My Hero Academia Episode 25 Review: Todoroki vs. Bakugo

The sports festival arc in My Hero Academia finally reached its conclusion this week with unexpected results, a funny awards ceremony, tons of drama, and some after-credits scenes! I bet you were expecting it to end with a bang just like many other shows, but I guess this one has never been afraid to go its own way just to tell its story! How did it fare?

Japanese Original Episode Title: 轟 VS 爆豪

Plot

It’s the moment everyone has been eagerly waiting for: finally knowing who will be the champion of the sports festival! However, the battle between Todoroki and Bakugo didn’t exactly meet everyone’s expectations in a lot of ways, making the final round a bit befuddling. Well, at least during the awarding ceremony All Might appeared to give out the medals himself, making the students and the audience excited to see him! Afterwards, the students were given time to rest from such a long and arduous day!

Episode Highlights

The battle to the top: First of all, it was quite interesting how the final two competitors realized they have both been influenced by Deku’s heroism, whether they liked it or not. It’s just that they were responding to it in different ways: Bakugo was aggravated by it, making him want to do even better, while Todoroki was grateful for it, but became confused as to what he should do. These two were also the best when it came to utilizing their quirks. They were thinking quickly and strategically on how they should act at every turn! They were the perfect opponents! It would’ve been such a grand battle between the top passer of the entrance exam and one of the few students who got official recommendations! It’s just too bad that Todoroki was mentally and emotionally in no condition to fight Kacchan head-to-head, letting his confusion get in the way of focusing on the fight before him. Bakugo, on the other hand, misunderstood this as Todoroki looked down on him. He didn’t want to fight him with everything he’s got as he did with Midoriya. Because of this, it looked to Kacchan that Deku still beat him in the end. No wonder he was fuming mad!

Awards Ceremony: After a tad bit of a dramatic conclusion to an overall awesome sports festival, it was nice to see everyone still having fun, at least, mostly everyone. Todoroki was still gloomy, Kacchan was furious as heck, and Iida didn’t get to receive his medal, despite looking forward to winning. Quite ironic that those who won would be the ones least happy, huh? In any case, I also found it amusing that the adults were the ones that goofed off, with Midnight and All Might making blunders here and there! But, overall, the thing that stood out to me the most was this: All Might wasn’t just the symbol of peace for his strength, but, for the way he encouraged each participant of the sports fest. Now that’s heroism!

After the sports festival: Since the kiddies worked so hard with such competitive spirits, they deserved some time to relax! However, it was also such a sad time for Iida and his family. Seeing his brother, the person he looked up to, be in such a dangerous state, and even apologized for disappointing him, how devastating it must’ve been! How will this event affect him, I wonder? Meanwhile, Todoroki also made a hospital visit to the mother he hasn’t seen in such a long time. I can’t believe that she’s just been stuck in a psychiatric ward all these years. Hopefully, this will help him deal with his uncertainties and take a new step forward.

Themes & Trivia

Personal Issues: A lot of these arose in this episode, don’t you think? And it just showed that, no matter how much you want something, if you have certain issues that you’ll let get in your way, they will really be a hindrance towards your goals. Todoroki didn’t force himself to focus on his fight, instead getting distracted by the confusion he felt. Bakugo wanted to be number one, and he got it, but he was terribly unsatisfied by how he got that place.

Comments

The final battles in anime, whether against the main villain or just a championship round, usually have quite long and fierce fighting, right? But, as we just saw, MHA broke away from the mold with an abrupt and surprising battle for the final match! It might’ve been quite disappointing to some, which is understandable. I personally thought ‘What? That’s it?’ We were all expecting a battle worthy to be called a championship match after all! However, it also gave me the feeling like, rather than being a bad conclusion to a story arc, it’s a transition, like a part of a bigger picture. Todoroki’s confusion did make him see his mother, and Bakugo’s frustration just added more to his angry disposition. It may not have been the safest result to write, but I’m pretty sure the mangaka, Horikoshi, knew what he wanted to happen. It takes guts to write something amazing and unique, after all!

Aside from that, nothing’s changed: the animations were still totally mind-blowing and wonderful, and the voice acting was still superb (Tensei-niisan!!!). For once, having nothing change is a really good thing! Consistency is key!

What’s next for our heroes?

Can you believe that these past eleven episodes of the second season have just been one day in the series? Goes to show that a lot can happen in a day, especially in a world filled with heroes! But people need a break every now and then, so, with the preview of the next episode, it looks like the peaceful days will go on for a while longer! Although, there’s still that threat of the hero killer…

So, did you like Episode 25 of My Hero Academia? I would be very glad to hear your views on whether you liked it or not! Plus, a lot of shows are starting to come to a close for this season, so you better check out the Spring 2017 reviews!

You also have to check out our reviews for the new season. I am going to cover Made in Abyss!