Visualist x100!!!! – My Hero Academia Season Four: Episode Fifteen

Upon the finale of a thrilling battle, Midoriya and co. have returned to the life of normalcy. But will their lives ever truly be the same? What can a hero do knowing they must face these kinds of missions throughout their careers? Karandi and I discuss what was a pretty… something episode.

Karandi

Episode 15 has left me with mixed feelings about it. I didn’t dislike the episode and each little part was actually quite nice in either showing the follow up from the previous arc or helping to segue into a new focus. The problem though was as an episode it really didn’t accomplish anything. It really is just bridging things together. Not such a problem on rewatch when you binge the episodes one after the other but after waiting a week for a new episode, episode 15 isn’t exactly full of wow.

Before I get into the episode in more detail, I do want to discuss the new opening. I’m going to be honest and just say I was surprised. Both the song and visuals do not seem to connect with the prior My Hero Academia openings. Then again, I do recall Bleach would go for darker and darker openings and music and then suddenly we’d get some quirky and odd piece of music full of visuals that had the characters in all manner of outfits and it felt out of place but you kind of just learned to go with it. So let’s just say after one episode I’m not thrilled by the new opening but I also didn’t hate it.

What was more disappointing was the moment Midoriya and the other students entered the dorm and the rest of the class swarmed them. My Hero Academia usually has very solid animation and has previously used stills sparingly, but here, after Mineta is animated running toward the group, the rest of the cast get a frozen frame while dialogue plays over the top and some basic effects are used to emphasise shouting. It was quite intrusive to the moment and it felt like it cheapened something that should have been a big deal. The last arc really did isolate the characters involved from the rest of the class and yet the moment of their reunion was given such a lacklustre effort. Needless to say that was unimpressive.

Better handled were the moments prior in the hospital where Midoriya met with Mirio and they had their heart to heart moment and we saw that All Might was outside the room. Also the moments immediately after the reunion with the classmates when the four students retreated to their rooms and we see each one trying to process the situation. Each one carrying a whole range of emotions that are weighing them down after the events they were caught up in. These were solid moments for the episode.

The transition to focusing on Todoroki and Bakugou wasn’t super exciting but I am wanting to see these two as they try again for their provisional licence. Not to mention, I just like the two characters so getting to spend some time on them this season is something I’d be keen to see.

Basically, the episode was all over the place. There’s plenty of good moments but I’m still left on the fence about the whole thing.

Kapodaco

I’ll go ahead and tip the scales back one way—the negative, specifically. After taking some hours working and thinking, I’ve found myself at odds with this episode, though not so much the big picture than with the finer details. I’ll also keep my thoughts on the episode rather succinct, as the episode, overall, could just be described as “boring,” but I won’t go that blunt route.

Something I found interesting that Karandi did not note even once was Gran Torino and the discovery of a brand new villain. Some massive dude, who apparently was also trained by All for One. Someone can comment and prove me wrong if this isn’t the case, but I think it was stated in the episode that this massive, hulking dude who stands just below The Iron Giant in height was hiding in the forest this entire time, only regarded as a myth? Uhhh… I don’t believe that. Do people not have cameras with them at all times in this day and age? Couldn’t he be discovered very easily considering… he’s a giant? I could see him hiding underground, but a forest? Uhh… I don’t believe that.

And yes, the moment between Mirio and Midoriya was adequate, though one thing Mirio mentioned during it bothered me. He said he would see if Eri would be able to reverse his body to the point from before he had his quirk permanently extracted. Uhh… that’s some interesting thinking there. Perhaps he’s trying to be optimistic, sure, but if we’re going to consider the possibility that Eri’s power can rescind time within the context of events exclusive to individuals, that’s gonna be some serious gobbledygook. With Midoriya it is at least passable because the physical exertion he was producing was happening in real time and her quirk only acted as a vacuum of sorts, but for it to recognize, “Ah, yes, this body once had a quirk. Let’s return it!” is some… really OP shit. Stellar idea, chaps: USE IT ON ALL MIGHT. He’ll return to prior to his accident and he’ll once again be the greatest hero. Series ends then and there. Wait! Could it possibly revive people from the dead, from prior to their death? Use it on Nighteye! Oh, God, the plotholes are writing themselves.

Finally, I’ve sort of had this floating concern in mind regarding this series since the third season. When it wants to be emotional, and showcase THE POWER OF EMOTIONS!!! by creating these big, epic battles or showdowns, it’s great. The author seems to adore the big picture, where the themes of heroism and emotional resonance take precedence over all else. When it comes to everything else, it’s pretty lackluster, especially recently. In this episode, we got to actually see most of the members of the class once again, and the entire scene was… meh. Lots of hamfisting exposition and general reactions in regards to the situation. No one really seemed to exert themselves in the way that we’ve become accustomed to seeing them in (except Iida, who took a second to alter to the mood). A quick nudge to Urara doubting herself was a fine moment and the tag-team of Todoroki and Bakugo will at least provide some variety for future episodes. With this in mind, though, I hope they get to the action quickly, because this season has shown that when it’s downtime, it’s downtime (in quality of writing).

I guess that was succinct? Apologies, I get worked up when I return to my cynical roots. Not a great episode, or even a very good one. Next few episodes will likely focus on something that probably should’ve been focused on prior to Midoriya’s last big battle, but nonetheless, I’m looking forward to it. Maybe I shouldn’t, because this season has shown that you should never be excited for something unless you aren’t excited, as that has been where the best sequences have come from: out of nowhere.

(To see all posts concerning this collab, check out my Collabs page!)

Thank you for your time. Have a great day.