'My Hero Academia' Teaches Izuku His Most Difficult Lesson Yet

My Hero Academia knows how to make its leads squirm. The ever-growing shonen series has gotten fans to devote themselves to Class 1-A, but it doesn't have to pit its heroes-in-training against each other to get people angsty. Sometimes, all you need is the right villain to get fans feeling emotional, and Izuku just learned that the hard way.

So, spoilers for My Hero Academia's latest chapter lie below!

If you are not caught up with chapter 180, you should know My Hero Academia just gave Izuku his biggest lessons to date. The release caught up with the boy as he continued his battle against Gentle and La Brava. The villainous pair were trying to sneak into UA Academy to bomb its cultural festival, but Izuku stopped the duo before they could get too far. Gentle proceeded to fight him, but the villain lost out to Izuku despite his mid-battle power boost. Still, nothing could have prepared Izuku for what came next.

La Brava stumbled across her mentor and looked on in horror as Izuku crouched over Gentle as a victor. The girl began to tear up while Gentle begged for his sidekick to run away. However, the little girl did not listen.

"Knock it off," the girl cries out to Izuku. "Let him go! Let Gentle go! Let him go!!"

Continuing, the girl lays out a problem that Izuku doesn't know how to address.

"Gentle poured his heart and soul into this plan! He even forgot to have his precious tea breaks planning for it. I said, let him go! Where is the 'brighter future' in this," the girl asks.

La Brava's pleas may be a bit juvenile, but they forced Izuku to think of a side of villainy he's never touched upon before. Their motives may not be excusable, but Gentle is in a class different than Stain or Shigaraki. He isn't spurred on by the need to hurt others; He simply wants to prove himself in a similar way that Izuku wishes to. La Brava's attachment to Gentle shows the villain has heart, and he lets himself be captured in the hopes her punishment will be softened.

In a brilliant move, My Hero Academia has shown Izuku (and readers) that heroism isn't always clear cut. The line separating hero from villain is a thin one, and there are baddies out there who aren't the scum of the Earth. Some have fallen on hard times, and other were the victims of having their dreams crushed like Gentle. In an alternate world, Izuku could have very well become one of these bad guys, and Izuku will now have to find a way to deal with this issue should he want to become a true Symbol of Peace.

Do you think Gentle has been Izuku's most important opponent yet? Let me know in the comments or hit me up on Twitter @MeganPetersCB to talk all things comics, k-pop, and anime!