This week’s episode of My Hero Academia made room for all the members of Class 1-A to shine — particularly Kaminari and Aoyama.
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The “Stun Gun Hero” Kaminari and the “Shining Hero” Aoyama tend to serve as background characters for the most part. However, in the first part of the provisional licensing exam, fans got a rare opportunity to see both of them in action, putting their bright quirks to good use and helping the rest of their classmates.
The exam found Kaminari teaming up with Bakugo and Kirishima. Bakugo split off from the rest of class, hoping to make his two eliminations on his own. However, when Kirishima and Kaminari followed, he grudgingly accepted the need for teamwork.
It is a good thing he did, too, as the three faced off against a pwoerful — and kind of disgusting — enemy named Seiji Shishikura, with a quirk called “Meatball.” He was able to manipulate his flesh to constrict and subdue opponents, and even Bakugo’s explosions were not stopping him.
However, Shishikura was still susceptible to electricity, and Kaminari showed a bit more forethought than usual. He pretended to miss Shishikura with the projectiles given to him by the support class. In reality, he was setting a trap, allowing himself to shock the enemy in a wireless circuit and free his classmates.
While Kaminari showed a little growth as a fighter, Aoyama matured by leaps and bounds as a hero. The hero who, by his own admission, cannot stop twinkling, tried to sacrifice himself to allow Iida to pass. As time grew short, Aoyama dropped to the ground, firing his signature navel lazer straight up to draw as much attention to himself as possible. He hoped to stop Iida from trying to protect him, but in reality to accomplished much more.
The rest of Class 1-A rallied behind Aoyama after his signal, pinning down the other competitors and using all of their quirks in tandem. Thanks to their coordinated efforts, Aoyama was able to secure the final spot, and count himself as an “equal” to his classmates.
With that, all of Class 1-A made it into the top 100 in the provisional licensing exam. The anime added a lot of depth to te storyline, revealing how several students passed that were not shown in the managa. Their struggles are not over, however, as a post-credit scene gave a hint at the next part of the test. Given their exhaustion, there is no telling how the class will hold up against this next challenge.
My Hero Academia simulcasts on Hulu and Crunchyroll in the U.S., with new episodes Saturdays at 4 a.m. ET.
