It’s hard to avoid the obvious Goku Ultra Instinct jokes when he’s pretty much doing it.
This is a loooong fight. But, I get it. It’s the final battle. The last confrontation between our main protagonist and chief antagonist. It all ends with this battle, so I can see why it’s being milked for all it’s worth.
Plus, the audience has to understand why The Crawler is winning. Sure, I knew, but My Hero Vigilantes’ covered in subtlety. This is the creators’ way of making sure everyone’s on the same page. And what is that page? Quirk Evolution + Fighting Style.
We’ve seen quirk evolution in the main series several times. Aizawa getting the students past their quirk limits thought rigorous training as well as the League of Villains growing stronger from their constant battle against Gigantomachia early in My Villain Academia. The more you train your quirk, the stronger it becomes. That’s a given in this universe, and we know Koichi’s had years of illegal quirk usage, so, yeah, he’s at peak quirk performance.
Here’s something that gets talked about less, fighting style. It’s not much to talk about, really. You pick a style that best fits your quirk. Kirishima has a close-combat style while Shoto is more mid-ranged. But, it’s not always that cut and dry. Aizawa developing a whip style to match his quirk, for example. Not exactly obvious, but it still makes perfect sense. And then there’s The Crawler whose quirk can be both offense and defensive but given Koichi’s personality, most of his experience points have allocated to his defensive side. Koichi is the King of Defense. Period.
So, yeah, it’s not just what quirk you have, it’s how you use it. And since we also know quirk evolution can happen when the user is in danger, it also makes sense Koichi’s unlocking his full power during the most perilous fight of his life.
What the hell is Number 6? Yes, I know he’s an “Artificial Human” but I need more information. That human DNA had to come from somewhere. I once thought it was All For One, but now I’m thinking it’s from Iwao Oguro AKA the original O’Clock. AFO probably had No. 6 created for the sole purpose of using the stolen quirk. What better body could he have than that of overclock’s original owner?
This was a good chapter! I’m liking the explanation of why Koichi is outclassing No. 6 but I’m ready for this fight to wrap up. We get it. Koichi is Mr. Defensive with a powerful quirk. Let’s move on to something else. Something like bombs. Hi-Crawler didn’t use them. Maybe he’s gonna try that next time. And maybe in this form they’ll be projectiles! Uh-oh, Koichi! Time for another power-up. You can cover your body in an Iron Man looking energy field and blast No. 6. Don’t forget the snarky lines. Something like “Your number’s up!” or “Tell, Ellen Ripley I said hi.” Just don’t go near No. 6’s Infinity Gauntlet hand. Trust me on that.
Mammoth Base Opera Castle 