My Hero Academia (Episode 84) – Deku vs. Gentle Criminal
When Midoriya realises that the rope to hold Aoyama is frayed, he offers to go get a new one first thing in the morning. While leaving the hardware store, however, he bumps into Gentle Criminal who is planning to infiltrate UA.
What happened?
Midoriya emerged from the hardware store with plenty of time to make it back for the performance, but almost instantly bumps into a man coming out of a nearby building. He apologizes, but the man makes an unusual comment about Golden Tips Imperial. Midoriya remembers that it was the tea that Momo made for them the night before and comments that the building must be some sort of cafe. The man was impressed that someone so young would be aware of Golden Tips Imperial and can’t help but talk about it. Midoriya than puts the tea and the man’s familiar voice together and tells Gentle Criminal not to interfere with the school festival.
Gentle removes his disguise and tells Midoriya of his plan and how no one will be hurt, but that’s not enough. Even a false alarm would cancel the festival and after everyone worked so hard, not to mention that Eri will be there, he isn’t prepared to let him leave. He powers up and attacks, but Gentle, who can make anything elastic, including the air, deflects Midoriya and continues on his way. La Brava recognises Midoriya and tries to warn Gentle, but there’s no turning back now.
What was your favourite element?
This episode was far better than the previous ones, but it still lacks the impact of the earlier seasons. For instance, should Midoriya fail, the school festival will be cancelled… Great, I don’t really care and this isn’t something that anyone should really be worried about in the grand scheme of things. The fight itself, was a lot of fun and seeing Gentle and Midoriya exchanging blows and trying to outmanoeuvre one another was great. It still doesn’t feel that serious and my gut is telling me that Gentle used to attend UA, possibly at the same time as All Might and the finale is going to be a massive let down. Gentle feels more like a nuisance than a real threat.
What have you learnt?
On the whole, I still haven’t overly enjoyed this season and it’ll make me think hard about whether I decide to review it episodically going forward. I will still watch it, probably in a binge at the end of the season, but I am struggling to come up with things to write about it and it’s not the first thing I watch. If anything, I am putting it off until the last possible moment and that just tells me that I’m not invested. I do hope it regains the momentum it had in the earlier seasons, but I will be waiting to see if that happens before putting my time into it. I’d much rather be writing about things that I can’t wait to watch.
Other reviews in the series
Manga
Anime
- Season Four
- Episode 64 – The Scoop on U.A. Class 1-A
- Episode 65 – Overhaul
- Episode 66 – Boy Meets…
- Episode 67 – Fighting Fate
- Episode 68 – Let’s Go, Gutsy Red Riot
- Episode 69 – An Unpleasant Talk
- Episode 70 – GO!!
- Episode 71 – Suneater of the Big Three
- Episode 72 – Red Riot
- Episode 73 – Temp Squad
- Episode 74 – Lemillion
- Episode 75 – Unforeseen Hope
- Episode 76 – Infinite 100%
- Episode 77 – Bright Future
- Episode 78 – Smoldering Flames
- Episode 79 – Win Those Kids’ Hearts
- Episode 80 – Relief for License Trainees
- Episode 81 – School Festival
- Episode 82 – Prepping for the School Festival Is the Funnest Part
- Episode 83 – Gold Tips Imperial
- Episode 84 – Deku vs. Gentle Criminal
- Episode 85 – School Festival Start!!
- Episode 86 – Let It Flow! School Festival!
- Episode 87 – Japanese Hero Billboard Chart
- Episode 88 – His Start
You might also like…
“For instance, should Midoriya fail, the school festival will be cancelled…”
It’s also implied (“even if it’s a false alarm”) that will be cancelled even if he succeeds. A no win situation, with no stakes of any impact.
Yeah. His only hope is to defeat Gentle and make it look like nothing happened, but then wouldn’t that make him a little villainous? It’s all rather underwhelming.