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My Hero Academia Season 5 Episode 97 Review – Best In Show

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Quick Summary • Best Moment • Setup • Delivery • Other Posts

My Hero Academia Season 5 Episode 97 Review – Quick Summary

In My Hero Academia Season 5 episode 97, “Early Bird!,” It was time for another bout between Class 1-A and Class 1-B. This time, Katsuki Bakugou/Not Great Explosion Murder God Dynamight(or maybe it is!), Kyouka Jirou/Hearing Hero: Earphone Jack, Hanta Sero/Cellophane, and Rikidou Satou/Sugarman represented Class 1-A. They were up against a very determined team from Class 1-B, led by the ambitious Setsuna Tokage/Lizardy. As with the other Class 1-B teams, she had extensively studied the students from the other class. Her plan depended on Bakugou acting like Bakugou. And given how he treated his team mates, it looked like her analysis would prove correct. Will they be able to emerge victorious? Or does Bakugou has a surprise in store for them?

Note: This post may include spoilers, so be cautious.

Favorite Quote from My Hero Academia Season 5 Episode 97

My Hero Academia Season 5 Episode 97: Jirou realized something was different about Bakugou.

Jirou saw through Bakugou’s bravado and understood that he had changed. Capture from the Crunchyroll stream.

Remember back in episode 93 when they announced the teams for 1-A and 1-B? Jirou, Sero, and Satou seemed excited to be on the same team as Bakugou. But Bakugou’s only reaction, besides appearing enraged, was to tell everyone not to get in his way.

Well, this episode didn’t start out much better. At least it didn’t seem to. Bakugou led the team on a sprint towards the enemy. He used his explosions to propel himself through the air, and he set a fast pace. Bakugou demanded that Jirou use her Earphone Jack to determine the enemy’s position. As she tried desperately to listen and run at the same time, she panted and told Bakugou that doing both simultaneously wasn’t easy.

In an angry voice, he demanded that the “slowpokes” keep up with him. Sero and Satou joked that Bakugou hadn’t changed at all since the sports festival. But Jirou? She’s a little more perception. She’s a little less influenced by bravado. Considering Bakugou’s words, she said (04:07), “He’s cooperating, anyway.”

She was the most right of the three of them!

Best in Show Moment for My Hero Academia Season 5 Episode 97

My Hero Academia Season 5 Episode 97: No one felt more shock than Jirou when Bakugou saved her.

Jirou was as shocked as anyone that Bakugou intentionally saved her. Capture from the Crunchyroll stream.

Setup: Bakugou’s Reputation Proceeded Him

In my favorite quote above, you may have noticed how Bakugou’s team mates, except for Jirou, just assumed he was going to go off on his own. They even joked about it as the match started. They probably had good reason. As late as episode 93, Bakugou showed obvious disdain for his team mates.

Students in Class 1-B noticed that. Neito Monoma/Then Phantom Thief, Class 1-B’s class idiot (okay, I’m being harsh, but the dude is so annoying that even his own class president, Itsuka Kendou/Battle Fist, spends a lot of her time knocking him unconscious), practically bragged about it. It was almost if he considered Bakugou’s lack of team work to be Class 1-B’s collective Quirk.

My Hero Academia Season 5 Episode 97: Tokage felt certain she could count on Bakugou's lack of teamwork.

Tokage had so little faith in Bakugou’s team work skills that she based her strategy on his lack. Capture from the Crunchyroll stream.

Tokage, leader of the 1-B team that would take on Bakugou and friends, so firmly believed in Bakugou’s inability to work on a team that she based her entire strategy on it. Heck, as I watched the episode, I was right there with her. Bakugou showed every sign of owning the role of lone wolf, just as he always had.

Yeah, I was completely wrong about that. Good thing I only had to watch it. I would really have hated to be in Tokage’s place!

Delivery: Bakugou Learns Teamwork!

Jirou actually gave us the first hint that Bakugou had changed. Sure, he screamed at them derisively to keep up, but she noticed that he did so because he actually wanted them to keep up. In other words, she was first to see that Bakugou had awareness of his team mates. I think she knew he had envisioned some role for them to play. Otherwise, why would he care if they kept up or not?

He pushed Jirou hard to provide intelligence even as they sprinted forward. He wanted Sero and Satou to stay in formation. What did he have in mind? They found out soon enough. Jirou heard lots of sounds, but she couldn’t make sense of them. Tokage planned it that way; she had split her body into dozens of small pieces that made a lot of noise to distract 1-A. Sero had used his tape to setup what he intended to be protection, but Kojiro Bondo/Plamo covered it in glue, which trapped them. Then, Togaru Kamakiri/Jack Mantis sliced pipes above them with the intention of burying them.

My Hero Academia Season 5 Episode 97: Kamakiri moved in to trap Jirou, Seto, and Setou.

Kamakiri/Jack Mantis had been ready to trap Sero, Satou, and Jirou under sliced pipes. Capture from the Crunchyroll stream.

Then Bakugou blew the pipes away. Kamakiri had been prepared for something like that: He immediately attacked Jirou while Bakugou was otherwise occupied. As if to prove that blowing away the pipes wasn’t a fluke, Bakugou put himself in front of Jirou and blew Kamakiri away. The delighted shock on Toshinori Yagi/All Might and Izuku Midoriya/Deku’s nearly matched Jirou’s. Bakugou had intentionally saved her. “When you guys are in danger,” he said (08:09), “I’ll save you.” Later, he told them that if he got into trouble, they’d save him.

Bakugou used teamwork. It was super effective. Honestly, this moment was worth waiting 97 episodes to see!

What did you think of All Might saying Bakugou’s moment gave him “chills?” What was your Best in Show moment? Let me know in the comments.

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2 thoughts on “My Hero Academia Season 5 Episode 97 Review – Best In Show”

  1. Does Jack Mantis remind anyone else of Jack The Ripper from “Black Clover,” or is it just me? And does Tokage seem like she’d be related to a certain clown from a certain Pirate Adventure manga?

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