Go get ’em, Aizawa (He’s screwed.)! You got this buddy (You really don’t.)!
Whether it’s the Wild Wild Pussycats or the Edgeshot Avengers. Every single hero team in the My Hero universe is freaking awesome.
We turn back the clock on the flashback and see how His Purple Highness and one of the goggles users were hurt. Turns out the goggle guy taken down was Shirakumo while he was protecting pre-schoolers and their teacher. Could Shirakumo’s injury be the catalyst for him eventually leaving UA? Honestly, that’s the only way I can think a positive guy like him who’s dead set on becoming a hero can fall. We’ll just have to wait and see I guess. For all we know, Shirakumo may bounce back and help Aizawa take Garvey down.
Speaking of Garvey. He looks very, uh, bioweapony. If not for Midnight running down his rap sheet I’d think he was one of Ujiko’s creations sent out for a test run. Midnight did say he seemed more powerful. Ujiko/The Villain Factory probably had a hand at that. Keep in mind this flashback takes place when Aizawa was in highschool. Ujiko’s been a busy little mad scientist for quite a few decades, huh?
It’s been a thing throughout the entire series but people rarely talk about it.
Look upon your ultimate form, Shigaraki.
In an operating room, Ujiko gets ready to put Shigaraki under the knife, or laser, or whatever it is he’s gonna do bring out Shiggy’s full power. No, that’s wrong. He’s already at full power. Actually, Shigaraki wants to go PLUS ULTRA! Oh, the irony. Anyway, as strong as Shiggy is right now, he’s smart enough to know it’s still not enough to beat Japan’s heroes. Especially since Re-Destro survived their fight and his arm got damaged from using all his power. That’s where Ujiko, probably the most knowledgable person on quirks in the country or world, comes in.
So, back to Quirk Singularity. Ujiko explained the theory to Shigaraki. Basically, quirks are getting more powerful but human physical bodies aren’t keeping up. That could evenually lead to people developing quirks so powerful they can’t control them and they destroy the world. Bummer. Ujiko also said there have been actual signs of Quirk Singularity (or QS as I’ll call it from now on) since the Fourth Generation. What kind of signs? You should know. We’ve all seen it since the beginning. Not counting One For All slowly growing so powerful it can destroy it’s host body there’s Todoroki whose quirk can hurt his body if he doesn’t regulate his temperature, Kaminari whose brain fries if he overuses his electric quirk and Mineta whose head gets bloody if he pulls out too many grape balls. Tsuyu getting sleepy in cold tempetures, Aizawa needing eye drops, the list goes on. One things for sure, Horikoshi’s had QS in mind since Day 1.
Bruh! You can’t read books with your fire quirk activated.
The number one hero did, in fact, notice Hawks’ strange behavior. His out of nowhere liberation fanboying coupled with an unusually serious face tipped off Endeavor enough to go through the Meta Liberation War book in search of a clue. And, thanks to Hawks emphasizing the word second, Hot Lips breaks the code. Reading only the second word in each highlighted section, Hawks updates Endeavor on everything he knows about the Paranormal Liberation Front. Why the Public Safety Commission heads didn’t contact him directly? The reason could be possible phone taps and monitoring by Skeptic’s Feed Good Inc. telecommunications company? Or, could Hawks think there’s a PLF mole at Endeavor’s agency?!
It makes sense. The PLF would definitely want one of their agents there. And with Endeavor having over 30 sidekicks, it’ll be easy for him or her to go reasonably unnoticed. Yeah, I’m looking at you, Burnin! But, she could be too obvious, so I’ve also got my other eye on that Bandaged Face Guy.
Roger’s so carefree and headstrong. I’m sure the next Pirate King will be nothing like him.
Don’t you just hate being stood up? You meticulously plan out the evening with your friends. You put on your best and/or cleanest clothes. Everyone agrees on where to go. And, when finally it’s the promised date you’ve been waiting weeks or months for to get your party on…an unexpected change of plans.
Well, Kin’emon and the rest of Team Samurai understand all too well. They’ve arrived at Tokage Port ready to sail to Onigashima and whoop-ass but no one else is there. Luffy and the Strawhat Crew. Law. Cat Viper. Even Jibuemon isn’t there! And, he’s my favorite (Who the hell is Jibuemon?)!
All we know is there was an “incident” the previous night that obviously threw Kin’mon’s plans out the window and on to the street where a tractor-trailer ran it over then exploded. We know Orochi was getting intel from a traitor. Looks like he used it to seemingly crush the Rebellion in one fell swoop. Welcome the Wano: Act Three. Ouch!
What’s going on here? Who was that old guy? How does Hawks want Endeavor to pick up on the Paranormal Liberation Front threat? Let’s talk about My Hero Academia 244 and figure it out. But, you don’t have to take my word for it!
Uh-oh! Looks like that office worker’s been drinking the liberation kool-aid too. Chill dude, you ain’t the Punisher.
I’m dying to talk about Starservant. Caleb Cook, Viz’s English translator for My Hero Academia believes he could be a local hero or a palm reader. While I agree the old man could be some kind of palm reader/fortune teller, I’d think Endeavor or the police would’ve mentioned if he was a hero so I’m guessing he’s not in the hero business. I also find it interesting how powerful Starservant is. The guy’s using his quirk to float high in the air on balls while using said balls to absorb glass windows. What the what??? And not just a couple windows, he absorbs windows off of multiple skyscrapers, y’all! I don’t think that’s something your average citizen can do. That’s why I believe Starservant is using a quirk enhancing drug like Trigger to take on Endeavor. His nose bleeding could also be a sign he’s using the drug.
And, yes, I think it’s safe to say he planned this whole rampage out just to grab Endeavor’s attention and attack him. But, why? Well, I think the answer is simple: Starservant joined the Paranormal Liberation Army. Or, at least, he’s down with Destro’s ideals. He could see Endeavor as a government stooge holding up the ideals of a restrictive society. We did learn Destro’s ideals are becoming more popular after the (fake) Deika City incident. And with Shigaraki wanting the group to go wild, I can see the PLF supplying its lower-ranked members with Trigger just so they can cause whatever damage they can.
Most of this chapter was just a glorified meeting. And, I loved every bit of it!
Stop lying, Sengoku. You know that’s Whoopi Goldberg without her glasses.
Before reading this chapter, I was wondering what we’d get. More around the world reactions? Warlord shenanigans? Wano: Part Three? Nope. Instead, we got a big ‘ole exposition dump which makes me wonder if Oda’s really good at making TED Talks or if I’m so disinterested in Wano I’d rather read wanted posters. Okay, that’s not fair. Those are some mega important bounty reveals. I’m sorry, Wano. No more below the belt pop shots from me. I’ll save them for your flashback. Ooooh! I’m such a meanie~
Continuing the trend of half-explaining unknown events from the last chapter, we listen in on Sakazuki and Fujitora talking about the Seven Warlords no longer working for the World Government and get a clue about their replacement. Or, I should say, the special science team building whatever’s going to replace the Warlords, the SSG. Special Science Team? Special Science Group. There we go, that fits better. I think most people guessed at some point Vegapunk would step in and create something to replace the Warlords, assuming he’s running this group. I mean, yeah, there’s no one else but Vegapunk that could be important enough to lead it but I’m trying to be diplomatic here, y’all.
What could the SSG be cooking up to replace the Seven Warlords? I’ve said in the past it may be a weapon or weapons made out of seastone. It could be a new line of Pacifistas. Maybe even replicas of an ancient weapon. Whatever it is Vegapunk’s official introduction into the story is inchin’ closer and it looks like it’ll be worth the wait.
Shanks can’t stop looking at his phone long enough to take a picture.
At New Marineford, Brannew updates the class on Big Mom and Kaido teaming up in Wano. Prof. Sengoku takes over, revealing more about the two Yonko’s connections as former members of the Rocks Pirates, the Foo Fighters of pirate crews. Now, there’s really no point in talking about what’s happening outside of all this juicy new information we’re given by Sengoku this chapter, so I’m just gonna dive deep into my thoughts on everything I think is worth talking about.
Fullalead Island. Is it a coincidence Blackbeard controls the same island where the Rocks Pirates formed? Could Captain Rocks have left something there Blackbeard wants to find? Or, is the island located in a very convenient part of the New World? Hm.
You know what? Something tells me things aren’t gonna end well for Shirakumo. Brace yourselves now, y’all. We’ve reached the beginning of the end.
Stick with sunglasses, baby. You look like a try-hard Twitch streamer.
It’s a new semester and Aizawa and Shirakumo are still interning at Purple Highness’ agency. They’ve become a great team, so much so they (And, by “they” I mean Shirakumo) decides to partner up in a 2-on-2 training battle. Yamada and his work-study teammate, Sensoji, also team-up. By the way, whose agency are they working at? And, what’s the homeroom teacher’s name? I still need details damn it!
Anyway, Sensoji, being the established Class Jerk that he is, rags on Aizawa using goggles because he’s decided he should be the only one in the hero course with eyewear. Even though he stole the idea from Present Mic. What a meathead.
Sensoji challenges Aizawa and Shirakumo to a fight with their goggles on the line. High stakes, people. High stakes. We learn Sensoji’s quirk is Blast, and from what I can tell he fires a beam or energy force from his hands that causes a lot of random debris flying in every direction. Hence, the need for him to wear protective glasses. Anyway, Sensoji charges in on his own without Present Mic and quickly loses to Team Aizakumo.
Denki Kaminari. Is he the U.A. traitor? Is he working for the League of Villains? Is he working for the Meta Liberation Army? Is it both now because they merged? Let’s talk about where Kaminari’s true allegiances may lie.
First things first, is Kaminari working for the League of Villains? NO. I mostly think this because Hagakure seems like the most likely traitor given her unconfirmed location during the USJ arc, her invisible quirk being the perfect ability for a spy, and her seemingly overall being a character who isn’t overly forward but not super passive either. She does just enough to make herself noticeable while being unnoticeable if you get my drift. Plus, I think she’s way stronger than she lets on (ex. blinding people during the Provisional License Arc) and to me, hiding your true power is a big red flag she’s actively keeping attention off herself.
What not to say watching a kid make the MLA pose.
Okay, so, Kaminari may not be working for the League. But, is he working for the Meta Liberation Army? My answer is YES.
Woah, woah, woah! Hold on fellow My Hero fans! It’s more complicated than you may think. I believe our favorite battery charger is working for the MLA’s ideals, not, I repeat, not feeding them intel on U.A. or any of his classmates in general. Keep in mind that becoming a hero doesn’t conflict with the MLA basic ideology. In fact, it actually helps fulfill it on some level. Think about it, what job in the My Hero Universe allows someone permission to use their quirk on the job in an almost unlimited fashion? A Hero. To someone like Kaminari, becoming a hero could mean having the most freedom in a society built on quirk restriction. Could that be why we’ve seen several heroes revealed as MLA members? Possibly, but we can’t dismiss a hero’s popularity too. If a large number of famous heroes pushed for less quirk restriction the public would listen. It’d be the easiest way of getting the average citizen on your side. Not to mention, the added intel you’d gain from working with the police and government officials. It’s the perfect job for someone who believes in what the MLA stands for.
Or, Shichibyekai if you prefer the Japanese name. In any case, it’s gone and with it a big hole in the Three Great Powers…for now.
All those brawls with Peter Griffin paid off.
Let’s save the replacement talk for later. There’s too much that happened in this chapter I want to discuss. Firstly, Sabo and Vivi. What went down? We know Im, the secret ruler of the World Government, has the Alabasta Princess on its radar. Did they follow through with an assassination attempt and blame it on Sabo? Is Sabo still alive? YES! I’m won’t even try drumming up tension with that one. No way is Oda off-paneling Sabo’s death. He’s alive, for now, but at the very least he’s in Marine custody.
Could the theorized assassination attempt be the news the World Government wanted taken out of the papers? Probably. I doubt the WG wanted info on Sabo’s status and the possible assassination attempt out in the open too soon. I’m sure they didn’t want to tip off Dragon and the other Revolutionaries this soon. But, the same could be said for them not wanting to tip off the Warlords. Ah, so much to cover up, and so little time.
So, what’s Blackbeard after now? It’s something the Marines are about to get or recently obtained. Could it be Pluton or Ploton’s plans that’s rumored to be hidden in Alabasta? Maybe. I got no clue what else it can be.
…strong, sweet, and able to keep me up all night. From partying, I mean.
What the— Get the hell outta my room!
Not much happened this chapter, but I’ll touch on the most important stuff. One being Deku spending some time with Mama Inko. She’s trying to be supportive of Deku’s choices. I like it. And, Deku’s being honest, talking about his troubles with his quirk. I like that too. It can’t be easy for the two of them being apart but I’m happy they’re being honest with one another.
We check-in with Hawks who was smart enough to know he’d be monitored by the Meta Liberation Front at some point and is using a code to communicate with the Public Safety Commission. My guess: using his feathers in some fashion. Slidin’ Go showed up again. I really like that character. Still hoping Kaminari or another U.A. student interns under him.
Mammoth Base Opera Castle 