(Shizuku): Hello and welcome to Project Nitsuj. Welcome to My Hero Summeria hosted by me, Shizuku and boss.
(Nitsuj): Today, we’re continuing our look at My Hero Academia with season 2. After the positive reviews of the first season, a second season came out the following year and instead of just being 12 episodes, it would be 24 episodes moving forward.
(Shizuku): While the series hadn’t reached that worldwide popularity as of yet, the first season did get a lot of people interested in the series. People in the west took notice of it and it would be the second season where My Hero Academia would become a household name. Let’s take a look at season 2.
Opening and Ending Themes
(Nitsuj): The first opening of the season is “Peace Sign” by Kenshi Yonezu. A little slower than the first opening which gives you more time to pay close attention to the lyrics and let them sink in. This song feels like a short break you have during a workout before you get back to the grind. A good song that sets the tone for the first of the anime. In second half of the season the opening is, “Sora ni Utaeba” by Amazarashi. This is an opening that a lot of people forget from the anime, but honestly, it’s one of my favorites. While everyone was praising the Peace Sign, I was praising this song. I think the song does a good job capturing the feeling of lost and defeat, but also finding the determination to keep on moving forward. I think the instrumental is great and the singer’s voice is powerful when he sings at the top of his lungs. You can just feel the passion he has for this song.
(Shizuku): For the first ending we have “Dakara, Hiroti ja Nai” by Little Glee Monster. It’s alright. I like the singer and how the song seems to be focusing on the female cast. The melody is nice and fits well for a series like this. The second ending is “Datte Atashi no Hiro” by LiSA. I feel this song is better than the previous ending. It’s LiSA, you know it’s going to be great. This song does a good job shining the spotlight on how the close the characters have become with each other which is what this season will be focusing on. However, the animation for this ending steals the show as reimagines the characters in an RPG world. I’m surprised there’s no OVA, spinoff, or game based off this concept. This would be awesome.
Episodes 1-4
(Nitsuj): So the new season starts off where the last season ended. The academy has been shut down for a few days after the attack from last season (that was one wild training exercise) and the teachers believe that Shigaraki is working with someone stronger than him to take down All Might. After a few days, school resumes and everyone gets told to get ready for the sports festival. But it’s not your normal sports festival it’s a festival where heroes from around the country come to scout the next crop of heroes and possibly offer an internship to work at their agency (Shizuku: In other words, it’s a career fair). As everyone talks about the festival we see Ochaco very excited for it which prompts Izuku to asks her what drives her to be a hero to which she replies money (Ochaco need money~). We find out that her family owns a construction company but it’s not doing so well and now the family is poor. Ochaco wants to get her hero license and use her powers to help her family and give her parents a much deserved vacation to Hawaii (Shizuku: Every parent deserves a daughter like you). All Might invites Izuku to lunch and tells bad news. The fight with Nomu caused All Might to overuse his powers and now he can only maintain his power 15 minutes a day (you could speed watch an episode of Seinfield in that time).
Nothing much to say about episode 2. Everyone gets training for the sports festival determined to prove themselves on the stage presented to them in front of the whole country (Shizuku: In a way it’s like Wrestlemania). The day of the sports festival arrive where we see the second class of heroes as well as the general studies classes, support class, and business class are participating as well. As you can imagine all the other classes are targeting the A class and it doesn’t help that Katsuki keeps provoking them with his attitude and words (the boy just loves putting a target on his back. Well give him credit, he may have the big mouth but he doesn’t have a big head). We also see Shoto call out Izuku saying that he will be the best (way to start developing other characters). The 1st round of the festival is the obstacle course. Students will race to the finish line and are free to do whatever they want as long as they remain on the course. The race begins where Shoto takes an early lead using his ice powers (Shizuku: If you make a Vanilla Ice reference I’m going to give you a stunner. (Nitsuj): Wasn’t planning on it. (Shizuku): Wise man) and leaves everyone else to deal with the robots the hero class had to face off against in the entrance exam.
The race continues in episode 3 with Shoto out in front but the students from class A are moving through the robots and taking them down with ease because unlike the other classes they aren’t hesitating (they’ve experienced combat firsthand so they know what to do and what not to do. The other classes on the other lack that experience because of that they are hesitating). After the robots comes the next obstacle, traversing over a large canyon where Katsuki catches up to Shoto in the final leg of the race which is passing through a landmine field. The two fight for first place in the landmine field dodging each other’s attacks and avoiding the landmines where Izuku uses the mines and a piece of the robot’s armor as a catapult to launch himself into first place and outruns Katsuki and Shoto to come in first followed by Shoto and Katsuki (scene here: https://youtu.be/3JYta9BnPiQ?si=phCjw2mHwtc4PJ3y. (Shizuku): He just keeps getting further and further away from the top). The first 42 to cross the finish line move on to the next round and they move on to the next round which is the cavalry battle. It’s a team where the participants will form teams of 2 or 4 people following the traditional rules of a cavalry however based on the results from the last game, everyone has been assigned a point value and the higher you ranked in the last game the more points you’re worth (I’ve got a bad feeling about this). Since Izuku came in first he’s worth 10 million points meaning that if anyone takes him down they’re pretty much guaranteed to move on to the next round (Shizuku: Well kid you got your wish. You wanted to stand at the top and now everyone is coming to bring you down).
In episode 4 we start off by getting more info about the cavalry game. Each player will wear a headband representing their point value and players will try to steal said headbands. Even if you lose your headband you can still keep playing and regain your points until time is up. Since Izuku is worth 10 million points it makes sense to go after him and not team up with him (Shizuku: Sounds right. If it was me I go directly for the kid as soon as the game started) but luck comes his way when Ochaco agrees to be on his team (she’s gonna save the house of Midoriya). Izuku tries to get Tenya to join his team but he says no. While he respects and likes Izuku he has no intention of playing second fiddle to him (I can respect that). He’s also striving for the top and wants Izuku to know that Shoto and Katsuki aren’t the only ones he should be worried about. Despite this fallback Izuku does find two other people who willingly join his team. The first is Mei a student in the support course (they’re the students who make all the outfits and gadgets. (Shizuku): In other words, nerds. Just like the boss here. (Nitsuj): I prefer nighter. I’m a nerd but I’m a fighter as well) and Tokoyami another student from class A who has one of the more interesting quirks (in truth, it’s probably my favorite quirk in the series so far). He can fight using his shadow which houses a sentient lifeform that he controls. The match begins where Izuku’s plan is to run for 15 minutes (we must run away. . .to win) but everyone goes after him however thanks to his fast thinking and the combined teamwork of everyone they manage to stay alive and untouched.
Episodes 5-8
Nothing much to say about episode 5. Shoto’s team trap Izuku’s team and with a hidden special move performed by Tenya, Shoto’s team manages to get Izuku’s headband (they’re going to the next round). Izuku tries to reclaim his headband using his quirk which overwhelms and scares Shoto so much that he actually uses his fire power a power that he said he would never use (Shizuku: I’m sure we’ll explore this in the backstory). This distraction allows Izuku to grab the headband but not his and time is up. Despite losing the headband, Izuku’s team makes the cut for the next round thanks to Tokoyami who also managed to steal a headband from Shoto while he was distracted. After this event is intermission time and during that time Shoto calls Izuku out for a private talk (scene here: https://youtu.be/dlcX9RWfhFI?si=zUmpx1CwEfNl1yXR).
(Shizuku): At the start of episode 6 Shoto asks Izuku if he’s All Might’s secret love child (https://youtu.be/s-aInKCWnnc). The reason for this question is because of All Might’s interest in Izuku and because Shoto aims to take him down due to family circumstances. We find out that Shoto is the son of Endeavor who next to All Might is the greatest hero in the world (Nitsuj: With that glorious flaming beard and mustache it’s amazing he’s not number 1). No matter how hard he tried he could never reach All Might’s level and was stuck in the number 2 spot. So he decided to move on to his next plan, creating a hero who would surpass All Might. Enter Shoto, who was born through the power of quirk marriage a marriage in which people with quirks get married in the hopes that the child will inherit one of their quirks if not both. Shoto mom’s family gave her to Endeavor and Shoto was born with the quirk of ice (on his mother’s side) and fire (two opposites coming together to create something great. Sounds like Persona. (Nitsuj): The Temperance arcana. (Shizuku): You sure? (Nitsuj): I am a Persona enthusiast). For some reason the relationship between Shoto and his mother was quite bad as she found his right half (his fire side) disgusting and she poured hot water on him which resulted in half his face being burnt. His relationship with Endeavor wasn’t better as Endeavor only sees him as a tool to be used to make it to the top. Because of this Shoto refuses to use his right half and plans to make to the top relying on his ice half only (scene here: https://youtu.be/FgsNAF5-hsk?si=tbCB6O0oNhvD7IDO. (Nitsuj): Truly, this character is the main character). He takes his leave and we find out that the final round will be a one-on-one fighting tournament between the top 4 teams (everybody for themselves). After enjoying the festivities of the festival (and Minata tricking the girls into wearing cheerleading outfits. (Nitsuj): Nice work) the tournament begins where the first round is Izuku vs Shinso from the general studies course.
(Nitsuj): The first fight begins in episode 7 where we see that Shinso has a dangerous and powerful quirk, brainwashing. Answer a question he asks you and you’re automatically under his control. At the start of the match Shinso made fun of Izuku’s friend and asked him a question which Izuku unknowingly answered and fell into his trap (foolish child. (Shizuku): Wait, if Shinso could do this why didn’t he go into the hero course? (Nitsuj): Because if he did take that entrance exam, he would have failed big time. When you really look at it the entrance exam for AU was unfair for students like Shinso who have mental powers. The exam favored people with physical powers or powers that enhanced their physical abilities leaving guys like Shinso at a disadvantage and overlooked what he could really do. It’s sad but unfortunately the general studies course was his only chance at getting accepted into the academy). As Izuku walks towards the end of the ring about to lose he snaps out of it by discharging his fingers thanks to the spirits of everyone before him who used OFA. With the brainwash gone Izuku begins pushing Shinso out the ring. Shinso tries to fight back but Izuku does a judo toss and tosses Shinso out the ring to win the match (scene here: https://youtu.be/LMs9pd2T-oY?si=6INsw0653hCQTrmh. (Shizuku): That was underwhelming). Despite losing, Shinso does receive praise from his classmates and a few other heroes who were impressed with his quirk. After the match, Izuku tells All Might what he saw (I see dead people) which All Might says it’s nothing to worry about. If anything it just proves that Izuku is becoming more accustomed to OFA. The next match is Shoto vs Sero where Shoto wins within seconds of the match starting because he was pissed after talking to his dad (scene here: https://youtu.be/7dzPFqPoXpA?si=Xxp0364WlbnNIoB6. You know, you and your dad should really go to therapy).
The fights continue in episode 8 where Kaminari loses to Ibara from hero class B. Her quirk is vines, her hair is entirely composed of vines that she can control and extend at will (Shizuku: She’s like Poison Ivy without the hippie talk) plus she’s a saint (scene here: https://youtu.be/7FjbXEL3cp4?si=7iqfNvtYEro-M9h2). In the next match is Tenya vs Mei where Mei willingly loses but not before using Tenya to show off all her amazing gadgets to investors (scene here: https://youtu.be/ClZltgRSic0?si=E4O8ugqpJP4kCImI, sneaky. I like it). The fifth match is Yuga (Shizuku: The guy with the belly button laser) vs Mina (the poison girl. Who may possibly be a fetish character). Mina wins remembering that Yuga can only fire his laser a certain number of times before he gets a stomachache and dodges all of his attacks to deliver an uppercut which takes him out (scene here: https://youtu.be/73vb5RllGhc?si=rXPMkUPB714XiL2k). The sixth match is Tokoyami vs Momo the class vice president who actually got into U.A via recommendations. Her quirk allows her to make weapons (Shizuku: That’s my kind of quirk). Tokoyami wins by forcing her out of bounds and Momo not even getting in one offensive move (scene here: https://youtu.be/_6hoDy_qttQ?si=ArCnF19QuHLlZfiB, wow, she got her ass owned). The sixth match is Eijiro (Shizuku: The one who can make his body hard as stone) vs Tetsutetsu (redundant name much?) from class B who can make his body as hard as steel (so not only do these two have the exact same powers but they even lookalike as well. Either the author was running out of quirks and character models or this is a joke. (Shizuku): Actually, jokes aside this was the best fight in the first round as we see these two strong and passionate guys do their best to go out and distinguish themselves from each other. They beat the living crap out of each other with hard punches. Shizuku likes). The fight ends in a draw as they both knock each other out but the two will arm wrestle later on to decide the winner. We move on to the final match of the 1st round Katsuki vs Ochaco (the rival vs the future girlfriend). We see that before the match Izuku offers Ochaco a strategy to help her beat Katsuki but she turns it down saying she’s going to do this on her own and prove she belongs on the same stage as the others.
Episodes 9-12
Episode 9 is the match against Ochaco and Katsuki. Katsuki obviously wins but I will give Ochaco credit and say she showed a lot of heart in the match and even Katsuki was being cautious around her (showing that he’s grown a little). Unfortunately, Katsuki sees through her last ditch plan and avoids it but even when her plan gets ruined Ochaco still has the guts to get back up and keep fighting despite knowing that her chances of winning are slim to none. Just before she can continue the match her body reaches its limits and she passes out giving Katsuki the victory (Shizuku: And him looking like a villain for picking on a sweet girl. Scene here: https://youtu.be/xgOFMvpSlE4?si=sPguhedt9HubfNlW). After this match, Eijiro and Tetsutetsu have their arm-wrestling rematch where because of metal fatigue (yeah metal does seem to wear out sooner than stone) Tetsutetsu loses and Eijiro gets to advance to the next round (scene here: https://youtu.be/cZmvJLlR8cQ?si=15-2LiFberTq39k8). As the second round is about to begin Izuku runs into Endeavor who tells him to put on a good show so his son can look good but Izuku tells him that Shoto isn’t Endeavor just like he isn’t All Might (although it’s obvious you would like to be him) and that they’ll both carve out their own paths in the world.
Episode 10 gives us one of the best matches in the series thus far. It’s Izuku vs Shoto and it starts off with Shoto keeping his distance and using his ice to knock Izuku out of the ring but Izuku keeps breaking his fingers to destroy the ice and recoil it back to Shoto (not the best strategy but since he can’t fully control his powers this is the best he can come up with and still keep fighting). As the match goes on Izuku uses his broken fingers again (Shizuku: My God those fingers are so bruised they’re practically black) and Shoto starts to reach his limits in terms of using his ice powers which wouldn’t be problem if he used his fire powers to warm himself up but he still refuses to use it. Izuku finally has enough and tells him to stop holding himself back (everybody is giving it their all to be a hero and you’re trying to become one only using half your powers? You disgust me. (Shizuku): Yes, we get it. Your dad is an asshole, the stress of your home gave your mom a mental breakdown that she attacked you, and you were abused at a young age but those powers that you have are yours and yours alone. Don’t deny your potential and embrace your possibilities). As the match continues Izuku manages to get a few hits in and finally forces Shoto to use his fire powers (yesssss~). With this Izuku and Shoto finally go all out with Shoto winning in the end something that a few people don’t like but personally I like it. Izuku doesn’t have full control over his powers at this point and time and in the previous fights he’s only won by the skin of his teeth. Shoto on the other hand does have full control of his powers since he’s been training with them his whole life. Even though he never really used his fire powers he shows he has control over them and knows how to use them. Whether you want to admit it or not Shoto is the all-around better fighter. Just because Izuku is the main character doesn’t mean he has to win every fight (Shizuku: If he did he’d be like Kirito and do you guys really want to see another Kirito?). A lost will help him grow and develop as a character (as well as lead to a great rematch down the road) plus it builds up Shoto as being more than just some one note side character. The series has already established Izuku’s character, now it’s time to establish the other characters and make us care about them (this is something a lot of mangas struggle with. Scene here: https://youtu.be/0tvC2iauh0U?si=JRmjO5uf81cBUh1w).
(Shizuku): Oh but Nitsuj, Shoto is an enemy. Why would Izuku screw himself over and make his enemy stronger?
(Nitsuj): Who ever said Shoto was an enemy? At best they’re rivals aiming for All Might’s throne. I don’t know about you guys but if I have a rival I would want them to go all out against me no matter what.
(Shizuku): The matches in episode 11 end in quick form as we see the final four are Shoto, Tenya, Tokoyami, and Katsuki (class A taking over! (Nitsuj): We own this place). Shoto takes on Tenya in the semifinals where Tenya tries to use his speed to beat Shoto and at first it works but Shoto plugs up his mufflers with ice and freezes Tenya up (scene here: https://youtu.be/ci1Vmof7OfA?si=qngFwtMqt7nCdAfH). In the match against Tokoyami and Katsuki, Katsuki figures out Tokoyami’s weakness to light and extorts that weakness giving him the victory (scene here: https://youtu.be/ouhDXCrLu6Y?si=nvX2fbX8mlHytPHu). Besides the fighting we do learn a few other things. One, All Might used to be quirkless just like Izuku but was given One for All by his master. Second, we get our first look at the hero killer who has just taken out Tenya’s brother.
In episode 12 it’s the final match between Shoto and Katsuki. Shoto still hesitates to use his fire powers to fight which pisses Katsuki off because he wants to beat Shoto when he’s going all out (if he beats him like this it just be an empty victory). Just when it seems like Shoto is about to use his fire he stops himself and takes a direct hit from Katsuki which sends him out of the ring giving Katsuki the win and pissing him off (scene here: https://youtu.be/A_BBBikzw80?si=a34nL2EsavRBVcxT). At the award ceremony Katsuki is so reluctant and angry by the results that he has to be restrained just from going out of control (Nitsuj: He looks like Hannibal Lecter. Scene here: https://youtu.be/tvFsntjfHic?si=u4b_mwQtVWwdRckV). After the festival Tenya reaches the hospital where his brother is barely alive and Shoto makes the first step to becoming a hero and not being his dad’s tool by visiting his mom in the hospital for the first time in years (Nitsuj: It’s a touching moment).
(Nitsuj): And that does it for the first half of season 2.
(Shizuku): Tune in next week when we take a look at the second half where our heroes will face, the hero killer.
