RJ Writing Ink

My Hero Academia S7 Ep 14 Review

When I was in middle and high school, my favorite comics to read were the X-Men. Specifically, Chris Claremont’s legendary, 17-year long run with them. And while it’s always been a part of the X-Men’s story, prejudice and discrimination reached a new level of importance under Claremont. I saw people hunted, feared, and threatened with death all because of how they looked and what they could do. Imagine how surprised I was when the final arc of My Hero Academia came around, and one of the battlefields started to remind me of the X-Men. Even though superpowers had become the norm, people still hated and feared those who looked different. It was like nothing had changed for people like them! And as All for One demonstrates, the hatred of mutants can be a deadly tool.

Why Are They Not Called Mutants?

I don’t entirely understand why Horikoshi decided to call people who’s Quirks make them look different Heteromorphs, but they’re pretty much Mutants. Because outside of a minority like Deku, everyone in the series could be considered a Mutant in the Marvel Universe. And as the show reveals via flashbacks and present-day events, that comes with all the negative aspects being a Mutant comes with.

I’ll be honest: as horrible as it was to see how Tentacole and Spinner were beaten and persecuted for looking different is, I think the series could’ve done better with the Heteromorph angle than they they’re giving us. Maybe if the series had spent more time showing how prejudice and discrimination still exist in remote regions, things would’ve hit better for me. They did a good job of reminding me of the X-Men, but it never quite goes as far as I want. That, and my mind fails to understand why they would be treated differently when their appearances look so cool.

This Reminded Me of Real-Life Events

What I did like though was how scarily accurate the mob of Heteromorph/Mutants seemed when they were trying to storm the hospital where they’re keeping Kurogiri. It reminded of certain events in recent years that hit a little bit close to home for me. The banners, the outnumbered lawmen, the bloodlust coming from most of the Mutants. Anyone who has seen riots of that scale understands how terrifying they can be, especially when they have someone egging them on.

Spinner Turned into a Full-On Lizard Expy!

The coolest part of the episode, though, was Spinner. Thanks to All for One giving him extra Quirks, he goes from a mere lizard-man to an expy of the Lizard of Spider-Man’s rogues gallery. At the same time, though, we see how Anima and Tentacole’s own abilities get to shine through. More importantly, we see how they understand that the Mutants have every right to be angry, but that it won’t solve anything. It will just breed more hatred and make things worse for everyone. That, and All for One is only using them for his own ends. He’s a jerk like that.

This episode was pretty decent overall, but coming off the absolute banger that happened last week, it’s going to feel like it fell a little flat. Plus, I really think that Horikoshi should’ve pushed the prejudice and hate angle toward those who look like Mutants more during the series. For a series that’s trying to capture what it means to be a superhero, it feels like a missed opportunity for him to go beyond, PLUS ULTRA!

I Give “Together With Shoji” a 3/5

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