(Nitsuj): Hello and welcome to Project Nitsuj. My Hero Summeria continues with season 4 part 2.
(Shizuku): Last time, we saw the heroes raid a yakuza group to stop their drug operation and rescue a sweet innocent girl.
(Nitsuj): It was a success that ended on an epic note. Will second half live up to the first half?
(Shizuku): Not even close, but let’s watch it anyway. This the second half of season 4.
Episodes 14-17
(Nitsuj): The second half starts with the anime actually breaking your heart. We start with Eri’s quirk continuing to go wild and finally catching up to Izuku now that the battle is over. Eri tries desperately to stop her quirk, but to no avail. Luckily, Aizawa is there to stop her quirk and save Izuku. Everyone soon gets rushed off to the hospital and in a stupid move Overhaul gets hauled off to jail in only one paddy wagon with a single hero escorting it (what. The. Hell? Did nobody see what this guy can do!? I don’t care if he is unconscious and restrained, there needs to be way more security around him). The League of Villains show up where Shigaraki shows just how evil of a villain he can be. Rather than kill Overhaul he instead steals Overhaul’s quirk erasing bullets and then decays Overhaul’s arms off so that he’ll never be able to use his quirk ever again (Shigaraki just stole Overhaul’s life work and is going to use that work for his own goals all while taking credit for Overhaul’s work. Scene here: https://youtu.be/7M41pazzjFI?si=Wbr44wKdTqxeVDqV. (Shizuku): Damn that’s cold). We go to the hospital where Eri has been quarantined and has passed out from a fever. We get a rundown of everyone’s injuries, but the biggest injury has to be Nighteye’s injury. His wound is too deep and he’s going to die (scene here: https://youtu.be/mai6TtYr4DY?si=eiCHqBGyC8qgvBby).
Episode 15 continues with the aftermath of Overhaul. The first part is Gran Torino and the police capturing Kurogiri deep in the mountains where they come across Gigantomachia a giant who is a servant of All for One (scene here: https://youtu.be/GQObSkGXo1M?si=IPvlxC3IIz5uXAi5). While they were able to capture Kurogiri, Gigantomachia managed to escape and has gone missing (Shizuku: How do you lose a guy like that? He must be stealthier than Big Foot). Izuku and the other students of U.A get discharged from the hospital except for Mirio who has to stay, but he vows to regain his quirk and return to U.A (scene here: https://youtu.be/iSDb1s8m7Ts?si=rY3NOdg8Xz9RBPb6). Izuku and the others return to their dorm where their classmates are there to welcome them back and let them know how worried they were about them (scene here: https://youtu.be/2Jii7sbHpDE?si=4vHR1BH8kqkjpAxT). After that, the episode shifts to Shoto and Katsuki who are getting ready to retake their provisional hero’s license exam (stop holding the class back you two). While Katsuki seems to be focused on passing the exam, Shoto has other things on his mind such as Endeavor coming to watch him and he’s now worried that his dad will meet All Might (and when that happens I’m sure he’s going to have a lot to say to him).
So episode 16 is a pretty boring episode. Katsuki, Shoto, Inasa, and Camie (the real one who is thick and an idiot) get tasked with handling a bunch of troublesome kids who are delusional and believe that their quirks surpass the quirks of the adults (damn generation zers). They know that everyone is worried about the future of the hero society and feel that it’s up to them to save the world, thus they feel that they are free to act however they want with the parents and teachers too afraid and unsure of how to stop them (Shizuku: Those poor delusional kids have no idea what they’re getting themselves into. (Nitsuj): This is why I call for the return of the belt). The kids out right reject the group (well the boys accept Camie. (Shizuku): Can’t imagine why. (Nitsuj): Probably why the boys in this neighborhood accept you. (Shizuku): If you weren’t right I would hit you. Scene here: https://youtu.be/6PfcPXmH8w0?si=pAnNvOe1HO7WSEuK). Since talking to the kids isn’t working, they decide to fight power with power (Shizuku: Sometimes you need a good ass-kicking to know where you fit on the totem pole). While that’s all going on, Endeavor and All Might talk to each other where Endeavor admits that he doesn’t have what it takes to be the Symbol of Peace and is getting stressed out from everyone comparing him to All Might (love him or hate him, Endeavor has been put in a very compromising position where no matter what he does he can’t win). He now seeks advice from All Might on how to become the Symbol of Peace and All Might’s answer is he needs to do things his way (scene here: https://youtu.be/8JXbJyrNQoM?si=xWr4PpDAss4L_Lfg).
In the first half of episode 17 it’s the new generation vs the current generation (gen z vs millennials. Just as the prophecy for told. Let our war set the world ablaze). The kids attack where to their shock, Katsuki and the others aren’t scared or phased by them (Shizuku: They may have impressive quirks, but just because you can fire it off doesn’t mean you’ve mastered it. These kids have just basically learned how to use the A or X button on a controller and are spamming it over and over again). Katsuki and the others finally attack the kids, but rather than hurt them, they instead make them impressed with their skills. Katsuki knows what it’s like to lose to an opponent you look down on (Shizuku: It feels like crap) and knows that the key to winning these kids over is widening their horizon (Nitsuj: To add to Shizuku’s controller analogy. They’re going to teach these kids what the B or Square button does). Using their quirks they build an ice slide for them, Katsuki comes face to face with their leader and speaks to him from the heart, and in the end they manage to win the kids over with even Endeavor learning something from this experience (scene here: https://youtu.be/fXHHuFKm850?si=PO01mn5Oc2wlCClK). At the end of their training Endeavor goes to say how proud he is of Shoto and that he’s going to become a hero that Shoto can be proud of (the road to redemption has begun. (Shizuku): And fans will reject it for some pointless reasons). In the second half of the episode we focus on Izuku and Yuga who has been acting strange around him and even leaving bread crumbs on his balcony (that is some horror movie shit right there). When the two are finally alone with each other (Shizuku: Stay out of the showers Izuku) Yuga says that he knows Izuku is incapable with his quirk just like him. In a way Izuku and Yuga are similar. Both have quirks that when used correctly they’re amazing, but they also cause them physical pain in some way. Still, despite this, they both continue to move forward trying to master their quirks and help society in whatever way they can.
Episodes 18-21
In episode 18 the school is getting ready for the school festival. Unlike the sports festival which was a time for the students of the hero course to shine, the school festival is a time for the other courses to shine (and with everything that’s happened this year they need this). Hoping to relieve some of the stress for the other students, Shoto suggests that their class put on a concert with Mina teaching everyone how to dance and Jiro teaching them how to play instruments (Shizuku: I request they play Sunglasses At Night by Corey Heart and Judas by Fozzy). Izuku and Mirio finally get a chance to visit Eri where we see that even though she’s safe from Overhaul physically, Overhaul still controls her mentally. Eri has forgotten how to smile (scene here: https://youtu.be/EiPxJqqUvTw?si=8DLwr4kAI_ysARDX, not gonna lie, my heart broke a little when she said that), so Izuku asks Aizawa if it’s okay for her to go the school festival (good idea). Aizawa says it should be possible seeing as how her powers aren’t going wild anymore and he likes this idea as well. In another part of the episode we meet a criminal on the scene, and his name is Gentle Criminal along with his follower a little girl named La Brava (Shizuku: Call the cops). Over the past few days or weeks, Gentle has been committing crimes and posting videos of it on the internet for everyone to see. Police are stumped by this guy as they have no idea what his quirk does and any heroes that go after him wind up defeated (Shizuku: Get ready to fall in love with this guy).
Not much really happens in episode 19. With only a month until the school festival, the group splits themselves into 3 teams for the event. The first team will be the band (Shizuku: Where surprisingly Katsuki is on the drums. (Nitsuj): He’s a man full of surprises), the second is the effects team, and the third is the dance team. Near the end of episode, Izuku seeks guidance from All Might as he’s hit a wall in his training and wants to learn a long distance attack. They go outside where All Might shows Izuku that he can use air shots with using the full force of One for All (obviously. Does he really think All Might fought all his enemies at 100%? If he did, every city would have looked like a nuke was dropped on it).
In episode 20 Eri comes to visit (Nitsuj: Oh that’s so great. Look how cute she looks in her outfit). This visit is to get her accustomed to the academy and not be overwhelmed when the festival arrives. She gets grand tour of the academy courtesy of Mirio and Izuku where she’s interested in all the various people she meets and even though she doesn’t know, she’s excited for the festival (and we’re excited you’re excited. Scene here: https://youtu.be/EIJ9e2zyMDQ?si=uOuO17Dp3NUewJtj). In other news, Izuku gets taken off the dance team and put on the special effects team to help enhance the experience of their performance. While he’s a little bummed about this, he agrees to do it for the class. In another part of the episode we see Gentle Criminal discuss with La Brava his plans to infiltrate the school festival and how he’s going to sneak in and get pass all of U.A’s security.
(Nitsuj): The day of the festival finally arrives in episode 21. In the morning of the festival, Izuku gets some training in with All Might where he receives his new air cannon gloves from Hatsume and then runs to the store to get some rope for the performance which is at 10am. This leads to Izuku running into Gentle Criminal and La Brava where he figures out they’re trying to sneak into U.A which will shut the festival down immediately (Shizuku: You mean to tell me he’s going to ruin all of the student’s hard work and training? He is evil). Wanting to save the festival and with no heroes or police around to help, Izuku goes vigilante on us and fights Gentle Criminal. We see that his quirk is elasticity, anything he touches becomes elastic (even the air). Gentle and Brava manage to give Izuku the slip, but he catches up to them and lands an air shot on Gentle to tackle him into a construction building. Gentle says he has no intention of hurting anyone at the festival, he just wants to sneak in and prove to everyone that he can do it when they were all too scared to pull off anything. Izuku and Gentle continue to fight where Gentle traps Izuku under a steel beam and leaves him behind as he continues to the school, but Izuku won’t give up and continues his pursuit.
Episodes 22-25
In episode 22 Izuku manages to outmaneuver Gentle and La Brava to tackle them both to the ground and immobilize. This leads to La Brava’s flashback where we see that back in middle school she got rejected by her crush who called her creepy for stalking him (dude, she liked you. You would have done the same thing if it was a girl you liked). La Brava soon became a NEET and locked herself in her room where she was planning to commit suicide until she found Gentle’s videos which renewed her will to live (Shizuku: Why? (Nitsuj): I have no idea. Love is strange). For whatever reason, La Brava became a huge fan of Gentle and found out where he was hiding. Rather than turn her way, Gentle accepted her and made her his partner. Returning to the present, we learn that La Brava’s quirk is love, she can power up the person she loves the most for a short period of time, so she powers up Gentle and he knocks down Izuku to continue on with his scheme. As Gentle walks away believing he’s knocked out Izuku, Izuku gets back up ready to fight (Shizuku: He’s taken heavier hits than that). It becomes a straight up fist fight against Izuku and Gentle where the two seem evenly match. We do get to see Gentle’s past where he dreamed of being a hero but due to his failing grades and being held back a year those dreams were doomed to fail. Things only got worse when one day he tried to use his powers to save a person from falling off a building only to accidently interfere with a pro-hero’s rescue and get that person seriously injured. Despised by people and abandoned by his parents, Gentle decided that if he couldn’t be a hero he would become a villain (the gentle villain). As Izuku and Gentle fight each other, La Brava goes on ahead trying to hack into U.A’s security but she gets spotted by the pro-heroes. She runs back to the fight just in time to see Gentle lose to Izuku. Gentle accepts his defeat with grace and hands himself over to U.A security along with La Brava who refuses to leave his side (scene here: https://youtu.be/rYRGwuM4UFA?si=n9oNiTieS3u-plea).
Episode 23 is a good episode that makes me cry a little. Gentle and La Brava get taken away by U.A security (Security: You’re under arrest for dating a child. (La Brava): I’m 21! (Security): Seriously?) and Izuku makes it to the concert at the last minute. We get to see the performance which was good and I especially like the backstory they give to Jiro. You see originally Jiro was being raised to be a musician like her parents but instead wanted to be a hero. However, she was afraid to tell her parents as she didn’t want to make everything they taught her meaningless. When she finally worked up the courage to tell her parents she wanted to be a hero they fully supported her decision (this may not seem like much, but this was huge. Usually when a child decides they want to follow a path that’s different from what their parents want it usually ends badly. Here, the parents not only support Jiro but they’re proud she chooses to follow her own path). The highlight of the concert comes when Eri is finally able to escape Overhaul’s grasp once and for all and smile (scenes here: https://youtu.be/vaV-dSslhpY?si=gXA381XGDqAvjgfT and https://youtu.be/rGN-okMu5PY?si=8Mx0rcltLc_BOnRv. (Shizuku): *Tears in her eyes* She’s free). After this we get to enjoy the rest of the festival with Eri enjoying herself and smiling. At the end, Izuku gives her a candy apple which she likes a lot (protect that smile).
Not much happens in episode 24. We start off by finding out that Eri is going to be staying at the teachers dorm because one, her immediate family can’t take care of her, she can’t stay in the hospital forever (Shizuku: I’m not paying anymore hospital bills), and the horn on her forehead is starting to get big which means it’s only a matter time before her powers go wild again and we’ll need Aizawa to keep her in check as well as start teaching her how to control those powers. After that, we focus on Endeavor, after the Japanese Hero Billboard Chart announces him as the new number one hero (scene here: https://youtu.be/hhhccuwz3wI?si=kHC-AZIHREr_PcVu) he gets recruited by Hawks the new #2 hero to help him with an important mission. Now I’m not gonna lie, Hawks come across as a pretty arrogant guy. He calls out all heroes at the reveal of the new standings, puts Endeavor on the spot, and even says he wasn’t a big fan of All Might but still respected him (however, he has a very good backstory as you’ll see later). Hawks is basically a fan of Endeavor. Hawks saw how other heroes were content with All Might being number 1, but Endeavor was different. Endeavor chased after All Might, he wanted to be just as strong if not stronger than All Might and Hawks respected that. He talks to Endeavor in private saying that he wants to help Endeavor stand out. He knows everyone is scared and needs a new symbol of peace to get behind, so he wants to help Endeavor become that new symbol. He tells Endeavor about the recent rumors involving the Nomus spreading through the country. Apparently, some of them are still alive and Hawks wants Endeavor’s help in seeing if these rumors are true or just false tales being spread by the League of Villains. Their conversation gets interrupted by a flying Nomu that they apparently sensed (holy shit, that was DBZ shit right there). Hawks starts to evacuate everyone while Endeavor goes to fight the Nomu (Shizuku: Please don’t burn the city down).
In the final episode of the season we finally start the redemption of Endeavor which a lot of people took issue with when this story got started in the manga. My responds to those people are as follow. First off, fuck you, it’s Kohei’s story and characters, he can do whatever he wants with them. Stop being so entitled. Second, you want him to stay as an asshole? Look, what Endeavor did to his family was awful and just because Kohei is trying to redeem him doesn’t mean he’s asking us to forget and forgive everything he did, he’s just making us see that there’s more to Endeavor then just being an asshole. Hell, the episode starts with Endeavor’s wife defending him and even showing her children that he has come to visit her by dropping off her favorite flowers. He just can’t see her under orders from the doctor. This shows that he does love her, has thought about what he’s done, and is trying to fix his mistakes from the past by becoming a better person for the future. So, getting to the episode we have Endeavor fighting against the Nomu who is a lot different from the others. It’s been infused with multiple quirks, has speed and strength, can speak, and can learn quickly (Shizuku: Making it one dangerous creature). Endeavor keeps trying to burn the thing to smithereens, but it keeps on regenerating. As the fight progresses Endeavor starts to overheat from using his powers and this gives us a nice tidbit into why Endeavor was so insistent on Shoto inheriting two quirks. Endeavor knew about his overheating problem and knew that with Shoto’s ice quirk he could cool himself down and prevent the overheating (so once again Endeavor was looking out for Shoto in his own way). Endeavor manages to fight through the overheat and deliver a powerful blasts on the Nomu hoping to destroy but the head survived and the Nomu stabs Endeavor in the eye to take him down. As everyone panics, Endeavor gets up and fights determined to win as everyone watches on. With the help of Hawks, Endeavor’s speed increases and launches himself into the sky with the Nomu where he’s able to unleash his full power to destroy the Nomu and save the day (scene here: https://youtu.be/6zaYEM6bxdU?si=WiyzhjyVPbAERVOx). We end the season with Izuku having a dream where he meets predecessors of One for All and possibly unlocks a new quirk (scene here: https://youtu.be/ab8_fefO3vY?si=OK8RhUGHYltMn_XJ).
Current Thoughts
(Shizuku): And that was season 4 of the anime. This season started off good but got lame in the ending. The Overhaul arc is easily my favorite arc in the series. You get so invested into Eri’s story and want to save her so much. When she finally gets saved and is able to smile again you are so happy that it’s normal to get teary eyed. Overhaul was also an intimidating villain. Smart and resourceful, but also loyal. He really did believe that what he was doing was right for his clan to survive in a society of heroes. Nighteye’s death was quite shocking and sad, but at least he got to die making peace with All Might, getting Izuku his approval, and ensuring Mirio that he will become an even greater hero than him. Speaking of Mirio, his situation is sad but he stays positive and won’t let this stop him from being a hero.
(Nitsuj): While the first half of the anime is great, the second half not so much. I don’t want to say it’s bad but it’s just padding out the series when we should be focusing on other more important stuff. I do like Gentle and La Brava, I just wished they were introduced under better circumstances. The only good spotlight in the second half is the start of Endeavor’s redemption arc which would go on to be not just a highlight for the series but honestly one of the best redemption stories in shonen.
(Shizuku): One thing this season does improve on is the animation and fight scenes. The animation looks better and the fight scenes are more fluid in character movements and shot better. You can tell it was starting to come together in the third season, but in this season they managed to improve it. While I didn’t care that much for the school festival, I will admit that the class’s song was good and the music that played with Izuku rescued Eri did bring a tear to my eye.
(Nitsuj): Overall, season 4 was good. Started off strong but got a little silly and fun and the second half which was a bit too much for our taste. It’s not bad, but it’s not what you want to see especially after the previous arcs. Thanks for reading and we’ll see you next time on Project Nitsuj as My Hero Summeria continues with season 5.
