My Hero Academia Episode 49 Review: One for All

This was the climax of all climaxes, the conclusion of all conclusions, and the peak episode of My Hero Academia! The whole thing felt like a movie, which is appropriate because it’s totally a very important moment in the story! It was just…oh my God. I’m not holding back on the spoilers after this intro, so if you haven’t yet, please turn back and watch it first! … Seriously, don’t rob yourself of the full, awesome experience!

Plot

All Might reached his limit, but All for One was still laughing and taunting him! Eventually, after a few more blocks of the villain’s attacks, All Might’s muscular form completely gave up, revealing the secret he’s been hiding for so long. Even so, the people still kept believing in him, while he continued to fight against his quirk’s limit. After all, this was it! It’s make or break, do or die!

Episode Highlights

All Might’s origin: Twenty seconds in, and I was already emotional from seeing young All Might, or Yagi Toshinori rather, voice out his dreams! I thought he only became known as the Symbol of Peace after becoming the No. 1 Hero, but to think he just knew beforehand that was what the nation needed, and he wanted to be become it, right from the get-go! Seems like even though they both started Quirkless. Toshinori was an even bigger dreamer than Midoriya, who only dreamed of being a hero. No wonder he was able to rise to the top! Just from his dream and ideals, you could clearly see his strength of will!

Taunting – Evil!! All for One is pure evil!! Never mind the fact that he tried to use a helpless victim to deal damage on All Might (though I’m glad she was fine and became a source of encouragement to him). Never mind the fact that he caused such devastating damage in the area. He’s pure evil for using a child just to hurt All Might mentally and emotionally, and to insult the memory of his former master! A child!! I know Shigaraki seemed like he had nowhere else to go and no one to save him that time, but the fact that All for One did it with malice still stands!

Secret revealed: Goodness, that moment where the whole nation saw the true state of the Symbol of Peace made me tear up! Their shock could’ve turned into despair and panic, but instead, they turned into desperate cheers! Yet at the same time, they also sounded like desperate pleas for help, because if the No. 1 Hero isn’t able to defeat such a villain, who else can, right? It truly showed the amount of faith they had in him! He was truly their hero! Another part that touched my heart was when the other heroes were trying to help him out in their own little ways! I say little because, let’s be real, All for One was way more powerful than any of them. It only took him one blow to send them flying! Still, though, their gesture was an added boost of encouragement for All Might, who really needed it no matter what All for One says (that they should start being realistic).

United States of Smash!! Just when all hope seemed lost, at the last moment, the Symbol of Peace delivered his ultimate finishing move! It was so awesome! He didn’t just punch out of sheer strength, nor did he win the punching game as if it was a wrestling match! No! He took Gran Torino’s advice and became tricky! He took Nana’s advice and pushed past his limits, letting the flame of One for All explode one last time, even if it meant going out forever afterwards... Now that I think about it, the lines All Might said as he delivered that final blow can be made more dramatic than implied if you remember that the One for All quirk was initially dedicated to defeating All for One. And now that All Might defeated him, his quirk’s purpose was now also done…

Passing the baton: I just really love All Might and Deku’s relationship, so much!! I love how his student became the reason why his resolve and will to live were strengthened, all because he wanted to continue mentoring him! And since All Might could no longer be the Symbol of Peace, he officially passed the responsibility of being the nation’s future pillar to his successor on live television, even if it was just something the both of them could understand. Don’t you guys also think that All Might made sure to defeat his archenemy so that Deku won’t need to inherit that battle from him either? Now, the One for All in Deku’s hands can be focused on defeating his own arch nemesis, Shigaraki, and the other villains he’ll meet in the future. It’s the dawn of a new era.

Themes & Trivia

Numbers in Names: Did you know that the seventh, eighth, and ninth holders of One for All all have their corresponding numbers in their names? Nana’s name is the Japanese word for seven (七), Yagi has the kanji for eight (八), and the ‘ku’ in Izuku sounds similar to kyū, (九) which is nine in Japanese. Horikoshi really loves the name game! (Special thanks to the MHA wiki for listing these trivias!)

Comments

Hello, have I screamed enough about how much I loved this episode? Actually, if I could, I would’ve typed out some parts in all caps just to express my excitement and awe better! This was really such an incredible ride. It brought me tears, suspense, heartache, joy – what a rollercoaster! And the writing, the way they put certain scenes together to help us understand better what’s going on through All Might’s mind, or the state of the society, or even to make us anticipate what’s coming next, it was done excellently! What a great service Studio Bones has done this crucial chapter of the story!

Thank you for everything, All Might!

The Symbol of Peace retires due to his secret going out in the open, and it wasn’t like he was still in any condition to resume hero work. How will the hero-villain society take this? How will Deku take this?

Well then, do feel free to scream your thoughts in the comments section so I can scream with you! Our Spring 2018 anime reviews are slowly starting to wrap up too, so get to reading!

NEXT: End of the Beginning, Beginning of the End