Random Curiosity

OP6 Sequence

OP6: 「Polaris」 by BLUE ENCOUNT

「スクープ雄英1年A組」 (Sukuupu Yuu Ichi-Nen Ei-Gumi)
“The Scoop on U.A. Class 1-A”

It’s back! Everybody’s favorite shounen superhero action show is back! That’s the overriding feeling I got from this episode, since it was 80% a recap episode, and 20% anime original. It’s a brush up on the state of affairs, chiefly with regards to All Might’s retirement and the sense of unease that has settled over society as a result. It’s a good reminder, chiefly because it reminds quickly and directly, while focusing its real efforts on character beats. That’s good, because it avoids being patronizing, even when it is spending time on direct regurgitation.

The funny thing is, I enjoyed this episode more than most anime original recaps because it sneakily revealed the worldview and philosophy of Horikoshi-sensei and Boku no Hero Academia in general. I can’t have been the only one, when freelance journalist Tokuda Taneo (Hanawa Eiji) walked in, who expected him to blow open Izuku’s cover in the best tradition of the overly scoop-crazed reporter (which the editor-in-chief wholly embodies). Now, it’s true that this couldn’t happen mostly because this was an anime-original recap, and thus had to hew to the status quo. But it’s also true that, in another series, that wouldn’t have worked at all. Here, though, it did.

That’s because Izuku was totally naive to speak with the reporter, much less take a selfie with him. He risks his own life and the lives of others by not learning to better protect his secret, and in another story, he would be punished for it. But that’s not the world Horikoshi-sensei has constructed. It may be a dangerous world, with heinous villains lurking around many corners, but there is justice in it. If a hero is good, and honest, and tries their hardest, they stand a good chance of helping people and effecting change, and they (mostly) won’t be punished by those on their side. It’s a world of good and evil. And grays, too—not everything is black and white. But there is good, and there is evil, and more often than not, good is rewarded and aided, while evil is resisted and punished. Compare that to Spider-Man: Far from Home. That’s more “realistic,” it hews closer to the reality we know, but that’s not the kind of superhero world Horikoshi-sensei built.

Next week, the story ramps back up in earnest as the League of Villains parlays with a fellow villain. I’ll see you then!

Random thoughts:

• What? Of course I’m blogging this. Stilts is back, baby! At least one more time.

My novels are available now (Wage Slave Rebellion, Freelance Heroics). Sign up for my email list for updates, or follow me at stephenwgee.com for miscellaneous blogging.

ED7 Sequence

ED7: 「航海の唄」 (Koukai no Uta) by Sayuri

Preview