Given where the most recent chapter of mangaka Kōhei Horikoshi’s “My Hero Academia” ended, I’m glad to be reviewing the most recent batch of chapters now, and not one week prior. After all, Chapter 181 (titled ‘For Someone Else’) really did give us a satisfying conclusion to the most recent conflict with the Gentle Criminal himself, even if the current arc may yet have some time to run. After all, while these chapters focused heavily on the fight between Deku and Gentle, as well as giving us some wonderfully profound backstories for both Gentle and La Brava, they also sought to remind us that there’s plenty going on at the School Festival besides the Class 1-A performance.

This was seen from the very beginning of Chapter 178 after all (titled ‘The Woman called La Brava’), with the first few pages dedicated to the other events that will be taking place at the festival. The initial scene is dedicated to the Beauty Pageant, using participant Itsuka Kendo’s link to Class 1-B as a reminder of their own relevance to the festival, given their rather hilarious sounding fantasy screenplay. But with the Beauty Pageant itself the involved parties are also highlighted, being Nejire Hado and the rather eccentric Bibimi Kenranzaki. Following this we then see Mirio, Eri and Aizawa headed to the school, before getting a glimpse of Hatsume Mei, who herself is excited for the upcoming technology presentation. This quick flash through a variety of scenes serves a dual purpose, in that it once again gives life to the School Festival outside of Class 1-A’s band and dance performance, and also prepares us for what we can expect to see by the arc’s end. This is an effective and efficient use of just a few pages, before quickly moving back to the primary focus of the recent chapters.

We therefore return to Deku’s predicament at the construction site, wherein he stopped a falling girder from causing mayhem, but was only able to slow down the villainous pair, as opposed to apprehending them properly. Though in this rush to catch up, Horikoshi doesn’t miss an opportunity to remind us of Deku’s heroic nature. This is seen subtly, through his decision to place the dislodged girder on top of one of Gentle’s invisible air barriers, so that any passers-by didn’t accidentally injure themselves. Following this though, we see another asset of Deku’s, being his ability to analysis the movement and techniques of his opponent. Through this, Deku was able to not only catch up with Gentle, but he also managed to land a blow by ricocheting a Delaware Smash Air Force off of one of Gentle’s own defensive air walls. This really does manage to typify Deku’s strengths, outside of his inherited quirk, and is done so through some very dynamic art and fight choreography.

This brilliant strategical thinking from Deku gave him the opportunity to restrain the pair, which then allows for a transition into the next section of the chapter. What is then presented is a rather brief, but incredibly touching backstory for La Brava. We see her struggles in middle school, and signs of the reclusive life that followed, along with thoughts of potential suicide. But then, much like All Might did for Deku, Gentle appeared on the other side of the screen, and acted as her guiding light. We then witness their first meeting, the nervous disposition she possessed at first, and a flash of other key interactions. This includes the heart-warming moment, wherein Gentle wanted to make La Brava feel more comfortable with her own body, and so he applied permanent marker to his own eyes to mimic her bold lines. Through context clues, we can also assume that La Brava is somewhere in her early to mid 20s, which adds a certain intensity to the bond they share, given how far La Brava had fallen emotionally before they met.

Coming out of this flashback though, into the present day, we finally see the quirk that last chapter had teased. And it must be said that the delivery of this ability, in regards to the art and panelling used to depict its activation, is simply a triumph. The quirk itself though, being named Love, was inherently interesting to me upon first viewing. Well, and every viewing after that. After all, Horikoshi managed to weaponise a trope that is often used frustratingly in other works of fiction as a deus ex machina, in an utterly engaging fashion. The first thing to note of course, is that the power of love is being harnessed by the antagonists in this instance, which in itself is a departure from the norm. This is reminiscent though to Horikoshi’s work in a previous arc, where Suneater was facing three of Overhaul’s underlings, whose true power and greatest weakness came from the bonds of friendship they shared. From these instances, it is clear that Horikoshi enjoys playing around with such things, and I must say that I am perfectly happy for him to do so as a loyal reader, given just how well he executes these subversions of expectation. The rest of the chapter exemplifies this; as we see a return of the heart-themed steam that accompanied Gentle during his initial introduction, alongside an explanation for why he sometimes has La Brava cut and edit their footage, in addition to the continued use of fantastic panelling to convey the motion of Gentle’s chop.

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With this chapter’s end though, we see La Brava look away to avoid the show of violence from her normally gentle beloved, only to miss Deku intercepting the hit, before declaring he’s fought plenty of people who were stronger and faster and he’s still not beaten. This gripping cliffhanger is thankfully built upon in the next chapter (titled ‘School Festival Start!!’), but not before the stage is truly set with the first few pages. We are presented with an announcement, courtesy of Present Mic and the chapter title, which states that the School Festival has begun. This is used to parallel the Deku and Gentle confrontation perfectly, as that too has now begun in earnest, with the activation of La Brava’s quirk. There is also a brief moment with Hound Dog, who seems to notice something is wrong, which of course plays into the narrative shortly, and is hinted at by the fact that Deku is now bleeding after just having blocked Gentle’s chop. We are then shown several desperate exchanges between the pair, with Deku pleading for Gentle to desist, and Gentle assuring La Brava that the power of her love is certainly not inadequate. The inability of Deku to reach Gentle here is an apt callback to Todoroki’s advice, over a hundred chapters prior, in which he states that words must be accompanied by action to have true meaning. Deku does not disappoint on this front, it must be said, for the remainder of the fight.

This all then leads to the unveiling of another of Gentle’s techniques, his Gently Sandwich, which in its design suggests a sense of mounting frustration. A flash of potential backstory and motivation accompanies this moment though, which is thankfully expanded upon after another intense exchange. This altercation is interesting too, with Deku willing to rip up the ground as a means of escaping the aforementioned technique, and Gentle utilising his quirk on his own cape as a means of countering the young hero-in-training. This then moves into Gentle’s own flashback, as previously stated, which like La Brava’s in the chapter before this, is thoroughly engaging. After all, we see a young Gentle, who has managed to fail the Provisional License Exam four times. The despair that this failure eventually spawns, really does draw attention to the numerous people that Deku and his classmates defeated at their own Provisional License Exam, and just what that experience might make of them moving forward.

This sequence manages to highlight two overarching themes to me, that I believe to be pivotal for this story: dreams, including that of Deku wanting to become the greatest hero, inevitably require the failure of other dreams, and a mistake, regardless of the action’s intention, can bring about ruin in a society laden with rules and regulations. The latter of these is seen when Gentle looks to help a citizen in danger, only to obstruct the work of a licensed hero, which sees him admonished, expelled, and driven away by his parents. Horikoshi really does well here, to make his readership consider empathising with the struggles of Deku’s opponent, but the inclusion of someone forgetting about Gentle being the last straw before he turned to villainy, helps in re-establishing that Deku is indeed the protagonist of this affair. The chapter ends though with a truly phenomenal double spread though, after the conclusion of the flashback, as Deku states that he certainly isn’t mocking his opponent, while the pair clashes once more with tremendous effect.

The next chapter (titled ‘Unbeknownst’) starts off as the previous chapter ended, in regards to depicting an incredibly intense encounter through breathtakingly detailed artwork. The imposing image of the self-proclaimed Gentle Criminal towering over our hero, hands interlocked with the strain creating cracks in Deku’s new gloves, is an incredibly powerful one. Yet Deku stands his ground, both physically and mentally, as Gentle proceeds to ask him why he became a hero. Deku then responds by referring to carrying out his dream, on behalf of those who either believed in him, respected him for pursuing it, or have suffered in the process. This then leads to a really evocative page, with Deku declaring that he wants to be the one who’ll show them all a bright future, which is a direct reference to the plea Nighteye made in his final moments.

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Meanwhile, we see La Brava leave the fight behind, as she looks to initiate their planned infiltration of the School Festival. This journey takes her up the hill, and closer to UA’s servers, so she can hack them. But in turn, by doing so, she is witness to the arrival of Hound Dog and several Ectoplasm clones. She then runs back in her partner’s direction, who is none the wiser, as he willingly abandons his gentle persona to both try and finish things with Deku quickly, as well as giving him the respect he believes he has earned. Deku manages to fend off a determined Gentle admirably, first with a four finger Air Force, followed by a St. Louis Smash to the face, after having predicted where he would dodge. This attack downs Gentle, signals the end of La Brava’s quirk, and allows Deku the chance to pin the troublemaker. After doing so, Deku declares that the fight was the toughest he’s had, which is perfectly explained in the following chapter. The scene that follows this one though is one of utter misery and despair, from La Brava’s perspective. After seeing her love be defeated, she bangs away at Deku, demanding to know where their bright future is in all this, before proclaiming that she may well die if she’s separated from Gentle. Through this whole exchange, Horikoshi does a fantastic job of portraying real hurt, and reinforces the concept that achieving one’s goals and dreams can often derail those of another. This culminates in Gentle surrendering to the newly arrived pro heroes, but only after sending Deku flying, as a means of obscuring the truth of their fight, so he can try to ensure a bright future for La Brava.

The final chapter of this month’s batch opens with giving us some welcome context, regarding the speed at which the pro heroes sensed an issue near the school’s perimeter, communicated with one another, and then moved to deal with it. Given their standing as collective mentors to the group of protagonists we follow in the story, I’m always glad when we get to see impressive work from any number of the teachers. It is also clarified to the audience though, that understandably, the festival will only be evacuated if there is a confirmation of hostile intent. This therefore elevates the importance of Gentle’s decision at the climax of the last chapter, to surrender to the UA staff members without hesitation. It is interesting to note that Gentle is indeed recognised by Ectoplasm, from appearance alone, despite the relatively minor nature of his crimes thus far. What comes next is a rather tense interrogation from Hound Dog, whose anger at being misled is illustrated with real intensity, which actually serves to paint the pro as worryingly aggressive, when contrasted to the now resigned Gentle. Gentle then admits truthfully to the pros that Deku is nearby, before presenting them with another lie, concerning La Brava. In the hope her punishment would be comparatively lightened, he asserts that he both abducted and brainwashed the seemingly naïve woman, while internally reflecting on his own true nature, in which he’s glad that in the end he is acting out of consideration for her.

With Deku then arriving at the scene, he quickly picks up on what was happening with Gentle and La Brava, and so he willingly plays down the extent of their conflict. While Hound Dog doesn’t seem wholly satisfied with Deku’s version of events, he has no choice but to believe the young hero candidate, and he therefore reports to the other staff members that there is no pressing threat. As Gentle is taken away by the pros, Horikoshi is sure to reiterate the overarching concern for the state of hero society that this encounter presents to Deku however, in that those whose heroic dreams are dashed can indeed lead them down a darker path. This is then followed by a montage of Deku, sensibly accompanied by Ectoplasm, collecting the items he dropped earlier and the camcorder La Brava had been using to film their escapades. Over this though, we are given Deku’s inner thoughts which supply an explanation for why he believes this fight was his toughest yet, in that he could easily empathise with the sentiments that Gentle felt given his own hardships with becoming a hero. This is supplemented with their joint desire to fight on behalf of another’s happiness, with Gentle fighting for La Brava’s sake, and Deku for Eri. This then is where the chapter looks to round the conflict off, with the beginning of Class 1-A’s performance, complete with an opening of curtains and the exchange of a true smile between Deku and Eri, as she sees one of her heroes follow through on his promise. This is a truly uplifting moment, which reminds the series’ readers just what Deku’s been fighting for over the last month or so, and I think it’s a very well executed emotional beat.

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I will say though, that the wording of the narration that accompanies this adorable moment may be worth noticing. I can’t personally remember a time in which Deku’s future self has used pronouns to address a specific individual in his narration before, which seems to be the case of ‘you’ and referring to Eri. Does this indicate the importance of Eri’s role moving forward? Well, only time will tell, but I certainly think it’s something to keep an eye on for the future.

Alongside this prospect though, as previously stated, I am very excited for the remainder of this arc. I wonder just how much we’ll see of the School Festival itself then, regarding the considerable set-up we’ve been given for other events that are supposed to be occurring. I’m also very intrigued to see just where Horikoshi takes the narrative after this event, so hopefully you’ll check back in with my next analysis, at the beginning of next month, to read my thoughts on such things.