© 堀越耕平/集英社・僕のヒーローアカデミア製作委員会
If you think about it, MHA's last season had a strange structure. After the entire journey and change of non-stop war, giving our heroes the worst defeats of the entire show to date, we spent the next dozen episodes to deal with the consequences. Where previous seasons ended with pivotal battles that shook the status quo, the final few entries of Season 6 deal almost exclusively with character drama and changes in the narrative built around the dialogue, expressing long-standing ideas with profound and often nuanced conclusions.
This season started completely the opposite. If you don't count the opening or ending animations, Deku and his merry friends have maybe 80 seconds of screen time in this episode, just to prove that they're all happily back with each other and work hard to prepare for the upcoming war. For much of this launch, we turned our attention to everything outside of UA and Japan. Hell, at one point, we even dipped our toes outside of what had previously been or wasn't considered “norm.”
As someone who likes to put MHA's human story first, you'd think I'd be annoyed by that, especially since so much of this episode revolves around a character we just met and have a unique connection to them. The rest of the story is a 5-second cameo from the anime's first movie. However, for me it serves as a huge reminder of the true scale of this conflict. The collapse of superhero society was a truly compelling framework for last season's drama, and it only makes sense that an entire nation about to go to hell would draw attention from the rest of the world. I may not know much about the Star & Stripe character, but her presence suggests a level of danger. If All For One overthrows the remnants of Japan's heroes and takes One For All for himself, then the rest of the world will be next on his to-do list.
It doesn't hurt that it was a truly great fight. The Star & Stripe feature is in fact a Jojo Stand, but the nature of its concept allows both sides to create some great spectacle and interesting strategy. Seeing as the Shigaraki/AFO (hereafter Y'all For One) crossover is currently in action, incorporating the same quirks our big bad did during his prime, gives us an idea of how formidable he is while also demonstrating his analytical abilities. side brought from the consciousness of AFO. Meanwhile, Star's powers are incredibly cool, providing wild attacks on a scale that no other character can do on this show. The image of an ethereal giant wielding a laser beam similar to Zeus's and crashing it into the ocean is just good television, and that's before we see Admiral Ackbar command Agpar send intercontinental cruise missile right in Y'all For One's face. If she can create such great stuff, it's hard to care that Star comes at the 13th hour, literally.
If I'm being honest, though, this is the most exciting part of the episode that comes before any of the fighting, as Spinner assumes his role among the remnants of the Occult Liberation Front. Spinner has never been the most interesting member of the League, but has a compelling mix of emotions nonetheless. This is ultimately a plot by the AFO, who couldn't care less about anyone, let alone the plight of people with dysmorphic features, so it must be some kind of trick. At the same time, this is also when Spinner finally becomes what he has longed for for so long, taking on the role that Stain once held. Yet having that title bestowed upon him feels unsettling, undermining any sense of accomplishment it might have given the characters or the audience. I really want to know how Spinner himself feels about all of this, and I hope it picks up steam once all the red, white, and blue fireworks are over. For now, this is a solid and exciting return to the season, especially after over a month of waiting.
Rating:
My Hero AcadeKaren is now streaming on Crunchyroll.