It’s the start of a new arc, so I expect the story to be a little unexciting for the time being.  We need time to put the pieces in place for the next big showdown between the good guys and the bad guys. But who knows? Maybe My Hero Academia will surprise me.

— Todoroki is obviously going to help rescue Bakugo, because we need a cool-headed guy to help balance out Deku’s anxiousness. Out of Class 1-A’s big four, he’s probably the least annoying character in my opinion. Deku often loses himself in his emotions. Bakugo is obviously hot-tempered to the point of recklessness. As for Iida, well… we’ll soon see exactly why I am not fond of him.

— I actually agree with Aoyama. I think it’s silly for these kids to try and save Bakugo, especially when two of them just got out of the hospital. They have no idea what they’re getting into.

— Kirishima probably should’ve been more discrete. I know it’s hard for a guy like him, but yeesh, he could’ve at least waited for Iida to leave the room. But obviously, this is just an excuse to drag Iida along. After all, he’s one of the top four characters. He oddly didn’t get to participate in the action in the last arc, so I doubt the author is gonna keep him out now.

— The doctor warns Deku that even though his bones might always heal, his ligaments can’t keep up forever. This kinda reminds me of an athlete trying to decide whether or not to keep playing with their injuries. At some point, it’s just bone on bone because the ligament has completely worn out. That’s just painful to even think about. I remember how Kobe Bryant broke one of his fingers one year, but he refused to sit out. He just taped up the finger and learned to shoot with it being broken. At some point, your body just can’t keep up any longer. But that’s the difference between greatness and simply being very good. Do you want to push yourself to the limit or just stay within a safe comfort zone? For an athlete, you’re basically choosing between a legacy for the history books or a long, lasting career. For a hero, however, it’s about the number of lives you can save. Sure, you might flame out quicker if you don’t let yourself rest, but you might save someone that you otherwise wouldn’t have if you sit out. Someone like Deku would never sacrifice his ideals for his own health. The only question is does Bakugo really need his help? Will these kids cause more trouble by sticking their noses where they don’t belong?

— I’m kinda surprised that the doctor didn’t deliver this same message to Deku’s mother. He’s still a minor, so his mother should get the same information too.

— I like the fact that Kota’s letter is so basic. He’s just a kid, so he’s not gonna write anything flowery.

— Of course, Deku’s mother is worried about him. She’s stuck between a rock and a hard place. She doesn’t want her son to be in danger, but if she pulls him out of school, then she’ll crush his dreams.

— I dunno if U.A.’s existence is justified. Honestly, I feel like people should at least be adults before they get to decide whether or not to become heroes. Technically, a 16 year old could also be useful on the battlefield, but do we really want to give kids the option to join the army? I look at this whole hero business in much the same way. But this is anime, so of course, our heroes must also be high schoolers.

— As for the pros, they’re gathering the whole gang together! We got this huge flamer, Levi’s top spokesman, a whale of a dude, Clint Eastwood, and many, many more!

— Later that night, Momo and Deku show up to join Kirishima and Todoroki’s rescue mission. At least a girl gets to do something fun this time. But it isn’t long before Iida shows up and lectures his friends.

— I understand how Iida feels, and his concerns are legitimate, but he went too far here. A part of me even agrees with him. They’re minors, they’re not ready to fight, so on and so forth. Yes, I wanted the kids to fight back when they were stuck in the woods, but that was different. The villains had taken the fight to them, and the kids needed to defend themselves. I felt that the best way for them to defend themselves was to fight back. But the circumstances have changed, and I think it’s foolish for Deku and his friends to try and take the whole Bakugo matter into their own hands. So again, a part of me agrees with Iida. But that’s where the buck stops, because no matter how bad it feels to be in that position, you should never, ever lay your hands on a friend. He didn’t strike Deku in order to stop him. He did it out of anger. This is why I don’t really like Iida as a person.

As a character, he’s interestingly written. He’s all about rules and regulations, but the result is that he’s so tightly wound up. Under extreme duress, a dangerous side comes out. He recklessly pursued his brother’s murderer in the Stain arc, which was both regrettable but understandable to a certain extent. Hitting your friend, though… ugh. Dude, c’mon. He needs to reflect on his actions. He’s just a kid too, so he has a lot of time to learn and correct his attitude. It’s just really concerning that anger alone is enough to make him turn to violence. If he stays this way, I fear for the safety of the people close to him. If you can punch a friend, what else might you do? I can’t trust someone like that. Ticking time bomb, dude, ticking time bomb.

— Momo isn’t thrilled about the mission either. But I mean, if she doesn’t give them the tracker, then they can’t do anything.

— Elsewhere, Shigaraki is trying to turn Bakugo to the dark side, but the kid isn’t cracking. I doubt we’re going to get a Sasuke situation, because Bakugo is just hilariously too headstrong for that nonsense. He’s not some emo-y brat either. He’s just an asshole.

— In the end, Kirishima assures Iida that they’ll rescue Bakugo without fighting. After all, they don’t want to bring any further trouble to the school, but they can’t sit idly by and do nothing. This is his so-called compromise. As a result, Iida decides to join the party in order to make sure that no one fights. Eh, at least they worked it out, I guess.

— Iida apologizes for the punch, but Deku was never even mad at him to begin with. This is why I don’t really identify with the kid.

— Look at that fancy tracker. What can’t Momo create? A villain should just kidnap her, force her to learn the schematics to an atomic bomb, then make her create that over and over.

— Look, beggars can’t be choosers. I get that his pride will be wounded, but big whoop. He’ll live. That’s the whole point, after all.

— The kids soon realize, however, that they’re not exactly inconspicuous. As a result, Momo suggests that they hit up Don Quijote, a popular discount store in Japan. The place is pretty famous in the Yakuza game series, so I’m not surprised to see it here.

— That’s barely a disguise, dude.

— Meanwhile, it looks like Momo is really enjoying this.

— Iida’s trying his best to be a delinquent.

— Todoroki makes a good point, and Momo doesn’t really have a satisfying answer.

— Anyways, Aizawa kinda resembles Tseng from Final Fantasy VII. Ironically, they both look like villains in their suits.

— We cut to Shigaraki giving Bakugo a spiel about how being a hero makes no sense, but eh… where’s the passion? I can’t help but think that the guy isn’t really putting his best foot forward. In fact, it feels like a bunch of bad guys think they can flip a hero by just talking it out, and that doesn’t strike me as very villainy. I think what this show lacks is an antagonist that is truly awe-inspiring in how much they can make you hate them. I don’t like Shigaraki, but he’s just kinda… lame. As an antagonist, he’s limp and kinda pathetic. Griffith, on the other hand… hoo boy, now that was a man to hate.

— As soon as they take the restraints off of Bakugo, he immediately retaliates. But of course he does, because they haven’t even tried to break him or his spirit. They haven’t even tried to chip away at his resolve. I doubt he would’ve turned anyways, but… like… that was it? That was the best you guys can do? You really call yourselves villains? I think these dorks need a U.A. equivalent to train up the bad guys, because this whole corrupt Bakugo business was weak, man.

— Well, Bakugo at least managed to knock off that stupid hand that is always stuck to Shigaraki’s face.