My Hero Academia Episode 40 Review: Wild, Wild Pussycats

This latest episode showed that My Hero Academia keeps on moving ever forward with the fun and excitement! It was such a wild ride! Gaining momentum from the filler pilot episode last week, we witnessed Class 1-A head out to the place where they will test their limits, all to prepare them for what’s to come!

Japanese Original Episode Title: ワイルド・ワイルド・プッシーキャッツ

Plot

For students, summer means relaxation and outings! For the students of U.A., however, it still did mean the latter, but it was not at all relaxing! Instead of letting them settle in first and just start the training the next day, a surprise awaited them before they even arrived at their destination! It also seemed like there was another surprise in store, but one that wasn’t planned by the school…

Episode Highlights

Training camp starts: Most of us who’ve gone to school trips (or trips with friends in general) could probably relate a whole lot to the excitement the students felt, and how upsetting it was when they found out that hardships already awaited them even before they got to the actual lodge! They didn’t even have time to prepare their hearts and minds for the training! But, that was exactly the point, right? The whole summer training camp was to ready them for villain attacks after all, and surely those attacks come unexpected, like with the USJ incident with Stain! That’s also probably why Midoriya, Todoroki, Bakugo, and Iida were the ones that stood out from the rest, as they already have more experience from run-ins with the villains in the past. What amazed me, though, was that Class 1-A broke through the forest together! The top four could’ve gone on ahead, or someone could’ve sneakily run away (coughMinetacough), but they worked as one team! Despite all their differences, their solidarity is amazing! And though they didn’t make it on time, they still fared better than what was expected of them! I’m so proud!

Kota: Wow, it’s another edgy kid, and so young at that! I can’t help but feel so bad for him. I was watching this with my brother, and he wondered why Kota’s parents put heroics before their own child. I figured their sense of duty must’ve been that immense, even at the cost of their life, and they truly deserved to be praised for that. But on the other hand, didn’t they even think about Kota’s feelings, and his future if they suddenly left him? It’s a good thing Mandalay took him in, but she’s also still exposed to danger. No wonder he started to hate heroes, too; since society thought highly of their martyrdom, he must’ve thought that everyone who was a hero or wanted to become one, they did just to die. Sounds really stupid when put that way, huh? But, like Mandalay said, he was still at the age where he couldn’t understand reason. Maybe spending time with these fledgling heroes will change his point of view?

Testing improvements: I loved how we got an homage to the physical examinations from back in the first season! It felt like such a long time ago when it’s probably only been around 3 months for the students! What’s more, so many things have happened since then, and I was so sure they all got stronger! Apparently, that isn’t the case. At least we now got more insight on how quirks work! They’re really like additional muscles that need exercising! Not a lot of people like that though, as it usually involves a lot of pain. What more trying to endure 7 days of that!

Evil lurking: Hot dang, how did the League of Villains figure out the new location for the summer training camp? Aizawa already took precautions to prevent that info from leaking out! Now the kids are in danger! Plus, Shigaraki’s sending out new members of the league, so none of them (and us) know what to expect since there’s no knowledge about them yet!

Themes & Trivia

Noble death: It’s no surprise that most heroes and martyrs are remembered all over the world. After all, the cause of their death was usually caused by their selflessness, which sparked change. For example, Jesus Christ’s sacrificial death, which is one of the most widely known, influenced millions of people. Countries also have their own lists of their national heroes, the ones who died for freedom or to give way for change to happen. Here’s a list if you want to know a few of the many martyrs in the world.

Donabe: Kaminari and Kirishima were praising the food that was served to them, and then suddenly they asked if the rice was cooked in a clay pot, which is called donabe in Japanese. It’s one of the most prized cookware of Japanese cooks that dates back to the olden times. Because of its thick clay walls, it retains heat very well, so it’s ideal for cooking rice, stews, soups, and simmered dishes.

Comments

Waiting for this episode for a whole week was totally worth it! Not only are we back on track with the manga’s story, but we dove right into the action! All those gloriously animated action scenes, with a wonderfully written story, getting to watch it all was just amazing! Plus, even the silly times were enjoyable; they never failed to put a smile on my face! I honestly could go without Mineta in the picture, though, but I am still incredibly glad that this show is here again!

Try not to die!

Aizawa might seem like an aloof teacher, but when he means business, he’s scary and a bit nuts! How will these young heroes handle their training? Will they be able to survive? There’s still also that issue with the League of Villains possibly making their move, and that can’t be good news.

So, opinions, thoughts, reactions! Spill them in the comments section! You should also check out our Spring 2018 reviews, which are starting to pile up!

NEXT: Kota (洸汰くん)