My Hero Academia Episode 39 Review: Game Start

My Hero Academia (Boku no Hero Academia) is back again with a third season! The previous one aired last year during spring as well, with two back-to-back cours! Now, for those of you who don’t know yet, this season will last two cours as well! Aren’t you all excited for what awaits Deku and our other fledgling heroes? I know I am!

Japanese Original Episode Title: ゲーム・スタート

Plot

Ever wondered if this show would get a beach episode like with the usual slice-of-life series? Well, wonder no more because we’ve got it, even if it’s a filler story! Then again, it’s also different from the common ones you see, like how this is only set in the school’s pool! Kaminari and Mineta planned for Class 1-A to spend time swimming together before they head off to their summer camp. Knowing the two, though, they surely had an ulterior motive up their sleeve, like seeing the girls in swimsuits! But then, they soon found out that plans don’t always go your way.

Episode Highlights

Recaps: Specific events from the first and second seasons were looked back on, and they were so nostalgic! More so when you realize how far the students have come, right? They’ve grown so much, not only in strength and experience, but also in character! Totally makes me look forward to what they’ll encounter next! I also appreciate that they took the time to re-introduce the whole class of 1-A and their quirks, as some of us might’ve already forgotten the ones with less time in the spotlight. (Admittedly, it took me a while to memorize their faces and quirks before as well!) I have a feeling this reminder will be quite useful this season, more so because the students are going to a summer training camp! Too bad we didn’t get to hear about Class 1-B’s quirks, though. I would’ve loved to get to know them all!

Endurance training? At first, I thought it was nice that Kaminari and Mineta planned for everyone to train together, but then I remembered they were Class A’s resident perverts! Serves them right that their dreams to see the girls in their cute swimsuits were crushed, because they just wore the school-issued ones! All of the guys came along too, thanks to Deku! It then mostly became a ‘celebration of the male form’! Plus, a lot of pain and sweating. On the up side, they all got to hang out even during their summer vacation! Even Bakugo came along, all because Kirishima persuaded him to – both things I wasn’t expecting at all! Seems like the angry Kacchan has really found a good buddy! I’ve got to admit, it was amusing seeing all of Class 1-A bonding with each other over simple swimming hijinks! They were getting along nicely! With all these villain threats, their unity and harmony should prove quite indispensable, don’t you agree?

Swimming Race: I kept laughing at how this ended up not being a swimming race at all! It was more like ‘get to the other side of the pool first, however you can’ race! Well, at least there were some of them who really swam, like the ones in the third heat! I would’ve loved to see the match between Deku, Todoroki, and Bakugo as well, because they’re my top 3 favorites! They’re actually the series’ most popular characters too, based on polls, so I’m betting the whole lot of you also wanted that competition pull through. Alas, the clock struck 5 pm and Aizawa-sensei had to kill everyone’s fun! What difference would have an additional 5 minutes made, right? Maybe he could’ve also joined in witnessing who wins!

Preparation for the camp: The teachers were really planning the summer training camp well, even going as far as changing the location at the last minute to prevent any information from leaking to the enemy! Because of the League of Villains’ attack on the students at USJ previously, it was just appropriate to prevent another incident like that. These are minors involved, after all! Now, I wonder what kind of training they’ve prepared for these aspiring heroes…

Themes & Trivia

Summer vacation: It’s not surprising that the girls wanted to play and have fun during their summer vacation because of it being one of the freest and exciting times in a student’s life! Just in Japan, there are a lot of events to enjoy aside from going to the beach, like attending festivals, watching fireworks, going to hot springs, or camping! Unfortunately, only a summer training camp awaits the U.A. kids, so this pool meet-up beforehand was a really good call!

Swimming benefits: Did you know that swimming is a really good exercise? This is especially so for people with joint pains, low blood pressure, or those who are overweight. It also has wonderful benefits for your heart, lungs, and back! Plus, have you seen a swimmer’s body? Look at their muscles! Class 1-A definitely hit two birds with one stone with that endurance training, because not only did they have a good time with each other, but they got stronger too!

Comments

It’s quite surprising that the start of this new season was a filler episode, though, at the same time, I thought it’s also fitting they decided to recap certain highlights. Some of you who still clearly remember the past events might’ve found it useless (and maybe also annoying), but for some who needed a refresher, it was surely very helpful! I guess the staff just wanted everyone on the same page first before getting into the excitement. That way, all of us can enjoy the season equally!

Art-wise, it was a great start in my opinion! More so when you think of how hard it must’ve been to keep the guys anatomically correct since they weren’t wearing any shirts and they have to be toned! There weren’t a lot of dynamic scenes, but the few we got were swell!

Enjoy your summer of youth!

Okay, next week’s the real deal! It’s the official start of the training camp (and season 3, if I may say so)! From the preview, it seems like the students will dive right into trouble, and meet people in cat costumes! How exciting!

Well then, what are your thoughts? Did you appreciate the filler or do you wish we just got right into it? Let us know in the comments! We’re already starting on our other Spring 2018 anime reviews too, so keep an eye out for them!

NEXT: Wild, Wild Pussycats (ワイルド・ワイルド・プッシーキャッツ)