(Shizuku): Yo! This is Shizuku and welcome to Project Nitsuj. I’m here with the boss and we’re continuing My Hero Summeria with season 4 of My Hero Academia.
(Nitsuj): We[ve reached the halfway point of the anime as season 4 ran from 2019-2020 and was one of the animes that continued running during the pandemic. This is also the season where everyone felt the series was beginning to drag out, but it also features one of the best arcs in the first half. Let’s continue are Summeria. This My Hero Academia S4.
Opening and Ending Themes
(Shizuku): The first opening of this is “Polaris” by Blue Encount. This was actually my favorite opening in the series. The guitar in this song is amazing and really sets the tone for the first half of the anime and the story they’re telling. Feeling lost and helpless but finding hope and reaching your hand out to help others. The second opening is “Starmaker” by KANA-BOON. This opening is more lighthearted and energetic. I have to admit whenever I was feeling down after a fight or having a bad day, this song would always cheer me up and given the state the world was in at the time, this song was a ray of sunshine.
(Nitsuj): Our first ending is “Kokai no Uta” by Sayuri. Man, this song hits even harder after Sayuri’s death last year. The song itself is excellent. It gets across so many emotions. Lost, sadness, hope, and peace are all conveyed in this song and I love it. Looking back this may just be my favorite ending from the series. The second ending, “Shout Baby” by Ryokuoshoku Shakai is alright. Not one of my favorite endings but I do like the singer and the feeling of nostalgia it gives.
Episodes 1-4
(Nitsuj): Episode 1 of the new season is a recap episode. A freelance reporter sneaks into the school in the hopes of finding All Might’s successor. Sure enough, he pieces together that Izuku is All Might’s successor but decides to keep it a secret until the time is right.
In episode 2 we start off by meeting the villain Overhaul the young leader of a yakuza clan voiced by Kenjiro Tsuda (Nanami from Jujutsu Kaisen. He is one of my favorite VAs. I love this guy’s voice. In a sea of talented VAs his voice always stands out). Yep, believe it or not this world has organized crime much like our own (Shizuku: And apparently they dress better). However, with the rise of heroes, they slowly started to go extinct with only a few still being alive and moving underground for safety. Overhaul’s clan is one of the last remaining organized crimes which means next to the League of Villains he’s the most influential villain now. Shigaraki invites him to join the League of Villains but Overhaul says no as Shigaraki has no plan and under his poor leadership, some of the bigger villains have been taken out. A fight soon breaks out where Overhaul kills a member of the League of Villains by making him explode (Nitsuj and Shizuku: Damn! (Nitsuj): Christ, what’s his quirk, Fist of the North Star? He just made that guy explode like it was nothing. Actually, his quirk allows him to assemble and dissemble anything he wants. If I had to compare it to another character’s power, it’d be Law from One Piece as he can dissemble and assemble anyone at will. The only difference is Law can only control people in a space he creates as opposed to Overhaul who only has to touch people). Shigaraki retaliates by killing one of Overhaul’s men and before more blood can be spilled both sides have a ceasefire and go their separate ways for the time being (scene here: https://youtu.be/t-NbIu1lTKY?si=LkCtgXiinHzS4NYE). Back at U.A the students have finally been given the green light to sign up for a work study. Similar to their internship, the students go to work at a hero’s agency but unlike last time where they were limited in what they could do, they now have permission to act as heroes and stop crimes thanks to their licenses. Izuku tries to do a work study with Gran Torino but he says no and tells Izuku to ask All Might if he can work under the hero Sir Nighteye, All Might’s former sidekick. Izuku goes to All Might to ask him for a recommendation but All Might says no as he and Nighteye aren’t on the best of terms with each other (Shizuku: Oh you guys had a terrible break up didn’t you?). Despite this, All Might reaches out to Mirio who works at Nighteye’s agency to act as middleman for Izuku and he’s more than happy to help. They go to Nighteye’s agency where Mirio says that despite Nighteye’s serious nature he’s a guy who loves to laugh (really? I can never read that guy, so I’m not sure what he wants) and Izuku should try to make him laugh to get on his good side. They arrive at the agency where we meet Nighteye and his sidekick Bubble Girl (https://youtu.be/oFs3lOqr1UE. Actually, fun fact, Bubble Girl was originally a fan made character that a fan sent in. Apparently, Kohei liked the character so much that he made her canon).
In the opening moments of episode 3 Izuku tries to make Nighteye laugh with his All Might impression. It doesn’t work. If anything, Izuku just pisses off Nighteye for how wrong he got it. The only silver lining in all of this is that we do discover that Nighteye is huge All Might fanboy (Shizuku: Oh God, there’s two of them). We see that his whole office is filled with All Might merchandise, even merchandise that was never sold to the public. After settling in Izuku asks Nighteye if he can work at his agency and Nighteye says no as Izuku hasn’t shown his worth or benefit to him (true, he’s got two great sidekicks. What can Izuku offer? (Shizuku): All Might discussions?). Nighteye decides to give Izuku a chance and challenges him to steal his seal stamp from him in 3 minutes. A task that will honestly be impossible as Nighteye’s quirk is Foresight. After touching and locking eyes with someone, Nighteye can predict the choices of that person for 1 hour. Which means no matter what Izuku does, he doesn’t stand a chance at beating Nighteye. Nighteye mocks Izuku saying he’s not worthy of All Might’s power, won’t accept him as All Might’s successor, and says that All Might should have went with Mirio instead of Izuku (and give all that power to Bethesda? We’ll have another EA on our hands). 3 minutes pass and Izuku fails to get the seal, but Nighteye takes notice that Izuku avoided stepping on the All Might merchandise. Despite being mocked he was able to stay calm and be mindful not to step on any of the merchandise in the room (Shizuku: Fanboy). This actually gets a chuckle out of Nighteye and he hands Izuku the seal to stamp his paper saying he was going to accept him from the beginning in the hopes of getting Izuku to realize he’s not worthy of All Might’s power (scene here: https://youtu.be/dWsY0Inf8j4?si=1c07B8PBtTv837EQ). The next day, Izuku goes to Nighteye’s office where he’ll be going on patrol around the city to investigate the activities of Overhaul.
Episode 4 starts off with Izuku and Mirio patrolling the streets where they run into a little girl with a horn named Eri who was running away from Overhaul. Mirio tells Izuku to give her back to Overhaul so as not to raise suspicion and compromise the investigation, but Eri clings to Izuku as if her life dependent on it (it’s a very unsettling scene as you can just see the fear in Eri’s eyes. She is scared for her life here and doesn’t want to go anywhere with Overhaul). Izuku not bringing himself to abandon the child begins to question Overhaul so he decides to talk to them where it’s hinted he was going to kill them. Eri realized this and wanting to protect them, goes back to Overhaul’s side and leaves with him (scene here: https://youtu.be/ZZ02nnS4PHI?si=QDptnA9wsGzSSU1m). This whole experience leaves a bitter taste in Izuku’s mouth (Shizuku: Like vegetables) that he can’t concentrate in school the next day as there’s so much on his mind (not able to save Eri, being left in the dark about Mirio, and Nighteye knowing about One For All). Izuku finally goes to All Might for answers. All Might tells him everything about how he accepted Nighteye as his sidekick despite promising to never have one. The two made a great team (Shizuku: All Might was the muscles. Nighteye was the brains) that is until All Might got that horrific injury. Nighteye begged All Might to retire saying that a new symbol of peace would appear and that if he continued going the way he’s going he would meet his end at the hands of a villain. All Might refused to leave the world in such danger without a symbol to get behind. They soon went their separate ways with All Might planning to give his power to Mirio but then he met Izuku and chose him instead (Shizuku: Damn. That’s just bad luck on Mirio’s part. (Nitsuj): Eh, he’s already powerful without it). When All Might told Nighteye about this he was not happy and the distance between them grew even more as Nighteye took in Mirio vowing to prove that All Might backed up the wrong horse. After hearing all of this, Izuku is shocked and scared at the thought of living in a world without his hero and tells All Might he can’t die until he sees Izuku succeed him (selfish much?). All Might says he won’t die on him yet and says he’ll twist fate to make sure he sees Izuku surpass him (scene here: https://youtu.be/RY30RYB6FxA?si=91Aghhu-8w5FG5VH).
Episodes 5-8
We actually get a chance to focus on some of the other characters in episode 5. We see Ochaco and Tsu are doing a work study at the hero agency where Nejire works at which is the dragon hero named Ryukyu (scene here: https://youtu.be/-zDTv8PXtEc?si=hlEHfMsl3_bWZoCh). Eijiro went to Tamaki to do a work study at the hero agency he works at with a hero named Fat Gum (Shizuku: Get in my belly). While Eijiro is patrolling the city with Fat Gum and Tamaki, they apprehend a bunch of drug dealers in the middle of the streets (just a normal night for heroes. Scene here: https://youtu.be/Eef_mhFztFY?si=0RKYslj6p04dErlL). While arresting them, one of the weaker dealers hides in the crowd, pulls out a gun and shoots Tamaki. While the bullet doesn’t kill Tamaki it stops him from using his quirk for a period of time (Shizuku: Wow, it’s like Aizawa’s quirk. I’m surprise there wasn’t a drug like this sooner). It turns out this is a drug Overhaul has been developing in secret as a way to change the status quo of the world and Shigaraki has decided to work with Overhaul however he won’t work under him. Eijiro chases after the man who Tamaki was pursuing and corners him in the back of an alley where he weak quirk that allows him to shoot blades out of his knuckles like Wolverine (except they suck). The blades aren’t strong enough to hurt Eijiro’s rockin’ body (couldn’t resist, had to be done) but the man injects himself with a drug that enhances his quirk, makes him shoot stronger and longer blades. Eijiro wanting to protect everyone, unleashes his new move where he hardens his body to his maximum potential. Eijiro can only hold this state for 40 seconds but that’s all the time he needs to take out the man and protect everyone before Fat Gum arrives to end. In the end, Eijiro saves the day and earns the respect of the people who witness his act of heroism (scene here: https://youtu.be/-TjHg9NxBEk?si=Eq1JxOU8oCb8q37T).
In episode 6 Izuku, Eijiro, Ochaco and Tsui along with the big three go to a big meeting hosted by Nighteye to ask a bunch of heroes for their assistance in dealing with Overhaul and his group. At the meeting it gets revealed that Overhaul has been working on a drug that damages the quirk genes of others. While the effects aren’t permanent it’s only a matter of time before Overhaul perfects the drug and declares war on the hero society. While how the drug is being made is still a mystery, it’s believed that Overhaul is using Eri’s body to produce the drug (Shizuku: And for that he must die). Upon hearing this, Izuku and Mirio feel like shit because they failed to save a little girl who was obviously in trouble but they handed her back to the villain to subject her to more horrors (scene here: https://youtu.be/PapUeUtcYtE?si=cafAeryshJyxSVJD). Nighteye now wishes for everyone’s help in raiding Overhaul’s hideout and rescuing Eri. Speaking of Eri, we do get a scene at the end which is just her lying in her bed crying (scene here: https://youtu.be/9eII6hE2uSE?si=urBwOHBbKIClyGmc, I must save her).
(Shizuku): It’s the start of the Overhaul raid in episode 7 as Izuku and the other students are put on standby while Nighteye and the others try to pinpoint where they’re keeping Eri. During this wait we do get a touching scene where Tenya and Shoto recognize all of the stress that Izuku is going through and try to cheer him up (that was cool of them). Izuku and the others finally get the call and after two days the heroes raid Overhaul’s compound (pardon the intrusion) prepared to save Eri and take out anyone in their way (scene here: https://youtu.be/e-_jsRRk_lE?si=or5Dj3AxMdKu9_4a).
Episode 8 focuses on Tamaki. The episode starts with a quick flashback as we see that even as a kid, Tamaki was a shy person with low self-esteem. He only had one friend and that person was Mirio who shined as bright as the sun in the eyes of Tamaki. It was Mirio who inspired Tamaki to be a hero saying that he too could shine as bright as the sun. Getting back to the present, the heroes make it to the underground where they come across one of Overhaul’s lieutenants, Irinaka who’s quirk allows them to go into objects and control them freely from within (Nitsuj: I’m starting to think One Piece also inspired MHA). Mirio goes on ahead while the others get dropped into a room where 3 yakuza quirk users are waiting for them. Tamaki takes them on himself where we see that they’re not so different from Tamaki. These guys got shit on by the world and had no hope for the future. Overhaul took them in and gave them a purpose, essentially becoming the sun into their dark world. The teamwork of the 3 yakuzas keeps throwing Tamaki off. Just when it seems like he has the advantage they use their quirks and teamwork to regain control until Tamaki finally takes them down with bird claws (when did he eat chicken? Scene here: https://youtu.be/1xUIxOsTeso?si=pUfmrenklgSYMoV4).
Episdoes 9-13
In episode 9 we focus on Fat Gum and Eijiro. They pretty much try to do the same thing they did with Tamaki in the last episode except it’s executed horribly here. Irinaka tries to attack Aizawa, but Fat Gum and Eijiro protect him and get thrown into a room where they fight against Rappa a fighting maniac who throws punches as fast as a Gatling gun and Tengai a level-headed man who can create barriers. It’s a classic shield and spear vs shield and shield scenario (Nitsuj: That’s not a classic set up at all) where Eijiro’s get his defenses broken through easily at the beginning and this just causes him to freeze with fear while Fat Gum takes on Rappa by himself and gets the fat beaten out of him (literally). As Eijiro stands there with fear we get a flashback to his final year of middle school where his personality didn’t really change all that much. He would always rush in to help people despite being weak and useless which was different compared to Mina (yep, they went to the same middle school. (Nitsuj): Now you know why people ship these two) who was weak but flashy and good at talking to people to win them over. Eijiro followed that old school idea of being a hero. No flips no flash, just plain old chivalry like his hero, Crimson Riot. Mina on the other hand representative that new school idea of being a hero. Be smart, flashy, and entertaining (style over substance. . .or substance over style, I don’t know). One day some girls from his school were being harassed by a criminal and he was too scared to help them but Mina despite being scared came to their rescue. This event caused Eijiro to rethink applying for U.A until he watched a recording of Crimson Riot where he talks about how he hesitated to save someone and it costed them their life. He goes on to say that chivalry isn’t about being strong or not knowing fear, it’s about having a strong spirit to face villains, deciding what’s right in your heart, and living with no regrets. After the flashback, Eijiro regains his courage and protects Fat Gum with his body withstanding Rappa’s attack and allowing Fat Gum to strike and take down both Rappa and Tengai where we see he became fit from the multiple hits (Nitsuj: Yeah, I see what you mean about this episode being done wrong from the previous episode. (Shizuku): Right? While I get that this is character development it’s not good character development because it doesn’t change Eijiro’s character. He decided years ago that he wouldn’t run away and be someone who would protect others. Okay, how does that tie-in to what’s happening now? We just saw him charge into danger without hesitation like 5 minutes ago to save Aizawa so what changed? Somebody broke through your defenses. Shocking, but not something to get all depressed about. Hell, that guy from episode 5 broke through his defenses but instead of getting scared he just hardened himself even more. This whole flashback while good insight into Eijiro’s past didn’t need to be shown here in the middle of what could have been a good fight scene. Scene here: https://youtu.be/QSnJ4yMyjbs?si=pe3fdgoTEw5bgJTB).
Episode 10 is a quick one. Despite Fat Gum’s immense power, Rappa is still standing but unable to fight as his arms are broken (you still got legs right? Use them). However, he’s a slave to his desires and wants to fight on an even ground so he takes Fat Gum and Eijiro to a medical room where he actually acknowledges Eijiro as a hero. After that, we see the rest of the heroes get separated by Irinaka who is reaching his limits. We also get a surprise visit from Toga (Nitsuj: Yandere girl is back) and Twice who are acting as temps for Overhaul’s operation when in fact they’ve been sent in to sabotage his operation. Toga manages to stab Aizawa and Rock Lock with her actually taking down Rock Lock (pathetic). Twice almost gets taken out by Nighteye where he regroups back up with Toga and begin insulting Overhaul where Irinaka finally hears enough (Nitsuj: The walls have ears) and plunges the two along with Izuku, Aizawa, and Rock Lock down a pit to an isolated area.
In episode 11 Toga and Twice continue to provoke Irinaka that in his blind rage he reveals himself and the heroes are able to take him down (scene here: https://youtu.be/WsWbU7rusjM?si=AIbTRS0dMLF8nJzY). We then focus on Mirio who has finally reached Overhaul and Eri but gets stopped by two yakuzas named Shin and Deidoro who both have quirks. Shin’s quirk called Confession allows him to force people to answer his questions (Nitsuj: Keep him away from Izuku) and Deidoro’s quirk Sloshed, makes those around him lose their sense of equilibrium (Nitsuj: Woah, equilibrium? (Shizuku): I’ve read Mira’s books, I know terms). He quickly takes out Shin and Deidoro (they were weak anyway and then proceeds to save Eri all while fighting against Overhaul. It’s here that we see just how good of hero Mirio is. He’s able to make quick decisions in the heat of battle, keep Eri safe, pick his spots to attack, and even predicts what Overhaul’s next move will be (damn, I’m starting to think Nighteye was right, Mirio should have been All Might’s successor. (Nitsuj): Maybe, but let’s do a quick comparison. Mirio is a third-year student while Izuku is a first year. Mirio has had more training and experience than Izuku, so he’s used to these kinds of scenarios he’s currently in. While it’s true Izuku has had his share of experiences, he’s never been in an experience like the one Mirio is in. Another factor is that Mirio has been training with his quirk ever since he was child as opposed to Izuku who’s only had his quirk for at best half a year. Mirio knows the ins and outs of his quirk while Izuku is still learning how to control his quirk without killing himself). Shin reappears and shoots Mirio with the completed quirkless bullet which is said to erase a person’s quirk permanently. However, despite not having his quirk, Mirio continues to fight protecting Eri and determined to take down Overhaul (scenes here: https://youtu.be/PkzrZ4lz548?si=3Crva557nm5w9QlV and https://youtu.be/66E7MpTGygs?si=MlQ5wN3vTLlQ7ZS6).
So many emotions to unpack in episode 12. Izuku, Aizawa, and Nighteye finally reach Mirio and Eri (what kept you?). Aizawa gets separated from the group rather quickly leaving only Izuku and Nighteye to take on Overhaul where he fuses with one of his men (Nitsuj: Does that mean he has access to a second quirk now?). Nighteye takes on Overhaul while Izuku gets Mirio and Eri to safety. At first, it seems like Nighteye can take him, but in truth Nighteye is sacrificing himself to make sure they get away. He looked into the future and saw that Mirio and Eri got away safely, but it came at the expense of him and Izuku dying (Nitsuj: Not worth it). Izuku returns to fight Overhaul using 20% of One for All. While Izuku may be strong and fast, his attack pattern is predictable (like an NPC in a Pokémon game) that even Overhaul can dodge his moves. Overhaul threatens to kill Izuku unless Eri returns to his side, and Eri being so trapped in fear comes back willingly to Overhaul in order to save Izuku as she doesn’t have faith that he can win let alone save her. However, Izuku vows to save her even though she herself doesn’t want him saving her (scene here: https://youtu.be/j-Vqp9Ebkc0?si=8KECDSA_Uw7EXuvE). As he prepares to fight a few other heroes come crashing down through the ceiling to end the episode on a massive cliffhanger.
Holy shit! Episode 13 was great halfway point for season 4. So in the episode we find out about Eri’s quirk as well as Overhaul’s past. First off, Overhaul’s past. He was taken in by the original boss of his clan, however their path and values were different. The original boss believed in a code of honor, following the right path to reach the top without losing your humanity, and having a sense of pride and respect in what you do (Nitsuj: The honorable criminal). Overhaul was the exact opposite. He believed in reaching the top by any means necessary. To hell with the code of honor, as long as he got the results he didn’t care about losing his humanity. Because of this, Overhaul used his quirk the put the boss into a coma to take over the clan promising to revive him once he had completed his goal. Next up, Eri’s quirk. So, despite being led to believe that Eri’s quirk erases the quirk of other people (like that mutant from X-Men: Last Stand. (Nitsuj): Best movie in the trilogy) it’s the exact opposite. Eri’s quirk rewinds time, any wound that was sustained can be healed instantly and rewind to its original state before the wound (Nitsuj: Woah! That means if she wanted to, she could fix All Might or better yet be a great sidekick for Izuku). The only downside is Eri doesn’t know how to control her quirk and if it’s allowed to go wild, she could potentially erase someone’s existence all together. Now getting to the episode, Izuku finally manages to grab Eri all while using One for All at 100% (scene here: https://youtu.be/VQaymMUZp68?si=QDCEJgK4axeZ211A. (Nitsuj): He became a green super Saiyan) and thanks to Eri, Izuku’s body is perfectly fine (Shizuku: Okay, you were right boss. They are a perfect pair). We get our final showdown between Izuku, Eri, and Overhaul where Izuku goes all out in an amazing fight scene taking place in the sky and delivers the finishing blow that knocks Overhaul unconscious and gives Izuku the win (scene here: https://youtu.be/jKlxg-q6UJ0?si=P6SUQovD46hPZDeA. (Nitsuj): Successfully raid the yakuza. Check. (Shizuku): Save the little girl. Check. (Nitsuj): Beat the final boss in an epic battle that will satisfy everyone and give this arc a satisfying conclusion. Big check).
And that ends the first half of season 4. Unfortunately the second half is less exciting. Tune in next week. You’ll see what I mean.
(Nitsuj): Until then, thanks for reading and we’ll see you next time on Project Nitsuj.