My Hero Academia Episode 58 Review: Save the World with Love!

I’ve been wondering what this anime-original episode was going to be about. Turns out, it’s a promotion for My Hero Academia‘s first movie, which came out earlier this month! It also served as an explanation of how the film is connected to the anime. That’s just a part of what the episode contained though; the rest was pretty hilarious to watch!

Japanese Original Episode Title: 愛で地球を救え!

Plot

All Might and Deku broke the continuity of the current arc by breaking the fourth wall! They showed us, the viewers, what happened on a certain day during the students’ summer vacation, before their training camp. The teachers tested Deku, Bakugo, Uraraka, Iida, Todoroki, and Asui on how they would deal with a robbery-hostage situation. The villain and the hostages? The teachers themselves!

Episode Highlights

Fourth wall break: This aspect of the episode made it pretty hard for me to take seriously, to be honest. I mean, it made the whole event still feel detached to the main story, even though the purpose of this anime-original was to incorporate the movie’s plot into it. Was it just me? Watching Deku try to keep up with his predecessor’s gimmick was fun to watch though.

The jewelry heist: While I was glad the students involved in this episode were some of my favorite characters, the ones I loved watching the most this time were the teachers! It was entertaining to see them so in character, especially Midnight! Due to her good acting, the whole scenario felt real, but then I’d suddenly remember that this is just a test, thanks in part to Present Mic, and I’d just laugh (and also have second-hand embarrassment)! Acting aside, though, I was actually impressed with how the whole thing was set up. They even thought of a backstory and a twist to the case! I thought the kids only had to apprehend the villain without letting the hostages be in danger, so I didn’t think there’d be something like that. However, I’m more impressed with Midoriya, who figured out all of these things quickly! Then again this is the ever smart Deku we’re talking about, so it’s not a surprise.

Escaped! How interesting that somehow being aware that this was all an act became the cause of the students’ failure! I can’t blame them though, because I was also fooled! I thought All Might was just acting dead because of the exercise, but it never even crossed my mind that his actual character really was playing dead! Kinda makes me wonder if he wouldn’t react to Tsuyu’s hair if his character was really dead in the scenario, or would he have not been able to hold back his reaction.

An invitation: I-Island looked like a very amazing place! And very interesting as well, especially for heroes! It’s like it’d be such a rare opportunity for anyone who’d get to go there! That’s why I couldn’t help but go ‘Aww!’ when All Might immediately invited Deku to go with him to I-Island because he wanted his successor to have more experience! I’m just laughing because Deku immediately said yes without consulting his mother first. To think this episode is set right after season two, where the last part showed that Mrs. Midoriya was incredibly distressed because of the dangers her son has been in! Well, he was probably still unaware of just how distressed she was at that time.

Themes & Trivia

The movie: For those of you who haven’t heard yet, My Hero Academia the Movie: Two Heroes is the first movie of the series, which just goes to show how big it’s gotten! It started showing in Japan on August 3, 2018. What about for us who aren’t in Japan, though? Not to worry! The movie is planned to be released in the west on September 25, 2018 with English dub, and Japanese dub/English subs.

Comments

I enjoyed this episode. I truly did, especially with all the hilarity that ensued. However, it didn’t take away the fact that it felt detached from the main story, as I mentioned earlier. Unlike the other fillers we’ve had that provided extra scenarios which fleshed out the story and the characters a bit more, this particular filler just felt like one huge commercial for the movie. Sorry! It’s probably because I was expecting so much from this filler. Ah well. I guess it’s at least nice to know that the movie’s canon, unlike other anime films where you don’t know how it ties up to the main story.

It’s gonna be a field trip of a lifetime!

The next episode will continue on again with the provisional license arc! We’ll finally get to see how the students will handle a sudden ‘villain’ attack, all while they rescue civilians! It’s pretty exciting, don’t you think? I hope our Class-A will still be able to do well!

Let us know what you thought of this special episode! Also, for those in Japan, have you already seen the movie? Was it amazing to watch? And for those who haven’t gotten to watch it yet, are you looking forward to seeing it? Share them all in the comments!

Don’t forget to check our Summer 2018 reviews! We’re already past half the season, after all!

NEXT: What’s the Big Idea?