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My Hero Academia S6, Ep 3 Review

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: I like Twice. I know that I shouldn’t like him, since he’s a villain, but we all know that he’s not a bad guy. Like many of the League of Villians members, he got dealt a bad hand in life by society. You can’t help but feel for the guy. More than that, though, I can’t help but admire his devotion to his comrades; it’s so rare for a villain to so genuinely care about their partners in crime! That’s why, even with the prior knowledge of reading the manga before-hand, this episode was still hard to watch. This episode, we say goodbye to that lovable sad man, Twice.

As the heroes assault on the Paranormal Liberation Front intensifies, we get to see both the heroes-in-training and heroes proper in action. Befitting a Shonen Manga, it’s visually amazing and impressive. Horikoshi knows how to hit all the right notes when it comes to showing off the heroes as their absolute best.

This is a good thing, too, because once the focus shifts to Hawks and Twice, things get dark.

We all know that Hawks infilitrated the Paranormal Liberation Front to prepare for this big day; he took a big risk, but it was worth it to stop Shigaraki. That said, Hawks’ just as regretful that doing so meant using Twice’s goodwill against him. Like many of us, Hawks understood that Twice was a good person who just got a bad lot in life. He genuinely reaches out to him and offers to get him help, so he can live a normal life. However, it’s already too late for Twice.

This marks the second time now that Twice ended up putting his friends in danger. First, him introducing them to Overhaul got one comrade killed while the other lost an arm. What’s happening now is the same thing on a grander scale. Thus, for all Hawks’ genuine appeals, Twice won’t listen and chooses to fight. All Hawks can do is cut Twice down as he tries to flee.

Say what you want about Shigaraki’s comrades, but they do have one thing that the heroes also have: resolve. They look out for each other no matter what, and have pushed themselves to get stronger for their sakes. The resolve to keep moving forward to one’s goals despite the pain it may cause is a big theme in the Shonen genre. It’s how the heroes often win despite getting beaten down so much. However, in this case, it’s Twice, a villain, whose resolve pushes him to go forward to save Mr. Compress and Toga despite being mortally wounded by Hawks. All Toga can do is watch as Twice’s final clone cries muddy tears as it starts to melt. Despite everything, though, Twice dies without any regrets, knowing he did all he could to help his friends.

F in the comments in honor of Twice, please. I’m serious. Twice was a good person, despite being a criminal. Watching him die is one of the most painful things we’ve seen in My Hero Academia. It’s also a painful reminder of an unspoken rule: sometimes, the heroes have to kill the bad guys. It’s not pretty, but it may need doing. I just wish that it didn’t mean we had to say goodbye to Twice. At least he died protecting his friends. I respect that. 

As for the rest of the heroes, the fight against the Paranormal Liberation Front continues. The group at Jaku Hospital has those High-End Nomu’s to fight, and to stop them, they’ll have to GO BEYOND, PLUS ULTRA!!! I can’t wait!

Click here to see more animanga stuff

House of the Dragon Episode 9 Review

I swore I wouldn’t take sides in this show. I swore that I would remain neutral in all of this. But Otto Hightower, you are poison.

King Viserys is dead. Now it’s left for the living to pick up the pieces. Or rather, for the circling vultures to come and feast on the carcass. And, much to Alicent Hightower’s shock, the vultures have been waiting for a long time for Viserys to rot.

In a moment meant to separate Alicent from the level of self-serving attitude of her father, most of the Small Council’s revealed to on Otto’s payroll. Alicent’s misguided beliefs of Viserys’ last wish merely gives them an excuse for something they were already going to do. First order of business: purge King’s Landing of Rhaenyra’s supporters, either with imprisonment…or execution.

To her credit, Alicent’s rightly horrified to learn what her father’s done behind her back. More so when Otto all but states he plans to assassinate Rhaenyra and her family. It shows that despite the hatred, a part of Alicent still cares about Rhaenyra. However, this episode also exposes how naive she’s truly been throughout the first season. It also gives voice to what’s probably Alicent’s greatest flaw.

Alicent Hightower Sucks

It’s said best by Rhaenys Targaryen, whose locked under guard by Otto’s men. When Alicent comes to visit the Princess to get her on their side, the former admits the latter should’ve been Queen. This segues into Rhaenys verbally chewing out Alicent for what’s wrong with her. What Rhaenys says is short, but it encapsulates just what it is about Alicent that sucks.

All her life, Alicent’s been a pawn for her father to maneuver in the great game. And even after reaching the point where she’s become aware of her pawn status, Alicent continues to let herself be treated as such when she’s capable of so much more. The fact that the most ambition she shows is to be the guiding influence behind the Iron Throne says it all. She wants to be free, but unlike Rhaenyra, she’s too afraid to act. So she resents her former friend since she can live the life she wants. Now, all I feel towards Alicent is pity.

Especially after what we saw Larys Strong…cringe.

Even Aegon Knows He Sucks!

Then we have Aegon. He’s a man who, were he not royalty, would belong in jail or the gutter. All he does every day is get drunk and sire illegitimate children with other women, whether they want it or not. In other words, he’s not the kind of person that should be king of anything.

The irony here is that Aegon knows that he’s not meant to be king. When he’s finally found in the Great Sept, he admits to the parties feuding over him that he shouldn’t be king. For all his faults, he’s well aware that he’d suck at the job. He even says that he’d rather board a boat and never come back.

No one cares, though. Despite everyone knowing that he’s not fit to lead, Otto Hightower and his cohorts want him as king anyway so they can control Westeros. Because that’s what it comes down to: power. That’s why Otto fears Rhaenyra so much. She’s a woman they cannot control and thus don’t want around. But as Game of Thrones showed us time and again, don’t underestimate a woman.

Don’t Mess With the Dragon, Otto

The episode’s climax comes with Aegon’s coronation at the Dragonpit with all of King’s Landing watching. Then, Rhaenys (who escaped thanks to a defecting Kingsguard) bursts through the floor on her dragon, killing dozens and causing chaos. She has the Greens dead to rights…and she lets them go. Simply escapes to Dragonstone.

Rhaenys’ message is clear: the Greens only live because she let them. That’s the kind of authority that Danaerys will exert centuries later. That said, she refuses to slay her kin, which is a huge mistake in this case. She could’ve ended the Dance of Dragons before it started. Or at least killed Otto Hightower and the main ringleaders. Instead, she kills innocents and leaves. Bad decision.

Game of Thrones did use the penultimate episode of each season to bring out the big guns. From the look of things, House of the Dragon seems ready to continue that tradition. Given the preview for the season finale, though, that could end up being proven wrong. Regardless, though, the long-brewing storm of the dragons is going to break. Expect a lot of characters to die before things blow over, because I know I am! Otto Hightower shall reap the seeds he has sown before the series ends!

I Give “Green Council” a 4/5