So far, I’ve complained more about this arc of MHA than any other in the past. I wasn’t sold on the departure from the school setting, and I’ve bemoaned my favorite characters not getting screen time.
I was wrong.
These last two episodes have silenced any complaints. These were two superb episodes: top 10 for the entire series easily.
Episode 76 picks back up the fight vs Overhaul, where the tides turn due to two large behemoths crash through the floor. I must say, the League of Villains is coming up clutch – for the heroes. I really love the betrayal storyline, where the League is perfectly united in their quest for vengeance. Nothing says team-building like killing your rivals and getting revenge.
Couple of points to note on the Overhaul fight. This is, as far as I know, the first time we’ve seen Midoryia use One for All at full power. Of course there’s a catch – his body is continually being disassembled and reassembled – no big deal. Which, by the way, is the exact fate he’s trying to save Eri from. Kind of putting yourself in her shoes a little literally there, don’t you think?
Eri is….ridiculously overpowered. Kind of like Nanika from HxH – this is an ultimate get out of jail free or completely rewrite society’s rules kind of overpowered. I’m always a bit scared when something that Earth shattering bursts onto the scene unexpectedly – from a plot standpoint, it’s hard to navigate around something so powerful. HxH didn’t really explore those implications, but I think MHA is going to have a good amount of time to expound. Some obvious uses for Eri (ranked from most to least likely) involve reverting Mirio, reverting All Might, and….reverting All for One. We’ll have to see, but a major game-changer has now been introduced.
Also – not sure why MHA is randomly shouting out all the other great shounens. Full Metal Alchemist vibes from Overhaul and unexpected Consecutive Normal Punches from One Punch Man made their appearances. All Might is Saitama confirmed?
One other point to note is that apparently MHA doesn’t believe in nipples. Good to know. Probably that’s a side effect of Himiko’s quirk….??
League of Villains makes a NICE move with hitting the convoy after the fight. I was also interested to see the dissent within the organization – specifically Blue Exorcist vs Ninja Turtle. Regardless, it’s a fitting end to Overhaul – well-deserved poetic justice (despite his sympathy inducing backstory). I’m not convinced we’ve seen the last of him – I can think of a number of people who could use him (All for One being the primary candidate).
Last, we have Nighteye.
Yikes.
I was surprised how hard watching him die hit me. Nighteye started off a gag character, but somewhere along the way, I got attached. Whether it was him breaking out the hidden weights or intentionally going along with his salaryman outfit, myself (and the viewer in general) grew close to him. That’s what makes this goodbye so abrupt – we just met this hero superstar, with his own agency, everything together. I was legitimately as sad as I’ve ever been watching MHA.
The parallels between Nighteye’s death and All Might are pretty glaring. Apparently normal heroes can’t keep going after losing half their internal organs – who knew? In the end, he’s the only one smiling – not All Might, not Midoriya, not even Mirio.
Man. That’s real, right there.
Also, Nighteye’s Foresight doesn’t really show anything when used on Mirio, so I think he was maybe embellishing a little. Doesn’t matter though, that’s a legendary pep talk to give on your deathbed.
All my complaints about this arc have been silenced. These were the best two episodes of MHA in a while – this show’s still got it. Pour one out for our bad joke, salaryman, smiley hero. *Sniff*
From the last post:
“First of all, Overhaul is so overpowered that a Deus Ex is necessary (pretty sure it’s two giants crashing through the ceiling). I’m also not a fan of his power being the one to fix this – I can’t imagine Nighteye dies here or Lemillion is permanently powerless.”
“I do hope to see one of them take Chisaki’s head in the finale though – that would be great.”
Always good to see expectations subverted, especially in a genre where it’s very easy for the story to fall into cliches and existing tropes.
You can definitely say “subverted expectations” again. What’s really surprising is that they introduced two outs that could have saved the day – Overhaul’s quirk and Eri’s ability.
I guess with Magnes’ death, killing characters is on the table – but I still did not see that coming.
Also the league’s revenge on overhaul was far superior to what I would have suggested ^_^
Whatever peoples opinions on Overhauls arc or its adaptation or any production issues from the movie, I am hyped and ready for my boy GENTLE. ITS HIS TIME BABY!