Dabi Needs to Chill the Heck Down Already!

My Hero Academia S7 Ep 8 Review

Many of the villains in My Hero Academia have messed-up backstories, but if you asked me who has the worst, I don’t think Shigaraki. My pick would be Toya Todoroki, AKA Dabi. The man is Endeavor’s firstborn son, who was raised and told he would surpass his Dad and All Might, only to realize that would never happen. Instead of finding his path in life, his obsession with proving himself to his Dad led him to become a psychotic murderer whose only goal in life is to destroy his father. It falls to Shoto to stop his older brother before he can hurt anyone else. It’s an epic clash of fire, ice, and even more fire!

Of Course All for One Messed With Dabi

It’s been a long time since I read the earliest parts of the final war in the manga, so I have had a hard time remembering some of the details. Furthermore, the fact that there are so many fights occurring at once that I need to focus to keep track. Thankfully, this episode did a great job of showcasing the clash between Toya and Shoto. And just as important, we see more of Toya’s backstory and what led him to become Dabi. And…it’s more messed up than I remember.

The day Endeavor thought Toya died, the boy lost control of his powers due to his unstable emotions. He almost burned himself to a charred husk until All for One found what was left. He took him to this secret lab/daycare where he kept other potential hosts for himself in case Shigaraki panned out and healed him as best as possible. However, it took him three years to awake, and after realizing where he was, he torched the place.

When he tried to go home, though, he discovered that his Dad still cared more about surpassing All Might. That led him to snap and become the emotionally unstable arsonist he is today.

Dabi Hating his Dad is No Excuse

It’s not hard to want to sympathize with Toya’s plight. All he wanted in life was to make his Dad proud, but he let that desire warp into an unhealthy obsession. If Endeavor had been a better parent, maybe Toya would’ve found his own path. Maybe he could’ve even found a way to become a hero in his own way.

However, just because we should feel bad for Dabi doesn’t mean that we excuse his actions.

As Shoto battles against his brother, the former makes a good point. What happened to him wasn’t right, and their dysfunctional family led him to become who he is today. However, that doesn’t give him the right to go around and kill other people to satisfy his need for revenge. He could’ve walked away from it all and lived his own life, but he chose to become this hateful, spiteful man who wants to burn everything. And as his brother, Shoto is the only one besides their father who can stop him.

The Fight With Dabi is Not Over

This episode is one of Shoto’s finest moments, as he shows just how far he’s come since that fight with Deku. He’s fully accepted both aspects of himself, ice and fire, to create this incredible final move. Ice and fire, yin and yang, working together to deliver one killer attack.

Too bad it’s not enough to put Toya down.

I don’t know when it happens, but I do know this (spoiler alert): Toya isn’t done yet. But it will be a while before he gets back up to fight. As a quick side note, his appearance in this episode is nightmare fuel. He looks like a living corpse, a man on fire who refuses to die. That’s the only reason he’s able to keep going despite how badly damaged his body is. He’s like a Sith Lord; the man is too angry to die.

This is only the first of many fights to come, though. The war against All for One is far from over, and I hope to see more epic battles. For instance, we got Endeavor and Hawks facing off next week against All for One. Go beyond, PLUS ULTRA!!!

I Give “Two Flashfires” a 4/5

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