My Hero Academia Explores the Beginnings Of The Yakuza Before Overhaul

My Hero Academia has presented the professional heroes and student heroes of UA Academy with a challenge unlike anything they’ve encountered before. With the Yakuza being led by the super villain known as Overhaul, the criminal organization is more dangerous than it has ever been before. The most recent episode of the hard hitting anime franchise didn’t just give us one of the biggest fights of the series to date with Fat Gum and Red Riot matching their fists against two of the villains of the “Eight Bullets”, but it also gave us more insight into the days of yesteryear of the Yakuza, long before Overhaul took over.

As Bubble Girl and the authorities managed to capture some of the lower tier members of Overhaul’s Yakuza, the captured goons couldn’t help but reflect on better days of the criminal organization. Discussing Overhaul’s father, Shie Chisaki, the bound thugs couldn’t help but recall the days when the Yakuza wasn’t just respected, but the group of criminals acted more as a family. Under the prior “Don”, the gang loved one another and especially loved thie boss, with the organization being respected the world over.

Under Overhaul’s leadership, things have changed astronomically, as the avian masked leader is looking to make his mark on the world at large by creating a drug that can eliminate quirks both temporarily and permanently. Clearly, Kai Chisaki, aka Overhaul, wants to rule the world like he rules the Yakuza, with an iron fist, eliminating any threat that gets in his way.

With Midoriya and the rest of the heroes storming Overhaul’s headquarters, it’s clear that the Yakuza is now focused on bolstering itself with super powered villains in the likes of the Eight Bullets. Even with a gathering of some of the most powerful heroes operating in the world today, it’s clear that bringing down Overhaul and his plans for the heroes in My Hero Academia isn’t going to be easy by any stretch of the imagination.

What do you think of the Yakuza, past and present, in My Hero Academia? Feel free to let us know in the comments or hit me up directly on Twitter @EVComedy to talk all things comics, anime, and UA Academy!

My Hero Academia was created by Kohei Horikoshi and has been running in Shueisha’s Weekly Shonen Jump since July 2014. The story follows Izuku Midoriya, who lives in a world where everyone has powers, even though he was born without them. Dreaming to become a superhero anyway, he’s eventually scouted by the world’s best hero All Might and enrolls in a school for professional heroes. The series has been licensed by Viz Media for an English language release since 2015. My Hero Academia will also be launching its second big movie, Heroes Rising, in Japan this December.