All this time Aizawa wasn’t a hero.
Okay, yeah, he’s a hero, but I’d also consider him a lawful vigilante. Or, he was until the end of this chapter. I only now realize how fitting it was having him in My Hero Vigilantes.
We catch up with Aizawa and Yamada one year after Shirakumo’s death. While Yamada seems to be back to his normal self (at least on the outside), Aizawa is different, more like the sleepy Aizawa we see in the main series. It’s not because he’s gotten lazy. No, quite the opposite! He’s in ultra training mode, perfecting his fighting skills as best he can. And, all that training’s made him a tired guy.
It’s also implied Aizawa is more distant than ever, not even entertaining the idea of hanging out with his classmates. You can tell Yamada is the one holding on to their friendship, not because Aizawa’s pushing him away, but he’s just so focused on training he has little time for anything else. Guilt. Aizawa’s holding a lot of guilt over Shirakumo’s death. One of his best friends was killed by a villain and he’s doing everything he can to make sure no one else goes through what he has.
Although U.A. offers a student like Aizawa many options in how to become a professional hero, Aizawa just wants to start his agency immediately and start whopping criminal butt. No sidekicking. No Teams. Just him specializing in anti-villain combat. Like I said earlier, Aizawa became the closest thing to a vigilante without breaking the law.
We return to the present where Aizawa and Koichi go the Hotta Brothers’ shop. There we see Kamayan (the mantis guy) again and the octopus guy who nearly killed Aizawa! But, it’s okay, like many others in the series, Octopus Guy (His real name’s Takobe) was under the influence of some Villian Factory shenanigans. He’s actually a nice guy and a chef!
Well, the Hotta Bros, Kamayan and Takobe decide to pool their resources and open a cat cafe. Seeing the group talking about their dream of working together reminded Aizawa of his talks with Yamada and Shirakumo opening a hero agency together. At that moment Aizawa changed, just a little, and decided to leave town for a job. Safe to assume that was the moment he decided to become a teacher. So, what happened? I think it was the talks about future planning with friends but also the pressure from Kayama and Yamada to become a teacher. Shirakumo once mentioning he’d be good at it probably helped too.
What I like about Aizawa becoming a teacher is he’s still an underground hero. There’s no 180 change in personality. But, he wants to do more and maybe try a different method to make the world a better place. And we know for sure Aizawa’s such a strict teacher because he knows how easily a student can die from a villain attack and has no intention of allowing anyone he deems unfit into the world of heroes.
A masterfully good chapter! My review doesn’t do it justice. There’s a lot of subtlety surrounded by guilt, anger, and pain, all put beautifully onto the page with great frameworking art. Every Aizawa fan needs to read this arc. It’s a shame this is probably the last we’ll see of Aizawa as a supporting character. Maybe we’ll see him visit the cast a few times but if he’s becoming a teacher at U.A, I doubt he’ll show up much from now on.
So, what happens now? There’s still No. 6 to worry about and what’s going to happen with the cat cafe. Oh! And is Knuckleduster a prisoner of No. 6.? Yes, friends. My Hero Vigilantes has lots more going on. Stay tuned!
Mammoth Base Opera Castle 