'My Hero Academia' Proves Izuku Is A Sherlock In Training

The latest episode of My Hero Academia showed that there is more to Deku than speeches and smashes, as the would-be hero put his detective skills on display.

Anime fans have followed Izuku Midoriya's quest to become a hero for nearly three seasons now, and he has broken through many limitations along the way. While Midoriya always feared he could not become a hero without a quirk, there has been little doubt that he has the drive, the intelligence and spirit to do the job.

On Saturday, we learned that he has the sleuthing skills as well. The show departed briefly from its provisional hero licensing exam to do an anime-original episode that tied in to the movie, My Hero Academia: Two Heroes. It brought us back to the brief time between U.A. High Schools final exams, and the summer training camp.

In that time, a few students from Class 1-A apparently signed up for voluntary extra training with the faculty. It was no surprise to see Midoriya among them, as well as other enthusiastic students like Iida, Uraraka, Tsuyu, Todoroki and Bakugo.

The six of them were subjected to a practical exercise focused on a dangerous villain and a hostage situation. Not all was as it appeared, however, as the challenge resulted in a mystery. The villain -- played by All Might -- was found dead at the crime scene, making all of his hostages suspects in his murder. The hero-hopefuls were left to interrogate them in the hopes of discovering who the killer was.

Naturally, Midoriya took the lead, puzzling out the scenario without even devolving into his usual cloud of mutters. He nearly saw through the entire thing, too, except for the tiny detail that All Might was still alive. He made a quick getaway while the students were distracted, leading Eraser Head to give them all "zero points."

The one-off story served as a strong reminder of Midoriya's heroic genius. The boy born without a quirk obsessed over pro heroes for his entire childhood, keeping detailed notes on their strengths, weaknesses and tactics. This gave him an immense advantage as a strategist in his own right -- a quality that always comse through when he is put to the test.

Still, many fans were distraught over a full week away from the climactic plot of the licensing exam. The episode likely went over well in Japan, where the movie has already been out for several weeks. In the U.S., people might appreciate it more when they finally see My Hero Academia: Two Heroes in select theaters from Sept. 25 go Oct. 2.