My Hero Academia: Vigilantes S2 Ep 8 Review
Remember how Beyond the Spider-Verse coined the term “canon event?” A moment in a story where something happens that defines a character from that point forward. Most often, it’s a very traumatic event that can scar a character for the remainder of their story. And we’ve come to the moment where Aizawa experiences his own canon event: the day he lost his best friend, Shirakumo.
NO OP Is Serious Business
A great way to tell when things are about to get real in an anime is when it chooses to skip the OP or ED. That means that it needs the extra run time for whatever’s about to happen. And this episode seems to get this, as it opens up on as the Heroes of Present Mic’s work study are flying to fight a giant frog villain. And it manages to swallow all of their attacks and throw them right back at them like he’s Kirby!
The Canon Event
Things get worse from there as the sky darkens from storm clouds. Rain is often used to symbolize something very bad is about to happen, and the fact that it starts right after Aizawa and Shirakumo have what will be their final conversation is a great way of showing just how bad things are about to get. Sure enough, His Purple Highness and Midnight warm Eraser and Loud Cloud about the frog villains Garvey. And then things go to hell.
What follows next I can only describe as the equivalent of Batman taking on a Kaiju on his own. We know he’s going to win despite not having any powers, but it’s still scary to watch. And Eraser Head is having to fight this villain on his own, without any backup. But despite not having a flashy power or moves, he proves to be the right person for the job. Seeing him take down the frog villain is like something straight out of a video game, and I loved it.
But once th dust settles, and the adrenaline wears off, the true cost of victory becomes clear. Canon event completed.
Aizawa Has Untreated Trauma
We knew that Shirakumo ended up getting crushed to death saving those preschoolers and their teacher. We knew that Aizawa had lost his best friend. But I think what makes this hard to watch is the fact that Aizawa tries to deny that Shirakumo is dead. He was imagining his voice cheering him on the entire time, telling him what he needed to hear. But that was all that it was; his imagination. And it hurts like crazy.
This actually makes what happens in the main series feel even worse. Knowing that Dr Garaki and All for One steal Shirakumo’s body and turn him into Kurogiri was a truly unholy action. I know it will be years before Eraser Head and Present Mic get closure, but even knowing that they will doesn’t exactly make me feel any better about Aizawa’s canon event.
Everything changed for Aizawa after his canon event. He had spent his entire life guarding himself from others, thinking that he was better off alone. But then Shirakumo started to pull him out of his shell, and he started to think that maybe he could open up to others. But the pain of losing Shirakumo made him backtrack, thinking once again that, “no, I’m better off a loner.” So despite his teacher’s objections and despite Present trying to reach out to him, as soon as he graduates, he leaves.
We get a montage of his life as the Pro Hero Eraser Head, and while he’s undeniably incredible as a hero, the show bares no bones when it comes to showing how lonely it is, and how it’s not doing him any good. Until the day he meets Knuckle, Koichi, and Pop.
The Naruhata Crew Helped him Heal
The episode ends back in the present day, as Koichi meet the Hotta brothers along with the reformed Kirihiton and that Octoid guy. They all decide to take the cat in as part of a cat cafe they’re planning on opening! And as they’re doing so, Eraser remembers back to his school days and how he started to open up to others. I like how the show uses this moment to tell viewers that this is when it hits for Aizawa. Without even realizing it, Koichi and the other goofballs got him to open up again. He’s starting to heal.
I haven’t read the whole ending to Vigilantes, as I want to enjoy the anime. However, I’m hoping that by the time it does end, Aizawa will be on track to becoming the teacher we will know him as in the main series. He deserves this happiness.
