© 堀越耕平／集英社・僕のヒーローアカデミア製作委員会
When old allies show up at the right time, one might scoff at the chosen one. Sure, Nagant makes sense, and Gentle does, plus he has that fan-favorite energy, but Inasa and the kids at Shiketsu High? The ones who show up as indispensable opponents in the licensure exam and then spend weeks crafting to prove they're good boys and girls? What do these kids have to do with any of this?
Well, nothing really, and that’s ultimately the point. While the rest of our cast is mired in self-doubt or has to endure decades of discord to finally deliver a happy ending, Inasa tries to put it in perspective. In his view, AFO is a relic of a bygone era; things his generation studied in history books. He’s not a mortal enemy or a mortal enemy, and that allows these kids to attack him from an angle AFO isn’t used to. You can tell, half of what he’s talking about, but AFO likes the idea of being a demon lord, a comic book demon who slaughters the very world he once feared. He likes to make individuals lose hope in fighting when they finally understand what they’re up against—something that can’t happen when you’re fighting a group of teenagers who only know you in the past tense.
Of course all this Philosophical Divisiveness is cool, but sometimes it’s nice to see a badass eat dirt, and who better to rescue than the true master of darkness himself? Let me tell you, if Gentle and Nagant kicked off my inner fanboy last week, watching Dark Shadow send shivers down AFO’s smug spine and reconnect my inner fanboy to the end of the universe, and his consciousness is still tearing apart the values and secrets of the unknown while screaming about the other side of darkness and whatever else his super cool band likes to talk about in their songs.
Sorry if you came here hoping for something deeper or more intellectual, but sometimes superhero comics are awesome and Tokoyami using the power of darkness AND friendship to create the biggest, baddest, most dangerous doofus in this earthquake show is rad. I've watched it four times and will probably watch it again. It has a super cool name! That's all I got for you. Join me next time to see if anything more complicated happens. Or if Tokoyami turns AFO face to stick around for a few minutes.
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My Hero AcadeKaren is now streaming on Crunchyroll.
