me from wanting to GO BEYOND, PLUS ULTRA!

I Give “The Hellish Todoroki Family, Pt. 2” a 4/5

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