Today’s episode of My Hero Academia starts off rather lackadaisical but ends with a bang. The third match moves to a new location due to Kinoko’s mushrooms from the last match so everyone received a break until then. During this time, a few important conversations are being held between future heroes of Class-A.
All Might pulls Deku off to the side. He asks Deku whether he has any new updates on what he experienced. Out of nowhere, Bakugo shows up. Deku and All Might proceed to let Bakugo know what’s happening with the former One for All vestiges.
Bakugo seems to brush it off as no big deal. He lets Deku know that he’s getting stronger and wants the same for his green-haired rival. All Might even points out that this is Bakugo’s way of being considerate.
While those three talk, Tokoyami walks up to Shoto before the match begins. He reminds Shoto that they have an obligation as trainees under the current No. 1 (Endeavor) and No. 2 (Hawks) heroes. Tokoyami feels that he let Hawks down in the previous match. So he doesn’t want Shoto to feel the same.
Before the match begins, the episode cuts to Endeavor chasing a villain outside the city. He eventually captures him without doing any damage to the surrounding environment.
The first thing he does afterward is check his phone for messages to see if Shoto responded to him yet.
While Endeavor seems to be progressing into a more capable father, not just a hero, he’s definitely going to need to prove himself a lot more than just messages and social media friend requests.
The best part is that, deep down, he knows this.
The match finally begins and it looks as if Class-A has things under wraps rather quickly. Shoto separates Class-B immediately with ice. Usually, this would block his point of view, but now, as he has better control, he’s able to see his surroundings while preventing others from doing so.
But did the match end after this? No, because that’s not the My Hero Academia way. Jezu of Class-B immediately uses his quirk “Softening” to free his teammates from the ice while capturing Iida from Class-A at the same time.
The amazing part about this scene is that earlier in the episode, before the match started, Mineta said, “With Todoroki, this should be an easy win.” An tell-tale sign that this match wasn’t going to be easy.
Thanks, Mineta.
Meanwhile, Sen and Ojiro begin to duel it out while Pony and Tetsutetsu go after Shoto and Shoji. The start of this battle was full of wonderful shots from many different angles and it really made it feel like Class-A’s backs were up against the wall.
Just as the audience thinks that Class-B’s quick retaliation was enough to stop Class-A, Iida immediately shows everyone that we shouldn’t doubt him or this team. During this scene, while Iida is trapped under Jezu’s quirk, the episode flashbacks to Iida and upgrading his quirk. His brother tells him that if he removes the mufflers in his calf muscles, he will eventually grow ones that will be able to withstand more power and retain less fuel.
Iida springs out of the trap causing a massive burst. With his engines revving, the epic soundtrack in the background, and the intense voice acting from the incredible Kaito Ishikawa, Iida immediately stole the show and ended the episode on an absolutely perfect, bone-chilling ending leading into next week’s episode.
This week’s My Hero Academia episode was definitely a solid one in all aspects. From the humor to the animations, to the twists, epic ending, My Hero Academia fans will definitely enjoy this episode.
Episode 96 will air next Saturday, May 15, on Crunchyroll.
All images via Crunchyroll
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