My Hero Academia Premiere Introduces Two Unexpected Villains

My Hero Academia's fifth season premiere took the opportunity to bring audiences up to speed with the students of Class 1-A while also throwing some unique new villains their way in a training exercise that is far more challenging than Midoriya and company might have thought. Though anime fans might have been a bit disheartened that this new premiere episode didn't immediately jump into the upcoming battle between Class 1-A and 1-B, there were plenty of surprises for fans that have been waiting for the grand return of the heroes and villains of the Shonen franchise.

With Class 1-A being informed early in the premiere that they would undergo a surprise training exercise, using their Quirks to once again prove that they were worthy of their current statuses as aspiring heroes, they faced off against surprising villains with Neijire and Tamaki taking on the roles of the antagonists. With Neijire capturing Alien Girl and Tamaki battling against the young heroes, Mirio was playing the role of a victim, hilariously floating down the river while Class 1-A attempted to assess the situation. With Lemillion no longer having his Quirk of intangibility following his deadly fight against Overhaul, it's clear that his lack of power hasn't caused him to miss a step when it comes to his glowing personality.

Neijire as a villain was mostly used as a distraction for Tamaki, who acted as the "tank" for the villainous duo, putting his Quirk to good use by giving himself tentacles and clams to bolster his offense and defense. Midoriya attempted to join the fight but his biggest weakness, in this case, his compassion, proved to be quite the hindrance as he was unable to deliver a finishing blow. Of course, this hardly stopped Bakugo from performing the deed, who unleashes a devastating explosion that takes down Tamaki and brings the training exercise to a close.

While the fifth season premiere introduced us to these unique "villains", the post-credit scene of the episode gave us a look into a tried and true antagonist in Dabi, who not only comes into contact with Endeavor but has a mysterious meeting with the current number two hero in Hawks. Needless to say, there will be plenty of material for the villains in this current anime season.

What did you think of Neijire and Tamaki as villains? Feel free to let us know in the comments or hit me up directly on Twitter @EVComedy to talk all things comics, anime, and the world of UA Academy.