Deku and Mirio have rescued Eri from the yakuza group Shie Hassaikai and the experiments being performed on her by their leader Overhaul, but not without a price. The two visit Eri at hospital while she recovers and hope to cheer her up by inviting her to the upcoming U.A. school festival, where Class 1-A is preparing to perform a music concert. However, the plans of the villains Gentle Criminal and La Brava may put the festival at risk as the two attempt to infiltrate the school. Meanwhile, All Might’s retirement continues to create a void that pro heroes and villains alike attempt to fill as the world awaits for the emergence of the next Symbol of Peace.
My Hero Academia – Season 4 Part 2 (spanning episodes 77–88 of the series) follows the action-packed Shie Hassaikai arc and deals with the consequences of the raid on the yakuza group (check out my review of My Hero Academia Season 4 Part 1, as well as Season 1, Season 2 Part 1, Season 2 Part 2). This includes the loss of Mirio’s quirk and the intense guilt Eri feels by being the cause of suffering for those who rescued her from Overhaul. The result is an effective, if a more low-key set of episodes than its other half, that dials back on the action a little to focus on addressing various characters’ responses to the previous arc as well as tying up issues introduced in previous seasons.
These episodes having space to breathe in the fallout of the events of the first half of the season gives My Hero Academia – Season 4 Part 2 the feeling of expertly walking the line between a well-earned break for the characters that spares them from another big villain arc (at least for now) and forcing them to address important issues that won’t go away just because the raid on Shie Hassaikai is over. As a result, these episodes look at issues such as Endeavour’s struggle as the previous number two hero who must now fill the space left behind by All Might, and the make-up test that Todoroki and Bakugo must take to earn their Provisional Hero License after failing their exam in the previous season. These episodes work well because despite everything that has happened during the raid, the characters still have other responsibilities and issues to face, some mundane and some with deep implications for the world of pro heroes and villains.
The introduction of the U.A. school festival after the Shie Hassaikai arc in particular is great, as its incorporation feels like an attempt at normalcy by the U.A. students in the wake of the raid and its consequences. In another series, the school festival might be treated as meaningless filler to pad out the show, however the Class 1-A music concert serves as a really important and engaging emotional crux for Deku, Mirio and Eri following the Shie Hassaikai arc. Deku and Mirio have invited Eri to the music concert in an attempt to try and cheer her up after her ordeal with Overhaul. As a result the school festival going ahead is high stakes – helping a young girl who has been tormented experience some joy. This means that the threat posed by the villains Gentle Criminal and La Brava, while minimal compared to the League of Villains or the Shie Hassaikai, is treated seriously and is important in the context of putting the school festival at risk. Because of this, rather than feeling like a series of filler episodes, My Hero Academia – Season 4 Part 2 feels like a needed exercise in catharsis for the characters, taking mundane issues like a school festival and effectively wrapping up emotional and meaningful story beats within them to tie off the previous arcs.
My Hero Academia – Season 4 Part 2 is another excellent addition to the My Hero Academia series, expertly incorporating its massive cast of characters into a story that navigates the emotional pitfalls and consequences of Season 4 Part 1. As always, this series is an easy recommend.
A review copy was provided by Madman Entertainment to the author for the purpose of this review.
