RJ Writing Ink

My Hero Academia S6, Ep 17 Review

Wow; just…wow. I knew that the Todoroki family had gone through hell over the years, and I remember reading about this in the manga. But there’s a big difference between reading things in a comic panel and seeing it play out in animation. I was actually uncomfortable watching parts of this episode, it was so messed up. However, after seeing this, I’ve come to a realization. It wasn’t just Endeavor’s fault that Toya turned into the psychotic Dabi. His whole family shares some of the blame, and now they’re paying for it. 

The Evidence of the Todoroki Family

Let’s get the evidence on deck as we look at how the whole Todoroki family collectively dropped the ball with Toya.

Exhibit A: the Quirk Marriage of Endeavor and Rei. We already knew that Endeavor and his wife got married for non-romantic reasons, and he wanted kids that could be stronger than him, and her family needed help getting bailed out of debt. However, to their credit, they did try to make things work, with Endeavor trying to be considerate to his family. 

Then they get this big bombshell: their firstborn, Toya, got the most mismatched aspects of their Quirks. He got his Mom’s cold resistance and his Dad’s flames, but he wasn’t fireproof like his Dad. In other words, his Quirk is inherently dangerous to him.

Now, we have exhibit b: making all the wrong choices. Toya proves just as stubborn as his Dad, and despite his family telling him that he cannot keep trying to be a hero, he won’t listen! Rather than get professional help, though, Endeavor thinks the solution is to have more kids, hoping one of them can get the right combination he wants. Then Shoto’s born, and the family’s relieved because they think this is the end of this problem. But Toya? He sees this as his Dad forgetting all about him and the ultimate slap in the face. So he keeps training behind his parent’s backs, and from here, it only gets worse.

Lastly, we have exhibit c: not being there for Toya. When Toya finally thinks he’s had a breakthrough with his Quirk, he tells his Dad, thinking he’ll be proud of him. Instead, Endeavor’s furious and takes it out on his wife, which helps lead to her mental spiral and Shoto getting scarred. 

Worst of all, though? When Endeavor doesn’t show up to see what his son’s learned, his son accidentally immolates himself.

So, yeah. The whole Todoroki family messed up.

This is all kinds of Messed Up

When we first met Endeavor, we saw him as a total jerk when compared to All Might and other heroes. However, he’s actually more complicated than that. While he did a terrible job of raising his family, he did, at one point, try to do right by them. But his own ambitions, insecurities, and stubbornness proved self-destructive and led to his family almost getting torn apart. No wonder his son Natsuo wouldn’t forgive him. They came from a broken home.

That said, after seeing how Toya turned out, I think that the whole Todoroki family shares at least some of the blame. For not supporting Toya enough when he needed it. Not doing more to get his obsession out of his head. Or letting him know he didn’t have to be a hero to be acknowledged as worthwhile by his family. Or maybe Toya, who seems to have gotten the worst aspects of Endeavor, was doomed to this fate in the first place. The fact is, they could’ve done better. While it may be too late for Toya now, the Todoroki family’s finally learning to be better from this. There’s hope for them yet.

Too bad the same can’t be said for the rest of Japan. Things are falling apart out there, and the only thing the pro heroes can do is trying and learn what “One for All” is. However, Endeavor and Hawks put things together pretty quick and figure out that it has something to do with Deku and All Might. So, like it or not, those two are going to need to tell the pro heroes about One for All and why Deku’s so important.

That is, as soon as Deku wakes up from his coma. As we see in the next episode’s preview, he’s speaking with the phantoms of the previous users of his Quirk, and I know the exposition they’re going to drop is good. GO BEYOND, PLUS ULTRA!!!

I Give “The Wrong Way to Put Out a Fire” a 4.5/5

Click here to see more animanga stuff

My Hero Academia S6, Ep 11 Review

I remember first reading what happens in this episode of My Hero Academia in the manga, and I was shocked. I knew that Endeavor was a terrible Dad for a long time, but I had no idea things got that bad. Dabi’s shaken the reputation of heroes to its core in one move. All because he wanted to get revenge on his father. It’s like a reverse “Luke, I am your father” moment here!

Dabi Begins His Dance…

Despite All for One’s best efforts, he failed to get One for All from Deku. In addition, Shigaraki’s body is on the verge of giving out. It looks like the heroes might finally be able to capture the man and end this madness for good. 

Then Gigantomachia arrives, and everything begins to fall apart. It’s not the hulking monster that’s the biggest threat, though. The biggest threat is Dabi. Or should I say, Toya Todoroki, the firstborn son of Endeavor, and Shoto’s older brother. The older brother that the Todoroki family thought long dead.

The story behind Dabi is a twisted and tragic one, and one that he’s seen fit to share with the world. In a pre-recorded message that he sends out nationwide, Dabi tells the whole story. He was Endeavor’s firstborn son and got his dad’s fire-based Quirk. However, he lacked his Dad’s resistance to heat, making it very dangerous to himself. As a result, Toya was thought to have died in a massive fire that didn’t even leave a body behind. Instead, he survived and dedicated his life to destroying his father’s legacy.

And does he destroy it! To twist the knife even further, he reveals that not only did Hawks kill Twice, but that Hawks was the son of a criminal and killer. 

…And the Heroes all Suffer for it

This moment was still as shocking in anime form as it was reading in the manga. I heard rumors that Dabi was Endeavor’s child, but I didn’t give them as much thought as I should have. In our world, what Dabi did would lead to Endeavor and Hawks getting canceled on social media. It doesn’t matter that Dabi’s a villain. This news will damage the heroes reputation at the worst moment.

The thing I like about the League of Villains members is that they’re not one-dimensional characters. We know what they’re doing is wrong, but they’re also the results of society’s shortcomings. Toga didn’t get the help she needs to channel her impulses. Twice was considered a failure. Shigaraki got abused by his Dad. They all have good reasons to hate the hero society. And Dabi knows how to use that to his advantage to turn the public against the heroes. Even if they do win, this will be a huge blow to their reputation. 

Season’s Best Episode

Speaking of Toga, this episode also saw Uravity and Toga face off once more. It’s a bit of a cliche to have the female members fight each other, but the two are very good foils to one another. They’re both driven by the people they love and admire, but Toga’s also a very sad person. To her, her behavior’s normal, and she doesn’t get why everyone punishes her for it. Like I said before, the villains are really well written. 

Overall, this was a really good episode of MHA, one of the best of the season thus far. It leaves you with the sense that even if the heroes win the battle, the villains just won the war. Only one episode’s left before the season goes on hiatus, and I can’t wait to see what happens. GO BEYOND, PLUS ULTRA!

I Give “Dabi’s Dance” a 4/5

Click here to see more animanga stuff.