Highlights
- My Hero Academia’s Forest Training Camp focuses on Class 1-A and 1-B building up their powers in the woods led by the Wild Pussycats heroes.
- Himiko Toga and Dabi join the League of Villains, adding diverse and dangerous elements to the group with unique quirks and personalities.
- Midoriya faces his toughest critic in Kota and must defeat the A-rank villain Muscular with a one million percent One For All attack.
One of the staples of My Hero Academia is the adventures in groups to harness heroes’ abilities and strengthen their quirks. Many of the great Shonen anime series have arcs in forests, and My Hero Academia doesn’t avoid breaking the mold. The Forest Training Camp focuses on the students of Class 1-A and 1-B taking a field trip out into the woods, where they are led by the Wild, Wild Pussycats hero group to build up their powers.
The heroes of My Hero Academia aren’t the only ones looking to become stronger. The League of Villians aims to add more members to its group in preparation for fulfilling its plan to capture Katsuki Bakugo. New faces arrive and bring different elements to a troubled group, offering the series a fresh new set of dangers. It’s a step up from the typical kidnapping plot and holds more murderous intent, partly thanks to the unstable characters joining the fray.
Himiko Toga And Dabi Join The League Of Villains
If the League of Villains weren’t terrifying enough, the additions of Himiko Toga and Dabi created a more diverse group that needs to be taken seriously. Himiko is an unassuming young girl who has sadistic tendencies and a thirst for blood. Himiko’s quirk allows her to shapeshift into any person she has the blood of, which requires her to store vials of the liquid in order to preserve different characters. She attacks with knives and is quite agile but lacks the strategic presence to think plans through before launching an attack. A more fool-hardy character, Himiko relies on deception, often transforming herself into people close to those she is trying to attack to land a pre-emptive strike.
Dabi is an excellent contrast to Himiko’s energetic and crazy personality, as he presents a more aloof and confident individual with a clear focus. Dabi is quite terrifying at first glance, presented as a tall, slim, but muscular young man with deep burns along his body and face. Much like Shoto Todoroki, Dabi’s quirk deals with flames, though his are blue and appear more controlled than Shoto’s red flames. Despite not hesitating to kill any hero who gets in his way, Dabi is one of the few villains in the league to show remorse, extending his sorrows to those who have had their lives ruined by villains.
With Himiko and Dabi on board, the League of Villains created the Vanguard Action Squad, consisting of ten high-ranked villains recruited to form the new branch. The group had quite a roster of talented villains, ranging from the S-tier Twice to a Nomu named Chainsaw. Serving this arc as the leading protagonist group, the Vanguard Action Squad set their sights on the Beast’s Forest, where Class 1-A and 1-B were headed to continue their training.
Midoriya Faces His Toughest Critic To Date
Izuku Midoriya’s greatest conquest at the beginning of this journey wasn’t defeating an opponent but convincing a small child that not all heroes are bad. Kota is a young boy who was once happy and had a bright outlook on life, but due to his parents’ premature deaths, he no longer shares that view. Instead, Kota detests heroes and anyone who wishes to become one, as evidenced by him landing a punch in Midoriya’s groin. In past arcs, Deku had taken many punches from different classmates and villains up to this point, but none stung more than a shot directly below the belt from an angry child.
After being stranded with Kota, Midoriya encounters Muscular, an A-rank villain and member of the Vanguard Action Squad. Muscular is a terrifying individual with muscle augmentation, a quirk that amplifies Muscular’s muscle mass. Before using the quirk, his presence makes Midoriya sweat, but once he uses it, it’s clear that the danger ahead is one Midoriya is not prepared to handle. Unfortunately for him, Kota is in his company and facing the same threat, leaving Midoriya with no choice but to take on the fight and defeat Muscular while protecting the young Kota.
If anime fans are looking for those special moments where the background track augments the importance of a scene and the animation quality increases significantly, this might be the time to pay attention. With his back against the wall, Midoriya is facing death until Kota launches a beam of water at Muscular to stop the slaying. This moment of heroism ignites a flame in Midoriya, who is able to hit a One For All attack at one million percent. The blow is enough to break Muscular’s quirk, knocking him out entirely and securing the win and Kota’s safety.
Vanguard Action Squad’s Successful Mission
After witnessing Bakugo’s progression during the UA Sports Festival, the Vanguard Action Squad’s main goal was to capture and kidnap the young student. Tomura Shigaraki saw great potential in Bakugo’s ability and explosive anger, believing the young hero could be swayed to the dark side. Little did they know, Bakugo looked up to All Might as his goal to push for, hoping to one day become the number-one hero. The ten villains, led by Twice, Toga, and Dabi, set out to the forest to intercept the heroes of Class 1-A and 1-B, isolating them into smaller groups and taking them out of the way to access Bakugo.
For Class 1-B, this was their first brush-up with Pro Hero work, never having faced a group of villains before. However, despite their best efforts, 27 heroes from both classes were left injured from the battle, and most were left incapacitated by Mustard’s quirk, which spreads mustard gas in the area. Mr. Compress managed to capture Bakugo in the process while sneakily grabbing hold of Fumikage after noticing the potential of his quirk. Fortunately, Fumikage is rescued before they can get away, though the same can’t be said for Bakugo, who is whisked away.
Most of Class 1-A and 1-B were left with some form of injury, only leaving a few unscathed from the attack. Midoriya was among those in the worst shape because he used One For All at one million percent, far exceeding the limits of his body. Strangely, one of the members of the Wild, Wild Pussycats also vanished in the attack.
How Class 1-A’s Can Learn Valuable Lessons From Defeat
Class 1-A and 1-B quickly learned that all the preparations and sparring in the world were not nearly enough for them to face the League of Villains head-on. Despite having the numbers to counter an attack, they were severely outmatched in battle intellect and strength. The services of a top hero like Endeavor could have tipped the scales in their favor, but never knowing when help is on its way or not is a fundamental lesson to hold onto.
The young heroes may have walked into the forest inexperienced and unprepared, but the attack should send the message that they must have a backup plan in mind should things go awry. The world doesn’t stop for heroes looking to take a trip to the forest and hone their craft, and villains will always look for a method of attack when the heroes least expect it. With Midoriya and many others left to lick their wounds, there’s no time to waste, as Bakugo’s kidnapping is a concerning situation that needs immediate attention.
The My Hero Academia manga is available to read on Viz and the Dragon Ball anime is available to stream on Crunchyroll.
Leave a Reply