My Hero Academia 95-96 Review: End of an Era

Boku no Hero Academia, Chapter 95: The End of the Beginning and the Beginning of the End

I didn't review chapter 95 last week, mostly because I don't have much to say about it, so let's do a mini-review. We get a quick recap by a bunch of government dudes in suits discussing about the huge loss that they had with the loss of All Might's power, and noting how dangerous Shigaraki Tomura has been despite being previously profiled as a mere wannabe, and how all other villains will probably become bolder now that All Might's true, weak form has been exposed to the world. We get a scene in the hospital with All Might talking to Gran Tourino and Tsukauchi the policeman friend, recapping a bit about Shigaraki's relationship to Shimura, and how the superhero community distanced themselves from Shimura's family after her husband got killed. Tourino and Tsukauchi note that All Might isn't objective when it comes to Shigaraki, and the two of them will take over the hunt for Shigaraki. We get a short montage of the Bakugou Rescue Team heading home, and we see a scene of Todoroki seeing an absolutely pissed Endeavour having rampaged in their home's gym. Endeavour might be the shittiest father in the world, but he does respect All Might and becoming Number One Hero by default because All Might fizzled out pissed the fuck out of him. Where will the author bring Endeavour to from this point? I dunno, but I'm definitely interested.

We also finally get a short scene of All Might calling Midoriya out to the beach, before delivering a normal TEXAS SMASH (while spitting blood), and notes how he can't even maintain his muscled form anymore, but also notes how Midoriya got out of this particular situation without hurting himself and it makes him happy. All Might then hugs Midoriya, noting that from this point on he's going to be 100% a teacher, which is both heartwarming... yet tearjerking because All Might's age as the symbol of peace is over.

Boku no Hero Academia, Chapter 96: Home Visit

Also another slower chapter, starting off with a montage of news that dealt still with the aftermath, with All Might officially resigning as a hero. Best Jeanist and Ragdoll, both grievously injured during the fight, have also temporarily retired. We get a short scene of Ragdoll crying while being comforted by the other Pussycats, and apparently she has problems with her quirk -- no doubt stolen by All For One. We see the little kid with the spiky hat look on. It must be hard, really, like how us normal people would react to losing a limb or a sense.

The Principal talks to All Might a bit, noting how U.A.'s going to be faced with a fuckton of criticism for keeping All Might around, especially since All Might's presence might be the reason that the villains attacked in the first place. And we see Aizawa (who looks super-cool in civvies) and All Might go around to all the homes of the Class A students, asking for the parents' permission to support relocation of the students to the dorms.

We got to see Kyouka's father, who's a stereotypical punk-style rough guy before Kyouka shows up and tells All Might how her father was all fanboying over All Might while watching the fight on the TV. We also get to see Bakugou's family, and his mother is basically, well, Bakugou, but in motherly form. Both mother and son shoot insults at each other with free abandon while the father is just kinda meek and mild-mannered. But Bakugou's mother is a also cool-headed enough, and beneath the whole 'yeah, take our kid! He's troublesome!', noting that the school noting that Bakugou is single-headed in his pursuit to become a hero and having faith that he will not be converted into villainy has filled her with so much confidence that the school sees Bakugou for who he is, not like the legions of real-life fans who hopes Bakugou will become evil and become Uchiha Sasuke. Good on you, Bakumama!

Bakugou gets a short confrontation with All Might, asking All Might what Deku is to him. All Might gives Bakugou a standard 'a student, like you, who's one of the eggs with great potential' answer, while thinking and apologizing mentally that he can't expose this secret to anyone. Bakugou isn't stupid, though, and notes that if All Might didn't want to tell him then it's fine, and thanks All Might anyway.

The last house that All Might visits is Midoriya's house, and he shows up alone. Midoriya and his mother meet All Might, and Midoriya's mother is kind of panicking and fanboying a bit. Midoriya's mother, as we've seen several times throughout the series, is absolutely scared to death about all the dangerous things that Midoriya's been through, and she's dead-set against the dorm relocation program. She notes how much she hopes for Midoriya to have developed a quirk, and she's absolutely joyful that her son manages to reach her dream... but as a parent, the fact that the road to becoming a hero is a bloody one -- and she's not wrong, citing Midoriya's own injuries and All Might getting absolutely wrecked in the news program -- as things are going on she doesn't have confidence in the U.A. to entrust her son to them.

And I do love how Midoriya himself, despite his reflexive reactions going "MOM!" notes that deep down, he knows that he had been ignoring his mother's feelings. And how cool-headed but firm and definite this little portly woman is towards All Might is really awesome -- all too often we have these characters that try to stop the dream of becoming a superhero because it's too dangerous, but I don't think I've ever really seen one that's this well-written. Midoriya's mother and Bakugou's mother may be my two newest favourite characters.

Also, vote for what superhero cartoon you want me to review! Justice League and Teen Titans are the ones taking the lead. I'll be waiting until around mid-July before closing the poll. Thank you anyone who has voted!