By Dan Maiorana
With My Hero Academia Season 4 officially in the books, and with Season 5 already announced, it seems like a great time to look back on the incredible fights the series has seen animated so far!
So I narrowed down all of the fights in the anime (and there are so many good ones!) to these five. To stay focused, I looked at things like impact to the overall story and top-notch animation.
Did one of your favorites not make the list? Share this post and let us know! Let’s dive in.
Infinite 100% vs. Full-Power Overhaul
There were so many different kinds of fight scenes in Season 4 of My Hero Academia, from Suneater vs. the First Three Bullets, to Kirishima and Fatgum vs. Rappa and Tengai, and even the stellar Gentle vs. Deku showdown! You can imagine that choosing even two for this list was difficult. But when it came down to it, one of them had to be Overhaul vs. Deku.
Specifically, I’m talking about Deku after he activates One For All 100% with the help of Eri! Everything from this fight lined up perfectly, in both dub and sub! Kenjiro Tsuda and Kellen Goff came into their own as Overhaul, playing the role tone-perfect. And this fight certainly tested the vocal cords of Daiki Yamashita and Justin Briner.
This entire fight was a roller coaster of emotions. Who would have expected Deku to go so far beyond his limits!?
Deku, Iida and Todoroki vs. The Hero Killer Stain
Stain embodied an ideal that heroes were false, and that true heroes don’t work for money or legacy–they simply answer the call. In this sense, despite his villainous actions, Stain was more of an anti-hero.
When confronted by Shigaraki, Stain threatens to kill him on the spot. And then this fight. Why did he lose? Well, he never “got serious” with Deku or Todoroki until the end, fully content with torturing or killing Iida in front of them. As for our heroes, this is the first fight where Deku finally has control over One For All to a degree, turning him from liability to asset.
For Iida, this was a change of pace. During Season 1, Iida saves Class 1-A during the USJ invasion because he’s able to escape and find the pros. Having him face a villain that challenged his ideals as a generational hero, as well as taking away his mobility? Perfect character development.
Deku vs. Bakugo II
You know this one had to make the list. For me, it’s one of the best fights of the entire series.
Seeing Bakugo’s frustrations come to a head to the point where he calls out Deku for a fight in the middle of the night was astounding. Bakugo reached his emotional limit from everything that transpired in less than six months since enrolling at U.A. It all built up to this: The regret for being kidnapped, feeling like he’s constantly being left behind and feeling responsible for being the end of All Might.
They all play into this young man’s psyche, and the only way he knows how to vent his frustrations is to fight. Luckily, Deku is the person who knows how to accept and return those emotions–with an iron fist and spectacle.
Endeavor vs. High-End Nomu
Endeavor has his fair share of personal demons, from being estranged from his family to being guilty of manipulating Quirks throughs his children. Through all of this, he’s been living in the shadow of All Might for 20 years.
If you’re me though, you’ve loved to hate Endeavor from the start. He was a hero that gave off antagonist vibes, but this changes a bit here. Once he becomes the #1 Hero, he realizes what he must aspire to, even going so far as asking All Might the true meaning of what it means to be the Symbol of Peace.
With the reveal of his signature move “Prominence Burn,” and the passionate “Plus ultra!” he belts out as he explodes within the stratosphere, Endeavor has certainly made a case for himself. Plus, seeing Hawks finally in the series made us all jump with joy!
All For One vs. All Might
Here it is: the end of an era. We saw All Might push his limits in Season 1, but this particular fight was more than that.
All For One and The Symbol Of Peace face off, and All Might is crowned victor. But All For One still claims victory, ending All Might’s reign as the #1 Hero and sending the hero world into a whirlwind. This is a defining moment for All Might.
Not only is his earth shattered by the reveal that Shigaraki [SPOILERS] is his master’s grandson [SPOILERS], but it’s the culmination of his journey to this point. I felt like I was standing in the middle of Tokyo, staring at a screen and cheering for All Might!
And while this fight ended with a sorrowful farewell to All Might’s power, it provided Deku and the world the means to move on, because “Now, it’s your turn.”
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