Boku no Hero Academia 79 Review: Tekken

Boku no Hero Academia, Chapter 79: Throwing Steel Fists

Tokyo Ghoul and JoJo's Bizarre Adventure are coming in a couple of days. Both are really eventful revelation chapters and it won't do to write a half-assed review while I'm half-asleep. Boku no Hero Academia is entertaining, though, even if the solution to bring the rampaging Tokoyami to where Bakugou is to set one threat against the other is obvious and could be seen from a mile away. It actually makes fucking sense, though, and neither Midoriya nor Shouji is overpowering it with 'I will win because' and the idea of bringing Tokoyami near Bakugou and Todoroki so the two of them can use their light/fire-generating quirk (a pre-established weakness of Dark Shadow) to take out Tokoyami's out of control power doesn't feel pulled out of the writer's ass. And if the rampaging Tokoyami manages to take out the creepy BDSM villain, so much the better.

We get a bit of explanation about Shouji's powers, too, and as everyone expected the arm that got cut off is just a replica, and we get confirmation that the replicas on the ends of Shouji's tentacles are basically disposable for all your Bleach-arm-cutting pleasure. Shouji's got a cool moment, and the whole 'a hero must take risks to save others' speech is kinda wearing a bit thin, but it's still early enough in this manga's life that another character saying it sounds kinda cool. And it literally was two lines, so it isn't as egregious as it could've been.

Dark Shadow just looks cool in the sketchy artwork compared to the other heavily-inked art, by the way.

The other part of the chapter focuses on the awesome TestuTestuTestuTestu fighting against unnamed-Darth-Vader-gas-mask-kid-who-I-called-Kylo-Ren. Again, it really is cool and dark that Kylo Ren pulled out a gun to shoot TestuTestuTestuTestu in the face... they're villains, of course they're going to fight unfairly and carry guns. I mean, it's bad luck that he is fighting against someone who literally has steel skin, but Kylo Ren's gas powers and the threat that Kylo Ren will lose consciousness and concentration gives a nice sense of threat. 

Basically any villain in Boku no Hero Academia in the future will kind of be judged against Kylo Ren from now on. When they could've just pulled out a gun and shot someone in the head and they don't do that, then they're just dumber than Kylo. Kylo, despite not getting a real name this chapter, shows some... discontent with the system, talking trash about how stupid the students form a prestigious school turned out to be, all that stuff. I like how each of these villains feel unique. I always feel a work of fiction really must have interesting villains as much as it does interesting heroes, and Kylo, nameless as he remains, certainly delivers.

Kendo makes use of her big flat-arm to blow away the gas, and TestuTestuTestuTestu really looks awesome taking the shots aimed at her. And it definitely looked like it hurt, even if you don't believe that TestuTestuTestuTestu will die horribly by being shot in the head, and I think that's one thing that Boku no Hero Academia really does well. Showing the sheer pain the heroes are in. We know they're going to win against the bad guys, but showing mangled arms and them tanking on bullets and getting wounded despite steel skin is definitely far more visceral instead of just slapping random clothing damage, smudges and blood on their face and calling it a day.

We get TestuTestuTestuTestu's really awesome face punch and his cool, short Bond one-liner about how Yuuei students never give up or whatever, and it does make sense that they would take note that someone who has a gas quirk wearing a gas mask is basically signalling his own weakness. Man, Kylo Ren really has a shitty quirk if it affects him so much that he needs a gas. Not that we haven't seen quirks that backfire onto their owner before with Midoriya's own hand-mangling strength, but still.

Overall, a simple but entertaining chapter. Next episode better have some awesome Dark Shadow moments.