A Hero is a State of Mind

My Hero Academia S6, Ep 25 Review

It’s over, everyone; but it’s also getting started. The sixth season of My Hero Academia, which, in my opinion, was its best one yet, has come to an end. Midoriya’s come back to UA to mentally and physically recover, his friends now know the immense burden he has and support him, and things seem hopeful after a season of darkness. However, hope is fragile, and in the darkness, All for One and Shigaraki are on the verge of dealing the final blow to the heroes. In the midst of all this darkness, though, an unlikely ally steps forth to remind All Might of what it means to be a hero: never giving up.

Midoriya Finally Has a Chance to Rest

After talking down the mob and letting Midoriya get the rest he needs, the boys of Class 1-A waste no time in helping the young hero relax. That involves getting him out of his costume and into the baths. After that, everyone gathers around him and lets him know that they understand why he kept this whole thing a secret. Furthermore, it feels like the already high level of respect they had for him has grown even more. He had to work hard to gain the power he now possesses, and he couldn’t tell anyone outside a handful of others. That’s a lot of stress for a teenager to handle. After getting reassured by his friends and apologizing to All Might, poor Midoriya promptly falls asleep. 

Thank heavens he did so, and thank goodness his classmates managed to get through to him. It was cool seeing Deku as a full-fledged hero, but at the rate he was going, he was going to kill himself. Even a hero needs a moment to rest every now and then.

All Might Gets a Pep Talk from Stain, of All People

Meanwhile, All Might returns to the plaza where his statue is to retrieve pieces of Midoriya’s costume…and pity himself for not being able to help him. That’s when a familiar face shows up: Stain, the Hero Killer that Deku helped put away months ago. He escaped Tartarus with everyone else, and he’s mad at how bad things have gotten, even though he’s partially to blame. More importantly, though, he’s mad at All Might because, right now, he’s not acting like a hero. 

What follows is the most unbelievable lecture on what it means to be hero, courtesy of Stain. Stain’s whole MO is he thinks people have forgotten what it really means to be a hero: to be selfless and help others for the sake of doing so. Most heroes started doing it for the money and fame, except for All Might, which is why Stain only considered All Might, and Deku, worthy of calling themselves heroes. But he feels so disappointed with how defeated All Might looks now that he refuses to even acknowledge him as All Might. In other words, he’s saying, “you sure you’re All Might? Because the All Might I remember wouldn’t give up like this, powers or no powers!”

Even if Stain’s a killer, the thing is, he’s not wrong about what being a hero means. Heroes inspire others even when things seem hopeless. Case in point, the last person All Might saved in the battle with All for One keeps coming by to clean up his statue. People still believe in him despite everything. And then Stain leaves All Might some valuable intel he got and leaves.

All Heroes on Deck! Another War is Coming!

As it turns out, when he escaped from Tartarus in the mass breakout, Stain got some intel from a dying guard about Shigaraki and All for One. Now he’s been waiting for the hero to show so he can deliver it to him directly. And what All Might learns…is an absolute nightmare.

All of the heroes intel said it would take longer for Shigaraki’s body to reach the point where All for One could take over. However, they were wrong. The Tartarus Prison learned through talks between the two that Shigaraki will be ready in far less time: two months from the day that AFO broke out of prison. That’s three days from now. This sends the heroes of Japan into a full-on panic. They need outside help to stop AFO. The problem is, the other nations are dealing with AFO’s agents and criminals in their own countries. However, that doesn’t stop America’s top hero and All Might’s former student, Star and Stripe, from heading out to help. She doesn’t let red tape stop her from doing the right thing.

Thus, the sixth season of My Hero Academia comes to an end. The stage is set for the final battle in Season 7, and it will be epic. I don’t know when it will come out since it’s still ongoing in the manga, but I cannot wait. This is going to be legendary. As a whole, this entire season’s been amazing; some of the best MHA has ever been. It was filled with so much growth, action, heartbreak, and loss, but it was amazing. It truly went beyond, PLUS ULTRA! 

I Give “No Man is an Island” a 4.5/5

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