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My Hero Academia, Season 4, Episode 4 Review/Recap

After taking a break last week, My Hero Academia returns with another new episode. One that’s just in time for Toonami’s premiere of Season 4 of MHA. A chance encounter with a villain forces Midoriya to make a difficult decision. Not long after, he learns why All Might and Sir Nighteye split up, and All Might’s task of fighting fate. In other words, this season’s going to be amazing.

Recap

Claiming to be the father of the little girl, Eri, Overhaul tries to take her back with him. Picking up on how terrified she is, Deku’s very hesitant to let her go. However, Togata gets him to stand down. They can’t risk tipping Overhaul off about the fact they’re investigating him. Later on, Sir Nighteye grills him for almost letting his emotions get the better of him.

Unable to stop thinking about everything Nighteye’s said, Midoriya asks All Might what led to the two falling out. Back when he first beat All for One, All Might was in bad shape. Nighteye insisted that he retire and name a successor then; otherwise, he would die within six or seven years. All Might’s sense of justice was too strong, though, and he continued his work as a hero. Years later, Nighteye picked Togata as his successor, but then Midoriya came along. Nighteye called him a fool for giving up his quirk to Midoriya.

Deku’s shocked to hear all this. More importantly, it means that within a year or so, All Might could end up dying. However, All Might’s more determined than ever to continue fighting fate so he can see Midoriya live up to his expectations. In turn, Midoriya vows to live up to the legacy he carries on.

Meanwhile, we see more of Overhaul’s cruelty as he takes Eri back to his base, saying she’s important to his plans.

Review

I think that this episode delivered some pretty big bombshells. Firstly, we see just how cruel and evil Overhaul really is through the terrified reactions of Eri. We throw the word “evil” so much, it sometimes loses its meaning. However, we always think their’s something heinous about hurting a child. Seeing how scared Eri was made me feel genuinely disgusted at Overhaul, and I don’t blame Midoriya for wanting to say no. If someone like Luffy or Goku were in his place, they’d punch Overhaul’s lights out.

At the same time, I knew that Togata, AKA Lemillion, was right about standing down. The fact that he kept his cool under pressure speaks a lot about heroic he is. Even so, I knew he didn’t like letting Eri go, either.

Then we have the revelation of All Might’s possible fate. However, I don’t think Nighteye was talking about the people when he said All Might should retire. Knowing how much he admires All Might, I don’t think he could stand to see his hero in such a state. While he does care about the importance of the Symbol of Peace, I think deep down, Nighteye doesn’t want to accept the fact that All Might’s mortal. I could simply be over analyzing things, however. Regardless, in matters like these, I’m the kind of person who’d rather look fate in the eye and say “you don’t control me.” I hope All Might can fight fate and win, and I hope Midoriya can prove Nighteye wrong.

The next episode’s going to change focus to Kirishima and another one of U.A.’s Big Three. From the look of things, I think it will still tie in to Overhaul. Either way, I look forward to it. PLUS ULTRA!

I Give “Fighting Fate” a 4.5/5. Very good episode.

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Sword Art Online: Alicization- War of Underworld Episode 29 Review/Recap

I’ve noticed a recurring theme among stories that feature a climatic final battle between two opposing forces. Right before the big fight, there’s always a moment where the cast calms down and prepares themselves for what’s about to happen. Star Wars had their moment with Luke and Leia in Jedi; and Game of Thrones had a whole episode before the White Walkers attacked. Now SAO: Alicization goes through its own calm before the storm as the final battle for Underworld is about to begin.

LINK START!

Recap

Alice arrives at the Integrity Knight’s base with Kirito in tow, much to Eldrie’s dismay. However, Bercouli lets Kirito stay as he knows the boy’s aware enough to defend himself. In addition, since he beat Quinella and most of the Integrity Knights, Bercouli thinks he’ll be the key to victory in the final battle. To help protect him, Alice leaves Kirito in the care of Tione and Ronye, who have joined the Human Army. However, the two are guilt-ridden at Kirito’s state, believing that if they had been smarter, Eugeo would be alive and Kirito wouldn’t be in his state. Alice tells the two girls that they did nothing wrong, and that they should keep moving forward.

A day or so later, Bercouli calls a war meeting with the Knights present. The Dark Territory has around 50,000 warriors and sacred arts users on their side. On their part, the Human Empire has 3,000 soldiers plus the Integrity Knights, each worth a thousand soldiers. So their plan is to bottleneck them at the entrance and try and thin out their ranks.

The night before the battle, everyone prepares for what’s to come the next day. Alice takes the chance to reconcile with Eldrie, telling him to live so that he may reclaim his lost memories. The next day, the Human Army stands at the gate as it collapses, beginning the Final Load Test.

Review

As far as prelude’s to the final battle go, I can sum up my feelings to this episode in one word: meh. I mean, I think it did a good job of building tension up for the final battle, but it doesn’t really do much else. Game of Thrones did a better job with its episode leading up to the White Walkers arrival.

That said, I did like getting to see some of the other characters make their return. Bercouli shows off his leadership skills, and humorously, deals with the same kind of girl troubles Kirito has. We see that Fanatio overcame her insecurities over being a woman thanks to Kirito. In addition, unlike in the Light Novels, several of the Integrity Knights Kirito fought have cameos.

Now that that’s out of the way, though, I think we’ve all gotten to the point where we have one question: can we fight now? This is going to be an epic war that could not only decide the fate of Underworld, but affect the real world as well. If Gabriel captures Alice, then it’s game over. I only hope that it’s better than “The Long Night” was; and more visible.

Next week the War of Underworld truly begins! Can’t wait!

I Give “The Night Before Battle” a 3/5. BRING ON THE FIGHT!

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