It’s finally here. The season finale of My Hero Academia has arrived. The last episode and my last recap of this show is here. I’ll give my overall thoughts on it at the end, along with some other news, but for now, let’s get on with the last MHA recap.
As we left off with Shigaraki, Giran has brought two recruits to him, but Shigaraki wants nothing to do with them, even as Kurogiri tries to let him listen. The two newcomers introduce themselves. The first is the blonde high school girl, who the media has kept under wraps because of how many deaths she has made. Her name is Himiko Toga. She wants to join the League of Villains because she wants this world to be easier to live in. She also wants to become “Mr. Stainy” and kill him, too. The other is the scarred-jaw dude. He hasn’t done any flashy crimes, but does follow Stain’s ideology. Even though he is here, he doesn’t think the League of Villains has any value. He goes by the name Dabi. Shigaraki asks for his real name, which Dabi is not going to give, because he doesn’t trust him yet. Shigaraki hates all this praising of Stain they’re doing, so he attacks the two, who counter as well. Kurogiri stops all of this, because he knows their organization is down in numbers and this will help them get back in the public’s eye. Hating all this talk of Stain, Shigaraki leaves for now, as Dabi hates him, and Toga is…well, she’s herself.
Shigaraki is still looking for his answer to his own convictions. Kurogiri hopes he’ll get back to them with an answer soon.
Back at U.A. Academy, the students who failed the exam (as well as Hanta, who fell asleep during his) are all depressed because of how they will now have to go through summer school hell instead of the training camp. Izuku tries to help, but it’s no use. Aizawa arrives, and has some news: Everyone is going to camp! Why? Because even though 5 people failed, they all passed their written exams. Also, training camp is to increase their strength. So, for those who failed against the teachers who didn’t even give it their all, those people will need it the most. They will get extra hard lessons for this. Even so, they are glad they can still go. Since it’s a week of training camp, and they’re gonna need a bunch of stuff to take, Hagakure suggests everyone go shopping for supplies. Everyone, except Todoroki (seeing his mom) and Bakugo (doesn’t care at all), decide to go.
As they get to the mall, some people notice them from their Sports Festival fight. The group decides to split up and meet again at 3. Most know what they want. Others are still undecided. And Deku is still Deku.
He does asks what Uraraka wants. But, hearing Aoyama’s words from the exam makes her all embarrassed again, and she takes runs away. She knows that Sparkling Dude is wrong about her feelings. Right? Maybe?
Uraraka is on her way to being a tsundere pic.twitter.com/80lL2HtauK
— King Meow (3-1) (@cedric_alpha) September 30, 2017
As Izuku is by himself, someone in a hoodie recognizes him as a U.A. Student and wants an autograph. He saw his fight at the Sports Festival. And also knows of his run-in with Stain. This dude can’t believe they met again, like it’s fate. Izuku is scared now, because he knows who it is. It’s Shigaraki.
As he goes through the mall, with Stain’s words going through, he can see how people won’t care who does the killing, as they will still go on with their lives. He also sees some Hero Killer merchandise. He wonders why he is more popular, even though they basically have the same concept. It’s then he sees Izuku. He wants to only talk with Izuku. If he does something funny, his hand will turn Izuku into a pile of dust with his Quirk. Plus, Shigaraki has the upper hand (no pun intended) since even if even a hero does come, Shigaraki could kill 20-30 people in the crowd before they do. Izuku agrees to listen to him.
Shigaraki hates Stain the most now. He’s not affiliated with his League, but everyone thinks so. He’s jealous that no one saw his USJ attack or the Nomus attack and only focuses on Stain instead. They both destroy things, so what is the difference between them? The answer from Izuku is that he can’t understand or agree with Shigaraki. And even though he doesn’t agree with Stain, he understands him. Because like Izuku himself, Stain’s path all started with All Might. Stain didn’t destroy because he wanted too and didn’t abandoned his ideals as Shigaraki did. He lived up to them. Shigaraki gets pissed at this, but he gets a big weight off him. Because he now knows why Stain, and Izuku, both make him mad: It’s because of All Might. It’s also why everyone around smiles thoughtlessly. He does choke Izuku during this rage, but he does thank him for this talk, since he doesn’t need to change who he is. Stain may be his opposite, but his ideas and convictions are going to help Shigaraki move on.
Just then, Uraraka arrives. She was feeling sad and wanted to apologize to Izuku for leaving, but now finds this. She knows something is wrong, as Izuku tries to explain, but Shigaraki lets go of him. As he takes off, Izuku has one more question for him. He wants to know what’s All for One after? Shigaraki himself doesn’t know, but he knows the next time they meet, it’ll be when he decides to kill Izuku. He disappears into the crowd. Now Shigaraki knows his “conviction”: to connect a world that doesn’t have All Might, and prove his justice doesn’t exist. His “conviction” is All Might himself.
The shop closes after Uraraka tells the police what happened, and them and other heroes can’t find a trace of Shigaraki. Izuku tells Tsukauchi everything at the police station, and thanks Izuku for staying calm during it, because anything else could have been worst. All Might arrives, and Izuku asks him if he didn’t have times he could save everyone. All Might does a lot, since someone somewhere not close to him could be dying right now. But that’s why All Might is still human. It’s also why he smiles, so the Symbol of Justice can be in the hearts of regular people, heroes, and villains alike. Izuku’s mom arrives, and her poor heart can’t have her baby get into trouble like this anymore. The police take them home. Tsukauchi has the school be placed on high alert, and asks All Might to step down as a teacher, even if he’s only been one for 3 months. Even so, All Might promises to catch All for One.
The closing ceremony arrives for the end of the 1st semester. Summer vacation is now here for them. Even though they should have fun, they all know they have to be prepared for what the future brings. As for All for One himself, he’s happy because Shigaraki finally found his conviction. He needs more people to follow him, and will help if he needs it, to have him become the next All for One.
The finale didn’t have any action, but it did have drama in it. The whole talk with Shigaraki and Izuku helps us move on to what’s to come. It was a great dynamic to see how Shigaraki found out his own way to go on from our hero himself, and how he’s gotten around, sort of, to Stain’s own ideology just because of All Might. It should be great to see how they are going to interact in the future. Speaking of great, manga fan-favorite Toga finally had some speaking time, and her energetic, happy self was good to see. As was Dabi and his not-giving-a care about Shigaraki. When we meet these two again, it should be fun, especially with all I heard about Toga. This episode was pretty okay in delivering the next arc that is to come down the line.
Overall, this whole season of My Hero Academia was a fun ride. All the characters were fun in their own way. Yes, even Mineta at times. Some had some serious character developments in them (Uraraka, Iida, Todoroki), the drama that played out through them (Espically with Todoroki and his family) were surreal and heartbreaking, and there were a lot of fun scenes where they interacted nicely. The action throughout was terrific, as BONES did a great job animating this scenes so well. The Izuku/Todoroki fight, the fight with Stain, the Izuku/Bakugo vs All Might fight. These were some of the highlights throughout this action-packed drama. But it wasn’t just the fight scenes themselves. BONES did an excellent job throughout this whole season of animation to showcase MHA to its full potential. It definitely should be high on everyone’s lists for Best Animated Show, or at least Best Animated Shonen. The only problem a lot of people had was the pacing of the show compared to where it is in the manga. Yeah, I know it’s far from the manga. But you know what, it could be worse. As stated in previous recaps, did you see what One Piece, Shippuden, and Bleach did with their pacing? Compared to those, MHA is like a breath of fresh air. I know it won’t change how people will perceive its pace, but that’s just me. This whole series, if I could give it a grade, would definitely get an A or higher. The action, characters, animation, the music, the emotion, everything was wonderful. The superhero genre lives on in MHA, and if there’s people who haven’t seen it yet, I highly recommend they do.
Well, for me, that’s the end of my MHA recaps and also the end of my recaps for 2017. Yes, I’m not recapping anything on here for the fall. Someone else is taking over this job. Who will it be? Well, you will find out soon, and what they are going to recap. I’ll come back in 2018 for a new recapping adventure. And do you know what’s also coming back in 2018? My Hero Academia.
Go Beyond for Season 3 real soon. PLUS ULTRA!!