Thanks to another batch of regular releases, the past month has given us four more chapters of mangaka Kōhei Horikoshi’s “My Hero Academia” to read, appreciate, and analyse. While further fun has been had this month exploring interactions between members of the vibrant U.A. High student body, much like last month’s content did, there has certainly been a greater emphasis placed on both the motivations of the arc’s antagonists and the escalation of events leading to the arc’s conclusion.

Prior to the actual conflict, which is portrayed so effectively in the past two chapters, the fantastic moments dedicated to Gentle, La Brava, and Deku’s training with All Might ought to all be recognised. While some may hasten to discuss the dynamic combat that Horikoshi’s lays out so well in Chapters 176 and 177, the importance of the time spent with these characters before that should not be undervalued.

With the very beginning of Chapter 174 after all (titled ‘Golden Tips Imperial’), the ending of the previous chapter is given some welcome context. Along with discarding her business-like outfit, Ashido discards the possibility of Deku being pulled from the dance team as a result of him lacking the required ability. Instead, it is understandably explained that the staging team requires another set of hands to carry out their plans for the upcoming performance. In order to haul Aoyama (the living disco ball) around the dance floor, someone with considerable strength is needed, and given both his quirk and his recent bonding with the involved party, it is decided that Deku is the perfect fit for such a task. This decision is something I can get behind wholeheartedly, as it once again shows Horikoshi’s ability to make even the seemingly smallest character development have eventual narrative weight, as well as demonstrates the clarity he has in regard to the future of the story. This is something many mangaka let pass them by in the rigorous world of weekly serialisation, and thus I believe it should be celebrated when a creator is capable of writing consistently with purpose.

Following this, we return to Deku’s training, as I highlighted in my introduction. As part of this, Horikoshi is sure to reiterate the differences between Deku and All Might when it comes to their comparative ease of use with One For All. While Deku has to strive for every little improvement he makes, All Might instead had talent and the sense for it, which in turn clarifies that following Deku’s journey and All Might’s end result is the far more interesting option for the narrative. This is cleverly interwoven, however, with moments of comedic brevity, which harken back to key character traits of All Might, which haven’t been seen for quite some time, given the relatively background role he has taken up over the course of the past year of serialisation. Horikoshi also does not miss the opportunity to include another Harry Potter reference in this chapter, with Mei’s gadget remarkably resembling a Golden Snitch.

Mei’s entrance though is more than a vehicle for this, as she also raises the topic of support items. This works in two ways: in that it re-establishes her working relationship with Deku, which has a pretty immediate pay-off in the form of new support items that compliment the training Deku has undergone, and it also highlights the mystery still surrounding the finer details of All Might’s rise to the position of the Symbol of Peace. After all, with this, we are treated to an image of a ‘Rare Might’ attempting to utilise his own support items. The knowledge that past technology was incapable of helping All Might also manages to tell us two things: that Hatsume Mei is a budding genius, and more specifically, that her work is sure to be of great help to Deku and co. moving forward. The advice that accompanies this image is also worth noting, as the warning regarding an over-reliance on support items could indeed be foreshadowing for a number of characters, with perhaps Aoyama (given the recent focus on him in the build-up to the School Festival) being the most easily associated with such a potential problem.

Beyond this pivotal scene, Chapter 174 gives time to two other scenarios. The first involves another moment with Class 1-A, wherein Yaoyorozu’s mention of the Golden Tips Imperial tea (which may well be the most initially perplexing chapter title I’ve seen in some time) and Deku’s accidental click of a recommended video allows for attention to be drawn to Gentle. Later, this then allows for our protagonist to connect the dots and not be fooled by a simple disguise, which cannot be said for a number of Deku’s peers, in regard to the protagonists of other Jump battle manga series, when it comes to being easily deceived.

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This moment segues well into greater Gentle and La Brava focus, which I also sought to draw attention to in the opening statement of this analysis. What I think Horikoshi does well with the rest of this chapter is really endear Gentle and La Brava, to those readers who perhaps prior to this point weren’t particularly sold on the pair. From the off, the effort Gentle puts into his schemes is communicated clearly. Alongside this, the intentions behind this particular plan of invading U.A. during the School Festival are brought to light, and it is obvious that while he may be a criminal, Gentle is far from villainous. The unnecessarily complex procedure by which Gentle intends to carry out his plan is also made to be wonderfully comedic, through its sheer ridiculousness. Horikoshi really does exploit the juxtaposition between these somewhat goofy antagonists, and the highly cold and calculating Overhaul who preceded them, and I for one am grateful for it.

Another aspect of this sequence that ought to be pointed out is the inclusion of backstory, and more specifically, the first meeting of Gentle and La Brava. While this is used to demonstrate La Brava’s hacking ability, as she easily hacked the address of the dapper criminal, this moment is also utilised to cement the strong connection between the two. While it is made clear that La Brava clearly has feelings of adoration for Gentle, the addition of Gentle describing how the arrival of the diminutive hacker signalled the end of his gloomy days really does help to elevate their dynamic in my eyes. So much so in fact, that you can’t help but root for them a little in the latter chapters of this month’s batch.

After this affirmation of resolve from Gentle and La Brava, Horikoshi intelligently includes a variety of things pertaining to the School Festival that Deku is equally as resolved to protect, in the first half of Chapter 175 (titled ‘Morning, The Day Of…’). This parallel commendably sets up the stakes for the clash that is to come, by the last two chapters of this batch of material. For example, the first page of Chapter 175 is a montage of characters that are wholeheartedly preparing for the impending festival, ending with an endearing panel of Eri, whom I would guess may be having her hair tied by Aizawa. We are then presented with the final rehearsal from Class 1-A, wherein we see the commitment shown by all of the students, while special praise from Sero and Kirishima is reserved for Ashido.

The following scene, while short, is an important one for two reasons. The first is that it establishes the time confines within which the Gentle and Deku conflict must play out, and the second is that it provides Deku with a reason to encounter Gentle outside of U.A. While the fraying of the rope may seem a little contrived, I quite enjoy the fact that Class 1-A doesn’t always look to take advantage of their friend Yaoyorozu, despite the utility of her quirk. A small detail like that really serves to humanise these children, who may otherwise be characterised largely by their supernatural ability. After this though, as the day of the festival finally arrives, we see the new support gear for Deku that was teased in the prior chapter. While only a minor moment in the grand scheme of things, I always enjoy seeing both the progress Deku makes toward becoming a more effective hero, and any interactions he has with the undeniably zany Mei. Despite Deku receiving this new tech so relatively quickly, I must admit that at first, I didn’t quite expect for us to see exactly what they could do right away. And yet, at the end of this chapter, a scenario indeed presents itself that enables Deku to show exactly what Mei’s invention is capable of.

Before that conflict kicks off in earnest however, the initial meeting between Deku and the antagonistic pair at the end of Chapter 175 deserves credit. Although initially comical in tone, as a result of tea being a prominent factor in their opening exchange, the speed at which Deku fully grasps the situation at hand is much welcomed by me, as I made reference to earlier. The panelling and shading utilised by Horikoshi also captures the intensity of expression displayed by both Deku and Gentle, as the pair come to terms with the fact that confrontation is now unavoidable. The tension is made clear too, by the use of a black background and striking sound effects, which when coupled with Deku’s inner dialogue regarding his desire to see the School Festival go ahead without issue, really had me excited for the chapters to come.

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Thankfully, I was not to be disappointed. Together, Chapters 176 and 177 (titled ‘Deku vs. Gentle Criminal’ and ‘At The Construction Site’ respectively) deliver a stimulating, visually pleasing, and fantastically creative start to the fight, tinged with hilarious interactions, which looks set to continue on into next month’s content. The opening of this fight, in particular, appeals greatly to me. Deku adopting a firm stance, and refusing to hesitate and back down as he may have done on previous occasions is a joy to behold. A moment like this reiterates to me just how important passing the Provisional License Exam was for the kids of Class 1-A, as it now allows Horikoshi to craft scenarios wherein the primary cast can act heroically, with very few restrictions.

Beyond this though, another aspect of the fight’s opening I appreciated was Gentle’s opening gambit. While whipping off his disguise, and reciting an intentionally corny introduction for his video, he does not allow himself to be taken advantage of. While it seems as if he handed the advantage to Deku by turning away, it is then revealed that Gentle had actually already activated his quirk in a defensive manner, rather subtly. Something else I wish to praise Horikoshi for here, in regard to Gentle, is the equally subtle foreshadowing of his quirk. While the specifics of his quirk were hard to pin down prior to Chapter 176, enough little clues were left behind during the build-up of this arc for sensible guesses to be made, and that’s something I highly appreciate as a reader, as it certainly shows forethought from the mangaka.

Something else I enjoyed in this conflict was the stark contrast between the effectiveness of Gentle’s quirk in combat, and the comedy seen through his penchant for fleeing, the hilarity of his back-and-forths with La Brava, and the exaggerated facial expressions he is seen to have. Both Gently Rebound and Gently Trampoline demonstrate fantastic control over his quirk, as does his manipulation of the construction site in Chapter 177, and yet both he and La Brava are constantly taken aback by the power and speed shown by Deku, whose reputation, garnered as a result of his brutal fight with Todoroki at the Sports Festival, precedes him.

It’s undoubted though, that while Gentle has some fantastic moments in these fight-oriented chapters, Deku certainly manages to shine still. In part due to Horikoshi’s utterly mind-blowing panelling (which has only improved over the past year), and also as a result of the sheer quality of Horikoshi’s dynamic character art, we are thankfully presented with some memorable moments in this fight that should be remembered fondly in the future. The first culminates in the initial example of Deku’s new Delaware Smash Air Force, which was made possible by Mei’s support items, Ashido’s dance instruction, and the drive to achieve victory, which Deku draws from the efforts of his peers, from the time they spent preparing for the festival.

The second though certainly appears to borrow inspiration from something you’d see in an American superhero comic, which given Horikoshi’s wider inspiration for the series would make sense. After Gentle tries to exploit Deku’s heroic tendencies, as a means of occupying him long enough so that he and La Brava could make their break for U.A., Deku demonstrates a feat of considerable strength as he lifts a steel girder with one hand, allowing him to fire off another Delaware Smash Air Force, which is beautifully panelled for the climax of the most recent chapter.

Such a defiantly heroic act from Deku clearly demonstrates his unshakeable will, to both Gentle and La Brava, and thus pressures the latter into believing they have no option but to utilise her own quirk, if they are to make good on their promise and indeed invade U.A. This apparent level of desperation may indeed show just how far Deku has come in such a relatively short amount of time (in-universe) when faced with a capable, yet goofy, villainous duo. And while this is simply marvellous to bear witness to, I can’t help but be a little more intrigued regarding the mystery surrounding the specific nature of La Brava’s quirk. Unlike Gentle before her, there doesn’t appear to be any obvious visual clues as to just what her quirk could in fact be. Although while it certainly isn’t conclusive, I would like to draw attention to La Brava’s eyes, as her multi-ring design is positively striking. If her quirk had something to do with them, or perhaps if her quirk’s tell corresponded to that, I wouldn’t be surprised. At the very least I just hope that her quirk has nothing to do with hacking, and that is instead a regular skill she has developed over time through effort. Either way, I’m very much excited to see where Horikoshi takes things next month as always. I hope you’ll all join me back here for the next instalment of Go Beyond, to hear my “My Hero Academia” musings once again then.