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My Hero Academia Season 4, Episode 23 Review/Recap

You know, it’s almost funny when you think about it. Right now, the world of My Hero Academia is going through some tough times. Meanwhile in the real world, everyone’s hunkering down from the pandemic. But you know what, it’s in these trying times that we need to remember how to smile and have fun. That’s just what this episode of My Hero Academia does for us.

Recap

Thanks to Deku’s efforts, Gentle and La Brava’s plans to crash the school festival are stopped. Gentle turns himself in to the heroes and tells them he brainwashed La Brava so she won’t go to jail with him. Before he leaves, though, he affirms his respect to the young hero, who then proceeds to finish his task and make it back in time for the concert.

And rather than talk about it, I’ll just show you what happens.

Needless to say, the concert, and the festival, are a huge success, with everyone enjoying themselves and having fun. And best of all, Eri was finally able to smile for the first time in living memory. At last, Overhaul’s grasp on her has been broken.

As for Gentle and La Brava, the authorities seem like they’re willing to be lenient with them.

Review

I absolutely loved this episode; it’s the best one since the fight between Deku and Overhaul. It wasn’t action-packed or suspenseful as any of the big fights in the series, but it’s still a great episode. In fact, I think Studio BONES improved on the manga. As great as it can be, some things can only be fully appreciated in animated form.

Being able to see Eri smile for the first time was enough to bring tears to a person’s eyes, and it couldn’t have come at a better time. Right now, the entire world’s paralyzed with fear by the Coronavirus Pandemic. Here in America, the country’s close to being on lockdown! People are as scared, confused, and alone as Eri was when we first met her.

I know it may sound silly, but I think that it’s in times of hardship that we need to remember the importance of smiling and having fun. No matter how bad things may get, we need to keep reminding ourselves that things can get better, and it’s concerts like what Class 1-A put on that help with that. Heck, even Gentle and La Brava get a silver lining from all this.

Rather than treat him badly, the authorities seem to be willing to help him rebuild his life. Moreover, they’re impressed with La Brava’s hacking skills and even offer her a job. Hopefully, they’ll be able to turn their lives around and move beyond their sad past together. GO BEYOND, PLUS ULTRA

I Give “Let It Flow! School Festival!” a 5/5.

Also, I love the face that Bakugo makes here

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The Owl House Episode 10 Review

It’s mid-season finale time for The Owl House, and with no word on when the other episodes come out, the show has to stick the landing. The show’s already given us great moments and big mysteries, which I have been avidly keeping track of. In “Escape of the Palisman”, the writers touch on a recurring mystery in the series. In addition, they set up a new one alongside it.

The Power of the Palisman

With the show having focused on each of the Owl House’s residents, the only one left is Owlbert, the headpiece to Eda’s staff. Known as a palisman and created using ancient wood by Eda, Owlbert’s not just a tool; he’s completely sentient capable of feeling pain. This episode sees Luz learning about this the hard way. When she tries using the staff to take her, Gus, and Willow to a sports game, she ends up hurting Owlbert. Like a pet that’s been hurt by its owner, the little owl reacts with fear, going to stay with the Bat Queen. As it turns out, she’s a former palisman that was abandoned. Now she protects other palisman’s from those who’d hurt them.

I thought that this whole story was like watching a pet owner trying to win over an animal that’s been abused in the past. We know Luz never meant to hurt Owlbert, but she still has to show him that she can be trusted not to do it again. It’s a very sweet story that I think pet owners can relate to.

Eda’s Curse is Getting Worse

Meanwhile, King tries to establish himself as king of the local playground and get revenge on some kid who usurped him. His solution? Use Eda, who’s stuck mid-transformation, to scare everyone. It works about as well as you’d think it would. Compounding this problem is the fact that Eda’s elixir is no longer working. Indeed, King’s only able to snap her out of her curse by humiliating himself.

Ever since we learned about Eda’s curse, it’s been the subject of much speculation and fan theories. It’s that big mystery of the show, much like how “who wrote the journals” was the big mystery of Gravity Falls. Like Gravity Falls, though, The Owl House has only given us scraps of information thus far. What “Escape of the Palisman” does confirm, though, is that this could be a big focus in the second half of the season.

An Okay Mid-Season Finale

As far as mid-season finales go, “Escape of the Palisman” was pretty standard. It does set up what the big problem may be in the second half of the season. Beyond that, though, it doesn’t do a lot to grab my attention.

I can think of several Disney cartoons in recent years that have done a great job handling the mid-season finale. Season two of Gravity Falls ended on a massive cliffhanger with the reveal of the author of the journals. Season two of Star vs. saw the main character lose magic book of spells to her arch-enemy. Then, Season three of that same show gave a bombshell revelation that upended the show’s status quo! In other words, these were great mid-season finales. They knew how to draw viewers in and leaving them curious enough to want to come back. “Escape of the Palisman”, though, seems to lack that spark.

There’s no telling when the remaining episodes will come out, given the Coronavirus Pandemic going around. In hindsight, going on break when people need entertainment more than ever could be a bad idea. However, I’ll patiently wait as long as I have to for more of this amazing show to come knocking. I just hope the season finale will stick the landing better.

I Give “Escape of the Palisman” a 2.5/5

Stray Observations:

• King is still cute when he’s angry.
• That snot-nosed kid King was fighting over the slide was actually trying to overthrow him. Nice twist on that joke.
• The Monster Hunters return, now reduced to animal control
• I think Luz copied the move that cheerleader did in the pilot.
• Could one of the palismans with the Bat Queen become Luz’s one day

Favorite Quotes:

• Bow to me, you snotty underlings! Bow!
• Yesss. Appease your master!
• EDAA! That monster took my throne!

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Steven Universe Future Episodes 15-16 Review

I knew going into the second half of Steven Universe Future that things were going to get dark. However, after watching last night’s new episodes, I found myself in a state of shock. I swear I could feel my mouth hanging open for a minute or two as I processed what I witnessed. The epilogue series has already given us many dark moments, or at least reflected on them. The penultimate episodes before the series finale, though, may be the darkest the series has ever done.

Jaw-Dropping Moments

In “Mr. Universe”, Greg tries to help his son deal with his trauma by taking him on an impromptu road trip. It goes fine at first, until Greg decides to show his son what inspired him to become who he is. As a result, they end up sneaking into a house that is eventually revealed to belong to Greg’s own parents!

It turns out, Greg’s parents were very strict when it came to his upbringing, never really let him do anything fun. So after hearing a song called “Mr. Universe”, Greg finally snapped and left on his own, and now he hopes that same song will inspire Steven.

Greg’s solution backfires in the worst way possible. Unlike his dad, who wants nothing to do with his uptight folks, Steven’s ecstatic to learn he had human grandparents this whole time. That soon transitions into disbelief and finally rage, though, as Steven can’t understand why Greg would give all of that up and just snaps at him. I don’t blame him, either. This epilogue has been all about Steven dealing with the angst of his childhood, and to have him learn that he could have led a normal life this whole time? That would seem like a huge slap to the face. I get what Greg was trying to do: he wanted Steven to have the freedom he never did, but not telling him about his grandparents, ironically, took away that choice for him. Not cool, Greg.

Nightmare Fuel Scene

As if “Mr. Universe” wasn’t jarring enough, “Fragments” felt like it was going to give me nightmares. Steven’s anger continues to go out of control and the Gems have no clue how to help him. Thus, Steven decides to turn to the one Gem he think can help, Jasper, to teach him how to channel his anger, with almost tragic results.

In my review of Future’s premiere, I compared Jasper and Steven’s relationship to that of Piccolo and Gohan from Dragon Ball Z. However, now I see it as a dark and twisted reflection of the rapport that Gohan and Piccolo built. Jasper’s “training” is basically teaching him to let his anger loose without restraint. As a result, we get a visually impressive battle that ends with a far darker Steven shattering Jasper’s Gem.

Even before I saw what Steven had done, I could tell by his reaction what it was. But when I actually saw Steven trying to heal Jasper’s gem, I almost felt my heart break. While he does manage to save Jasper and keep himself from becoming a killer, the damage is done. Poor, sweet Steven must now only see himself as a monster.

Steven Needs Help

I’ve said it already, but I’m going to say it again: Steven needs help. He’s spent his entire trying to help others, putting everyone’s issues before his own. Now, though, we see that its subjected him to trauma and stress that no one should ever have to endure. At this point, I don’t even know if Steven can ever fully deal with what he’s gone through, and like a lot of fans, that’s enough to make me cry. He doesn’t deserve this!

Next week, we have the series finale and the end to Steven Universe the show, and I’m wondering if Steven will be able to recover in that short time. The only way I can even remotely see a light at the end of this tunnel is by everyone Steven’s ever helped coming together to help him in his time of need. It’s a bit cliche, but it would also bring the series full circle by showing us how much Steven has done for everyone before showing what they do for him. Here’s hoping.

I Give “Mr. Universe” and “Fragments” Each a 5/5

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Stray Observation

• I loved how the scene in the bathroom parallels the moment when Steven’s restoring the Corrupted Gem in “Little Homeschool”
• Steven’s unkempt hair reminds me of Josuke Higashikata from JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure