My Hero Academia Creator Celebrates Eri’s U.A. Debut with New Sketch

My Hero Academia‘s Cultural Festival arc is reaching its final act, and one of the key pieces has been put into place with the latest episode of the series. After suffering for her entire life under the control of Kai Chisaki, Eri has begun taking the first steps toward not only a physical recovery but a mental one. With a heartbreaking update in a previous episode revealing that she doesn’t really know how to smile anymore, Izuku Midoriya invited her to U.A.’s Cultural Festival. And she took her first steps onto the campus grounds with the latest episode of the series.

Because Eri has never been around people before, and is still technically dangerous due to her uncontrolled quirk, U.A.’s Principal suggested that she should visit during the prep in order to acclimate better to the people around her before the full event. This results in some surprisingly cringeworthy moments at first, but does work the way everyone hopes it does.

But this is a monumental moment for sure, and to celebrate series creator Kohei Horikoshi took to Twitter to share an adorable sketch featuring Eri, Midoriya, Mirio Togata, and three of the students who make their return to the anime with the latest episode and each leave an impact on Eri in some surprising way. Check it out:

Episode 83 of the series sees Eri touring the school with Mirio and Izuku as they introduce her to its various clubs and activities. She remains silent for the majority of the time, but it becomes increasingly clear that she’s starting to open up more with each interaction with the other students. It’s why fans are so desperately rooting for Eri to feel better as she’s been subjected to so many terrible things throughout her life. So this festival might not have a lot of conventional stakes, but Eri’s happiness is now riding on this event being pulled off successfully.

What did you think of Eri’s first visit to U.A.? Curious to see how the Cultural Festival works out? Are you enjoying My Hero Academia‘s fourth season so far? Let us know your thoughts in the comments or talk to me directly about all things anime and other cool things @Valdezology on Twitter!