Highlights
- My Hero Academia Season 7’s central battle continues, focusing on character arcs and overlooked arenas.
- Mina Ashido’s trauma from Midnight’s death and Aoyama’s betrayal of All for One add depth to the story.
- The episode highlights the theme of individuality and the importance of every hero in saving the world, challenged by All for One’s philosophy.
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Title |
My Hero Academia Season 7 |
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Director |
Naomi Nakayama, Kenji Nagasaki (Chief Director) |
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Studio |
Bones |
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Episode Air Date |
6/29/2024 |
Warning: The following contains spoilers for My Hero Academia, Episode 147, “Extras,” now streaming on Crunchyroll.
As My Hero Academia Season 7 approaches the midway point, its central battle still rages on across Japan, but with one major milestone accomplished, the heroes are in higher spirits than ever. With their heads held high, this week takes the opportunity to catch up with each of the arenas that have been overlooked up to now, hinting at the minor character arcs to come in the weeks ahead.
The last episode treated fans to the long-awaited fight between the brothers Shoto and Toya Todoroki, atop ground zero in Kamino, where All Might made his stand against All for One. It was an emotional confrontation made more so by the heartbreaking recount of Toya’s transformation into Dabi and his will to continue living, capped off by Shoto pacifying him with a Flashfire Fist.
One Down, Many to Go
Reflecting on Shoto vs Toya
The final moments of the battle between the brothers are played again as the episode opens, and after the title sequence passes, this hard-fought victory is like kindling to the heroes’ collective fire. Everyone knows there’s more work to be done, but even with all the complications up to this moment, the plan has gone remarkably well. One small caveat, though, is that the moments following Dabi’s defeat somewhat emphasize what felt lacking about the fight itself.
Their fight was emotionally charged but lacked a certain extra punch that might have put it above and beyond. A great example of what was missing is perfectly illustrated this week when the viewer is shown just how many heroes there were in Kamino during the fight. In Episode 146, the fight feels very isolated. It doesn’t feel like there’s a battlefield full of heroes depending on Shoto.
As a creative choice, this helped emphasize the intimacy of the feud, but it consequently hindered the immediate stakes of said feud, which might have strengthened Shoto’s point to Toya about not hurting others. For as faithful as the artwork has been, it would have been nice to see the anime elevate the source material somewhat to lend the battle greater weight. Much like Episode 147 itself, however, it’s time to stop dwelling on the past and look toward the matters at hand.
Mina Ashido Confronting the Loss of Midnight
Everywhere across the country, Todoroki’s classmates are overjoyed to hear about his success, either through tears, screams of elation, or both, but the fight rages on. A lot of previously laid plot points are converging, hinting at some interesting conflicts going into the latter half of the season. One of the most compelling right out of the gate is Mina Ashido’s lingering trauma from the death of Midnight, a loss that the story has yet to properly wrestle with.
A teacher who had been there since the beginning was killed off-screen in an implicitly brutal manner and Mina has to reconcile that she’s now facing the people who did it. It’s a fantastic direction for a character to whom being a hero in its simplest form comes naturally, as has been demonstrated time and time again. Seeing how that pure impulse within her is tested by her trauma will be very exciting to see, assuming it can meet its potential.
Aoyama Has Crossed the Point of No Return
Next, Aoyama can’t seem to catch a break. Now that he has truly betrayed All for One, his worst fear is upon him; being on a long list of traitors, all of whom before him ended up dead. The reward for his bravery is more stress, but there’s something about the way he received his fate that suggests he’s ready to accept the struggle ahead. Aoyama’s journey will be one of the most fascinating to look back upon by the time this season is over.
Spinner, Shoji, and the Plight of the Heteromorphs
But the plot thread that particularly interests me is the battle at Central Hospital, where Spinner leads an army of heteromorphs to free Kurogiri, emboldened by a new quirk from All for One. The plight of the heteromorphs is another in a long list of flaws in this society, but it’s also a conflict that only rarely comes to the forefront of the storytelling, though that seems likely to change now.
Spinner is a pretty fascinating character because, on the outside, he is basically a Hero Killer Stain cosplayer, but one who has – inadvertently or not – become a symbol for heteromorphs. Recognizing this, All for One uses Spinner and his influence for his gain. And now, Spinner is up against Mezo Shoji of Class 1-A, and a heteromorph himself, on the side of the heroes. Needless to say, it’s a battle ripe with baked-in tension.
All for One Calls Out the Extras
The second half of the episode focuses more squarely on Endeavor and Hawks going up against All for One. It’s a pretty stellar fight, one of the best touches being the way the music is in beat with Endeavor’s flurry of blows against All for One’s defense. As usual, the villain’s greatest weapon, stronger than any of his quirks, is the ability to get into people’s heads, which comes back to bite Endeavor – literally.
When Jiro and Tokoyami arrive on the scene to assist Hawks, All for One lambasts them as extras, just as the episode’s title suggests. The writing takes a very direct, meta approach to criticizing these characters for their persistence despite how outmatched they are, directly responding to a previously established theme of the season and the show entirely.
How All for One Rejects the Moral of the Story
Back in our review of Episode 144, we pointed out what, by this point, has felt like the thesis of My Hero Academia, that there are no side characters in this story. That’s the reason why almost every episode centered around a member of Class 1-A is engaging, and why every season it feels like people find a new favorite character. Anyone can be a hero and every hero is needed to truly save the world. This week, however, All for One rejects this philosophy.
To one such as him, where power is nothing more than give and take, he doesn’t see worth in the individuality that quirks symbolize, only strength versus the lack of it. This philosophy is one reflected in those who have flocked to him, like Spinner, whose idea of self-worth is constantly measured against those with great power. In turn, he consents to All for One, giving him a second quirk with massive physiological implications and – in a way – erasing his identity.
The crescendo of All for One’s challenge to the very core principle of My Hero Academia sees Jiro injured and the physical embodiment of her quirk torn from her. It’s a devastating cliffhanger and yet another thematically rich application of body horror. “Extras” might not have been an incredible episode overall, but it should prime viewers for what to get hyped about for the remaining episodes, and there’s certainly a lot to be enticed by.
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