My Hero Academia s4 ep70 – With a Little Help From My Friends

 

Hello everyone. Hi Crow! I hope you had a great week!

Been a pretty good weekend! Busy, as usual. Another week of good anime, though.

 

Before we start, let me just say, I’ve been trying to keep my episode reviews a bit more concise because they were getting way out of control. I hope you don’t mind if I streamline this one a little. I find that it helps me keep my focus and not get too scattered.

Well, to be honest, I’m feeling a little trepidation. I really like your usual style! But, I’m game to experiment. Let’s try the whole concise thing. 

After the heroes’ meeting, we finally have a clear plan of action: Find and Rescue Eri. And of course the first part would be find. The theory was that Eri, being so central to the plan, was probably being kept hidden away somewhere far from the action. This is why the professional heroes were scouring the city for clues.

Unfortunately, the students are supposed to just keep low and not say anything during this time. EraserHead surprisingly left them the option to participate but secrecy was necessary. I don’t think I’ve ever seen Deku this isolated. It was pretty heartbreaking until both Midoriya and I realized that he had spent three seasons building up actual friendships. It was great to see him lean just a little on Iida and Todo.

I also feed my friends when they’re sad… It’s a weird instinct. I guess I have the nurturing skills of a teenage boy.

I thought that scene was perfectly executed. It’s easy to forget, what with him taking on Stain and everything else he’s done, but he’s still a kid. His world has been turned upside down and spun around. Seeing his friends reach out to him — and him accept the gesture — was beautiful. 

Thankfully, the kids didn’t have to wait too long for Eri to be discovered.

Turns out she was in headquarters and for some reason Nighteye was scouting the neighbourhood out when he noticed a lackey making a suspiciously girly purchase and immediately used his power on him despite everything he had said. He seemed very comfortable with carrying around the doll as well. I always liked Nighteye and he’s growing on me.

I know you’re not as fond of him, Crow. I didn’t really get why until I reread our posts and I get the impression that you don’t think the tickling machine incident was consensual? Which may be the case, I don’t think it was ever explicitly stated. I have to say, that option just never occured to me at all. Everyone that works with Nighteye seems very comfortable around him and I don’t think either Mirio or All-Might would like him as much if he was a bully. I could be wrong though.

My first impression of Nighteye was the tickling incident. It sure didn’t look like she was into that kind of thing. I’ve been through too much anti-sexual harassment training to look favorably on that kind of thing! And yeah, everyone’s comfortable around him — but he’s a hero. Heroes seem to have considerable latitude in how they act. 

That being said, after we started to get a glimpse into what’s haunting Nighteye, I’ve started to soften on him. I still prefer Fat Gum, but I think Nighteye’s been a solid leader for this mission.

Side note, both Uraraka and Nejire have epic bedhead!

Did you see that Nejire’s hair seemed to wrap around her like a blanket? That’s a pretty useful skill!

There was something about seeing the heroes all reunited in the early morning before starting the mission. Something desperate. Did you feel it too Crow? I got a bit scared there.

Yes, I felt it. The build up in this episode was masterful. The mood was something very different than what we’ve seen before.

Mirio really is an inspiration. You can see it from everyone that gets close to him. He would have been a fantastic Symbol of Justice. I’m thinking he’s going to get a career ending injury here. Just like All-Might. Am I being too grim? It would be a painful but poetic narrative parallel…

There’re lots of flags flying — and some of them are Mirio’s. I’m worried for Fat Gum. I’m worried for Ryukyu. I’m even worried for Eraser Head! 

We only got to see Overhaul a tiny bit towards the end of the episode. He’s his usual unnervingly calm self. He didn’t really do or even say anything yet every second he was on screen was unsettling. Personally, I think it may be in part due to the wonderful performance of his voice actor. (I looked it up, his name is Kenjiro Tsuda and he can call me anytime. So that I can listen to that great voice!)

Even how he walks with such calm assurance is scary. He’s wildly competent, and I love that in a villain. I want someone who is a real threat, and Overhaul certainly qualifies. 

Turns out, the villains may not have quite been expecting them so soon, but they were expecting them and they’re hardly defenceless. Just as the episode was winding down, we got one last reveal, Ryukyu’s quirk which involves her completely changing form. Let’s just say I would also listen to her if she was my mentor!

And did you notice that after she initially pinned her opponent, it eventually started growing again, and she — even in dragon form — had to back off? With the Quirk-boosting drugs on the villains’ side, the heroes are going to have their hands full.

The action is picking up and I had a lot of fun this episode. Enough fun that I can hardly wait to see what happens next. I feel like it really left us right in the middle of things. What did you think Crow?

Absolutely. The whole season has been building towards this mission. Even Izuku and Mirio suiting up, which should have felt cliche, generated anxiety. I kept wondering if especially Mirio would be coming back. Exciting stuff!

Any forecasts for next episode?

I don’t want to think about it, I’m scared… That Quirk erasing drug is probably close to complete by now and someone is going to get hit….