'My Hero Academia' Introduces Its Newest Pro Heroes

This week, My Hero Academia continued season 3 with another fun episode focused on the bond between the Class 1-A students, as they made their way to a mountain region, where they will be undergoing special training over the summer, in between semesters at U.A. As the bus carrying Class 1-A pulled over to a rest stop, the students were surprised by two new acquaintances, who came with a drastic proclamation!

The two new characters in question were Mandalay and Pixie-Bob, two members of the cat-themed pro hero group, The Wild, Wild, Pussycats (hence the episode title, "Wild Wild Pussycats"). Upon introducing themselves to the Class 1-A students, the Pussycats and Shota reveal to Class 1-A that their summer training has already begun - with a race to a cabin where the students must arrive in time, in order to be served lunch.

Mandalay's quirk involves one-way telepathic messaging, but as the students find out, Pixie-Bob's power is much more formidable! The Pussycat pro manipulates the terrain of the forest floor to great monsters made of dirt, which the students of Class 1-A spend hours battling, in order to reach the cabin. While it takes much longer than the allotted time limit, their performance nonetheless impresses the teachers, and they get a hearty lunch, followed by a relaxing soak in some hot springs.

Meanwhile, we learned that Mandalay has a connection to a larger bit of pro hero history: her nephew, Kota, was the son of pro hero team Water Horse, who died in a battle with the villain Muscular - a figure who was last seen being recruited by the League of Villains, for Shigaraki's Vanguard Action Squad. Kota's cynical view of heroes conflicts with Izuku's boundless optimism - as evidenced when the young kid punches Izuku right in his tender bits, upon their first meeting.

WARNING - Manga Spoilers Follow!

Fans who read the "School Trip" and "Hideout Raid" arcs that consecutively unfold in the manga know that the Pussycats are just the first of many new heroes and villains we'll meet in the My Hero Academia anime series. After the villain Vanguard Action Squad attacks the Pussycats' camp and kidnaps a key student of Class 1-A, the entire U.A. staff and other pro heroes must rally together to go after the League of Villains, and earn back their honor. Kota's backstory comes to play in a big way when Muscular shows up during the Vanguard Action Squad attack on the camp; the villain sends Kota into a rage, and it takes Izuku stepping up in a big way to save the young boy.

My Hero Academia is simulcasting season 3 Sub episodes every Saturday on Hulu and Funimation streaming services.