Episode 16:
- Man, poor Mera's a joke, but I've seen people who push themselves to the point of exhaustion like him, so I don't really find his schtick all that funny. More tragic.
- On the other hand, I've found that Inasa has really endeared himself to me with his bombastic voice-acting.
- "How can turds save humanity?" "Indirectly, as fertilizers-" gotta love my man Todoroki.
- DISCIPLINARY ACTION!
- Okay, I remembered these couple of chapters as being particularly boring to read week-to-week in the manga, but I do feel like it's very important for the world-building to acknowledge that being way too focused on battle prowess and not having 'heart' is not becoming of heroes. As a single episode that's part of a season, though, it does serve as the nice palate cleanser that it's meant to be. (The obnoxious brats are also a lot less obnoxious and more funny with voice actors)
- Actually liking Endeavor now after the benefit of a couple hundred extra chapters in the manga, I actually do appreciate this early attempt at exploring his other side beyond being a dipshit parent/husband. Him acknowledging -- even backhandedly -- that All Might did have a positive impact on society is a sign that there's more to him than being a hate sink.
- It's also a nice parallel between All Might telling Endeavor to be his own version of the Symbol of Peace, compared to Todoroki attempting to take a different approach. It ended up as a joke, though, unfortunately.
- Is Endeavor yelling SHOTOOOOO a meme that the anime enforced?
Episode 17:
- Of course all the kids have given their powers names. We get appropriate ones like "Assault Dust", "Queen Beam" and "Electromagnetic Bullets" and... the girl with flowers on her hair calls her petal powers "Viral Cosmos", another one that makes a wooden mallet is "King's Ram" and this one kid that makes light rings calls his "Hula Hoop"... yeah, workshop that, kid.
- My favourite kid has to be "Binging Balls", who summons like a swarm of floating chain chops.
- Damn, that one kid with a giant cannon coming out of his mouth (a.k.a. "Tongue Tank") looks uncomfortable, though.
- Yeah, okay, that whole 'Quick Doomsday Singularity Theory" or whatever that Present Mic and the Shishikura are discussing does sound pretty terrifying, especially seeing how these kids are utterly uncontrollable little gremlins. I mean, sure, these two episodes had an easy out with a clear 'boss' among the kids, but still...
- Bakugou mimicking the 'Glamouroki' is unironically the funniest moment of the episode.
- Some real Gurren Lagann vibes when the rapping starts when our students creates that weird giant ice slide thing. I do feel like the setup for the conflict -- that they can't humiliate the kids but definitely can't lose to them otherwise they'll become rowdier -- is great, but the solution feels overly convenient.
- Yeah, Endeavor trying his best to be a decent human being to Todoroki is gradual, and while it's very arguable on whether he deserves his redemption arc, I do feel like the discourse its generated is intentional in regards to his character as a complete and utter dipshit who genuinely wants to try and be better.
- Damn, Nighteye's funeral. It's just kind of a kick in the nuts after the whole wacky fun shit with the preschoolers.
- Haha, Tokoyami! "This is truly a question of the darkness!"
- Apparently Aoyama usually eats by himself because the cafeteria food does not agree with him... but also wants to shove cheese into Midoriya's mouth. Okay.
- Yeah. "Aoyama has started showing his true colours" translates to him leering into Midoriya's window late at night, and leaving cryptic messages in cheese. All Aoyama wants to do is to be friends and bond over the fact that their Quirks are totally coincidentally incompatible with their bodies! Poor, poor Midoriya, he got so afraid.
- Oh, right. Mt. Lady and Kamui Woods teaming up with Edgeshot is shown here in the background as the kids are discussing news.
- I agree with Uraraka, Ashido's attempts at making acid rain is pretty cruel sounding.
- Okay, yeah, Aoyama pelvic thrusting into a huge block of stone, then him failing and having the laser trickle out... that's not phallic at all, no /s
- Pretty neat little mini Aoyama episode. Always appreciated this chapter, honestly, even before it became significant in the future.
Episode 18:
- Yeah, this is the proper start of the 'break' arc. It's... it's honestly a lot of fun, just going from the dancing and the kids actually being kids. I don't think I can really break down this episode too much cause of how light-hearted it really is.
- Yep, Jiro and Kaminari definitely have a lot more cute interactions that the anime plays up a bit more! I do really like how this arc is basically a soft focus on Jiro -- and the fact that she views her hobby as 'just a hobby' and not at all something constructive to her hero business. Which... is something that I've felt about a lot of my hobbies a lot of time, and I know many other people also struggle with. Not everything has to be constructive! You can have outliers in your interests compared to the rest of your interests!
- I do like that Kirishima, after going through the Overhaul arc, is kind of worried that they are slacking, but the idea that this is basically a morale boost and a 'life goes on' thing for the other courses is pretty sound.
- Kaminari's just a low-level pervert with a maid cafe. Mineta gets absolutely hogtied before he gets to speak what's in his mind.
- Ah, yes, the mental image of Bakugo and Todoroki doing some disco night is pretty hilarious.
- Eri finally talking to Midoriya and Mirio is very well-done -- the timing that we take a breath from the Overhaul arc, but also the fact that we're acknowledging that her trauma won't just disappear after being saved, after everything that Overhaul did to her.
- You know, if it was anyone asking Eri on a date other than Mirio, I would've raised red flags.
- Ah, Gentle and La Brava robbing a convenience store while putting it on not-Youtube. One of the heroes that tried to stop him really looks like he could be a Kamen Rider, with the scarf and everything.
- I love that Gentle's whole 'Youtube Video' schtick actually gets a fair bit more emphasized in the anime, with some hilarious cuts to different backgrounds, a bunch of random pop-up text and even an outro!
Episode 19:
- Oh, hey, early cameo by Destro!
- Yep, Gentle Criminal constantly accidentally pouring tea on people... and, honestly, their whole over-the-top lunatic deal are all a lot funnier with voice-acting.
- I see even in the world of superhero streaming, there are always going to be people that creepily simp for any women on-screen. "SHOW US LA BRAVA!"
- Ah, yes, Bakugo's hidden drumming talent. Which, honestly, I can totally see him being good at, but also him refusing to admit that he's got the ability to do something 'unmanly' like music.
- Bakugo's angry ranting is rude, yeah, but as Jiro herself realizes, Bakugo's point that the source of the other courses' stress to try and get some self-satisfaction by performing for them is actually valid. It's really a showcase of him starting to grow and show empathy by understanding other people... I mean, sure, he goes straight to "this pisses me off, I want to beat them up", but the fact that it did ultimately come from him understanding and empathizing with people is something I really do appreciate more upon rewatch.
- ...okay, it didn't quite blow me away as the animation shows for our other heroes, but they got an English singer to get her to sing in perfect English. I thought they were just going to bring in a regular singer as her VA or something, but... that's different for sure!
- "Because of my character design, my hands won't reach!"
- I've never been the biggest fan of long explanations for training and different sub-sets of a power that may or may not be relevant in the future, but... but it's nice to see that the author put a lot of thought into Midoriya's new power-up.
Episode 20:
- Yeah, this episode is pretty feels-good with Mirio and Midoriya basically bringing Eri around the school and letting her see how society works. That's all pretty cute. Again, a lot of fun, shorter scenes here and there, but it's mostly just fun stuff!
- I know Romeo and Juliet is probably in public domain, and Return of the King most likely is as well, but the Prisoner of Azkaban? Huh.
- Yeah, the lady that Hado somehow lost to has... uh... interesting eyelashes.
- The little short scene of Nezumi begging the police to let them have the festival really does sell that the teachers want their students to have some semblance of good mental health, while also explaining why the police didn't shut down the event despite the fact that there's a whole damn warning from Gentle on Not-YouTube.
- ...and Gentle's hammy monologue about how he's making this into basically a warning because he doesn't feel like heroes should be having festivals right after a crisis does really make the whole plotline, while light-hearted, still feel like it's a debate of ideals. Neat.
- Clearly, Not YouTube never got rid of the dislike button!
- All Might briefly noting that he used to have armour does bring to mind a lot of the more... toyetic designs that a lot of superheroes had temporarily in the Golden/Silver Age.
- Again, Gentle and La Brava do feel like a bit of an anomaly and many people describe them as a filler villain that got carried a bit too far, but I really do think that they do work pretty well for a mini-arc villain. The hero (or, well, villain) worship angle from La Brava never really gelled with me, but I've always enjoyed Gentle's hammy monologues, his over-the-top backstory (YouTube is literally his origin story!) and having a voice actor does make it a lot funnier.
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