In the years upon years of superhero tales, concepts once unheard of have been explored with tremendous amounts of realism and fantasy. How does one with the power to life a mountain cope with a day job? How does a champion of justice remain impartial to their own desires? How does nobody ever figure out that their closest friend looks identical to that guy who breathes fire? Questions of varying validity, but fun to pick apart regardless. Even villains are not exempt from this treatment, building sympathetic tales of woe and injustice, toying with our emotions and making us realise that even seeming lunacy can have its explanation. Still, there are those well worn tales that breathe once more, surprising us all with their poignancy. Of all the things I thought would kick off this episode, a subdued monologue by Twice was not even on the list. But this is why My Hero doesn’t use my lists. Having appeared as your standard goofball villain, Twice thus far existed for one gimmick (as ironic as that …

The human mind is a complex system. Born within are the ideas, concepts and observances that comprise a person and their world. Of course, such a lofty notion is seldom on the forefront of thought and people tend to focus on what is occupying their mind at the current moment. Of these possible lingerings, anger sets the deepest roots and can take a hell of a lot of effort to weed out. Filter this into the ol’ anime engine and you’ve got yourself one prime foundation for some serious percussive maintenance…which hopefully stops short of crossing the concussion and serious injury threshold. Since the day he first screamed into our lives, Bakugo has been impossible to ignore. Whether his bombastic posturing irked you, or charmed you, our Heroic futures have been lined with the presence of Lord Explosion Murder. Personally, the guy kinda pisses me off. Though your part and parcel Shonen friend/rival, Bakugo never really added anything but pain to Midoriya’s life. Hell, the first time we met him he told Midoriya to kill …

In every fictional competition from the 90s onward, subversion has seen our heroes fall short of that gleaming gold trophy that signifies first place. Sure silver can be just as shiny, but it also carries the lesson that there is always something new to learn, some new metaphorical hurdle to soar over. Of course, reliance on this subversion saw that it became just as predictable as our hero scoring first, if not more so; thus, the results of the Provisional Hero Licence Exam come as a wonderful surprise that shouldn’t have surprised anyone. With exactly who you’d imagine managing to fail the test to begin all provisional careers, this episodic outing showcases the searing pain of consequences. Though Shonen logic dictates that rivals combining their powers to fight a larger threat equals victory, there was no conceivable way that kind of thinking could counteract Todoroki and Yoarashi’s clash. In a real combat situation, their lack of emotional control could have meant the deaths of countless civilians and most likely themselves. I know Endeavour sucks as …

If anime has taught me anything, it’s that the truest moments of self-discovery occur during the heat of battle. When pushed to the absolute limit, to the brink of this mortal coil, the truth comes out and people learn who they are. The retrospection, the insight; unavailable in any other situation, in any safer locale. With that in mind, it sure is a nice thing that awesome, soul-searching combat takes place in barren fields, far away from the innocent masses. I mean, it does…right? Back to our regularly scheduled arc, we find ourselves face-to-face with Gang Orca; a character so awesome that he alone is the “Gang” in his name. He also appears to have a gang, but they aren’t nearly as whale-like. Still, they do have guns that fire fast-acting cement and their loyalty to their boss is admirable, so I’ll give them points for that. Either way, this collection of characters provide a substantial threat to our Heroes-in-training and their hopes of passing the Provisional Licence Exam. Due to the nature of the …