My Hero Academia: war between the heroes and villains begin — Otaku Orbit
The Paranormal Liberation War Arc
After Hawks intel, the heroes raid on Gunga Mountain Villa
The heroes are finally prepared to take on the Paranormal Liberation Front. The organization was formed from the union of the League of Villains and the Meta Liberation. After Re-Destro is defeated, he gives power to Tomura Shigaraki. The name of the organization is meant to deliberately remove the “villain” title. Re-Destro believed that villains were the result of Quirk users being “cast out.” If he can liberate Quirk users, then villains wouldn’t exist. Hawks, who infiltrated the Liberation Front, fear the power of the new organization could rival that of Hero Society.
Invasion and the tenacious Mirko
The heroes appear at a hospital to find the mad doctor, Kyudai. He tries to flee but is stopped by Eraser Head. After activating his Erasure Quirk, Shota notices that the Doctor begins to age. Originally assumed to be Quirkless it turns out that he has an unnamed “longevity Quirk.” It’s speculated that this is the secret to All For One’s long life. Doctor Kyudai turns out to be a clone created by Twice. His real body is overseeing Tomura’s transformation. Before he can escape, Mirko arrives crushing Johnny under a massive door.
She is left to deal with Doctor Kyudai alone, as Endeavor and the others are surrounded by Nomu. Mirko has always been a fan favorite (mostly because of the way she looks), however, she is a flashy hero. She charges headfirst with confidence and power. Her Quirk, Rabbit, gifts her with the “attributes and abilities of a rabbit.” She makes good use of her leg strength and super hearing. A tiny Nomu named Mocha saves Dr. Kyudai. The later uses the opportunity to escape while releasing several high-end Nomus. They attack Mirko, slamming her into a large tanker. Faced with several High ends Nomu, Mirko is excited claiming she’s “just getting warmed up.”
Mirko vs High-End Nomu
What makes high-end Nomu so special is not just their strength, but their ability to think for themselves and maintain their personalities. Dr. Kyudai selected villains with “ a disposition for combat.” Dr. Kyudai and Shigaraki are trapped without the warping Nomu and Shigaraki is at 70% stabilization. Watching Mirko fight is amazing. Her powerful legs allow her to move with explosive speed. She battles 5 High-End Nomu. She uses her super move, Luna Ring, blowing away the Nomu while she rotates violently. One of the Nomu uses a Quirk to warp her arm, tearing it off. She is unbothered. Crushing one Nomu with Lunar Fall, then decapitating the other with Lunar Tijera.
With three Nomu remaining, Mirko states that she “lives with the reminder of the possibility of her death every day.” As a result, she won’t be “taken down by some zombies.”
Heroes attack Gunga Mountain Villa
Heroes gather outside the Villa preparing to capture any villains that escape. Cementoss uses his Quirk to rip open the Liberation fronts mansion. The villains begin to panic. An unnamed villain steps forward. Using his Amplivolt Quirk which allows “the user to conduct and amplify electricity within their body, being able to release it afterward.” He uses Supreme Discharge Thundernet. Suddenly, Denki absorbs his lighting attack with his Quirk.
The heroes attack the underground sanctuary. Outside Edgeshot, Midnight, and Kamui dominate many villains. Meanwhile, Hawks confront a heartbroken Twice. He remembers how his trusting nature has cost him and his friends in the past. When he brought Overhaul to the League of Villains hideout, it cost Magne her life. He starts crying releasing once again he has cost his friends. Hawks hope that after Twice pays for his crimes he can start over because “he’s a good person.” Enraged, Twice lashes out. He tells Hawks that “he doesn’t care about the whole system anymore.”
Dabi vs Hawks, Twice death
Twice releases his Super Move: Infinite Doubles “Sad Man’s Parade.” Hawks easily destroys the clones with his feathers. Twice becomes frantic, charging at Hawks. He pins Twice to the floor with a bladed feather. He tells Twice “when neither side will give up . . . somebody has to die.” Twice responds that “you people aren’t heroes.” They don’t “know or care.” He says that even if his friends won’t forgive him he will still “protect their happiness.” Before Hawks could kill him, Dabi arrives. Most of Hawks feathers are burned. At a disadvantage, Hawks knows he must prioritize the mission.
Twice has sliced up bones and muscles, preventing him from using his full power. Dabi tells him that he can handle the heroes outside alone. He should “go nuts.” Before he can escape, Hawks flies throw the door having flown outside and circled back. Dabi calls Hawks by his real name, Keigo Takami. Leading Hawks to ask “who are you.” Outside the room, Twice hopes to protect everyone. He sees Himiko and Mr. Compress begin attacked by a hero. He sends a clone of himself to rescue them. The clone stabs the hero in the back of the head. Excited, Mr. Compress tells Twice to make more copies as they escape. Twice can’t. Hawks killed the real Twice. He returns the handkerchief to Toga. He apologizes. Toga gives the dissolving clone a hug thanking Jin for “saving her.”
Kohei blurs the line between hero and villain
There are a lot of characters in this arc. Most of the heroes and villains are unknown, making it difficult to be concerned with either side. What is the cost? I think the sense of urgency can only happen with the heroes we are most familiar with. While I enjoyed the fight with Mirko, I wasn’t emotionally attached to her, so I didn’t feel any fear for her safety. However, I did feel this for Twice. Twice death made me feel sadder for the demise of a villain than ever before. He seemed generally hurt that Hawks betrayed him. Faced with this reality meant that his friends were in danger. I’ve said this before, but it should be repeated, Kohei is doing something great with villains.
He draws Hawks in a dark shadow. if you didn’t know ant better you might mistake him for the villain. He also turned the typical shonen villain, hero dynamic on its head. Normally, we root for the hero without nuance. At points in this fight, I was rooting for Twice, against Hawks, then for Hawks. I was glad when Twice escaped and devastated when he was killed. Did Hawks need to kill him? I guess so. However, it felt unnecessary. That said Hawks did seriously try to arrest Twice, instead of killing him. I was surprised that I cared so much about Twice. In the end, he regretted being the cause of the hero’s invasion. He tried to redeem himself, I think he succeeded.
Originally published at https://otakuorbit.com on March 30, 2020.
