RIOTUS

“Even if I don’t have a Quirk, can I become a hero?”

A powerful wind is blowing. And My Hero Academia still has some questions left to ask us: Who are we if we don’t stand up for what we believe in? Yes, MHA may be coming to an end, but it’s not going out without a fight. Season 8 premiere “Toshinori Tagi: Rising/Origin” picks up right where season 7 left off, taking us back through every gut-punch and mega-explosion of the showdown between the newly Quirkless All Might (Kenta Miyake) and the hugely powerful All for One (Akio Otsuka). It might be a rehash of what we’ve already seen, but the added layers to the storytelling in the second half of the episode make the fight scenes all the more striking.

This is a fight All Might knows he cannot win. And yet here he stands, up against the face of evil, smiling and ready to give it all he’s got. He proves once and for all that he doesn’t need any Quirks to be every inch the hero he has always been. The high-tech Hercules battle suit built by Melissa Shield can only take him so far, and All Might’s narration of his every move is as entertaining as it is heartbreaking in all its classic shōnen glory. Kenta Miyake deserves applause for his impassioned voice acting.

The visuals are powerful and raw, evoking the heavy toll of this brutal takedown. Each scar, each wound, each blow is wickedly detailed, with the thrills of the fight scorched into the animation. The episode is intensified by a breakneck heavy metal score, pierced by reverential orchestral reprieves to highlight the price of so much bloodshed. All for One and All Might’s face-off is being broadcast to the entire world; All for One revels at the chance to finally crush his enemy, while All Might hopes to inspire others to carry on his work. 

The world is watching.

It’s impossible not to draw parallels to our current times, where activists are being actively silenced and imprisoned for speaking out against fascism. And yet they continue because they must, consequences be damned. At one point during the episode, a young boy watches the battle raging on his TV screen with concern for the heroes, while his grandmother dismisses it as something happening far away, that won’t affect them. Sound familiar? The message is so loud and clear it hurts, ringing in your ears long after the credits roll.

“Even if my light goes out, someone will receive it, and they’ll shine!”

“Toshinori Tagi: Rising/Origin” integrates flashbacks and cutscenes of how our heroes became the beacons of hope they are today, juxtaposed with the dire circumstances they’re trapped in. Kunieda (Tatsumaru Tachibana) has Yuga (Kōsuke Kuwano) and his friends pinned down by his creepy carnivorous flowers, but there’s still some light left in them, if they can band together. The visuals in this scene are as dazzling as their strength. This message is further reinforced by All Might’s narrated references to the other heroes on his team, the ones he has not only taught but has learned from; their bonds make him stronger. 

Tirelessly and consistently, S8’s opening episode cuts right down to the heart of its themes: how anyone can be a hero, because that’s what the world needs. When things look bleak, it’s up to those of us left to keep the darkness at bay. MHA never strays from that message and, goddamn, do we need to hear it more than ever.