Let the 2nd half of the season begin!
Work studies have begun again. This time, Deku, along with Bakugo and Todoroki, make their way to Endeavor’s agency to work under the #1 hero himself! Meanwhile, Hawks continues his work as a double-agent. But when the enemy starts monitoring his every move, will he be able to find a way to warn Endeavor and the others?
The new OP and ED are both pretty great. The OP features some really creative visuals that compliment the new song (by Man With a Mission, which is always a win) perfectly. The new ED is also pretty solid; it has a melancholy feel that perfectly captures the differences between Hawks and the Class A kids. Plus, it gives some hints into Hawks’ backstory, which is neat.
Speaking of Hawks: this episode focuses very much on him. I have mixed feelings on this. On one hand, it’s a shame that we already know exactly which side he’s on, which removes a lot of intrigue from his character. On the other, it’s pretty compelling to see him struggle to maintain his enemy’s trust while giving subtle hints for Endeavor to pick up on. While I do think there’s some missed potential here, he’s still proving to be a really interesting character; he wants to do the right thing, but he needs to do so in a roundabout, subtle manner, requiring him to put a lot of faith in those around him.
Not that Hawks is the only character to get any attention. We get some fun stuff with Deku and the gang. Deku has a cute reunion with his mother, which is always feel-good, and he and Todoroki and Bakugo all get a brief moment of badassery during their first day with Endeavor. It’s not much, but it’s pretty cool.
And Bakugo straight-up calls Endeavor cringe. Which… wow.
On the subject of Endeavor, he gets some high quality moments here! His teaching style is a ton of fun; he just says “Keep up”, then goes off to do his job. It’s perfectly in line with his character and makes the training actually exciting, as it keeps the action up at all times. Plus, we see him show off his big brain when he decodes Hawks’ message!
Which… would be a cool scene! If not for a few issues. Primarily the fact that there are no subtitles. And the whole book is written in Japanese. Which I cannot read.
Rewinding a bit to the action: it’s short-lived, but pretty cool. The glass-manipulating villain is cool and his brief scuffle with Endeavor is pretty well-animated. And seeing Deku, Bakugo, and Todoroki showing off their hero reflexes is pretty rad. If it lasted more than two minutes, it would be amazing! As it is, though, it’s solid.
This episode also provides a metric fuckton of world building! We learn about a villain of old named Destro (holy shit, an old villain that isn’t AFO?!), who lead a Quirk revolution back in the day. He was basically all about doing whatever the hell you want and having true freedom with your powers. It adds a nice bit of history that makes the world feel that much more real and properly lived in.
And finally, after several seasons of buildup and foreshadowing, we finally get to see what a high-end hero agency looks like! We got a mild taste of it back in season four with Hawkeye’s agency, but it wasn’t much; fuck, it was hardly anything! But now, through Endeavor’s agency, we get a proper look at just how insanely hectic yet organized it can be. It’s a fun little look at what life as a pro hero really looks like!
Overall, this episode was fairly strong! We got a ton of world building, foreshadowing, and a little bit of action! A very strong start to this new arc!
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