My Hero Academia Season 7

Episode 153

This is another episode that has to be an awkward pivot point for this big, ever-heightening final arc. The first half concludes the confrontation with the amassed heteromorphs, while the latter is a cascade of bad news for the heroes. Both segments have their strengths but they make for uncomfortable bedfellows—making this an episode that struggles for cohesion.

On the Heteromorph side, while this confrontation is still lacking the buildup it deserves, I appreciate how it ends. While Shoji's speech and actions make a difference, it's the innate humanity of the people he's talking to that changes the outcome. Sometimes all it takes to stop a stampede of anger is for someone to just stop, and reconsider their actions when faced with something they can't rationalize—and it takes courage to step out of sync with those around you. More than anything, I appreciate that this doesn't magically solve the larger societal issues that led thousands to the point where AFO could manipulate them. There is still countless, unanswered harm being done to people like Shoji and all of these people, and the world has to change to be a better place for everyone—but what AFO and Spinner were offering wasn't justice. It was just a way to unleash centuries of pent-up anger in a way that could benefit their personal goals.

Of course, for as culpable as Spinner is in all this, he too was ultimately a tool for AFO's ambitions and there's a deep sadness to how that all turns out for him. Spinner knows better than anyone that he never really had the vision to be a revolutionary—and for as valid as his anger is, he only ever aimed it in the direction he was told to. So on the cusp of achieving the same influence as his idol, Stain, he's left alone. The crowd has stopped believing, stopped following him, and before he knows it Spinner is back to being a directionless, angry kid who wants to achieve something he can't put into words. The one difference is that now, he has friends—and like Twice before him he's willing to do anything to support them, no matter how objectively bad of an idea that is. The greater cause may be lost, but if Spinner can help his friend, it might be worth it in the end.

It's pretty ironic that this time, the power of friendship has all but doomed our heroes and flipped the whole table on their plan. The heavy implication that Present Mic was just about to obliterate Kurogiri/Shirokumo to take his Quirk out of consideration is pretty dark and deeply sad for such a boisterous character. Of course, Mic is still a hero and his hesitation to act is enough for Spinner's friendship to win. Willing to act selflessly for others is a trick that doesn't just work for the good guys, and from there the rest of the episode is watching every domino fall with ever-deafening thuds.

A revitalized Dabi arrives to drag his father to hell. Toga, donning Twice's visage, unleashes an unstoppable parade of dead men to crush the world before her. We don't see the aftermath but if Monoma and Eraserhead are out of the picture, then Y'all For One is certainly going to rain destruction on Deku and his allies. It's roughly 10 minutes of everything going to hell in a handbasket, and while it takes a little too much time for my tastes, I'll be damned if I'm not excited for what's to come.

There's also that weird non sequitur with the meteorologist in America standing up against AFO on TV but I'm not sure what that's all about. I like to think I'm pretty good at sniffing out thematic cohesion even with narratively incoherent moments but the best I can guess is that Horikoshi wanted to draw an attractive lady to shake things up, and figured emphasizing the larger effects of this battle was enough justification.

Rating; 3.777777777777

My Hero Academia is currently streaming on Crunchyroll.