My Hero Academia: Season 4, Episode 24 Review

The latest game news from IGN - one of my fave channels ever - check it out This review contains spoilers for My Hero Academia Season 4, episode 24, "Japanese Hero Billboard Chart," which is episode 87 overall. To refresh your memory of where we left off, check out our review of MHA Season 4, episode 23. [poilib element="accentDivider"] While it isn’t overflowing with color and celebration like Episode 23 was, “Japanese Hero Billboard Chart” is just as engaging and entertaining as the previous episode, though in a far more subtle and lasting way. This is the kind of episode that won’t leave viewers buzzing after the credits roll; instead, it’s one that will have fans mulling and philosophising over its themes and details for days afterwards. It begins with the most adorable scene possible: Eri receiving a cute new outfit and hairstyle, showing everyone how happy and comfortable she has become after the disaster and abuse she was saved from earlier in the season. Aizawa announces that Eri will be staying at UA, and we get to enjoy the whole of Class 1-A welcoming her to the fold. It’s a heartwarming intro to an episode which, from here, becomes a lot slower and more considered. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/03/13/anime-you-should-binge-watch-on-netflix-in-march"] As the title suggests, this episode is focussed around the Japanese Hero Billboard Chart, which is announced at a stadium and celebrates the updated rankings of every pro hero in Japan. Before the School Festival arc, we were already told to prepare ourselves for Endeavor taking the number one spot now that All Might has retired, but here we also get to see the official top ten receive their accolades and say a few words onstage in front of a roaring crowd. Here is where the episode gets interesting: the spotlight is on Hawks, a twenty two-year-old pro hero who started his own agency at just eighteen; he’s cocky, self-assured, brash, and undeniably cool. His personality is a far cry from both All Might and Endeavor, though the episode does a decent job of demonstrating his hero skills out on the street and, thus, his worthiness for the number two spot. The Japanese Hero Billboard Chart ceremony is the hinge of the episode, but it’s also more of a set-up that prepares us for the main theme: what makes a true hero? It’s reminiscent of the theme of Disney’s Hercules, which taught us that it’s not “about the size of his strength, but the strength of his heart.” But in My Hero Academia, the question is more complicated because we’ve already spent four seasons with the perfect answer to that question: All Might. What makes a true hero? Well, everything that All Might embodies. But, then, what is that, exactly? This is what Endeavor wants and needs to figure out. Despite sitting comfortably in the number two spot for so long, he still doesn’t know what makes a hero worthy of the number one spot, especially after having lived in All Might’s shadow for so many years. Endeavor is a stoic and hypermasculine hero, with an air closer to that of a villain than a hero. And therein lies the fun of this episode: considering the questions put forward by Endeavor’s own frustrations and his unfolding internal identity crisis. Being the number one hero is very different to being number two, and Endeavor has made this jump by default. All Might left a vacuum that Endeavor, logically, now fills. But his public approval rating says otherwise, while Hawks and Best Jeanist are actually more beloved by the general public. The episode’s second half centers around some deep and considered discussion between Hawks and Endeavor which also works as a very solid introduction to Hawks’ character and skill set. Endeavor, despite being a man of few words and a stiff upper lip, is desperate to understand what made All Might so unique, beloved, and seemingly irreplaceable. Hawks is here, in a way, to help him work this out. We know that this is what Endeavor wants, despite him not saying as much, when he attempts to reach out to a fan on the street, as Hawks so organically does, only for that fan to shame Endeavor for acting out of character. This kid loves Endeavor’s masculine stoicism – his flippant disregard for the general public – and now that Endeavor is trying to boost his public approval with a simple handshake, he’s immediately called out by a genuine fan as having changed and now acting false. And so, if Endeavor cannot force himself to behave more genially, what’s his next move? Beyond these questions, what does it all matter? Endeavor must surely be wondering this as well. Is a hero’s duty not to simply serve and protect the people? Well, yes, but the people also need to trust and feel safe around pro heroes like Endeavor. This is something else likely ticking over in his fiery head.

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