Review of My Hero Academia s4 ep65 – Laying the Groundwork for a Momentous Reorg

Hi everyone! Irina (from I Drink and Watch Anime) and I are glad you could join us for our review of Overhaul, the 65th episode of My Hero Academia. Last’s week’s creative take on a re-cap episode whet my appetite for new adventures staring Izuku Midoriya, Tsuyu Asui, and the rest of the crew. Did this week’s episode deliver? We’ll find out in a minute, but first things first. There will likely be spoilers, and Irina’s in bold this week.

How was your week, Irina? Any opening thoughts on the episode?

My week was great. I hope it was just as great for you!

I did write down, how do Crow and I always manage to pick such bloody shows to watch? I mean even Zombieland Saga had some pretty harsh scenes. And now, My Hero Academia, which has always kept the gore and destruction off camera or implied starts of with one heck of a bang… Maybe it’s us?

Man, I hope not. That kind of power would be a huge responsibility! 

This episode had four distinct parts: A shocking revelation for Izuku, a stunning application of corporate organization theory to the villains (no, seriously!), an unexpected reaction from All Might, and a misstep that could have disastrous consequences for Izuku — and that involved tickle play. From a hero. Against another hero. And only Izuku was surprised.

Let’s start with the revelation. For first years like Izuku, it’s apparently time to think about work study. Izuku doesn’t feel confident, because he remembers that at the end of the sports tournament, hero agencies didn’t exactly break down his door. So he did something I thought was pretty smart: He called Gran Torino, All Might’s old mentor, who had helped Izuku train before. After first pretending not to remember Izuku (way to build confidence, Gran Torino!), he made a simple and direct suggestion.

Why didn’t Izuku ask All Might to introduce him to someone? After all, Toshinori was well known as All Might. An introduction from him would go over well. Izuku was shocked. Apparently, idea hadn’t occurred to him. I hadn’t thought about it, either. What about you, Irina? 

I always figured he purposefully wanted to do this on his own. Like to prove himself. This said, it’s not surprising that the idea didn’t come to him. Yagi is well known now but for years keeping his identity secret was imperative. Not only that but keeping Deku’s relationship with All Might fairly discrete was also important. These two things have been guiding factors in Isuku’s life for quite some time now, I assume they would be second nature. I also wouldn’t see him openly flaunting his relationship with All Might for the world to see. Especially when it comes to unknown factors such as these other heroes. 

Hero is a job in this universe, not a personality trait. You really don’t know who you can trust.

That makes perfect sense. 

Izuku had not considered asking All Might fora reference. Maybe for a good reason… Capture from the Crunchyroll stream.

Now we move onto what might be the most harshly implemented hostile takeover attempt I’ve seen in my corporate life. Twice brings Overhaul to the League of Villain’s hang out. Tomura Shigaraki (a.k.a. Decay) isn’t terribly happy to see him. He noted that Overhaul had been in line to become a yakuza (organized crime) boss. 

Now, confession time. I know darn well I should not like Himiko Toga. She’s evil. Not just your average evil; her evil is an advanced evil. But dang, she’d be seriously attractive if I were 30 years younger. Or maybe 40 years. She actually reminds me of a quote from C.S. Lewis’ The Screwtape Letters, where the title character makes an observation about human nature. He talks about how men have two diametrically opposed views of what they want from a woman: either a “terrestrial Venus” who’s all virtue and stuff, and another who he “desires brutally, and desires to desire brutally.” 

I’m off track, aren’t I, Irina?

Oh, I know a trap when I see it and I’m gonna walk away from this conversation.

But I actually had a reason to mention her. I thought it was hilarious how she looked up to Mr. Compress and asked what the difference was between organized crime and them as villains. His answer deepened the world of My Hero Academia, which I thought was cool. Apparently, in that world, the appearance of heroes had driven organized crime to the brink of extinction. All Might himself put the final nail in their coffin. 

Mr. Compress ended by saying, “They were treated like villain reserves just scraping by to make a living under the watch of the police. Frankly, they’re obsolete and should be a protected species.”

Overhaul not only didn’t disagree with Mr. Compress’ assessment. He confirmed it. Capture from the Crunchyroll stream.

Villain reserves? Ouch! I expected Overhaul to fly into a rage. But he didn’t. In fact, he agreed. As I’m wondering what he’s up to, he said that right now, with All Might’s retirement and with the imprisonment of All for One, neither the heroes nor the villains had a leader. He asserted that he should be leader.

Irina, were you a little worried about this guy’s safety at this point?

Not at all. You don’t give a guy a costume like that if you don’t plan to have him around for a bit. That is highly merchandisable design if I ever seen it.

But I did like the establishment of what could be almost seen as market forces on the world of heroes and villains. Supply and demand. The fall of a monopoly creating a potential vacuum. I really like this aspect of My Hero Academia and I think it’s what gives the show potential of going beyond a paint by numbers superhero saga.

Now I want to see a hero (or a villain!) named Market Force…

I think Tomura had had heard enough. But Overhaul wasn’t done making his case. He pointed out that a goal with no plan was “a delusion.” He inquired of Tomura’s skills in building an organization. I almost felt like I was listening to a corporate consultant! 

He wasn’t done. He pointed out how under Tomura’s leadership, they had lost Stain, Muscular, and Moonfish. 

Tomura’s patience with Overhaul’s relentless — and painfully accurate — critique was wearing thin. That’s okay. It wouldn’t go on much longer. Capture from the Crunchyroll stream.

“Did you not understand how to use them?” Overhaul said, taunting Tomura. “You can’t even manage ten or so crazy people, and you’re talking about increasing your forces?” Then he asked them again to join him.

It got real and it got real fast. Magna (a.k.a. Kenji Hikiishi) threw himself at Overhaul. Overhaul touched him, and his top half exploded. Not a little “Oh, I wonder if he’s hurt!” Manga’s torso and neck and skull and arms simply vanished in a shower of blood. 

Mr. Compress, ignoring Tomura’s order to stop, attacked. He lost an arm and ended up on his back, screaming.

What did you think of so much violence in such a compressed space?

Like I said above, I think this may be our fault Crow. Everything we touch turns to buckets of blood!

But you know, it’s not like there were tons of ways out of this situation, and I appreciate that the show went the logical route. From everything we know, this season is likely to get uncomfortable for both sides, so why beat about the bush?

I feel so guilty…

Tomura himself attacked, and Overhaul yelled for one of his people — who had just started to arrive, apparently out of nowhere — to shield him. The man did, and as soon as Tomura’s decay Quirk hit him, he withered and died. Then the rest of Overhaul’s reinforcements broke in through the wall. Himiko wanted to extract revenge for the death of Kenji; Tomura, his temper cooling, restrained her. Twice wanted to attack, too, but Tomura held him back. 

Tomura’s order for Twice and Himiko to hold back probably saved their lives. Capture from the Crunchyroll stream.

I actually really like Tomura as a character. His design is awesome and the looseness with which he has been personified means he can still go in just about every direction. One thing though is that he is indeed quite unskilled as a leader. Not dumb, and definitely not weak, just not a good leader, and that’s an archetype I don’t think I’ve seen before as your main antagonist who is supposed to be heading a large organization.

It’s really interesting.

The most impressive thing about the scene was Overhaul’s calm. It was almost if their lethal show of force was nothing more than one side in a negotiation changing the payback period for stocks prior to closing a deal. 

Saying they’d both just lost a man, he said, “Let’s cool our heads and talk again another day. We’ll owe you an arm.”

He even left a business card! 

Irina, are you thinking what I’m thinking? If the League of Villains can harness Overhaul’s management skills, the heroes are in a bit of trouble, aren’t they?

Maybe. Actually yes, definitely. All for One was never that interested in working with others before, which is why villains were always somewhat scattered and disorganized. If they can ban together under a singular vision, regardless of who is commanding, it’s going to be bad news.

Although, I’m thinking the heroes biggest problem may be themselves. Without any clear rules in place or a unifying ideology, they might turn on each other while trying to get that no. 1 spot. And whatever else he may have been, All Might was great PR. If the Heroes lose the public, that may actually be what brings the whole thing down. No need for any messy fight, just cut the funding and they all have to get real jobs… 

Magna’s death weighed heavily on Tomura. He seems to have revenge on his agenda… Capture from the Crunchyroll stream.

Back at the school, Izuku asks All Might to introduce him to his old side kick, Sir Nighteye. He’s shocked when Toshinori refused. One of the reasons he gives is that he thinks Izuku needs to develop his offensive capabilities more. The other was a little surprising: he’s afraid Sir Nighteye will say “Told you so!” 

But this is Izuku we’re talking about here. He explained his own reasons for wanting to work for Sir Nighteye, and these included the idea of since Sir Nighteye had been All Might’s side kick, and since Izuku’s power is so similar to All Might’s, Nighteye might know how best to help Izuku develop.

However, Toshinori still doesn’t want to talk to Sir Nighteye, so he pages his current work study student: Mirio Togata. I have to say, since we first met the guy in the previous season, I’ve liked him. He’s upbeat. He’s not arrogant. And his puns are worse than mine! 

Mirio wanted to be sure Izuku would be right for Sir Nighteye (a trait I think is commendable in a young hero). Almost out of habit, Izuku started to answer, “I want to save everyone with a smile, no matter…”

And then he said something that I think will influence the course of the series from this moment on. He remembered his mother sobbing and telling him she couldn’t take being so scared for his safety. Setting his jaw, he said, “I want to be strong enough that no one will worry about me. To always win… To always save everyone… I want to be… the greatest hero.”

Deku just came up with what might be his most honest articulation of his goal to date. It was sweet that it included consideration for his mom. Capture from the Crunchyroll stream.

Irina, was that cool or what?

It was framed as a decisive moment. Isuzu finally coming into his own and gaining the confidence of his own skills, and I think it would have been a smidge more powerful if we didn’t get a couple of these per season. It’s a sort of a weird warp point in his character arc that the narrative keeps dragging us back. My guess is that the plot is not ready to explore Isuzu’s deeper development yet, which is why we see him coming to this realization over and over again.

Mirio thinks the goal is crazy, but not incompatible with Sir Nighteye. So he agrees! As they talk, the camera focuses on Toshinori, and he remembers a conversation the Principal. Apparently, the Principal thought that Mirio would have made a perfect successor for All Might. Toshinori reflected that had he not met Izuku, Mirio might well have inherited One for All. 

It was a short scene, but I thought it was momentous. And it set the stage for the fourth part that involved both a potential misstep by Izuku and some unexpected tickle-play from Sir Nighteye.

All Might actually looked like he may be regretting his choice for a second there. It’s wild and completely shakes some of the foundations of both the character and the core relationship of the series. But I don’t think it’s completely incompatible with what we’ve seen of All Might. The public adores him and he certainly wears the mantle of hero very well, but have you noticed that a LOT of professional heroes don’t like him that much. There must be a reason. And I’m pretty sure it’s not just jealousy.

I know that there’s pretty much zero chance that All Might will forsake Deku as his successor, but just the fact that he does have doubts is already a pretty big change in what we’ve been shown so far and I like it. It adds a heck of a lot of complexity to this character whose drive for the “greater” good may lead him to overlook the personal good. He didn’t get where he is without being at least a little calculating.

Does All Might really have doubts about who he chose for his successor? Capture from the Crunchyroll stream.

Now, that’s interesting. I didn’t even consider that. Can you imagine what that would do to Izuku’s confidence if he ever learned about it? And yet, isn’t that what real leaders have to do, they’re responsible? Keep asking if they’ve made the right choice and course correct if they haven’t?

Mirio takes Izuku to Sir Nighteye’s agency, and the sheer size of the building freaks Izuku out. What he didn’t know is it got worse. As they ascended the stairs (and I want to note that the animation of them walking up the spiral staircase was cool), Mirio said that Izuku could increase his chances of success by making Sir Nighteye laugh at least once. Izuku is appalled. He doesn’t think he has any comedy skills! He’s spent all his time developing his combat capabilities. But he’s determined to do what he can.

Heeding Mirio’s advice and bolding throwing the door to the office open, Izuku announces himself — and stops short. Sir Nighteye has shackled Bubble Girl to what looks like a high tech dungeon wall. Some kind of tickle device is working on her sides and underarms, and she’s laughing uncontrollably. The hero is urging her voice to go higher.

Mirio is completely unsurprised. He just says, “It looks like his sidekick, Bubble Girl, couldn’t make him laugh.”

Izuku arrives, trying to make a good first impression. Too bad Sir Nighteye was otherwise occupied. Though if i were Izuku, I would have considered finding another agency. Capture from the Crunchyroll stream.

Okay, Irina, check my math here. Was that normal?

Well, I’m not sure what we’re comparing it with? It wasn’t a particularly successful scene in my opinion, but it seemed pretty standard anime tropes. Or are we talking about something else? Like I wouldn’t be comfortable if it happened in real life.

I was thinking in terms of Isuku’s world — the world of My Hero Academia (though you raise a good point about our world… Karandi and Kapodaco talk about this perspective in their review of this episode). I don’t think we’ve seen a hero engage in such behavior before! Though, thinking about it, it’s not that much different from how Endeavor treats people. Just a little more obviously, well, fetish…

Finally, we come to Izuku’s potential misstep. He’s not a comedian. He has no idea how to intentionally make people laugh. But he wants to try, so he does his best All Might impression. It was fantastic! I laughed, once again making my cat suspect my mental stability. 

But Sir Nighteye? In a furious voice, he asked if Izuku were trying to ridicule All Might.

What do you think of Izuku’s chances at this agency, Irina?

For someone who values humor so much, Nighteye doesn’t seem to have much of a sense of humor. Capture from the Crunchyroll stream.

100%. I mean we know that Nightshade and All Might have the type of relationship where they tease and nag each other. All Might wouldn’t be afraid to go see him otherwise. Also, All Might is a bit of a dork himself, so there’s no way this guy would have been his sidekick for any span of time and not be used to this types of screw ups. I hope I’m super wrong though. I would rather see Isuzu under someone else’s tutelage. Maybe one of the lady superheroes. We don’t get to see them much. She could remind him of his mom. It would be super sweet.

Maybe Ryuko Tatsuma? I don’t think we’ve met her yet, but I think a dragon could be a cool teacher…

To me, the episode felt like shoving bullets in a clip, then slamming the clip into the gun. We’re locked and loaded, and the stakes, as they say, are high. 

Irina, any final thoughts on the episode?

If the last episode was an introduction, this one was all set up and I’m fine with that. It’s a little tough to judge set up without seeing the payoff, but as it is, it did the job of making me want to watch the next episode, so I call it a success!

Reviews of the Other Episodes

• Review of My Hero Academia s4 ep64 – The Heir
• Review of My Hero Academia s4 ep65 – Overhaul
• Review of My Hero Academia s4 ep66 – Boy Meets…
• Review of My Hero Academia s4 ep67 — Fighting Fate
• Review of My Hero Academia s4 ep68 — Let’s Go, Gutsy Red Riot
• Review of My Hero Academia s4 ep69 – An Unpleasant Talk
• Review of My Hero Academia s4 ep70 – GO!!
• Review of My Hero Academia s4 ep71 – Suneater of the Big Three
• Review of My Hero Academia s4 ep72 – Red Riot
• Review of My Hero Academia s4 ep73 – Temp Squad
• Review of My Hero Academia s4 ep74 – Lemillion
• Review of My Hero Academia s4 ep75: The Unforeseen Hope
• Review of My Hero Academia s4 ep76: Infinite 100%
• Review of My Hero Academia s4 ep77: Bright Future
• Review of My Hero Academia s4 ep78: Smoldering Flames
• Review of My Hero Academia s4 ep79: Win Those Kids’ Hearts
• Review of My Hero Academia s4 ep80: Relief for the License Trainees
• Review of My Hero Academia s4 ep81: School Festival
• Review of My Hero Academia s4 ep82: Prepping for the School Festival Is the Funnest Part
• Review of My Hero Academia s4 ep83: Gold Tips Imperial
• Review of My Hero Academia s4 ep84: Deku vs. Gentle Criminal
• Review of My Hero Academia s4 ep85: School Festival Start!!
• Review of My Hero Academia s4 ep86: Let it Flow! School Festival!
• Review of My Hero Academia s4 ep87: Japanese Hero Billboard Chart
• Review of My Hero Academia s4 ep88: His Start