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My Hero Academia Final Season Ep 1 Review

Yes, I am well aware just how far behind I am on the final season of My Hero Academia. Yes, I am well aware that by the time this goes out, the climax of the anime will have already taken place. However, events in real life led me to procrastinate on the matter. That, and given how this was the final season, I wanted to wait until the dub came out, since this could be the last time we hear the cast playing their roles in the show. But that doesn’t mean my enthusiasm for the show hasn’t diminished. So, for one last season, I’m ready to go beyond, PLUS ULTRA!!! And where better to start than with where we last left off: with Iron All Might fighting All for One.

Iron Might vs. AFO, Round Two

The first few minutes of the opening episode to the final season are meant to serve as a recap of everything that’s happening. Or rather, at just how bad things were getting for the heroes. Dabi was about to go nuclear, Toga’s use of Twice’s Quirk was overwhelming everyone, and All for One was making a beeline for Shigaraki and Deku.

It was hard to remember at first, but this opening does a good job of reminding us just how big this final war really is. Everything that we’ve seen up to this point has been taking place simultaneously across the entire country. In hindsight, it reminds me a lot of the Fourth Great Ninja War in Naruto as well as the Marineford and Wano Country Arcs in One Piece. They are all massive wars with a lot going on, so the story has to take its time focusing on them to give the viewers the experience we deserve. Of course, the main focus of the episode has to be on something, and in this case, it’s the continued fight between All for One and All Might.

What an Epic Fight!

One of the themes that I really like about My Hero Academia is the idea that you don’t need superpowers to be a superhero. The annals of comic books are rife with characters like Batman and Iron Man, AKA heroes who have no powers. Yet despite being physically normal human beings, they’re considered heavy hitters who can go toe-to-toe with gods. Why? Because they have the resources, and more importantly, the smarts to pull it off. And as this entire episode demonstrates, so does All Might.

I’m not gonna lie: when I read this entire fight in the manga, I was having the time of my life. Without any powers and just using a suit of armor, All Might was able to push All for One into a corner, even if it was only for a short while. More importantly, though, I liked how his armor allowed him to emulate the powers of all his students. It gave the entire beatdown the feeling of a collective effort. All for One may not have powers anymore, but he’s far from powerless.

Aoyama Redeems Himself

Special mention should go to how All Might paid tribute to Aoyama with his attack. I’ve never held it against Aoyama for being All for One’s spy, and I don’t think the other fans have. Aoyama is more of a hero than he realizes, and I know that he’ll eventually return to UA with his head held high.

Speaking of Aoyama, whatever focus that isn’t on the fight between All Might and All for One winds up being on Aoyama and Hagakure pulling a victory out of the jaws of defeat. They’re not the strongest of the UA students, but as All Might has shown, brute strength isn’t everything. Plus, I did enjoy getting to see what Hagakure looks like.

The fans are right. It was a sin for Horikoshi to keep this angel hidden away from us for so long.

This was a good start to the final season of MHA. And it only gets better once you see the final OP for the series. It gives off a lot of “this is the final battle” vibes to it, and I adore that. The anime needs to go big now or go home. Better yet, go beyond, PLUS ULTRA!!

I Give “Toshinori Yagi: Rising/Origin” a 4/5

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One Piece Chapter 1153 Review/Recap

Ever since the Straw Hats arrived in Elbaph, we’ve been hearing things nonstop about Loki. His own people consider him a menace and a disgrace to their country. His half-brother has spent years thinking that he killed their dad. Yet despite everything that’s been said of him, we don’t know anything about the real Loki or his past. As this chapter dives into the life of Harald and his son, we learn that no one seemed to love Loki from the moment he was born. Not even his own mother.

Recap

Born with the blood of the Ancient Giants and growing up with Dorry and Brogy as best friends, Harald was built different. His massive body, royal status, and monstrous strength, even by Giant standards, turned him into an arrogant, violent man. No one, not even his own people, could get him to listen to him. However, all that changed when he “rescued” a Giant woman named Ida from a circus. And SHE SLAPPED HIM FOR IT!

Ida was never being held captive. She was working at the circus as thanks for the kingdom rescuing her out at sea. And she proceeded to tell him off for thinking he was better than everyone else because he was lucky enough to be born the way he was and giving Giants a bad name!

Thanks to Ida giving him a reality check, Harald started to change his ways. He rebuilt and apologized to that kingdom he tore up and stopped looking down on other people, and instead started reaching out to them to show how friendly the Giants could be. And eventually, 81 years ago, Harald and Ida had their son, Hadrujin! However, the elders refused to recognize their marriage. Instead, they arranged for him to marry a woman named Estrid, who they deemed worthy of being his Queen. Then, 63 years ago, Estrid gave birth to Loki. But as soon as she saw his eyes…

Estrid was so freaked out, she threw Loki into the Underworld to die, saying that he would one day kill his father before falling ill. Yet Loki would crawl his way up the tree to the Sunland. From then on, every bad thing that happened in Elbaph was chalked up to the Curse of Loki.

Review

Before I get into my very strong feelings about the birth of Loki, there are a few things that I think need addressing.

Firstly, we have Ida, the mother of Hadrujin and Harald’s true wife and love. I’m not sure if its intentional, but it seems like the nicer a person is, the more conventionally attractive they appear, especially when they’re royalty. Yet Ida is an interesting subversion of this. She’s plainer-looking than the beautiful Estrid, yet as we see through her actions, her soul is beautiful. She was the first person to scold Harald for his bullying ways, and the look on his face was priceless. He genuinely didn’t realize how much of a jerk he was being, and his face screams “What did I do wrong?” It’s hilarious! She’s a good woman.

Loki’s Mom was a B****

In contrast, though, we have Estrid. I’m just going to say what most of the fandom is probably thinking: she’s a b****. She already rubbed me the wrong way by calling Ida “that eastern woman” and Hadrujin a bastard, but her remodeling Harald’s castle due to feng shui made it worse. The final nail in the coffin, though, was how she tried to kill her own son!

Admittedly, Loki’s eyes are creepy and off-putting at first, but once you get past that, they look cool! Regardless of what he may or may not end up doing, leaving him to die is just cruel. No wonder he grows up like he does. Plenty of people would act like that if their own mother didn’t love them!

Also, I would like to remind everyone that the only reason Loki was born was because the elders of Elbaph insisted Harald marry Estrid. They wanted a Prince with the blood of Ancient Giants, and they got one. In other words, this is all their fault! Like God punishing them for their backwards ways.

It’s sad that we have to wait another two weeks to see what happens next, but knowing Oda, he’ll come back with another fire chapter. If people didn’t feel sorry for Loki already, then they should now.

I Give “The Birth of Loki” a 4/5

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